Caecilian

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/caecilian

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Gymnophiona
2. What is the diet?Carnivore; primarily earthworms, termites, insect larvae; larger species consume small vertebrates
3. Why do caecilians have no eyes or ears?Caecilians live in soil where light is scarce, so their eyes are often covered by skin or bone and sometimes missing. They also have no external ear openings because they rely on smell and touch to find food and sense their surroundings.
4. How do caecilians breathe?Caecilians breathe through their moist skin, which lets oxygen pass into their bodies. They also have lungs, but their skin is the main way they get air while burrowing.

Fossorial: Adapted for digging and living underground.
Histotrophic Viviparity: A form of live birth where the fetus is nourished by maternal secretions or tissues.
Convergent Evolution: The independent evolution of similar features in species of different lineages.