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Sd Biju / EPA
Handout photo provided by professor SD Biju showing a newly discovered legless amphibian in north-eastern India that have ancient links with Africa.
AP reports: Over five years of digging through forest beds in the rain, the team has identified an entirely new family of amphibians — called chikilidae — endemic to the region but with ancient links to Africa.
Their discovery, published Wednesday in a journal of the Royal Society of London, gives yet more evidence that India is a hotbed of amphibian life with habitats worth protecting against the country's industry-heavy development agenda.
Sd Biju / EPA
The discovery of the tailless burrowing caecilians was made by a team of international scientists led by Professor SD Biju from Delhi University. 'Scientists performed DNA analysis of the specimens and confirmed that it is an entirely new family,' Biju said.
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Let's hope that finds like these will enhance their conservation ....
Photo captions do not clearly indicate these are the eggs of the species, as they appear when nurtured by the mother who coils around them, and which more resembles a giant pink worm. When they hatch they are already adults.