📸 PhotoPhoto: Christophe cagé 6 july 2007 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Rio Cauca Caecilian
Typhlonectes natans (Rio Cauca Caecilian · Rio Cauca Caecilian)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its total length of 58 cm is close to the length of two 30 cm school rulers placed end to end (60 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Because it is readily available in the pet trade, the authors noted that the single individual found in the Tamiami Canal in Miami, Florida in 2019 was likely a released or escaped pet.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Rio Cauca Caecilian is a fully aquatic caecilian living in Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. It is listed as Least Concern (LC, 2020) on the IUCN Red List.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its head is wider than its trunk, its teeth have pointed tips, and it usually has 9 papillae around the vent. An adult captured in Florida had a total length of 582 mm.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young. Easily obtainable as a pet and bred by zoos and hobbyists, one individual was found in a canal in Miami, United States, in October 2019.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/59601/85909110
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 59WWK
- • iucnredlist.org — 85909110
- • wikidata.org — Q2249158
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Typhlonectes natans5.jpg
- • journals.ku.edu — 14067
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.