Which limbless amphibian shares a superficial form with snakes due to convergent evolution pressures?
Answer
Caecilian
The Caecilian is an amphibian group that has evolved a completely limbless, serpentine body plan, often leading to its confusion with earthworms or small snakes. The evolutionary history leading to the limblessness in caecilians is entirely separate from that of snakes, which belong to the reptile order Squamata. This parallel development of similar external forms in unrelated lineages, driven by similar environmental pressures such as burrowing life, is a classic biological example known as convergent evolution. This contrasts sharply with snakes, whose body plan reduction is rooted in a reptilian ancestry involving limb loss during their divergence from lizards.
#Videos
Worm Snakes | Evolution: The Animated Series | Video for kids
Related Questions
What specialized diet correlates with the worm snake's rigid skull and reduced, often single, lower jaw teeth?Which limbless amphibian shares a superficial form with snakes due to convergent evolution pressures?What is the molecular clock estimation for the origin of crown snakes, sometimes called "one blind grandpa"?How does the worm snake's rigid skull contrast with the typical skull structure of many other modern snakes?What initial environmental existence is suggested by the prevailing hypothesis for snake evolution leading to limb reduction?Which ancient fossil snake species provided evidence of retained, albeit small, hind limbs in early snake forms?What physical adaptation allows the worm snake to push through soil with surprising efficiency during its fossorial activity?Why is the *Giant Slow Worm* structurally distinct from the lineage leading to true snakes like the worm snake?Does the refinement that created the modern worm snake specialize before or after the main radiation of crown snakes?Besides possessing a small diameter and reduced eye size, what general ancestral trait do worm snakes share with other snakes despite their fossorial specialization?If worm snakes belong to a lineage that split off very early, what might their fossorial morphology represent instead of recent specialization?