AmphibiaChina 中国两栖类.

Description
The eyes of this caecilian are minute, without lids, and are buried below the skin. Its sensory tentacle lies between the eye and nostril on each side of the body. Along the length of the body there are about 360 cutaneous ring-like folds. The body coloration is brownish-black above, with a yellow, longitudinal band on each side running down the length of the body.

The larvae are completely aquatic and have a short tail with a thin laterally compressed fin that extends from the body of the tail dorsally; it curves ventrally around the tip of the tail. The larvae have what appears to be a gill slit, called the gill spiraculum--a small chamber that encompasses the area where three gills are attached. There is a lateral line on both sides of the head and neck that serves as a sense organ for water movements. (Wang pers.com.)

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Cambodia, China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (2 records).

Widespread through southeast Asia, including south and western Yunnan, central and southern Guangdong west through Guangxi to western Yunnan in southern China, and into montane northern Vietnam, Laos, northern and eastern Thailand. Presumed to be found in adjacent northeastern and peninsular Myanmar and southeastern Cambodia, including Koh Tao Island and throughout mainland Thailand. Exactly distributional limits are not known.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
This species has an aquatic larval stage and a terrestrial adult phase. The adults inhabit loose soil along small mountain streams with abundant plant cover, also seen along moist shores beside pools or rice-fields. During April to May, females deposit about 30 eggs in a depression they dig close to water. Soon after hatching, the larvae make their way into the water where they feed on algae or plankton. Later in their development, they feed on aquatic invertebrates. Metamorphosis is completed at a total length of 180 mm. In captivity adults feed exclusively on earthworms. (Wang pers.com.)

Trends and Threats
Populations appear to be at high risk as they have declined rather quickly because of human activities including cultivation of the land, destruction of forest, and pollution, but there is little published data available to support these hypotheses. (Wang pers.com.)

Comments
Nishikawa et al. (2021) synonymized Ichthyophis bannanicus with Ichthyophis kohtaoensis.

References

Nishikawa, K, M Matsui, N Yoshikawa, W Khonsue, P Pomchote, M Hibino, TT Nguyen, and D Sanamxay. (2021). "Ichthyophis bannanicus Yang, 1984, a junior subjective synonym of I. kohtaoensis Taylor, 1960 (Amphibia, Gymnophiona, Ichthyophiidae)." Alytes, 38, 1–17.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2021 Ichthyophis kohtaoensis: Kohtao Striped Caecilian <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/1988> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 21, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 21 Nov 2024.

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