Limbless amphibian
species found
By Sivaramakrishnan Parameswaran
BBC Tamil Service
A UK-Indian team of scientists have announced the discovery
of a new species of limbless amphibian.The animal was identified by accident in
the Western Ghats area in the state of Kerala, South India. The specimens were
found inside moist soil after digging the shrub-covered bank of a mountain
stream. The creature - about 168mm in length and pink in colour - belongs to an
enigmatic, limbless group of amphibians known as the caecilians. Ramachandran
Kotharambath, lead author of the report, told the BBC Tamil Service that the
animal was identified as a new species following extensive comparisons with
other, similar examples from this amphibian group.According to the researchers,
specimens of the novel caecilian - named Gegeneophis primus - were collected
during field works in two consecutive monsoons, first in October 2010 and then
in August 2011.They were discovered at a valley on a plantation in the Wynad
district of Kerala.
Read rest see pics here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17827350
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