- Siphonops annulatus
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Siphonops annulatus 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Gymnophiona Family: Caeciliidae Genus: Siphonops Species: S. annulatus Binomial name Siphonops annulatus
(Mikan, 1820)Synonyms Caecilia interrupta Cuvier, 1829
Dermophis crassus Cope, 1885
Siphonops annulatus ssp. marmoratus Sawaya, 1937The Ringed Caecilian (Siphonops annulatus) is a species of amphibian in the Caeciliidae family. It was originally discovered in Argentina, and has been reported to exist in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest. Nestlings are equipped with 44 spoon-shaped teeth to feed on the outer lay of their mother's skin. Young feed all at once for some seven minutes; then they all rest for three days as the female grows a new outer skin layer[1]. This phenomenon is known as maternal dermatophagy. This practice and morphological similarities are shared with its African relative Boulengerula taitanus, suggesting it evolved over 100 million years ago[2].
References
- ^ David Attenborough: Life in Cold Blood, page 28. BBC Books, 2008.
- ^ Mark Wilkinson, et al. (June 2008). "One hundred million years of skin feeding? Extended parental care in a Neotropical caecilian (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)". Biology Letters 4 (4): 358. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0217. PMC 2610157. PMID 18547909. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2610157.
- Lavilla, E., Hoogmoed, M., Reichle, S., Baldo, D., Wilkinson, M. & Measey, J. 2004. Siphonops annulatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 July 2007.
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