Ichthyophis davidi is a new caecilian

Caecilian

The caecilians are an order of amphibians that superficially resemble earthworms or snakes. They mostly live hidden in the ground, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. All extant caecilians and their closest fossil relatives are grouped as the clade Apoda. They are mostly...

 species of India. It has been discovered in Chorla, a village situated on the borders of Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

, Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

 and Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 inside the Mhadei region. Ichthyophis davidi is one of the largest known limbless yellow striped caecilian from the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

, India. It is named in honour of David Gower

David Gower

David Ivon Gower OBE is a former English cricketer who became a commentator for Sky Sports. Although he eventually rose to the captaincy of the England cricket team during the 1980s, he is best known for being one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of the modern era. Gower played 117 Test...

, department of zoology, Natural History Museum, London in recognition of his contributions to Indian caecilian studies. The common name suggested for the species is Chorla giant striped Ichthyophis. The discovery was made by researchers Gopalakrishna Bhatta of the department of biology, BASE Educational Services Private Limited, Bengaluru; K. P. Dinesh and C. Radhakrishnan of western ghats regional centre, Calicut; P. Prashanth of Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, Agumbe; and Nirmal Kulkarni of Mhadei Research Centre, Chorla Ghat.