- A limbless amphibian has been added to the fauna of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.
- A team of herpetologists recorded the striped caecilian (Ichthyophis spp) in the tiger reserve for the first time during a rapid herpetofauna survey.
- The survey, supported by experts from Assam Don Bosco University, Wildlife Institute of India, D.R. College, Madhab Choudhury College, Help Earth, Aaranyak, and the Turtle Survival Alliance, highlights the vulnerable and least-studied nature of herpetofauna, which includes reptiles and amphibians.
- Kaziranga’s diverse ecosystem, with flood plains, wetlands, grasslands, and hill tracts, provides an ideal habitat for herpetofauna.
- The tiger reserve houses 24 amphibian species, 74 reptile species, and 21 of India’s 29 species of tortoises and freshwater turtles.
- Caecilians, as limbless amphibians that burrow under soil, are among the least studied yet critically linked to evolution and intercontinental speciation.
Dig Deeper: Read about the critically endangered amphibian species of the IUCN Red data book in India.
