Uraeotyphlus oxyurus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Gymnophiona |
Clade: | Apoda |
Family: | Ichthyophiidae |
Genus: | Uraeotyphlus |
Species: | U. oxyurus |
Binomial name | |
Uraeotyphlus oxyurus | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Caecilia oxyuraDuméril and Bibron, 1841 |
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. [1] [2] It is endemic to the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, southern India. [2]
This species has a relatively thick body, a narrow head, and a short tail. It can grow to 300 mm (11.8 in) in total length, [3] [4] including the tail (up to 7.5 mm (0.3 in)). Its body is dark brown with a whitish tail tip. The chin and throat are light brown. Its eyes are very small but distinct and surrounded by a white ring. The tentacles are placed close to and below the nostrils, which are visible from above. [3]
Uraeotyphlus oxyurus is a fossorial species that is associated with humus-rich, loose, moist soil. It has been recorded from moist evergreen forest, agricultural land, and rural gardens at elevations up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. It is probably oviparous and has terrestrial eggs and aquatic larvae. [1]
Threats to this species are poorly understood. Potential threats include habitat destruction, although it appears to be adaptable. Also the use of agrochemicals, changes in soil chemistry, and collection of humus by local people might be threats. Uraeotyphlus oxyurus possibly occurs in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. [1]
The Ichthyophiidae are the family of Asiatic tailed caecilians or fish caecilians found in South and Southeast Asia as well as southernmost China.
The Wynad day gecko is a species of gecko. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in Kerala, India, and only known from two locations, Wayanad and Silent Valley National Park.
Micrixalus saxicola is a species of frog in the family Micrixalidae, found in forest streams in the Western Ghats of India.This frog has a brown colored dorsum and a white ventral side with irregular white specks on its dark brown throat and chest. Its smooth skin and cryptic coloration allow it to blend into its surroundings while resting or calling. The males of the species are territorial, and will use calling, foot tapping, and foot flagging to warn off competition. M. saxicolais is described by the IUCN as a vulnerable species due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and human interference.The frog also threatened by infection by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
Indirana leithii is a species of frog in the family Ranixalidae. It is endemic to the northern Western Ghats of India. As currently defined, its range is restricted to the states of Maharashtra and southern Gujarat; earlier records elsewhere refer to other species.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. It is known with several common names: Malabar tailed caecilian, Nilgiris caecilian, Malabar caecilian, and white-lipped caecilian.
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.
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.
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.
Ichthyophis dulitensis is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to Borneo and only known from near its type locality, Mount Dulit in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, after which it is named. Described by Edward Harrison Taylor in 1960, the holotype was collected by Charles Hose already in 1891. It is a poorly known species with uncertain taxonomic status. Common name Mount Dulit caecilian has been coined for it.
Ichthyophis sumatranus, also known as the Sumatra caecilian, is a species of amphibian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to Sumatra, Indonesia. It is known from western Sumatra, but many records lack precise location data and its exact range is poorly known.
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.
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.
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