‘Very unusual’ worm-like creature discovered in rainforest

Scientists have discovered a new species of jungle critter in Ecuador that sports a “very unusual” head, per a new study in the peer-reviewed journal Salamandra.

Dubbed caecilia truncata or the truncated caecilian, the 19-inch, pale-gray critter is a type of elusive, legless amphibian that lives underground in South American rainforests.

The critter’s head (pictured) was described as having “large,” “backward curved” teeth and small eyes with a blunt snout — from which it takes its name. Mark Oliver Rödel

Scientists happened across the subterranean slimeball during excursions to Ecuador’s jungly Esmeraldas Province between 2009 and 2024. Mark Oliver Rödel

Caecilians are legless amphibians with a similar appearance to a worm or a snake. Mark Oliver Rödel

Caecilians look similar to earthworms, which they ironically feast on using their rows of needle-like teeth, per study co-author Santiago Ron, the Miami Herald reported.

Scientists happened across the subterranean slimeballs during excursions to Ecuador’s jungly Esmeraldas Province between 2009 and 2024.

The expeditions were inspired by a specimen study that co-author Thalia Arroba-López found in a museum archive as part of her biology degree years back.

When scientists stumbled on similar specimens — which they discovered at five different sites — during the previous surveys, they realized that they’d discovered an entirely new species.

Most of the specimens were found at night, and a few were observed “moving on the muddy ground” of a trail “during very heavy rain.”

Caecilia truncata was specifically identified by its DNA, size and physical traits, including its “robust” body, patternless gray coloring and, perhaps most notably, its oddball noggin.

The critter’s head was described as having “large,” “backward curved” teeth and small eyes with a blunt snout — from which it takes its name.

That wasn’t the only new species of caecilian the team discovered either — they also found another species they dubbed Tesoro’s Caecilian.