Bombay caecilian explained

The Bombay caecilian (Ichthyophis bombayensis) is an amphibian found in India. This rather large species is found in the northern Western Ghats. The eyes are distinct and surrounded by a light ring. The tentacle is placed closer to the lip than the eye. A dark brown or greyish-brown species, it has no lateral stripes.^[1]

The three names below are presently considered to be junior synonyms of I. bombayensis, as it was recently shown that all the unstriped, long-tailed Ichthyophis from the Western Ghats showed little genetic variation.^[2]

• I. malabarensis – southern Western Ghats, known with certainty only from the type locality
• I. peninsularis – known only from the type specimen, exact locality not known
• I. subterrestris – known only from the type specimen, from Western Ghats south of Palghat Gap (Cochin and Travancore areas)

Notes and References

1. 10.1007/BF02728526 . A field guide to the caecilians of the Western Ghats, India . March 1998 . Bhatta . Gopalakrishna . Journal of Biosciences . 23 . 73–85. 29374045 .
2. 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00266.x . Remarkable genetic homogeneity in unstriped, long-tailed Ichthyophis along 1500 km of the Western Ghats, India . 21 March 2007 . D. J. . Gower . M. Dharne . G. Bhatta . V. Giri . R. Vyas . V. Govindappa . O. V. Oommen . J. George . Y. Shouche . M. Wilkinson . . 272 . 3 . 266–275.