2024-03-16 09:00:00
There is an amazing amount of biodiversity on Earth, including one little-known creature: the caecilian. These legless, egg-laying amphibians, unlike mammals, secrete a “milk”-like nutritional liquid from their tails to nurse their young.
This specific species is called “Siphonops annulatus” and it mainly inhabits the soil and leaf litter under the forests and grasslands of South America. Although they are nearly blind and live secretive lives, a recent study led by Brazilian biologists has revealed surprising findings about their reproduction and parenting.
After years of careful research, collection and observation, the research team found that the caecilian caecilians can secrete a viscous and transparent liquid that is similar to the texture of honey and is rich in fat and carbohydrates to provide necessary nutrients for the pups. . This nutrient solution is secreted from the caecilians’ “cloaca,” a multifunctional opening at the back of their body that is also where they excrete and lay eggs. In other words, these vertebrate earthworms feed their young with secretions from their tails.
This discovery not only challenges existing evolutionary understandings of parenting but also reveals the complex communication patterns that may exist in this group of organisms. Research over the past few decades has shown that some hinterland-dwelling caecilian species can produce secretions in their oviducts to nourish their young internally, but for an egg-laying species, such behavior was considered surprising. .
Have mammalian-like behavior
Image source: Carlos Jared cc By4.0
Even more surprising, cameras captured the clicks and squirming movements of the pups before they nursed, suggesting that the pups were begging for food and the mother was responding. This vocal food-seeking behavior is unique among amphibians, further highlighting the special status of the caecilian in the biological world.
The research team hopes to conduct follow-up studies to further explore the pups’ vocal behavior. Understanding the biology of all species on Earth is particularly important in the context of climate change and habitat changes. These ring-shaped caecilians that roam cocoa plantations are not just caring for their offspring, they may also be playing a key role in the delicate ecological web that supports us all, without our knowledge.
The relevant research was published in the latest issue of Science.
For more science and technology news, you can go directly to Tomorrow Science Network
Source of the first picture: Tomorrow Science
Image Source:Carlos Jared cc By4.0
Reference papers:
1.Milk provisioning in oviparous caecilian amphibiansScience
Further reading:
1. After 60 years of hard work, scientists discovered a rare mammal that can lay eggs.
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