Into the Earth: Chun and the Chikilidae

Field work: Rachunliu G. Kamei digging for the secretive caecilians in Nagaland. Photo by RG Kamei

Aheli Moitra
Dimapur | April 23

When Rachunliu G. Kamei attended the World Congress of Herpetology (study of amphibians and reptiles) in Canada in August last year, she was termed a rarity. And rare it is, even for men the world over, to face the extreme conditions that field biologists have to—digging in constant rain or scorching sun on marshland can turn many away. But not Chun, as she is colloquially known.

In 2012, Chun’s team, led by ‘the frog man of India’, Sathyabama Das Biju, discovered and described a new family of caecilians (legless amphibians) in the North East of India. They are the Chikilidae, derived from the Garo word Chikgil, the closest linguistic equal to caecilians in the region. The Chikilidae was revealed to be of ancient lineage, about 140 million years old, its closest relative traced back to Africa.

“There are two amphibian hotspots in India—the Western Ghats and the North East. Though the Western Ghats are about four times spatially smaller than the North East, there are more than 20 known species of caecilians there while only four were known in the North East!” says Chun, passionately explaining what inspired her into embarking on a PhD on the subject. “It is essential to take up study of the bio-diversity of this region on a war footing as nomenclature is central to conservation,” she reflects. In addition to the Chikilidae, Chun’s team discovered (yet unclassified) more than 40 new species of amphibians; scientifically described three new species of caecilians, three species of frogs, and one new genus of caecilians (Chikila).

In the past, the knowledge of caecilian amphibians of the North East was derived from “opportunistic studies/collections” resulting in poor documentation, placed in natural history collections. 

The museum specimens lay badly damaged. So Chun started digging, literally and figuratively, from Darjeeling to Tripura to search for the obviously many more amphibians that exist in the hilly marshlands of this bio-diverse region. 

Her research started in 2006 at the Systematics Lab of the Department of Environmental Studies at Delhi University. “It was difficult to convince my mentor (SD Biju) because any research in the North East (or elsewhere) requires resources and caliber, both difficult to find in our field,” says Chun, who might be dependent on resources but has plenty caliber. In 1995, she topped the Nagaland MBBS exam, only to be rejected a seat by the state on tribal grounds. In 2005, she qualified for the Nagaland Civil Services, rejected once again on the same ground. A bitter experience of tribal politics ensued. For this single Naga woman, life became the steeplechase.

But what the state lost, amphibians of the North East gained. Chun completed her masters in botany and became an Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. Alongside teaching, Chun began her research and conducted her maiden field expedition to Manipur. She found her first new species of caecilian, which their team named after the village in Tamenglong district she found it in: Ichthyophis khumhzi. 

This, and what followed, was hardly simple. Found only in the wet tropics, caecilians complete their entire life cycle underground. Armed with a head torch (for the frog of the night), khukuri, gum boots and spade, Chun and her team dug “everywhere”—jhum fields, fringe of paddy fields, forests and river banks. From 2006 to 2010 (when she quit her job as an Assistant Professor to research full time), the team put in 1177 person hours of soil digging all across the North East, making it the “most extensive dedicated caecilian survey ever attempted”.

“Sometimes we would dig ten days and find one animal with a broken back. It was challenging but whenever we found one, it was deeply exhilarating,” she elucidates with a spark in her eye. 

Chun’s discovery of the new family, Chikilidae, in 2012, was described as the third most popular scientific discovery of the year by the National Geographic, with its photograph ranked second most popular news picture of 2012. In 2007 (published in 2012), her team made a rediscovery of a caecilian species Chikila fulleri, in Silchar; described by a British physician naturalist in 1904, the species was never spotted again, and was believed to have gone extinct.

“Caecilians have a simple body configuration (just like a small tube) and are thus morphologically cryptic. There was a long process of study, involving comparison and hundreds of hours on the microscope, studies using other parameters like the DNA etc.,” reminisces Chun of her research spanning six years. When on field, she interacts with people to absolve the myth that caecilians are “poisonous snakes” waiting to attack. Thanks to her work, people around the world have come to know of the harmless, poorly-known, rarely-seen caecilians. A YouTube video of Chikilidae has attracted 124,417 viewers. 

But Chun and her team work in a politically sensitive region. Digging with head torches in hill forests exposes them to other crawling creatures of the night—armed forces of the state and rebel groups.“A couple of times, in Manipur and in Nagaland, I had to go to military posts to notify and request them not to shoot at sight if they see a torchlight moving about in the jungles,” Chun laughs, though the situation demands worry. Funds are sparse and Chun’s team cannot go into the jungles with biologist regalia. Suspicion in this bio diverse, and equally politically volatile, zone looms large. 

And then there is gender. “Can you climb?” is a question she is often asked, which she answers amply with her skillful management of almost any terrain. Her local guides have been surprised by her deft footing on the steepest and wettest of hills. Known as the “snake woman” in many areas of the North East, she is also believed to ‘trade’ in animals. Who comes all the way here to look for animals so ardently if no money is involved? It is difficult to explain the motives of amphibian research and the importance of nomenclature to all. 

Chun goes on nonetheless. “It is exciting to work in this field as a woman, and despite political setbacks, I have the opportunity to work in my area,” she gleams, simultaneously thankful to her mentor, SD Biju, who has motivated her to continue, rough weather, people or terrain. No wonder then, participants at the World Congress applauded her courage in venturing where most men don’t—into the Earth.