Tailless Caecilians: Caeciliidae

Tailless caecilians live in Central and South America; the eastern and western parts of Africa, but not the Sahara; the Seychelles; India; Sri Lanka; the Philippines; and the region that extends from southern China through the Malay Peninsula.

Tailless caecilians help to control damaging insects, such as termites. Because they actively burrow, rather than following root channels or other ready-made holes in the ground, tailless caecilians aid in turning the soil and maintaining good soil condition. In some parts of the world, people think caecilians are nasty, dangerous animals. In other places, however, people eat them. Some people keep tailless caecilians as pets in aquariums.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists one species of tailless caecilians as Endangered and one species as Vulnerable. Endangered means facing very high risk of extinction in the wild. Vulnerable means facing high risk of extinction in the wild. Changes in land use are restricting the geographic ranges of tailless caecilians, and some populations get a fungus disease.