Rubber eel
Typhlonectes natans (Fischer in Peters, 1880)
The rubber eel (Typhlonectes natans) is a species in the family Typhlonectidae, order Gymnophiona. Recorded adults weigh about 600 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the rubber eel
- Weight
- 600 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 61.5 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 7 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the rubber eel live?
Not recorded
What is the rubber eel?
Typhlonectes natans, called the rubber eel or Rio Cauca caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Typhlonectidae found in Colombia, Venezuela, and possibly Trinidad and Tobago.
Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and rivers. T. natans is commonly kept as an aquarium pet, and is sometimes sold as a "fish" in aquarium stores.
A specimen of T. natans was found in October 2019 in Miami-Dade County, Florida, making it the first caecilian to be collected in North America. Subsequently many more specimens were collected in the same area at different life stages and with evidence of breeding, suggesting the species may become established.
They grow to 45 to 55 centimetres (18 to 22 in) in length. They are dark grey to black in color. While T. natans can and occasionally does breathe air at the surface, most of its respiration takes place through its skin.
The species is ovoviviparous, giving birth to young in water. The gestation period lasts about 220 days. Three to seven live, fully developed young are born, which after only one year reach almost half the size of an adult (25 centimetres (10 in)).
From the Wikipedia article “Typhlonectes natans” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Typhlonectes_natans&oldid=1383723008), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the rubber eel endangered?
The rubber eel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the rubber eel classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAmphibia
- orderGymnophiona
- familyTyphlonectidae
- genusTyphlonectes
- SpeciesTyphlonectes natans (Fischer in Peters, 1880)
Synonyms Caecilia natans, Chthonerpeton haydee, Nectocaecilia cooperi, Nectocaecilia haydee, Pseudotyphlonectes natans, Thyphlonectes compressicauda venezuelense, Thyphlonectes natans, Typhlonectes compressicauda natans, Typhlonectes venezuelensis, Typhlonectes venezuelensis
Other names and names in other languages (10)
- Rio Cauca caecilianEnglish
- Rio Cauca caecilianEnglish
- Zulia caecilianEnglish
- červorovec splývavýCzech
- Breitkopf-SchwimmwühleGerman
- Kolumbianische SchwimmwühleGerman
- Typhlonecte du Rio CaucaFrench
- Венесуэльская червягаRussian
- Плоскоголовая червягаRussian
- Широкоголовая червягаRussian
Relatives of the rubber eel
Other species in the same genus Typhlonectes.
Cayenne caecilian
Typhlonectes compressicauda
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the rubber eel?
An adult rubber eel weighs 600 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the rubber eel endangered?
The rubber eel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the rubber eel?
The rubber eel (Typhlonectes natans) belongs to the family Typhlonectidae in the order Gymnophiona.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits · CC BY 4.0 · v1
Oliveira, B.F., São-Pedro, V.A., Santos-Barrera, G., Penone, C. & Costa, G.C. (2017) AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits. Scientific Data 4: 170123. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.123. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.4644424.v5 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rubber eel (Typhlonectes natans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rubber-eel
“Rubber eel (Typhlonectes natans).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rubber-eel.
@misc{rubber_eel_2026,
title = {Rubber eel (Typhlonectes natans)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rubber-eel},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}