Boulengerula taitana is a species of caecilian

Caecilian

The caecilians are an order of amphibians that superficially resemble earthworms or snakes. They mostly live hidden in the ground, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. All extant caecilians and their closest fossil relatives are grouped as the clade Apoda. They are mostly...

 from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

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Distribution

Boulengerula taitana is endemic to the Taita Hills region of southeast Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

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Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s are subtropical or tropical moist montane

Montane

In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...

s, plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

s, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest.
It is quite common throughout its range, but is threatened by habitat loss.

Reproduction

Boulengerula taitana is an egg-laying amphibian. Many people think that they are worms, but they are actually amphibians. Because young specimens do not have the same tooth structure as adults, Boulengerula taitana has developed a strange habit. Once the young have hatched, the mother develops a thick, nutritious skin which the young eat. This does not appear to harm the adult.

Recently a filmcrew from BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

captured this event on film.

External links

• A BBC crew captures the youngs eating of the mothers skin on film.
• New Scientist article on Boulengerula taitanus
  • Video of Boulengerula behaviour
  • BBC footage of young caecilians feeding on their mother
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7531055.stm