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| Carl Sagan's COSMOS is one of the most influential science programs ever made.
Q. Does the moon have a dark side?
A. The moon does have a far side which is impossible to see from the earth, but it doesn't mean that it's always dark. Each side of the moon is dark for no longer than 15 days at a time.
Q. Where does sound come from?
A. The air is always filled with sound waves. All things give off vibrations, but some have a low frequency which most cannot hear. The reason: it may take 3 minutes to make a single vibration. They may be caused by earthquakes and storms.
Did You Know?
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
Coke-a-Cola was originally green.
Rubberbands last longer when refrigerated.
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Congo Eel, aka Congo Snake, or the Amphiuma
by Laney Stanford
The diet of the amphimua consists of some spiders and snails, small snakes, insects, crayfish and smaller amphibians. If handled roughly, the amphiuma will become aggressive and provide the aggressor with a painful bite. Eggs are protected by the female coiling around them, but when they hatch the mother loses interest.
The amphiumas are common in the southeastern areas of the United States, providing scientists with a chance for research. The amphiumas are primitive amphibians and their cell structure and functions can be compared to fish and reptiles. One research study focused on the amount of water in the amphiuma's body, which is located in three compartments.
About 79% of amphiuma body weight is water with 22% existing as extracellular water. Researchers used these measurements to compare water weight of toads living on land, and the body water of freshwater fish to marine fish. Conserving water is a problem with both land and marine animals. Salt water has a tendency to pull water out of a body, and on land the water will evaporate into the dry air. Researchers discovered that the amphiuma and other freshwater animals do not have a problem with conserving water.
The amphiumas have a long, thin body, with short legs, and a black or dark brown coloring with small, light spots. The two-toed type will grow to a length of no more than two and a half feet, but three-toed types will grow to a length of forty inches. They are capable of movement on land, as well as water, by using a side-to-side motion. The amphiuma have three pairs of gills. The young larvae will swim by paddling their legs, and begin to turn into adults when they reach about three inches in length. The young discard the external gills, which will be replaced by lungs, but keeping one pair of gill slits.
The names given to the amphiuma include, ditch eel, lamper eel, blind eel, Congo eel, and Congo snake. They received the name Congo eel during the days of African slave trade, when it was believed that the amphiuma came from Africa. The early slaves in Florida believed it to be poisonous and called it the Congo snake.
Amphiuma spend most of their time hiding in underwater burrows and taking in air from the surface by stretching their heads. It is quite intimitated and will leave with the slightest feel of vibrations. The only times they have been known to come out of the water completely was to lay eggs, or after a heavy rainfall. The amphiumas may live to be quite old.
From Virginia to Florida, the two-toed type will be found in swamps, drainage ditches, and streams. It is also known to be in Louisiana. The areas of Alabama to Texas, and from the Mississippi River states to Missouri, are the habitats of the three-toed amphiuma.
Eating is done at night when the temperature is above 65 to 70 degrees F, or 17 to 21 degrees Centigrade. The diet consists of some spiders and snails, small snakes, insects, crayfish and the smaller amphibians. If handled roughly, the amphiuma will become aggressive and provide the aggressor with a painful bite. There have been reports that they will coil their bodies around their victims like a snake.
Courting relationships are unknown, but in July when the adults arrive on the scene with scratches on their bodies, it is thought to be a sign of recent courtships. The amphimua lay their eggs under logs on land, or under stones in the swamps between the months of May and October. The eggs resemble those of frogs, but are laid in strings. The two-toed may lay as many as fifty and the three-toed may lay 150, with each egg about one-third of an inch wide. Eggs are protected by the female coiling around them, but when they hatch the mother loses interest. It is believed the only reason the mother coils herself around the eggs is to prevent them from drying out.
Sources:
1. Burton, Dr. Maurice & Robert. The International Wildlife Encyclopedia Marshall Cavendish Corporation: NY 1969
2. Editors. The World Book Encyclopedia. World Book-Childcraft International, Inc: Chicago. 1990
Further Study:
Georgia Wildlife Web Site
Data, photos, and conservation specifics of the amphiuma in Georgia.
Greater siren, Lesser siren, and Amphiuma
Florida's SPARC
Downloadable fact sheet and photos of trips by Student Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.
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