''Uraeotyphlus'' is a genus of

caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians with small or sometimes nonexistent eyes. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians ...

s in the family

Ichthyophiidae The Ichthyophiidae are the family of Asiatic tailed caecilians or fish caecilians found in South and Southeast Asia as well as southernmost China. They are primitive caecilians, lacking many of the derived characters found in the other families ...

. There are seven species in this genus, all of which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Western Ghats of southwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Previously, the genus has also been placed in its own

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

family Uraeotyphlidae.

Description

''Uraeotyphlus'' are relatively small sized caecilians ranging from to in length. Unlike the more 'advanced' caecilians, members of this genus have a true tail with vertebrae, and their

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

has a relatively complex structure. However, unlike the more 'primitive' caecilians, the mouth is recessed below the snout, there are no tertiary annuli, and the tentacular opening are far forward of the eyes, and below the nostril. The pattern of annulation among species of ''Uraeotyphlus'' falls into two clear types based on the differentiation of primary and higher-order annuli, and the number of annular divisions per vertebra and whether this varies along the body. This difference is reflected in the recognition of ''U. oxyurus'' group ('' U. interruptus, U. menoni, U. narayani, U. oxyurus'') and the ''U. malabaricus'' group ('' U. malabaricus'' and '' U. oommeni'').

Ecology and reproduction

They are burrowing animals, which lay eggs that hatch into free-living larvae.

Species

The genus contains seven species: * ''

Uraeotyphlus gansi ''Uraeotyphlus gansi'', the Gansi caecilian, is a rare species of caecilian, endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It was discovered in the Kaakkaachi-Naalumukku area of the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. ''U. gansi'' was named after C ...

'' Gower, Rajendran, Nussbaum, and Wilkinson, 2008 * ''

Uraeotyphlus interruptus ''Uraeotyphlus interruptus'', also known as the Chengalam caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in southern India and is only known from its type locality, Chengalam village in ...

'' Pillai and Ravichandran, 1999 * ''

Uraeotyphlus malabaricus ''Uraeotyphlus malabaricus'' is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India and is known from its type locality, the " Malabar" in Kerala, and from the Nilgiri mountains in Tamil Nadu. It ...

'' (Beddome, 1870) * ''

Uraeotyphlus menoni ''Uraeotyphlus menoni'', also known as Menon's caecilian or Kerala caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the state of Kerala in the Western Ghats, India. The specific name ''menoni'' honours K. Ra ...

'' Annandale, 1913 * ''

Uraeotyphlus narayani ''Uraeotyphlus'' is a genus of caecilians in the family Ichthyophiidae. There are seven species in this genus, all of which are endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Previously, the genus has also been placed in its own monotypi ...

'' Seshachar, 1939 * ''

Uraeotyphlus oommeni ''Uraeotyphlus oommeni'', sometimes known as the Oommen's caecilian, Oommen's Uraeotyphlus, or Bonnacord caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. Within ''Uraeotyphlus'', it belongs to the '' U. malabaricus'' group sh ...

'' Gower and Wilkinson, 2007 * ''

Uraeotyphlus oxyurus ''Uraeotyphlus oxyurus'', also known as the red caecilian, sharp-nosed caecilian, dark-brown caecilian, pale-throated caecilian, or harp-tailed caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to the Western Gha ...

'' (Duméril and Bibron, 1841)

References

{{Authority control Amphibian genera Amphibians of Asia Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters