Vol. 110 - Part III - Zoological Survey of India

COMPUTERISED DATA ON NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONThe National Zoological Collections comprising nearly 15,000 types are housed in the ZoologicalSurvey of India, Calcutta and are properly maintained. All these specimens have Registrationnumbers and are readily available for study as and when required. Data pertaining to locality, dateof collection, name of collector, sex, up to date valid species name, name of the host (for parasite)etc., of each type of collection have already been computerised. The computerised data are storedin the computer centre of Zoological Survey of India. Scientists/Naturalists interested for anyinformation on type species present in Zoological Survey of India may contact the Director,Zoological Survey of India, ‘M’ Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700 053.Dr. A.K. SANYALDirector-in-ChargeZoological Survey of India

AN APPEALIn order to enrich the “National Zoological Collection” (NZC) and to up date information onthe occurrence and distribution of animal species in India Scientists/Naturalists and researchersworking on animal taxonomy/systematics are requested to deposit their identified specimens tothe Zoological Survey of India at the following address :Officer in Charge, Identification and Advisory Section,Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore,Kolkata-700 053.These specimens will be registered and their data will be computerised. They are furtherrequested to deposit their type collection positively of ZSI and use the Registration number intheir publication of the new taxon.Dr. A.K. SANYALDirector-in-ChargeZoological Survey of India

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Paper No., 150 : 1-50.Silas, E.G. 1961. Occurrence of the Sea-cow Halicore dugong (Erxl) off Saurashtra coast. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,58(1) : 263-266.State Fauna/Conservation Areas : Mukhopadhyay, S.K. 1999. Fresh water Oligochaetes. Fauna of West Bengal, StateFauna Series, 3(Part-10) : 95-123. Published by Zool. Surv. India.Radhakrishna, C. 2007. Amphibia. In : Fauna of Kudermukh National Park, Karnataka, Conservation Area Series, 32 :20-25, Published by Zool. Surv. India.Book : Gupta, S.K. 1985. Handbook on Plant Mites of India : 1-520. Published by Zool. Surv. India.Tables – Each table should be typed on a separate sheet and must have an explanatory title. All numbers is in Arabicnumerals.Figures – All figures should be appropriately lettered and labeled with letters and numbers in Arabic numerals. themaximum dimension of figures is 131 × 193 mm. 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2 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaTable-1 : Habit and Habitats of Saproxylic flies of Himachal PradeshFamily name Common Adult Habit and HabitatsAdultImmature stagesCearatopogonidae Biting Midges Usually seen on flower Under bark, damp woodMycetophilidae Fungus Gnats Nocturnal, found in damp, dark places Decaying wood, woodyin the dayfungiSciaridae Root Gnats Terrestrial in woody vegetation, agricul- Rotten wood, under barktural fieldof fallen trees, decayingplant mattersTherevidae Stiletto flies Vegetation, grass meadows Leaf mould, fungi, decayingwoodAsilidae Robber flies Vegetation, grass meadows Plant rootsEmpididae Dance flies On leaves, tree trunks, aquatic vegeta- Decaying wood, humus,tion, or in stream beds and seepage mosshabitats, agricultural fields, grasslands,marshes, coastal zones and beachesSyrphidae Hover flies Flower visitors and pollinators Litter, dead wood, fungi,tubers, stems, leavesand fungi), Scatopsidae (decaying plant matter).Therevidae (rotting bark and fungi), Asilidae (rottingwood). Empididae (decaying wood), and Syrphidae(rotting wood) are common in the forest of HimachalPradesh.The family Ceratopogonidae, commonly known asbiting midges, no-see-ums or punkies are tiny, oftenwith spotted wings of 1-6 mm. In the field, most adultscan be recognized by the wings overlapping each otherover the abdomen (when not flying) and the presenceof front legs that are shorter than the hind legs. Thelarvae are rather easy to recognize. They are the onlyfly larvae in which there is a head capsule. Larvaeoccupy a variety of moist habitats, including soil, moss,under bark and in the rock pools; they may bealgaevorous, saprophagous, mycophagous orpredaceous. In India, 220 species of biting midges arereported of which only a species Atrichopogonmontivagus (Kieffer) is reported from Himachal Pradesh.The second wood inhabiting family of HimachalPradesh is the Mycetophilidae or “fungus gnats” andare very delicate flies of small or medium size (2.2-13.3mm), bearing a resemblance to gnats or midges andexceedingly numerous individuals and species. Fungusgnats usually are strikingly black, brown and yellowish,sometimes brightly coloured with pictured wings. Thebody is elongate, and compressed with the thorax moreor less arched and sometime marked by so. Adults aremostly nocturnal and they are commonly met withindamp, dark places, especially among forest undergrowthduring the day. Most mycetophilids inhabit wet forestsbut are quite common in swamps. Of the 77 species sofar reported from India only 21 species are reportedfrom Himachal Pradesh.The sciarids (“rootgnats” or Dark-winged fungusgnats) resemble the mycetophilids in most habits butmore compact, separated from other related families bythe usual dorsal extension of the eye which meetmedially forming an ‘eye bridge’. Adults are about 1-22mm long, slender to moderately robust, long legged,usually black, brown or yellowish in colour. Larvae havea shining black head, white translucent body and somespecies migrate in a snake like formation. Immaturestages mostly found in rotten wood, under bark offallen trees, in other kinds of decaying plant material,feeding in fungi or animal excrement. Out of 61 speciesreported from India only 9 species are reported fromHimachal Pradesh.

MITRA & MEHTA : A preliminary note on the conservation of Saproxylic flies.............in Himachal Pradesh 3The Scatopsidae are a species-poor, cosmopolitanfamily of small dark nematocerans (0.6 mm to nearlyy 5mm) usually black, and wings with distinctly darkenedand thickened anteior radial veins contrasting with palerposterior veins. Of the 3 species of India only a speciesEctaetia nigronitida (Brunetti) is present in theHimachal Pradesh.Therevids (Stiletto flies) are more or less elongatedensely pubescent flies with slender non-prehensilelegs. They are brightly coloured, elongate, with largelyglabrous bodies. The antennae are sometimes verydistinctive. They are found in a variety of habitatsranging from rainforest to desert. The snake-like larvaeare very mobile and move with considerable speedthrough sand and loose soil. Larvae inhabit the soil inleaf-mould, fungi, decaying wood etc. The Therevidaeare represented by 16 species in India of them onlyThereva bilineata Brunetti known from HimachalPradesh.The Robber flies, or Asilidae, comprise one of thelargest and most abundant families of Diptera. Adultstages are medium to large flies often observed on stemsof plants, on the ground and grass or flying low. Speciesvary in apperance and some mimic wasps and bees.Most species are gray to black, hairy-bodied, have along, narrow, tapering abdomen containing segmentsthat may be banded, patterned or contrasting in color.The larva of Robber-flies is believed to be mostlyherbivorous (vegetarian) but the adult flies are highlyactive carnivores. Of the 482 species reported from India6 species are known from Himachal Pradesh.The family “Empididae” in the traditional sense is adiverse group of medium to small sized (1 to 15 mm),grey, yellowish or dark very rarely metallic colouredflies. The head is variously shaped and usually narrowerthan thorax. The wings are of varied shape and size.They are commonly called as “dance-flies” and gaintheir common name from their courtship behaviour.Empidoids breed in a variety of habitats, includingrunning water, tidal zones, decaying wood, and moistsoil. Adults are often found in various forest habitats,on leaves, tree trunks, aquatic vegetation, or in streambeds and seepage habitats. Larvae are soil inhabitants,but also sometimes found in decaying wood, humus,dungs, moss or in water. The family includes 57 speciesin India with only 13 species being reported fromHimachal Pradesh.Flower Flies or hover flies belong to the familySyrphidae are abundant everywhere except in arid areasof the Old World and in the extreme southern latitudes.Their size ranges from 4 mm to over 25 mm and theircoloration from bright coloration from bright yellow ororange to dull dark black or gray with a few iridescentforms. Larvae of the subfamily Syrphinae arepredaceous on soft-bodied arthropods, although somemay occasionally be scavengers. Most of the milesiinesare saprophagous and found in litter and dead wood,some of the rhingiines are mycetophagous, and a fewrhingiines and merodontines are phytophagous (asborers in tubers, stems, and wood, miners in leaves).46 species of hoverflies are reported from HimachalPradesh whereas 256 species known from India.DISCUSSIONInvariably, insects are overlooked when forestmanagement issues are discussed, because there areso many species, which are taxonomically intractableand so poorly known. Often people take the view thatif you look after the vegetation and vertebrates, theinsects will look after themselves. This may be true forsome functional groups, but for saproxylic insects, thisseems unlikely. Their study deserves high priority, sincethey are dependent on the very resource “wood” whoseremoval from the ecosystem is the usual object of forestmanagement (Grove S.J. and Stork N.E. 1999).The ecological value of dead wood is broadlyacknowledged worldwide. Recent research hashighlighted their sensitivity to forest management, withmanaged or secondary forests generally supportingfewer individuals, fewer species, and differentassemblages compared to old-growth or primary forests.this sensitivity is a product of their association with ahabitat that tends to diminish in managed forests. Manysaproxylic insect species have declining populationsand are regarded as threatened due to low habitatavailability in managed forests.The geographical area of Himachal Pradesh is 56,673km2. According to the State Forest Report, 1997 of FSI,the actual forest area in the state occupies only 22.5%of its area. Of them non-Forest : 74.2%, Very Dense

4 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaForest (VDF) : 2.0%. Open Forest : 9.7%, ModerateDense Forest (MDF) : 14.2%. Like all other parts ofIndia, the forest cover of Himachal Pradesh is alsodecreasing mostly due to man made hazards.To conserve the saproxylic flies there is a need ofchange of forest management in Himachal Pradesh. Inrecent years, data on the occurrence of Syrphidae inthe Netherlands suggested that many saproxylic specieshad increased. According Reemer et al. (2003), it hasbeen attributed to the tendency of leaving dead woodand ill trees in the forests. It is unfortunate that detailedstudies on saproxylic flies of Himachal Pradesh andtheir conservation for maintaining biodiversity of forestare rare, especially in our country, but hopefully thiswork can serve as baseline data for future researchwork.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe are thankful to the Director, Zoological Surveyof India, for the necessary facilities and encouragement.The first author is also grateful to Dr. A.K. Sanyal,Addl. Director and Dr. A. Bal, Joint Director of TheZoological Survey of India, Kolkata for the preparationof the paper.REFERENCESCavalli, R. and Mason, F. 2003. Techniques for re-establishment of Dead wood for Saproxylic Fauna Conservation.LIFE Nature Project NAT/IT/99/6245 Bosco della Fontana (Mantova, Italy).Essen, P.A., Ehnström, B., Ericson, L., and Sjöberg, K. 1997. Boreal forests. Ecological Bullentins, 46 : 16-47.Fayt, P., Branquart, E., Dufrene, M., Henin, J.M., Pontegnic, C. and Versteirt, V. 2003. Xylobios : patterns, roles anddeterminants of saproxylic diversity in Belgian decisuous forests. In McManus L., Liebhold A.M. (eds.),Proceedings ecology, Survey and management of Forest Insects, USDA Forest service, Delaware, Pp. 128-129.Gilbertson, R.L., 1984. Relationships between insects and wood-rotting basidiomycetes. in Q.B. Wheeler, M.,editor. Fungus-insect relationships : Perspectives in ecology and evolution. Columbia University Press,New York, pp. 130-165.Grove S.J. and Stork N.E. 1999. The Conservation of Saproxylic Insects in Tropical Forests : A Research Agenda.Journal of Insect Conservation, 3(2) : 67-74.Hale, C.M., Pastor, J., and Rusterholz, K.A. 1999. Comparison of structural and compositional characteristics inold-growth and mature, managed hardwood forests of Minnesota, U.S.A. Canadian Journal of ForestResearch, 29 : 1479-1489.Harmon, M.E., Franklin, J.F., Swanson, F.J., Sollins, P., Gregory, S.V., Lattin, J.D., Anderson, N.H., Cline, S.P.,Aumen, N.G., Sedell, J.R., Lienkaemper, G.W., Cromack, K.J., and Cummins, K.W. 1986. Ecology of coarsewoody debris in temperate ecosystems. Advances in Ecological Research, 15 : 133-302.Komonen, A. 2001. Structure of insect communities inhabiting old-growth forest specialist bracket fungi. EcologicalEntomology, 26 : 63-75.Komonen, A., Jonsell, M., Økland, B., Sverdrup-Thygesonh, A. & Thunes, K. 2004. Insect assemblange associatedwith the polypore Fomitopsis pinicola : a comparison across Fennoscandia.Mason, F., Nardi, G., and Tisato M. (eds.) 2003. Proceedings of the International Symposium “Dead wood : a keyto biodiversity”, Mantova, Mayy 29-31st 2003. Sherwood 95 supplement, 2 : 1-100.McGee, G.G., Leopold, D.J., and Nyland, R.D. 1999. Structural characteristics of old-growth, maturing, and partiallycut northern hardwood forests. Ecological applications, 9 : 1316-1329.Økland, B. 1995. Insect fauna compared between six polypore species in a southern Norwegian spruce forest.Fauna Norvegica Serie B, 42 : 21-46.Rotheray, G.E. and MacGowan, I. 2000. Status and breeding sites of three presumed endangered Scottish saproxylicsyrphids (Diptera : Syrphidae). J. Insect Conserv. 4 : 215-223.

MITRA & MEHTA : A preliminary note on the conservation of Saproxylic flies.............in Himachal Pradesh 5Rotheray, G.E. Hancock, G., Hewitt, S., Horsfield, D., MacGowan, I., Robertson, D. & Watt, K. 2001. The biodiversityand conservation of saproxylic Diptera in Scotland. J. Insect Conserv., 5 : 77-85.Reemer, M., Smit, J.T. and Steenis, W. van. 2003. Changes in ranges of hoverflies in the Netherlands in the 20 thcentury Diptea : Syrphidae. In Reemer, M., Helsdingen, P.J. van and Klcukers, R.M.J.C. (eds.) Proceedingsof the 13 th International Coiloquium of the European Invertebrate Survey. Leiden, 2-5 September 2001. EIS-Nederland, Leiden, Pp. 53-60.Siitonen, J. 2001. Forest management, coarse woody debris and saproxylic organisms : Fennoscandian borealforest as an example. Ecological Bulletins, 49 : 11-41.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 7-12, 2010ONE NEW AND THREE KNOWN SPECIES OF THE GENUS HELICOTYLENCHUSSTEINER, 1945 ASSOCIATED WITH BANANA FROM WEST BENGAL, INDIAVISWA VENKAT GANTAIT 1 *, TANMAY BHATTACHARYA 2 AND AMALENDU CHATTERJEE 1¹Nemathelminthes Section, Zoological Survey of India,M-Block, New Alipur, Kolkata-700 053, West Bengal, India.²Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University,Medinipur, 721102, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India.* Corresponding author: e-mail- v.gantait@rediffmail.comINTRODUCTIONOne new and three known species of plant parasiticnematodes belonging to the genus HelicotylenchusSteiner, 1945, H. wasimi n. sp., H. crenacauda Sher,1966, H. dihystera (Cobb, 1893) Sher, 1961 and H.hydrophilus Sher, 1966 are being described andillustrated. The species were collected from rhizosphericsoil of banana plantations (Musa paradisiaca L. cvKanthali) in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal,India, during a taxonomic survey from March 2004 toFebruary 2006. H. wasimi n. sp. is characterized by itsrounded lip region without annulations, 26-27 µm longspear with anteriorly indented knobs, posteriorly located(808-809 µm from head end) vulva, anterior genitalbranch longer than posterior one, short hemisphericaltail with thick cuticular rounded terminus, tail with fourdistinct striations and phasmids located opposite toanus. H. hydrophilus is the first record from India.MATERIALS AND METHODSNematodes were collected from rhizospheric soilsamples (250 gm) around banana plantations (Musaparadisiaca L. cv Kanthali). Soil sample was taken froman area of 10 cm × 10 cm up to the depth of 20 cm, at adistance of 25 cm from the main bole of the orchard.The specimens were extracted from soil by Cobb’ssieving technique (Cobb, 1918) and decanting methodfollowed by Modified Baermann’s funnel technique(Christie and Perry, 1951); processed by Seinhorst’sslow dehydration method (Seinhorst, 1959); mountedon slides in anhydrous glycerin and sealed.Measurements were taken with the help of an ocularmicrometer using BX 41 Olympus research microscopewith drawing tube attachment. Dimensions weretabulated in accordance with De Man’s Formula (DeMan, 1884). Diagrams were drawn with the help of acamera lucida.Abbreviations used in the text as well as in thetable are as follows :L = body lengtha = body length / maximum body widthb = body length / oesophageal lengthc = body length / tail lengthc' = tail length / body width at anusV = distance from head end to vulva × 100 /body lengthV' = distance from head end to vulva × 100 /distance from head end to anusm = length of conus × 100 / stylet lengthO = distance between stylet base and orifice ofdorsal oesophageal gland × 100 / styletlengthMB = distance between anterior end of body andcenter of median oesophageal bulb × 100/oesophageal lengthG 1= anterior genital branch × 100 / body lengthG 2= posterior genital branch × 100 / body length

8 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaSYSTEMATIC ACCOUNTSSystematic positionOrder TYLENCHIDA Thorne, 1949SuborderSuperfamilyFamilyHOPLOLAIMINA Chizhov &Berezina, 1988HOPLOLAIMOIDEA Filipjev,1934 (Paramonov, 1967)HOPLOLAIMIDAE Filipjev,1934 (Wieser, 1953)Subfamily ROTYLENCHOIDINAEWhitehead, 1958Genus Helicotylenchus Steiner, 1945Helicotylenchus wasimi n. sp.Material examined : 15 females.Measurements : Shown in Table 1.Description : Female : Body arcuate, C-shaped afterfixation. Cuticular annules 1.0-1.5 µm wide at middle ofthe body. Lip region hemispheroid, broadly rounded,continuous with body and without annulations. Lipregion height slightly larger than half of lip region width.Lateral field about one-fourth of body width near middle,with four smooth incisures.Stylet 3.6 times lip region width long; shaft part (15µm) 1.2 times in length than conus (12 µm). Spear guidemassive, spear knobs with anterior cupped surfacemeasuring 3 µm across and 2 µm high. Dorsaloesophageal gland opening measures 14 µm fromposterior to base of stylet knobs; more than half ofstylet length. Median oesophageal bulb more or lessrounded in shape measuring 10 µm across. The centerof the bulb 81 µm from the anterior extremity of thebody. Hemizonid distinct, 2 annules wide and 3 annulesanterior to excretory pore. Nerve ring 9 µm posterior tobase of median oesophageal bulb. Oesophago-intestinalACBED50 µm|————|A25 µm|——————|B-EFig. 1 : Camera lucida drawings of Helicotylenchus wasimi n. sp. A : Entire female; B : Neck region of female; C : Vulva withanterior gonad; D and E : Posterior portion of female.

GANTAIT, BHATTACHARYA AND CHATTERJEE : One new and three known species.........India 9junction 135 µm from head end. Excretory pore 37 µmanterior to oesophago-intestinal junction.Reproductive system didelphic, with opposedgenital branches. Vulva transverse located in theposterior half of the body, 808 µm from head end.Gonads asymmetrical, anterior gonad (140 µm) largerthan posterior one (103 µm). Anterior and posteriorovary 78 µm and 59 µm respectively. Anterior oviductwith uterus (62 µm) longer than the posterior (44 µm)one. Oocytes arranged in a single row except tip of thegonad. Spearmathecae small, without sperm. Vaginaoccupied almost half of the corresponding body width.Rectum about three-fourth of anal body width. Tailshort, hemispheroid with rounded terminus; cuticle attail terminus 4.8 µm thick. Striations on tail indistinct,four annules after cloaca are prominent. Phasmidsclearly visible close to inner ventral incisures, locatedjust opposite to anus.Male : Not found.Type habitat and locality : Specimens werecollected by the first author on 17.7. 2005 fromrhizospheric soil of banana plantations (Musaparadisiaca L. cv Kanthali) at Pathardaha village underSalbani block of Paschim Medinipur District, WestBengal, India.Type materials : Specimens are deposited with theNational Zoological Collections of Zoological Surveyof India, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, under theRegistration No.WN 970 (Holotype) and WN 971(Paratypes) on slides.Differential diagnosis and relationships :Helicotylenchus wasimi n. sp. comes close to H.concavus (Roman, 1961), H. retusus (Siddiqi and Brown,1964) and H. orthosomaticus (Siddiqi, 1972) in generalbody shape but has many notable structural differencesand may be claimed as a new species.The new species comes close to H. concavus in thevalues of c´ and m (c´= 0.8-1.0 and m = 44-49 in H.concavus). Lip region hemispherical withoutannulations, spear with anteriorly cupped knobs in boththe species. But they differ in the values of L, a, b, c, Vand O (L = 0.64-0.86 mm; a = 26-33; b = 6-8; c = 42-51;V = 61-65 and O = 34-46 in H. concavus). Spear length(29-32 µm) in H. concavus is larger than the presentspecies. Though tail terminus is hemispherical in boththe species, yet in H. concavus it has a slight concavityon dorsal side with 6-12 annules, but in the presentspecies, tail has four annules instead. Phasmids locatedmore anterior to anus in H. concavus but they lie justopposite to anus in the present species.H. wasimi n. sp. resembles with. H. retusus in thevalues of c´, m and in spear length (c´ = 0.7-1.0; m = 47-50; spear = 25-27µm in H. retusus). Spear knobs withindented anterior surfaces, tail terminus hemispherical,sometimes slightly clavate in both the species. But thepresent species is distinguished from H. retusus by itsbody length and in the values of a, b, c, V and O (L =0.75-0.85 mm; a = 31-36; b = 6-7; c = 51-65; V = 60-64and O = 41-48 in H. retusus). Lip region with indistinctannulations in both the species; it is high hemisphericalin H. retusus but more or less rounded in the presentspecies. Phasmids are located opposite to anus in thepresent species, but it is 8-14 annules anterior to anusin H. retusus.The present species shows resemblances with H.orthosomaticus in body length and in the values ofb and c´ (L = 0.89-1.30 mm; b = 8-10; c´ = 0.7-0.9), butdiffers in the values of a, c, V, m and O (a = 34-39; c =53-64; V = 52-55; m = 49-50 and O = 23.5-31.0). Lipregion without annulations in both the species; but itis elevated, broadly rounded in H. orthosomaticus.Spear larger in H. orthosomaticus (34-36 µm) than thepresent species. Spear with anteriorly cupped knobs inthe present species but it is rounded with slightlyconcave anterior surfaces in H. orthosomaticus. Tailhemispherical in both the species; with 15-19 annulesin H. orthosomaticus but with four annules in the newspecies. Phasmids 11-19 annules anterior to anal latitudein H. orthosomaticus but they lie opposite to anus inthe present species.Etymology : The new species has been named afterthe renowned nematologist Dr. Wasim Ahmad,Professor of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University,Aligarh, India.Helicotylenchus crenacauda Sher, 19661966. Helicotylenchus crenacanda Sher, Nematologica, 12 :1-56.1979. H. indentatus Chaturvedi and Khera, Zoological Surveyof India, Technical Monograph No. 2 : 1-105.

10 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaTable-1 : Measurements of Helicotylenchus wasimi n. sp. (all measurements in µm except L in mm).Morphometric characters Holotype female Paratype females Mean ± SD(n = 14)L 1.13 1.11-1.27 1.18 ± 0.04a 58 57-59 58 ± 0.3b 8.4 8.1-9.0 8.6 ± 0.3c 77 76-78 77 ± 0.4c' 0.9 0.8-1.0 0.9 ± 0.1V 71.5 71.2-72.0 71.7 ± 0.3V' 72.5 72.3-73.0 72.6 ± 0.2m 45.5 45.2-46.0 45.7 ± 0.3O 53 52.5-53.0 53.0 ± 0.3MB 61.5 61.2-62.3 61.8 ± 0.4G 112.3 11.1-12.6 11.8 ± 0.5G 29.1 8.0-9.2 8.8 ± 0.4Height of lip region 4.0 4.0-4.1 4.4 ± 0.2Width of lip region 7.5 7.1-7.9 7.6 ± 0.3Stylet length 27 26.5-27.2 27.0 ± 0.2Nerve ring from anterior end 94.5 94.3-95.2 95.0 ± 0.3Excretory pore from anterior end 102 102-103 102.4 ± 0.3Vulva from anterior end 808 808-809 808 ± 0.4Length of anterior gonad 140 139.4-140.6 140 ± 0.4Length of posterior gonad 103 102.6-103.3 102.9 ± 0.2Body width at vulva 19.5 19.4-20.2 19.8 ± 0.2Body width at anus 16 15.8-16.3 16.1 ± 0.2Tail length 15 14.3-15.5 15 ± 0.4Material examined : 27 females.Measurements : Female : L = 0.55-0.76 mm; a = 24-28; b = 5-6; c = 4-5; V = 59.5-64.0; O = 34-40; G 1= 18-23;G 2= 17-21.Description : Female : Body spiral in shape uponfixation. Cuticle with distinct transverse striations;annules 1-2 µm in width. Lateral fields one-sixth to onefourthof body width near mid-body; with four incisuresof which the inner two fuse near middle of tail. Lipregion continuous, broadly rounded and marked by 4-5 annules. Stylet 25-28 µm long; basal knobs indentedanteriorly. Excretory pore anterior to level of oesophagointestinaljunction; 2-3 annules long. Hemizonid 2annules anterior to excretory pore. Reproductive systemamphidelphic; outstretched. Vulva a transverse slit;vagina about half of the corresponding body width.Spermatheca well developed, empty. Oocytes arrangedin one or two rows. Phasmids 4-6 annules anterior toanus. Tail indented terminally; pronounced ventralprojection, 7-8 annules.Male : Not found.Habitat and locality : Specimens were collected bythe first author from rhizospheric soil of bananaplantations (Musa paradisiaca L. cv Kanthali) atMurarichak village (Sabang block), Kusumda(Mohanpur block), Maligram and Jamna (Pingla block)and Pathardaha village (Salbani block) of PaschimMedinipur District, West Bengal, India.Materials deposited : Specimens are deposited withthe National Zoological Collections of ZoologicalSurvey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, underthe Registration No.WN 1280 on slides.Distribution : India (West Bengal, Tripura,Rajasthan, Andaman and Nicobar Islands), U.S.A. andBangladesh.

GANTAIT, BHATTACHARYA AND CHATTERJEE : One new and three known species.........India 11Remarks : The present specimens are in agreementwith the original measurements and description of thespecies made by Sher, 1966 except in having slightlylarger stylet (24-26 µm). Chaturvedi and Khera (1979)proposed a new species Helicotylenchus indentatus,but Baqri and Ahmad (1983) proposed this as newsynonym of H. crenacauda. Baqri and Ahmad (1983)provided the allometric and morphometric variations inthis species. Jairajpuri and Baqri (1991) reported thatH. crenacauda has been distributed in many districtsof West Bengal, India and Bangladesh.Helicotylenchus dihystera (Cobb, 1893) Sher, 19611893. Tylenchus dihystera Cobb, Agric. Gaz. N. South Wales,4 : 808-833.1930. Tylenchus spiralis Cassidy, Hawaiian Planters Rec.,34 : 379-387.1945. Helicotylenchus nannus Steiner, Proc. Helminth. Soc.Wash., 12 : 34-38.1960. Helicotylenchus crenatus Das, Ztschr. Parasitenk., 19 :553-605.1961. Helicotylenchus dihystera (Cobb, 1893) Sher,Nematologica, 6 : 155-169.Material examined : 22 females.Measurements :Female : L = 0.54-0.83 mm; a = 25-32; b = 4-6;c = 35-41; V = 59-64; G 1= 19-23; G 2= 15-23.Description : Female : Body spirally curved uponfixation. Lip region continuous, hemispherical andmarked by 4-5 annules. Stylet 25-27 µm long; withanteriorly indented basal knobs. Excretory pore 117-125 µm from anterior end. Hemizonid 2 annules long, 2-3 annules anterior to excretory pore. Reproductivesystem amphidelphic, long, outstretched. Vaginaextending about half of the corresponding body width.Spermatheca rounded, without sperm. Tail 14-18 µmlong, dorsally convex-conoid, with slight ventralprojection. Phasmids 6-8 annules anterior to anus.Male : Not found.Habitat and locality : Specimens were collected bythe first author on 18-7-2004 from rhizospheric soil ofbanana plantations (Musa paradisiaca L. cv Kanthali)at Amlasuli village under the block Garhbeta-1 ofPaschim Medinipur District, West Bengal, India.Materials deposited : Specimens are deposited withthe National Zoological Collections of ZoologicalSurvey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, underthe Registration No.WN 1281 on slides.Distribution : India (Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,West Bengal, Karnataka, Orissa, Sikkim, MadhyaPradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Haryana, andMaharastra), Australia, Malaysia, Senegal, Ivory Coast,Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, California, Java, FijiIslands, Mauritius.Remarks : The present specimens closely conformto the measurements and description of the speciesgiven by the earlier workers except smaller tail length(16-19 µm). Baqri and Ahmad (1983) discussed variationsin different populations of Helicotylenchus dihysterafrom India. Baqri (1991) revealed that it is a widelydistributed and highly variable species.Helicotylenchus hydrophilus Sher, 19661966. Helicotylenchus hydrophilus Sher, Nematologica, 12 :1-56.Material examined : 3 females.Measurements : Female : L = 0.72-0.81 mm; a =27-29; b = 5-7; c = 40.5-46.0; c’ = 0.7-1.0; V = 58.5-62.5;m = 47.5-49.0; O = 37.5-42.0.Description : Female : Body spiral in shape uponfixation; annules about 2 µm wide at mid body. Lipregion hemispherical, continuous, with 4-5 annules.Stylet 29-31 µm long, with rounded basal knobs. Medianoesophageal bulb oval-shaped; dorsal oesophagealgland opening 17-18 µm posterior to base of styletknobs. Excretory pore 117-120 µm from anterior end.Hemizonid one annule wide; one annule anterior toexcretory pore. Vagina extends half of the correspondingbody width. Genital system amphidelphic, ovary outstretched; oocytes arranged in a single row. Spermathecarounded, without sperm. Tail with pronounced ventralprojection, terminus hemispherical, with 7-8 annules.Phasmids 4-5 annules anterior to anus.Male : Not found.Habitat and locality : Specimens were collected bythe first author on 09-01-2005 from rhizospheric soil ofbanana plantations (Musa paradisiaca L. cv Kanthali)at Amalda village under Keshpur block of PaschimMedinipur District, West Bengal, India.Materials deposited : Specimens are deposited withthe National Zoological Collections of ZoologicalSurvey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, underthe Registration No.WN 1282 on slides.

12 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaDistribution : India (West Bengal), U.S.A. (Florence,South Carolina).Remarks : The present specimens agree in mostrespect with the types, described by Sher (1966);slightly smaller in size (0.75-0.82 mm). He reported itfrom swamp soil, from U.S.A. This is the first reportfrom India. Banana is the new host record of the species.SUMMARYOne new and three known species of tylenchidnematodes, Helicotylenchus wasimi n. sp., H.crenacauda Sher, 1966, H. dihystera (Cobb, 1893) Sher,1961 and H. hydrophilus Sher, 1966 associated withbanana plantations (Musa paradisiaca L. cv Kanthali)in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, Indiahave been described and illustrated. H. hydrophilusREFERENCEShas been reported first time from India. Banana is anew host record of the species.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe are thankful to the Director, Zoological Surveyof India, Kolkata for providing laboratory facilities.Authors express their deep sense of gratitude to theVice Chancellor, Vidyasagar University, Medinipur,Paschim Medinipur and Dr. A. K. Sanyal, AdditionalDirector-in-charge, Nemathelminthes Section ofZoological Survey of India, Kolkata for their kind cooperation.We are indebted to Drs István Andrássy,Mahammad Rafiq Siddiqi, Mahammad Shamim Jairajpuriand Wasim Ahmad for providing literature, valuablesuggestion, critical comment and continuousencouragement.Baqri, Q.H. 1991. Contribution to the fauna of Sikkim : Nematodes associated with citrus from Sikkim, India.Records of the Zoological Survey of India; Occasional Paper No. 128 : 103 pp.Baqri, Q.H. and Ahmad, N. 1983. Nematodes from West Bengal (India) XVI. On the species of the genusHelicotylenchus Steiner, 1945 (Hoplolaimidae : Tylenchida). J. Zool. Soc. India, 35 (1&2) : 29-48.Chaturvedi, Y. and Khera, S. 1979. Studies on taxonomy, biology and ecology of nematodes associated with jutecrop. Technical Monograph, Zoological Survey of India, 2 : 105 pp.Christie, J.R. and Perry, V.G. 1951. Removing nematodes from soil. Proceedings of Helminthological Society ofWashington, 18 : 106-108.Cobb, N.A. 1893. Nematodes, mostly Australian and Fijian. Linn Soc New South Wales, Macleay Memorial Vol. :59 pp.Cobb, N.A. 1918. Estimating the nema population of the soil. Agricultural Technology Circular I. Bureau ofPlant Industry, United States, Department of Agriculture, 48 pp.De Man, J.G. 1884. Die frei in der reinen Erde und im sussen Wasser lebenden Nematoden der niederlandischenFauna. Leiden, 206 pp.Jairajpuri, M.S. and Baqri, Q.H. 1991. Nematode Pests of Rice. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi,66 pp.Roman, J. 1961. A new species of the genus Helicotylenchus (Nematoda : Hoplolaimidae) attacking sugarcane.Journal of Agricultural University, Puetro Rico, South Africa, 45 : 300-303.Seinhorst, J.W. 1959. A rapid method for the transfer of nematodes from fixative to anhydrous glycerine.Nematologica, 4 : 67-69.Siddiqi, M.R. 1972. On the genus Helicotylenchus Steiner, 1945 (Nematoda : Tylenchida), with descriptions ofnine new species. Nematologica, 18 : 74-91.Siddiqi, M.R. and Brown, K.F. 1964. Helicotylenchus retusus n. sp. (Hoplolaiminae) found around sugarcane rootsin Negros Oriental, Philippines. Proceedings of Helminthological Society of Washington, 3X : 209-211.Sher, S.A. 1961. Revision of the Hoplolaiminae (Nematoda). I. Classification of nominal genera and nominalspecies. Nematologica, 6 : 155-169.Sher, S.A. 1966. Revision of the Hoplolaiminae (Nematoda) VI. Helicotylenchus Steiner, 1945. Nematologica, 12 :1-56.Steiner, G. 1945. Helicotylenchus, a new genus of plant parasitic nematodes and its relationship to RotylenchusFilipjev. Proceedings of Helminthological Society of Washington, 12 : 34-38.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 13-18, 2010TWO NEW SPECIES OF ZAISCHNOPSIS ASHMEAD (HYMENOPTERA :EUPELMIDAE) FROM INDIA AND A REVISED KEY TO ORIENTAL SPECIEST. C. NARENDRAN, P. GIRISH KUMAR* AND S. I. KAZMI*Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, Kerala- 673 635, IndiaE-mail: drtcnarendran@yahoo.com* Zoological Survey of India, M- Block, New Alipore, Kolkata- 700 053, West Bengal, IndiaE-mail: kpgiris@gmail.com; kazmisi@rediffmail.comINTRODUCTIONAshmead (1896) erected the genus Ischnopsis (typespecies I. opthalmica Ashmead). As the nameIschnopsis is preoccupied by Ischnopsis Walsingham(1881) in Lepidoptera, Ashmead (1904) provided areplacement name, Zaischnopsis, for IschnopsisAshmead. Boucek (1988) synonymised Zaischnopsiswith Anastatus Motschulsky. Gibson (1995)reestablished the generic status of Zaischnopsis andalso synonymised Eupelmoides Masi (1917) withZaischnopsis. This genus is represented in all regionsand is very speciose in the tropical regions where thereare numerous undescribed species (Gibson, 1995). Thegenus Zaischnopsis contains 27 species in the worldof which 8 species are from the Oriental Region andthree species from the Indian subcontinent (from India)(Walker, 1852, 1862; Girault, 1915, 1919; Narendran etal., 2004, 2007; Gibson, 2005; Noyes, 2009). In this paper,two new species viz., Zaischnopsis mampadicusNarendran and Girish Kumar sp. nov. and Zaischnopsisstom Narendran and Girish Kumar sp. nov. are describedfrom India. A revised key to separate Oriental speciesof Zaischnopsis is also provided.The Holotypes of the new species described hereare deposited in the ‘National Zoological Collections’of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata (NZSI).MATERIALS AND METHODSAll the species were collected by using triangularsweep net specially made for the purpose. The collectedspecimens were killed by using ethyl acetate and weremounted on cards. The mounted specimens were heldon No. 3 Asta insect pins of size 38 mm × 0.5 mm.Taxonomic studies were done by using Wild HeerbruggStereozoom microscope (made in Switzerland) anddrawings were made using the drawing tube of themicroscope.The following abbreviations are used in the text:F1- F8 = Funicular segments 1 to 8; MV = Marginalvein; NZSI = ‘National Zoological Collections’ of theZoological Survey of India, Kolkata; PMV =Postmarginal vein; SMV = Submarginal vein; STV =Stigmal vein; T1= First gastral tergum.RESULTSZaischnopsis mampadicus Narendran and GirishKumar sp. nov.(Figs. 1-3)Female : Holotype : Length including ovipositorsheath 5.2 mm (exserted part of ovipositor 0.25 mm).Head slightly dark with metallic green lustre; eyesbrown; ocelli reflecting pale yellow; palpi dark brown;mandible dark brown with base slightly paler. Antennabrownish black with slight metallic green lustre onscape. Mesosoma dark with metallic green lustre onmetapleuron and sides of pronotum. Forewing (Fig. 2)infuscate beyond base of parastigma except for ahyaline cross band extending from MV towardsposterior margin, but not reaching posterior margin,D:ZSI\(Rec-'10)-110 Fol\Narendran et al\(M-3)\13

14 Rec. zool. Surv. India132|————————————|1 mmFigs. 1-3 :Zaischnopsis mampadicus Narendran and Girish Kumar sp. nov. Female. Fig. 1. Head front view; Fig. 2. Bodyprofile; Fig. 3. Gaster dorsal viewinfuscation slightly lighter at apical part. Legs brownishblack with following yellowish to white : mid and hindtarsi except last tarsal segment and claws brown tobrownish black; mid tibial spur and apical pegs of midtibia and tarsi black. Gaster black without any metalliclustre; syntergum pale brown except at base brownishblack; ovipositor sheath pale brown.Head : Scrobal depression with distinct dorsalmargin separated from anterior ocellus by a distanceless than the diameter of anterior ocellus (Fig. 1).Frontovertex strongly reticulate from scrobal channelto posterior ocelli; gena posterior to malar sulcusstrongly and longitudinally striate- reticulate withconspicuous white lanceolate scattered setae. channeland scrobes strongly reticulate to transversely reticulatestrigose; frons strongly reticulate; interantennal regionstrongly reticulate, with sparse setae; lower parascrobalregion with scattered white setae not differentiated fromother setae on face. Eyes with minute sparsepubescence; vertex and occiput coriaceousreticulatewith short pale white setae. Antenna (Fig. 2) with scapereticulate- strigose on outer and inner sides; flagellum

NARENDRAN, KUMAR AND KAZMI : Two new species of Zaischnopsis Ashmead..........species 15elongate, increasing in width towards apex with apicalfunicular segment transverse.Mesosoma : Pronotum with a median deep furrow;mesoscutum entirely striate- reticulate, moderatelysetose, setae white and lanceolate. Scutellar- axillarcomplex punctate-reticulate. Acropleuron anteriorly withsparse white lanceolate setae. Metacoxa with dense,lanceolate white setae ventrolaterally and dorsally.Propodeum with callus broadly bare posterior tospiracle, setose anterior to and mesal to spiracle andwith dense white setae postero-laterally. Forewing (Fig.2) 3.21x as long as wide; relative lengths of veins: SMV= 32; MV = 33; STV = 9; PMV = 20; forewing distinctlyshorter in length than metasoma (excluding ovipositorsheath).Metasoma (Fig. 3) : 1.84x as long as mesosoma inprofile, excluding ovipositor sheaths; syntergum 0.71xpreceding tergum in lateral view (Fig. 2); ovipositorsheaths exserted distinctly beyond syntergal flange,0.09x gaster length in lateral view.Male : Unknown.Host : Unknown.Biology : Unknown.Distribution : India : Kerala.Material examined : Holotype : Female, India, Kerala,Malappuram dist., Mampad, 10 km west of Nilambur,26-31.xii.2007, coll. Santhosh, S. (NZSI Reg. No. 11487/H3).Discussion : This new species comes close toZaischnopsis keralensis Narendran but distinctly differsfrom it in having: (1). Mid tibial spur black (in Z.keralensis mid tibial spur yellow); (2). Gaster distinctlylonger than mesosoma (1.84x) (in Z. keralensis gaster alittle longer than mesosoma (1.09)); (3). Ovipositorsheaths distinctly exserted beyond syntergal flange (inZ. keralensis ovipositor sheaths exserted only veryslightly beyond syntergal flange); (4). MV almost equalor slightly longer than SMV (33 : 32) (in Z. keralensisMV distinctly longer than SMV (58 : 46); (5). Antennawith last funicular segment transverse (in Z. keralensisantenna with apical three funicular segmentstransverse); (6). Scrobal depression separated fromanterior ocellus by a distance less than the diameter ofanterior ocellus (in Z. keralensis scrobal depressionseparated from anterior ocellus by a distance equal to2x diameter of anterior ocellus).Etymology : The species is named after the localityfrom where the holotype is collected.Zaischnopsis stom Narendran and Girish Kumarsp. nov. (Figs. 4-8)Female : Holotype : Length including ovipositorsheath 3.94 mm (exserted part of ovipositor 0.53 mm).Head slightly dark with metallic green lustre; palpi andmandible dark brown. Antenna brownish black. Eyesand ocelli reddish brown. Mesosoma dark with metallicgreen lustre on metapleuron and sides of pronotum.Forewing (Fig. 6) hyaline basally and a hyaline spotbelow MV and a very narrow longitudinal hyaline stripeat the lower margin opposit to the base of MV,infuscation moderate with lighter at apical part. Legsyellow with following blackish brown parts: fore andhind coxa entirely, mid coxa basally, fore and hind femurexcept at base and apex, fore tibia except at base andapex, apical pegs of midtibial and apical pegs of midtarsi, all claws. Gaster black without any metallic lustre,syntergum concolorous with preceding gastralsegments. Ovipositor sheath brown except at apicesyellow.Head : Dorsal margin of scrobal depression notdistinct (Fig. 4); frontovertex strongly reticulate fromscrobal channel to posterior ocelli; frons stronglyreticulate; interantennal region strongly reticulate, withsparse setae; lower parascrobal region with scatteredwhite setae not differentiated from other setae on face;channel and scrobes finely reticulate to transverselyreticulate strigose; vertex and occiput coriaceousreticulatewith short pale white setae; gena posterior tomalar sulcus strongly and longitudinally striatereticulatewith conspicuous white lanceolate scatteredsetae. Eyes with sparse minute pubescence; Antenna(Fig. 5) with scape reticulatestrigose on outer andinner sides; flagellum elongate, slightly increasing widthtowards clava, apical funicular segments not transverse.Mesosoma : Pronotum with a median deep furrow;mesoscutum entirely striate- reticulate, sparsely setose,setae white and lanceolate. Scutellar- axillar complexpunctate- reticulate. Acropleuron anteriorly with sparse

16 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiawhite lanceolate setae. Metacoxa with dense, lanceolatewhite setae ventrolaterally and dorsally. Propodeumwith callus broadly bare posterior to spiracle, setoseanterior to and mesal to spiracle and with dense whitesetae postero-laterally. Forewing (Fig. 6) 2.96x as longas wide; relative lengths of veins: SMV = 31.5; MV =34.5; STV = 12; PMV = 23; forewing slightly longerthan mesosoma (excluding ovipositor sheath).Metasoma (Fig. 8) : 2.07x as long as mesosoma inprofile excluding ovipositor sheaths; syntergum 0.20xpreceding tergum in dorsal view; ovipositor sheathsexserted distinctly beyond syntergal flange, 0.29x gasterlength in profile.Male : Unknown.Biology : Unknown.Distribution : India : Kerala.Material examined : Holotype : Female, India, Kerala,Malappuram Dist., Calicut University Campus, 3.x.2001,coll. T.C. Narendran and Party (NZSI Reg. No. 11491/H3).Discussion : This new species comes close toZaischnopsis bathericus Narendran but distinctlydiffers from it in having: (1). Forewing with one hyalinespot in the middle (in Z. bathericus forewing with twohyaline spots in the middle); (2). A very narrowlongitudinal hyaline stripe at the lower margin offorewing opposit to the base of MV (in Z. bathericusno such longitudinal hyaline stripe at the lower marginof forewing opposite to the base of MV); (3). Legsyellow with following blackish brown parts: fore andhind coxa entirely, mid coxa basally, fore and hind femur54768Figs. 4-8 :Zaischnopsis stom Narendran and Girish Kumar sp. nov. Female. Fig. 4. Head front view; Fig. 5. Head andantenna side view; Fig. 6. Forewing; Fig. 7. Apex of mid tibia with tarsi; Fig. 8. Gaster dorsal view.

NARENDRAN, KUMAR AND KAZMI : Two new species of Zaischnopsis Ashmead..........species 17except at base and apex, fore tibia except at base andapex, apical pegs of midtibial and apical pegs of midtarsi, all claws (in Z. bathericus legs black with thefollowing parts yellowish white: apex of mid tibia, apexof hind coxa, hind trochanter, base of hind femur, basalhalf and apical one third of hind tibia and all tarsi of alllegs (except black pegs of apex of mid tibia and of midtarsi)); (4). Ovipositor sheaths exserted distinctlybeyond (5x as long as) syntergal flange (in Z. bathericusovipositor sheath exserted a little beyond syntergalflange).Etymology : The species name is arbitrarycombination of letters.Key to Oriental species of Zaischnopsis Ashmead(Modified from Narendran et al., 2007)1. F6 and clava white; F3 to F5 brown; PMV longerthan MV which is ‘punctiform’; STV longer thanPMV; dorsum of mesosoma except sides narrowlyof scutellum black. Singapore. ...................................................................................... kooki (Girault)– Characters not as above; partly or completelydifferent. ............................................................... 22. Scape foliaceously dilated; gaster completelymetallic; F2- F4 equal in size, 2x longer than wide;F1 quadrate; mesoscutum without a raised medianarea but with a median carina; middle tibial spurblack, at least at base. Indonesia (Java). ..........................................................magniscapus (Girault)– Characters not as above; partly or completelydifferent. ............................................................... 33. F2 to F4 equal, longest funicular segment 3x longerthan F1 which is sub quadrate; F5 and F6 longerthan wide; F8 nearly square; pedicel as long as F3;PMV 2x as long as STV; middle tibial spur metallic;raised triangle of ‘cephalic’ scutum (= mesoscutum)about one- third surface, with a nearly completemedian carina from it; coxae, femora and most oftibiae with metallic lustre; host: eggs of locusts.Indonesia (Java). ....................................................................................................... locustae (Girault)– Characters not as above; partly or completelydifferent. ............................................................... 44. Gaster cupreous, lanceolate, varied with green;head black with bluish green reflection on lowerpart; hind femur completely dark brown; MV a littleshorter than SMV. Indonesia. .............................................................................. fascipennis (Walker)– Characters not as above; partly or completelydifferent. ............................................................... 55. Mid tibial spur black; legs coppery coloured; gasterspindle shaped, depressed, purple, hairy, very muchlonger than ‘the chest’ (= mesosoma); ovipositorsheath ‘tawny’ (= brownish yellow), very short;forewing brown, colourless at base and having analmost colourless band across the middle. China(Hong Kong). ............................................................................................................ tubiatus (Walker)– Characters not as above; partly or completelydifferent. ............................................................... 66. Forewing with one (Fig. 6) or two hyaline spots inthe middle............................................................. 7– Forewing with a single hyaline cross band in themiddle (Figs. 2). ................................................... 97. Forewing with one or two hyaline spots in themiddle (Fig. 6); a very narrow longitudinal hyalinestripe at the lower margin of forewing opposit tothe base of MV. India (Kerala). ....................................... stom Narendran and Girish Kumar sp. nov.– Forewing with two hyaline spots in the middle; nolongitudinal hyaline stripe at the lower margin offorewing opposit to the base of MV. .................. 88. Forewing with an opaque hyaline spot near baseof MV; F6 wider than long; clava longer thancombined length of F6+ F7+ F8. India (Kerala). ...............................................bathericus Narendran– Forewing without an opaque hyaline spot near baseof MV; middle hyaline spot not as above; F6 longerthan wide; clava shorter than combined length ofF6 + F7 + F8. India (Bihar). ............................................................................ biharensis (Narendran)9. Mid tibial spur black; gaster distinctly longer thanmesosoma; ovipositor sheath exserted distinctlybeyond syntergal flange; MV almost equal orslightly longer than SMV (33 : 32); scrobaldepression separated from anterior ocellus by adistance less than the diameter of front ocellus.India (Kerala). ........................................................mampadicus Narendran and Girish Kumar sp. nov.

18 Rec. zool. Surv. India– Mid tibial spur yellow; gaster a little longer thanmesosoma; ovipositor sheath exserted only veryslightly beyond syntergal flange; MV distinctlylonger than SMV; scrobal depression separatedfrom anterior ocellus by a distance equal to 2x thediameter of front ocellus. India (Kerala). ........................................................... keralensis NarendranSUMMARYTwo new species of Zaischnopsis Ashmead viz.,Zaischnopsis mampadicus Narendran and Girish Kumarsp. nov. and Z. stom Narendran and Girish Kumar sp.nov. are described from India and their affinities to theclosest relatives are discussed. A revised key toseparate Oriental species of Zaischnopsis is alsoprovided.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSSenior author is grateful to the University of Calicut,Kerala for providing research facilities. Junior authorsare grateful to the Director, Zoological Survey of India,Kolkata for providing facilities and encouragements.REFERENCESAshmead, W.H. 1896. On the genera of Eupelmidae. Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, 4 : 4-20.Ashmead, W.H. 1904. New generic names in Chalcidoidea. Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, 6 : 126.Boucek, Z. 1988. Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). A Biosystematic Revision of Fourteen Families with aReclassification of species. Wallingford: C.A.B. International, 832 pp.Gibson, G.A.P. 1995. Parasitic wasps of the subfamily Eupelminae : Classification and revision of World genera(Hymenoptera : Chalcidoidea : Eupelmidae). Memoirs on Entomology International, 5 : 421 pp.Gibson, G.A.P. 2005. The species of Zaischnopsis of America north of Mexico, with a checklist of described worldspecies (Hymenoptera : Eupelmidae). Acta Soc. Zool. Bohemoslovenicae, 69 : 89-112.Girault, A.A. 1915. Australian Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea-VII. The family Encyrtidae with descriptions of newgenera and species. Mem. Queensland Mus., 4 : 1-184.Girault, A.A. 1919. Javanese Chalcid flies. Treubia, 1 : 53-59.Masi, L. 1917. Chalcididae of the Seychelles Islands. Novitates zoologicae, 24 : 121-230.Narendran, T.C., Anitha, P.V. and Kumar, K. (2004). On a new species of Anastatus Motschulsky (Hymenoptera :Eupelmidae) associated with lac insects in Bihar, India. J. Advanced Zoology, 25 : 16-18.Narendran, T.C., Santhosh, S., Abhilash Peter, Jilcy, M.C. and Anitha, P.V. 2007. Two new species of ZaischnopsisAshmead (Hymenoptera : Eupelmidae) from southern India and a key to Oriental species. Zoos’ Print J.,22(6) : 2706-2709.Noyes, J.S. 2009. Universal Chalcidoidea Database. The Natural History Museum, London. Website : http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology.Chalcidoidea.Walker, F. 1852. VI-Notes on Chalcidites and descriptions of various new species. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (2) 9 : 39-43.Walker, F. 1862. Notes on Chalcidites and characters of undescribed species. Trans. Ent. Soc. London, (3) 1 : 345-397.Walsingham, L. 1881. On the Tortricidae, Tineidae and Pterophoridae of south Africa. Trans. Ent. Soc. London :71-88.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 19-33, 2010A NEW FISH SPECIES OF THE GENUS BARILIUS (CYPRINIDAE : RASBORINAE),FROM RIVER SIANG, D’ERING MEMORIAL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY,ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIAP. NATH*, D. DAM # AND ANIL KUMAR #Arunachal Pradesh Regional CentreZoological Survey of India, Senki Valley, Itanagar-791113, Arunachal Pradesh*Department of Fisheries, Vivek Vihar, Itanagar-791113# (For correspondence : anil_rathi@yahoo.com)debabless@gmail.comINTRODUCTIONArunachal Pradesh is known as global biodiversityhotspot in Eastern Himalaya and located in the transitionzone between the Himalayan and Indo-Burmese region.The total geographical area of the Arunachal Pradeshis 83,743 km2, which is predominantly hilly andmountainous, and largely covered with extremely variedand dense vegetation/ forests, crisscrossed by six majorrivers and their tributaries (Kaul and Haridasan, 1987;FSI 2000; Kalita and Haridasan, 2001). These habitatscarry fairly large populations of faunal elementsbelonging to various groups of invertebrates andvertebrates (Editor-Director 2006 a&b; Kumar andRamakrishna 2009). During last one decade several newspecies of vertebrates and invertebrates have beendiscovered from the state (Borang et al. 2005; Datta etal. 2008; Kumar and Ramakrishna, 2009; Kumar et al.,2005; Mishra and Datta, 2007). As per records ofZoological Survey of India (ZSI), fish fauna of ArunachalPradesh comprises of 143 species under 61 genera, 21families and 8 orders (Editor-Director, 2006a). It includes50 new records from the state. The family Cyprinidaeforms the largest group with 65 species followed byHomolopteridae (17 species), Sissoridae (12 species),Bagridae (7 species), Channidae and Cobitidae (6species each) and the rest with one, two or threespecies. Of the 50 new records, 12 fish species arerecorded exclusively from the state of ArunachalPradesh.Most of the fishes of hill streams belong to theGenus Barilius. Review of the literature reveals that inmost cases the information on systematics of thesetaxa was provided only up to generic level. Howes(1980) reported the details of lateral line as complete,incomplete or absent. Nevertheless all the species eitherreported from India or adjoining countries has completelateral line but none reported the absence or presenceof interrupted lateral line at the species level. Similarlyall seven species reported from the State of ArunachalPradesh (Nath and Dey 2000; Sen 2006) showed thepresence of complete lateral line.In the present investigation we are reporting a newspecies of fish of genus Barilius from D’Ering MemorialWildlife Sanctuary, Eastern Arunachal Pradesh. (Fig. 1)In this regard it may be mentioned that the support forthe new species has been thoroughly investigated withall known species (including all synonymies) of thegenus Barilius so far reported from the region andadjoining areas. Further, it may be mentioned that Tilaket al. (1984) and Talwar & Jhingran (1991) reported ofsexual dimorphism pertaining to few characters likecoloration of the body, fan shaped paired fins, bodysize in synonymies of B. bendelisis. When comparedwith the reported species, B. arunachalensis it revealedmany interesting and new characters which were foundsufficient to authenticate the reported species as newto science particularly in respect of barbels (totallyabsent), lateral line (incomplete, ceases at the 35th scale),

20 Rec. zool. Surv. Indialateral line scales (with single large spots and a fewbilobed spots), dorsal fin (fan shaped enclosed in asheath with strong rays), snout (deeply humped), ‘V’shaped band one on each side of gill opening, caudalfin (unequal).STUDY AREA AND HABITATD’Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary (hereafterDWS) is located in the eastern Arunachal Pradesh andone of the bio-diversity rich areas of the state. It wasnotified as Lali Wildlife Sanctuary in 1978 videnotification no. FOR/284/78/2 dated 23-08-1978. Lateron it was named as Daying Ering Memorial WildlifeSanctuary vide notification no. CWL/37/83/D/T/4524-54 dt. 27-10-1986. The total area of sanctuary is about190 km2 including aquatic area of Siang River. Thesanctuary located between 95°22’ to 95°29’ E and 27°51’to 28°05’ N, and divided into three ranges namelyAnchalghat, Namsing and Borguli.The sanctuary area mainly consists of two types ofhabitats. (i) Most of the land area (about 75%) is alluvialgrassland and semi evergreen forest patches coveringthe rest (ii) While the aquatic area covering thesanctuary proper comprises of two major islands i.e.Jopong and Balun formed between Siang River and itstributary Sibya River (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). Both the riversare divided into streams, which intersect the sanctuaryand form several smaller islands also. The topographyof these islands changes from time to time dependingupon the season, rainfall and flooded water. Thesurrounding area of the sanctuary is mainly composedof agriculture fields and thick forests. The mainagriculture crop is paddy, while thick forest composedof mixed vegetation such as Bombax ceiba, Albizziaprocera, Dipteria wallichii, Talauma hodgsonii,Daubanga grandiflora, Solanum torvum and Ficusdumosa etc. The sanctuary support a large number ofendangered, rare aquatic and terrestrial species ofanimals such as White-winged Duck, Bengal Florican,Gangetic Dolphin, Tiger, Hispid Hare and some rarespecies of invertebrates (Kumar, 2009).MATERIALS AND METHODSThe fauna of the sanctuary has not beendocumented properly. With reference to the ongoingresearch project of the Zoological Survey of India forthe documentation of fish fauna of Arunachal Pradesh,a field survey was undertaken w.e.f. 03.10.2006 to23.10.2006. During the survey different localities of DWSand surrounding areas were visited. Some fishspecimens were also collected for identification andphotographs were taken, from outside the sanctuaryareas. During the survey on 07.10.2008, an interestingspecies was seen in the shallow water of Agari Rivermouth (Fig. 2). Few specimens were collected (about 8of them) with the help of a local fishing person andphotographed with scale (Fig. 4). Preliminaryidentification revealed that this species had somepeculiar features and assumed that it may be new toscience. On 08.10.2008, while surveying the southwestside of Jopong Island, the same species was seen inthe shallow water streams in good number (about 11individuals were seen). For confirmation andidentification two of them were trapped, photographedand released immediately at the same place of trapping.Morphometric measurements and counts were madewith dial calipers and recorded. The measurements ofhead length and body parts has been presented asproportion of standard length (SL).The subunits of headare presented as proportion of head length (HL). Countsand measurements were made on the left side of thespecimen whenever possible. The system ofclassification of fish followed is after Jayaram (1999).Type Material : Holotype : Reg. No.APFS/ZSI/P-502 dt. 8th October 2006, 16.5 cm. TL, O - , Agari rivermouth, D’Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, nearPasighat, East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh, India.Paratypes : Reg. No. APFS/ZSI/P-503 dt. 8th October2006, 11.5-16.8 cm TL, 4 ex., O - , 7 ex., O + ; other detailsas of holotype.RESULTSThis new species differs from the other reportedspecies of the Genus Barilius on various scores viz.(1) On the numbers of fin rays (D.i.7, P.ii.11,V.i.8, A.ii.8,C.18); shape of dorsal fins, fan like supported by strongand robust branched rays embedded in a musculartough skin like pad. (2) Snout and lower lip beset withrough, prominent tubercles. (3) Snout deeply humped.Nostrils with prominent nares. (4) Mouth upturned, lipsunequal and gape of mouth does not reach the orbit.

NATH, DAM & KUMAR : A new fish species of the genus Barilius (Cyprinidae : Rasborinae).........India 21Figure 1 : Map of the D’Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, showing the study sites.

22 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaFigure 2 : Photograph is showing the confluence of Siang River and its tributary Agari River near Borguli village in north-eastperipheral area of the sanctuary.Figure 3 : Photograph is showing the general topography and habitat of the fish at Jopong island inside the sanctuary area.

NATH, DAM & KUMAR : A new fish species of the genus Barilius (Cyprinidae : Rasborinae).........India 23Figure 4 : Indigenous method of the fishing in study area. Tribes of the area, mostly use bamboo made conical baskets (asshown in photo) for fish trapping in the minor rivers/ streams for livelihood.(5) Pectoral tip reaches the base of ventral fin. (6)Caudal fin unequal, lower longer than upper. (7) Barbelstotally absent. (8) Lateral line interrupted at the 35thscale. (9) Scales with oval shaped spot at the dorsalside and diamond shaped spots at its tip below thelateral line and lateral line scales with single large spotsand a few bilobed spots. (10) Dorsal fin inserted nearerto caudal base. (11) Two longitudinal bands giving a‘V’ shaped on each side behind gill opening. (12) Caudalfin with a prominent streak at the bifurcation of caudallobes.On account of the above mentioned specificcharacteristics, the species has therefore been describedas a new species of the Genus Barilius. However whiledescribing the new species, an attempt has been madefor providing the key to identification of the availablevalid species (Menon 1999) of the Genus Barilius inthe text.KEY TO THE SPECIES OF THE GENUS BARILIUS1. Lateral line complete, snout smooth. Barbelsmaybe present or absent ................................. (2)Lateral line incomplete, ceases at the 35th scale.Snout deeply humped. Barbels absent ..................................... Barilius arunachalensis. Sp. Nov2. Barbels present ................................................ (3)Barbels absent ............................................... (14)3. Barbels 2 pairs ................................................ (4)Barbels 1 pair ................................................ (10)4. Vertical bars on the body absent ..................................................... Barilius radiolatus (Gunther)Vertical bars on the body present ................... (5)5. Anal Fin short (A.ii.iii.7-8) ............................... (6)Anal Fin long (A.ii.iii.10-12) ............................ (7)6. Maxillary barbel longer than rostral pair. Twoblack spots at the base of lateral line ............................ Barilius bendelisis (Hamilton-Buchanan)Maxillary barbels shorter than rostral pair. Blackspots at the base of lateral line absent ............................... Barilius shacra (Hamilton-Buchanan)7. Vertical bars extends to lateral line. Mascular padat he base of pectoral. Pre-dorsal scales not lessthan 22 ............................................................. (8)

24 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaVertical bars does not reach lateral line. Mascularpad at pectoral absent. Pre-dorsal scale eithermore or less than 22 ........................................ (9)8. Body shallow, its depth 4.6-4.8 in SL. Lateral linescales more than 43. Caudal unequal, lower lobelonger ....... Barilius barila (Hamilton-Buchanan)Body deep, its depth 3-3.3 times in SL. Scales notless than 43. Caudal equal ...................................... Barilius ngawa Vishwanath & Manoj Kumar9. Pre-dorsal scales 21-26. Tubercles on snout andlower jaw. Rostral shorter than eye diameter ........................ Barilius vagra (Hamilton-Buchanan)Pre-dorsal scales 19-21, Tubercles on head. Rostralabout one third eye diameter ........................................................ Barilius barnoides Vinciguerra10. Barbels –a maxillary pair rudimentary. Lateral linescales 60-75.Mouth gape wide extends beyondmiddle of orbit ............................................... (11)Barbels –a rostral pair may be short or fairly long.Mouth gape extends to orbit or middle of orbit.Lateral line scales 39-43 ................................. (12)11. Upper jaw longer. Lateral line scales 65-75. Bodywith two-three irregular rows of spots.................................... Barilius tileo (Hamilton-Buchanan)Lower jaw slightly longer. Lateral line scales 60-66. Body with 2-4 rows of irregular spots .........................Barilius dimorphicus Tilak & Hussain12. Pre-dorsal scales not below 15. Dorsal extends tothe third anal rays or does not reach anal fin.Lateral line scales 40 or more ........................ (13)Pre-dorsal scales more than 15. Dorsal fin insertedover half of anal fin. Lateral line scales less than40 ............................ Barilius dogarsinghi Hora13. Vertical bars present Lateral line scales 39-40 ............................ Barilius gatensis (Valenciennes)Vertical bars absent. Lateral line scales 42-43 ............................................. Barilius modestus Day14. Anal rays not more than 14 (A ii. iii 12-14) ... (15)Lateral line scales 37-38 Anal rays less than 14 (Aii. iii. 10-13) Lateral line scales 40-42 ............. (16)15. Body with a single row of spots. Dorsal fin nearerto caudal base. Pre-dorsal scale 16. ................................................................ Barilius bakeri DayBody with a double row of spots, Dorsal finmidway between caudal base and snout tip. Predorsalscales 15 .... Barilius canarensis (Jerdon)16. Body with vertical bars 11, last ray of dorsalextends to caudal base ........................................................ Barilius barna (Hamilton- Buchanan)Figure 5 : Photograph of the head region of the fish, showing the absence of barbels.

NATH, DAM & KUMAR : A new fish species of the genus Barilius (Cyprinidae : Rasborinae).........India 25Figure 6 : Showing the physical structure and number of dorsal fin rays.Figure 7 : Showing the physical structure and number of caudal fin rays.

26 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaFigure 8 : Showing the physical structure and number of anal fin rays.Figure 9 : Photograph of the fresh fish specimen Barilius arunachalensis sp. nov.

NATH, DAM & KUMAR : A new fish species of the genus Barilius (Cyprinidae : Rasborinae).........India 27Body with a band, vertical bar absent, Dorsal finextends to 4th ray of anal ............................................................................. Barilius evezardi DayFin Formula : Barbels absent, Dorsal i.7, Pectoral ii.11, Ventral i.8, Anal ii.8, Caudal 18DIAGNOSISBody broad & deep, its depth 4.8-4.9 times instandard length (SL). Head long & broad, its length3.7-4.0 in SL, its maximum width 1.2-1.3 times and internostril distance 4.0-4.1 times in HL, gill opening almostat the base of pectoral fins. Eyes fairly large, its diameter5.0-6.1 times in HL; inter orbital distance 2.27-2.46 timesin H.L. Snout deeply humped and tip with rough,prominent tubercles. Mouth moderate in size, up turnedand its gape far away from orbit. Lips thick, sub-equal,lower lip with tubercles and longer than upper. Barbelsabsent (Fig. 5) Paired fins, well built dorsal fin nearer tocaudal base. Dorsal fin fan like supported by strongand branched rays, robust in nature & embedded in askin-like sheath (Fig. 6). Its posterior end extends to 3rdray of anal. Anal fin also supported by strong,cartilaginous branched rays & looks like a reed of aharmonium or piano (Fig. 8). Caudal fin unequal, lowerlobe longer (Fig. 7). Scales cycloid fairly large; lateralline ceases at the 35th scale. Body color silvery, dorsalfin with a streak of longitudinal band; scales with ovalspots at the dorsal side and almost diamond shaped atTable-1 : Morphometric data for Barilius arunachalensis Sp. nov. (n = 8). Measurements are in cm (mean ± SE).Sl. No. Morphological Characters Measurements (Ranges in parenthesis)I Head length (HL) 3.17 ± 0.27 (2.5-3.7)1 Snout length 0.75 ± 0.07 (0.65-0.9)2 Eye diameter 0.59 ± 0.03 (0.5-0.65)3 Inter-orbital distance 1.27 + 0.09 (1.1-1.5)4 Post-orbital distance 1.27 ± 0.09 (1.1-1.5)II Body measurements1 Total length 14.12 ± 1.38 (11.5-16.8)2 Standard length 11.9 ± 1.33 (9.4-14.4)3 Body depth 2.43 ± 0.29 (1.9-3.0)4 Pre-dorsal length 6.4 ± 0.66 (5.2-7.6)5 Post dorsal length 4.3 + 0.13 (4.0-4.6)6 Pre-pectoral length 3.18 + 0.38 (2.5-3.9)7 Post-pectoral length 8.49 + 0.96 (6.8-10.2)8 Pre-ventral length 5.9 + 0.66 (4.7-7.1)9 Post-ventral length 5.71 + 0.74 (4.4-7.0)10 Pre-anal length 8.1 + 0.89 (6.5-9.7)11 Post-anal length 3.6 + 0.44 (2.8-4.5)12 Caudal fin length (upper) 2.34 ± 0.05 (2.2-2.4)13 Caudal fin length (lower) 2.65 ± 0.06 (2.5-2.8)14 Dorsal fin base length 1.45 + 0.17 (1.1-1.8)15 Dorsal fin height 1.86 + 0.12 (1.6-2.15)16 Pectoral fin base length 0.7 ± 0.09 (0.6-0.9)17 Pectoral fin height 1.8 + 0.06 (1.7-1.95)18 Ventral fin base length 0.58 ± 0.1 (0.4-0.8)19 Ventral fin height 1.58 + 0.12 (1.35-1.8)20 Anal fin base length 2.0 + 0.25 (1.6-2.5)21 Anal fin height 0.9 + 0.03 (0.9-1.05)22 Length of caudal peduncle 1.14 ± 0.05 (1-1.25)23 Depth of least height of caudal peduncle 1.02 ± 0.11 (0.8-1.3)

28 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiathe ventral surface & abdomen and lateral line scaleswith single large spots and a few with bilobed spots;caudal with a blue strip at the bifurcation of its lobe,two ‘V’ shaped bands on each side behind gillopenings. Fins yellowish, tinged with pink. Themorphometric measurements depicted at Table-1.Besides, the species under report (B.arunachalensis) has also been compared with the validspecies of the Genus Barilius and has been shown inTable-2. The distinguishing features in regard to theBarilius arunachalensis strongly supports for theestablishment as a new species. From the comparativechart it could also be revealed that the Bariliusarunachalensis Sp. nov. has a close affinity withBarilius bendelisis except for the absence of barbels,body coloration, lateral line incomplete, lips unequal,dorsal fin fan shaped supported with strong raysenclosed in a sheath, cleft of mouth does not reachorbit, snout deeply humped, lateral line scales withsingle large spots and a few bilobed spots, ‘V’ shapedband on each side of gill opening, caudal lobe unequaljustify for the separation of the reported fish as a newspecies.DISTRIBUTIONThe fish samples were collected from the Agari Rivermouth just outside the D’Ering Memorial Wild LifeSanctuary through which passes river Sibya formingone of the tributaries of a major river Siang. The fishspecimens were also seen inside the sanctuary at thesouth west of Jopong Island. The Sanctuary is locatedadjacent to the Pasighat town, the Headquarters of EastSiang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The location ofthe collection centre is at an altitude of 160 m (msl).ETYMOLOGYThe species Barilius arunachalensis is named afterthe state of Arunachal Pradesh. One of the authorsnamely Anil Kumar collected the fish specimens duringhis field survey to D’Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary& its adjacent areas.DISCUSSIONThe new species Barilius arunachalensis to someextent has a close resemblance with Barilius bendelisis:(i) Presence of prominent tubercles on snout & lowerlip (versus tubercles small and poorly developed inBarilius bendelisis) (ii) Dorsal fin ray (i.7), Pectoral (ii.11), Ventral (i.8), Anal (ii.8) (versus D. ii.7, A.ii.iii. 7-8,P.i.14, V.i 8 in Barilus bendelisis) (iii) Lateral lineincomplete and ceases at 35th scale (versus Lateral linescales 40-45 in B. bendelisis); (iv) Dorsal fin fan like(versus dorsal fin not fan like in B. bendelisis of Day,1878; Tilak et al.,1984; Talwar & Jhingran,1991). (v) Eachscales with oval spots at dorsal side and diamondshaped at the ventral, and lateral line scales with largesingle spots and a few bilobed spots ((versus lateralline scales with two spots in B bendelisis of Day, 1878;Tilak et al., 1984; Talwar & Jhingran, 1991).Tilak et al. (1984) and Talwar & Jhingran (1991)reported of sexual dimorphism pertaining to colorationof the body, fan shaped paired fins, body size ofsynonymies of B. bendelisis. When compared with thereported species, B.arunachalensis it was found to varyin all respect as pointed out in paragraph (1) as above,i.e. barbels totally absent, lateral line incomplete, lateralline scales with single large spots and a few bilobedspots, ‘V’ shaped band on each side of gill opening,caudal fin with a prominent streak at the bifurcation ofcaudal lobe and caudal fin unequal.The diagnostic features purported in Table-1 alsodistinctly shows that the species under report, Bariliusarunachalensis could be readily separated from all thereported species as well as the synonymies of theGenus Barilius (Day, 1878; Talwar & Jhingran, 1991;Menon, 1999; Jayaram, 1999; Vishwanath & ManojKumar, 2002).The discovery of the new species (Bariliusarunachalensis) from the D’Ering wildlife Sanctuary ofArunachal Pradesh has thrown a new light that thesanctuary offers a safe habitat and in no way the fishstands threatened from external interferences. Thus thesanctuary is one of the noble examples of in-situconservation of fauna and flora of the region. Thecollection of live species within the sanctuary is notlegally permitted hence only a few samples of thepresent species were collected from outside thesanctuary. However, the continuity of the studies shallbe kept in progress so that any variability of the newspecies could be further observed, if any.

NATH, DAM & KUMAR : A new fish species of the genus Barilius (Cyprinidae : Rasborinae).........India 29Table 2 : Comparative account is showing the distinction between Barilius arunachalensis and the allied genera/species of the sub-family Rasborinae.Sl. No. Name of the Species Characteristic features Diagnostic featuresA. Species with 2 pairsof barbels1 Barilius radiolatus D.ii 7-8, A.ii.iii 10-11, Tubercles small, poorly developed on snoutP.i.16, V.i.8 and lower jaw. Lateral line (L.L) scales 56-62.Vertical bars absent. Dorsal fin inserted anteriorto anal fin. Pre-dorsal scales 24.2 Barilius shacra D.ii 7, A. ii. iii. 8, Tubercles small and poorly developed on snoutP.ii 14, V.i.8 & lower jaw. Lateral line scales 59-70. Verticalbars 12, rarely absent. Dorsal inserted advanceof Anal. Dorsal fin with black band along itsupper third. Pre-dorsal scale 22-25. The fishattains a length of 12.5 cm.3 Barilius bendelisis D.ii 7, A.ii. iii. 7-8, (i) Tubercles small and poorly developed onP.i. 14, V.i.8 snout & lower jaw. Lateral line scales 40-45.Vertical bands 8-12 numbers descending towardslateral line, often becomes indistinct (as spots)in adults. Lateral line scales with two black spotsat their base. Dorsal fin ahead of anal nearer tocaudal base than snout tip. Pre-dorsal scale 18-20. The species attains a length of 15.5 cm.Sub–species of Bariliusbendelisis(Synonyms of Bariliusbendelisis of Menon,1990)3 i.* chedra (male) (i) Males are well built.Paired fins enlarged andfan like. Pectoral fin base muscular and robustThree pectoral rays extends beyond ventral.Dorsal & anal fins are expanded.3 ii.* cocsa (Female) (ii) Tip of snout, sides and lower jaw with thicklayer of spiny tubercles. Body with fine tubercleson scales. Vertical bands disappear with growth.(iii) Females lack all characters as in sl ii. Fishattains a length of 15.5 cm.4 Barilius vagra vagra D.i.ii.7, A.ii. iii. 10-12, Tubercles poorly developed on snout & lowerP.i.14-15, V. 8 jaw. Lateral line scales 33-44. Vertical bars 10-14above lateral line. Dorsal inserted anterior toanal. Dorsal & caudal fin grey edged. Pre-dorsalscales 21-26.Body depth 5.5-7.4 times S.L. Vertical barsreaching lateral line.

30 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaTable 2 : Cont'd.Sl. No. Name of the Species Characteristic features Diagnostic features4.i Barilius vagrapakistanicus (synonymof Barilius vagra ofTalwar & Jhigran 1991)5 Barilius ornatus D. iii.7-8, A.iii.10-11 Lateral Line scales 38 – 41, Pre-dorsal scales(A synonym of Barilius P.i.13-14, V.i.8 14–20barnoides of Talwar &Jhingran, 1991)6 Barilius barilia D.ii.7, A.iii.10-11, Tubercles poorly developed on lower jaw.P.i.12, V.i.8 Lateral Line scales 43-46. Vertical bars 14 or 15extends up to lateral line. Dorsal placed advanceto anal. Fins pinkish, Pre-dorsal scales 22. TheFish attains a length of 10 cm.7 Barilius barnoides D.ii.iii.7-8, A. ii. iii.10-11, Tubercles on head poorly developed. LateralP.i.13, V.i.8 Line scales 42-45. Vertical bars 14-15 above lateralline. Dorsal fin advance of Anal. Fins hayline.Pre-dorsal scale 19-21. The fish attains a lengthof 8.0 cm.8 Barilius ngawa D.ii.iii.7 – 8, A.ii.iii.10-11 Lower jaw with a symphysis & upper jaw with aP.i.12-13,V.i.7 notch Lateral Line scales 42-43. Vertical bars 13-14 extends to lateral line. Dorsal fin with a darkband and caudal with dark margins.B. Species with 1 pair ofBarbels :9 Barilius gatensis D.ii.iii 8 – 9, A.iii.12-14, Rostral pair minute. Tubercles large and wellP.i.14, V.i.8 developed on snout and lower jaw. L.L scales39-40, Pre-dorsal scale 15, Vertical bars 13-15,often as oblong spots, become almost brokenin adults, Dorsal fin a ahead of anal, extendingto 3rd Anal ray. Dorsal fin & anal with dark base.The fish attains 15 cm in length.10 Barilius modestus D. ii. 7, A.ii. 10 – 11, Rostral pair fairly long. Tubercles well developedP.i.14, V.i.8 on snout & lower jaw. L.L scales 42-43, Predorsalscales 15. Body silvery with dark bandon dorsal fin. Fins yellowish. The fish attains alength of 12.5 cm.11 Barilius tileo D. ii.7, A.iii.10, P.i.13, V.i.8 Maxillary pairs, often absent. Tubercles welldeveloped on snout & lower jaw. L.L scales 65-75. Pre-dorsal scales 28-30. Body with two-threerows of spots & blotches. Dorsal fin advanceto Anal. Dorsal fin dark grey with pinkish edgeothers yellow. The fish attains a length of 15cm.

NATH, DAM & KUMAR : A new fish species of the genus Barilius (Cyprinidae : Rasborinae).........India 31Table 2 : Cont'd.Sl. No. Name of the Species Characteristic features Diagnostic features12 Barilius dogarsinghi D.ii.7, A.iii.9, P.i.12, V.i.8 Short Rostral pair. Tubercles large and welldeveloped on snout & lower jaw and sides ofhead. L.L scales 38-39. Pre-dorsal scales 20.Transverse bands 9 extending to lateral line.Dorsal inserted nearer to caudal and extendingover half of Anal fin. Fins hyaline. The fishattains a length of 8.5 cm.13 Barilius dimorphicus — Lateral line scales 60-66. Lower jaw slightlylonger. Pectoral fin longer than head. Body with2-4 irregular rows of spot.C. Barbels absent :14 Barilius evezardi D.ii.7, A.ii.12 – 13, Tubercles large & well developed on head.P.i.12., V.i.8 Lateral line scales 40. A silvery band on flanks.Dorsal fin ahead of anal, its posterior half aboveanal. Dorsal and caudal fins edges black. Finsyellowish. Pre-dorsal scales 14. The fish attainsa length of 11 cm.15 Barilius bakeri D.ii.iii.10, A.i.iii.14, Tubercles large and well developed on snout &P.i.14, V.i.8 lower jaw.L.L scales 37-38, Body with a row oflarge bluish spots along the flanks. Dorsal finahead of Anal, extending to 4th Anal ray. Dorsal,anal and pectoral fins with dark grey bases, edgeswhite. Pre-dorsal scales 16. The fish attains alength of 15 cm.16 Barilius barna D.ii.7, A.iii. 10-11, Tubercles large and well developed on snout &P.i.14, V.i.8 lower jaw. L.L scales 39-42. Vertical bars11. Dorsaladvance of Anal fin, often last ray extending tocaudal. Dorsal & caudal fin edges black. Predorsalscales 15-16. The fish attains a length of7.5 cm.17 Barilius canarensis D.ii.10-11, A.ii.12-14, Tubercles large on head. L.L scales 37-38. DorsalP.i.14, V.i.8 with rows of large vertical green spots alongbody. Fins grey with white margin. Pre-dorsalscales 15. Fish attains a length of 15 cm.18 Barilius auropurpureus D.ii.7, A.iii.15, L.L scales 39 – 41. Vertical bars 14 with rows of(separated & placed P.i. 11, V.i.6 minute dots. Dorsal inserted above anal fin.under Genus Inlecypris,Ventral keeled.Howes, 1980a)19 Barilius lairokensis — Dorsal & Anal fins with spines. Body with(of Arun Kumar and14-16 dark lateral bands.(No Barilius species soTombi Singh, 2000)far reported with spines thus needs to beseparated).

32 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaTable 2 : Cont'd.Sl. No. Name of the Species Characteristic features Diagnostic features20 Barilius nelsoni Hence not described.(of Barman, 1989, asynonym of Bariliusradiolatus of Talwar& Jhingran, 1991)21 Barilius bola/guttatus Hence not described.(Separated under thegenus Raiamus ofHowes, 1980)22 Barilius arunachalensis D.i.7, A.i.8, P.ii.11, Rough tubercles, prominent on snout & lowerV.i.8,C.18 jaw. Barbels absent. Snout deeply humped.Mouth upturned, gape not reaching orbit. Lipsunequal, lower lip slightly longer. Lateral linescales incomplete, ceases at the 35th scale.Dorsal inserted ahead of anal, but nearer tocaudal base. Dorsal fin extends to 3rd ray ofAnal. Scales large, cycloid and with oval spotsat the dorsal side & diamond shaped spots atthe ventral surface and lateral line scales withsingle large spots and a few bilobed spots.Pectoral tip just reaching ventral fin base. Twobroad band almost ‘V’ shaped on each sidebehind gill opening. Caudal fin with prominentstreak at the bifurcation of the caudal lobe.Longitudinal streak at the dorsal fin andprominent streak at the bifurcation of caudal.Caudal unequal, lower lobe longer. The lengthof fish recorded upto 16.8 cm.*Sub-speciesACKNOWLEDGEMENTSAuthors are grateful to the Director, ZSI, Kolkata,to grant the permission for field survey and the Officerin-Charge,APFS, ZSI, Itanagar, for extendingdepartmental facilities. Our sincere thanks are due toDr. Ambrish Kumar, Scientist-B, BSI, Itanagar, for theidentification of plants and characterization of habitats.Kind support and active cooperation at various levelsfrom the Forest Department of Arunachal Pradesh isalso gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks are dueto DFO, D’Ering WL Sanctuary and staff of D’EringWL Sanctuary namely Shri B. Magu, Range Officer,Mr. Ram Ering, Forester, Mr. Kebiyon Mitkong & Mr. J.N. Terrang, Forest Guard, Mr. Arun Kalita, Boat Driver,and Mr. Tanong Tamir, Mr. Bugeswar Tayang, Mr. SatishDas, Boatman. A local person Mr. Tibang Tayang alsohelped during survey in Borguli Range and thanks arealso due to him.REFERENCESBorang, A., Bhatt, B.B., Chaudhury, S.B., Borkotoki, A. and Bhutia, P.T. (2005). Checklist of the snakes of ArunachalPradesh, Northeast India. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 102(1) : 19-26.

NATH, DAM & KUMAR : A new fish species of the genus Barilius (Cyprinidae : Rasborinae).........India 33Borang, A. (2001). Mammalian fauna of Arunachal Pradesh (checklist & distribution in protected areas). ArunachalForest News, 19 (1&2) : 43-82.Choudhury, A.U. (2003). The Mammals of Arunachal Pradesh. Regency Publications, New Delhi.Datta, A., Naniwadekar, R. and Anand, M.O. (2008). Hornbills, hoolocks and hog badgers : long term monitoringof threatened wildlife with local communities in Arunachal Pradesh, north east India. Final report to theRufford Small Grants Program (UK). Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, India. pp. 80.Day, F. (1878). The Fishes of India; being a natural history of the fishes known to inhabit the seas and freshwaters of India, Burma and Ceylon.Editor-Director, (2006a). Fauna of Arunachal Pradesh, State Fauna series, 13(Part-I) : 317-396.Editor-Director, (2006b). Fauna of Arunachal Pradesh. State Fauna Series, 13(Part-2) : 1-518. (Published byDirector, Zool Surv. India, Kolkata).Forest Survey of India (2000). The State Forest Report, 1999. FSI, Govt. of India Press, Dehradun, 133.Howes, G.J. (1980a). The taxonomy, phylogeny and classification of the Bariline cyprinid fishes. Bull. Br. Mus.Nat. Hist (Zool), 37(3) : 129-198.Jayaram, K.C. (1999). The Freshwater Fishes of the Indian Region. Narendra Publishing House, Delhi, India, xxiii.Pp. 551.Kalita, S.N. and Haridasan K. (2001). Forest and wildlife management in Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal ForestNews, 19(1&2): 26-31.Kaul, R.N. and Haridasan, K. (1987). Forest types of Arunachal Pradesh-A preliminary study. J. Econ. Tax. Bot.,9(2) : 397-389.Kumar, A. (2009). Occurrence of mammals in D’Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary and adjacent areas, ArunachalPradesh, India. J. Env. Bio-sci. vol. 23(1), 107-111.Kumar, A. and Ramakrishna (2010). A review of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna of Arunachal Pradesh. StateGazetteer of Arunachal Pradesh. (in Press)Kumar, R.S., Mishra, C. and Sinha, A. (2005). Discovery of the Tibatan macaque Macaca thibetana in ArunachalPradesh, India. Curr. Sci. 88(9) : 1387-1388.Mishra, C. and Datta, A. (2007). A new bird species from Eastern Himalayan Arunachal Pradesh- India’s biologicalfrontier. Curr. Sci. 92(9) : 1205-1206.Menon A.G.K., (1999). Checklist Freshwater Fishes of India. Rec. Zool. Surv. India, Occasional Paper 175 : 1-366.Nath, P. & Dey, S.C. (2000). Fish and Fisheries of North Eastern India (Arunachal Pradesh). Narendra PublishingHouse, Delhi : 200 pp.Talwar, P.K. and Jhingran, A. (1991). Inland Fishes of India and adjacent countries, Oxford and IBH publishingCo. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2 Volumes : xix-1158 pp.Tilak, R., Jaffer, Z. and Hussain, A. (1984). Systematic status of Barilius bendelisis,Hamilton (Cyprinidae : Pisces).Rec. Zool. Surv. India, 81(3&4) : 279-290.Vishwanath and Manoj Kumar, B. (2002). A New Bariliine Cyprinid Fish of the Genus Barilius Hamilton fromManipur, India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 99(i) : 86-89.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 35-36, 2010FIRST RECORD OF ERETHISTES HARA (HAMILTON, 1822) (SILURIFORMES :ERETHISTIDAE) FROM MADHYA PRADESH, INDIAJ. THILAK AND PRAVEEN OJHAZoological Survey of India, Central Zone Regional Centre168/169, Vijay Nagar, Jabalpur-482 002 (Madhya Pradesh)INTRODUCTIONSiluriformes is an important order of Pisces,comprising of approximately 2,000 species pertainingto 30 families. They are mostly confined to freshwater,but some are marine. Siluroid fishes are devoid of scalesand are popularly termed as Cat-fishes, due to thepresence of feelers or long barbels arranged aroundthe mouth. These fishes appear to use their feelers inmoving about in muddy places, and consequently haveless use for their eyes than forms that reside in clearwater. In some freshwater as well as marine forms, themales appear to carry the ova in their mouths perhapsuntil the young are produced. These fishes are creditedwith causing poisonous wounds. They are capable ofatmospheric respiration also (Day, 1889).The family Erethistidae are commonly known as the‘Moth Cats’ because of their colour pattern of the finsas being very like moth’s wings. Head is osseous above,somewhat depressed. Mouth small, gill opening narrow,eyes small. Nostrils close together, separated by a smallbarbel. Barbels eight. First dorsal fin arising slightlyinfront of the ventrals, having a serrated spine and fiveor six branched rays. Adipose dorsal present. Ventralwith six rays. Pectoral with a serrated spine.While working on the Pisces of Madhya Pradesh,the authors came across two interesting specimens of‘Moth Cats’ identified as Erethistes hara (Hamilton,1822) belonging to family Erethistidae. Globally, thisfamily is represented by 6 genera and about 25 species(De Pinna, 1996). However, only 9 species are reportedfrom India (Jayaram, 2006). Erethistes hara (Hamilton)is so far reported by Jayaram (1981, 2006); Lipton(1985); Ataur Rahman (1989) and Mamnur Rashid, et.al.(1997).Erethistes hara (Hamilton, 1822)

36 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaHead of Erethistes hara (Hamilton, 1822)Erethistes hara (Hamilton, 1822)Material examined : Madhya Pradesh, Kuanri river,Morena Distt., 05. I. 1995, (1ex.) Coll. H.S.Sharma; Reg,no.V-4446; Mahanadi River, VijayRaghavgarh, KatniDistt., 17. I. 2009, (1ex.), Coll. J.Thilak. Reg, no.V-4771.Diagnostic Features / Description : The body lengthof the specimen was measured 2.5 cm and 2.8 cm. Bluntspiny ossicles present in the skin. Pectoral spine shorter(0.5cm.) than head length. Occipital process, cleithralprocess, scapular process all prominent and naked.Humeral process prominent on ventral side. 4 pairs ofbarbels. Rayed dorsal fin with 5 rays and a spine. Acombination of brown and cream vertical bands afterthe posterior dorsal fin. Maxillary and mandibularbarbels with alternate black and brown bands.Distribution : Ganges, Brahmaputra & Irrawaddydrainages in northeast India, Bihar, North Bengal,Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors are thankful to Dr. Kailash Chandra,Scientist ‘F’ & Officer-in-Charge, Central Zone RegionalCentre, Zoological Survey of India, Jabalpur, forproviding the facilities and encouragement.REFERENCESAtaur Rahman, A.K.A. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh. Zoological Society of Bangladesh. Department ofZoology, University of Dhaka. 364 pp.Day, F. 1889. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Fishes- Vol.I, 548 pp. London : Taylor andFrancis.De Pinna, M.C.C. 1996. A phylogenetic analysis of the Asiancatfish families Sisoridae, Akysidae and Amblycipitidae,with a hypothesis on the relationships of the neotropical Asprenidae (Teleostei, Ostariophysi). Fieldiana(Zool.), 84 : 1-82.Hamilton, F. 1822. An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. 1-VII, 1-405, pls. 1-39.Archibald, Constable & Co., Edinburgh Hurst, Robinson & Co., London.Jayaram, K.C. 1981. The Freshwater Fishes of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and SriLanka. ZoologicalSurvey of India, Calcutta, 475 pp., pls. 1–13.Jayaram, K.C. 2006. Cat fishes of India. Narendra Publishing House , New Delhi, 383pp, Plates-XI, Figs. 163.Lipton, A.P. 1985. Fish fauna of Tripura. Matsya, 9–10, 110–118.Mamnur Rashid, M., Aminul Haque, A.K.M. & Rahman, A.K.A. 1997. A checklist of ichthyofauna of the RiverDharla of Fulbari (Kurigram). Bangladesh Journal of Animal Science, 26, 133–140.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 37-57, 2010TRICHOTAXONOMY OF INDIAN SPECIES OF GENUS RATUFA GRAY(MAMMALIA : RODENTIA : SCIURIDAE)ARCHANA BAHUGUNANorthern Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India,218 Kaulagarh Road, Dehra Dun, UttarakhandINTRODUCTIONOriental giant squirrels (Genus Ratufa) belong tosubfamily Ratufinae and are found in parts of Southand South-east Asia. There are four species of orientalgiant squirrels : Ratufa affinis (Raffles) (Pale GiantSquirrel), Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman) (Malaya GiantSquirrel), Ratufa indica (Erxleben) (Indian Giant Squirrel)and Ratufa macroura (Pennant) (Grizzled Giant Squirrel).Ratufa affinis (Raffles) (Pale Giant Squirrel) is foundin Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand(Krapp 1998).The Malayan Giant Squirrel, Ratufa bicolor(Sparrman) is at home on the Indian subcontinent, northof the Ganges in Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Assam;farther to the east it lives in Burma, Malaya and uptoSouthern China and on Java. It is deep dark brown,almost black on the back and a light beige on theunderside. They are very shy and they live exclusivelyin forest in the highest trees. They are very agile andjump in great leap from tree to tree, over a distance ofalmost 22 ft (Krapp 1998). Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman) isa Schedule II species under IWPA 1972, and hascategory Lc IUCN (Kumar and Khanna 2004).Ratufa indica (Erxleben), Indian Giant Squirrel hasbeen listed as, VU(IUCN Alacd.Cl ver 2.3 ,1994),(CAMP)VU A2c, 3c, 4c, (IWPA) Schedule II, CITESAppendix II, endemic population (Kumar and Khanna2006).Ratufa macroura (Pennant) Grizzled GiantSquirrel, Sri Lankan Giant squirrel is a large species ofsquirrel found in Sri Lanka and in the forests of southernIndia. The species is found in patches of riverine forestalong the Kaveri river in south India and in hill forestsin peninsular India. and in parts of Sri Lanka. The SriLankan race is R. macroura dandolena (Menon 2003).Abbreviations : SP : Scale pattern, SM : Scale margin,DS : distance between scales.Ratufa macroura (Pennant) Grizzled Giant Squirrel,is listed as IUCN VU Alc ver 2.3 (1994), CAMP VUA2c, 3c,4c; D; IWPA I, CITES Appendix II, populationtrend indeterminate (Kumar and Khanna 2006).Very little study so far has been done on thetrichotaxonomy of the species of family Sciuridae(Bahuguna, 2007), a group largely being poachedthroughout world for its skin. Trichotaxonomy is wellknown for its utility in wildlife forensic science (Anon1995, Chakraborty and De 1995, De et al 1998, Bahugunaand Mukherjee 2000), for ecological study of theanimals, in wildlife management and conservation(Mathiak 1938, Nath and Joseph 1981, Bahuguna 2007).Williams in 1938 reported the characteristics of hair ofmole and shrew for wildlife management.The present study describes the characteristic ofprimary guard hair of different regions of species ofgenus Ratufa i.e. Ratufa indica (Erxleben), Indian GiantSquirrel, Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman) Malayan GiantSquirrel and Ratufa macroura (Pennant) Grizzled GiantSquirrel.MATERIAL AND METHODSHair samples were collected randomly from dorsal,ventral, head and tail regions of the specimens {maleRatufa indica (Erxleben) (subspecies indica), loc :Devikop, Dharwar, Bombay Prov. 24.xi.1911., Collector.G. C. Shortridge. Collection . No. 166, Reg no 15090;

38 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiamale Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman) subspecies gigantea,loc : Darjeeling, Bengal, Date 19.viii. 1916., Collector N.A. Baptista Collection no. 2149, Reg no 15163; Ratufamacroura (Pennant), Indian Museum, Sri Lanka,Collector : J. L. F. Kelaart, ASBR, Reg no 9472, Date ofcollection not available) from National ZoologicalCollection of Mammal and Osteology section,Zoological survey of India, Kolkata. For each type ofthe study (Medulla type, Cross section, Cuticular andSEM examination) about 10 primary guard hair fromdorsal, ventral, head and tail regions of each specimenwere examined .The samples were washed in gradedseries of acetone i.e. 50%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 95% for30 min.in each grade and finally kept in pure acetoneovernight.MedullaTo study the type of medulla, the cleaned hair wasmounted in DePeX (Gurr) for whole mount. Whenmounting, the hair tuft, it is necessary to ensure thatthe individual hair is well separated. For temporarymounting Paraffin oil is a most convenient medium(Appleyard, 1960).Longitudinal sections were also prepared for clearpicture of medulla type.Cross section : For the present study, hair crosssections were obtained by simple hand sectioning aftermounting the hair in paraffin wax, the method followedas given in reference guide Bahuguna et al 2010. Forlongitudinal section of medulla, the blocks of hair wereprepared in paraffin wax and hand sectioning was donelongitudinally. The technique is useful for clear pictureof medulla type (Bahuguna 2008) as the presence ofpigments generally hides the structure.Scale casts : Procedures for studying scale patternusually involve the use of special media to obtain acast or impression of the actual hair surface. For gettingthe cast, the cleaned hair was kept with the help of thefine forceps on thin film of the gelatin (3%) medium onslide for some time till the medium was air-dried. Afterdrying of gelatin the hair was removed gently. For verylong hair they can be cut into sections to have completepicture of scales at tip, mid and basal region of hair.Another medium polyvinyl acetate (PVA in 50% distilledwater) can also be used for this purpose (Appleyard,960).For cuticle studies different parts of hair i.e. distal(tip), mid and proximal part (base) of hair were examined.Photomicrographs were taken for cross section,medulla type and cuticular studies at x100 to x200 (totalmagnification) under compound light microscope,Olympus CX41.Scanning electron microscope studyThis was performed for studying details of cuticularpattern. After cleaning the hair, small mid section ofhair were kept on adhesive on stub. The stubs werecoated with thin film (15-20 Å) of gold and kept in thechamber to view details of scale pattern. The electronmicrographs thus obtained from Zeiss EVO40 were usedto find out scale index, scales types and scale margins.Hair measurements : Hair measurements were notedfor calculating mean of thickness of medulla and totalthickness of hair and their ratios for medullary index.Ratios of length of hair and thickness of hair were alsotaken into account to get length index .Themeasurements were shown under observations as mean± SDNomenclature of medulla type was adopted afterWildman (1954) and the same for cuticular scale patternand cross section types after Brunner and Coman(1974.)OBSERVATIONSGenus Raufa Gray, 1867Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman), Malayan Giant SquirrelStatus IWPA : Schedule II, Part II, CITES :Appendix II; CAMP : VU (Nationally), DD(Globally)DorsalA Physical characteristicsColour : Both light brown and dark brownTotal thickness (T) : 86.3 ± 1.5 µmLength index (L/T) : 30.3 ± 0.09Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave ,SM rippled, DS near; atproximal, SP regular wave SM rippled , DS near; Atdistal : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near Scaleindex: 6.0 ± 0.0

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 39C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness 60.9 ± 1.0 : µmMedullary index (M/T) : 0.70 ± 0.66D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeVentralA Physical characteristicsColour : light brownTotal thickness (T) : 49.8 ± 0.0 µmLength index : 24.5 ± 0.0Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near; atproximal, SP regular wave SM rippled, DS near; Atdistal: SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS nearScale index : 5.3 ± 0.01C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness : 29.8 ± 0.06 µmMedullary index (M/T) : 0.59 ± 0.0D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : mediumHeadA Physical characteristicsColour : dark brown with light brown tipsTotal thickness (T) : 109.0 ± 1.0 µmLength index : 16.88 ± 0.0Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM scalloped margin, DSnear; at proximal, SP regular wave SM scalloped, DSnear; At distal : SP regular wave, SM scalloped, DSnear, Scale index : 4.17 ± 0.0C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness : 89.0 ± 1.0 : µmMedullary index : 0.51 ± 0.25D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeTailA Physical characteristicsColour : Dark brownTotal thickness (T) : 92.7 ± 0.4 µmLength index : 51.7 ± 0.25Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale Pattern At mid : SP Irregular wave,SM rippled, DS near; at proximal, SP Irregular waveSM slightly rippled, DS near; At distal: SP Irregularwave, SM smooth, DS nearScale index : 2.86 ± 0.01C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness : 82.7 ± 0.4 µmMedullary index : 0.89 ± 0.01D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeRatufa indica (Erxleben, 1777) (Indian Giant Squirrel,Malabar Squirrel)Status : IWPA : Schedule II, Part II; CITES :Appendix II : CAMP : VU (Nationally), DD(Globally).DorsalA Physical characteristicsColour : dark brown or blackTotal thickness (T) : 85.4 ± 0.52 µmLength index : 39.22 ± 0.1Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near; atproximal, SP regular wave SM rippled, DS near; Atdistal : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS nearScale index : 6.0 ± 0.45C MedullaMedullary configuration : Simple medulla

40 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaMedulla thickness 65.4 ± 0.52 : µmMedullary index : 0.76 ± 0.0D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeVentralA Physical characteristicsColour : light brown and beigeTotal thickness (T) : 84.5 ± 0.32 µmLength index : 14.6 ± 0.16Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM slightly rippled, DSnear; at proximal, SP regular wave SM slightly rippled,DS near; At distal : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DSnear Scale index: 6.5 ± 0.01.C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness : 44.5 ± 0.52 µmMedullary index : 0.52 ± 0.01D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : MediumHeadA Physical characteristicsColour : light brown at tips, mid dark brown andblackTotal thickness (T) : 69.6 ± 0.08 µmLength index : 17.81 ± 0.06Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near; atproximal, SP regular wave SM rippled, DS near; Atdistal : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS nearScale index : 7.3 ± 0.0C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness : 49.2 ± 0.21 µmMedullary index : 0.706 ± 0.026D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeTailA Physical characteristicsTotal thickness (T) : 79.2 ± 0.16 µmLength index : 57.19 ± 0.25Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near; atproximal, SP regular wave SM rippled, DS near; At distal: SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near Scale index : 6.5± 0.01C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aerifom LatticeMedulla thickness : 60.7 ± 0.16 µmMedullary index : 0.76 ± 0.01D Cross sectionType of cross section : Circular, OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeRatufa macroura (Pennant, 1769) (Grizzled Indian(Giant) Squirrel)Status : IWPA : Schedule 1, Part 1; RDB : EN;CITES : Appendix II; CAMP : EN (Nationally),DD (Globally)DorsalA Physical characteristicsColour : Dark brown/black with light brown tipsTotal thickness (T) : 69.72 ± 0.06 µmLength index : 46.04 ± 0.05Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near; atproximal, SP regular wave SM rippled, DS near; Atdistal : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS nearScale index : 6.24 ± 0.32C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness : 60.3 ± 0.08 µm

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 41Medullary index : 0.86 ± 0.013D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeVentralA Physical characteristicsColour : dark brown/black and light brownTotal thickness (T) : 29.9 ± 0.03 µmLength index : 35.45 ± 0.01Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near; atproximal, SP regular wave SM rippled, DS near; Atdistal : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near Scaleindex : 6.3 ± 0.0C MedullaMedullary configuration : Simple medullaMedulla thickness : 20.0 ± 0.0 µmMedullary index : 0.66 ± 0.0D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : MediumHeadA Physical characteristicsColour : Slightly light brown at tips, mid is darkTotal thickness (T) : 87.27 ± 1.0 µmLength index : 13.76 ± 0.047Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near; atproximal, SP regular wave SM rippled, DS near; At distal: SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near Scale index :4.4 ± 0.0C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness : 67.2 ± 1.0 µmMedullary index : 0.77 ± 0.01D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeTailA Physical characteristicsColour : black/dark brown throughoutTotal thickness (T) : 102.7 ± 0.46 µmLength index : 39.4 ± 0.07Shape and Nature : Straight and thinB Cuticular Scale PatternAt mid : SP regular wave, SM smooth, DS distant;at proximal, SP regular wave SM smooth, DS distant;At distal : SP regular wave, SM smooth, DS distantScale index : 4.25 ± 0.01C MedullaMedullary configuration : Wide Aeriform LatticeMedulla thickness : 86.3 ± 0.50 µmMedullary index : 0.84 ± 0.01D Cross sectionType of cross section : OblongMedulla size in cross section : LargeRESULTS AND DISCUSSIONPhysical characteristics : Coat color is known tovary from juveniles to adults in many mammals.However, it has been reported by Menon (2003), thatcolor of coat varies from different regions of distributionin case of Ratufa indica (Erxleben) an endemic squirrel.The dorsal region is a mixture of maroon and blackwith under parts cream and buff. In the northernWestern Ghats this squirrel is brownish-maroon inappearance, with an all brown and white tail. In southit is black and dark maroon with a black and brown tail,whereas in the central and Southeastern Indian formshas brown color coat on the back with black hair onforelegs and have black tail with a pale tip. Malayan orBlack Giant squirrel, Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman), is deepbrown or black on the back and buff beneath. It haslarge black ears with hairy tufts, a black tail and blackmarks on its chin. The forelegs are black in front andbuff on the back. Grizzled giant squirrel Ratufa macroura(Pennant), this endangered squirrel is comparativelysmallest and has brownish gray coat with pale hair tipsgiving it a grizzled look. Its ventral surface is dirty whiteand tail has white bands. Ears and head are dark brown

42 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiaor black. Thus the color of hair from all body regionsof the species of Ratufa although noted for the recordin the present study but not taken into considerationfor the key for identification of species. However, incase of Indian species of Ratufa, the banding is notthe characteristic feature of the primary guard hair fromall regions examined. But, bandwidth was noted to becharacteristics of the genus Callosciurus of familySciuridae and has been utilized in development of thekey for identification of the species (Bahuguna 2008)as one of the important physical features. Lengthindices for all three species for primary guard hair fromall body regions were: for Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman)30.3 ± 0.0 (for dorsal), 24.5 ± 0.0 (for ventral), 16.80 ±0.0 (for head) and 51.7 ± 0.25 (for tail); for Ratufa indica(Erxleben) they were 39.2 ± 0.1 (for dorsal), 14.6 ± 0.16(for ventral), 17.81 ± 0.06 (for head), 57.19 ± 0.25(fortail). In case of Ratufa macroura (Pennant) lengthindices were 46.04 ± 0.5 (for dorsal), 35.45 ± 0.016 (forventral), 13.76 ± 0.04 (for head) and 39.4 ± 0.07 (for tail).Length indices were noted to be maximum of Ratufamacroura (Pennant) for dorsal hair , of Ratufa bicolor(Sparrman) for ventral , of Ratufa indica (Erxleben) forhead and tail. Length indices were used as an additionalphysical characteristics of hair (Bahuguna 2008) to knowits consistency in identification of the species. In thepresent study the species of Ratufa examined showedthe interspecific variability in length indices as notedin case of Indian species of Callosciurus (Bahuguna2008).Medulla characteristics : In all three speciesexamined for hair characteristics of primary guard hair,medulla type was Wide Aeriform Lattice (figs 1, 6, 11,17, 28, 33, 38, 43, 53, 58) from all body regions exceptsimple medulla type in ventral guard hair of Ratufamacroura (Pennant) and dorsal guard hair of R. indica(Erxleben) (fig 23, 49,). Medulla type was also noted tobe characteristics of the orders of mammals so farexamined with only few variations (Bahuguna et al2007). Medullary indices of the species examined were :for Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman) 0.70 ± 0.6 (dorsal), 0.59 ±0.0 (for ventral), 0.51 ± 0.25 (for head), 0.89 ± 0.01 (fortail); for Ratufa indica (Erxleben), 0.76 ± 0.01 (for dorsal),0.52 ± 0.01 (for ventral), 0.70 ± 0.02 (for head), 0.76 ±0.01 (for tail); for Ratufa macroura (Pennant) 0.86 ±0.01 (for dorsal), 0.66 ± 0.0 (for ventral), 0.77 ± 0.01 (forhead), 0.84 ± 0.01 (for tail). The medullary indices, thusrecorded were the characteristics of the species for hairof all body regions, hence considered an importantcharacteristic of hair for the identification of species ofGenus Ratufa.Cross-section types in all hair examined were oblongwith large sized medulla (figs 3, 8, 14, 21, 25, 30, 36,40, 44, 49, 54, 59) except in case of hair from ventralregion, which was medium sized for all the speciesexamined.Cuticular characteristics : In case of Ratufamacroura (Pennant) (figs 45-47, 50-52, 55-57, 60, 61),the pattern was regular wave with rippled margin andnear in all dorsal, ventral and head. But in tail regionpattern is regular wave with smooth margin and distant.In case of Ratufa indica (Erxleben), the cuticularpattern was regular wave, with rippled margin and nearin case of hair from all body regions (figs 23, 24, 26, 27,29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 39, 41, 42). The cuticular pattern ofRatufa bicolor (Sparrman), was regular wave, withrippled margin and near in case of primary guard hairof dorsal, ventral but in tail regions it is irregular wavewith rippled margin and near at proximal and mid but atdistal it was with smooth margin (figs 2-5, 7, 9, 10, 12-15). However hairs from head showed regular wavepattern with scalloped margin and distance betweenscales were near (figs 18-20, 22). Cuticular characteristicsare known to be species specific in many studies(Chakraborty and De 1995, De et al 1998, Bahugunaand Mukherjee 2000, Pradhan et al 2005, Bahuguna2007). Scale indices of dorsal primary guard hair of R.indica and R. bicolor were noted to be almost samebut in R. macroura it was noted to be 6.24 ± 0.32 in allspecies examined for dorsal primary guard hair. Howeverthey were noted to be different in case of primary guardhair from other body regions. Scale index of the guardhair of ventral region of R. bicolor was noted to be 5.3± 0.01 and of R. indica was 6.5 ± 0.01 and that of R.macroura was 6.3 ± 0.0 . Scale index of primary guardhair of head of R. bicolor was 4.17 ± 0.0 and of Rindica was 7.3 ± 0.0 and of R. macroura was 4.4 ± 0.0.Scale index of tail of R. bicolor was 2.86 ± 0.01 , R.indica 6.5 ± 0.01 and of R. macroura was 4.25 ± 0.01.

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 43Same type of results have been obtained by the SEM,so far cuticular pattern, scale margin etc.are concerned.Dorsal guard hair has been utilized since the historyof trichotaxonomy for identification of species anddevelopment of key for identification because of theconsistency in hair characteristics as reported by Mayer(1952), Appleyard (1960), Brunner and Coman (1974),Chakraborty and De 1995, Pradhan et al. (2005).However it has been realized that hair characteristicsof primary guard hair from other body regions areequally important and should also be recorded. Since itis difficult to collect hair samples from large number ofspecimens, (especially for threatened and endangeredspecies), thus it is recommended to have the record ofhair characteristics from all body regions for furthercomparisons from other samples. This is required fordealing with wildlife forensic cases.Based on characteristics of primary guard hair fromall body regions, key was prepared, which is useful inidentification of species of Genus Ratufa for variousbiological studies including Wildlife forensic.Key for identification of Indian species of Ratufabased on characteristics of primary guard hair :Dorsal1 Medulla type : Wide Aeriform Lattice, crosssection : oblong , large size medulla; Scale Pattern :regular wave, Scale Margin : rippled, Distancebetween scales near; mean scale indices range :6.0 to 6.2 .................................................................Medullary index : 0.70 ± 0.66, length index 30.3 ±0.09Ratufa bicolor; Medullary index > 0.70, lengthindex : > 30.3 ........................................................ 22a. Medullary index 0.86 ± 0.01, length index 46.04 ±0.5 .............................. Ratufa macroura (Pennant)2b. Medullary index 0.76 ± 0.01, length index 39.2 ± 0.1Ratufa indica (Erxleben)Ventral1. Cross section : Oblong, Medium sized medulla;Scale pattern : regular wave, Scale margin : rippled,Distance between scales : near-,Medulla Wide Aeriform lattice ............................. 2Medulla simple ........................................................... 32a Meduallary index 0.59 ± 0.0, Length index 24.5 ±0.0, Scale index 5.3 ± 0.01 .............. Ratufa bicolor(Sparrman)2b Medullary index 0.52 ± 0.01, Length index 14.6 ±0.16, Scale index 6.5 ± 0.01Ratufa indica (Erxleben)3 Medullary index 0.66 ± 0.0, Length index 35.4 ±0.0, Scale index 6.3 ± 0.0 ............ Ratufa macroura(Pennant)Head1. Cross section : Oblong, Large sized medulla;Medulla : Wide Aeriform Lattice ...........................Scale pattern : regular wave, Scale margin : rippled,Distance between scales : near ........................... 2Scale margin scalloped ........................................ 32a. Length index : 13.7 ± 0.0, Medullary index 0.77 ±0.04. Scale index 4.4 ± 0.0 .......... Ratufa macroura(Pennant)2b. Medullary index 0.70 ± 0.0,Length index 17.8 ± 0.0,Scale index 7.3 ± 0.0........................ Ratufa indica(Erxleben)3. Medullary index 0.51 ± 0.2, length index 16.8 ± 0.0,Scale index 4.17 ± 0.0 ..................... Ratufa bicolor(Sparrman)Tail1. Cross section : oblong, large medulla, Medulla :Wide Aeriform Lattice, medullary index < 0.80 ................................................................................... 2Medullary index > 0.80 ........................................ 32a. Scale pattern : regular wave, Scale margin : rippled,Distance between scales near; Medullary index 0.76± 0.0; Length index 57.2 ± 0.2, Scale index 6.5 ± 0.01Ratufa indica (Erxleben)2b. at proximal : Scale pattern : Irregular wave, Scalemargin : rippled, Distance between scales : near; atmid : Scale pattern : Irregular wave, Scalemargin : slightly rippled, Distance betweenscales : near; at distal : Scale pattern Irregularwave, Scale margin : smooth, Distance betweenscales near ; Medullary index 0.89 ± 0.01, Lengthindex 51.7 ± 0.2; Scale index 2.86 ± 0.01................................... Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman)

44 Rec. zool. Surv. India3. Scale pattern : regular wave, Scale margin :smooth, Distance between scales : distant;Medullary index: 0.84 ± 0.01; Length index: 39.0 ±0.0, Scale index 4.25 ± 0.01 ...................................................................... Ratufa macroura (Pennant)SUMMARYThe paper describes the characteristics of primaryguard hair of dorsal, ventral, head and tail regions ofIndian species of Genus Ratufa Gray namely Ratufamacroura (Pennant), Ratufa indica (Erxleben) andRatufa bicolor (Sparrman) which have been listed underIndian Wildlife Protection Act (1972 as amended upto2006). It was noted that medulla of hair was of WideAeriform Lattice type for all the species examinedexcept that of primary guard hair of ventral region ofRatufa macroura (Pennant), in which it was simplemedulla type. Cuticular architecture was same in allspecies i.e. Scale pattern : regular wave, Scale margin:rippled, Distance between scales: near, except in caseof hair of head and tail of Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman)and tail of R. macroura (Pennant). Hair cross-sectiontypes were also same i.e. oblong. Various dimensionsstudied in case of all the three species indicatedinterspecific variations in medullary indices (M/T) andlength indices (L/T). Scale indices (max. length of scale/max.width of scale) were noted to be of range 6.0-6.2.The key was prepared for identification of species byutilizing the characteristics of primary guard hair fromall body regions.Key words : Trichotaxonomy, Ratufa bicolor(Sparrman), Ratufa indica (Erxleben), Ratufa macroura(Pennant), light microscopic study, Scanning electronmicroscopic study.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe author is thankful to Mr. P.T. Bhutia, Officer-in-Charge, Northern Regional Centre, ZSI Dehradun andDirector Dr. Ramakrishna ZSI, Kolkata, forencouragement and for providing facilities to carry outthe work. I am grateful to officer–in-charge, NorthernCircle, Botanical Survey of India, Dehradun forproviding compound light microscope facility and toDirector, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG)for providing Scanning Electron Microscope facility.Thanks are also due to Dr. N.K. Saini (in-charge SEMlaboratory, WIHG) and Mr N.K. Juyal (Technician, SEMlaboratory, WIHG) for technical assistance. The authoris also grateful to Dr. J.K. De and Dr. Rina Chakraborty,scientists of Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata fortheir support.REFERENCESAnon 1995. Characterization of Panthalops hodgsoni fibers. Corpo Forestale Dello Stato-Italia, Servizio CITES,provisional draft.Appleyard, H.M. 1960. Guide to the identification of animal fibers. Wool Industries Research Association : 118.Bahuguna, A and Mukherjee, S.K. 2000. Use of SEM to recognize Tibetan antelope (Chiru) hair and blending inwool products. Science & Justice 40(3) : 177-182.Bahuguna, A. 2007. Trichotaxonomy of Red giant flying squirrel, Pataurista petaurista (Pallas) and Northernpalm squirrel, Funambulus pannantii Wroughton (Mammalia : Rodentia : Sciuridae). Ann. For., 15(2) : 58-69.Bahuguna, A. 2008 Identification of Indian species of Callosciurus Gray, through dorsal guard hair (Mammalia :Rodentia : Sciuridae), Biosystematica 1(2) : 25-32.Bahuguna, A., Shajpal, V., Goyal, S.P., Mukherjee, S.K. and Thakur, V. 2010. Forensic manual, Species Identificationfrom Guard Hair of Selected Indian Mammals. Pub : Wildlife Institute of India, pp : 400.Brunner, H. and Coman, B. 1974. The identification of mammalian hair. Shanghai Printing Press Ltd., Hong Kong.Chakraborty, S. and De, J.K. 1995. Structure and pattern of Cuticular scales of Mid dorsal guard hair of MarbledCat, Felis marmorata charltoni Rec. Zool. Surv. India, 95(1-2) : 65-70.

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 45De, J.K., Chakraborty, S. and Chakraborti, R. 1998. Identification of dorsal guard hairs of five Indian species ofMongoose-Herpestes illiger (Mammalia : Carnivora) Mammalia, t. 62(2) : 285-295.Krapp, F. 1998 Squirrels, In : Grizimek’s Encyclopedia, Mammals McGraw Hill publishing company. 3 : 83-88.Kumar, A. & Khanna, V. 2006. Globally Threatened Indian Fauna-Status. Issues and Prospects : 1-104 (Publishedby the Director, Zool. Surv. India, Kolkata).Mathiak, H.A. 1938. A key to the hairs of mammals of Southern Michigan, J. Wildl. Mgm. 2 : 251.Mayer, W.V.C. 1952. The hair of Californian mammals with keys to the dorsal guard hairs of California mammals.Amer. Midl. Nat. 48 : 480.Menon, V. 2003. Squirrels In : The Field Guide To Indian Mammals, (Eds Daniel, J.C., Johnsingh, A.J.T., Kumar, A,Ommer, N.P. and Choudhury, A.) Pub : Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. 126-133.Nath, S. and Joseph, J. 1981. Preparation of a key for identification of Animal by the structure of their hair. FRI,16p. 3 rd Diploma course.Pennant 1769. Sciurus macrourus, Indian Zool., 1, pl. 1.Pradhan, M.S., Mondal, A.K. and Bhagwat, A.M. 2005. On taxonomic status of Bandicota bengalensis lordi(Wroughton) and Bandicota maxima (Pradhan,et al.) (Subfamily : Murinae; Family : Muridae; Order :Rodentia). Rec. Zool. Surv. India : 104(1&2) : 85-900.Sparrman 1778. Sciurus bicolour, Samhelle Hand (Wet. Afd.). 1 : 70.Wildman, A.B. 1954. The microscopy of animal textile fibers. Wool Industries Research Association, Leeds.Williams C.S. 1938. Aids to the identification of mole and shrew hairs with general comments on hair structure adhair determination. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 2 : 239.

46 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE 1Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman, 1778) (Large Malaya squirrel)Dorsal1 234 5Figs. 1-3.Figs. 4-5.Photomicrographs using compound light microscope1 : Medulla type : Wide Aeriform Lattice, x2002 : Cuticular pattern at distal portion of the hair x2003 : Cross section : Oblong type with large medulla, x200Scanning electron micrographs4, 5 : Cuticular scale pattern at mid of hair : SP regular wave, DS : near, SM rippled

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 47PLATE 2Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman, 1778) (Large Malaya squirrell)Ventral6 789 10Figs. 6-8.Figs. 9,10.Photomicrographs using compound light microscope6 : Medulla type Wide Aeriform Lattice with indentations in cortex x2007 : Cuticular pattern : SP : regular wave, DS near, SM : rippled x2008 : Cross section type : oblong with medium sized medulla x200Scanning electron micrographs9 : Cuticular pattern at mid and proximal portion SP: regular wave, DS near, SM : rippled10 : Cuticular pattern towards distal portion

48 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE 3Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman, 1778) (Large Malaya squirrell)Head111213 1415 16Figs. 11-14.Figs. 15-16.Photomicrographs using compound light microscope11 : Medulla type : Wide Aeriform Lattice with indentations in cortex , x20012 : Cuticular pattern at proximal portion of hair, x20013 : Cuticular pattern at mid of hair x20014 : Cross section : oblong, large sized medulla x200Scanningelectronmicrographs15 : at mid and proximal end of hair16 : at distal portion

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 49PLATE 4Ratufa bicolor (Sparrman, 1778) (Large Malaya squirrell)Tail17 1819 2021 22Figs. 17-21. Photomicrographs using compound light microscope17 : Medulla type : Wide Aeriform Lattice without indentations , x20018 : Cuticular pattern at mid SP regular wave, DS near, SM rippled x20019 : at proximal SP Irregular wave, DS near, SM slightly rippled x20020 : at distal SP Irregular wave, DS near, SM smooth x20021 : Cross section : oblong type, large medulla x200Fig. 22. Scanning electron micrograph Cuticular pattern at mid SP Irregular wave, DS near, SM smooth

50 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE 5Ratufa indica (Erxleben, 1777) (Indian giant squirrel, Malabar squirrel)Dorsal23 242526 27Figs. 23-25. Photomicrographs using compound light microscope23 : Medulla type : Simple medulla (highly pigmented) x20024 : Cuticular pattern at mid, SP regular wave, SM rippled and DS close x20025 : Cross section type : oblong, medulla size: large x200Figs. 26-27. Scanning electron micrograph26 : Cuticular pattern at mid of hair27 : towards proximal portion

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 51PLATE 6Ratufa indica (Erxleben, 1777)Ventral28 2930 3132Figs. 28-30. Photomicrographs using compound light microscope28 : Medulla type : Wide Aeriform Lattice x20029 : Cuticular pattern at proximal end, SP regular wave, SM rippled and DS near x20030 : Cross section : oblong, medium sized medulla x200Figs. 31-32. Scanning electron micrographs31 : at mid SP regular wave, SM rippled and DS near32 : at proximal SP regular wave, SM rippled and DS near

52 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE 7Ratufa indica (Erxleben, 1777)Head33 3435 3637Figs. 33-36. Photomicrographs using compound light microscope33 : Medulla type : Wide Aeriform Lattice x20034 : Cuticular pattern at distal portion (transitional type) x20035 : Cuticular pattern at mid of hair x20036 : cross section oblong, large sized medulla x 200Fig. 37. Scanning electron micrograph37 : Cuticular pattern at mid of hair: SP regular wave, SM rippled and DS near

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 53PLATE 8Ratufa indica (Erxleben, 1777)Tail38 394041 42Figs. 38-40.Figs. 41-42.Photomicrographs using compound light microscope38 : Medulla type Wide Aeriform Lattice x20039 : Cuticular pattern at mid of hair x200.40 : Cross section : oblong x200Scanning electron micrographs, 41 at mid, 42 towards proximal

54 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE 9Ratufa macroura (Pennant 1769)Dorsal434445 4647Figs. 43-47.Fig. 47.Photomicrographs using compound light microscope43 : medulla type : Wide Aeriform Lattice, with indentations in cortex x20044 : cross section: oblong, large medulla x20045-46 : cuticular patterns at proximal, 46 at mid SP regular wave, SM rippled DS near x200Scanning electron micrograph at mid

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 55PLATE 10Ratufa macroura (Pennant 1769)Ventral48 4950 5152Figs. 48-52. Photomicrographs using compound light microscope48 : Medulla type : Simple medulla x20049 : Cross section : oblong x 10050-52 : Cuticlar pattern at mid (50), at proximal (51), at distal (52) : SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near x200.

56 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE 11Ratufa macroura (Pennant 1769)Head53 5455 5657Figs. 53-57. Photomicrographs using compound light microscope53 Medulla type: Wide Aeriform Lattice, with indentations (x200)54 cross section: oblong (x200)55-57 cuticular architecture : distal (55) SP Irregular wave, SM smooth, DS near, proximal (56) SP transitionaltype, SM smooth (slightly rippled) DS near and mid (57) SP Irregular wave, SM rippled, DS near x200.

BAHUGUNA : Trichotaxonomy of Indian species of Genus Ratufa Gray 57PLATE 12Ratufa macroura (Pennant 1769)Tail58 5960 61Figs. 58-61. Photomicrographs using compound light microscope58 : Medulla type : Wide Aeriform Lattice with indentations (x200)59 : Cross section : oblong, large sized medulla (x200)60-61 : cuticular pattern at mid (Fig 60) SP regular wave, SM rippled, DS near (x200), at distal (Fig 61) SP regularwave, SM rippled, DS near (x200)

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 59-60, 2010OCCURRENCE OF A REEF FISH, PARAMONACANTHUS JAPONICUS(TILESIUS, 1809) IN VELLAR ESTUARY, SOUTH EAST COAST OF INDIAMANISH KUMAR*, T.T. AJITH KUMAR AND S. RAVICHANDRANCentre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai UniversityParangipettai-608 502, Tamilnadu*Email : manifisheries@yahoo.co.inINTRODUCTIONParamonacanthus japonicus is a coral reef fishbelonging to the family Monacanthidae of the classActinopterygii and the order Tetraodontiformes. Thisspecies was first reported by Tilesius (1809) from theJapan coast. Even though it occurs in marine waters,its origin is originally from reef region (http://www.zipcodezoo.com). Some members of this family areused for aquarium trade also. There are approximately22 species were reported in this genus (http://www.zipcodezoo.com). Among the various group of thisfamily, P. japonicus is found to be common in reefregions, lagoons and soft bottom areas of the sea. Inthe present study, this species was recorded for thefirst time as shoal in the Vellar estuary and there is noearlier report available for their distribution in Indianestuaries.In a routine survey of fishes made at the Vellarestuary revealed that a large number of P. japonicus(Fig. 1) was recorded. The fishes were found in theupper reaches of the Vellar estuary on 15 th March, 2009and no specimen was found in the subsequent days.The fishes were collected by encircling the net andimmediately after collection they were transported tothe hatchery and accommodated into a glass tank filledwith fresh and filtered estuarine water with artificialaeration. 20 nos. of fishes were collected, in which thelargest fish measuring was 63 mm length, 45 mm bodydepth and 6.85 gm weight. The water sample was alsocollected from the fishing site and the physicochemicalparameters were recorded. The salinity was 25 ppt, D.O.6 mg/l, temperature 28ºC and pH 7.8.SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNTOrder TETRAODONTIFORMESFamily MONACANTHIDAEParamonacanthus japonicas (Tilesius, 1809)DESCRIPTIONThe body was laterally compressed. Head and thebody covered with lathery skin, very dark or brown incolour and they had three dark distinct bands on thebody in upward direction. The caudal fin was wedgeshaped and anal fin had rudimentary spines with 2-3dark brown vertical bands. The first dorsal fin has oneTable-1 : Morphometric characters.CharactersMeasurements(cm)Total length 6.3Standard length 4.91 st dorsal fin length 2.12 nd dorsal fin length 0.7Pectoral fin length 0.7Anal fin length 0.6Caudal fin length 1.4Pectoral fin length 0.32 nd dorsal fin base length 1.7Anal fin base length 1.6Distance from snout to 1 st dorsal 1.9Distance from snout to gill slit 1.9Eye diameter 0.4

60 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaFig. 1 : Paramonacanthus japonicus.strong spine with invert serration of 8-10 small spines.The dorsal and anal fins were commencing from oppositepoint to each other and ended near to the caudal fin.Second dorsal and anal fins were modified as rays andended near to the rounded caudal fin. The snout waspiggy shaped and the eyes were distinct which is situatedjust below the first dorsal spine. Gill slits have very smallopening (Table-1). Upper jaw usally with three teeth inouter and two in the inner series on each premaxillary.The colour of the fish was observed to change duringrearing in captive condition (Fig. 2). The fishes becomefully dark black or faint, if any object come together. Thisis the peculiar adaptation of these fishes and because ofthis, the aquarist prefer these fishes.DISTRIBUTIONThe fishes are distributed widely in Bay of Bengal,East and west China, Great Barrier Reef, Gulf of Thailand,Hong Kong, Indian Ocean, Indonesian Sea, Indo-WestPacific, Southern Japan and North West Australia toPapua New Guinea, Malaysia, Taiwan and other partsof the world (http://www.zipcodezoo.com).Fig. 2 : Colour changing behaviour of Paramonacanthusjaponicus in the rearing tank.REMARKSMonacanthidae fishes are very common in coastaland reef waters of Indian and Western Pacific Ocean.Paramonacanthus japonicus was reported first timefrom the Gulf of Mannar region of Indian waters bySenthil Kumar (2001). This species inhabits the vicinityof reef environments, hide themselves among variousplants or attached with animals. It feeds on wide varietyof benthic invertebrates, corals or zooplankton (http://www.fishbase.com. A study conducted by Masuda etal. (1984) reported that the juveniles are some timemoving towards the seaweed and seagrass beds inshallow water region. The moderate salinity of theestuarine water and the abundance of coastalvegetation, particularly mangroves may be the possiblereason of this fish into the estuary.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe authors are thankful to the Dean of this centreand the authorities of Annamalai University forproviding facilities and the Ministry of Environmentand Forests, New Delhi for financial support.REFERENCESFishbase, 2008. A global information system on fishes. Available at http://www.fishbase.com/summary/speciessummary. ID = 7977Paramonacanthus japonicus.Masuda, H., Amaoka, K., Araga, C., Uyeno, T., Yoshino, T., 1984. The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1(text). Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (Text), 370 pls.Senthilkumar, R., 2001. Systematics, biochemical and toxinology of Tetradontid fishes (Pisces : Tetradontiformis)of Southeast coast of India. PhD thesis CAS in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, India. pp 139.Zipcodezoo.2008. http://www.zipcodezoo.com/animals/Paramonacanthus japonicus.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 61-76, 2010TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS OF CORAL ASSOCIATED BRACHYURANCRABS IN GULF OF MANNAR MARINE BIOSPHERE RESERVEA. GOKUL 1 AND K. VENKATARAMAN 21Sunderban Regional CentreZoological Survey of India, Canning-743 329arunachalamgokul@gmail.com2Marine Biological StationZoological Survey of India, Chennai-600 028INTRODUCTIONIndian coral reefs are distributed along the entireeast and west coasts. The coral reefs acts as a homefor several faunal communities. Gulf of Mannar MarineBiosphere Reserve (GoMMBR) islands situated atsouth east coast of India are known for its rich coraldiversity (Venkataraman et al., 2003b, 2004).Crustaceans play a vital role in the symbioticassociation with the coral colonies. Studies have beendone on the crustacean cryptofaunal diversity andspecies richness in GoMMBR (Venkataraman et al.2002, 2003a; Nammalwar and Edwin, 2002; Kathirvel andGokul, 2006). However among the faunal diversity incoral reef areas, the crustaceans perform a bettersymbiotic association in coral reef ecosystem.According to Garth (1973) both obligatory andfacultative symbiotic crustaceans were associated withthe coral colonies. In spite of this it was reported thatcrustaceans were found to be associated more in thedense branched coral colonies covered with algae thanin the colonies having surplus mucus (Coles, 1980).Symbiotic brachyuran crabs were abundant inPocillopora coral colonies covered with algae.Jeyabaskaran (1997) reported the abundance of thebrachyuran crabs were more in the branching coralscomparatively.Various studies have been conducted on thetaxonomy of the crabs in India (Alcock, 1895, 1896,1898, 1899a, 1899b, 1900; Sankarankutty, 1967;Jeyabaskaran et al. 2000) as well as across the world(Guinot, 1971, 1976; Galil, 1988; Castro, 1999a, b, c).The present study emphasized 26 species ofbrachyuran crabs belonging to 10 genera and 8 families.Out of these 4 species are new to GoMMBR and 2species are new to India. The present study declaresthe brachyuran crabs along with the other faunalgroups were found to be associated more in thebranching corals particularly the Pocillopora coloniescovered with algae. Based on the previous studies andfor conservation aspects the crab collection wasrestricted to Pocillopora coral colonies covered withalgae in the islands of GoMMBR. Considering itstaxonomical and ecological importance the coral crabssymbiotically associated with Pocillopora coloniescovered with algae were studied in detail.SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNTPhylum ARTHROPODASuper class CRUSTACEASub class MALACOSTRACAOrder DECAPODAFamily PORTUNIDAE1. Portunus brockii (De Man)Plate-I, Fig.-a1887. Neptunus brockii De Man, Archiv f. Naturgesch, p.328.1976. Portunus (Monomia) brockii Sakai, Crabs of Japanand adjacent seas, p. 343.

62 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaMaterials : 2 Males. The maximum carapace length(CL) 2.5 cm and the minimum carapace length (CL) 1.0cm. Reg. No. ZSI/MBS/5219.Diagnosis : Front with 4 flat and indistinct lobes,laterals broader; 9 anterolatral teeth, increasingsharpness from first to the last, last one largest;carapace broader than long with conspicuous elevatedpatches of granulations on its surface; chelipedsmoderately stout, granulated and tomentose; anteriorborder of arm with 2 spines; wrist with an inner sharpspine and an outer one as a lobule; hand with 3 upperinconspicuous carina and a distinct and granulatedcarina on outer surface; fingers short and stout; thirdmaxilliped with an antero lateral projection of merus;penultimate segment of male abdomen with slightlyconvex border; first male pleopod curved, stout andbluntly ending.Habitat : Sand, mud and mangrove flat; from shoreto 22 m deep.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : No earlier records inGoMMBR, from India: Andamans Alcock (1899) andfrom the Indo-Pacific region: Indonesia, Singapore,Australia and Japan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the deadPocillopora coral covered with algae from PoomarichanIsland. It was recorded for the first time from the islandsof GoMMBR.2. Thalamita integra DanaPlate-I, Fig.-b1852. Thalamita integra Dana, U. S. Exploration. Expedition,p. 85., pl.1.1976. Thalamita integra Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 377.Materials : 3 Males and 4 females; the maximum CLis 2.5 cm and the minimum CL is 1.0 cm.Diagnosis : Front cut into 2 broad lobes exclusiveof broad supraorbital tooth; edges of the frontal lobesand of the broad supra orbital tooth almost transverseand straight; no transverse ridge on cardiac and postbranchialregion of carapace; chelipeds smooth;propodus with 4 teeth; upper inner border of propodusof walking legs more or less crested; the sixth segmentof male abdomen much broader than long.Habitat : Inter-tidal sandy areas, coral reefs andunder dead coral blocks, up to 8 m deep.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR: Tuticorin (Henderson,1893), Vedalai (Sankarankutty, 1967) and islands inGoMMBR (Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from the Indianwaters: Minicoy, Lakshadweep (Sankarankutty, 1961b)and Andamans (Alcock 1899; Sankarankutty 1961a) andfrom the Indo-Pacific region: Gulf of Mannar off SriLanka (Laurie, 1906) and Red Sea, east coast of Africa,Madagascar, Australia, Tahiti, Japan and Hawaii (Sakai,1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the deadPocillopora coral covered with algae from Krusadaiand Poomarichan Islands.Family XANTHIDAE3. Halimede ochtodes (Herbst)Plate-I, Fig.-c1783. Cancer ochtodes Herbst, Veruch einer Naturgeschichtider krabben und krebse, p. 158.1976. Halimede ochtodes Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 387.Materials : 3 Males and 2 females; the maximum CLis 3.5 cm and the minimum CL is 2.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace oval-pentagonal with smoothsurface; anterolateral border divided into 4 roundeddeep-cut lobes, decreasing in size from behindforwards; front projecting horizontally forward beyondthe orbits with 2 uniform lobes; the chelipeds unequal,prominently in males; upper border of the arm cut intoteeth or pearl-like tubercles; two tubercles on the innerborder of wrist; upper and outer surfaces of the wristcovered with pustulous tubercles; upper border of thehand, and of the basal half of the finger with a row ofpisiform tubercles; fingers sharp pointed; the legssmooth, but the upper border of the merus of all, or ofthe first three pairs serrate or spinoulous; the dactylusand the neighboring part of the lower border of thepropodite furred.Habitat : Muddy or sandy bottom, 20 to 35 m deep.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR: Islands of GoMMBR(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from Indian waters: Chennaicoast (Alcock, 1898) and Parangipettai coast(Sethuramalingam and Ajmalkhan, 1991) and from the

GOKUL AND VENKATARAMAN : Taxonomy and Systematics of Coral.........Biosphere Reserve 63Indo-Pacific region: Red Sea, Myanmar, Gulf ofThailand, Malyasia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan(Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the deadPocillopora coral covered with algae from KrusadaiIsland.4. Demania baccalipes (Alcock)Plate-I, Fig.-d1898. Xantho (Lophoxanthus) scaberrimus var. baccalipesAlcock, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, p.117.1976. Demania baccalipes Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p.421.Materials : 10 Males and 6 females; the maximumCL is 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace longer than broad andmoderately convex; regions and sub-regions of carapacedefined by broad, deep and smooth channels andcovered with well-defined tubercles; characteristictubercles with a worn-out appearance especially in themiddle of carapace and in the chelipeds; front 2-lobedand fronto-orbital border less than half of width ofcarapace; anterolateral border 4 lobed; chelipeds equaland covered with large depressed tubercles; 2 tuberclesat the inner angle of wrist; anterior border of walkinglegs marked with wart-like tubercles.Habitat : Found at the bottom of rocks or brokenshells, 15 to 35 m deep.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Jeyabaskaran et al., (2000),from the Indian waters : Okha, Mumbai (Chhapgar, 1957)and Parangipettai coasts (Sethuramalingam andAjmalkhan, 1991) and from the Indo-Pacific region: SriLanka (Alcock, 1898), Malacca Strait and Japan (Sakai,1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the deadPocillopora coral covered with algae from Shingle andKrusadai Islands.5. Leptodius euglyptus AlcockPlate-I, Fig.-e1898. Xantho (Leptodius) euglyptus Alcock, J. Asiat. Soc.Bengal, 67, p.121.1927. Xantho (Leptodius) euglyptus Gravely, Bull. MadrasGovt. Mus (M.S), 1, p. 146, pls. 19-26.Materials : 60 Males and 83 females; the maximumCL is 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace broader than long and convexin its two-thirds; front projecting beyond orbit;anterolateral border cut into 5 conical teeth; chelipedsunequal; upper surface of hand nodular; fingers shortand hollowed at tip; carpus and propodus of walkinglegs longitudinally ridged and grooved above; dactylusfurred; side wall of carapace, edge of upper surface ofarm of chelipeds and edge of legs hairy.Habitat : Coral reefs, mostly seen in branching coralsand sandy beaches.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Krusadai Island (Gravely(1927) and islands in Gulf of Mannar (Jeyabaskaran etal., 2000), from the Indian waters : Okha (Chhapgar,1957) and from the Indo–Pacific region : Sri Lanka andMergui Archipelago (Alcock, 1898).Remarks : It was recorded from the deadPocillopora coral covered with algae from Shingle,Krusadai, Poomarichan, Pullivasal, Mulli, Vaalai andThalayari, Appa and Anaipar Islands.6. Leptodius exaratus (H. Milne Edwards)Plate-I, Fig.-f1834. Chlorodius exaratus H. Milne Edwards, LibrairaeEncyclopedique de Roret, p. 402.1976. Leptodius exaratus Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 423.Materials : 63 Males and 74 females; the maximumCL is 3.5 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace transversely oval, 1.5-1.6 timesbroader than long, moderately convex in anterior,almost flat in posterior part; surface smooth andglabrous with well defined regions, areolated in anterior,less in posterior third; front projecting beyond innerorbital angle, bilobed with square cut lobes havinganterior margin somewhat concave; anterolateralmargins with four teeth behind outer orbital angle;chelipeds unequal in both sexes; unarmed except forsmall acute tubercle at upper inner angle of wrist; handof larger cheliped swollen, completely smooth, tips offingers broadened and hollowed-out; walking legsstout, unarmed and smooth.Habitat : Intertidal and shallow subtidal of rockycoast and also in mangroves or soft sediment shores;not below 2-3 m deep.

64 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaDistribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Tuticorin (Henderson,1893), Krusadai Island (Gravely, 1927), Shingle,Pullivasal and Krusadai Islands (Sankarankutty, 1967),islands in Gulf of Mannar (Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000)from the Indian waters: Okha, Mumbai (Alcock 1898;Chhapgar 1957), Rameswaram (Henderson, 1893),Lakshadweep (Sankarankutty, 1962a) and Andamans(Alcock, 1898) and from the Indo-Pacific region: RedSea, Persian Gulf, south and east coasts of Africa,Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia,Malaysia, Polynesia, Australia, China, Japan and Hawaii(Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the deadPocillopora coral covered with algae from Shingle,Krusadai, Poomarichan, Manauli Putti, Hare, Mulli,Vaalai and Thalayari and Nallathanni Islands.7. Leptodius sanguineus (H. Milne Edwards)Plate-I, Fig.-g1834 Chlorodius sanguineus H. Milne Edwards, Lib.Encyclo. de Roret, 1 , p. 207.1976. Leptodius sanguineus Sakai, Crabs of Japan andadjacent seas, p. 422.Materials : 4 Males and 4 females; the maximum CLis 1.5 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm. Reg. No. ZSI/MBS/5220.Diagnosis : Carapace more convex anteriorly andthe branchial lobules more convex; 5 teeth onanterolateral margin, not including the external orbitalangle; front distinctly narrow; chelipeds unequal inboth sexes; upper surface of wrist more or less wrinkled;a strong tubercle on he inner angle of wrist; handssmooth; tips of fingers broadened and hollowed-out;walking legs stout, unarmed and smooth.Habitat : Rocky or stony beaches, under stones orin crevices of rock.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : No earlier records werecarried out from GoMMBR, from Indian waters:Lakshadweep (Alcock 1898; Sankarankutty 1961b) andAndaman and Nicobar Islands (Heller, 1868; Alcock,1898; Sankarankutty, 1962a) and from Indo-Pacificregion: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, east coast of Africa,Maldives, Japan and Hawaii (Borradaile 1902; Sakai1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Krusadai, Poomarichanand Nallathani Islands. It was reported for the first timefrom GoMMBR.8. Leptodius crassimanus (A. Milne Edwards)Plate-I, Fig.-h1867. Xantho crassimanus A. Milne Edwards, Ann. Soc.Entomol. France,7(4), p. 267.1967. Leptodius crassimanus Sankarankutty, Proc. Symp.Crustacea., 1, p. 351.Materials : 1 female. The maximum CL is 4.0 cm andthe minimum CL is 3.5 cm.Diagnosis : Front narrow with edges of its lobesdeeply concave with the appearance of quadridentate;carapace anteriorly convex and broader than long;anterolateral border cut into 5 teeth; fingers of chelipedblack in colour with white tips and not so broad at tipand also not sharply hollowed; first male pleopodcurved and its tip flat and arrow-headed covered withlong spines.Habitat : Found among rocks.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Shingle Island(Sankarankutty, 1967), from the Indian waters : Mumbai(Chhappgar, 1957), Parangipettai (Sethuramalingam andAjmalkhan, 1991) and Andamans (Alcock, 1898) andfrom the Indo-Pacific region: Karachi, Sri Lanka andAustralia (Alcock, 1898).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Krusadai, Poomarichanand Nallathani Islands.9. Etisus leavimanus (Randall)Plate-II, Fig.-i1839. Etisus laevimanus Randall, J. Acad. nat. sci. Phil.,8(1), p. 115.1976. Etisus laevimanus Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 455.Materials : 15 Males and 18 females; the maximumCL is 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 1.5 cm.Diagnosis : Four teeth (excluding the external angleof orbit) on the anterolateral border; free edge of frontbow-shaped; legs not spiny; chelipeds in the adult maletwo and half of carpace length; the wrist with a bluntspine at the inner angle; walking legs with both edges

GOKUL AND VENKATARAMAN : Taxonomy and Systematics of Coral.........Biosphere Reserve 65PLATE-IabPortunus brockii1 cm Thalamita integra 1 cmcdHalimede ochtodesDemania baccalipes1 cm 1 cmefLeptodius euglyptus1 cm Leptodius exaratus 1 cmghLeptodius sanguineus1 cm Leptodius crassimanus 1 cm

66 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiaof all long joints hairy, more in the lower edge of thedactylus and the upper edge of the other joints; upperedge of propodus and dactylus strongly granular.Habitat : Found in live and dead corals.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR: Tuticorin (Henderson,1893), Krusadai Island (Gravely, 1927), Kilakkarai(Sankarankutty, 1967) and islands of Gulf of Mannar(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from the Indian waters: Okhaand Mumbai (Chhappgar, 1957), Lakshadweep,Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Alcock, 1898) and fromthe Indo-Pacific region: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, east coastof Africa, Mauritius, Karachi, Sri Lanka, Celebes,Singapore, Reunion Islands, Japan and Hawaii (Alcock1898; Sankarankutty 1962a; Sakai 1976).Remarks : It was recoded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Manauli Putti, Mulli andAnaipar Islands.10. Pilodius areolatus (H. Milne Edwards)Plate-II, Fig.-j1834. Chlorodius areolatus H. Milne Edwards, LibrairaeEncyclopedique de Roret, 1, p. 400.1976. Pilodius areolatus Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 460.Materials : 6 Males and 10 females; the maximumCL is 1.0 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace flat and completely lobulatedand covered with a coast of very short pubescence;lobules of carapace deeply demarcated and convex;covered with pearly granules of equal size; front deeplyand broadly cut into two granular lobe; chelipedsunequal; outer surface of arm, wrist and hand coveredwith pearly granules; fingers strongly arches; exposedsurface of legs covered with a dense spongy fur, fromwhich, the tops of numerous conical shaped granulespeep out.Habitat : Corals reefs in shallow waters.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Islands of Gulf of Mannar(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from theIndian waters:Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Alcock, 1898) and fromthe Indo-Pacific region : Red Sea, east coast of Africa,Mauritius, Sri Lanka, south seas, Japan and Hawaii(Alcock 1898; Sakai 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Poomarichan and HareIslands.11. Chlorodiella nigra (Forskål)Plate-II, Fig.-k1775. Cancer niger Forskål, Hauniae, I-XXXIV, p. 89.1976. Chlorodiella nigra Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 465.Materials : 388 Males and 540 females; the maximumCL is 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 0.3 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace transversely hexagonal, 1.5-1.6 times as broad as long, slightly convex; surfacesmooth and glabrous with ill-defined regions; frontbroad, about 0.4 times the carapace breadth, almoststraight with a shallow median notch; anterolateralborder with four teeth behind the outer orbital angle,rounded in adult and sharp in juvenile specimens; firsttooth often smaller or even indistinct and confluentwith outer orbital angle; chelipeds asymmetrical, twicethe length of carapace, smooth and unarmed except fora small spine or tubercle on the anterior border of themerus and on the inner margin of the carpus; tips offingers spoon-shaped. Ambulatory legs stout, smoothwith numerous long plumose setae.Habitat recorded by earlier workers : Found inlive and dead corals.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR: Krusadai Island (Gravely,1927), Manauli Island (Sankarankutty, 1967) and islandsof Gulf of Mannar (Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from theIndian waters: Lakshadweep (Borradaile, 1902; 1903),Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Heller 1868; Alcock1898) and from the Indo-Pacific region: Red Sea, southand east coasts of Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles,Karachi, Mergui Archipelago, Australia, FrenchPolynesia, Japan and Hawaii (Sankarankutty 1962a;Sakai 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the deadPocillopora corals covered with algae from Shingle,Krusadai, Poomarichan, Pullivasal, Manauli Putti, Hare,Mulli, Vaalai and Thalayari, Appa, Anaipar, Nallathanniand Upputhanni Islands.

GOKUL AND VENKATARAMAN : Taxonomy and Systematics of Coral.........Biosphere Reserve 6712. Cymo andreossyi (Audouin)Plate-II, Fig.-l1826. Pilumnus andreossyi Audouin, Des. de l’Egypte, Hist.Nat, Paris. 1(4), p. 86.1976 Cymo andreossyi Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p.467.Materials : 11 Males and 6 females; the maximumCL is 1.5 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace almost circular, slightly broaderthan long, surface flat, covered with a short pubescence;front somewhat deflexed, bilobed with wide V-shapedincision; anterolateral margin evenly convex, composedof three lobes covered with granules; chelipedsmarkedly unequal, covered with tomentum and granules;fingers of larger cheliped stout, truncated, blunt-pointedand deeply hollowed at tip, those of smaller cheliped,though also hollowed, thin, slender and pointed;ambulatory legs stout, thickly covered with longpubescence, dorsal margins of merus finely granular,those of following segments with more acuminategranules.Habitat : Coral reefs in shallow waters.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR: Tuticorin (Henderson,1893), Krusadai Island (Gravely, 1927), Manauli Island(Sankarankutty, 1967) and islands of Gulf of Mannar(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from the Indian waters:Lakshadweep (Borradaile, 1902; 1903) and Andaman andNicobar Islands (Alcock, 1898) and from the Indo-Pacificregion: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, east coast of Africa,Madagascar, Seychelles, Karachi, Mergui Archipelago,Australia, French Polynesia, Japan and Hawaii(Sankarankutty, 1962a).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Vaalai and Thalayari,Anaipar and Nallathanni Islands.13. Actaea cavipes (Dana)Plate-II, Fig.-m1852. Actaeodes cavipes Dana, U. S. exploration Expedition,13 , pl. 1, p. 78.1976. Actaea cavipes Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 447.Materials : 32 Males and 73 females; the maximumCL is 2.5 cm and the minimum CL is 0.4 cm. Reg. No.ZSI/MBS/5221.Diagnosis : Carapace broader than long, completelylobulated; the lobules covered with military granulesand separated by broad grooves; front obliquelydepressed with cupid’s bow-shaped edge; anterolateralborder with 4 or 5 lobes; lobes granular and unevenbut not pitted; outer surface of wrist with numerouspits and craters; carpus and propodus of legs with adouble longitudinal crest; fingers long, pointed andslightly hollow at tip.Habitat : Coral reefs in shallow waters.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR: No previous reports werecarried out from GoMMBR, from the Indian waters:Lakshadweep (Borradaile 1903; Sankarankutty 1961b)and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Alcock 1898;Sankarankutty 1961a) and from the Indo-Pacific region:Red Sea, east coast of Africa, Mauritius, Samoa, Fiji,Tahiti, New Caledonia, New Guinea and Japan (Alcock1898; Sankarankutty 1961b; Sakai 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Shingle, Krusadai,Poomarichan, Pullivasal, Manauli Putti, Hare and AppaIslands. It was reported for the first time from GoMMBR.14. Actaea calculosa (A. Milne Edwards)Plate-II, Fig.-n1834. Cancer calculosa H. Milne Edwards, LibrairaeEncyclopedique deRoret, 1, p. 371.1976. Actaea tuberculosus Guinot, Mem. Mus. Nat. D’ hist,p. 221.Materials : 1 Male and 3 females; the maximum CLis 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 1.0 cm. Reg. No. ZSI/MBS/5222.Diagnosis : Carapace shorter and broader its lengthis being only about two thirds of its breadth; the regionsand lobules much more distinctly delimited; frontsharply bilobed; tubercles on the carapace andchelipeds much smoother and hardly facetted; 4-lobulation of the anterolateral borders more distinct;fingers in chelipeds short, blunt pointed, hardly hollowat tip; the tubercles on the legs never spiny (Plate-IIN).Habitat : Coral reefs in shallow waters.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : No earlier records were

68 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiacarried out from both the GoMMBR and the Indianwaters, from the Indo-Pacific region: Persian Gulf,Karachi and Mergui Archipelago (Alcock, 1898), SriLankan side of Gulf of Mannar (Laurie, 1906), Gulf ofThailand, China Sea, Tahiti, Australia, Kei Islands andJapan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Krusadai and ManauliPutti Islands. Since there is no earlier record of thisspecies, this record is the first from the Indian waters.Family PILUMNIDAE15. Pilumnus vespertilio (Fabricius)Plate-II, Fig.-o1793. Cancer vespertilio Fabricius, Emendata et aucta, 2 ,p. 463, pls.1-8.1976. Pilumnus vespertilio Sakai, Crabs of Japan andadjacent seas, p. 484.Materials : 10 Males and 13 females; the maximumCL is 1.5 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace, legs and chelipeds (with theexception of the fingers and the lower corner and lowerborder of the hand, which are bare) entirely concealedby a thick, dark, shaggy coat of coarse, tufted andsomewhat matted hairs; two kinds of two hairs, longerand shorter; the longer being most numerous on thelegs and on the borders of the carapace; when denuded,carapace transversely oval, nearly3/4 as long as broad,the regions fairly distinctly delimited and areolated andthe surface studded with small well-separated clustersof granules, from which the hairs spring; front obliquelydeflexed; the orbital margins, like the edge of the frontsmooth or obscurely crenulate; the antero-lateral bordera little shorter than the posterolateral cut into threespiniform teeth; the chelipeds unequal; inner angle ofthe wrist sharp, but never spiniform; the upper andouter surfaces of the wrists, of the smaller hand, and ofall but the lower border and lower outer corner of thelarger hand (which is quite bare and usually quitesmooth) covered with clusters of granules; the carpusand propodus of all the legs, and the merus also of thelast pair of legs with granular on the anterior and dorsalaspects.Habitat : Coral reefs and rocky beach in shallowwaters.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR: Tuticorin (Henderson,1893), Krusadai Island (Gravely, 1927), Manauli Island(Sankarankutty, 1967) and islands of Gulf of Mannar(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from the Indian waters :Okha and Mumbai (Chhapgar, 1957), Lakshadweep(Borrdaile 1903; Sankarankutty 1961b), Palk Bay andAndamans (Alcock, 1898), and from the Indo-Pacificregion: Red Sea, east coast of Africa, Mauritius, SriLanka, Japan and Hawaii (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacoral covered with algae from Shingle, Hare and Vaalaiand Thalayari Islands.16. Pilumnus tomentosus LatereillePlate-II, Fig.-p1825. Pilumnus tomentosus Latreille, exposées succinctementet dans un ordre analytique, avec I’ indication de leursgenres, Bailliere, 2, p. 125.1976. Pilumnus tomentosus Sakai, Crabs of Japan andadjacent seas, p. 485.Materials : 4 Males and 6 females; the maximum CLis 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace and appendages with longhairs; regions of carapace moderately defined; carapacemoderately convex; anteroleteral borders armed withsharp teeth; posterolateral border not concave; frontbilobed; preorbital tooth distinct; external orbital toothwith no accessory tooth; entire animal covered withyellowish hair but outline of carapace and appendagesperceptible in natural condition; hairs uniformlydistributed on carapace and chelipeds.Habitat : Rocky beaches, up to 25 m deep.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Islands of Gulf of Mannar(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from the Indian waters :No previous records and from the Indo-Pacific region :South and West Australia and Japan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Krusadai, Pullivasal andManauli Putti Islands.

GOKUL AND VENKATARAMAN : Taxonomy and Systematics of Coral.........Biosphere Reserve 69PLATE-IIijEtisus leavimanus1 cm Pilodius areolatus 1 cmklChlorodiella nigra1 cm Cymo andreossyi1 cmmnActaea cavipes1 cm Actaea calculosa 1 cmopPilumnus vespertilio1 cm Pilumnus tomentosus 1 cm

70 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaFamilyTRAPEZIIDAE17. Tetralia rubridactyla GarthPlate-III, Fig.-q1902. Tetralia glaberrima Borradaile, The fauna andgeography of the Maldive and LaccadiveArchipelagoes,1(3), p. 265, Figs. 41–60.1999b.Tetralia rubridactyla Castro, Zoosystema, 21(1), 102.Materials : 1 Male and 1 female; the maximum CL is1.0 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm. Reg. No. ZSI/MBS/5223.Diagnosis : Anterior border of carapace withrelatively small lobes or no lobes. Carapace trapezoidalor oval, its posterior border shorter than anterior border;chelipeds unequal in size; surface of chelipeds smoothor with microscopic granules; setae on dorsal surfaceof the propodus of larger cheliped; thoracic sternumwith median suture; walking legs not distinctly banded;anterior distal border of merus of cheliped withprominent dentate crest; distal portion of dactylus ofchelipeds orange red endopod of first maxilliped withstraight or slightly concave edge.Habitat : From Acropora corals.Distribution : There was no earlier record ofoccurrence of the species from GoMMBR and Indianregion. It was recorded previously from the Indo-Pacificregion from Indonesia, western Indian oceans far northas Somalia to the Pacific Ocean (Japan to FrenchPolynesia) except Hawaiian Islands (Castro, 1999b).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Manauli Putti and Vaalaiand Thalayari Islands. Since there is no previous recordfrom Indian waters, this is the first record of the species.18. Trapezia areolata DanaPlate-III, Fig.-r1852. Trapezia areolata Dana, U. S. exploration. expedition,p. 13, pt.1.1907. Trapezia cymodoce areolata Rathbun, Mem. Mus.Comp. Zool. Harvard, 35, p. 59, Pl. 1–9.Materials : 3 Males and 2 females; the maximum CLis 1.5 cm and the minimum CL is 0.5 cm.Diagnosis : A distinct spine at the junction ofanterolateral and posterolateral borders of carapace;lower border of hand cristate and entire; frontal borderrather undulate; frontal teeth being not deeplyseparated; outer surface of hand smooth and bold; notransverse series of red spots on carapace; carapaceand chelipeds covered with an elegant meshwork ofdeep reddish lines.Habitat : From Pocillopora corals (Castro et al.,2004).Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Islands in Gulf of Mannar(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000) from the Indian waters:Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Alcock, 1898) and fromthe Indo-Pacific region : Sri Lanka, Mergui Archileago,New Guinea, Australia, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa and NewCaledonia (Alcock 1898; Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000).Remarks : It was recorded from dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Upputhanni Island.Family MAJIDAE19. Tylocarcinus styx (Herbst)Plate-III, Fig.-s1803 Cancer styx Herbst, Veruch einer Naturgeschichti derkrabben und krebse, 3, p.53.1976 Tylocarcinus styx Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 221.Materials : 69 Males and 97 females; the maximumCL is 2.5 cm and the minimum CL is 1.1 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace elongate pyriform, dorsalsurface covered with rounded tubercles; rostrum 1/3rdto 1/4th of postrostral carapace length; rostral spinesfused at base and ; diverged at distal part; preocularspine sharp, upcurved; lateral margins tuberculate, butlacking spines; chelipeds shorter and more slender thanfirst ambulatory legs; ambulatory legs very stout,decreasing in size from the very long first one to thelast; merus with 5-6 spines on anterior border; carpuswith sharp distal spine; dactylus claw-shaped.Habitat : Rocky beaches and coral reefs.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Tuticorin (Henderson,1893), Krusadai island (Gravely, 1927), Manuli Island(Sankarankutty, 1967) and islands of Gulf of Mannar(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from the Indian waters :Lakshadweep (Sankarankutty, 1961b) and Andamans

GOKUL AND VENKATARAMAN : Taxonomy and Systematics of Coral.........Biosphere Reserve 71(Alcock, 1898) and from the Indo-Pacific region : RedSea, east coast of Africa, Maldives, Sri Lanka, MerguiArchipelago, Samoa and Japan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals coveed with algae from Krusadai, Manauli Putti,Hare, Mulli and Nallathanni Islands.20. Schizophrys aspera (H. Milne Edwards)Plate-III, Fig.-t1834. Mithrax asper H. Milne Edwards, LibrairaeEncyclopedique de Rore,. 1, p. 320.1976. Schizophrys aspera Sakai, Crabs of Japan andadjacent seas, p. 246.Materials : 16 Males and 30 females; the maximumCL is 2.5 cm and the minimum CL is 2.0 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace broadly pyriform, depressedor moderately convex, surface unevenly granular andsetose; gastric region with a transverse row of 4tubercles or spines; rostrum prominent, consisting oftwo stout divergent spines of about 1/6th to 1/9th ofpostrostral carapace length; each bearing one lateralaccessory spine of variable length; lateral margins ofcarapace with 6 well developed acute spines behindpostorbital tooth; chelipeds not much stouter than firstpair of legs in females, much longer and more stout inmales; walking legs with cylindrical setose.Habitat : Rocky areas.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Tuticorin (Henderson,1893), Krusadai Island (Gravely, 1927), Manauli Island(Sankarankutty, 1967) and islands in Gulf of Mannar(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from the Indian waters:Lakshadweep (Sankarankutty, 1961b), Okha, Mumbai(Chhapgar, 1957) and Nicobar (Sankarankutty, 1962b)and from the Indo-Pacific region : Red Sea, Persian Gulf,east coast of Africa, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Karachi,Mergui Archipelago, Samoa, New Caledonia, Hawaii andJapan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Hare Island.Family LEUCOSIIDAE21. Arcania heptacantha (De Haan)Plate-III, Fig.-u1850. Iphis heptacantha De Haan, Lugduni Batavorum, fasc,p. 27.1976. Iphis heptacantha Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 94.Materials : 4 Males and 4 females; the maximum CLis 2.5 cm and the minimum CL is 1.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace circular in outline; dactylusof chelipeds as long as palm fingers and slender;margins of carapace armed with 7 spines, of which lateral2 most prominent; colouration uniformly pale vermilion.Habitat : Sandy or muddy bottom.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Islands in GoMMBR(Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000). No other records.from theIndian waters. From the Indo-Pacific region : Gulf ofThailand, Singapore and Japan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Poomarichan andManauli Putti Islands.22. Arcania erinaceus (Fabricius)Plate-III, Fig.-v1798. Leucosia erinaceus Fabricius, Hafniae, p. 352.1976. Arcania erinaceus Sakai, Crabs of Japan and adjacentseas, p. 92.Materials : 3 Males and 2 females; the maximum CLis 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 1.1 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace globular, thickly covered withthorns and spine-like granules, among which the smoothshallow sulci that defining the branchial and hepaticregions visible; around the margin of the carapace,eleven large spines, covered with secondary spinelets;ventral surface of the external maxillipeds, thoracicsterna, and abdominal terga also covered with sharplygranular; front ending in two prominent sharp spines;merus of chelipeds and legs covered with thorns, andthe other joints, except the dactyli, the distal half of thehand, and the fingers sharply granular; the fingers alittle shorter than the palm; the first pair of true legsexceeding the arms in length by their last 2 1/2 joints.Habitat : Sandy or muddy substrate.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Trawl catches fromGoMMBR (Jeyabaskaran et al., 2000), from the Indian

72 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE-IIIqrTetralia rubridactylaTrapezia areolatastTylocarcinus styxSchizophrys asperauvArcania heptacanthaArcania erinaceuswxIphiculus spongiosusGrapsus albolineatus

GOKUL AND VENKATARAMAN : Taxonomy and Systematics of Coral.........Biosphere Reserve 73waters : Pondicherry and mouth of Hooghly river(Alcock, 1895) and from the Indo-Pacific region : SriLanka, Singapore and Japan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Manauli Putti Island.23. Iphiculus spongiosus Adams and WhitePlate-III, Fig.-w1849. Iphiculus spongiosus Adams and White, Zoology ofthe voyage, H.M.S. Samarang ,1843–46, p 57, pls. I–XIII.1976. Iphiculus spongiosus Sakai, Crabs of Japan andadjacent seas, p.105.Materials : 5 Males and 2 females; the maximum CLis 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 1.0 cm. Reg. No. ZSI/MBS/5224.Diagnosis : Carapace convex, transversely ovoidal,much broader than long; the surface when denuded ofits wooly covering, granulose with numerous largerpustulus tubercles, and showing the cardiac andintestinal regions tumid and very well demarcated bygrooves; on the anterolateral margins, four large coarsespines, increasing in size from backwards; on thepostero- lateral margins, two coarser dentiform tuberclespresent, separated by a wide interval; front coarselybilobed; a strong tooth at the outer angle of the orbit;another at the outer angle of the buccal cavern; thechelipeds densely tomentose up to the base of thefingers; the fingers are more slender.Habitat : Muddy substrate.Distribution : No earlier records were made fromGoMMBR. Records from the Indian waters : Andamans(Alcock, 1896) and from the Indo-Pacific region : RedSea, Bay of Bengal, Singapore, Gulf of Thailand, thePhilippines, Hong Kong and Japan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Anaipar Island. It wasreported for the first time from GoMMBR.FamilyGRAPSIDAE24. Grapsus albolineatus LamarckPlate-III, Fig.-x1818. Grapsus albo-lineatus Lamarck, Exposition desprincipes fondamentaux de la Zoologie, 5, p. 249.1976. Grapsus albolineatus Sakai, Crabs of Japan andadjacent seas, p. 630.Materials : 2 Males and 4 females; the maximum CLis 3.0 cm and the minimum CL is 2.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace subcircular, slightly broaderthan long; depressed, dorsal surface smooth in median,with transverse and oblique striae in lateral part; frontbroad, about 1/3rd of total carapace width, deflexed;lateral margins strongly arched with a single sharptooth behind the orbital tooth; chelipeds subequal,anterior margin of arm (merus) with sharp spines; innercorner of carpus with long spine; hand with uppersurface granular, fingers with corneous spooned tip;walking legs stout, depressed, meri with subdistal spine;dactyli with strong brownish spines).Habitat : Rocky beach or coral reefs.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR: Tuticorin (Henderson,1893), from the Indian waters : Malabar and Coromandelcoasts (Alcock, 1900), Trivandrum (Pillai, 1951), Okha(Chhapgar, 1957) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands(Alcock 1900; Sankarankutty, 1961a) and from the Indo-Pacific region: Red Sea, east coast of Africa, Sind coast,Sri Lanka, Polynesia, Hawaii and Japan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Shingle and PoomarichanIslands.25. Metapograpsus messor (Forskål)Plate-IV, Fig.-y1775. Cancer messor Forskål, Hauniae., I–XXXIV, p. 88.1976. Metapograpssus messor Sakai, Crabs of Japan andadjacent seas, p. 630.Materials : 4 females; the maximum CL is 2.5 cmand the minimum CL is 2.1 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace trapezoidal, 1.25-1.35 timesbroader than long, with strongly converging lateralmargins; surface smooth and slightly convex; front verybroad, about 3/5th of greatest carapace width; lateralmargins entire, without tooth behind the outer orbitalangle; chelipeds unequal, larger one about 1.5 timesthe length of the carapace, strong and stout; palminflated, outer surface smooth; fingers with blunt tips;walking legs with broad, flattened merus and stronglyspinose dactyli.

74 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE-IVyzMetapograpsus messor1 cmOcypoda cordim1 cmFig. 1 : Paramonacanthus japonicus.Habitat : Mangroves, sub-tidal region, rocks, oysterbeds and muddy substratum.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Tuticorin (Henderson,1893) and Krusadai Island (Gravely, 1927), from theIndian waters : Okha and Mumbai (Chhapgar, 1957),Trivandram (Pillai, 1951), Parangipettai (Sethuramalingamand Ajmalkhan, 1991), Orissa, Ganjetic delta andAndamans (Alcock, 1900) and from the Indo-Pacificregion: Red Sea, east coast of Africa, Seychelles, PersianGulf, Pakistan, Australia, Hawaii and Japan (Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Upputhanni Island.Family OCYPODIDAE26. Ocypode cordimana DesmarestPlate-IV, Fig.-z1825. Ocypode cordimana Desmarest, Sur les cotes ou dansles caux douces de la france. Paris., p. 121.1976. Ocypode cordimana Sakai, Crabs of Japan andadjacent seas, p. 599.Materials : 2 Males and 1female; the maximum CLis 2.0 cm and the minimum CL is 1.5 cm.Diagnosis : Carapace deep, quadrilateral, stronglyconvex fore and aft, its length about seven-eighth ofits greatest breadth; antero-lateral angles coincidingwith the outer orbital angels, and point acutely forwards;orbits deep; no terminal style to the eyes; chelipedsand legs rough and squamiform; no serration of theiredges, except in the case of the lower borders of thearms, the inner edge of the wrists, and the lower borderof the hands; palm of the larger hand, though deep,not particularly compressed, and no stridulating ridge.Fig. 2 : Colour changing behaviour of fish Paramonacanthusjaponicus in the rearing tank.Habitat recorded by earlier workers : Sandy beach.Distribution : Reports on previous records of thespecies from the GoMMBR : Tuticorin (Henderson,1893) and Krusadai island (Gravely, 1927), from theIndian waters : Lakshadweep (Borradaile 1903;Sankarankutty 1961b), Mumbai (Chhapgar, 1957),Trivandrum (Pillai, 1951), Chennai (Alcock, 1900) andAndaman and Nicobar Islands (Heller 1868; Alcock1900) and from the Indo-Pacific region: Red Sea, eastcoast of Africa, Mauritius, Maldives, Tahiti and Japan(Sakai, 1976).Remarks : It was recorded from the dead Pocilloporacorals covered with algae from Shingle Island.SUMMARYA total of 26 species were collected from thePocillopora coral colonies covered with algae from thepresent study. The present study emphasized 26species of brachyuran crabs belonging to 10 generaand 8 families. Out of these 4 species are new toGoMMBR and 2 species are new to India. Alcock (1895-1900) examined 601 Species from the collections ofIndian Museum. His collections were not specificallypertaining to GoMMBR but it represents all over thecoasts also some outside waters. 208 species of crabswere reported by Laurie (1906) from the Gulf of Mannarwaters. However his samplings were mainly based inboth Indian and Sri Lankan waters. Sankarankutty (1967)reported 88 species of brachyuran crabs from thebiosphere reserve. Recently Jeyabaskaran et al. (2000)updated the checklist of brachyuran crabs in GoMMBR

GOKUL AND VENKATARAMAN : Taxonomy and Systematics of Coral.........Biosphere Reserve 75which records 106 species. The earlier studies on thebrachyuran crabs in GoMMBR revealed a greaternumber of species. However the crabs examined fromthe earlier studies were collected from the coral reefareas. The previous studies were not restricted to thecoral colonies. An attempt was made in the presentstudy in which the samplings of the cryptic brachyurancrabs are restricted only to the dense branchedPocillopora colonies. Periodical and long term studiesshould be encouraged on the taxonomy and ecologyof brachyuran crabs which will definitely focus lighton the coral associated crustaceans in GoMMBR.REFERENCESAlcock, A. (1895). Materials for the carcinological fauna of India, No. 1, The Brachyura Oxyrhyncha. J. Asiat. Soc.Bengal, 64 : 157-291.Alcock, A. (1896). Materials for the carcinological fauna of India, No. 2, The Brachyura Oxystomata. J. Asiat. Soc.Bengal, 65 : 134-296.Alcock, A. (1898). Materials for the carcinological fauna of India, No. 3, The Brachyura Cyclometopa. I. The familyXanthidae. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 67 : 67-233.Alcock, A. (1899a). Materials for the carcinological fauna of India, No. 4, The Brachyura Cyclometopa, Part-II, arivision of the Cyclometopa with an account of the families portunidae, Cancridae and Corystidae. J. Asiat.Soc. Bengal, 68 : 1-104.Alcock, A. (1899b). Materials for the carcinological fauna of India, No. 5, The Brachyura Priniginea or Dromiacea.J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 68 : 123-169.Alcock, A. (1900). Materials for the carcinological fauna of India, No. 6, The Brachyura Catometopa or Grapsoidea.J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 69 : 279-456.Borradaile, L.A. (1902). Marine Crustaceas. III. The Xanthidae and some other crabs. In : Gardiner J.S. (ed.) Thefauna and geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes, Vol. 1(3) : 237-271, Figs. 41-60.Borradaile, L.A. (1903). Marine Crustaceas. IV. Some remarks on the classification of the crabs. In : Gardiner J.S.(ed.,) The fauna and geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes, 1(4) : 424-429, Fig. 140.Castro, P. 1999a. The Trapeziidae (crustacea: Brachyura : Xanthoidea) of Indonesia. Zool. med. Leiden. 73 : 27-61.Castro, P. 1999b. Trapeziid Crabs (Crustacea, Brachyura, Xanthoidea, Trapeziidae) of the Indian ocean and theRed Sea. Zoosystema, 21(1) : 93-119.Castro, P. 1999c. The Trapeziidae (Crustacea : Brachyura : Xanthoidae) of Indonesia. Results of the RumphiusBiohistorial Expedition to Ambon (1990), part-7. Zool. Med. Leiden. 73(3) : 27-61.Chhapgar, B.F. (1957). Marine crabs of Bombay state. Taraporevala Mar. biol. stn, Contr. No, 1. 1-89.Coles, S.L. (1980). Species diversity of decapods associated with living and dead reef coral Pocillopora meandrina.Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 2 : 281-291.Galil, B. 1988. Further notes on species of Tetralia (Decapoda, Trapeziidae). Crustaceana, 54 (1) : 57-68.Garth, J.S. (1973). Decapod crustacea inhabiting reef building corals of Ceylon and Maldives. J. Mar. biol. Ass.India, 15(1) : 195-212.Gravely, F.H. (1927). Crustacea In : The Littoral fauna of Krusadai Island in the Gulf of Mannar. Bull. MadrasGovt. Mus (M.S)., (1) : 141–155, pls 19-26.Guinot, D. (1971). Recherches preliminaries sur les groupements naturels chez les Crustaces DecapodesBrachyoures. VIII. Synthese et bibliographie. Bull. Mus. Natn. Hist. nat., Paris, 2 e . ser., 42(5) : 1063-1090.Guinot, D. (1976). Constitution de quelques groupes naturels chez les crustaces decapods brachyoures. I. Lasuperfamille des Bellioidea et trios sous–familles de Xanthidae (Polydectinae Dana, Trichiinae de Haan,Actaeinae Alcock). Mem. Mus. nat. D’ his. nat., Paris, pp. 308.

76 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaHeller, C. (1868). Crustacean. Reise der oesterreichischen fregatte Novara um die erde in den Jahren. Reise derNovara Zool., 11(3) : 1-280.Henderson, J.R. (1893). A Contribution to Indian Carcinology. Trans. Linn. Soc., Zool. (2), vol. 5, pp. 325-458, pls.36-40.Jeyabaskaran, R. (1997). Studies on biodiversity of brachyuran crabs of Gulf of Mannar (south east coast ofIndia). Ph. D. Thesis, Annamalai University, India. 1-147.Jeyabaskaran, R., Ajmalkhan, S. and Ramaiyan, V. (2000). Brachyuran crabs of Gulf of Mannar. CAS in MarineBiology. Annamalai University. pp. 154.Kathirvel, M. and Gokul, A. 2006. A Check list of brachyuran crabs from the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biospherereserve. Fisheries Technocrats Forum, Tech. Bull., 4 : 1-10.Laurie, R.D. (1906). Report on the brachyura collected by Prof. Herdman, at Ceylon, in 1902. In : Herdman,W.A.(ed.), Report to the Government of Ceylon on the pearl oyster fisheries of the Gulf of Mannar. V. Suppl.Rep., 40 : 349-432.Nammalwar, P. and Edwin, V.J. (2002). Bibliography of the Gulf of Mannar, Cent. Mar. Fish. Res. Inst. spl. publ.,74 : 1-204.Pillai, N.K. (1951). Decapoda (Brachyuran) from Travancore. Bulletin of Central research Institute, university ofTravancore, Trivandrum ii, no. 1, ser ’C’ : 1-46.Sakai, T. (1976). Crabs of Japan and adjacent seas. Tokyo, Kodansha. pp. 1-725.Sankarankutty, C. (1961a). On Decapoda Brachyura from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 1. Families Portunidae,Ocypodidae, Grapsidae and Mictyridae. J. Mar. biol. Ass. India., 3 : 101-119.Sankarankutty, C. (1961b). On some crabs (Decapoda Brachyura) from the Laccadive Archipelago. J. Mar. biol.Ass. India., 3 : 120-136.Sankarankutty, C. (1962a). On Decapoda Brachyura from the Andaman and Nicobar Island-2. Family: Xanthidae.J. Mar. biol. Ass. India, 4 : 121-150.Sankarankutty, C. (1962b). On Decapoda Brachyura from the Andaman and Nicobar Island-3. Family, Calappidae,Leucosidae, Parthenopidae, Maidae, and Gecarcinidae. J. Mar. biol. Ass. India, 4 : 151-164.Sankarankutty, C. (1967). On Decapoda Brachyura from the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. Proc. Symp. Crustacea.,I. 347-362.Sethuramalingam, S. and Ajmalkhan, S. (1991). Brachyuran crabs of parangipettai coast. CAS in Marine biology,Annamalai University, 1-47, Pls. 1-28.Venkataraman, K., Srinivasan, M., Satyanarayana, Ch. and Prabakar, D. (2002). Faunal diversity of Gulf of MannarBiosphere Reserve. Zoological Survey of India. Con. Area Ser., 15 : 1-77.Venkataraman, K., Jeyabaskaran, R., Satyanarayana, Ch. and Raghuram, K.P. (2003a). Status of coral reefs in Gulfof Mannar Biosphere Reserve. Rec. Zool. Surv. India, 103 : 1-15.Venkataraman, K., Sathyanarayana, Ch., Alfred, J.R.B. and Wolstenholme, J. (2003b). Handbook on hard corals ofIndia. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India, pp. 1-266.Venkataraman, K., Jeyabaskaran, R., Raghuram, K.P. and Alfred, J.R.B. (2004). Bibliography and Checklist of coralreef and coral reef associated fauna of India. Zoologocal Survey India, Kolkata, India, pp. 1-420.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 77-92, 2010NEW RECORDS OF SCLERACTINIANS FROM ANDAMAN ISLANDS.RAJKUMAR RAJAN 1 , R. RAGHURAMAN 2 AND CH. SATYANARAYANA 21Zoological Survey of India, Marine Biology Regional Centre, Chennai-600 028, India2Zoological Survey of India, Andaman Nicobar Regional Centre. Port Blair,U. T. of Andaman Nicobar Islands, 744 102, India. Email: rajkumar_rajan@rediffmail.com2Zoological Survey of India, FPS Building, Kolkata-700 017INTRODUCTIONAndaman Nicobar Islands located between 6°-14°N and 91°-94° E, hosts fringing reefs encircling almostthe entire coast. These reefs being touted as the lessimpacted, and could serve as reserves of Biodiversityin the Indian Ocean are the least investigated of theIndian Ocean, concerning Biodiversity. Onzooxanthellate scleractinians, there have been very fewextensive surveys, is apparent in the description of sofar 177 species of hard corals under 57 genera, which isa mere 22.29% of the total reported species from theWorld. There was an international initiative, from UNDP-GEF, to confirm the global significance of biodiversityof the Andaman region. The report of which indicateda possible occurrence of 400 species of corals (Turneret al. 2001). The new records [111 Nos, later verified tobe 94 Nos, which includes some non-scleractinians aswell (Venkataraman et al. 2003)] of this study, however,have not been described. In spite of many organizationsnow working on coral reefs in India, no significantstrides in taxonomic investigations of corals have beenmade since the last compilation by Pillai (1983).Venkataraman et al. (2003) were one exception : 42species were added to the list of coral of the AndamanNicobar islands and 13 to the Laskhadweep islands inthe Arabian Sea—though, for the whole of Indian reefsthe addition was a meager 9 Nos, since Pillai (1983).Raghuram & Venkataraman (2005) added two morespecies from Gulf of Mannar and Andaman waters.Extensive surveys have been carried out since 2004by the first author of this paper in South Andamanreefs for assessment scleractinian diversity in thesereefs and changes with regard to climatic and localimpacts; The list of new records the UNDP-GEF (Turneret al. 2001). report too needed to be verified for theiroccurrence or non-occurrence demanding descriptionthrough taxonomic investigation of specimens. Thepresent paper is the outcome of this effort. 7 newrecords to Andaman Nicobar waters are described,which include 4 species from the list of new records inthe UNDP-GEF report (Turner et al. 2001). With theexception of one species which has previous recordsfrom Gulf of Mannar, all the described species are newrecords to Indian waters.It may be noted that this is the first clear cut recordof these species with descriptions of specimens fromIndian waters. Earlier listings (other than Turner et al.,2001) if available were ambiguous without the specimendescriptions, as the species described in this paper havecloser affinities with many species and have manyrelated species which makes their in-situ identification(definite) nearly impossible, and hence called fordetailed taxonomic study of the specimens.MATERIALS AND METHODSStudy area and sampling locations are shown in themap (Fig. I. a & b). Corals have been photographed insituwith Sony cyber shot camera with underwaterhousing, and were tried to be identified at the firstinstance. Later, species which required detailedobservations of skeletal structures were sampled,without causing un-due damage to the colony. SCUBAwas employed for the observation and collection. Thespecimens were labeled and stored in freshwater for

78 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiarotting the tissue, while periodically replacing the water.They were then cleaned with a strong water jet toremove any sticking gelatinous tissue. The rottingprocedure was continued if necessary.Detailed skeletal structures were studied underNikon SMZ 1500, trinocular, stereoscopic zoommicroscope, and photographed with the affixed Nikon8.0 megapixel ED camera. Whole corallum photographswere taken using Nikon D 300 using 60 mm macro lensprovided with sufficient artificial lighting. Thespecimens after identification were submitted at theNational Zoological Collections (NZC), Museum ofZoological Survey of India (ZSI), Andaman NicobarRegional Centre (ANRC), Port Blair, and registered inthe Named Register of ZSI, ANRC.RESULTSFamily ACROPORIDAE Verrill, 1901Genus Montipora de Blainville, 1830Montipora danae Edwards & Haime, 1851Material examined : Corallum 10.5 × 10 cm, India,Andaman Nicobar Islands, Ritchies Archipelago, stn.4, 12° 03.128' N; 093° 00.236' E (Fig. I. b), Depth 4 m,6.VII.2009, coll. Rajkumar Rajan, R. Raghuraman, & C.R.Sreeraj, Reg. No. 4656–NZC–ANRC. (PLATE-I).Description : Colonies are thin plates which are oftenfound inwardly wounding, may give the appearance ofinverted conical folds. The surface is covered withdome shaped, verrucae of 1.5-2.4 mm (thickness inperpendicular to the ridges). The verrucae are oftenfused and forming radiating ridges near the laminaredges. Verrucae are arranged in line to the radiatingridges in the laminar sheet. The spinules in thecoenosteal valleys are very fine, however they are morefiner in verrucae, both types have elaborate ends.Corallites are immersed and arranged between theverrucae and in the valleys between the ridges in thelaminar plate. They are never present on the verrucae.The calices are 0.5-0.7 mm in diameter. Theca isdistinguishable in some corallites. The primary septa

RAJAN, RAGHURAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA : New records of Scleractinians from Andaman Islands 79Observed at the depths of 6-10 m in reef slopes andbeds of the protected bays. Not common.Affinities : By studying the specimens, this speciesis easily differentiated by the granular nature of theblunt septal margin and the fine costal papillae whichare numerous. Some affinities it may show at a firstlook with F. scabra, F. concinna and F. repanda arereadily differentiable: In F. scabra, the septa of thehigher order only was observed to be wavy, thewaviness not extended till the periphery and not verypronounced; In F. concinna the higher orders of septamore excert and the margins are spinluose or lobatethan granulose margins of F. granulosa; The coralla ofFungia repanda are comparatively bigger, and theseptal margins have triangular dentations.Distribution : Though included in the list of coralsidentified by Turner et al. (2001), is described for thefirst time from Andaman Nicobar Islands and India.According to Veron & Smith (2000) this species isusually uncommon. Other distributional records inVeron & Pichon (1980).Genus Herpolitha Eschscholtz, 1825Herpolitha weberi (van der Horst, 1921)Material Examined : Corallum 14 × 4.5 cm, India,Andaman Nicobar Islands, Ritchies Archipelago, stn.4, 12° 03.128' N; 093° 00.236' E (Fig. I. b), Depth 6 m,6.VII.2009, Coll. Rajkumar Rajan, R. Raghuraman, & C.R. Sreeraj, Reg. No. 4659–NZC–ANRC, (PLATE-III).Description : Coralla are elongate with pointed tips.They are arched in the middle. The axial furrow reachesboth the extremities. Septa are markedly alternating inheight near the axial fossa. There are at least 3 groupsof Septa. Fusion of septa across the axial furrow isobserved with the first and 3 rd orders of septa there bydemarcating the linear series of centres. Lateralsecondary centres are not observed. Columella in theaxial furrow are elongate and papillate. The septal teethpresent are small and cup shaped. The first group ofsepta numbering 49 + 49, on either side, originate fromthe axial fossa. They abruptly ends little short of theperiphery (in aberration to the description of specimensby Veron & Pichon, 1980), except near the extremitieswhere they reach the peripheries without interruptionand may project outside the septal margin. The secondgroup, equal in thickness and height to that of the firstorder, originate away by at least 4 mm away from theaxial furrow, extend up to the periphery and projectsoutside the corallum margin. The 3 rd group of septa(96 + 96 on either side) on the sides of the first orderare very fine and markedly smaller in height that of thefirst order. This group of septa which also originatefrom the axial furrow encircles the first order a littleshort of periphery by forming loop. This loop formationof the 3 rd order septa is observed where the first orderdoes not extend to the periphery. The lower surface isperforate except in the central part. The spinulosespines arranged in rows are well defined towards thecorallum perimeter.Observed at depths of 3-4 m in gradually slopingreef slopes. Not very common.Affnities : This species has resemblance to H. limax,but could be differentiated from the latter by theabsence of secondary centres, and having higher lengthwidth ratio, usually > 4. Moreover, in H. limax theprimary septa are heavily truncated and never reachthe periphery.Distribution : Recorded for the first time fromAndaman Nicobar Islands and India. According toVeron & Smith (2000) this species is uncommon. Otherdistributional records in Veron & Pichon (1980).Family MERULINIDAE Verril, 1866Genus Hydnophora Fischer de Waldheim 1807Hydnophora grandis Gardiner, 1904Material examined : Coralla branching 7-16 cm tall,6 pieces, India, Andaman Nicobar Islands, RitchiesArchipelago, stn. 4, 12° 03.128' N; 093° 00.236' E (Fig. I.b), Depth 4 m, 6.VII.2009, Coll. Rajkumar Rajan, R.Raghuraman, & C.R. Sreeraj, Reg. No. 4660–NZC–ANRC, (PLATE-IV).Descriptions : Colonies are ramose without anencrusting base. Branches are cylindrical along thewhole coralla except near the tip where they may taper.They are 0.8 mm at the tip to 10-15 mm in the middleand up to 18 mm at the base. Monticules appearseparated and individually projected. Fusion ofmonticules, thereby forming ridges, is observed onlyat branch tips, i.e. at branch thicknesses of 9 mm andbelow. However, matured specimens, even at thebranch tips do not show fusion of monticules. There

80 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiaare about 8-10 primary septa radiating from themonticules. They, on reaching the columella centersare slightly thickened and have small dentations. A rowof secondary septa alternating the primaries are presentbut never reach the columella centers.Colonies are up to 0.5 m across. Colouration ismostly brownish pink, tending to be bluish down thebranches. At localities where this species is present,they form a reasonably good cover (an average of12.7%). Not commonly observed.Affinities : This species has resemblance only to H.rigida. Differentiated easily from it by the cylindricalbranches, and by the presence of individualmonticules. H. rigida on the other hand has finerbranches and the monticules usually fused into ridgesdown the branch sides.Distribution : Though included in the list of coralsidentified by Turner et al. (2001), is described for thefirst time from Andaman Nicobar Islands and India.According to Veron & Smith (2000) this species isusually uncommon. Not widely reported.Family PORITIDAE Gray, 1842Genus Porites Link, 1807Porites stephensoni Crossland, 1952Material Examined : Corallum 5 × 3.7 cm, India,Andaman Nicobar Islands, North Bay reef, stn. 2, 11°42.231' N; 092° 45.100' E, (Fig. I. a), Depth 3 m,27.VIII.2008, Coll. Rajkumar Rajan & Murugeson, Reg.No. 4661–NZC–ANRC, (PLATE-V).Description : Coralla are encrusting or massive. Inthe latter case are at the size range of 5-10 cm in diameter.The encrusting ones may grow up to 20 cm in diameter.The surface is humped at most instances. Calices are0.9-1.1 mm in diameter. The walls are thin. Denticlesover the wall, if present, are corresponding to the septa.The septa are thin and short (1/2 R). The septa bear arow of denticles near the theca. Both the septal andthecal denticles are fine and have an arrangement ofsmall spines at the top. The triplet is not fused and thelateral pairs are larger than the dorsal and ventrals. Paliare prominent. 8 pali are present and the onescorresponding to the lateral pairs are bigger than thedorsal and the three ventrals. Columella is deeply seatedand small. Three radii connecting the columella aredistinctly noticed.Colonies are observed in the colors of Pale brown,brown and grayish green. Usually the encrusting onesare brownish in color.Affinities : From other species of Porites, this speciesis first distinguishable by it smaller sized colony. Theclosest resembling species in corallite structures is P.murrayensis, which also has smaller coralla. However,P. stephensoni has thin corallite wall and prominentpali, which differentiate from P. murrayensis’s thick wallsand the relatively inconspicuous pali (may be absentin the dorsal directive and ventral triplet).Distribution : Recorded for the first time fromAndaman Nicobar Islands and India. According toVeron & Smith (2000) this species is uncommon. Otherdistributional records in Veron & Pichon (1980).Porites annae Crossland, 1952Material Examined : Corallum 7 × 5.4 cm, India,Andaman Nicobar Islands, North Bay reef, stn. 3, 11°42' 12.3" N; 092° 45' 06.4" E, (Fig. I. a), Depth 5 m,27.VIII.2008, Coll. Rajkumar Rajan & Murugeson, Reg.No. 4663–NZC–ANRC, North (PLATE-VI).Description : Colonies form nodular columns, rarelyanastamosing, however, normally found to have fusedcolumn heads. The height of the columns usually doesnot exceed 8 cm. They have a thick encrusting base.The corallites appear little excavated. Calices are 1.2-1.6 mm in diameter. Paliform lobes are distinctly seen.Pali number is usually variable from corallite to corallite.As per Veron & Pichon (1982) matured corallites havean open triplet, therefore each septum having a smallpalus, in addition to the 5 big pali, thereby making thetotal number 8. It is usually 6 pali in other cases, wherethe triplet is fused, and the longer ventral directive hasonly one palus. At least two rows of denticles arepresent and one near the wall is slightly excert.Columella is present and is like a small pali.Colonies form large stands of 0.5 to several metersacross. Smaller colonies are observed at shallowerdepths and are extremely tolerant to sedimentation.Large stands are commonly occurring at depths of 4-8m in protected bays. They may be pale brown to deepgrey with white heads.

RAJAN, RAGHURAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA : New records of Scleractinians from Andaman Islands 81Affinities : This species is easily separated in-situby its distinctive growth form. P. lichen, however has asimilar growth form is distinguished from P. annae bythe former’s thicker walls, small sized calices andrelatively less developed pali.Distribution : Though included in the list of coralsidentified by Turner et al. (2001), is described for thefirst time from Andaman Nicobar Islands. Previousrecords in Indian waters are from Gulf of Mannar reefs,South East Coast of India (Raghuram & Venkataraman,2005). Other distributional records in Veron & Smith(2000).Porites monticulosa Dana, 1846Material Examined : Corallum 12.5 × 12 cm, India,Andaman Nicobar Islands, Ritchies Archipelago, stn.4, 12° 03.128' N; 093° 00.236' E (Fig. I. b), Depth 4 m,6.VII.2009, Coll. Rajkumar Rajan, R. Raghuraman, & C.R.Sreeraj, Reg. No. 4662–NZC–ANRC, (PLATE-VII).Descriptions : Colonies are laminar or encrustingand in both the cases with nodular upward projections,which sometimes develop into slender columns of 3-4cm height. Ridges are formed on the laminae as well ascolumns which seem to separate the corallites. Ridgesare observed to be devoid of corallites over them.Corallites are 0.5-0.7 mm in dia. Triplet is fused by theinner margins, and makes a perfect cone. 6 pali are verydistinct. The dorsal palus is smaller than the 4 lateralpali and that of the ventral. Columella is very small,deeply seated and is absent in some corallites. Onlyone row of denticles is arranged near the theca.Colonies are dark brown. While encrusting coloniesare 20-50 cm across, the laminar ones are comparativelysmaller. Commonly occur at shallower depths (2-3 m)and in protected reef slopes.Affinities : The growth forms may resemble those ofP. lichen and P. anne, but differentiated from them bythe smaller corallites and the columns usually remainingshort.Distriibution : Though included in the list of coralsidentified by Turner et al. (2001), is described for thefirst time from Andaman Nicobar Islands and India.Other distributional records in Veron & Smith (2000).Porites latistella Quelch, 1886Material Examined : Coralla laminar to encrustingbase with short branches–3 pieces, 7.1 × 6.2 cm, 5.8 ×4.8 cm, 6.4 × 6 cm, India, Andaman Nicobar Islands,North Bay reef, stn. 2, 11° 42.231' N; 092° 45.100' E (Fig.I. a), Depth 3 m, 27.VIII.2008, Coll. Rajkumar Rajan & S.Murugeson, Reg. No. 4664–NZC–ANRC, (PLATE-VIII).Description : Colonies are encrusting to thin basallaminae with upwardly arising, cylindrical, irregular sizedbranches of 4-5 cm height and 8-13 mm thick. Thebranches are flattened at their tips where they tend todivide. Corallites appear excavated. The walls areirregular in outline. Calices are 1.2-1.4 mm in diameter.5 pali are usually present. The dorsal directive has nopalus. Triplet is usually free; however it may be fusedin some corallites. Columella is small and in somecorallites it may be absent. One row of denticles ispresent in the septa.Colonies are 5-13 cm across and occur in reef flatsof protected bays. Normal colouration is pale brown.They are uncommon in reefs.Affinities : Similar species are P. sillimania, P.cylindrica and P. eridani. P. sillimania has similargrowth form, however, does not have excavatedcorallites. In P. cylindrica, the corallites are shallow,branches long, cylindrical and taper uniformly till thebranch tips as against the flattened tips of P. latistella.P. eridani has large plates, branches contorted and tipsun-flattened.Distribution : Recorded for the first time fromAndaman Nicobar Islands and India. Otherdistributional records in Veron & Smith (2000).DISCUSSSIONThe new records described are of the commonlyoccurring genera in Andaman Nicobar Islands. InMontipora there are so far 10 species described fromAndaman Nicobar Islands (20 from the whole of India),and six more listed (with one doubtful identification) asnew records (Turner et al., 2001). Veron and Smith (2000)report 73 species of this genus world over. As observedby them, there are several groups of similar species inthis genus. This may be one reason why many specieshave been overlooked and easily concluded aspreviously reported of this genera.Though Hydnophora are easily distinguishable, thenew record H. grandis described here could so far may

82 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiahave been superficially identified as H. rigida, fromthese islands, because of the similarity in growth form.So far 3 species are described from Andaman NicobarIslands; 2 listed as new records (Turner et al., 2001).With the present description, the total describedspecies will be 4, leaving only two species un-describedfrom the World total. These species are inconspicuousin a reef explains them not being recorded in this reefarea.The family Fungiidae has 20 species, under 8 genera,described so far from Andaman Nicobar Islands (22species under 10 genera for the whole of India) and 7species listed as new records by Turner et al. (2001).Veron and Smith (2000) reports 57 species of this family,under 13 genera from World over. Though the speciesdescribed in this study have uncommon occurrence,many species, including one genus of commonoccurrence (Heliofungia) are not recorded for this reefarea, in addition to the remaining rare genera and speciesfrom the World list.Of the 4 species of Porites described in the presentstudy, 2 species (Porites stephensoni & P. latistella)have uncommon occurrence and remaining 2werecommonly reported World over. So far 13 species ofPorites have been described from India and only 7 fromAndaman Nicobar Islands, excluding the 5 species listedas new records in the UNDP-GEF report. This numberis very low as against the total 52 species reportedfrom World reefs (Veron & Smith, 2000). The difficultiesin identification of this species stem from little variationin corallite characters between species and therequirement of in-situ investigations of colony structureas well.Overall, the new records described in this paper—all are not of uncommon occurrence, shows that reefareas in Andaman Nicobar Islands require extensiveinvestigations for Scleractinian diversity. Moreover, thevery low records so far of species of Montipora, Poritesand Family Fungiidae indicate that these genus andfamily are under-represented in this area.SUMMARYCoral species described from Andaman NicobarIslands remains a dismal 177 Nos (Venkataraman et al.2003), despite the indication by Turner et al. (2001)that coral diversity in these islands could accrue to80% of the global maximum. Though, Turner et al. (2001)by a rapid survey to investigate the coral diversity,listed 94 new records (out of the total 197 identified inthe underwater survey), the new records were notdescribed. A total of 8 species (1. Montipora danae, 2.Fungia granulosa, 3. Herpolitha weberi, 4.Hydnophora grandis, 5. Porites stephensoni, 6. P.annae, 7. P. monticulosa, and 8. P. latistella) have beendescribed in the present study, which includes 4 species(Nos. 2, 4, 6 & 7) listed as new records in the report byTurner et al. (2001). Except for Porites annae whichhas one previous record from Gulf of Mannar(Raghuram & Venkataraman, 2005)—all speciesdescribed in this paper are new records from Indianwaters.Key words : Scleractinia, new records, India, AndamanNicobar Islands.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors wish to thank Director, ZoologicalSurvey of India for approving the project and providingnecessary infrastructure. Thanks are due to Dr. K.Venkataraman, Marine Biology Regional Centre of ZSI,Chennai for having reviewed the manuscript. The helpotherwise from the following are gratefullyacknowledged : Officer-in-Charge, Andaman NicobarRegional Centre (ANRC) enabled using the facilities atthe station; Mr. P.T. Rajan, ANRC, and S. Murugesan,Central Agricultural Research Institute, accompaniedthe first author in the diving surveys and didunderwater photography; Prof. P.M. Mohan, Dr. R.Mohanraju, and Dr. Jeyant Mishra, of the MarineBiology department of Pondicherry University helpedin taking microscopic photographs of specimens attheir department. Dr. Dharani Rajan, of the samedepartment assisted in preparing the maps. Mr. C.Sreeraj and J.S. Yogesh, Research Students assisted inthe field collections; Mr. G. Ponuswamy, Photographer,ANRC assisted in taking whole corallum and macrophotography. The staff of ANRC also assisted with thefirst two authors in several ways during this study.

RAJAN, RAGHURAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA : New records of Scleractinians from Andaman Islands 83REFERENCESBlainville, H.M. de 1830. Zoophytes. In : Dictionnaire des Sciences naturelles, Paris. 60 : 295-364.Crossland, C. 1952. Madreporaria, Hydrocorallinae, Heliopora and Tubipora. Scientific Report of the Great BarrierReef Expedition, 1928-29 VI(3) : 85-257.Dana, J.D. 1846. Zoophytes. United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842, 7 : 740 pp.Edwards, H.M. and Haime, J. 1851. Recherches sur les polypiers. Mém. 7 Monographie des Poritides. Ann. Sci.Nat. Zool. 3e Ser., 16 : 21-70.Eschscholtz von, J.F. 1825. Bericht über die zoologiesche Ausbeute während der Reise von Kronstadt bis St. Peterund St. Paul. Zoophyten. Isis (Jena), 6 : 734-47, pl. 5.Fischer de, W. 1807. Description du Museum Demidoff. III : 295-296.Gardiner, J.S. 1904. Madreporaria, I Introduction, II Astraeidae. Fauna and Geography of the Maldives andLaccadives Archipelagoes. Cambridge, 2 : 756-790, pl. 59-64.Gray, J.E. 1842. Pocilloporidae, Synopsis Br. Mus., (44 ed.).Horst van der, C.J. 1921. The Madreporaria of the Siboga Expedition. II Madreporaria Fungida. Siboga-ExpeditieXVIb, 53-98, pl. 1-6.Klunzinger, C.B. 1879. Die Korallenthiere des Rothen Meeres. Gutmann, Berlin, 188 pp.Lamarck de, J.B.P. 1801. Système des animaux sans vertèbres. Paris. 1-432.Pillai, C.S.G. 1983. Structure and genetic diversity of recent Scleractinia of India. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. India., 25 : 1& 2 : 78-90.Quelch, J.J. 1886. Report on the reef coral collected by HMS Challenger during the years 1873-1876. Rept SciResults Voyage of HMS Challenger, Zoology, 3 : 203 pp.Raghuram, K.P. and Venkataraman, K. 2005. New record of Porites annae Crossland and Porites cylindrica Danafrom Gulf of Mannar and Andaman waters. Rec. zool. Surv. India, 105 (Part 1-2) : 133-138.Turner, J.R., Vousden, D., Klaus, R., Satyanarayana, Ch. Fenner, D., Venkataraman, K., Rajan P.T. and Subba Rao.2001. Report of the phase 1 : Remote sensing and Rapid Site Assessment Survey, April 2001. Coral ReefSystems of the Andaman Islands, GOI/UNDP GEF. 76 p, with 8 appendices and 55 figs. & pls.Venkataraman, K., Satyanarayana, Ch., Alfred, J.R.B. and Wolstenhome, J. 2003. Handbook on Hard corals ofIndia, 1-266. Published by Zool. Surv. India.Veron, J.E.N. and Pichon, M. 1982. Scleractinia of Eastern Australia. Part IV. Family Poritidae. Australian Instituteof Marine Science Monograph Series, V : 159 pp.Veron, J.E.N. and Pichon, M. 1980. Scleractinia of Eastern Australia. Part 3, Families Agaricidae, Siderasreidae,Fungiidae, Oculinidae, Merulinidae, Mussidae, Pectiniidae, Caryophyllidae, Dendrophyllidae. AustralianInstitute of Marine Science Monogr Ser., IV : 471 pp.Veron, J.E.N. and Smith, M.S. 2000. Corals of the World. Vol. I, II & III. Australian Institute of Marine Science.Verril, A.E. 1866. Synopsis of the polyps and corals of the North Pacific Exploring Expedition, 1853-1856, withdescriptions of some additional species from the west coast of North America. Commun. Essex. Inst., 5 :17-50.Verrill, A.E. 1901. Variations and nomenclature of Bermudian, West Indian and Brazilian reef corals with notes onvarious Indo-Pacific corals. Trans. Conn, Acad. Arts Sci., 11 : 63-168, pl, 10-36.

84 Rec. zool. Surv. India92°400"E93°00"E92°4430"E92°450"ENN12°300"N12°300"N11°430"NSOUTH ANDAMANRESERVE FOREST11°430"N11°430"NCOCONUTPLANTATIONNORTH BAY11°4230"N11°400"N11°400"N11°420"N12311°420"N92°400"N93°00"E11°4130"N11°4130"N11°410"N11°410"N92°4430"E92°450"EFig. 1. a) Study area and sampling location in North Bay reef, South Andaman92°400"E93°00"E93°0'0"E93°5'0"EN12°10'0"NN12°10'0"N12°300"N12°300"N12°5'0"NHENRYLAWRENCEJOHNLAWRENCEPEELISLAND12°5'0"NTADMABAY11°400"N11°400"N12°0'0"NHAVELOCKISLAND12°0'0"N92°400"N93°00"E93°0'0"E93°5'0"EFig. 1. b) Study area and sampling location in Ritchie’s Archipelago, South Andaman

RAJAN, RAGHURAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA : New records of Scleractinians from Andaman Islands 85PLATE–Ia. Montipora danae, material examined; b.Verrucae arranged in line to the peripheral radiating ridges; c. Radiating ridges at theperiphery; d. Verrucae showing finer reticula; e. Arrangement of verrucae and corallites in the laminar sheet; f. Details of corallitestructures

86 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE–IIa. & e. Fungia granulosa, coralla showing dorsal view; b. & f. Ventral view of the coralla; c. Septa showing waviness, observedalso in higher orders; g. Small denticules in the septa at the corallum periphery; d. Granular margins of the septa; h. Granularcostae

RAJAN, RAGHURAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA : New records of Scleractinians from Andaman Islands 87PLATE–IIIa. Herpolitha weberi, dorsal view of the corallum; b. Primary septa at the extremities reaching the peripheries, others encircled bya loop of the 3 rd group of septa; c. Small cup shaped septal teeth; d. Arrangement of costae; e. Spinulose spines of the costa; f.Corallum showing arch

88 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE–IVa. Hydnophora grandis, corallum; b. & c. Branches showing individually projected monticules; d. Arrangement of septa; e.Monticules appear fused at younger branch tips; f. Matured branch tips showing individual monticules; g. In-situ photograph ofa ramose colony.

RAJAN, RAGHURAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA : New records of Scleractinians from Andaman Islands 89PLATE–Va. Porites stephensoni, material examined; b. Arrangement of corallites; c. & d. Details of corallite structures

90 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE–VIa. Porites annae,corallum showing nodular growth; b. A large colony at 6 m depth; d. Colony at a very shallow depth; e. & g.Colonies at shallower depths with polyps extended; c. Arrangement of corallites; f. Details of corallite structures

RAJAN, RAGHURAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA : New records of Scleractinians from Andaman Islands 91PLATE–VIIa. Porites monticulosa, laminar corallum; b. Laminar sheet showing ridges; c. Arrangement of corallites; d. Details of corallitestructures; e. A laminar colony with upward projections developing into a slender coloumn; f. Encrusting colony with slendercolumns; g. Encrusting colony with nodular projections

92 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPLATE–VIIIa. Porites latistella, corallum showing excavated corallites; b. Branches with flattened tips; c. Arrangement of corallites; d. Detailsof corallite structures; e. & f. Smaller colonies at shallower depths

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 93-106, 2010STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOUR SPECIES OF HORNBILLS FROM NORTHAND CENTRAL WESTERN GHAT—A REPORTBARID BARAN DUTTA AND RENGASAMY SAKTHIVELZoological Survey of India,M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700 053INTRODUCTIONThe Western Ghats is one of the globally recognized“Hot Spots” for biodiversity in India (Mayers, 1990). Itlies between 20° 12´ N in the north of Navpur orsomewhat north of river Tapati and Kanyakumari (8°06´ N, 77° 35´ E) in the south and spread over six states.The Western Ghats complex encompasses southernGujarat, western Maharashtra, Goa, western Karnataka,Kerala and part of Tamil Nadu (Fig. 1). It is locatedbetween the Tropical African (Ethiopian) and the Indo-Malayan biogeographic regions. Physiographically thearea is somewhat flattened or flat-topped range of hillsrise from the Arabian Sea and runs more or less parallelwith it. The major hill ranges are the Nilgiri, Annamalai,Palanis and Cardamom hills.The Western Ghats, being an important part of themonsoon land, is typically characterized by thedevelopment of the luxuriant tropical rainforests. Thevegetation is influenced more by the abundance ofseasonal rainfall than atmospheric temperature. Thisimportant biogeographic zone offers most suitableniche to the avifauna and it contains about 59% ofIndian forms. Out of which 3 genera and 4 species ofhornbills inhabit in Western Ghats. Hornbill is a largebird with considerably huge curved bills surmountedby casque in most of the species. It harbours in thesemi-evergreen forests. The avifauna of Western Ghatsand South India was studied by Davison (1883), Dewar(1904), Ali (1942-43), Ali (1969), Ali and Ripley (1970),Nicholas (1937). In recent years the birds are studiedby Mahabal and Vasanth (2001), Pande et al (2003).This report deals with the distribution and abundanceof our species of hornbills namely Malabar GreyHornbill, Indian Grey Hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbilland Great Pied Hornbill (Family Bucerodidae) in someareas of Western Ghats.STUDY AREASChatterjee (1940) classified the Western Ghats infour broad phytogeographic regions. The regions are(i) River Tapti to Goa; (ii) River Kalinadi to Coorg; (iii)the Nilgiris; (iv) The Anamalai, Palanis and Cardomumhills. The present studies on hornbills were carried outin two regions—(i) River Tapti to Goa, coveringsouthern Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra and Goa and(ii) River Kalinadi to Coorg, which included part ofKarnataka. The states and districts that are included inthese two complexes of Western Ghats fall in northWestern Ghats and central Western Ghats (Fig. 2). Thephysiography of the northern Western Ghats consistedof ravines and canyons, flattopped spurs interesectedby valleys on the easter side and the central WesternGhats regions having valleys surrounded by deepgorges 3-5 km across and 30 m deep. At Maharashtrastate many hills have terrace sides and flat tops andgreat Marathas have built forts in some hilltops. theaverage elevation of the hills is about 500 m and somepeaks arise up to 1000 m. The rainfall is heavy, may goup to 5000 mm in a year. The average maximum andminimum temperature are 30° c and 9.5° c respectivelyand at higher elevation the temperature goes down upto 5° c.The major rivers in the study areas are Tapti,Krishna, Savitri, Koyna, Bhima, Kalinadi etc. Highatmosphere humidity, warm temperature and high

94 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaTable-1 : Selected characters to identify the hornbills in field.SpeciesMalabar Grey Hornbill(Ocyceros griseus)Indian Grey Hornbill(Ocyceros birostris)Malabar Pied Hornbill(Anthracoceroscoronatus)Great Pied Hornbill(Buceros bicornis)StatusEndemic-NT (IUCN)NT (IUCN)CharactersBill with no casque, bill colour yellow with brownish re-tinge at the tip.Plumage slaty grey.Bill with small feel-shaped casque, bill almost wholly yellow. Plumagebrownish grey.Casque compressed, ridge-like and ending in a simple point, bill is black.White underparts, black neck.Bill large high casque, ending anteriorly in two points. Underparts andwings black, tail with a broad black subterminal band. White neck.Table-2 : Description and distribution of hornbills in Western Ghats.SpeciesMalabar Grey Hornbill(Ocyceros griseus)Indian Grey Hornbill(Ocyceros birostris)Malabar Pied Hornbill(Anthracoceroscoronatus)Great Pied Hornbill(Buceros bicornis)CharactersSlaty grey hornbill. Head, throat andbreast streaked with whitish, wings andtail black with white tipped.No casque on bill, Sexes alike.Brownish grey with black and whiltetipped graduated tail.Heavy curved bill surmounted by apointed casque. Sexes alike.Large pied hornbill with black nect andwhite under parts.A huge yellow and black bill surmountedby a ridgelike casque ending in front ina single point. Female smaller.A large black and white bird with neck,abdomen and tail white in colour. Face,wings and under parts black.A large yellow bill surmounted by aconcave topped casque. Female smaller.DistributionMumbai, Khandala south through southernMaharashtra, Goa, western Karnataka,western Tamil Nadu and Kerala. (Ali & Ripley,1970).Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat.Absent in the arid parts of Gujarat and alsoin the heavy rainfall areas of Kerala. (Ali &Ripley, 1970).Ratnagiri of Maharashtra through Goa,western Karnataka, western Tamil Nadu andKerala. (Ali & Ripley, 1970).Khandala (18°N, 74°E) of Maharashtra souththrough Goa, western Karnataka, westernTamil Nadu and Kerala. (Ali & Ripley, 1970).precipitation of southeast monsoon favours deepforests with dense undergrowth. The flora recorded areTectona grandis, Terminalis tomemtosa, T. arjuna, T.,peniculata, Ixora parviflora, Adina cordifolia, Buteafrondosa, Ziziphus rugosa, Anogeissus laifolia, Ficusbengalensis, Eugenia janbolana. Bamboo (Bambusaarundinacea, Dendrocalamus strictus) and medicinalplants are much common in these areas.METHODOLOGYInitially available literatures were consulted andbefore the field survey was initiated, information wasgathered from forest personnel associated in the field,local people and tribal communities of the forests. Thehornbills are frugivorous birds and used the uppercanopy of the trees, thus the forest types and areaswere selected depending upon roosting sites andfeeding trees. A slow moving vehicle surveyed theentire areas with three observers. The forests tractsand trials were surveyed on foot. The study wasconducted by adopting random sampling technique.Nearly 50 km stretch was covered in each day surveyand presence of hornbills either sighted or reportedwas being recorded. As the habitable areas of thehornbills spill over to a number of states/districts, amultiple field trips were conducted. A total of 90 dayswas spent in the field for locating these birds and atabout 500 hours were spent. During 2001-2003,

DUTTA & SAKTHIVEL : Status and distribution of four species of Hornbills from North and......A Report 95altogether six surveys were conducted coveringNarmada district of Gujarat south through Jog Falls ofKarnataka. The mechanical aid used in the field wasbinoculars (7 × 50). During field survey minute andcareful observation could only distringuish the fourdifferent species of hornbills. There were somecharacters, so close in the four species of hornbills;therefore some major criteria were chosen to identifythe species in the field shown in Table-1.A total of 228 hornbills were sighted comprising ofall four species in the surveyed areas of Western Ghats(Table-3). About 132 reported information of hornbillsother than the observed data was collected exceptMalabar Grey Hornbill (Table-4). During the entire periodof survey in Western Ghats we could fail to gather anyinformation on the presence of this species of bird inother areas.Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseusThere were 21 birds sighted during the course ofsurvey in Western Ghats (north and central), out ofwhich 8 birds were from Karnataka and 13 birds fromMaharashtra (Table-3). Malabar Grey Hornbills werelocated from localities in Western Ghats 13 birds weresighted in Amboli Ghats in Sindhudurg district ofMaharashtra of which 7 birds were seen in a mixedflock of Malabar Pied Hornbills. 3 birds were sightedfrom Karnataka and 5 from near Molem, Goa. In theNational Zoological Collection, Kolkata, it was recordedthat majority of Malabar grey hornbills were collectedfrom Goa part of Western Ghats. The 14 examples thatwere collected, of which 12 birds were represented fromGoa during 1968-1981 periods. It was also surprisingthat no report was available for the presence of thisspecies in other areas of Western Ghats except onlyvery few places in Goa. Ali and Ripley (1970) recordeddistribution range of Malabar Grey Hornbill in WesternGhats from Mumbai and Khandala south throughsouthern Maharashtra, Goa, western Karnataka, westernTamil Nadu and Kerala. The present study revealedthat this species no longer exists in Mumbai, Khandalaup to Kolhapur and Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.The Malabar Grey Hornbill not even found in theDharwar and Shimoga district of Karnataka and it isreplaced by another species of hornbill, the Indian GreyHornbill. The Malabar Grey Hornbill is now restrictedin its distribution in some parts of Maharashtra andGoa in Western Ghats (Fig. 3).Table-3 : The distribution of hornbills in north and central Western Ghats.Sl. Species State/District Locality Habitat TotalNo.No. bird1Malabar Grey Hornbill Sindhudurg Amboli GhatF 62(Ocyceros griseus)MaharashtraSindhudurg Amboli GhatF 7Maharashtra3 Molem, Goa Molem F 54Belgaum, NardenKarnatakaV 55 Karnataka Jog Falls F 3Total 266Indian Grey Hornbill Narmada/ Sorsi, MandviF 6(Ocyceros birostris) Gujarat range7Narmada/ Kevdi, VansdaF 7GujaratN.P.Sholapur, Villages near8 Maharashtra Nannaj V 8Sancuary9Pune,DhebewadiMaharashtraT 5

96 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaSl. Species State/District Locality Habitat TotalNo.No. bird10Purne,DhebewadiT 311MaharashtraSatara,Pune-KholapurV 112MaharashtraRaigad,Karnala BirdF 8Maharashtra Sanctuary13Dharward/ DandeliT 514KarnatakaShimoga/ YarmukhV 6Karnataka village15Shimoga, ShimogaT 30KarnatakaTotal 79Malabar Pied Hornbill16 (Anthracoceros Satara, Pratapgarh V 3coronatus)Maharashtra17 Kolhapur,Fanasgaon V 418 Maharashtra19Kolhapur,Velgive V 220MaharashtraRatnagiri,Jaitapur F 621MaharashtraRatnagiri,Devrukh V 322MaharashtraRatnagiri,Kundi V 223MaharashtraRatnagiri,Sakharpa V 424MaharashtraRatnagiri,Hatkhamba V 425MaharashtraRatnagiriUjgaon V 326MaharashtraRatnagiri,Talekanta V 327MaharashtraRatnagiri,Pangri V 428MaharashtraSindhudurg,Majgaon F 229MaharashtraSindhudurg,Amboli Ghat F 630MaharashtraDaraward,Dandeli F 53Karnataka

DUTTA & SAKTHIVEL : Status and distribution of four species of Hornbills from North and......A Report 97Sl. Species State/District Locality Habitat TotalNo.No. bird31Shimoga,Bhadra WLS F 132KarnatakaShimoga,Sharavati WLS F 7KarnatakaTotal 11133Great Pied HornbillSatara,Pratapgarh V 234(Buceros bicornis)MaharashtraSatara,Pratapgarh T 235MaharashtraSatara,Dhudosi V 236MaharashtraDarwardGund range,F 4Karnataka Dandeli div.37ShimogaSharavati F 2KarnatakaTotal 12Grand Total 228Abbreviation : V-Village; F-Forest; T-TownIndian Grey Hornbill Ocyceros birostris Pune district, Maharashtra. During the course of survey79 Indian grey hornbills were recorded from northin Western Ghats, this species was reported from 10localities comprising forest, village and town areas.and central Western Ghats during the surveys; of whichAltogether 12 birds were reported on enquiry at various13 from Gujarat, 25 birds were slighted in Maharashtra,levels in the large areas that were surveyed. Theand 41 from Karnataka parts. The Gujarat populationpopulation of Indian Grey Hornbill recorded fromwas recorded from the forests. Maharashtra andWestern Ghats was very low and distributed in someKarnataka population were observed in forests, villagespockets. It was observed that this species harbour fromand towns (Table-3). the highest concentration of Narmada district of Gujarat to Satara district ofIndian Grey Hornbills in a single spot was recorded Maharashtra and in the Shimoga district of Karnataka.from Shimoga town, Karnataka and it was 30 in number. The left out stretch from Kolhapur district, MaharashtraThe Indian Grey Hornbills’ collection in the Zoological through Goa and Belgaum district, Karnataka nowSurvey of India from Western Ghats was only from occupied by the Malabar Grey Hornbill (Fig. 3).Table-4 : The distribution of hornbills in north and central Western Ghats (Reported).Sl. Species State/District Locality Habitat TotalNo.No. bird1Malabar Grey HornbillNone2(Ocyceros griseus)Indian Grey Hornbill Gujarat/ Nenai Falls SagaiF 33(Ocyceros birostris) Narmada”rangeShoolpaneswarWLSSaribar beat,F 3Pipalod Range

98 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaSl. Species State/District Locality Habitat TotalNo.No. bird4 Gujarat/ Vaghmar beat F 2Narmada Dumakhal,5 ” Namgir, F 2Dediapada6Maharashtra, Valpai Range, DevF 2DhuleRiverTotal 12Malabar Pied Hornbill7 (Anthracoceros Goa Codra village V 10+coronatus)(Ponda)8Maharashtra Madkol & DanoliV 8+Sindhudurg village9 ” Parula (Vengurla) V 2+10 ”OtawanaV 2+11 ”(Sawanwadi)Talera &V 10+”VidaydurgDarumV 2+(Kankavali)12Maharashtra,Dongar (Rajapur) F 6+Ratnagiri13 ” Kundi (Devrukh) V 15+14 ”Tulsani(Sangameswar)V 10+15 ”Hansgaon(Dajipur)V 2+16Maharashtra,RaigarhKhandas V 2+17Karnataka, Kulig, NatureDandeliCampF 2+18 ” Konappa (Dandeli) V 3+19 ” Gunda Range F 4+20 ” Kadagani (Anshi) V 2+21 ” Kudagadi (Anshi) V 3+22Karnataka,Haihole (Saithyali) F 2ShimogaTotal 85Great Pied Hornbill Dandeli WLS, Yarmuchh-23 (Buceros bicornis) Karnataka Karemnae, F 35Gond RangeAbbreviation : V-Village; F-Forest; T-TownGrand Total 132

DUTTA & SAKTHIVEL : Status and distribution of four species of Hornbills from North and......A Report 99Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus*A total of 111 Malabar Pied Hornbills were recordedfrom Western Ghats, of which 50 birds were sighted inMaharashtra part and remaining 61 from Karnataka part(Table-3). No birds were recorded from Goa. Enquiryfrom the local people revealed that this bird paid regularvisit in the Codra village, near Molem, Goa duringfruiting season and the number was between 8 and 10.The largest flock of 53 Malabar Pied Hornbills wasrecorded from Dandeli, Karnataka. These birds wereroosting in the trees in the afternoon after feeding. theentire population of Malabar Pied Hornbill of Karnatakaharbour in the forests, whereas only 18 birds were foundin the forests of Maharashtra. The remaining 32 birdsrecorded from Maharashtra were inhabited in thevillages, of which 23 birds were observed in the villagesof Ratnagiri district. During the surveys 111 birds werereported from the Western Ghats and it spread overfrom Satara and Kolhapur through Sindhudurg districtsof Maharashtra south to Jog Falls of Karnataka (Fig.3). The survey also revealed that Malabar Pied Hornbillswere found more in the villages, of Maharashtra with agood population. Local enquiry in the villages alsoconfirmed that the many a times villagers noticed thislarge bird flying across.Great Pied Hornbill Buceros bicornis**The population of this bird is very low in theseparts of Western Ghats. Altogether only 12 birds wererecorded from the entire surveyed areas of which 6birds were seen from Satara district of Maharashtra andequal number from Karnataka (Table-3) All Great PiedHornbills were observed in the forests of the two states.Local people of Velgire village, Kankavali taluka,Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra reported to see thisbird during fruiting season (April-May) of every year.Villagers of Kundi village, c. 20 km. from Devrukh,Sangameswar taluka, Ratnagiri district, reported 6-7birds during April-May 2002. Reported Informationrevealed that the villagers and forest personnel atYarmuckh-Karemane areas near Gund Range of DandeliWildlife Sanctuary of Karnataka sighted nearly 30-35birds. This bird visits this place during September-October every year when Ciddar fruits are available.So, the Great Pied Hornbill found in Satara districts ofMaharashtra is a disjunctive isolated population(Fig. 3).Negative Areas :Table-5 : Negative areas of the North and Central Western Ghats (surveys were undertaken but hornbills werenot found).Sl. Surveyed Area Period of SurveyNo.1 Samot, Dediapada Taluka, Narmada district, Gujarat (Fig. 4) 19.07.2003-22.07.20032 Bardipada, Purna WLS, North Dang Division, Ahwa district, Gujarat 23.07.2003-25.07.20033 Pimpri, South Dang Division, Vansda NP, Navsari district, Gujarat 26.07.2003-29.07.20034 Mahabaleswar & Pratabgarh, Satara district, Maharashtra (Fig. 5 & 6) 07.08.2002-09.08.20025 Khadala, Raigad district, Maharashtra (Fig. 7) 10.08.2002-11.08.20026 Pen and Alibag Maharashtra (Fig. 8) 12.08.20027 Panvel, Karmala Bird Sanctuary, Raigad, Maharashtra (Fig. 9) 13.08.20028 Poi, Karjat, Raigad, Maharashtra 14.08.2002-16.08.20029 Koyna WLS, Karad, Satara district, Maharashtra 10.11.200110 Chinchini, Pune district, Maharashtra 6.11.200111 Sagareswar WLS, Islampur, Sangli district, Maharashtra 17.11.200112 Panhala, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra 10.11.200113 Waranabad Dam, Chandoli WLS, Kolhapur district 15.11.200114 Radhanagri WLS, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra 15.11.2001*2♂ 1♀ were observed from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (Pittie, A 2003); 4 examples on 30.07.2003 and a flock on09.03.2003 were observed from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai, Maharashtra (Andheria et al 2003).**2 examples on 30.07.200 and 1♀ on 09.03.2003 were observed from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Maharashtra (Andheriaet al 2003).

100 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaDISCUSSIONSurveys of north and central parts of Western Ghatsrevealed an approximate estimation harbouring localitiesbut not the population desnity of the hornbills. Thefour species of hornbills that were found in WesternGhats at present, observed patchy distribution at certainpockets fallen under Maharashtra, Goa and part ofKarnataka (Fig. 3). The distribution is not continuousone as referred by Ali and Ripley (1970) nearly 30 yearsback. Out of four species of hornbills that are inhabitedin Western Ghats, the Indian Grey Hornbills andMalabar Pied Hornbills were more in numbers. the IndianGrey Hornbills now found in good concentration inKarnala Bird Sanctuary, Raigad district, Dhebewadi,Pune district, Maharashtra and Shimoga district ofKarnataka. The birds were recorded in forests, villagesand towns of the surveyed areas. The Malabar PiedHornbills were recorded in the forests and a goodnumber were located all along the forests tracts ofKonkan Railway running from north to south. Thehighest concentration of this bird was observed inDandeli forest of Karnataka consisting of 53+ birds.The Malabar Pied Hornbill prefers high trees with thickfoliage to hide them. They also prefer villages near theforested areas. The populationof Malabar GreyHornbills and Great Pied Hornbills were very poor ascompared to Indian Grey Hornbill and Malabar PiedHornbill in Western Ghats as observed during the study.Only 21 birds of Malabar Grey Hornbills and 12 birdsof Great Pied Hornbills were recorded in large areas ofWestern Ghats. It is evident from earlier records thatMalabar Grey Hornbills were plenty in numbers aboutthirty years back in Goa (Ali & Ripley 1970 and NationalZoological Collections, Kolkata). Now a days due torapid urbanization, forest cutting, habitat loss, thepopulation of Malabar Grey Hornbill had declined in2001-2002 in these areas. It was observed that now adays Malabar Grey Hornbills are not found in Dharwarand Shimoga districts of Karnataka, once they werefound in good numbers. Itr seems that they are beingreplaced by the Indian Grey Hornbills.RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSERVATIONHornbill, a small family of frugivorous birds, consistsof five genera and nine species in the Indian forms, ofwhich the Western Ghat Complex shares three generaand four species. The hornbills whatsoever found inMaharashtra and Goa is well protected due to religiousbelief. According to Hindu mythology, it is called “GuardPakshi”, means the carrier of Lord Vishnu. Thepopulation of hornbills is more in the plains rather thanin the hills where tribal people kill them for flesh andfeathers. They also used the head with casque of thehornbills for decorative purposes. Morevoer, hornbillsare mostly dweller of evergreen forest which isdecreasing day by day. So the hornbills are concurrentlydecreasing mainly due to loss of habitats. It is wellpresumed that coming days are not rosy for hornbills.It was observed from this study that population ofMalabar Grey Hornbill and Great Pied Hornbill is veryless. Moreover Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseusis n endemic bird species and restricted to WesternGhats only (Jathar and Rahmani, 2006). So, it requiresfull protection. Further, both Malabar Pied HornbillAnthracoceros coronatus and Great Pied HornbillBuceros bicornis are included in Schedule-I, part-III(Birds) of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (asamended up to 2002) and are also categorized as NearThreatened species as per Red List species of Birdsfrom India as per Bird Life International 2004. Hencethey also need a protection. So in this context, beforeall these hornbill species silently disappear, a positivecution should be taken to protect the remainingpopulation of hornbills from north and centgral WesternGhats.1. Steps should be taken to preserve forest patches ofMaharashtra and Karnataka, particularly where GreatPied Hornbill and Malabar Grey Hornbill are found.2. Forest patch of Molem, Goa, is steady decreasing.This patch should also keep aloof from speedyurbanization.3. Human association is preferred by hornbills, as itwas seen in whole of Maharashtra; Dandeli andShimoga towns of Karnataka where both IndianGrey Hornbill and Malabar Pied Hornbill keepshuman association for their safety. So it is need ofthe day to be friend with hornbills and not to disturbthem at their roosting and nesting places. Hence,there is a need to educate the local people andSchool children; make them aware throughnewspaper, radio, television programmes and

DUTTA & SAKTHIVEL : Status and distribution of four species of Hornbills from North and......A Report 101Fig. 1 : Map of Western Ghats (above)Fig. 2 : Map of surveyed and non surveyed parts of WesternGhats during the study period1. Indian Grey Hornbill2. Malabat Grey Hornbill3. Malabar Pied Hornbill 4. Great Pied Hornbill

102 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaPict. 1. Indian Grey HornbillPict. 2. Malabar Grey HornbillPict. 3. Flock of Malabar Pied HornbillPict. 4. Malabar Pied HornbillPict. 5. Great Pied HornbillFour species of Hornbills in North and Central Western Ghats

DUTTA & SAKTHIVEL : Status and distribution of four species of Hornbills from North and......A Report 103Great Pied Hornbill Great Pied Hornbill Indian Grey Hornbill Indian Grey HornbillPast Distribution Present Distribution Past Distribution Present DistributionMalabar Grey Hornbill Malabar Grey Hornbill Malabar Pied Hornbill Malabar Pied HornbillPast Distribution Present Distribution Past Distribution Present Distribution(Sporadic)Fig. 3 : Present and past (Ali & Ripley 1970) distribution of Hornbills in north and central Western GhatsN.B. : Red line across the sketches is the demarcation line in between northern (surveyed) and southern (nost surveyedportionof the Western ghats.

104 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaFig. 4. Camp : Samot, Taluka : Dediapada,Dist. : Narmada, GujaratFig. 5. Camp : Pratapgarh, Dist. Satara, MaharashtraFig. 6. Camp : Mahabaleswar, Dist. : Satara,MaharashtraFig. 7. Camp : Khandala, Dist. : Raigad, MaharashtraFig. 8. Camp : Khandala, Dist. : Raigad,MaharashtraFig. 9. Camp : Panvel, Dist. : raigad, MaharashtraFig. 4-9 : Imaginary sketches of surveyed areas of North and Central Western Ghats where hornbills were not found.

DUTTA & SAKTHIVEL : Status and distribution of four species of Hornbills from North and......A Report 105The whole stretch of hills starting fromTarele to Shergaon under Devgarh Taluka,sindhudurg district is the homeland ofMalabar Pied Hornbill along with GreatIndian Pied Hornbill.Whole stretch has a very good populationof Malabar Pied HornbillThis stretch has a concentration of MalabarPied HornbillFig. 10 : Distribution sketch of Malabar Pied Hornbill in Maharashtra.

106 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiainvolve them along with NGOs, Forest Departmentin conservation activities.4. Enforcement Authorities like Forest and Policedepartments of these states should take legal actionagainst the poaching activities, illegal shooting ofhornbills for flesh, feathers and bill with casque.SUMMARYAltogether 6 surveys were conducted during, 2001-2003 in north and central Western Ghats for four speciesof hornbills that are distributed in the Western Ghatscomplex. A total of 223 hornbills were sighted and about132 ± reported information other than observed datawere collected except Malabar Grey Hornbill. Thepopulation of all four species appeared to be decliningand the worst affected is Great Pied Hornbill of whichtwo isolated thin population were observed in the studyarea. Indian Grey Hornbill and Malabar Pied Hornbillhave steady population in comparison with other twospecies. Malabar Grey Hornbill at present limits itsdistribution in some pocket of Goa State. To providethin lifeline on the four species of hornbills in northand central Western Ghats, habitat so for remains tilldate, should be kept intact in order to check eliminationof hornbills in future.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors are indebted to the Director, ZoologicalSurvey of India for giving me the permission to do thiswork. We express our sincere thanks to Dr. Ramakrishnafor his continuous encouragement. Our hearty thanksto Shri Supriya Chowdhury for his painstaking effortto do this paper. We deeply acknowledge to SatishPande et al. 2003 for taking some photographs ofHornbills. Our sincere thanks to Mr. S. B. Ram,Taxidermist Gr. I; A. K. Singh, H.Q. ZSI, Kolkata; andSunil Salunke Motor Driver, Western Regional Station(ZSI), Pune for their co-operation in the field work.REFERENCESAli, Salim (1942-43). The birds of Mysore, parts, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 43 : 318-34.Ali, Salim (1969). Birds of Kerala 2 nd Edition, Oxford University Press, Bombay.Ali, Salim and Ripley, S. Dhillon (1987) Compact Edition of the Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan,Oxford University Press, Bombay.Chatterjee, D. (1940) Studies on the endemic Flora of India and Burma. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengali. 5 : 19-67.Davidson, W. (1883). Notes on some birds collected the Nilgiri and parts of Wynaad and southern Mysore. StrayFeather, 10 : 329-419.Dewar, Douglas (1904). Some notes on the birds taken at Coonoor, Nilgiris, In the May 1904. J. Bombay nat. Hist.Soc., 16 : 153-154.Jathar, G.A. and Rahmani, A.R. (2006) Endemic Birds of India. Buceros, 11(2 & 3) : 1-53.Kannan, R. and James, D.A. (1997). Breeding Biology of the Great Pied Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) in the AnaimalaiHills of Southern India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society. 94 : 451-465.Mahabal, Anil and Vasanth, M. (2001). Fauna of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Aves. Zool. Sur. India, Fauna ofConservation Area Series 11 : Fauna of Nilgiri Biosphere Resrve : 245-310.Manakadan, R. and Pittie, A. (2001). Standardised common and scientific names of the birds of the IndianSubcontinent. Buceros 6(1) : 1-37.Mudappa, D. (2000). Breeding biology of the Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) in southern WesternGhats, India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 97(1) : 15-24.Mudappa, D.C. and Kannan, R. (1997). Nest site characteristics and nesting success of Malabar Grey Hornbill insouthern Western Ghats, India, Wilson Bulletien. 109 : 102-111.Nicholas, E.G. (1937). The Kodaikanal birds and how to name them. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society,39 : 812-830.Pande, Satish, S. Tambe, Clement Francis M. and Niranjan, Sant (2003). Birds of Western Ghats, Konkan andMalabar (including Birds of Goa). Bombay Natural History society and Oxford University Press.

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 107-112, 2010NOTES ON THE ZOO-GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANTARCTIC BIRDSBASED ON THE SIGHTING OF ZSI SCIENTISTS DURING 15 TH AND22 ND INDIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITIONS*J.K. DE AND **BULGANIN MITRAZoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700053*Member of the 22 nd Expedition, **Member of the 15 th ExpeditionINTRODUCTIONThe Southern Ocean is oceanographically definedas an ocean productive connected with the AntarcticCircumpolar Current, which circulates around Antarctica.This is the aquatic zone in the face of earth wheremarine birds come in the austral spring and summer toincubate their eggs and to care for their young. Duringthese few months there are sufficient nutrients in thesurface of ocean waters to support tremendous bloomsof marine plants and the birds spend much of their timein this nutrient rich ocean.The chapter of Indian Antarctic Programme openedway back in 1981, when the first Indian ScientificExpedition to Antarctica was flagged off from Goa, India.The first scientist from Zoological Survey of Indiajoined 9 th expedition during 1989-1990. Since then acontinuing monitoring programme was taken upspecially on birds and mammals of Antarctic Ocean andmoss-inhabiting invertebrate fauna of SchirmacherOasis, by the ZSI scientists. Daily watch by thescientists was recorded en-route from the ship onsighting of birds and mammals (Fig. 1).Information on the occurrence and distribution ofsea birds of the Indian Ocean sector is meager.Parulekar (1983) published first paper on the occurrenceof sea birds in Indian Ocean. Afterwards, Mathew(1994), Chattopadhyay (1995), Sathyakumar (1998) andBhatnagar and Sathyakumar (1999) published reportson the observation of Antarctic birds. This presentcommunication reveals a comparative study on the zoogeographicaldistribution of Antarctic birds in twodifferent routes of Indian Antarctic expedition (15 th fromGoa and 22 nd from Cape Town, South Africa). Attemptshave also been made to find out the variation ofdistributional ranges and occurrence of marine birdssince the 11 th Indian Antarctic Scientific Expedition.This communication is dedicated in the memory ofLate Srikumar Chattopadhyay, a great Ornithologist anda member of 11 th Indian Antarctic Expedition, whodeeply inspired us and left an everlasting influence onus.STUDY AREAThe 15 th expedition route started from Goa (15° 24 N',73° 48' E) to Indian Bay (69° 56' S, 11° 54’E) in Antarcticavia Mauritius and almost 11,000 km stretch of the IndianOcean was traversed during the onward journey andsame during the return journey. The member of the 22 ndexpedition reached Cape Town from Goa by Air andlanded at Indian Bay by ship through the AtlanticOcean. While return to India the same route wasfollowed. Observations of marine birds were carried outover a vast area from 36°S to 69°S and 30° E to 48° Eand from 34°S to 70°S and 12° E to 39° E of Antarcticand sub-Antarctic region during 15 th and 22 ndexpeditions respectively (Fig. 5). These areas werecomprised of open sea, floating ice, pack ice, polynia,ice shaft and continental ice. We have considered hereonly latitude-wise distribution of birds on sightings inboth the expeditions. For easy understandings the zoogeographicaldistribution of the birds, the study areas

108 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiahave been divided into three broad divisions i.e.,Temperate zone (36°S to 49°S) where cool sub-Antarcticand the warmer sub-tropical surface water is mixing up.Sub-Antarctic or sub-polar zone (50°S to 59°S) wheresurface layer with slightly warmer Sub-antarctic waterand deeper layer with cold denser Antarctic water andthe last and third zone is Antarctic or polar zone (60°Sto 69°S) which is cooled by ice and wind and morebiologically rich.MATERIALS AND METHODSBirds were Observed from ship with the help of highpower field binocular (One 8×40B Luminar and one10×50 extra wide Bushnell). Besides recording of birdspecies, their abundance and distributional range werealso recorded on voyage during both the onward andreturn journeys. Photographs were taken with a still 35mm camera. The position of each sighting place wasrecorded by using the Magellan GPS 5000 NAV PROequipment.RESULTS1. Wandering Albatross : Diomedea exulansexulans Linnaeus : This species is highly pelagic inAntarctic and Sub-Antarctic water but rarely occursnear pack ice (Watson, 1975). This species was sightedin both the voyages. Distributions of the bird in lowerlatitude are same in the two voyages (Temperate zone)but in 22 nd expedition the bird has been found at muchhigher latitude (Sub-polar zone) than 15 th expedition.Parulekar (1983) reported this bird during the 1stAntarctic expedition almost in the Antarctic or Polarregion (in between 59°-69° S).2. Grey Headed Albatross : Diomedea chrysostomaForster : Usually this bird is found in Antarctic andSub-Antarctic waters but its tendency is to occur inhigher latitudes where land masses are absent (Watson,1975). During the 15 th expedition this species wasrecorded only from the Sub-Antarctic or Sub-Polarregion, but in 22 nd expedition this species was sightedin both temperate and Sub-Antarctic zones.3. Yellow-Nosed Albatross : Diomedeachlorohynchos Gmelin : This species is pelagic in natureand is found largely in sub-tropical and warmer Sub-Antarctic waters (Watson, 1975). This bird was onlysighted in 22 nd expedition and from sub-Antarctic zone.Parulekar (1983) also reported this bird in betweentemperate and sub-Antarctic zones.4. Sooty Albatross : Phoebetria fusca Hilsenberg :This species is mostly found in temperate and sub-Antarctic waters and highly pelagic in nature (Watson,1975).This species was sighted only during the 15 thexpedition. It was observed that this species isdistributed in all the three zones of Southern Oceani.e., Temperate, sub-Antarctic and Antarctic.5. Laysan Albatross : Diomedea immutabilisRothschild : This bird is very rare and only sightedduring the 15 th expedition. The distributional range ofthis species was found upto sub-Antarctic zone fromtemperate zone.6. Black-Browed Albatross : Diomedea melanophrisTemminck : Generally this bird is found in Antarcticand sub-Antarctic waters.Its occurs both offshore andfar out to sea but tends to favour the seas near thecontinental landmasses (Watson, 1975). Like the LaysanAlbatross this bird was also found in both thetemperate and sub-Antarctic zones and sighted only in15 th expedition.7. Royal Albatross : Diomedea epomophoraLesson : This bird is very common in Antarctic water.This bird was sighted in the temperate zone only duringthe 15 th expedition.8. Light mantled Sooty Albatross : Phoebetriapalpebrata Forster : This bird is highly pelagic anddistributed all along the Antarctic waters; its southernlimit seems to be heavy pack ice at the edge of theAntarctic continent (Watson, 1975). During the 15 thexpedition this bird was recorded from both thetemperate and sub-Antarctic zones. But it was neversighted in 22 nd expedition.9. White Chinned Petrel : Procellariaaequinoctialis aequinoctialis Linnaeus : Widespreadin pelagic and offshore waters of the Sub-Antarcticand uncommon in south of the Antarctic convergence(Watson, 1975). This species was recorded in both theexpeditions. In both the voyages the bird was recordedfrom the temperate zone but in the 15 th expedition thedistributional range extended up to the sub-Antarcticzone.

DE AND MITRA : Notes on the Zoo-Geographical Distribution of Antarctic Birds ..... Antarctic Expeditions 10910. Southern Giant Fulmer/Southern Giant Petrel :Macronectes giganteus (Gmelin) : They are pelagic inAntarctic and sub Antarctic waters throughout the year(Watson, 1975). The distributional range of this birdwas recorded in all the three zones by the 22 ndexpedition member whereas it was only reported fromtemperate zone during 15 th expedition.11. Fairy Prion : Pachyptila turtur turtur (Kuhl) :According to Watson (1975) this bird is very commonin sub-tropical and sub-Antarctic waters. This bird wassighted in the temperate zone in both the expeditions.12. Blue Petrel : Holobaena caerulea (Gmelin) :This species was reported from the cold sub-Antarcticand Antarctic waters (Watson, 1975). But during the15 th expedition this species was reported from bothtemperate and sub-Antarctic zones, whereas in 22 ndexpedition this bird was only sighted in sub-Antarcticzone.13. Cape Pegion/Cape Petrel : Daption capensiscapensis Linnaeus (Figs.3&4). This bird is generallypelagic in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters but itavoids the pack ice. Sometimes they are found in coolertropical waters (Watson, 1975). This bird was sightedin the sub-Antarctic zone (15 th expedition) but isobserved much higher latitudinal distribution (inbetween 59°S to 69°S) in 22 nd expedition. Parulekar(1983) also reported its wide distributional range during1 st Indian expedition.14. Antarctic Petrel : Thalassoica antarctica(Gmelin) : This bird is most frequent in open water withscattered ice bergs and ice floes, also found in openpack ice (Watson, 1975). This bird was sighted in boththe expeditions and almost from the same zone(Antarctic zone).15. Antarctic Prion : Pachyptila desolata desolata(Gmelin) : This species is highly pelagic in Antarcticand sub-Antarctic waters (Watson, 1975). The bird wassighted in temperate as well as in sub-Antarctic zonesduring 15 th expedition. The bird was recorded at muchlower latitude during 22 nd expedition (Temperate zone).16. Kerguelen Petrel : Pterodroma brevirostris(Lesson) : This species is highly pelagic in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters north of the pack ice(Watson, 1975). This species was sighted fromtemperate zone and recorded only during 15 thexpedition.17. Great Winged Petrel : Pterodroma macropteramacroptera (A. Smith) : Generally occurs well out tosea, where it is largely confined to the sub-tropicalsurface water zone. Occasionally, the Great WingedPetrel stays into the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic zonesduring summer (Watson, 1975). This species wassighted from temperate zone and recorded only during15 th expedition.18. Northern Giant Fulmer : Macronectesgiganteus halli Mathews : This bird occurrs almostexclusively north of the convergence, and pelagic inAntarctic and sub-Antarctic waters (Watson, 1975).This species was sighted from temperate zone andrecorded only during 15 th expedition.19. Soft Plumaged Petrel : Pterodroma mollis mollis(Gould) : This petrel is reported from mostly sub-tropicaland sub-Antarctic waters but occasionally entering theAntarctic zone during the summer (Watson, 1975). Thisspecies was sighted from temperate zone and recordedonly during 15 th expedition.20. Short Tailed Shear Water : Puffinus tenuirostristenuirostris (Temminck) : This species was sighted fromtemperate zone and recorded only during 15 thexpedition.21. Wilson’s Storm Petrel : Oceanites oceanicusoceanicus (Kuhl) : Although this species is confinedto colder pelagic and offshore Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters during the breeding seasons butmigrate to climatically similar northern hemispherewaters in the off season (Watson, 1975). During boththe expeditions, this bird was sighted in temperate zone.22. Grey Backed Strom Petrel : Garrodia nereis(Gould) : This bird is highly pelagic, and found largelyin the sub-Antarctic zone (Watson, 1975). This birdwas sighted by the 15 th expedition member formtemperate zone.23. Snow Petrel : Pagodroma nivea (Forster) : Thisspecies is almost entirely restricted to the colderAntarctic waters with pack ice or icebergs and ice floes(Watson, 1975). During both the expeditions, this birdwas sighted near the shelf in Anatarctic zone.

110 Rec. zool. Surv. India24. Antarctic Tern : Sterna vittata Gmelia : Thisbird was sighted only in 22 nd expedition and recordedits wide zoo-geographical distribution from 48°S to 61°Slatitude. But during the 1 st expedition, the bird wasreported only from temperate zone (Parulekar, 1983).25. South Polar Skua : Catharacta skuamacormicki (Saunders) : (Fig. 2). Adults stay nearbreeding colonies in the Anatarctic zone during thesummer, but during the off-season it may range northto sub-tropical waters (Watson, 1975). This bird wassighted only in Antarctic zone during both theexpeditions.26. Adelie Penguin : Pygoscelis adelia (Hombronand Jacquinot) : These are the most common penguinspecies in the East Antarctica. In both the expeditionsa good number of birds were sighted from 60° to 70° Slatitude and 10° – 40° E longitude.27. King Penguin : Aptenodytes patagonicuspatagonicus Miller : The bird was sighted in the 15 thexpedition near the Prince Edward Island (45°S and 69°E). The bird is known to breed in South Georgia.28. Emperor Penguin : Aptendytes forsteri Gray :Earlier report says that Emperor penguins breedregularly during winter in more than 30 colonies aroundthe shores of the Continent and adjacent islands.Mostly the birds were sighted in between 66°S to 71ºSlatitude during 15 th and 22 nd expeditions.DISCUSSIONThe studies made separately on occurrence anddistribution of different bird species sighted in 15 th and22 nd Indian Antarctic expeditions during voyagethrough Indian and Atlantic Oceans Recorded 28species including 14 species as common in occurrencein both the expeditions. Among different bird groupsPetrels were dominant in number of species followedby Albatrosses. Record of Lesser number (14 spp.) ofbird species during 22 nd expedition than the 15 thexpedition (23 spp.) may be due to shorter travel timeand for shorter route and also for lower temperature inAtlantic Ocean. These may have some impact onspecies make-up and distribution. This was evident byabsence of some birds species in the 22 nd expedition(Table-1).The result also showed that except WanderingAlbatross which was recorded in Antarctic zone allother Albatross species were found to occur betweentemperate to Sub-Antarctic zones. Two species ofPenguins, Adelie and Emperor were observed in all thethree zones, being maximum in Sub-Antarctic andAntarctic zones. Only King Penguin sighted in 15 thexpedition were found to distribute in Sub-AntarcticIslands. Among the Petrels, Cape Petrel, Antarctic Petrel,Giant Winged Petrel and Snow Petrel were found totolerate much lower temperature as they mostly live inSub-Antarctic and Antarctic zones. Many of the otherbirds recorded in this study are known to occur inAntarctic zone but they are here observed to live intemperate and Sub-Antarctic zones.But it is very early to say, whether these changesare occurred due to the climatic changes of SouthernOcean, or non-availability of food in the SouthernOcean or insufficient data of Avifauna of SouthernOcean.Present day Polar Regions experience greater ratesof climate change than elsewhere on the planet. Thefauna of these regions is uniquely adapted to theextreme environments in which they exist, and may bevulnerable to shifts in climate. Climate change is havingimpacts on both marine, and terrestrial, and limneticsystems, and hence will influence future biologicaldiversity.In view to above, it has been clearly understoodthat the Antarctic research in future will not be themere listing of species but also essential to developthe long-term monitoring programme to have a betterunderstanding the causes of changes.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe are thankful to the Director, Zoological Surveyof India, Kolkata for providing facilities andencouragements. Thanks are also due to Dr.A.K.Sanyal,Addl. Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata forhelping in the preparation of the manuscript.

DE AND MITRA : Notes on the Zoo-Geographical Distribution of Antarctic Birds ..... Antarctic Expeditions 111Table-1 : List of bird species encountered during the voyages in both 15th and 22nd Indian Antarctic Expedition(Latitude wise).Sl. Common Name LatitudeNo. 1995-1996 2002-20031 Wandering Albatross 36°S to 49ºS 34º´S to 58ºS2 Grey Headed Albatross 50ºS to 59ºS 46ºS to 55ºS3 Yellow-Nosed Albatross NOT SIGHTED 55º S4 Sooty Albatross 36°S to 69ºS NOT SIGHTED5 Laysan Albatross 36°S to 59ºS NOT SIGHTED6 Black-Browed Albatross 36°S to 59ºS NOT SIGHTED7 Royal Albatross 36°S to 49ºS NOT SIGHTED8 Light Mantled Sooty Albatross 36°S to 69ºS NOT SIGHTED9 White Chinned Petrel 35°S to 69ºS 34º´S to 51ºS10 Southern Giant Fulmer/ Southern Giant Petrel 60°S to 69ºS 34º´S to 70ºS11 Fairy Prion 36°S to 49ºS 45º´S to 50ºS12 Blue Petrel 36°S to 69ºS 51ºS13 Cape Pegion/Cape Petrel 50°S to 59ºS 59°S to 69ºS14 Antarctic Petrel 50°S to 69ºS 68°S to 70ºS15 Antarctic Prion 39°S to 59ºS 38°S16 Kerguelen Petrel 36°S to 49ºS NOT SIGHTED17 Great Winged Petrel 36°S to 49ºS NOT SIGHTED18 Northern Giant Fulmer 36°S to 49ºS NOT SIGHTED19 Soft Plumaged Petrel 36°S to 49ºS NOT SIGHTED20 Short Tailed Shear Water 36°S to 49ºS NOT SIGHTED21 Wilson’s storm Petrel 36°S to 49ºS 38°S22 Grey Backed Strom Petrel 36°S to 49ºS NOT SIGHTED23 Snow Petrel 60°S to 69ºS 63°S to 69ºS24 Antarctic Tern NOT SIGHTED 48°S to 61ºS25 South Polar Skua 59°S to 69ºS 63°S to 69ºS26 Adelie Penguin 60° to 70° S 69° to 70° S27 King Penguin 45°S to 69ºS NOT SIGHTED28 Emperor Penguin 66°S to 69ºS 69ºSto 71ºSREFERENCESBhatnagar, Y. and Sathyakumar, S. 1999. Developing a long-term monitoring programme for birds and mammals inthe Indian Ocean and Antarctica. Tech pub.no.13 : 131-164.Chattopadhyay, S. 1995. On the Avian forms encountered during the eleventh Indian scientific expedition toAntarctica. Tech pub. no. 9 : 163-197.Mathew, K.J. 1994. Observation made during the third Indian Antarctic Expedition on sea birds of the Southernhemisphere. Preliminary Scientific Report 1983-1984 D.O.D, : 61-64.Parulekar, A.H. 1983. Sea birds and marine mammals of the first Indian Antarctic expedition (Scientific Report)Tech report. D.O.D., : 224-231.Sathyakumar, S. 1998. Developing a long-term monitoring programme for birds and mammals in the Indian Oceanand Antarctica using GPS and GIS technologies. Tech pub.no.13 : 131-164.Watson, G.E. 1975. Birds of the Antarctic and sub Antarctic. Pp. 1-350. American Geophysical Union, Washington,D.C.

112 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaFig. 1. Monitoring of the birds from the Ship in Pack ice zoneFig. 2. Antarctic Skua in Schirmacher oasisFig. 3. Cape-Pigeon (Ventral view)Fig. 4. Cape Pigeon (Dorsal view)Fig. 5. Root map of Expedition

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 113-114, 2010Short CommunicationFIRST RECORD OF THE CLOUDED GROUND GECKO, GECKOELLA NEBULOSA(BEDDOME, 1870) FROM JHARKHAND (ERSTWHILE BIHAR)INTRODUCTIONWhile examining the collection of gekkonid lizardsavailable in National Zoological Collection of theZoological Survey of India, it was found that the lotcontained a species of the genus Geckoella, which waslater identified as that of Geckoella nebulosa(Beddome). Also our studies revealed that this solitaryspecimen of the species is the first authentic recordfrom the State of Jharkhand, which formed till recentlyas an integral part of the State of Bihar.The brief description of the species under report isas follows :A terrestrial gecko, found hiding under stonesduring the day; head moderate; body cylindrical andstout, covered with enlarged tubercles above andimbricate scales below; tail short, tapering to point,swollen at base; dorsum grayish-brown withtransversely arranged dark brown spots bordered by asinuous white line extended up to the tail. Total length82 mm (Reg. No. ZSI 24528).This specimen under discussion has been collectedby Sri. S.S. Saha, ZSI, from Meghatuburu, SarandaForest in the hilly region of West Singhbhum districtof Jharkhand.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe express our deep sense of gratitude to DirectorZoological Survey of India for permitting the authorsto study National Zoological Collection (NZC). Thanksare also due to the Staff of Reptilia section, ZSI, Kolkatafor their cooperation. Our special thanks to IndraneilDas, Prof. Institute of Biodiversity and EnvironmentalConservation Sarwak, Malayasia, for providing literatureand his continuous encouragement to carryout researchin herpetology. Thanks to A.K. Singh and Kaushik deutifor their support and cooperation.REFERENCESBeddome, R.H. 1870. Descriptions of new reptiles from the Madras Presidency Monthly J. Med. Sci., : 169-176.Dutta, S.K. 1997. A record of Geckoella nebulosa (Beddome, 1870) From Orissa, India, Hamadryad. 22 (1) : 49-50.Kluge, A.G. 1993. Gekkonid lizard taxonomy, International Gecko Society, San Diego. 245 pg.Sanyal, D.P. 1993. Reptilia In: Fauna of Orissa. State Fauna Series 1 pg : l-55. Zoological Survey of India.Smith, M.A. 1935. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II, Sauria.Taylor and Francis, London. xiii + 440 pg + 1 Pl.B.H.C.K. MURTHYANDGOURI DASGUPTAZoological Survey of India,Kolkata-700016

114 Rec. zool. Surv. IndiaFig. 1 : Geckoella nebulosa (Beddome, 1870) ZSI. Reg. No. 25428Fig. 2 : Geckoella nebulosa (Beddome, 1870) from Jharkhand (Erstwhile Bihar).

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 115-117, 2010Short CommunicationON A COLLECTION OF THE FLIES OF FORENSIC IMPOTANCEINTRODUCTIONThe decomposition of a dead body starts firstlythrough the action of micro organisms such as fungiand bacteria, followed by the action of a series ofarthropods, with the predominance of thesarcosaprophagous insects (Nuorteva, 1977).Flies are the most important organisms for forensicstudy because most of them develop in the bodies ofdead vertebrates, and several species leave behind aheavily sclerotized (hardened) puparial case that maypersist for centuries which help to determine the timeof death etc. But its use in India is meagre because ofthe lack of base line knowledge on carrion fauna. Thescientists of Diptera section, Zoological Survey of India,have initiated a study with an aim to generate the basicdata on these carrion feeding flies.Our objective is to identify the flies those visit thecorpse or carcass in the adult form and also breed onthese substrates. This communication reports 2 speciesof family Muscidae and 1 species each of familiesStratiomyidae, Calliphoridae, Ulididae andSarcophagidae from the carcasses of Rhino, Rat andFrog.MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was done in two different environments: in the Laboratory of National Museum of NaturalHistory, Bhubaneswar, and in a natural forest area of asemi urban area. The rats and frogs were killed throughhead injury and immediately placed in the natural forestunder a shaded tree. The adult flies were collected bysweeping insect net and larvae were collected throughhand picking methods. Mostly collection was made inbetween 11 A.M. to 12 P.M. in the month of August’2007 & February, 2008. Observations and collectionswere continued until the entire carcass had beenconsumed.KEY TO THE FAMILIES OF FLIES ASSOCIATEDWITH CARCASSES1. Third antennal segment with rings ............................................................................ Stratiomyidae— Third antennal segment with bristles................ 22. Second antennal segment lacking longitudinalseam; inner calypter small or absent; thoraxtypically lacking complete transverse suture...................................................................... Ulididae— Second antennal segment with longitudinal seam;inner calypter usually large; thorax usually withtransverse suture ............................................... 33. Hypopleura usually lacking stiff bristles andwithout setae, or if hypopleural setae present, thenpteropleural bristles absent or cell P 1 notnarrowing towards wing tip ................ Muscidae— Hypopleura and pteropleura with stiff bristles; cellP 1 narrowing or closed toward wing tip ........... 44. Antennal aristae usually plumose throughout, 2notopleural bristles; body often metallic green orblue ................................................. Calliphoridae— Antennal aristae typically plumose only on basalhalf, 3-4 notopleural bristles; body not-metallic ...................................................... SarcophagidaeFamily STRATIOMYIDAEHermatia illucens (Linnaeus)1758. Musca illucens Linnaeus, Syst, Nat. Ed. 10, 1 : 589.Type-locality : South America1975. Hermatia illucens : Delfinado & Hardy, A catalog ofDiptera of the Oriental Region, 2 : 31Material examined : 1♂, NMNH, Bhubaneswar,4.ix.2005, coll. P. Roy, from semi dried flesh of Rhino.Remarks : This black-colored fly is easily recognized,having two translucent “windows” on the firstabdominal segment. Larvae are occasionally found

116 Rec. zool. Surv. Indiaindoors, particularly in bathrooms, latrines and kitchens.In the pupal stage, this insect resembles the larvae.Larval forms have also been extracted from humancarrion, and there are reports that the larvae have beenaccidentally swallowed with contaminated food, causingmyiasis. According to published records the speciesalso breeds in old carrion (Bohart & Gressitt, 1951).But nothing has been known of its development insidethe flesh of Rhino. So, this is the first report ofdevelopment of Hermatia illucens (Linnaeus) insidethe flesh of Rhino.Family ULIDIDAE (=Family Otitidae)Physiphora aenea (Fabricius)1794. Musca aenea Fabricius, Ent. Syst. 4 : 335. Typelocality: “in India Orientai”.1977. Physiphora aenea : Delfinado & Hardy, A catalog ofDiptera of the Oriental Region, 3 : 167.Material examined : 2♀♀, Shyamnagar, North 24Parganas dist, West Bengal, 03.viii.2007, coll. S.Banerjee, ex. frog.Remarks : Medium sized (6-9 mm), fairly stout,brilliant metallic blue green; eyes iridescent,multicoloured, epistome, proboscis and palpi black;frontal stripe green or blue; legs ochraceous; wingscolourless, not pictured; abdomen unicolorous, green,hairs on anterior corners yellowish.Adults of the specimens are found in manysituations walking on the surfaces of rotting fruits,garbage, rotting vegetation, carrion or faeces, includinghuman excrement. During the present study, a largenumber of specimens were collected from the rottenflesh of the frog.Family MUSCIDAEMusca (Musca) domestica Linnaeus1758. Musca domestica Linnaeus, Syst, Nat. Ed. 10, 1 : 596.Type-locality : Europe, America.1977. Musca (Musca) domestica : Delfinado & Hardy, Acatalog of Diptera of the Oriental Region, 3 : 459.Material examined : 2♀♀, NMNH, Bhubaneswar,21.v.2006, coll. P.Roy, ex. semidried flesh of Rhino, 1♂,2♀♀, Shyamnagar, North 24 Parganas dist, West Bengal,27.iii.2008, coll. S. Banerjee, ex. carcasses of rat.Remarks : The common Housefly is easilydistinguishable from the other known species of Muscawith hairy propleura (sometimes only few setae arevisible). Females are usually larger and can extend thetip of the abdomen to form an ovipositor which is usedto lay eggs. Sometimes males have enlarged eyes whichmeet on top of the head.The house fly is 6 to 7 mm long. The eyes arereddish and the mouth parts are sponging. The thoraxis greyish to olive pollinose, bears four narrow blackstripes and there is a sharp upward bend in the fourthlongitudinal wing vein. The abdomen is gray oryellowish with dark midline and irregular dark markingson the sides. The underside of the male is yellowish.The larvae are not normally found in carcasses, but theadults are attracted to tainted meat (Zumpt & Patterson,1952). There is nothing known about the musciddevelopment inside the flesh of Rhino in India. So, thisis the first report of Musca (Musca) domestica Linnaeusfrom the flesh of Rhino.Atherigona (Acritochaeta) orientalis Schiner1868. Atherigona orientalis Schiner, Reise derosterreichischen Fregatte Novara, Dipt. : 295. Typelocality: Nicobar Islands.1977. Atherigona (Acritochaeta) orientalis : Delfinado &Hardy, A catalog of Diptera of the Oriental Region,3 : 491.Material examined : 8♀♀, Shyamnagar, North 24Parganas dist, West Bengal, ex. carcasses of rat.Remarks : Flies are small (3-4 mm), yellowish greypruinose, with a pair of sublateral black spots on third,fourth and fifth abdominal tergites; leg bristles short;arista bare. The adult feeds on an exceptionally widevariety of substances, including all sorts of carrion,spoiling fruits and vegetables, table food of nearly allkinds, and human excrement in fresh, isolated deposits.These small flies were observed in large numbers onthe dead body after three days of the death of the rat.Family CALLIPHORIDAEChrysomya megacephala (Fabricius)1794. Musca megacephala Fabricius, Syst. Ent. 4 : 317.Type-locality : Guinea.1977. Chrysomya megacephala : Delfinado & Hardy, Acatalog of Diptera of the Oriental Region, 3 : 542.Material examined : 2♂♂, 5♀♀, NMNH,Bhubaneswar, 21.v.2006, coll. P.Roy, ex. On semi driedflesh of Rhino, 7♀♀, Shyamnagar, North 24 Parganasdist, West Bengal, 27.ii.2008, coll. S. Banerjee, ex.carcasses of rat, 1♂♂, 5♀♀, Shyamnagar, North 24

MITRA, PARUI AND BANERJEE : On a Collection of the Flies of Forensic Impotance 117Parganas dist, West Bengal, 03.viii.2007, coll. S.Banerjee, ex. frog.Remarks : Moderate in size (8-11 mm). Adults arelarge, metallic blue to blue green, with purple reflections,dark reddish frontal stripe and antennae, face, cheekand palpi are orange with orange pubescence but fronspredominantly black. Mesonotum with two short andnarrow longitudinal black stripes anteriorly, and a smalldark triangle situated in a postero-medial position toeach humeral callus. Second and third abdominalsegments black-banded on posterior margins. Wingshyaline, slightly darkened at base; legs black. Head inmale with the eyes touching in the middle of the frons.In the female the eyes are separated by a broad frons.Adults are strongly attracted to carrion, humanexcrement and sweats. It is reported that dead rats andlarge masses of excrement were most powerful attractant.The larvae of this species breed equally well in carrionand human excrement, but not in faces of herbivores.In this study this species was collected from the threedead animals i.e. Rhino, rat and frog. In the field, thisspecies was observed from the second day of ourstudy on the carcass of the rat.Family SARCOPHAGIDAEParasarcophaga (s. str.) albiceps (Meigen)1826. Sarcophaga albiceps Meigen, Syst. Beschr. zweifl.Insekt., 5 : 22.Type-locality : Europe.1992. Parasarcophaga (s. str.) albiceps : Nandi, J. Beng.Nat. Hist. Soc., 11(2) : 38.Material examined : 7♀♀, Shyamnagar, North 24Parganas dist, West Bengal, 03.viii.2007, coll. S.Banerjee, ex. frog.Remarks : Large flies (11 to 17 mm), frontal vittablack, arista long plumose; thorax greyish with silverypollen and with three black longitudinal stripes; wingshyaline with brown veins, halter brown; legs black, hindtibia with bristles on antero-ventral surface in additionto long villosity; abdomen with silvery grey checkeredpattern. This is a fairly common species which isattracted to excrement and dead bodies of differentanimals. The larvae breed from meat, beef, animals dung,human excrement, dead rabbit, human carcasses andgarbage.This species was observed and collected very soonafter the death of the frog on the day 1 and till day 2.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors would like to thank Dr. Ramakrishna,Director, Dr. A. K. Sanyal, Addl. Director and Dr. A. Bal,Scientist-E, and in-charge of entomology division (B),Zoological Survey of India for their kind support andhelp. Thanks are also due to Dr. P. Roy, Sr. ScientificOfficer, NMNH, Bhubaneswar for giving us opportunityto study the materials.REFERENCESBohart, G.E and Gressitt, J.L. 1951.Filth-inhabiting flies of Guam. Bulletin Bishop Museum, 4 : 1-151, Honolulu.Delfinado, M.D and Hardy, D.E (1975). (eds.). A Catalog of Diptera of the Oriental Region. 2 : 1-459,Universityof Hawaii Press, Honolulu.Delfinado, M.D and Hardy, D.E (1977). (eds.). A Catalog of Diptera of the Oriental Region. 3 : 1-854, Universityof Hawaii Press, Honolulu.Nandi, B.C. (1992). Note on rearing of Parasarcophaga (Liopygia) ruficornis (Fabricius), a sarcophagid fly fromdead Calotes versicolor (Daudin). Proc. zool. Soc. Calcutta, 45 (2); 137-140.Nuorteva, P. 1977. Sarcosaprophogous insects as forensic indicators. In CG Tedeschi, WG Eckert & LG Tedeschi(eds.), Forensic Medicine : a study in Trauma and Environmental Hazrds, Vol.II.WB Saunders, New York,p.1072-1095.Zumpt, F. and Patterson, H.E. (1952). Flies visiting human faeces and carcasses in Johannesburg. S. Afr. J. clin.Sci.3 : 92.BULGANIN MITRA, P. PARUIAND S. BANERJEE*Diptera Section, ZoologicalSurvey of India, Kolkata*Post Graduate Student,Naihati R.B.C. College

Rec. zool. Surv. India : 110(Part–3) : 119-121, 2010Short CommunicationOCCURRENCE OF HIMALAYAN RUBYTHROAT, LUSCINIA PECTORALISTSCHEBAIEWI (PRZEVALSKI), PASSERIFORMES : TURDINAE INCHHATTISGARH, INDIAINTRODUCTIONDuring the avifaunal survey of Madhya Pradesh &Chhattisgarh the present authors undertook a field tripto Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary during the last partof October, 2000. In the sanctuary three camps wereput up—Achanakmar, Lamni and Surhi. On 16.10.2000in the afternoon the survey team left Lamni for the lastcamp at Surhi. It was about ten kilometers fromAchanakmar on the Bilaspur road when the survey teamencountered a few tribal boys hunting birds andsquirrels with gullel. Two birds and one five stripedpalm squirrel, Funambulas pennanti Wroughton werefound in their kitty. After great persuasion the authorswere successful in managing those two birds andproceeded to surhi. It was evening when the teamreached the field camp. Of the two birds one wascommon of the area—the Eurasian Golden Oriole,Oriolus oriolus (Linnaeus). Problem started with theother small bird, though all the characters needed foridentification were present and the bird was not heavilydamaged either, the authors could not believe their eyes.The bird was identified in the field as the HimalayanRubythroat, Luscinia pectoralis tschebaiewi(Przevalski), which was confirmed after reachingZoological Survey of India Head Quarter in Kolkata.The most striking feature about the bird is that thiswas never been recorded in Chhattisgarh like here (D’Abreu 1931), Ali 1939 & 1940, Chandra & Singh 2004)and that too from such a lower elevation, as HimalayanRubythroat is basically a bird of the high altitude areas(Ali & Ripley, 1987).Field character : Forehead narrowly white, thenarrow white supercilium extends to the back of the earcoverts, moustachial streak white, back olive brown,wings brown, tail blackish brown with white base, outerretrices with white tips. Chin and throat scarlet, sidesof throat and breast deep black, belly and undertailcoverts whitish.Material examined : Chhattisgarh : Bilaspur district :1 male; Surhi, Coll. S. Ghosh, Dt. 16.10.2000, RegistrationNo. 41291.Measurements :Collected specimen Measurements given byAli & Ripley (1987)Wing – 74 mm74 – 83 mmTail – 59 mm58 – 66 mmBill from skull – 17 mm 15 – 17 mmTotal length – 14.5 cm 15 cmDistribution : Breeds in Ladakh, Tibet, northernBhutan, and northern Arunachal Pradesh between 3900– 4500 m. Winters from the foothills of eastern Nepal,

120 Rec. zool. Surv. India•BREEDING ZONEWINTERING ZONE• PLACE OF NEW RECORD, ACHANAKMAR W.L.S., CHHATTISGARHMap

GHOSH, BASU ROY AND DUTTA : Occurrence of Himalayan Rubythroat, Luscinia pectoralis ..... India 121northern Bengal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh to theMishmi hills south through Assam and Bangladesh (Ali& Ripley, 1987). Hence the present specimenconstitutes the first record of the sub species winteringto further south and west ward in Chhattisgarh.However, there are two winter records of HimalayanRuby throat Luscinia pcetoralis pcetoralis (Gould) fromthe Peninsula; Sultanpur, U.P. (Hume coll.) and Londa,Karnataka (Koelz, JBNHS 43 : 14) as mentioned by Ali& Ripley (1987).ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors are grateful to Dr. Ramakrishna, Director,Zoological Survey of India for providing facilities tocarry out the work and also for guidance andcontinuous encouragement. Shri S. S. Saha, Scientist’C and Shri J. M. Dasgupta, Sr. Zool. Asstt. (all retd.)provided tremendous support during field work. Wethank Shri Balmohon Baraik of this department for hishelp during finalization of this paper.Our sincere thanks are to the Forest Department,Govt. of Chhattisgarh, particularly to Shri DhirendraSharma, PCCF(WL), Shri N. S. Dungriwal, ex. D. F. O.,Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. We also acknowledge the cooperationof Shri Sharod Verma, Member State WildlifeBoard, Govt. of Chhattisgarh. The authors are deeplyindebted to Shri Ratiram Verma, Publication ProductionOfficer of this department for his constantencouragement and help during writing up of thispaper.REFERENCESAli, S. (1939). The Birds of Central India, Part-I. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 41(1) : 82-106.Ali, S. (1940). The Birds of Central India, Part-II. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 41(3) : 470-488.Ali, S. & Ripley. S. D. (1987). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (Compact), Oxford University Press,New Delhi.Baker, E. C. S. (1822-30) The fauna of British India. Birds 2nd Ed. 1-8 vols. Taylor & Francis, London.Chandra, K. and Singh, R. K. (2004). Avifauna of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Zoo’s Print Journal, 19(7) :1534-1539.D’ Abreu, E. A. (1931) Notes of the Fauna of British India. Birds, chiefly with reference to the Central provinces.J. Bombay. Nat. Hist. Soc., 35 : 217-219.Manakandan, R. and Pittie, A., (2001). Standardised Common and scientific names of the Birds of the IndianSubcontinent. Buceros, Vol. 6, No. 1 : 1-37.SANTANU GHOSH,SIPRA BASU ROYANDBITAN KUMAR DUTTAZoological Survey of India,Kolkata-700 053.

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