Gegeneophis ramaswamii

Gegeneophis ramaswamii, common names Tenmalai caecilian,[1][2] Tenmalai blind caecilian,[3] Ramaswami's caecilian,[1][2] and forest caecilian[4][5] 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.[1][2] The specific name ramaswamii honours L. S. Ramaswami, an Indian herpetologist.[6]

Gegeneophis ramaswamii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Gymnophiona
Clade: Apoda
Family: Indotyphlidae
Genus: Gegeneophis
Species:
G. ramaswamii
Binomial name
Gegeneophis ramaswamii
Taylor, 1964

Description

Gegeneophis ramaswamii is a relatively large caecilian with a total body length of 182–340 mm (7.2–13.4 in). The colouration is greyish dorsally and light grey ventrally. The eyes are not visible. Its tentacles are placed just behind and below the level of the nostrils. The terminus of the body is wider than rest of the body.[7][4]

Habitat and conservation

Gegeneophis ramaswamii occurs in wet evergreen forests, plantations, low-intensity agricultural land, at forest fringes, and along streams and rivers at elevations below 900 m (3,000 ft). It is largely subterranean and lives in soil. The eggs are laid terrestrially. The development is direct, without a free-living larval stage.[1]

This species can be very abundant locally,[1] and is considered the most abundant species of caecilian within its range.[8] It adapts to agricultural areas is not believed to be facing any significant threats. It is known to occur in some protected areas.[1]

References
  1. David Gower; Mark Wilkinson; Oommen V. Oommen; John Measey; Sushil Dutta & Gopalakrishna Bhatta (2004). "Gegeneophis ramaswamii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T59553A11962740. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T59553A11962740.en.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Gegeneophis ramaswamii Taylor, 1964". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  3. "Tenmalai Blind Caecilian". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  4. "Gegeneophis ramaswamii Forest Caecilian". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2003. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  5. "Taxonomy - Gegeneophis ramaswamii (Forest caecilian)". UniProt. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  6. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
  7. 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.
  8. Oommen, O. V.; Measey, G. J.; Gower, D. J. & Wilkinson, M. (2000). "Distribution and abundance of the caecilian Gegeneophis ramaswamii (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) in southern Kerala". Current Science. 79: 1386–1389.
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