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New Legless Amphibian Species Found in Maharashtra’s Western Ghats

New Legless Amphibian Species Found in Maharashtra’s Western Ghats
New subterranean amphibian species discovered in Maharashtra's Western Ghats · CNBC TV 18

Scientists found a new kind of small amphibian living underground in Maharashtra.

It has no legs and belongs to a group called caecilians.

Caecilians can look like earthworms or blind snakes.

The new species was named Gegeneophis chandgadi after a local Marathi dialect.

People living in the area helped researchers find the hidden animals.

The animals were discovered in farms and residential areas, not only in forests.

Scientists used body measurements and DNA-related evidence to confirm that it was a separate species.

The discovery shows that important wildlife may be living under places where people work and live.

Key facts

Species
Gegeneophis chandgadi
Animal group
Caecilians, or subterranean limbless amphibians
Discovery location
Buzawade, Chandgad, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra
Research evidence
Molecular data plus morphological and meristic analyses
India’s amphibian total
458 recorded species, including 41 caecilian species
Gegeneophis species in India
12 after this discovery, with 11 endemic to the Western Ghats
Conservation context
Researchers cited an estimate that about 41% of global amphibian species face extinction threats

Quotes

Researchers

Scientists discussing species disappearing before they are formally identified

“silent extinctions”
CNBC TV 18

Sources

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