New legless amphibian family found in Indian mud

In this photo released by www.frogindia.org, an adult chikilidae sits on its eggs in the soils of north-east India. Since the age of dinosaurs the chikilidae has burrowed unbothered beneath the monsoon-soaked soils of remote north-east India, unknown to science and mistaken by many villagers as a deadly, miniature snake. -- PHOTO: AP

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Researchers digging through mud in north-east India have discovered a new family of legless amphibians in a rare scientific breakthrough detailed in a study released on Wednesday.

The family of burrowing, tailless creatures was identified by scientists working for five years in remote Indian states including Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

'DNA analysis has confirmed that this is an entirely new family,' Dr SD Biju, a professor at the University of Delhi who led the project with team members from Britain and Belgium, told AFP.

'Habitat destruction is a big problem for amphibians worldwide, and discoveries like this prove that we must protect the environment to save parts of the natural world we know little about,' he said.