''Ichthyophis biangularis'', the angular caecilian or Metang caecilian, is a species of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

in the family

Ichthyophiidae The Ichthyophiidae are the family of Asiatic tailed caecilians or fish caecilians found in South and Southeast Asia as well as southernmost China. They are primitive caecilians, lacking many of the derived characters found in the other families ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

(

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

): it is only known from its type locality, Mount Matang in

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

, where the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

was collected in 1872 by

Alfred Hart Everett Alfred Hart Everett (11 October 1848 – 18 June 1898) was a British civil servant and administrator in Borneo as well as being a naturalist and natural history collector. Career Everett was born on Norfolk Island to British parents: George, the ...

. New specimens were collected from the type locality only in 2009. In addition, one larval sample was collected from the same region and identified as likely ''Ichthyophis biangularis'' using genetic methods.

Description

The

of ''Ichthyophis biangularis'' measures in total length, including long tail. The body is wide and blackish slate above and below with a yellow lateral line. The eye is dimly distinct, with a slightly lighter ring about it.

Habitat

This is a little known species. It is presumed to inhabit tropical moist forests.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1934727 biangularis Amphibians described in 1965 Amphibians of Malaysia Endemic fauna of Malaysia Endemic fauna of Borneo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians of Borneo