region has uncovered several new species. The current picture of caecilian biology in the northern Western Ghats is well illustrated by recent discoveries. In the last 18 months, five new species have been described from northern Karnataka and Maharashtra. We know almost nothing of their biology and they are all deficient of data regarding their conservation status. As per the recent reports about 31% of the amphibians of the world are on the verge of extinction. Many more species are yet to be discovered and if the situation remains the same then they will become extinct without our knowledge. These amphibians play a dual role in the food chain. They are predators which keep a check on the insect population and are also prey for a variety of other predators. Taxonomy Family: Indotyphlidae Genus: Indotyphlus Indotyphlus battersbyi Indotyphlus maharashtraensis Genus: Gegeneophis Gegeneophis danieli Gegeneophis primus Gegeneophis ramaswamii Gegeneophis carnosus Gegeneophis krishni Western Ghats (Gurpur in Karnataka) Gegeneophis madhavorum Western Ghats (Udupi in Karnataka) Gegeneophis nadkarnii Western Ghats (Goa) Gegeneophis seshachari Ratnagiri, Maharashtra Gegeneophis goaensis Gegeneophis mhadeiensis Gegeneophis tejaswini Family: Ichthyophiidae Genus: Ichthyophis Ichthyophis beddomei Ichthyophis bombayensis Ichthyophis davidi Ichthyophis kodaguensis Ichthyophis longicephalus Ichthyophis tricolor Genus: Uraeotyphlus Uraeotyphlus gansi Uraeotyphlus interruptus Kerala, known from the type locality i.e. ‘Chengalam’ village. Uraeotyphlus malabaricus Uraeotyphlus narayani Uraeotyphlus menoni Uraeotyphlus oxyurus Uraeotyphlus oommeni Resources American Museum of Natural History Amphibiaweb Amphibian Tree of Life A field guide to the caecilians of Western Ghats, India.pdf References Bhatta, G. 1998. A field guide to the caecilians of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Biosciences, Vol. 23(1): 73-85 Chanda, S. K. 2002. Handbook: Indian Amphibians. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. Daniel, J. C. 2002. The book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians. Bombay National History Society, Delhi. * Chanda, S. K. 2002. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. Pillai, R. S. and Ravichandran, M.S. 1999. Records of the Zoologial Survey of India, 172: 1-117 Taylor, E.H. 1968. The Caecilians of the World. A Taxonomic Review. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, Kansas. Nussbaum, R. A. & Wilkinson, M. 1989. On the Classification and Phylogeny of Caecilians. Herpetological Monographs 3: 1-42 Giri, V., Gower, D. J. & Wilkinson, M. 2004. A new species of Indotyphlus Taylor (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from the Western Ghats, India. Zootaxa 739: 1–19 Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Caecilians Amphibians of India