Uraeotyphlus malabaricus

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Uraeotyphlus malabaricus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Gymnophiona
Clade: Apoda
Family: Ichthyophiidae
Genus: Uraeotyphlus
Species:
U. malabaricus
Binomial name
Uraeotyphlus malabaricus
(Beddome, 1870)
Synonyms [2]

Cecilia malabaricaBeddome, 1870

Uraeotyphlus malabaricus is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India and is known from its type locality, "Malabar" in Kerala, and from the Nilgiri mountains in Tamil Nadu. [2] It is known with several common names: Malabar tailed caecilian, Nilgiris caecilian, Malabar caecilian, and white-lipped caecilian. [2] [3]

Contents

Description

Adult measure 145–234 mm (5.7–9.2 in) including the 3–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) tail. The body is short and stout, violet-coloured dorsally and lighter ventrally. The eyes are distinct and surrounded by a light ring. The tentacles are placed ventrally, close to the lip. Light-coloured areas are present around the nostrils, snout tip, and tentacles. The upper lips and lower jaw are also of a light cream colour. There is a light spot present near vent, and the tip of the tail is whitish. [4]

Habitat and conservation

Uraeotyphlus malabaricus has been collected in evergreen tropical forest (600–1,200 m (2,000–3,900 ft) above sea level), but its ecology is generally poorly known. Presumably, the adults are fossorial. It is probably an oviparous species laying terrestrial eggs and having aquatic larvae. [1]

Threats to this species are not known. It occurs in the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Uraeotyphlus</i>

Uraeotyphlus is a genus of caecilians in the family Ichthyophiidae. There are seven species in this genus, all of which are endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Previously, the genus has also been placed in its own monotypic family Uraeotyphlidae.

<i>Trimeresurus malabaricus</i>

Trimeresurus malabaricus, commonly known as Malabar pit viper, Malabar rock pit viper, or rock viper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Lycodon travancoricus</i>

Lycodon travancoricus, commonly known as the Travancore wolf snake, is a species of colubrid snake endemic to southwestern India.

<i>Ichthyophis beddomei</i>

Ichthyophis beddomei is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. This species is distributed widely in the Western Ghats in southern India. The nominal species might be a composite of several cryptic species. It is also known as the yellow-striped caecilian, Beddome's caecilian, or Nilgherries caecilian.

Bombay caecilian

The Bombay caecilian is an amphibian found in India. This rather large species is found in the northern Western Ghats. The eyes are distinct and surrounded by a light ring. The tentacle is placed closer to the lip than the eye. A dark brown or greyish-brown species, it has no lateral stripes.

<i>Ichthyophis longicephalus</i> species of amphibian

Ichthyophis longicephalus, the long-headed caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. The body is dark violet-brown, and lighter ventrally. A yellow lateral stripe starts at the neck and reaches the tip of the tail. Small, yellow patches are also found on the sides of the neck. A midventral line formed by the breaking of annulli ventrally extends from the neck to the vent. The long head has distinct eyes, and the tentacles are close to the lip and eye. The nostrils are at the tip of the snout and visible from above. The upper jaw overhangs the lower jaw. The species is found in Kerala.

<i>Ichthyophis tricolor</i>

Ichthyophis tricolor, the three-colored caecilian or Maddatorai caecilian, is an amphibian endemic to the Western Ghats, India. Its taxonomic status is unclear, including its relationship with Ichthyophis beddomei and the possibility of cryptic species.

<i>Uraeotyphlus interruptus</i>

Uraeotyphlus interruptus, also known as the Chengalam caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in southern India and is only known from its type locality, Chengalam village in Kerala.

<i>Uraeotyphlus menoni</i>

Uraeotyphlus menoni, also known as Menon's caecilian or Kerala caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the state of Kerala in the Western Ghats, India. The specific name menoni honours K. Ramunni Menon, collector of the holotype who later became the vice-chancellor of the University of Madras.

<i>Uraeotyphlus narayani</i> species of caecilian

Uraeotyphlus narayani, or Narayan's caecilian, is a species of caecilian endemic to the Western Ghats of India.

<i>Uraeotyphlus oxyurus</i>

Uraeotyphlus oxyurus, also known as the red caecilian, sharp-nosed caecilian, dark-brown caecilian, pale-throated caecilian, or harp-tailed caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, southern India.

Gegeneophis carnosus is a species of caecilian found in Karnataka and Kerala states, India. Its common name Periah Peak caecilian refers to its type locality, though it is also known under names blind caecilian and pink blind caecilian.

Gegeneophis ramaswamii, common names Tenmalai caecilian, Tenmalai blind caecilian, Ramaswami's caecilian, and forest caecilian is a species of caecilian. It is endemic to the southern portion of the Western Ghats, India, and is recorded from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The specific name ramaswamii honours L. S. Ramaswami, an Indian herpetologist.

Battersby's caecilian is a slender species of caecilian endemic to the Western Ghats, India. It has a flesh-coloured body, making it look very much like a large earthworm.

Indotyphlus maharashtraensis is a species of caecilians described in 2004 by scientists of Bombay Natural History Society and the Natural History Museum, London. It is only the second species of Indotyphlus known to science, and only known from its type locality near Humbarli village, Satara District, in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. Common names Humbarli caecilian, Maharashtra caecilian, and Konkan tail-less caecilian have been coined for it.

Caecilians of the Western Ghats

The Western Ghats in India are home to several species of caecilians (Gymnophiona). Caecilians are legless, burrowing amphibians which mostly live in leaf litter, loose soil, under rocks and decaying logs. They are also found in agricultural fields and only surface during the monsoon. The body is elongated and smooth with a slimy skin. The smaller caecilians superficially resemble earthworms while the larger ones are often mistaken for snakes. However, they can be told apart from earthworms by the presence of eyes, teeth and skeleton and from snakes by the lack of scales on skin. The eyes in caecilians are not well developed which is most likely to be because of their burrowing life style. They are considered as rare which is apparently due to their subterranean habits. To see them one has to search carefully and be at the right place and at the right time. There are few places where they are common, but, at least one species was reported to be abundant in agricultural fields in Kerala. The larger caecilians can resemble snakes, but their skin is smooth, not scaly.

Uraeotyphlus oommeni, sometimes known as the Oommen's caecilian, Oommen's Uraeotyphlus, or Bonnacord caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. Within Uraeotyphlus, it belongs to the U. malabaricus group showing no obvious external differentiation between primary and higher-order annuli. This species is endemic to the Western Ghats and only known from its type locality, Bonaccord, Thiruvananthapuram district, southern Kerala. Very little is known about this species known only from a single specimen collected from an imprecise location.

Gegeneophis is a genus of amphibians in the family Indotyphlidae. They are found in southern and northeastern India.

<i>Ichthyophis kodaguensis</i>

Ichthyophis kodaguensis, also known as the Kodagu striped Ichthyophis, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India. All confirmed records are from southern Karnataka state, although it is also reported from adjacent Kerala.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ravichandran, M.S.; Sushil Dutta; Gopalakrishna Bhatta; David Gower; Mark Wilkinson & Oommen V. Oommen (2004). "Uraeotyphlus malabaricus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2004: e.T59655A11976612. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T59655A11976612.en .
  2. 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Uraeotyphlus malabaricus (Beddome, 1870)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  3. "Uraeotyphlus malabaricus (Beddome, 1870)". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  4. Bhatta, Gopalakrishna (1998). "A field guide to the caecilians of the Western Ghats, India". Journal of Biosciences. 23 (1): 73–85. doi:10.1007/BF02728526.