NEW CAECILIAN FROM KERALA
Class :Amphibia
Order :Gymnophiona
Family :Caeciliidae
Genus :Gegeneophis
Species :primus
A team of scientists from the University of Kerala; Central University, Kasaragod; and London's Natural History Museum, have reported the discovery of a new species of limbless amphibian (Caecilian) from the southern region of the Western Ghats in Kerala.
The new species has been named Gegeneophis primus. And the common name Malabar Cardamom Geg indicating the northern part of the State and the cardamom estate from where it was discovered.The species were collected from the Sugandhagiri Cardamom Estate neighbouring an evergreen forest at Vythiri in the northern district of Wayanad.
Gegeneophis primus belongs to the Indotyphlidae family comprising African, Seychellean and Indian varieties.It is the first new species of Gegeneophis reported from Kerala and the third Indotyphlid caecilian species after Gegeneophis carnosus, described by Beddome in 1870 and G. ramaswami by Taylor in 1964.since1964.
The specimens were found inside moist soil after digging the shrub-covered bank of a mountain stream.The creature - about 168mm in length and pink in colour - belongs to an enigmatic, limbless group of amphibians known as the caecilians.
The species, unlike other Gegeneophis, lacked scales and secondary annular grooves, as well as a well-developed terminal shield.The wider distribution, natural history and habitat preferences of the species are yet to be determined.
The research team included K. Ramachandran from the University of Kerala, Oommen V. Oommen from the Central University and David J. Gower and Mark Wilkinson from the Natural History Museum.The finding has been reported in the latest edition of Zootaxa, an international journal for zoological taxonomists.
Original Paper: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa
News Source: The Hindu, BBC Science and Environment
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