''Indotyphlus maharashtraensis'' is a species of

caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ground and in stream substrates, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. Caecilians are mostly distributed in the tropics of ...

s described in 2004 by scientists of

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publi ...

and the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is only the second species of ''

Indotyphlus ''Indotyphlus'' is a small genus of caecilians in the family Grandisoniidae. As caecilians in general, they superficially resemble earthworms. The genus is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. They are sometimes known as Battersby's caecilian ...

'' known to science, and only known from its type locality near Humbarli village,

Satara District Satara district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːt̪aɾaː is a Districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of and a population of 3,003,741 of which 14.17% were urban (). Satara (city), ...

, in the Western Ghats of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Common names Humbarli caecilian, Maharashtra caecilian, and Konkan tail-less caecilian have been coined for it.

Description

The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

consists of 12 specimens, including three males measuring and seven females measuring in total length; two smaller specimens could not be reliably sexed. The mid-body width of the larger specimens is about . The body is subcylindrical, slightly dorsoventrally compressed. The eyes are visible through the skin and appear as small dark spots. The tentacles are short, globular, and closer to the eye than the nostril. There are 124–133 primary annuli. The body has mostly brownish dorsal ground colour, becoming more grey/lavender posteriorly and paler laterally and ventrally. Granular glands appear as white flecks scattered over much of the body; their alignment with the annular grooves makes the grooves conspicuous, more so posteriorly.

Habitat and conservation

The type series was collected from under rocks in open, grassy, shallow-soiled plateau at about

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. The specimens were collected during the monsoon season. How these caecilians spend the long dry season is unknown but might involve

aestivation Aestivation ( la, aestas (summer); also spelled estivation in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is characterized by inactivity and ...

. Threats to this still little known species are unknown. It is not known to occur in any protected area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q763728 Indotyphlidae Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Amphibians of India Fauna of Maharashtra Amphibians described in 2004