New Legless Amphibian 'Gegeneophis chandgadi' Described from Kolhapur District, Maharashtra

7 September 2026National

Gegeneophis chandgadi, a newly described subterranean, legless amphibian known as a caecilian, has been recorded from Buzawade village in Chandgad tehsil, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. The species was formally published in the Records of the Zoological Survey of India on 2 September 2026 and is named after the Chandgadi dialect of Marathi spoken in the region. It is worm-like and flesh-coloured, with primary ring-like folds called annuli along the full body and secondary annuli on the posterior half. Caecilians belong to the amphibian order Gymnophiona and are adapted to a fossorial, burrowing life. The find adds to the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot and major centre of Indian amphibian diversity.

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The Zoological Survey of India was established in 1916 and is headquartered in Kolkata | The Western Ghats is one of India's four biodiversity hotspots, alongside the Himalaya, Indo-Burma and Sundaland | Living amphibians comprise three orders — Anura (frogs and toads), Caudata (salamanders) and Gymnophiona (caecilians)

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