Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2020 | 12(9): 16123–16135
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6036.12.9.16123-16135
#6036 | Received 23 April 2020 | Final
received 09 June 2020 | Finally accepted 16 June 2020
Catalogue of herpetological
specimens from peninsular India at the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology &
Natural History (SACON), India
S.R. Ganesh 1, S.
Bhupathy 2#, P. Karthik 3, G. Babu Rao 4 &
S. Babu 5
1 Chennai Snake Park, Rajbhavan
post, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India.
2,3,4,5 Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology
and Natural History, Anaikatty, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641108, India.
1 snakeranglerr@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 bhupathy.s@gmail.com, 3 karthikwildlifebiology@gmail.com,
4 rao.3in@gmail.com, 5 sanbabs@gmail.com
#deceased on 29/4/2014
Editor: Raju Vyas,
Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Date of publication: 26
June 2020 (online & print)
Citation: Ganesh, S.R., S. Bhupathy, P.
Karthik, G.B. Rao & S. Babu (2020). Catalogue of
herpetological specimens from peninsular India at the Sálim Ali Centre for
Ornithology & Natural History (SACON), India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(9): 16123–16135. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6036.12.9.16123-16135
Copyright: © Ganesh et al. 2020. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium
by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing
interests.
Acknowledgements: We dedicate this article to our
coauthor the late Dr. S. Bhupathy, as it was his endeavors that formed the very
basis of this article, in entirety. We
sincerely thank our respective institution heads and chiefs for generously
supporting our research activities – the Director and other senior scientists
at the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) and the
Executive Chairman and trustees of the Chennai Snake Park Trust (CSPT).
Abstract: We list the herpetological
voucher specimens in the holdings of the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology &
Natural History (SACON), a wildlife research institute in India. Most of the collections are the fruition of
fieldwork by SACON’s herpetologist and a coauthor of this work—late Dr.
Subramanian Bhupathy (1963–2014). Taxonomically,
the collection represents 125 species, comprising 29 amphibian species
belonging to eight families and 96 reptilian species belonging to 17
families. Geographically, the material
in this collection originates from the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats, the
Deccan Plateau, and the Coromandel Coast, comprehensively covering all
ecoregions of peninsular India. A total
of 15 taxa (three amphibians, 12 reptiles) remain to be fully identified and
are provisionally referred to most-resembling taxa, with cf. prefix. All the specimens in this collection are
non-types as on date.
Keywords: Amphibians, biological museum,
distribution, reptiles, taxonomy.
Natural history collections are professional holdings
of scientifically named and classified voucher specimens of organisms or their
biological samples thereof, for research and public education purposes (Melber
& Abraham 2002). Of late, their
value as an enormous source of data on the diversity and distribution of plants
and animals have been increasingly realized and acknowledged (Winker
2004). So much so that even species
extirpation patterns and population declines can be traced and deduced from
such collections (Shaffer et al. 1998; Lister 2011). Faunal catalogues from under-researched tropical
countries have served as immense source of information on regional biodiversity
(e.g., Mahony et al. 2009 for Bangladesh’s herpetofauna).
In Indian herpetology, most of the historical
information on species were based on specimens lodged in the British Museum
(now the Natural History Museum London, UK) that were worked out by Boulenger
(1882, 1885a,b, 1887, 1889, 1893, 1894, 1896) in a series of technical
monographs. Two other important regional
museums were the Indian Museum Calcutta (now Zoological Survey of India, ZSI,
Kolkata) and the Bombay Natural History Society Museum (BNHS), Mumbai. The herpetological holdings of ZSI were
worked out by Theobald (1876) and Sclater (1891, 1892), while that of the snakes
of BNHS were enumerated by Phipson (1888).
Later, post-Independence, Satyamurti (1967) enlisted
the amphibians of the Madras Government Museum, another old regional museum at
Chennai, India (also see Thurston 1888).
Bauer (1998) published a catalogue of important South Asian herpetological
specimens in the Zoological Museum Berlin, Germany. With regards to the type specimens, Das &
Chaturvedi (1998) prepared the herpetological type catalogue for the BNHS
museum. Das et al. (1998) published the
reptilian type catalogue of the Zoological Survey of India (also see Das &
Gayen 2004). Chanda et al. (2000)
provided the type catalogue of amphibians in the same institution. Lastly, on general holdings, Ganesh &
Asokan (2010) published the catalogue of Indian herpetofauna in the Madras
Government Museum.
The Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology & Natural
History (SACON), is one of the India’s leading institutes dedicated for
wildlife research. The institute was
inspired by and named in honour of Sálim Ali (1896–1987), the leading pioneer
of ornithology in India. Located in the
outskirts of Coimbatore City (Tamil Nadu, India), abutting the Western Ghats,
this institute has been functioning since 1990.
Being a Centre of Excellence, under the auspices of the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India (MoEFCC, GoI),
SACON has teams of wildlife biologists and experts conducting research and
teaching.
One such scientist of SACON, Dr. Subramanian Bhupathy
(1963–2014) headed the Conservation Ecology Division at this institute and with
the help of his numerous students, amassed a good collection of amphibian and
reptilian specimens as a part of their research work. His publications on herpetology date back to
1986 and he has been conducting field surveys and research throughout the
country, on herpetofauna, among other animal taxa. The material enumerated below is from three
decades of his fieldwork across Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Odisha states of India. Though old, the material still continues to
bear immense academic value. We have
already initiated taxonomic studies on several species complexes based on this
collection. This holding is now in an
initial research collection phase and will subsequently be made available later
on for external researchers.
Materials and Methods
In the catalogue below, we list entire,
formalin-preserved, and identifiable specimens of amphibians and reptiles. As far as possible, all legible hand-written
information from the specimen jar labels have been furnished below to maximize
the biological importance of specimens mentioned. This includes the scientific name of varying
taxonomic resolutions, specimen collection locality and the number of examples
in most cases. Date or year of
collections was not to be found in most if not all jars and hence stands
unknown. But judging by his track
records, it is deduced to be between 1986 and 2014, spanning three decades. We have maintained the Institution acronym
SACON for denoting this museum abbreviation as well, accompanied by other
suffixes V- for vertebrates, A- for amphibians, R- for Reptiles. This is followed by the museum registration
number that continues sequentially, species after species. Where more than a single specimen is in the
same jar, alphabets are added onto their registration numbers to differentiate
them. Where appropriate, we also furnish
comments on taxonomy, nomenclature, and distribution of the species dealt with. Scientific names and taxonomic classifications
were updated after recent systematic revisions for species whose labels
furnished obsolete names originally.
Throughout the catalogue below, we only use the currently-valid
scientific names and concepts of taxa (after Frost 2020 for amphibians; Pyron
et al. 2016, Uetz et al. 2020 for reptiles).
Catalogue of Specimens
Amphibia
Gymnophiona
Ichthyophiidae
Sharp-tailed Caecilian Uraeotyphlus cf. oxyurus
(Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
Material: SACON/VA-1 one from Anamalai.
Comments: Nominotypical species is endemic to the
Western Ghats (Thurston 1888).
Anura
Bufonidae
Common Toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Schneider,
1799)
Material: SACON/VA-2a–c three from Nilgiris,
SACON/VA-2d one from Topslip, SACON/VA-2e one from Meghamalai, SACON/VA-2f–h
three from unknown locality
Comments: Frost et al. (2006) erected the genus Duttaphrynus
for this species (type species). Wogan
et al. (2016) reported distinct phylogenetic structures in multiple distant
populations of this species, after sampling in the eastern parts of its
range.
Dwarf Toad Duttaphrynus scaber
(Schneider, 1799)
Material: SACON/VA-3a–b two from Tirunelveli,
SACON/VA-3c one from Coimbatore, SACON/VA-3d–j seven from Madurai,
SACON/VA-3k–l two from Srivilliputhur
Comments: Frost et al. (2006) did not include this
species in the genus Bufo and its generic allocation stood unresolved
until Bocxlaer et al. (2009) worked on its taxonomy and gave the current name
combination.
Marbled Toad Duttaphrynus stomaticus (Lütken,
1864)
Material: SACON/VA-4a–c three from Tuticorin,
SACON/VA-4d one from Coimbatore, SACON/VA-4e–g three from Srivilliputhur
Comments: For remarks on generic allocation, see
comments for the above species.
Microhylidae
Triangle-spotted Frog Uperodon triangularis (Günther,
1876)
Material: SACON/VA-5 one from Srivilliputhur
Comments: This species was previously classified in
the genus Ramanella, now synonymized under Uperodon by Peloso et
al. (2016). Endemic to Western Ghats
(Garg et al. 2018a).
Marbled Balloon Frog Uperodon systoma
(Schneider, 1799)
Material: SACON/VA-6a one from Anaikatti, SACON/VA-6b
one from Chinnamanur, SACON/VA-6c, one from Gadag
Comments: Garg et al. (2018a) redescribed this species
based on the syntypes.
Painted Frog Uperodon taprobanicus
(Parker, 1934)
Material: SACON/VA-7 one from Anaikatti
Comments: Peloso et al. (2016) worked on the generic
taxonomy and allocated this species to the strictly southern Asian genus Uperodon.
Red Small-mouthed Frog Microhyla rubra (Jerdon,
1853)
Material: SACON/VA-8a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VA-8c one from Gadag
Comments: Wijayathilaka et al. (2016) redescribed this
species and restricted it to populations from India, whilst recognizing the Sri
Lankan population as a new species Microhyla mihintalei.
Ornate Small-mouthed Frog Microhyla ornata
(Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
Material: SACON/VA-9 one from Anaikatti
Comments: This species complex was recently revised by
Garg et al. (2018b) and populations from parts of India was recognized as a
different species (see below).
Nilphamari Small-mouthed Frog Microhyla
nilphamariensis Howlader, Nair, Gopalan & Merilä, 2015
Material: SACON/VA-10a–b two from Gadag
Comments: Though originally described from Bangladesh,
recent genetic studies revealed populations from parts of Indian peninsula to
be conspecific to this species (Garg et al. 2019).
Ranidae
Bi-coloured Frog Clinotarsus curtipes
(Jerdon, 1853)
Material: SACON/VA-11 one from Meghamalai
Comments: This species has not been recorded from
Meghamalai so far (Chandramouli & Ganesh 2010; Srinivas & Bhupathy
2013; Chaitanya et al. 2019).
Ranixalidae
Short-handed Leaping Frog Indirana brachytarsus
(Günther, 1876)
Material: SACON/VA-12 one from Srivilliputhur
Comment: Inger et al. (1984) resurrected it from the
synonymy of I. beddomei, as a valid species endemic to southern Western
Ghats.
Beddome’s Leaping Frog Indirana beddomii
(Günther, 1876)
Material: SACON/VA-13 one from Ooty
Comment: Dahanukar et al. (2016) redescribed this
taxon and restricted the species to populations in the Nilgiri-Wayanad.
Micrixalidae
Beautiful Dancing Frog Micrixalus adonis
Biju, Garg, Gururaja, Shouche & Walujkar, 2014
Material: SACON/VA-14a–b two from Meghamalai
Comment: Biju et al. (2014) revised M. fuscus
(Boulenger, 1882), restricted it to populations south of Shencottah Gap and
described northerly populations from Cardamom hills as a distinct species Micrixalus
adonis.
Dicroglossidae
Paddy Field Frog Minervarya agricola
(Jerdon, 1853)
Material: SACON/VA-15a one from Anaikatti,
SACON/VA-15b one from Gadag
Comment: Ganesh et al. (2017) designated a neotype to
this nomen and resurrected this species from the synonymy of the catch-all
taxon Fejervarya limnocharis (Gravenhorst, 1829). Chandramouli et al. (2019) synonymised Minervarya
granosa (Kuramoto, Joshy, Kurabayashi & Sumida, 2008) with Minervarya
agricola based on genetic studies.
Nilgiri Cricket Frog Minervarya nilagirica (Jerdon,
1853)
Material: SACON/VA-16a–c three from Nilgiris
Comment: Dubois (1984) resurrected this species from
the synonymy of “Rana limnocharis” and designated a neotype from Ooty,
where it is endemic to upper Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.
Kalinga Cricket Frog Minervarya cf. kalinga
(Raj, Dinesh, Das, Dutta, Kar & Mohapatra, 2018)
Material: SACON/VA-17 one from Araku Hills
Comments: Raj et al. (2018) described this new species
from northern Eastern Ghats, from Odisha State. Populations from further south
of these ranges, in Andhra Pradesh state requires further confirmation.
Kerala Cricket Frog Minervarya keralensis (Dubois,
1981)
Material: SACON/VA-18a one from Anamalai,
SACON/VA-18b–c two from Topslip, SACON/VA-18d–k eight from Meghamalai
Comments: Generic allocation follows Sanchez et al.
(2018). Endemic to Western Ghats.
Western Pond Frog Euphlyctis cf. mudigere
Joshy, Alam, Kurabayashi, Sumida& Kuramoto, 2009
Material: SACON/VA-19a–b two from Meghamalai
Comments: Khajeh et al. (2014) reported the
undocumented presence of many candidate species within the nominal taxon E.
cyanophlyctis from many southern Asian countries and suggested that
populations from parts of southern India and Sri Lanka are not E.
cyanophlyctis, but referable to E. mudigere. We, however, opine that at least one sample
from Adyar in Mangalore, was misrepresented as Adyar in Madras, on the eastern
coast.
Jerdon’s Burrowing Frog Sphaerotheca pluvialis
(Jerdon, 1853)
Material: SACON/VA-20 one from Araku Hills
Comments: Dutta (1986) provided precise records of S.
dobsonii group taxa from eastern peninsular India that have later come to
be called as S. pluvialis (see Dahanukar et al. 2017).
Indian Burrowing Frog Sphaerotheca breviceps
(Schneider, 1799)
Material: SACON/VA-21a–b two from Anaikatti
Comments: Dahanukar et al. (2017) provided a refined
definition of the taxon S. breviceps, restricting it to parts of eastern
peninsular India, in the lowlands.
Western Burrowing Frog Sphaerotheca pashchima
Padhye, Dahanukar, Sulakhe, Dandekar, Limaye & Jamdade, 2017
Material: SACON/VA-22a–c three from Gadag
Comments: Padhye et al. (2017) recognized the western
peninsular or the Deccan Plateau upland populations as a new species, S.
pashchima.
Rhacophoridae
Malabar Flying Frog Rhacophorus malabaricus
Jerdon, 1870
Material: SACON/VA-23a one from Anamalai, SACON/VA-23b
one from Srivilliputhur
Comments: Biju et al. (2013) redescribed and clarified
its name-bearing type and provided a summary of previous literature sightings /
reports of this species.
Variable Ghat Tree Frog Ghatixalus variabilis
(Jerdon, 1853)
Material: SACON/VA-24 one from Ooty
Comments: Biju et al. (2008) erected the genus Ghatixalus,
for this species (as Polypedates variabilis Jerdon, 1853) and restricted
its concept to populations inhabiting Nilgiri Hills.
Tinkling Bush Frog Raorchestes tinniens (Jerdon,
1853)
Material: SACON/VA-25a–l 12 from Ooty
Comments: Vijayakumar et al. (2014) refined the
definition of R. tinniens, after describing a related new species, R.
primarrumpffi, also from upper Nilgiris.
Nilgiri Bush Frog Raorchestes signatus (Boulenger,
1882)
Material: SACON/VA-26a–e five from Ooty
Comments: Zachariah et al. (2011) described a new
species R. thodai, from the upper Nilgiris, and it is reported to be
closely resembling R. signatus and a proper clarification of its status
is yet awaited (see Vijayakumar et al. 2014).
Sacred Grove Bush Frog Raorchestes
sanctisilvaticus (Das & Chanda, 1997)
Material: SACON/VA-27 one from Araku Hills
Comments: Mirza et al. (2019) redefined this species
(previously considered to be endemic to Jabalpur Hills) as his molecular
revision proved the conspecificity of two nominate taxa Philautus terebrans and
P. simlipalensis from parts of northern Eastern Ghats.
Beddome’s Bush Frog Raorchestes beddomii (Günther,
1876)
Material: SACON/VA-28 one from Meghamalai
Waynad Bush Frog Pseudophilautus wynaadensis
(Jerdon, 1853)
Material: SACON/VA-29a one from Topslip, SACON/VA-29b
one from Coonoor, SACON/VA-29c one from Anaimalai
Comments: Gopalan et al. (2016) reported cryptic
genetic diversity in populations south of Palghat Gap, by examining populations
from Waynad, Idukki, and Ponmudi clusters.
Reptilia
Sauria
Gekkonidae
Nilgiri Day Gecko Cnemaspis indica Gray,
1846
Material: SACON/VR-1a–d four from Ooty
Comments: Manamendra-Arachchi et al. (2007)
redescribed its name-bearing type and clarified its taxonomy as a species
endemic to upper Nilgiris and ranges just northwards.
Slender Day Gecko Cnemaspis cf. gracilis
(Beddome, 1870)
Material: SACON/VR-2a–c three from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-2d–e two from Srivilliputhur, SACON/VR-2f one from Agasthyamalai
Comments: Manamendra-Arachchi et al. (2007)
redescribed the name-bearing type and clarified the systematics of this
species, an inhabitant of Palghat-Anamalai region.
Araku Slender Gecko Hemiphyllodactylus
arakuensis Agarwal, Khandekar, Giri, Ramakrishnan & Karanth, 2019
Material: SACON/VR-3 one from Araku Hills
Comments: Agarwal et al. (2019) described the Araku
Hills endemic population in parts of northern Eastern Ghats, as this new
species.
Clouded Ground Gecko Cyrtodactylus cf. nebulosus
(Beddome, 1870)
Material: SACON/VR-4 one from Araku Hills
Comments: Agarwal & Karanth (2014) showed through
their molecular studies that this taxon and its congeners of ‘Geckeolla’
are in fact nested within the genus Cyrtodactylus.
Erode Ground Gecko Cyrtodactylus speciosus (Beddome,
1870)
Material: SACON/VR-5a–b two from Anaikatti
Comments: This species was recently redescribed and
its taxonomy was clarified after elevating it to a species status whilst
describing a related, new species from western India (Agarwal et al. 2016).
Bark Gecko Hemidactylus leschenaultii
Duméril & Bibron, 1836
Material: SACON/VR-6a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-6c one from Srivilliputhur, SACON/VR-6d one from Top Slip
House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus
Duméril & Bibron, 1836
Material: SACON/VR-7 one from Araku hills
Vanam Rock Gecko Hemidactylus vanam Chaitanya,
Lajmi & Giri 2018
Material: SACON/VR-8a–c three from Srivilliputhur
Comments: This population closely matches with the
topotypic specimens from High Wavy Mountains that was described as a new
species (Chaitanya et al. 2018).
Murray’s Gecko Hemidactylus murrayi Gleadow,
1887
Material: SACON/VR-9a–d four from Gadag
Comments: This species was resurrected recently, for a
predominantly wet zone populations of southern and southeastern Asia (Lajmi et
al. 2016).
Gleadow’s Gecko Hemidactylus cf. gleadowi
Murray, 1884
Material: SACON/VR-10a–c three from Gadag
Comments: Mahony (2011) resurrected this nominate
taxon after a taxonomic revision of Hemidactylus brookii complex.
Spotted House Gecko Hemidactylus parvimaculatus
Deraniyagala, 1953
Material: SACON/VR-11a–b two from Pondicherry
Comments: This species, once thought to be found only
in Sri Lanka and Kerala, was later proved to be widespread throughout much of
southeastern India, till Bengal (Lajmi et al. 2016).
Whitaker’s Gecko Hemidactylus whitakeri Mirza,
Gowande, Patil, Ambekar & Patel, 2018
Material: SACON/VR-12a–b two from Gadag
Comments: This recently described cryptic species
inhabiting the uplands of Mysore Plateau, was long misunderstood to belong to H.
triedrus (see Mirza et al. 2018).
Agamidae
Western Ghats Flying Lizard Draco dussumierii
Duméril & Bibron, 1837
Material: SACON/VR-12a–c three from Agathyamalai,
SACON/VR-12d one from Meghamalai, SACON/VR-12e–f two from Anamalai,
SACON/VR-12g one from Top Slip
Visiri Fan-throated Lizard Sitana visiri Deepak,
2016
Material: SACON/VR-13 one from Srivilliputhur
Comments: The southerly populations of fan-throated
lizard were found to belong to a different species after a recent study (Deepak
et al. 2016).
Pondicheri Fan-throated Lizard Sitana
ponticeriana Cuvier, 1829
Material: SACON/VR-14 two from Sriharikota
Unidentified Fan-throated Lizard Sitana
sp.
Material: SACON/VR-16a–e five from Gadag
Comments: This population was discerned,
characterized, and is undergoing a taxonomic treatment (Deepak & Karanth
2018).
Green Forest Lizard Calotes calotes
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Material: SACON/VR-17a one from Srivilliputhur,
SACON/VR-17b one from Meghamalai, SACON/VR-17c–d two from Anaikatti
Indian Garden Lizard Calotes versicolor (Daudin,
1802)
Material: SACON/VR-18a-b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-18c–d two from Maharashtra, SACON/VR-18e–g three from Araku Hills
Large-scaled Forest Lizard Calotes grandisquamis
Günther, 1875
Material: SACON/VR-19a one from Meghamalai,
SACON/VR-19b one from Srivilliputhur
Comments: An uncommon endemic species of agamid from
the Western Ghats.
Nilgiri Forest Lizard Calotes nemoricola
Jerdon, 1853
Material: SACON/VR-20 one from Agasthyamalai
Comments: An uncommon endemic species of agamid from
the Western Ghats.
Spiny-headed Lizard Monilesaurus acanthocephalus
Pal, Vijayakumar, Shankar, Jayraj & Deepak, 2018
Material: SACON/VR-21a–b two from Meghamalai
Comments: This species was recently described as a
distinct species, a point-endemic, found only in Meghamalai Hills (Pal et al.
2018).
Elliot’s Forest Lizard Monilesaurus ellioti (Günther,
1864)
Material: SACON/VR-22a–b two from Agasthyamalai,
SACON/VR-22c one from Top Slip
Comments: This species was recently reallocated to a
newly described endemic genus inhabiting lower elevation forest of the Western
Ghats (Pal et al. 2018).
Roux’s Forest Lizard Monilesaurus rouxii (Duméril
& Bibron, 1837)
Material: SACON/VR-23a–c three from Nilgiris
Comments: This species was recently reallocated to a
newly described endemic genus inhabiting parts of Western and Eastern Ghats and
hills in the Deccan (Pal et al. 2018).
Anamalai Spiny Lizard Salea anamallayana (Beddome,
1878)
Material: SACON/VR-24a–b two from Anamalai,
SACON/VR-24c one from Meghamalai.
Comment: A range-restricted species endemic to
Anamalai, Palnis and Meghamalai hills (Srinivas et al. 2008).
Nilgiri Spiny Lizard Salea horsfieldii Gray,
1845
Material: SACON/VR-25 one from Ooty, Nilgiris
Comment: An endemic species found only in upper
Nilgiris (Bhupathy & Nixon 2011).
Blandford’s Rock Agama Psammophilus cf. blanfordanus
(Stoliczka, 1871)
Material: SACON/VR-26a–h eight from Araku,
SACON/VR-26i–q nine from Vizag Ghats
Comments: This species is most likely restricted to
central and eastern peninsular India, as postulated by Pal et al. (2018).
Southern Rock Agama Psammophilus dorsalis (Gray
in Griffith & Pidgeon, 1831)
Material: SACON/VR-27a–e five from Srivilliputhur,
SACON/VR-27f–k six from Kolli hills, SACON/VR-27l–r seven from Nagercoil
Comments: This is a species complex pending revision
(Pal et al. 2018).
Chamelionidae
Southern Asian Chameleon Chamaeleo zeylanicus
Laurenti, 1768
Material: SACON/VR-28a–d four from Anaikatti.
Varanidae
Indian Monitor Lizard Varanus bengalensis (Daudin,
1802)
Material: SACON/VR-30 one from Anaikatti.
Mabuyidae
Keeled Skink Eutropis carinata
(Schneider, 1801)
Material: SACON/VR-31a–f six from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-31g one from Araku, SACON/VR-31h–i two from Meghamalai, SACON/VR-31j
one from Gadag.
Bronze Skink Eutropis cf. macularia
(Blyth, 1853)
Material: SACON/VR-32a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-32c–d two from Meghamalai, SACON/VR-32e–f two from Agasthyamalai,
SACON/VR-32g one from Gadag.
Comments: This is a species complex pending revision
(Datta-Roy et al. 2012).
Beddome’s Skink Eutropis beddomei (Jerdon,
1870)
Material: SACON/VR-33a-d four from Araku hills,
SACON/VR-33e one from Anaikatti.
Comments: This species has recently been redescribed
(Amarasinghe et al. 2016a).
Ponmudi Skink Eutropis clivicola (Inger,
Shaffer, Koshy & Bakde, 1984)
Material: SACON/VR-34 one from Agasthyamalai.
Bibron’s Sand Skink Eutropis bibronii
(Gray, 1839)
Material: SACON/VR-35a one from Sriharikota,
SACON/VR-35b–d three from Tuticorin, SACON/VR-35e–h four from Pondicherry.
Comments: This species has recently been redescribed
(Amarasinghe et al. 2016b). Chandramouli
et al. (2012) reported an inland record from Eastern Ghats and its status is
under investigation.
Lygosomidae
Spotted Snake Skink Riopa punctata
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Material: SACON/VR-36a–b two from Araku hills,
SACON/VR-36c one from Gadag
Comments: Bauer (2003) clarified some long-standing
problems with the identity and authorship of this nomen. Generic assignment follows Freitas et al.
(2019).
White-spotted Skink Riopa albopunctata
(Gray, 1846)
Material: SACON/VR-37a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-37c one from Sriharikota, SACON/VR-37d one from Pondicherry.
Comments: Ganesh (2017) clarified its taxonomy and
redescribed topotypical specimens from Madras. Generic assignment and taxonomy
follows Freitas et al. (2019).
Günther’s Supple Skink Riopa guentheri (Peters,
1879)
Material: SACON/VR-38 one from Gadag.
Comments: Javed et al. (2010) provided a distribution
summary of this species, with a new record from Nallamalai Hills, Eastern
Ghats.
Sphenomorphidae
Dussumier’s Skink Sphenomorphus dussumierii (Duméril
& Bibron, 1839)
Material: SACON/VR-39 one from Agasthyamalai.
Comment: A species endemic to the Western Ghats (Das,
2002).
Side-spotted Skink Kaestlea laterimaculata (Boulenger,
1887)
Material: SACON/VR-40a–b two from Meghamalai.
Comments: This species was recorded from High Wavy
Mountains by Chandramouli & Ganesh (2010); but see Chaitanya et al. (2019).
Twin-striped Skink Kaestlea bilineata
(Gray, 1846)
Material: SACON/VR-41 one from Ooty.
Comments: This is a fairly common species in this
region (Bhupathy & Nixon 2011).
Lacertidae
Blinking Lacertid Ophisops nictans Arnold, 1989
Material: SACON/VR-42a–c three from Gadag,
SACON/VR-42d–f three from Chitradurga.
Serpentes
Typhlopidae
Unidentified worm snake Indotyphlops sp.
Material: SACON/VR-43a–g seven from unknown
localities.
Comments: Hedges et al. (2014) erected the genus Indotyphlops
for a group of primarily southern Asian worm snakes.
Uropeltidae
Spotted Shieldtail Melanophidium punctatum Beddome,
1871
Material: SACON/VR-44 one from Anamalai.
Comments: Gower et al. (2016) redefined this species
after recognizing the northerly population as a new species – M. khairei Gower,
Giri, Captain & Wilkinson, 2016.
Perrotet’s Shieldtail Plectrurus perroteti Duméril
& Bibron in Duméril & Duméril, 1851
Material: SACON/VR-45a–e five from Ooty
Comments: This species is known only from upper
Nilgiris and other records from elsewhere have been doubted (Pyron et al.
2016).
Bloody Shieldtail Teretrurus sanguineus (Beddome,
1867)
Material: SACON/VR-46 one from Anamalai
Comments: This is a species complex pending taxonomic
revision (Pyron et al. 2016).
Shortt’s Shieldtail Uropeltis cf. shorttii
(Beddome, 1863)
Material: SACON/VR-47 one from Anamalai.
Comments: This is currently under taxonomic
investigation (in prep).
Bhupathy’s Shieldtail Uropeltis bhupathyi Jins,
Sampaio & Gower, 2018
Material: SACON/VR-48a–o 15 from Anaikatti
Comments: This new species is apparently known only
from this single location (Jins et al. 2018).
Kerala Shieldtail Uropeltis cf. ceylanica
Cuvier, 1829
Material: SACON/VR-49 one from Anamalai.
Comments: This is a species complex pending taxonomic
revision (Pyron et al. 2016)
Elliot’s Shieldtail Uropeltis ellioti (Gray,
1858)
Material: SACON/VR-50 one from Shevaroys.
Comments: This is a species complex pending taxonomic
revision (Whitaker & Captain 2004; Pyron et al. 2016).
Ocellated Shieldtail Uropeltis cf. ocellata
(Beddome, 1863)
Material: SACON/VR-51 one from Anamalai.
Comments: This species complex is currently under
taxonomic investigation (Pyron et al. 2016).
Palni Shieldtail Uropeltis pulneyensis (Beddome,
1863)
Material: SACON/VR-52 one from Parambikulam Tiger
Reserve.
Comments: This species is endemic to hills between
Palghat and Shencottah gaps (Pyron et al. 2016).
Pythonidae
Indian python Python molurus (Linnaeus,
1758)
Material: SACON/VR-53 one from Anaikatti (roadkill,
juvenile).
Erycidae
Common Sand Boa Eryx conicus (Schneider,
1801)
Material: SACON/VR-54 one from Anaikatti.
Comments: Pyron et al. (2014) revised the taxonomy of
this and related species.
Red Sand Boa Eryx johnii (Russell, 1801)
Material: SACON/VR-55 one from Anaikatti.
Viperidae
Russell’s Viper Daboia russelii (Shaw
& Nodder, 1797)
Material: SACON/VR-56a–d four from Anaikatti.
Saw-scaled Viper Echis carinatus
(Schneider, 1801)
Material: SACON/VR-57a–c three from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-57d one from Srivilliputhur, SACON/VR-57e one from Chinnamanur.
Hump-nosed Pitviper Hypnale hypnale (Merrem,
1820)
Material: SACON/VR-58a–c three from Meghamalai,
SACON/VR-58d one from Anamalai, SACON/VR-58e one from Nilgiris.
Horse-shoe Pitviper Trimeresurus strigatus Gray,
1842
Material: SACON/VR-59 one from Ooty (damaged).
Comment: This endemic species occurs in upper Nilgiris
(Bhupathy & Nixon 2011).
Bamboo Pitviper Trimeresurus gramineus (Shaw,
1802)
Material: SACON/VR-60a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-60c one from Meghamalai.
Large-scaled Pitviper Trimeresurus macrolepis
Beddome, 1862
Material: SACON/VR-61a–b two from Meghamalai,
SACON/VR-61c–d two from Anamalai.
Comment: This species is endemic to southern Western
Ghats (Chandramouli & Ganesh 2010).
Elapidae
Indian Krait Bungarus caeruleus
(Schneider, 1801)
Material: SACON/VR-62a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-62c one from Chinnamanur.
Spectacled Cobra Naja naja (Linnaeus, 1758)
Material: SACON/VR-63a–b two from Anaikatti.
Five-striped Coral Snake Calliophis nigrescens
pentalineatus Beddome, 1871
Material: SACON/VR-64a one from Anamalai, SACON/VR-64b
one from Meghamalai, SACON/VR-64c one from Agasthyamalai.
Comments: This taxon is endemic to parts of southern
Western Ghats (Chandramouli & Ganesh 2010).
Pareidae
Perrotet’s Wood Snake Xylophis perroteti (Duméril,
Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Material: SACON/VR-65a–c three from Ooty.
Comments: This endemic species is found to upper
Nilgiris (Bhupathy & Nixon 2011).
Natricinae
Checkered Keelback Fowlea piscator
(Schneider, 1799)
Material: SACON/VR-66a–b two from Anamalai,
SACON/VR-66c one from unknown locality, SACON/VR-66d from Agasthyamalai (with a
complete collar mark).
Comments: Generic allocation follows Purkayashta et
al. (2018).
Olive Keelback Atretium schistosum (Daudin,
1803)
Material: SACON/VR-67a–b two from Anaikatti
Green Keelback Rhabdophis plumbicolor
(Cantor, 1839)
Material: SACON/VR-68a–c three from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-68d–e two from Ooty, SACON/VR-68f one from Meghamalai.
Comments: Takeuchi et al. (2018) reconstructed a
phylogeny of Asian keelbacks and effected this genus transfer.
Striped Keelback Amphiesma stolatum (Linnaeus,
1758)
Material: SACON/VR-69a–b two from Meghamalai.
Comments: Guo et al. (2014) split the genus Amphiesma
into many genera, and this genus is now retained solely for A. stolatum.
Beddome’s Keelback Hebius beddomei (Günther,
1864)
Material: SACON/VR-70a–c three from Nilgiris,
SACON/VR-70d–e two from Top Slip, SACON/VR-70f–h three from Meghamalai,
SACON/VR-70i one from Agasthyamalai.
Comments: Guo et al. (2014) effected this provisional
genus transfer to Hebius. This
Western Ghats-endemic species has not yet been represented in molecular
phylogeny.
Hill Keelback Hebius monticola (Jerdon,
1853)
Material: SACON/VR-71a one from Top Slip,
SACON/VR-71b–c two from Meghamalai.
Comments: Guo et al. (2014) effected this provisional
genus transfer to Hebius. This
Western Ghats-endemic species has not yet been represented in molecular
phylogeny.
Colubridae
Indian Cat Snake Boiga trigonata
(Schneider, 1802)
Material: SACON/VR-72a one from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-72b one from Srivilliputhur
Collared Cat Snake Boiga nuchalis
(Günther, 1875)
Material: SACON/VR-73a–b two from Meghamalai,
SACON/VR-73c one from Anamalai, SACON/VR-73b one from Ooty.
Comments: This species is endemic to hills of
southwestern India and is absent in the northern ranges including the Himalaya
(Ganesh et al. 2020a).
Yellow-green Cat Snake Boiga flaviviridis Vogel
& Ganesh, 2013
Material: SACON/VR-74a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-74c one from Tirunelveli, SACON/VR-74d–e two from Chinnamanur.
Comments: Chaitanya et al. (2019) referred this
population from Meghamalai as ‘B. beddomei’ but they belong to B.
flaviviridis (see Vogel & Ganesh 2013).
Thakeray’s Cat Snake Boiga cf. thackerayi
Giri, Deepak, Captain, Pawar & Tillak, 2019
Material: SACON/VR-75a one from Meghamalai,
SACON/VR-75b one from Anamalai.
Comments: Recently, a new species was described from
northern Western Ghats (Giri et al. 2019).
This and nearby population is under taxonomic revision (Ganesh et al.
2020a).
Common Vine Snake Ahaetulla cf. nasuta
(Lacepede, 1789)
Material: SACON/VR-76a one from Top Slip, SACON/VR-76b
one from Meghamalai.
Comments: This species is in need of a taxonomic
revision (Mallik et al. 2019).
Brown Vine
Snake Ahaetulla cf. pulverulenta (Duméril, Bibron &
Duméril, 1854)
Material: SACON/VR-77 one from Meghamalai.
Comments: This species is in need of a taxonomic
revision (Mallik et al. 2019).
Variable Vine
Snake Ahaetulla cf. anomala (Annandale, 1906)
Material: SACON/VR-78a–b two from Anaikatti.
Comments: Many Indian congeners are undergoing a
revision (Mallik et al. 2019). This taxon was recently revived and redescribed
(Mohapatra et al. 2017).
Günther’s Vine Snake Ahaetulla dispar (Günther,
1864)
Material: SACON/VR-79a one from Meghamalai,
SACON/VR-79b one from Anamalai.
Comments: Endemic to Southern Western Ghats
(Chandramouli & Ganesh 2010).
Perrotet’s Vine Snake Aahetulla perrotetii (Duméril,
Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Material: SACON/VR-80 one from Ooty.
Comments: Endemic to upper Nilgiris. Detailed
information on biology and taxonomy of this species was recently presented by
Ganesh & Chandramouli (2011).
Giri’s Bronzeback Dendrelaphis girii Vogel
& van Rooijen, 2011
Material: SACON/VR-81 one from Meghamalai.
Comments: This Western Ghats-endemic species was
recently described as a vicar of D. bifrenalis from Sri Lanka (Vogel
& Van Rooijen 2011).
Indian Bronzeback Dendrelaphis tristis (Daudin,
1803)
Material: SACON/VR-82a–b two from Anaikatti, SACON/VR-82c
one from Chinnamanur.
Rat Snake Ptyas mucosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Material:
SACON/VR-83 one from Meghamalai.
Indian Trinket
Snake Coelognathus helena helena (Daudin, 1803)
Material: SACON/VR-84a–b two from Anaikatti
Montane Trinket Snake Coelognathus helena monticollaris
(Schulz, 1992)
Material: SACON/VR-85a–c three from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-85d one from Anamalai, SACON/VR-85e–g three from Meghamalai.
Comments: These populations resemble the southern
Western Ghats morphotype as postulated by Mohapatra et al. (2016).
Banded Racer Argyrogena fasciolata
(Shaw, 1802)
Material: SACON/VR-86a–c three from Anaikatti.
Comments: The distribution of this species in southern
India was recently clarified (Janani et al. 2019) and there is a need to
further assess the status of this taxon.
Indian Reed Snake Liopeltis calamaria (Günther,
1858)
Material: SACON/VR-87a–b two from Araku hills,
SACON/VR-87c–e three from Anaikatti, SACON/VR-87f–g two from Anamalai,
SACON/VR-87h one from Agasthyamalai.
Comments: This species was recently redescribed,
including its constituent subspecies (Amarasinghe et al. 2020). The status of the Western Ghats populations
are again being worked upon (in prep.).
Banded Kukri Oligodon arnensis (Shaw,
1802)
Material: SACON/VR-88a–b two from Anaikatti.
Black-spotted Kukri Oligodon cf. venustus
(Jerdon, 1853)
Material: SACON/VR-89 one from Meghamalai
Streaked Kukri Snake Oligodon taeniolatus (Jerdon,
1853)
Material: SACON/VR-90a–d four from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-90e–g three from Srivilliputhur, SACON/VR-90h-i two from Araku Hills,
SACON/VR-90j–k two from Anamalai, SACON/VR-90l one from Ooty.
Black-headed Snake Sibynophis subpunctatus (Duméril,
Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Material: SACON/VR-91a–c three from Anaikatti, SACON/VR-91d–e
two from Srivilliputhur, SACON/VR-91f–g two from Chinnamanur.
Indian Bridal Snake Dryocalamus nympha (Daudin,
1803)
Material: SACON/VR-92a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-92a one from Tirunelveli
Unidentified Wolf Snake Lycodon sp.
Material: SACON/VR-93 from Anaikatti, damaged
specimen.
Comments: The taxonomic status of this population is
currently under study (in prep.).
Common Wolf Snake Lycodon aulicus (Linnaeus,
1758)
Material: SACON/VR-94a–c three from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-94d one from Anamalai.
Comments: This species was recently re-characterized
by Ganesh & Vogel (2018).
Slender Wolf Snake Lycodon anamallensis Günther,
1864
Material: SACON/VR-95a–b two from Anaikatti,
SACON/VR-95c one from Chinnamanur.
Comments: Ganesh & Vogel (2018) clarified the
taxonomy and nomenclature of this taxon and synonymized the Sri Lankan taxon L.
osmanhilli under this nomen.
Barred Wolf Snake Lycodon striatus
(Shaw, 1802)
Material: SACON/VR-96 one from Chinnamanur
Travancore Wolf Snake Lycodon travancoricus (Beddome,
1870)
Material: SACON/VR-97 one from Meghamalai.
Comments: This species has sometimes been confused
with other sympatric congeners and was recently redescribed to clarify the
status (Ganesh et al. 2020b).
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