156 ■ TAILED AMPHIBIANS 



THE ORDER OF WORM-LIKE AMPHIBIANS 



Apoda 



Last and lowest in the Class Amphibia, we find a group of 

 creatures that externally seem more like worms than verte- 

 brates. It is interesting to know that there are true verte- 

 brates so very worm-like that they have neither legs, feet, nor 

 fins. Some, however, have overlapping scales, like fishes. 



Collectively, these animals are called Caecilians (pro- 

 nounced se-sil'i-ans) . There are forty species, inhabiting the 

 lower half of Mexico, Central and South America, equatorial 

 Africa, India, Burma and northern Australasia, but not the 

 United States. They are of burrowing habits, and their skulls 

 exhibit a degree of solidity and strength quite in keeping with 

 the necessities of creatures which can burrow only with their 

 heads. Many of them are totally blind — by the conceal- 

 ment of their eyes under the skin or the maxillary bones. 

 (Gadow.) The exact relationships of the i\-poda are yet to be 

 determined conclusively. 



