A new species of legless amphibian was discovered in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains.
The new species, dubbed Ichthyophis cardamomensis, is a member of the caecilian order, which is often mistaken for snakes, Fauna and Flora International reported. Caecilians typically have amphibian skin that differs from what is seen in snakes, and have skulls and bones that differ from worms.
The discovery is one of three new species of unstriped Ichthyophis caecelians, the other two of which were found in Vietnam. The I.cardamomensis is only the second of its kind ever discovered in Cambodia.
"Three distinct unstriped Ichthyophiid species - I. cardamomensis from western Cambodia,I.catlocensis from southern Vietnam, and I.chaloensis from central Vietnam are now described as new species, almost doubling the number of Ichthyophis species known from the Indochinese region, " he said.
The order is a difficult group to describe because the species look very similar to each other and there are few experts on the subject. This means complicated morphological and molecular (DNA) analyses are required to pinpoint a new species.
"These discoveries are important to demonstrate that much of Cambodia's biodiversity remains unknown and unstudied by science, and many more areas need to be searched," said leading Cambodian FFI herpetologist Neang Thy.
The newly discovered animal lives in the Cardamom Mountains Range, which represents some of the largest remaining habitat in the world for threatened species such as the Asian elephant.
"The Cardamom region it is under threat from logging, land concessions, and other habitat destruction, and the danger of any new species, including the new caecilian, is that they may be discovered one year and go extinct the next," Thy said.
Caecilians are a crucial food source for the red tailed pipe snake (Cylindrophis ruffus) and eat invertebrates such as earthworms and termites, making them a crucial part of their local ecosystem.
The findings were published in a recent edition of Organisms Diversity & Evolution magazine.
