Uraeotyphlus gansi 2008
Abstract
A new species of Uraeotyphlus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Uraeotyphlidae) of the malabaricus group is described from a type series of 21 specimens from the Western Ghats of southernmost Tamil Nadu, peninsular India. Three additional specimens are referred to the species. The new species differs from other species of the malabaricus group in its combination of total number of annuli, length of the tail (as measured by number of post-anal annuli), and numbers of teeth. By virtue of its sample size and precise locality data, the new species represents the best-known member of the recently described but poorly-known malabaricus group of Uraeotyphlus. The malabaricus group likely includes additional unrecognized species, but increased sample sizes and better locality data are required to assist the interpretation of available material.
Key words: Caecilians; Herpetology; India; Systematics; Western Ghats
Gower, D. J., Rajendran, A., Nussbaum, R. A., and Wilkinson, M. 2008. A new species of Uraeotyphlus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Uraeotyphlidae) of the malabaricus group. Herpetologica, 64(2), 235-245. http://www.bmnh.org/PDFs/DG_08_Herpetologica.pdf
