Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2021 | 13(7): 18939–18942
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7022.13.7.18939-18942
#7022 | Received 23 December 2020 | Final
received 08 March 2021 | Finally accepted 27 May 2021
Black-bellied Coral Snake Sinomicrurus nigriventer
(Wall, 1908) (Elapidae): an extended distribution in
the western Himalaya, India
Sipu Kumar 1, Jignasu Dolia 2, Vartika Chaudhary 3, Amit Kumar 4 &
Abhijit Das 5
1,2,4,5 Wildlife Institute of India, Post
Box # 18, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India.
3 Forest Research Institute, P.O.
New Forest, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248006, India.
1 sipukumar@wii.gov.in, 2 jdolia@gmail.com,
3 vartikapanwar75@gmail.com, 4 amit@wii.gov.in, 5 abhijit@wii.gov.in
(corresponding author),
Editor: Raju Vyas, Vadodara, Gujarat,
India. Date of publication: 26 June 2021
(online & print)
Citation: Kumar, S., J. Dolia,
V. Chaudhary, A. Kumar & A. Das (2021). Black-bellied Coral Snake Sinomicrurus
nigriventer (Wall, 1908) (Elapidae):
an extended distribution in the western Himalaya, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(7): 18939–18942. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7022.13.7.18939-18942
Copyright: © Kumar et al. 2021. 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: The authors wish to acknowledge
the Director and Dean, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun for institutional
support and Uttarakhand Forest Department for necessary field permission and
constant support. Thanks to Deepak Veerappan (NHM,
UK) for exchanging taxonomic information and Monika Sharma for helping in
preparation of map.
The Indian Himalaya region (IHR)
is bestowed with rich and endemic biodiversity (Pandit et al. 2007). It is
broadly categorized into the western Himalaya, central Himalaya, and northeastern Himalaya (Nautiyal
et al. 2005). The western Himalayan region has a unique topography, great
variation in altitude and a broad range of vegetational and faunal diversity.
The region serves as home for a variety of endemic and threatened fauna (Maikhuri 2018). Nested in the western Himalaya, the state
of Uttarakhand possesses a distinct identity of its natural ecosystems, which
supports a remarkable diversity of fauna, including at least 72 species of
reptiles and amphibians (Vasudevan & Sondhi
2010). Interestingly, several studies on snake ecology have been conducted in
the world, but a comprehensive understanding in terms of range distribution and
population biology of many snakes is still deficient (Mullin & Seigel
2009).
Coral snakes are a large group of
elapid snakes (Döring 2020), which are venomous but
commonly less involved in envenomation (Richardson & Little 2012).
Generally, elapid snakes are fossorial and show solitary behaviour (Döring 2020). Currently, 107 species of coral snakes
belonging to five genera are recognized in the world, most of them (~76%) being
found in the New World (Uetz et al. 2020). India is
home to seven coral snake species (Whitaker & Captain 2004; Smith et al.
2012; Mirza et al. 2020), of these Sinomicrurus
macclellandi (Reinhardt, 1844) was considered to
have a wide distribution across the Himalaya, the northeastern
hills, and adjoining countries, represented by at least five distinct ‘colour
forms’ (Smith 1943).
The Black-bellied Coral Snake was
initially described by British naturalist Col. Frank Wall as a variety of the Macclelland’s Coral Snake Sinomicrurus
macclellandi; however, in a recent study, Mirza
et al. (2020) rediscovered this snake from Himachal Pradesh and compared it
with existing museum specimens of Sinomicrurus
spp. Based on morphological and molecular data, the authors concluded that Sinomicrurus nigriventer
(earlier considered as a variety of Sinomicrurus
macclellandi) deserves to be considered a
distinct species.
Until now, S. nigriventer was only known to occur from Solan District (Kasauli and Nairani localities) of Himachal Pradesh, the western
Himalaya (Wall 1908; Mirza et al. 2020). The current communication reports for
the first time, two confirmed distributional records of S. nigriventer from the adjoining Himalayan state of
Uttarakhand (Figure 1), extending the geographic range of this newly proposed
species further south and east along the western Himalaya.
During recent field explorations
in the Kumaon and Garwhal
regions of this largely mountainous state, the authors recorded a dead and a
live specimen each. A detailed scrutiny of literature such as Reinhardt (1844),
Wall (1908), Whitaker & Captain (2004), and Mirza et al. (2020) along with
morphological characteristics revealed that both these individuals belong to
the Elapidae family of Sinomicrurus genus, namely, S. nigriventer.
The first observation consists of
a dead specimen of S. nigriventer found on 11
August 2019 from Nainital Forest Division at an elevation of 1,113 m (29.3430N,
79.6210E). The
specimen was found upturned by the side of a small foot-bridge crossing a
flowing stream (Image 1). Judging from its intact body, and the fact that no
rigor mortis had set in, it appeared that this black-bellied coral snake had
died recently, but the cause of death could not be ascertained although ants
were seen feeding on it. The specimen was collected, fixed and preserved in 70%
ethanol and deposited in the museum of the Wildlife Institute of India,
Dehradun (WIIAD724). The total length of the snake recorded was 380 mm and tail
length was 36 mm. The scale count of this specimen include dorsals
13:13:13, ventrals 231, sub-caudals
29 (paired), supralabials 7/7 and infralabials 7/7.
The sighting location consisted of rocky slopes amidst riverside and major
vegetation observed nearby were Bauhinia vahlii, Debregeasia hypoleuca, Woodfordia fruticosa, Ricinus communis, Ageratina adenophora, Urtica dioica, Rubus ellipticus,
Lantana camara, and Rumex
nepalensis.
The second, more recent
observation consists of a live specimen of S. nigriventer
encountered in the Bhadraj Block of Benog Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) in Mussoorie
Forest Division (Image 2). The snake was sighted on the way to Bhadraj temple (30.4700N, 77.9700E)
during daylight (12:47 h) on 20 September 2020 at an elevation of 1,914 m.
Information on the snake species was recorded, the snake was photographed and
identified visually based on coloration and body pattern. BWS mainly
constitutes of Ban oak Quercus leucotrichophora forest
with dominant species such as Rhododendron arboreum,
Lyonia ovalifolia, Berberis
spp. and Ageratina adenophora
and undulating terrain consisting of dense grassy slopes (Kumar et al.
2012). The area is characterized by small natural water catchments, although
stagnant.
The first record of S. nigriventer is an important addition to the knowledge
of medically important snakes of Uttarakhand. The recent specimen from Himachal
Pradesh was reported from 870m elevation (Mirza et al. 2020) and the two
specimens from Uttarakhand were found at 1,100m and 1,900m. Interestingly, both
specimens were found during the monsoon period, which may suggest some seasonal
activity pattern. Moreover, considering the limited distribution records of the
Black-bellied Coral Snake from the western Himalaya, the current communication
with a report on its occurrence in Nainital and Mussoorie
forest divisions indicates that the cool sub-tropical and temperate forests
(1,000–2,000 m) with dense grassy slopes are under-explored in terms of
reptilian diversity. Further field investigations are required to determine the
status of this venomous snake and to investigate if the species also occurs in
similar habitats of the western Himalaya.
For
figure & images - - click here
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