Gamboa worm salamander facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gamboa worm salamander |
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The Gamboa worm salamander (scientific name: Oedipina complex) is a special kind of lungless salamander. It lives in humid, warm forests in parts of Central and South America. You can find it from Costa Rica down to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador.
This salamander got its scientific name from Emmett Reid Dunn in 1924. It's known for being quite small and living mostly on the ground.
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About the Gamboa Worm Salamander
What It Looks Like
The Gamboa worm salamander is a small creature. Its body, from its nose to where its tail starts, is about 4.5 centimeters (about 1.8 inches) long. When you include its tail, it can be up to 12 centimeters (about 4.7 inches) long in total.
If this salamander feels scared or in danger, it has a clever trick. It might pretend to be dead! This can confuse animals that want to eat it, giving the salamander a chance to escape.
Where It Lives
This salamander loves places that are warm and wet. It lives in tropical lowland forests. You can often find it on the forest floor, hiding under logs or rocks. It also likes to be on bushy plants.
Sometimes, you might spot it at the edges of a forest. However, it needs healthy, natural areas to survive. It cannot live in places where the forest has been badly damaged or removed.
What Threatens It
One of the biggest dangers to the Gamboa worm salamander is deforestation. This means when forests are cut down or cleared away. When their homes are destroyed, these salamanders lose the places they need to live and find food. This makes it harder for them to survive.
See also
In Spanish: Oedipina complex para niños
