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Article: Offspring feed on yummy mummy skin.(caecilians)(Brief article)
- Article from:
- Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- September 8, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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TAITA, HILLS, Kenya -- What some mothers won't do for their children! An international team of scientists has discovered an African animal that lets her offspring eat her skin.
The animal is a type of amphibian called a caecilian. Caecilians look like worms or snakes because they don't have limbs.
The species of caecilian that the scientists observed is called Boulengerula taitanus and lives in the craggy hill country of southeastern Kenya. It feeds on termites and other insects and can grow 30 centimeters (12 inches) long.
The scientists observed that the skin of the female B. taitanus doubles in thickness and becomes richer in nutrients after ...