'Flesh-eating' amphibians filmed




"Yummy mummy" filmed feeding young her skin


One of the strangest meal-times in the animal kingdom has been caught on film by a BBC crew.
The team recorded footage of a female worm-like amphibian, called a caecilian, allowing her young to peel off and eat her skin.
Scientists have only recently discovered this bizarre parental behaviour.
The female caecilian's skin becomes thicker and more nutrient-rich when she bears offspring.
And the young have specialised teeth for tearing and removing it.

The footage was recorded for the BBC One series Life In Cold Blood. The crew was able to catch this behaviour on camera by building a set which resembled the shallow, humid underground chambers that the creatures live in. It took several attempts to capture the footage; the caecilian babies would only eat their mother's skin for about 10 minutes, once every three days, and often at night.

that was weird

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0.1.0 Bci, Peanuts
1.0.0 royal python, jimmy
1.0.0 cali king, humbug
1.1.1 leopard geckos titch, sunny
im a 13 year old lad

I already seen this on the bbc site, but is still amazing.

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MrKing
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1. 0.1.0 Red Tailed Boa
2. 0.0.2 White Jade Giant African Land Snails
3. 1.2.0 Rhampholeon Temporalis
4. 1.2.0 Rieppeleon Brevicaudatus
5. 1.2.0 Rieppeleon Kerstenii Kerstenii
6. 1.2.0 Rhampholeon Uluguruensis
7. 1.1.2 Dendrobates Leucomelas
8. 1.1.0 Dendrobates Auratus
9. 1.1.0 Epipedobates Anthonyi
10. 1.1.0 Mannophryne trinitatis
11. 0.0.4 Dendrobates tinctorius Patricia
    

Good way to stay alive i recon. Got no food? im sure theres some dead skin lieing arround.

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SNAKES
0.0.1 Cali King (Trix) - 2006
1.0.0 Western Hognose - 2007
0.1.0 Jungle carpet Python (Flax) - 2007
0.1.0 Durango Mountain King Snake - 1998
FROGS
1.0.0 American green tree frog - 2007

quite a good way to keep her young alive

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1.1.0 berber skinks
1.1.0 kenyan sand boas
1.1.0 common garter
1.0.0 het lavender brooks kingsnake
1.4.200 common frogs
1.1.0 crested newts
1.3.0 smooth newts
1.0.0 wired haired pointer
1.0.0 labrador/ doberman



http://www.amphibianark.org/
sign the petition, maybe give a donation.
Amphibians need our help.

Especially if you have so many, theres no real safe way to travel without preditors. So you cant exactly catch food.

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SNAKES
0.0.1 Cali King (Trix) - 2006
1.0.0 Western Hognose - 2007
0.1.0 Jungle carpet Python (Flax) - 2007
0.1.0 Durango Mountain King Snake - 1998
FROGS
1.0.0 American green tree frog - 2007

I found this part of the esp great, so much to be found out about amphibans.

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yh like ive never actually seen the RETF tadpoles droppin into water just read about them.

__________________
1.1.0 berber skinks
1.1.0 kenyan sand boas
1.1.0 common garter
1.0.0 het lavender brooks kingsnake
1.4.200 common frogs
1.1.0 crested newts
1.3.0 smooth newts
1.0.0 wired haired pointer
1.0.0 labrador/ doberman



http://www.amphibianark.org/
sign the petition, maybe give a donation.
Amphibians need our help.

lol when i saw that it made me feel ill lol

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interesting! think i know what my son was in a former life!