Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Amphibia
Subclassis: Lissamphibia
Ordo: Gymnophiona
Familia: Caeciliidae
Subfamilia: Caeciliinae
Genus: Indotyphlus
Species: I. battersbyi – I. maharashtraensis
Name
Indotyphlus Taylor, 1960
Type species: Indotyphlus battersbyi Taylor, 1960
References
Taylor, 1960, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 40: 31.
Amphibian Species of the World 5.2 Indotyphlus access date 12 August 2008
Vernacular names
English: Battersby's Caecilians
Indotyphlus is a small genus of caecilians in the family Indotyphlidae.[1][2][3] As caecilians in general, they superficially resemble earthworms.[3] The genus is endemic to the Western Ghats, India.[1][4][5] They are sometimes known as Battersby's caecilians.[1]
Description
Indotyphlus are small caecilians, with the largest specimen (a female Indotyphlus battersbyi) measuring 24 cm (9.4 in) in total length.[5] The eyes are visible in sockets, instead of under bone.[3][4][5] Other diagnostic characters are absence of temporal fossae, mesethmoid not being exposed dorsally, presence of splenial teeth, secondary grooves, and scales, tentacular opening that is closer to the eye than to the external nostril, no unsegmented terminal shield, smallish narial plugs on tongue, absence of diastema between vomerine and palatine teeth, and absence of terminal keel.[4][5]
Development is probably direct, without aquatic larvae.[5]
Habitat
The genus is unusual among caecilians in that both species have been recorded from relatively open, shallow-soiled areas with long dry season.[5]
Species
The genus contains two species:[1][2][6]
| Binomial name and author | Common name |
|---|---|
| Indotyphlus battersbyi Taylor, 1960 | Battersby's caecilian |
| Indotyphlus maharashtraensis Giri, Wilkinson, and Gower, 2004 | Humbarli caecilian, Maharashtra caecilian |
References
Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Indotyphlus Taylor, 1960". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
"Indotyphlidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. pp. 447, 454.
Nussbaum, Ronald A. & Wilkinson, Mark (1989). "On the classification and phylogeny of caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona), a critical review". Herpetological Monographs. 3: 1–42. doi:10.2307/1466984. JSTOR 1466984.
Giri, V. B.; M. Wilkinson & D. J. Gower (2004). "A new species of Indotyphlus Taylor (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from the Western Ghats, India" (PDF). Zootaxa. 739: 1–19. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.739.1.1 (inactive 31 October 2021).
"Indotyphlus Taylor, 1960". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
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