Rooting one's nose
| Rooting one's nose | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rhinatrematidae | ||||||||||||
| Walnut , 1977 |
The nasal burrows (Rhinatrematidae) are a family of the sneak amphibians (Gymnophiona) that occurs in tropical South America.
features
Nasal burrows become 16 to 33 centimeters long. Most species are solid gray to purple in color and are relatively thick compared to their length. Rhinatrema bivittatum has yellow stripes on the flanks and is slender. The yellow side stripes are also found in some Epicrionops species. Nasal burrows have numerous skull bones and open skull windows. The mouth opening is terminal. The nasal and intermaxillary bones are separate. These traits indicate that they are not highly adapted to their digging way of life. The double jaw locking mechanism typical of sneak amphibians, in which, in addition to the jaw adductor, a second pair of muscles for the lower jaw leads to the upper jaw, is available, but designed in a simpler manner. The eyes are relatively large and close to the tentacles.
The body of the nasal burrows is curled by circumferential skin folds (annuli), which in turn are divided into secondary and tertiary annuli. Compared to more advanced sneak families, they have numerous scales. There is a tail, the spine extends beyond the cloaca .
Way of life
Nose burrows live in the rotting foliage covered soil of tropical forests in which they also lay their eggs. The larvae are aquatic and have a gill opening .
Systematics
Nose-rooting are considered the most original sneak family and are compared to all others as a sister group (see the cladogram in the article Sneaking amphibians ).
Genera and species
There are two genera Crotaphatrema with nine species:
- Genus Epicrionops , species occur in northwestern South America from Venezuela to Peru .
- Genus Rhinatrema occurs in northeastern South America, the three Guayanas .
literature
- Werner Himstedt: The blind diggers . ISBN 3894324341
- Wilfried Westheide & Reinhard Rieger: Special Zoology Part 2: Vertebrae and Skull Animals , 1st edition, Spectrum Akademischer Verlag Heidelberg • Berlin, 2004, ISBN 3-8274-0307-3
- K. Deckert, Gisela Deckert , GE Freytag, G. Peters, G. Sterba: Urania animal kingdom, fish, amphibians, reptiles. Urania-Verlag, 1991, ISBN 3-332-00376-3 .
