Weird skin-eating amphibians have no legs due to snake-like mutation

Worm-like amphibians often known as caecilians could have misplaced their legs due to the identical genetic tweaks that snakes have.

An evaluation of the amphibians’ genomes means that caecilians and snakes – separated by tons of of thousands and thousands of years of evolution – converged on the identical mutations when ditching their limbs. The findings present insights into the genetic underpinnings of the evolution of limblessness.

The 200-some species of caecilian are completely limbless, and stay secretive lives in tropical soils or waterways. They’ve small or nonexistent eyes and …