Imagine being the guy who found this at the bottom of a lake.

Last year, the Madeira River in Rondonia, Brazil was drained for a hydroelectric dam. At the very bottom, were six of these creatures, writhing about looking like penises, except that they’re all about 30 inches long. Now, biologists have confirmed that they are Atretochoana eiselti, are extremely rare.

If you really care, the following is for those who enjoy the nerdery.

loading...

This particular snake was found last November, but the discovery was only made public after biologists confirmed the genus. Caecilians are limbless amphibians with rings like those of the earthworm. The A. eiselti is the largest tetrapod without lungs, breathing through its skin instead. It has fleshy dorsal fins on its back, and is thought to live in fast-flowing water.

It is classified as “Data Deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature “in view of continuing uncertainties as to its extent of occurrence, status and ecological requirements.” There are only two preserved specimens of the species, and that is all the biologists had to work with. The only other reported sighting was in June 2011 near near Belém, Brazil, and never before.

But of course, you’re probably not here to find out what we know of this enigmatic creature (which is almost nothing anyway). You’re here for visual herpetology.

More From Highway 98.9