Ityphilus melanostigmus
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Ityphilus melanostigmus faces severe threats from deforestation and agricultural expansion across its limited range in the Western Ghats of India. The species' dependence on moist soil conditions in undisturbed forest ecosystems makes it particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and degradation. Climate change poses an additional threat through altered precipitation patterns that could disrupt the humid microhabitats essential for this fossorial caecilian's survival.
Habitat
This species inhabits moist, well-drained soils in tropical montane forests of the Western Ghats, typically found in leaf litter and upper soil layers of undisturbed forest ecosystems. It requires consistently humid conditions and is associated with areas of high organic matter content in forest soils.
