Ichthyophis glutinosus

Features
By Hannah Duran

Geographic Range

Ichthyophis glutinosus has a very small geographic range; they are found within central to southern areas of Sri Lanka. Some of these areas include the Central, Western, Southern, Sabaragamuwa and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka. These parts of Sri Lanka consist of forests with dense amounts of decaying matter within the soil.

Habitat

Ichthyophis glutinosus prefers a forest habitat that consists of water-rich soil. This soil is extremely abundant in nutrients, consisting of decaying matter such as dead leaves and wood. They can also be found within or near freshwater wetlands and agricultural areas that have the correct consistency of soil. The larval stage of the species lives within freshwater areas while it is going through metamorphosis.

  • Aquatic Biomes
  • lakes and ponds
  • rivers and streams

Physical Description

Ichthyophis glutinosus has tubular shape that can length from around 13 to 29 centimeters and lacks limb structures. The body is a purple and brown color with a yellow line that runs laterally through both sides of the body. They also consist of folds that resemble worm segmentation, glands that secrete mucus, a pair of sensory tentacles located on the head and two larger bands located directly after the head. The head is a pointed and larger shape, with miniscule eyes, a front facing mouth and a pair of nostrils. Body mass and basal metabolic rate is currently not recorded for most species in the order Gymnophiona .

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • female larger

Development

Ichthyophis glutinosus starts as a translucent egg that hatches into a larval stage. The larval stage has more aquatic features, such as three pairs of lobed gills, tail fins and thinner skin, because they are developing in aquatic conditions. However, the gills are lost very fast within the developmental process. The larvae have a much more rounded head shape; they do not have a head that is specific to burrowing, with tentacles. If they are able to survive the larval stage after around a year, the larva develops into its final adult form. The adult does not possess any of the aquatic characteristics. During this time the adult develops two nuchal collars, folds and the yellow line. The body mass also increases during the final development stage.

Reproduction

Internal fertilization occurs for this species, however it is unknown what type of mating relationship is formed. The species is known to live alone, not in groups. Although it hasn't been recorded for this species specifically, Ichthyophis kohtaoensis from the same genus has been recorded to seasonally breed. The months that mating typically occur are from May to July.

There is a lack of research regarding the general behavior in reproduction within Ichthyophis glutinosus . The eggs are quickly laid after internal fertilization. 12-20 eggs are the average amount for a female's clutch. A species in the same genus, Ichthyophis kohtaoensis , tends to breed within the wet season; they were also recorded to reach sexual maturity around 3 years.

The eggs of Ichthyophis glutinosus are laid by a body of water that the female discovers. The eggs typically stick together, forming a large cluster. The female watches over the eggs after they are laid, refraining from eating and supplies nutrients for the eggs. The female expends a large amount of energy during this parental investment; this often results in the female becoming weaker.

Lifespan/Longevity

Lifespan has not been recorded specifically for Ichthyophis glutinosus . However, the Geotrypetes seraphini which is also a part of the order Gymnophiona has been recorded to live up to 4 years. A species that is in the same genus, Ichthyophis kohtaoensis , had multiple individuals that lived in captivity for at least 6 years; this species also reached sexual maturity in 3 years.

Behavior

Ichthyophis glutinosus is solitary and spends most of its lifespan in soil. The species is mainly active during the night. During this time, they create many large tunnels that connect with one another. They use their heads to dig and slither to move. Ichthyophis glutinosus are particular with the soil conditions they inhabit. If the soil does not meet their exact conditions it is deemed as unsuitable. This can be seen during the dry season; the species needs to bury very deep lengths in order to find soil that has enough water for their requirements.

Home Range

These animals may have a home range of roughly 200 sq. ft.

Communication and Perception

The Order Gymnophiona has been recorded to have underdeveloped eyes and ears. The eyes are more useful during the larval stage; in the adult form the eyes are small and have poor vision. There is no tympanic membrane within the ears of this order. The order that has had individuals recorded to produce sounds due to movements within the mouth. Within Ichthyophis glutinosus , a lateral line is found during the larval stage that is able to discover electrical motion within the environment. Ichthyophis glutinosus has tentacles to help them with sensory purposes.

Food Habits

Ichthyophis glutinosus diet consists of bloodworms during their larval stage into earthworms during their adult stage. They use their head as a tool to eat their prey in both stages, the young use their head to move fast for their while the adults use it for strength. In the adult stage, they pull their prey into their burrow while crushing and contorting it to make it easier to swallow. Their teeth are also capable of manipulating their prey to become easier to digest.

  • Animal Foods
  • terrestrial worms
  • aquatic or marine worms

Predation

Ichthyophis glutinosus are preyed on by types of birds and wild pigs. Cylindrophis ruffus , which is a type of snake, also preys upon species in the genus Ichthyophis by holding onto the front of the body first; The large size of genus Ichthyophis at times causes Cylindrophis ruffus to release. Due to the species being fossorial, they are able to avoid most predators. They also have toxins in the mucus that they produce which is a defense mechanism against predators. The large yellow stripe is an indicator of the species being toxic to predators.

Ecosystem Roles

Due to creating burrows and tunnels, Ichthyophis glutinosus makes the soil less compact. This creates more entry ways for water to be able to seep into the soil, otherwise known as soil aeration. The many tunnels that they create could lead to smaller animals occupying them for shelter and making use out of them.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Not much has been recorded on Ichthyophis glutinosus and their positive economic importance for humans. However, creating burrows does lead to more water being absorbed in the soil. With helping aerate the soil, Ichthyophis glutinosus could potentially help agricultural areas and crops within the area they are living in.

  • Positive Impacts
  • research and education

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There has been no severe negative economic impacts due to Ichthyophis glutinosus . The mucus that is secreted from the skin glands of the contains toxins which can be dangerous to eat, but not recorded to be fatal. The species has caused confusion within research in the past due to being a cryptic species; it looks very similar to other species within the family Ichthyophiidae that live within the Western Ghats of India.

Conservation Status

Ichthyophis glutinosus is only found within Sri Lanka, meaning that the species is endemic. The species is also known as threatened. An absence of research conducted on order Gymnophiona has resulted in a small amount of conservation efforts towards the order. The order Gymnophiona is not normally mentioned regarding Class Amphibia population declines due to the lack of knowledge on this order. The range of the species has been minimized due to much of the previous forest habitat within Sri Lanka being diminished.

AmphibiaWeb

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Hannah Duran (author), Texas State University, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

World Map

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

island endemic

animals that live only on an island or set of islands.

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

freshwater

mainly lives in water that is not salty.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

rainforest

rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.

swamp

a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.

bog

a wetland area rich in accumulated plant material and with acidic soils surrounding a body of open water. Bogs have a flora dominated by sedges, heaths, and sphagnum.

agricultural

living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.

cooperative breeder

helpers provide assistance in raising young that are not their own

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

internal fertilization

fertilization takes place within the female's body

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

female parental care

parental care is carried out by females

fossorial

Referring to a burrowing life-style or behavior, specialized for digging or burrowing.

nocturnal

active during the night

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

solitary

lives alone

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

electric

uses electric signals to communicate

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

vibrations

movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others

electric

uses electric signals to communicate

detritus

particles of organic material from dead and decomposing organisms. Detritus is the result of the activity of decomposers (organisms that decompose organic material).

stores or caches food

places a food item in a special place to be eaten later. Also called "hoarding"

aposematic

having coloration that serves a protective function for the animal, usually used to refer to animals with colors that warn predators of their toxicity. For example: animals with bright red or yellow coloration are often toxic or distasteful.

soil aeration

digs and breaks up soil so air and water can get in

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

ectothermic

animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

metamorphosis

A large change in the shape or structure of an animal that happens as the animal grows. In insects, "incomplete metamorphosis" is when young animals are similar to adults and change gradually into the adult form, and "complete metamorphosis" is when there is a profound change between larval and adult forms. Butterflies have complete metamorphosis, grasshoppers have incomplete metamorphosis.

References

Baitchman, E., T. Herman. 2014. Caudata (Urodela): tailed amphibians. Flowers zoo and wild animal medicine , 8: 13-20.

Bhatta, G. 1998. A field guide to the caecilians of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Biosciences , 23(1): 73-85.

Breckenridge, W., S. Nathanael, L. Pereira. 1987. Some aspects of the biology and development of Ichthyophis glutinosus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona). Journal of Zoology , 211(3): 437-449.

Gower, D., M. Bahir, Y. Mapatuna, R. Pethiyagoda, D. Raheem, M. Wilkinson. 2005. Molecular phylogenetics of Sri Lankan Ichthyophis (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Ichthyophiidae), with discovery of a cryptic species.. he Raffles Bulletin of Zoology , 12: 153-161.

Gower, D., M. Wilkinson. 2005. Conservation biology of caecilian amphibians. Conservation biology , 19(1): 45-55.

Gundappa, K., T. Balakrishna, K. Shakuntala. 1981. Ecology of Ichthyophis glutinosus (Linn.)(Apoda, Amphibia). Current Science , 50(11): 480-483.

IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, 2020. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T59669A16942262" (On-line). Accessed April 10, 2025 at https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T59618A156587157.en .

Jared, C., C. Navas, R. Toledo. 1999. An appreciation of the physiology and morphology of the Caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology , 123(4): 313-328.

Jing, L., B. Ao, L. Kakati, K. Semy. 2025. Temporal variations and the impact of regional climate on earthworm fauna in sub-tropical forest ecosystems. Global Ecology and Conservation , 58: e03442.

Kotharambath, R., S. Reston, L. Divya, M. Akbarsha, O. Oommen. 2013. Rare Animals of India . Bentham E Books: Bentham Science Publishers.

Kotharambath, R., M. Wilkinson, D. Gower. 2024. Striped Ichthyophis Fitzinger, 1826 (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Ichthyophiidae) from the Western Ghats of peninsular India in the collection of London’s Natural History Museum and their implications for taxonomy and distribution. Journal of Vertebrate Biology , 73(23073): 1-13.

Kupfer, A., D. Gower, W. Himstedt. 2003. Field observations on the predation of the caecilian amphibian, genus Ichthyophis (Fitzinger, 1826), by the red-tailed pipe snake Cylindrophis ruffus (Laurenti, 1768). Amphibia-Reptilia , 24(2): 212-215.

Kupfer, A., A. Kramer, W. Himstedt. 2004. Sex-related growth patterns in a caecilian amphibian (genus Ichthyophis): evidence from laboratory data. Journal of Zoology , 262(2): 173-178.

Kupfer, A., J. Nabhitabhata, W. Himstedt. 2005. Life history of amphibians in the seasonal tropics: habitat, community and population ecology of a caecilian (genus Ichthyophis). Journal of Zoology , 266(3): 237-247.

Kupfer, A., J. Nabhitabhata, W. Himstedt. 2004. Reproductive ecology of female caecilian amphibians (genus Ichthyophis): a baseline study. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 83(2): 207-217.

Nussbaum, R., G. Treisman. 1981. Cytotaxonomy of Ichthyophis glutinosus and I. kohtaoensis, Two Primitive Caecilians from Southeast Asia. Journal of Herpetology , 15(1): 109-113.

Pethiyagoda, R., K. Manamendra-Arachchi, M. Bahir, M. Meegaskumbura. 2006. Fauna of Sri Lanka . Sri Lanka: World Conservation Union (IUCN).

Sarasin, P. 1887. Ergebnisse naturwissenschaftlicher forschungen auf Ceylon: Bd. Zur Entwicklungsgeschichte und Anatomie der Ceylonesischen blindwühle Ichthyophis glutinosus . Columbia University: C.W. Kreidel.

Scholz, S., M. Orlik, L. Gonwouo, A. Kupfer. 2010. Demography and life history of a viviparous Central African caecilian amphibian. Journal of Zoology , 280(1): 17-24.

Seshachar, B. 1936. The Spermatogenesis of Ichthyophis glutinosus (Linn) Part I. The spermatogonia and their division. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung und mikroskopische Anatomie , 24: 662-706.

Wever, E., C. Gans. 1976. The caecilian ear: further observations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 73(10): 3744-3746.

To cite this page: Duran, H. 2025. "Ichthyophis glutinosus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed {%B %d, %Y} at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ichthyophis_glutinosus/

Last updated: 2025-17-01 / Generated: 2025-10-03 01:11

Privacy Consent Preference

This website uses some essential cookies to make it work. We’d like to set additional analytics cookies to analyze site usage. We won’t set these additional cookies unless you accept them.