Ichthyophis bannanicus: Bannan caecilian

Bannan caecilian - Ichthyophis bannanicus
( Yang, 1984 )

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$Photo1 in /var/www/vhosts/virtualzoo/classifications/display.php on line 584
No Photo Available


Subspecies:	Unknown
Est. World Population:

CITES Status:	NOT LISTED
IUCN Status:	Least Concern
U.S. ESA Status:	NOT LISTED

Body Length:
Tail Length:
Shoulder Height:
Weight:

Top Speed:
Jumping Ability:	(Horizontal)

Life Span:	in the Wild
Life Span:	in Captivity

Sexual Maturity:	(Females)
Sexual Maturity:	(Males)
Litter Size:
Gestation Period:

Habitat:

This species inhabits streams, creeks, rivers and nearby puddles, ponds, marshes and fissures, and adjacent cultivated fields close to villages. Adults are subterranean, and often hide in rock crevices, soil caves, or under tree roots during the day and forage for earthworms at night. Its activities are largely temperature dependent. When the temperature is below 15 C, it will enter hibernation and will only become active when the temperature is above 20 C in the spring. This species is oviparous with terrestrial eggs and aquatic larvae. The breeding season takes place from April-May, during which time the female will lay 30–62 eggs on a stream bank. This species exhibits protective behaviour, with adults remaining near to guard the eggs (Bei et al. 2012). The larvae have been recorded from gentle streams with pebbles for substrate (Fei et al. 2012).

Range:

This species was previously only known from China, where it occurs in seemingly fragmented subpopulations across southern China, from Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, between 100–900 m asl (Fei et al. 2012). It has now also been confirmed throughout Viet Nam, between 4-1,200 m asl (Nguyen et al. 2005, Poyarkov and Vassilieva 2011, Hecht et al. 2013, Ngo et al. 2014, Geissler et al. 2015; L.T. Nguyen, T.Q. Nguyen and C.T. Pham pers. comm. February 2021). A number of new subpopulations have been found in recent years, suggesting that the species occurs more widely than has been mapped, especially in intervening areas between known subpopulations. It is thought to possibly occur in adjacent northeastern Myanmar and northern Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), however, its presence in these countries has not yet been confirmed.

Conservation:

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species occurs in several protected areas including the Dinghushan National Nature Reserve in China, and Bach Ma National Park, Na Hang Nature Reserve and Tam Dao National Park in Viet Nam. This species is on the "List of Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Value Terrestrial Wild Animals under States Protection", under the protection of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife", which provides a moderate degree of protection and makes it illegal to collect (China Red List Assessment Workshop June 2019).

Research Needed
Further research is required to fully resolve the taxonomic status of the species, as well as its distribution.