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Scientists rediscover caecilian amphibian after 30 years

Diversity: Ichthyophis longicephalus.

: The recent discovery of a subterranean snake-like amphibian species from the southern Western Ghats after more than 30 years has thrown fresh light on the diversity and distribution of caecilian amphibians, a little- known species.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists, including Ramachandran Kotharambath and Oommen V.Oommen from the University of Kerala, Mark Wilkinson from the Natural History Museum, London, Sanil George from the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram and Ronald A.Nussbaum and David J.Gower from the University of Michigan, has reported the discovery of Ichthyophis longicephalus in the latest issue of the Journal of Natural History.

The species had for long been known only from a poorly- preserved specimen collected from the Silent Valley forests in 1979. In 2009, the scientists from the University of Kerala took up an extensive fieldwork to rediscover the species. In 2010, the project was included in the ‘Search for the Lost Amphibians’ programme of the Amphibian Specialist Group of Conservation International.

After more than 255 man hours of digging at 11 locations in the Western Ghats, the group found seven new specimens in three new localities, indicating that the species survives beyond the Silent Valley Park.

During the course of the study, the team also identified two specimens of I. longicephalus in the collections of the University of Michigan, U.S. and the Natural History Museum, London. These were collected in 1990 from Thirunelli in Wayanad.

One of the damaged specimens collected during the survey is probably an undescribed species, according to the authors. They have stressed the need for more detailed studies before naming the species. The taxonomy studies and DNA sequencing of the specimens were done at RGCB, University of Michigan and the Natural history Museum, London.

Diverse fauna

The Indian sub-continent has a diverse caecilian amphibian fauna in the humid forests and adjoining altered habitats of the south west coast and the north east region. The Western Ghats region harbours 26 caecilian species, including five nominal species of striped Ichthyophis.

The caecilian amphibian population in the Western Ghats has remained poorly studied for basic natural history parameters such as abundance, distribution, reproductive mode and ecological tolerance. This paucity of basic information has kept the IUCN Red List status of the species at Data Deficient level. “The rediscovery of the I. longicephalus indicates that the species should be transferred from the Data Deficient category to the Least Concern category of the IUCN Red List”, says Mr. Ramachandran.

Highlighting the need for additional surveys to better determine the distribution of I. longicephalusbeyond its known habitat in Kerala, the paper says, “Conducting biodiversity research within protected areas can be challenging and difficult to organise but it is certainly required”.