A new species of caeciliid caecilian (Amphibia: Gymnophiona), Gegeneophis seshachari, is described from the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. Known only from the type specimen, this distinctive species differs from all other Indian caeciliids in lacking secondary annuli, and in possessing an unsegmented terminal shield. A rediagnosis of Gegeneophis is presented, and the caeciliid fauna of India is briefly discussed.
Relative to the area encompassing, Kalakkad Wildlife Sanctuary harbours a rich lower vertebrate fauna. This is more true in respect of fishes and amphibians about which more information is available. Based on recent studies, 84 species belonging to the lower vertebrate groups are found here which comprise four endemic to the Sanctuary, 32 to the Western Ghats mostly its southern ranges and 41 to India. The species composition and some of the factors contributing to the species richness of the Sanctuary are discussed.
A new species of Indian nyctibatrachid frog, Nyctibatrachus sholai (Amphibia: Anura), is described based on a series of 6 specimens from the Eravikulam National Park, southern Western Ghats of the State Kerala, India. The new species is compared with all known congeners. It is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: skin with glandular corrugations with metallic green coloration; head wider than long; snout not projecting beyond mouth; irregular longitudinal corrugations on the dorsum and extending up to the dorsal surface of arms and thighs; faint supratympanic fold; a fold from posterior corner of eye to angle of jaw clearly defined; tympanum partially visible; webbing on toes ¼ th , except that on 3 rd toe reaching penultimate subarticular tubercle; tips of digits and toes flattened to form minute disks with dorsal longitudinal grooves; femoral gland present. The largest specimen in the type series has a snout-vent length of 22.1 mm. A key to the species of Nyctibatrachus is provided.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.