Uraeotyphlus oommeni

Uraeotyphlus oommeni, sometimes known as the Oommen's caecilian,[1][3] Oommen's Uraeotyphlus,[2] or Bonnacord caecilian,[4] is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae.[3][5] Within Uraeotyphlus, it belongs to the U. malabaricus group showing no obvious external differentiation between primary and higher-order annuli.[2] This species is endemic to the Western Ghats and only known from its type locality, Bonaccord, Thiruvananthapuram district, southern Kerala.[3] Very little is known about this species known only from a single specimen collected from an imprecise location.[1]

Uraeotyphlus oommeni

Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Gymnophiona
Clade: Apoda
Family: Ichthyophiidae
Genus: Uraeotyphlus
Species:
U. oommeni
Binomial name
Uraeotyphlus oommeni
Gower and Wilkinson, 2007[2]

Etymology

The specific name oommeni honours Oommen V. Oommen, professor of zoology at the University of Kerala.[2][6]

Description

The holotype is a mature female measuring 164 mm (6.5 in) in total length and 7 mm (0.3 in) wide at mid-body. There are 207 (left side) and 214 (right side) annuli, without clear external differentiation between primary and higher-order annuli. The body is strongly dorsoventrally compressed. The head is small and pointed. The eyes are clearly visible. The preserved specimen has lilac-brown anterior part of the body, becoming paler towards the head. The darker dorsal colouration grades through lighter brown to cream-tan ventrally.[2]

Habitat and conservation

The precise location where this species was collected on the Bonaccord estate in 1987 is unknown.[1][2] It is probably similar to other members of the genus, which are oviparous, lay terrestrial eggs, and are subterranean as adults. Threats to this species are unknown.[1]

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References
  1. Gower, David J. & Wilkinson, Mark (2008). "Uraeotyphlus oommeni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T135990A4223204. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135990A4223204.en.
  2. Gower, David J. & Wilkinson, Mark (2007). "Species groups in the Indian caecilian genus Uraeotyphlus Peters (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Uraeotyphlidae), with the description of a new species" (PDF). Herpetologica. 63 (3): 401–410. doi:10.1655/0018-0831(2007)63[401:SGITIC]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4497972.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Uraeotyphlus oommeni Gower and Wilkinson, 2007". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  4. "Uraeotyphlus oommeni Bonnacord Caecilian". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  5. "Ichthyophiidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  6. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 158. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
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