A New Striped Ichthyophis (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Ichthyophiidae) from Kon Tum Plateau, Vietnam

Abstract

A new striped Ichthyophis is described on the basis of three specimens collected from Kon Tum Plateau in central Vietnam. The new species is distinguished from all other striped congeners by a combination of characters that includes moderate body size and number of annuli, robust body and tail, broad and uninterrupted lateral stripe, tentacle far from eye, and small number of scale rows. The mitochondrial DNA sequence of the new species greatly differs from those of the other striped Ichthyophis from Indochina and its adjacent areas.