Observations on the life history of the caecilian Typhlonectes compressicaudus (Dumeril and Bibron) in the Amazon basin

Abstract

Ecological observations on the poorly known aquatic caecilian Typhlonectes compressicaudus are described. This species appears to be wholly adapted to an aquatic life style. The diet probably consists of aquatic invertebrates. The animal gives birth at the end of the dry season. The secretions of the poison glands are lethal to at least one species of predatory fish with which it coexists.