The Daily Beast - Chikilidae, A New Species of Legless Amphibian - February 23, 2012

02/23/2012

The Daily Beast - Chikilidae, A New Species of Legless Amphibian - February 23, 2012

AP Photo/ www.frogindia.org, Sathyabhama Das Biju

In this photo released by www.frogindia.org, a chikilidae egg is shown in the soils of northeast India. Since the age of dinosaurs the chikilidae has burrowed unbothered beneath the monsoon-soaked soils of remote northeast India, unknown to science and mistaken by many villagers as a deadly, miniature snake. Their discovery, published Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012, 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.

AFP PHOTO/WWW.FROGINDIA.ORG/Sathyabhama Das Biju/HO

Researchers digging through mud in northeast India have discovered a new family of legless amphibians in a rare scientific breakthrough detailed in a study released on February 22, 2012.

AFP PHOTO/WWW.FROGINDIA.ORG/Sathyabhama Das Biju/HO

The family of burrowing, tailless creatures was identified by scientists working for five years in remote Indian states including Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

Follow Wanda on Twitter @wgpix

Posted by at 12:00:00 AM in Animals, Science

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02/23/2012