The dead creatures discovered near a water source in Katunje village, Dhading, on Monday were not snakes as the locals had claimed. Herpetologists have said the creatures were in fact Sikkimese caecilians,  subterranean amphibians.

Sikkimese caecilians are common in tropical, semi-evergreen forests and water lands, herpetologist Kul Bahadur Thapa said.

“They could have died after the water source dried up in the area. They were apparently exposed to hot temperature, which they are not used to,” Thapa said.

Katunje locals had discovered hundreds of dead caecilians at a water source in Kaulebash on Monday. The incident had raised alarm among many as the locals were convinced that the dead creatures were snakes.

Ram Bahadur Bajracharya of Katunje said they used to see the snake-like creatures every now and then near

the water source.

“All this time we thought they were snakes, even offered prayers to them as Naag

(serpent deity) when the water source started to dry up,” Bajracharya said.

Karan Bahadur Shah, professor of zoology at the Tribhuvan University, said caecilians are also found in Ilam, Palpa and Chitwan.