Ringed caecilian, Siphonops annulatus |
Scientists believe they have found evidence that some amphibian ancestors of snakes could have evolved venom. What look suspiciously like venom glands have been found in the ringed caecilian, Siphonops annulatus. Caecilians are a group of legless amphibians that looks superficially like snakes and live mostly underground.
The discovery was made by Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana, of the Structural Biology Lab, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil while examining the mucous glands of the ringed caecilian. The Cell Press press release, quoted in Science Daily, explains: