Britannica Sources used in this answer

Where do caecilians live?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

banded fire salamander (Salamandra terrestris) — amphibian Banded fire salamander (*Salamandra terrestris*).

Caecilians are limbless, wormlike amphibians that primarily inhabit humid tropical regions across the globe.1

Geographic Distribution

They are found in tropical areas throughout the Americas, Africa, and mainland Asia. Additionally, they inhabit the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Seychelles. Notably, they are absent from Madagascar and New Guinea, and they do not inhabit other islands in the Indian Ocean besides the Seychelles.2

Habitat and Lifestyle

Most caecilians lead a subterranean existence, living underground in burrows where they move through soil using concertina locomotion. While the majority are terrestrial, a few species are aquatic. Terrestrial species typically hunt for earthworms and other soft-bodied prey within their burrows or on the surface, while aquatic species, such as the typhlonectids, hunt for fishes and other invertebrates in the water.314