Warning of the reappearance of gigantic “penis snakes”, a species left for dead: look at the pictures | the Chronicle

Scientists United States were astonished to discover a specimen of the caecilian (Caeciliidae), which had been presumed dead some time ago, in a canal of Florida: the ‘penis snake’, name he receives because of his male member form. It turns out that the rare amphibian has been surprisingly rediscovered in South America and has now arrived in the north.

“As far as we know, this represents the first recording of a caecilian in Florida or anywhere else in the United States.”say researchers from the journal Reptiles & Amphibians.

The specimen It was two feet long and was captured by members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission in Miami’s Tamiami Channel., also known as Canal C-4. It turns out that it first appeared in 2019 in a tributary of the Amazon after years of considering it extinct. Technicians were emptying it for the construction of a hydroelectric power station and they came across the dead species. Six individuals were found according to the biologist Julien tupan, who identified the species as Atretochoana eiselti.

The species had been presumed dead since it had perished in captivity when attempts to feed it failed. His remains have been sent to the Florida Museum of Natural History for further analysis. There, geneticists identified the species as Typhlonectes natans. However, in 2019 it was rediscovered in the Amazon and has currently reached Florida.

Caecilia are typically predators, feeding on small fish, earthworms, and other aquatic invertebrates. They have poor vision and navigate primarily using smell. Not much else is known about the species, although it is believed to be aquatic and lungless, so it breathes through its skin.

This species is native to Colombia and Venezuela, but since the capture of this specimen, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has received several other specimens, in addition to numerous sighting reports in Channel C-4.

“Parts of Canal C-4 are like this”, He said Coleman Sheehy, director of the Florida Museum’s herpetology collection and first author of the new study, in a statement. “Perhaps this is an environment in which this species can thrive.”he added.

It is believed that the penis snake may have arrived in Miami as a new case of an unwanted pet, as it is a popular species in the pet trade and is able to breed in captivity. It is considered a good place for the conservation of the species, even better than in the Amazon.