identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03D287EC527BFFDE4AE1198D1BA4FF11.text	03D287EC527BFFDE4AE1198D1BA4FF11.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Gegeneophis bavali Kotharambath & Vengot & Gower 2026	<div><p>Gegeneophis bavali sp. nov.</p><p>urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: D0289F42-05A4-41BB-BCEA-0D34327E4A0D</p><p>(Figs. 1, 2, 3; Table 1)</p><p>Holotype. BNHS 6840 (field tag RAM 0945) (Figs. 2, 3), adult female collected from <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=75.777504&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=12.050278" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 75.777504/lat 12.050278)">near Valathode</a>, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=75.777504&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=12.050278" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 75.777504/lat 12.050278)">Iritty</a>, Kannur District, Kerala state, India (12° 3' 1" N, 75° 46' 39" E, c. 332 m a.s.l.; Fig. 1) by Ranjith Vengot and Ramachandran Kotharambath on 23 October 2021.</p><p>Paratype (n = 1). BNHS 6841 (field tag RAM 0947), adult male. Same collection data as for holotype .</p><p>Diagnosis. Gegeneophis bavali sp. nov. differs from G. primus, G. seshachari, G. pareshi and G. valmiki in having secondary annular grooves (12 and 13 in the two known specimens) and differs from the latter three species, additionally, in lacking an unsegmented terminal shield (sensu Kotharambath et al. 2012). The new species differs from all other congeners, that have secondary annular grooves, in having&gt; 135 primary annuli (136 and 138 in the two known specimens) versus &lt;132 primary annuli.</p><p>Additional comparisons. Gegeneophis bavali sp. nov. is an attenuate Gegeneophis with many primary annuli and relatively few secondary annular grooves. The two known specimens of G. bavali sp. nov. have 136 and 138 primary annuli, more than reported for any other congeners except G. pareshi (145–151; Giri et al. 2011) and G. valmiki (137–145; Dinesh et al. 2025). The new species differs from G. pareshi and G. valmiki not only in having fewer primary annuli, but also in having (versus lacking) secondary grooves, and in lacking (versus having) an unsegmented terminal shield. No caecilians are known to exhibit both an unsegmented terminal shield and secondary annular grooves. Among the eight other congeners with secondary annular grooves, only G. tejaswini has primary annular counts reported to exceed 130 (125–131, n = 8: Kotharambath et al. 2015).</p><p>Description of holotype. Some meristic and morphometric data are given in Table 1. Condition good; c. 6 mm ventral incision into coelom is present c. 78 mm anterior to vent; mouth preserved slightly open; skin slightly cut and a scale pocket open on dorsum c. 52 mm from snout at a point where the vertebral column is broken. An additional scale pocket was opened dorsally, c. 6.9 mm from the posterior terminus for examining the scales. Overall shape generally cylindrical, slightly dorsoventrally compressed and uniform throughout. In dorsal view, head neither notably U- nor V-shaped; its sides straight and converging from back of head to distinct bulges of TPs, then converging more substantially in front of TAs to a blunt snout tip.</p><p>In ventral view lower jaw and upper lip more rounded than snout, upper jaws visible anterior to CMs. In lateral view upper lip very slightly concave, teeth of outer series visible in lateral and ventral views. Eyes not visible externally. TAs almost along the imaginary lines between nares and CMs. In lateral views, CMs very slightly closer to bottom than to top of head, nares approximately equidistant from top, front of snout, and bottom. In dorsal view nares barely visible, very slightly inset, not visible in ventral view. TAs approximately same size as nares, marginally visible in ventral but not in dorsal view; TPs visible in dorsal and ventral views. Midventral crease extends anteriorly from NG1, stops well before the tip of lower jaw.</p><p>PMs strongly recurved, decreasing in size posteriorly, largest at the antero-medial position; second anterior tooth missing on the right side. VPs strongly recurved, smaller than PMs, decreasing in size towards posterior. OMs mostly large, second and third from anterior the largest, with less pronounced size reduction than in the upper jaw, teeth moderately recurved except for slightly recurved anteriormost teeth. Gap present anteromedially between two OM halves. IMs small, anteromedial tooth is slightly bigger. Tooth cusps across all tooth rows could not be clearly observed under light microscopy.</p><p>No diastema between vomerine and palatine teeth; palate moderately concave transversely; tongue unattached anteriorly; narial plugs well developed; choanae subcircular, interchoanal distance approximately twice the width of each choana.</p><p>C1 and C2 approximately same width. C1 longer than first PA, not much shorter than (approximately 2/3 length of) C2. NG1 faint, more evident laterally, complete ventrally and dorsally. NG2 conspicuous, complete. NG3 as clear as NG2, very faint and widely incomplete ventrally. Dorsal margins of NG2 pigmented dorsolaterally on both sides. All NGs orthoplicate, with no obvious curvature. Single TGs on both collars, that on C2 clear and longer, that on C1 very faint.</p><p>AGs generally faint, except posteriorly where well-marked on all sides; AGs complete; no substantial regional variation in lengths of PAs, except some slightly shorter immediately before vent. Each AG with single row of pale enlarged granular glands posterior to less conspicuous narrow dark band, less clear along the first few PAs.</p><p>First SAG visible dorsolaterally on 125th PA, middorsally complete from 127th PA, ventrally complete on 131st to 135th PAs. Posteriorly one row of scales dorsally in pocket as deep as length of PA. Scales are semicircular or oblong. Small terminal cap, approximately same length as one adjacent PA. Posteriormost AG approximately at the level of posterior margin of disc.</p><p>Terminus bluntly rounded, slightly more so than head; no terminal keel. Disc around vent fairly well circumscribed, subcircular, slightly wider than long, with 11 (eight posterior, three anterior) slightly irregular denticulations, posterior ones longer than those anterior; vent somewhat subcircular.</p><p>In life (Fig. 2), body distinctly pinkish, except posteriormost end moderately dark grey. Head notably pale, margins of some bones somewhat visible externally through translucent skin. Eyes not visible externally. In preservative (Fig. 3), body grey, paler anteriorly and ventrally, darker posteriorly. A thin, dark line along the body midventrally, less conspicuous along the posterior half. Head creamy whitish in colour, paler than adjacent body, no pigmentation anywhere on the head region, upper lip margin creamy, lower lip margin whitish, first collar more whitish than second, naris and TAs not particularly more whitish than the surrounding areas.</p><p>AGs mostly inconspicuous, except posteriorly where SAGs complete dorsally. TT whitish. Disc surrounding the vent whitish, numerous closely spaced glands present along the posterior margin. Five AGs interrupted by disc surrounding the vent. No AGs posterior to disc. No terminal shield.</p><p>Variation and additional information from paratype. Condition generally good, except for internal break of vertebral column at midbody. Male (phallodeum partly everted) with c. 5.6 mm ventral incision into coelom c. 66 mm anterior to vent. No substantial difference from external morphology of holotype. Morphometric and meristic data in Table 1. Colour pattern same as holotype. Three and four bicusped premaxillary teeth on right and left halves, respectively; one replacement tooth present on each side. Maxillary with seven monocusped teeth on each side, one missing on left (empty socket is included in the total count); four teeth on right maxillary and one on left detached from sockets. Maxillary teeth become smaller towards posterior end of row. Ten and eleven vomeropalatine teeth (three or four on the vomer, seven on the palatine) on right and left halves, all monocusped, smaller posteriorly. Eight dentary and two inner mandibular teeth on each side, all monocusped. Inner mandibular medial teeth much larger. Dentary teeth, second and third from anterior largest.</p><p>Etymology. The specific epithet bavali, pronounced “baavali”, derives from the name of the Bavali River, which flows through the geographic area of the type locality. The name “Bavali” is believed to have originated from the Malayalam term “Vavu Bali” which refers to ritualistic offerings made to ancestors during the Vaishakha Mahotsavam at the Kottiyoor Shiva Temple held annually on the banks of the Bavali river. The type locality lies within one of the numerous feeder rivulets of a tributary in the Bavali catchment. Originating in the Brahmagiri slopes in Wayanad and fed by multiple tributaries, the Bavali flows westward, eventually discharging into the Arabian Sea as the Valapattanam River. For nomenclatural purposes the specific epithet is considered a noun in apposition.</p><p>Suggested vernacular name. Bavali Gegeneophis or Bavali Geg(English), ��വƋ� Ɵ�Ɵ���OE����NJ� (Malayalam).</p><p>Distribution, Natural History and Conservation Status. Gegeneophis bavali sp. nov. is currently known only from its type locality. The site lies within an undulating landscape dominated by terraced plantations interspersed with streams and rivulets, predominantly cultivated with rubber and coconut. The immediate habitat consists of a small, actively managed mixed terraced plantation composed of coconut trees and various domesticated fruiting trees, bordered on the western elevated side by a rubber plantation (Fig. 4). A minor tributary, averaging 3 m in channel width, flows along the northern boundary of the collection site.</p><p>The precise collection location was at an elevation of 332 m and exhibited the following microhabitat characteristics: 87% canopy cover, 90% ground vegetation, 40 mm humus layer, 40% leaflitter surface coverage, a sandy clay loam soil (determined using the hand texturing method of, e.g., Dubbin 2001) with penetrability of 0.5 kg /cm 2, pH of 6.7, and soil temperature of 25.6 ° C. Sampling (digging) effort at the site comprised two person-hours, resulting in a search area of 24.5 m 2. The specimens were found in moist soil, approximately 2m apart. Our fieldwork of c. 60 person-hours within a c. 30 km radius of the type locality did not yield in additional localities or specimens of Gegeneophis bavali sp. nov. .</p><p>Gegeneophis bavali sp. nov. is known only from two specimens from a single locality. Although it appears to tolerate some low-intensity agriculture at this locality, very little is known of its general ecology and nothing of its reproductive biology, and it is likely to qualify as ‘Data Deficient’ under IUCN Red List criteria.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D287EC527BFFDE4AE1198D1BA4FF11	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	Kotharambath, Ramachandran;Vengot, Ranjith;Gower, David J.	Kotharambath, Ramachandran, Vengot, Ranjith, Gower, David J. (2026): A new species of Gegeneophis Peters, 1879 (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Grandisoniidae) from the Western Ghats of northern Kerala, India. Zootaxa 5782 (3): 571-580, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5782.3.9, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5782.3.9
03D287EC527DFFD14AE11EBE1AE8FF00.text	03D287EC527DFFD14AE11EBE1AE8FF00.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Gegeneophis Peters 1879	<div><p>Key to the identification of species of Gegeneophis</p><p>The most-recently published key to the species of Gegeneophis was presented by Giri et al. (2003) for the then six recognised species. Since then, 10 additional species have been described (including G. bavali sp. nov.), one species ( G. fulleri) transferred to a different genus ( Chikila: Kamei et al. 2012), and one species, G. nadkarnii, considered a junior subjective synonym of G. danieli (Gower et al. 2013) . The key is based largely on (mostly external) morphology, but geographical information is also included to distinguish G. pareshi and G. valmiki because these two species have slightly overlapping numbers of primary annuli (Giri et al. 2016; Dinesh et al. 2025).</p><p>1 Primary annuli lacking secondary annular grooves........................................................ 2</p><p>- Some primary annuli with secondary annular grooves..................................................... 4</p><p>2 Unsegmented terminal shield absent; &lt;120 primary annuli.......................................... G. primus</p><p>- Unsegmented terminal shield present;&gt; 120 primary annuli................................................ 3</p><p>3 Primary annuli &lt;130.................................................................... G. seshachari</p><p>- Primary annuli 145–150, South Goa, ca. 15° N .................................................... G. pareshi</p><p>- Primary annuli 137–145, Maharashtra, ca 17.7° N ................................................. G. valmiki</p><p>4 Primary annuli&gt; 135................................................................. G. bavali sp. nov.</p><p>- Primary annuli &lt;135................................................................................ 5</p><p>5 Primary annuli &lt;115............................................................................... 6</p><p>- Primary annuli&gt; 115............................................................................... 7</p><p>6 All teeth bicusped; central Eastern Ghats distribution; anteriormost secondary annular grooves occurring 6–10 primary annuli from terminus...................................................................... G. orientalis</p><p>- Some (some premaxillary-maxillary and most outer mandibular) teeth monocusped; southern Western Ghats distribution; anteriormost secondary annular grooves occurring 7–17 primary annuli from terminus................ G. ramaswamii</p><p>7 Primary annuli bearing secondary annular grooves&gt; 50.................................................... 8</p><p>- Primary annuli bearing secondary annular grooves &lt;50.................................................... 9</p><p>8 Primary annuli &lt;120....................................................................... .. G. danieli</p><p>- Primary annuli&gt; 120....................................................................... G. goaensis</p><p>9 Primary annuli&gt; 124.............................................................................. 10</p><p>- Primary annuli &lt;124.............................................................................. 11</p><p>10 Primary annuli 125–131, 18–28 of which bear secondary annular groove............................. G. tejaswini</p><p>- Primary annuli 125–127, 13–15 of which bear secondary annular grooves.............................. G. krishni</p><p>11 Primary annuli &lt;100...................................................................... G. madhavai</p><p>- Primary annuli&gt; 110.............................................................................. 12</p><p>12 Primary annuli bearing secondary annular grooves&gt; 25......................................... G. mhadeiensis</p><p>- Primary annuli bearing secondary annular grooves &lt;25........................................... G. carnosus</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D287EC527DFFD14AE11EBE1AE8FF00	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	Kotharambath, Ramachandran;Vengot, Ranjith;Gower, David J.	Kotharambath, Ramachandran, Vengot, Ranjith, Gower, David J. (2026): A new species of Gegeneophis Peters, 1879 (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Grandisoniidae) from the Western Ghats of northern Kerala, India. Zootaxa 5782 (3): 571-580, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5782.3.9, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5782.3.9
