Uraeotyphlus gansi, the Gansi caecilian, 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.
| Uraeotyphlus gansi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Gymnophiona |
| Clade: | Apoda |
| Family: | Ichthyophiidae |
| Genus: | Uraeotyphlus |
| Species: | U. gansi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Uraeotyphlus gansi | |
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
edit- ^ a b IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2011). "Uraeotyphlus gansi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T173194A6972778. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T173194A6972778.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ 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. S2CID 86196954.
- ^ "Limbless frog-relative species found". The Hindu. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2020.