Assessment Results
Ichthyophis kodaguensis
Kodagu Striped Ichthyophis
Order:
Gymnophiona
Family:
Ichthyophiidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
India
on:
02 Sep 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Venu Govindappa, Dave Gower and Ramachandran Kotharambath
IUCN Global Red List:
Data Deficient (DD)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
23.55855885
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Data Deficient (DD) | |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 3 | Phylogenetic significance | The taxon’s Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, as generated by the ZSL EDGE program. (These data are not editable by Assessors). | ED value 20 - 50 | |
| 4 | Protected habitat | Is a population of at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon included within a well-managed or reliably protected area or areas? | No / unlikely | This species is so far known with certainty only from Venkidds Valley Estate, about 20 km south of Madikeri (5 Mercara), in Kodagu (5 Coorg) District, southern Karnataka, in the Western Ghats of India, at 1,143m asl (Wilkinson et al. 2007). It is likely to occur more widely, and there is a specimen from an unspecified locality in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka or Kerala (Wilkinson et al. 2007). It also occurs in Rainforest Retreat north from Madikeri Town in Kodagu District (Molur and Molur 2011), and Basarekattae in Koppa Taluk, Chickmagalur District, Karnataka State (Bhatta et al. 2011). It has also been found in Bolamudi estate (Mercara) and Maskalmardi estate (Tarikere), also in Karnataka State (Venu Govindappa, pers. comm. September 2020). It has not been recorded from any protected areas. |
| 5 | Habitat for reintroduction, conservation translocation or supplementation | Does enough well-managed and reliably protected habitat exist, either within or outside of currently protected areas that is suitable for conservation translocation, including population restoration or conservation introduction? | Unknown | |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | |
| 7 | In situ conservation activities | Are any in situ conservation actions currently in place for this species? (Only required if a Red List Assessment has not been completed, or if new actions have been implemented since the last Red List Assessment. (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.). | No / unlikely | It has not been recorded from any protected areas. |
| 8 | In situ conservation activities | Are additional in situ conservation actions required to help conserve this species in the wild (e.g. habitat restoration and/or protection, control of invasive species, national legislation etc.)? | Unknown | |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | More information is needed on its range and ecological requirements of this species (Wilkinson et al., 2007). Its distribution and biology remain largely unknown and more survey work and research are needed. |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Threats unknown | This taxon has also been recorded from a wet evergreen forest fragment in the proximity of a cattle pathway, a small stream, and in the area of an organic coffee-cardamom plantation (Molur and Molur 2011), and also within a coffee plantation with canopy and a perennial source of water (Bhatta et al. 2011). Although it can clearly survive in some agricultural habitats, more information is needed on its range and ecological requirements of this species before threats can be determined. |
| 11 | Over-collection from the wild | Is the taxon suffering from collection within its natural range, either for food, for the pet trade or for any other reason, which threatens the species’ continued persistence in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 12 | Population recovery | Is the known population of this species in the wild large enough to recover naturally, without ex situ intervention if threats are mitigated? | Unknown | There is no information on its abundance. The original type series of seven specimens were collected in a single day by digging in soil adjacent to a small stream (Wilkinson et al. 2007). Additional specimens were recorded, from Coorg District (Molur and Molur 2011), and from Chickmagalur District (Bhatta et al. 2011), as well as several specimens from Karnataka State. |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | |
| 14 | Biological distinctiveness | Does the taxon exhibit a distinctive reproductive mode, behaviour, aspect of morphology or physiology, within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.)? | No aspect of biology known to be exceptional | |
| 15 | Cultural/socio-economic importance | Does the taxon have a special human cultural value (e.g. as a national or regional symbol, in a historic context, featuring in traditional stories) or economic value (e.g. food, traditional medicine, tourism) within its natural range or in a wider global context? | No | In the past, some people considered this to be a snake, and they are sometimes killed because of this (Ramachandran Kotharambath and David Gower, pers. comm. September 2020). After recent newspaper articles about the species this misconception has been predominantly addressed (Varad Bhagwan Giri, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 16 | Scientific importance | Is the species vital to current or planned research other than species-specific ecology/biology/conservation within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.) e.g. human medicine, climate change, environmental pollutants and conservation science? | No research dependent on this species | |
| 17 | Ex situ research | Does conserving this species (or closely related species) in situ depend upon research that can be most easily carried out ex situ? | No | |
| 18 | Ex situ conservation activities | Is any ex situ research or other ex situ conservation action currently in place for this species? (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.) | No / unlikely | |
| 19 | Husbandry analog required | If an ex situ rescue program is recommended for this species, would an analog species be required to develop husbandry protocols first? | Unknown | |
| 20 | Husbandry analog | Do the biological and ecological attributes of this species make it suitable for developing husbandry regimes for more threatened related species? i.e. could this species be used in captivity to help to develop husbandry and breeding protocols which could be used for a similar, but more endangered species at a later stage? | No | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Not held in captivity to date | |
| 22 | Conservation education/ecotourism potential | Is the species especially diurnal, active or colourful, or is there an interesting or unusual aspect of its ecology that make it particularly suitable to be an educational ambassador for conservation of the species in the range country, either in zoos or aquariums or within ecotourism activities? | No | |
| 23 | Mandate | Is there an existing conservation mandate recommending the ex situ conservation of this taxon? | No | |
| 24 | Range State approval | If an ex situ initiative was proposed for this species, would it be supported (and approved) by the range State (either within the range State or out-of-country ex situ)? | Yes / probably | |
| 25 | Founder specimens | Are sufficient animals of the taxon available or potentially available (from wild or captive sources) to initiate an ex situ program, if one was recommended? | Unknown | Research into availability of founders needs to be prioritised. |
| 26 | Taxonomic status | Has a complete taxonomic analysis of the species in the wild been carried out, to fully understand the functional unit you wish to conserve (i.e. have species limits been determined)? | Yes |
Citation:
Venu Govindappa, Dave Gower and Ramachandran Kotharambath 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Ichthyophis kodaguensis, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5450
Accessed 17 May 2024
