Typhlonectidae Explained

Typhlonectidae, also known as aquatic caecilians or rubber eels, are a family of caecilians found east of the Andes in South America.^[1]

They are viviparous animals, giving birth to young that possess external gills. Of the five extant genera in the family, Atretochoana, Potamotyphlus and Typhlonectes are entirely aquatic, while Chthonerpeton and Nectocaecilia are semi-aquatic.^[1] Atretochoana reaches 100cm (00inches) in length, but other species in the family range from 20cmto(-)60cmcm (10inchesto(-)20inchescm).^[1] A sixth typhlonectid genus, Ymboirana, was recently described and is known exclusively from fossil material.^[2]

Taxonomy

• Genus Atretochoana
  • Atretochoana eiselti
• Genus Chthonerpeton
  • Chthonerpeton arii
  • Chthonerpeton braestrupi
  • Chthonerpeton exile
  • Chthonerpeton indistinctum
  • Chthonerpeton noctinectes
  • Chthonerpeton onorei
  • Chthonerpeton perissodus
  • Chthonerpeton viviparum
• Genus Nectocaecilia
  • Nectocaecilia petersii
• Genus Potamotyphlus
  • Potamotyphlus kaupii
• Genus Typhlonectes
  • Typhlonectes compressicauda
  • Typhlonectes natans
• Genus Ymboirana
  • †Ymboirana acrux

References

• San Mauro . Diego . Phylogeny of caecilian amphibians (Gymnophiona) based on complete mitochondrial genomes and nuclear RAG1 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2004.05.014 . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 33 . 413–427 . November 2004 . David J. Gower . Oommen V. Oommen . Mark Wilkinson . Rafael Zardoya . 15336675 . 2.
• San Mauro . Diego . Initial diversification of living amphibians predated the breakup of Pangaea . American Naturalist . 165 . 590–599 . May 2005 . Miguel Vences . Marina Alcobendas . Rafael Zardoya . Axel Meyer . 10.1086/429523 . 15795855 . 5.
• 10.1093/sysbio/syp043 . San Mauro . Diego . Experimental design in caecilian systematics: phylogenetic information of mitochondrial genomes and nuclear rag1 . Systematic Biology . 58 . 4 . 425–438 . August 2009 . David J. Gower . Tim Massingham . Mark Wilkinson . Rafael Zardoya . James A. Cotton . 20525595. 10.1.1.577.2856 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Vitt, L. J.. Caldwell, J. P.. Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. 25 March 2013. Academic Press. 978-0-12-386920-3 . 453. 898295183.
2. Santos . R. O. . Wilkinson . M. . Couto Ribeiro . G. . Carvalho . A. B. . Zaher . H. . 2024 . The first fossil record of an aquatic caecilian (Gymnophiona: Typhlonectidae) . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad188 .