‘Penis Snake' Discovered in Brazil is Actually a Rare Amphibian


Olde Hornet

Well-Known Member

The Discovery of a Phallic Amphibian

Atretochoana eiselti is part of a species called caecilians, a group of limbless amphibians. The Atretochoana was originally discovered in the late 1800s by Sir Graham Hales during an expedition in the Brazilian rainforest. His specimens went to the Vienna Museum. The amphibians were re-discovered by engineers working on a hydroelectric dam in Brazil in 2011.

At that point, those six creatures became internet famous. But it had taken until 1968 for these amphibians to be properly noted in a paper published in The Caecilians of the World. After more analysis, they finally earned their own genus, the Atretochoana, in 1996. Because these creatures are so rare, researchers know relatively little about them, even today. [1]

Unlike other caecilians, Atretochoanas have broad and flare heads, sealed nostrils, and enlarged mouths. They seem to have poor vision and rely on smell to hunt. They also notably lack lungs, instead using capillaries in the skin to allow gases to pass through their bodies. That's not their only curious feature. Since they are aquatic, they also have dorsal fins.

Their predators include birds. Researchers believe Atretochoanas live in fast-flowing water, namely the Amazon River and its largest tributary, the Madeira River. As of now, people have not seen the "man-aconda" anywhere else on Earth. So scientists theorize that they eat worms, small fish, and other aquatic species, but they have yet to confirm these ideas.
 
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