''Ichthyophis khumhzi'', the Khumhzi striped ichthyophis, is a species of caecilian found in India. It has narrow and irregular lateral yellow stripes. It can attain lengths larger than . Its head is V-shaped while short; the animal shows scales as far anterior as its collars. The species is named after Khumhzi village, where the specimens were first collected.

Description

This species counts with 127

vertebra The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...

e. The head, nuchal region and trunk are dorsoventrally compressed, with its body's maximal girth being near the midbody. Its tail is not upturned towards the tip. The animal's head is short, with a length of about . Its eyes are equidistant from the lip and the top of the head, and are surrounded by a narrow whitish ring; its eye diameter approximates 0.6 mm, about the same as its nares', which are slightly anterior to level of the anterior margin of its mouth. Its teeth are slender and recurved, while its tongue is strongly plicate posteriorly. Its

choanae The choanae (singular choana), posterior nasal apertures or internal nostrils are two openings found at the back of the nasal passage between the nasal cavity and the throat in tetrapods, including humans and other mammals (as well as crocodilia ...

are very narrow, the distance between them being five or six times their greatest width. Denticulations present around its vent are poorly defined. While in preservation, the animal is of a pale lavender grey colour, with browner patches where

stratum corneum The stratum corneum (Latin for 'horny layer') is the outermost layer of the epidermis. The human stratum corneum comprises several levels of flattened corneocytes that are divided into two layers: the ''stratum disjunctum'' and ''stratum compact ...

is absent. Lateral stripes extending until about the fifth or sixth last annuli, broaden slightly. Narrow and pale lines are strongly marked along the margins of its lower jaw. In life, its dorsum is a dark brownish grey, while the venter is reddish grey, and its narrow lateral stripes a dull-yellow.

Distribution

This species has only been observed in its type locality, near the river Agoh in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

and

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

, India.

Description

Distribution

References

Further reading