Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2003-11-13
Page range: 1–8
Abstract views: 40
PDF downloaded: 5

A new species of Gegeneophis Peters (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from Maharashtra, India

Zoological Survey of India, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata 700 016, India
Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK Address correspondence to: Dr David Gower, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK Address correspondence to: Dr David Gower, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
Amphibia caecilians herpetology Western Ghats South Asia systematics

Abstract

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.

References

  1. Alcock, A. (1904) Description and reflections upon a new species of apodous amphibian from India. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 14, 267–273.

    Beddome, R.H. (1870) Descriptions of new reptiles from the Madras Presidency. Madras Monthly Journal of Medicine and Science, 2, 169–176.

    Dutta, S.K. (2002) Book review: Gymnophiona (Amphibia) of India: A taxonomic study. Hamadryad, 27, 156–157

    Gray, J E. (1850) Catalogue of the Specimens of Amphibia in the Collection of the British Museum, Part II. Batrachia Gradientia. British Museum, London, 72 pp.

    Günther, A.C.L.G. (1875) Third report on collections of Indian reptiles obtained by the British Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1875, 567-577.

    Nussbaum, R.A. & Wilkinson, M. (1989) On the classification and phylogeny of caecilians (Amphibia; Gymnophiona) a critical review. Herpetological Monographs, 3, 1–42.

    Peters, W.C.H. (1880) Über die Eintheilung der Caecilien und insbesondere über die Gattungen Rhinatrema und Gymnopis. Monatsberichte der königlich-preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1879, 924–943.

    Pillai, R.S. & Ravichandran, M.S. (1999) Gymnophiona (Amphibia) of India. A taxonomic study. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Papers, 72, 1–117.

    Taylor, E.H. (1964) A new species of caecilian from India. Senckenbergiana biologica, 45, 227– 231.

    Taylor, E.H. (1968) Caecilians of the world: a taxonomic review. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence USA, i–xiv + 848 pp.