Typhlonectidae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aquatic caecilians
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Gymnophiona Family: Typhlonectidae
Genera
See text.

Typhlonectidae, also known as Aquatic caecilians or Rubber eels, is a group of Gymnophiona amphibians found in South America.

They are viviparous animals, giving birth to young that possess external gills. Aquatic caecilians live, primarily, in the water and some species are fairly large, attaining more than two feet in total length.

[edit] Taxonomy

• Genus Atretochoana
  • Atretochoana eiselti

• Genus Chthonerpeton
  • Chthonerpeton arii
  • Chthonerpeton braestrupi
  • Chthonerpeton exile
  • Chthonerpeton indistinctum
  • Chthonerpeton noctinectes
  • Chthonerpeton onorei
  • Chthonerpeton perissodus
  • Chthonerpeton viviparum

• Genus Nectocaecillia
  • Nectocaecillia petersii

• Genus Potomotyphlus
  • Potomotyphlus kaupii

• Genus Typhlonectes
  • Typhlonectes compressicauda
  • Typhlonectes natans

[edit] References

• San Mauro, Diego; David J. Gower, Oommen V. Oommen, Mark Wilkinson and Rafael Zardoya (November 2004). "Phylogeny of caecilian amphibians (Gymnophiona) based on complete mitochondrial genomes and nuclear RAG1". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 413–427. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.05.014. 
• San Mauro, Diego; Miguel Vences, Marina Alcobendas, Rafael Zardoya and Axel Meyer (May 2005). "Initial diversification of living amphibians predated the breakup of Pangaea" (^{[dead link]}). American Naturalist 165: 590–599. doi:10.1086/429523.