So-called ‘penis snakes’ from South America have now come to Florida

A strange, legless amphibian that some call a “penis snake” has made its way to South Florida.

Formally called a caecilian, the creatures are native to Colombia and Venezuela, but several have been pulled from the Tamiami Canal near the Miami International Airport.

They range in size from a few inches to five feet long and have extremely poor eyesight, but have a pair of sensory tentacles between the eyes and nostril that help the creature detect its food, which it eats with dozens of needle-like teeth.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the animals are harmless.

They consume worms and termites but have been known to catch small snakes, frogs, and lizards.

Florida Museum’s top herpetology collection manager said in a statement, “Very little is known about these animals in the wild, but there’s nothing particularly dangerous about them, and they don’t appear to be serious predators. They’ll probably eat small animals and get eaten by larger ones. This could be just another non-native species in the South Florida mix.”