JoTT 3(11): 2153-2228 26 November 2011 by ZOO-WILD

November 2011 | Vol. 3 | No. 11 | Pages 2153–2228 Date of Publication 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

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JoTT Paper

3(11): 2153–2166

The potential effects of climate change on the status of Seychelles frogs (Anura: Sooglossidae) Justin Gerlach Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles, 133 Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge CB1 7BX, UK. Email: jstgerlach@aol.com

Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Paul Pearce-Kelly Editor’s Note: The author uses a very low temperature increase scenario relative to the global average increase trajectory we are currently proceeding on. He doesn’t take other climate change related impacts into consideration, such as extreme weather events, which would further compound the threat factors. Although this paper can be considered to portray a relatively conservative impact evaluation, it shows how even relatively modest changes can impact these species, and therefore, is a valuable contribution to the literature and associated discussion. Manuscript details: Ms # o2619 Received 30 October 2010 Final received 19 June 2011 Finally accepted 06 October 2011 Citation: Gerlach, J. (2011). The potential effects of climate change on the status of Seychelles frogs (Anura: Sooglossidae). Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2153–2166. Copyright: © Justin Gerlach 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Author Details: Justin Gerlach is the Scientific Coordinator for the Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles. His research focus is on the evolution of island ecosystems and their responses to anthropogenic change. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (project 0925406).

Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles

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Abstract: The status of the Seychelles frogs of the family Sooglossidae was investigated, using monitoring data from 1993–2010, climate data from 1998–2010 and studies of populations and local climate effects. Climate monitoring at each plot covered rainfall and temperature, with leaf wetness and soil moisture being monitored additionally at one site. Analysis of the data and ecological modelling of the distribution identify geographical patterns in climate which explain the present distribution of the different sooglossid species. In addition it identifies a drying trend in the first quarter of the year which corresponds to frog population declines in mid-altitude forests. This is interpreted as evidence of an ongoing deterioration in the suitability of habitats for the frogs, with declines recorded in areas of marginal suitability. By extension it is assumed that currently optimal frog habitat is also undergoing a decline in suitability, due to early year decreases in moisture. Projected changes in climate were used to predict changes in ranges of the sooglossids over the next 90 years. This predicts significant declines, with the possible extinction of the palm frog Sooglossus pipilodryas by 2100. Accordingly all four sooglossid species should be categorised as Endangered, rather than their current status of Vulnerable. Captive assurance colonies have not been successfully established to date. Captive groups have been maintained with a high degree of success but breeding has not been recorded so far. Further work needed for the conservation of the frogs is outlined: development of a reliable method of monitoring the cryptic S. thomasseti and development of captive breeding techniques. Keywords: Climate change, populations, Seychelles, Sooglossidae, Sooglossus.

Introduction Dramatic declines in many species of amphibians have been reported in recent years. These have been attributed to general threat factors such as habitat loss and invasive species (Baille et al. 2004; Vié et al. 2009) but particular concern has been raised over the impacts of diseases and climate change, to which some amphibians are particularly vulnerable (Baillie et al. 2004; Stuart et al. 2004, 2008; Thomas et al. 2004; Foden et al. 2008; Stork 2009). The main effects of climate change relevant to amphibians are expected to include general global increases in temperature (although with local decreases), changes in rainfall patterns, raised sea levels and increases in storm intensity and the frequency of climatic extremes. Amphibians are often expected to be particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their dependence on water and humid microhabitats. In addition many species show a high degree of geographical restriction, further increasing their vulnerability to extinction. The frog family Sooglossidae is extremely vulnerable in this regard. This family is restricted to the Seychelles islands and has a total range of 50km2, with species ranges varying between 15 and 50km2. Seychelles supports an important amphibian fauna in the world, despite being small in terms of species it is dominated by endemic species

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(12 out of 13) and contains six endemic genera and one endemic family (the Sooglossidae). Six of these species are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List, these include all four members of the Sooglossidae which are currently categorised as Vulnerable on the basis of restricted range. The impacts of climate change have not been considered fully in Red List assessments for the Seychelles amphibians. Recent data suggests that the threat from climate change may be severe for at least some species of the Sooglossidae. The Sooglossidae occur in forests of higher elevation and are associated with damp habitats. At least one of the species, Sooglossus thomasseti, is considered to be associated with mist-forest habitat and would therefore be expected to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. The Seychelles islands have an equatorial climate with relatively little variation, sea-level temperatures range from 24–31 0C. In addition, many of the islands are high (over 10m high, rising to 991m), minimising the potential impacts of climate change on these islands. Despite this there is evidence of significant climate change impacts, including recent species extinctions (Gerlach 2010). These extinctions have been attributed to climatic stresses and ecosystem changes resulting from changing rainfall patterns and sea level rise. Changes in rainfall may have particularly severe effects on species naturally at the edge of climate tolerance (such as the snail Rhachistia aldabrae on the semi-arid atoll of Aldabra: Gerlach 2007b) and those adapted to high rainfall systems (such as cloud forest species, including the snail Pachnodus velutinus: Gerlach 2010). The Sooglossidae are all associated with high altitude habitats, and at least two species (S. sechellensis and S. thomasseti) are believed to be limited to high rainfall and cloud forest habitats (Nussbaum 1984; Gerlach 2007a). The results of a study into climate limitations and impacts of climate change on the Sooglossidae are reported here.

Methods Study species The Sooglossidae comprise four species in two genera; Sooglossus (comprising S. thomasseti (Image 1) and S. sechellensis (Image 2)) and a second genus for which two names have been proposed almost 2154

simultaneously: Seychellophryne (Nussbaum & Wu 2007) and Leptosooglossus (van der Meijden et al. 2007). This latter genus comprises two species, S. gardineri (Image 3 a,b) and S. pipilodryas (Image 4)). Due to the uncertainty of nomenclatural precedence in this case, all Sooglossidae are here referred to the genus Sooglossus for convenience. In addition to the four Seychelles species the monotypic Indian family Nasikabatrachidae has been placed in the Sooglossidae on cladistic grounds (Frost et al. 2006). This wider usage of Sooglossidae lacks major synapomorphies, obscures 65 million years of evolution and combines ecologically, behaviourally and morphologically different taxa, accordingly it is not followed here, and the conventional usage of Sooglossidae as a family of frogs endemic to the Seychelles islands is retained. Sooglossus sensu stricto are small to medium size frogs found at high altitudes (typically above 400m above sea level (asl)) in leaf litter or in rock crevices. Both species have terrestrial eggs and carry their tadpoles on the female’s back (Brauer 1898; Gerlach 2007a). Seychellophryne/Leptosooglossus species may be found down to 200m asl and may be terrestrial or partially arboreal. S. gardineri has terrestrial eggs with direct development, the reproductive mode of S. pipilodryas is unknown. All four species are currently categorised as Vulnerable on the basis of their restricted ranges and the ongoing habitat deterioration caused by invasive plant species (Gerlach 2007a). Study site The study concentrated on the island of Silhouette. This is the second highest (774m) and third largest (1995ha) of the Seychelles Islands. As such, it supports examples of most of the habitats of the islands (Senterre et al. 2009) and all of the amphibians. This makes it suitable for comparison of the effects of different ecological factors on the different species. A total of 500 locations on the island were searched for sooglossids. Individual locations were at least 25m apart and covered an area of 50m2. Distribution surveys were also carried out on Mahé to provide a test of the ecological modelling of distribution derived from the more detailed Silhouette studies. Sooglossid surveys Populations were

estimated

using

manual

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J. Gerlach © Justin Gerlach

Image 1. Sooglossus thomasseti Mahe

Image 2. Sooglossus sechellensis Mahe

Image 3b. Sooglossus gardineri Silhouette on finger

Image 3a. Sooglossus gardineri Mahe

Image 4. Sooglossus pipilodryas Silhouette

searching of quadrats. 1x1 m sample areas were used in all habitats occupied by the sooglossids. Leaf litter was removed from a 10cm band around the quadrat perimeter, and then each leaf was removed, starting from one corner. This systematic approach ensured that no frogs were overlooked or escaped from the quadrat before being detected. Twenty quadrats were used at each site. This method only sampled leaf-litter species and was supplemented by searches of trees. Arboreal sooglossids have only been located in the leaf axils of palms and bananas, and at each site 20 palms of each species (Nephrosperma vanhouetteana, Pheonicophorium borsigianum, Verschaffeltia splendida and Roscheria melanochaetes) and all bananas (5–20 individuals) were searched. Each interstice was examined by carefully pulling down

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the leaf rachis. Quadrats provide a direct estimate of population density; for palm axils the number of frogs per palm could be converted to a density estimate by combination with quantified habitat data. Monitoring surveys were carried out in wet and dry seasons from 1994 in two sites, and a third from 2000. Since 2009 these have been combined with vegetation and invertebrate diversity monitoring and climate recording. Monitoring continued until April 2011. Habitat Habitat (vegetation and invertebrates) were studied in 1990 and 2000, and monitored biannually from 2009. Habitat was evaluated in 30 sites, including 20 occupied by sooglossid frogs. In each site 10 5x5 m quadrats were used to record all trees over 2m tall and an equal number of 1m2 quadrats to record all herbaceous and shrubby plants (angiosperms and pteridophytes) under 2m. All were recorded as individuals and identified to species. In addition to vegetation recording invertebrates were studied by using ten 1m2 quadrats in the same sites. In each quadrat leaves were turned over and the number of ants, earwigs and woodlice were recorded as indicators of common sooglossid prey items. These were not identified to species due to difficulties of field identification for these taxa. The effects of habitat components on frog abundance have been reported previously (Gerlach 2007). Forest health monitoring was established in 2009, recording leaf cover and size, and the abundance of restricted species, especially cloud forest indicators (the Vulnerable tree species Glionnetia sericea and the microhabitat fern Haplopteris ensiformis) and the Critically Endangered Trilepisium gynandrum (mid-altitude tree) and the fern Thelypteris puberula (proposed Critically Endangered).

Climate Three aspects of climate were investigated: (i) Temporal monitoring from a fixed site—allowing changes in rainfall and temperature to be evaluated over a 12 year period. Daily data were collected from 1998–2010, comprising 0700hr temperatures (to 0.10C) and daily rainfall (0.5 mm). (ii) Geographical variation—enabling frog distribution to be related to local climate. Data were collected from two sites in 2008–2010 and six sites from 2009–2010. These comprised temperature (0.10C) every two hours and rainfall in 0.2mm increments. Comparisons were made with monthly total rainfall, 0700hr temperatures and the number of days where temperature exceeded the maximum active sooglossid temperature (280C). Microclimates were investigated by recording temperature in shaded sites within boulder fields and in non-boulder field sites 10m away to determine whether localised frog distributions could be explained by microclimate effects. (iii) Relationship between rainfall, surface moisture and soil moisture—two species (S. sechellensis and S. thomasseti) are most abundant in cloud forests. These may be more affected by cloud moisture than direct rainfall. Data were collected in 2009, comprising recording every two hours of temperature (0.10C), soil moisture (proportion of water per unit of soil) and leaf wetness (percentage), and rainfall in 0.2mm increments. Ecological modelling Distribution models of the four species were created for Silhouette Island, enabling prediction of distribution changes in the future. These models used the distribution data from the surveys—155 sites and 10 selected environmental variables covering altitude, climate (maximum annual temperature, quarterly rainfall), slope, rock cover, tree cover and vegetation components previously identified as having

Table 1. Significant correlates of frog diversity (from Gerlach 2007a).

Sooglossus sechellensis Sooglossus thomasseti

Environment

Plants

Animals

altitude

Colea sechellensis

Mollusca

Glionnetia sericea, palms

Amphipoda, Hirudinea Amphipoda, Hirudinea, Lepidoptera

Sooglossus gardineri Sooglossus pipilodryas

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Palms

Chelicerata, Hymenoptera (ants)

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a significant correlation with sooglossid distributions - Colea sechellensis, Glionnetia sericea, palms; Table 1). As ecological niche models can vary depending on the method of construction, two different methods were used: the genetic algorithm for rule-set prediction (GARP) (Stockwell & Noble 1992; Pereira 2002), and the maximum entropy approach (Maxent) (Phillips et al. 2006). The models were refined by successively removing ecological variables and repeating the model generation. Testing the reliability of distribution models is complicated by the lack of independence between the data used to generate the model and the available data for testing. In the present study the models were generated from data from Silhouette Island and were tested by comparison with distribution records from Mahé. Projected future distributions The ecological distribution modelling was repeated using projected temperature and rainfall projections over the next 90 years to predict likely future range changes by 2100. Projected temperature change was at least 1.30C over the next 90 years (based on a

J. Gerlach

regional estimate ranges of 0.14–0.37 0C per decade [Christensen et al. 2007; Cai et al. 2011], and existing Seychelles data giving a trend of 0.250C per decade trend [Gerlach 2010]) and rainfall change to 82–100% of 1998 levels (Christensen et al. 2007).

Results Sooglossid surveys The distribution of sooglossids on Silhouette Island is shown in Images 5 & 6. This confirms the distributions reported in earlier studies with the addition of data on population densities. Results of repeated surveys at Gratte Fesse, Jardin Marron and Mon Plaisir are summarised in Fig. 1. Distribution of high density areas along two transects are shown in Fig. 2. Climate preferences All four sooglossid species are restricted to cool, damp areas with none found in areas regularly experiencing temperatures over 280C (Table 2). The most extreme limitations are found in S. thomasseti

b Silhouette

Silhouette

Mahé

d Silhouette

Silhouette

Mahé

10km

Image 5. Recorded distribution of sooglossids on Mahé and Silhouette islands, Seychelles. a - Sooglossus thomasseti; b - S. sechellensis; c - S. gardineri; d - S. pipilodryas

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Image 7. Habitats on Silhouette Island, after Senterre et al. 2008 excluding areas unsuitable for sooglossids (non woodland areas and coconut plantations). Pale grey – low to mid-altitude forest (low suitability), dark grey – high forest (suitable), dark grey lines – boulder fields (high suitability), black – cloud forest (high suitability)

and S. sechellensis which are mainly restricted to areas with high levels of cloud cover. d

Habitat Ranges of sooglossids overlap several different habitat types (Image 7). Previously reported (Gerlach 2007) correlations between habitat factors and frog abundance are listed in Table 1.

Image 6. Modelled and recorded distribution of sooglossids on Silhouette Island. GARP modelled distribution shown on left, Maxent on right. Probability of occurrence shown in colours: orange - 50–75%, red >75%. Black circle sooglossid observed, grey circle - sooglossid heard but not observed, open circle - absent. a - Sooglossus thomasseti; b - S. sechellensis; c - S. gardineri; d - S. pipilodryas

Climate 1. Temporal monitoring No clear long term (10 year) patterns were identified in data from La Passe; there were negative trends in both average temperatures and rainfall but these were not significant in regression analysis (P > 0.05, R2 < 0.12 in both cases). Significant changes were detected, however, for rainfall in the first quarter of the year (an annual decrease of -48.053 mm, P < 0.01, R2 = 0.539), in other quarters the trend was increasing rainfall, but

Table 2. Altitude and climate ranges for the four species in the family Sooglossidae Temperature (0C)

Humidity (%)

Altitude range (m)

Normal range

maximum

minimum

main

valleys

total

Sooglossus thomasseti

18–25

>400

>310

150–991

Sooglossus sechellensis

18–26

>300

>220

300–991

Sooglossus gardineri

18–28

>95

>40

150–991

Sooglossus pipilodryas

18–28

>95

>40

150–550

2158

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J. Gerlach South-east monsoon 1.40 1.20

1.00

2009

Date

Date 2.00

1.00

2007

2010

2008

2006

2004

2002

0.00 2000

0.00 1998

0.20

1996

0.20

2005

0.40

2001

0.40

0.60

1999

0.60

0.80

1997

0.80

1995

frogs per metre

1.20

Mon Plaisir

1993

Mon Plaisir

1994

frogs per metre

1.40

2003

North-west monsoon

Jardin Marron

frogs per metre

1.50

0.50

1.00

0.50

2010

2008

2006

2004

2002

2000

1998

1996

1994

0.00

2009

2007

2005

2003

1.00

Gratee Fesse

frogs per metre

0.50

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Pisonia forest

pipilodryas gardineri sechellensis thomasseti

frogs per metre

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2003

2002

0.30

0.00 2000

2001

0.00 2000

frogs per metre

1.00

2001

1999

1997

1995

0.00

0.20

0.10

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2010

2008

2006

2004

2002

2000

1998

1996

1994

0.00

1992

Figure 1. Population density data, showing changes in recorded frog population densities at Mon Plaisir (550m), Jardin Marron (390m), Gratte Fesse (350m) and the Pisonia forest (500m).

1990

pipilodryas + gardineri

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Gratte Fesse

Altitude (m)

100

450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

100

% cinnamon or sooglossid abundance

500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

% cinnamon or sooglossid abundance

Altitude (m)

Mt. Corgat

Figure 2. Sooglossid populations, climate and levels of invasion by Cinnamomum verum along transects to Mont Corgat and Gratte Fesse. White bars - sooglossid density recorded as 0 (absent), 50 (low density - heard but not quantifiable), 100 (moderate to high - recorded in quadrats). Black bars - percentage of Cinnamomum trees. Shading - climatically suitable areas are shaded. A boulder field site with an exceptionally low altitude population of sooglossids is marked with an asterisk on the Gratte Fesse transect, this has a suitable microclimate in a generally unsuitable zone.

2nd quarter

1400

700

1200

600

10 20

08 20

1200

Rain fall (mm)

1000 800 600 400 200

this was not significant (P > 0.05, R2 < 0.097) (Fig. 3). 7 am temperatures also showed some seasonal variation: temperatures decreased in all seasons (0.020C per year, R2 = 0.07) except for doldrums of April–May which increased by 0.03ºC (R2 = 0.11). The months with the strongest increases were May (0.050C, R2 = 0.177), June (0.090C, R2 = 0.256), and August (0.0480C, R2 = 0.145). The only month with strong cooling was December (0.040C, R2 = 0.106) although this was principally due to two low temperature years (2003 and 2009), exclusion of these results in a nonsignificant cooling of 0.010C (R2 = 0.05).

10 20

08 20

06 20

04 20

02 20

00 20

98 19

10 20

08 20

06 20

04 20

02 20

Figure 3. Quarterly rainfall changes at La Passe in mm

2160

4th quarter

3rd quarter

450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

10 20

08 20

06 20

04 20

0 00

100

200

Rain fall (mm)

300

400

600

500

800

1000

Rain fall (mm)

800

Rain fall (mm)

1st quarter 1600

2. Geographical variation Temperature Altitude effects were found for temperature with an overall 0.840C decrease in temperature per 100m. The east of the island was hotter than the west, with up to 10% difference between eastern and western sites at comparable altitudes. This was most pronounced at high temperatures; when 0700hr temperatures approached 260C on the east side temperature differences were negligible (1%). This may be due to a cooling effect of the seasonal winds. The west has a lower altitude increment than the east, with a

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Rainfall Altitudinal variation was recorded for rainfall but this was not a straightforward pattern. Seasonal changes in distribution were identified with higher levels of rainfall in the east of the island December–February (north-west monsoon), higher rainfall at intermediate altitudes in March–May (doldrums), high rainfall in the north-west in June–August (south-east trades) and high levels at high altitude in September–November (doldrums). This corresponds to a pattern of higher rainfall at high altitudes combined with a rain-shadow effect driven by seasonal wind patterns. Microclimates The main surveys and the climate monitoring consider air temperature. In the study of microhabitats ground temperature was found to be 1–5% lower than the air temperature (recorded 1.5m above the ground). Boulder fields were found to be 2–6% lower than the air temperature (Fig. 4). Relationship between rainfall and moisture Leaf wetness and soil moisture were recorded in only one site (Mon Plaisir). No significant correlations were found between these factors and rainfall. Leaf wetness varied from 7.7–100 %. During rain wetness was constantly above 28%, but near saturation levels (approaching 100%) were recorded in the absence of rain at the time of recording or in the previous three hours. This suggests that rainfall is not the primary cause of leaf wetness at this site. Average daily leaf wetness was stable between 2200–0800 hrs, but declined after 0800hrs, reaching a minimum at 1200– 1300, correlating closely with air temperature. There is a seasonal component to this circadian pattern: in July the decrease is 80–95% to 50%, thereafter the nighttime wetness is close to 100% and the minimum is less pronounced, in November–December the minimum is 70–75%. From these data it can be concluded that

30 Air temperature Ground temperature Boulder field temperature

Temperature (C)

0.3–0.5 0C per 100m decrease, this is most pronounced in January-February, in association with the seasonal north-easterly winds causing a greater altitudinal cooling effect in the west. The east has 0.7–1.1 0C decrease per 100m, this cooling is most pronounced in May–August and in December, again in accordance with seasonal (May–September) south-easterly winds causing cooling on the east side.

J. Gerlach

28 27 26

25 24

100

200 300 Altitude (m)

400

500

Figure 4. Microclimate effects on temperature - air, ground and boulder field temperatures

leaf wetness in the cloud forest is caused primarily by cloud condensation, which is strongly influenced by temperature, giving rise to a strong circadian and much weaker seasonal pattern. Soil moisture did not correlate with rainfall or with leaf wetness. No temporal patterns were identified other than the greatest rate of drying being in July– September (values less than -0.027), and the lowest rate in December (-0.018 – -0.012). Fluctuations were relatively small, less than 10% per hour. Almost all data points gave negative values, showing that the soil was freely draining and that all moisture entering the soil (from rain or cloud condensation) was rapidly lost. Positive values (indicating increasing soil moisture) were recorded as only isolated events lasting 1–84 hours. These corresponded to days with prolonged rain, rather than isolated rain records, and were recorded in otherwise dry months (July, August, October). Rainfall was strongly seasonal at all altitudes with high rainfall in December–April. Most rainfall was recorded at night (2000–0200 hr) and rainfall was very rare at 1100–1500 hr, although there was no clear pattern during the day. Rainfall was mostly isolated to short showers, lasting less than an hour; low numbers of hours of rain were recorded in most months except December (210 hours in July, but 86-140 in August–November) which had 178 hours of rain. In comparison, hours with detectable moisture (from rain or cloud, as indicated by a leaf wetness value of over 50%) increased from July through to December

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(from 536 to 726), with a temporary drop to 673 in November. Comparison of sooglossid population changes with climatic factors Rainfall decreased significantly in the first quarter (-48.053mm/yr, P < 0.01, R2 = 0.539) due to strong reduction in amount and duration of rainfall in February (and to a lesser extent in March). This is balanced by weak increases in other quarters (P > 0.05, R2 < 0.097) resulting in stable annual totals. The number of wet days in April increased, giving a more uniform distribution of rain outside of the first quarter. The only marked change outside of the first quarter was a highly significant increase in the number of wet days and rainfall in July; this was countered by decreases in wet days in other months. No significant changes in air temperature were detected (P > 0.05, R2 < 0.12). The months with the strongest 7am temperatures increases were May (0.050C, R2 = 0.177), June (0.090C, R2 = 0.256) and August (0.0480C, R2 = 0.145), all non-significant (P > 0.05). The only month with strong cooling was December (0.040C, R2 = 0.106, P > 0.05) although this was principally due to two low temperature years (2003 and 2009), exclusion of these results in a nonsignificant cooling of 0.010C (R2 = 0.05, P > 0.05). No significant correlations were found between frog population and temperature changes. Frog population monitoring data covers three sites studied semi-annually (Mon Plaisir, Jardin Marron and Gratte Fesse) and one site studied on three occasions (Pisonia forest). Although the latter site covers 20 years the data is too limited to identify any patterns. At high altitude (Mon Plaisir, 550m) no significant population changes were detected in any species or season, population densities were not significantly different in different seasons. At Jardin Marron (390 m) population densities in the north-west monsoon were 2-3 times higher than in the southeast. High population densities were recorded in the north-west monsoon season in 1992–2002, followed by strong declines; by 2007 densities were very low. This corresponds to high first quarter rainfall years in 1999–2002 at La Passe, first quarter rainfall appears to be a good predictor of population levels. In the southeast season population densities remained stable until 2004, as with the north-west monsoon low levels were 2162

reached in 2007. At Gratte-Fesse (360m) population densities were higher in the north-west monsoon than in the south-east, but only for S. pipilodryas and S. gardineri and only strongly so before 2003. The north-west monsoon saw population decreases from 2007 onwards, this was initially rapid (2006–2007) for S. sechellensis. For S. gardineri populations have been low and stable, S. pipilodryas low and stable or increasing. In the south-east season declines started earlier, in 2003 (with the exception of 2005 which was a high density year with high first quarter rainfall). For S. pipilodryas and S. gardineri populations fluctuated until 2003, from 2004 populations dropped to low levels in both species. For S. pipilodryas there were slight increases, and slight decreases for S. gardineri. In every case declines were most pronounced for the commonest species at that site. These results indicate that population density declines correspond to decreases in first quarter rainfall, and are most pronounced in the north-west monsoon (the first quarter of the year). Declines in the south-east season also correspond to changes in first quarter rainfall although no significant changes in the corresponding quarter (3rd) were identified. High altitude sites (over 390m) are buffered from these changes. The Gratte Fesse site shows a slightly different pattern to that of Jardin Marron, with a delayed population decline, high population levels and a higher density of S. sechellensis. Climate data for 2009 show that Gratte Fesse has 14% more rain than Jardin Marron delaying the point at which declines occur. The only statistically significant correlations between frog populations and climatic factors were for 1st quarter rainfall. S. gardineri and S. pipilodryas populations combined correlate with 1st quarter rainfall at Jardin Marron (R2 = 0.4842), but not otherwise. This correlation is largely due to the significant correlation for S. gardineri (R2 = 0.527), a weaker correlation was found for S. pipilodryas (R2=0.4009). S. sechellensis correlated with rainfall at Gratte Fesse (R2 = 0.3563). These statistical results support the patterns described above: S. sechellensis is restricted to extremely damp sites and is found at high altitudes, which are relatively stable climatically. Lower altitude sites are probably of marginal suitability for this species due to climatic instability and they are strongly affected by decreases in rainfall (as at Gratte Fesse). S. gardineri and S. pipilodryas are more tolerant of dry conditions, only

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at Jardin Marron were conditions sufficiently marginal for the rainfall correlation to be apparent. Thus local population declines reflect the vulnerability of sites to the effects of reduced rainfall in the wet season.

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Population compared to habitat change No significant change in vegetation composition was recorded over the study period in the range of the sooglossids. Distribution modelling The predicted and recorded distribution of sooglossids are shown in Images 6 & 8. In all cases GARP and Maxent models produced similar results, with the Maxent models giving a wider predicted distribution. The comparison with the Mahé distribution data (Image 8) gives a close match between predicted and observed distributions, indicating that both models types are reliable. The components of the most accurate models for each species are listed in Table 3. Projected impacts of climate change Projected future distributions as a result of climate change are summarised in Table 4 and Fig. 5, with the probable extinction of sooglossids on Silhouette island by 2100 and high levels of fragmentation of the Mahé populations.

Discussion and conclusions The present study has confirmed earlier suggestions (Nussbaum 1984; Gerlach 2007a) that climate is the primary determinant of the distribution of the Sooglossidae. There is evidence of population declines at lower altitudes in sites that are close to the limits of climatic suitability. Changes in temperature, rainfall and cloud cover may be expected as a result of global climate change. There are no reliable models for the Seychelles islands as the geographical area is too small for reliable modelling at present. Long-term temperature monitoring data is available for sea level at Mahé island and indicate a rise of at 0.250C per decade (Gerlach 2010). Higher altitude data is too limited for meaningful evaluation but with an altitude range of 991m it is probable that a similar pattern of

Image 8. Modelled and recorded distribution of Sooglossidae on Mahé Island. Key as Image 2. a - Sooglossus thomasseti; b - S. sechellensis; c - S. gardineri

Table 3. Components of the most accurate distribution models for sooglossids. Species

Components

S. sechellensis

rain, temperature, tree cover, Colea

S. thomasseti

Rain, temperature, rock, tree cover, palms

S. gardineri

Rain, temperature, tree cover

S. pipilodryas

Rain, temperature, tree cover, palms

temperature rise will extend over all sites. Rainfall data shows an increased frequency of both low and high rainfall periods over a long time series for Mahé

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Table 4. Projected changes in Sooglossidae distribution (area of occupancy in km2) as a result of climate changes Present range (2010)

2030

2050

2070

2090

2100

Sooglossus thomasseti

Sooglossus sechellensis

Sooglossus gardineri

Sooglossus pipilodryas

Sooglossus thomasseti

Sooglossus sechellensis

Sooglossus gardineri

Sooglossus pipilodryas

GARP

Maxent

thomasseti sechellensis

gardineri

Area (km2)

pipilodryas 30 20 10 0 2010

2040

2070

2100

Figure 5. Projected changes in Sooglossidae distribution (in km2) as a result of climate changes

island. The present study also recorded changes in rainfall patterns (although annual totals for Silhouette island remain stable). These recorded changes suggest that conditions at lower altitude sites will become progressively more stressful for sooglossids. At present there is no evidence of significant change in the high altitude sites which support the main sooglossid populations. In March 2009 all habitats on Silhouette island (including previously stable mist forest) were found to be dry; sooglossids were restricted to small depressions in the forest floor. This restriction had not been observed previously (observations starting in mid-1997). These exceptional dry conditions were repeated in March–June 2010 and from March 2011 onwards. Long-term survival in these conditions may be unlikely. The projected climate change is predicted to lead to sooglossid range contractions of at least 60% by 2100 (Figs 5; Table 4). This may lead to the extinction 2164

of sooglossids on Silhouette island by 2100, at which point the Silhouette endemic S. pipilodryas would be extinct. Over this period the Mahé populations are expected to become significantly fragmented. At present, roads and areas of un-forested habitat (rock, tea plantations, scrub and gardens) probably prevent significant gene flow between the northern, central and southern areas; by 2030 these will probably form completely isolated populations. Palaeoclimatological records suggest that the temperatures projected from 2100 were exceeded on several occasions in the past million years (approximately 130,000 and 325,000 years ago) (Petite et al. 1999; Jouzel et al. 2007). At these times similar range contractions are likely to have occurred, however, the present isolation of sooglossids on the islands of Mahé and Silhouette is thought to have arisen approximately 100,000 years ago when rising sea-levels separated the islands (Gerlach et al. submitted). Past fragmentation of the Mahé populations may be reflected in patterns of genetic diversity which would be worthy of further study. All four sooglossid species are currently listed on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable on the basis of their restricted ranges (Stuart et al. 2008). In the light of these recent changes and projections for future climate change all four sooglossids should be considered Endangered (criterion B2a,bii,iii) on the basis of restricted range (IUCN criteria for this category require an area of occupancy under 500km2), fragmented range and declining area of occupancy and quality of habitat. Conservation of these species requires increased efforts to prevent significant future climate change and mitigation of current levels of change. Along

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with effective carbon dioxide emissions reductions, the only practical mitigation is restoration of degraded habitats (control of invasive plants) to maximise natural ecosystem adaptability. Establishment of assurance colonies may be needed to ensure the long term survival of these species. Long-term monitoring is also required, with the development of new methods more applicable to monitoring S. thomasseti.

References Baillie, J.E.M., C. Hilton-Taylor & S.N. Stuart (eds). (2004). 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. A Global Species Assessment. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK, xxiv+191pp. Brauer, A. (1898). Ein neuer Fall von Brutege bei Fröschen. Zoologische Jahrbücher Abtheilungen Systematik, Ökologie und Geograpie der Tiere 12: 89–94. Cai, W., A. Sullivan, T. Cowan, J. Ribbe & G. Shi (2011). Simulation of the Indian Ocean Dipole: A relevant criterion for selecting models for climate projections. Geophysics Research Letters 38: L03704 Christensen, J.H., B. Hewitson, A. Busuioc, A. Chen, X. Gao, I. Held, R. Jones, R.K. Kolli, W.-T. Kwon, R. Laprise, V. Magaña Rueda, L. Mearns, C.G. Menéndez, J. Räisänen, A. Rinke, A. Sarr & P. Whetton (2007). Regional Climate Projections, pp. 847–940. In: Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor & H.L. Miller (eds.) Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Foden, W.B., G.M. Mace, J.-C. Vié, A. Angulo, S.M. Butchart, L. DeVantier, H.T. Dublin, A. Gutsche, S.N. Stuart & E. Turak (2008). Species susceptibility to climate change impacts. Pp. 77–88. In: Vié, J.-C., C. Hilton-Taylor & S.N. Stuart (eds). The 2008 Review of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Frost, D.R., T. Grant, J. Faivovich, R.H. Bain, A. Haas, C.F.B. Haddad, R.O. De Sa, A. Channing, M. Wilkinson, S.C. Donnellan, C.J. Raxworthy, J.A. Campbell, B.L. Blotto, P. Moler, R.C. Drewes, R.A. Nussbaum, J.D. Lynch, D.M. Green & W.C. Wheeler (2006). The amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 297: 1–370. Gerlach, J. (2007a). Distribution and status of the Seychelles frogs (Amphibia: Anura: Sooglossidae). Herpetological Journal 17: 115–122. Gerlach, J. (2007b). Short-term climate change and the extinction of the snail Rhachistia aldabrae (Gastropoda:

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worldwide. Science 306(5702): 1783–1786 Stuart, S.N., M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R.J. Berridge, P. Ramani & B.E. Young (eds) (2008). Threatened Amphibians of The World. Lynx Edicions, Barcelone, 776pp. Thomas, C.D., A. Cameron, R.E. Green, M. Bakkenes, L.J. Beaumont, Y.C. Collingham, B.F.N. Erasmus, M. Ferreira de Siqueira, A. Grainger, L. Hannah, L.

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JoTT Communication

3(11): 2167–2176

Description of three new species of the genus Allochthonius Chamberlin, 1929 (Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudotyrannochthoniidae) from China Junfang Hu 1 & Feng Zhang 2 College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei 071002, China Email: 1 jfanghu@gmail.com, 2 dudu06042001@163.com (corresponding author) 1,2

Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Mark S. Harvey Manuscript details: Ms # o2767 Received 19 April 2011 Final received 10 September 2011 Finally accepted 18 October 2011 Citation: Hu, J. & F. Zhang (2011). Description of three new species of the genus Allochthonius Chamberlin, 1929 (Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudotyrannochthoniidae) from China. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2167-2176. Copyright: © Junfang Hu & Feng Zhang 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Author Details: see end of this article Author Contribution: JH undertook illustration, identification and wrote the manuscript. FZ supervised Junfang Hu during the study and provided necessary suggestions during manuscript preparation. Acknowledgements: This text benefited greatly from helpful comments by Dr. Volker Mahnert (Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Geneva), and many thanks are expressed to Dr. Mark Harvey (Western Australian Museum, Perth, Australia) for supplying data for inclusion in the map. Thanks are also given to Dr. Hiroshi Sakayori (Mitsukaido Daini Senior High School) and Dr. Hidebumi Sato (Tsurumi Girls’ Senior High School) for kindly donating valuable literature. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31071885, 30970325, 31093430).

National Natural Science Foundation of China

Abstract: The pseudoscorpion genus Allochthonius Chamberlin, 1929, belonging to the family Pseudotyrannochthoniidae Beier, 1932, is reported from China, and the subgeneric characters of Allochthonius (Allochthonius) are reviewed in detail. Three new species are diagnosed, described and illustrated under the names Allochthonius (A.) fuscus sp. nov., A. (A.) wui sp. nov. and A. (A.) trigonus sp. nov. A distribution map and a key to the species of subgenus Allochthonius (A.) are provided. In addition, Centrochthonius sichuanensis Schawaller, 1995 is transferred to Allochthonius, forming the new combination A. (A.) sichuanensis (Schawaller). Keywords: Allochthonius, Centrochthonius, China, new species, pseudoscorpions, taxonomy, transfer.

INTRODUCTION The pseudoscorpion genus Allochthonius was erected by Chamberlin (1929) for the Japanese type species Chthonius opticus Ellingsen, 1907. This genus was later divided into three subgenera, Allochthonius, Urochthonius Morikawa, 1954 and Spelaeochthonius Morikawa, 1954, by Morikawa (1960) based on the presence or absence of eyes, carapacal chaetotaxy and characteristics of the cheliceral fixed finger teeth. Muchmore (1967) used the morphology of the coxal spines and carapacal chaetotaxy to transfer Allochthonius (Spelaeochthonius) to Pseudotyrannochthonius Beier, 1930. Harvey (1991, 2009) agreed with this view which is reflected in the catalogue of the Pseudoscorpiones, and which we follow in this paper. Presently, the genus Allochthonius is composed of two subgenera Allochthonius and Urochthonius, which are widely distributed in Japan and South Korea. The subgenus Allochthonius (Allochthonius) is composed of seven species, and Allochthonius (Urochthonius) includes eight species (Harvey 2009). While examining pseudoscorpion specimens collected by Dr. Min Wu and Prof. Fusheng Huang from southern and western China, we found some Allochthonius specimens belonging to the subgenus Allochthonius (Allochthonius). Three new species are recognized, which are described and illustrated in this paper. In addition, we assess the taxonomic position of Centrochthonius sichuanensis Schawaller, 1995 which has many characteristics of Allochthonius.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS The patterns of description and the terminology follow Chamberlin (1931) and Harvey (1992). This setal formula of the palpal femur mainly follows Vachon (1941), but the difference from his method is that we divided the “ventral” to “posteroventral” and “anteroventral” (rows in sequence anterioranterodorsal-dorsal-posterodorsal-posterior-posteroventral-anteroventral). The term “rallum” (for flagellum) is adopted following Judson (2007). All specimens are preserved in 75% alcohol and were examined and illustrated under a Leica M165c stereomicroscope with a drawing tube, which was also used for the measurements. Detailed examination was carried out with a Nikon YS100 general optical microscope. Temporary slide mounts were made in glycerol. All measurements are given in mm. The specimens referred here are deposited in the Museum of Hebei University (MHBU), Baoding City, China. The following abbreviations are used in the text for the trichobothria: b - basal; sb - sub-basal; st - subterminal; t - terminal; ib - interior basal; isb - interior sub-basal; ist - interior sub-terminal; it - interior terminal; eb - exterior basal; esb - exterior sub-basal; est - exterior sub-terminal; et - exterior terminal; dx -trichobothria dx. 6–4, 18 refer to carapacal chaetotaxy: carapace with 18 setae, anterior margin with six setae and posterior margin with four setae.

RESULTS Allochthonius (Allochthonius) Chamberlin, 1929 Morikawa, 1960: 98; Harvey, 1991: 132. Description: Carapacal chaetotaxy: 6–4, 18; 8–4, 22; 8–4, 24; 10–4, 24; 10–4, 26; 10–4, 28; or 10–4, 30. Four eyes, anterior eyes with developed tapeta and situated on eye-tubercles, posterior eyes with less developed tapeta than anterior ones and without eyetubercles. Epistome and spinneret are generally absent but sometimes present. Cheliceral palm with five or six setae, fixed finger generally provided with one large basal and one subapical teeth, and between them two or three small teeth (or with only one basal large tooth and a few small teeth before it, or with several small teeth on the median swelling without any large tooth). 2168

Rallum composed of a biseriate row of about eight to eleven pinnate setae. Chelal finger with well-spaced and prominent marginal teeth, and movable finger with a tubercle between two teeth (Figs. 6, 13, 21, 26). Coxal spines present on coxae I only, consisting of a tubercle expanded terminally into a spray of about four to ten clavate, fan-shaped or gladiate spines. With a well developed bisetose intercoxal tubercle. Palps, chelicerae and legs relatively short and robust. Distribution: China, Japan, South Korea. Remarks: Allochthonius (Allochthonius) is similar to the subgenus Allochthonius (Urochthonius) in that: the chelal fingers have well-spaced and prominent marginal teeth; coxal spines are only present on coxae I, consisting of a tubercle expanded terminally into a spray of about eight processes, which extend anteriorly and more or less shield the apical process of coxae I (Morikawa 1960). The two subgenera A. (Allochthonius) and A. (Urochthonius) can be distinguished by the presence of four eyes, or blind or rarely with two eyes, respectively, which is consistent with Morikawa’s (1960) viewpoint, but the differences from his system is by the dental morphology and tooth number on the cheliceral fixed finger and the number of setae on the cheliceral palm. For instance, Allochthonius (A.) montanus and Allochthonius (A.) shintoisticus both have four eyes, but the cheliceral fixed finger has one large and a few small teeth and five setae on the cheliceral palm in the former, and the cheliceral palm with five setae in the latter. In addition, while examining the specimens collected from China, we found a significant characteristic in all species: the palpal movable finger has a tubercle between two teeth. This tubercle is present in Allochthonius (A.) tamurai (cf. Sakayori, 2003: 25, fig. 5a; 27, fig. 21a), but Sakayori (2003) did not refer to this tubercle in the description. We infer that this characteristic might only exist in the subgenus Allochthonius (Allochthonius), so further study to all species of Allochthonius, with especial attention to the movable chelal fingers, is required. Composition: The subgenus Allochthonius (Allochthonius) comprises seven species (including two subspecies), and distributed in East Asia (Fig. 27); five species distributed in Japan (Allochthonius (A.) borealis Sato, 1984, Allochthonius (A.) montanus Sakayori, 2000, Allochthonius (A.) shintoisticus Chamberlin, 1929, Allochthonius (A.) tamurai

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Sakayori, 1999, Allochthonius (A.) opticus (Ellingsen, 1907) (with the subspecies Allochthonius (A.) opticus opticus (Ellingsen, 1907), Allochthonius (A.) opticus troglophilus Morikawa, 1956); two species, Allochthonius (A.) buanensis W.K. Lee, 1982 and Allochthonius (A.) coreanus Morikawa, 1970, are in South Korea. The three new species described here also belong to this subgenus (Allochthonius (A.) trigonus sp. nov., Allochthonius (A.) fuscus sp. nov. and Allochthonius (A.) wui sp. nov.). In addition, we also include Allochthonius (A.) sichuanensis (Schawaller, 1995) from China in this subgenus. Allochthonius (Allochthonius) sichuanensis (Schawaller, 1995), comb. nov. Centrochthonius sichuanensis Schawaller, 1995: 1046-1048, Figs. 1–5. Remarks: Centrochthonius sichuanensis Schawaller, 1995 was described from material collected in Wolong Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China. The description indicates that the epistome is absent, the coxal spines are on a tubercle, and the carapace has a high number of setae. All of these characters conform to the diagnosis of Allochthonius, not Centrochthonius (M.S. Harvey, pers. comm.). The presence of eyes suggests that it can be treated in the subgenus Allochthonius. We therefore transfer this species to Allochthonius (Allochthonius), and form a new combination, Allochthonius (A.) sichuanensis (Schawaller, 1995).

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related to Allochthonius (A.) tamurai from Japan, but can be distinguished from the latter by the number of coxal spines (six blades spines in latter) and by the shape of the coxal spines (gladiate in latter). Etymology: The specific name is derived from the Latin word “fuscus” means dark colored, referring to the color of the chelal palm. Description: Relatively large species. Body (Image 1) yellow, chelal palm strong yellow and other segments of chela pale yellow. Carapace subquadrate and slightly shorter than broad (0.9 times), carapace indistinctly constricted posteriorly; anterior eyes with well developed tapeta and situated on tubercles, posterior eyes less developed tapeta than anterior ones and without eye-tubercles; epistome absent, space between median setae straight or slightly recurved; chaetotaxy 8–4–4–2–4 (22). Tergal chaetotaxy 4: 4–7: 6–9: 7–9: 7–10: 8–11: 10–11: 10–12: 8–10: 7–10: 2–4 (two tactile setae): 0. Male anterior genital operculum with eight setae, genital opening pit-like in the basal half, 11 marginal

Type material: Holotype male, 24.iii.1975, 26004’N & 119021’E, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China, (Ps.MHBU-FJ750324), Fusheng Huang leg.; Paratypes: 03.iii.1983, one male (Ps.-MHBU-FJ750325), two females (Ps.-MHBU-FJ750326–750327), 30013’N & 120006’E, alt. 134m; Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China, Fusheng Huang leg. Diagnosis: Chelal palm obviously dark in color; carapacal chaetotaxy (Fig. 1) 8–4–4–2–4 (22); coxal spines present on coxae I and consisting of 10 tridentate blades, each blade with a central spine terminally distinctly expanded as fan-shaped, all situated on a common tubercle (Fig. 4). This new species is closely

1.00mm/div

Allochthonius (Allochthonius) fuscus sp. nov. (Figs. 1–8)

Images 1. Habitus, Allochthonius (Allochthonius) fuscus sp. nov

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setae on each side; sternal chaetotaxy: 12–13 + 2×2–3 suprastigmatic microsetae: 12–13 + 2×2–3: 15: 15: 12: 13: 12: 9: 0: 2. Coxae typical, setae P 5, I 4, II 5, III 7, IV 7; intercoxal tubercle present with two setae. Coxae I each with ten spines, arranged on a common tubercle. Cheliceral palm with six setae, of which a minute one is located laterally; palm with moderate hispid granulation interiorly and laterally. Fixed ﬁnger of holotype (Fig. 2) with six teeth, of which nearly equal length (paratype (Fig. 3) with one large basal 2170

Figures 1–8. Allochthonius (Allochthonius) fuscus sp. nov. 1 - carapace, dorsal view; 2 - right chelicera, dorsal view; 3 - paratype male fixed and movable fingers on right chelicera, dorsal view; 4 - coxal spines; 5 - left chelal trochanter, femur and patella, dorsal view; 6 - left chela, lateral view; 7 - leg I; 8 - leg IV. Scale lines: 0.25mm (1–3, 5–8), 0.05mm (4).

and one subapical teeth, between them with two small teeth); movable finger with 14 relatively small teeth of equal length; spinneret absent. Serrula exterior with 17 lamellae, serrula interior with 13 lamellae. Rallum composed of 11 blades with fine barbules, of which the posterior blade is shorter than others. Palp smooth, femur 2.0 times longer than carapace, setal formula 7–9–4–3–5–5–2; chelal palm distinctly expanded towards internal side, chelal finger straight in dorsal view; fixed finger with 17 teeth, first three and last four teeth smaller than others; movable finger with

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18 teeth, all of which nearly equal length and smaller than fixed finger teeth, and with a tubercle between the ninth and tenth teeth from distal end (Fig. 6). Legs (Figs. 7, 8) typical. Femur of leg I 2.2 times longer than patella, tarsus 2.0 times longer than tibia, setae of leg I (trochanter to tibia) 6: 15: 12: 10, setae of leg IV (trochanter to metatarsus) 3: 2: 9: 15: 12; patellae of legs III and IV each with four setae in dorsal row; femur III and IV without dorsal setae; trochanter II with four setae, trochanter III with two setae. Leg IV with two tactile setae present on metatarsus (TS= 0.27) and tarsus (TS= 0.23). Measurements (ratios in parentheses; for the palp, the larger measurements and lower ratios only referring to male). Body length 2.25. Carapace 0.49×0.54 (0.9). Chelicera 0.52×0.26 (2.0), movable

finger length 0.30. Palp femur 1.05–1.22×0.20–0.22 (5.3–5.5), patella 0.50–0.55×0.21–0.23 (2.3–2.4), chela 1.47–1.80×0.30–0.36 (4.9–5.0), palm length 0.52–0.69 (1.7–1.9), movable ﬁnger length 0.94– 1.02 (1.5–1.8 × palm). Leg I femur 0.47×0.08 (5.9), patella 0.29×0.07 (4.1), tibia 0.28×0.06 (4.7), tarsus 0.46×0.05 (9.2); leg IV femur+patella 0.75×0.23 (3.3), tibia 0.57×0.10 (5.7), metatarsus 0.26×0.08 (3.3), tarsus 0.52×0.05 (10.4). Distribution: China (Fujian, Zhejiang). Allochthonius (Allochthonius) wui sp. nov. (Figs. 9–16) Type material: Holotype male, 07.vi.1997, 36 50’N &101059’E, alt. 2699m, Huzhu National 0

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Figures 9–16. Allochthonius (Allochthonius) wui sp. nov. 9 - carapace, dorsal view; 10 - left chelicera, dorsal view; 11 - coxal spines; 12 - rallum; 13 - right chelal trochanter, femur and patella, ventral view; 14 - right chela, lateral view; 15 - leg I; 16 - leg IV. Scale lines: 0.25mm (9, 10, 13–16), 0.05mm (11–12). 2171

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1.00mm/div

New Allochthonius species from China

Images 2. Habitus, Allochthonius (Allochthonius) wui sp. nov.

Forest Park, Qinghai Province, China, (Ps.-MHBUQH970607), Min Wu leg.; Paratypes: 08.vi.1997, one male (Ps.-MHBU-QH970608), 12 deutonymphs (Ps.-MHBU-QH970609–970620), 36050’N & 101059’ E, alt. 2699m, Huzhu National Forest Park, Qinghai Province, China, Min Wu leg. Diagnosis: Large species and body with dark color (Image 2); coxal spines present on coxae I and consisting of ten tridentate blades, each spine with the central one terminal distinctly fan-shaped (Fig. 11). This species resembles Allochthonius (A.) shintoisticus Chamberlin, 1929 from Japan, but differs from it by the chaetotaxy of the carapace (22 setae in A. wui and 24 in A. shintoisticus), by the cheliceral palm (six setae in A. wui and five in A. shintoisticus), and by the shape of coxal spines (fan-shaped in A. wui and clavate in A. shintoisticus). Etymology: The specific name is named after Prof. Min Wu, who collected the specimens. Description: Body deep brown, and chelicerae dark yellow. Carapace subquadrate (0.9 times), basally 2172

constricted, chaetotaxy 8–4–4–2–4, 22; epistome absent; anterior eyes with well developed tapeta and situated on eye-tubercles, posterior eyes with less developed tapeta than anterior ones and without eyetubercles. Tergal chaetotaxy 4: 5–6: 6: 7: 9: 10: 10–11: 10– 11: 8: 6: TT: 0. Male anterior genital operculum with eight setae, genital opening pit-like in the basal half, 12 marginal setae on each side; sternal chaetotaxy: 12 + 2×3 suprastigmatic microsetae: 12 + 2×3: 13: 12: 13: 13: 12: 8: 0: 2. Coxae typical, setae P 5, I 4, II 5, III 6, IV 6; intercoxal tubercle present with two setae. Holotype male coxae I each with 10 tridentate spines (paratype male with nine spines), nine blades arranged on a common tubercle, one blade aside. Cheliceral palm with six setae, of which a minute one is located laterally; palm nearly smooth, but near the base of fixed finger and interior side with distinctly acute granules (Fig. 10); right fixed finger with one large basal and subapical tooth and between them with three small teeth, but the left finger with two large basal teeth and one large subapical tooth, between them two small teeth; movable finger with 13 small teeth of equal length; spinneret absent, serrula exterior with 19 lamellae, serrula interior with 16 lamellae. Rallum composed of 11 dentate blades, of which the posterior one is smaller than others. Palpal femur 2.0 times longer than carapace, setal formula 11–10–5–5–7–8–3; chelal palm distinctly expanded towards internal side, chelal finger straight in dorsal view; fixed finger with 18 acute teeth; movable finger with 21 teeth, and with a tubercle between the seventh and eighth teeth from terminal (Fig. 14). Legs (Figs. 15, 16) typical. Femur 1.7 times longer than patella, patella 3.7 times longer than deep, tarsus 1.9 times longer than tibia, setae of leg I (trochanter to tibia) 5: 11: 10: 11, setae of leg IV (trochanter to metatarsus) 2: 2: 9: 13: 14; patellae of legs III and IV each with four setae in dorsal row; femur III and IV without dorsal setae; trochanter II with five setae, trochanter III with three setae. Leg IV metatarsus and tarsus each with one basal tactile seta, tactile setae present on metatarsus (TS= 0.22) and tarsus (TS= 0.24). Measurements (ratios in parentheses; for the palp, the larger measurements and lower ratios only referring to male). Body length 2.50. Carapace 0.52×0.58 (0.9). Chelicera 0.55×0.25 (2.2), movable finger length

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20 23

0.30. Palp femur 1.36–1.40×0.19–0.23 (6.1–7.2), patella 0.52–0.58×0.21–0.23 (2.4–2.5), chela 1.90– 2.03×0.39–0.40 (4.9–5.1), palm length 0.66–0.73 (1.7–1.8), movable ﬁnger length 1.13–1.25 (1.7 × palm). Leg I femur 0.57×0.08 (7.1), patella 0.37×0.08 (4.6), tibia 0.30×0.07 (4.3), tarsus 0.58×0.06 (9.7); leg IV femur+patella 0.92×0.22 (4.2), tibia 0.65×0.12 (5.4), basitarsus 0.32×0.08 (4.0), telotarsus 0.67×0.06 (11.2). Distribution: China (Qinghai).

Figures 17–23. Allochthonius (Allochthonius) trigonus sp. nov. 17 - carapace, dorsal view; 18 - left chelicera, dorsal view; 19 - coxal spines; 20 - right chelal trochanter, femur and patella, ventral view; 21 right chela, lateral view; 22 - leg IV; 23 - leg I. Scale lines: 0.25mm (22, 23), 0.20mm (17, 18, 20, 21), 0.05mm (19).

Allochthonius (Allochthonius) trigonus sp. nov. (Figs. 17-23) Type material: Holotype male, 03.v.1978, 27 40’N & 118002’E, alt. 200m, Chong’an City, Fujian Province, China, (Ps.-MHBU-FJ780503), Fusheng Huang leg. Diagnosis: Anterior margin of carapace with 27 triangular protuberances of which eight are situated near the anterior eyes (Fig. 17); coxal spines present on coxae I and consisting of seven tridentate blades, each blade with a central branch terminally distinctly 0

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J.F. Hu & F. Zhang 1300

1400

400

9 6 5

2 10 300

7 1000

1100

5 4

1200

1 2 40

400

800 Miles

300 11

sichuanensis

opticus

trigomus

kinkaiensis

wui

ishikawai shintoisticus

14 12

montanus

fuscus N

coreanus 200

buanensis borealis

tamurai 700

700

1400 Miles

biocularis

Figure 25. The known distribution of the subgenus Allochthonius (Allochthonius).

expanded as fan-shaped, six spines on a common tubercle and a single spine slightly separate (Fig. 19). This present species resembles Allochthonius (A.) borealis, but is distinguishable from the latter by the number of blades in the rallum (11 blades, in A. trigonus, and eight blades in A. borealis) and the epistome (present in latter). Etymology: The specific name is derived from the Greek word “trigonon”, means triangle, referring to the shape of triangular protuberances on the carapace anterior margin. Description: Moderately large species. Body bright yellow. Carapace subquadrate and slightly constricted posteriorly, shorter than broad (0.8 times), carapace anterior margin with 27 triangular protuberances of which eight near the anterior eyes; anterior eyes with developed tapeta and situated on eye-tubercles, posterior eyes with less developed tapeta than anterior ones and without eye-tubercles; epistome absent, space between median setae straight or slightly recurved; 2174

chaetotaxy 10–4–6–2–4 (26). Tergal chaetotaxy 4: 4: 7: 6: 8: 10: 9: 12: 11: 8: T2T: 0. Male anterior genital operculum with eight setae, genital opening pit-like in the basal half, 13 marginal setae on each side; sternal chaetotaxy: 14 + 2×3 suprastigmatic microsetae: 14 + 2×3: 14 + 2×3: 13: 13: 12: 12: 11: 11: 0: 2. Coxae typical, setae P 5, I 4, II 5, III 6, IV 6; intercoxal tubercle present with two setae. Coxae I each with seven spines, of which six arranged on a common tubercle and a single spine aside. Chelicera palm with six setae, of which a minute one located laterally; palm nearly smooth, but near the base of fixed finger with distinct granules (Fig. 18), fixed finger with one large basal and one subapical teeth, between them with two small teeth inserted; movable ﬁnger with 18 small teeth of equal length; spinneret absent. Serrula exterior with 17 lamellae, serrula interior with 14 lamellae. Rallum composed of 11 dentate blades, of which the posterior one smaller

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than others. Palp smooth, apart from a patch of minute denticles on anterior surface of trochanter (Fig. 20). Femur 1.7 times longer than carapace, setal formula 8–11–4– 4–5–2–1; chelal palm distinctly expanded towards internal side; chelal finger straight in dorsal view; chelal fixed finger with 18 teeth, of which the basal two smaller than others; movable finger with 16 teeth, with a tubercle between the sixth and seventh teeth from terminal (Fig. 21). Legs (Figs. 22, 23) typical. Femur of leg I 1.6 times longer than patella, tarsus 2.0 times longer than tibia. Setae of leg I (trochanter to tibia) 3: 12: 11: 8, setae of leg IV (trochanter to metatarsus) 2: 2: 9: 12: 12; patellae of legs III and IV each with four setae in dorsal row; femur III and IV without dorsal setae; trochanter II with four setae, trochanter III with four setae. Leg IV with two tactile setae present on metatarsus (TS= 0.33) and tarsus (TS= 0.23). Measurements. (ratios in parentheses). Body length 2.0. Carapace 0.43×0.51 (0.8). Chelicera 0.48×0.22 (2.2), movable finger length 0.26. Palp femur 0.80×0.16 (5.0), patella 0.35×0.15 (2.3), length of chela 1.22×0.23 (5.3), palm length 0.39 (1.7), movable finger length 0.82 (2.1 × palm). Leg I femur 0.42×0.08 (5.3), patella 0.24×0.08 (3.0), tibia 0.23×0.08 (2.9), tarsus 0.43×0.05 (8.6). Leg IV femur+patella 0.68×0.22 (3.1), tibia 0.49×0.10 (4.9), metatarsus 0.23×0.08 (2.9), tarsus 0.50×0.05 (10.0). Distribution: China (Fujian). Remarks: Allochthonius (A.) trigonus sp. nov. is distinguished from the two previously described species Allochthonius (A.) fuscus sp. nov. and Allochthonius (A.) wui sp. nov. by the triangular protuberances present on anterior margin of carapace (absent in the other species) and the slender chela (movable finger 2.1 × palm vs 1.5–1.8 × palm). Allochthonius (A.) fuscus sp. nov. shares with Allochthonius (A.) wui sp. nov. the same carapacal chaetotaxy (8–4–4–2–4 (22)), but differs from it by a slightly stouter palpal femur (5.3–5.5 times vs 6.1–7.2 times longer than broad) and chela (1.47–1.80 mm vs 1.90–2.03 mm). Allochthonius (A.) sp. (Figs. 24–26) Material examined: Female, 04.vii.1990, 32 37’N & 103036’E, Ngawa, Songpan County, 0

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Figures 24–26. Allochthonius (Allochthonius) sp. 24 - carapace, dorsal view; 25 - coxal spines; 26 - left chela, lateral view. Scale lines: 0.25mm (24, 26), 0.05mm (25).

Sichuan Province, China, (Museum ID # Ps.-MHBUSC900704), Fusheng Huang leg.

REFERENCES Beier, M. (1930). Alcuni Pseudoscorpioni esotici raccolti dal Prof. F. Silvestri. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria del R. Istituto Superiore Agrario in Portici 23: 197–209. Beier, M. (1932). Pseudoscorpionidea I. Subord. Chthoniinea et Neobisiinea. Tierreich, 57: i–xx, 1–258. Chamberlin, J.C. (1929). On some false scorpions of the suborder Heterosphyronida (Arachnida: Chelonethida). Canadian Entomologist 61: 152–155. Chamberlin, J.C. (1931). The arachnid order Chelonethida. Stanford University Publications, University Series (Biol. Sci.), 7: 1–284. Ellingsen, E. (1907). On some pseudoscorpions from Japan collected by Hans Sauter. Nytt Magasin for Naturvidenskapene 45: 1–17. Harvey, M.S. (1991). Catalogue of the Pseudoscorpionida. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1–726pp. Harvey, M.S. (1992). The phylogeny and classification of the Pseudoscorpionida (Chelicerata: Arachnida). Invertebrate Taxonony 6: 1373–1435. Harvey, M.S. (2009). Pseudoscorpions of the World, version 1.2., Western Australian Museum, Available from: http:// www.museum.wa.gov.au/arachnids/pseudoscorpions/ (accessed 7 January 2011). Judson, M.L.I. (2007). A new and endangered species of the pseudoscorpion genus Lagynochthonius from a cave in Vietnam, with notes on chelal morphology and the composition of the Tyrannochthoniini (Arachnida,

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Key to species of the subgenera Allochthonius (Allochthonius) 1. -

Cheliceral palm with five setae on dorsal surface, one seta on ventral surface....Allochthonius (A.) buanensis Cheliceral palm with five or six setae on dorsal surface, without any seta on ventral surface .........................2

2. -

Epistome present..............................................................................................................................................3 Epistome absent…............................................................................................................................................4

3. -

Cheliceral palm with six setae; fixed finger of chela with 30 teeth, movable finger with 25 teeth ...................... ................................................................................................................................Allochthonius (A.) coreanus Cheliceral palm with five setae; fixed finger of chela with 18 to 20 teeth, movable finger with eight to nine acute spaced teeth on the apical half and nine to ten reduced or vestigial teeth on the basal half …….....…… ................................................................................................................................. Allochthonius (A.) borealis

4. -

Each coxal spine clavate……..………................................................………………...……………………..……5 Each coxal spine with tridentate branches and the central one terminally spatulate (Fig. 27) or expanded as fan-shaped (Fig. 4)…………...................................................................................…......…………….......……6

5. -

Fixed finger of chelicera with a very large posterior tooth, the others smaller and of equal length….. ……...… …… ……......…….....................................................................................……………Allochthonius (A.) opticus Fixed finger of chelicera with a large anterior and nearly equal posterior tooth, with two or three smaller intervening ones .................................................………………………...…….…Allochthonius (A.) shintoisticus

6. -

Number of carapacal setae at least 26…………………..............................................…………..………………7 Number of carapacal setae less than 26………………..............................................…………………………...8

7. -

Anterior margin of carapace with protuberances……...............................Allochthonius (A.) trigonus sp. nov. Anterior margin of carapace without protuberances………..…………………...Allochthonius (A.) sichuanensis

8. -

Each coxal spine with tridentate branches and the central one terminally spatulate ………………..………….9 Each coxal spine with tridentate branches and the central one terminally expanded as fan-shaped.............10

9. -

Carapacal chaetotaxy 8 (or 9 or 10)–4–4–2–4, 22 (or 23 or 24); fixed finger of chelicerae with four or five (rarely three) conspicuous marginal teeth, movable finger with about 12 to 16 fine denticulations. ................. ...................................................................................................................................Allochthonius (A.) tamurai Carapacal chaetotaxy 6–4–2–2–4, 18; fixed finger of chelicerae with one large and seven or nine middle or small marginal teeth, movable finger with 16 to 20 fine denticulations….......…Allochthonius (A.) montanus

10. -

Color of chelal palm distinctly darker than other segments (Fig. 25) ...............Allochthonius (A.) fuscus sp. nov. Color of all chelal segments uniform (Fig. 24)…..................................................Allochthonius (A.) wui sp. nov.

Chelonethi, Chthoniidae). Zootaxa 1627: 53–68. Lee, W.K. (1982). Pseudoscorpions (Arachnida) from Korea II. A new species of the genus Allochthonius. Basic Science Review, Chonbuk National University, Korea 5: 75–80. Morikawa, K. (1954). On some pseudoscorpions in Japanese lime-grottoes. Memoirs of Ehime University (2B) 2: 79– 87. Morikawa, K. (1956). Cave pseudoscorpions of Japan (I). Memoirs of Ehime University (2B) 2: 271–282. Morikawa, K. (1960). Systematic studies of Japanese pseudoscorpions. Memoirs of Ehime University (2B) 4: 85–172. Morikawa, K. (1970). Results of the speleological survey in South Korea 1966. XX. New pseudoscorpions from South Korea. Bulletin of the National Science Museum of Tokyo 13: 141–148. Muchmore, W.B. (1967). Pseudotyrannochthoniine pseudoscorpions from the western United States. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 86: 132–139. Sakayori, H. (1999). A new species of the genus Allochthonius (Pseudoscorpion, Chthoniidae) from Mt. Tsukuba, central Japan. Edaphologia 63: 81–85. Sakayori, H. (2000). A new species of the genus Allochthonius (Pseudoscorpion, Chthoniidae) from Mt. Kohshin, Tochigi Prefecture, Central Japan. Edaphologia 65: 13–18. 2176

Sakayori, H. (2003). External morphology of nymphal stages of Allochthonius tamurai Sakayori, 1999 (Pseudoscorpionida: Chthoniidae). Bulletin of Ibaraki Nature Museum 6: 23– 31. Sato, H. (1984). Allochthonius borealis, a new pseudoscorpion (Chthoniidae) from Tohoku District, Japan. Bulletin of the Biogeographical Society of Japan 39: 17–20. Schawaller, W. (1995). Review of the pseudoscorpion fauna of China (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpionida). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 102: 1045–1064. Vachon, M. (1941). Chthonius tetrachelatus P. (Pseudoscorpions) et ses formes immatures (1re note). Bulletin du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (2)13: 442–449.

Author details: Junfang Hu is a master student in Hebei University, Hebei Province, China. Her major is zoology, mainly to classify the pseudoscorpions on fauna of China, and her supervisor is Prof. Feng Zhang. Prof. Feng Zhang is currently teaching students, undertaking and supervising research activities in Hebei University. His recent research focus is on systematics of Arachnida. He has published more than 90 research papers in leading national and international journals. He has produced 12 master students in field of Arachnida.

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JoTT Communication

3(11): 2177–2183

Mystus ngasep, a new catfish species (Teleostei: Bagridae) from the headwaters of Chindwin drainage in Manipur, India A. Darshan 1, W. Vishwanath 2, P.C. Mahanta 3 & A. Barat 4 Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research, Bhimtal, Nainital, Uttarakhand 263136, India Department of Life Sciences, Manipur University, Canchipur, Manipur 795003, India Email: 1 achom_darshan@yahoo.com; 2 wvnath@gmail.com (corresponding author), 3 director@dcfr.res.in; 4 abarat58@hotmail.com 1,3,4 2

Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Carl Ferraris Manuscript details: Ms # o2180 Received 16 April 2009 Final received 05 September 2011 Finally accepted 07 November 2011 Citation: Darshan, A., W. Vishwanath, P.C. Mahanta & A. Barat (2011). Mystus ngasep, a new catfish species (Teleostei: Bagridae) from the headwaters of Chindwin drainage in Manipur, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2177–2183. Copyright: © A. Darshan, W. Vishwanath, P.C. Mahanta & A. Barat 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. For Author Details and Author Contribution see end of this article Acknowledgements: We are thankful to Heok Hee Ng for providing us valuable literature required for this study. The first author is grateful to Department of Biotechnology, Government of India for awarding fellowship under DBTPostdoctoral program in Biotechnology and Life Sciences.

Department of Biotechnology Ministry of Science & Technology Government of India

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Abstract: Mystus ngasep, a new species of bagrid catfish from the headwaters of Chindwin drainage in Manipur, India, is described here. It is distinguished from its congeners in having a unique combination of the following characters: a colour pattern of the body consisting of a distinct dark tympanic spot and three brown stripes separated by pale narrow longitudinal lines, cranial fontanel reaching the base of the occipital process, a long-based adipose fin contacting the base of the last dorsal-fin ray anteriorly, 16-19 gill rakers on the first branchial arch, a slender cleithral process, pectoral spine with 9-11 serrations on the posterior edge, eye with a diameter of 16.5–19.8 % HL and prepectoral length 22.2–26.0 % SL. The new species has been compared with its congeners from Myanmar and also from northeastern India. Keywords: Chindwin headwater, Mystus, new catfish.

Introduction Fishes of the genus Mystus Scopoli are small to medium-sized bagrid catfishes occurring in South Asia. Roberts (1994) recognized Mystus to have an elongate cranial fontanel reaching up to the base of the occipital process, long maxillary barbel, very long adipose fin, 11–30 gill rakers on the first gill arch and 37–46 total vertebrae, about equally divided between abdominal and caudal regions. He included only eight species under the genus. Mo (1991) characterized the genus to have a thin needle-like first infraorbital, twisted and thickened metapterygoid loosely attached to the quadrate by means of ligament or a small extent of cartilage. Jayaram & Sanyal (2003) and Ferraris (2007) respectively listed 44 and 33 species of Mystus as valid. Manipur State in the northeastern corner of India has two headwaters: that of the Brahmaputra basin in the west and of the Chindwin in the east. Hora (1921) reported Mystus bleekeri from the lakes and streams of Manipur Valley, including the Loktak Lake (all headwaters of the Chindwin River drainage). Hora (1936) also collected the species from the Brahmaputra basin in Nagaland and Menon (1954) from Manipur. The species was also reported from the Chindwin basin of Manipur by Menon (1953, 1954), Singh & Singh (1985), Vishwanath et al. (1998), Arunkumar & Singh (1997) and Vishwanath (2000). Other known species of Mystus from the neighboring Myanmar, also drained by the Chindwin-Irrawaddy are: Mystus cineraceus, M. gulio, M. falcarius, M. leucophasis, M. pulcher and M. rufescens (Ng & Kottelat 2009). The Ganga-Brahmaputra basin in northeastern India has M. bleekeri, M. dibrugarensis, M. tengara, M. cavasius and M. carcio

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(Vishwanath et al. 2007; Darshan et al. 2010). Present studies reveal that the species of Mystus occurring abundantly in the streams, rivers and lakes (all belonging to the Chindwin drainage) in the valley of Manipur are without a name and the species has been misidentified as M. bleekeri after Hora (1921). The species is herein described as Mystus ngasep sp. nov.

Material and Methods Materials examined are deposited in the Manipur University Museum of Fishes (MUMF). Measurements were made with a dial caliper to the nearest 0.1mm. Body proportions were expressed in percentage of SL and HL. Counts and measurements follow those of Ng & Dodson (1999). Dorsal fin height was measured from the base of the spinelet to the highest point of the dorsal fin. For osteological studies, clearing and staining techniques follow Hollister (1934). Methods for counting gill rakers and vertebrae follow Roberts (1992) and Roberts (1994), respectively.

Manipur); Arunkumar & Singh, 1997: 131 (reported from Yu-River in Manipur); Jayaram & Sanyal, 2003: 42 (in part, synonymy and description). Material examined: Holotype: 10.xii.2007, 98.3mm SL, 24048’N 93055’E, Nambul River at Bijoygovinda-Polemleikai Bridge, Chindwin-Irrawaddy drainage, Manipur State, India, A. Darshan (MUMF 9500). Paratypes: 4 ex., ii.2008, 96.5–103.0 mm SL; data as for holotype (MUMF 9501/1-9501/4); 12.viii.2000, 7ex., 87.0–71.6 mm SL, Wangoi-Ngarian Lake, (Chindwin drainage), A. Drashan (MUMF 9502/19502/7); 08.ix.2000, 4 ex., 79.9–108.7 mm SL, Khuga River (Chindwin drainage), Churanchanpur District, K. Santa Devi (MUMF 9503/1-9503/4); 02.xi.2006, 14 ex., 60.5–86.3 mm SL, Nambul River at Naoremthong, Imphal-west District, H. Joyshree Devi, (MUMF 9504/1-9504/14). Non-type material: 16.v.2001, 22 ex., 70.2–96.2

ppcl

Mystus ngasep sp. nov. (Image 1, Fig. 1, Table 1) pscl

Macrones bleekeri Hora, 1921: 165–214 (brief description of specimens from Manipur valley, Chindwin basin). Mystus bleekeri Menon, 1953: 266 (listed from Manipur valley); Menon, 1954: 22 (in part, listed from Manipur valley); Singh & Singh, 1985: 87 (reported from Sekmai & Chakpi Rivers, Manipur); Vishwanath et al. 1998: 323 (reported from Chatrikong River,

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ppcl

Figure1. Lateral views of cleithral process. a - Mystus bleekeri (MUMF 9521) 90.8mm SL; b - Mystus ngasep sp. nov. (MUMF 9501) paratype, 98.5mm SL. dpcl - dorsal process of cleithrum for articulation with posttemporal; pscl - posterodorsal spine of cleithrum; ppcl - posterior process of cleithrum. scale bar = 5mm

Image 1. Mystus ngasep sp. nov. (MUMF 9501/1) paratype, 96.5mm SL.

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Table 1. Morphometric data of Mystus ngasep sp. nov. Holotype

Range

Mean±SD

Predorsal length

37.7

37.0–41.4

39.0±1.2

Preanal length

71.1

68.3–73.3

70.4±1.3

Prepelvic length

48.3

47.1–51.9

49.3±1.4

Prepectoral length

22.3

22.2–26.0

23.3±1.2

Height of dorsal fin

20.8

20.8–21.8

21.3±0.7

Length of dorsal-fin base

13.1

12.4–14.5

13.2±0.7

Dorsal-spine length

13.3

12.2–15.5

13.5±0.9

Anal-fin length

16.9

16.9–19.3

18.2±0.9

Pelvic-fin length

13.9

13.0–16.3

15.1±1.1

Pectoral-fin length

13.9

13.9–19.8

17.6±1.9

Pectoral-spine length

13.4

11.8–15.3

13.5±1.0

Caudal-fin length

25.9

23.0–26.9

25.2±1.2

Length of adipose-fin base

41.2

37.1–44.5

41.0±1.8

Adipose maximum height

6.2

4.4–7.0

5.9±0.7

in % SL

Post-adipose distance

9.9

8.9–10.9

9.7±0.6

Caudal-peduncle length

19.5

17.9–21.4

19.4±1.1

Caudal-peduncle depth

10.8

9.2–10.8

10.1±0.5

Body depth at anus

21.9

19.2–23.2

20.8±1.2

Head length

25.1

24.6–28.6

26.4±1.3

Head width

16.3

15.7–18.3

16.9±0.8

Head depth

17.3

16.7–18.4

17.6±0.6

Snout length

39.7

33.8–40.7

37.8±1.6

Eye diameter

19.8

16.2–19.8

18.2±1.3

Interorbital distance

30.7

30.3–31.8

30.9±0.6

Nasal-barbel length

51.4

32.8–51.4

45.5±6.2

Maxillary-barbel length

200.0

200.0– 235.0

215.4±9.7

Inner mandibular-barbel length

66.4

58.6–76.0

67.5±5.8

Outer mandibular-barbel length

101.2

94.7– 118.6

106.3±8.6

In % HL

mm SL, Iril River at Keibi (Chindwin River drainage), I. Linthoingambi, (MUMF 9505/1-9505/22); 06.vi.1996, 4 ex., 83.1–104.7 mm SL, Chatrickong River at Sanalok (Chindwin River drainage), Ukhrul District, K. Selim (MUMF 1096–1099). Diagnosis Mystus ngasep sp. nov. can be distinguished from congeners in having a unique combination of the following characters: a colour pattern consisting of a distinct dark tympanic spot and three brown stripes separated by pale narrow longitudinal lines on the sides

of the body, cranial fontanel reaching the base of the occipital process, a long-based adipose fin contacting the base of the last dorsal-fin ray anteriorly, 16–19 gill rakers on the first branchial arch, a slender cleithral process (Fig. 1), pectoral spine with 9–11 serrations on the posterior edge, eye small with its diameter 16.5– 19.8 % HL, pectoral and anal fins with 9–10 and 8–9 branched rays respectively and short maxillary barbel (200.0–235.0 % HL). Description Morphometric data are shown in Table 1. Dorsal profile rising evenly (at an angle of 20–250 to the horizontal) from tip of snout to origin of dorsal fin then goes almost horizontal to anterior third of adipose fin, then sloping gradually ventrally from there to end of caudal peduncle. Ventral profile roughly straight to end of anal-fin base, then sloping gently dorsally to the end of caudal peduncle. Head depressed. Skin covering on dorsal surface of head thin. Anterior cranial fontanel extending from level of posterior nasal opening to posterior orbital margins, separated from posterior fontanel by epiphyseal bar. Posterior fontanel extends to the base of the supraoccipital process. Supraoccipital process long, reaching basal bone of dorsal fin, its base narrow with about one-fifth of its length, distally tapered. Eye ovoid, horizontal axis longest, located entirely in the dorsal half of the head. Mouth sub-terminal. Oral teeth small and villiform, arranged in irregular rows. Premaxillary tooth band slightly curved backward, of equal width throughout. Tooth band on vomer continuous across midline and crescentic, slightly broader than premaxillary in middle, tapering posterolaterally, extending to level of lateral end of premaxillary tooth band. Dentary tooth band separated in the middle by thick skin, tapering laterally on each side, broader than premaxillary and vomerine tooth band at symphysis, length of one side equals lateral span of vomerine tooth band. Gill openings wide, free from isthmus. First branchial arch has 16–19 gill rakers. Barbels in four pairs, maxillary barbel not reaching anal-fin origin, nasal reaching posterior rim of eye, outer mandibular barbel reaching base of pectoral fin and inner mandibular barbel slightly shorter. Skin smooth. Lateral line complete and midlateral in position.

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Dorsal-fin origin slightly anterior to the middle of the body, with spinelet, spine, and seven branched rays. Dorsal spine three-fifths to three-fourths of dorsal-fin height, smooth on both edges. Adipose fin long, spanning most of postdorsal distance, its origin in contact with base of last dorsal-fin ray and deeply incised posterior portion. Pectoral fin with I, 9–10 rays, fin margin straight posteriorly. Pectoral spine backwardly curved with 9–11 large posterior serrations and anteriorly rough. Pelvic fin short with i,5 rays. Anal-fin origin inserted at vertical through middle of adipose-fin base, with iii-v, 8–9 rays, anterior two simple rays minute, visible in alizarin stained specimens. Caudal fin deeply forked with i,7,8,i rays, upper lobe longer. Osteological characters: Ribs: commonly 12, rarely 11; vertebra with 40–41 (21+19=40 or 22+18=40 or 23+18=41). Haemal arches closed to form haemal canal from the 12th–14th vertebrae onwards. Branchiostegal with nine rays. Caudal skeleton composed of five hypural plates (two on lower and three on upper lobe). Parhypural free from first hypural plate. Hypurapophysis and secondary hypurapophysis fused. Epural laterally flattened and curved backward. Dorsal and ventral lobes of caudal fin with 10 and 11 Procurrent rays, respectively. Sexual dimorphism: Males with long genital papilla reaching to the base of the second branched anal-fin ray. Females with rounded genital opening. Colour: In life or freshly dead: dorsal portion of the head and body brownish-grey with greenish reflection; tympanic spot without distinct margin, with greenish reflection that is more pronounced in the middle; lateral surface of body silvery with brownishgolden reflection without prominent stripes, ventrally dull white. In 10% formalin: dorsal portion of the head and body brownish-gray, tympanic spot with distinct margin, three brown lateral stripes on body separated by pale longitudinal lines, lower pale longitudinal line about twice as wide as the upper. Caudal-fin base without dark spot. Etymology The specific epithet is derived from the Manipuri local name of the fish: ‘Ngasep’.

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Distribution Presently known from the Loktak Lake, Nambul, Manipur, Iril, Imphal, Thoubal, Khuga rivers and the tributaries of the Yu river (all belonging to the Chindwin River drainage) in Manipur.

Discussion Ng & Kottelat (2009) clarified the identity of Mystus bleekeri and restricted its distribution to the GangaBrahmaputra basin while M. rufescens was found to be limited to the Irrawaddy basin. Their conclusion was based on the very distant geographical origins of the type series of M. bleekeri (Sind, Yamuna, upper waters of Ganga and Burma) which predicted involvement of more than one species; Day’s (1877) observation of a black spot at the base of the caudal fin in the Burmese specimens and Roberts’s (1994) reference of Day’s type material from Burma as M. rufescens. As mentioned earlier, six congeners of Mystus ngasep sp. nov. are known from Myanmar. Among those, M. cineraceus, M. rufescens and M. falcarius are very similar to the new species in having a long-based adipose fin that contacts the base of the last dorsal-fin ray anteriorly and cranial fontanel reaching to the base of the occipital process. A diagnostic summary of the species of Mystus from the Chindwin-Irrawaddy and Ganga-Brahmaputra River drainages is given in Table 2. The new species differs from Mystus cineraceus in having three brown stripes on the body separated by pale narrow longitudinal lines above and below the lateral line (vs. a brownish body with a midlateral stripe lacking the pale longitudinal lines). It further differs from M. cineraceus in having more gill rakers on the first branchial arch (16–19 vs. 13–15; Table 3), more pectoral-fin rays (9–10 vs. 7–8), more analfin rays (8–9 vs. 6–7) and a shorter maxillary barbel (200.0–235.0 % HL vs. 247.4–345.0). Specimens of Mystus rufescens collected from the Chindwin basin in the Indo-Burma border in Manipur were examined and found to have a long-based adipose fin contacting the base of the last dorsal-fin ray anteriorly, a cranial fontanel reaching the base of the occipital process and a black spot at the base of the caudal fin. Vinciguerra’s (1890) description of the species clearly states the presence of a black spot at

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Table 2. Key diagnostic characters of Mystus with a long adipose-fin base, distributed in the Chindwin-Irrawaddy and Ganga-Brahmaputra River drainage. M. ngasep sp. nov.

M. cineraceus Pectoral-fin rays Gill rakers Anal-fin rays

M. falcarius

M. rufescens

M. bleekeri

M. cavasius

7–8

9–10

7–10

7–9

9–10

6–10

13–15

16–19

22–29

14–18

11–15

13–22

6–7

8–9

6–9

7–9

8–9

6–9

Anal-fin length *

10–13.4

16.9–19.3

9.8–11.5

15.7–19.7

9.3–12.4

Eye diameter **

19.2–25.4

16.2–19.8

22.4–30.2

20.8–23.5

20.2–25.9

21.2–32.7

Maxillary-barbel length**

247.4–345

200–235

435.6–538

255.3–290.2

241.3–330

355.8–504.9

absent

present as ovoid shape

Humeral spot

absent

present as crescent shape

Black spot at caudal-fin base

absent

present

absent

Nuchal spot

absent

present very prominently

absent

present but faint

* - as % SL; ** - as % HL

Table 3. Frequencies of gill rakers count in four species of Mystus with a long adipose fin distributed in the ChindwinIrrawaddy River drainage. Total numbers of gill rakers on the first branchial arch 13

Species M. cineraceus M. ngasep sp. nov. M. rufescens

M. falcarius

the base of the caudal fin. We have also examined a syntype of M. bleekeri , labelled as ZSI 781, collected from Prome (=Pyay), Myanmar. The ZSI specimen has all the diagnostic characters of M. rufescens and also bears a noticeably darker region at the base of the caudal fin. The new species can be easily differentiated from M. rufescens by the absence of a black or dark brown spot at the base of the caudal fin (vs. spot present; Image 2), shorter maxillary barbel (200.0–235.0 % HL vs. 255.3–290.2) and smaller eye (eye diameter: 16.2–19.8 % HL vs. 20.8–23.5). Mystus ngasep sp. nov. differs from M. falcarius and M. cavasius in having (vs. lacking) brown lateral stripes on the body, a shorter maxillary barbel (200.0– 235.0 % HL vs. 355.8–538.0), a lower dorsal fin (dorsal-fin height: 20.8–21.8 % SL vs. 25.7–33.6) and lacking the black spot in front of dorsal spine (vs. spot present). Mystus ngasep sp. nov. differs from M. leucophasis and M. pulcher in having a longer cranial fontanel reaching the base of the occipital process (vs. not reaching, but extending up to half the length of

supraoccipital bone); adipose-fin base in contact (vs. not in contact) with the base of the last dorsalfin ray anteriorly, and a smooth (vs. serrated) dorsal spine. Mystus leucophasis further differs from the new species in having (vs. lacking) a filamentous extension of the upper principle-ray of the caudal fin. M. ngasep sp. nov. further differs from M. pulcher in having a wider vomerine tooth-band (as wide as the premaxillary tooth-band vs. about one-third of the premaxillary tooth-band), fewer vertebrae (41–42 vs. 35) and lacking (vs. having) a black spot at the base of the caudal fin. Jayaram & Sanyal (2003) reported Mystus armatus from Manipur based on five specimens (92.2–125.6 mm SL), but they did not provide the exact collection site of the specimens. Ng & Kottelat (2009) found no evidence that M. armatus is known from the Irrawaddy River drainage and also suggested that Jayaram & Sanyal’s (2003) specimens of M. armatus from Manipur might be a misidentification of M. cineraceus. We feel that Jayaram & Sanyal (2003) might have misidentified specimens of M. rufescens as

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Image 2. Mystus rufescens (MUMF 9530) 101.1mm SL.

M. armatus, because M. armatus also possess a black spot at the base of the caudal fin also present in M. rufescens. We have also not encountered any species of Mystus with a black spot at the base of the caudal fin from our extensive surveys of the Brahmaputra River drainage in Manipur. However, we were unable to verify the identity of Jayaram & Sanyal’s (2003) material, as we were unable to locate this material for study in the collections of the Zoological Survey of India in Kolkata. Jayaram & Sanyal (2003) also misidentified several specimens collected from the Chindwin River drainage in Manipur (ZSI 4236/2, ZSI F 4293/2, ZSI F 4346/2) as M. bleekeri. Mystus ngasep sp. nov. is very similar in colouration and meristic counts to M. bleekeri. However, the new species differs from M. bleekeri in having a slender (vs. broad) cleithral process, smaller eye (diameter 16.2–19.8 % HL vs. 20.2–25.9), shorter maxillary barbel (200.0–235.0 % HL vs. 241.3–330.0), more gill rakers on the first branchial arch (16–19 vs. 11–15), fewer pectoral spine serrations on the posterior edge (9–11 vs. 11–16) and longer prepectoral length (22.2– 26.0 % SL vs. 19.5–21.8) and dorsal spine that extends to about three-fifths to three-quarters (vs. nearly half) of the fin height. It further differs from M. bleekeri in having a narrower base of the supraoccipital process, its width at the base being about one-fifth of its length (vs. two-fifths to half of its length); more vertebrae (40–41 vs. 37–40), with the closure of the haemal arches appearing from the 12th–14th (vs. commonly 11th or rarely 12th) vertebra onwards. Mystus ngasep differs from M. dibrugarensis in having fewer gill rakers (16–19 vs. 28) on the first arch, more vertebrae (40–41 vs. 36), the absence (vs. presence) of a thin black mid-lateral line connecting the tympanic spot and the black spot at the base of the caudal fin. It differs from M. tengara in having a smooth (vs. with 8–9 serrations posteriorly) dorsal 2182

spine, longer adipose-fin base (37.1–44.5% SL vs. 24.0–31.7), fewer gill rakers on the first arch (16–19 vs. 31–42), 11–12 (vs. 8–9) ribs and 40–41 (vs. 34–37) vertebrae. Mystus ngasep sp. nov. differs from M. carcio in having more vertebrae (40–41 vs. 32), a longer adiposefin base (37.1–44.5 % SL vs. 8.5–11.9), vomerine tooth-band continuous (vs. interrupted in the middle), fewer gill rakers on the first arch (16–19 vs. 23–24) and lacking (vs. having) the coracoid shield below the pectoral fin. It differs from M. gulio in having a longer occipital process (reaching to the basal bone of dorsal fin vs. not reaching), origin of adipose-fin base in contact (vs. not in contact) with the base of the last dorsal-fin ray, and a smooth (vs. posteriorly serrated) dorsal spine. Comparative material Mystus bleekeri: ZSI Kolkata 1076 (lectotype), 101.5mm SL; India: Yamuna River. MUMF 9521 (10), 85.6–108.3 mm SL; India: Ganga River at Patna. MUMF 9522 (10), 74.2–98.8 mm SL; India: Guwahati: Brahmaputra River. Mystus rufescens: ZSI Kolkata 781 (1) [syntype of M. bleekeri], 95mm SL; Burma: Prome. MUMF 9530 (5), 84.5–101.1 mm SL; India: Manipur: Chandel district, Moreh market. Mystus cavasius: MUMF 9513 (10), 74.8–109.7 mm SL; India: Guwahati: Brahmaputra River. Mystus falcarius: MUMF 9514 and 9517 (9), 96.5–206 mm SL; India: Manipur: Lokchao River. Data of Chakrabarty & Ng (2005) are also used for comparison. Mystus pulcher: ZSI Kolkata F 4716-19/1 (4 syntypes), 51.7–55.5 mm SL; Burma: Bhamo. MUMF 1100–1105 (6), 55.8–69.9 mm SL; India: Manipur: Ukhrul District: Chatrikong River (headwater of Chindwin River drainage).

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Mystus tengara: MUMF 9520/1-9520/20 (20), 67.9–75.7 mm SL; India: West Bengal: Kolkata. MUMF 9523 (15), 52.1–77.5 mm SL; India: Brahmaputra River at Guwahati. Mystus carcio: ZSI FF4081 (1), 47.9mm SL; India: Assam: Brahmaputra River at Guwahati. ZSI FF4080 (1), 42.9mm SL; same data as above. MUMF 9518/1 (1), 39.0mm SL; India: Assam: Brahmaputra River at Guwahati. MUMF 9518/3-9518/10 (8), 30.2–47.9 mm SL; same data as above. MUMF 9519/1-9519/17 (17), 39.0–47.0 mm SL; same data as above. MUMF 9531 (1), 36 mm SL; India: Assam: Ujan Bazar, Guwahati. Mystus leucophasis and M. gulio: Data of Jayaram & Sanyal (2003). M. cineraceus: Data of Ng & Kottelat (2009). References Arunkumar, L. & H.T. Singh (1997). On the collection of fishes from the head-waters of Yu-River system with four new records in Manipur. Journal of Freshwater Biology 9(3–4): 126–133. Chakrabarty, P. & H.H. Ng (2005). The identity of catfishes identified as Mystus cavasius (Hamilton, 1822) (Teleostei: Bagridae), with a description of a new species from Myanmar. Zootaxa 1093: 1–24. Darshan, A., N. Anganthoibi & W. Vishwanath (2010). Redescription of the Striped Catfish Mystus carcio (Hamilton) (Siluriformes: Bagridae). Zootaxa 2475: 48–54. Day, F. (1875–78). The Fishes of India; Being A Natural History of the Fishes Known to Inhabit the Seas and Fresh Waters of India, Burma, and Ceylon. Bernard Quaritch, London, 778pp+195pls. Ferraris, C.J. Jr. (2007). Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes) and catalogue of Siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. Hollister, G. (1934). Clearing and dying fishes for bone study. Zoologica 12: 89–101. Hora, S.L. (1921). Fish and fisheries of Manipur with some observations on those of the Naga Hills. Records of the Indian Museum 22: 165–214. Hora, S.L. (1936). On a further collection of fish from the Naga Hills. Records of the Indian Museum 38: 317–331. Jayaram, K.C. & A. Sanyal (2003). A taxonomic revision of the fishes of the genus Mystus Scopoli (Family: Bagridae). Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Paper 207: 1–136. Menon, A.G.K. (1954). Further observations on the fish fauna of the Manipur State. Records of the Indian Museum 53: 21–26. Menon, M.A.S. (1953). On a small collection of fish from Manipur, Assam. Records of Indian Museum 50: 265–270. Mo, T.P. (1991). Anatomy, relationships and systematics of the

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Bagridae (Teleostei: Siluroidei) with a hypothesis of siluroid phylogeny. Theses Zoologicae 17: 1–216. Ng, H.H. & J.J. Dodson (1999). Morphological and genetic descriptions of a new species of catfish, Hemibagrus chrysops, from Sarawak, East Malaysia, with an assessment of phylogenetic relationships (Teleostei: Bagridae).The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 47: 45–57. Ng, H.H. & M. Kottelat (2009). A new species of Mystus from Myanmar (Siluriformes: Bagridae). Copeia 2009 (2): 245– 250. Roberts, T.R. (1992). Revision of the striped catfishes of Thailand misidentified as Mystus vittatus, with descriptions of two new species (Pisces: Bagridae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 3: 77–88. Roberts, T.R. (1994). Systematic revision of Asian bagrid catfishes of the genus Mystus sensu stricto, with a new species from Thailand and Cambodia. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 5: 241–256. Singh, W.V. & H.T. Singh (1985). On the collection of fishes from Tengnoupal District of Manipur with some new records. International Journal of Ichthyology (Proc. V. AISI) 6: 85–90. Vinciguerra, D. (1890). Viaggio di Leonardo Fea in Birmania e regioni vicine. XXIV. Pesci. Annali del Museo Civico de Storia Naturale di Genova (Ser. 2a) 9: 129–362, pls. 7-11. Vishwanath, W. (2000). Fishes Fauna of Manipur. Manipur Association for Science and Society, 137pp+VIpls. Vishwanath, W., W. Manojkumar, L. Kosygin & K.S. Selim (1998). Biodiversity of freshwater fishes of Manipur, India. Italian Journal of Zoology 65 (supplementary): 321–324. Vishwanath, W., W.S. Lakra & U.K. Sarkar (2007). Fishes of North East India. National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, UP., India, 264pp.

Author Details: A. Darshan is a Post-Doctoral Fellow of Department of Biotechnology, Govt of India and is at present attached to the Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research, Bhimtal, Uttarakhand. He is working on the phylogeny of catfishes based on classical and molecular techniques. W. Vishwanath is a Professor in the Department of Life Sciences, Manipur University. His field of specialization is fish and fisheries. He is presently engaged in taxonomy and systematics of freshwater fishes of northeastern India. P.C. Mahanta is the Director of Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research (DCFR), Bhimtal, Uttarakhand (under ICAR). He is presently engaged in various aspects of coldwater fishery including exploration and documentation of coldwater fishes of India. He is also supervising the Post doctoral research. A. Barat is a Principal Scientist in DCFR, Bhimtal. His field of specialization is cytogenetics and fish molecular biology. He is presently engaged in the molecular characterization and phylogeny of Coldwater fishes of India. He also supervises doctoral and post doctoral research in fish and fisheries. Author Contribution: The study: AD survey, collection, morphometric and anatomic study and phylogeny of catfishes of northeastern India; WV supervision of taxonomy and phylogeny of freshwater fishes of northeastern India; PCM Inventory and cataloguing of coldwater fishes of India; AB Supervise phylogenetic study of coldwater fishes. Current paper: AD detailed examination of Mystus species of northeastern India and comparison with specimens in ZSI and in other museums and preparation of drawings; WV supervision in establishing new species and discuss taxonomic status; PCM supervision in identification of coldwater fish species interpretation of the result, and discuss taxonomic status; AB Differential diagnosis, interpretation of the results, comparison with available literature and discuss taxonomic status.

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Reserva Imbassaí Restinga: inventory of snakes on the northern coast of Bahia, Brazil Ricardo Marques 1, Moacir S. Tinôco 2, Danilo Couto-Ferreira 3, Cecil Pergentino Fazolato 4, Henrique C. Browne-Ribeiro 5, Magno L.O. Travassos 6, Marcelo A. Dias 7 & João Vitor Lino Mota 8 Graduando em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Católica do Salvador - UCSal. Av. Prof. Pinto de Aguiar, 2589, CEP 41.740090, Pituaçu, Salvador, BA, Brasil. 1,2,3,4,5,7,8 Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal - ECOA/UCSal. 2 Docente do Instituto de Ciências Naturais e da Saúde da UCSal. Biodiversity Management PhD Candidate - DICE, Department of Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, The University of Kent at Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ. 6 Mestrando em Ecologia e Biomonitoramento, Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA). Rua Barão de Jeremoabo, s/n, CEP 40.170115, Ondina, Salvador, BA, Brasil. 7 Mestrando em Zoologia - PEDECIBA, Universidad de la República Uruguay. Oficinas Centrales, Av. 18 de Julio 1968, Montevideo, Uruguay. 5 MSc em Ecologia e Biomonitoramento - UFBA. 1,2,3,4,5,7,8 Lacerta Ambiental - Lauro de Freitas, Bahia, Brazil. Email: 1 rcdmarquess@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 mst8@kent.ac.uk, 3 danilocoutoferreira@gmail.com, 4 fazolato.cp@gmail.com, 5 henriquebrowne@gmail.com, 6 magnotravassos@yahoo.com.br, 7 biomarcelodias@yahoo.com.br, 8 joaovitormota@yahoo.com.br. 1,3,4

Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Harold Heatwole Manuscript details: Ms # o2812 Received 21 May 2011 Final received 21 September 2011 Finally accepted 10 October 2011 Citation: Marques, R., M.S. Tinôco, D. CoutoFerreira, C.P. Fazolato, H.C. Browne-Ribeiro, M.L.O. Travassos, M.A. Dias & J.V.L. Mota (2011). Reserva Imbassaí Restinga: inventory of snakes on the northern coast of Bahia, Brazil. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2184–2191. Copyright: © Ricardo Marques, Moacir S. Tinôco, Danilo Couto-Ferreira, Cecil Pergentino Fazolato, Henrique C. Browne-Ribeiro, Magno L.O. Travassos, Marcelo A. Dias & João Vitor Lino Mota 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. For Author Details, Author Contribution and Acknowledgements see end of this article.

Abstract: Restinga is a coastal ecosystem covering almost the entire Brazilian coast line and it is associated with the Atlantic Forest biome and therefore is a complementary component of the landscape. Its vegetation is highly variable and specialized, being influenced by salt, and with low fertility and moist soil. This environmental landscape promotes the colonization of species from contiguous biomes and ecosystems, thereby promoting high diversity, especially on the northern coast of Bahia. The study was conducted at the Reserva Imbassaí, in the municipality of Mata de São João, northern coast of Bahia, Brazil. We conducted six surveys distributed over one year, with samples every two months; we used the sampling techniques of active visual search, random encounters and pitfall traps along a linear transect. Fourty-nine snakes from 15 species distributed among five families were recorded: Boidae (2), Colubridae (3), Dipsadidae (6), Elapidae (1) and Viperidae (3). Ten of the species of snakes found at Reserva Imbassaí complement the literature overall snakes’ list from the north coast of Bahia’s restinga. The results show that Reserva Imbassaí is uniquely rich in snakes and therefore represents an important contribution to the knowledge of this taxon within the Atlantic forest hotspot. Keywords: Atlantic forest, boids, colubrids, dipsadids, elapids, northeastern Brazil, squamata, viperids. Portuguese Abstract: A restinga é um ecossistema costeiro, cobrindo grande parte da costa brasileira e é associado ao bioma da Mata Atlântica, agindo como componente complementar da paisagem. Sua vegetação é bastante variada e especializada, influenciada pela salinidade marinha e pela baixa fertilidade e umidade do solo. Estes componentes da paisagem contribuem para a colonização de espécies de outros biomas e ecossistemas próximos, tornando-o assim bastante diverso, principalmente no litoral norte da Bahia. Este estudo foi realizado na Reserva Imbassaí, localizado no município de Mata de São João, litoral norte da Bahia, Brasil. Realizamos seis coletas durante um ano a cada dois meses; utilizamos a procura visual ativa, armadilhas de interceptação e queda e encontros ocasionais em um transecto linear. Foram registradas 49 serpentes de 15 espécies das cinco famílias: Boidae (2), Colubridae (3), Dipsadidae (6), Elapidae (1) e Viperidae (3). Dez destas espécies de serpentes encontradas na Reserva Imbassaí complementam a lista de espécies deste grupo para a restinga do litoral norte da Bahia. Os resultados evidenciam que a Reserva Imbassaí possui uma riqueza única de serpentes e representa uma importante contribuição para o conhecimento deste táxon no hotspot da Mata Atlântica.

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INTRODUCTION The restinga ecosystem covers almost the entire coast of Brazil and it is associated with the Atlantic rainforest. It lies along the coastal seashore of the Atlantic Ocean, and it is composed of sand dunes deposits, which created coastal dunes after the last marine transgressions and regressions in the quaternary period, over 15,000 years ago (Assumpção & Nascimento 2000; Menezes 2007). Although some authors state that from the structural point of view the areas of the Restinga can be considered an homogeneous landscape (Campos & Domingez 2010), others state that there is important variation in biodiversity (Marques & Sazima 2004; Rocha et al. 2004); this suggests that when discussing Restinga one should consider both issues. Its vegetation is highly variable and specialized, reflecting the influence of salt, low fertility and low moisture of the soil, thereby promoting xerophytic vegetation (Tonhasca 2005) similar to that found in the Caatinga (Brazilian dry lands) and Cerrado (Brazilian grasslands), contiguous with the Atlantic Forest within the region. The ecosystem is well distributed on all the northern coast of Bahia, covering nearly 220km, from the capital city, Salvador, apparently beginning at the Farol da Barra to the northern border to the State of Sergipe where the river, locally known as Real River, imposes effective isolation by forming a geographical barrier to the north. Seven protected areas (PA) are found within the region, and four other have been proposed, due to the high scale of habitat loss caused by tourism and urban development (Tinôco et al. 2008; Tinôco et al. 2010). These areas have been proposed in order to prevent further biodiversity loss due to the aforementioned impacts. Moreover, reptiles, specially snakes and lizards, apart from birds are the most affected biodiversity in this context. Three-hundred-and-seventy-one species of snakes are described for the main Brazilian ecoregions (Bérnils 2010). One of the least known of those is the restinga. Rocha (2000) stated that reptiles are abundant in restinga ecosystems, and few studies cover the snake fauna in some regions, such as Jurubatiba in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where eight species were recorded over two years of study, and the Juréia in the state of São Paulo, where 25 snake species were recorded over a three-year study (Marques & Sazima 2004), this re-

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inforces that there are few ecological studies of snakes in restinga areas. Most of the studies are restricted to the southeastern region of Brazil (Rocha & van Sluys 2007) where biodiversity is mainly influenced by the Atlantic Forest alone specially on its coastal mountains, known as Serra do Mar. In northeastern Bahia, only Dias & Rocha (2005) investigated the snake fauna in situ. They recorded 17 species for the whole restinga along the state’s coast, but that included the southern coast of the federation unit. These numbers reveal the paucity of information about this taxon’s richness and distribution in that area, and in the data required for assessing the actual conservation status of species of snakes within this ecosystem, especially in Bahia. This scenario illustrates the poor knowledge on snakes within the region and, therefore, affects local stakeholders to establish their conservation strategies. This, compromises the creation of a proper action plan for the whole restinga ecoregion, that is in the agenda for new development projects and agriculture (Leão & Dominguez 2000).

MATERIAL AND METHODS Study site The study was conducted at the Reserva Imbassaí, an integrated complex of tourism and real estate containing 132.73ha (12028’45.39’’S & 37057’32.94’’W). This is a modified natural area converted into a residential development site in the municipality of Mata de São João on the northern coast of Bahia, Brazil (Image 1), located in Bahia’s Restinga Environmental Protection Area (Menezes et al. 2007). It is composed of four different vegetation types: beach habitat (BH), humid vegetation zone (HZ), scrub vegetation zone (SZ) and restinga dry forest (RF). Sample design We conducted six surveys between November 2008 and October 2009, with samples every two months and covering the four seasons, as part of the Reserva Imbassaí Long Term Monitoring Program (permit 03/2009-NUFAU-IBAMA-BA) begun in 2005. Each survey took four days and involved simultaneously sampling each of the four vegetation types. At each site, we established a 200m linear transect

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Image 1. Bahia State map, highlighting the northern coast of Bahia, surrounding the municipality of Mata de São João, with an aerial view of the Reserva Imbassaí.

(Krebs 1998) directed to the north, parallel to the seashore, and containing five sample points (SP) 50m apart; there were 20l pitfall traps buried on the ground associated to 10x0.4 m drift fences, providing a total of 720 hours of trapping effort. We incorporated two hours visual encounter surveys (VES) along all transects, alternating between surveys, and covering from 0600 to 1800 hr period. Two surveyors manually collected snakes, used hooks and snake tongs, or recorded sighted ones, identified and registered on a previously formulated protocol spreadsheet. Before, or after, the VES, the random encounter (RE) technique was applied, while walking to transect line. We also conducted five surveys at night, when VES was performed for two hours from 1900 to 2100 hr, summing 464 hours of effort. We confirmed the identity of the species according to Peters and Orejas-Miranda (1970) species identification key.

RESULTS After one year of surveying, we registered 49 snakes from 15 species, distributed among five families: Boidae (Image 2), Colubridae (Image 3), Dipsadidae (Image 4), Elapidae and Viperidae (Image 5). Dipsadidae was the richest family, with six species represented, of which Philodryas nattereri Steindachner, 1870 was the most abundant species, followed by Oxyrhopus trigeminus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854. Colubridae and Viperidae were represented by three species each, followed by Boidae with two species, of which Boa constrictor Linnaeus, 1758 was the third most frequent species of the study, while Elapidae was represented by only one species (Table 1).

Discussion and Conclusions The species found are considered common in the region and only Crotalus durissus is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Spe-

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Image 2. Specimens of Boidae. a - Boa constrictor; b - Eunectes murinus.

Table 1. Number of registered specimens of species of snakes found at Reserva Imbassaí on the northern Coast of Bahia. An asterisk (*) denotes new records for the northern coast of Bahia’s restinga, (**) denotes new records for the Mata de São João municipality. Species

Boidae Boa constrictor Linnaeus 1758*

Eunectes murinus (Linnaeus, 1758)*

Colubridae

Chironius cf. flavolineatus (Boettger, 1885)*

Chironius exoletus (Linnaeus, 1758)*

Pseustes sulphureus (Wagler, 1824)*

Dipsadidae Liophis cobella (Linnaeus, 1758)*

Oxyrhopus trigeminus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril 1854**

Philodryas nattereri Steindachner, 1870**

Philodryas olfersii (Lichtenstein, 1823)

Philodryas patagoniensis (Girard, 1858)

Taeniophallus occipitalis (Jan, 1863)*

Elapidae Micrurus ibiboboca (Merrem, 1820)** c

Image 3. Examples of colubrids. a - Chironius cf. flavolineatus; b - Chironius exoletus; c - Pseustes sulphureus.

Viperidae Bothrops leucurus Wagler, 1824

Bothropoides jararaca Wied, 1824**

Crotalus durissus (Linnaeus, 1758)

cies or in the Brazilian’s Reptiles Red Book (Martins & Molina 2008; IUCN 2011), however, some of the genera have other species listed in other regions such as: Chironius, Bothrops, Micrurus, Philodryas and Pseustes. Rocha et al. (2005) classified Bothrops leucurus as an endemic species of the central Atlantic

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Image 4. Examples of dipsadids from the Reserva Imbassaí. a - Liophis cobella; b - Oxyrhopus trigeminus; c - Philodryas nattereri; d - Philodryas olfersii; e - Philodryas patagoniensis; f - Taeniophallus occipitalis.

rainforest corridor and associated restinga ecosystems, among other herpetofaunal species, showing that the species also occur on the northern coast of Bahia. This might be a reflection of the poor knowledge available on the group’s distribution and ecology within the region, and therefore we believe the conservation status might show important changes as studies develop over the years. 2188

The literature, at present date lists 371 snake species as composing the snake fauna of the Brazilian territory (Bérnils, 2010). Dias & Rocha (2005) registered 41 species of squamates along the coast of Bahia through visual encounter surveys and use of pitfall traps and snakes represented 41% of those species, of which eight were recorded from the northern coast of Bahia during a study of 2.160 hr effort. Even

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Image 5. Venomous snakes sampled in the study. a - Bothrops leucurus; b - Crotalus durissus; c - Bothropoides jararaca; d - Micrurus ibiboboca.

though they sampled four different areas, our sample was conducted within an area of intense habitat loss, and 11 species found at Reserva Imbassaí are complementary to the list of snakes from the northern coast of Bahia’s restinga. Ferreira et al. (2005) registered, in approximately one year, eight species from one restinga ecosystem in Maranhão, Brazil’s northeast, using visual encounter surveys, pitfall traps and records from local communities, as sampling methods. Marques & Sazima (2004) found 25 snake species at Juréia, southeastern Brazil, sampling in Atlantic forest and restinga, over three years, while Rocha et al. (2004) found eight species in two years at Jurubatiba’s Restinga National Park (PNRJ), a 14.860ha area, 111 times larger than Reserva Imbassaí. Both studies used similar sampling methods and even more passive ones; we therefore consider that the studied site thus represent- a high richness spot for snakes in the Atlantic Forest and that this might be a result of the influ-

ence of the contiguous Caatinga and Cerrado biomes. Comparison of these studies shows that the Reserva Imbassaí alone has a species richness similar to those sampled in other regions, except for Juréia in the State of São Paulo. In other studies on Cerrado, Sawaya et al. (2008) registered 36 snakes species and Recoder & Nogueira (2007) registered 22 species; they sampled areas of 2,300ha and approximately 230,714ha respectively, while Ghizoni-Jr et al. (2009) registered 10 species from the highlands and the Santa Catarina coast. Considering the number of species, durations of study periods, and size of areas sampled, it could be argued that the snake fauna along the northern coast of Bahia’s restinga are of great importance, especially if one considers that this region is classified as a high biological importance area (BRASIL 2002) and yet the status of snakes is generally unknown thus, the present study is an important addition to the knowledge of snakes and their applied conservation (Rocha 2000;

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Rodrigues 2005). These results also show that the Reserva Imbassaí contains a unique snake assemblage for a restinga ecosystem, even though severe environmental degradation and habitat loss, due to human development, has occurred over the past six years. In addition, venomous snakes were found within its boundaries and as a touristic and real estate complex, some measures should be taken to make people aware of the risk posed by the pitvipers, like Crotalus and especially species of the genus Bothrops, and thereby prevent or reduce the number of causalities from snake bite on the northern coast of Bahia (Mise et al. 2007). The inclusion of first reports of two species from this portion of the Brazilian territory should be highlighted. One is Bothropoides jararaca, sampled after the study period during this paper production, but an important addition to local fauna, for which literature reports its occurrence from Camaçari and a few other municipalities in Bahia, and from southeastern Bahia to Rio Grande do Sul. The specimen has been deposited at the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal reference herpetological collection (CHECOA 002468). The second is the colubrid Pseustes sulphureus recorded in the Amazonian region and in the Atlantic rainforest from Ceará to Alagoas states and then from southeastern Bahia to São Paulo State (Campbell & Lamar 1989; Argôlo 2004; Borges-Nojosa et al. 2006; Grazziotin 2006; Lisboa et al. 2009; Brazil 2010). The present paper fills in some of the distributional gaps for these taxa. Although we present new records for some snakes, the status of these species remain unknown and highlights the need for long-term studies on Bahia’s northern coast. Studies of populations, as well as of habitat use and natural history are needed to fill gaps in knowledge about these snakes, and to verify their status and ascertain whether they are affected by the anthropogenic changes in the restinga along Bahia’s northern coast. Such efforts may aid the construction of effective management plans and contribute to the conservation of overall biodiversity. REFERENCES Argôlo, A. J. S. (2004). As serpentes dos cacauais do sudeste da Bahia. Ilhéus, Ba: Editus, 260pp. Assumpção, J. & M.T. Nascimento (2000). Estrutura e composição florística de quatro formações vegetais de restinga 2190

no complexo lagunar Grussaí/Iquipari, São João da Barra, RJ, Brasil. Acta bot. bras. 14(3): 301–315. Bérnils, R. S. (org.). (2010). Brazilian reptiles – List of species. Accessible at http://www.sbherpetologia.org.br/. Sociedade Brasileira de Herpetologia. Captured on 17 September. Borges-Nojosa, D.M., D. Loebmann, D.C. Lima, J.C.L. Melo & A.C.G. Mai (2004). Reptilia, Colubridae, Pseustes sulphureus: distribution extension, new state record. Check List 2(3): 339–341. BRASIL - Ministério do Meio Ambiente (2002). Avaliação e identificação de áreas e ações prioritárias para a conservação, utilização sustentável e repartição dos benefícios da biodiversidade nos biomas brasileiros. Brasília: MMA/ SBF, 404pp. Brazil, T.K. (2010). Catálogo da fauna terrestre de importância médica da Bahia. Salvador: EDUFBA, 204p Campbell, J.A. & W.W. Lamar (1989). The Venomous Reptiles of Latin America. Ithaca. London, 425pp. Campos, R.H.S. & J.M.L. Domingez (2010). Mobility of sediments due to wave action on the continental shelf of the northern coast of the state of Bahia. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 58(special issue PGGM): 57–63 Dias, E.J.R. & C.F.D. Rocha (2005). Os répteis nas restingas do estado da Bahia: Pesquisa e ações para a sua conservação. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Biomas, 36pp. Ferreira, A.P., E.M.S. Fialho & G.V. Andrade (2005). Composição e estruturação da comunidade de serpentes da restinga da praia de Panaquatira, Maranhão. VII Congresso de Ecologia do Brasil, Caxambú, 2pp. Grazziotin, F.G., M. Monzel, S. Eheverrigaray & S.L. Bonatto (2006). Phylogeography of the Bothrops jararaca complex (Serpentes: Viperidae): past fragmentation and island colonization in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Molecular Ecology (2006)15: 3969–3982. Guizonni-Jr, I.R., T.S. Kunz, J.J. Cherem & R.S. Bérnils (2009). Registros notáveis de répteis de áreas abertas naturais do planalto e litoral do Estado de Santa Catarina, sul do Brasil. Biotemas 22(3): 129–141. IUCN. (2011). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 18 September 2011. Krebs, C.J. (1998). Ecological Methodology–2nd Edition. Benjamin Cummings, 581pp. Leão, Z.M.A.N. & J.M.L. Dominguez (2000). Tropical coast of Brazil. Marine Pollution Bulletin 41(1-6): 112–122. Lisboa, B.S., I.C.S. Tiburcio, S.T. Silva & G.O.S. Sugliano (2009). Primeiro registro de Pseustes sulphureus (Wagler, 1824) (Serpentes: Colubridae) no Estado de Alagoas, Nordeste do Brasil. Biotemas 22(4): 237–240. Marques, O.A.V. & I. Sazima (2004). História natural dos répteis da Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins, pp. 257–277. In: Marques, O.A.V. & W. Dulepa (eds). Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins. Ambientes físico, flora e fauna. Ribeirão Preto, Holos, 384pp. Martins, M. & F.B. Molina (2008). Panorama geral dos répteis ameaçados do Brasil, pp. 326–377. In: Ministério do

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Meio Ambiente - MMA (Volume 1, Edition 1). Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção. Menezes, C.M. (2007). A vegetação de restinga no Litoral Norte da Bahia, influência da evolução quaternária da zona costeira: estudo de caso fazenda Riacho das Flores, Mata de São João, Bahia. Master dissertation. Universidade Federal da Bahia, 96pp. Menezes, C.M., M.S. Tinôco, S.M.H. Tavares, H.C. Browne-Ribeiro, V.S.A. Silva & P.A. Carvalho (2007). Implantação, Manejo e Monitoramento de um Corredor Ecológico na Restinga no Litoral Norte da Bahia. Revista Brasileira de Biociências, Porto Alegre 5(supplement 1): 201–203. Mise, Y.F., R.M. Lira-da-Silva & F.M. Carvalho (2007). Envenenamento por serpentes do gênero Bothrops no Estado da Bahia: aspectos epidemiológicos e clínicos. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 40(5): 569–573. Peters, J.A. & B. Orejas-Miranda (1970). Catalogueof the Neotropical Squamata: Part I—Snakes. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, 347pp. Recoder, R. & C. Nogueira (2007). Composição e diversidade de Répteis Squamata na região sul do Parque Nacional Grande Sertão Veredas, Brasil Central. Biota Neotr. 7(3): 267–279. Rocha, C.F.D. (2000). Biogeografia de répteis de restingas: Distribuição, ocorrência e endemismos, pp. 99–116. In: Esteves F.A. & L.D. Lacerda (eds.). Ecologia de restingas e lagoas costeiras. Rio de Janeiro: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Rocha, C.F.D., M. Van-Sluys, D. Vrcibradic, F.H. Hatano, C.A. Galdino, M. Cunha-Barros & M.C. Kieffer (2004). A comunidade de répteis da restinga de Jurubatiba, pp. 179–198. In: Rocha, C.F.D., F.A. Esteves & F.R. Scarno (Orgs.). Pesquisas ecológicas de longa duração na restinga de Jurubatiba: ecologia, história natural e conservação. RiMa Editora, São Carlos, 376pp. Rocha, C.F.D., M. Van-Sluys, H.G. Bergallo & M.A.S. Alves (2005). Endemic and threatened tetrapods in the restingas of the biodiversity corridors of Serra do Mar and of the Central da Mata Atlântica in eastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal Biology 65(1): 159–168. Rocha, C.F. & M. Van Sluys (2007). Herpetofauna de restingas, pp. 44–65. In: Nacimento, L.B. & M.E. Oliveira (Org.). Herpetologia no Brasil II. Belo Horizonte: Sociedade Brasileira de Herpetologia, 354pp Rodrigues, M.T. (2005). Conservação dos répteis brasileiros: os desafios para um país megadiverso. Megadiversidade 1(1): 87–94. Sawaya, R.J., O.A.V. Marques & M. Martins (2008). Composition and natural history of a Cerrado snake assemblage at Itirapina, São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. Biota Neotropica 8(2). Electronic Database accessible at http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v8n2/en/abstract?inventory+bn01308022008. Captured on 26 May 2010. Tinôco, M.S., H.C. Browne-Ribeiro, R. Cerqueira, M.A. Dias & I.A. Nascimento (2008). Habitat change and the amphibians conservation in the Atlantic Forest of Bahia, Brazil. Froglog 89: 1–3. Tinôco, M.S., H.C. Browne-Ribeiro & M.A. Dias (2010). The Bahian Sand Dunes Whiptail Lizard Cnemidophorus abaetensis Dias, Rocha & Vrcibradic 2002 (Reptilia, Scleroglossa, Teiidae), geographic distribution and habitat use use in Bahia, Brazil. Herpetological Bulletin 111: 19–24. Tonhasca Jr., A. (2005). Ecologia e historia natural da Mata Atlântica. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Interciência, 1ª Edição, 197pp.

R. Marques et al. Author Details: Ricardo Marques Biological Sciences undergraduate student and junior researcher at the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal (ECOA), Universidade Católica do Salvador (UCSAL). Moacir Santos Tinôco Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal (ECOA) co-ordinator. Biodiversity Management PhD Candidate at the Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University de Kent. Danilo Couto-Ferreira Biological Sciences undergraduate student and junior researcher at the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal (ECOA), Universidade Católica do Salvador (UCSAL). Cecil Pergentino Fazolato Biological Sciences undergraduate student and junior researcher at the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal (ECOA), Universidade Católica do Salvador (UCSAL). Henrique Colombini Browne-Ribeiro M.Sc. in Ecology and Biomonitoring at the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA). Contributing researcher at the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal (ECOA), Universidade Católica do Salvador (UCSAL). Magno Lima Travassos de Oliveira M.Sc. in Ecology and Biomonitoring at the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA). Contributing researcher at the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal (ECOA), Universidade Católica do Salvador (UCSAL). Marcelo Alves Dias M.Sc. in Zoology at the Programa de Desarrollo de las Ciencias Básicas (PEDEClBA), da Universidad de la RepublicaUruguay. Contributing researcher at the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal (ECOA). João Victor Lino Mota Contributing researcher at the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal (ECOA), Universidade Católica do Salvador (UCSAL). Author Contribution: All authors are members and volunteers of the Long Term Restinga Herpetofauna Management and Monitoring Program at the northern coast of Bahia and have contributed to field work sampling in all surveys and the development of the current paper. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank all researchers and volunteers of the Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal - ECOA and outside collaborators, who contributed to the implementation of this study. We also thank the organizations supporting this long-term management and monitoring program: the Reserva Imbassaí, Herpetofauna Foundation, Reptile Technologies and Lacerta Ambiental Ltda, for logistic support, hosting and providing equipment, during the study.

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Flamingo mortality due to collision with high tension electric wires in Gujarat, India Anika Tere 1 & B.M. Parasharya 2 AINP on Agricultural Ornithology, Biological Control Laboratory Building, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat 388110, India 1 Present address: Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat 390002, India Email: 1 anikatere@rediffmail.com, 2 parasharya@yahoo.com (corresponding author) 1,2

Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: C. Srinivasulu Manuscript details: Ms # o1689 Received 07 December 2006 Final received 17 June 2011 Finally accepted 14 October 2011 Citation: Tere, A. & B.M. Parasharya (2011). Flamingo mortality due to collision with high tension electric wires in Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2192–2201. Copyright: © Anika Tere & B.M. Parasharya 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Author Details: see end of this article. Author contribution: This study is a part of the PhD thesis of Anika Tere. AT and BMP did extensive field surveys and recorded this information. AT prepared the map and compiled data, BMP prepared the manuscript. Acknowledgements: We are thankful to the Department of Space, Government of India for providing funds to carry out research on flamingos. We are grateful to the authority of Border Security Force for permitting us to enter and study in the border area and entire staff for their kind hospitality. We thank to the Department of Forest, Government of Gujarat for their permission to enter into the sanctuary areas. We appreciate the help of the birdwatchers, particularly, Shri S.N. Varu, Ghanshyam Jebalia, Jummabhai Moria, Kishor Joshi, Jaidev Nancy, Amin Sama, Viral Prajapati and Bhikhabhai Paredhi for their information. We are thankful to Mr. Sejwan of Border Security Force, Gujarat Frontier for providing necessary information about flamingo mortality in border area of Great Rann.

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Abstract: This study documents the mortality of flamingos due to collision with electric wires in the state of Gujarat, India. The wetlands of Gujarat were surveyed from 2002 to 2005 as a part of ecological studies on flamingos. Incidences of collision of flamingos with overhead electric wires were recorded at breeding and feeding sites. The numbers of victim birds were counted and high risk sites were identified based on reported incidences of collision and the period of inundation of the sites below electric lines. Of the 76 deaths recorded, Lesser Flamingos Phoeniconaias minor (46%) and Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus (54%) accounted almost equally. The effects of collision on the population of flamingos and the management options to minimize collision of flamingos and other water birds with electric lines in sensitive habitats are discussed. Keywords: Breeding ground, feeding ground, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, mortality, Phoeniconaias minor, Phoenicopterus roseus, saltpans, sewage pond.

INTRODUCTION Power lines, telephone lines and other utility structures have become an inseparable part of our modern life. Establishment and coverage of utility structures has increased with the development of modern and advanced life. As a result, the interaction of birds with utility structures has come into the picture. Birds use power lines and telephone lines for roosting, nest building and prey surveillance (Bevanger 1990). Power lines passing through areas with a high concentration of birds e.g. roosting and feeding places, create an extremely high collision risk and this is one of the important factors negatively affecting the bird population. Wirestrikes can occur at any place where the combination of overhead wires and birds exists (Bevanger 1990). Collision with power lines is considered an important cause of death for some species of birds (McNeil et al. 1985; Crivelli et al. 1988; Morkill & Anderson 1991; Parasharya et al. 2000; Sundar & Choudhury 2005). For most species involved in collisions, however, the death rate at the population level is low (Beaulaurier 1981; Faanes 1987; Brown 1993; Hugie et al. 1993). However, power-line mortality for threatened species can be an important concern for wildlife managers (Janss & Ferrer 1998; McCann & Rooyen 2002; Sundar & Choudhury 2005). Flamingos are habitat specialists and hence destruction or alteration of habitat is considered a serious threat to their population. Collision of flamingos with electric lines is identified as a threat (Longridge 1986; Parasharya & Tere 2006; Johnson & Cezilly 2007), having local significance (Childress et al. 2008) on the population.

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India being a highly populated country, development is taking place even in remote areas (including Rann of Kachchh which is a breeding ground for flamingos). The mortality of flamingos due to collision with electric wires is of local significance but it needs to be minimized. Except for a serious study on the effect of collision on the Sarus Crane Grus antigone population (Sundar & Choudhury 2005), no detailed study has been done on any of the threatened bird species in India. To avoid collision of birds with overhead wires and to propose an appropriate remedial action plan, it is necessary to understand where the collisions take place more frequently (Bevanger 1990, 1993). The two species of flamingos, namely, Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus and Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor, are resident in India (Ali & Ripley 1983); the Lesser Flamingo is also considered a globally Near Threatened species (BirdLife International 2008a). The flamingos have often been seen as victims of collisions with the electric wires in Gujarat, India (Kishor Joshi, S.N. Varu, Ghanshyam Jebalia, Viral Prajapati, G.M. Sejvan pers. comm.); but the information remained unnoticed due to a lack of awareness and non-reporting of the incidences. The main objective of this paper is to identify the sites of flamingo collision with electric lines and telephone lines (utility structures) in Gujarat, India and to discuss possible solutions to mitigate the same.

STUDY AREA Little Rann and Great Rann of Kachchh are regular breeding sites of flamingos (Ali 1960, 1974; Parasharya & Tere 2006) in Gujarat State, India. Both species of flamingos congregate in the Rann of Kachchh for breeding once the Rann gets inundated by the southwest monsoon (Tere 2005). Hence, for convenience, all the wetlands of Gujarat were broadly divided into (i) Breeding sites: Rann of Kachchh (Little Rann and Great Rann) and (ii) Feeding sites: The coastal wetlands (sea coast, mud flats, salt pans, fresh water tanks or sewage within 10km of the sea coast) on the Gulf of Kachchh, Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay) and other coastal sites of Saurashtra region. The inland wetlands are utilized as feeding sites particularly during the post-breeding

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(summer) season. For additional details of the study sites refer to Jadhav & Parasharya (2004). The sites of collision are marked with a solid square (■) on Figure 1 of the study area.

METHODS The wetlands of Gujarat, India, holding a considerable population of flamingos were surveyed from August 2002 to December 2005 during a study on the ecology of flamingos. The breeding sites were surveyed after their inundation by the south-west monsoon (June–September). Incidences of flamingo mortality due to collision with electric wires and the number of victim birds were recorded and the collision sites were identified. Coordinates of the collision sites were taken using a GPS and later determined using Google maps. Habitat conditions (inundation/dry) were noted at the site of collision. Close observation of the bodies of the dead birds was done wherever possible, to know the type of injury and the probable time of the accidents. The probable time of the accident (fresh or old) of the dead birds was estimated on the basis of their relative body warmth, feather condition and the condition of tissue (fresh/ decomposed). No intensive search was done below the power line to record flamingo mortality due to collision with wires. The incidences of collision recorded here are all casual records made while driving on the road and when the power line was running parallel to the road. The information regarding their collision with electric power lines was also gathered from Border Security Force personnel and birdwatchers distributed throughout the state, when the sites could not be visited personally. High-risk areas were identified based on repeated incidences of collision and the period of inundation of the wetlands below the electric lines. Two types of wire network were considered: Power lines and Telephone lines. Power Lines Two kinds of power lines were differentiated during the study: (i) supply wires or distribution lines consisting of two parallel wires made of steelreinforced aluminium wires of 52.21–103.6 mm2 at a height of 5.8m from the ground carrying 200–400 V electricity (referred to as supply wires throughout the

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A. Tere & B.M. Parasharya 690

700

710

720

730

740

240

230

220

210

200

Figure 1. Sites of regular flamingos collisions in Gujarat State, India, marked as solid square (■).

Image 1. Collision of Lesser Flamingo with distribution line at Shiranivandh

paper; Image 1). The distribution lines were supported by a small single pole; (ii) High tension power lines or Transmission lines (Image 2) consisted of three sets of parallel wires and a top earth wire of 207mm2 2194

Image 2. Transmission line across wetland at Kumbharwada, Bhavnagar. Note thin earthing wire on top

steel-reinforced aluminium, with the lowest set 6.1m from the ground and the terminating ground wire 10– 12 m from the ground, and carrying 11000–13500 V electricity (Sundar & Choudhury 2005; referred to as

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Image 3. Distribution line, telephone line and transmission line across a wetland.

power lines throughout the paper). The transmission lines were supported on giant structures. These specifications of electric lines were almost the same throughout the state. The height of the wires from the ground varied to some extent. Telephone Wires Telephone wires, usually a pair, were fixed at a height of 6.0 m above the ground. Such wiring was responsible for collision at only one place. At some sites, both electric lines and telephone lines crossed a wetland (Image 3).

RESULTS Incidences of flamingos’ colliding with electric power lines and telephone lines (utility structures) were recorded both at breeding and feeding sites in Gujarat, India. The detailed account is as follows: (A) Collision at the breeding sites The collision of flamingos was noticed at four sites in the Great Rann of Kachchh, namely, (i) The area around Boria and Tuta Beyt in the eastern part of the Great Rann; (ii) in the Rann between Shiranivandh Amarapar in Rapar Tahsil of Kachchh; (iii) Vekariodhandh near Bhirandiyara, between Bhuj and Khavda and (iv) Rann area near Adesar, on the boundary of Patan and Kachchh districts, which also separates inundated areas of the Little Rann and the Great Rann (Fig. 1). The flamingos gather at / around these sites during their breeding season, after the Rann

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was inundated during the south-west monsoon (June– September). On 13 December 2003, two Greater Flamingos and three Lesser Flamingos were recorded dead after collision with telephone wires in the northeastern part of the Great Rann of Kachchh, between Tuta and Boria beyt (Table 1). Personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) reported that several flamingos were found dead below the telephone wires during September to December 2003 when the area was inundated. The BSF personnel had also seen such casualties on the same route in the year 2004 as well as in 2005 (G.M. Sejvan pers. comm.). After 2005, two parallel electric lines were established along the length of the telephone line from the mainland to the international border which has further increased the incidences of mortality during the monsoons (G.M. Sejwan pers. comm.). These three lines run parallel to a road transecting the inundated Rann for about 45km. This area is very close to the recently discovered nesting site of flamingos (Parasharya & Tere 2006). At Shiranivandh, the power line (distribution line at low height) runs parallel to the 10km long bridge constructed across the inundated Rann connecting the former with Khadir Island (Beyt). During October 2003, the area on either side of this road was inundated. A total of 600,000 Lesser Flamingos and 20,000 Greater Flamingos were counted in this inundated area. On 23 October 2003, when we were observing the flamingos we saw two domestic dogs chasing them in shallow water at the other end. All the flamingos close to the dogs flew away but one which struggled to stand and take off. We rescued it and realized that its right wing was severely damaged and had a wound on the upper surface. A total of eight Lesser Flamingos were recorded dead due to collision with the overhead power lines along the road during a five day period (Table 1). Freshly collided flamingos were recorded during the morning hours, suggesting that the flamingos collided with the wire during the low light hours (Image 1). A total of 26 Greater Flamingos were recorded dead in Rann, adjacent to the state highway joining Patan District with Kachchh near Adesar on 24 October 2003. An incidence of flamingo collision with an electric line was again recorded on 13 October 2005 at the same site (Table 1). Local people reported that flamingos die at this site every year after habitat inundation. This

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Table 1. Collision of flamingos with power and telephone lines in Gujarat Bird species

No. of deaths

Overhead wire type

23054’29.632”N & 70032’32.624”E

Distribution line

Shiranivandh: GRK

23 54’29.632”N & 70 32’32.624”E

Distribution line

24.x.2003

Nr. Adesar, Patan-Kachchh Boundary

23 37’33.867”N & 71 02’56.085”E

Transmission line

13.xii.2003

Between Boria Bet and Tuta Bet, GRK

24017’2.70”N & 7100’36.60”E

Telephone line

13.xii.2003

Between Boria Bet & Tuta Bet, GRK

24 17’35.28”N & 71 1’11.64”E

Telephone line

14.i.2004

Near Bhirandiyara, 50km north to Bhuj, GRK *1

23 32’2.28”N & 69 40’4.62”E

Transmission line

14.ii.2004

Near Bhirandiyara, 50km north to Bhuj, GRK

23032’2.28”N & 69040’4.62”E

Transmission line

02.vii.2004

Malia Salt Pans, Kachchh

23011’27.796”N & 70043’09.567”E

Transmission line

04.vii.2005

Malia Salt Pans, Kachchh

23011’27.796”N & 70043’09.567”E

Transmission line

13.x.2005

Nr. Adesar, Patan-Kachchh Boundary

23 37’33.867”N & 71 02’56.085”E

Transmission line

Date

Place

19.x.2003

Shiranivandh: GRK

23.x.2003

3 4 5

Coordinates Breeding and feeding sites

Feeding sites 11

27.viii.2002

Nirma Salt Pans, Bhavnagar

21054’02.902”N & 72010’27.508”E

Distribution line

06.xi.2002

Kumbharwada, Bhavnagar

21046’45.685”N & 72006’28.144”E

Transmission line

26.i.2003

Nirma Salt Pans, Bhavnagar

21046’45.685”N & 72006’28.144”E

Distribution line

27.x.2003

Kumbharwada, Bhavnagar

21 46’45.685”N & 72 06’28.144”E

Transmission line

14.xi.2004

Kumbharwada, Bhavnagar

21046’45.685”N & 72006’28.144”E

Transmission line

02.xi.2005

Kumbharwada, Bhavnagar

21 46’45.685”N & 72 06’28.144”E

Transmission line

Jan 2004

Charakala Salt Pans, Jamnagar *2, 3

22011’50.75”N & 6908’37.13”E

Distribution line

GF - Greater Flamingo; LF - Lesser Flamingo; GRK - Great Rann of Kachchh - Data collected from Shri Shantilal Varu; *2 - Shri Ghanshyam Jebalia ; *3 - Jummabhai Moria

site was about 19km west of Santalpur and had huge electric poles with three pairs of overhead transmission wires. The birds flying between Little Rann and Great Rann have to cross this corridor and hence the risk of collision is very high in this 5-km stretch. Moreover, near Adesar, there is a water body spread over a 2.5km2 area, parallel to the road and just below two parallel transmission lines (Image 4). Both species of flamingos feeding in this wetland are at very high risk of collision as they are often disturbed by vehicular traffic on the road. Two incidences of collision were recorded at Vekariodhandh near Bhirandiyara, 50km north of Bhuj, on the Bhuj-Khavda road in Kachchh (Fig. 1, Table 1). On 14 January 2004, seven Greater Flamingos were found dead due to collision with the electric wire at this site (S.N. Varu pers. comm.). On 14 February 2004, two more dead Greater Flamingos were found at the same site in the morning hours. The bodies were slightly warm and not disturbed by predators. Such collisions are frequent at this particular site (Amin 2196

Image 4. Two parallel transmission line between Little Rann and Great Rann near Adesar, Kachchh.

Sama pers. comm.) every year during the monsoon and winter. In the first weeks of July 2004 and 2005, one Lesser Flamingo was found dead after collision with electric transmission wires in a salt pan area at Malia (Fig.1, Table 1). Huge electric transmission lines run parallel to the salt pans and cross the Hadakia Creek at Surajbari

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DISCUSSION

Image 5. Risk of collision with distribution line at Bhavnagar.

Bridge, which is the entrance site for flamingos from the Gulf of Kachchh into their breeding ground, the Rann of Kachchh. (B) Collision at the feeding sites During the non-breeding and post-breeding periods, both the species are largely restricted to the coastal wetlands (Jadhav & Parasharya 2004; Tere & Parasharya 2005) with a small population at the inland Wetlands. The collision of flamingos with electric lines was noticed repeatedly at Nirma salt pans (ca. 35km2 area) and Kumbharwada sewage pond in Bhavnagar District during the study period (Table 1, Images 2, 5). The collisions at these sites are so frequent, that the local fishermen have learnt to scan areas with overhead wires and collect the birds for consumption (Mundkur 1997; present study). Both the sites remain inundated permanently and serve as feeding grounds for both the species of flamingos throughout the year (Tere 2005; Tere & Parasharya 2005). A total of 16 Lesser Flamingos died due to collision with distribution wires at the Charakala salt pans (Tata Chemicals, Mithapur) of Jamnagar District in January 2004. Charakala salt pans are spread over a vast area (ca. 40km2 area) and support a large number of water birds along with both species of flamingos. Flamingo mortality due to collision with electric wires was also noticed at salt pans around Narara of Jamnagar District (Jummabhai Moria, pers. comm.)

At all the sites the overhead wires are ≥ 20 feet above the ground and are within or near the feeding sites of flamingos. At many sites the overhead electric transmission wires run along with a single very thin non-transformer wire (neutral wire) which appears to be more hazardous. The reason for the collision of flamingos is the invisibility of the overhead wires and the paucity of time to make avoidance manoeuvres. Flamingos are known to fly at night and under poor light conditions (Ogilvie & Ogilvie 1986; Johnson & Cezilly 2007). Freshly dead flamingos were recorded during the morning hours suggesting that these overhead wires are not visible during the night and the dark hours of late evening or early morning. Repeated incidents of mortality due to collision with wires were recorded at Boria and Tuta Beyt (eastern part of Great Rann), Adesar, Shiranivandh and Bhirandiyara which are very close to the breeding grounds of flamingos. The northern fringe of the Rann of Kachchh forms the international border with Pakistan. Along the border one can see the presence of barbed wire to guard the border and an electric line passes through for supply of electricity to the fringe villages. The fencing and electric lines often transect the inundated Rann during the monsoon. Once, a soldier narrated an incidence of flamingos getting trapped in the barbed wire fencing on the international border. A juvenile of Common Crane Grus grus was observed dead due to collision at Vekariodhandh near Bhirandiyara along with Greater Flamingos on 14 February 2004. Other birds such as Ruff Philomachus pugnax, Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica were also recorded dying along with the flamingos due to collision with electric wires at Nirma salt pans of Bhavnagar during the study period. However, the deaths of small birds go unnoticed due to their size. Sarus Crane Grus antigone have been reported dying due to collision with electric wires at the wetlands of Kheda District, Gujarat (Parasharya et al. 2000; Mukherjee et al. 2002) and Uttar Pradesh (Sundar & Choudhury 2005). The Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus has been a victim of such wires at Nanda Beyt bet, in the Little Rann of Kachchh during its inundation in October 2005 (Bhikhabhai Paredhi pers. comm.). The Dalmatian Pelicans (Vulnerable;

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Image 6. Dalmatian Pelican at high risk of collision at salt pans.

BirdLife International 2008b) feeding in the salt pans are also at high risk of collision (Image 6). A large number of flamingos were killed as they got stuck in the electric and barbed wires during the cyclone, which hit Kandla Port in June 1998 (Jaidev Nansey pers. comm.). The feeding grounds at the salt pan areas of Bhavnagar and Jamnagar districts are high risk zones. The salt pans of Bhavnagar, Charakala and Narara, are wide spread areas and are some of the most preferred feeding habitats of flamingos (Tere 2005). Since salt pans remain inundated throughout the year, the flamingos are constantly exposed to high risk of collision at these sites. There are large numbers of salt pans along the southern coast of the Gulf of Kachchh. The Charakala salt pan is a very large unit and is known to hold huge numbers of flamingos and other waterbirds (Mundkur 1997; Parasharya & Mukherjee 1998; Jadhav & Parasharya 2004; Tere & Parasharya 2005; Jadhav et al. 2005; Islam & Rahmani 2004, 2008). Though a single incidence of mortality was recorded during the study period (Table 1), the flamingos casualty due to collision with the electric line is a regular phenomenon at the salt pans of Charakala and Narara (Jummabhai Moria pers. comm.). Since, Narara and Charakala salt pans adjoin the Marine National Park, the mortality of flamingos and other waterbirds due to collision with power lines should be considered a matter of serious concern. Besides these two, there are a large number of salt pans all along the Marine National Park on the Jamnagar coast with a potential of bird collisions with the power lines. Therefore special efforts need to be taken to minimize such bird mortality around protected areas. 2198

There is vast area in the Rann as well as the Gulf of Kachchh and the Gulf of Khambhat (particularly the salt pans), where there is an extensive network of power lines, but the area is rarely visited by birdwatchers. Hence, incidences of bird collision with utility structures in these parts of Gujarat have remained unnoticed. The flamingos visiting the Rann of Kachchh (breeding site) during their breeding season are exposed to such wires only for a short period of the year (during inundation), however, at other feeding sites such as salt pans and the sewage ponds of urban areas like Bhavnagar they continuously face the risk of collision as they spend more time there. Compared to the large population of flamingos and different factors causing mortality (Tere 2005), the mortality caused by collision is low. The species vulnerable to power line collisions are generally long living and slow reproducing under natural conditions. Species such as flamingos require very specific conditions for breeding, resulting in very few successful breeding attempts, or breeding might be restricted to very small areas. These species have not evolved to cope with high adult mortality, with the result that consistent high adult mortality over an extended period could have a serious effect on a populationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to sustain itself in the long or even medium term (Janss & Ferrer 1998; Sundar & Choudhury 2005). Hence, bird deaths due to collision with utility structures at temporary and permanent sites should not be neglected and management plans are required to reduce these threats. The casualty due to collision with utility structures recorded here are only casual records made from the road side and not the result of any systematic/intentional survey. If a systematic survey is done, more sites can be identified where the collision of birds occurs frequently. The majority of power lines are located in remote areas far from public awareness of the bird collision or electrocution problem. In general, reported losses must be considered a superficial measure of collision and electrocution occurrence (Thompson 1978; Longridge 1986; Faanes 1987; Bevanger 1993). The Lesser Flamingo is threatened largely due to the declining population, very few breeding sites and low reproductive rate. The species is listed in columns A and B of the Agreement on the Conservation of AfricanEurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) Action Plan, Appendix II of the Bonn Convention (CMS) and

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Appendix II of the CITES convention (Childress et al. 2008). For this reason only, the ‘International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor’ has come into existence (Childress et al. 2008). Though, India is not a signatory to AEWA, India is certainly a signatory to several other international conservation treaties like CBD, CITES, CMS, Ramsar etc. India holds the fourth largest population of Lesser Flamingos in the world (Childress et al. 2008) and one of the four regular breeding sites (Parasharya & Tere 2006). Hence it would be the right time to take appropriate mitigation actions to reduce the mortality of flamingos due to collision with electric lines at high risk areas and the areas where new electric transmission lines are to be installed for development. Mitigating measures will also help reduce collision induced mortality in several other waterbird species. A part of the area of Wild Ass Sanctuary (Little Rann of Kachchh, Gujarat) has been denotified by the government for granting permission for the installation of electric transmission lines by private companies. Special mitigation action should be taken to reduce the risk of waterbird (particularly flamingos) collision, including diversion of the route as it will pass through the high risk wetland zone, both within and outside the protected area. Considering the large number of salt pans spread over >1600km long coast line of Gujarat State and the network of electric/telephone lines passing through, flamingo and other bird mortality due to collision with utility structures could be much higher than what is documented in this study. Therefore, it is necessary to find appropriate options and take necessary measures to minimize collision of flamingos and other waterbirds in such sensitive habitats. The following options may be considered: 1. Technical modifications of utility structures may contribute in regulating the collisions. One such option is to wrap wires with colored radium tags, at least in collision sensitive areas. This would make the wires visible during day time and shine during the night hours also. Hence, a marking device could limit the collision threat by improving visibility. 2. The power lines can be removed from the sites of frequent collisions and the route can be altered and underground cables can be laid. Maintaining critical distance between the wires and the areas inhabited by

A. Tere & B.M. Parasharya

birds can also work. An electric distribution line was diverted from the area of Porbandar Bird Sanctuary after the death of 20 Greater Flamingos during 1980s (Kishor Joshi pers. comm.). 3. Research and monitoring should be implemented by state/central governments and the electricity companies, in consultation with relevant experts, to improve our understanding of the impact of electricity transmission installations. The results of research should be made public by publishing in international/ national journals to ensure wider dissemination. This would help in creating awareness among the general public and decision makers. 4. An avian interaction with utility structures is a typical area where biologists and engineers can meet (Bevanger 1990). Engineers in cooperation with biologists have performed a good job identifying electrocution “hot spots” and modifying electrical equipment to avoid or reduce the electrocution and collision in other countries (Olendorff et al. 1981). In India too, a cooperative effort is needed by biologists, authorities within the state forest department, electricity board engineers and to reduce mortality of birds due to collision with utility structures. 5. A further detailed case study can be done to evaluate examples of conflict resolution, case law, or trends in casework.

CONCLUSION The cumulative effects of power lines and other sources of unnatural mortality might only manifest itself decades later, when it might be too late to reverse the trend. It is therefore imperative to reduce any form of unnatural mortality of these species, regardless of how insignificant it might seem at the present time. Corrective measures at existing high risk zones and potential collision zones are suggested for the conservation of this Near Threatened species. REFERENCES Ali, S. (1960). “Flamingo City” re-visited: Nesting of the Rosy Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus Linnaeus) in the Rann of Kutch. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 57: 412–415. Ali, S. (1974). Breeding of the Lesser Flamingo, Phoeniconaias

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minor (Geofroy) in Kutch. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 71(1): 141–144. Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1983). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (Compact Edition). Oxford University Press, Delhi, 737pp. Beaulaurier, D.L. (1981). Mitigation of Bird Collisions with Transmission Lines. Bonneville Power Admin., Portland, Oregon, 82pp. Bevanger, K. (1990). Topographic aspects of transmission wire collision hazards to game birds in the Central Norwegian coniferous forest. Fauna of Norway Series C, Cinclus 13: 11–18. Bevanger, K. (1993). Avian interactions with utility structures: A biological approach. PhD Thesis submitted to University of Trondheim, Norway. BirdLife International (2008a). Phoeniconaias minor. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 03 June 2011. BirdLife International (2008b). Pelecanus crispus. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 03 June 2011. Brown, W.M. (1993). Avian collisions with utility structures: biological perspectives. pp. 1–13 (12). In: Colson, E. & J.W. Huckabee (eds.) Proceedings of International Workshop on Avian Interactions with Utility Structures. Electric Power Research Committee and Avian Power Line Interactions Committee, Palo Alto, California. Childress, B., S. Nagy & B. Huges (Compilers) (2008). International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor). CMS Technical Series No. 18. AEWA Technical Series No. 34. Bonn, Germany. Crivelli, A.J., H. Jerrentrup, & T. Mitchew (1988). Electric power lines: a cause of mortality in Pelecanus crispus Bruch, a world endangered bird species. Colonial Waterbirds 11: 301–305. Faanes, C.A. (1987). Bird behavior and mortality in relation to power lines in prairie habitats. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Technical Report 7, 1–24pp. Hugie, R.D., J.M. Bridges, B.S. Chanson & M. Skougard (1993). Results of a post construction bird monitoring study on the Great Falls-Conrad transmission line, 21(6): 1–21. In: Colson, E. & J.W. Huckabee (eds.). Proceedings of International Workshop on Avian Interactions with Utility Structures. Electric Power Research Committee and Avian Power Line Interactions Committee, Palo Alto, California. Islam, M.Z. & A.R. Rahmani (2004). Important Bird Areas in India. Indian Bird Conservation Network: Bombay Natural History Society and Bird Life International (U. K.) Oxford University Press, xviii+1133pp. Islam, M.Z. & A.R. Rahmani (2008). Potential and Existing Ramsar Sites in India. Indian Bird Conservation Network: Bombay Natural History Society, Bird Life International and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Oxford University Press, 592pp. 2200

Jadhav, A. & B.M. Parasharya (2004). Counts of flamingos at some sites in Gujarat State, India. Waterbirds 27(2): 141–146. Jadhav, A., B.M. Parasharya & B. Rughani (2005). Charakala saltpans: A heaven for Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Brehm. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 102 (2): 228–229. Janss, G.F.E. & M. Ferrer (1998). Rate of Bird collision with power lines: effects of conductor-marking and static wiremarking. Journal of Field Ornithology 69(1): 8–17. Johnson, A. & F. Cezilly (2007). The Greater Flamingo. A. & C. Black Publishers Ltd. London, 328pp. Longridge, M.W. (1986). The impact of transmission lines on bird flight behaviour, with reference to collision mortality and systems reliability. Bird Research Committee Report. Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM), Johannesburg. Report: 1–279. Mc Cann, K. & C. van Rooyen (2002). Wildlife / Powerline interactions, pp. 23–29. In: Anon. (ed). Proceedings of the 14th South African Crane Working Group Workshop: 18–20 March 2002, South Africa: South African Crane Working Group. McNeil, R., S.J.R. Rodrignez & H. Ouellet (1985). Bird mortality at a power transmission line in northwestern Venezuela. Biological Conservation 31: 153–165. Morkill, A.E. & S.H. Anderson (1991). Effectiveness of marking power lines to reduce Sandhill Crane collisions. Wildlife Society Bulletin 19: 442–449. Mukherjee, A., C.K. Borad & B.M. Parasharya (2002). A study of the ecological requirements of waterfowl at manmade reservoirs in Kheda district, Gujarat, India with a view towards conservation, management and planning. Zoos’ Print Journal 17(5): 775–785. Mundkur, T. (1997). The Lesser Flamingo - A summary of its current distribution and conservation in Asia, pp. 62–69. In: Howard, G. W. (ed.). Conservation of the Lesser Flamingo in Eastern Africa and Beyond. Proceedings of a Workshop at Lake Bogoria, Kenya, 26–29 August 1997. IUCN Eastern Africa Regional Programme, 120pp. Ogilvie, M. & C. Ogilvie (1986). Flamingos. Allan Sutton Publishing Limited, Gloucester, U.K., 121pp. Olendorff, R.R., A.D. Miller & R.N. Lehman (1981). Suggested practices for raptor protection on power linesThe state of the art in 1981. Raptor Research Foundation, Inc., Raptor Research Report No. 4., St. Paul, Minnesota. 111pp. Parasharya, B.M. & A. Mukherjee (1998). A record number of Blacknecked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis from Gujarat. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 95: 335– 336. Parasharya, B.M., K.L. Mathew & D.N. Yadav (2000). Population estimation and general ecology of the Indian Sarus Crane Grus antigone antigone in Kheda district, Gujarat. Pavo 38 (1&2): 25–34. Parasharya, B.M. & A. Tere (2006). Lesser Flamingos in India: A Knowledge Update. Anand Agricultural University,

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Anand, 23pp. Sundar, K.S.G. & B.C. Choudhury (2005). Mortality of Sarus Cranes (Grus antigone) due to electricity wires in Uttar Pradesh, India. Environmental Conservation 32(3): 260–69. Tere, A. & B.M. Parasharya (2005). Post-breeding distribution of flamingos and their population estimation. Flamingo, Newsletter of the Bird Conservation Society, Gujarat 3(4): 2–5. Tere, A. (2005). Ecology of Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus and Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor on wetlands of Gujarat. PhD Thesis submitted to the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India. Thompson, L.S. (1978). Transmission line wire strikes: mitigation through engineering design and habitat modification, pp. 51–92. In: Avery, M.J. (ed.). Impact of Transmission Lines on Birds in Flight. Proceedings of a Conference, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

A. Tere & B.M. Parasharya Author Details: Dr. Anika Tere has worked on ‘Ecology of Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus and Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor on wetlands of Gujarat’ during 2002 to 2005 and earned her PhD Thesis from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India. Besides flamingos, she has interest in avian ecology, wetland ecology and faunal diversity inventory in general. At present she is a lecturer at M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara. She has also contributed to the formulation of Global Conservation Action Plan for Lesser Flamingos. Dr. B. M. Parasharya is a field ornithologist. He worked on the ecology of Western Reef Heron and other coastal birds for his doctorate degree and earned the same from Saurashtra University in 1984. At Anand Agricultural University, focus of his research is management of crop depredatory birds, insect & rodent predators and conservation of birds in agricultural landscape. Besides research and teaching, he has also guided students in areas like avian ecology as well as spider and butterfly diversity. He has done pioneering work on the ecology of Western Reef Heron, Indian Sarus Crane and Lesser Flamingo. He has also contributed to the formulation of Global Conservation Action Plan for Lesser Flamingos. He has special interest in wetland ecology.

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JoTT Short Communication

3(11): 2202–2206

Revalidation of Santinezia albilineata Roewer, 1932 (Arachnida: Opiliones: Cranaidae) Manzanilla Osvaldo Villarreal 1 & Carlos J. Rodríguez 2 Museo del Instituto de Zoología Agrícola, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Apartado 4579, Maracay 2101, Venezuela Email: 1 osvaldovillarreal@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 aldaroncr@gmail.com 1,2

Abstract: Santinezia albilineata Roewer, 1923 is revalidated from the synonymy of Santinezia curvipes (Roewer, 1916). Both species, which inhabit the central northern costal mountain range in Venezuela, are illustrated and compared. Santinezia albilineata can be differentiated easily from S. curvipes, by the following characters of the males: development and direction of the ventral process of the coxa IV, direction of the retrolateral distal tubercle of the trochanter IV, perpendicular with blunt tip in S. albilineata and sharp and posteriorly projected in S. curvipes; retrolateral proximal tubercle of the femur IV absent, this is present in S. curvipes. The genital characters in S. albilineata are: ventral plate with five lateral setae, the three proximal aligned and larger. Distal setae distal straight. With two small mesodorsal setae. S. curvipes ventral plate with five non-aligned lateral setae, the basal largest and located at the height of the lateral expansion, the four remaining grouped medially. Absence of mesodorsal setae. Keywords: Gonyleptoidea, Laniatores, taxonomy, Venezuela.

The knowledge of taxonomy of the genera in Cranaidae is unsatisfactory and the generic boundaries are not clearly established. An attempt to define the status of subfamilies was recently made (Orrico & Kury

Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Adriano B. Kury Manuscript details: Ms # o2514 Received 21 July 2010 Final received 08 April 2011 Finally accepted 02 November 2011 Citation: Villarreal, M.O. & C.J. Rodríguez (2011). Revalidation of Santinezia albilineata Roewer, 1932 (Arachnida: Opiliones: Cranaidae). Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2202–2206. Copyright: © Manzanilla Osvaldo Villarreal & Carlos J. Rodríguez 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Acknowledgements: Adriano Kury and Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha, selflessly provided important information and comments. Rubén Candia (MB-UCV, Venezuela) provided information on the types of Cranaostygnus marcuzzi. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

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2009), however a systematic revision is yet needed. The only cranaine genus studied under phylogenetic treatment is Santinezia Roewer, 1923, which has almost 30 species described from Panama to Brazil, with an Andean-Amazonic distribution, and only one species from Central America (Kury 2003; Pinto-daRocha & Kury 2003; Townsend & Milne 2010). In a taxonomic review of Santinezia from Venezuela (González-Sponga 2003), 11 new species and two new subspecies were described and a new combination was proposed; a few months later, a taxonomic and systematic review of the genus was published (Pintoda-Rocha & Kury 2003), which included only species prior to the aforementioned paper, being composed of 17 species assembled in three groups: curvipes, festae and gigantea, distributed in northern South America. Both articles reached similar conclusions in several taxonomic points, as in the establishment of the synonymy between S. francourbanii Avram, 1987 and S. curvipes Roewer, 1916, however, there are some points of disagreement on the taxonomic status of three populations of the genus inhabiting the central track of Cordillera de La Costa, in Venezuela, specifically: Henri Pittier National Park, a locality near San Casimiro (both in the Aragua State) and El Avila National Park (in the Capital District and Miranda State). While González-Sponga (2003), accepts these three populations as an equal number of species (S. curvipes - Distrito Capital and Miranda; S. marcuzzii - north of Aragua State and S. albilineata - south of Aragua State), Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury (2003) recognize only one species: S. curvipes. In the present note the external morphology and the genital structure of the males of three localities were studied, to resolve the taxonomic status of populations referred as Santinezia curvipes (Roewer, 1916) or its current synonym: S. albilineata Roewer, 1923, and the revalidation of the last species is proposed.

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Revalidation of Santinezia albilineata

M.O. Villarreal & C.J. Rodríguez

Repositories are Museo de Historia Natural La Salle, Caracas (MHNLS) and Museo del Instituto de Zoología Agrícola, UCV - Maracay (MIZA). Taxonomy Cranaidae Roewer, 1913 Santinezia Roewer, 1923 Inezia Roewer 1913: 392. Preoccupied by Inezia Cherrie, 1909. Santinezia Roewer 1923: 552; Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury 2003: 181; Kury 2003: 97; González-Sponga 2003: 3. Nieblia Roewer 1925: 27. (Synonymy established by Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury 2003: 181). Ikossimus Roewer 1931: 334. (Synonymy established by González-Sponga 2003: 3). Cranaostygnus Caporiacco, 1951. (Synonymy established by González-Sponga, 2003: 3). Santinezia curvipes (Roewer, 1916) Images 1–5; Figs. 1–6 Inezia curvipes Roewer, 1916: 8. Santinezia curvipes Roewer, 1932: 553; Roewer, 1932: 290; Soares & Soares, 1948: 617; Moritz, 1971: 195; Avram, 1987: 84; González-Sponga, 2003: 42; Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury, 2003: 26. Cranaostygnus marcuzzi Caporiacco, 1951: 26. (Synonymy established by Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury, 2003). Santinezia marcuzzii (misspelling): GonzálezSponga, 2003: 3 and 45. Goniosoma pavani Muñoz-Cuevas, 1972: 28. (Synonymy established by González-Sponga, 2003). Santinezia benedictoi Soares & Avram, 1981: 95. (Synonymy established by González-Sponga, 2003). Santinezia francourbanii Avram, 1987: 83; Rambla & Juberthie, 1994: 221. (Synonymy established by González-Sponga, 2003). Santinezia orghidani Avram, 1987: 85. (Synonymy established by González-Sponga, 2003). Santinezia orhidani (misspelling): GonzálezSponga, 2003: 45. Material examined: 21.viii.1998, 1 male, 1 female, 1675m, Parque Nacional El Ávila, Los Mecedores, Distrito Capital, Venezuela (MHNLS IV-252) (H. Escalona); 30.vi.2009, 5 males, 7 females 1500m, Parque Nacional El Ávila, Los Venados (MIZA 2181)

3 4

Images 1–5. Santinezia curvipes (male from Rancho Grande, Aragua): 1 - Habitus in dorsal view; 2 - Coxa IV, stigmatic area and free sternites in ventral view; 3 - Right trochanter IV in dorsal view; the arrow pointing the retrolateral tubercle on the trochanter; 4 - Right femur IV, in dorsal view; the arrow pointing the proximal and retrolateral tubercle on the femur; 5 - Female from El Ávila, Miranda. Left posterolateral zone of dorsal scute, in dorsal view.

(O. Villarreal M.; L. Ovalles); 05.iv.2009, 5 males, 1 female, 1200–1300 m, Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, camino Rancho Grande-Cumbre, Aragua (MIZA 1717) (O. Villarreal M.; H. Escalona); 09.x.2008, 1 male, Parque Nacional Henri Pittier camino Pico PeriquitoPortachuelo, Aragua (MIZA 1353) (H. Sánchez; O.Villarreal M.; J. Valera; I. Salvi). Emended diagnosis: Carapace reticulated dark brown on yellowish-brown background; abdominal scute reddish-brown with mesotergal areas slightly darker (Image 1). Ventral tubercles of the coxa IV short (two times larger than wide), projected posteriorly, forming an acute angle with the rear margin of the coxa (Image 2); retrolateral distal tubercle of the trochanter IV sharp and posteriorly projected (Image 3); presence of a retrolateral proximal tubercle in the femur IV (Images 3–4). Penis: Ventral plate with five non-aligned lateral setae, basal largest and located at the height of lateral expansion, the four remaining grouped medially. Absence of mesodorsal setae; distal setae of the ventral plate curved. Distal cleft of the ventral plate shallow. Ratio length/width of the plate

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albilineata has two elongate spots) (Image 10). Complete descriptions of this species were done by Roewer (1916) and González-Sponga (2003). Here we present only diagnostic characters. Remarks: After studying specimens from two localities in the central track of Cordillera de la Costa, we do not find characters to separate the populations in as many species as it has been proposed in the literature (González-Sponga 2003). An analysis of the penis and morphometry suggests that the decision taken by Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury (2003) was correct, proposing S. marcuzzi as a junior synonym of S. curvipes. The specimens of Parque Nacional El Ávila, were smaller than those of Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, and subtle differences have been observed in the position of the more distal mesal seta and the shape of the distal portion of the ventral plate (Figs. 4–6) however, they do not have other differences that allow us to separate them as two species. An attempt to define the taxonomic status of Goniosoma marcuzzi was made, but the holotype of this species is lost (Rubén Candia pers. com., Dec 2009). We followed the decision of Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury (2003). Santinezia albilineata Roewer, 1923 (Revalidated) Images 6–10; Figs. 7–9.

Figures 1–9. Santinezia spp., distal portion of the penis: ventral, lateral and dorsal views. 1–3 - Santinezia curvipes (P.N. Henri Pittier, Aragua state); 4–6 - Santinezia curvipes (P.N. Avila, Distrito Capital); 7–9 - Santinezia albilineata (Tiara, Aragua state).

ventral 1.13–1.25. Apical portion of the penis trunk dorsally projected (Figs. 1–6). Species of the genus Santinezia frequently present conspicuous sexual dimorphism. Females of S. curvipes have differences with the males, on the yellow spots, showing additional spots on the groove III in the dorsal scute (Image 5). This species can be distinguished from S. albilineata, by the absence of spots inside mesotergal area III (S. 2204

Santinezia albilineata Roewer, 1932: 290, fig 7; Soares & Soares 1948: 617; Goodnight & Goodnight, 1949: 23; Caporiacco, 1951: 27; Rambla, 1978: 8; Avram, 1987: 87; Decu et al., 1987: 34; Rambla & Juberthie, 1994: 221 (type ZMB 7468, female holotype, not examined). Santinezia curvipes: Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury, 2003: 198. Santinezia decui (Avram, 1987): 86, figs 16-19 (Types ISER female holotype lost?). (Synonymy established by González-Sponga 2003). Material examined: 18.iv.2004, 11 males and 7 females, 1200m, road Tiara-La Esperanza, Aragua, Venezuela (MHNLS IV-244) (O. Villarreal M. & H. Escalona); 19.x.1973 / 03.ix.1980, 12 males, 17 females, Campamento Rangel, Tiara, Aragua, (MAGS 016) (Ayala-Kaletta/A.R.D.G; V.A.G.D.; M.A.G.S.). Emended diagnosis: Carapace uniform dark brown; mesotergum reticulated dark brown (Image 6).

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7 6

Images 6–10. Santinezia albilineata (male from Tiara, Aragua): 6 - Habitus in dorsal view; 7 - Coxa IV, stigmatic area and free sternites in ventral view; the arrow pointing the yellow strip on the sternite; 8 - Right trochanter IV in dorsal view; the arrow pointing the retrolateral tubercle on the trochanter; 9 - Right femur IV, in dorsal view; 10 - Female from Tiara, Aragua. Left posterolateral zone of dorsal scute, in dorsal view.

Santinezia albilineata can be differentiated easily from S. curvipes, by the following characters of the males: development and direction of the ventral process of the coxa IV, typical for the genus: in S. albilineata can be large (more than three times larger than wide) and perpendicular to direction of the coxa (Image 7), while in S. curvipes they are smaller and they are posteriorly projected, forming a acute angle with the posterior part of the coxa; form and direction of the retrolateral distal tubercle of the trochanter IV, perpendicular with blunt tip in S. albilineata (Image 8) and sharp and posteriorly projected in S. curvipes; retrolateral proximal tubercle of the femur IV absent (Images 8–9), this is present in S. curvipes. Penis: Ventral plate with 5 lateral setae, the 3 proximal aligned and larger. Distal setae distal straight. With 2 small mesodorsal setae. Apical portion of the truncus swollen, without dorsal projection. Ventral plate enlarged, with large/ width ratio: 1.48. Distal margin of the plate with a slight cleft (Figs. 7–9). Females with two elongate spots on the mesotergal area III (Image 10). Remarks: Santinezia albilineata Roewer,

1923 was described with material coming from San Casimiro, a locality in the south of Aragua State, in the central track of Cordillera de la Costa, Venezuela and posteriorly recorded from Rancho Grande, Aragua State and Los Teques, Miranda State (di Caporiacco 1951). González-Sponga (2003) in his taxonomic review of the genus in Venezuela redescribed this species with specimens from Tiara, a town near from the type-locality [the same presented by the Avram (1987) as a type-locality of S. decui, the latter species proposed as synonym of S. albilineata by GonzálezSponga (2003)]. In his phylogenetic analysis of Santinezia, Pintoda-Rocha & Kury (2003) agreed with GonzálezSponga (2003) about the status of S. decui living in San Casimiro and around, however, both species are considered by them as junior synonyms of S. curvipes. These authors did not have access to material type of S. albilineata, mentioning that a request of this type material made to ISER (Dr. V. Decu) was not answered and that the material type could have been lost (Pintoda-Rocha & Kury 2003). Based on the study of some exemplars from Tiara, we propose the revalidation of Santinezia albilineata, keeping S. decui as its synonym. This species belongs to the group “curvipes” proposed by Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury (2003). A detailed review of the species from Cordillera de la Costa in Venezuela is still needed to determine their taxonomic status. The taxonomic and geographical boundaries between species of Santinezia in this region are unknown.

REFERENCES Avram, S. (1987). Opilionides du Venezuela IV. Fauna Hipogea y hemiedáfica de Venezuela y de otros países de América del Sur 1(8): 81–88. di Caporiacco, L. (1951). Studi sugli aracnidi del Venezuela racolti dalla sezione di Biologia (Universitá Centrale del Venezuela). I parte: Scorpiones, Solifuga, Opiliones e Chernetes. Acta Biologica Venezuelica 1(1): 1–46. González-Sponga, M.A. (2003). Arácnidos de Venezuela. Opiliones del género Santinezia (Laniatores, Cranaidae). Acta Biologica Venezuelica 21(4): 1–69. Kury, A.B. (2003). Annotated catalogue of the Laniatores of the New World (Arachnida, Opiliones). Revista Iberica de Aracnología, vol. especial monográfico 1: 1–337. Orrico, V.G.D. & A.B. Kury (2009). A cladistic analysis of

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Revalidation of Santinezia albilineata

M.O. Villarreal & C.J. Rodríguez

the Stygnicranainae Roewer, 1913 (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cranaidae) - where do longipalp cranaids belong? Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 57: 470–494. Pinto-da-Rocha, R. & A. Kury (2003). Phylogenetic analysis of Santinezia with description of five new species (Opiliones, Laniatores, Cranaidae). Journal of Arachnology 31: 173–208. Roewer, C.F. (1916). 7 neue Opilioniden des Zoolog. Museums in Berlin. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 81(12): 6–13. Towndsend, V.R. & M.A. Milne (2010). A new species of Santinezia (Opiliones: Cranaidae) from Panama. Journal of Arachnology 38: 460–465.

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JoTT Short Communication

3(11): 2207–2210

Female genitalia as a taxonomic tool in the classification of Indian Acridoidea (Orthoptera) Mohammad Kamil Usmani 1 & Hirdesh Kumar 2 Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh 202002, India Email: 1 usmanikamil94@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 entomologist1985@gmail.com 1,2

Abstract: A comparative study on female genitalia was carried out in Indian species of the superfamily Acridoidea. An attempt has been made to describe and illustrate the different structures viz., spermatheca, ovipositor, sub genital plate, supra-anal plate and cerci of female in Acridids with an aim to discover their significance in order to make the identification of genera and species, together with other generic characters more perfect and convenient. Genitalic structures particularly female subgenital plate, ovipositor and spermatheca makes it possible to put forward some suggestions regarding interrelations of families and subfamilies of Acridoidea more clearly than the external characters. Keywords: Acridoidea, female genitalia, Indian species, Orthoptera, significance.

All the economically important species belonging to the superfamily Acridoidea are commonly known as locusts and grasshoppers. Sometimes they are called Short-horned Grasshoppers in contrast to Ensifera (Tettigonoidea and Grylloidea) or Longhorned Grasshoppers which constitute one of the other

Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Kailash Chandra Manuscript details: Ms # o2589 Received 28 September 2010 Final received 04 August 2011 Finally accepted 02 November 2011 Citation: Usmani, M.K. & H. Kumar (2011). Female genitalia as a taxonomic tool in the classification of Indian Acridoidea (Orthoptera). Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2207–2210. Copyright: © Mohammad Kamil Usmani & Hirdesh Kumar 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Acknowledgements: We wish to extend our gratitude to Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi for providing financial assistance during the tenure of a major research project (Ref. No. SR/SO/AS 32/2008) being carried out on Biosystematics and Biodiversity of Acridoidea (Orthoptera) in northern India. Thanks are also due to Prof. Asif Ali Khan, Chairman, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh for providing necessary facilities. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

suborders of Orthoptera. Locusts and grasshoppers constitute an economically important group of orthopterous pests that infest a number of cultivated and noncultivated crops. They cause considerable damage to agricultural crops, pastures and forests and are well reputed for their destructiveness all over the world. Locusts and grasshoppers have invaded green crops from the earliest days to the present time. Locusts are the main pests in countries bordering deserts. The devastations caused by migratory swarms of locusts are well known. Swarms of the Desert Locusts Schistocerca gregaria have plagued agriculture from ancient recorded times. The accurate identification of the pest is the essential basis for all investigations. Correct identification and knowledge on the biology is very essential for evaluation of the damage caused by the pests and also for developing suitable control measures. Knowledge of the biology, behaviour of a pest is fundamental to an understanding of its ecology and population dynamics and to developing efficient control methods. Knowledge of the nature and causes of pest damage is also essential in order to suggest the appropriate amount of research and control efforts required. Experience has shown that control of agricultural pests is made easier when their taxonomy and biological observations have been placed on a sound basis. The genitalic structures particularly epiphallus, aedeagus and spermatheca are less affected than the external characters by environmental conditions. A comparative study of these characters may therefore help to trace the interrelationship of the groups more clearly than the external characters. The genitalia of many animals, particularly arthropods, not only show a great deal of structural detail but are also highly species-specific. Genitalic structures are most useful among the arthropods. In many group of insects genitalic structures are more important for species diagnosis than any other

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Tool for identifying Acridoidea

M.K. Usmani & H. Kumar

character. It has been suggested that a lock and key relationship exists as regards the copulatory structures of the males and females of those species with sclerotised genitalia. Such appears the case in certain group of insects. In general, genitalic structures must be evaluated just like other characters. In groups where their significance has been proved they are usually very useful, because genitalic structures appear to be among the first to change in the course of speciation. Recently in 2009 Usmani studied the male and female genitalia in some Libyan species of Acrididae. The present study is based on the conventional as well as genitalic characters, for a better understanding of the significance of morphological structures. Comparative study has been done on genitalia with reference to subgenital plate (Fig. 1a), ovipositor (Fig. 1b), spermatheca (Fig. 1c) and supra-anal plate & cerci (Fig. 1d), of females. Methods Preparation for genitalic studies: For a detailed study of the various components of genitalia, the apical part of female bodies was cut off and boiled in 10% potassium hydroxide for a variable period till the material became transparent (usually about 10 minutes) to remove unsclerotized and non-chitinous tissues. They were then thoroughly washed in tap water for complete removal of KOH and examined in 70 percent ethyl alcohol on a cavity slide. Later, every specimen was dissected under a binocular microscope with the help of fine needles to separate various components viz., supra-anal plate and cerci, subgenital plate, ovipositor and spermatheca. The normal process of dehydration was adopted and clearing was done in clove oil. The genitalic structures were mounted separately on cavity slides in Canada balsam. A 22mm square cover-glass over the cavity of the slide was normally used when examining the supra-anal plate and subgenital plate. This was made to prevent them from curling upwards and inwards at the edges. The ovipositor was mounted in Canada balsam on another cavity slide oriented to the required position without cover glass. The slides were kept in a slide drier at a temperature of approximately 400C for about one week to get them completely dry. The permanent slides were examined under the microscope in order to make a detailed study of the 2208

genitalic structures. Drawings were initially made with the help of a camera lucida. Details were filled in by conventional microscope examination. Observations and Results For a better understanding of the significance of genitalic structures, comparative study has been done on genitalia with reference to subgenital plate, supraanal plate & cerci, ovipositor and spermatheca of females. Female Genitalic Structures Subgenital plate (VIII sternite) (Fig. 1a): The subgenital plate of the female is the VIII sternite and therefore not homologous with that of the male. In the middle the surface has a finger-like process, the eggguide which extends beyond the posterior margin of the plate between the bases of the lower ovipositor valves is often concealed by them. On each side of the egg-guide there are sometimes found brown sclerotised patches discovered by Jannone (1939) who regarded them as sensory. Rudimentary or well developed condition of the egg-guide is taken as stable characters for separating various families. The presence or absence of Jannoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organs and setae on the posterior margin of the female subgenital plate are taken as subfamilial characters. Posterior margin is entirely setose in the subfamilies Acridinae, Truxalinae and Oedipodinae; setae confined to posterior lateral margins in the subfamilies Catantopinae, Coptacridinae, Cyrtacanthacridinae, Eypreponemidinae and Calliptaminae; posterior margin without setae in Oxyinae and Gomphocerinae, sometimes present in the latter subfamily. Shape of the posterior margin of subgenital plate is suggested as a generic character. Length and shape of the eggguide of the female subgenital plate is considered as characters of specific significance. Flat or concave, smooth or dentate condition of the ventral surface of the plate is used for separating various species of the genus Oxya. Ovipositor (Fig. 1b): It consists of three pairs of valves, two of them large and conspicuous and the third (inner) concealed between them. The ventral valve is articulated with the subgenital plate and ends in a strongly sclerotised hook. The dorsal valve is also strongly sclerotised and with a hook-like tip. The

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Tool for identifying Acridoidea

M.K. Usmani & H. Kumar

Lateral Apodeme Dorsal valve Apical tip Mesial valve

Egg-guide

Lateral sclerite

Ovipositor

Female subgenital plate

Ventral valve Basal sclerite

Apical diverticulum

Preapical diverticulum

Cercus

Spermathecal duct Apical part of spermatheca

Apex Female supra anal plate

Figure 1. Female genital structures in Acridoidea

inner valve is a small, moderately sclerotised lobe. Basally, the valves are articulated with a pair of long, parallel sclerotised apodemes, extending well into the body cavity, to which are attached the main muscles of the ovipositor. Long and slender or short and broad condition of the ovipositor valves are taken as stable characters for separating various subfamilies. Length of the lateral apodeme in relation with the dorsal valve is regarded as a generic character. The shape of valves and apical tips are regarded as specific characters. Spermatheca (Fig. 1c): The spermatheca is also known as recepticulum seminis. It is an essential part of the female reproductive system in which the spermatozoa are stored, and they can be ejected upon eggs as the latter are passed from the oviduct. The spermatheca of Pamphagidae has a single apical diverticulum although the same type occurs in other families (Pyrgomorphidae); while Acrididae as a family is characterised by a spermatheca with two diverticula. Tubular or sac-like condition of pre-apical diverticula of spermatheca is taken as stable characters for separating various families. The long or short and slender or broad condition of apical, tubular or sac-

like condition of pre-apical diverticula of spermatheca are suggested as valid characters for grouping the subfamilies. Apical and preapical diverticula of spermatheca tubular in the subfamilies Oxyinae, Hemiacridinae, Coptacridinae, Eyprepocnemidinae, Tropidopolinae and Calliptaminae; apical diverticulum very long and slender, preapical diverticulum tubular in Cyrtacanthacridinae, Catantopinae and Romaleinae; apical divertidulum short or rudimentary, preapical diverticulum sac-like in the subfamilies Acridinae, Truxalinae, Gomphocerinae and Oedipodinae. The size of apical and preapical diverticula and the presence or absence of protuberance on preapical diverticulum is taken as specific characters. Female supra-plate and cerci (Fig. 1d): The X tergite, the epipproct and the cercus in females are always of simple structure, even in the species where these parts are highly specialised in the male sex but in some groups there may be considerable variation in its shape and size. The shape of the female supra-anal plate is suggested as a useful generic character. The shape and length of the female cerci are considered as characters of specific significance.

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Discussion Earlier studies on the systematics of Indian Acridoidea are exclusively based on conventional external visible characters, namely shape, size, colouration, texture, number of antennal segments etc. A revolution in Acridoid systematics was brought about by genitalic characters which has resulted in a profound change in the systematic concept of this group. The genitalic structures are less affected than the external characters by environmental conditions. A comparative study of these structures makes it possible to put forward some suggestions regarding interrelations of families and subfamilies of Acridoidea more clearly than the external characters. Subfamilies Oxyinae, Hieroglyphinae, Catantopinae, Coptacridinae, Cyrtacanthacridinae, Eyprepocnemidinae, Tropidopolinae, Calliptaminae and Eremogryllinae are so closely related that earlier and recent workers have put all of them in one group. In all the subfamilies apical and preapical diverticula of spermatheca are tubular. The grouping is justified not only by the common character of spermatheca but also by the fact that all the subfamilies (of Catantopidae) possess prosternal process. The subfamilies Cyrtacanthacridinae, Calliptaminae and Catantopinae are closely related in having spermatheca with long and slender apical diverticulum, whereas in the subfamilies Eyprepocnemidinae and Tropidopolinae,

2210

spermatheca with apical diverticulurn moderately long and slender. The spermatheca is with a single diverticulum in Pamphagidae while in Pyrgomorphidae it is of variable forms, mostly with a single diverticulum, sometimes with a small or large preapical diverticulum. In the family Acrididae, apical diverticulum is short, rudimentary or sometimes absent and pre-apical diverticulum is sac-like. The sac-like condition of pre-apical diverticulum of spermatheca is regarded as advanced characters. These occur in the subfamilies Acridinae, Oedipodinae, Truxalinae and Gomphocerinae. The grouping of these subfamilies into the family Acrididae is justified by the absence of prosternal process. Gomphocerinae is regarded as the most advanced subfamily among the group (Uvarov 1966). REFERENCES Jannone, G. (1939). Sulla diffusione della vescicola ghiandolare protoracica negli Ortotteri della subfam. Oedipodinae. Bollettino di Zoologia 10: 1–3 [35]. Usmani, M.K. (2009). Male and female genitalia in some Libyan Acrididae (Orthoptera:Acridoidea). Entomological Research 39(2009): 1–35. Uvarov, B.P. (1966). Grasshoppers and Locusts. A Hand Book of General Acridology. Cambridge xi+481pp.

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | November 2011 | 3(11): 2207–2210

JoTT Short Communication

3(11): 2211–2216

Coastal sand dune flora in the Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, southern India K. Muthukumar 1 & A. Selvin Samuel 2 No. 9B, Keelakottai, Gangaikondan-via, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu 627352, India, Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, St.John’s College, Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu 627007, India Email: 1 muthukumarbut1976@yahoo.com (corresponding author), 2 selvinsml@yahoo.com 1 2

Abstract: Coastal sand dunes (CSD) are found in the Thoothukudi District and the communities living close to the coastal sand dunes know the value of the sand dunes and their bioresources. A study of sand dune flora along coastal sand dune areas was done from March to August 2010. A total of 42 species belonging to 38 genera and 26 families were identified at different distances from the shoreline. The CSD systems are rich and diverse in their floral composition, even over the small areas of Manapadu and Kulasakarapattanam along the Thoothukudi coastal line. CSD constitute a variety of habitats and have vital ecological and economic importance. Such unique sensitive systems have to be protected from habitat degradation in order to protect their native diversity and ecological functions. Keywords: Coastal sand dunes, ecological, Manapadu, Kulasakarapatinam, Tuticorin.

Coastal sand dunes (CSD) are common in different parts of the world. CSD are natural structures protecting the coast from high waves and saltwater intrusions (Corre 1991). The plants living in sand dunes are called Psammophytes. These psammophytic species play a vital role in protecting the coast from erosion and floods (Desai 2000). The coastal length of Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Anonymity requested Manuscript details: Ms # o2634 Received 25 November 2010 Final received 10 October 2011 Finally accepted 02 November 2011 Citation: Muthukumar, K. & A.S. Samuel (2011). Coastal sand dune flora in the Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, southern India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2211–2216. Copyright: © K. Muthukumar & A. Selvin Samuel 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Acknowledgements: Authors are grateful to Mr. T. Mallikaraj and J. Sundher for his encouragement for during the field survey. We also thank the anonymous reviewers whose comments improved this manuscript substantially. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

India is 7500km with many lagoons, beaches, estuaries, and mangrove swamps, supporting rich biotic and abiotic micro-organisms (Anonymous 1987). With respect to geographic location and physical distinctiveness, the coast of Thoothukudi District is part of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve (08045’36”– 9002’31”N & 78007’17”–78019’18”E). The recorded forest area is 169km2, which constitutes 3.66% of the geographic area of the district (Forest Survey Report 2005). There are different types of vegetation on the coast of Thoothukudi, this includes mangroves and their associates—scrub jungles, aquatic vegetation, and coastal sand dune vegetation. A sand dune is a mound, hill or ridge of sand that lies behind the part of the beach affected by tides. They are formed over many years when windblown sand is trapped by beach grasses. Dune grasses anchor the dunes with their roots, holding them temporarily in place, while their leaves trap sand, promoting dune expansion. The sand dune is maintained with the help of sand dune vegetation as wind traps, sand binders and dune stabilizers (Wagner 1964). Temperate coastal dunes are well studied and documented (Koske & Gemma 1997; Sridhar & Bhagya 2007) as compared to studies on tropical coastal dunes (Kulkarni et al. 1997; Sridhar & Bhagya 2007). CSD comprise a variety of flora and fauna, which play a vital role in provisioning ecological and economical services to the coastal communities (Maun & Baye 1989; Martinez et al. 1997). The coastal communities closely associated with sand dune habitats are dependent on CSD vegetation for a variety of benefits: for food, fodder, health, manure and recreation. In fact, very few publications are available on the floral diversity of Indian sand dunes (Sridhar & Bhagya 2007). The objective of the present study was to quantify the abundance, species richness and diversity of the CSD plant community, to understand their ecological and economic importance to the lo-

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | November 2011 | 3(11): 2211–2216

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Sand dune flora in Thoothukudi District

K. Muthukumar & A.S. Samuel

cal community of Manapadu and Kulasakarapattanam coastline of Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu. Materials and Methods Study area: Thoothukudi is located on the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu (8037’15”–8039’97”N & 78006’24”–78005’96”E; Fig. 1). Manapadu and Kulasakarapattanam are coastal villages with sand dune coverage of about 3km2 and 4km2 extent respectively. The coastal border has a length of 20km and a breadth ranging from 3 to 500m. Superficially, the coast is flat and sandy. The study area experiences a mean annual temperature of 320C and a mean annual rainfall of 655mm and humidity 87%. The mean monthly temperature ranges from 29–35 0C. The climate is tropical and dissymmetric with the bulk of the rainfall occurring during the northeast monsoon October–December (Thoothukudi District website). CSD formations depend on accumulating size and prevailing wind energy (Kumar et al. 1993). Their height differs in response to the availability of sand supply, climate and local topographic features (Barbour et al. 1985). In Mana-

Thoothukudi District map Ettaiyapuram Vilattikulam

Kovilpatti Ottapidaram

Thoothukkudi Srivaikundam Tiruchendur

Sathankulam

Figure 1. Study area 2212

Kulasekarapattinam Manapadu

Image 1. Sand dune in Manapadu Village

padu the height of the sand dunes is very high (35m; Image 1) compared to Kulasakarapattanam (6.4m). Data collection: A total of 10 quadrates of 5 x 5 m were marked randomly in 10 locations at different distance gradients from the shoreline in each village. Every plant species found along the 10 quadrates was enumerated. Species (Table 1) were identified by using published flora (Daniel & Umamaheswari 2001; Banerjee et al. 2002). Results & Discussion In the study area 42 species belonging to 38 genera representing 26 families were enumerated during this survey. Out of the total Indian CSD plants listed so far (154), nearly one-third (42) of them were recorded in the study area. Indian CSDs consist of 154 species belonging to 108 genera and 41 families (Arun et al. 1999; Rao & Sherieff 2002). The Poaceae family was most common and dominant with five species followed by Malvaceae (4), Asteraceae (3), Euphorbiaceae (3), Cyperaceae (2), Amaranthaceae (2), and Arecaceae (2). Nineteen families were represented only by one species, and over all 25 were medicinal plants (Table 1). Several authors have pointed out that the temperate CSD comprise mainly the members of Poaceae, and the tropics with Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae (Arun et al. 1999; Rao & Sherieff 2002; Sridhar & Bhagya 2007). During the present study Poaceae, Malvaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Cyperaceae were the most common families. Many authors have mentioned that in various parts of the world many dune ecosystems support high plant richness and diversity values (Musila et al. 2001; Grootjans et al. 2004; Fontana 2005; Celsi & Monserrat 2008). The present study also indicates that

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | November 2011 | 3(11): 2211–2216

Sand dune flora in Thoothukudi District

K. Muthukumar & A.S. Samuel

Table 1. The list of sand dune flora from Tuticorin coast Scientifice name

Family

Habit

Tamil Name

Uses

Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet.

Malvaceae

Shrub

Thuthi

Acalypha indica L.

Euphorbiaceae

Herb

Kuppaimeni

Acanthospermum hispidum DC.

Asteraceae

Herb

Kombu mull

Aerva persica (Burm.f.) Merr. (Image 2)

Amaranthaceae

Shrub

Perumpulai

Aristida setacea Retz.

Poaceae

Herb

Atriplex repens Roth.

Chenopodiaceae

Herb

Azadirachta indica A. Juss.

Meliaceae

Tree

Veppamaram

Boerhavia diffusa L.

Nyctaginaceae

Herb

Mukurattai

Borassus flabellifer L. *

Arecaceae

Tree

Panai maram

+, E

10.

Bulbostylis barbata (Rottb.) C.B. Clarke. (Image 3)

Cyperaceae

Herb

11.

Calotropis gigantea (L.) R.Br.

Asclepiadaceae

Shrub

Erukku

+, E

12.

Carica papaya L.

Caricaceae

Small Tree

Pappali

13.

Cassia italica (Mill.) Lam. ex F.W. Andrews.

Caesalpiniaceae

Herb

Nilavahai

14.

Casuarina litorea L. *

Casuarinaceae

Tree

Chavuku

15.

Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don.

Apocynaceae

Herb

Nithyakalyani

16.

Cenchrus ciliaris L.

Poaceae

Herb

Kolukattaipul

17.

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (Image 4)

Cucurbitaceae

Herb

Peykkumatti

18.

Cocos nucifera L.

Arecaceae

Tree

Thennai maram

19.

Croton bonplandianus Baill.

Euphorbiaceae

Herb

Mannannai chedi

20.

Datura metel L.

Solanaceae

Herb

Oomathai

21.

Euphorbia hirta L.

Euphorbiaceae

Herb

Amampatchaiarisi

22.

Euphorbia tortilis Rottler ex Ainslie.

Euphorbiaceae

Shrub

Tirukukalli

23.

Fimbristylis cymosa R.Br. * (Image 5)

Cyperaceae

Herb

24.

Gisekia pharnaceoides L* (Image 6)

Aizoaceae

Herb

Manalkeerai

+, E

25.

Gomphrena serrata L.

Amaranthaceae

Herb

26.

Hibiscus tiliaceus L. *

Malvaceae

Tree

Neerparuthi

27.

Launaea intybacea (Jacq.) Beauverd. *

Asteraceae

Herb

28.

Launaea sarmentosa (Willd.) Sch.Bip.ex Kuntze* (Image 7)

Asteraceae

Herb

29.

Leucas aspera (Willd.) Link.

Lamiaceae

Herb

Thumbai

30.

Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw.

Cactaceae

Shrub

Sappathikalli

31.

Panicum repens L. *

Poaceae

Herb

32.

Passiflora foetida L.

Passifloraceae

Climber

Sirupunaikali

33.

Pedalium murex L. (Image 8)

Pedaliaceae

Herb

Perunerunji

34.

Phyla nodiflora (L.) Greene.

Verbenacee

Herb

Koduppai

35.

Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.

Mimosaceae

Tree

Veelikkaruvai

36.

Pycreus polystachyos (Rottb.)P. Beauv*

Poaceae

Herb

37.

Sida cordifolia L.

Malvacece

Herb

Nilathuthi

38.

Spinifex littoreus (Burm.f.) Merr.*

Poaceae

Herb

Ravanan meesai

39.

Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers.

Fabaceae

Under Shrub

Kolingi

40.

Thespesia populnea (L.) Sol. ex Correa. *

Malvaceae

Tree

Poovarasu

41.

Tribulus terrestris L.

Zygophyllaceae

Herb

Nerinji

42.

Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less.

Asteraceae

Herb

Mukuttipundu

E - Economic values; + - Medicinal values; * - Typical CSD plants.

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Sand dune flora in Thoothukudi District

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Image 2. Aerva persica

Image 3. Bulbostylis barbata

Image 4. Citrullus colocynthes

Image 5. Fimbristylis cymosa

Image 6. Gisekia pharnaceoides

Image 7. Launaea sarmentosa

the study area preserves a rich floral diversity with a high number of sand dune medicinal plants, because during the survey 25 medicinal plants were found in the two small sample sites, Manapadu and Kulasakarapattanam. In addition, the different vegetation formations together with the dune field geomorphologic heterogeneity provide a wide variety of environmental conditions and habitat types.

We also compared the floristic composition of the two coastal sites, Manapadu and Kulasakarapattanam. Among these two sites Manapadu had 31 species compared to Kulasakarapattanam which had 22 species. The species composition varied across these two sites. Species such as Fimbristylis cymosa, Spinifex littoreus, Launaea intybacea, were only found in the high tide line in both the sites.

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Sand dune flora in Thoothukudi District

Image 8. Pedalium murex

Coastal sand dunes have been valued as an important coastal ecosystem offering protection to the hinterland, in maintaining the water table of coastal areas and even protecting the coastal agriculture from the salt laden winds blowing from the sea (Namboothri et al. 2008). Dunes are known to prevent intrusion of saltwater into the fresh aquifers of coastal areas. Coastal sand dunes are also important in maintaining the groundwater level of coastal areas, which is essential to sustain not only the flora and fauna, but also to provide an important source of freshwater for coastal populations. The dunes are occupied by a highly adapted group of plants specially suited to life in such harsh conditions. Critical to the formation, stabilisation and post-storm recovery process, is the presence of specialised dune plants e.g. Spinifex littoreus. These plants are capable not only of maintaining dune stability but can also colonize patches of bare sand and grow quickly down an eroded dune face to help build and restore the dune profile. Spinifex littoreus are very effective in long-term control of coastal erosion as they can grow to keep up with the movement of sand whereas rigid walls and structures are soon buried or undermined. Spinifex littoreus is a sand binding grass found on coastal fore dunes throughout the region. It is one of the few plants able to colonise the seaward face of the fore dune, and it is also considered as a berm to front dunes; primary stabilising plants consisting mainly of herbaceous species, were recorded. This area was composed of herbaceous species like Leucas aspera, Gisekia pharnaceoides, Tephrosia purpurea, coastal tree species like Borassus flabellifer and the introduced Casuarina equisitifolia. Very often extensive sand dune systems may have

K. Muthukumar & A.S. Samuel

interdunal sand dunes which are also closely integrated to the socioeconomic life of the coastal population. In Manapadu, coastal villages have a high level of sand dune formation and rich floral diversity as a single quadrate of 5 x 5 m harbored 10 different species, which was much higher when compared to the other sand dune areas like Tiruchendur, Kayalpattanam and Kulasekarapattanam of Thoothukudi coast. A very good example of this is the Borassus flabellifer L. which is quite common on the sand dunes of southern Tamil Nadu. Before sugar was introduced into markets in India, B. flabellifer was a major plantation in southern Tamil Nadu from which jaggery was extracted. Jaggery was not only a major substitute for sugar, it was also a major source of livelihood for the coastal community of southern Tamil Nadu. In another example of Spinifex littoreus (Burm.f.) Merr., the extract from the grass was found to be very effective against bacteria and some fungi strains (Thirunavukkarasu et al. 2010) and this species is also very common. Nine species of Spinfex and five species of Fimbristylis were found, these are also excellent sand binders with medicinal value. Dried grass is used as fuel by fishermen and dry female inflorescence can be used for interior decoration (Daniel & Umamaheswari 2001). Important religious sites were observed during the study. During religious celebrations floral diversity and environmental conditions were affected as human waste, polythene bags, and other solid wastes were deposited on the sand dunes. After the celebrations medicinal herbs and climbers were found destroyed. It is important to initiate efforts to conserve the floral diversity with the help of local communities through awareness creation. REFERENCES Anonymous (1987). Mangroves in India: Status Report, (Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, New Delhi, 1–150pp. Arun, A.B., K.R. Beena., N.S. Raviraja & K.R. Sridhar (1999). Coastal sand dunes - a neglected ecosystem. Current Science 77: 19–21. Banerjee, L.K., T.A. Rao., A.R.K. Sastry & D. Ghosh (2002). Diversity of Coastal Plant Communities in India. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, pp. 233–237 & 319–320. Barbour, M.G., T.M. de Jong & B.M. Palvik (1985). Marine beach and dune plant communities. Physiological ecology of North American communities. Restoration Ecology 6:

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59–68. Celsi, C.E. & A.L. Monserrat (2008). Vascular plants, coastal dunes between Pehuen-có and Monte Hermoso, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check List 4(1): 37–46. Corre, J.-J. (1991). The Sand dunes and their vegetation along the Mediterranean coast of France. Their likely response to climate change. Landscape Ecology 6(1&2): 65–72. Daniel, P. & P. Umamaheswari (2001). The Flora of Gulf of Mannar. Southern India. Botanical Survey of India, 605pp. Desai, K.N. (2000). Dune vegetation: need for a reappraisal. Coastin (A Coastal Policy Rese Newsletter) 3: 6–8. Fontana, S.L. (2005). Coastal dune vegetation and pollen representation in south Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Journal of Biogeography 32: 719–735. Forest Survey of India (2005). Electronic version report available at http://www.fsi.org.in/sfr2005. Accessed on 20 October 2010. Grootjans, A.P., E.B. Adema., R.M. Bekker & E.J. Lammerts (2004). Why young coastal dune slacks sustain a high biodiversity, pp. 85–101. In: Martinez, M.L. & N.P. Psuty (eds.). Coastal Dunes, Ecology and Conservation. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Indian Meteorological Department (2009). Electronic Statistical report available at http://www.thoothukudi.nic.in accessed on 20 October 2010. Koske, R.E. & J.N. Gemma (1997). Mycorrhizae and succession in plantings of beach grass in sand dunes. American Journal of Botany 84: 118–130. Kulkarni, S.S., N.S. Raviraja & K.R. Sridhar (1997). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of tropical sand dunes of west coast of India. Journal of Coastal Research 13: 931–936. Kumar, M., E. Goossens & R. Goossens (1993). Assessment

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of sand dune change detection in Rajasthan (Thar) Desert. International Journal of Remote Sensing 14(9): 1689– 1703 Martinez, M.L., P. Moreno-Casasola & G. Vazquez (1997). Effects of disturbance by sand movement and inundation by water on tropical dune vegetation dynamics. Canadian Journal of Botany 75: 2005–2014. Maun, M.A. & P. R. Baye (1989). The ecology of Ammophila breviligulata Fern. On coastal dune ecosystem. CRC Critical Reviews in Aquatic Science 1: 661–681. Musila, W.M., J. I. Kimyamario & P.D. Jungerius (2001). Vegetation dynamics of coastal sand dunes near Malindi, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 39: 170–177. Namboothri, N., D. Subramanian, B. Muthuraman & A. Sridhar (2008). Policy Brief: Sand Dunes. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, India,1–2pp. Rao, T.A. & A.N. Sherieff (2002). Coastal Ecosystem of the Karnataka State, India II - Beaches. Bangalore: Karnataka Association for the Advancement of Science, 250pp. Sridhar, K.R. & B. Bhagya (2007). Coastal sand dune vegetation: a potential source of food, fodder and pharmaceuticals. Electronic database available at http://www.lrrd.org/ lrrd19/6/srid19084. htm. Accessed on 20 October 2010. Thirunavukkarasu, P., T. Ramanathan., L. Ramkumar & T. Balasubramanian (2010). Anti Microbial Effect of a Coastal Sand Dune Plant of Spinifex littoreus (Burm. f.) Merr. Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences 2(4): 283–285. Wagner, R.H. (1964). The Ecology of dunes - strand habitat of North Carolina. Ecological Monogarphs 34: 79–96.

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JoTT Note

A note on the first registered Mollusca in the National Zoological Collections at the Zoological Survey of India Basudev Tripathy 1 & R. Venkitesan 2 Malacology Division, Zoological Survey of India, Prani Vigyan Bhawan, 535, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal 700 053, India Email: 1 tripathyb@yahoo.co.uk (corresponding author), 2 drvencat@rediffmail.com 1&2

Natural history museums have long been recognized as centres for systematic and biological research. Museum collections are also important reference systems for the study of the diversity of living organisms. The voucher specimens collected during various faunistic field surveys and explorations, preserved and deposited in natural history museums help in recognizing multiple species in a complex of closely related species, variation in traits of populations that affect morphology, ecology, behaviour or physiology, errors or omissions in keys or guides used for identification. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), since its inception, has in its custody and care, collections of the Natural History Museum, Calcutta (Kolkata) that are over 200 years old, as well as subsequent collections made by scientists and staff of ZSI since 1916. As per Section 39 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, ZSI

Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Tan Koh Siang Manuscript details: Ms # o2836 Received 14 June 2011 Final received 24 August 2011 Finally accepted 03 October 2011 Citation: Tripathy, B. & R. Venkitesan (2011). A note on the first registered Mollusca in the National Zoological Collections at the Zoological Survey of India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2217–2220. Copyright: © Basudev Tripathy & R. Venkitesan 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Acknowledgements: We are thankful to the Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for access to the Murex materials of the NZC, Kolkata and also going through the earlier draft of the manuscript. We are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestion for improving the contents of the manuscript. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

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is notified as Designated National Repository for Zoological Collections (NZC) of India. The NZC housed at ZSI now contains more than 30,00,000 authentically identified specimens comprising over 90,000 known species of animals (Ramakrishna & Alfred 2007). The NZC present in different sections of ZSI was acquired from the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Zoological section of the Indian Museum, and collections through various surveys till now which started in the early part of 19th century. Many distinguished naturalists such as John McClelland, Edward Blyth, W. Blanford, H. Blanford, T. Cantor, Francis Day, H.H. Godwin Austen, T. Hardwicke, B. Hodgson, G. Nevill, H. Nevill, F. Stoliczka, W.M. Sykes, W. Theobald, S.R. Tickell, J. Anderson and H. Wood-Mason significantly contributed in documenting the fauna of the Indian subcontinent in the early years of the 19th and 20th centuries. Numerous specimens were also presented to the Indian Museum by friends of the department such as officers of the Geological and Botanical Surveys of India, Indian Forest Services and the Indian Medical Services, by planters in various parts of India, and finally by the officers of the Hoogly Pilot Service. However, serious zoological investigations were first undertaken in India in the last quarter of the 19th century. During the tenure of John Anderson (First Superintendent of the Indian Museum, 1865–1886), there were a series of marine expeditions carried out by the Indian Museum (Anonymous 1914). The Investigator-I (1881–1905) and Investigator-II (1908–11 & 1921–1926) expeditions dredged several interesting mollusks and of them some collections were studied by E.A. Smith (1906). Several scientific teams from the ZSI also surveyed the molluscs of India from both the terrestrial and aquatic environments. However, the history of first molluscan collections in ZSI dates back to 1872. Dr. J. WoodMason, an officer of the Indian Museum collected the first molluscan specimens from the Andaman Islands (Rao & Dey 2000). Perhaps this was due to the series Abbreviations: BMNH - British Museum (Natural History), London; USNM - National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.; DMNH - Delaware Museum, Greenville, U.S.A.; NZC-ZSI - National Zoological Collections at Zoological Survey of India

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of expeditions carried out during 1865–1886. However, registering the collections started later. The records present in the Indian Museum show that Murex trapa, also commonly known as Rare-spined Murex, is the first registered specimen of the then Indian Museum, which was collected by J. Barnett, Esq. Branch Pilot, P.V. Cassandra on 22 August 1884. It is now presently in the NZC. This is an excellent example of the contributions of private donors to the zoological collections in the Indian Museum. The record indicates that it was collected from Sandhead, Bay of Bengal and it could be possible that J. Barnett, a Hugli Pilot, donated these specimens to the museum (The Indian Museum: 1814–1914). The details regarding the Rare-spined Murex are provided below. Classification of Murex trapa Phylum : Mollusca Class : Gastropoda Order : Neogastropoda Family : Muricidae Genus : Murex Species : trapa Murex trapa Roeding, 1798 1777. Purpura hystrix Martini Neues syst. Conch. Cab. Geo. und besch. VoI. 3, vi + 434 pp., pIs lxvicxxi. 1798. Murex trapa Roeding Mus. Bolten., p. 145. (Type locality: Tranquebar, India) 1822. Murex rarispina Lamarck Hist. nat. Anim. Sans. Vert., 7: 158. 1845. Murex martinianus Reeve Conch. Icon., 3 Murex. sp. 72, pl.18, fig. 72. 1940. Murex trapa: Crichton, Journal of Bombay Natural History Society., 42: 331, pl.3, fig.5. 1942. Murex tribulus var. trapa Gravely, Bull. Madras Govt. Mus. New Ser. (Nat. Hist), 5(2): 49. 1952. Murex trapa: Satyamurti, Bull. Madras Govt. Mus. New Ser. (Nat. Hist), 1(2): 153, pl.14, fig. 4. 1961. Murex trapa: Menon, Datta Gupta & Das Gupta, Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 58(2): 486, pl.7, fig.57. 1967. Murex trapa Cernohosky, Marine Shells of the Pacific, 1: 117, pl. 23, fig. 138. 1976. Murex trapa Radwin & D’Attilio, Murex shells of the World: 72, pl.10.fig.14. 1986. Murex trapa: Tikader, Daniel & Subba Rao, 2218

Sea shore animals of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Zoological Survey of India, p.170. 1988. Murex trapa: Ponder & Vokes, Rec. Aust. Mus. Suppl. 8: 41. figs. 17–19, 67 G,H;71 B,C; 73D; 83G,H. 1990. Murex trapa: Pinn, Sea Shells of Pondicherry, Nehru Science Centre, p. 68, fig. 117. 1991. Murex trapa: Rao, Rao & Maitra, Fauna of Orissa, State Fauna series, 1(3): 62; Zoological Survey of India. 1993. Murex trapa: Subba Rao & Surya Rao, Rec. Zoological Survey of India Occ. Paper No., 153: 42, pl. 5, figs. 9–11, Text fig. 17. 2000. Murex trapa: Subba Rao & Dey, Rec. zool. Surv. India Occ. Paper No., 187: 102. 2001. Murex trapa: Mahapatra, Fauna of Godavari Estuary, Estuarine Ecosystem series, 4: 66. Zoological Survey of India . 2003. Murex trapa: Subba Rao, Rec. Zoological Survey of India Occ. Paper No., 192: 229, pl. 54, figs.1–2. 2007. Murex trapa: Ramkrishna, Dey, Barua & Mukhopadhya, Fauna of Andhra Pradesh, State Fauna series, 5(7): 85. Zoological Survey of India. 2008. Murex trapa: Mahapatra, Fauna of Krishna

Image 1. Murex trapa Roeding. Collected by J. Barnett, Esq. from Sandhead, Bay of Bengal on 22.viii.1884 (4 exs.) [Indian Museum (NZC at ZSI), 1884, 001]

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First registered Mollusca

Estuary, Estuarine Ecosystem series, 5: 130. Zoological Survey of India. Material present in the NZC of ZSI, Kolkata: 22.viii.1884, 4 exs. Sandheads, Bay of Bengal; coll. J. Barnett Esq., (Registration No. 001) (Image 1). Records & distribution: India: Madras (BMNH), Tuticorin (USNM; DMNH), Andaman Islands (DMNH), West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (NZC-ZSI); China, Fiji, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia to Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand (Ponder & Vokes 1988). Type locality: Tranquebar, Tamil Nadu, India Remarks: In re-describing Murex trapa, Ponder & Vokes (1988) selected figure No. 1056 from two of Martini’s figures (see Martini 1777) cited by Roeding (1798) as the type material (see Image 2). Martini (1777: 358) gives Tranquebar, Tamil Nadu, India as the type locality and indicates that it is very common at that locality. Reeve (1845) while describing Murex trapa recognized that Martini’s Plate No. 72 (Conchylien Cabinet) illustrated Murex martinianus (Martini’s Murex) but presumably was unaware of Roeding’s earlier name for that (Roeding 1798). The shell of this species is readily distinguished by its tall spire, angulated whorls and short spines. It is very abundant in shallow waters. The relationship of this species may be with the M. scolopax species group, because it resembles most shell characters except for having a ‘closed’, not ‘open’, outer lip. It is included in the M. tribulus species group by some authors. According to Rao & Rao (1993), this species closely agrees with M. tribulus but differs in having an elevated and acute spire, and sub-angulate whorl; canal bearing a few spines on the upper part, and having a more prominent labial tooth. This species was also reported from the Gulf of Kachchh by Menon et al. (1961) but the figure given by them suggests it to be M. tribulus. So far there is no record of this species from anywhere along the west coast of India or along the Arabian coast, although there are records from Madagascar and Mauritius (Ponder & Vokes 1988). Importance of designated national repository: The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is a century-old organization (established in 1916) that mainly deals with the exploration, survey, inventorying and monitoring of faunal diversity in various states, ecosystems and protected areas of India (http://zsi.gov.in). It is the only organization in the country involved in the taxo-

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Image 2. Original Sketch of Murex martinianus [Adopted from Conch. Cab.Vol. III, Pl. XVIII Fig. 72]

nomic study of all kinds of animals, from Protozoa to Mammalia, occurring in all possible habitats. ZSI is also the designated national repository for animal collection and is a storehouse of zoological collections. It serves as a fundamental resource for the identification of zoological specimens by way of comparison with known taxa, as well as through morphological and molecular studies to compare the lineage of taxa.

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REFERENCES Anonymous (1914). The Indian Museum, 1814-1914. Calcutta, Pub. by the trustees of the Indian museum and printed at the Baptist Mission Press, xi p., 1 l., 136, lxxxvii p. Martini, F.H.W. (1777). Neues sytematisches ConchylienCabinet, fortgesetzt durch Johann Heironymus Chemnitz. Nrnberg: G. N. Raspe. Vol.3 pp. vi + 1-434, Pls. 66–121. Menon, P.K.B., A.K. Duttagupta & D. Dasgupta (1961). The marine fauna of the Gulf of Kachchh. II. Gastropoda. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 58(2): 475– 494. Ponder, W.F. & E.H. Vokes (1988). A revision of the IndoWest Pacific fossil and recent species of Murex s.s. and Haustellum (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Muricidae). Records of the Australian Museum 8(Supplement) : 1–160

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Ramakrishna & J.R.B. Alfred (2007). Faunal Resources of India. Published by Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 1–427pp. Roeding, P.F. (1798). Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturae quae olim collegerat Joa. Fried Bolten, M.D. P.D. Hamburg, viii+199pp. Rao, N.V.S. & A. Dey (2000). Catalogue of marine molluscs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional paper No 187: 1–323. Rao, N.V.S. & K.V.S. Rao (1993). Contribution to the knowledge of Indian marine mollusca Pt. 3. Family : Muricidae. Records of Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Paper, No. 153: 1–233. Smith, E.A. (1906). Natural History Notes from RIMS Investigator Series III. No. 10. on Mollusca from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History 7(18): 157–175 & 245–263.

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JoTT Note

Food habits and temporal activity patterns of the Golden Jackal Canis aureus and the Jungle Cat Felis chaus in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India Aniruddha Majumder 1, K. Sankar 2, Qamar Qureshi 3 & Santanu Basu 4 1,2,3,4 Wildlife Institute of India, P.O, Box 18, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India Email: 1 aniruddha@wii.gov.in (corresponding author), 2 sankark@wii.gov.in, 3 qnq@wii.gov.in, 4 santanubasu2k6@ gmail.com

The ability of ecologically similar species to coexist depends largely on the degree to which resources are limiting and how resources can be partitioned as the species become sympatric (Schoener 1974). Empirical studies dealing with mammalian carnivores showed that coexisting carnivores tend to have different dietary and activity patterns, indicating that it is a common phenomenon for coexisting species to have different niches (Maddock & Perrin 1993; Tatara & Doi 1994). In India, most of the studies on dietary and temporal activity patterns of carnivores have been carried out on large carnivores (Johnsingh 1983; Karanth & Sunquist 1995; Biswas & Sankar 2002; Andheria Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Shomen Mukherjee Manuscript details: Ms # o2713 Received 20 February 2011 Final received 17 September 2011 Finally accepted 20 October 2011 Citation: Majumder, A., K. Sankar, Q. Qureshi & S. Basu (2011). Food habits and temporal activity patterns of the Golden Jackal Canis aureus and the Jungle Cat Felis chaus in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2221–2225. Copyright: © Aniruddha Majumder, K. Sankar, Qamar Qureshi & Santanu Basu 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Acknowledgements: We are thankful to the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Director and Dean of Wildlife Institute of India for their support to carry out field study in Pench. Mr. Vinod Thakur, Gurhanlal and Brijlal are also acknowledged for their assistance in the laboratory and in the field. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

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et al. 2007; Edgaonkar 2008; Ramesh et al. 2009) and very few studies were carried out on mesocarnivores (Sankar 1988; Mukherjee 1989; Balasubramanian & Bole 1993; Mukherjee et al. 2004; Aiyadurai & Jhala 2006). Food habits and temporal activity patterns of the Golden Jackal Canis aureus and the Jungle Cat Felis chaus were studied between January 2008 and June 2009 in Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) (79009’-79022’E & 21038-21050’N), Madhya Pradesh, central India. Pench Tiger Reserve connects Kanha with Satpura Tiger Reserve and forms a continuous forest patch in central India which offers one of the important habitats of large and meso-carnivores in the Indian subcontinent (Biswas & Sankar 2002; Qureshi et al. 2006; Acharya et al. 2007). The overall goal of the present study is (i) to determine the frequency of occurrence of different food items in the diet of these two meso-carnivores in PTR, (ii) to examine the implications of these diet profiles and temporal activity for understanding resource partitioning patterns and ecological sympatry among them in PTR. The Pench Tiger Reserve comprises a national park (292km2), a sanctuary (118km2) and a reserved forest (348km2) covering an area of the 758km2. Vegetation in the area is broadly classified as having both tropical dry deciduous and tropical moist deciduous forests (Champion & Seth 1968). Teak (Tectona grandis L.) and its associated species in the area represent a transition from tropical dry deciduous to tropical moist deciduous forests. The terrain is undulating in most areas of the tiger reserve (Biswas & Sankar 2002). Pench experiences markedly seasonal climate with a distinct summer (March–June), monsoon (July–September) and winter (October–February) and receives a mean annual rainfall of c. 1400mm. The temperature ranged from 20C in winter to 49.50C in summer during the study period. The Golden Jackal (body weight 8–11 kg) (Prater 1980; Giannatos 2004) ranges from northern Africa and extends across the middle-east to India. The species is included in CITES Appendix II and Schedule III in the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 of India. The Jungle Cat (body weight 5–6 kg) has established itself over a wide range from northern Africa through south-western Asia to India, Ceylon and Indo-China

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(Prater 1980). It is included in CITES Appendix II and Schedule II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Apart from the Golden Jackal and the Jungle Cat, other carnivore species found in the study area are Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard Panthera pardus, Dholes Cuon alpinus, Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphrodites, Ratel Mellivora capensis, Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica, Common Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii and Ruddy Mongoose Herpestes smithii (Biswas & Sankar 2002). Rodent species found in the study area are Indian Gerbil Tatera indica, Flat Haired Mouse Mus platythrix and Bush Rat Golunda ellioti (Dungariyal 2008). The diets of the Golden Jackal and the Jungle Cat can be studied through scat analysis (Reynolds & Aebischer 1991; Mukherjee et al. 1994; Mukherjee et al. 2004). A total of 50 Golden Jackal scats and 85 Jungle Cat scats were collected wherever encountered from the intensive study area (292km2). Scats were mostly collected on roads (65% Golden Jackal scats and 56% Jungle Cat scats), trails (19% Golden Jackal scats and 34 % Jungle Cat scats) and dry stream beds (16% Golden Jackal scats and 10% Jungle Cat scats). Jackal and Jungle Cat scats were identified by their size, shape and associated signs (Weaver & Fritts 1979; Green & Flinders 1981; Danner & Dodd 1982; Mukherjee et al. 2004). Scats, once collected from the field were washed and dried. Hair and prey remains were compared with reference slides and other body parts of different prey species available at the Wildlife Institute of India laboratory. We used Pianka’s index (Pianka 1973) for measuring diet overlap between predators. OAB = ΣpiA*piB/(Σp2iAp2iB)1/2 where, pi is the relative frequency of prey item i in the diet of species A and B. This index (O) ranges in value from 0 (indicating no overlap) and 1 (complete overlap). Information on temporal activity pattern was obtained using camera traps (Gompper et al. 2006; Long et al. 2008). Fifty-two pairs of self-triggered analog cameras (DEER CAM ™) were deployed in each 2km x 2km grid in the intensive study area (21.070–21.080N & 79.020–79.50E), close to animal trails, between March and June for two successive years. Entire camera trap area (>250 km²) covered a homogeneous teak-mixed and undulating habitat. The cameras had a 35mm lens, and recorded the date and time of each 2222

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photograph. The camera delay we kept at a minimum (15 seconds) and sensor activity was set high. We maximized our effort to select the best site for deploying camera traps as per sign intensity of study species and no bait was used to attract the animals. Based on the exact time of the photo-capture for the total number of identified individuals of Golden Jackal and Jungle Cat were pooled into six time categories: 12:00–16:00 hr; 16:01–20:00 hr; 20:01–00:00 hr; 00:01–04:00 hr; 04:01–08:00 hr and 08:01–12:00 hr. Student t-test (Zar 1984) showed no significant difference on both dietary (p=0.06) and activity pattern (p=0.08) of these two meso-carnivores between two seasons (summer and winter) so we pooled the data of both into one to analyze them for the present study. The analysis of scats revealed the presence of 10 prey species in the Golden Jackal and eight prey species in the Jungle Cat diets (Table 1). Rodents contributed the maximum in the diet of the two predators (40% in Golden Jackal and 63.6% in Jungle Cat). In Jackal scats, 86% contained single prey type, 12% contained two prey types and 2% contained three prey types. For Jungle Cat scats, 84.7% of the scats contained single prey type, 14.1% contained two prey types and 1.2% contained three prey types. The estimated dietary overlap between jackal and jungle cat was 0.9 (90%) (Table 2). Table 1. Percentage frequency of food items recorded in scats of Golden Jackal and Jungle Cat in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh. No. of scats (Golden Jackal)

% frequency of occurrence

No. of scats (Jungle Cat)

% frequency of occurrence

Rodents

63.6

Langur Semnopithecus entellus

5.4

Hare Lepus nigricollis

10.9

11.1

Chital Axis axis

23.6

6.1

Sambar Rusa unicolor

1.8

Nilgai Bosephalus tragocamelus

3.6

Wild Pig Sus scrofa

1.8

Birds

3.6

7.1

Reptiles

7.2

8.1

Cattle

1.8

Food item

0 - Not present

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A. Majumder et al.

Food items

piA

piB

Rodents

63.6

2544

1600

4044.9

Langur

5.5

5.4

29.7

Hare

10.9

11.1

121.1

119.1

123.2

70 Photographs

Table 2. Dietary overlap between Golden Jackal and Jungle Cat as shown by scat analysis in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh.

60 50 40 30 20 10 0

24 1

13 2

12:01–16:00 16:01–20:00 20:01–00:00 00:01–04:00 04:01–8:00 08:01–12:00

Chital

23.6

6.1

144.2

558.6

37.2

Sambar

1.8

3.6

3.3

Jungle Cat photographs (total number)

Wild pig

1.8

3.3

Golden Jackal photographs (total number)

Birds

3.6

7.1

25.8

13.2

50.4

Reptiles

7.3

8.1

58.9

52.8

65.6

2904.9 (F)

2380.2 (G)

4327.4 (H)

48.7 (I)

65.7 (J)

Time activity (h)

Figure 1. Golden Jackal and Jungle Cat overall temporal activity pattern in Pench Tiger Reserve, as determined from camera trap data.

0.90 (L) piA - percentage of food item i in the diet of golden jackal; piB - percentage of food item i in the diet of jungle cat; C = piA*piB; D = pA^2; E = pB^2; F= ∑C; G = ∑D and H = ∑EI = G^0.5; J = H^0.5, L = F/ (I*J); L = Dietary overlap.

Eight-thousand-five-hundred-and-sixty camera trap nights revealed 49 Golden Jackal captures and 189 Jungle Cat captures. G-test showed (Zar 1984), Golden Jackal and Jungle Cat had different activity patterns (χ2 =28.6, degree of freedom or df =5, P=0.0005) (Fig. 1). The Golden Jackal had two major activity peaks, one in the early morning (04:01–08:00 hr) and the other at night (20:01–00:00 hr). The Jungle Cat was found active mostly in the night hours (20:01–00:00 hr) and (00:01–04:00 hr). Scat analysis revealed that these two meso-carnivores primarily consumed mammals (>80%). Rodents formed the most important prey in their diet especially in the case of the Jungle Cat (Table 1, Image 1). The nocturnal habits of the Jungle Cat might be one of the reasons why they consume more rodents which are largely nocturnal as compared to the Golden Jackal. A similar observation was made by Mukherjee et al. (2004) in Sariska Tiger Reserve. The Golden Jackal also might have scavenged on carcasses of large and medium sized mammals such as Chital Axis axis, Sambar Rusa unicolor, Nilgai Bosephalus tragocamelus, Wild Pig Sus scrofa and Common Langur Semnopithecus entellus (Image 2). As the Golden Jackal is a group living canid (Lanszki & Heltai 2010) the observed hairs of Chital in the jackal diet might also be the result of predation on chital fawn. On several occassions, jackals were found chasing chital fawns

Image 1. Jungle Cat carrying a rodent in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh.

and killing them in the study area. Though there was no livestock grazing in the study area, the observed occurrence of livestock remains in Golden Jackal scats during the study period were possibly due to scavenging in surrounding villages. Remains of reptiles and rodents up to species level could not be identified in the scats of jackal and jungle cat because of time constraints. Remains of birds such as doves Streptopelia sp. and partridges (Francolinus sp.) were identified in the scats of the jackal and the jungle cat. Seeds of Dyosphyros melanoxylon and Zyzyphus mauritiana were identified in jackal scats. Similar findings were also reported from other areas (Sankar 1988; Balasubramanian & Bole 1993; Mukherjee et al. 2004). Although a high degree of overlap was observed between these two sympatric species, there was an overall difference in dietary composition as smaller body sized rodents and birds were found more in the diet of the Jungle Cat (71%) than in that of the Golden Jackal

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Image 2. Golden Jackal feeding on Hanuman Langur in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh.

(48%), utilization of fruits by the jackal and variation in temporal activity patterns enabled them to coexist in Pench. A long term ecological study is the need of the hour on these mesocarnivores covering population estimation, seasonal food habits and temporal activity patterns using comparable scientific methods

REFERENCES Acharya, B.B., K. Sankar & A.J.T. Johnsingh (2007). Ecology of the Dhole (Cuon alpinus Pallas) in Central India, Final Report, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun,110pp. Andheria, A.P., K.U. Karanth & N.S. Kumar (2007). Diet and prey profiles of three sympatric large carnivores in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, India. Journal of Zoology 273: 169–175. Aiyadurai, A. & Y.V. Jhala (2006). Foraging and Habitat Use by Golden Jackals (Canis aureus) in the Bhal region, Gujarat India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 103(1): 1. Balasubramanian, P. & P.V. Bole (1993). Seed dispersal by mammals at Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 90: 33–44. Biswas, S. & K. Sankar (2002). Prey abundance and food habit of tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Pench National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India. Journal of Zoology 256: 411–422. 2224

Champion, H.G. & S.K. Seth (1968). A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India. Manager of Publications, Govt. of Indian Press, New Delhi, 404pp. Dungariyal, N.S. (2008). Management Plan of Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, 233pp. Danner, D.A. & N. Dodd (1982). Comparison of Coyote and Gray Fox scat diameters. The Journal of Wildlife Management 46(1): 240–241. Edgaonkar, E. (2008). Ecology of the Leopard Panthera pardus in Bori Widllife Sanctuary and Satpura National Park, India. PhD Thesis. University of Florida, 135pp. Giannatos, G. (2004). Conservation action plan for the Golden Jackal Canis aureus L. in Greece. WWF Greece, 47pp. Gompper, M., R. Kays, J. Ray, S. Lapoint, D. Bogan & J. Cryan (2006). A comparison of Noninvasive Techniques to Survey Carnivore Communities in northeastern North America. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34: 1142–1151. Green, J.S. & J.T. Flinders (1981). Diets of sympatric Red Foxes and Coyotes in southeastern Idaho. Great Basin Natural 41: 251–254. Johnsingh, A.J.T. (1983). Large mammalian prey-predator in Bandipur. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 80: 1–57. Karanth, U.K. & M.E. Sunquist (1995). Prey selection by tiger, leopard and dhole in tropical forests. Journal of Animal Ecology 64(4): 439–450. Lanszki, J. & M. Heltai (2010). Food preferences of Golden Jackals and sympatric Red Foxes in European temperate climate agricultural area (Hungary). Mammalia 74: 267– 273. Long, R.A., P. Mackay, W.J. Zielinski & J. Ray (eds.) (2008). Non-invasive Survey Methods for Carnivores. Island Press, Washington, 400pp. Maddock,, A.H. & M.R. Perrin (1993). Spatial and temporal ecology of an assemblage of viverrids in Natal, South Africa. Journal of Zoology 229(2): 277–287. Mukherjee, S. (1989). Ecological separation of three sympartric carnivores in Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Rajasthan, India. MSc dissertation, Saurashtra University, Rajkot. Mukherjee, S., S.P. Goyal & R. Chellam (1994). Refined techniques for the analysis of Asiatic Lion Panthera leo persica scats. Acta Theriologica 39: 425–430. Mukherjee, S., S.P. Goyal, A.J.T. Johnsingh & M.R.P.L. Pitman (2004). The importance of rodents in the diet of Jungle Cat (Felis chaus), Caracal (Caracal caracal) and Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India. Journal of Zoology 262: 405–411. Pianka, E.R. (1973). The structure of lizard communities. Annual Review of Ecological System 4: 53–74. Prater, S. H. (1980). The Book of Indian Animals. Bombay Natural History Society, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 263pp. Qureshi, Q., R. Gopal, S. Kyatham, S. Basu, A. Mitra & Y.V. Jhala (2006). Evaluating Tiger Habitat at the Tehsil level. Project Tiger Directorate, Govt. of India, New Delhi

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& Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. Ramesh, T., V. Snehalatha, K. Sankar & Q. Qureshi (2009). Food habits and prey selection of Tiger and Leopard in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Scientific Transactions of Environment and Technovation 2: 170–181. Reynolds, J.C. & N.J. Aebischer (1991). Comparison and quantification of carnivore diet by faecal analysis: a critique with recommendations, based on the study of the Fox (Vulpes vulpes). Mammalian Review 21: 97–122. Sankar, K. (1988). Some observations on food habits of Jackal (Canis aureus) in Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, as shown by scat analysis. Journal of the Bombay Natural

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History Society 85(1): 185–186. Schoener T.W. (1974). Resource partitioning in ecological communities. Science 185: 27–39. Tatara, M. & T. Doi (1994). Comparative analyses on food habits of Japanese Marten, Siberian Weasel and Leopard Cat in the Tsushima islands, Japan. Ecological research 9(1): 99–107, Weaver, J., & S. Fritts (1979). Comparison of Coyote and Wolf scat diameters. Journal of Wildlife Management 43: 786–788. Zar, J.H. (1984). Biostatistical Analysis—2nd Edition. PrenticeHall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 718pp.

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JoTT Note

3(11): 2226–2228

Incidence of gastro-intestinal parasites in wild ruminants around Jabalpur, India Abhishek Gupta 1, A.K. Dixit 2, Pooja Dixit 3, Chetna Mahajan 4 & A.B. Shrivastava 5 Department of Parasitology, 3 Department of Veterinary Medicine,5 Department of Wildlife Health and Management, College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry, MPPCVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh 482001, India 4 Department of Biochemistry, College of Veterinary & Animal Science, MPUAT, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313601, India Email: 2 alokdixit7@yahoo.com (corresponding author) 1,2

Parasitic infections can cause disease and death in wild animals and can become a source of infection for domestic animals. Epidemiological studies are important to know about the status and transmission of diseases. Parasitic diseases are best controlled by preventing the contact and parasite transmission between wild and domestic animals and by manipulating the factors involved in the disease transmission. Establishing a data base to predict the disease by performing epidemiological studies round the year is of utmost importance and needs attention (Shrivastava 2003). Methods: Fifty faecal samples of wild animals including 15 samples of Chital Axis axis, 15 of Neelgai Boselaphus tragocamelus, 10 of Gaur Bos gaurus and 10 of Sambar Rusa unicolor were collected from the peripheral forests around Jabalpur. Faecal samples Date of publication (online): 26 November 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 November 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Ulrike Streicher Manuscript details: Ms # o2431 Received 29 March 2010 Final received 13 October 2011 Finally accepted 15 October 2011 Citation: Gupta, A., A.K. Dixit, P. Dixit, C. Mahajan & A.B. Shrivastava (2011). Incidence of gastro-intestinal parasites in wild ruminants around Jabalpur, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(11): 2226–2228. Copyright: © Abhishek Gupta, A.K. Dixit, Pooja Dixit, Chetna Mahajan & A.B. Shrivastava 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

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were subjected to coprological examination as per the method of Sloss et al. (1994) with a few modifications. Briefly, 2g of strained faecal sample was mixed with tap water in a 15ml centrifuge tube and centrifuged for 1–2 min at 1500–2000 rpm. The supernatant was removed and similarly two washings were given until the supernatant remained clear. After the last washing, the faecal decant at the bottom of the tube was mixed with sheather’s sugar solution and was filled up to the brim and was covered with a clean coverslip. Then it was centrifuged at 1500–2000 rpm for two minutes. The coverslip was removed from the top, placed on clean glass slide and examined for helminths and their eggs. The supernatant fluid which remained in the tube after removing coverslip was drained off leaving the bottom sediment. The sediment was resuspended in few drops of water. One or two drops of sediment was taken on microscopic slide and examined microscopically under low magnification for trematode eggs. Identification of eggs was made by observing their characters (Soulsby 1986). Results: Coprological examination of different wild herbivores found the highest rate of parasitic infection in Sambar (90.0%) followed by Neelgai (86.67%) and Gaur and Chital (80.0%) (Table 1). Ninety-four percent of the parasitic infections were mixed infections comprising multiple different parasite species whereas only 6.0% consisted of only one parasite species. In Sambar, the parasitic profile was dominated by Coccidia infection (60.0%) followed by Strongylides (50.0%). Amphistoma (30.0%) and Strongyloides (30.0%) showed equal prevalence followed by Trichuris (20.0%) and Fasciola (10.0%). In Chital, the prevalence of Strongylides (60.0%) was the highest followed by Trichuris (53.3%) and Fasciola (6.7%) Table 1. Overall prevalence of parasitic infection in wild herbivores Animal

Total number

Infected

Noninfected

Chital

80.0

Neelgai

86.67

Gaur

80.0

Sambar

90.0

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Gastro-intestinal parasites in wild ruminants

A. Gupta et al. 80 Percentage infection

Cheetal

Neelgai

Gaur

Sambar

60 50 40 30 20 10

io la Fa sc

om e st

id ia

Am ph i

Parasites

Co cc

ro ng ylo id Tr ich ur is To xo ca ra M on ie zia

ro ng yle

Figure 1. Parasitewise infection in wild herbivores

Image 1. Egg of Fasciola gigantica in faecal sample of Chital

(Image 1). Neelgai showed equal prevalence of Strongylides (66.7%) and Trichuris (66.7%) followed by Coccidia (60.0%). Amphistoma infection was found in 46.7%, where as Fasciola was present in only 6.7%. Moniezia occurred at a rate of 13.0%. In Gaur finally Trichuris (70.0%) was the dominant parasite followed by Strongylides (60.0%) and Coccidia (60.0%). Amphistoma (30.0%) and Strongyloides (30.0%) showed a similar prevalence and Fasciola (Fasciola gigantica) was found in 10% of the Gaur samples (Fig. 1). Discussion: Most of the samples were collected around villages close to the forest areas. The prevalence of Trichuris, Strongylides and Coccidia was high in most of the wild animals in our study. This might be due to contamination of pastures by the grazing of domestic animals. Of special interest was the infection with Fasciola found in all species of wild herbivores. One reason for this could be that domestic animals are competing with the wild animals for grazing areas in the forests and force wild animals to graze in swampy areas thus exposing them to vegetation infected with metacercaria of Fasciola. Fasciola gigantica among the wild cervids and other herbivores of India has been reported from Spotted Deer Axis axis and Black Buck Antelope cervicapra by Rao & Acharjyo (1969, 1972), Swamp Deer Rucervus duvauceli duvauceli by Verma et al. (1994) and Indian Rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis by Bhattacharjee & Haldar (1971). In addition, eggs of Fasciola were

detected in faeces of Chitals and Sambars of Corbett National Park, Ramnagar and Wildlife National Park at Dudwa in Uttar Pradesh (Gaur et al. 1979; Arora et al. 1985). Incidence of Fasciola was also reported from Chital, Sambar and Neelgai at Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh (Shrivastava et al. 2005). Our study reports the occurrence of F. gigantica from Gaur and there seems to be no previous report on F. gigantica in Gaur from India. Our study provides a first overview on parasites in wild ruminants in the vicinity of villages, but to evaluate parasite transmission rates much more studies are required on livestock in the area and on wild herbivores in areas where they do not compete with livestock. REFERENCES Arora, B.M., P.N. Bhat & K. Ramaswamy (1985). Survey of gastrointestinal parasitic infection of free and wild animals. FAO field document No. 5. Proceedings of the Workshop on Wildlife Health for Vets, Dehradun, U.P., India. Bhattacharjee, M.L. & B.R. Haldar (1971). The occurrence of Fasciola gigantica in the liver of an Indain Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). British Veterinary Journal 127: 7–8. Gaur, S.N.S., M.S. Sethi, H.C. Tewari & O. Prakash (1979). A note on prevalence of helminth parasites in wild and zoo animals in Uttar Pradesh. Indian Journal of Animal Science 46: 159–161. Rao, A.T. & L.N. Acharjyo (1969). Histopathological changes in the liver of a Spotted Deer (Axis axis) infected with Fasciola gigantica. Indian Veterinary Journal 46: 36–38. Rao, A.T. & L.N. Acharjyo (1972). Further observations on fasciolosis among wild ungulates at Nandan Kanan Zoo. Indian Veterinary Journal 49: 133–135. Shrivastava, A.B. (2003). History of wildlife diseases with

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particular reference to India, pp. 146–147. In: National Symposium on Basic Pathology and Animal Disease-A Need for Fresh Approach in Indian Scenario and XX Annual Conference of Indian Association of Veterinary Pathologist, Jabalpur. Shrivastava, A.B., R.K. Sharma & D. Nagar (2005). Observation and Results. Final Report. Surveillance of infectious and parasitic diseases of native wild animals of Pench Tiger Reserve. Sloss, M.W., R.L. Kemp & A.M. Zajac (1994). Veterinary

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Clinical Parasitology. International Book Distributing Co., Lucknow, 5–11pp. Soulsby, E.J.L. (1986). Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of Domesticated Animals. 7th edn. London, Bailliere and Tindall, 767–771pp. Verma, T.K., A. Prasad, B.M. Arora & H.C. Malviya (1994). Occurrence of Fasciola gigantica from the bile duct of a Swamp Deer (Cervus duvauceli duvauceli). Indian Veterinary Journal 8: 95–96.

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Prof. Richard Kiprono Mibey, Eldoret, Kenya Dr. Shomen Mukherjee, Jamshedpur, India Dr. P.O. Nameer, Thrissur, India Dr. D. Narasimhan, Chennai, India Dr. T.C. Narendran, Kozhikode, India Stephen D. Nash, Stony Brook, USA Dr. K.S. Negi, Nainital, India Dr. K.A.I. Nekaris, Oxford, UK Dr. Heok Hee Ng, Singapore Dr. Boris P. Nikolov, Sofia, Bulgaria Dr. Shinsuki Okawara, Kanazawa, Japan Dr. Albert Orr, Nathan, Australia Dr. Geeta S. Padate, Vadodara, India Dr. Larry M. Page, Gainesville, USA Dr. Malcolm Pearch, Kent, UK Dr. Richard S. Peigler, San Antonio, USA Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda, Sydney, Australia Mr. J. Praveen, Bengaluru, India Dr. Robert Michael Pyle, Washington, USA Dr. Muhammad Ather Rafi, Islamabad, Pakistan Dr. H. Raghuram, Bengaluru, India Dr. Dwi Listyo Rahayu, Pemenang, Indonesia Dr. Sekar Raju, Suzhou, China Dr. Vatsavaya S. Raju, Warangal, India Dr. V.V. Ramamurthy, New Delhi, India Dr (Mrs). R. Ramanibai, Chennai, India Dr. M.K. Vasudeva Rao, Pune, India Dr. Robert Raven, Queensland, Australia Dr. K. Ravikumar, Bengaluru, India Dr. Luke Rendell, St. Andrews, UK Dr. Anjum N. Rizvi, Dehra Dun, India Dr. Leif Ryvarden, Oslo, Norway Prof. Michael Samways, Matieland, South Africa Dr. Yves Samyn, Brussels, Belgium Dr. K.R. Sasidharan, Coimbatore, India

Dr. Kumaran Sathasivam, India Dr. S. Sathyakumar, Dehradun, India Dr. M.M. Saxena, Bikaner, India Dr. Hendrik Segers, Vautierstraat, Belgium Dr. Subodh Sharma, Towson, USA Prof. B.K. Sharma, Shillong, India Prof. K.K. Sharma, Jammu, India Dr. R.M. Sharma, Jabalpur, India Dr. Tan Koh Siang, Kent Ridge Road, Singapore Dr. Arun P. Singh, Jorhat, India Dr. Lala A.K. Singh, Bhubaneswar, India Prof. Willem H. De Smet, Wilrijk, Belgium Mr. Peter Smetacek, Nainital, India Dr. Humphrey Smith, Coventry, UK Dr. Hema Somanathan, Trivandrum, India Dr. C. Srinivasulu, Hyderabad, India Dr. Ulrike Streicher, Danang, Vietnam Dr. K.A. Subramanian, Pune, India Mr. K.S. Gopi Sundar, New Delhi, India Dr. P.M. Sureshan, Patna, India Dr. Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Dehradun, India Dr. R.K. Verma, Jabalpur, India Dr. W. Vishwanath, Manipur, India Dr. Gernot Vogel, Heidelberg, Germany Dr. Ted J. Wassenberg, Cleveland, Australia Dr. Stephen C. Weeks, Akron, USA Prof. Yehudah L. Werner, Jerusalem, Israel Mr. Nikhil Whitaker, Mamallapuram, India Dr. Hui Xiao, Chaoyang, China Dr. April Yoder, Little Rock, USA English Editors Mrs. Mira Bhojwani, Pune, India Dr. Fred Pluthero, Toronto, Canada

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Journal of Threatened Taxa ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

November 2011 | Vol. 3 | No. 11 | Pages 2153–2228 Date of Publication 26 November 2011 (online & print) Paper The potential effects of climate change on the status of Seychelles frogs (Anura: Sooglossidae) -- Justin Gerlach, Pp. 2153–2166 Communications Description of three new species of the genus Allochthonius Chamberlin, 1929 (Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudotyrannochthoniidae) from China -- Junfang Hu & Feng Zhang, Pp. 2167–2176 Mystus ngasep, a new catfish species (Teleostei: Bagridae) from the headwaters of Chindwin drainage in Manipur, India -- A. Darshan, W. Vishwanath, P.C. Mahanta & A. Barat, Pp. 2177–2183 Reserva Imbassaí Restinga: inventory of snakes on the northern coast of Bahia, Brazil -- Ricardo Marques, Moacir S. Tinôco, Danilo CoutoFerreira, Cecil Pergentino Fazolato, Henrique C. Browne-Ribeiro, Magno L.O. Travassos, Marcelo A. Dias & João Vitor Lino Mota, Pp. 2184–2191 Flamingo mortality due to collision with high tension electric wires in Gujarat, India -- Anika Tere & B.M. Parasharya, Pp. 2192–2201

Female genitalia as a taxonomic tool in the classification of Indian Acridoidea (Orthoptera) -- Mohammad Kamil Usmani & Hirdesh Kumar, Pp. 2207–2210 Coastal sand dune flora in the Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, southern India -- K. Muthukumar & A. Selvin Samuel, Pp. 2211–2216 Notes A note on the first registered Mollusca in the National Zoological Collections at the Zoological Survey of India -- Basudev Tripathy & R. Venkitesan, Pp. 2217–2220 Food habits and temporal activity patterns of the Golden Jackal Canis aureus and the Jungle Cat Felis chaus in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India -- Aniruddha Majumder, K. Sankar, Qamar Qureshi & Santanu Basu, Pp. 2221–2225 Incidence of gastro-intestinal parasites in wild ruminants around Jabalpur, India -- Abhishek Gupta, A.K. Dixit, Pooja Dixit, Chetna Mahajan & A.B. Shrivastava, Pp. 2226–2228

Short Communications Revalidation of Santinezia albilineata Roewer, 1932 (Arachnida: Opiliones: Cranaidae) -- Manzanilla Osvaldo Villarreal & Carlos J. Rodríguez, Pp. 2202–2206