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Published online 12 April 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news060410-7
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Amphibian 'worms' feed young their own flesh
Baby caecilians scrape the fatty skin from their mum's back.
How far would you go to feed your kids? Mothers of some worm-like amphibians called caecilians literally give a piece of themselves, by allowing their young to eat their flesh.
The mothers of Boulengerula taitanus create a nutrient-rich fatty outer layer of skin after laying their eggs.
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