caecilian

American  

[see-sil-ee-uhn] / siˈsɪl i ən /

noun

1. Also called blindworm. a legless, wormlike tropical amphibian of the order Gymnophiona (formerly Apoda), spending most of its life underground and usually almost blind.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of a caecilian.

caecilian British  

/ siːˈsɪlɪən /

noun

1. any tropical limbless cylindrical amphibian of the order Apoda (or Gymnophiona ), resembling earthworms and inhabiting moist soil

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Etymology

Origin of caecilian

1875–80; < Latin caecili ( a ) blindworm + -an

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caecilian

After 17 minutes of observation, the losing coral snake released its bite-hold on the caecilian.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2024

“It’s like they’re from another planet,” said Carlos Jared, a caecilian researcher at the Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, and an author of the study.

From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2024

Dating 220 million back to the Triassic period, Funcusvermis is the oldest type of caecilian ever discovered.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 26, 2023

The Cayenne caecilian, in this journalist's opinion, produced sounds a bit like exaggerated yet strangely half-hearted armpit farts, while the mata mata turtle almost sounded like a purring cat.

From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2022

These include one genus and species of caecilian, one genus, including three species of salamanders, and 14 genera and 32 species of anurans.

From A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico by William E. Duellman

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Related Words

• frog
• salamander
• toad

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