Gansi caecilian
| Uraeotyphlus gansi | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Gymnophiona |
| Family: | Ichthyophiidae |
| Genus: | Uraeotyphlus |
| Species: | U. gansi |
| Binomial name | |
| Uraeotyphlus gansi Gower, Rajendran, Nussbaum & Wilkinson, 2008[2] | |
Uraeotyphlus gansi is a rare species of caecilian, endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It was discovered in the Kaakkaachi-Naalumukku area of the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.[1] U. gansi was named after Carl Gans (1923–2009), a renowned herpetologist from Texas.
According to Albert Rajendran, Research Department of Zoology, St. John’s College, Palayamkottai, Rajendran spotted the species, along with his collaborator David J. Gower of the Natural History Museum, London, and two other experts in caecilians. He came across this limbless amphibian in the Kaakkaachi-Naalumukku areas during his study of the burrowing uropeltid (shield-tailed) snakes of the Western Ghats.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2011). "Uraeotyphlus gansi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ Gower, D. J.; Rajendran, A.; Nussbaum, R. A.; Wilkinson, M. (2008). "A new species of Uraeotyphlus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Uraeotyphlidae) of the Malabaricus group". Herpetologica 64 (2): 235–245. doi:10.1655/07-075R1.1.
- ↑ "Limbless frog-relative species found", The Hindu, September 05, 2008