Blind, legless amphibians. I saw one from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) when I was in university–something like a fat earthworm but dryer. They have their own order and this is a new family (in the taxonomic sense).
My cats would love them: strings that pull themselves.
Awww, they are all pink and cuddly like itty bitty baby kittehz!
llewellysays
It is a remarkable example of rough parallels in evolution – they look like vermiform invertebrates, but they’re tetrapods. (Also, while most caecillians can barely distinguish light from dark, I seem to recall a few do have well-developed eyes, and that was probably the ancestral condition.)
JohnnieCanucksays
Interestingly, as one of the NatGeo slide captions points out; they emerge from the eggs in adult form with no tadpole stage. Another thing that makes these unusual amphibians.
Gleeaagh! Something about that pushes the ‘wrong!’ button deep in my soul. I think it’s related to my fear of tentacles. They look like they’re coiled with massive potential energy, ready to strike like glutinous springs. Yuk.
Like every other animal, they look all cute and cuddly now, but wait until they grow up and start eating you out of house and home…
AshPlantsays
I read that as testicles.
I have gradually come to terms with my testicles.
w00dviewsays
These are really unusual amphibians in many ways: blind; legless; no tadpole stage and most species live entirely underground. They seem to be good parents also as the mother grows a layer of skin rich in fats that the young can feed off of. They have small hooked teeth which they use to tear off bits of skin which the mother grows back in three days.
Attenborough covered this strange behaviour here:
David Marjanovićsays
Look at their gills! :-)
How do they taste?
I don’t know, like frog?
These are really unusual amphibians in many ways: blind; legless; no tadpole stage and most species live entirely underground. They seem to be good parents also as the mother grows a layer of skin rich in fats that the young can feed off of. They have small hooked teeth which they use to tear off bits of skin which the mother grows back in three days.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. That’s one species, and not the one shown in the post. There are also species that don’t even lay eggs, but the young grow up in the oviduct and eat the oviduct lining; and there are other species that lay eggs which hatch into unspectacular aquatic larvae that later undergo unspectacular metamorphosis.
There are about 200 known species of caecilians.
pyttanksays
Caecilians!
I’ve dissected a few and they are truly fascinating.
They look like they might taste like bacon if prepared properly. Yummy.
Tualhasays
Great lines from an SF novel, Wyrm:
“So, what looks like a worm and acts like a worm, but isn’t a worm?”
“A caecilian!”
“No ethnic slurs, please.”
ericpaulsensays
Wow. I have never seen a picture of baby Slinkys™ before. Thanks PZ.
w00dviewsays
@ David Marjanović
Fair enough. I should have checked to see if that behaviour was more widespread or not. Making sweeping generalisations about any group of organisms is a risky move as nature will often prove you wrong. I work with fish for goodness sakes so I should not fall into this trap!
tim rowledge, Ersatz Haderachsays
Who’s a cute widdle baby Chthulhu den – cutey-wutey. You is! Dat’s who!
Bleeech.
I’ve always wanted to hear the slither-slather of little pinks in the house.
Glen Davidson
Get those mother******* caecilians off the mother******* plane NOW!
Awww! Lookit them all little and pink and awwww.
That would be awesome to stick in a vending machine. Kid puts in a quarter, turns the knob, surprise!
Blind, legless amphibians. I saw one from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) when I was in university–something like a fat earthworm but dryer. They have their own order and this is a new family (in the taxonomic sense).
My cats would love them: strings that pull themselves.
How do they taste?
Awww, they are all pink and cuddly like itty bitty baby kittehz!
It is a remarkable example of rough parallels in evolution – they look like vermiform invertebrates, but they’re tetrapods. (Also, while most caecillians can barely distinguish light from dark, I seem to recall a few do have well-developed eyes, and that was probably the ancestral condition.)
Interestingly, as one of the NatGeo slide captions points out; they emerge from the eggs in adult form with no tadpole stage. Another thing that makes these unusual amphibians.
Seconded!
Well, someone’s lost their marbles.
Gleeaagh! Something about that pushes the ‘wrong!’ button deep in my soul. I think it’s related to my fear of tentacles. They look like they’re coiled with massive potential energy, ready to strike like glutinous springs. Yuk.
> I think it’s related to my fear of tentacles.
I read that as testicles. *facepalm*
That said, bleeuurrgh.
Those things are gross, tell them I hate them.
Like every other animal, they look all cute and cuddly now, but wait until they grow up and start eating you out of house and home…
I have gradually come to terms with my testicles.
These are really unusual amphibians in many ways: blind; legless; no tadpole stage and most species live entirely underground. They seem to be good parents also as the mother grows a layer of skin rich in fats that the young can feed off of. They have small hooked teeth which they use to tear off bits of skin which the mother grows back in three days.
Attenborough covered this strange behaviour here:
Look at their gills! :-)
I don’t know, like frog?
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. That’s one species, and not the one shown in the post. There are also species that don’t even lay eggs, but the young grow up in the oviduct and eat the oviduct lining; and there are other species that lay eggs which hatch into unspectacular aquatic larvae that later undergo unspectacular metamorphosis.
There are about 200 known species of caecilians.
Caecilians!
I’ve dissected a few and they are truly fascinating.
They look like they might taste like bacon if prepared properly. Yummy.
Great lines from an SF novel, Wyrm:
“So, what looks like a worm and acts like a worm, but isn’t a worm?”
“A caecilian!”
“No ethnic slurs, please.”
Wow. I have never seen a picture of baby Slinkys™ before. Thanks PZ.
@ David Marjanović
Fair enough. I should have checked to see if that behaviour was more widespread or not. Making sweeping generalisations about any group of organisms is a risky move as nature will often prove you wrong. I work with fish for goodness sakes so I should not fall into this trap!
Who’s a cute widdle baby Chthulhu den – cutey-wutey. You is! Dat’s who!