Floating burrows
| Floating burrows | ||||||||||||
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Typhlonectes compressicauda in an aquarium |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Typhlonectes compressicauda | ||||||||||||
| ( Duméril & Bibron , 1841) |
The swimming pool ( Typhlonectes compressicauda ) is a caecum living in water .
features
The 30 to 60 centimeter long swimming pool is reminiscent of an eel with its long, slim, black body, which is dark gray on the underside, and the way it swims . The body is covered with 80 to 95 rings. The tail is flattened on the sides and has a fin hem on the top.
Pool burrows are viviparous. Because, unlike most amphibians, internal fertilization takes place, males have a whitish adhesive organ on the underside in order to be able to hold the female during mating.
Occurrence, way of life
The swimming pool lives in northern South America , in the Amazon basin and in Guyana in rivers, lakes and streams. It is still quite common in some areas and feeds on earthworms and other invertebrates .
The embryonic and larval development takes place in the womb. The young are born fully developed.
In captivity, the lifespan is up to ten years.
literature
- Mark O'Shea & Tim Halliday: Reptiles & Amphibians . Dorling Kindersley Limited, London 2001, 2002, ISBN 978-3-8310-1015-8
Web links
- Floating burrows on AmphibiaWeb
- photos
- Typhlonectes compressicauda inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: Enrique La Marca, Claudia Azevedo-Ramos, Marinus Hoogmoed, Mark Wilkinson, John Measey, 2008. Retrieved October 4, 2013.