Giant Lungless "Worm" Found Living on Land

Matt Kaplan
for National Geographic News

November 18, 2009
A new amphibian species can survive on land with no nostrils, lungs, or legs, say researchers who discovered the bizarre beast.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/faf93231d3af.jpg[/atsimg]

The creature, found in Guyana, is part of the wormlike group of amphibians known as caecilians. Only one other caecilian species is known to live without lungs.
In general, the presence of lungs is among the key characteristics that make amphibians different from fish.

Until recently, scientists thought salamanders were the only amphibians that lack lungs. But in 1995 researchers found the first known lungless caecilian, and in 2008 another team reported a tiny, land-dwelling, lungless frog.

The new species is even more of a surprise, because the animal—named Caecilita iwokramae—is strikingly different from the other known lungless caecilian, the study authors note.

news.nationalgeographic.com...

PHOTOS: Rainbow Hues of Amphibian "Worms" Demystified
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/589572a15f7d.jpg[/atsimg]

news.nationalgeographic.com...

Many animals are colorful to demonstrate fitness and health to one another—the robin's red breast is a sterling example. But pigment, like everything else in the body, comes at an energy cost

Very interesting information about pigment and what may compromise them.

Hmm Could a version of this be responsible for the "Mongolian Deathworm" reports for all these hundreds of years?

Maybe something like this we just havent found yet in that area?

Originally posted by ManBehindTheMask
Hmm Could a version of this be responsible for the "Mongolian Deathworm" reports for all these hundreds of years?

Maybe something like this we just havent found yet in that area?

Why would a lungless colorful worm be mistaken for a man-eating death worm?

ok one for the science guys... it has no lungs, so i assume gills.


HOW do its gills filter enough oxygen to provide for it??

i thought gills were inefficient in oxygen rich atmospheres! hence fish dying when we catch them...???!!

Originally posted by okamitengu
ok one for the science guys... it has no lungs, so i assume gills.


HOW do its gills filter enough oxygen to provide for it??

i thought gills were inefficient in oxygen rich atmospheres! hence fish dying when we catch them...???!!

From the article:

That's because the lungless land-dwellers breathe through their skin. Small body size increases the area of porous skin in relation to body mass, making it easier for the animal to absorb oxygen from the air.

Naked mole rats breathe mostly through their skin too.

Sorry for the one liner, just throwing something out here.

I really like the color of this worm. It must be a great worm to see irl. I wonder if it is poisonous..

How big are they to be 'Giant'? The colour picture seems to show a worm on a leaf. No scale present.

What is "Giant"?

The wormlike amphibian Scolecomorphus vittatus sometimes moves over leaf litter in the forests of Tanzania. Since color in amphibians is usually a sign of toxicity, researchers think the caecilian's bright stripe could be a warning that, if eaten, the species creates a burning taste in the mouth.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/812dc06fb199.jpg[/atsimg]

news.nationalgeographic.com...

This particular worm is toxic, I would stay away.

reply to post by suicydking


thanks for that, i missed it in the article

(:

Cutaneous Respiration.

Breathing through the skin; in some vertebrates the body surface has become highly vascularized for gaseous exchange. Such exchange is of particular importance in the class Amphibia, where mucous glands in the skin maintain a moist respiratory surface; and in the soft-shelled turtles (family Trionychidae).

Full Text

Giant? The article says 4.4 inches long, I can find earthworms in my back yard bigger than that. It looks cool, and all so S&F for that, but giant..

This is pretty cool to read. I do wonder though, how well are they for fishing? I can only imagine these worms sold in stores... heh.. sure would beat the fake colored worms hah.

Originally posted by Majiq
Giant? The article says 4.4 inches long, I can find earthworms in my back yard bigger than that. It looks cool, and all so S&F for that, but giant..

Yea... I was a little disappointed too. I was expecting something more like these GIANT WORMS!

reply to post by ManBehindTheMask


doesnt really make sense mate. A new discovery in south america GUYANA is somehow linked to the asian MONGOLIAN death worm? hmmm, interesting. u must be american. hehe.

I didn't even need to open the thread and I was like "Why is this new, it's a caecilian."

They are really cool, though. Very size-limited. I once attempted to try and prove that the "Mongolian Death Worm" was a caecilian that secrets a venom, but it was very difficult to research. All in all, I think I did alright, but the largest caecilian is I think around three feet, but it didn't live in the right region.

Anyhow, I love these guys. My advisor saw one when he was studying in Costa Rica. I'm super jealous. They breed them for captivity but I think that's just wrong. Super interesting. Also see "eyeless snakes" aka "worm snakes" and "legless lizards." Use Google. Cool, very cool critters.

reply to post by Brad-H


It is possible to make the argument on it.

See: This Thread On Acid-Spitting Death Worm

and

This Thread On The Minhocao

reply to post by ravenshadow13


I am jealous also, I would love to see one myself, I haven't traveled to those areas and more then likely won't. Thank you also for the links ravenshadow.

Originally posted by Brad-H
reply to post by ManBehindTheMask

 

doesnt really make sense mate. A new discovery in south america GUYANA is somehow linked to the asian MONGOLIAN death worm? hmmm, interesting. u must be american. hehe.

I kind of took that post to just mean that hey, since they just discovered this new type of worm that they did not think could even exist...then maybe there is something more to that other story. Since that 'worm' is mysterious and this one is a new anomaly...maybe, just maybe this means there are crazy new types of worms to be found. I am not saying that is correct, just what I thought the post was trying to say.

reply to post by Badgered1


Good question. Apparently a fully aquatic member of the genus crows up to 27 inches long. And that's not especially "giant" because from what I'm reading, some species can get up to four feet long.

Beats me what makes it "giant"