Light and electron microscopic observations on the organization of skin and associated glands of two caecilian amphibians from Western Ghats of India.

We adopted light and electron microscopy to understand the structure of the skin of two species of caecilians, Ichthyophis tricolor and Uraeotyphlus cf. oxyurus, from Western Ghats of Kerala, India. The surface of the skin of these caecilians contains an irregular pattern of microridges.

Stages in follicle cell/oocyte interface during vitellogenesis in caecilians Ichthyophis tricolor and Gegeneophis ramaswamii: a transmission electron-microscopic study.

We describe the ultrastructural organization of the vitellogenic follicle stages in two caecilian species. Monthly samples of slices of ovary of Ichthyophis tricolor and Gegeneophis ramaswamii from the Western Ghats of India were subjected to transmission electron-microscopic analysis, with special attention to the follicle cell/oocyte interface. In order to maintain uniformity of the stages among the amphibians, all the stages in the caecilian follicles were assigned to stages I-VI, the vitellogenic and post-vitellogenic follicles being assigned to stages III-VI.