Definitions for caecilian
siˈsɪl i əncae·cil·ian

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. caecilian, blindwormadjective

   any of the small slender limbless burrowing wormlike amphibians of the order Gymnophiona; inhabit moist soil in tropical regions

2. caecilianadjective

   of or relating to or belonging to the family Caeciliidae

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. caeciliannoun

   A group of burrowing amphibians (order Gymnophiona or Apoda) that resemble earthworms or snakes.

2. Etymology: From caecus.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Caecilian

   Caecilians (; New Latin for 'blind ones') are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians among the least familiar amphibians. Modern caecilians live in the tropics of South and Central America, Africa, and southern Asia. Caecilians feed on small subterranean creatures such as earthworms. The body is cylindrical and often darkly coloured, and the skull is bullet-shaped and strongly built. Caecilian heads have several unique adaptations, including fused cranial and jaw bones, a two-part system of jaw muscles, and a chemosensory tentacle in front of the eye. The skin is slimy and bears ringlike markings or grooves, which may contain tiny scales. Modern caecilians are grouped as a clade, Apoda , one of three living amphibian groups alongside Anura (frogs) and Urodela (salamanders). Apoda is a crown group, encompassing modern, entirely limbless caecilians. There are more than 200 living species of caecilian distributed across 10 families. The caecilian total group is an order known as Gymnophiona , which includes Apoda as well as a few extinct stem-group caecilians (amphibians related to modern caecilians but evolving prior to the crown group). Gymnophiona as a name derives from the Greek words γυμνος (gymnos, naked) and οφις (ophis, snake), as the caecilians were originally thought to be related to snakes. The study of caecilian evolution is complicated by their poor fossil record and specialized anatomy. Genetic evidence and some anatomical details (such as pedicellate teeth) support the idea that frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (collectively known as lissamphibians) are each others' closest relatives. Frogs and salamanders show many similarities to dissorophoids, a group of extinct amphibians in the order Temnospondyli. Caecilians are more controversial; many studies extend dissorophoid ancestry to caecilians. Some studies have instead argued that caecilians descend from extinct lepospondyl or stereospondyl amphibians, contradicting evidence for lissamphibian monophyly (common ancestry). Rare fossils of early gymnophionans such as Eocaecilia and Funcusvermis have helped to test the various conflicting hypotheses for the relationships between caecilians and other living and extinct amphibians.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Caeciliannoun

   a limbless amphibian belonging to the order Caeciliae or Ophimorpha. See Ophiomorpha

2. Etymology: [L. caecus blind. So named from the supposed blindness of the species, the eyes being very minute.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Caecilian

   The caecilians are an order of amphibians that superficially resemble earthworms or snakes. They mostly live hidden in the ground, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. All extant caecilians and their closest fossil relatives are grouped as the clade Apoda. They are mostly distributed in the tropics of South and Central America, Africa, and South Asia. The diets of caecilians are not well known.

How to pronounce caecilian?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

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   Mark

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   Daniel

   British

   Libby

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   Mia

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   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

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   Neerja

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   Zira

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   Oliver

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   Wendy

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   Fred

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   Tessa

   South African

How to say caecilian in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of caecilian in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of caecilian in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=caecilian
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Caecilian
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caecilian
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caecilian
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=caecilian