Ichthyophis cf. kohtaoensis (Nishikawa et al., 2012)

Mulcahy, Daniel G., Lee, Justin L., Miller, Aryeh H., Chand, Mia, Thura, Myint Kyaw & Zug, George R., 2018, Filling the BINs of life: Report of an amphibian and reptile survey of the Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) Region of Myanmar, with DNA barcode data, ZooKeys 757, pp. 85-152 : 85

Ichthyophis cf. kohtaoensis (Nishikawa et al., 2012)

Description.

A single individual was found. Not dissected, sex and maturity unknown, likely juvenile; 144 mm SVL, 2 mm TailL. This individual had a bright yellow ventrolateral stripe in life (white in preservation) on each side ending below eye, ~273 primary annuli, 3 caudal annuli, eye visible, and tentacle opening much nearer eye than external choana.

Natural history notes.

This individual was discovered on the forest floor, immediately following a heavy rain.

General distribution.

Tanintharyi and peninsular Thailand.

Molecular data.

The 16S sequence is 98% identical to several sequences in GenBank, including GB AB686168, Ichthyophis cf. supachaii UKMHC 877 and KUHE 23189 from Malaysia and Thailand, respectively. However, our specimen fell outside of the 16S clade containing I. cf. supachaii , I. cf. hypocyaneus , and I. cf. kohtaoensis in a neighbor-joining tree of Ichthyophis 16S sequences in GenBank. Additional 12S data for our specimen (GenBank MG944814) placed it in the "Ichthyophis cf. kohtaoensis" clade (Suppl. material 1: Fig. 1) sister to KUHE 19615, 19617, and 19659 (GenBank AB686107-9), from Ko Samui Island, Thailand ( Nishikawa et al. 2012). We note a fourth specimen identified as "I. cf. kohtaoensis" (GenBank AB686146) by Nishikawa et al. (2012), from the southern Malaysian Peninsula, is placed in a "I. cf. supachaii" + I. cf. hypocyaneus + Ichthyophis sp. 1" clade, consistent with their study (Suppl. material 1: Fig. 1).

Specimens examined.

USNM 586851.

Red List status.

Ichthyophis kohtaoensis listed as LC (Least Concern).

Additional Ichthyophis .

We included one caecilian from the legacy collection, an Ichthyophis multicolor from Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (USNM 576283). This specimen is 14% different (COI) and 8.3% different (16S) from our I. cf. kohtaoensis specimen, and is identical to GenBank FR716007, I. multicolor , CAS 212254, a paratype ( Wilkinson et al. 2014) also collected from Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (Suppl. material 1: Fig. 1). Additionally, we sequenced four individuals from the California Academy of Sciences, two "Ichthyophis sp." from Bago Division (CAS 239657; 12S GenBank MG944807; and CAS 239722; 12S and 16S GenBank MG944808-9) and they were placed in the I. multicolor clade, thus extending the known distribution of this species. The other two specimens were from near Dawei (CAS 247969; 12S and 16S GenBank MG944812-13) and near Kawthaung (CAS 247466; 12S and 16S GenBank MG944810-11), both in the Tanintharyi Region, and were placed in our I. cf. kohtaoensis clade, expanding the range of this clade from the southern Tanintharyi Region and the Thai-Malay Peninsula into the northern Tanintharyi.