Caecilians of Lemuria

Where in most landmasses squamates thrive, on Lemuria they are only represented by geckoes (which boast an impressive diversity of 60 known species), two snakes, a monitor lizard and a few oplurids. Many niches are taken by their sphenodont relatives, whose fortunes have favoured them on this island, but the majority of squamate niches are instead taken by caecilians.

Caecilians in Lemuria are represented by two clades: Chikilidae and Ichthyophiidae. Having a presence in mainland Asia – which is speculated to be a result of India colliding with Asia – chikilids thrived in former Maldivia and ichthyophiids in former Marama. The former, finding themselves with few squamatan competitors, wasted no time expanding into niches taken by squamates elsewhere, while the latter found themselves in an environment with few competing fishes.

Thus, when the two landmasses collided and formed Lemuria, neither competed with one another: chikilids took the land, while ichthyophiids took the water.

While caecilians in other continents developed defenses against the venom of elapids, lemurian forms never had to encounter these snakes (apart from sea snakes on estuarine settings). Thus, they lack these defenses, and a number of species are endangered as cobras have been introduced to Lemuria.

Chikilidae

Phytophis fatamara or Palavify, a herbivorous chikilid demonstrating the long facial tentacles, large eyes and scale-derived spikes often present in non-subterranean species. It grazes slowly on the open pastures, eyes constantly watching and tentacles constantly feeling the texture and taste of vegetation. By Dave Garcia.

Represented in mainland Asia by only a single genus, here there are 70 known species and probably far more, occuring in all manner of environments from wetlands to montane meadows to even semi desert. Unlike snakes, caecilians cannot unhinge their jaws, but their flexible and robust skulls more than make up not just in terms of prey capture (many species are venomous like snakes too) but also in grazing: some chikilids are among the few herbivorous adult amphibians out there.

Some species took to life in the trees; while the eyes increased somewhat, it was the tentacles present on all caecilians that engorged the most, becoming full on analogous to a mammal’s vibrissae or a serpent’s tongue, allowing them to feel for prey branches away. Others took like to open spaces; some are burrowers, while others took the fish scales present within the caecilian skin to develop long and unique spikes, looking like massive catterpilars as they graze.

Due to the sheer diversity of this group – small species barely interact with humans, for instance – there is all manner of folklore regarding these impressive creatures, from symbols of longevity like snakes to garden pests like snails. Many are part of Lemurian cuisine, and indeed many species are threatened by overhunting as well as habitat loss, pollution and fungi that target amphibians.

Ichthyophiidae

Pisciserpens sammangali or Pitava, demonstrating the fusiform fish-like body of the more aquatic members of this group. It forms large schools that migrate between the Great Lakes and the Sammangal, and is often called the “Lemurian sardine”. By Dave Garcia.

Also Lemuria has fishes, they’re most represented by a few families shared with Madagascar. The dominant force in Lemurian freshwater habitats are ichthyophiid caecilians. Some are still semi-aquatic terrestrial burrowers in wetlands and tropical rainforests, but several clades have taken to the water, developing a caudal fin (similar to that of ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs and metriorhynchids) and an oval, fish-like body shape with a dorsal and anal fin (they do not have fins/flippers, like fish-like molluscs, and do just fine without them). Like most amphibians they breathe through their skin – the dorsal and anal fins partcularly well suited for this due to the increased surface area – but the more metabolically active species regularly surface for air. Unlike aquatic salamanders, they lose the larval gills for hydrodynamic efficiency.

The vast majority of the aquatic species occurs in the Great Lakes region, where 80 species are known, occupying all manner of niches from sardine like filter-feeders to durophagists feeding on hard clams and snails to macropredators competing with the local crocodiles. At least 40 species migrate to the Sammangal during the monsoon season, taking advantage of the sunken forest to graze on the underwater saplings or adult leaves or hunt the myriad of prey availiable.