''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. 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'' Gower, Rajendran, Nussbaum, and Wilkinson, 2008 * '' Uraeotyphlus interruptus'' Pillai and Ravichandran, 1999 * '' Uraeotyphlus malabaricus'' (Beddome, 1870) * '' Uraeotyphlus menoni'' Annandale, 1913 * '' Uraeotyphlus narayani'' Seshachar, 1939 * '' Uraeotyphlus oommeni'' Gower and Wilkinson, 2007 * '' Uraeotyphlus oxyurus'' (Duméril and Bibron, 1841)

References

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