Caecilian diversity of the Western Ghats: In search of the rare animals

The Western Ghats is well known for harbouring 14 endemic species of caecilians (i.e. legless amphibians) out of 15 recorded from the region so far. Ecological diversity of caecilian species was studied through soil excavation and litter-search. A total of 83 individuals belonging to 9 species were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current science (Bangalore) 1997-07, Vol.73 (2), p.183-187
Main Author: Bhatta, Gopalakrishna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biodiversity
Biological taxonomies
Caecilians
Forest soils
Orchards
Organic soils
Soil ecology
Soil science
SPECIAL SECTION: BIODIVERSITY OF WESTERN GHATS
Species
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Summary:The Western Ghats is well known for harbouring 14 endemic species of caecilians (i.e. legless amphibians) out of 15 recorded from the region so far. Ecological diversity of caecilian species was studied through soil excavation and litter-search. A total of 83 individuals belonging to 9 species were collected from 24 collection spots in 8 localities distributed along the Western Ghats. The Chao's index estimates a maximum of 27 species to occur in the Western Ghats whereas the taxonomic literature so far has recorded only 15 species. Field studies and literature review indicated that 10–12°N is the richest latitudinal zone while region 20°N northwards is the poorest in recorded species richness. This pattern coincides with the increasingly drier climate towards North. At the landscape level also, caecilians prefer moist soils rich in organic carbon. Thus, they are quite common not only in evergreen forests but also in orchards of arecanut and coconut which have perennial watersupply but without heavy chemical input.
ISSN:0011-3891