Parental investment by skin feeding in a caecilian amphibian

Alexander Kupfer, Hendrik Müller, Marta M. Antoniazzi, Carlos Jared, Hartmut Greven, Ronald A. Nussbaum and Mark Wilkinson ()
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Alexander Kupfer: The Natural History Museum
Hendrik Müller: The Natural History Museum
Marta M. Antoniazzi: Instituto Butantan
Carlos Jared: Instituto Butantan
Hartmut Greven: Institut für Zoomorphologie und Zellbiologie der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätstrasse
Ronald A. Nussbaum: University of Michigan
Mark Wilkinson: The Natural History Museum

Nature, 2006, vol. 440, issue 7086, 926-929

Abstract: Yummy mummy A highly unusual form of parental care has been identified in a mysterious group of tropical vertebrates. In the oviparous amphibian Boulengerula taitanus, the young use specialized teeth to peel and eat the outer layer of their mother's modified skin, thereby ensuring a good start in life. This bizarre behaviour can be seen as an evolutionary link paving the way for fetal feeding on the oviduct lining of related viviparous amphibians. The movies, in the Supplementary Information on http://www.nature.com , are pretty gory.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04403

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