An updated checklist of mammals of Odisha, India

Based on available literature and field surveys, an updated checklist of mammals of Odisha State is presented in this communication. Their updated scientific binomen, IUCN status, Wildlife (Protection) Act schedules, CITES appendices, and last reported sighting of each species in Odisha are also given. Odisha has around 102 species of mammals under 34 families and 12 orders, among which 27 species have been included under the different threatened categories of the IUCN Red List.

. India is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, and has over 427 extant mammalian species representing 199 genera, 52 families and 14 orders (Thong et al. 2018;Srinivasulu 2019). India is classified into 10 different biogeographic zones (Rodger & Panwar 1988), and each of these zone has some uniqueness in their mammalian fauna (Menon 2014).
The state of Odisha (formerly Orissa) (17. 816-22.566  8B) biogeographic provinces (Ray 2005), Odisha's biodiversity represents a mixture of Indo-Malayan and Afro-Mediterranean elements (Das et al. 2015). About 37% of the total geographic area of Odisha is under forest cover (Forest Survey of India 2019), which is mainly composed of tropical moist deciduous, tropical dry deciduous, tropical semi-evergreen, scrub and mangrove forests (Champion & Seth 1968). The coastline of Odisha is about 480km long, characterized by sand dunes, tidal creeks, backwaters, brackish water lagoons, estuaries, mangroves, mudflats, and salt marshes. There are 22 protected areas (19 wildlife sanctuaries (WS)), one national park and two tiger reserves in Odisha which covers about 4.73% of the state's geographical area. Documented information on mammalian fauna of Odisha dates back to the second half of 19 th century. It can be found referred in the first book on Indian mammals "The Mammals of India" by Jerdon (1867). Subsequently, other important publications also dealt with mammals of Odisha (Ball 1877;Sterndale 1884;Blanford 1888Blanford -1891. Although the Bombay Natural History Society's systematic Mammal Survey of India, Burma and Ceylon was held during 1911-1930, it could not cover parts of then princely states of Odisha (Das et al. 1993). A few species of mammals, however, were collected near Chilika Lake and Koira area in Odisha and the results were reported in Annandale (1915), Thomas (1915), Wroughton (1915), and Hinton & Lindsay (1926a,b). Subsequently, mammals of Odisha were also referred in several volumes of "Fauna of British India" (Pocock 1939(Pocock , 1941 and "Fauna of India" (Ellerman 1961a,b). Behura & Guru (1969) compiled a checklist of mammals of Odisha and reported 34 species. During 1970During -1983, the Zoological Survey of India made a series of mammalian surveys throughout Odisha, the results of which comprising 76 species were then reported in the state fauna series (Das et al. 1993). Mishra et al. (1996) also made a comprehensive checklist of wildlife of Odisha and reported 85 species of mammals within the political boundary of the state.
During the last two decades, there have been increasing efforts to document mammals of Odisha. These studies were focused on several protected areas, important hill ranges and sacred groves. Tiwari et al. (2002) first compiled 37 species of mammals from Chandaka-Dampara WS. Ramakrishna et al. (2006) reported 55 species of mammals from Similipal Biosphere Reserve encompassing the Similipal WS and Similipal Tiger Reserve. Mohapatra et al. (2009Mohapatra et al. ( , 2012Mohapatra et al. ( , 2013 reported 36 species of mammals from different hill forests of southern Odisha, 43 species from Kotgarh WS, and 47 species from several sacred groves in Sundargarh District. Sahu et al. (2012Sahu et al. ( , 2014 reported 36 species of mammals from Hadagarh WS, and 43 species of mammals from Kuldiha WS. Murmu et al. (2013a,b) also reported 23 species of mammals of Kuldiha WS, and 42 species of mammals from Hadagarh WS. Khan et al. (2015) reported 18 species of cetaceans from Odisha. Debata et al. (2016) reported 25 species of bats within the geographic limits of Odisha. Besides these, Venkatraman et al. (2016) reported 24 species of mammals from Bhitarkanika mangroves. Very recently, Debata & Swain (2020) (Khan et al. 2015). As there is no recent updated information on mammals of Odisha, preparation of a checklist with updates was, thus, considered necessary for further conservation management of mammals of the state.

METHODS
The checklist given in this communication is based on a thorough review of available literature, books, and technical reports on mammals of Odisha along with author's field surveys. While preparing the checklist, we followed IUCN (2020) for the scientific and common names of the species. The conservation status of the species provided in the checklist is based on the IUCN Red List, Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Mammals excluded from the Odisha list
We have excluded a few species from the checklist because they could be locally extirpated, inaccurately mentioned in the literature, or have not been formally recognized as a separate species. A detailed description on their distribution in Odisha is summarized below in  (Mukherjee 1982) and in Dhenkanal District during 1960 (Behura & Guru 1969). Since then there is no report of sighting of Cheetah in Odisha and it is already considered extinct in India. We, therefore, excluded the species from the current checklist.
Bonnet Macaque Macaca radiata (E. Geoffroy, 1812): Bonnet Macaque was reported to occur only in Malkangiri District of southern Odisha (Mishra et al. 1996). Acharjyo (2001), however, raised doubt on its occurrence in Odisha. Moreover, Das et al. (1993) did not mention its occurrence in Odisha. Recently, Kumar et al. (2011) mapped the distribution of Bonnet Macaque in India, but did not report any troops from Odisha. We, therefore, excluded this species from Odisha checklist.
Caracal Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776): Based on a newspaper report published in The Statesman, Calcutta on 10 March 1962, Behura & Guru (1969) reported the presence of Caracal in Mayurbhanj District, northern Odisha. Apart from this, there is no further valid evidence of its occurrence in the state so far. The known eastern most range of this species in India extends up to Madhav National Park in Madhya Pradesh (Kushwaha & Kumar 1999). The species, therefore, might have been inaccurately mentioned or might have become locally extirpated in Odisha.
Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata (Martin, 1836): There is a mention that two young individuals (possibly kittens) of Marbled Cat captured in Phulbani District and displayed in the first wildlife exhibition held at Bhubaneswar in 1956 (Mishra et al. 1996). Besides that there is no further valid evidence on its occurrence in Odisha. As Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis (Kerr, 1792) is a very common and widely distributed species in the forests of Odisha (Mishra et al. 1996), the captured kittens were probably misidentified Leopard Cats. The Marbled Cat is found in the mountain region of Himalaya, Himalayan foothills, and northeastern states in India (Ross et al. 2016). We, therefore, ruled out the presence of Marbled Cat in Odisha, and exclude it from the updated checklist.
Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa (Griffith, 1821): There is a mention on occurrence of Clouded Leopard from Similipal WS by Ramakrishna et al. (2006). The authors mentioned its distribution in Chahala, Kabatghai, and Talbandh areas in Similipal with no valid evidence.

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In India, this species is confined to the northeastern region (Menon 2014) and their occurrence in Odisha is, therefore, questionable. In fact, intensive camera trap monitoring in Similipal failed to report this species (Palei et al. 2016). Hence, we excluded it from the updated checklist.
Greater Hog Badger Arctonyx collaris F.G. Cuvier, 1825: Ramakrishna et al. (2006) reported this species from Jamuani area in Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha. In India, Hog Badger is reported from West Bengal, Sikkim, and northeastern region of India (Menon 2014). A recent camera trap monitoring in Similipal Tiger Reserve did not report this species (Palei et al. 2016). Distribution of Hog Badger in Odisha is, therefore, ruled out.
White-banded Palm Civet Paradoxurus jorandensis: Ali et al. (1988) described a new species of palm civet as White-banded Palm Civet from Similipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha referring to a broad white band encircling the abdomen of an animal. This was later reported to be based on an individual specimen of Common Palm Civet which was partially albinistic (Das et al. 1993). Pocock (1933) also earlier mentioned the polymorphism in both colour and pattern in some species of Viveridae. In fact, there is photographic evidence on both normal and partially albinistic pups in a litter of Common Palm Civet (Image 1) from Baripada, Mayurbhanj District near Similipal Tiger Reserve.
Although 102 species of mammals have been included in the checklist, current status of certain species within the political boundary of Odisha needs to be further verified. Some of the most important among them are the Dugong Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776), Wild Water Buffalo Bubalus arnee (Kerr, 1792), Swamp Deer Rucervus duvaucelii (G. Cuvier, 1823), and Indian Gazelle Gazella bennettii (Sykes, 1831). Dugong was reported to occur in Odisha based on a single sighting record during 1902 from Chilika Lake (Mishra et al. 1996;Dash 2010). Since then there has been no record of its occurrence in Odisha. There are reports that during 1969 two herds of Wild Buffalo existed in some pockets of Kalahandi and Koraput districts (Behura & Guru 1969). Mishra et al. (1996)  . Earlier, small populations of Swamp Deer were also known to occur in Sunabeda WS in the undivided Kalahandi District and Padmapur forests of Sambalpur District; the Sunabeda population was also believed to migrate between the Sunabeda plateau and forests of the then undivided state of Madhya Pradesh (Mishra et al. 1996). In fact, there is ample evidence that Swamp Deer were present in Sunabeda WS (Image 3). The Indian Gazelle is distributed in the arid and semi-arid regions of western and central India bordering the western Odisha region (Menon 2014). Sterndale (1884) earlier reported its occurrence along the Mahanadi Valley in Odisha.
Although not very recently, Kotwal (1997) also reported sighting of 35 Indian Gazelles in Sunabeda WS. Based on a recent informal discussion with local residents of Sunabeda WS by the first author during December 2018, it is revealed that the Wild Buffalo, Swamp Deer, and Indian Gazelle were very common in Sunabeda during the mid-20 th century, however, habitat encroachment and hunting have resulted in sharp decline in these animals. As per the views of the locals, although all these animals have become extremely rare in Sunabeda, they are sighted occasionally. Due to frequent Maoist activities, however, regular wildlife monitoring activities in Sunabeda WS have ceased. The proposed Sunabeda Tiger Reserve with an area of 956.17km² encompassing the Sunabeda WS (591.75km²) and adjoining Patdhara forest block (364.42km²), is one of the important wildlife habitat adjoining the central Indian landscape. Therefore, targeted and species-specific long term surveys along the western Odisha region in general and proposed Sunabeda Tiger Reserve in particular should be the utmost priority to assertion the current status of the aforementioned species in Odisha.