Caecilian amphibians’ snake-like venom, new discovery

Posted on July 4, 2020 by petrel41

This 2017 video says about itself:

On this episode of Breaking Trail, Coyote discovers the most bizarre creature he’s ever found, a Caecilian!

Wait a what?! A Caecilian, while at first glance looks exactly like a giant earthworm, is actually an amphibian more closely related to salamanders. It’s definitely NOT a worm.

These subterranean crawlies live in the loose soils and substrates all over the world. They are very elusive and almost never seen by humans, so even though the rain forced the camera crew to take shelter Coyote just had to share this amazing encounter with the Coyote Pack!

Get ready to see one of the rarest creatures we will ever show you!

From ScienceDaily:

First evidence of snake-like venom glands found in amphibians

July 3, 2020

Caecilians are limbless amphibians that, to the untrained eye, can be easily mistaken for snakes. Though caecilians are only distantly related to their reptilian cousins, researchers in a study appearing July 3 in the journal iScience describe specialized glands found along the teeth of the ringed caecilian (Siphonops annulatus), which have the same biological origin and possibly similar function to the venom glands of snakes. If further research can confirm that the glands contain venom, caecilians may represent the oldest land-dwelling vertebrate animal with oral venom glands.

Caecilians are peculiar creatures, being nearly blind and using a combination of facial tentacles and slime to navigate their underground tunnels. “These animals produce two types of secretions — one is found mostly in the tail that is poisonous, while the head produces a mucus to help with crawling through the earth,” says senior author Carlos Jared, a biologist and Director of the Structural Biology Lab at the Butantan Institute in São Paulo. “Because caecilians are one of the least-studied vertebrates, their biology is a black box full of surprises.”

“It is while examining the mucous glands of the ringed caecilian that I stumbled upon a never before described set of glands closer to the teeth,” says first author Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana, a post-doctoral student in the Structural Biology Lab at the Butantan Institute.

What Mailho-Fontana found were a series of small fluid-filled glands in the upper and lower jaw, with long ducts that opened at the base of each tooth. Using embryonic analysis, he found that these oral glands originated from a different tissue than the slime and poison glands found in the caecilian’s skin. “The poisonous skin glands of the ringed caecilian form from the epidermis, but these oral glands develop from the dental tissue, and this is the same developmental origin we find in the venom glands of reptiles,” says Mailho-Fontana. This marks the first time glands of this kind have been found in an amphibian.

Researchers suspect that the ringed caecilian may use the secretions from these snake-like oral glands to incapacitate its prey. “Since caecilians have no arms or legs, the mouth is the only tool they have to hunt,” says co-author Marta Maria Antoniazzi, an evolutionary biologist at the Butantan Institute. “We believe they activate their oral glands the moment they bite down, and specialized biomolecules are incorporated into their secretions.

A preliminary chemical analysis of the oral gland secretions of the ringed caecilian found high activity of phospholipase A2, a common protein found in the toxins of venomous animals. “The phospholipase A2 protein is uncommon in non-venomous species, but we do find it in the venom of bees, wasps, and many kinds of reptiles,” says Mailho-Fontana. In fact, the biological activity of phospholipase A2 found in the ringed caecilian was higher than what is found in some rattlesnakes. Still, more biochemical analysis is needed to confirm whether the glandular secretions are toxic.

If future work can verify the secretions are toxic, caecilian oral glands could indicate an early evolutionary design of oral venom organs. “Unlike snakes which have few glands with a large bank of venom, the ringed caecilian has many small glands with minor amounts of fluid. Perhaps caecilians represent a more primitive form of venom gland evolution. Snakes appeared in the Cretaceous probably 100 million years ago, but caecilians are far older, being roughly 250 million years old,” Jared says.

Very few groups of land-dwelling vertebrates have serpent-like bodies, and this research suggests there might be a connection between a limbless body plan and the evolution of a venomous bite. “For snakes and caecilians, the head is the sole unit to explore the environment, to fight, to eat, and to kill,” says Antoniazzi. “One theory is that perhaps these necessities encourage the evolution of venom in limbless animals.”

Caecilian amphibian named after Donald Trump

Posted on December 19, 2018 by petrel41

This 18 December 2018 video from the USA says about itself:

Meet The Newest Species: Dermophis donaldtrumpi | All In | MSNBC

The highest bidder for naming rights said the creature’s characteristics reminded him of a certain human.

From USA Today:

Business mocks Donald Trump by naming a ‘blind’, wormlike animal after him

By Joel Shannon

Dec 19, 2018

A London-based business specializing in sustainable building materials says it has paid $25,000 to name a newly discovered genus of wormlike amphibian after President Donald Trump.

EnviroBuild announced Tuesday that it would be using Dermophis donaldtrumpi as the name for the caecilian — an amphibian with no legs and poor eyesight. The business says the name still will need to undergo peer review, but that other animals have been named after presidents in the past.

Co-founder Aidan Bell authored a blog post that likened the qualities of the animal, which is native to Panama, to Trump.

“Caecilians is taken from the Latin caecus meaning ‘blind'”, the post says. The animals can only see light and dark.

“Capable of seeing the world only in black and white, Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax by the Chinese“, Bell wrote.

Rainforest Trust announced the auction in November, saying it sells naming rights for newly discovered animals to raise money for conservation. Traditionally, naming privileges have been given to scientists who discovered an animal, but the organization says it has been breaking with that tradition to raise money for 25 years.

EnviroBuild’s announcement contains extensive criticism of Trump.

The caecilian burrows its head underground, a trait the blog likened to Trump’s position on climate change: “Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change and also appointed several energy lobbyists to the Environment Agency, where their job is to regulate the energy industry.”

The post also criticizes the high-profile positions given to Trump’s children and references the Mueller investigation.

In November, Trump cited his intelligence as a reason for his skepticism surrounding climate change. That came on the heels of a 1,600-page National Climate Assessment, issued by the Trump administration, which detailed the climate and economic impacts U.S. residents are projected to see if drastic action is not taken to address climate change.

EnviroBuild isn’t the first to name an animal after Trump. In January 2017, a scientist named a tiny moth Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, Time reports.

Canadian scientist Vazrick Nazari chose the name partly to draw attention to U.S. environmental policies and partly because he believed the moth resembled Trump’s hair style, according to Time.

Brazilian caecilian amphibian, new study

Posted on February 24, 2018 by petrel41

This February 2017 video, recorded in Costa Rica, says about itself:

On this episode of Breaking Trail, Coyote discovers the most bizarre creature he’s ever found, a Caecilian! Wait a what?! A Caecilian, while at first glance looks exactly like a giant earthworm, is actually an amphibian more closely related to salamanders. It’s definitely NOT a worm.

These subterranean crawlies live in the loose soils and substrate all over the world. They are very elusive and almost never seen by humans, so even though the rain forced the camera crew to take shelter Coyote just had to share this amazing encounter with the Coyote Pack! Get ready to see one of the rarest creatures we will ever show you! HUGE THANKS to Brian Kubicki for the epic drone footage and for hosting the crew at this location! To visit his amazing amphibian reserve check out his website for details.

From Utah State University in the USA:

Playing both ends: Amphibian adapted to varied evolutionary pressures

February 23, 2018

Summary: Caecilian, Siphonops annulatus, a limbless amphibian found throughout Brazil, has a concentration of enlarged mucous glands in its head region and a concentration of enlarged poison glands in its posterior region. These concentration appear to have evolved from different selective pressures: the ability to tunnel into the ground and to defend oneself from predators.

Caecilians are serpent-like creatures, but they’re not snakes or giant worms. The limbless amphibians, related to frogs and salamanders, favor tropical climates of Africa, Asia and the Americas. Most live in burrows of their own making; some are aquatic.

With colleagues from Brazil, Utah State University ecologist Edmund “Butch” Brodie, Jr. reports caecilians feature greatly enlarged poison glands at each end of their bodies, which appear to have evolved from different selective pressures — the ability to tunnel into the ground and to defend oneself from predators.

Brodie, along with Carlos Jared, Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana, Rafael Marques-Porto, Juliana Mozer Sciani, Daniel Carvalho Pimenta, and Marta Maria Antoniazzi of São Paulo’s Butantan Institute, published findings in the Feb. 23, 2018, issue of Scientific Reports.

The team’s research, supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, focuses on Siphonops annulatus, a caecilian species found throughout Brazil.

“My Brazilian colleagues noticed the burrows made by this species were lined with a shiny, slick substance”, says Brodie, professor in USU’s Department of Biology and the USU Ecology Center. “We didn’t think it was a secretion from the poison glands, so we decided to investigate.”

The Brazilian caecilian, grayish in color and measuring about 18 inches in length, is a surprisingly rapid burrower, he says.

“When caecilians burrow, they force their snouts into the ground and essentially dive into the soil,” Brodie says.

As suspected, the team discovered all the skin glands in the serpentine creatures’ head region were greatly enlarged, tightly packed mucous glands — not poison ones. The slippery lubrication enables the caecilians’ rapid, subterranean escape from predators, especially coral snakes.

“We know of no other amphibian with this high concentration of mucous glands”. Brodie says. “In other terrestrial amphibians, mucous is mainly related to the uptake of oxygen. Here, in caecilians, it’s obviously used in locomotion.”

Examination of the caecilians revealed further information. The mucous glands extend throughout the amphibians’ body, in gradually reduced concentration, and give way to poison glands concentrated in the tail.

“The poison glands, resulting from a different selective pressure, provide another defense from predators”, Brodie says. “In addition to chemical defense, the tail acts as a ‘plug’, blocking the tunnel and further deterring predators.”

The eccentric amphibian, Brodie and colleagues write, is “really a box of surprises.”

South American amphibian saving human lives?

Posted on December 7, 2017 by petrel41

This February 2017 video, recorded in Costa Rica, is about wildlife, especially the Caecilia volcani species of caecilian amphibians.

From the University of Surrey in England:

A South American amphibian could potentially hold the key to curing cirrhosis

December 6, 2017

The unique liver function of a South American amphibian, Siphonops annulatus, could pave the way to finding a cure to the devastating liver condition cirrhosis, a new study published in the Journal of Anatomy reports.

Researchers from the University of Surrey (UK), the Federal University of São Paulo and the Butantan Institute in Brazil used an innovative 3D liver cell examination to explore the liver function of this snake-like amphibian. During an in-depth examination, it was found that the liver of Siphonops annulatus produces blood cells throughout its lifetime and breaks down the protein collagen.

According to Dr Robson Gutierre, a morphologist and leading author of this study, the South American amphibian has very unique liver cells, known as melanomacrophages, which can remove and break down collagen as part of its natural function. In the same species, melanomacrophages also naturally engulf basophils, helping to minimise unwanted inflammation and reduce the scar tissue which can lead to cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis occurs in response to damage to the liver. Chronic alcoholism, hepatitis or other harmful substances can promote the response of self-repair in the liver, mainly represented as a high production of collagen and scar formation (fibrosis). As cirrhosis progresses, liver functions such as detoxification and cleaning of blood, among others, become difficult.

Several treatment strategies for cirrhosis have been tried throughout the world, such as delaying or removing the underlying stimulus that causes scars to form. Other treatments have looked at the degradation and/or removal of collagen.

Co-author Dr Augusto Coppi, lecturer in Veterinary Anatomy and Stereologist at the University of Surrey, said: “The liver function of this amphibian, Siphonops annulatus, may provide us with a unique opportunity to solve one of the most devastating illnesses of the liver.

“We do need further in-depth investigations into how this discovery could be translated into humans, but it may have the potential to alter how we view and treat this disease. We are constantly amazed by nature, and this particular and not-well-studied species of amphibian could help us find a way to stop or even reverse liver cirrhosis.”

Dr Robson Gutierre from the Federal University of São Paulo said: “The ability this species has to break down its natural defences could also provide insight into immunity tolerance, a mechanism by which the liver can minimise unwanted inflammations. Immunity tolerance can be studied in this species because they produce pro-inflammatory cells in the hematopoietic liver throughout its whole life, without developing chronic inflammations.”

Liver cirrhosis must be diagnosed early and the cause treated, but damage is rarely reversed. In the late stages, cirrhosis is life threatening. Every year more than 4,000 people in the UK die from cirrhosis and an estimated 700 people have to have a liver transplant each year to survive.

Researchers will continue to explore how this could be translated into humans.

Dinosaur age caecilian amphibian ancestor discovered?

Posted on June 20, 2017 by petrel41

This video says about itself:

19 June 2017

A new analysis of a pair of tiny fossils found in the 1990s has helped scientists to uncover the backstory of the most mysterious amphibian alive. Researchers used 3D X-rays to map out the remains of a now-extinct species that walked the Earth [220] million years ago. They found that the species is a long-missing amphibious link that expands the known history of frogs, toads and salamanders by at least 15 million years. Chinlestegophis jenkinsi (artist’s impression) was a tiny subterranean carnivore.

From Science News:

New fossils shake up history of amphibians with no legs

Tiny skulls and other bits hint at unexpected backstory for today’s snake-shaped caecilians

by Susan Milius

3:30pm, June 19, 2017

Newly named fossils suggest that a weird and varied chapter in amphibian deep history isn’t totally over.

Small fossils about 220 million years old found along steep red slopes in Colorado represent a near-relative of modern animals called caecilians, says vertebrate paleontologist Adam Huttenlocker of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Caecilians today have long wormy bodies with either shrunken legs or none at all. Yet the nearly 200 modern species of these toothy, burrow-dwelling tropical oddballs are genuine amphibians. The fossil creatures, newly named Chinlestegophis jenkinsi, still had legs but could be the oldest known near-relatives of caecilians, Huttenlocker and colleagues suggest.

A popular view of the amphibian family tree has put caecilians on their own long, peculiar branch beside the ancient frogs and salamanders. But a close look at the new fossils suggests a much earlier split from ancestral frogs and salamanders, the researchers propose June 19 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The move puts the caecilians into “a strange but incredibly diverse” group, the stereospondyls, Huttenlocker says. These species included elongated, short-legged beasts with heads shaped like toilet lids.

Among the many stereospondyls, Huttenlocker speculates that caecilians came from “an aberrant branch of miniaturized forms that went subterranean.” And today’s legless burrowers could be this once-flourishing group’s sole survivors.

New relative of the ‘penis snake’ discovered in Myanmar

Indian caecilians threatened by traffic

Posted on August 5, 2015 by petrel41

This music video from California in the USA says about itself:

Caecilian Cotillion

21 April 2014

Celebrating the 200th known species of caecilian (it’s Ichthyophis multicolor from Myanmar), another AmphibiaWeb song by the Wiggly Tendrils (supported by the California Academy of Sciences).

Download the song here at the Wiggly Tendrils’ Bandcamp.

From the Navhind Times in India:

Environmentalists concerned over rise in caecilian deaths on roads

July 21, 2015

SANKHALI: Environmentalists have rued the rise in number of caecilians that are killed by speeding vehicles on roads in Chorla Ghat area. Chorla Ghat comes under the jurisdictions of Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka states and is home to many varieties of caecilians. Every year during monsoon season a large number of caecilians cross the road and come under the vehicles, observed environmentalists.

Well-known caecilian expert and wild-lifer associated with Bombay Natural History Society Doter Varadagiri said, “The Chorla Ghat region is rich in caecilian diversity. There is a need to study the unknown facets of their life.”

Gajanan Shetye, a volunteer of Vivekanand Environment Awareness Brigade said that they find many caecilian carcasses on the road. Nirmal Kulkarni, a wild lifer associated with Mhadei Research Centre, who was instrumental in discovering three species of caecilians, said, “Caecilians are important since they play important role in enriching soil nutrients and increasing its fertility.”

New legless amphibian discovery in Cambodia

Posted on January 15, 2015 by petrel41

This video says about itself:

Amazing Amphibians Vol.1, No.1: Caecilian – Ichthyophis kohtaoensis

This is a common caecilian found in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia. It was almost 38cm big!!! I took this video in Khao Yai National Park in Dec. 2, 2010.

The species in the video is a relative of the species recently discovered in Cambodia.

From Fauna & Flora International:

New legless amphibian discovered in Cambodia

by Louisa McKerrow

14 January 2015

New discovery marks the second caecilian species ever to be found in the country

Scientists have discovered a new species of legless amphibian in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains

The new species, Ichthyophis cardamomensis, is a caecilian, an order of limbless amphibians often mistaken for snakes, with larger species known to grow to 1.5 metres in length. This discovery, at only 30 cm, is linked to the continuing ground-breaking work at the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (CBC) in Phnom Penh, a joint initiative of Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP).

Leading Cambodian FFI herpetologist Neang Thy has been researching amphibians and reptiles since 2003 and is very excited that the I. cardamomensis species has been officially confirmed. This discovery is one of three new species of unstriped Ichthyophis caecelians (the other two were found in Vietnam) introduced in the ‘New Ichthyophis species from Indochina’ paper published recently in the Organisms Diversity & Evolution scientific journal (published by the Society for Biological Systematics).

Between 2009 and 2011, Cambodian species samples were collected by Neang Thy and Dr Lee Grismer from the US La Sierra University with final confirmation from lead paper author, Dr Peter Geissler from the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Germany.

Why caecilians are important to conservation

The I.cardamomensis species is only the second caecilian species ever discovered in Cambodia. The other is the striped Koa Tao Island caecilian, I. kohtaoensis, which is also found in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“These discoveries are important to demonstrate that much of Cambodia’s biodiversity remains unknown and unstudied by science, and many more areas need to be searched,” Thy said.

The forested Cardamom Mountains Range represents some of the largest remaining areas of habitat for more than 80 threatened species, including Asian elephant and gaur.

Thy said in recent years the Cardamom region had revealed its extensive reptile and amphibian diversity, including frogs, turtles, lizards and crocodiles.

“We are still learning about this area and the animals in it, since it was a region formerly held by the Khmer Rouge and the mountains were closed to researchers until the 1990s,” he said.

“The Cardamom region is under threat from logging, land concessions, and other habitat destruction, and the danger of any new species, including the new caecilian, is that they may be discovered one year and go extinct the next.”

Caecilians have a valuable role in the ecosystems of tropical and subtropical regions, including providing a food source for the red tailed pipe snake (Cylindrophis ruffus). Caecilians eat invertebrates, such as earthworms, ants and termites.

Speaking the science of caecilian

Caecilians are a difficult group to describe as they look so similar, and there are few caecilian experts, so comprehensive morphological and molecular (DNA) analyses is needed to recognise a new species.

Zoologist Dr Peter Geissler said caecilians of the genus Ichthyophis were some of the most poorly known amphibian taxa within Southeast Asia.

“Three distinct unstriped Ichthyophiid species – I. cardamomensis from western Cambodia, I.catlocensis from southern Vietnam, and I.chaloensis from central Vietnam are now described as new species, almost doubling the number of Ichthyophis species known from the Indochinese region, ” he said.

Caecilians are best described as snake or worm-like amphibians that lack limbs. They have the typical amphibian skin that clearly differs from snakes, and they have skull and bones which differs from worms.

To read the ‘New Ichthyophis species from Indochina’ paper in the Organisms Diversity & Evolution magazine click here.

Amphibian mothers feed young with their skins, new discovery

Posted on March 25, 2013 by petrel41

This video says about itself:

Why Do These Babies Eat Their Mother’s Skin?

6 May 2015

Legless amphibians, called caecilians, have a very strange way of feeding their young.

From PLOS ONE:

A New Species of Skin-Feeding Caecilian and the First Report of Reproductive Mode in Microcaecilia (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Siphonopidae)

Mark Wilkinson, Emma Sherratt, Fausto Starace, David J. Gower

Abstract

A new species of siphonopid caecilian, Microcaecilia dermatophaga sp. nov., is described based on nine specimens from French Guiana. The new species is the first new caecilian to be described from French Guiana for more than 150 years. It differs from all other Microcaecilia in having fewer secondary annular grooves and/or in lacking a transverse groove on the dorsum of the first collar. Observations of oviparity and of extended parental care in M. dermatophaga are the first reproductive mode data for any species of the genus. Microcaecilia dermatophaga is the third species, and represents the third genus, for which there has been direct observation of young animals feeding on the skin of their attending mother. The species is named for this maternal dermatophagy, which is hypothesised to be characteristic of the Siphonopidae.

Introduction

Kupfer et al. [1] discovered a novel form of extended parental care in the oviparous African herpelid caecilian Boulengerula taitanus in which altricial hatchlings feed upon the modified and lipid-rich outer layer of the skin of their attending mothers using a specialised deciduous juvenile dentition.

Subsequently, Wilkinson et al. [2] reported the putatively homologous behaviour and associated morphological and physiological features of maternal dermatophagy in a second species of caecilian, the Neotropical siphonopid Siphonops annulatus. Because these two species of skin-feeding caecilians are not particularly closely related and represent lineages that have been separated for more than 100 million years, Wilkinson et al. [2] suggested that skin feeding was a relatively ancient trait and predicted that it would prove to be more widespread among caecilians.

The Neotropical siphonopid genus Microcaecilia Taylor, 1968 includes eight previously described nominal species of relatively small caecilians with heavily ossified, stegokrotaphic skulls, and small eyes that are covered with bone [3] which suggest they are dedicated burrowers. Very little is known of their biology and there are no previous reports of the reproductive biology of any Microcaecilia. Here we describe a new species of Microcaecilia from French Guiana. Observations of reproduction in captivity reveal that this is a third caecilian species known from direct observation to practice maternal dermatophagy. The species is identified as a member of the Siphonopidae on the basis of being an oviparous caecilian with imperforate stapes and no inner mandibular teeth, and as a Microcaecilia on the basis of having eyes under bone, tentacular apertures closer to the eyes than the nares, and no diastemata between the vomerine and palatine teeth [4].

I want to find A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: Twan Leenders: 9780970567802: Books as date March 17, 2013 07:34 (hallowed2x9wk.wordpress.com)
15 Percent of Guyana’s Reptiles and Amphibians Found Nowhere Else (repeatingislands.com)
Pesticides kill frogs, new research (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
New Guide To The Reptiles And Amphibians Of Guyana (anoleannals.org)
Colombian amphibian discoveries, good and bad (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Scientists Discover Eight New Frog Species In One Mountain Forest (natureworldnews.com)
Scientists discover invisible fish (english.pravda.ru)
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Don’t let cars kill Canadian reptiles, amphibians, video (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)

New Indian amphibian discovery

Posted on October 26, 2011 by petrel41

The newly-discovered limbless amphibian Ichthyophis davidi. Photo: Special Arrangement

From daily The Hindu in India:

Kozhikode, October 25, 2011

New amphibian discovered

Jabir Mushthari

A team of researchers including from the Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, Kozhikode has discovered a new species of limbless amphibian from Western Ghats, additional director of ZSI centre Kozhikode, C. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu here on Monday.

The new species, Ichthyophis davidi, a yellow striped caecilian according to him, has been discovered from the Belgaum district of Karnataka, which is part of the Western Ghat.

The new species Ichthyophis davidi is one of the largest known yellow striped caecilians from Western Ghats and is named in honour of David Gower, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London, in recognition of his contributions to Indian caecilian studies, he said.

According to him, it has been systematically placed under the genus Ichthyophis of the Ichthyophiidae family. The members of the genus Ichthyophis include both striped and non-striped caecilians. These animals are nocturnal and are found in forests and plantations.

Western Ghats, one of the global biodiversity ‘hot spots’, support 25 species of legless amphibians (the caecilians). Among the 25 species, only 5 are yellow striped forms, which are limited in distribution. He said that the members of the team had also discovered a few other new species of amphibians from the region earlier.

Habitat destruction, due to human interference, and usage of chemical fertilizers in the plantations (areca, banana and cardamom) according to him is limiting the distribution of these limbless amphibians in Western Ghats. Conservation of the forested patches adjacent to plantations and usage of organic manure in the plantations next to forested patches are the best means to safe protect the caecilians in Western Ghats, he said.

Gopalakrishna Bhatta of the Department of Biology, BASE Educational Services Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru; P. Prashanth of Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, Agumbe, Nirmal U. Kulkarni of Mhadei Research Centre, Belgaum and K.P. Dinesh of ZSI regional centre Kozhikode are the researchers behind the discovery besides Dr. Radhakrishnan. The discovery has been published in the latest issue of Current Science, he said.

Rare caecilian found in India

Posted on July 29, 2008 by petrel41

This video says about itself:

As posted on Newscientist.com: Some caecilian species shed a special nutrient-rich skin shortly after giving birth to feed their young. This may be the closest any amphibian comes to producing “milk” for its young.

From The Statesman daily in India:

Rare animal found in tea estate

Statesman News Service

KURSEONG, July 28: A rare animal ‘caecilians’ has been discovered in Makaibari Tea Estate near Kurseong. The animal belongs to the amphibian family. It is being claimed that the animal was sighted after a gap of over 100 years.

The creature found for the first time in 1881 at Rangliot Valley in Sikkim was named as Icohthyophis [sic; Ichthyophis] Skkimmennis [sic; sikkimensis]. Robin Suyesh, a student from Delhi University made the discovery in the tea estate recently.

Suyesh informed that the species was found in the area of Sikkim and Darjeeling and hence he had come here to investigate about the species about which not much was known.

Suyesh has collected two samples, which he would take to Delhi for further studies. “I will take these samples to Delhi and show it to my seniors and study its anatomy to gather more information about the species,” he said.