One Hundred Million Years Of Skin Feeding? Extended Parental Care In A Neotropical Caecilian (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Veterinary
Article Date: 04 Jun 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Maternal dermatophagy (eating maternal skin) is an unusual form of parental investment recently discovered in an African caecilian amphibian.

We report its discovery in a second, Neotropical caecilian.

The detailed similarities of skin feeding in different caecilians provides evidence for its presence in their last common ancestor.

The timing of the separation of Africa and South American land masses, and of the divergence of these species, suggest that skin feeding is an ancient form of parental care in caecilians that may have existed for more than 100 million years.

Young were also observed to imbibe liquid from their mothers cloaca.

Royal Society journal Biology Letters

Biology Letters publishes short, innovative and cutting-edge research articles and opinion pieces accessible to scientists from across the biological sciences. The journal is characterised by stringent peer-review, rapid publication and broad dissemination of succinct high-quality research communications.

www.publishing.royalsociety.org/biologyletters