From Mizoram, limbless amphibians added to India’s fauna

A ‘multicolor’ limbless amphibian recorded in Mizoram has been added to India’s fauna.

Context

A ‘multicolor’ limbless amphibian recorded in Mizoram has been added to India’s fauna.

A new specimen of ‘Ichthyophis multicolor’ is found in northern Mizoram’s Kolasib district.
Ichthyophis is recognized as the most widely distributed genus of the caecilian amphibians.
The genus is said to have 50 species, 13 of which occur in India.
Ichthyophis multicolor is the ninth species of the region.
The species derives its scientific name from a yellowish lateral stripe which separates its brownish upper part from a paler lower part.
The length of the specimens varies from 310-501 mm.
Significance:The presence of Ichthyophis multicolor points to northeast India being the dispersal route of various species from South Asia to Southeast Asia.
- Dispersal allows animals to avoid competition and inbreeding.
- It helps in colonizing new habitats.
They are fossorial (burrowing) and secretive.

Ichthyophis is a genus of caeciliansthat is found in Southeast Asia, the southern Philippines, and the western Indo-Australian Archipelago.
They are limbless amphibians and are sometimes called Asian caecilians.
They mostly live hidden in the ground and in-stream substrates that makes them the least familiar order of amphibians.
Their diet consists of small subterranean creatures such as earthworms.