If a snake, a worm, and an udon noodle could have an amphibious baby, it would probably look like a caecilian. Caecilians are little-known in Florida, but they have become an invasive species. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) last updated its data regarding this peculiar, non-native species on November 15.
Caecilians, which the Florida Museum of Natural History says is pronounced like “Sicilians”, were first observed in Florida back in 2019 when a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee officer reported the presence of one that measured 2 feet in length in the Tamiami Canal, or C-4 Canal.
This caecilian was removed from the wild and later died in captivity. The Florida Museum took its body for further study.
The museum says that caecilians are native to Venezuela and Columbia, so USGS officials believe that they were likely introduced to Florida after escaping or being released from an aquarium. There is currently no evidence to either confirm or disprove this theory.
While this species is known for being elusive, even general knowledge about its behavior and how it impacts and fits into the environment are yet to be thoroughly studied.
The USGS says that from what is known about this creature, they are entirely aquatic, mostly blind, able to breathe air but mostly respirate through their skin, and able to give birth to between two and 10 live young per litter depending on the size of the female.
The Florida Museum notes that they can grow between a few inches and 5 feet in length. Caecilians also exclusively live in freshwater and many types of caecilians like to burrow underground. In addition, they “have a pair of sensory tentacles located between their eyes and nostrils, structures that are unique to caecilians and may help them find food”.
Their dietary preferences are not fully understood, but “they have been observed eating fish entrails suggesting that they are both scavengers and predators”. In captivity, they “are often fed earthworms, crickets, beetle larvae, frozen fish, crustaceans, and commercially available amphibian pellet”.
For the time being, the status and future impact of this species is entirely unknown, as it is quite understudied. Even in the five or so years since caecilians were found in Florida, not very many have been seen in the wild.
In 2019, a total of two caecilians were observed across two expeditions. No research expeditions were conducted in 2020, possibly due to the global pandemic.
However, in 2021, a total of 78 were observed across three expeditions. Then, in 2022, a total of 41 were observed across three more expeditions.
All of the above studies except one were completed through the Florida Museum. The caecilians that had been found were removed from the wild and given to the museum’s herpetology collection.
For one of the expeditions in 2022, people from a different organization, iNaturalist, found 26 of the caecilians. These caecilians were not given to the Florida Museum. After that, from 2023 on, people from that same organization found the remaining caecilians noted by the USGS.
In 2023, over a dozen were observed across one expedition. The exact number of caecilians caught was not listed. In 2024, at least two more caecilians were spotted on two separate occasions.
To date, all of Florida’s caecilian sightings have occurred in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The USGS is also only aware of the species being present on the Southeast Coast of Florida and nowhere else in the United States.
Article by Ema Tibbetts