The penis snake (Atretochoana eiselti) has that title on account of its look, the time period “atretos” means “imperforate” whereas “choana” denotes a funnel or tube form. The discovery of this phallic amphibian is a part of a species known as caecilians, a gaggle of limbless amphibians.
In addition, it’s one of many longest typhonectids. Atretochoana was initially found within the late nineteenth century by Sir Graham Hales throughout an expedition to the Brazilian rainforest. Its first copies went to the Vienna Museum. This amphibian was later rediscovered by engineers engaged on a hydroelectric dam in Brazil in 2011.
Did you already know? It is the most important of the few recognized lungless tetrapods.
It was in 1968 that these amphibians have been studied in an article revealed in The Caecilians of the World, and after extra evaluation, they lastly obtained their very own genus, Atretochoana, in 1996. These creatures are so uncommon, that specialised researchers don’t end to grasp its peculiarities as an animal species.
Physical peculiarities of this phallic amphibian
In biology it’s nonetheless not clear how this species breathes, as a result of it isn’t a snake. Some amphibians with out lungs reside by cutaneous respiration, exchanging gases by moistened pores and skin. So, like lungless amphibians, they’re thought to make use of capillaries of their pores and skin to permit gases to move by their physique.
This just isn’t its solely curious function. As they’re aquatic, additionally they have dorsal fins that enable them to be a wonderful one between the currents of the mouth of the Amazon River and the Madeira River.
Unlike different caecilians, Atretochoana have a huge, bell-shaped head, sealed nostrils, and an enlarged mouth. He has weak imaginative and prescient, which isn’t shocking since caecilians is a Latin phrase which means “blind.”
Herpetologists level out that it makes use of its acute sense of scent to find meals, mates and shelter. It feeds on small fish, worms and different aquatic invertebrates as a result of it’s a caecilian..
Among its predators are birds
According to observations, it has been seen that Atretochoanas lives in fast-flowing waters, particularly within the Amazon River and its largest tributary, the Madeira River, and are often captured by several types of birds endemic to the area. But, certainly they should have another aquatic or terrestrial predator, given their location and the truth that they’re innocent like an enormous worm.
Journey from South America to North America
In a report for the Florida Museum of Natural History, new DNA testing confirms that the legless amphibians caught in Miami’s Tamiami Channel in 2019 have been caecilians, generally referred to as rubber eels or penis snakes.
Although little or no is thought about these creatures within the wild, they don’t seem like very lethal or essential predators. Penis snakes are reportedly prone to eat small animals and fall prey to different bigger predators. Therefore, they might simply be an unique species added to the animal trafficking in Florida.
