Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) discovers rare subterranean amphibian species Gegeneophis valmiki

Key facts

• Indian scientists have discovered a rare subterranean amphibian species in the northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra and named it Gegeneophis valmiki.
• The discovery, made by a multi-institutional research team led by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), has been published in the international journal Phyllomedusa.
• The species was first collected in 2017 by K P Dinesh, senior scientist at ZSI, during surveys on the Valmiki Plateau in Maharashtra's Satara district.
• Members of the genus Gegeneophis, commonly called blind caecilians, live almost their entire lives underground with eyes hidden beneath bone.
• According to ZSI Director Dhriti Banerjee, 41 per cent of amphibians are threatened with extinction globally.