Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Articles
Published: 2004-11-25
Page range: 1–19
Abstract views: 74
PDF downloaded: 3

A new species of Indotyphlus Taylor (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from the Western Ghats, India

Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Dr Sálim Ali Chowk, S. B. S. Road, Mumbai 400 023, India
Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
Amphibia caecilians Gegeneophis herpetology Indotyphlus battersbyi South Asia systematics

Abstract

A new species of Indian caeciliid caecilian, Indotyphlus maharashtraensis (Amphibia: Gymnophiona), is described based on a series of 12 specimens from the northern Western Ghats of the State of Maharashtra. This species differs from the only other species in the genus, I. battersbyi, in having fewer primary annuli, many more primary annuli bearing secondary annular grooves, and in the presence of a modified subterminal region that has a depressed preanal strip extending anteriorly from around the vent. A key to the species of Indotyphlus is provided.

References

  1. Bhatta, G. K. (1997) Caecilian diversity of the Western Ghats: In search of the rare animals. Current Science, 73, 183–187.

    Bhatta, G. & Prasanth, P. (2004) Gegeneophis nadkarnii — a caecilian (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats. Current Science, 87, 388–392.

    Bhatta, G. & Srinivasa, R. (2004) A new species of Gegeneophis Peters (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from the surroundings of Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India. Zootaxa, 644, 1–8.

    Daniels, R.J.R. (1992) Geographical distribution patterns of amphibians in the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Biogeography, 19, 521–529.

    Dunn, E.R. (1942) The American caecilians. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard, 91, 339–540.

    Exbrayat, J.-M. (2000) Les Gymnophiones, ces curieux Amphibiens. Boubée, Paris, 443 pp.

    Giri, V., Wilkinson, M. & Gower, D. J. (2003) A new species of Gegeneophis Peters (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from southern Maharashtra, India, with a key to the species of the genus. Zootaxa, 351, 1–10.

    Gower, D.J. & Wilkinson, M. (2002) Phallus morphology in caecilians and its systematic utility. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, Zoology Series, 68, 143–154.

    Gower, D.J., Bhatta, G., Giri, V., Oommen, O.V., Ravichandran, M.S. & Wilkinson, M. (2004) Biodiversity in the Western Ghats: the discovery of new species of caecilian amphibians. Current Science, 87, 739–740.

    Kupfer, A., Kramer, A. & Himstedt, W. (2004) Sex-related growth patterns in a caecilian amphibian (genus Ichthyophis): evidence from laboratory data. Journal of Zoology, London, 262, 173–178.

    McCann, C. (1927) Occurrence of the worm-like batrachian Ichthyophis monochrous, Bouleng., at Khandala, Poona District. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 31, 1039.

    Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., da Fonseca, G.A. B. & Kent, J. (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature, 403, 853–858.

    Nussbaum, R.A. (1977) Rhinatrematidae: A new family of caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona). Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, 682-1-30.

    Nussbaum, R.A. & Wilkinson, M. (1989) On the classification and phylogeny of caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona), a critical review. Herpetological Monographs, 3, 1–42.

    Pillai, R.S. & Ravichandran, M.S. (1999) Gymnophiona (Amphibia) of India. A taxonomic study. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Papers, 72, 1– 117.

    Ravichandran, M.S. (2004) An overview of the biodiversity of Indian caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona). Hamadryad, 28, 98–104.

    Ravichandran, M.S., Gower, D.J. & Wilkinson, M. (2003) A new species of Gegeneophis Peters (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from Maharashtra, India. Zootaxa, 350, 1–8.

    Taylor, E.H. (1960) A new caecilian genus in India. University of Kansas Science Bulletin, 40, 31–36.

    Taylor, E.H. (1968) Caecilians of the world: a taxonomic review. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence USA, i–xiv + 848 pp.

    Taylor, E.H. (1970) On the status of the caecilian Indotyphlus battersbyi Taylor. University of Kansas Science Bulletin, 49, 337–344.

    Wake, M.H. (1980) Reproduction, growth, and population structure of the Central American caecilian Dermophis mexicanus. Herpetologica, 36, 244–256.

    Wake, M.H. & Nygren, K.M. (1987) Variation in scales in Dermophis mexicanus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona): Are scales of systematic utility? Fieldiana — Zoology, 36,1–8.

    Wilkinson, M. (1989) On the status of Nectocaecilia fasciata Taylor, with a discussion of the phylogeny of the Typhlonectidae (Amphibia: Gymnophiona). Herpetologica, 45, 23–36.