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Langur ( Presbytis entellus) Proximal Medial Distal X740 X740 X740 Fig. 4. Blacknaped Hare ( Lepus ruficciudatus ) Proximal Medial Distal X740 X740 X740 Fig. 5. Palm Squirrel ( Funambulus palmarum) 8 IDENTIFICATION OF HAIRS palm squirrel Fimambulus palmarum Fig. 5 Gross Appearance : Length 1.4 to 2 cm. The hairs differ in colour. Some are black and some are banded in appearance with white and brown bands arranged alternatively. They measure 27 m in diameter in the proximal region. Microscopic A ppearance : Scales are imbricate with plain edges in the proximal region. In the medial and distal re- gions the borders appear plain. In the proxi- mal region medulla is of fragmented type ar- ranged in double rows. In the medial region it appears discoidal, which however in the core portion shows a chiasmatic appearance. In the distal region the medulla is of fragmented type. lesser bandicoot rat Bandicota bengalensis Fig. 6 Gross Appearance : Length 2 to 3 cm. The colour of the hair is generally gray except in the distal region which is black. The hair measures 45 n in diameter in the proximal region. Microscopic A ppearance : Scales are dentate in the proximal region. In the medial region the borders appear plain while in the distal region the scales are imbri- cate acuminate. Medulla in the proximal region appears dis- coidal while it is continuous in the medial and distal regions. striped hyena Hyaena hyaena Fig. 7 Gross Appearance : The proximal region is white, medial gray and distal black. Length 16.8 cm. The hairs are straight wire- like with a gradual taper. The diameter of the hair at the proximal region measures 60 Microscopic Appearance : No scales are visible and the borders are plain. Medulla in the proximal and medial re- gions is continuous while in the distal region it is fragmented. jackal Canis aureus Fig. 8 Gross Appearance : Length 4 to 6 cm. Hair stems are narrow at the proximal region becoming a little broader in the medial and tapering in the distal region. At the broadest portion the hair diameter me- asures 90 /*. The hairs show a banded colora- tion due to the presence of brown or black bands which are separated from each other by yellow bands. Microscopic A ppearance : Scales imbricate acuminate in proximal re- gion, changing to crenate in the medial, and flattened in the distal region giving a smooth appearance to the borders. Medulla is conti- nuous in the proximal region, discoidal giving a horizontal triangular appearance in the me- dial region and fragmented in the distal region. 9 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Proximal X 740 Medial X740 Fig. 6. Lesser Bandicoot Rat ( Bandicota bengalensis) Proximal X 740 medial X740 Fig. 7. Striped Hyena ( Hyaena hyaena) Distal X740 Distal X740 i 10 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Proximal X 740 Medial X740 Fig. 8. Jackal ( Canis aureus ) Proximal X740 Medial X740 ■3^-- ~m Fig. 9. Indian Fox ( Vulpes bengalensis) Distal X740 Distal X 740 li JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Indian fox Vulpes bengalensis Fig. 9 Gross Appearance : Length 4 to 5 cm. They measure 60 m in the proximal region. Colour black in the distal region and yellow in the proximal region. Some hairs are black except for lighter coloured bands, several centimetres wide in the upper portion of the medial region. M icroscopic A ppearance : Proximal region appears smooth, medial spiny dentate while in the distal region minute spines are seen. Medulla in the proximal re- gion appears discoidal, in the medial interven- ing fragmented type and in the distal region no medulla is visible. tiger Panthera tigris Fig. 10 Gross Appearance'. Length 4 to 8 cm. Hair stems thick, slightly curved at the tip. Diameter at the proximal region 84 /*. Colour of the hair is white in the proximal region, and dark gray in the distal. In the medial region yellow bands are separat- ed from each other by brown bands. Some hairs are pure white and black in colour. M icroscopic A ppearance : In the proximal region the scales appear as spines on the borders, while in the medial and distal regions the borders appear plain. Medulla is continuous throughout except in the distal region where it is not visible. panther Panthera pardus Fig. 11 Gross Appearance: Length 3 to 4 cm. Hair stems are soft and slender. Colour light yellow in the proximal region, followed by two bands approximate- ly 5 nun. wide, the first being black and the second brown. The distal portion is yellow. The diameter at the proximal region, 45 ik Microscopic Appearance: Scales imbricate with crenate edges in the proximal and medial regions. In the distal region the borders appear plain. Medulla is continuous throughout except in the distal re- gion where it is fragmented. jungle cat Felis chaus Fig. 12 Gross A ppearance : Length 2 to 4 cm. Coloration of hair stems is highly specific. They are light gray from proximal to medial region which is followed by two bands black and brown in the distal region. The tip is black. The diameter at proxi- mal region is 30 ^ Microscopic Appearance: Scales imbricate with dentate edges in the proximal and medial regions. In the distal region the scales appear to be coronal. Medulla is discoidal in the proximal and medial regions while in the distal region it is continuous. palm civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus Fig. 13 Gross Appearance: Length 2 to 4 cm. Hair stems slightly wavy and soft. The diameter at proximal region is 66 m. Colour dusty gray in proximal region, gradually becoming darker towards the distal region. Microscopic Appearance: Scales imbricate with crenate edges in proxi- mal region, which gradually become coronal in the medial region. In the distal region the borders appear plain. Medulla in the proximal region appears discoidal, in the medial conti- nuous and in the distal fragmented. 12 IDENTIFICATION OF HAIRS Proximal XT 40 Fig. 10. Tiger ( Panthera tigris) ri Proximal-Medial Distal X740 X740 Fig. 11. Panther ( Panthera pardus) Proximal-Medial Distal X 740 X740 Fig. 16. Cattle ( Bos sp.) 13 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Fig. 13. Palm Civet ( Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) 14 Identification of hairs rATel Mellivora capensis Fig. 14 Gross Appearance : Length 3 to 4 cm. There are two types of hair one pure brown and the other pure white in colour. Both are slightly curved. In the pro- ximal region hair stems are wide but gradu- ally taper towards the distal region. The dia- meter at the proximal end is 51 n. Microscopic Appearance : Scales coronal with dentate edges in the proximal and the medial regions of the hair. In the distal region scales appear as minute spines. Medulla is continuous in the proximal and medial regions and is not visible in the distal region. domestic goat Capra sp. Fig. 15 Gross Appearance : Length 4 to 6 cm. Hair stems are curved and slightly wavy. 42 n in diameter in the pro- ximal region. The colour of the hair is vari- able. Microscopic A ppearance : Scales are imbricate with crenate edges in the proximal region. In the medial and distal regions the borders appear plain. The medulla appears fragmented in the proximal and distal regions while it is discoidal in the medial re- gion. CATTLE Bos sp. Fig. 16 Gross Appearance : Length 1 to 2 cm. Hair stems are slightly curved measuring 30 m in diameter in the pro- ximal region. The colour of the hair is highly variable. Microscopic A ppearance : Scales are imbricate with crenate edges in the proximal and medial regions. In the distal region they appear flattened with minute spines. The medulla is continuous in the pro- ximal and medial regions and fragmented in the distal region. sam bar Cervus unicolor Fig. 17 Gross Appearance : Length 3 to 5 cm. Narrow in the proximal region, becoming broader in the medial and tapering off in the distal region. 180 r- in dia- meter in the medial region. The colour of the hair is almost pure white in the proximal re- gion, gradually changing to yellowish gray in the medial region. The distal region is black. Microscopic A ppearance : In the proximal region the borders appear smooth. In the medial region the scales are im- bricate crenate and in the distal spiny. Medulla shows reticular polygonal appearance in the proximal and medial regions. In the distal re- gion medulla it is not visible. SPOTTED DEER Axis axis Fig. 18 Gross Appearance : Length 3 to 4 cm. Hair stems slightly wavy. Diameter at the proximal end 84 /*. Colour, white in the proximal region changing to brown in the medial region. The distal region is yel- lowish brown. Microscopic A ppearance : Dark medulla prevents cuticular structural view of the proximal region under microscope. In the medial region scales are imbricate com- pressed ovate type. Tip of the distal region appears spiny. Medulla appears continuous in the proximal and medial regions and is frag- mented in the distal region. 15 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Fig. 14. Ratel ( Mellivora capensis) Proximal X740 Medial X 740 Distal X 740 Fig. 15. Domestic Goat ( Capra sp.) 16 IDENTIFICATION OF HAIRS Proximal X740 Medial X740 Distal X740 Proximal Medial Distal X740 X740 X740 Fig. 18. Spotted Deer (Axis axis) 17 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Proximal Medial X 740 X740 Fig. 19. Blackbuck ( Antilope cervicapra) Proximal-Medial X 740 Fig. 20. Nilgai ( Boselaphus tragocamelus) Distal X740 Distal X740 18 IDENTIFICATION OF HAIRS blackbuck Antilope cervicapra Fig. 19 Gross Appearance : Length 1 to 2 cm. The hairs look slightly curved and are more or less equal in diameter throughout except for a gradual taper at the apex. Diameter at the proximal end 48 /*. The colour of the hair is white in the proximal re- gion with grayish coloured band immediately below the distal one third region. The terminal portion is black. Some hairs are light brown in colour and some white and black. Microscopic Appearance : Scales imbricate crenate in the proximal and medial regions. In the distal region the borders appear plain. Medulla is fragmented through- out. nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus Fig. 20 Gross Appearance: Length 23 to 27 cm. 140 in diameter at the proximal region. Stems quite fragile and easily broken. Colour almost white in the proximal region. In the medial region two third portion is brown gradually changing to black in the distal region. Microscopic Appearance : Scales imbricate with crenate edges in the proximal and medial regions. In the distal re- gion fine long bristles are seen. Medulla con- tinuous in the proximal-medial regions and is not visible in the distal region. chin kara Gazella gazella Fig. 21 Gross Appearance : Length 18 to 22 cm. 54 a* in diameter in the proximal region increasing perceptibly in size in the medial region and then gradually taper- ing in the distal region. At the proximal re- gion colour is generally black, medial region being grayish and the distal region white. Some hairs are pure white. Proximal. Medial. Distal X740 X740 X740 Fig. 21. Chinkara ( Gazella gazella ) Microscopic Appearance : Scales are imbricate crenate in the proximal region, gradually becoming flattened compres- sed ovate type in the medial region. In the dis- tal region the scales are coronal serrate type. Medulla is continuous all throughout. Acknowledgements We express our thanks to Shri S. S. Buit, Chief Conservator of Forests, Maharashtra State, for his keen interest shown during the progress of this investigation and for giving encouragement from time to time. We also express our thanks to Prof. S. A. R. Quadri, Head of the Zoology Department, Vidarbha Mahavidyalaya, Amravati for providing neces- sary facilities to undertake the investigation. 19 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 References Adorjan, A. S. & Kolenosky, G. B. (1969): A manual for the identification of hairs of selected Ontario mammals. Department of lands and Forests Research Report, 90. Hausman, L. A. (1920): Mammal fur under the microscope J. Am. Mag. Nat. Hist. 20:434-444. (1924) . Further studies of the relationships of the structural characteristics of ma- mmalian hair. Amer. Nat. 58:5 44-557. (1930) : Recent studies of hair structure relationships. Sci. Monthly 30:258-277. Mathiak, H. A. (1938): A key to hairs of the mammals of southern Michigen. J. Wild. Mgmt. 2(4) : 251-268. Mayer, W. V. (1952) : The hair of California mammals with key to the dorsal guard hairs of California mammals. Rep. Am. Midland Nat. 28(2) : 480-512. McMurtrie, W. (1886): Report on an exami- nation of wools and other mammalian fibres. U.S. Dept. Agri., Washington p. 613. Williams, C. S. (1938): Aids to the identifica- tion of mole and shrew hairs with general com- ments on hair structure and their determination J. Wild. Mgmt. 2(4) : 239-250. A contribution to the flora of Bastar (Madhya Pradesh)1 H. O. Saxena2 and S. N. Khotele State Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur The present paper records 319 species of vascular plants which are reported for the first time from Bastar. Fourteen species (marked by double asterisk) are new records for Central India and eighteen (marked by single asterisk) for Madhya Pradesh. Introduction Bastar, the largest district of Madhya Pradesh and third largest district of India with an area of 39171 square kilometres lies between 17° 45'-20°23' north and 80°15'-82°15' east. It is situated on extreme south of the State, bor- dered on the three sides by Orissa. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The botany of Bastar presents an interesting study since the southern limit of sal is reached about 18°30' north. A number of species of the south and coastal regions make their ap- pearance here. The hill range Bailadilla pre- sents an interesting flora. After Mooney’s (1942) account of the flora of Bailadilla hill, no contribution to the flora of Bastar was made till recently when Sub ra- ni any am & Henry (1966) published a list of 481 species of vascular plants, which was the outcome of their three collection tours. Jain (1963, 1964, 1965) has made contributions towards the ethnobotany of the region. Arora (1968) made further contribution to the botany of Bailadilla. Casual reference of the area has also been made by Tiwari (1954, 1955, 1963, 1 Accepted March 1972. 2 Present address : Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar. 1964) , Tiwari & Maheshwari (1963, 1964, 1965) , Panigrahi et al. (1965, 1966, 1967), Ramlal & Panigrahi (1967), and Shukla & Panigrahi (1967). The list that follows enumerates 319 species of vascular plants which are reported for the first time from Bastar; of this eighteen species are new records for Madhya Pradesh (marked by single asterisk) and fourteen for central In- dia (marked by double asterisk). This report is based on five years intensive touring in the area in different seasons of the year. The her- barium specimens cited, are preserved in the Herbarium, State Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur. Dilleniaceae Dillenia aurea Sm. Tirathgarh, Dantewada. Saxena 5492; Khotele 6085, 9347. Local name: Mechi. Papaveraceae Argemone mexicana Linn. Chotedongar. Khotele 3076, 5237; Khotele & Shukla 7249. Local name: Piladhatura, Katai. VlOLACEAE Hybanthus enneaspermus (Linn.) F. v. Muell. Awapalli, Bhairamgarh, Ranker, Geedam. Kho- tele 9385, 3309, 11504. 21 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Capparaceae Capparis zeylanica Linn, (non FI. Brit. Ind.) Bastar. Khotele 5270. Cleome viscosa Linn. Bhopalpatnam. Khotele 4407, 8776. Bixaceae Bixa orallana Linn. Bastar. Singh 4397. PlTTOSPORACEAE ** Pittosporum nepaulense (DC.) Rehder ex Wilson, var. rawalpindiense Gowda Bailadilla, Dantewada. Khotele 8050. POLYGALACEAE Poly gal a chinensis Linn. Keshkal, Bhopalpatnam, Marta, Saxena 1785; Khotele 3038; Singh 7164. P. elongata Klein ex Willd. Tirathgarh, Kutumsar, Marta. Saxena & Khotele 6526; Khotele & Shukla 7398; Singh 7166. P. longifolia Poir. Badedongar. Khotele 8521. P. persicariaefolia DC. Manikpur. Saxena 1443. Caryophyllaceae Poly car pon indicum (Retz.) Merr. syn. Polycarpon loeflingii (Wall.) Benth. & Hk. f. Tirathgarh. Khotele 6523. PORTULACACEAE Portulaca oleracea Linn. Bhopalpatnam. Khotele 8769. Tamariscineae Tamarix eriocoides Rottl. Bhopalpatnam. Khotele 8779. Elatinaceae Bergia ammanioides Roxb. Budra, Bhopalpatnam. Khotele 3418, 8768. Hypericaceae Hypericum javanicum Thunb. Gadantari. Khotele 5297. Local name: Kurandi. Malvaceae Abutilon hirtum G. Don syn. A. graveolens W. & A. Bhairamgarh. Khotele 9354. Hibiscus micranthus Linn. f. Ranker. Khotele 2013. H. sabdariffa Linn. Dhondai, Narainpur. Khotele 4028, 4072, 8325. H. tetraphyllus Roxb. Kirandul. Saxena 1365. Tiliaceae Corchorus olitorius Linn. Kirandul. Saxena 1358. Grewia subinaequalis DC. Awapalli. Khotele 9357. OXALIDACEAE Bio phy turn reinwardtii (Zucc.) Klotz. Amabeda-Antagarh, Ranker, Bhanupratappur, Keshkal. Khotele 2049, 2593; Shukla 5314. Local name: Jukku. Oxalis corniculata Linn. Common weed. Singh 4301, 6766; Khotele 3084, 5271. Local name: Kodey. Rutaceae Citrus medica Linn. Bhansi. Saxena 1412. Hesperethusa crenulata (Roxb.) Roem Dantewada. Saxena 1213. OCHNACEAE *Ochna gamblei King Darbha. Saxena 5436; Khotele 9003, 9340. Olacaceae Olax nana Wall. Purva Kameli. Khotele 9074. ! 22 FLORA OF BASTAR V ITACEAE Cayratia carnosa Gagnep. Keshkal. Saxena & Khotele 1807. Cissus vitiginea Linn. syn. Vitis linnei Wall, ex W. & A. Nunalguda. Singh 27131. Sapindaceae Cardiospermum helicacabum Linn. Sukma. Saxena 5675. Erioglossum rubiginosum Bl. syn. E. edule Bl. Bhainsgaon, Narainpur. Khotele 5038. Moringaceae Moringa oleifera Lamk. Kosalnar-Kondagaon. Khotele 3427, 5278. Local name : Munga. Papilionaceae Aeschynomene aspera Linn. Bhairamgarh. Khotele 9333. Alysicarpus glumaceous (Vahl) DC. syn. A. rugosus DC. Bastar. Khotele 11528. Alysicarpus procumbens (Roxb.) Schindl. syn. A. hamosus Edgew. Ranker. Khotele 10196. Alysicarpus vaginalis (Linn.) DC. Common. Saxena 1549, 1827; Khotele 3040, 3882, 3110, 5295; Singh 4366. Local name: Bhuikumra, Phadkuli. Clitoria ternatea Linn. Jagdalpur. Khotele & Shukla 6466. Crotalaria alata Buch.-Ham. Kondagaon. Saxena & Khotele 1956; Khotele 10378. C. calycina Schrank Beejapur, Kutumsar, Korar, Geedam. Singh 2361; Khotele & Shukla 6426, 6457; Khotele 8417, 10398. * C. humifusa Grah. Godantari-Kondagaon. Khotele 5291. C. laburnifolia Linn. Jagdalpur, Darbha. Khotele 3491, 10213. C. prostrata Rottl. ex Willd. Bodegaon-Antagarh, Narainpur, Darbha, Kiran- dul, Bhansi. Khotele 2076, 4020, 10216; Saxena 1410; Singh 2581. Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. ex DC. Pharasgaon. Khotele 8541. Desmodium dichotomum (Wild.) DC. syn. Desmodium diffusum Willd. Keshkal. Saxena 1583. Desmodium triflorum (Linn.) DC. Narainpur, Beejapur, Antagarh. Khotele 4013; Singh 2202, 2234. Desmodium velutinum (Willd.) DC. var. velutinum Ranker, Kirandul, Pharasgaon, Sambalpur, Bha- nupratappur, Bhansi, Jagdalpur. Saxena 1308; Singh 2424, 2568; Khotele 2061, 3028, 7220, 8514. Local name: Badi Chatkani. Dolichos biflorus Linn. Dhondai, Narainpur. Khotele 4061, 8326. Eleiotis monophylla (Burm. f.) DC. Sukma. Khotele 10359, 10397. Indigofera glandulosa Roxb. ex Willd. Maita. Singh 7156. /. linifolia (Linn, f.) Retz. Dantewada, Duhdawa, Antagarh, Jharandalli- Bhanupratappur. Saxena 1237, 1523; Khotele 3054, 4012, 8749. 7. trifoliata Linn. Dantewada, Bodegaon, Amraoti. Khotele 2095, 2866, 6250. Phaseolus mungo Linn. Narainpur: escape in forest. Khotele 4044. P. aureus Roxb. ( Phaseolus radiatus auct. non Linn.) Narainpur, Keshkal. Khotele 4045; Khotele & Shukla 5353. Local name: Paail. ** Pseudarthria viscida (Linn.) W. & A. Bhairamgarh, Kondagaon. Khotele 3114. Rhynchosia minima DC. Jagdalpur. Khotele 11530. Sesbania aegyptiaca Pers. Keshkal. Khotele 5383. Tephrosia hamiltonii Drum. ( Tephrosia purpurea sensu Baker in FI. Brit. Ind.) 23 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Keshkal, Dantewada, Dudhawa, Sukma. Saxena 1521; Saxena & Khotele 1776; Khotele & Shukla 7224; Khotele 10361; Singh 2486. Local name: Dumar, Bajradanti. ** T. lanceolata Grah. ex W. & A. Bispur. Khotele & Shukla 7323. Teramnus labialis (Linn, f.) Spreng. Bailadilla. Singh 2567 ; Saxena 1310. Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn. Bhanupratappur. Khotele 8834. Vigna vexillata (Linn.) A. Rich. Antagarh, Narainpur. Khotele 2070, 4046, 10399. Local name: Barbela. Zornia gibbosa Spanoghe Bailadilla, Darbha, Dudhawa, Dodegaon, Bhains- gaon, Narainpur. Saxena 1555; Khotele & Shukla 7281; Khotele 2094, 3170, 10295. Caesalpiniaceae Caesalpinia bonduc (Linn.) Roxb. Narainpur, Bhopalpatnam. Khotele 4038, 8829. Local name: Ghataran. Cassia absus Linn. Bhiragaon-Narainpur, Konta. Khotele 3166; Singh 7181. C. auriculata Linn. Bastar, Narainpur. Srivastava & Party 99113 (LWG). C. mimosoides Linn. Ranker, Antagarh, Bodegaon, Bhiragaon, Kon- dagaon, Kutumsar. Khotele 2028, 3008, 3091, 3377; Khotele & Singh 6419. C. pumila Linn. Beejapur, Keshkal. Singh 2378; Khotele & Shukla 5372. Mimosaceae Acacia nilotica (Linn.) Del. subsp. indica (Benth.) Brenan ( Acacia arabica ) Jagdalpur, Khotele 6286. A. auriculiformis A. Cunn. Jagdalpur — Cultivated. Khotele 2815. Albizzia amara Boiv. Dantewada. Saxena 1230. * Albizzia thomsonii Brand. Tirathgarh, Sukma. Saxena 5495, 5629. Mimosa rubicaulis Lam. Bhopalpatnam. Khotele 8711. Rosaceae ** Pyrus pashia Buch.-Ham. Kunharas Forest. Fr. July. Singh 6774. Local name: Banghuiyan. CoMBRETACEAE Anogeissus pendula Edgew. Sukma, Pangam, Bhopalpatnam. Saxena 5647; Khotele 8732, 8733. Lythraceae Ammannia baccifera Linn. Bhopalpatnam, Bhanubeda, Bhiragaon, Kesalnar- Kondagaon, Dantewada, Keshkal, Dudhawa, Bhansi. Saxena 1183, 1290, 1526, 3467; Khotele 3113, 3321, 5274. A. baccifera Linn. var. aegyptiaca Koehne Syn. A. salicifolia Hiern. non Monti. Kondagaon. Khotele 5287. Rotala mexicana Cham. & Schecht Syn. Ammannia pygamaea S. Kurz. Darbha. Khotele 9566. i Onagraceae Ludwigia adscendens (Linn.) Hara Syn. Jussiaea repens Linn. Darbha. Saxena & Khotele 1679. Local name: Jagni. Samydaceae Casearia elliptica Willd. Syn. C. tomentosa Roxb. Bhansi. Saxena 1335. Cucurbitaceae Coccinia cor difolia (Linn.) Cogn. Dantewada, Dhodai. Khotele 2873, 4076. Corallocarpus epigaeus (Rottl. & Willd.) C.B. Cl. Antagarh. Khotele 2079; Singh 6609. Cucumis sativus Linn. 24 FLORA OF BASTAR Kirandul, Keshkal. Singh 2590; Khotele & Singh 5362. Local name: Bodella. Diplocyclos palmatus (Linn.) Jaffrey Darbha, Kirandul. Khotele 3375, 10209; Singh 2593. Local name: Beliabuti, Kochri, Chrabuti. Melothria maderaspatana (Linn.) Cogn. Kirandul, Bhansi, Kanker. Singh 2540; Saxena 1320; Khotele 2016. Momordica char ant ia Linn. Sukma, Tirathgarh. Saxena 1632, 5662. M. dioica Roxb. ex Willd. Dornapal, Tongpal. Singh 7002, 7095. Local name: Khaksi, Van Karela. Trichosanthes bracteata (Lam.) Voigt Dondai, Sukma, Geedam, Kanker. Khotele 4075, 2046, 10256, 10376. T. cucumeriana Linn. Kanker, Jagdalpur. Khotele 2015; Khotele & Shukla 6468. Cactaceae Opuntia monacantha Haw. Kanker. Saxena s.n. Ficqideae Glinus oppositifolia (Linn.) A. DC. Dudhawa, Sukma. Saxena 7535, 5651. Umbelliferae Centella asiatica (Linn.) Urban Bhansi, Sonpur, Darbha. Khotele 5078, 9582; Saxena 1408. * Eryngium foetidum Linn. Darbha. Saxena 5416. Local name: Dhaniya. Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Lam. Darbha. Khotele 9581. Local name: Choti Brahmi. Peucedanum nagpurense Prain Keshkal. Khotele 5343. Trachyspermum roxburghianum (DC.) Craib Korar. Khotele 8439. Rubiaceae Dentella . repens Forst. Jagdalpur, Bhopalpatnam, Sukma,. Dudhawa. Saxena 1536, 3490, 5651, 5655, 5663. Gonotheca ovatifolia (Cav.) Sant. & Wagh Syn. Oldenlandia nudicaulis Roth Dantewada, Kirandul, Beejapur, Keshkal. Saxena 1366; Khotele 8020; Singh 2222; Khotele & Shukla 5417. Hedyotis hispida Retz. Darbha, Kirandul, Bhansi, Bispur. Saxena 1406, 5405; Khotele 10321; Singh 4212. Local name: Ronder. Rubia cordifolia Linn. Bhansi, Bailadillai. Saxena 1294; Singh 4273. * Tarenna asiatica (Linn.) Alston Syn. Webera corymbosa Willd. Bastar, between Narainpur and Dhamtari. Srivas- tava 9915 (LWG). COMPOSITAE Amberboa ramosa (Roxb.) Wagenitz. Syn. Voluterella divaricata Benth. Dudhawa, Saxena 1545. Blainvillea acmella (Linn.) Phillipson Kanker. Singh 2236; Khotele 2041. Bidens pilosa Linn. Bhansi, Kirandul, Kanker. Sayena 1429; Singh 4214; Khotele 2011. * Blumea hieracifolia DC. Keshkal. Saxena 1570. B. laciniata (Roxb.) DC. Bhanupratappur. Khotele 8566. B. oxyodonta DC. Dudhawa, Amabeda, Dantewada. Saxena 1170, 1173, 1525; Khotele 8468, 8568. B. virens DC. Bailadilla. Saxena 1285; Khotele 8358. Centipeda minima (Linn.) A. Br. & Aschers Jagdalpur, Bhanupratappur. Khotele 8547, 11516. Centratherum anthelminticum (Willd.) D. Ktze. Kirandul, Antagarh. Singh 2530; Khotele 3376. Local name : Kappur. Chrysanthellum indicum DC. Kanker, Tirathgarh. Khotele 1986, 6509. Conyza aegyptiaca Ait. Keshkal, Amraoti. Saxena & Khotele 1.695; Kho- tele 6244. 25 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 C. canadensis (Linn.) Conquist; Cuatr. in Webbia 24:222, 1969. Syn. Erigeron canadensis Linn. Kanger Nala, Bailadilla, Geedam. Saxena 5553; Singh 6796; Khotele 6933. Cosmos sulphureus Cav. Antagarh, Kirandul, Geedam, Darbha : escape from cultivation; often abundant in patches. Singh 2546, 3372, 9586, 10252. Crassocephalum crepidioides (Benth.) S. Moore Syn. Gynura crepidioides Benth. Bailadilla, Bhansi, Dantewada, Kutumsar. Kho- tele 8025, 9023; Khotele & Shukla 6451; Saxena 1444. Glossogyne bidens (Retz.) Alston Syn. G. pinnatifida DC. Budra, Tirathgarh, Kosalnar, Kondagaon, Amra- oti, Dantewada. Saxena 1634, 5464; Khotele 2853, 5281, 6201, 6237. Local name: Tejraj, Dhaniyabuta, Datkuda. Sclerocarpus africanus Jacq. Darbha, Basanpur, Dantewada, Bispur. Saxena 5446; Khotele 8024; Khotele & Shukla 7308. Siegesbeckia orientalis Linn. Bailadilla. Singh 4318. Local name: Katkan. Sonchus asper Vill. Bailadilla. Singh 2259. Tridax procumbens Linn. Common. Khotele & Shukla 5398; Khotele 4019, 5293. Xanthium strumarium Linn. Geedam. Singh 4349. Local name: Kutraiya. Stylidiaceae ** Stylidium kunthii Wall. Bispur, Darbha. Khotele 10330. Campanulaceae Wahlenbergia marginata (Thunb.) A. DC. Dantewada, Chhotedongar, Jagdalpur, Saxena 1177; Khotele 3492, 5225, 5226. Primulaceae Lysimachia obovata Hk. f. Bailadilla. Singh 2274. Myrsinaceae ** Ardisia floribunda Wall. Syn. A. neriifolia Wall. Purva Kameli. Khotele 9061. Sapotaceae Madhuca indica Gmel. Syn. M. latifolia (Roxb.) Macbride Bhairamgarh, Bhansi. Saxena 1427; Khotele 9381. Ebenaceae Diospyrus exsculpta Buch.-Ham. Syn. D. tomentosa Roxb. Sukma, Bhairamgarh. Saxena 3685; Khotele 3096. Local name: Tendu. Oleaceae Jasminum multiflorum (Burm. f.) Andr. Jagdalpur. Khotele 3487. /. officinale Linn. Bailadilla, Amraoti: escape. Singh 6638; Khotele 6274. Apocynaceae Alstonia scholaris R. Br. Bhansi. Saxena 1340. Catharanthus pusillus G. Don Ranker. Khotele 2068. Tabernaemontana divaricata (Linn.) R. Br. Jagdalpur — planted. Khotele 2816. Vallaris heynei Spreng. Jagdalpur. Khotele & Shukla 6471. Wrightia tomentosa (Roxb.) R. & S. Tongpal. Singh 7047. Local name: Kudegada, Dudhia. Asclepiadaceae Cryptolepis buchananii R. & S. Badedongar. Khotele 1973, 8501. Pergularia daemia (Forsk.) Chiov. Bhopalpatnam. Khotele 8778. Holostemma annularis (Roxb.) K. Schum. Syn. H. rheedii (Wall.) Spreng. 26 FLORA OF BASTAR Kondagaon. Saxena & Khotele 1866. Local name: Dudhi. Sarcostemma acidum (Roxb.) Voight Syn. S. brevistigma W. & A. Korar. Khotele 8446. * Tylophora fasciculata Buch.-Ham. Tongpal. Singh 7072. Local name: Urwa Tonda. Loganiaceae Strychnos nux-vomica Linn. Tirathgarh. Saxena 5509. Gentianaceae * Exacum pumilum Griseb. Dodagaon, Antagarh. Khotele 2088. Boraginaceae Coldenia procumbens Linn. Dudhawa, Dantewada, Sukma, Tongpal. Saxena 1529, 5616, 5679; Singh 4387, 6785; Khotele 6035. Local name: Silphara, Chirima, Mallod Kusir. Cynoglossum lanceolatum Forsk. Bailadilla, Bijapur, Bodegaon, Bhainsgaon, Dar- bha, Kondagaon. Khotele 2093, 3152, 5296; Khotele & Shukla 5359; Singh 2216, 2266. Local name: Latkana, Choti likanda. Heliotr opium marifolium Retz. Bade Bacheli. Khotele 6056. H. ovalifolium Forsk. Jagdalpur. Khotele 11531. H. strigosum Willd. Dantewada. Khotele 2867. CONVOLVULACEAE Argyreia sericea Dalz. Kirandul, Ranker, Korar, Bhiragaon, Darbha, Bispur. Singh 2573; Khotele 2025, 3095; Khotele & Shukla 7277, 7346. Local name: Bhainsa Kand. Erycibe paniculata Roxb. Dantewada. Khotele 6029. Evolvulus alsinoides (Linn.) Linn. Fairly common. Singh 6681, 7099; Khotele 1981, 2058, 3112, 3323, 5090, 5298, 6211, 6236, 6291, 10375. Local name: Karabuta, Bhui-Chirayata, Phulka, Konijorabhaji. lpomoea batata (Linn.) Linn. Dantewada, Korar: escape. Khotele 2870, 8401. lpomoea cairica (Linn.) Sweet Geedam. Singh 4354. Local name: Komelalki. 1. eriocarpa R. Br. Kirandul, Bhainsgaon. Singh 2595; Khotele 3164. Local name : Phulodari. 1. hederifolia Linn. Syn. /. coccinea C.B. Cl. non Linn. Korar, Jagdalpur. Khotele 8430; Khotele & Shukla 6469. /. nil (Linn.) Roth Kutumsar. Khotele & Shukla 7384. I. obscura Ker-Gawl. Bhanupratappur, Badedongar, Darbha. Khotele 8538, 8595, 9566, 11527. Merremia hederacea (Burm. f.) Hall. f. Syn. lpomoea chryseides Ker-Gawl. Sukma. Saxena 5690. M. tridentata (Linn.) Hall. f. Tirathgarh, Ranker, Dudhawa. Saxena 1551, 5499; Khotele 2023. Rivea hypocrateriformis Choisy Kondagaon. Saxena & Khotele 1865. Local name: Garyparh. SOLANACEAE Datura metel Linn. Darbha. Khotele 8774. Physalis minima Linn. Jagdalpur. Khotele 2803, 9515. Solanum surattense Burm. f. Dudhawa, Bhopalpatnam. Saxena 1540; Khotele 8775. SCROPH ULARI ACEAE Antirrhinum orontium Linn. Kondagaon. Khotele 3083. Limnophila aromatica (Lamk.) Merr. Darbha. Khotele 9584. Lindernia anagallis (Burm. f.) Pennell Budra, Sukma, Dhondai, Karrakosa, Bhiragaon, Darbha, Dantewada, Geedam. Saxena 1629, 5641, 5643, 5645; Singh 7091; Khotele 3118, 4054, 6036, 8763, 9574. Local name: Pidkushir. 27 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 * L. cor difolia (Colsm.) Merr. Tirathgarh, Darbha, Dantewada. Saxena 1464, 5448; Khotele 6045, 9571. * L. hirsuta (Benth.) Wettst. Dantewada. Khotele 6025. L. pusilla (Willd.) Schlecht. Syn. L. hirta (Cham. & Schl.) Mukherjee Keshkal, Badebacheli. Saxena 1562; Khotele 6062. L. multiflora (Roxb.) Mukherjee Bastar, Tongpal. Singh 7006, 7130. L. nummularifolia (D. Don) Wettst. Bispur. Khotele & Shukla 7371; Saxena 1813. L. parviflora (Roxb.) Haines Dhondai, Sukma, Maita. Khotele 4054, 10364; Singh 7153. Orobanchaceae Orobanche aegyptiaca Pers. Chhotedongar. Khotele 5238 A. Lentibulariaceae U tricularia aurea Lour. Syn. U. flexuosa Vahl Sonpur, Dantewada. Saxena 1211; Khotele 5209. ** U. graminifolia Vahl Tirathgarh. Saxena 1480, 5481. Bignoniaceae Heterophragma roxburghii DC. Allapalli. Khotele 9373. Acanthaceae Adhatoda vasica Nees Badedongar, Pharasgaon, Jagdalpur. Khotele 8540; Saxena 1472. Andrographis echioides (Linn.) Nees Bijapur, Sambalpur, Ranker, Darbha, Bispur. Singh 2360; Khotele 1999, 3026, 10221, 17367. Dicliptera bupleuroides Nees Narainpur, Bhanupratappur. Khotele 5052, 8590. Dipter acanthus beddomei (C.B. Cl.) Sant. Kameli, Kutumsar. Khotele 8013; Khotele & Shukla 6451, 7300. D. prostratus (Poir.) Nees Bailadilla. Singh 2284. D. suffruticosa (Roxb.) Voight Tongpal. Khotele 6583. Dystoriste erecta (Burm. f.) O. Ktze. Kutumsar. Panigrahi & Arora 1165 (BSA). Justicia diffusa Willd. Sukma, Ranker, Antagarh, Keshkal. Singh 7081; Khotele 1994, 4003; Khotele & Shukla 5376. Local name: Bapadai Ghachh. J. glauca Rottb. Golapatti, Ranker, Domkosa, Bhanupratappur, Sukma. Khotele 2021, 8584, 10367; Singh 7140. Lepidagathis cristata Willd. Tirathgarh, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Darbha. Saxena 5508; Khotele 3381, 3395, 8585, 10202. . Rungia repens Nees Tongpal. Singh 7052. * Staurogyne glauca (Nees) O. Ktze. Darbha. Saxena 5406. Strobilanthes edgeworthii Nees Bhaisgaon, Darbha. Khotele 8485, 10204. * Synnema barbigera O. Ktze. Syn. Cardanthera balsamica Benth. ex C.B. Cl. Dantewada, Nelsanar. Saxena 1172; Singh 4362. Local name : Latbhaji. Verbenaceae Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl. Bhansi, Bailadilla, Basanpur, Dantewada, Bade- bacheli. Saxena 1252; Singh 6652; Khotele 6077, 8027. Clerodendrum phlomoides Linn. f. Awapalli. Khotele 8708. C. viscosum Vent Syn. C. infortunatum auct. non Linn. Sukma, Chhotedongar. Saxena 1680; Khotele 5220, 5240. Duranta repens Linn. Darbha, Amravati, Khotele 6267, 6406, 10207. Premna barbata Wall, ex Schauer Keshkal. Saxena & Khotele 17877. Pygmacopremna herbacea (Roxb.) Moldenke Syn. Premna herbacea Roxb. Budra, Jherandalli-Bhanupratappur, Kondagaon. Saxena 1249; Khotele s.n. 28 FLORA OF BASTAR Vitex leucoxylon Linn. f. Tirathgarh, Manikpur, Badebacheli, Awapalli. Saxena 1491, 1596, 5484; Khotele 6057, 9396. V. negundo Linn. Awapalli. Khotele 9387. Labiatae * Dysophylla verticillata Benth. Dantewada. Singh 2490. Leucas aspera (Willd.) Spreng. Geedam. Khotele 10253. L. cephalotes (Roth) Spreng. Tongpal. Singh 7016. Local name: Bhui Kumra. L. lavandulaefolia Rees Keshkal, Darbha, Govindpur, Jagdalpur, Chhote- dongar, Tongpal Dumarpadar. Saxena 1582, 5463; Saxena & Khotele 1691; Khotele 4317, 3479, 5221, 5394, 6569. Local name: Banbhuhari, Gubi. L. nutans Spreng. Bhansi. Saxena 1440. Micromeria biflora Benth. Bailadilla, Purva Kameli. Singh 4306, 4336; Kho- tele 9080. Local name : Bantili, Hariabuta. Ocimum americanum Linn. Budra, Sukma, Kirandul, Bhanupratappur, Darbha. Saxena 1641, 5404, 5682; Khotele 8098, 8548, 10240; Singh 2256, 6692. Local name: Vantulsi. O. basilicum Linn. Ranker, Jagdalpur. Khotele 3493, 8447. O. sanctum Linn. Bispur, Dudhawa. Saxena 1561; Khotele 7345. ** Platy stoma africanum Beauv. Keshkal. Khotele 7292. Nyctaginaceae Mirabilis jalapa Linn. Tongpal, Bijapur. Singh 2203, 7022. Local name: Dhudya ghil. Amaranth ace ae Achyranthes bidentata Bl. Bispur. Khotele 10309 Aerva monsoniae (Linn, f.) Mast. Bhopalpatnam, Ranker, Antagarh. Khotele 1991, 4015, 8780. Allmania nodiflora R. Br. Amraoti. Khotele 6254. Amaranthus blitum Linn. var. oleracea Hk. f. Kutumsar. Panigrahi & Arora 1176 (BSA). A. caudatus Linn. Sukma. Khotele 10357. A. spinosus Linn. Common in waste lands. Khotele 2802, 5279, 6412, 8748. A. tricolor Linn. Bhainsgaon-Narainpur. Khotele 3148. A. virdis Linn. Nelsanar. Singh 4363. Deeringia amaranthoides (Lam.) Merr. Kondagaon. Khotele 6213. Gomphrena celosioides Mast. Dantewada, Tongpal. Saxena 1232; Singh 2300; Khotele 6413, 6576. ** Psilotrichum trichotomum Bl. Bijapur, Dornapal, Godantari-Kondagaon. Singh 2215, 7097; Khotele 5292. POLYGONACEAE * Polygonum rottleri Roth Syn. P. flaccidum Meissn. Amabeda. Khotele 8460. Local name: Bas. P. serrulatum Lagasc. Bispur. Khotele 10342. P. stagninum Buch.-Ham. Kirandul, Nelsnar, Narainpur. Singh 4211, 4378; Khotele 3124, 8460. Local name: Magarlata, Urni- lua, Kiker Kushir. P. tomentosum Willd. Dantewada, Sangam-Bhopalpatnam, Jagdalpur. Khotele 8728, 11518; Singh 2489. Lauraceae Litsea glutinosa (Lour.) C.B. Robins. Kangernala, Awapalli. Khotele 9400. Euphorbiaceae Acalypha indica Linn. 29 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Kristaram. Singh 7135. Bridelia montana Willd. Sukma. Khoteie 10363. Chrozophora prostrata Dalz. Sukma. Saxena 5649. ** Cleistanthus patulus Muell.-Arg. Purvakameli, Bailadilla. Khoteie 9013, 9058, 9062. Euphorbia hypericifolia Linn. Dantewada, Bhansi, Tongpal. Khoteie 2838, 7003; Singh 6913. Local name: Bar pad Kushir. E. prostrata Ait. Darbha, Dudhawa. Saxena 1527; Saxena & Khoteie 1680, 1683; Khoele & Shukla 7244. Local name: Dudhi. Jatropha curcas Linn. Budra, Tirathgarh. Saxena 1626, 5474. Local name: Ranijad, Bajranga. Phyllanthus asperulatus Hatch. Syn. P. fraternus Webst. Bhansi, Bispur. Saxena 1245, 1348; Khoteie & Shukla 7303. P. urinaria Linn. Bijapur, Kutumsar, Bailadilla, Jagdalpur. Khoteie 2801, 6082; Singh 2213; Khoteie & Shukla 6427. Ricinus communis Linn. Keshkal, Kirandul, Bhanupratappur, Kosalnar- Kondagaon. Saxena 1362; Khoteie 3439, 5277, 8827. Utricaceae Laportea interrupt a (Linn.) Chew. Syn. Fleurya interrupta (Linn.) Wt. Narainpur, Keshkal, Konta. Khoteie 3141; Khoteie & Shukla 5370; Singh 7192. Pilea microphylla Liebm. Kondagaon, Jagdalpur. Khoteie 2812, 3087. Pouzolzia auriculata Wight Keshkal. Saxena & Khoteie 1806; Khoteie 5373. Mo RACE AE Ficus rumphii Bl. Kosalnar-Kondagaon. Khoteie 5273. Local name: Jodi. F. tomentosa Roxb. Mohpal-Pharasgaon. Khoteie 8533. Morus indica Linn. Keshkal. Khoteie & Shukla 5388. Salicaceae Salix tetrasperma Roxb. Sukma, Korar, Geedam. Saxena 5642; Khoteie 8489, 10254. Local name: Named. CERATOPH YLLACEAE Ceratophyllum demersum Linn. Manikpur, Kutru, Bhairamgarh. Saxena 1605; Khoteie 9330. Local name : Jalbi. . . Hydrocharitaceae Hydrilla verticillata (Linn, f.) Royle Bhiragaon. Khoteie 3103. Orchidaceae Acampe praemorsa (Roxb.) Blatt. & McCann Syn. Saccolobium wightianum Hk. f. Kirandul, Tirathgarh. Saxena 1459; Khoteie 8096. Eulophia mackinonii Duthie Kondagaon. Saxena & Khoteie 1855. Habenaria marginata Colebr. Bhainsgaon. Khoteie 3177. ZlNGIBERACEAE Curcuma angustifolia Roxb. Darbha, Keshkal. Saxena 5444; Saxena & Khoteie 1809. Local name: Tikhur. C. aromatica Salisb. Kirandul. Khoteie 8080. ** C. pseudomontana Grah. Amraoti, Kameli-Dantewada. Khoteie 2899, 6261. Local name: Sirondi. Globba racemosa Sm. Bailadilla, Tongpal. Singh 6610; Khoteie 6562, 8077. ** Zingiber capitatum Roxb. Bhopalpatnam, Antagarh, Bailadilla. Singh 2196, 4282; Khoteie 3359. Local name: Gerkan. Z. rubens Rose. Bhainsgaon, Korar. Khoteie 8493. 30 FLORA OF BASTAR Amaryllidaceae Agave americana Linn. Kondagaon. Saxena & Khotele 1831. Local name: Rambans, Khetki. Taccaceae Tacca leontopetaloides (Linn.) O. Ktze. Kondagaon, Bijapur. Saxena & Khotele 1853, 2383. Local name: Dhongri, dhai. Dioscoreaceae Dioscorea alata Linn. Narainpur. Khotele 4048. Local name: Bhainsd- hate. ** D. wallichii Hk. f. Dantewada. Saxena 1209. Liliaceae Asparagus gracilis Royle Korar, Kutumsar. Khotele 2062; Khotele & Shukla 6421. Chlorophytum laxum R. Br. Tirathgarh. Saxena & Khotele 1880. Iphigenia indica (Linn.) A. Gray Antagarh, Keshkal. Khotele 3380, 5346. Urginea indica (Roxb.) Kunth Dantewada, Chhotedongar, Amraoti. Saxena 1226; Khotele 5227; 6272. PONTEDERACEAE Monochoria vaginalis Presl. Kondagaon: aquatic. Saxena & Khotele 1871. COM MELINACEAE Commelina forskalii Vahl Jagdalpur. Khotele 3488. * Murdannia vaginatum (Linn.) Bruck. Dumarpak. Khotele 7211. JUNCACEAE Juncus prismatocarpus R. Br. Tirathgarh. Saxena 5507. Araceae Arisaema tortuosum Schott Keshkal, Kutumsar, Geedam, Dantewada, Kiran- dul. Khotele 1798; Khotele & Shukla 5327, 7391; Singh 2591, 6925, 6770. Local name: Dheskand, Baggujri. Remusatia vivipara (Lodd.) Schult. Kirandul, Keshkal, Tirathgarh, Bailadilla. Saxena 1397; Saxena & Khotele 1810; Khotele 3205, 8058. Theriophorum minutum Engl. Tirathgarh, Kutumsar. Saxena & Khotele 1848; Khotele & Shukla 6422. Alismaceae Butomopsis lanceolata Kunth. Dantewada, Darbha, Bhairamgarh. Khotele 9322, 9577; Singh 2478. Saggitaria guayanensis H.B.K. Konta: aquatic. Singh 7106. POTAMOGETONACEAE * Potamogeton javanicus Hassk. Bhaisgaon, Tirathgarh. Saxena 5488; Khotele 5100. P. indicus Roxb. Syn. P. nodosus Poir. Bhairamgarh, Manikpur, Budra. Saxena 1604, 3424; Khotele 9375. Aponogetonaceae * Aponogeton natans (Linn.) Engl. & Krause Syn. A. monostachyus Linn. f. (“ monostachyon ”) Tongpal. Singh 7001. Cyperaceae Bulbostylis barbata (Rottb.) C.B. Cl. Dantewada. Khotele 2878. B. capillaris Kunth. Dantewada. Khotele 2879. Cyperus amabilis Vahl Kondagaon. Khotele 3111. C. digitatus Roxb. Bhairagaon. Khotele 3104. C. exaltatus Retz. Kanker, Jharandelli, Tongpal. Khotele 2030, 3064; Singh 7033. Local name: Bidya Tonda. C. melanosperma (Nees) Suringar Bacheli, Kirandul path. Singh 2521. 31 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 C. sanguinolentus Vahl Darbha, Bispur. Khotele & Shukla 9588, 10343. C. squarrosus Linn. Darbha. Khotele & Shukla 7257. C. tenuis pica Steud. Syn. C. flavidus auct. non Retz. sensu C.B. Cl. in FI. Brit. Ind. Sukma, Geedam, Dantewada, Jagdalpur. Saxena 1178, 1181, 1184. C. triceps (Rottb.) Engl. Geedam, Amraoti, Kondagaon, Bengpal. Khotele 2877, 6279, 6203, 10354; Singh 2419. Elaeocharis congesta D. Don Darbha. Khotele 9564. Fimbristylis argentea Vahl Kutru-Bhairongarh. Khotele 9337. F. littoralis Gaud. Syn. F. miliacea sensu C.B. Cl. in FI. Brit. Ind. Bodagaon, Geedam, Dumarpadav, Darbha, Bija- pmy Kirandul. Khotele 3013, 9546, 11502; Khotele & Shukla 7217, 7263; Singh 2357, 2526, 4339. Local name: Kondibuti, Narhaghas. Fuirena ciliaris (Linn.) Roxb. Konta. Saxena 5704. Rhynchospora longisetis R. Br. Ranker, Konta. Khotele 2067; Singh 1779. Scirpus erectus Poir. Korar. Khotele 8442. S. squarrosus Linn. Bhopalpatnam, Darbha, Geedam, Sukma. Khotele 4337, 5085, 8762, 7259, 9365, 10277; Khotele & Shu- kla 10365. S. supinus Linn. Geedam. Khotele 10273. Scleria caricina (R. Br.) Benth. Bispur. Khotele 10325. Gramineae Alloterospsis cimicina (Linn.) Stapf Dantewada, Konta, Geedam, Darbha, Keshkal. Khotele 2888, 9527; Singh 2237, 7173; Khotele & Shukla 5331, 7261. Bothriochloa glabra (Roxb.) A. Camus Antagarh. Khotele 3384. B. odorata (Lisboa) A. Camus Antagarh. Khotele 3396, Brachiaria reptans (Linn.) Gard. et C.E. Hubb. Kutru, Bhairongarh, Kameli, Dantewada. Khotele 2824, 2893, 9338. Chi oris dolichostachya Lagasc. Sonpur. Khotele 5201. Dichanthium aristatum (Poir.) C.E. Hubb. Dantewada, Bhairamgarh. Saxena 1233; Khotele 9339. Digitaria granularis (Trin.) Henr. Darbha, Tirathgarh, Bispur, Bhaisgaon, Narain- pur. Saxena 1896; Khotele & Shukla 7262, 7380; Khotele 3176. D. longifolia (Retz.) Pers. Bhopalpatnam. Khotele 8766. Eragrostiella bifaria Wight ex Steud. Keshkal, Korar, Dantewada. Khotele 2006; Kho- tele & Shukla 5358; Shukla 5356. E. brachyphylla (Stapf) Bor Tongpal, Bailadilla. Khotele 6572; Singh 6603. Eragrostis tenuifolia Hochst. ex Steud. Keshkal. Saxena 1698. E. viscosa (Retz.) Trin. Chhotedongar, Keshkal, Manikpur, Bailadilla, Kondagaon. Saxena 1607; Singh 4290; Khotele 3419, 5215, 5282. Eulalia trispicata (Schult.) Henr. Kirandul. Singh 2559. Local name: Bhanaghas. Hackelochloa granularis (Linn.) O. Ktze. Marta, Keshkal, Kutumsar, Bhanupratappur. Korar, Bispur. Singh 2377, 7171; Khotele & Shukla 5360, 6438; Khotele 2003, 3061. lsachne globosa (Thunb.) O. Ktze. Antagarh, Kirandul, Bhanupratappur, Geedam, Bispur. Khotele 10391, 10392, 10322, 11310, 11509, 3048, 3555; Singh 2522. Local name: Bindu Rod- aghas. ll Ischaemum nilagiricum Hack. Sonpur. Khotele 5070. Mnesithea laevis (Retz.) Kunth Keshkal, Bastar. Khotele & Shukla 7202; Khotele 6230. Panicum notatum Retz. Keshkal, Narainpur, Kirandul, Bailadilla. Khotele 32 FLORA OF BASTAR 3156, 3476, 4042; Singh 2522, 4308. Local name: Chhinghas. P. paludosum Roxb. Keshkal. Khotele & Shukla 7229. P. psilopodium Trin. Bispur, Tongpal, Bhairamgarh, Jagdalpur, Kam- eli, Bailadilla. Khotele 3159, 6300, 6575, 8010; Kho- tele & Shukla 7316; Singh 4291. Local name: Nan Kousra. P. sumattrense Roth Jagdalpur, Geedam, Bispur, Bailadilla, Narainpur, Bhanupratappur. Khotele 3489, 5095, 8092, 8552, 10262; Khotele & Shukla 7332; Singh 4324; Khotele 3489. Local name: Koshra, Kodoghas. Paspalum orbiculare Forst. Tirathgarh, Bastar. Khotele 8559, 8589. Pseudo pogonatherum contortum (Brongn.) A. Camus Kirandul, Korar, Budra. Singh 2561; Khotele 3352, 3432. Local name: Bhirbhasighas. Setaria verticellata (Linn.) P. Beauv. Kutumsar. Khotele & Shukla 7388. Sorghum cernnum Host. Darbha. Khotele 10242. Sporobolus indicus auct. non (Linn.) R. Br. Amraoti. Khotele 6246. S. tenuissimus (Schrank) O. Ktze. Korar, Keshkal. Khotele 2064; Khotele & Shukla 5361. Aspidiaceae * Cyclosorus parasiticus (Linn.) Tardein ex Tardien & C. Chr. Syn. Dryopteris parasitica (Linn.) O. Ktze. Bhansi, Kirandul. Saxena 1343; Singh 2544. Aspleniaceae ** Asplenium dalhausiae Hook. Syn. Ceterach dalhausiae (Hook.) C. Chr. Bailadilla. Singh 4294. Acknowledgements We are grateful to the Director and to the Assistant Director, Floristic Botany Division, National Botanic Gardens, Lucknow; to the Director, Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta; to the President, F.R.I., Dehra Dun; to the Officerdn-Charge, Botany Branch, F.R.I., Dehra Dun; to the Director, State Forest Re- search Institute, Jabalpur; to the Regional Botanist, Botanical Survey of India, Central Circle, Allahabad; to the Conservator Forests, Bastar Circle; and to Divisional Forest Officers and staff of all Forest Divisions of Bastar for their kind cooperation in various ways. References Arora, C. M. (1968) : The Botany of Bailadilla, Bastar State, M.P. Bull. hot. Surv. India 10:61-66. Jain, S. K. (1963) : Studies in Indian Ethnobot- any-Plants used in medicine by the tribals of Mad- hya Pradesh. Bull. Region. Res. Lab. Jammu 1: 126- 128. — (1964) : Wild Plant-Foods of the Tri- bals of Bastar (M.P.) Proc. nat. Inst. Sci, India. 30(B) : 56-80. (1965) : Medicinal Plant Lore of the tribals of Bastar. Econ. Bot. 79:236-250. Mooney, H. F. (1942): A Sketch of the Flora of the Bailadilla Range in Bastar State. Indian For. Rec. (new series) 3:197-253. Panigrahi, G. & Arora, C. M. (1965): Contri- bution to the Botany of Madhya Pradesh. II. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. 35:87-98. Panigrahi, G. & Verma, D. M. (1965) : ibid. III. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. 35:99-109. Panigrahi, G., Arora, C. M., Verma, D. M. & Singh, V. N. (1966) : ibid. I. Bull. bot. Surv. India. 5:117-125. Panigrahi, G. & Prasad, R. (1966): ibid. IV. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. 36: 553-564. & Singh, A. N. (1967): ibid. V. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. 37:77-104. Ramlal & Panigrahi, G. (1967) : Contribution to the Botany of Madhya Pradesh. VI. Bull. bot. 33 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Surv. India. 9:262-267. Shukla, U. & Panigrahi, G. (1967): Contribu- tion to the Botany of Madhya Pradesh — VII. Bull, bot. Surv. India. 9: 268-276. Subramanyam, K. & Henry, A. N. (1966): Vas- cular Plants of Madhya Pradesh. Bull. bot. Surv. India. 5:207-215. Tiwari, S. D. N. (1954-55): The Grasses of Mad- hya Pradesh. Indian For. 80: 601-611, 681-689, 1954; 57:107-115, 191-200, 1955. (1963) : Supplement to the Gras- ses of Madhya Pradesh. Indian For. 59:595-602. & Maheshwari, J. K. (1963): The Orchids of Madhya Pradesh. Indian For. 89: 426-444. (1964) : The Ferns of Madhya Pradesh. J. Indian bot. Soc. 43:431-452. (1964): The Cyperaceae of Mad- hya Pradesh. Indian For. 99:147-158; 616-620. (1965) : The Commelinaceae of Madhya Pradesh. Indian For. 97:580-590. Some observations on the ecology of the land snail Ariophanta maderaspatana (Gray)1 V. B. Masurekar Institute of Science, Bombay 400 032 AND M. S. Bagalkote Elphinstone College, Bombay 400 032 (With two photographs in a plate) Introduction The terrestrial pulmonates to which Ariophanta maderaspatana belongs inhabit open wood- lands, parks, gardens, and similar habitats where humid niches occur. The species appears to be widely distributed in South India and is also recorded along the Western Ghats in places like Bombay, Math- eran etc. In Bombay specimens of Ariophanta could be collected from gardens on and near about Malabar Hill and especially from the Borivli National Park, 38 km north of Bom- bay. Along with Ariophanta maderaspatana specimens of A. bajadera and A. laevipes also could be collected though not in large num- bers. The Environment The hills in the National Park, 76.11 metres or more in height are covered with moist deciduous forest, where Pterocarpus marsupium, Bombax malabaricum (silk cot- ton), Erythrina indica (Indian coral tree), Alstonia scholaris (Devil tree or Shaitan), Grewia tilii folia. (Phalsa), Schleichera trijuga 1 Accepted October 1973. (Ceylon Oak) and Butea frondosa (Flame of the Forest) are common. The Gandhi Memorial or Pavilion hill situ- ated near the entrance of the park is about 76.11 metres high and is covered with plants like Holarrhena antidy sent erica (Kurchi), Wrightia tinctoria (Kala Kurchi) and Casearia tomentosa. The sides of the road from the entrance of the park towards Gandhi Memo- rial Hill, have trees like Bauhinia variegata (Kachnar), Mangifera indica (Mango), Tec- tona grandis (Teak) and grass and herbs in- terspersed with tree seedlings. The area near the road especially on the left side of the road towards Gandhi Hill abounds in Ariophanta maderaspatana. Comparatively few snails were collected from the right side of the road, pro- bably due to the fact that the left side of the road is more shady and moist than the right. The snail normally prefers such a habitat. Some grasses belonging to the genera, Echinochloa, Leptochloa, Fimbrystylis and Cyperus were also commonly noticed in this area, especially in flooded area. Numerous fungi and lichens also grow on this moist, humus substratum, preferred by Ariophanta and other land snails. Ariophanta maderaspatana and the other two species A. bajadera and A. laevipes and JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 slugs are never found close to water but rather away from them where, the soil is always moist and atmosphere humid. In and around these ponds and streams in the Park are found other gastropods like Lymnaea, Tropicarbis, Planor- bis, Vivipara and Pi la. Physical Properties of the Soil : The soil of the National Park varies from few inches deep gravely soil on the top of the rocks to about five to six feet deep medium brown to black soil in the lowland. The shal- low soil is fit only for the growth of grasses. At places where the soil is deep brown in col- our and covered with large trees, it is generally rich in humus and is preferred by the snail. In places where the soil is loamy or reddish and somewhat sandy snails rarely occur. Water and air capacity of the soil is also important both from the point of view of growth of vegetation as well as from the view point of hibernation or aestivation of the snail. It has been shown (Das 1950) that with decrease of the water content of the soil due to change in season there is a gradual increase in air content. The large quantity of humus and the shade afforded by the large trees grow- ing in the deep brown soil prevent much eva- poration of water from the soil. The soil in grassland areas and the black loamy soil are comparatively poor in their water and air ca- pacity, whereas, the deep brown soil on which large trees grow, has a better water and air retaining capacity (Das, op. cit.). CHEMICAL NATURE OF THE SOIL: Soil samples from a depth of 6 inches to 9 inches were collected from number of spots uniformly distributed and where the animals were found in abundance. Standard analytical methods, (Hesse 1971; Piper 1944) were fol- lowed to determine the nature of the soil. The results of the laboratory analysis of the soil are given in Table 1. Table 1 Soil analysis S. No. Parameter studied Results 1. Moisture 2.8% 2. pH 7.6 3. Total Soluble solids 4.2% 4. Chlorides 0.151% 5. Calcium* 1.736% 6. Loss on Ignition (organic matter) 13.9% * Common red earth used for gardening was also tested for its calcium content, which was found to be less than 0.5%. CLIMATIC FACTORS: 1) Temperature : Table 2, gives the monthly average of tem- perature recorded at Santacruz, Bombay for the last 3 years. The temperature does not vary much from month to month and fluctu- ations which occur from day to day are negli- gible. 2) Rainfall : Rainfall data recorded at the Meteorological station, Santacruz, was obtained from the Col- aba Observatory. The monthly averages of the rainfall over a period of 3 years is given in Table 2. The rainy season usually commences by the beginning of June and ends by middle of Octo- ber or a little earlier. The early showers are gentle and wet the soil only to a limited depth, and give the natural vegetation, a great stimu- lus for vigorous growth. Very young forms of the snail are seen crawling on rocks and on grassland during this period. From December to May, the conditions are ECOLOGY OF THE LAND SNAIL dry. Most of the seasonal ground vegetation starts wilting during this period and thus adds a large amount of organic matter to the surface. By the end of November before the ground becomes very dry, the snail enters the soil for aestivation and finally disappears from view. 3) Humidity : The moisture present in the atmosphere of an animal habitat depends largely on the rain- fall, temperature and wind. Humidity thus tends to remain fairly constant in patches of thick vegetation and regions of deep shade. either in loose, rich, reddish brown soil con- taining particles of free chalk, or on rocks in the vicinity of the soil, provided they are over- grown with some grass or moss. Occasionally the animals are seen on rocky slopes near flow- ing streams. Hesse et al. (1951), observed that land snails with calcareous shells are especially abundant on soil rich in lime. A certain amount of cal- cium is of course present everywhere where animals and plants live and as has been men- tioned by Hyman (1967), Boycott (1934), there Table 2 1969-1971 Monthly averages of the temperature, relative humidity and rainfall Max. °C Temperature Min. °C Humidity % Rainfall (mm) January 30.6 16.2 57.0 000.00 February 30.7 18.6 66.0 000.00 March 32.6 20.7 62.0 000.00 April 33.4 24.3 66.6 000.00 May 33.5 26.6 69.6 000.00 June 31.4 25.5 83.6 563.5 July 30.4 24.9 87.3 587.5 August 29.3 24.5 87.6 584.4 September 29.7 24.2 86.6 377.0 October 32.9 22.8 73.6 232.3 November 33.7 20.0 54.3 005.6 December 32.4 17.6 53.3 000.06 is no clear cut division between calcareous and non-calcareous soil. “As it happens, however, the amount of CaC03 in soil (about 0.5%) which gives a perceptible frizzle with acid in the field seems to mark the level at which earth begins to be ‘calcareous’ from snail’s point of view”. (Boycott, op. cit.). The soil of Borivli National Park, contains about 1.7 per cent calcium. Calcium in the form of CaC03 is essential for the secretion of Table 2 for mean monthly relative humidity over the period of 3 years shov/s that humi- dity ranges from 83.6 to 73.6 per cent in the period June to October, while from Novem- ber to May, it ranges from 54.3 to 69.6 per cent. Discussion 1) Substratum : Ariophanta maderaspatana lives successfully 37 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 the shell. This calcium is obtained by the ani- mal only through its food which is normally in the form of humus, fungi and even fresh leaves of plants growing in the soil. This was confirmed by a few observations made in the laboratory. For this purpose, young snails were allowed to grow in the laboratory on a substratum consisting of normal red earth whose calcium content is usually less than 0.5 per cent. The snails were fed on bean and pea seedlings grown in the same soil. As a control experiment, snails almost of the same size as used in the trial experiment, were allow- ed to grow in the soil obtained from the Na- tional Park. These snails were fed on fresh leaves and humus obtained from the same area. Fortnightly observations regarding growth of the animal (size of shell) and fragility of the shell were made for a period of four months. Simple handling was enough to know whether the shell was fragile or not. It was observed that in the case of animals grown in red earth, the growth is rather slow, and the shell weaker and more fragile than in the case of snails grown in the control experi- ment. The reason for the occurrence of Arioph - anta in the calcareous soil thus becomes quite apparent. It must however, be pointed out, that snails can obtain CaC03 required for the shell secretion only through the food i.e. plant leaves, humus and fungi. Boycott (1934) and Robertson (1941) have shown that the thick- ness and weight of the shell is directly depen- dent on the amount of calcium. 2) Habitat : For a terrestrial pulmonate such as A. ma- deraspatana the shelter must always be damp and provide nooks and crannies into which it can retire in times of stress and into which it can escape drought and cold. Trampling by men and animals makes the ground firm and destroys its surface porosity, a condition natu- rally harmful. Ariophanta therefore inhabits grounds which are normally away from such influences and is often found near the base of the trees (Photo. 1 and 2) where the soil is moist, soft and rich in nutrients because of the thick layer of humus. Areas underneath large stones, logs of wood and fallen twigs are re- servoirs of dampness and provide safe retreat. 3) Moisture : The dampness of the habitat determines the amount of time a mollusc can spend in feed- ing and breeding (Boycott 1934). It is well known that snails and slugs walk on a film of thin mucus and use up water in the process. The loss of water is said to be restored, when the animals eat or drink (Boycott 1934). There is also a loss of water from the skin, which varies with the humidity of the air and once a snail is dehydrated beyond a certain thres- hold it becomes immobilised and finally dies. Ariophanta is therefore seen walking around its habitat at night or in the early morning when there is dew or in the wet weather. The soil covered by some grasses and other seasonal herbs and shaded by the overlying tree crowns, remains moist for number of days even after the monsoon and forms an ideal habitat for the snail till about middle of November. 4) pH of the Soil : Table 1, shows that the pH of the soil in- habited by A. maderaspatana is about 7.6. This is in conformity with the calcareous nature of the soil. During its normal life, barring aesti- vation, the animal rarely burrows in the soil and thus is unlikely to be affected by the change in pH. It has been reported (Burch 1955) that land snails are most abundant at pH 6.3 to 6.7. However, Ariophanta seems to favour a pH which is slightly on the alkaline side. 38 J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 Plate Masurekar & Bagalkote: Ariophanta maderaspatana Fig. 1. Photograph showing the natural habitat of Fig. 2. Photograph showing the snails climbing up Ariophanta maderaspatana. (2 animals encircled. plant to avoid drowning during rains. Black arrow showing the epiphragm). ECOLOGY OF THE LAND SNAIL 5) Rainfall and Humidity : The premonsoon showers towards the end of May bring out the aestivating snails. The subsequent monsoon from June to September besides keeping the soil moist during the period of animal’s life, causes a luxuriant growth of many herbs, grasses and seedlings in the shade of the trees. Such a vegetation besides provid- ing fresh leaves to the animals, ultimately adds to the humus on the substratum. Even though rains provide a favourable background as far as moisture and food of the animal are concerned, excess of water on the substratum sometimes caused by flooding dur- ing this season, is harmful. If a snail is accid- entally caught in such a flood, the pulmonary aperture (pneumostome) gets blocked and the animal gets asphyxiated and finally drowns. Further, if a snail falls in water its mucus be- comes diluted and the animal is unable to crawl out. Ariophanta, therefore, usually seeks shelter from heavy rains. When it is raining for a sufficiently long time, the animals are often found climbing up the trees (Photo. 2) in the neighbourhood, to avoid drowning. It has been observed that humidity plays an invaluable role in breeding habits of this snail. This can be seen from the fact that dur- ing the period of high humidity (June-Octo- ber) (Table 2), the species thrives better, grows faster and breeds twice. As soon as the relative humidity goes down from November onwards, the animal stops breeding and under- goes aestivation. 6) Light and Temperature : Observations show that Ariophanta maderas- patana rarely moves and feeds in the open after 8 o’clock in the morning when there is bright sunlight. Table 2, shows that the range of maximum temperature for the area is 29.3°C-33.7°C and of the minimum temperature 26.6°C to 16.2°C. The proximity of the sea and the presence of water vapour in the air makes the climate equable even during winter. The temperature of the area thus does not seem to have much influence on the activity or abundance of the snail. The animal however avoids direct ex- posure to heat and light and normally frequents shady places where the temperature is gene- rally low. Food and Feeding Habits These were studied by field observations as well as by studying the gut contents. Basically Ariophanta maderaspatana, can be considered as herbivorous, though often the gut contents occasionally reveal the presence of small in- sects, pieces of earthworms etc. The animal normally eats decayed remains of the higher plants, fungi and some mosses. It also eats fresh leaves of most of the herbaceous plants in the area and does not appear to be parti- cularly selective in its choice of food. In labo- ratory, the animals were fed on cabbage, let- tuce and carrots, all of which were readily accepted. Feaves of trees are seldom eaten, primarily because of the height at which the foliage is situated. The animals though they climb such trees to seek shelter during heavy rains, were never seen to go beyond a height of 12-15 ft. Some wild plants in the area are seldom eaten by snails like Ariophanta pos- sibly because of the fact that many of them are usually protected by hair, oxalate crystals or by juice which is offensive to snails (Hyman 1967). Sometimes the snail attacks many of the or- namental plants in the park and spoils them. Mosses and algae growing on rocks and tree bases, are also not spared by the animal as can be seen from their characteristic feeding tracks. Seedlings of Brassica indica and Madhuca in - 39 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 dica seem to be relished by the snail. The snail also appears to be fond of a parti- cular type of grass (Coix iacryma-jobi) . Dur- ing the rainy season this grass grows in the shade of large trees like Erythrina indica and Bauhinia variegata, and the snail is therefore found in abundance near about the base of the trees (Photo. 1 and 2). Pieces of earth- worms, insects etc., found in the gut contents seem to be ingested from the dead remains of these animals, mixed with the decaying vegetation. The snails were never noticed feed- ing on live animals. In the feeding experiments conducted in the laboratory, it was found that the animal never touched small earthworms introduced into the soil. As far as food is con- cerned, A. maderaspatana does not seem to have competition except from the other two species of Ariophanta and some slugs. Enemies : Birds seem to be the main predators of Ario- phanta though lizards and snakes may some- times eat the snail. The birds especially the crows hunt for snails in vegetation, grasp it by the rim of the shell aperture, carry it on to a rock or any substratum, bang it on the rock until the upper whorls break and the colu- mella cracks and then extract the snail body which is wiped on the ground a few times and then swallowed whole. The sluggish ways, her- bivorous and sometimes omnivorous eating habits make land pulmonates easy victims of many parasites. Many ciliate species are found in the digestive tract of A. maderaspatana. A single nematode parasite was also recorded from the digestive tract. Human Influence : The National Park is regularly visited by hundreds of picnic parties and other people in large numbers. These frequent visits, some- times result in trampling of ground in which the eggs of the snails are deposited or in which young snails are aestivating. At present the snails are restricted to the hill forest on either side of the road which leads to the Gandhi Memorial Hill. Since last year, however, con- struction activity has started in the area around the road to Gandhi Hill. A number of trees are being cut and the vegetation growing in the shade is thus being seriously affected. A few collections were made in June and July of 1972 to find out the effect of these activities on the snail population and it seems to have been greatly affected when compared with the ob- servations for the two years 1970 and 1971, the period of the present study. ■ ACK NOWLEDGE M E N TS We wish to express our thanks to Shri Sub- hash G. Bagalkote for his assistance during field work and to Shri M. D. Moledina for his assistance in photography. 40 ECOLOGY OF THE LAND SNAIL References Boycott, A. (1934) : Habitats of land Mollusca in Britain. Jour. Ecol. 22:1-38. Burch, J. B. (1955): Some ecological factors of the soil affecting the distribution and abundance of land snails in eastern Virginia. Nautilus 69:6 2-69. Das, R. B. (1950) : Ecological survey of the Kanheri National Park, Bombay. Thesis for Ph.D. Bombay University. Hesse, R., Allee, W . C. & Schmidt, K. P. (1951) : Ecological Animal Geography, pp. 597. Translation and revised edition on Hesse 1924. J. Wiley, New York. Hesse, P. R. (1971) : A text book of soil chemi- cal analysis. London, John Murey, xxiii + 820 p; Eds. 1971. Hyman, L. H. (1967) : The Invertebrates, Vol. VI, Mollusca. McGraw Hill Book Company. Piper, C. A. (1944) : Soil and Plant Analysis. Adelaide, University of Adelaide. XIV, 368 p. illus. Robertson, J. D. (1941): The function and me- tabolism of calcium in the invertebrates. Biol. Revs. Cambridge, Phil. Soc. 16. 41 Birds of Goa1 ! Robert B. Grubh and Salim Ali Very little published information is available on the bird life of Goa during its occupancy by the Portuguese. Even after independence no work appears to have been done. Therefore Shri S. S. Bhattee (Conservator of Forests, Goa, Daman & Diu) invited the Bombay Natural History Society to conduct an ornithological survey. Accordingly a team of five consisting of Shri J. D. Panday, R. J. Pimento, M. U. Mahadik and ourselves made a brief field sur- vey for 16 days, from 27th November to 12th December 1972. Since the survey was so brief, only a rather superficial sampling of the total area could be done. Field work was confined mainly to 3 of the more forested localities, namely Molem, Canacona and Valpoi. It consisted of record- ing of species by observation and collecting specimens when necessary. 150 specimens of 100 species were collected and an additional 54 species sight recorded. The following list is obviously incomplete. It does not include many other species which must certainly occur in Goa either as residents or as migrants, and it is hoped that a further more extensive survey will be possible for the record to be completed. For lists of birds that have been recorded in the adjoining areas see, for North Kanara, Davidson, J. (1898): JBNHS 2 parts, Vols. 11 and 12; for Karna- taka, Salim Ali (1942-43): ibid. 5 parts. Vols. 43 and 44. 1 Accepted December 1975. Physiography • Goa is a tract of undulating country on the western seaboard of India, wedged between the Arabian Sea on the west and the Sahyadri range (Western Ghats) on the east. It lies bet- ween latitudes 14°53' and 15°48' N„ and longi- tudes 73°45' and 74°24' E., and covers an area of 3370 square kilometres (imperial gazetteer of India Vol. 12, p. 249). The State abuts on the Savantvadi taluka of Ratnagiri district (Maharashtra) in the north, and on the Dhar- war district of Karnataka on the east and south. The crest of the Sahyadri range running N-S virtually forms the entire eastern bound- ary. Luxuriant evergreen and semi- evergreen forests occur in deep gorges and ravines in the northeastern and southeastern portions adjoin- ing Karnataka. Tree growth is mostly stunted on the precipitous hillsides. The rainfall in this forest (zone varies between 5100 and 7600 mm per annum, all during the SW monsoon. Under the erstwhile Portuguese regime the zone of evergreens was classified as “A” class forest and far sightedly preserved “for regulation of the climate and water flow, and conservation of soil in the hill tracts.” Moist-deciduous for- ests, mostly secondary and degraded, occur along the foothills of the Sahyadris. They were classified as the “B” type, and being more ac- cessible were exploited, often wastefully, for commercial timber and fuel. Class “C” forests — also Moist-deciduous, but occurring around villages and habitations — were earmarked for the domestic requirements of the local popu- BIRDS OF GOA lation: for agricultural purposes, firewood, leaf fodder for cattle, and for cumeri or shifting cultivation. Vast areas of excellent forest every- where in Goa, especially on the higher hill slopes, have been ruined and rendered unpro- ductive by this pernicious practice. Wildlife As a result of official encouragement, and even incentives, given to hunters during the Portuguese colonial administration the forests have been effectively denuded of all wildlife, especially mammals. Birds of Prey and other large birds. During a week’s survey of the forested area at Molem — now hopefully esta- blished as a wildlife sanctuary — not a single large mammal was heard or seen — not even any spoor — except one Giant Squirrel ( Ratufa ). The entire Molem, Carranzol and Neterlim valleys adjoining Karnataka were completely dead though densely covered with magnificent semi- evergreen and moist-deciduous forest. Wild animals such as gaur, sambar and pig are said occasionally to stray in from across the border, from Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary of Karnataka, and with adequate protection the Forest Department hopes to rehabilitate these and other species here. The only other wild mammal seen during the Survey was a leopard cat ( Felis bengalensis) that had been shot anonymously and propped up in the mid- dle of a forest road in the Canacona area! Large areas of degraded forest at Valpoi and elsewhere have been clear felled by the Forest Department and planted with teak, rubber, eucalyptus, cocoa and cashew, and the impact of this intrusion, mostly exotics, on indigenous bird life will repay careful monitoring. An excursion was made to the top of Vagheri in Valpoi taluka, just under 1000 m and said to be the highest hill in Goa. This was specially in order to establish whether or not the plant genus Rubus (brambles) and its symbiotic bird genus Garrulax (laughing thrushes) also occur in Goa as both do in the Kerala ranges a couple of hundred metres above this eleva- tion. While bracken ( Pteridium sp.) another regular member of this plant-bird association, was plentiful near the top, there was no sign of Rubus or Garrulax although otherwise the biotope seemed eminently appropriate. Systematic list The measurements of the specimens collect- ed, are given in the following order: Body weight (in grams), wing length, bill, tarsus, and tail (in mm). Bill has been measured from skull. Unless otherwise stated, all the species recorded are within their known geographical range of distribution. Subspecies are given only for the birds actually collected and ex- amined, although it is unlikely that the identity of the others would be different from those of better worked adjoining areas. 1. Ardeola grayii (Sykes) Pond Heron Noted : Molem, Canacona 2. Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus) Cattle Egret Noted: Valpoi 3. Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines) Black- winged Kite Noted: Maem, Molem 4. Pernis ptilorhynchus ruficollis Lesson Crested Honey Buzzard Collected: Canacona cfl050g. c. 440, 42 52 263. Dark and pale tail bands of equal breadth, and the wing-tail index less than 65 (i.e. 60). 5. Milvus mi grans (Boddaert) Pariah Kite Noted in urban areas. 6. Haliastur indus (Boddaert) Brahminy Kite Noted: Maem Lake environs 7. Accipiter badius dussumieri (Temminck) 43 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Shikra Collected : Molem, Valpoi d — 183 — — 138 $ 233 g 195 21 54 154 Elsewhere noted: Canacona 8. Accipiter trivirgatus (Temminck) Crested Goshawk Noted : Molem 9. Butastur teesa (Franklin) White-eyed Buzzard-Eagle Collected: Molem $ 450 g 305 30 67 164 Elsewhere noted: Maem Lake environs, Canacona 10. Ictinaetus malayensis (Temminck) Black Eagle Noted : Canacona 11. Gyps bengalensis (Gmelin) Whitebacked Vulture Noted : Canacona 12. Spilornis cheeJa melanotis (Jerdon) Penin- sular Serpent Eagle Collected : Molem d 1200 g 416 42 101 258 13. Pandion haUaetus (Linnaeus) Osprey Noted : Canacona 14. Falco peregrinus peregrinator Sundevall Shahin Falcon Noted : Molem 15. Falco tinnunculus interstinctus McClelland Kestrel Collected : Molem d 150 g 259 21 42 171 Elsewhere noted : Canacona Although the specimen is in subadult plumage it is paler than other subspecies in subadult plumage. 16. Coturnix coturnix (Linnaeus) Grey Quail Noted: Valpoi 17. Galloperdix spadicea (Gmelin) Red Spur- fowl Noted: Various localities 18. Gallus sonneratii Temminck Grey Junglefowl Noted : Molem, Canacona 19. Turnix suscitator (Gmelin) Common Bustard-Quail Noted : Various localities 20. Amaurornis phoenicurus (Pennant) Whitebreasted Waterhen Noted : Canacona 21. Fulica atm Linnaeus Coot Noted : North Goa 22. Vanellus indicus (Boddaert) Redwattled Lapwing Noted : Molem, Canacona 23. Tringa ochropus Linnaeus Green Sandpiper Noted: Maem Lake 24. Gelochelidon nilotica (Gmelin) Gullbilled Tern Noted: North Goa 25. Treron pompadora affinis (Jerdon) Grey- fronted Green Pigeon Collected: Valpoi d 146 g 142 20 23 moult $ 153 g 144 20 22 82 Elsewhere noted: Molem, Canacona 26. Ducula badia (Raffles) Imperial Pigeon Noted : Canacona 27. Columba livia Gmelin Blue Rock Pigeon Noted : Canacona 28. Columba elphlnstonii (Sykes) Nilgiri Wood Pigeon Collected : Molem o? 340 g 203 28 26 157 Elsewhere noted: Canacona 29. Streptopelia orientalis erythrocepkala Bonaparte Rufous Turtle Dove Noted: Maem Lake environs, Molem 30. Streptopelia chinensis (Scopoli) Rufous Turtle Dove Noted : Maem Lake environs, Molem 31. Streptopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus) 44 BIRDS OF GOA Little Brown Dove Noted : Canacona 32. Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus) Emerald Dove Noted : Molem 33. Psittacula cyanocephala cyanocephala (Linnaeus) Blossomheaded Parakeet Collected : Molem c?69g 140 18 (from cere) c. 11 219 $ 63 g 130 17 (from cere) c. 1 1 150 Elsewhere noted : Canacona 34. Psittacula columboides (Vigors) Blue- winged Parakeet Noted: Canacona, Molem. Generally com- mon. 35. Loriculus vernalis (Sparrman) Lorikeet Noted : Valpoi 36. Cuculus micropterus Gould Indian Cuckoo Noted : Canacona 37. Eudynamys scolopacea scolopacea (Linnaeus) Koel Collected : Canacona c? 162 g 193 31 34 198 Elsewhere noted: Molem 38. Centropus sinensis parroti Stresemann Crow-pheasant Collected : Molem $ 312 g 195 43 57 255 Elsewhere noted : Canacona 39. Glaucidium radiatum (Tickell) Barred Owlet Noted: Maem Lake environs, Molem, Canacona, Valpoi 40. Eurostopodus macrotis (Vigors) Great Eared Nightjar Noted: Valpoi. The characteristic whist- ling whi-wheeew calls were regularly heard in the evening at dusk. 41. Caprimulgus indicus indicus Latham Jungle Nightjar Collected : Valpoi cf 60 g 189 24 14 125 By plumage and measurements it is dif- ficult to differentiate indicus from the closely resembling neighbouring race kazarae without a series. 42. Caprimulgus macrurus atripennis Jerdon Longtailed Nightjar Collected : Canacona cf 74 g 186 24 19 131 43. Chaetura sylvatica (Tickell) Whiterump- ed Spinetail Swift Collected : Molem o? 13 g 113 9 10 35 44. Cypsiurus parvus (Lichtenstein) Palm Swift Noted : Molem 45. Hemiprocne longipennis (Rafinesque) Crested Tree Swift Noted: Molem, Canacona, feeding parties over forest with characteristic whit-tuck calls. 46. Harpactes fasciatus malabaricus (Gould) Malabar Trogon Collected : Molem, Canacona cf 64 g 125 20 15 158 2 $ $ 60 g, 64 g, 123,125 20,21 16,16 158, 166 Call, a deliberate unhurried cue-cue-cue, three or four times repeated. 47. Alcedo atthis taprobana Kleinschmidt Small Blue Kingfisher Collected : Molem $ 23 g 69 42 10 30 48. Alcedo meninting ssp? Blue-eared King- fisher Collected: Canacona, Molem c?25g 71 44 11 31 9 28 g 71 43 9 31 By distribution and characters this speci- men falls in ssp. coltarti Baker, but there is no way of distinguishing it from rufigaster. Hum- ay un Abdulali ( JBNHS <54:174) has already 45 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 indicated that it is difficult to separate rufigas- ter from coltarti. 49. Halcyon smyrnensis (Linnaeus) White- breasted Kingfisher Noted: Maem Lake, Molem, Canacona 50. Merops leschenaulti leschenaulti Vieillot Chestnutheaded Bee-eater Collected : Molem 9 24 g 108 39 12 81 Elsewhere noted: Maem environs 51. Merops philippinus Linnaeus Bluetailed Bee-eater Noted: Maem Lake, near Bicholim, small numbers. 52. Merops orientalis Latham Little Green Bee-eater Noted: Molem, Canacona 53. Nyctyornis athertoni (Jardine & Selby) Bluebearded Bee-eater Noted : Molem ( JDP) 54. Coracias garrulus semenowi Loudon & Tschudi Kashmir Roller Collected: Canacona 7 Dec. 1972 9(imm) 120 g 190 40 24 124 An immature solo, apparently a straggler. Remiges and primary coverts freshly moulted. Rectrices and body plumage very worn. One of the two southernmost records from peninsu- lar India, the earlier being from Karwar im- mediately south of Goa. 55. Coracias benghalensis ssp? Roller or Blue Jay Collected : Molem $ 115 g 175 38 26 122 Elsewhere noted : Canacona Nuchal collar is entirely absent, and it is lighter green on the upperparts than the sub- species indica. This specimen is not distinguish- able from the northern race bengalensis. How- ever, according to the range arbitrarily fixed, the specimen should be considered as indica. Commonly seen singly on telegraph wires. 56. Upupa epops ssp? Hoopoe Collected : Molem o? 59 g Wing — Bill 56 Ts 25 Th- in plumage and measurements the speci- men agrees with the subspecies epops Linnaeus as well as with saturata Lonnberg. There is no character distinct enough to separate epops from saturata. Ali & Ripley (handbook 4: 127) consider saturata as of questionable vali- dity. Elsewhere noted: Canacona 57. Tockus griseus griseus (Latham) Mala- bar Grey Hornbill Collected : Molem cT 336 g 210 102 42 229 Elsewhere noted : Canacona Dipping flight in silhouette very like Nyc- tyornis or Megalaima Virens. 58. Anthracoceros coronatus coronatus (Boddaert) Malabar Pied Hornbill Collected : Molem 9 1000 g 310 204 (from forehead) 160 (from gape) 51 310 Elsewhere noted : Canacona. Orbital skin, cheek pads and gular skin pinkish creamy white. Bill creamy white. 2/3 of casque (terminal) and patch at base of lower mandible black. 59. Buceros bicornis Linnaeus Great Pied Hornbill Noted : Molem Party of 3 (RJP) Canacona 60. Megalaima zeylanica inornata Walden Large Green Barbet Collected : Molem d 123 g 123 36 30 71 61. Megalaima viridis (Boddaert) Small Green Barbet Collected : Molem $ 84 g 100 26 27 59 62. Megalaima rubricapilla malabarica (Blyth) Crimsonthroated Barbet 46 V BIRDS OF GOA Collected : Molem $ 38 g 82 18 21 38 In evergreen forest. Call like haemace- phala, but faster in tempo. 63. Micropternus brachyurus jerdonii (Mal- herbe) Rufous Woodpecker Collected : Molem cf 108 g 130 30 23 69 Elsewhere noted : Canacona 64. Dinopium benghalense puncticolle (Mal- herbe) Goldenbacked Woodpecker Collected: Canacona cf 132 g 149 44 26 tail moult The southern birds have been separated into two races; puncticolle having orange-yel- low back and tehminae having golden olive- yellow back. However, it is hard to place this specimen or many others in the BNHS collec- tion, obtained from various regions, under either of the races with certainty as the extent of gold and orange on the back is highly vari- able and not restricted to birds from any one area. 65. Dryocopus javensis (Horsfield) Great Black Woodpecker Noted: Molem (JDP), Canacona 66. Picoides nanus hardwickii (Jerdon) Browncrowned Pigmy Woodpecker Collected : Molem $ 15 g 75 16 15 35 Elsewhere noted : Valpoi 57. Hemicircus canente (Lesson) Heartspotted Woodpecker Collected: Molem and Canacona 2tf CO <3 >w' *03 O r- H Feb. Bura. 1/3 T3 CD OJ ox) C OX) ^ I Z 1° * >> >n 5 O s ° . ''t »H O < X — - OJ Tt Hh G "-~- on cj O i/i a, ^ OJ oo £ 2 < ?r X ctf ffi c o w si I § Z s ^ U to "a •S So -2 m r) >n | on o o o o r) n co l l I I y> « Z H oa ca ^ 3- h x o o o o I - I X | | - x INI I I I I I “ III® i S-i i 15-m | S.I I I I I I I I I £ « z o H CQ pg -s: 0L> S: o 125 Total Totals 1971 1972 Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Aug. 71 - Feb. 72 Aug. - Habitat 2/2 4/4 5/5 *4/4 *5/5 4/4 4/4 0/5 0/4 0/4 0/5* 0/5* 0/5* Nasib.* Bura. June JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 00 60 <3 <3 ee T) 0) 00 c § 3 > o - co - ^ ^ X CO - co co VO CO X - CO - T—l 1 CO H" T— 1 CO CO VO CO CO o o o O rH (O co o O r-H CO CO o CO - o o o o o CO o co o O 1 1 I 1 1 x 1 1 1 1 I 1 X 1 1 1 1 I I 1 1 X 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i I 1 1 X 1 1 1 1 i l 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i l 1 1 1 1 - 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1-1 CO CO 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 ^ 1 1 1 1 o O 1 1 1 1 1 CO 1 1 1 1 1 o o 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 o 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 CO 1 1 1 o 1 1 1 1 o' 1 1 1 1 1 ©. 1 1 o 1 1 1 CO 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 r-H 1 CO o 1 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 1 o 1 1 I ! 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 TS jae BB BN « z o CQ CO Total TS TS BN Total BB o Q w -s < o s 2 s © 2 ^ a o s i§ 5 s*. bi 05 s .o £5 ?s >< m < cu Vi si Vi Q 8 3 O w 3 Cm o z •2 § <5 o 2 Q £ p O B u § -2* o a o -a ^ c C ^ K 3 Q T3 . < ^ 126 GROUND ACTIVITY OF SPIDERS AND HARVESTMEN CO $ $ vo CO co X 1 < <3 c n T3 CO o NO i ^ CO E o VO On O CO <3 £ w o VO CO CO VO r— 1 CO . cd rO £ ON o co d- NO oo '7> P Cd ON t" co d- co <3 £ co *o ■sj- oo t"- X ON <3 © cn CO co 00 >» * 3 \ VO CO */■) VO X r- tn ^ o 0) * 3 m VO co O O 3 \ >-> o CO CO c- >* _ cd Td- o VO 1 d- o co ^ "d- C5. < ° r- 1 1 1 t— in' wo cd 1 1 I s ° 1 1 1 I 1 1 ft ^ 1 1 o' - 1 o' e 5; 00 o 1 I 00 H-J ^ r- CO - 1 1 ON d ^ « -CL o 1-. Q »o o CO ' 1 CO * > 3 CO o’ co 1 r 1 1 o 'no NO o */~i O^r 1 1 1 d- d- o cT -3 o o o o o CO co co oo NO co CO £ 3 ^ ,“1 << CO INI H m £ .2 3S o V. •H? S n 'C ^ O CO ^j- O O ^ N m I X | ^ | X I I -m I I l I l l i I l^il I I l l o o —I CO O O 1-H o OMOh o co o oo Tj- O O CO O r-H h ^ ^ (v) i d. I i o O Tf C<~) ^'o' I h £ £ fc 0 H qq pq m x m \q O d" I x I I m co O rn I I I I I I I I ^ > o O 127 Total JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 73 DO 00 3 3 < < . oj JD £ I 3 W y 1) * a m 3 \ •-5 O ^ o' -d ^ > ^ £ ^ z * o »n o Oh 3" 4) \ M g>ci a 3 — ■ H < N 3 ffi M OMJO co rf VO c- r- vo oo co co co t-h vo T-H ,-H f- oo VO VO CO T-H 3- Cl M- X Mix ^ ^ N >o I on d I cq h pq <3 oa O O Ps K) I I z a PQ < 1 s §* 2 * e ^ o M 3- co X oo o CM 00 X m Ml VO M in 1 1—1 t-H co co Ml t-h t — Ml Ov O VO VO 1 O 00 c- Ml et" r— 1 Ml T-H «n Ml Ml t—H CO O ov I Cl- o o Ml OO o m in 1 ^ 2 5 m in «n ej- co Ov 9 ^ n t" o t — «n CO VO d- 5 5 M- O 00 in oo Ml 1—1 1 CO co 1 1 VO M- Ov X Ml cr 5 3 X T-H 1 1 3" co co Ml r~l 1 1 1 26 M- 17 X O VO - Ml Cl X Ov 1 1 m OO Ov o Ml Ml Cl co d- 1 1 Ml r-H VO 8 w ° O X) ftb ’55 P cs <3 Z 4> * C< tn as- o3 '3' U rf ft < ° u «o 03 ^ o CJ in o ^ ft Tj- CL) ^ Tt 00 ^ X */“> VO O ,-H Mix I I - 03 £ 00 .3 ft & I I ^ I I I t- | - n - s i i .1 CM a> 3 73 -ft a 03 xf c3 -3 c 3 o XI O t § ° d T3 ft *§ §• § g » & | S" H 4H o3 +e o rrs O „S 1 >» CQ £ 3 P3 03 <] Jh .-Ox) x w d d «H 03 ?H 3 “£■•3 Si*: S Z .3 11 jB o H S H * shrub, bamboo and grass habitats there was a tendency for the mean number of individuals per species to be higher when the number of species was low, and to be low when the num- ber of species was high (Table 4). There were three different patterns of distri- bution of the spider species (Table 4). The three species that were present in all four of the habitats (Table 5) were the ones which were the most active, i.e., the species most fre- quently caught in the pit-fall traps. Those spe- cies which occurred in two or three habitats occurred with moderate frequency in the traps, with 3 to 24 individuals caught per species, and could be considered moderately active on the ground. Those species that occurred in only one habitat occurred with very low frequency in the traps, with only 1 to 3 individuals caught per species. These least active or low frequency species accounted for 63 per cent of the spider species caught, but accounted for only 2.1 per cent of the individuals. The number of moder- ate and high frequency species was similar, but the high frequency species accounted for 93 per cent of the spiders caught (Table 4). The species composition of the spider fauna in each of the four habitats differed mainly because of the low frequency species, which occurred in only one habitat each (Table 4). The bamboo, banana and grass habitats shared two of the species that occurred with moder- ate frequency, and the banana and grass habi- tats each shared one moderate frequency spe- cies with the tree-shrub habitat. Seasonal changes in Spider activity on the Ground The number of species present Varied during the year. The months with the most species active on the ground were October 1971, eight species, and March 1972, nine species. In August 1971 and May 1972 only one species was present: Lycosa sumatrana in August and L. birmanica in May. The average number of species present in the study per month was 5.0, and the average per month in each habitat was 2.1. The number of spiders active on the ground gradually increased during the course of the study, but did exhibit wide fluctuations (Fig. 129 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Table 3 Spider species diversity on the ground within and across seasons, habitats and villages Village and Seasons Tree-shrub Habitats Bamboo Banana Grass Total Nasibpur Sept. -Nov. 1.42 2.41 1.75 1.25 1.94 Dec.-Feb. 1.54 0.98 0.75 1.64 1.44 Sept.-Feb. 1.50 1.37 1.37 1.82 1.79 Burasanti Sept.-Nov. 0.99 1.38 1.61 1.75 2.10 Dec.-Feb. 1.08 0.00 1.61 0.87 1.17 Mar.-May 1.46 1.30 1.44 0.44 1.31 June-Aug. 1.00 1.07 1.29 1.87* 1.49* Sept.-Feb. 1.26 0.97 1.73 1.60 1.72 Mar.-Aug. 1.48 1.75 1.64 1.45* 1.81*1 Sept. -Aug. 1.66 1.78 1.87 1.67* 1.97* 1 * No data for July and August on the grassy plot. "j Structure of spider Table 4 COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF INDIVIDUALS (August 1971-June 1972) || AND SPECIES Mean No. of Individuals per Species and (No. of Species) In relation to No. of Habitats Species Occurred In One Two Three Four For each habitat % of Individ. % of Species | i Tree-shrub 1.8(4) 3.0(2) — 78.0(3) 27.5(9) 27.1 47.7 Bamboo 1.4(5) — 1.0(2) 67.0(3) 21.0(10) 23.1 52.6 Banana 1.0(2) 3.0(1) 5.5(2) 33.3(3) 14.5(8) 12.7 42.1 Grass1 3.0(1) 17.5(1) 1.5(2) 104.7(3) 48.2(7)* 37.1* 36.8 Mean No. of individuals per species 1.6(12) 13.3(2) 8.0(2) 283.0(3) 47.95(19) 100.0 100.0 and (tot. no. of species) % of individuals 2.1 2.9 1.8 93.2 100.0 911 % of species 63.2 10.5 10.5 15.8 100.0 — 19 * chi square p < .001. 1 Number of spiders adjusted due to fewer number of trap days. 130 GROUND ACTIVITY OF SPIDERS AND HARVESTMEN Table 5 Distribution of Araneae and Phalangidae across habitats and per cent of population for eleven months (August 1971 -June 1972) Per cent of each habitat Scientific name Tree-shrub Bamboo site grove Banana grove Grassy plot 1 Number of individuals Per cent of population By By species family Ctenizidae Acanthodon sp. (100) (1) See text Theraphosidae Phlogiodes validus 100 3 0.3 0.3 OONOPIDAE Diblemma sp. _ 100 1 0.1 0.1 Gnaphosidae Drassodes malodes 100 1 0.1 4.3 Drassodes oppenheimeri 14 8 16 62** 37 4.1 Gnaphosa sp. 100 — — — 1 0.1 Theridiidae Cyllognatha sp. 100 2 0.2 0.3 Theridion sp. — — 100 — 1 0.1 Thomisidae Thomisus cherapunjeus _ 100 1 0.1 0.4 Thomisus sp. (juveniles) — — 33 66 3 0.3 Xysticus minutus 100 — — — 1 0.1 Heteropodidae Heteropoda sp. 50 50 6 0.7 0.7 Clubionidae Castianeira sp. _ 100 2 0.2 0.2 Lycos idae Lycosa annandalei (adults) 100 3 0.3 93.3 Lycosa birmanica (adults) 36 16 11 37** 183 20.1 Lycosa nigrotibialis (adults) 100 _ 2 0.2 Lycosa sumatrana (adults) 31 24 5 40** 107 11.7 Lycosa tista (adults) 13 — — 87 8 0.9 Lycosa sp. (adults) — 8 83 8 12 1.3 Lycosa spp. (juveniles) 25 27 13 36** 535 58.7 Oxyopidae Oxyopes sp. 100 _ _ ! 0.1 0.1 Salticidae Maevia sp. _ 100 ! 0.1 0.1 Total Araneae 27 23 13 37** 911 99.8 99.8 Phalangidae 53 18 11 18* 38 100.0 100.0 *) p < oi and **) p < .001 using chi square that such a distribution would occur by chance. !) Number of spiders adjusted due to fewer number of trap days. 131 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 2). The study can be divided into two parts, August 1971 to February 1972, when the acti- vity was low to medium, and March to August 1972, when the activity was me- dium to high. The major fluctuations were due to changes in the activity of the lyco- sid spiders, which accounted for 93.3 per cent (Table 5) of the spiders caught (Fig. 2). The adults of the two species, L. birmanica Fig. 2. Monthly changes in spider activity measured in terms of mean number of spiders per trap per day per month (x 10) between August 1971 and August 1972. and L. sumatrana, accounted for 31.8 per cent of the spiders caught. Juvenile lycosids (exclud- ing spiderlings), which can be attributed pri- marily to these two species, accounted for 58.7 per cent of the spiders. Thus, the adults of these two species, and primarily their young, made up 90.5 per cent of the spiders collected (Table 5). The adult lycosids were least active during February and March 1972, but increas- ed rapidly in activity thereafter (Fig. 2). The juvenile lycosids had two peaks of activity: one in December and January, and the other in March and April. Juveniles of L. sumatrana and L. birmanica were collected during both periods. Unfortunately, since most juveniles were not identified to species, it could not be determined whether the activity at one time of the year could be attributed to a single species. This bimodal distribution of juvenile activity occurred in all four habitats (Fig. 3). The drop in juvenile lycosids caught after June (Fig. 2) is due to the fact that no collections were obtained from the grassy plot during July and August. During the previous two months. May and June, more than 75 per cent of the juvenile lycosids were collected from the grassy plot (Fig. 3). The increased in juvenile lyco- sids during August (Fig. 2) reflects their sud- den reappearance on the ground in the tree- shrub, banana and bamboo sites, possibly in- dicating a shift from the grassy habitat (Fig. 3). UNIDENTIFIED Fig. 3. Mean number of juvenile lycosids caught per day per month (x 4) between August 1971 and August 1972 in all habitats. 132 GROUND ACTIVITY OF SPIDERS AND HARVESTMEN The Species During the first 11 months of the study 12 species occurred at low frequency (from one to three individuals) in the traps and each was found in only one habitat (Tables 2, 4 and 5): Castianeira sp. (1 male, 1 female), Cyllo- gnatha surajbae Patel & Patel (1 male, 1 female), Diblemma sp. (1 juvenile), Drassodes malodes Tikader (1 male), Gnaphosa sp. (1 male), Lycosa annandalei Gravely (3 females), Lycosa nigrotibialis Simon (2 females), Maevia sp. (1 male), Oxyopes sp. (1 male), Phlogio- des validus Poeock (1 juvenile, 2 males), The- ridion sp. (1 juvenile female), and Xysticus minutus Tikader (1 female). One additional low frequency species occurred in the last month of the study: Acanthodon sp. (1 male). In August 1972 one juvenile and seven adult male Diblemma sp. were captured (Table 2), which indicates that this species should actu- ally be considered with those that occurred with a moderate frequency in the traps. Four species did occur in the traps with moderate frequency (4 to 19) during the first 11 months of the study and were present in two or three of the habitats (Tables 2, 4 and 5): Heteropoda sp. (6 juveniles), Lycosa tista Fig. 4. Mean number of individuals of Lycosa tista caught per day per month (x 10) between August 1971 and August 1972 in all habitats. Tikader (11 juveniles, 2 males, 6 females), Lycosa sp. (12 males, 3 females), and Thomi- sus cherapunjeus Tikader (3 juveniles, 1 male). The most numerous of these four species was L. tista, 84 per cent of which were captured in the grass habitat (Fig. 4). This species had a habitat niche breadth of 0.63. Except for Lycosa sp., the adults of these species occurred only during the cool dry time of the year (Table 2). Three species occurred with a high frequency (39 and above) in the traps and were captured in all four habitats (Tables 2, 4 and 5): Dras- sodes oppenheimeri Tikader, Lycosa birma- nica Thorell, and L. sumatrana Thorell. These three species had habitat niche breadths of 1.54, 1.84 and 1.82, respectively. D. oppen- heimeri accounted for 3.6 per cent of the spi- ders collected, whereas the adults of the two lycosid species accounted for 31.8 per cent. The 42- 39- 36 - §33- £ - ^ 3- GRASS m FEMALES □ MALES HI JUVENILES m BANANA h*r BAMBOO d-sp- TREE SHRUB s o 1971- "d j F -1 V372 MONTHS Fig. 5. Mean number of individuals of Drassodes oppenheimeri caught per day per month (x 10) bet- ween August 1971 and August 1972 in all habitats. 133 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 adults of these three species were caught in the traps primarily during the warm wet months (Figs. 5, 6 and 7). D. oppenheimeri had an adult sex ratio on the ground of 1 male to 8.3 females, based on 28 adults. The males and females occurred most frequently during the hot wet months, particularly in the grass habitat, whereas the juveniles were most abundant during the cool dry months, particularly in the banana grove and did not occur at all in the bamboo grove (Fig. 5). It was unfortunate that no traps were set on the grassy plot during July and August, 1972, as this species had shown a preference for that habitat (df = 3, chi square F 27.8, p < .001). If one includes some of the unidentified lycosid juveniles (Tables 2 and 5), L. birma- nica probably accounted for over 50 per cent of the spiders collected. Only 52 of the 546 juvenile lycosids, however, could be identified vo or attributed to this species. The overall sex w ratio was 1 male to 1.7 females, based on 323 r“ adults; however, the ratio was lower in the tree-shrub (1:1.6, N = 126) and bamboo (1: 1.5, N = 70) habitats, and higher in the banana Fig. 6. Mean number of adult Lycosa birmanica caught per day per month (x 4) between August 1971 and August 1972 in all habitats. 6 ^ z g CL) a ‘■w O n_i H o <50 < >» 03 f-3 a < cj CL) Q > o £ o O ft n • S' mm. $ rr\rr\ . Fig. 1. Orchis chusua D. Don; Fig. 2. Orchis habenarioides King & Pantl.; Fig. 3. Bulbophyllum polyrhizum Lindl.; Fig. 4. Dendrobium pygmaeum Lindl.; Fig. 5. a, b. Dendrobium eriaeflorum Griff. 150 ORCHIDS OF NEPAL— 10 Orch. 272, 1835. Habenaria orchides Hk. f. in FI. Brit. Ind. 6:142, 1890. (Fig. 2). Plants 12-20 cm high, stem with digitate tubers and 4-5 leaves; leaf elliptic-oblong to oblong lanceolate. Spike densely flowered, 6-9, bracts lanceolate, longer than the curved ovary. Flowers pinkish, lateral sepals spreading, acute, dorsal sepal forming a hood with the petals; petals shorter than the sepals. Lip broadly oblong, base truncate, apex broad, 3 lobed, erose, spur shorter than the ovary, curved and slightly clavate. Flowering during August. Collected from Namchee to Thyangbochee, c. 3810 m. It appears that this species is of rare occur- rence. O. latifolia Linn. Sp. PI. 941, 1753; F.B.I. 6: 127, 1890; Duthie, Orch. North-West Himal. 172, 1906; Parker, Forr. Bull. bot. ser. 76, 1931. Orchis hatagire D. Don, Prodr. FI. Nep. 23, 1825. Plants stout usually fistular with palmate tubers. Leaves many upto 12 cm long. Spike dense flowered. Flowers dull purple, sepals and petals acute or obtuse, lateral sepals ovate, reflexed. Lip oblong or rhomboid, crenate, en- tire or very obtusely 3 lobed, sides deflexed, spotted with darker purple, midlobe small or obsolete; spur straight or curved, authority Parker. Addenda and corrigenda Bulbophyllum polyrhizum Lindl. Gen. et Spec. Orch. 53, 1835; F.B.I. 5:767, 1890; King & Pantl. 70, t. 45, 1898; Duthie, 104, 1906. (Fig. 3). Rhizome thread-like, branched, pseudobulbs globular, c 2.5 cm apart; leafless when in flo- wer; racemes inclined, 5-6 flowered; floral bracts minute equalling the stalk of the ovary. Flowers pale yellow; sepals spreading and un- equal, lateral sepals longer, oblong-lanceolate, 3 nerved, dorsal sepal concave, ovate-oblong, smaller; petals much shorter than the sepals, ovate, 1 nerved. Lip deflexed from the base, oblong basal half grooved, foot short and slightly curved. Flowering during October. Collected only once from Trisuli khola area at c. 765 m. In F.B.I. the colour of the flower is given as green and it is also mentioned therein that the drawing of the Sikkim plant shows the colour to be pale yellow. Duthie gives the flo- wer colour as yellow. The specimen that we have collected had flowers with a pale yellow colour. Hara (1966 & 1971) has not listed this species, and from other relevant literature it appears to us that the plant has not been col- lected many times. We have collected this only once and under the circumstances we regard the species to be very rare in Nepal at least. Further, King & Pantl. on the basis of Gam- ble’s material from Dehra Dun give the flow- ering time as April while Duthie basing on Mackinnon’s material from Gharwal gives March as the time for flowers. We collected the material in flowers during the month of October. Lastly, the shape of the lip of our material does not match exactly with the draw- ings given by King & Pantl.; all these factors have been baffling us for a considerable time. Probably we disturbed the material while pressing. Dendrobium alpestre Royle, this species we have listed in the 3rd instalment ( JBNHS 67: 144, 1970), in the meantime we have come across certain nomenclatural changes. P. F. Hunt & V. Summerhayes name the plant as D. monticola (Taxon 10:110, 1961) while Hawkes & Heller call it as D. roylei (Orquidea 24:114, 1962). Dendrobium eriaeflorum Griff, is another spe- cies which we have listed in the 3rd instalment. The material that was collected by us was not entered previously. It had been collected from 151 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 jtwvj. Fig. 6. Geodorum densiflorum (Lam.) Schltr.; Fig. 7. Anoectochilus crispum Lindl.; Fig. 8. Herminium duthiei F[k. f. 152 ORCHIDS OF NEPAL — 10 Risingo to Pheda, c. 1525 m, also from Yang- sabesi to Naudanda (Pokhra valley), c. 1370 m. Examination of the materials collected by us from Nepal show a degree of variation in the lip and is not quite exactly as figured by King & Pantl. The midlobe is fimbriate like the side lobes or it may be serrate along the margins (Figs. 5a, b). Dendrobium pygmaeum Lindl. Gen. et Spec. Orch. 85, 1835; F.B.I. 5:717, 1890; King & Pantl. 43, t. 58, 1898. (Fig. 4). Pseudobulbs 1.25-2.0 cm long, covered with scarious sheaths; leaves 2, terminal, linear-ob- long, c. 3.75-6 cm long, sessile. Racemes ter- minal or subterminal, shorter than the leaves; floral bracts slightly exceeding the ovary. Flo- wers purplish, lateral sepals decurved, dorsal sepal erect; petals oblanceolate. Lip decurved at the apex, purple with veins of a deeper colour, sidelobes narrow and with a wavy mar- gin, terminal lobe triangular, a fleshy ridge present on the lip. Flowering during October, only few specimens collected from Trisuli khola area c. 765 m. Hara (1966, 1971) has not recorded this species and we have not been able to trace any specimen in the Central National Herbarium. This material has eluded proper identification for sometime. We take this species to be ex- tremely rare and this is the first record of the species from Nepal. Spathoglottis ixioides (D. Don) Lindl. which appeared in the 6th instalment (JBNHS 69: 289, 1972) was collected by us from Puyia forest, c 2895 m, and from Chepua ridge c 3810 m. These localities were not recorded previously and we regret the omission. Geodorum densifloruni (Lam.) Schltr. in Fed- de Repert Beih 4:259, 1919; Limnodorum densiflorum Lam, Encyl. 3:516, 1789; Geodo- rum purpureum R. Br. in Ait. Hort. Kew (ed. 2) 5:207, 1813; F.B.I. 6:17, 1890; King & Pantl. 181, t. 245, 1898; Duthie, 130, 1906; G. dilatatum R. Br. in Ait. Hort. Kew (ed. 2) 5:207, 1813; F.B.I. 6:17, 1890. (Fig. 6). Terrestrial, rhizomes subglobose; leaves elliptical and tapering into sheaths which form a pseudostem, broad, plicate. Inflorescence shorter than the leaves, dense flowered; bracts lanceolate and longer than the ovary. Flowers pale purple, sepals linear oblong, 3 nerved, petals 5 nerved with the mid-rib thick, slightly broader than the sepals. Lip thickened towards the base as well at the apical lobe, dark pur- ple markings on the lip, disc with bright yel- low callus, apical lobe notched. Flowering dur- ing May to early July. Collected from Trisuli khola area at c 765 m. This species should have appeared in the 6th ( JBNHS 69, 1972) part of the series. Anoectochilus crispus Lindl. in Journ. Linn. Soc. 1:180, 1857; King & Pantl. 297, t. 395, 1898. Odontochilus crispus Hk. f. in FI. Brit. Ind. 6:99, 1890. (Fig. 7). Plants decumbent, about 10-15 cm high, leaves few, ovate with undulate margins. Spike 4-6 flowered, flowers pink; bracts lanceolate, as long as the ovary; sepals unequal, lateral sepals spreading, oblong, dorsal sepal smaller with its apex turned backwards; petals con- niving under the dorsal sepal. Lip deflexed from the base, apical lobe sub-rotund and divided into two broad lobules, with undulate margins. Flowering during August. Collected from Tarebhir to Nagi at c 1980 m. King & Pantl. give the sepals as green, pet- als and lip as white, and the lip as tinged with yellow on the sac. In our material the petals and lip are pink like that of A. roxburghii but the lip is very different — the terminal lobe of the lip is divided into two lobules which are broad, have undulate margins and a mucronate apex, also the fimbrae are absent. The proper 153 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 place of this species should have been in the 8th part ( JBNHS 70, 1973), but due to uncer- tainty of its identity, it was delayed. Herminium duthiei Hk. f. Ic. PI. 2199A et FI. Brit. Ind. 6:130, 1890; Duthie, 199, t. 147, 1906. (Fig. 8). Plants 7-17 cm high, leaves two or three from below the middle of the stem, linear or oblan- ceolate. Spike 5-10 cm, many flowered, flowers deflexed, waxy white or pale yellow; floral bracts much shorter than the curved ovary, lateral sepals smaller and subfalcate, dorsal sepal broadly oblong; petals ovate lanceolate, fleshy. Lip as long as the sepals, triangular, entire with a small globose spur, upper surface with two callii near the base. Flowering during July and August. Collected from Junbesa to Taksindu, c 2440 m, Thyangboche to Phere- che, c 4270 m. Duthie included this species amongst the twenty-four species “not at present known to occur outside the area of the western Hima- laya”. We have had the opportunity of examin- ing some of the recently collected material, and we find the species has been collected from West Nepal — Polunin, Sykes & Williams — 4421 from South of Jumla at 3500 m is very robust, some 13 cm high; P.S. & W — 2328 from Jangla Bhangyang at 3960 m is about 10 cm in height, while P.S. & W — 1151 from Tukuche at 3700 m is just 6 cm in height. Our materials collected from Junbese to Taksindu as well as from Thyangboche-Phereche area are 7-8 cm in height and they match with P.S. & W — 1151 and also with King’s material col- lected from Gharwal. The field notes of the three collections made by Polunin, Sykes & Williams give the colour of the flowers as white, while our Junbesa-Taksindu material had waxy white flowers and the Thyangboche- Phereche material had pale yellow flowers. Our materials have been collected further east. This species should have appeared in the 9th part ( JBNHS 72, 1975) but due to delay in the determination, it was held back. After the correct identity of the material as one of the Herminia, addition in the key to the species of Herminium has to be made to accommo- date the species, thus — ccc Sides of lip not dilated, lip as long as sepals; flowers c. 4 mm in diam., waxy white or pale yellow duthiei Epilogue Orchids from Nepal have been listed since 1825, and due to the continuous change in taxonomy of orchid species and discovery and also record of new species which has been going on all the time, it is quite difficult to state the exact number of genera and species that are present in the Nepal flora. At the present time, it would appear from published records that there are 57 orchid genera found in Nepal of which 27 are terrestrial and the remainder (30) being epiphytes with a few lithophytes. The genera which have the largest number of species are Dendrobium with 22 spe- cies, Habenaria with 20 and Bulbophyllum with 16 species; and those that have only one species are many — Agrostophyllum, Anthogo- nium, Arundinia, Chrysoglossum, Cremastra, Doritis, Ephemerantha, Egigenium, Esmeralda, Hemipilia, Herpysma, Luisia, Ornithochilus , Panisea, Pachystoma, Rhynchostylis, Satyrium, Spat ho glottis, Spiranthes, Sunipia, and Thunia. There are some genera, the presence of which in Nepal is given in Landon’s Nepal only (1928, London); they being Ascocentrum Schltr., Ceratostylis Bl., Diplomeria Don, Eulopia R. Br., Monomeria Lindl., and Podo- chilus Bl. Out of the species that we have ourselves collected (168) and have accounted in the present series, we attach special significance 154 ORCHIDS OF NEPAL— 10 to the following. Anoectochilus crispus Lindl. This has been known from Sikkim and Khasia. Our material has been collected from 27° 40'N, 85° 25'E, thus the westward extension of the species is recorded. Bulbophyllum polyrhizum Lindl. This spe- cies is previously known from Sikkim, Nepal and Dehra Dun. As regards the presence of this species in Nepal no recent work on Nepal flora records it. We regard the species to be exceedingly rare. Dendrobium pygmaeum Lindl. It is from Sikkim that this species is known. We feel that this species is also exceedingly rare in Nepal, and this is the first record from Nepal. Goody era hemsleyana King & Pantl. The species is known from Sikkim. Our collection is from 27° 40'N, 85° 25'E, thus the westward limit is extended. Herminium duthiei Hk. f. This has been collected from Kumaon-Kali valley, Gori Val- ley and in recent years from W. Nepal. Our two collections are from 27° 33'N, 86° 32'E and 27° 47'N, 86° 45'E; thus the eastern limit is extended. Herminium jaffreyanum King & Pantl. This Sikkim plant having been collected by us from 27° 45'N, 86° 00'E has its limit extended west- wards. Hemipilia cordi folia Lindl. Although it is mentioned that the species extends from Wes- tern Himalayas to Nepal, we do not know how far eastwards the species extends, as we take ‘extends to Nepal’ rather a vague expression. However our collection was made at 27°40'N, 85° 25'E. Nervilia scottii (Reichb. f.) Schltr. This is a species known from Sikkim. Our collection having been made at 27° 45'N, 85° 15'E shows the westwards extension. Orchis habenarioides King & Pantl. This species extends from Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal on to Kashmir. Our observations are that the species is rare in Nepal. Zeuxine goodyeroides Lindl. As our collec- tion is from a locality at 27° 38'N, 85° 45'E, the westward limit is extended, for previously the species was known from Sikkim. Until the complete orchid flora of Nepal is known it is not possible to give the altitudi- nal distribution of the species. However the species that occur at 3048 m. (10,000 ft) and above are few, namely Habenaria urceolate C.B. Cl. (3,650 m), Herminium duthiei Hk. f. (4,270 m), Herminium jaffreyanum King & Pantl. (3,200 m). Orchis chusua D. Don, (3,048 to 3,700 m). Orchis habenarioides King & Pantl. (3,810 m), and Spathoglottis ixioides (D. Don) Lindl. (3,810 m). As regards the flowering time, we find that there are three periods, namely 1) March to May or early June, 2) June to August and 3) September to November. This we attribute principally to change in the atmospheric tem- perature, and light; of course rainfall or other modes of precipitation also have an effect. Plants that were grown in the Indian Co-oper- ation Mission Garden and Godavari Botanic Garden, Government of Nepal showed re- markable response to temperature, and as such we make bold to make this suggestion. Final- ly we hope that these papers, inspite of the short-comings, will serve to give impetus for further and deeper study of Orchid flora of Nepal. 155 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 References Bruhl, P. (1926) : A Guide to the Orchids of Sikkim, Calcutta. Hara, H. (1971) : Flora of Eastern Himalaya. 2nd Rpt. Tokyo. Hawkes, A. D. (1965): Encyclopaedia of culti- vated Orchids. London. Herklotts, G. A. C. (1964) : Thunia alba. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 55:142-143. (1964) : Five Nepalese Den- drobiums. ibid. 55:868-871. Santapau, H. & Kapadia, Z. (1959-63): Critical notes on the Orchidaceae of Bombay State. J. Bom- bay nat. Hist. Soc. 56:188-203; 57: 124-135, 252-269, 491-510; 55:53-67, 332-350, 595-607; 59:154-172, 382- 404, 827-842; 66:92-103. Schlecter, R. (1926): Das System der Orchi- daceen. Notizblatt Bot. Gart. und Muse. Berlin 9: 563-591. Schultes, R. E. & Pease, A. S. (1963) : Generic names of Orchids. Academic Press. N.Y. & London. Schweinfurth, C. (1959): in C. L. Withner’s The Orchids. N.Y. Summerhayes, V. S. (1951): Wild Orchids of Britain. London. \ . !- ■ i.f ' " fi ; ' :r ■ ■ . v/ Middle East Lepidoptera, XXXII: Diagnosis of some eremic tribes of Noctuidae — Quadrifinae, with a discussion of their biogeographical significance1 E. P. Wiltshire2 (With a text- figure ) The Old World North-tropical desert zone is considered in relation to the Noctuid genus- groups which characterise it. A definition of Eremic as applying to genus-groups is given. A survey is made of Noctuidae-Quadrifinae tribes already diagnosed and published, which are found inadequate. Proposals and diagnoses are made for further tribal divisions in the Eremic Catocalinae (sensu lato) with details of distribution. What is known of the biologi- cal data of these groups is discussed and conclusions from these and from their distribution are suggested regarding the history of the desert zone and the Eremic Catocalinae. Introduction Deserts are characterised by conditions com- paratively inimical to life; insects characteristic of adjacent mesophilous areas are less able to inhabit deserts the further they penetrate. In true desert therefore are found: (i) temporary immigrants from adjacent areas, (ii) species characteristic of adjacent areas, resident only in enclaves with un-typical micro- climates, e.g. oases; and (iii) specialised resident forms. It would require too much space to discuss here what morphological characters might be considered adaptations to desert conditions; the desert specialists here discussed are recog- nised as such from their distribution. 1 Accepted January 1975. 2 140 Marsham Court, Marsham St., London, SW IP 4 JY, England. The term Eremic is here used with reference to the Old World North Tropical desert zone, which is virtually continuous from west to east, considerably overlapping the Tropic of Can- cer in Africa, and reaching the latitude of 50 N in Eastern Asia (see Fig. 1). Taxonomic relations of Eremic Lepidop- tera Some genera (e.g. the Noctuid-Trifid Agro- tis Ochs. 1816) contain a minority of species specialised to Eremic conditions; other genera (e.g. the Noctuid-Trifid Oligia Hubner 1821) contain none at all; these two types of genus are here termed “Non-Eremic”. But others again are mainly or entirely composed of spe- cialised Eremic residents, and these are here termed “Eremic” genera. These terms can simi- larly apply to higher taxa, e.g. tribes, sub-fami- lies, families. While there is no Eremic Noct- uid subfamily, there are several Eremic tribes; 157 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 but the incompleteness of the tribal system of the Noctuidae-Quadrifinae obscures the fact. The tribe is the taxon intermediate between subfamily and genus authorised by Recom- mendation 29A of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. This article there- fore seeks to complete the tribal system of the Noctuidae-Quadrifinae, at least as regards the mainly composed of Eremic specialists one might deduce that the deserts which they in- habit are not ancient; but if there are such genera, and a fortiori if there are tribes so composed, great antiquity may be inferred. (E) following a genus or tribe in the tables or text of this article signifies that it is Eremic; (NE) signifies that it is Non-Eremic. [ ] Bra- Fig. 1. The Old World North-Tropical Desert Zone: the shaded area is bounded by the 300 mm (11.8") isohyet. Catocalinae sensu lato ( Catocalinae and Oth- reinae sensu auctorum). As the existing sub- family system has been considerably criticised (see Berio, 1959 and Birch, 1972), this attempt may contribute to the clarification of supra- generic Noctuid relationships; it may also have biogeographical significance. The higher the rank of taxa sharing the same ecological spe- ciality in an ecofauna, the longer is the asso- ciated history which one may attribute to the habitat and its inhabitants. If no genus were ckets are used to indicate a more up-to-date name which it is suggested might be used for a name used by the author of a name of a tribe or sub-family. Survey of tribes A system down to tribe and genus not only for the Noctuidae but for the whole Lepido- ptera was proposed by C. Borner, 1939 & 1944, based particularly on characters of tongue, tympanum, etc. It was however based on a local fauna composed of Non-Eremic genera; 158 MIDDLE EAST LEPIDOPTERA XXXll Table 1 Noctuid Quadrifid Tribes as in Borner’s system (Showing genera named by Borner found in Eremic Zone) hypeninae Rivulini (NE) Rivula Guenee Hypenini H YLOPH IL1NAE [NYCTEOLINAE] (NE) Hypena Schranck Sarrothripini [Nycteolini] Hylophilini [Benini] (NE) Earias Hiibner CATOCALINAE Catocalini Toxocampini [Lygephilini] (NE) Autophila Hiibner Cocytini [Anuini] (NE) Ophiusa Ochs. SCOLIOPTERYGINAE Scoliopterygini (NE) Scoliopteryx Germ. Table 2 Noctuid Quadrifid Tribes as in Forbes’ System (Showing genera named by Forbes found in Eremic Zone) ERASTRIINAE Eublemmini (NE) Eublemma Hiibner (NE) Ozarba Walker Erastriini Acontiini (NE) Acontia Tr. = Tarache Hiibn. EREBINAE [OTHREINAE] Synedini [Drasteriini] (NE) Drasteria Hiibner Anomini (NE) Anomis Hiibner Scoliopterygini (NE) Scoliopteryx Germar in the Noctuidae-Quadrifinae eight tribes were named and diagnosed, summarised in Table 1. C. Borner included the Jaspidiinae (= Eras - triinae ) with the Trifid-Noctuidae, and com- bined the three genera Erast ria Ochs, (in which he seems to include Porphyrinia Hiibner, Jas- pidia Hiibner, and Unca Oken). Emmelia Hiibner, and Acontia Ochs, in a pro- posed tribe Mamestrini together with such genera as Mania Treitschke, Hydroecia Guenee, and Hadena Schranck. To most students of the Noctuidae, this tribe seems un- natural and too inclusive; one is not surprised therefore that C. Boursin (1947:65-78) sum- marising Borner’s system and praising some of its good points on p. 66 ibidem disassoci- ated himself from its conclusions. C. Boursin was well aware of the unsatisfactory aspects of the Hampsonian system, but he did not find Borner’s system, for the Noctuidae, a satisfac- tory substitute. In particular Borner placed Autophila Hiibner in the Toxocampini whereas Boursin removed it to the neighbourhood of Pyrois Hiibner in the Zenobiinae; on this parti- cular point there may be many who would agree with Borner, and retain the Hampsonian position of Autophila and the related genera which Boursin transferred to the Trifid-Noct- uidae. Some species of the genera mentioned by Borner in tribes shown in Table 1 may be found here and there on untypical habitats 159 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 in the Eremic Zone, but Autophila is the only genus containing one or two Eremic species; but not enough to make it an Eremic genus. I propose to replace Cocytini Borner by Anuini (see Table 3), to avoid confusion with the Sphingid genus Cocytius Hiibner. Moreover, Cocytini Borner contained two genera placed in widely different tribes in Table 3. Forbes (1954) dealing with a New World fauna proposed a few tribes, only embracing a small part of the Noctuidae-Quadrifinae which he catalogued. He termed his other groupings “series” or “groups”, and evidently did not consider them equivalent to tribes. Table 2 summarises Forbes’ tribes that are relevant to this article; purely New World Tribes, such as Erebini, are omitted. Forbes’ treatment of the Erast riinae is more traditional than that of Borner, and will probably be pre- ferred since the tribes are smaller and less hete- rogeneous. They are based mainly on tympa- num characters. His name Synedini is ques- tionable, and it seems strange that he used it while sinking Syneda Guenee to Drasteria Hiibner. Those of his tribes which are consi- dered here are either Holarctic (e.g. Synedini) or Holotropical (e.g. Anomini); the former contains a minority of Eremic specialists. Out- 3 Table Berio’s 1959 system of “Phyla” and genera, with proposed tribal names and type-genera “Phylum of Cerocala” Type genus: (NE) Cerocala Boisd, 1829 (NE) Leucanitis Guenee, 1852 (NE) Aleucanitis Warren, 1913 (E) Gnamptonyx Hampson, 18943 “Phylum of Anua” Type genus: (NE) Anua Walker. (E) Clytie Hiibner, 1823* (NE) Ophiusa Ochs. and 7 other genera, all NE. “Phylum of Scodionyx” Type genus: (E) Scodionyx Staudinger, 1899 “Phylum of Pericyma” Type genus: (E) Pericyma H. Schaeff., 1845. (NE) Heteropalpia Berio, 1938 (NE) Cortyta Walker, 18571 2 (NE) Tytroca Wiltshire, 1970 (E) Gnamptonyx Hampson, 18943 “Phylum of Achaea” Type genus: (NE) Achaea Hiibner, 1823 (NE) Prodotis John, 1910 (NE) Grammodes Guenee, 1823 (NE) Dysgonia Hiibner, 1823 and five other NE genera. (NE) Drasteriini nom. nov. for Synedini Forbes, 1954. Type genus: Drasteria Hubn. (= Leucanitis Guenee plus Aleucanitis Warren) (NE) Anuini nom. nov. Type genus: (NE) Anua Walker, 1858. (NE) Scodionychini nom. nov. (NE) Pericymatini nom. nov. Achaeini nom. nov. 1 with which Hypoglaucitis Warren is identical (syn. nov.) 2 Cortyta was restricted to its type-species, the S. African canescens Walker in Wiltshire, 1970:101. 3 Gnamptonyx, though placed with Cerocala by Berio was restored to its usual position, i.e. in the Pericymatini, in Wiltshire, 1970:102, for reasons given there. 160 MIDDLE EAST LEP1DOPTERA XXXII side these tribes Forbes mentions a few genera containing single species which may penetrate the Eremic zone, e.g. the Holotropical Tathor- hynchus exsiccata Lederer, related to the genus Autophila already mentioned. Berio, 1959, in a study of the spilling of the tibiae of the Old World Catocalinae and a few Othreinae, grouped certain genera into “Phyla”. The International Code of Nomenclature, 1961, makes no recommendation for Phylum-names, and in most systems a Phylum is above the order, is not a genus-group. Therefore except where a prior tribe-name exists I propose that Berio’s Phyla (morphologically diagnosed in Berio, 1959) be considered tribes, and the ap- propriate tribal suffix is shewn in Table 3, in accordance with ICZN Recommendation 29. Berio (personal communication to author, 1974) has agreed to this proposal. Table 3 omits those groups which are entirely non- Eremic, but a few NE genera are included in the table in cases where a few species penetrate the zone to a limited extent, e.g. in enclaves. Some of the tribes in Tables 1, 2 and 3 will probably require modification, especially con- sidering the different structural criteria used by the three authors, but this must be consi- dered separately. The Eremic genus Anydro- phila John, 1909, placed by Warren (1913) following Cortyta in the Catocalinae , was omit- ted by Berio; its position is discussed below. There is, too, a residue of genera in the Othre- inae characteristic of the Eremic Zone and requiring tribal distinctions. Only after these definitions will a discussion of the distribution and probable history of the Eremic groups be possible. Subfamily Catocalinae sensu Hampson Tribe; Anydrophilini nom nov. Type-genus: Anydrophila John, 1909. This genus hardly fits into the above tribes and I propose that it constitute its own mono- typic tribe; at present ten species are known belonging to it — besides the five species in Warren 1913:340 there have been described four more in Brandt 1939, 268-69 and one in Wiltshire, 1947:2. Characteristics of the genus are: Proboscis, present, strong. Frons, flat or prominent. Male antenna with long bundles of cilia. Mid-tibiae, with one row of scanty spines, other legs spine- less; my examination of three Iranian species shows that Warren, 1913:340 is erroneous about the hind-tibiae. The male genitalia resem- ble generally those of many Catocaline genera and would indicate a position between Clyde and Scodionyx : from Clyde they differ in the simpler uncus and symmetrical valves, in these regards resembling Scodionyx ; in aedeagus form the genus resembles Clyde and Scodio- nyx; it differs from Scodionyx in habitus, an- tenna, and fore-leg, also in the uncus-form, and the junction of the valves above and below the aedeagus. Its distribution, from N. Africa to Central Asia, is typically Eremic, with an East Eremic concentration. Sub-family Othreinae (= Noctuinae sensu Hampson) Tribe: Anumedni nom. nov. Type-genus: Anumeta Walker, 1858 (Syn.: Palpangula Staudinger) The tnoes’ distinguishing characters are: Frons, smooth, flat; c? antenna, ciliated; fore- tibia with spines and terminal claws, other legs spineless, c? genitalia, symmetrical, with thick- ened, hairy, thorn-tipped uncus; normal tegu- men; simple, elongated valves without proces- ses or harpes, with setose costa and short nar- row sacculus, and rounded tip; aedeagus, cylin- drical, normal, vesica usually with a bent small chitinous plate; ? genitalia, little differentiat- ed, with well-developed ovipositor lobes, weak ostium, usually sclerotised ductus bursae, and large oval bursa copulationis. 161 1 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 The three genera here standing are in fact synonymous; they are: Anumeta Walker, 1858, Imitator Alpheraky 1882, and Eremonoma Warren 1913. Anumeta is distributed in deserts from N. Africa to India and Mongolia. Imitator (syn. n.), known only from the deserts of Central Asia, differs in having brachypterous females; this distinction does not in itself justify generic separation, other genera containing a minority of species with brachypterous females (e.g. Agrotis Ochs, see Warren 1913, Plate 5 c. “Euxoa” fatidica Hubn.). Eremonoma (syn. n.) found in deserts from N. Africa to the Persian Gulf, differs only in habitus. Tribe: Armadini Wiltshire, 1961. Type-genus: Armada. Staudinger, 1885. Other genera: Metoponrhis Staudinger, 1888. Epharmottomena John, 1909. Drasteriodes Hampson, 1926. Riadhia Wiltshire, 1961. Metopistis Warren, 1913. Aero by la Rebel, 1903. Asplenia Hampson, 1916. Tarachephia Hampson, 1926. Forty-one species, including three undescrib- ed, belong to the above nine genera and a tenth undescribed one. A revision of the tribe is in preparation; it is distinguished from its neigh- bours by the domed or more angular frontal prominence, the very diverse fore-wing habitus, and the short feet with unspined tibiae, with the exception of one species with a small ter- minal dart on the fore- tibia. The $ genitalia are characterised by the normal tegumen, transtilla and juxta; the valves, either symmetrical or larger or more decorated on the left side, opening easily when mounted in ventral position, as in most Trifid genera of the Noctuidae, varying in a series from simple, and sub-oval, to more elongated and sclerotised, with costal and medial-ventral processes as well as harpes; the aedeagus is normal, usually curved dorsoventrally, and sometimes slightly scobinated or otherwise de- veloped distally; cornuti may be absent or nu- merous, but are never long; and some groups have well developed black pigmented coremata invaginated in the eighth ventrite. The 9 geni- talia have sclerotised antrum and ductus bur- sae; the bursa copulationis may be sclerotised and rather compressed, or large and membran- ous, often with a large membranous appendix. The distribution of these forty-one species is mainly Eremic, with an Eastern Eremic con- centration; nearly half the total are Iranian- Turanian and very localised; in three genera there are one widespread Saharan-Sindian spe- cies as well as other more local desert species; one monotypic genus ( Asplenia ) extends from Arabia to South Africa; and a few species are found in tropical or temperate steppe moun- tains on the fringes of the true desert. The following monotypic Eremic genera are placed near Anumeta and Armada by Warren 1913; as regards their tribal affinities, they ap- pear incertae sedis :- Genus: Marsipiophora John, 1909. Fits into neither Anumetini nor Armadini; frons, smooth and flat; fore-tibia with a large terminal claw; habitus of fore-wing recalling Calophasia; hind-wing cell with a large black spot; its c? genitalia are symmetrical and of general Armadini type without agreeing with any Armadini genus. Distribution: Iran, Trans- caspia (= “Iranian-Turanian”), deserts. Genus: Teinoptera Calberla 1891 This genus and species are a mystery. The type of T. culminifera calb. is inaccessible or lost, and the species has apparently never been recaptured since description, despite subse- quent visits by lepidopterists to its place of capture (El-Arish desert) (Sinai or near by). 162 MIDDLE EAST LEPIDOPTERA XXXII Summary of Catocalinae sensu lato of Eremic Zone The Eremic genera detailed above com- prise 101 species belonging to 17 genera and 6 tribes; of the latter, three tribes ( Scodiony - chini, Anuini, Pericymatini) are Palaeotropical, and three are Eremic ( Anydrophilini , Anume- tini, Armadini ); in addition two monotypic genera ( Marsipiophora and Teinoptera ) of un- certain tribal affinity are purely Eremic. Of the Eremic genera, the two most numer- ous in species are Anumeta (with 24 species, or 21 before the synonymies proposed above) and Clyde (with 19 species); four Eremic genera are monotypic: Scodiony x, Riadhia, Marsipiophora, and Teinoptera; Gnamptonyx and Metopistis have only two species, so had Pericyma before the combinations proposed in Wiltshire 1970. In the same sub -family, Catocalinae sensu lato, there are, of course, non-Eremic genera containing a minority of Eremic species, and in some of the following the minority is size- able:- Heteropalpia, Tytroca, Drasteria and Cerocah. Three of these could have been clas- sed as Eremic had we included the isolated S.W. African deserts in our definition, as could the monotypic genus Asplenia. Other non-Ere- mic genera with fewer Eremic species are Thria Walker, Acantholipes Lederer, Thermesia Hiibner, and Autophila ITiibner (sec. Boursin, a Trifid); this short list omits genera in which a few species only inhabit oases in the Eremic zone, and none the actual desert. Discussion None of the Eremic genera here considered belong to a Palaearctic or Holarctic tribe, as against three belonging to Paleotropical tribes; but before concluding that the Eremic fauna cannot have had Angaran or Cool-temperate origins, it must be recalled that in selecting for treatment in this article only Quardifine Noctuidae we have selected a group more pre- valent in the Tropics; an analysis of the Ere- mic Trifid Noctuidae might well redress the balance, at least to some extent. Stenophagy (oligophagy) is marked in some groups of Eremic Noctuid genera; but too little is known of the life histories of the majority to permit conclusions to be drawn; probably stenophagy and euryphagy are to be found in similar proportions in the desert fauna as in other Lepidopterous faunae. Clyde, a very typically Eremic genus, is, as far as is known, monophagous on Tamarix, a tree or shrub usually found in oases of the deserts and steppe zones, outside which it is found typically on the coasts of the Temper- ate Zone: thus the one non-Eremic Clyde spe- cies, C. illunaris, is found on the tamarisks of South France and other Mediterranean coun- tries; but the genus is overwhelmingly Eremic, with East Eremic predominance; it ranges from the extreme west to the extreme East of the desert zone, and very little outside it. The Anuini in which Berio placed it however has a majority of Tropical genera. The bushes and trees of the genus Acacia are another food-plant on which Eremic lepi- doptera are stenophagous, as discussed for several families in Wiltshire 1949:449-452. In this case the foodplant itself indicates a Paleo- tropical origin, confirming the evidence provid- ed by co-tribal or congeneric relatives; for the genera Heteropalpia and Tytroca extend through Tropical Africa into S. Africa; the foot-hold of the Acacia-tQQ&mg desert-moths is more restricted and southerly than that of Clyde in the Eremic zone, as this foodplant does not tolerate the cold of the Central Asian deserts; however, the dwarf leguminous bushes 163 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Prosopis and Alhagi provide a substitute for the related genus Pericyma which ranges from the East Mediterranean to the Transcaspian deserts and Central Asian steppes; Gnarnp- tonyx and Scodionyx are two further apparent- ly monophagous genera attached to Acacia. Scodionyx is placed by Berio in a tribe with the decidedly African genus Acanthonyx Hamp- son of whose biology little is known. The genus Cerocala is also, as far as is known, monophagous on the genus Helian- themum (see Wiltshire 1962b for the life-hist- ory of C. sana Stgr.: the West Mediterranean species C. scapulosa Hiibn. feeds on H. hali- mi folium, while C. sana feeds on the desert dwarf shrubs H. kahiricum and lippii). This genus is mainly Tropical African and infor- mation is lacking of its foodplants there. Apart from the above and a few other mis- cellaneous desert moths whose early stages were also described in Wiltshire 1962b, the food- plant of most Eremic lepidoptera is unknown. This particularly applies to the Anydrophilini, Anumetini and Armadini. These tribes have the same distribution-pattern, i.e. Pan-Eremic with an East Eremic or Iranian-Turanian con- centration, suggesting that Transcaspia and Iran are the main centres of origin of the Ere- mic fauna. In the Armadini alone a few Pale- otropical species, with comparatively undeve- loped morphology, suggest that prior to the great outburst of Eremic specialisation, whe- ther speciation or generic evolution, the tribal ancestors were Afro-Indian (“Gondawana- land”), but as the affinity of some of these primitive forms is perhaps debatable, this is no more than a suggestion; it should be noted however that these Eremic genera and tribes have no links with New World groups at all. The high taxonomic level of Eremic specia- lisation in the groups under consideration (go- ing higher than generic level in about fifty per cent of the cases) would indicate a very ancient association of moths with desert habitat: the North Tropical deserts, one can infer, have subsisted, occupying a greater or lesser ex- panse, over a very long geological period, doubtless over the whole Tertiary and Quater- nary periods; the localisation of most of the species, and the comparative fewness of the very widespread species, i.e. those with “Sah* aran-Sindian” range (e.g. Acrobyla kneuckeri Rebel) and “Pan-Eremic” range [e.g. Armada panaceorum (Men.)] may be evidence of a previous fragmentation of the desert zone caused by pluvial or even glacial periods on one or more than one occasion during this long time. The widespread species will thus probably have reached their present western- most limits (that is the Western Sahara) only after that desert’s last pluvial period, whereas the few West Eremic species (e.g. Metoponrhis rungsi Luc. and Anydrophila sabouraudi Luc.) and the Mediterranean Clyde illunaris owe their isolation and independence to earlier speciation, perhaps resulting from a previous pluvial period, and are derived from common Eremic ancestors which migrated westwards from the Asiatic centre of distribution much earlier, during a Tertiary dry period. Systemadc In the Noctuidae (Quadrifinae) a few names of tribes were proposed by Borner (1939 & 1944) and Forbes (1954); the “Phyla” of Berio (1959) are in fact tribes and suitably terminated names are proposed for them. Even then, available names do not exist to cover all the Catocalinae ( sensu lato)\ three new tribes in this subfamily are therefore dia- gnosed and proposed:- Anydrophilini, Anu- 164 MIDDLE EAST LEP1DOPTERA XXXII metini, and Armadini. The first two are exclu- sively, the third predominantly Eremic. The Eremic genera Marsipiophora John and Tein- optera Calberla remain tribally incertae sedis. Zoogeographic Disregarding non-Eremic genera, which may of course contain Eremic species, the Cato- calinae sensu lato contain 17 Eremic genera and 101 Eremic species; these fall into six tribes, three of which are Paleo-Tropical, three Eremic. Stenophagy of Clyde on Tamarix, of Heteropalpia, Tytroca and Gnamptonyx on Acacia, and of Cerocala on Helianthemum, has been observed: other Eremic genera how- ever may be euryphagous. A very ancient as- Refer Berio, E. (1959) : Studi sulla sistematica delle cosidette “Catocalinae” e “Othreinae”. Ann. Mus. civ. Stor. nat. Genova 77:276-327. Birch, M. C. (1972): Male abdominal brush organs in British Noctuid moths and their value as a Taxonomic character. The Entom. 705:233-244. Borner, C. (1939): Die Grundlagen meines Lepi- dopterensy stems. Verh. des vii int. ent. Kongr. 2: 1372-1424. (1944): (in Brohmer, P. : Fauna von Deutschland.) 22. Lepidoptera. Boursin, C. (1947): La classification du Dr. C. Borner. Rev. fr. Lepid. 77:65-68. Brandt, W. (1939) : Beitrag zur Lepidopteren- fauna von Iran: einige neue Agrotiden aus Laristan und Baluchistan. Ent. Rundsch. 56 ( 23,25,27) :241- 300, 3 Plates. Forbes, W. T. M. (1954): Lepidoptera of New York and neighbouring States. Mem. 329 Cornell Univ. Agric. Exper. Stn. sociation of moths with desert habitat is dedu- ced from the high taxonomic level of the Ere- mic specialisation in these Noctuidae. It is sug- gested that the North Tropical Old-World de- serts have subsisted throughout the Tertiary and Quaternary. The most widespread Eremic species probably reached their present Western limits in N.W. Africa after the last Saharan pluvial period, expanding from a S.W. Asian centre; the small West Eremic category may have immigrated from a similar centre earlier, perhaps in the late Tertiary, and have speciated when isolated by pluvial periods. In the sub- family considered the remoter origin for the Eremic groups appears Tropical (Gondwana- land) rather than Temperate (Angaran). iNCES Warren, W. (1913): (in Seitz, A Macrolepid- optera of the World: 3) Noctuidae. Wiltshire, E. P. (1947): Middle East Lepid- optera, VI: two fine new species from Sinai. Bull. Soc. Fouad Entom. 57:1-2. (1 Plate). (1949) : The Lepidoptera of the Kingdom of Egypt, Pt. 2. The Egyptian Fauna, its components, distribution, and probable history. Bull. Soc. Fouad. Entom. 55:432-457. (1962a): Studies in the geography of Lepidoptera VII: theories of the origin of the West Palaearctic and World Fauna. Ent. Rec. & Journ. Var. 74: 29-39. (1962b) : Early stages of Old World Lepidoptera, XII: J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 59(3) : 791. (1970): Middle East Lepidoptera, XVIII. A review of the genus Pericyma and neigh- bouring genera. Veroff. Zool. Staatssaml. Munchen. 74:91-119 with 24 figs, and 4 Pis. 165 New Descriptions A NEW FAMILY OF MASTACEMBELOID FISH FROM INDIA1 G. M. Yazdani Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona 411 005 The genus Pillaia was erected by Yazdani (1972) for a remarkable eel-like fish, P. indica Yazdani, from the Khasi Hills (Meghalaya), India. The genus exhibited such a combination of characters that it could be placed in the suborder Mastacembeloidei without assigning it to any known family. Berg (1940) recognis- ed two separate orders Mastacembeliformes and Chaudhuriiformes for the families Masta- cembelidae and Chaudhuriidae, respectively. Greenwood et al (1966), on the basis of phy- logenetic relationship, grouped these two fami- lies under the suborder Mastacembeloidei of the order Perciformes. Mastacembelidae occurs both in Oriental and Ethiopian regions whereas Chaudhuriidae, known by a single species, Chaudhuria caudata Annandale, 1918, is so far restricted to Oriental region in the Inle Lake, Burma, which is about 350 miles (560 km) from the area of occurrence of Pillaia indica. The morphology and anatomy of P. indica has been studied by dissecting specimens as well as by examining alizarin preparations. For comparison, alizarin preparations of Mastacem - belus armatus Lacepede and type specimen of Chaudhuria caudata which is the only material 1 Accepted June 1976. of this species available at the Zoological Sur- vey of India, Calcutta, have also been examin- ed. Characters of taxonomic value of Pillaia, Mastacembelidae and Chaudhuriidae have been compared in Table in order to show the re- lationship between them as well as to justify erection of a new family. All the available in- formation on the morphology, osteology and anatomy of Mastacembelidae ( see Berg 1940; Sufi 1956) and of Chaudhuriidae (see Annan- dale 1918; Annandale & Hora 1923; Mitra & Ghosh 1931; Berg 1940) have also been used for comparison. The comparison given in Table justify placement of the genus Pillaia under the sub- order Mastacembeloidei. However, certain emendments in the definition of the suborder become necessary after inclusion of Pillaia. They are: presence or absence of free maxilla and presence of small to large and weak to strong premaxilla. Pillaia shares characters of both Mastacembelidae and Chaudhuriidae in such a combination ( see Table) that it is not possible to accommodate it in any one of these families. Therefore, a new family, Pillaiidae, is proposed. It can be distinguished from the other two families by the following key chara- cters : NEW DESCRIPTIONS A. Free spines present before dorsal and anal fins; scales present. Caudal united with or narrowly separated from dorsal and anal, having 15 or more branched rays; branchiostegals 6; a well-developed fleshy rostral appendage present Mastacembelidae B. No spines before dorsal and anal fins; scales absent. 1 . Caudal united with dorsal and anal, having 8-10 unbranched rays; branchiostegals 6; a very indistinct fleshy rostral process present .... Pillaiidae 2. Caudal separated from dorsal and anal, having 7 unbranched rays; branchiostegals 5; fleshy rostral appendage absent Chaudhuriidae Table Comparison of characters of Pillaia, Mastacembelidae and Chaudhuriidae Pillaia Mastacembelidae Chaudhuriidae 1. Body eel-like, sub-cylindrical and elongated. 2. Head depressed anteriorly. 3. Snout short with a very indis- tinct fleshy rostral appendage. 4. Mouth non-protractile. 5. Upper jaw consists of a single large, strong hockey-stick sha- ped bone bearing teeth. It cor- responds to premaxilla of per- ciform fishes. 6. Branchiostegal rays 6. 7. No scales on body. 8. No spines before long dorsal and anal fins. 9. Preopercular with one spine. 10. Pelvic girdle and fin absent. 11. Pectoral fin with 7-9 rays. 12. Pectoral girdle (Supracleith- rum) attached to the vertebral column. 13. Cleithrum present. 14. Post-temporal absent. Body eel-like, compressed and elongated. Head not depressed anteriorly. Snout elongated with a well-deve- loped fleshy rostral appendage. Mouth non-protractile. Upper jaw consists of two bones viz. premaxilla bearing teeth and maxilla toothless as is found in all perciform fishes. Branchiostegal rays 6. Minute scales present on body. Spines present before long dorsal and anal fins. Preopercular with or without spi- nes. Pelvic girdle and fin absent. Pectoral fin with 17-27 rays. Pectoral girdle (Supracleithrum) attached to the vertebral column. Cleithrum present. Post-temporal (except its lateral line component) absent. Body eel-like, compressed and elongated. Head not depressed anteriorly. Snout short without any trace of fleshy rostral appendage. Mouth non-protractile. Presence of separate maxilla not known. However, the tooth bear- ing bone in Chaudhuria caudata which Annandale (1918) called as maxillary should correspond strict- ly to the premaxilla of perciform fishes. Branchiostegal rays 5. No scales on body. No spines before long dorsal and anal fins. No information available. Pelvic girdle and fin absent. Pectoral fin with 6 rays. Pectoral girdle (Supracleithrum) attached to the vertebral column. Cleithrum completely fused with supracleithrum. Post-temporal absent. 167 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73' Pillaia M ASTACEM BELIDAE Chaudhuriidae 15. Pectoral radials absent. Pectoral radials present. Pectoral radials absent. 16. Caudal fin homocercal, short confluent with dorsal and anal. Caudal fin homocercal, short, eit- her confluent with dorsal and anal or narrowly separated. Caudal fin homocercal, fairly long, separated from dorsal and anal. 17. Two large hypurals united at their bases, fused with last Five to seven hypurals bearing 15 or more branched rays. Two large hypurals united at their bases, firmly attached to the last centrum, bearing 8-10 un- branched rays. centrum, bearing 7 unbranched rays. 18. Skull elongated gradually nar- rowing forwards. Skull much elongated gradually narrowing forwards. Skull elongated, gradually narrow- ing forwards. 19. Fairly large nasals, separated fully in the middle by a spin- dle-shaped ethmoid. Large nasals, separated in the mid- dle line by the narrow upper edge of the ethmoid. Very large expanded nasals, not separated in the middle by the ethmoid. 20. Infraorbital (pre-orbital) bone large articulating with lateral ethmoid. Infraorbital (preorbital) bone large, articulating with lateral eth- moid. No information available. 21. Lateral ethmoid small. Lateral ethmoid small. Lateral ethmoid small. 22. Frontals large. Frontals large. Frontals large. 23. Parietals separated by supra- occipital. Parietals separated by supraocci- pital. Parietals separated by supraocci- pital. 24. Vomer toothless. Vomer toothless. No information available. 25. Palatines narrow flakes of bone movably united to para- sphenoid and vomer. Palatines narrow flakes of bone immovably united to ethmoid, vo- mer and parasphenoid. Palatines much larger, joined to the pterosphenoid (alisphenoid) by a long suture. 26. Pterygoid movably united to lateral ethmoid outside the palatine. Pterygoid movably united to later- al ethmoid outside the palatine. No information available. 27. Vertebrae 62; 26 precaudal and 36 caudal (counted in two specimens). Vertebrae 85-96; 37-39 precaudal and 47-48 caudal. Vertebrae 70 (see Annandale 1918). 28. Stomach and intestine with U-shaped bends. Stomach and intestine with U-sha- ped bends. Alimentary canal almost straight. 29. No pyloric caeca. Two pyloric caeca present. No pyloric caeca. 30. Largest mature specimen me- asured 77 mm in total length. Largest specimens measured 190 to 750 mm in total length. Largest mature specimen measur- ed 52 mm in total length. 168 NEW DESCRIPTIONS Family Pillaiidae, nov. (Type: Pillaia Yazdani) Small (37-77 mm) eel-like fish without spines before dorsal and anal fins, which are united with caudal having 8-10 unbranched rays; with- out scales; lateral line only discernible on head; branchiostegals 6, with a very indistinct fleshy rostral process bearing anterior tubular nostrils. Gill-openings wide, mainly lateral; small pect- orals; ventrals absent. Mouth wide, non-pro- tractile, with upper jaw consisting of a single, large, strong bone bearing teeth; a free maxilla absent. Preopercular with one spine; pectoral girdle degenerate: no post-temporal, supraclei- thrum attached to the vertebral column; clei- thrum present; no pectoral radials. Two large hypurals united at their bases and fused with last centrum. Nasals separated in the middle by a rather spindle-shaped ethmoid. Vomer toothless. Lateral ethmoid small; frontals large; parietals separated by supraoccipital. Vertebrae 62, 26 precaudal and 36 caudal. Stomach and intestine with U-shaped bends; pyloric caeca absent. Distinguished from Chaudhuriidae by the shape of head and body, confluence of median fins, caudal having more than 7 unbranched rays, branchiostegals 6, presence of trace of fleshy rostral process and of separate supra- cleithrum and cleithrum, nasals widely sepa- rated in the middle by ethmoid, presence of U- shaped bends in the stomach and intestine, and smaller number (62) of vertebrae; from Masta- cembelidae by the shape of head and body, absence of spines (before dorsal and anal) and scales, caudal having only unbranched rays, two large hypurals fused with last cen- trum, nasals widely separated in the middle by the ethmoid, absence of pectoral radials, upper jaw consisting of a single bone bearing teeth, absence of a free maxilla, smaller num- ber of vertebrae (62) and absence of pyloric caeca. Discussion Pillaiidae shows affinities with both Chaud- huriidae and Mastacembelidae. However, the absence of free maxilla which has so far not been recorded in any perciform fish and evolu- tion of a single stout bone in the upper jaw in Pillaiidae are such characters which cannot be easily ignored while considering its relationship with these families. Unfortunately, we know very little about the upper jaw in Chaudhuri- idae. However, the drawing of the upper jaw of Chaudhuria caudata (see Annandale 1918) shows striking resemblance with the upper jaw bone of Pillaia indica. Although Annandale (op. cit.) does not mention about the presence or absence of maxilla in C. caudata yet his iden- tification of the tooth bearing upperjaw bone as maxillary clearly suggests that it is the pre- maxilla rather than maxilla. If this presump- tion is correct Pillaiidae comes closer to Chau- huriidae rather than Mastacembelidae ( vide Table). Berg (1940) remarked that Chaudhuria (Chaudhuriidae) is so specialized that it plain- ly deserves the rank of a special order. While proposing the order Chaudhuriiformes, Berg (op. cit.) appears to have been influenced by the discontinuity of various characters between Mastacembelidae and Chaudhuriidae. How- ever, the discovery of Pillaiidae has filled up this gap and a possible evolution of chaud- huriia type form from mastacembelid stock can be easily visualized. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to group all the three families un- der a common order or suborder rather than ranking each one as suborder or order. Green- wood et al. (1966) appreciated the importance of common characters between Mastacembel- 169 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 idae and Chaudhuriidae and rightly placed them under the same suborder (Mastacembcl- oidei) well before the discovery of Pillaiidae which forms a link between them. The gradual modification of various characters in these families has led to extreme specialization as is evidenced in Chaudhuriidae. Pillaiidae appears to be less specialized than Chaudhuriidae and it seems probable that the latter evolved from a stock resembling Mastacembelidae through stages comparable to Pillaiidae. Mastacembelidae contains two genera, name- ly, Mastacembelus and Macrognathus, the latter being restricted to oriental region only ( see Sufi 1956). Both Chaudhuriidae and Pil- laiidae, with single genus each, are also restri- cted to Burma and India in the Oriental re- gion. The exclusive occurrence of Chaudhuri- Refer Annandale, N. (1918) : Fish and Fisheries of the Inle Lake. Rec. Indian Mus. 14 : 39-42. Annandale, N. & Hora, S. L. (1923) : The syste- matic position of the Burmese fish Chaudhuria. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (9) 77:327-333. Berg, L. S. (1940) : Classification of fishes, both recent and fossil. Trav. Inst. Zool. Acad. Sci., U.S.S.R., 5(2): 1-517 (Russian and English texts). Greenwood, P. H., Rosen, D. E., Weitzman, S. H. & Myers, G. S. (1966) : Phyletic studies of teleostean fishes, with a provisional classification of living forms. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 737:339-456. idae and Pillaiidae within a restricted area of about 350 miles (560 km) and availability of both the mastacembelid genera in that region suggests that Mastacembelidae perhaps evolved somewhere in the South-Chinese region and subsequently migrated westwards. This is also supported by the distribution of freshwater fishes of India which clearly indicates their South-Chinese origin and their subsequent spread westwards along the Himalayas ( see Menon 1973). I thank Dr. B. K. Tikader, Deputy Director, Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona, for his kind interest and en- couragement during the course of this work. EN CES Menon, A. G. K. (1973): Origin of the fresh- water fish-fauna of India. Curr. Sci. 42(16) : 553-556. Mitra, B. K. & Ghosh, E. (1931): On the inter- nal anatomy of the families of Opisthomi. Rec. In- dian Mus. 33: 291-300. Sufi, S. M. K. (1956): Revision of the Oriental fishes of the family Mastacembelidae. Bull. Raffles Mus., Singapore, 27:93-146. Yazdani, G. M. (1972) : A new genus and spe- cies of fish from India. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 69( 1): 134-135. 170 NEW DESCRIPTIONS A NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS PUNTIUS (HAMILTON) (PISCES: CYPRINIFORMES: CYPRINIDAE) FROM WESTERN INDIA1 G. M. Yazdani and M. Babu Rao Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona 411005 {With a text -figure) Introduction During intensive collection of fishes from in and around Poona, four specimens belonging to the genus Puntius were obtained, possessing an osseous serrated dorsal ray and a single pair of barbels. Till now, species with an osse- ous serrated dorsal ray and a single pair of barbels have not been reported from India. However one species, P. macrolepidotus (Cuv. & Val.) has been reported from Burma and Malay Peninsula. But the present species dif- fers from it markedly in many characters. Amongst Indian species it resembles Puntius ambassis (Day). Detailed description of the species and characters differentiating it from related species are given here. A list of Puntius species known from India with their distribution and names of species synonymis- ed under these species has also been appended to give upto date information regarding the species of this widely distributed genus. Puntius deccanensis sp. nov. Material: Holotype 48 mm total length (37 mm stand- ard length). Coll. C. B. Prasad, dated 20-7- 1974. 2 paratypes of 45 mm and 42 mm total length (36 mm and 32 mm standard length respectively). Coll. C. B. Prasad, dated 20-7- 1 Accepted June 1976. 1974, all from Nalla near Katraj tank. 1 para- type of 36.5 mm total length (27.5 mm stand- ard length). Coll. B. K. Tikader, dated 13-2-1976 from Katraj tank. Description : Body laterally compressed. Dorsal and vent- ral profiles convex. Head dorsoventrally com- pressed, pointing towards the snout. Eyes pro- minent situated towards the anterior half of head. One pair of maxillary barbels, smaller in length than eye diameter. Nasal pore pro- minent with a septum. Third dorsal ray robust, osseous and serrated but the serrated edge is covered by a thin layer of skin. Pectorals origi- nate just behind opercular margin, but do not reach ventral origin. Origin of ventrals and dorsal from the same vertical line. Anal origi- nates behind dorsal. Caudal emarginate. Along the lateral line, especially in the posterior half of the body a distinct longitudinal swelling is present in the form of a line, especially in big- ger specimens. Lateral line complete. Dorsal half of head dark in colour. A diffuse dark brownish lateral band is present. Dorsally, pigmented dark brown, from the snout to the caudal fin, including the osseous dorsal ray. Pigmentation becoming lighter laterally and the central half of body more or less without pigmentation. A group of jet black spots are present on the caudal peduncle, laterally, near the origin of the caudal fin. Black coloration of the anterior region of the dorsal base. Other- wise fins colourless. 171 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Meristic counts and body measurements as percentages in standard length for the holo- type and paratype (ranges for paratypes in parentheses) : 1cm. Text-fig. 1 . Puntius deccanensis sp. nov. P. 11 (11-13); V. 9(9); D. iii + 9 (iii + 9); A. ii + 7 (ii + 7); C. + 19 + ( + 19+); L. 1. 44 (42-44). In percentages of standard length; body depth 34.6 (30.2-34.7); head length 24.9 (25.6- 26.3) ; eye diameter 9.5 (8.4-10-2); snout 7.0 (6.9-7.3); inter-orbital distance 9.5 (8.4-9.7); prepectoral distance 23.0 (23.6-26.5); preven- tral distance 47.3 (46.9-49.2); predorsal dist- ance 49.2 (48.4-51.6); preanal distance 64.1 (62.5-67.3); pectoral fin length 18.9 (18.2- 19.4) ; ventral fin length 18.4 (18.6-20.3); dor- sal base 14.9 (12.7-15,3); anal base 8.1 (9.1- 11.9). Type-locality : Nalla near Katraj Tank, 13 km south of Poona, Maharashtra. The type material will be deposited in due course with the National Collections of Zoolo- gical Survey of India, Calcutta. The name P. deccanensis is given to this species since it was first discovered from Dec- can plateau (Poona district). Discussion The only other Puntius species with serrated last undivided dorsal ray and a single pair of barbels is P. macrolepidotus from Burma and Malaya. However, there are more differences between the two species than resemblances. Externally, the body shape is very different, in P. deccanensis the body is markedly deeper than in P. macrolepidotus , eye bigger, snout shorter and less pointed, scales smaller in the former species when compared with the latter. Further, the two species differ significantly in the number of lateral line scales (42-44 in P. deccanensis , 26 in P. macrolepidotus ), pec- toral fin rays (11-13 in P. deccanensis , 17 in P. macrolepidotus) and anal fin rays (9 in P. deccanensis, 1 in P. macrolepidotus). Besides, the last undivided dorsal ray is robust and spiny in P. deccanensis whereas in P. macro- lepidotus it is weak (“scarcely osseous”. Day 1878). In view of the fact that the number of bar- bels is not a very consistent character in this genus, if this character is ignored for a mo- ment, P. deccanensis externally comes nearest to P. ambassis. However, the two species dif- fer from each other in lateral line (complete in P. deccanensis, incomplete in P. ambassis), number of lateral line scales (42-44 in P. dec- canensis, 36 in P. ambassis ), dorsal fin rays (iii + 9 in P. deccanensis, iii + 8 in P. ambas-, sis) and anal fin rays (ii + 7 in P. deccanensis, ii + 5 in P. ambassis). The Puntius spp. occurring in India, along with their distribution and synonyms have been tabulated (Table) for ready reference. Relevant information regarding these has been obtained from works of Day (1878, 1889), Hora (1937, 1941), Misra (1961), Menon (1963, 1974), Kulkarni & Ranade (1974) etc. Acknowledgements We are thankful to Dr. B. K. Tilcader, De- puty Director, Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona, for his kind interest and encouragement during the course of this investigation. 172 NEW DESCRIPTIONS Table Distributional list of Indian species of Puntius Name of species Important synonyms A. With undivided dorsal ray serrated 1 . Puntius clevatus (McClell.) 2. Puntius sarana (Ham.) 3. Puntius pleurotaenia (Bleeker) 4. Puntius roseipinnis (C.V.) 5. Puntius deccanensis sp. nov. 6. Puntius ambassis (Day) 7. Puntius conchonius (Ham.) 8. Puntius ticto (Ham.) 9. Puntius gelius (Ham.) 10. Puntius phutunio (Ham.) 11. Puntius shalynius Yazdani & Talukdar 12. Puntius guganio (Ham.) B. With undivided dorsal ray non- serrated 13. Puntius dubius (Day) 14. Puntius micropogon (C.V.) 15. Puntius chilinoides (McClell.) 16. Puntius carnaticus (Jerdon) 17. Puntius bovanicus (Day) Barbus chrysopoma Day B. pinnauratus Day Barbus punctatus Day B. stoliczkanus Day Range of distribution India: East Himalayan drainages. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bur- ma, Sri Lanka, Thailand & China. India: Karnataka; Sri Lanka. India : Pondicherry. India: Poona (Maharashtra). India: Tamil Nadu, Orissa, W. Bengal, Assam and Maharashtra. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. India; Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bur- ma, Sri Lanka and Thailand. India; Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, U.P., Assam; Bang- ladesh. India: Orissa, West Bengal, Assam; Bangladesh and Burma. India: Khasi and Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya). India : Gangetic provinces and Assam. India : Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. India: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. India: Himalayan drainage. India : Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. India : Tamil Nadu. 173 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Name of species Important synonyms Range of distribution 18. Puntius sophore (Ham.) 19. Puntius curmuca (Ham.) 20. Puntius lithopides (Day) 21. Puntius thomassi (Day) 22. Puntius spinolosus (McClell.) 23. Puntius jerdoni (Day) 24. Puntius wynaadensis (Day) 25. Puntius neilli (Day) 26. Puntius malabaricus (Jerdon) 27. Puntius melanampyx (Day) 28. Puntius chola (Ham.) 29. Puntius parr ah (Day) 30. Puntius dorsalis (Jerdon) 31. Puntius kolus (Sykes) 32. Puntius denisonii (Day) 33. Puntius melanostigma (Day) 34. Puntius arenatus (Day) 35. Puntius amphibia (Val.) 36. Puntius arulius (Jerdon) 37. Puntius filamentosus (C.V.) 38. Puntius terio (Ham.) 39. Puntius punjabensis (Day) 40. Puntius waageni (Day) 41. Puntius cosuatis (Ham.) 42. Puntius vittatus (Day) 43. Puntius puntio (Ham.) 44. Puntius sahyadriensis Silas 45. Puntius narayani Hora 46. Puntius cauveriensis Hora Barbus chrysopterus (McClell.) B. stigma (Val.) Day B. carletoni Fowler B. annandalei Fowler Barbus pulchellus Day Barbus dobsonii Day Systomus tetrarupagus (McClell.) Cyprinus titius (Ham.) Barbus puckelli Day Barbus mahecola (C.V.) India; Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma and Yunnan. India: Western ghats, Kerala. India: Karnataka and Kerala. India: Karnataka. India : Sikkim. Peninsular India. India : Wynaad, Maharashtra. India: Karnataka and Deccan. India: Karnataka and Western Ghats. Peninsular India. India; Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bang- ladesh and Burma. Peninsular India. Peninsular India, Sri Lanka. India : Peninsular and Central part. India : Kerala. India : Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Peninsular India. Peninsular India, Sri Lanka. Peninsular India. Peninsular India; Sri Lanka. India: Assam, West Bengal, Pun- jab, Orissa; Bangladesh. India: Jabalpur; Pakistan, Ravi drainage at Lahore, Sind. Indus drainage (India & Pakistan). India: Along the Himalayas and Western Ghats. India: Gujarat, Peninsular India; Sri Lanka. India: W. Bengal; Burma. India: Maharashtra. India: Karnataka. India: Karnataka. 174 NEW DESCRIPTIONS References Day, F. (1878): The Fishes of India: a natural history of the fishes of India, Burma and Ceylon, text including supplement — London, I:i-xx, 1-816: 2, 195 pis. (1889): The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma-Fishes — London, 1 : i-xviii + 1-548, figs. 1-164; 2:i-xiv + 1-509, figs. 1- 177. Hora, S. L. (1937) : Notes on fishes in the Indian Museum XXVIII. On three collections of fish from Mysore and Coorg, South India. Rec. Indian Mus. 39:5-28. (1941) : Notes on fishes in the In- dian Museum, XLI. New records of freshwater fish from Travancore. Rec. Indian Mus. 43:387-393. Kulkarni, C. V. & Ranade, M. R. (1974) : Chapter I. Fishes. Gazetteer of India, Maharashtra State Gazetteers, General series: Fauna, pp. 1-66. Menon, A. G. K. (1963): A distributional list of fishes of the Himalayas. J. Zool. Soc. India 14(1- 2) :23-32. (1974) : A checklist of fishes of the Himalayan and the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Special Publication No. 1. Inland Fisheries Society of India, Barrackpore. pp. i-vii + 1-136. Misra, K. S. (1961) : An aid to the identification of the common commercial fishes of India and Pakistan. Rec. Indian Mus. Delhi, 57:1-320, text- figs. 1-198. TWO NEW SPECIES OF SPIDERS OF THE GENERA CHEIRACAN - THIUM KOCH AND CLUBIONA LATREILLE (FAMILY: CLUBIONIDAE) FROM INDIA1 B. K. Tikader Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona 411005 ( With eight The spiders of the family Clubionidae are very little known in India. I have described previ- ously (1962) a single species of the genus Cheiracanthium; subsequently Patel & Patel (1973) described a second species and very recently (1975) I have described the third species of this genus from India. The spiders of the genus Clubiona are practically unknown in the Indian fauna. Recently Patel & Patel (1973) described a single species of the genus Clubiona from Gujarat. While examining the spider collection re- ceived from Dr. G. L. Sadana, Punjab Agri- 1 Accepted February 1976. 2 It is with much pleasure that I have named this text-figures) cultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, I came across two new species belonging one each to the genera Cheiracanthium and Clubiona which are described here. All the type specimens will in due course be deposited in the National Collections of Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta. Cheiracanthium sadanai sp. nov.2 General : Cephalothorax, abdomen and legs light green. Total length 8.00 mm. Cephalo- thorax 3.20 mm long, 2.30 mm wide; abdomen 4.80 mm long, 2.50 mm wide. species after Dr. G. L. Sadana, Agricultural Univer- sity, Ludhiana, who collected this specimen for my study. 175 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Cephalothorax : Longer than wide, wider in front, clothed with fine hair and a few spine- like hairs, moderately convex, cephalic region slightly higher than posterior region. Eyes pear- ly white, anterior row slightly recurved and posterior row procurved; lateral eyes nearly contiguous; medians nearly oval and white, slightly larger than laterals. Ocular quad lon- ger than wide and slightly wider behind than in front. Middle of cephalothorax provided with Figs. 1-4. Cheiracanthium sadanai sp. nov. 1. Dorsal view of female, legs omitted; 2. Maxillae and labium; 3. Epigyne; 4. Right male palp, ven- tral view. a fovea. Chelicerae strong, nearly vertical and dark brown in colour, provided with inner sco- pulae, inner margin provided with two small teeth but outer margin with one tooth large and another one very small. Maxillae and lab- ium as in text-fig. 2 provided with deep brown colour. Sternum heart-shaped, pointed behind, clothed with fine hairs. Legs long, clothed with hairs and spines. Anterior legs longer than posterior. Male palp as in text-fig. 4. Abdomen : Rather long, narrowed posterior- ly, clothed with pubescence and some long hairs. Ventral side uniform pale coloured. Epigyne as in text-fig. 3. Holotype female, allotype one male in spirit. Type-locality : Ludhiana Agricultural Uni- versity compound, Punjab, India. Coll. Dr. G. L. Sadana, 12-xi-1975. This species resembles Cheiracanthium dani- eli Tikader, but it can be distinguished as fol- lows: (i) Abdomen dorsally pale-greenish in colour but in C. danieli abdomen dorsally brownish-green, (ii) Epigyne and male palp structurally different. Clubiona ludhianaensis sp. nov. General: Cephalothorax and legs brownish green, abdomen pale-green. Total length 11.00 mm. Cephalothorax 4.20 mm long, 3.00 mm wide; abdomen 6.80 mm long, 3.60 mm wide. Cephalothorax : Longer than wide, wider in front, clothed with fine hair and some spine- like hairs; convex, cephalic region slightly higher than posterior region. Eyes pearly white, posterior row longer and slightly procurved; anterior row nearly straight. Ocular quad wider than long and wider in behind, all eyes nearly of same size. Middle of cephalothorax provid- ed with prominent fovea. Chelicerae strong, nearly vertical and dark brown in colour, inner margin provided with two equal size teeth and outer margin with three teeth but middle one larger than other two teeth. Maxillae and labi- 176 NEW DESCRIPTIONS um as in text-fig. 6, provided with deep brown colour and anterior end of maxillae provided with conspicuous scopulae. Sternum nearly heart-shaped, longer than wide, clothed with fine hairs; border just opposite of coxa of legs provided with conspicuous dark brown marks as in text-fig. 8. Legs long, stout, clothed with hairs. Posterior legs longer than anterior legs. Tibiae of I and II provided with two pairs of ventral spines and metatarsi and tarsi also pro- vided ventrally with scopulae. Abdomen : Longer than wide, narrowed pos- teriorly, clothed with pubescence. Posterior half of abdomen provided with brown markings as in text-fig. 5. Ventral side uniform pale colour. Epigyne as in text-fig. 7. Holotype female, paratype one female in spirit. Type-locality : Ludhiana, Punjab Agricultural University compound, Punjab, India. Coll. Dr. G. L. Sadana, 10-xi-1975. This species resembles Clubiona pashabhaii Patel & Patel but it can be distinguished as follows: (i) Posterior half of abdomen pro- vided with brown markings but in C. pashab- baii abdomen provided with three rows of longitudinal deep brown dots, (ii) Epigyne structurally different. Refer Patel, B. H. & Patel, H. K. (1973): On some new species of spiders of the family Clubionidae (Araneae: Arachnida) with record of genus Casti- neira Keyserling from Gujarat, India. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 78(1): 1-9. Tikader, B. K. (1962): Studies on some Indian Figs. 5-8. Clubiona ludhianaensis sp. nov. 5. Dorsal view of female, legs omitted; 6. Maxillae and labium; 7. Epigyne; 8. Sternum of female. EN CES spiders (Araneae: Arachnida). J. Linn. Soc., Lon- don, 44: 568. (1975) : A new species of spider of the genus Cheiracanthium Koch (Family: Clubioni- dae) from India. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 72(1) : 43-45. 177 12 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 A NEW SPECIES OF SPIDER OF THE GENUS PLAT OR SIMON (FAMILY— PLATORIDAE) FROM ALMORA, INDIA1 B. K. Tikader and U. A. Gajbe Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona 411005 ( With three text -figures ) The spiders of the family Platoridae are little known from India. The first species of the genus Plator was described from India by Simon (1897) and the second species by Tika- der (1969) and subsequently a third species was recently described by Tikader & Gajbe (1973). While examining the spider collection from Northern Regional Station, Zoological Survey of India, Dehra Dun, U.P. India, we came across a new species of the genus Plator , which is described here. It is the fourth species of the genus Plator from India. We are thankful to Dr. B. S. Lamba, Deputy Director, Zoological Survey of India, Northern Regional Station, Dehra Dun for supplying the spiders for our study. The type specimen will in due course be deposited in the National Collections, Zoolo- gical Survey of India, Calcutta. Plator himalayaensis sp. nov. General : Cephalothorax and legs reddish brown, abdomen deep brown. Total length 5.10 mm. Carapace 2.50 mm long, 3.90 mm wide; abdomen 2.70 mm long, 3.80 mm wide. Cephalothorax : Very flat, leaf-like, much wider than long, cephalic region narrow and flat, clothed with black spine-like hairs. Eyes eight, in two rows, posterior row slightly re- curved but anterior row straight. Posterior 1 Accepted March 1975. lateral eyes larger and black but posterior me- dians smaller, white and crescent shaped; base of eyes encircled by black patch except poste- rior median eyes. Mandibles weakly armed, labium longer than wide as in text-fig. 2. Ster- num wider than long, slightly narrow in front, clothed with fine hairs. Legs long and strong, clothed with hairs and spines. Legs I shorter than the rest, II longest, anterior two legs arm- ed with conspicuous erect spiniform bristles. Tarsus without scopulae or ungual tufts. Figs. 1-3. Plator himalayaensis sp. nov. 1. Dorsal view of female, legs omitted; 2. Maxillae and labium of female; 3. Epigyne. Abdomen : Very flat, leaf-like, nearly round- ed posteriorly, wider than long, slightly over- lapping on the cephalothorax in front, clothed with fine hairs. Dorsally provided with irregu- lar minute markings of muscular corrugation and three transverse muscular depressions as in 178 NEW DESCRIPTIONS text-fig. 1. Ventral side more lighter than dor- sal side and clothed with fine hairs. Epigyne as in text-fig. 3. Holotype : One female in spirit (legs broken). Type-locality : Bageshwar, Dist. Almora, U.P., India. Coll J. C. Tripathi, 30-vi-1972. This species is closely related to Viator hash - Refei Pocock, R. I. (1900): The Fauna of British India, Arachnida: 272. Simon, E. (1897) : Histoire Naturelle des Araig- nees, Paris, 2:15. — - — (1897) : Materiaux pour servir a la faune arachnilogique de l’Asie Meridionale. V. (1) Arachnides recueillis a Dehra-Dun (N.W. Prov.) et dans le Dekka par M.A. Smythies. Mem. Soc. mirensis Tikader & Gajbe. However, Viator himalayaensis differs from V. kashmirensis in the structure of female epigyne. Abdomen dor- sally provided with transverse depression and absence of sagilla, but in V. kashmirensis ab- domen dorsally provided with two longitudi- nal rows of sagilla. E n ce s zool., France, 10:256. Tikader, B. K. (1969) : Studies on some rare spiders of the families Selenopidae and Platoridae from India. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 69(5): 252. & Gajbe, U. A. (1973) : A new species of spider of genus Plator Simon (Family — Platoridae) from India. Current Science, 42 { 23) : 829. NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS NEOAENASIOIDEA AGARWAL (HYMENOPTERA: ENCYRTIDAE))1 M. Younus Khan Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India {With fourteen figures in a plate) An account is given of the known species of the genus Neoaenasioidea Agarwal. Neoaen- asioidea albiscutellaris sp. nov. is described in detail. The species N. indica Agarwal, N. nigri- tus Agarwal and N. albiclavatus Agarwal are also briefly described. Genus Neoaenasioidea Agarwal Neoaenasioidea Agarwal, 1966, Vroc. Indian Acad. Sci., 63:71. Type species, Neoaenasioi- dea indica Agarwal (Monobasic). 1 Accepted May 1975. The distinguishing characters of this genus have been given in detail by Agarwal (1966). It is more closely related to Homalotylus Mayr, but differs from it in having first valvifer with basal and apical angles in one plane (figs. 7-9), second valvifer long and more or less of uni- form width, third valvulae long and movably articulated with second valvifers (figs. 12-14). Recently Agarwal (1970) described two new species N. albiclavatus and N. nigritus. In the present study a new species N. albiscutellaris is described thereby making a total of four species of the genus Neoaenasioidea Agarwal. 179 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Neoaenasioidea albiscutdlaris sp. nov. (Figs. 1-4, 9, 13) FEMALE Head : Dark, facial region yellow; fronto-ver- tex narrow; ocelli red, arranged in acute tri- angle, lateral ocelli very close to orbit and removed from occipital margin by less than their diameter; malar space shorter than eye width; antennae inserted near the oral margin; mandibles tridentate (fig. 1); maxillary and labial palpi 4 and 3 -segmented respectively (fig. 2). Antennae (fig. 3). — Dark, distal funicle seg- ment and club white; scape cylindrical, slight- ly more than six times longer than wide; pedi- cel distinctly longer than first funicle segment; funicle segments 1-6 subequal in length and gradually increasing in width distal; club three segmented, two and a half times longer than wide, slightly longer than preceding three fun- icle segments combined. Thorax : Infuscated, lateral sides of prono- tum and scutellum yellow; pronotum with an- terior margin slightly concave, posterior mar- gin more or less straight (fig. 4); mesoscutum with well developed parapsidal furrows. Fore wings : Hyaline, a broad infuscated patch in the middle, three times longer than wide; submarginal vein long; marginal vein short, about as long as wide; stigmal vein dis- tinctly longer than postmarginal vein; marginal fringe short, spaced by a distance equal to one- third their length. Hind wings: Hyaline, more than four times longer than wide; marginal fringe short spaced by a distance equal to one-third their length. Fore legs: Dark brown. Middle legs: Yellow, basal two-third of tibiae dark-brown; middle tibial spur longer than basitarsus. Hind legs: Dark, basal four tarsal segments white. Abdomen: Dark, slightly longer than thorax; ovipositor much exserted; first valvifer semi- circular, the basal and apical angles in one plane (fig. 9); second valvifer long and more or less of uniform width; third valvulae long and movably articulated with second valvifers (fig. 13). Length of female excluding exserted part of ovipositor: 2.02 mm. Holotype $ , 1 $ paratype, India, Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh, ex Aphids on Solanum sp., 27-ix-1974 (M. Younus Khan). Material in Zoological Museum, Aligarh Muslim Univer- sity, Aligarh, India. Neoaenasioidea indica Agarwal (Figs. 5, 7, 12) FEMALE Head: Yellowish; malar space longer than eye width; antennae yellowish brown, club white; scape slightly more than eight times longer than wide; pedicel slightly shorter than basal two funicle segments combined; club longer than preceding three funicle segments combined. Thorax yellow, scutum dark slight- ly metallic sheen; fore wings slightly more than two and a half times longer than wide; stigmal vein twice as long as postmarginal vein; fore legs yellow; middle legs yellow, basal portions of tibiae brownish; hind legs brown, coxae trochanters apical portions of femora and tar- sal segments yellow. Abdomen yellow, tergites brownish yellow. Length of female excluding exserted part of ovipositor: 1.9 mm. Material examined : 4 $ , India, Uttar Pra- desh, Aligarh, ex Mealy bug on Solanum sp., 9-ix-1974 (M. Younus Khan). Material in Zoological Museum, Aligarh Muslim Univer- sity, Aligarh, India. 180 J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 Younus Khan: Neoaenasioidea Plate 0-2 mm Figs. 1-4, 9, 13. Neoaenasioidea albiscutellaris sp. nov. $. (1) Mandible; (2) Maxillary and Labial palpi; (3) Antenna; (4) Pronotum; (9) First valvifer; (13) Second valvifer and third valvulae; Figs. 5, 7, 12. Neoaenasioidea indica Agarwal, $. (5) Antenna; (7) First valvifer; (12) Second valvifer and third valvulae; Figs. 6, 8, 14. Neoaenasioidea nigritus Agarwal, $. (6) Antenna; (8) First valvifer; (14) Second valvifer and third valvulae; Figs. 10, ll. Homalotylus flaminius (Dalmen), $. (10) First valvifer; (11) Second valvifer and third valvulae. NEW DESCRIPTIONS Neoaenasioidea nigritus Agarwal (Figs. 6, 8, 14) FEMALE Head: Dark brown; antennae dark brown, club white; scape about seven times as long as wide; club more than two and a half times longer than wide, as long as preceding three funicle segments combined. Thorax dark brown; fore wings more than two times longer than wide; stigmal vein one and a half times longer than postmarginal vein; marginal fringe spa- ced by a distance equal to one-fourth their length; legs dark brown; mid and hind tarsal segments and middle tibial spur white; middle tibial spur shorter than basitarsus. Abdomen dark brown, about as long as thorax. Length of female excluding exserted part of ovipositor: 1.6 mm. Material examined : 5 $ , India, Uttar Pra- desh, Aligarh, ex Mealy bug on Solanum sp., 9-ix-1974 (M. Younus Khan). Material in Zoo- logical Museum, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Refe: Agarwal, M. M. (1966): Three undescribed genera and species of Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera- Chalcidoidea) parasitic on Coccids. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., 63:67-19. Neoaenasioidea albiclavatus Agarwal FEMALE Head: Yellowish; antennae with funicle seg- ments 1-5 dark brown, 6th and club white. Thorax yellow, scutum slightly metallic sheen; fore legs light brown, tibiae and tarsi brownish; hind legs brownish, tarsal segments 1-4 white. Length of female excluding exserted part of ovipositor: 1.8 mm. Material examined : 2 $ , India, Uttar Pra- desh, Aligarh, ex Pseudococcus sp. on Citrus medica. Material in Zoological Museum, Ali- garh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. Ack nowledgem e n ts I am greatly indebted to Dr. S. Adam Shafee, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim Uni- versity, Aligarh, for his guidance and super- vision. I am thankful to Prof. S. Mashhood Alam, Head, Department of Zoology, for pro- viding research facilities and to Prof. Nawab H. Khan for encouragement. Thanks are also due to Dr. Man Mohan Agarwal for his valu- able suggestions. EN CES (1970) : Some new Chalcidoid parasites recorded from Aligarh (India), (Hymenop- tera, Encyrtidae). Mushi, 44: 25-29. 181 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 A NEW SPECIES OF THE MEDIORHYNCHUS ( ACANTHOCEPHALA : GIGANTORHYNCHIDAE) FROM THE GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD, CHORIOTIS NIGRICEPS (VIGORS)1 P. D. Gupta2 ( With five text-figures) Three immature and one mature males and eight females collected from the intestine of the Great Indian Bustard, Choriotis nigriceps (Vigors) caught at Pokaran (Jaisalmer Dis- trict), Rajasthan, India during August to Octo- ber, 1970 form the basis of the description given below. Mediorhynchus rajasthanensis sp. nov. With characters of the genus. Sexual dimor- phism very pronounced. Male somewhat swol- len in the anterior region just behind the pro- boscis and without external segmentation. Mature female shows prominent external seg- mentation, attaining maximum width slightly behind mid-body. Proboscis receptacle, a double-walled muscular sac. Proboscis armed with 12 spiral rows of four hooks 100-120 n in length and 16-20 m in diameter and 30 spiral rows of 14-15 spines 20 n in length. male: 9.4403 in length and 0.828 in maxi- mum width. Proboscis 0.966 x 0.540-0.612. Pro- boscis sheath 0.756-11.080 x 0.396-0.468. A pair of unequal lemnisci, measuring 1.980- 2.840 x 0.144, each with 7 nuclei. Almost sphe- rical brain, measuring 0.180, situated towards the posterior end of the proboscis, just in front of its junction with the body. Elliptical testes situated in posterior third of the body length. Anterior testis 0.684- x 0.216, posterior testis 0.648 x 0.216. Cement glands 8 in number, situated just behind the posterior testis. Seminal 1 Accepted July 1975. 2 Western Regional Station, Zoological Survey of India, Poona 411 005. 3 All measurements in millimetres. vesicle 0.648 x 0.126. The right side of the mus- cular cap of bursa is longer than the left side and measuring 0.306 in length. Bursa 0.306 x 0.180, with maximum width at its anterior end. female: 60-75 in length; 2.0-3. 5 in width. External segmentation pronounced in middle part of the body whereas anterior part con- taining lemnisci devoid of external segmenta- Fig. 1. Mediorhynchus rajasthanensis sp. nov., male; Fig. 2. Female; Fig. 3. Proboscis of M. rajasthan- ensis; Fig. 4. Proboscis hooks magnified; Fig. 5. Proboscis spines magnified. 182 NEW DESCRIPTIONS tion. Sometimes the outline may be undulating before becoming completely smooth in the pos- terior part. Ova 0.062-0.081 x 0.031-0.050. Discussion Mediorhynchus rajasthanensis has the least number of proboscis hooks so far reported in the genus. The species is peculiar in its males having smooth body surface whereas the gravid females show marked peudosegmentation. M. rajasthanensis resembles most closely M. grande (Van Cleave 1916) in the matter of proboscis hooks but has more spines compared to M. grande. host: Great Indian Bustard, Choriotis nigri- ceps (Vigors). location : Intestine. type-locality: Pokaran (Jaisalmer District), Rajasthan. Type specimens to be duly deposit- ed in the National Collection in the Zoologi- cal Survey of India, Calcutta. Acknowledgements I am greatly obliged to Shri H. C. Gupta, Divisional Forest Officer, Jodhpur and Shri Y. D. Singh, Zoo Supervisor, Jodhpur for pro- viding the opportunity of collecting the para- sites and Dr. B. K. Tikader, Deputy Director, Zoological Survey of India, Poona for his kind interest in the work. Reference Van Cleave, H. J. (1916): Acanthociphala of the genus) from North American birds. Trans. Amer. genera Centronhynchus and Mediorhynchus (new Micros. Soc. 35: 221-232. A NEW SPECIES OF CESTODE OF THE GENUS SCHISTOMETRA (CESTODA: DAVAINEIDAE : IDIOGENIN AE ) FROM THE GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD, CHORIOTIS NIGRICEPS (VIGORS)1 P. D. Gupta Western Regional Station, Zoological Survey of {With four - Introduction Skrjabin (1914), Baer & Fain (1955) and Yamaguti (1959) have maintained the validity of the genus Schistometra Cholodkovsky (1912). Yamaguti (1959) transferred Bertia pinguis Fuhrmann (1904) to the genus Ophry- 1 Accepted July 1974. India, Poona 411005 text-figures) ocotyloides Fuhrmann (1920) on the basis of a persistent uterus; and accepted only two valid species of the genus Schistometra, S. con- oides and S. macqueeni. Another species is described here. During August, 1970 two birds of the host species Choriotis nigriceps, were caught by the authorities of the Rajasthan Forest Department but they did not survive in captivity and were 183 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 placed at my disposal for examination and collection of helminth parasites. Both the birds harboured the new species described below. A number of these worms were collected and about a dozen of them were mounted for study. Schistometra nigriceps sp. nov. Length of strobila 123-200 mm. Number of proglottids in mature strobila varying from 255-441. The proglottids much broader than long, measuring 0.279-0.4092 in length and 1.372-4.000 in max. breadth. In no case are the segments longer than broad. Scolex 0.513 x 0.693 (Figs. 1 & 2). Rostellum 0.288 x 0.405 in diameter, armed with a single row of 300- 400 hooks each 11 n in length. Suckers 0.198- 0.270 x 0.237-0.252, are provided with tentacles 0.020-0.035. Testes in a transverse band, with its position varying in posterior half of the proglottid, and occupy the median space between the excre- tory canals of the two sides. In antero-posterior direction testes arranged mostly in 2-3 tiers, of 15-20 follicles, sometimes fourth tier also dis- cernible. Testes irregularly super-imposed, 60- 80 in number and measuring 0.036-0.054 in diameter. Cirrus sac extending mostly beyond ventral excretory canal and measuring 0.180- 0.207 x 0.099-0.108. Eversible cirrus, when fully ejected measuring 0.270 in length and 0.054 in maximum width at its base. Ovary 0.176-0.215 in diameter, on the poral side, between excretory canal and testes. Vagina, 0.027 in diameter, opening into genital atrium in varying position anterior or posterior to the cirrus sac. Uterus tubular or saccular, its transverse extension not properly discern- ible. In certain segments having early stage of testes, uterus appears to extend about half the 2 All measurements in millimetres. width of the segment. In more mature segments the sac like nature of the uterus disappears. Genital duct passes between the two excretory ducts. Genital pores irregularly alternate, situ- ated sub-marginally in the anterior part of segment (Fig. 3). Vitelline gland lying very close and aporal to the ovary, sometimes appearing crescent shaped (Fig. 4). Host: Choriotis nigriceps (Vigors). Location : Intestine. Locality: Pokaran (Jaisalmer district, Rajas- than). Discussion Schistometra nigriceps differs from S. conoi- des in having lesser width of proglottids, lesser number of rostellar hooks, smaller number of and shorter size of testes and smaller cirrus sac. S. nigriceps further differs from S. conoi- des in the arrangement of rostellar hooks which are arranged in two rows in S. conoides (Baer 1955; p. 27) although in the key (p. 40) Baer has mentioned S. conoides as having a single row of rostellar hooks. Schistometra nigriceps differs from S. macqueeni in having lesser num- ber of testes, smaller cirrus sac, a definitely oval or rounded ovary [Woodland (1930) has described transversely elongated ovary] and in the possession of tentacles on the suckers. In addition Schistometra nigriceps differs from S. macqueeni in the arangement of rostellar hooks which are arranged in a wavy fashion in S. macqueeni but in a simple circular row in S. nigriceps. The new species differs from S. pinguis (= Ophryocotyloides pinguis ) in possessing greater number of rostellar hooks, absence of a persistent uterus and longer stro- bila. 184 NEW DESCRIPTIONS Acknowledgements Y. D. Singh, Zoo Supervisor, Jodhpur for the opportunity to collect these parasites; and to I am greatly obliged to Shri H. C. Gupta, the Director, Zoological Survey of India, Cal- Divisional Forest Officer, Jodhpur and Shri cutta for the facilities during the work. Schistometra nigriceps sp. nov. Figs. 1 & 2. Scolex (RH., rostellar hooks). Fig. 3. Mature segment (Poral part) showing the general shape and position of vitelline gland. Fig. 4. Mature proglottid showing general anatomy and crescent shaped vitelline gland. (S., cirrus sac; EV., excretory vessels; GA., genital atrium; 0.? ovary; T.. testes; U., uterus; Va., vagina; Vit., vitelline gland). References Baer, J. G. (1955) : Rivision critique de la sous- famille Idiogeninae Fuhrmann 1907 (Cestodes: Da- vaineidae) et etude analytique de la distribution des especies. Rev. Suiss. Zool. 62, Suppl. number: 3-51. Baer, J. G. & Fain, A. (1955): Cestodes. Explo- ration du Parc National du TUpemba. Mission G.F. de Witte, pp. 38. Cholodkowsky, N. A. (1912) : Explanatory Cata- logue of the collection of parasitic worms in the Zoological Cabinet of the Imperial Academy of Me- dicine. Pt. 1. Cyclophyllidea. Petrograd. pp. 99. Fuhrmann, O. (1904) : Neue Anoplocephaliden 185 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 der Vogel. Zool. Anz. 27: 384-388. Skrjabin, K. I. (1914) : Vergleichende Charak- teristik der Gattungen Chapmania Mont, und Schis- tometra Cholodkowsky. Centralbl. Bakt. Parasit., Orig. 75:397-405. Woodland, W. N. F. (1930) : On three new cesto- des from birds. Parasitology 30: 305-314. Yamaguti, S. (1959): Systema Helminthum Vol. 2. The Cestodes of Vertebrates. New York, pp. 860. Interscience Publishers, Inc. A NEW MARSDEN1A R. BR. ( ASCLEPI AD ACE AE ) FROM SOUTH INDIA1 A. N. Henry2 and K. Subramanyam3 (With a plate) Marsdesiia tinmelvelica sp. nov. Suffrutex volubilis; caules teretes, brunneoli, glabrati, ramosi. Folia ad 8.5 x 3.8 cm, ellip- tico-lanceata ad obovata vel pandurata, acumi- nata, integra, subcoriacea, atrobrunnea supra, infra vero pallida, subglabra, basi obtusa, sub- truncata vel subcordata; nervis (lateralibus) 4-5 paribus, infra prominentibus; petioli 2-2.8 cm longae. Flores virido-flavi, cymis umbellatis; pedunculi inter petiolos quorum uno propin- quiores, exorientes, teretes, glabri; pedicelli ad 2 cm longi, glabri; bracteae 2,3 x 1 mm, lance- atae, ad basim pedicellorum aggregatae, gla- brae, persistentes. Calyx 5-partitus; lobi 2.8 x 1.8 mm, imbricati, elliptico-ovati, ad marginos minute ciliati, glandulosi intra ad basim. Co- rolla urceolata; tubus 3.5 mm longus, lobi 1.2 x 1.5 mm, torti, late ovati. Corona 5 lobis car- nosis et parvis; lobi infra connati, leviter accli- ves, infra columnam staminalem adnati. Gynos- tegium 3 mm longum. Apices antherarum membranacei, ovato-oblongi, obtusi, super api- cem styli incumbentes; alae antherarum cor- neae; massae pollinis erectae, minutae, ob- 1 Accepted February 1976. 2 Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore. 3 Botany Department, Central College, Bangalore. longae, ad polliniferentes per caudiculas pro- prias affixae. Ovarium 2-carpellatum, plurio- vulatum; stylus 0.5 mm longus, crassus; apex styli magnus, tholiformis. Fructus non visus. Holotypus Henry 8421 A et isotypi Henry 8421 B-F lecti in collibus Agastyamalai dietis in Tirunelveli, in ditione Tamil Nadu ad alti- tudinum c. 1400 m supra mare, die 25-iv-1972; holotypus positus in CAL, isotypi in MH. Marsdcnla triunelvelica sp. nov. Twining undershrubs; stems terete, brownish, glabrate, branched. Leaves up to 8.5 x 3.8 cm, elliptic-lanceate to obovate, or pandurate, acu- minate, entire, subcoriaceous, dark green above, pale beneath, subglabrous, obtuse, subtruncate or subcordate at base; lateral nerves 4-5 pairs, prominent on the lower side; petioles 2-2.8 cm long. Flowers greenish yellow, in umbellate cymes; peduncles arising between the petioles, closer to one of them, terete, glabrous; pedi- cels up to 2 cm long, glabrous; bracts 2.3 x 1 mm, lanceate, crowded at the base of pedi- cels, glabrous, persistent. Calyx 5-partite; lobes 2.8 x 1.8 mm, imbricate, elliptic-ovate, minu- tely ciliate along margins, glandular at base within. Corolla urceolate; tube 3.5 mm long; lobes 1.2 x 1.5 mm, twisted, broadly ovate. 186 J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 Henry & Subramanyam: Marsdenia Plate *> L >W1/ Figs. 1-5. Marsdenia tirunelvelica sp. nov. 1. Portion of plant; 2. Inflorescence; 3. Flower; 4. Gynostegium with staminal corona: side view; 5. Pollen-masses. NEW DESCRIPTIONS Corona of 5 fleshy, small lobes; lobes connate below, sloping a little upwards, adnate below the staminal column. Gynostegium 3 mm long. Anther-tips membranous, ovate-oblong, obtuse, incumbent over the style-apex; anther-wings horny; pollen-masses erect, minute, oblong, attached to the pollen-carriers by distinct cau- dicles. Ovary 2-carpellate, many-ovuled; style 0.5 mm long, stout; style-apex massive, dome- shaped. Fruit not seen. Holotype ( Henry 8421 A) and isotypes {Henry 8421 B-F) were collected from Agas- tyamalai Hills in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu at an altitude of about 1,400 m on 25-iv- 1972; holotype has been deposited in CAL and isotypes in MH. This rare and interesting taxon obviously represents a member of the tribe — Marsdenieae. Unfortunately, the generic limits in the Mars- denieae have not been adequately worked out in recent times and we found it difficult to place our new species in the appropriate genus. We, however, treat it as a species of Mars- denia R. Br. sensu lato, as suggested by Dr. D. V. Field of the Kew Herbarium. The struc- ture of the corona and the anther-wings of M. tirunelvelica is rather unusual. Acknowledgements Grateful thanks are due to Dr. D. V. Field of Kew Herbarium for his valuable opinion on the specimen. Rev. Dr. K. M. Matthew, SJ. of the Rapinat Herbarium, Tiruchirapalli for the Latin description, and Mr. M. Chan- drabose. Botanist, Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore for helpful suggestions. One of us (K.S.) is thankful to the UGC for financial assistance. A NEW SPECIES OF TERAMNUS SW. (FABACEAE) FROM MANBHUM (INDIA)1 Ajita Sen Central National Herbarium , Botanical Survey of India, Sib pur, Howrah 3 During a revision of the genus Teramnus Sw. I came across some specimens doubtfully identified. One such specimen collected by V. Ball. s.n. in 1866-67, from Manbhum (W.B.) previously identified as Teramnus labialis Spreng., proves on careful examina- tion to be different from T. labialis Spreng. As its characters are indicative of a new spe- 1 Accepted February 1976. cies, it is described and named here. Teramnus hookerianus sp. nov. Haec species differt a. T. labialis Spreng. foliolis parvioribus (1-1.9 cm), falus glabris, stipulis majoribus (4.5 mm), fructibus parni- oribus ane (3.5-4 cm). Harbae volubiles, 25 cm longae, caules graci- les internodiis ca 2-7 cm longis cum pilis pau- cis adpressis. Folia pinnatim trifoliata, petio- 187 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 lata, petioli 1-2.5 cm, petioluli 1-6 mm longi, glabri, cum pilis paucis adpressis; folioli parvi, 1-1.9 cm longi, 1-1.35 cm, lati, stipulati, ovati, ciliati, truncati, acuti, coriacei, supra pallidi, adpresso-pilosi in costulis, infra glabri, stipulae 4.5 mm longae, spinosae. Inflorescentia race- mosa, ca 4 cm longa, bracteata; bractea 1.5 mm bracteola 1.5 mm lanceolata, flores 4 mm x 1.5 mm, colorati, pedicellati, pedicellus 2 mm longus. Calyx 5-dentatus, ad basin connatus, segmentum unusuquisque ca 3 mm, segmenta lanceolata, glabrescentia, viridia, valvata, unum segmentum aliis 4 segmentis majus. Corolla papilionacea, colorata, vexillum 3.5 x 2 mm, ovatum, ala 3 x 1 mm, carina 3x1 mm, deor- sum libera, sursum connata. Stamina diadelpha, alterna sterilia; carpellum apocarpum; ovarium elongatum, 3 mm longum, placentatio margi- nalis, ovula multa; stylus 5 mm longus, stigma lineare. Fructus leguminiformis, 3.5-4 mm lon- gus, 2.5 mm latus, rostratus; semina multa, septata. Terammis hookerianus sp. nov. This species differs from T. labialis Spreng. in the smaller leaflets (1-1.9 cm), glabrous leaves, larger stipules (4.5 mm) and smaller fruits (0.5-9 cm). Twining herbs, 25 cm long, stem slender, branched, internodes about 2-7 cm long with a few adpressed hairs, glabrous, leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, petiolate, petiole 1-2.5 cm, petio- lules 1-6 mm long, with a few adpressed hairs, glabrous. Leaflets small, 1-1.9 cm long, 1-1.35 cm broad, stipulate, ovate, ciliate, truncate, acute, coriaceous upper side paler, hairs on the costules, adpressed, lower side glabrous, sti- pules 4.5 mm long spinuous. Inflorescence raceme, about 4 cm long, bracteate, bract 1.5 mm, bractiole 1.5 mm long, lanceolar. Flower 4 x 1.5 mm, coloured, pedicellate, pedicel 2 mm. Calyx 5 toothed, united at the base, each segment about 3 mm, lanceolate, one segment larger than the other 4 segments, glabrescent, green, valvate. Corolla papillionaceous, colour- ed, standard 3.5 x 2 mm, ovate, wing 3x1 mm, keel 3x1 mm, free at the lower part, upper part united. Stamens diadelphous, alternate stamens sterile, carpel apocarpous, ovary elon- gated 3 mm long, style 5 mm long, stigma linear, placentation marginal, ovules many. Fruit pod like, 3.5-4 cm long, 2.5 mm broad, beaked, seeds many, septate. HOLOTYPE India, West Bengal, Manbhum (Purulia) 1866-67, V. Ball s.n. Acc. No. 125331 (Deposit- ed in the Central National Herbarium, Cal- cutta). PARATYPE India, Madras; M. S. Ramaswami, 1015, Acc. No. 125305, Bengal, Bankura, Bishnupur, Koch Birai Canal; M. N. Sanyal, 532 (Deposited in the Central National Herbarium, Calcutta). Key to the genera 1 Leaflets longer, subcoriaceous 2. Stem and leaflets glabrous, leaflets 7.5-12.5 cm long, racemes 2.5 cm or less long, pods glabrous, 6.25-7.5 cm long T. flexilis 2. Stems and leaflets pubescent, leaflets 3.5-6 cm long, racemes 4. 5-5. 5 cm long pods pubescent T. debilis 1 Leaflets smaller, coriaceous 3. leaflets 2.5-6.5 cm long, stipules 2 mm long, pods 5-6.5 cm long T. labialis 3. leaflets 1-1.9 cm long, stipules 4.5 mm long, pods 3.5-4 cm long T. hookerianus Ack NO WLEDGEM EN TS I am grateful to Deputy Director and Keeper, CNH, B.S.I., Calcutta for providing facilities for this work. Thanks are also due to Dr. N.C. Majumdar for the Latin translation and Sri P. R. Sur for his encouragement and keen interest in preparing the manuscript of this note. 188 J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 Balakrishnan : Euphorbia Plate 1. terminal portion of plant; 2. floral leaf; 3. involucral cup, opened out; 4. bract of male flower; 5. male flowers, showing two sizes; 6. stamen, dorsal view; 7. sta- men, ventral view; 8. female flowers; 9. seed. NEW DESCRIPTIONS A NEW SPECIES OF EUPHORBIA (EUPHORBIACEAE) FROM BURMA1 N. P. Balakrishnan Botanical Survey of India, Andaman-Nicobar Circle, Port Blair (With a plate) Euphorbia tavoyensis sp. nov. Pertinet ad sectionem Laurifoliae affinisque est E. laurifolio Lamk. a qua imprimis differ! foliis amplioribus oblanceolatis; paniculis longioribus quam vel brevioribus foliis, multi-ramosis, cymis 1-3 cyathiatis; involucris glabris; lobis involucralibus longioribus quam glandibus; stylis connatis per dimidia longitudines simpli- cibus. Suffrutex, 1.0- 1.5 m altus, pauciramosus. Folia spiratim disposita, aggregata versus api- ces, oblongo-lanceolata, cuneata vel subobtusa ad bases, obtusa, subacuta vel subemarginata ad apices, integra vel leviter sinuata, minute recurvata et subcartilaginea ad margines, 9-24 cm longa, 4-8 cm lata; nervi lateralis 7-15 bin- ati, irregulares, horizontales; petiolus 1-4 cm longus. Panicula subcorymbosa, 6-24 cm longa, non ramosa per dimidia longitudinem; rami simplices vel ternati; cyathia solitaria vel in cyma ternatis, si ternata nunc cyathia centrales sessiles vel subsessiles et cyathia laterales pedunculata; cyathiorum pedunculi crassi, us- que ad 1.5 cm longos; bracteae ad paniculo- rum ramos et cyathiorum bases binatae, op- positae, ovato-deltoideae, obtusae, sessiles, 3- 5 mm longae, 3-4 mm latae. Involucrum ob- conicum, 3-4 mm longum, 2-3 mm latum ad orem; lobi fimbriati ad apices, — 1 mm longi; glandes 5, oblongae, ± 0.5 mm longae, ± 1 mm latae. Flores masculi multi; bracte- 1 Accepted February 1976. olae lineares, 3-4 mm longae, pubescentes; pedicelli 2 vel 4 mm longi, aggregati in tribus, duobus brevibus et uno longo; filamenta ± 1 mm longa, angustata ad apices; antherae — 1 mm latae, ± 0.5 mm longae. Flores feminei singulares; pedicellus 8-10 mm longus, ovarium subglobosum, 1.0- 1.5 mm longum, 0.9- 1.2 mm latum; columna stylaris ± 1 mm longa; rami stylares 1-2 mm longi; stigmata capitata. Capsula depressa, globosa, 3-cellularis, — 1 cm longa, ± 1.2 cm lata; semina 3, sub- globosa, ± 6 mm longa, ± 5 mm lata, laevia. Burma: Heinye headwaters, Tavoy, — 650 m, 25 Nov. 1921, P. T. Russell 2216 C (Holo- typus in CAL); 2216 A, B (Isotypi in CAL). Ridge between Kyong Pyu Chaung and Tala- ingya, Tavoy, ± 600 m, 1 Feb. 1919, A. T. Gage 26 A-E (Paratypi in CAL). Euphorbia tavoyensis sp. nov. Belongs to section Laurifolia and is related to E. laurifolia Lamk. from which it differs parti- cularly in larger oblanceolate leaves; panicles as long as or shorter than leaves, many-branch- ed; cymes 1-3 cyathiate; involucre glabrous; involucral lobes longer than glands; styles united for half the length, simple. Undershrub, 1.0- 1.5 m high, few-branched. Leaves spirally arranged, more or less crowd- ed towards apex, oblong-lanceolate, cuneate or subobtuse at base, obtuse, subacute or sub- emarginate at apex, entire or faintly wavy, minutely recurved and subcartilaginous at mar- 189 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 gins, 9-24 cm long, 4-8 cm wide; lateral nerves 7-15 pairs, irregular, horizontal; petiole 1-4 cm long. Panicle subcorymbose, 6-24 cm long, un- branched for half the length; branches simple or ternate; cyathia solitary or in ternate cymes, if ternate then the central cyathium sessile or subsessile, lateral ones pedunculate; peduncles of cyathia thick, upto 1.5 cm long; bracts at branches of panicles and bases of cyathia, pair- ed, opposite, ovate-deltoid, obtuse, sessile, 3-5 mm long, 3-4 mm wide. Involucre obconical, 3-4 mm long, 2-3 mm wide at mouth; lobes ± 1 mm long; glands 5, oblong, ± 0.5 mm long, — 1 mm wide. Male flowers many; bra- cteoles linear, 3-4 mm long, hairy; pedicels 2 or 3 mm long; in groups of three with two short and one long; filaments # 1 mm long, narrowed at apex; anthers — 1 mm wide, — 0.5 mm long. Female flowers solitary; pedi- cel 8-10 mm long; ovary ovoid-subglobose, 1.0- 1.5 mm long, 0.9- 1.2 mm wide; style column ± 1 mm long; style-branches 1-2 mm long; stigma capitate. Capsule depressed-glo- bose, 3 -celled, ± 1 cm long, ± 1.2 cm wide; seeds 3, subglobose, — 6 mm long, ± 5 mm wide, smooth. (Figs. 1-9). The section Laurifoliae of Euphorbia is en- tirely tropical American and it is rather strange and interesting that a solitary species of this section should be found in Burma. POGONATHERUM SANTAPAUI SP. NOV. (POACEAE)— A NEW GRASS FROM INDIA1 P. R. Sur Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Botanic Garden, Howrah 3 ( With nine text-figures) During the revision of the genus Pogonatherum P. Beauv. I came across some specimens which needed re-examination of identification. One of such specimens collected by J. N. Vohra 11248 from Garhwal (India) previously identi- fied as Pogonatherum paniceum (Lamk.) Hack., on careful examination proves to be different from P. paniceum (Lamk.) Hack. Its characters indicate an undescribed species and it is described and named here. Pogonatherum santapaui sp. nov. Species haec ah Pogonatherum paniceum 1 Accepted August 1975. (Lamk.) Hack, differt foliis parvioribus, sessili spicula longiore, arista glumae superioris par- viore, arista lemmatis inferioris parviore, palea edentata flosculi inferioris spiculae sessilis. Herba perennis. Culmi 31 cm alti, glabri, 8-10 nodi, ramosi. Folia 1.5-3. 8 cm longa, 5 mm lata, lanceolata, ad acumen angustata, basi rotundata, 4-5 nervata, glabra. Ligulae ad pilos redactae. Inflorescentia 2.9-3. 1 cm longa. Spi- cula sessilis 3.5 mm longa, oblonga, callo pervo cum pilis albis. Gluma inferior 3.5 mm longa et 1.5 mm lata, oblonga ad apicem pilosa, ad dorsum convexa, ad marginem pilis parvis. Gluma superior 3.5 mm longa, ovata, mem- 190 NEW DESCRIPTIONS branacea, carinata, aristata, arista 7.5-9 mm longa. Floscidus inferior mas, lemma 2.5 mm longum, lanceolatum, hyalinum, aristatum, arista 9-10 mm longa. Stamina 2, palea 2.5 mm longa, lineari-lanceolata. Flosculus super- ior hermaphroditus, 3 mm longus, lanceola- tus, hyalinus. Stimina 2, anthera 2 mm longa, stylus paleam acquantes, palea 3 mm longa, ovata, hyaline. Spicula pedicellata 2.5 mm longa, lineari-lanceolate. Gluma superiora 2,4 mm longa, aristata, arista 5 mm longa. Gluma floralis 2 mm longa, lanceolata, hyalina, aris- tata, arista 5 mm longa. Pogonatherum santapaui sp. nov. (A-I) A. A part of a flowering branch; B. Spikelets; C. Lower glume; D. Upper glume; E. Lower Lemma; F. Stamens; G. Palea; H. Upper lemma; I. Andro- gynoecium with palea. Pogonatherum santapaui sp. nov. This species differs from P. paniceum (Lamk.) Hack, by the smaller leaves, larger sessile spikelet, smaller awn of upper glume, smaller awn of lower lemma and toothless palea of lower floret of sessile spikelet. Herb perennial. Culms 31 cm tall glabrous, 8-10 noded, branched. Leaves 1.5-3. 8 cm long and 5 mm broad, lanceolate acuminate, taper- ing to a fine point, base 4-5 nerved, glabrous. Legules reduced to hairs. Inflorescence 2.9- 3.1 cm long, sessile spikelet 3.5 mm long, ob- long, callus small with white hairs, lower glume 3.5 mm long and 1.5 mm broad, oblong, hairy at the top, back convex, little hairs at the mar- gin. Upper glume 3.5 mm long, ovate, membr- anous, keeled, awned, awn 7.5-9 mm long. Lower floret male lemma 2.5 mm long, lanceo- late, hyaline, awned, awn 9-10 mm long. Sta- mens 2, palea 2.5 mm long, linear-lanceolate. Upper floret — hermaphrodite, 3 mm long, lan- ceolate, hyaline. Stamens 2, anther 2 mm long, style as long as palea. Palea 3 mm long, ovate, hyaline. Pedicelled spikelet 2.5 mm long, lower glume 2.5 mm long, linear lanceolate. Upper glume 2.4 mm long, keeled, awned, awn — 5 mm long. Floral glume 2 mm long, lanceolate, hya- line, awned, awn 5 mm long. Key to the species of Pogonatherum 1 . Racemes upto 4 cm long, nodes bearded; spike- lets upto 3.5 mm long. 2. Spikelets 2.5- 3.5 mm long, callus hairs upto 1.5 mm long lower floret male; upper floret with 2 stamens. 3. Leaves 3.4 cm long and 0.5 mm broad, palea of lower floret of sessile spikelet not toothed, awn of lemma of lower floret 10 mm long P. santapaui 3. Leaves 6.5 cm long and 0.25 mm broad, palea of lower floret of sessile spikelet two toothed, awn of lemma of lower floret 17 mm long P. paniceum 2. Spikelets not more than 2 mm long; callus hairs about 2 mm long; lower floret empty or obsolete, upper floret with 1 (rarely 2) stamen P. crinitum 191 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 1. Racemes more than 4 cm long; nodes glabrous, spikelets 4-5 mm long P. rufo-barbatum Holotype : India, Uttar-Pradesh, Garhwal, altitude 700 m, 26 February 1960, J. N. Vohra 11248. Etymology : This species is being named in honour of the great botanist the late Dr. H. Santapau, former Director, Botanical Survey of India. Acknowledgements I am grateful to the Director, Botanical Sur- vey of India, Calcutta for facilities; to Deputy Director and Keeper, Central National Herba- rium, Calcutta for encouragement; to Dr. S. K. Jain, Deputy Director, Eastern Circle, B.S.I. for valuable suggestions; and to Dr. N. C. Maj- umder for the Latin diagnosis. A NEW SPECIES OF PSEUDANTHIST1RIA (HACK.) HOOK. F. FROM INDIA1, 2 Shrikant P. Birari3 and Rui D’Cruz4 Botany Section, College of Agriculture, Poona {With five The genus Pseudanthistiria was established by Hooker in (1896) on the base of Hackel’s section Pseudanthistiria belonging to the sub- genus Hypogynium of Andropogon Linn. He (Hooker) described four species, three of which are found in India and one in Burma. Bor (1960) has also recorded these four species. A new species of Pseudanthistiria has recently been found in India. Thus making a total of five species under the genus. The new species is described below and the distinguishing key characters of the four Indian species of Pseu- danthistiria have also been given. Pseudanthistiria intermedia sp. nov. Allied to P. hispida Hook. f. and P. hetero - clita (Roxb.) Hook. f. but differs in the lower 1 A part of the Ph.D. Thesis submitted by the Senior author to the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidya- peeth, Rahuri, District Ahmednagar. 2 Accepted August 1975. 411005 text -figures) glume of the sessile spikelet which has stiff hairs on the margin but is totally glabrous in the middle (Figs. 5, a-I, a-II and a-III). P. hispidae Hook. f. et P. heteroclitae (Roxb.) Flook. f. affinis attamen spiculae ses- silis gluma inferiore ad centrum omnino gla- bra ad marginem hispida differt. Annual; culms erect or geniculately ascend- ing, terete, simple or branched, glabrous, poli- shed, many noded, nodes glabrous (Fig. 1); leaves covered more or less with tubercle- based hairs, not rounded at the base, linear and long, primary nerves on both sides of the midrib distinct, margins glabrous or with long tubercle-based hairs; ligule truncate, ciliate; panicle leafy elongate or simple with many short peduncled fascicles of pseudoracemes; 3 Present address : Reader in Botany, Botany Dept., Post Graduate School, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Dist. Ahmednagar. 4 Behind Municipality, Margao, Goa. 192 NEW DESCRIPTIONS fascicle of pseudoraceme often in pairs arising from a common outer spathe 40-50 mm long with bulbous hairs, much longer than pseudo- raceme (Fig. 2); pseudoraceme of five spike- lets without involucral ones; peduncle of pseu- doraceme 1.5 mm long and hairy; spikelets of pseudoraceme, enclosed in the spatheole having long cilia on the keel and a fringe of hairs at the base, supported by small pedicels (Fig. 3); pedicelled spikelets empty, 5-6 mm long with tubercle based hairs on the surface (Fig. 4); lower glume 5-6 mm long (Fig. 4a), many Figs. 1-5. Pseudanthistiria intermedia sp. nov. (1) A drawing of a herbarium specimen; (2) A fascicle of a pseudoraceme; (3) Pseudoraceme with bisexual and pedicelled spikelets; (4) Pedicelled spikelet: (a) Lower glume, (b) Upper glume; (5) a-I. lower glume of bisexual spikelet of P. hispida; a-II. Lower glume of bisexual spikelet of P. heter- oclita; a-III. Lower glume of bisexual spikelet of P. intermedia; b-Upper glume P. intemedia; c-Awn; d-Ovary with anthers and lodicules nerved, margins with bulbous based hairs on the surface; upper glume 1 mm long, lanceo- late and 3 nerved (Fig. 4b); bisexual spikelets (Fig. 3a) usually 2, awned; lower glume (Fig. 5a-XII) glabrous in the middle surface and shortly hispid on the margins; lower and upper glume (Fig. 5b) 5-6 mm long; lower floral glume (lemma) absent; awn (Fig. 5c) 30-35 mm long, ciliate; stamens 3; ovary 1, with lodicules 2 (Fig. 5d). Holotype collected at Satpura (Toranmal) Range, Khandesh, Maharashtra, India by the Senior Author on 17th November, 1968 under the field No. 1-681 BC. and deposited in the Herbarium of Prof, of Agril. Botany, College of Agriculture, Poona 411 005. Two isotypes bearing the same number have also been depo- sited in the Herbarium of the Botanical Survey of India, Western Circle, Poona 411001. Key (1) Culms erect, robust; leaves covered more or less with tubercle based hairs, not rounded at the base, linear and long, primary nerves, on both sides of the midrib distinct. (2) Lower glume of fertile spikelet shortly hispid, rachis or (peduncle of the unit) of the paired fascicle of pseudoraceme 5 mm long; spatheole ciliated with small cilia on the keel and at the base covered with fringe of hairs, peduncle of pseudoraceme 1 mm long and glabrous P. hereroclita Lower glume of fertile spikelet quite glabrous, rachis or (peduncle of the unit) of the paired fascicle of pseudoraceme 6 mm long; spatheole ciliated with long cilia, and glabrous base ex- cept 1 or 2 hairs; peduncle of pseudoraceme 1.5 to 2 mm long but hairy P. hispida Lower glume of fertile spikelet glabrous in the middle surface and shortly hispid on the mar- gin; rachis or (peduncle of the unit) of the paired fascicle of pseudoraceme 8 mm long; spatheole on the keel covered with large cilia (as in hispida) while fringe of hairs present at the base of the spatheole (as in hereroclita ), 193 13 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 peduncle of pseudoraceme 1.5 mm long and hairy P. intermedia (1) Culms prostrate, filiform, weak, rooting at the nodes; leaves glabrous on both the surfaces, rounded at the base, rather short and small, lanceolate, primary nerves of the leaf not dis- tinct. (2) Lower glume of fertile spikelet totally glabrous, rachis or (peduncle units) of the paired fas- cicles 11 mm long, spatheole glabrous on the keel and base; peduncle of pseudoraceme 2-6 mm long and glabrous P. umbellata Etymology The species is named P. intermedia as it has some characters of P. hispida and others of P. heteroclita. Acknowledgements We are grateful to the Director, Royal Bo- tanic Gardens, Kew, England for confirming the identification of the species and to Rev. Cecil J. Saldanha, S.J. for the Latin translation of the diagnostic characters. The drawings were made by Shri R. B. Bhandarkar, Commercial Artist. This research was financed in part by a grant made by U.S.D.A., under P.L. 480 research project A-7 CR-130. A NEW SPECIES OF CARALLUMA (ASCLEPIADACEAE) FROM INDIA1 G. R. Kumari and G. V. Subba Rao Botanical Survey of India , Southern Circle, Coimbatore 2 (With twelve text-figures) Caralluma milagmana sp. nov. Affinis C. truncato-coronate (Sedgwick) Grav. & Mayur. tamen differt radicibus non succulentis, foliis deltoideis, pedicellis breviori- bus, bracteatis, glandibus pellucidis extrinsecus floribus et pedicellis, corollis extus viridis et punctis roseis particulis nullis clacatis sinubus loborum corollarum. Typus: Cult, ex Dist. Nilgiri, Subbarao et Kumari 39262 A (holo- typus, CAL). Caralluma nilagiriana sp. nov. Allied to Caralluma truncto-coronata (Sedg- wick) Grav. & Mayur but differs from it in having non succulent roots, deltoid leaves, 1 Accepted February 1976. shorter pedicels, bracteoles, pellucid glands on flowers and pedicels, corolla outside green and mottled with pink, no clavate particles at the sinuses of corolla lobes. Fleshy glabrous perennial herbs upto 9.5 cm high, spreading by suckers; prostrate branches rooting. Branches slender, not tapering, 4 ang- led, 6 mm wide, sides deeply furrowed. Leaves minute, deltoid, arising on the tubercles of the angles. Inflorescence terminal, umbellate. Flo- wers 6-19 with foetid smell, covered externally with pellucid glands; bracts 2 mm long, linear; bracteoles longer than bracts, filiform; pedicels 6-8 mm long, covered with pellucid glands. Calyx divided upto the base; segments 5, alter- nating with corolla lobes, 4 mm long, linear, acute. Corolla 2 cm across, outside green mot- 194 NEW DESCRIPTIONS tied with purple; tube cupular, 6-9 mm in dia- meter, with 3 distinct rings of coloration: a deep purple ring at the middle with green pel- lucid transverse furrows separates a deep pur- ple continuous ring at the mouth and a pale green broader ring with pellucid glands at the bottom; limb valvate, five fid, divided more than half way; lobes deltoid, acute, glabrous, deep purple inside with transverse callosities and pale green pellucid interrupted circles. In Caralluma nilagiriana sp. nov. 1. Plant. 2. Part of the plant enlarged. 3. Inflores- cence. 4. Flower bud. 5. Calyx. 6. Corolla lobe (upper surface). 7. Calyx split open showing ovary. 8. Corona (side view). 9. Corona. 10. Pollinia. 11. L.S. of ovary. 12. T.S. of ovary. dried and pressed specimens the venation of corolla lobes is quite distinct; each corolla lobe three ribbed, with reticulate venation. Corona 5 mm in diameter, staminal, thick, dark purple; outer corona 5 lobed, truncate, lobes promi- nently cuspidate on either side; inner lobes ligulate, elongate, ascending and appressed to dorsal sulcate surface of anthers; staminal column short, incumbent on the stigma; an- thers yellow, lobes broadly elliptic. Pollinia yellowish red, compressed, erect, ± oblong obtuse, faintly transversely striped; attached laterally to the erect purple corpusculum by means of caudicles, pellucid along the inner C. truncato-coronata (Sedgwick) Grav. & Mayur. C. nilagiriana sp. nov. Plants upto 15 cm high. Roots succulent. Leaves ovate. Bracts 2.5 mm long. Bracteolate. Corolla and pedicels glandular. Pedicels 17 mm long. Clavate particles present at the sinuses between corolla segments. Plants upto 9.5 cm high. Roots not succulent. Leaves deltoid. Bracts 2 mm long. Bracteolate. Corolla and pedicels pellucid glandular externally. Pedicels upto 8 mm long. No clavate particles occur at the sinuses between corolla seg- ments. margin. Ovary bicarpellary, 2 mm long, glab- rous; stigma 5 angled. Follicles not seen. holotype Subbarao & Kumari 39262 A and Isotypes Subbarao & Kumari 39262 B, C, D were collected on 20th August, 1974 from the garden of Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle, Coimbatore (from cultivated material raised from wild plants collected in vegetative condition, growing in rocky areas on way from Anaikatty to Ebanad at 900 m alt., in Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu). Paratypes Subbarao & 195 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Kumari 39263 A & B, 39287 A, B & C and 46087 A & B were collected from the same plant and same locality on 21st August, 1974, 16th December, 1974 and 4th November, 1975 respectively. Paratypes Subbarao & Kumari 37329 A & B were collected on 23rd Novem- ber, 1970 on way from Anaikatty to Ebanad at 900 m altitude. Holotype is deposited in the Central National Herbarium (CAL) and Iso- types and Paratypes in the Herbarium of the Southern Circle, Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore (MH). Note: Corolla segments are spreading in fresh flowers. They tend to become erect after 2 or 3 days and then fold and dry up. Ack nowledgem e n ts We are thankful to Rev. Fr. Dr. K. M. Matthew, S.J. for translating the diagnosis in- to Latin, to the Forest Department of Tamil Nadu for their help, to Dr. J. Joseph, Regional Botanist, Southern Circle, Botanical Survey of India for the facilities provided and to Dr. A. N. Henry for useful discussions. >i I I : 196 Reviews 1. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. By Emil T. Chanlett. McGraw Hill Inc. International Student Edition. Paperback. Pp. xvi + 570 (21 x 15 cm) with many illustrations. Tokyo, 1973. McGraw Hill Kogakusha Ltd. Price not stated. This book ranges over a variety of topics and disciplines, an understanding of which is neces- sary for a worker in environmental protection. Courses on this subject are offered in several North American Universities, for which this is designed. It is unlikely that this very comprehensive book would be studied in detail by all students but it constitutes an excellent handbook for graduate students and workers especially in the fields of health, sanitary engineering and industry who require an acquaintance with factors affecting the environment which lie outside their own field of specialisation. While primarily a handbook of the hazards which man encounters in his environment (including the man made hazards), a wealth of informa- tion of interest to the environmentalist and conservationist is found in its pages. The first chapter discusses the consequences of mismanagement of the major components of our environment and the exponential growth of population, production, power, places and pollutants which lead to such mismanagement. There are brief discussions of Ecology and Ecosystems, quality of the environment and resource management followed by the appre- ciation that practical efforts at resource man- agement are based firstly on health effects, secondly on consideration of comfort, conve- nience, efficiency and aesthetics, and thirdly the effects on the balance of ecosystems and natural resources; the order reflecting the urg- ency of problems arising out of these aspects as well as the level of knowledge we can bring to bear on them. Chapter two gives an excellent analysis of environmental factors in the spread of com- municable diseases. A discussion of the Delhi epidemic of Infectious Hepatitis of 1958 in this chapter and at relevant parts of subse- quent chapters, shows the classical picture of an explosive water borne epidemic outbreak. Further chapters deal with topics like water, air, disposal of excreta, vector control, etc. and the last three chapters deal with energy, natural and man made, in the environment, including ionising radiation, electromagnetic energy, las- ers, radio, microwave, etc. and with Heat and Sound. The treatment of each topic is distinctive and original and covers the need (for manage- ment), the scope of the problem and the quan- titative factors to be considered, methods, chan- ges and trends, etc. Each chapter concludes with an Appraisal, with attention to secondary hazards which may arise from some of the methods in use. A surprising omission is the absence of any mention of biogas, its import- ance for waste disposal, energy and fertiliser production in rural communities, in the discus- sion on animal and farmyard wastes. The text is illustrated with explanatory draw- ings, charts and factual data in tabular form. The references quoted are generally inform- ative and include some of the classical works 197 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 73 on the topics covered. Numerous interesting observations and sidelights enliven the text, which is stimulating and thought provoking and hardly ever becomes a mere catalogue of facts. This is a book for the student, for the field worker, or even for the merely curious, to read with interest. The author has achieved a tour de force in presenting with such clarity information from a variety of disciplines. This book is one of a series on resource management and environmental engineering. It may be too much to expect that all will achieve the same standard of excellence but Dr. Chanlett’s book certainly encourages us to await the others with interest. A.N.D.N. 2. A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA. By Ben F. King and Edward C. Dickinson. Size 20 x 13 cm, with 26 plates in colour, and 36 plates in monochrome, and many line drawings. London, 1975. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. Price £4.50. The names of the book and the publishers should explain the format and quality of this exciting new publication which brings Field Guide treatment of ornithology very close to our own area, and, one is not disappointed. The general arrangement is as in the “Peterson” with identification marks and salient identity points enumerated on the opposite page. 408 species are illustrated in colour, 336 in black- and-white and 161 in line drawings. In all 1157 species of the 1227 species described are illus- trated. A herculean task when the outcome has to be a field guide. By and large, the illustrations are excellent and reproduction good though the ducks, rap- tors, owls and waders are rather poorly drawn. A disappointment is the absence of pheasants in colour, and many of the bright minivets, leafbirds and ioras are not quite satisfying. What detracts considerably for an Indian reader is the manner in which English names of species are changed by the authors. An ex- planation is provided in the preliminary chap- ters, whereas synonyms are provided for names at variance with Indian usage, this has not al- ways been followed. For example, to take a few, Bluewinged Pitta (Pitta brachyura ), Gre- ater Goldenback ( Chrysocolaptes lucidus), Blackrumped Goldenback (Z>. benghalensis) , Himalayan Goldenback (Z). shorii). Orange- backed Woodpecker (C. validus). Not only have the names been altered those used by Ripley are not synonimised in many cases as claimed in the introduction, a fixed pattern is not followed as for example the hyphen is used in Orangebacked Woodpecker while it is removed in case of the Goldenback along with the group name “woodpecker”. Examples of this sort can be taken from all groups and are a major drawback. Vernacular names have to be standardised but must carefully carry re- ferences to other names as used by important works particularly of nearby areas particularly so when names are derived from two such dis- tinct set of workers as the old British, based in India and the new and bludgeoning Ameri- can in Indo-China and Siam. This omission will keep disturbing Indian birdwatchers who will most certainly purchase this useful and welcome publication. It is hoped that the second edition will have this rectified. L.J.K. 198 REVIEWS 3. BREEDING ENDANGERED SPECIES IN CAPTIVITY. Edited by R. D. Martin. Pp. xxv + 420. Academic Press, London, 1975. A subsidiary of Har- court Brace Jovanovich, Publishers. Price £ 12.80. In reality this book is a collection of papers and reports by well known Directors of Zoo- logical Parks and Trusts presented at the 1972 International Conference on Breeding of En- dangered Species hosted by the famous Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust and Fauna Preser- vation Society (U.K.). The quality of the papers are of the highest order portraying the achievement and failures of rare species bred in captivity and giving detailed accounts of their management, which includes artificial in- cubation, rearing, environmental conditions, feeding, capture in the field and release to their natural habitats. The matter covers Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, and Mammals embracing subjects like Raising and Restocking of Giant Tortoises, Breeding of Endangered Pheasants, Falcons, Waterfowl and Mammals such as Australian Monotremes, Lemurs, Marmosets, Indian Rhinoceros, Cheetah, Arabian Oryx and many others. The subject has been compre- hensively covered and practically leaves no stone unturned. There is an excellent Fore- word by Gerald Durrell who has shown the way by evolving his Jersey Wildlife Preserva- tion Trust into a model breeding project for endangered species of the world. One of the vital points emphasized by him is that, it should not be claimed that captive breeding of an endangered species should surrogate for the conservation of species in its natural habi- tat. And that animal husbandry is an art lead- ing to success. There is a long Introduction by the Editor-Composer, R. D. Martin in which he stresses that successful breeding can be attri- buted to more detailed study of the animal it- self in the wild and in captivity in which space and management are important. In fact, many so-called “impossibles” now have been bred in captivity and that those responsible for main- taining rare animals have no reason to despair. A vital contribution to education and to con- servation is for zoos to display and breed its rare and common exhibits keeping in mind to maintain a so-called viable unit. Classic ex- amples of breeding endangered species are given, such as Branta sandvicensis at the Wild- fowl Trust, at Slimbridge (U.K.) and at Hawaii where, reintroduction under a special project in natural habitat conveys how successful such projects can be. Similarly, Lophura swinhoei bred at the Pheasant Trust at Great Witching- ham (U.K.) was reintroduced to Taiwan. And yet, it is emphasised that such breeding pro- jects closer to the species natural habitats would be more successful, despite the fact that the Whitewinged Wood Duck of India and S.E. Asia has been bred at the Wildfowl Trust. Here are examples of how Trusts can be help- ful in saving species in danger of extinction which would be well-worth emulating where our animals are threatened. A paper on Cap- tive Breeding of Crocodiles by H. R. Bust- ard gives detailed information relevant for sav- ing our Crocodilians. In the mammal section there is a report on breeding of tigers by A.C.V. van Bemmel of Rotterdam Zoo, in which it is expressed that access to fresh air and isolation from the public in breeding dens leads to success. Moreover, innoculation against feline panleucopenia is essential for cubs to prevent infection. In some reports, the com- plicated dietary prescriptions and recipes for maintaining health are difficult to interpret. It 199 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 73 appears that in some, harmful effects are seen resulting in death of exhibits. Of particular interest is the paper on artificial insemination of birds of prey by R. Fife and their reintroduc- tion in the wild. Also a paper by R. T. Fran- cocur in experimental Embryology as a method of saving rare species. There is an expert sum- ming-up by Sir Peter Scott, Chairman of the conference who says “I believe that it has been positively and quite convincingly established that wild animals can be bred in captivity and that more and more species will be bred in future”. Doubtless, the book embodies the best collection of scientific information on what has been achieved in the field of captive breeding. Notwithstanding, there are no papers on breed- ing of Giant Pandas in China nor of Siberian Tigers in the U.S.S.R. or even the Asiatic Lions in India. Most of the matter deals with contributions by Zoos and Trusts as against individuals and aviculturists who have bred innumerable species for the first time in capti- vity, some of them rare, but not necessarily endangered. Breeding of Otis tarda at Berlin Zoo and in some Central European Institutes is not mentioned and yet there are papers on breeding Whooping Cranes and Saddlebacks. To our credit, the Directors of New Delhi Zoo- logical Park, and C. D. Krishna Gowda of Mysore Zoo have presented papers on breed- ing of Indian Rhinoceros and several other species, the latter rather a sketchy note lack- ing details. I fully recommend this book as essential for all Zoo Directors and for all Wild- life Conservationists interested in helping to save endangered species. The consolidated work gives a very clear approach on how en- dangered species can be saved and reintroduced in the wild under proper scientific management. The cost of the book appears high but the knowledge it imparts is of much higher value especially to those who value endangered spe- cies and wish to perpetuate them. R.S.D. 4. BIRDS IN JAPAN— A FIELD GUIDE. By Yoshimara Yamashina. Illus- trated by S. Koyabashi. pp. 223 (22.5 x 16 cm), with many illustrations. Tokyo, 1974. Tokyo News Science Ltd. Price $ 29.50 = Yen 4,800. This useful and attractive 266 page book filled a glaring lacuna when it appeared in 1961. The second impression under review was in 1974. It is a fine book which visitors to Japan would assuredly value as one of the many thoughtful considerations extended them by a remarkable people. The introductory chapters on Japan’s geo -history, climate, distribution of birds and their migration are all interesting and valuable sources of information consider- ably augmented by a section on rewarding bird watching venues in the country. Each page has a species or two closely re- lated species illustrated at the top with descrip- tion and salient notes below. The paintings are good and by and large well reproduced, how- ever, one expects far greater quality of both from the Japanese. Even so the distinctive wash technique of Japan makes them rather pleasing. A major error appears to be the placing of some Finches and Tits before the Grebes, far ahead of their legitimate place. There are several typographical errors in the scientific names and the English, both of which could have been avoided. The heavy art paper used throughout the book while making it pleasant to handle, has two disadvantages for a field guide, greater weight and a tendency 200 REVIEWS for the pages to get stuck when wet. Of particular worth is the list at the end of the book giving scientific, English and Japa- nese (written in roman script) names with their status. This throws up by contrast the glaring lack of Indian names for our own birds. A very authentic and enjoyable book for “armchair” bird watching in Japan and should find space on a keen birdwatcher’s library. L.J.K. 5. COMPANION TO R. H. BEDDOME’S HANDBOOK TO THE FERNS OF BRITISH INDIA, CEYLON AND THE MALAY PENINSULA. By B. K. Nayar and Surjit Kaur. Pp. xiii + 244 (21.5 x 14 cm). New Delhi, 1974. Otto Koeltz Antiquariat & Pama Primlane. Price Rs. 55.00. There is no doubt that Col. Beddome’s Hand- book, ‘the only work in which an attempt has ever been made to present a taxonomic survey of all the species of Indian ferns’ originally published in 1883 with a supplement added in 1892 (fascimile reprint 1969) there has been a long felt need for revision. The authors of the companion under review claim to have achieved it. The companion contains two parts. Part I — has nomenclatural changes by B. K. Nayar and Surjit Kaur and Part II — has Classification of ferns by B. K. Nayar. There is also an addendum containing a revised nomenclature of the Thelypteroid ferns by B. K. Nayar. Dr. B. K. Nayar and co-workers have car- ried out morphological studies on several spe- cies of Indian ferns during the past one and a half decades and have received good atten- tion in India. Considering the experience of the senior author, one would have expected a reliable standard of taxonomic revision. Our hopes are however far from fulfilled. The work as presented here has not achieved any of the purposes for which it is published. A study of the major part of the work — Part I: Nomenclatural changes — reveals that the authors are completely ignorant about the Articles, Rules and Recommendations of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. One of the fundamental principles of the code (Principle IV) states: ‘Each taxonomic group with a particular circumscription, position and rank can bear only one correct name, the ear- liest that is in accordance with the rules, ex- cept in specified cases”. In this companion, authors have given quite a large number of “alternative names” and in “authors’ note” they mention: “Whenever alternative names are given, it should be understood that the first name as well as the alternative names follow- ing it are subject to controversy and till the controversy is settled, all the names are equally applicable and valid; the choice of the name is entirely upto the student”. This concept of the choice of name is unique in the history of botanical nomenclature. The Code covers all possible obstructions in arriving at a single correct name to each taxon and various rules and recommendations are made for implement- ing the correct name. The problems and con- troversies which are beyond the scope of the Code are always open to proposition for the conservation of certain names as given in Ap- pendix III of the Code. The suggestion of the alternative names in the companion offends the Code and makes the book of negative merit. Under article 34, the Code mentions: 201 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 “When, on or after January 1, 1953, 2 or more different names (so-called alternate names) are proposed simultaneously for the same taxon by the same author, none of them is validly published.” The majority of the new combinations made in the companion are invalid and if they are not validated as per rules, they might have to be simply discarded. In cases where varieties of Beddome have been raised to specific rank, it is necessary to indicate the nomenclaturai types (e.g. Polystichum aculeatum var. trav- ancoricum Bedd. and P. aculeatum var. casta- neum Clarke). While effecting new combina- tions in two cases, Arachnioides macrocarpa (Wall.) comb. nov. and A. pinnatifida (Wall.) Comb, nov., Wallich is cited in parenthesis but the basionyms given for the combinations in- dicate Beddome as the author of the epithet ( Lastraea walkerae var. macrocarpa Bedd. and L. walkerae var. pinnatifida Bedd.). Further, Kaulinia zosteriformis (Wall.) comb. nov. is based on the basionym Polypo- dium zosteriforme Wall cat. 280 (nom. nud.). Since the basionym itself is a nomen nudum, the new combination is also automatically no- men nudum. Polypodium ovatum Wall, et Hook, is transferred to the genus Neocheiro- pteris but the new combination does not show the relation of the name with Beddome when the authors make N. ovatus (Bedd.) comb. nov. The names of the authors and citations of important works have been abbreviated vari- ously : 1. Asplenium line Spec. PL 2:1078, 1753 (see P- 34) 2. Asplenium linn. Spec. PL 2:1078, 1754 (see P- 34) 3. Blechnum linne. Spec. PL 2:1077, 1753 (see P- 33) 4. Asplenium amboinense willd. caroli linne, Spec. PL 303, 1810 5. Pteris mertensioides willd. Spec. PL 5:394, 1810 6. Asplenium formosum willd. caroli linne. Spec. PL ed 4, 5:329, 1810 One single page (p. 43) of the companion has the following different dates for the same publication : Moore, Index Fil. 340, 1862 Moore, Index Fil. 333, 1861 Moore, Index Fil. 325, 1859 Moore, Index Fil. 334, 1861 Moore, Index Fil. 334, 1859 The whole text of the companion is full of spelling errors and inspite of 4-pages of errata attached, one can find several dozen more. It is not possible here to produce elaborate comments on the merits of the classification presented by Dr. B. K. Nayar in this review. The classification is actually reproduced from the scheme published by the author in Taxon 19:229-236, 1970. While the author has taken a big step forward to suggest a new scheme of classification of homosporous ferns, and presents his views on phylogenetic evolution of different families and subfamilies, he does not support his views by scientific data and methods. The family Cheilanthaceae presented in this new classification is synonymous with Sinopteridaceae Koidzumi and includes all the same genera in the family. In the context of the current state of fern taxonomic problems the author’s attempt at classification hardly makes any constructive contribution. The book is devoid of any production value either. M.A. 202 REVIEWS 6. A GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF THE DELHI AREA. By Usha B. Ganguli. Pp. 314 (17 x 24.5 cm), with 18 coloured plates and 2 monochrome plates, illustrated endpapers, and 7 habitat photographs. New Delhi, 1975. Indian Council of Agriculture. Price Rs. 63.00. On 16th March I received a letter from Dr. B. N. Ganguli informing me of the posthumous publication of his wife’s book and that he would be sending me a complimentary copy. This and the fact that I was partly involved in helping to design a few of the plates and the end-papers will explain how close my contacts with the author had been. It was therefore a delight when I was asked to review the book for the Society by Dr. Salim Ali himself who has written a foreword for the book. As I skimmed through the pages of the book, I was pleased with the general get up. The illus- trations have reproduced well and it was a pleasure to see two promising new bird artists in addition to J. P. Irani who is by now well- known through his illustrations of several of Salim Ali’s books. We can now anticipate some well-illustrated bird books in the coun- try! The seven habitat photographs by Peter Jackson have the stamp of Peter’s excellence. Almost a century of bird notes by various ornithologists form the basis of this handy book. In her accurate — painstakingly so — man- ner Usha has compiled and put between the covers of one book all that is known about the birds of Delhi to date. The book in its precise- ness stands second only to Salim Ali’s works and the gentle lady who endeared herself to so many has fittingly found a place among the ranks of acknowledged ornithological writers. How meticulous her notes are can be ap- preciated when I draw attention to the fact that a casual mention by myself in conversa- tion over tea of having noted Redwhiskered bulbuls in St. Stephen’s College gardens finds mention in the book! While she herself was a competent bird- watcher whose visual records were accepted without reservation, she has always given the fullest credit to all those who provided her in- formation or accompanied her at the time of observation. Her caution in identifying birds is highlighted by the frequent use of the word “possible”, a trait absorbed, no doubt, in her early birdwatching days, a complete novice, in company of such men as Horace Alexander and General H. Williams. The Introduction and the Appendix contain a mine of information of the ornithological Delhi which the Delhi Administration officials are well advised to read so that locations men- tioned may be carefully preserved to make Delhi a unique city where tourists could per- haps “do” the birdwatching locations in the same manner as the monuments! Infact, by comparing the bird population each decade, the effectiveness of town planning could be gauged. This book might well inspire Delhi planners to preserve and enhance the wonder- ful admixture of human and avian habitats which make India’s capital such a unique and charming city to visit. Unfortunately the price is far too stiff for average Indian income, a pity since it is they who will finally decide whether the country’s flora and fauna are to be preserved or not. Even so, it should prove very popular with the tour- ists from abroad. It is a valuable addition to my own collection of bird books, the only re- gret being I cannot get the author’s autograph — Usha is no longer with us. L. J. K. 203 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 7. THE HAMLYN GUIDE TO BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND EUROPE. By Bertel Brunn. Illustrated by Arthur Singer. Pp. 319 (19 x 12 cm), with 137 plates and many others illustrating 516 species. All in colour. 448 distribution maps. London, 1974. Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. Price £ 1.50. Morocco, Algeria and Tunis and the Middle East have the status shown on the map which includes, apart from Iceland, entire European Russia. This brings into purview many species which are not described in the earlier (Mount- fort) guide and a large number of species of Indian interest. A particularly interesting treatment has been the introductory paragraph for each order, and Family, the silhouettes in flight of the family under review with those of the families con- fusable with it. The introductory chapters: How to use this book. Identifying birds, song. Miscellaneous factors in identification. Migration, and study- ing birds are all further assets to the book. A comparative set of drawings showing immature and female buntings further adds to its useful- ness. The only point which reduces the value of this fine book as against the earlier guide is the absence of point indicators which are a copy- right of Roger Peterson. Apart from this here is a book worth possessing. L.J.K. 8. BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND EUROPE WITH NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. By Hermann Heinzel, Richard Fitter and John Patslow. Pp. 336 (19 x 11.5 cm), with 153 plates and many drawings all in colour illus- trating over 1000 birds. 825 distribution maps. London, 1974. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. Price £ 1.50. A third field guide covering the same area i.e. in 1972 had a second edition in 1973 — the Britain and Europe should find few buyers, year of the book under review — and others as- but this compact publication first brought out suredly must have followed. The illustrations A further addition to the already rich bird literature in the English language and on the birds of Europe. The excellence cannot be gainsaid with the illustrations by a man of Arthur Singer’s abilities. Any book to be able to sell easily in Europe after the wonderful A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND Europe by Peterson, Mountfort and Hollom already on book shelfs of ornithologists and lay birdwatchers in this country, has to have the hallmark of quality. That the book under review assuredly has this is indicated by the fact that after its first publication in 1970, re- prints have appeared in 1971, 1972, 1973 and twice in 1974! A unique feature of the book is that rele- vant information, distribution maps and illus- trations appear on a two page spread. Besides the main drawings, smaller drawings show flight patterns, juvenile plumages and other characteristic features to thoroughly cover the salient facts for each species important for field identification. The maps have summer range in pink, winter range in blue and sedentary ranges appearing purple. European birds occurring in N. Africa — 204 REVIEWS are of high standard, as they must if the book is to sell. The two page spread containing all relevant information and distribution maps on one page and illustrations of the opposite page are used — a new and very useful trend in bird books. Immature birds subspecies and other interesting information is provided by smaller illustrations along with the main ones. Notes on each Family and composite groups of birds provide useful information. The distribution maps cover Russia as far east as the Aral Sea, the northern edges of the Sahara bringing into consideration the entire north Africa and to the east Iraq and western Iran. On the west the coverage extends to the edge of NE. Green- land and to the north it takes in the Arctic Ocean. Thus this compact book describes very many more species with a considerable num- ber of Indian ones making the book useful for birdwatchers in India. Distribution is shown in yellow for summer, blue for winter and green for all the year round occurrence. The slight weakness apparent is in the illustrations of shorebirds, the colours are not quite true. Des- pite this slight drawback here is a book to be commended to birdwatchers in India. For Bri- tish birdwatchers an additional set of maps showing status of British birds is provided. L.J.K. 9. BIRD GUIDE OF THAILAND. By Boonsong Lekagul and Edward W. Cronin, Jr. Pp. 271 (19.5 x 13 cm), with 87 coloured plates, 6 black-and-white photographic plates and a map. Bangkok, 1974. Association for the Conser- vation of Wildlife. Price $ 7.50. It is indeed remarkable that a fully illustrated guide should have been produced for a small country like Thailand while in India it is not easy to bring out even major works. The book under review is in its second edition! For the greater part treatment is in the two page spread type and point markers for salient field identification marks are used. The draw- ings though not up to the standard one has come to desire after using the European guides, are surprisingly well drawn and well reprodu- ced. A particularly impressive fact is that they have been all prepared by Dr. Boonsong Lek- agul himself. The distribution maps merely indicate by dots the location where collections have been made. This speaks volumes for the modesty of the authors in frankly stating the exact ex- tent of knowledge regarding the status of indi- vidual species. This quality again reveals itself in the mention made to other important works for nearby countries, namely the reference to the HANDBOOK OF THE BIRDS OF INDIA AND Pakistan by Salim Ali and Ripley. The in- troductory chapter on Thailand provides use- ful information on that fascinating kingdom. Of the 800 species dealt with a large number are of interest to us in India because they are either found all over the subcontinent or are a colourful section of the avifauna of the East- ern Himalayas and the hills on the Indo-Bur- mese border. It is worth noting that every spe- cies has a Thai name. L.J.K. 205 Miscellaneous Notes 1. FAT DEPOSITION IN RAT-TAILED BATS ( RH1NOPOMA SP.) IN RAJASTHAN, INDIA In Rhinopoma, as in some other bats, a remark- able degree of fat deposition occurs season- ally in the posterior part of the abdomen and in the interfemoral membrane. Adults of R. microphyllum (Briinnich) obtained in January (Malarna Dungar, Sawai Madhopur dist., 8-i-75), July (Maroth, Nagaur dist., 17- vii-73) and November (Ransi, Jodhpur dist., 24-xi-72) had heavy fat deposition. The Maroth females (July) were pregnant. Adults obtained in September (Jodhpur, 27-ix-74; Pali, 28-ix-72; Lohargal, Sikar dist., 26-ix-73) were thin and had little fat. Similarly, individuals of R. hard- wickei collected in January (Ajmer, l-i-75), June (Salawas, Jodhpur dist., 26-vi-74) and July (Solyan, Nagaur dist., 17-vii-73) were ex- traordinarily fat, while those obtained in Sep- tember (Lohargal, Sikar dist., 26-ix-73) and November (Kalyanpur, Barmer dist., 19-xi- 72) were thin and with little fat. Females ob- tained in June were pregnant, the single female of July was nursing a young one. In both spe- cies the fatty areas were hairless. Except in the breeding season and in win- ter, fat deposition is negligible. Brosset (1962) 1 concluded in R. hardwickei that the process of fat deposition appears to be a seasonal phe- nomenon and also varies geographically. Thus Desert Regional Station, Zoological Survey of India, Jodhpur, April 3, 1975. examples obtained in Ahmedabad in Novem- ber were very fat while those collected in June were thin. Again the November bats in Ahme- dabad were very fat while those collected at Badami about 1000 km further south were thin. The same phenomenon was also noted by him in T. kachhensis. In Rajasthan examples, specimens obtained by me in January, June and July were very fat, while those obtained in September to No- vember were thin. Thus the seasons for fat de- position seem to vary. The young and subadult do not show fat deposition. According to Bros- set (1962), Rhinopoma species do not hiber- nate in the true sense but I noticed that both R. microphyllum and R. hardwickei obtained in January were very lethargic and did not fly away when disturbed. On the other hand they fell to the ground with a thud when released and remained for few minutes before again flying away. Acknowledgements I am grateful to Dr. M. L. Roonwal for go- ing through the manuscript and for helpful suggestions. I am also thankful to Dr. T. G. Vazirani, Officer-in-Charge of this station for facilities. Y. P. SINHA 1 Brosset, A. (1962): The bats of central and western India. Pt. 1. J. Bombay nat. Hist Soc. 59(1) : 1-57. 206 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 2. BEHAVIOUR OF THE FEMALE OF TAPHOZOUS MELANOPOGON (TEMMINCK) AFTER PARTURITION Taphozous melanopogon lives in colonies of about 100 to 500 specimens. The species is common in and around Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, and inhabits old temples and caves. While studying the breeding habits and as- sociated phenomena in this species, some in- teresting observations were made regarding the behaviour of the female trying to recover its accidentally separated young. Taphozous melanopogon (Khaparde in press ) breeds once a year in a restricted period, bringing forth a single young during each cycle. The embryo is borne in the right cornu of the uterus. Pregnancy commences from about the third week of January. Parturi- tion occurs between the 20th of May and 10th of June. Out of seven females collected on 2-vi-1974 from an old temple at Bhubaneswar three had delivered each carrying a single young attach- ed to the breast, while four others were at an advanced stage of pregnancy. The specimens were caught by a large butterfly net attached to a bamboo. The specimens were then trans- ferred into small collection bags. While keep- ing the specimens in the collection bags, one of the females with a newly born young attach- ed to the breast escaped and attached herself to the wall of the temple. The young lost its hold on the mother, and fell on an adjacent projection on the wall of the temple. The young made chirping noise, which the mother ans- wered similarly and moved towards and around the young to recover it. The young one could not get hold of the mother inspite of the various attempts made by the mother to recover it. Another female which was also carrying a newly born young attached to the breast was released by me to observe if it would help the previous female in any way. The second female remained attached for sometime to the wall of the temple at a close distance from the first female. Then it flew into the temple. After sometime the first female which had lost her young also flew into the temple. The young bat was collected and preserved in 10 per cent formalin. Gopalakrishna & Madhavan (1971) while studying parturition in Pipistrellus ceylonicus chrysothrix stated that, “In a few cases freshly delivered young had accidently dropped from their mothers, sometimes with the umbilical cord and the placenta attached. The mothers do not make any attempts to recover such young.” Similar observations were made by Anand Kumar (1965) about Rhinopoma kinneari, in which he observed that, the mothers do not retrieve the young if they fall to the floor dur- ing parturition. Observations of Gopalakrishna & Madhavan (1971) and of Anand Kumar (1965) are of females which lost their young during parturi- tion, whereas the present observations on Taphozous melanopogon concern a female which had already delivered before it was caught. The above observations on Taphozous mel- anopogon show that the mother does makes efforts to recover the separated young if it is nearby and calls. Acknowledgements I am thankful to the Principal, Regional College of Education, Bhubaneswar, for pro- viding facilities during the progress of this work. 207 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 This paper is the outcome of the UGC grant project. I am grateful to the UGC authorities No. F/6/6(3440)73/SF-l, given for another for financial help. Department of Zoology, M. S. KHAPARDE Regional College of Education, Bhubaneswar 7 (Orissa), April 8, 1975. References Anand Kumar, T. (1965) : Reproduction in the rat-tailed bat, Rhino poma kinneari. Jour. Zool. Lon- don, 147 : 147-155. Gopalakrishna, A. & Madhavan, A. (1971): Parturition in the Indian vespertilionid bat, Pipistrel- lus ceylonicus chrysothrix. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 68: 666-670. Khaparde, M. S. (1975) : Notes on breeding habits in the Indian sheath-tailed bat, Taphozous melano- pogon (Temminck). ibid, (in press). 3. A NOTE ON THE BREEDING BENGALENSIS) The mating of a pair of Indian Fox ( Vulpes bengalensis ) was observed twice on 7-ii-75 and once on 8-ii-75 at Nandankanan Biological Park, Orissa. They mated just like domestic dogs and remained tied for several minutes. During copulation either they remained stand- ing or the female moved pulling the tied male along. This female gave birth to four female cubs on 30-iii-75 after an observed gestation period of 50-51 days. The young measured 18.5 cm to 19 cm including the tail length of 5.5 cm to 6 cm and weighed 52 to 65 gm. The Veterinary Asstt. Surgeon, Nandankanan Biological Park, P.O. Barang, Dist. Cuttack. Wild Life Conservation Officer, Old Secretariat Buildings, Cuttack 1 (Orissa), April 25, 1975. R EF E i Asdell, S. A. (1964) : Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction, Second Edition. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, pp. 440. OF THE INDIAN FOX ( VULPES IN CAPTIVITY eyes of all the four cubs were closed at birth. As the mother rejected the young, all the young died within 24 hours of birth. The female weighed 2.4 kg and the male 2.6 kg on l-iv-75. This species mates from November to Janu- ary and has 4 young, born from February to April (Asdell 1964). According to Prater (1971) the main breeding season is cold weat- her, cubs usually four in number are born bet- ween February and April and the period of gestation is about 51-53 days in the fox. 1 L. N. ACHARJYO R. MISRA : ' EN CES Prater, S. H. (1971): The Book of Indian Ani-i mals, Third (Revised) Edition, Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay, pp. 123-130. 208 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 4. A NOTE ON A POPULATION OF GAZELLA GAZELLA BENNETTI Although various species of gazelle have been studied in Africa and Russia (Heptner et al. 1966; Walther 1968), the chinkara or Indian gazelle has so far received little attention, the accounts by Stockley (1936) and Prater (1965) being typical of the available information. Bet- ween October 1970 and October 1974, I spent about 3 months observing Punjab urial ( Ovis orientalis punjabiensis ) in the Kalabhag Re- serve at the western end of the Salt Range in Pakistan (see Schaller & Mirza 1974). While searching for urial along the base and the foot- hills of the range, chinkara were sometimes encountered. Intermittent hunting has made the animals so shy that they were difficult to observe. On seeing a person the gazelle either gave a series of snorts and then spronked away in their peculiar bounding gait, or they watch- ed the approach silently and alertly while par- tially hidden behind grass or brush. During the heat of the day, which often exceeded 40 °C, chinkara retreated into dense cover from about 0900 to after 1600 hours. Thus, in most inst- ances I merely classified each animal into one of several categories: adult male (24+ mos), yearling male (12-24 mos), female (12+ mos), large young (6-12 mos), and small young (0-6 mos). Males were considered adult when their horns had the typical S shape and were some 25-35 cm long. (One adult male had horns of 28 cm, a total length of 124.5 cm, tail of 14.5 cm, ears of 14.5 cm, shoulder height of 67.6 cm, and weight of 23.4 kg). Yearling and adult females could not always be distinguished with precision and the two age classes were there- fore lumped. About 75 to 100 chinkara frequented some 7.5 sq km of flat to undulating terrain broken by stony ravines and covered sparsely with Acacia modesta, Salvador a oleioides, Zizyphus nummularia and other shrubs and trees cha- racteristic of an environment with an annual precipitation of about 40 cm, most of it from July to September. However, gazelle habitat extends in all directions, and animals could wander freely into and out of the study area. A total of 601 gazelle were classified, some re- peatedly in the course of the study. The popul- ation tally included 22 per cent adult males, 3 per cent yearling males, 61 per cent females, 10 per cent large young, and 4 per cent small young. There were 40 males to 100 females. This low proportion of males is caused not only by selective sport hunting but probably also by the emigration of yearling males from the study area. Young animals were surpris- ingly scarce, 23 young to 100 females. How- ever, the non-breeding yearling females are in- cluded in this computation. I saw no evidence that one-year-old females took part in the rut. It seems likely that young females conceive at about 18 months of age and have their first young some 5^ months later. Though preda- tors are rare, a few newborns are no doubt killed by village dogs, foxes, jackals, and rap- torial birds. Prater (1965) stated with regard to chinkara that “they have no particular bree- ding season.” Heavily pregnant females and newborn young were most often seen in April at Kalabagh. I also found a newborn, still damp and crouched motionless among tufts of grass, on October 19, another on November 3, and also saw several tiny youngsters following their mothers during these two months. The evid- ence indicates that these chinkara have a dis- crete major birth peak in April and a minor one in the autumn. One young per adult fe- male per year seems to be the rule; however, on two occasions a female had two young of the same age at heel. 209 4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 According to Stockley (1936), herd size in chinkara ranges from 2 to about 10 with 23 being the largest herd he recorded. Of the ani- mals at Kalabagh, 29 per cent were alone, 28 per cent in groups of 2, 13 per cent in groups of 3, 10 per cent in groups of 4, 5 per cent in groups of 5, 10 per cent in groups of 6 to 10, and 5 per cent in groups of 11 to 14. One group, observed outside the study area, com- prised 25 individuals, among them 4 adult males and 2 yearling males. Average group size including solitary animals was 1.9, and excluding them 3.0. The basic social unit is a female and her offspring, an association that may persist for at least 12 months, until she has another young. Several females and young often joined, as did several males on occasion. An adult male and female were seen together 27 times, half of the instances during the main rut in autumn. Herd structure changes some- what with the seasons, as these figures for soli- tary animals show: Month % females alone (or with a young) % adult male alone April 34 72 July 23 53 Oct.-Nov. 39 43 Dec. 24 30 The differences are in part related to the breed- ing cycle. Adult male chinkara are often terri- torial, as are males of all gazelle species (Wal- ther 1968), in that they may remain for long periods on a small plot of ground from which they chase other males but attempt to retain visiting females. In April, when few females come into oestrus, males tend to be alone on their territories, whereas in October-November they have often been joined by females. Fe- males were most often alone during months when they gave birth and when herds disband- ed prior to rutting. A major reorganization of chinkara society occurred in December when many males left their territories and females congregated. Clusters of 10 to 20 chinkara, the animals close to each other but not necessarily in a discrete herd, were commonly seen. The behaviour of males on their territories and when courting is much like that of Thom- son’s gazelle, Gazella thomsonii ( see Estes 1967; Walther 1968). Each territory seems to be 200 m or more in diameter and is demarcated by several fecal stations which the male uses repeatedly. On visiting a fecal pile, the male typically sniffs it, paws a few times a foreleg, then stands erect with his legs extended for- ward and back as he urinates, and finally squats deeply and defecates. I have often seen Thomson’s gazelle mark grass stalks with the black secretions from their pre-orbital glands. This behaviour was not observed in chinkara, but the musky- smelling black fluid in their glands is no doubt used for such marking too. When approaching an oestrus female, the male may walk in a slightly crouched position with muzzle stretched forward or somewhat raised. If she flees, he may chase her, grunting. Some- times he stands motionless behind her, nose stretched high in a head- up display, until she runs away, he in close pursuit as they circle bushes and patches of grass, their tails flick- ing. One male lightly kicked a female with a stiff foreleg between the hind legs, a common courtship gesture among antelopes. Attempted mounting were seen on two occasions. On one of these, a male mounted briefly 47 times in 8 minutes but without success as the female continued to trot slowly. Out of 8 instances of courtship behaviour observed, 7 occured in October-November and one in April. The work was financed by the New York Zoological Society and National Geographic Society, and it was sponsored locally by World 210 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Wildlife Fund-Pakistan. I am greatly indebted to Malik Muzaffar Khan, the Nawab of Kala- New York Zoological Society, Bronx Park, New York, July 7, 1975. Refer Estes, R. (1967) : The comparative behaviour of Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles. J. Mammal. 48(2) : 189-209. Heptner, V., Nasimovic, A. & Bannikov, A. (1966) : Die Saugetiere der Sowjetunion. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena. Prater, S. (1965) : The Book of Indian Animals. Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay. bagh, for permission to observe wildlife in his reserve. GEORGE B. SCHALLER E N CE S Schaller, G. & Mirza, Z. (1974): On the beha- viour of Punjab urial. pp. 306-323. In: The beha- viour of ungulates and its relation to management, V. Geist and F. Walther, eds. IUCN, Morges. Stockley, C. (1936) : Stalking in the Himalayas and Northern India. H. Jenkins, London. Walther, F. (1968) : Verhalten der Gazellen. A Ziemsen Verlag, Wittenberg. 5. THE DUGONG DUGONG DUGON (SIRENIA) AT BAHRAIN, PERSIAN (ARABIAN) GULF The Dugong Dugong dugon is listed by the In- ternational Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as an endan- gered species. With the formation of the Sire- nia Specialist Group of the Survival Service Commission of the IUCN (Bertram 1974) further emphasis has been given to the general concern felt for the future of the dugongs and manatees, and to the need for more informa- tion on which to base protective measures. GCL & CKR Bertram (1973) review the present state of knowledge of this group of aquatic herbivores and they mention my col- lection of skulls of D. dugon from the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. This note is to place on re- cord some details of this collection, which is now deposited in the British Museum (Natural History), London. The 30 small islands of Bahrain lie in the Gulf of Bahrain at the entrance to the Gulf of Salwa, midway along the southern coast of the Gulf at 26°02'N. 50°32'E. They form part of a narrow, uplifted structural feature, known as the Bahrain Ridge, over which the water depth is less than 9 metres. Apart from rocky reefs, the sea bed around Bahrain and in the Gulf of Salwa consists of sands or muddy sands (Purser 1973). Short sea grasses, available to the Dugong as food (listed by Newton 1965), are quite abundant, though patchy; they are more common on the sheltered east side of Bahrain, particularly near the flume, or outlet of cooling water, of the BAPCO oil refinery at Sitra. My observations are of animals cast up dead on the shores of Bahrain Island in 1969, 1970 and 1971, and of remains found there and on Howar Island, 13 miles to the south-east. The cause of death was never apparent, but may include drowning in fish traps and nets, inges- tion of oil, concussion from sub-marine seis- mic surveys (such as those carried out in 1971) and natural causes, particularly during the coldest months of January and February. 211 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 The animal is known to some Bahrainis as Baqarat al Bahr (sea cow)s and to some others as Baqara seit, but for the only reports of live animals I am indebted to the late Mrs Anne Khalifa and to Mr. J. H. Clingly, who have observed single specimens as recently as 1974 off the east coast of Bahrain Island, swimming and surfacing ‘dike a slow dolphin”; and to Mr R. Pickersgill, who once saw one raise its head and shoulders above the surface. From this evidence and the list of specimens which follows, one may conclude that a small popul- ation continues to survive in the Gulf of Bah- rain. I am grateful to Dr G C L Bertram for criticising a draft of this note. C/o Lloyds Bank Ltd., 6 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5 NH, June 23, 1975. Refer Anon: The Red Data Book. IUCN. Bertram, G. C. L. & C. K. Ricardo, (1973) : The modern Sirenia: their distribution and status. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 5(4) : 297-338. Bertram, G. C. L. (1974): Conservation of Sire- nia— Current status and perspectives for action. Oc- casional paper No. 12. IUCN. Skulls of D. dugon found at Bahrain 14 Apr 1969 $ E. coast, near Askar. 27 Apr 1969 $ Ras al Bahr. 1969 o? Ras al Bahr. 29 Apr 1970 $ E. coast, near Durr. 29 Apr 1970 5 E. coast, near Durr. 22 Feb 1970 o? Ras al Bahr. 10 Feb 1971 $ E. coast, near Ras al Qarain A skull from the remains of an animal dead about 3 months. An old skull. An old skull. Skull from a carcase, length c. 7 ft, reported dead 22 February 1970. With the $ above; length 9-10 ft. An old skull. Whole head [in deep freeze in the BM (NH)] from a freshly dead, fully fed animal, length 83 inches. M. D. GALLAGHER ENCES Newton, L. M. (1955): The marine algae of Bahrain, and the marine algae of Kuwait. In Dick- son, V. The wild flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain. Allen & Unwin, London. Purser, B. H. (1973): Ed. The Persian Gulf. Berlin, Heidelberg & New York: Springer. 6. THE OCCURRENCE OF RUSSIAN-RINGED LARGE CORMORANTS [PHALACROCORAX CARBO In the afternoon of 15th January 1975, I was out rowing at the Boat Club at Calcutta. Hun- dreds of Little Cormorants [Phalacrocorax niger (Viellot)] were settled on the trees on the island in the centre and as we approached it, four Large Cormorants [P. car- bo sinensis (Shaw)] were seen perched high up. An examination through glasses, revealed that one of them carried a ring on its leg, the SINENSIS (SHAW)] IN INDIA I I ends of which were not folded over each other as is usual, but projected behind like a spur, as illustrated on the cover of current numbers of The Ring. Inquiry at the Bombay Natural History So- ciety failed to reveal any evidence of such rings having been used in India, but there was one record of a Large Cormorant ringed near Alma- Ata 43° 15'N., 76° 57'E. Khazakhastan, U.S.- ■i 212 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES S.R. on 30th May, 1973 being recovered in Gharuan village, Ropar District, Punjab. The original correspondence is not traceable and it is not possible to determine what kind of ring was obtained. A letter to Dr. W. Rydzewski, Editor of The Ring, Laboratory of Ornithology, Wro- claw, Poland, was passed on to Dr. E. Gavri- lov, Institute of Zoology, Alma-Ata, who con- firms that rings with such fasteners have been used in Khazakhastan, and that eight recoveries from or near (1) Ghaziabad, (2) Sagar Lake, Faiz & Co., 75, Abdul Rehman Street, Bombay 400 003, April 22, 1975. Jodhpur, (3) Udaipur, (4) Gorakhpur, (5) Delhi, (6) Agra, (7) Dimna Lake, Jamshed- pur, and (8) Sachors (?) Dist, Bihar, have been reported to the Ringing Centre at Mos- cow. A paper on the migrations of Ph. car bo in Kazakhastan, has, I am told, been completed and will be published next year. Birdwatchers and sportsmen in India may well keep a look- out for additional specimens, in which through binoculars, the ring is very prominent in birds perched out of water. HUMAYUN ABDULALI 7. SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE EGGS OF THE GREAT WHITE- BELLIED HERON, ARDEA INSIGNIS The Great Whitebellied Heron Ardea insignis Flume (ex Hodgson) is a little known species occurring in swamps, marshes and forests from Nepal through Sikkim, Bhutan and N.E. Assam to Bangladesh, Arakan and North Burma. Only four eggs appear ever to have been taken, all of these being in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History). They all came originally from the Stuart Baker Collection, but one egg was apparently given by Baker to J. Davidson and reached us with the latter’s collection. The eggs are two and two, two from Sikkim and two from Arakan, the Sikkim eggs being markedly smaller than the others, and for this reason were not accepted as genuine by Baker; they do not appear in the manu- script catalogue of Baker’s collection, and it was one of these two which Baker gave to Davidson. These two were addled eggs taken from two separate heron’s nests each of which also contained two chicks (Baker 1929), which fact might explain their small size. The Arakan eggs were two from a set of four and were on the point of hatching. One egg (the larger) is partially broken and filled up with wax. They were collected by a Mr W. S. Thom and given to J. C. Hopwood who passed them to Baker. It is not recorded what became of the other two eggs in the clutch. The measurements of the eggs are as follows: Sikkim eggs: 63.0 x 42.9 and 63.1 x 41.65 Arakan eggs: 69.0 x 49.7 and 72.2 x 50.9 It would be unusual, but by no means impos- sible for the two pairs of eggs collected to have come from the extremes of the species’ nor- mal size range. To ascertain what range might be expected I compared the eggs of A. insignis with the normal range for Ardea cinerea , as given by Witherby et al. (1940). The range for A. cinerea is 53.5-66.7 and 40.0-49.7. It will 213 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 be seen therefore that the difference in size of the two lots of eggs of A. insignis is no gre- ater than the normal range of A. drier ea and therefore the size difference is not, in itself, a valid reason for rejecting the Sikkim eggs. No other large heron is known to breed in Sikkim. Salim Ali (1962) lists only one pos- British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, S.W.7, January 30, 1975. R E F E ] Ali, Salim (1962): Birds of Sikkim. Oxford. Baker, E. C. S. (1929) : Fauna of British India, Vol. VI, London, pp. 342-343. sibility, Ardea goliath, which may occur as a vagrant, but is not recorded as breeding any- where within the Indian sub-continent. There- fore, if the Sikkim eggs of Baker’s are not the eggs of Ardea insignis they are the eggs of some other species of heron hitherto unrecord- ed from Sikkim. MICHAEL WALTERS EN CES WlTHERBY, H. F., JOURDAIN, F. C. R., TlCEHURST, N. F. & Tucker, B. W. (1940) : The Handbook of British Birds. Vol. Ill, p. 129. 8. PEACOCKS AND COBRA A common belief is that peacocks and snakes are mortal enemies. How far the peafowl is dangerous to large snakes may be a moot point but instances of sighting of snakes and peafowl engaged in mock fights are not uncommon. One evening sitting behind a bush at the Forest Plantation of Acacia arabica near our College, I and some of my friends watched a flock of peafowl drinking water from a puddle on the fringe of the forest. Abruptly one pea- cock looked up at a nearby tree and started moving watchfully towards the tree. We soon saw a large cobra descending from the tree. As soon as the cobra landed on the broken black soil two peacocks ‘escorted’ it on either Ayyanadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi, January 30, 1975. side. The snake made its way passively but the peacocks occasionally pecked at the cobra gently and to this the reptile responded by raising its hood. The peacocks were wary, and whenever the cobra raised its hood they stood alert with raised hackles. As the cobra started gliding, the peacocks pecked at it and always the cobra reacted. The birds did not attempt to kill the snake, they just teased it. This behaviour continued nearly for a hund- red feet but nearing a thorny bush the snake vanished into a hole and the peacocks return- ed to their harems. A. J. T. JOHNSINGH 214 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 9. THE ROOSTING HABITS OF GREEN BEE-EATER, MEROPS ORIENT ALIS ORIENT ALIS LATHAM Green bee-eater, a little insectivorous bird is found all over the open cultivated plains in India, except in Eastern Assam (Salim Ali & Ripley 1970). 1 This bird is seen throughout the year in Poona, roosting communally on different green foliage trees. Fourteen such roosting sites were observed in and around Poona. One particular roosting site was select- ed for intensive observations on pre-roosting and post-roosting behaviour, timing, display flights, population counts and feeding habits. These birds arrive in pairs or small hetero- genous flocks at the roosting place; their time of arrival is normally associated with sunset. Those birds which reach before sunset show pre-roosting behaviour around the roosting place. For instance some birds from pre-roost- ing perches make flights high into the sky in groups calling and then suddenly all return to the perches. The birds arriving after sunset go directly to the roost. The time of arrival of the birds is early during cloudy days than on clear days. The time taken for assemblage during cloudy days is also more (30-45 minu- tes) than on clear days (15-20 minutes). At roosting time a typical high pitched warning signal is given by the birds in case of danger from intruders (Black Drongo, Cuckoo, Crows or birds of prey) when all the birds fly off and return to the roost only when they are sure that the intruder has left the site. In a few in- Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona 411005, June 12, 1975. stances the birds were seen in large numbers to chase away the intruder. Sometimes when the roost is disturbed, some birds of the main roost form another roost and in the morning they rejoin the original roost. The roosting site is shifted if repeated disturbance occurs, and in due course they return if the disturbances stop. The birds do not favour mixed roosting with any other bird. In the morning about 30 minutes before sun- rise, the birds start dispersing from the roost and leave in batches of 5-30 birds. On cloudy, rainy or winter mornings the dispersal is de- layed. The number of roosting birds vary, in general it increases towards the winter. The food of the birds consists of fast flying insects, caught by darting after the prey. The prey is either battered against the perch or crushed in the beaks moving the head in circular fashion and swallowed. Feeding activity is less during noon time when they rest on trees. Towards evening the feeding in- creases till the bird goes to the roost. They normally feed in an area about 2 km in radius of the roosting place. The Bee-eater is occa- sionally seen on the back of buffaloes in the company of cattle egrets feeding on the in- sects around. However, if a Black Drongo happens to be around it chases away the smal- ler bee-eater. D. B. BASTAWDE 1 Salim Ali, & Ripley, S. Dillon (1970): Hand- book of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Vol. 4. Oxford University Press, Bombay. 215 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 10. WESTERNMOST RECORD OF THE GREAT SLATY WOODPECKER MU LLERIPIC U S PULVERULENTUS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH This fine and distinctive woodpecker is stated to be found in the Himalayan foothills from Kumaon c. 79° E through Nepal to Sikkim and Bhutan (p. 206, Vol. 4 of handbook). In 1950 I had the good fortune of staying for a considerable time in Simla and I have done the hills around that hill station more thorough- ly than possibly any one else could hope to. The northern slopes of Jakho Hill (c. 77°E) above the circular cart road is covered with very dense stands of Rhododendron arboreum, and there was a lot of undergrowth. Quietly walking through this forest, pausing every now and then to locate birds busy with their various activities, I noticed a large woodpecker alight- ing at the base of a tree. The bird was not more than fifteen feet from where I stood and seemed totally oblivious of my presence. I was able to watch it through my field glasses for more than half an hour! It first hunted around C/o. World Wildlife Fund, Hornbill House, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023, January 10, 1975. the tree trunk and then slipped down onto the ground and began to feed on ants giving me excellent views of it from all sides as it busily and with great concentration fed on the insects. What struck me was the large size, the distin- ctive slaty grey colour and crimson moustache stripes which later sexed my bird as a male. All the while that the bird performed for my benefit, it remained silent. Finally he flew down the mountain and I went my quiet way up. So clear and distinctive this view had been that even today I can visualise the bird and the reason why I did not write earlier about its westward range extension was the fact that I identified my bird from the same illustrations with Shivrajkumar and it never occurred to me that the bird was not found all along the Him- alayas. I saw the bird in June and at an altitude a little above 7,000'. LAVKUMAR J. KHACHER 11. THE GREYHEADED MYNA NESTING IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS In 1970, when studying breeding biology of the Flouse Sparrow Passer domesticus Linnaeus for my M.Sc. dissertation, I saw five pairs of the Greyheaded Myna Sturnus malabaricus (Gmelin) building their nests inside ventilator holes of a residential hostel of the University of Dacca, situated in the heart of Dacca city (Bangladesh). The nests of the Greyheaded Myna were found only in the ground floor holes of the three storied structure. There were 53 such holes, and of these, 5 were occupied by the Greyheaded Myna, one by the Common Myna Acridotheres tristis tristis (Linnaeus) and the remaining ones by the House Sparrow. The holes were located at a height of about 5 metres (15 ft). In March 1970, the Greyheaded Mynas sometimes fought with the House Spar- rows over holes which were already under 216 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES possession of the latter. The Greyheaded Myna also frequently entered the nest holes of the House Sparrows. This occasionally led to fights between the sparrows and the mynas in the bid of the sparrows to save their nests. The Greyheaded Mynas nested and brought up Research Scholar, Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Si-iahid Bhagat Singh Rd., Bombay 400 023, India, January 20, 1975. young during April-May, 1970. In the year 1972 three nests were found in the same habitat. The handbook 5 [Ali & Ripley (1972)] does not mention residential buildings as a nesting site of the Greyheaded Myna. MD. ALI REZA KHAN 12. THE BANK MYNA ( ACRIDOTHERES GIN GIN JANUS) IN BOMBAY The first breeding record of the Bank Myna ( Acridotheres ginginianus) for Bandra, Bom- bay suburb, was published in this Journal, 57(3) : 736, in 1953. Since then these Mynas were breeding in the same disused old well every year regularly between March and August till 1972. The number of birds remain- ed between three or four pairs and ten pairs at the maximum. Due to the construction of a huge multi-storeyed building over the well, the birds were forced to leave the nesting site in 1973 and their whereabouts since are un- 174 Kasba Peth, Poona 411011, March 17, 1975. known. The persistence of this small breeding colony over the past twenty years, and only at this one particular place in Bombay, seems a most interesting and remarkable circum- stance, worthy of putting on record. More recent information concerning the oc- currence or breeding of this species in Greater Bombay or its outskirts since 1972 would be welcome. This locality is stated to be the south- ernmost limit of the birds range in W. India. (IND. HANDBOOK, Vol. 5:181). V. C. AMBEDKAR 13. OCCURRENCE OF ABBOTT’S BABBLER, T RICH AST OMA ABBOTTI (BLYTH) IN ORISSA While working out a collection of birds from Orissa present in the Zoological Survey of India, I found a male specimen of the Abbott’s Babbler, Trichastoma abbotti (Blyth) (Mus- cicapidae: Timalinae), collected on 24 January 1974 from Balugaon, Puri district, Orissa, by Dr. V. C. Agrawal. Its measurements (in mm) are — wing 74, bill from skull 22, tail 48. 217 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Standard literature on Indian avifauna like ample, therefore, serves as the first record of Baker (1922), Ali & Ripley (1971) does not its occurrence in Orissa, include Orissa in its range. The present ex- J. M. DASGUPTA f References Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. (1971) : Handbook of the University Press, Bombay. Birds of India and Pakistan, together with those of Baker, E. C. S. (1922) : Fauna of British India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon. 6:128. Oxford Birds. 1: 260. Taylor & Francis, London. 14. FAECAL FEEDING IN THE WHITEHEADED BABBLER TURDOIDES AFFINIS (JERDON) Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta 13, April 6, 1975. The Whiteheaded Babbler breeds in the cam- pus of the Madras Christian College, Tam- baram, Tamil Nadu, during the months of September-October as reported by Sanjeevaraj (1964). The condition and behaviour of the hatched out chicks in this species is typical of the birds categorised as altricial. The object of the present note is to draw attention to the re- port of the observation, made perhaps for the first time, of a particular behaviour during chick rearing in this species, and to offer a new line of reasoning of its significance. Observing a nest of the Whiteheaded Babbler through binoculars, it was noticed that the adult bird which fed the young, picked the faecal sac as it was being extruded by the chick and swallowed it before leaving the nest on another trip for food. The faecal sacs were oblong in Curator, Madras Christian College, Tambaram, Madras 600 059, March 14, 1975. shape and in colour, whitish for the most part, with a black end that came out last. This and other observations were reported by me (Jeya- singh 1975) in a detailed article published else- where. Lanyon (1964) states that such eating of the faecal sacs in some of the altricial birds such as the Jay and the Canary is to provide for nest sanitation. However, an alternate line of reason- ing seems more probable. The faecal matter of the chicks of such altricial birds probably con- tains some nutrients that are needed by the adult. Hence, this kind of faecal feeding may have more to do with the nutritional physiology of the bird than to its sense of sanitation. Fur- ther work to check on this line of reasoning is in progress. D. E. J. JEYASINGH 218 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES References Jeyasingh, D. E. P. (1957): Some observations on chick rearing in the Whiteheaded Babbler ( Turdoides affinis). Newsletter for Birdwatchers XV (1) :5-7. Lanyon, W. E. (1964) : Biology of Birds, Thomas Nelson (printers) Ltd., London and Edin- burgh, p. 134. Sanjeevaraj, P. J. (1964): Communal breeding in the Whiteheaded Babbler [ Turdoides affinis (Jerdon)] in Tambaram, Madras State. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 67:181-183. 15. ON A NESTING PAIR OF TAILOR BIRDS ( ORTHOTOMUS SUTORIUS) On 1 1-vii- 1973 a newly started nest of the Tailor Bird was found in my backyard in Tri- vandrum, Kerala State. It was completed on 15-vii. The first egg was laid on 17-vii, and two more eggs, laid at twentyfour-hour inter- vals, completed the clutch. One of the eggs hatched on 3 1-vii before 0658 hrs, another some time between then and 1410 hrs on the same day, and the third some time before 1400 hrs on 1-viii. All three nestlings left the nest on 13-viii, one by one, at 0655, 0805, and 0815 hrs. Assisted by two of my grown-up children, I watched the nest for a total period of 128 hours through doors and windows 1.5 to 3 metres away. On 6 days (2 1-vii, 3 1-vii, 3-viii, 6-viii, 10-viii and 12-viii) a dawn-to-dusk watch was maintained. Details of behaviour were noted down on the spot. Some of the more interesting observations are given below1: 1 . Although the male was seen carrying a few down-feathers towards the nest, once on 10-vii- and once on 12-vii, only the fe- male was seen at work on the nest. On no other occasion was the male found bringing nest material. The discovery of the nest was due to the fact that at 0930 hrs on 10-vii the male was seen offering 1 Details of nest-structure will be dealt with in another note. a few tiny, white down-feathers to the female who was behaving like a juvenile begging for food. Instead of putting the feathers into her mouth, the male flew down towards the nest. No other incident suggestive of courtship-feeding was noted. 2. During nest construction most of the work was done between 0730 and 0900 and again from 1530 to 1630 hours. 3. On 16-vii (the day before the laying of the first egg) no bird was seen near the nest at any time. 4. After laying the first egg the female never visited the nest on that day. 5. The second egg was laid between 0635 and 0638 hrs on 18-vii. The nest and eggs were left alone till 1840 when, for the first time, the female came to sleep in the nest. 6. The male took no part in incubation, nor did he ever feed the incubating female. 7. The period between the laying of the first egg and the hatching of the first nestling was 14 days (c. 336 hours); that between the commencement of incubation (presum- ing that incubation started at 1840 hrs on 18-vii when the female settled down in the nest for the night) and the hatching of the first chick was 12.5 days (c. 300 hours). However, the way the female was sitting suggested that the two eggs then in the 219 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 nest need not have been in contact with her body. She was sitting high up in the nest, rather like a lid, and had not pressed herself down as was her practice on subse- quent nights. Regular incubation definitely began in the morning on 19-vii. 8. During the incubation period, periods of incubation and of absence from the nest more or less balanced each other. The dawn-to-dusk observations of 29-vii show- ed that: (a) between 0635 and 1750 hrs the female brooded 25 times (average duration 13.68 mins). (b) between 1200 and 1300 hrs periods of incubation and absence were both very brief (maximum in both cases 6 mins). (c) between 0635 and 1138 hrs the aver- age duration of incubation was 15.5 mins, and of absence 16.5 mins; bet- ween 1306 and 1750 hrs these were 18.2 and 13.1 mins respectively. 9 . The female brooded the nestlings frequent- ly in the day-time during the first four days after hatching. The last instance of diurnal brooding was of 16 minutes’ dur- ation (1740 to 1756 hrs on 3-viii), but she continued to sleep in the nest for 5 more days. 10. The female spent the night in the nest on 22 days, 9 of which were after the eggs had hatched. 1 1 . Both male and female began feeding the young regularly soon after the first egg hatched. On the first day, however, it was the female who did most of the feeding. On the whole, male and female shared the task of feeding equally. The average number of feeding trips, based on the ob- servations of 90 hours, are: male 6.34 times, and female 6.88 times per hour. 12. Between 2-viii and 1 3-viii, on 8 days the longest interval between 2 feeds occurred in the afternoons; on 5 days it fell between 1700 and 1800 hrs. On the last two after- noons (11-viii and 1 2-viii) it was between 1420 and 1500 hrs. 13. Feeding frequency increased with the age of the nestlings. From 113 times on 3-viii, it rose to 233 times on 2-viii. 14. Only twice or thrice were the parents seen consuming the food brought for the nest- lings. This was always in a context of dis- turbance by human presence. More often, however, even when people were present, the parents would wait till the coast was clear or, overcome by the feeding urge, go and feed the young. On 1 2-viii and 1 3-viii the male was the first to come and feed the chicks in the morning (at 0614 and 0621 hrs respectively). The first feed of the day did not involve any special display. 15. Both parents attended to nest sanitation; but the male was seen carrying away faecal sacs more often. There was no rhythm or pattern in the voiding of faecal sacs. At times a number of visits would pass with- out the appearance of a sac, while some- times parents would be removing a sac on each of two or three consecutive visits. 16. Although male and female had favourite routes to and fro, when transporting faecal sacs they flew off in many different direc- tions. This should have helped distribute the conspicuous white globules over a wide area, preventing a clear trail from deve- loping and so guiding a predator to the nest. 17. What the parents did with the faecal sacs could not be discovered. Just once an adult was seen thrusting a faecal sac into the gap between two roof-tiles about 10 metres 220 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES away from the nest. 18. The adults never indulge in any sort of distraction display. 19. The behaviour of this breeding pair sug- gested that they had little territorial sense. 20. Nine minutes after the last of the 3 nestlings had left the nest, the female came to the nest with a small grasshopper. After looking many times at the nest, she flew off still carrying the insect. Three minutes later she came again with food, alighted on a plant 1 metre away, looked at the nest and flew off. At 0939 hrs she came once again with food, alighted close to the nest and soon flew off. 21 . The nestlings were quite silent as a rule till the day they left the nest. But on 4-viii one uttered a feeble cheep-cheep when the parent was leaving after a feeding trip. The next time a chick was heard calling was at 0614 hrs on 13-viii, when one had slipped through an opening at the back of the nest and was clinging on the out- side. It uttered a low chweek. Then, at 0620, for the first time a chick was heard responding to an adult’s call with a low chweee. 22. One of the most surprising and exciting incidents occurred on 7-viii. I happened to press the nest at a point 4 or 5 cm be- low the rim of the nest-cup. At once there University College, Trivandrum, July 17, 1975. came a loud, frighteningg rasping hiss from within the nest. When other parts of the nest above and below this point were pressed no such response was elicited. But every time pressure was applied to this part of the nest, the young (only one at a time apparently) hissed. 23. This pair of Tailor Birds did not subject their fledglings to a ‘hunger period’ in order to induce them to leave the nest. Only the last of the fledglings to leave the nest had to be lured out of the nest by the offer of food from a distance. 24. Even after the first fledgling had left the nest, the parents continued to feed the remaining two for more than an hour with- out any appreciable change in the fre- quency of feeding. 25. The nest was not used by the juveniles as a roost after they had flown. 26. The behaviour of this pair of Tailor Birds differed from the account given in the handbook (1973) in that: (a) incubation was solely by the female; (b) the male was never seen feeding the incubating female; (c) the nestlings were practically silent till the day of their first flight. I am grateful to Dr Salim Ali for going through an earlier, over-elaborate draft and offering valuable suggestions and advice. K. K. NEELAKANTAN Reference Ali, Salim & Ripley, S. D. (1973): Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Vol. 8, Oxford University Press, Bombay. 221 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 73 16. WESTERNMOST RECORD OF THE BLACKFACED FLYCATCHER WARBLER ABROSCOPUS SCHISTICEPS IN GHARWAL During a pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badri- nath, Shivrajkumar and myself did a consider- able amount of birdwatching along the pilgrim track. Between Gupta Kashi and Kedarnath (c. 79°E) the walk is through very pleasing country and a day’s walk can reveal a number of typical middle altitude hill species. Watch- ing a party of small birds among oak and rhododendron along the track we were struck by a pair of distinct but totally unidentifiable flycatcher warblers. They were among the more common, and to me very familiar Greyheaded Flycatcher Warbler Seicercus xanthoschistos C/o. World Wildlife Fund-India, Horn bill House, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023, January and what struck us was the black on either sides of the face contrasting with the yellow supercilium and forehead and yellow on the breast. I made a sketch on the spot which later helped me to identify the bird at once on see- ing it in some illustrations which Dr Salim Ali had given Shivrajkumar. The birds were quite fearless and feeding in the lower branches of the trees beside the track at eye level. This record was in May, and our altitude could not have been more than 6,500'. The western limit given in the handbook Vol. 8, p. 192, is Central Nepal. LAVKUMAR J. KHACHER 17. RECORDS OF BIRDS FROM THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS While working out a collection of birds from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands made by Dr. A. K. Mukherjee of this department in 1972, I came across five examples of two spe- cies of birds, namely Charadrius alexandrinus Linnaeus and Tringa terek (Latham), which add to the known distribution of the species. Charadrius alexandrinus Linnaeus Kentish Plover 1 $ ; Malaka, Car Nicobar; 19 Feb. 1972. The Kentish Plover was found in small num- bers in company with other waders on the sea- shore. It often separated itself from the flocks while foraging. The specimen collected meas- ures (mm) : wing 107, tail 46, bill from skull 22, tarsus 27 and weighed 35 gm. In winter, the Kentish Plover visits the In- dian mainland over a wide area but there is no report of its occurrence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Thus, the present specimen forms the first record of its occurrence in these islands. Tringa terek (Latham) Terek Sandpiper 4$; Malaka, Car Nicobar; 17 Feb. 1972. The Terek Sandpiper was found in flocks on the sandy shores of the Car Nicobar Island. All the collected specimens were in winter plu- mage. They had the central tail feathers moult- ing and had non-breeding gonads. The birds 222 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 52, 53, 54; bill from skull 51, 52, 53(2); tarsus 28, 29, 32(2), and they weighed 66, 64, 72, 70 gm. Although the Terek Sandpiper is well known in the Andaman Islands, the only record of its occurrence in the Nicobars is based on a sight Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta 700 013, June 12, 1975. record by Abdulali (1967, p. 161) 1 on Trin- kut Island on 11 March. These examples, therefore, serve as the first authentic collection of the species from the Nicobar group of Islands, thus extending its winter range further south. J. M. DASGUPTA 1 Abdulali, H. (1967): The birds of the Nicobar Islands, with notes on some Andaman birds. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 64:139-190. 18. EGG LAYING OF THE MUGGER ( CROCODYLUS PALUSTRIS ) IN CAPTIVITY The female of a pair of Mugger ( Crocodylus palustris) at the Nandankanan Biological Park, Orissa laid 27 eggs on the morning of 11-vi- 1974. The eggs were white, hard shelled and blunt at both ends. Eleven of these measured 6.7-8. 2 cm x 3. 7-4.3 cm and weighed from 69 to 80 gm. Unfortunately the mother crocodile was found dead and floating in the tank on 13-vi-74. On autopsy six more eggs were col- lected from the posterior part of the oviduct. These white, hard shelled eggs measured 6.8- 7.2 cm x 3. 9-4.2 cm and weighed from 71 to 81 gm. The crocodile measured 142 cm from Veterinary Asstt. Surgeon, Nandankanan Biological Park, P.O. Barang, Dist. Cuttack. Wild Life Conservation Officer, Old Secretariat Buildings, Cuttack 1, Orissa, May 5, 1975. 1 David, Reuben (1970): Breeding the Mugger Crocodile and Water Monitor — Crocodylus palustris snout to vent and 132 cm from vent to tip of the tail (Total length 274 cm). However all the eggs were found spoilt when examined after over 3 months of incubation in the sand hole. Probably all were infertile. David (1970)1 states that mating of this species takes place in December and January in the water and eggs are laid in March and April in Ahmedabad Zoo. He further states that one female has laid 28 eggs out of which 23 young hatched out on 6-v i- 1969 in the same zoo. L. N. ACHARJYO R. MISRA and Varanus salvator at Ahmedabad Zoo. Inter- national Zoo Yearbook, 76:116-117. 223 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 73 19. NOTES ON THE SKIN SLOUGHING OF RETICULATED PYTHON IN CAPTIVITY The periodicity of sloughing of skin in the snake is a well known fact and varies accord- ing to the sex, age and seasons. It is more fre- quent in summer and less during the colder seasons. According to Deoras (1965) the inter sloughing period varies usually 72 to 210 days in the snakes. But study of sloughing in Pyth- ons under captivity has shown specific differ- ences in the two species. Python molurus molu- rus Linn, and P. retlculatus (Schneider). So far we have not come across of any detailed sloughing record of Reticulated Python. Re- cords of sloughing of this species was main- tained continuously for two years at the Nan- dankanan Biological Park, Orissa. A female Reticulated Python measuring ap- proximately l\ metres was procured on 8-iv- 69 for the Park. Sloughing of skin of this snake was observed for two years from May 1973 to April 1975. The snake measured 404 cm on 13-viii-73 and later 435 cm with a circum- ference of 41 cm at the thickest part on 21-i- 75. Within this two years period it sloughed 20 times and the inter-sloughing period varied from 22 to 105 days, being longest between 12th November, 1974 to 26th-28th February, Zoologist, Zoological Survey of India, 27 Chowringhee Rd., Calcutta 13. Veterinary Asst. Surgeon, Nandankanan Biological Park, Dist. Cuttack, Orissa, July 8, 1975. 1975. At another time the duration was 56 I days from 2nd December, 1973 to 28th Janu- ary, 1974. Just before sloughing the body col- our turns dull and the covering of the eyes becomes milky white. The snake becomes in- active and generally refuses to feed. For the completion of the process sometimes it takes two or three days and the outer epidermal layer is cast off by bits starting from the tip of the nose. After the sloughing the snake looks brighter, becomes active and accepts food. Further the above measurements show that in 4 years 4 months it grew 254 cm but in the last two years it grew in length only 31 cm. It is interesting that the interval between sloughs was 50 days in the winter of 1974, 105 days in the winter of 1975. Biswas & Acharjyo in a separate publication which is in press, have observed the inter- sloughing period of two adult Python molurus as 37 to 128 and 31 to 97 + ? days respectively. Here also the inter- sloughing period has been noted to be longer in the winter and in the case of a female when it was incubating. The variations of inter- sloughing period is lower in P. reticulatus than P. molurus. S. BISWAS L. N. ACHARJYO References Biswas, S. & Acharjyo, L. N. (In press) : Notes on Ecology and Biology of some reptiles occurring in and around Nandankanan Biological Park, Orissa. Rec. Zool. Surv. India. Deoras, P. J. (1965) : Snakes of India. National Book Trust, New Delhi, pp. 25-26. 224 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 20. ON THE FEEDING HABITS OF THE KING COBRA OPHIOPHAGUS HANNAH (CANTOR) AT NANDANKANAN BIOLOGICAL PARK, ORISSA These observations on the feeding habits of two King Cobras Ophiophagus hannah (Can- tor) were made at the Nandankanan Biolo- gical Park, Orissa. On 20-xi-1973, a dead rat snake [Ptyas mucosus (Linn.)] measuring about 157 cm (61 inches) was given to one of the King Cobras measuring about 390 cm (13 feet) at about 9.30 a.m. At 12 noon it bit at the mid- dle portion of the rat snake’s body and then slowly shifted its grip towards the head with- out leaving it completely. It reached the head after 15 minutes and then started swallowing the rat snake, taking another 30 minutes to swallow it entirely, uncoiling itself during the process. On 19-xii-1973, the same King Cobra was given a live rat snake measuring about 150 cm (c. 6 feet) in the forenoon. The rat snake mov- ed about inside the cage and the King Cobra did not show any interest in it. The vertebral column of the rat snake was struck and the snake immobilised and it was offered to the King Cobra in the afternoon. Then it caught hold of the middle of the body and swallowed it as described above, taking about the same time. As the other King Cobra measuring 268 cm (8'-9") had refused to eat a live Xenochrophis piscator (Schneider) measuring 81 cm (c. 2\') repeatedly offered to it the previous week, the Keelback was immobilised in the same manner and offered on 27-i-1974. The cobra twice examined the prey with its tongue during ten minutes of our observation but refused to take it and moved away. The Keelback was then Zoologist, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta 700 013. killed and offered, and within a few minutes the cobra caught hold of the anterior part of the body and swallowed it in 15 minutes. Before taking the prey the King Cobra usual- ly examines it with the tongue and its willing- ness to eat it is indicated by “yawning” once or twice. During the process of swallowing, the upper jaw remains more or less stationery and the lower jaw by sideways movements takes the prey and slowly pushes it inside the gullet. After completely swallowing the prey, it also “yawns” twice or thrice. During this process of swallowing the peristaltic movements of the abdomen were also visible. Attempts were made earlier to offer live pigeons, bandicoots and guinea-pigs but none were taken. According to Gowda (1963) who observed it in Mysore Zoo, the King Cobra when hungry approaches its prey, bites it and injects venom only sufficient to reduce it to a state of un- consciousness, and not to kill it; then it begins to swallow the snake entirely from the head region. He further stated that the whole process from the time of attack to the time it com- pletely swallowed its prey took about half an hour, and that it did not feed on dead snakes. At the Rotterdam Zoo, frozen snakes have been successfully fed to the King Cobra after thawing, though it was necessary to move the body inside the enclosure to induce it to bite it, prior to eating (Polder 1969). The main diet of the King Cobra in a state of nature is snakes, presumably taken alive, and it is possible that this habit and method of taking dead and disabled snakes has deve- loped in captivity. S. BISWAS JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 73 Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, Nandankanan Biological Park, Barang, Dist. Cuttack. Wildlife Conservation Officer, Orissa, Cuttack 1, August 12, 1974. Refer Gowda, C. D. Krishna (1963) : Rearing King Cobras in captivity. The Hindu, Sunday, July 21st 1963. Polder, J. J. W. (1969) : Feeding King Cobras 21. LARGE SCALE INCIDENCE OF FROG RAN A Isaac ( 1969) 1 reported a case of sexual abnor- mality in the skipper frog Rana cyanophlyctis, where a female frog had vocal sacs and nup- tial pads. During a demonstration of urinogeni- tal system to students, we have come across 15 specimens of Rana tigerina with sexual abnormality in a total of 75 specimens. All the 15 specimens were males with well developed testis, vocal sacs and nuptial pads. But, all of them had fully developed oviducts opening in- to the cloaca. No other anatomical abnormality Department of Zoology, D.N.R. College, Bhimavaram 534 202, A.P., March 25, 1975. 1 Isaac, S, (1969): Presence of vocal sacs in a female skipper frog Rana cyanophlyctis Schneider. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 66(3) : 635. L. N. ACHARJYO R. MISRA iNCES ( Ophiophagus hannah) at Rotterdam Zoo, Inter- national Zoo Year Book, Volume 9, Zoological So- ciety of London, p. 56. SEXUAL ABNORMALITY IN THE TIGERINA could be noticed excepting that the testes are slightly longer when compared to normal indi- viduals. Each testis is spindle shaped, yellow- ish, measuring about 11 mm in length. It is presumed that all these abnormal individuals are functional males, though they have well developed oviducts. There is no trace of ovary, however. One of the specimens, measuring 95 mm from snout tip to vent, has been deposit- ed in the Zoology Museum, D.N.R. College. B. V. SESHAGIRI RAO K. SUBBA RAJU 226 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 22. ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE GOBY, BRACHYGOBIUS NUNUS (HAM.-BUCH.) IN ANDHRA PRADESH, WITH A NOTE ON ITS ECOLOGY ( With a text-figure ) The banded goby, Brachygobius nanus (Ham- ilton-Buchanan 1822) originally described as Gobius nunus from Calcutta, has a long no- menclature history. Subsequent to the original record, it was described as Gobius doriae (Gunther 1869), Gobius alcockii (Annandale 1906), Ctenogobius nunus (Hora 1934), Bra- chygobius xanthomelas (Herre 1937) and as B. sua (Smith 1945). Weber & de Beaufort (1953) re-examined the types of Gobius doriae in the British Museum, of Brachygobius xan- thomelas in the Stanford University and of Gobius alcockii in the ZSI and synonymised them with Brachygobius nunus (Ham.-Buch.). The species was earlier recorded from Madras by Koumans (1941). The present note extends its range of distribution to Andhra Pradesh. Fig. 1. Brachygobius nunus 18 mm total length, Bhimavaram. Description : Based on 10 specimens, 15- 18 mm total length (one, a female 15 mm, bearing 157 eggs in ovary). Branchiostegals 5, Di 5-6, D2 8, P 13-16, V 5-6, A 7-8, Ver- tebrae 10 + 14 = 24. Depth 3. 5-4.6, head length 2. 8-3. 7, head width 2.8-3.7, all in standard length. Body cylindrical anteriorly, compressed to- wards tail. Lower jaw projecting beyond upper jaw, fine teeth on margins of both jaws. Maxil- lary extends to below anterior margin of eye. Pectorals obtusely rounded, origin behind gill opening; ventrals form a disc at their base. Height of first dorsal less than that of second; the latter situated about \ eye diameter behind tip of depressed first dorsal, height greater than eye diameter. Anal opening at tip of a small papilla. Anal origin below second ray of second dorsal, length equal to eye diameter. Caudal obtusely rounded or truncate. Body covered with ctenoid scales. Colour : Two kinds of colour pattern have been observed from the same locality: 1. Dor- sal side yellowish-green becoming pale towards ventral side with a series of vertical bands; first band dark, between eyes and descending to below eye on either side; second band indis- tinct, at level of opercules; third band dark, behind pectoral origin, ascending into first two dorsal rays; fourth band below anterior half of second dorsal; fifth band just behind second dorsal; sixth band on caudal peduncle; some- times one or two incomplete dark bands are found between the fifth and sixth; fins hyaline. 2. The fifth complete dark band is on the cau- dal peduncle. Between the latter, and the fourth band below second dorsal, are two incomplete bands. Ecology : This species is perhaps more wide- spread than is known at present. Because of its small size, it is not captured in the gear operated by local fishermen. It can be collected in portable plankton nets. It occurs in tanks with pH 7.9, temperature 24°C, having plants like Nymphaea nouchali, N. stellata, Ipomoea reptans, Spirogyra sp., and rich in Cladocera and Copepoda. It remains attached to the un- der surface of leaves of lotus when disturbed. 227 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Ack NOWLEDGE M E N TS I am thankful to Prof. S. Dutt, Guntur and Dr P. K. Talwar, Zoological Survey of India, Department of Zoology, D.N.R. College, Bhimavaram 534 202, Andhra Pradesh, March 17, 1975. Refei Annandale, N. (1906): Notes on the freshwater fauna of India. No. VII. A new goby from fresh and brackish water in lower Bengal, Calcutta. J, Asiat. Soc. Bengal 2:1-57. Hamilton-Buchanan, F. (1822) : An account of the fishes of the Ganges, Edinburgh, p. 54. Hgra, S. L. (1934) : The systematic position of Hamilton’s species of gobioid fishes from the Ganges. for reviewing the manuscript, and to Major R. Pattabhirama Rao for identification of plants. B. V. SESHAGIRI RAO E N CES Rec. Indian Mus. 36:483-490. Koumans, F. P. (1941) : Gobioid fishes of India. Mem. Indian Mus. 36: 483-490. Smith, H. M. (1945) : The freshwater fishes of Siam or Thailand. U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 188:549. Weber, M. & de Beaufort, L. F. (1953): Fishes of the Indo- Australian Archipelago, p. 194. 23. ADDITIONS TO THE FOOD PLANTS OF INDIAN RHOPALOCERA Mr. Sevastopulo has done a great service to Indian entomology by collating in one com- prehensive list most of the scattered references to the food plants of Indian Rhopalocera (JBNHS, 70: 156-183). There must still, how- ever, be a large number of published references and unpublished records of casual observations. If these could be sent to the Society for publi- cation our recorded knowledge would be much more complete. As a start, here are a few ob- servations and additions, some of which have previously been published in the Journal. Papxlionidae Polydorus philoxenus Gray. As far as I am aware, khasiana is the only Indian species of the genus Nepenthes. It is a rare plant, with a restricted and localised distribution, being confined to the Khasi and Jaintia and North Cachar Hills of Assam. The widely occurring philoxenus must, therefore, feed on a different food plant throughout most of its range. PlERIDAE Delias aglaia L. I confirm that this feeds on Loranthus sp. in Sibsagar Dt. of Upper As- sam. Satyridae Elymnias nesoea Wall. Larvae found on various wild canes and palms. Elymnias vasudeva M. $ hatched 29-vii-56 from pupa found on an eaten spray of Den- drobium ? fimbriatum (Orchidaceae). Sibsagar Dt., Upper Assam. Nymphalidae Eriboea arja Fd. Albizzia sp. in Sibsagar Dt. of Upper Assam. 228 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Euripus halitherses Db. and Hew. Feeds on an Urticaceous shrub in Sibsagar Dt. of Upper Assam. Pareba vesta F. Urticaceous plants in Sib- sagar Dt. of Upper Assam. Lycaenidae Spalgis epius Wd. Carnivorous on mealy aphids (on Citrus ), Upper Assam. Lycaenopsis oreas oreana Swinh. Prinsepia utilis (Rosaceae), Khasi Hills. (I recorded this fact in JBNHS, 49(3): 569, using the old name of huegelii oreana for oreas oreana). Zizera otis F. A small leguminous plant with a purple flower. Upper Assam. Catoehrysops strabo riama Corbet. Flowers of Pongamia glabra (Leguminosae), Upper Assam. Catoehrysops panormus exiguus Dist. Flo- wers of Pongamia glabra, Upper Assam. Jamides bochus Cr. Flowers of Pongamia glabra, Upper Assam. Jamides alecto alocina Swinh. Flowers and seedpods of Hedychium sp. (Zingiberaceae), The Old Rectory, WlNTERBORNE HOUGHTON, Blandford, Dorset, U.K., August 19, 1974. Sibsagar Dt., Upper Assam. Nacaduba nora nora Fd. Flowers of Pon- gamia glabra. Upper Assam. Amblypodia centaurus F., Lagerstroemia sp. (Lythraceae) attended by the ant Oecophylla smaragdina. Chliaria othona Flew. The seedpods of seve- ral species of epiphytic Orchidaceae, Upper Assam. Rapala pheritima petosiris Hew. Flowers and leaves of Cassia fistula (Leguminosae) and leaves of Lagerstroemia sp. (Lythraceae) at- tended by the ant Oecophylla smaragdina. Upper Assam. Hesperiidae Hasora chromus chromus Cramer. Ponga- mia glabra (Leguminosae). Hasora badra M. Derris scandens, Upper Assam. Gangara thyrsis F. The common food plant in Upper Assam is one of the prickly rattans. Calamus sp. T. NORMAN 24. EXTENSION OF RANGE OF THE TERMITE ODONTOTERMES GUPTAI ROONWAL & BOSE (ISOPTERA: TERMITIDAE: MACROTERMITINAE) The species was originally described as a sub- species Odontotermes bellahunisensis guptai by Roonwal & Bose (1962). Roonwal & Bose (1962, 1964) reported it from Rajasthan (Districts of Bikaner, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Sikar, Udaipur) and Sind (Karachi). Roonwal & Verma (in press) raised it to species rank and recorded it also from Ajmer District, Raj- asthan. The present records extend its known range of distribution to Uttar Pradesh. Odontotermes guptai Roonwal & Bose Material : A vial with several soldiers and workers; Dehra Dun, Uttar Pradesh; S. C. Ver- ma, coll.; 16-ix-1974; ex. papaya plant. 229 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Measurements : Body measurements (in mm) of 4 soldiers from Dehra Dun. Body length with mandibles 3.9-4. 1; Head length with mandibles 1.66-1.81; without mandibles 1.05-1.16; Head width 1.02-1.05; Mandibles length 0.58-0.66; Postmentum (median) length 0.53-0.58; Max. width 0.42-0.44; Pronotum length 0.47-0.50, width 0.78-0.83; Antennal Zoological Survey of India, 13 Subhas Road, Dehra Dun, U.P., August 5, 1975. ; t segments 16. Acknowledgements We are thankful to Dr. B. S. Lamba, De- puty Director (Officer-in-charge) for facilities and to Dr. Asket Singh, Superintending Zoolo- gist, Zoological Survey of India, Dehra Dun, for useful suggestions. S. C. VERMA R. N. BHARGAVA References Roonwal, M. L. & Bose, G. (1962) : A redes- cription of the Indian termite, Odontotermes bel- lahunisensis Holm. & Holm., with description of a new subspecies from Rajasthan. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 55(3) : 151-158. (1964): Termite fauna of Rajasthan, India. Zoologica, Stuttgart, 40(3), Heft 113, pp. vi + 58. Roonwal, M. L. & Verma, S. C. (In press) : Additions to and new distributional records of ter- mite fauna of Rajasthan, India and its zoogeography. Rec. Zool. Surv. India, Calcutta. 25. STUDIES ON THE APHIDIDAE OF INDIA— XV. ON THE BIO- METRY OF MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS OF APHIS CRACCIVORA KOCH. (APHIDIDAE, HOMOPTERA) Introduction Cottier (1953) studied variation in five dif- ferent species of aphids viz., Myzus persicae (Sulz.), Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas), M. rosae (L.), Aulacorthum solani (Kalt.) and Aphis citricidus (Kirk.) in New Zealand and emphasised the importance of the relative pro- portions which antennal segments bear to one another and to cornicles and cauda, in the determination of a species. He gave importance to the ratios of antennal segments IV, V, VI (base) and VI (flag.) to the antennal segment III and of cornicle and cauda to antennal seg. Ill and to each other in order to distinguish one aphid species from another. Other taxono- mists like Theobald (1926-1929), Takahashi (1924), Eastop (1958, 1961), and Bodenhei- mer and Swirski (1957) have also in addition laid emphasis on the ratios of lengths of dif- ferent parts of the body such as antenna /body, body /cauda, body /cornicle etc., in the deter- mination of an aphid species. However, all this biometry applies to the adult alate and apter- 230 Table 1 Mean measurements (in mm) of characters of different instars of Aphis craccivora Koch. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 00 NO co CM On O cn NO NO 0 3 O o ON so tM oo 07 NO 'St | —j < oo CO CM CM T— 1 CM CM o O § 3 o o o o o o o 1 cd \ 3 g 3 o cd £ Sh J-h cd CM 00 NO oo NO _ On 1 ^ S-H Cl CO ON r- ON NO ON 07 1 Sh cd o 2 o O CM CM O o J 3 (/j _CL| *s o o o d o o o 1 « o •s s > R <-] CO o 73 Sh a 3 Sh cd .3 ^ cn NO CO o o o o t-H 7}- 1 3 > 3 Sh O cd M- 07 CM ON 07 o o 07 CM ! on CM NO OO r- 00 r- 07 1 3 -h* d 2 o NO hH o o <— H hH o o 1 d 3 co .S hH o o o d o o d d | 3 g 1 OX) 3 9 33 u < *-< d o o d o d o j 0 ^ cd 3 cd ! co 3 g s '> > -3 3 Sh ON ON ON NO ON M- cn C7 ON | | o' 2 ! 'O 3 5 NO 07 M- CM oo co ^H ON 07 5 o cd O co 7t OO l-H o CM (M o q | l P 2 .s hH o o o o d o o o s 3 3 O Sh D S < 3 ^ c n .*3 3 "O Sh 3 3 ,_| o 00 CO _ oo ^H 07 7t 3 ^ cn co o t-H 00 ON 00 07 3 3 3 ^ cm t"- CM rH o o O cd 3 H -S 3 o o o o o o o o £ 3 , co S3 O o CD 3 Sh O cd NO 07 NO t_h o r- ON 07 oo H CD co co o t"- NO CO OO r^- N O o r- 7t ^ cm 3 M $— 1 C/D cd 00 CO CM o CM cn cn NO 3 ^ CO oo CM 07 CM 07 NO 7f 3 CO O O O O ?? 6 o d o * o o o o o ^ M (D CD <» cd o g 3 d Sh p O (D *4-< 3 d C/3 * OH / S CD C/5 CO .2 o ^ 3 ^ H' O M CJO 03 in 5 o « 3 hH hH > hH hH > hH > CD CM o OH O 3 o si g > H T3 a o o „ D C orj .a a 03 pp .2 0) co l=> <3 H C4 t" o m Wh rC *E a ob o * HH v— ^ 1— H s N i— i hH Sr rO HH q=! -- — ✓ i— i cd q=j o e o 73 e o <4-1 o -a o ’a (H o O O > > > o <4-1 CJ <4-4 •3 cd o <4-1 ’a cd ob ob ob ob o O o 4h o (H o a I 0) CO N #— i #H ■4-J H~> a a CO a T3 a £h q morphosis essentially complete with only a small remnant of the larval tail remaining). Results Choice of substrate pattern (Table 1) and time spent on each substrate (Fig. 2) were found to be significant indices of habitat pre- ferences. Control animals (Group 1) showed no preference for either substrate pattern, and all three developmental stages spent fairly equal amounts of time on both patterns. Group 2 tadpoles that were reared in a square-patterned habitat exhibited a marked preference for the square pattern area of the test chamber, both in their initial choice (Table 1) and in the amount of time spent in the square versus the stripe-patterned habi- tat (Fig. 2). Animals reared in a stripe-pat- terned habitat similarly showed a preference for the striped substrate area of the test cham- ber. This suggests that such preferences were established during the initial rearing periods in the squared and striped experimental habi- tats. Qualitative observations verify the biolo- gical significance of the above results. At all three developmental stages, the tadpoles that were reared in the squared habitat and select- ed the squared substrate pattern when tested, swam vigorously during the 3 -minute test period. Frequently, some individuals would swim toward the boundary between the two substrate patterns. Upon reaching this bound- ary the tadpoles would suddenly stop and ter- minate locomotor activity for several seconds. After this short pause, the animals would either dart back into the squared substrate area or swim parallel to the boundary within the squared area of the test chamber. Likewise, animals reared in the striped habitat would approach the boundary within the striped sec- tion of the chamber. Occasionally, square- reared tadpoles would venture into the strip- ed substrate area but would remain there for only brief periods and then rapidly return to the squared area. Similar observations were noted for stripe-reared tadpoles that infre- quently would enter the squared area. Group 3 tadpoles were used to ascertain whether or not an initial substrate pattern preference could be retained over a period of isolation from the rearing substrate. After having been kept in a sterile featureless en- vironment for one week, they were placed in the test chamber. Once again, all individuals exhibited a distinct preference for the substrate pattern upon which they were reared, as indi- cated by their initial choice and time spent on the substrate. This indicates a definitive retention capacity for specific physical cues in the habitat. Discussion The results of these experiments demonst- rate that K. pulchra tadpoles can establish preferences for substrate patterns based on physical features present in the habitat where they emerge from the egg. These effects of early experience on habitat selection are shown in Table 1 and Fig. 2. In all groups, the maj- ority of tadpoles chose the habitat pattern that they had been subjected to upon hatching over one which was unfamiliar to them. In addition, the animals spent a great deal more 274 HABITAT SELECTION IN TADPOLES time on the substrate which resembled that of the rearing habitat. In addition to the re- latively rapid acquisition of habitat prefer- ences after hatching, these tadpoles demonst- rate the capacity to retain these preferences even after periods of isolation from the sub- importance of such critical periods in imprint- ing is discussed in detail by Bateson (1966), Bateson & Reese (1969), and Sluckin (1965). Microhylids of the genus Kaloula are characterized by vertical pupils, palatine bones which form a toothed ridge across the palate, Table 1 Initial choice of substrate patterns made by Kaloula pulchra tadpoles reared in three experi- mental HABITATS Group Rearing habitat pattern Developmental stage Number Squares choosing (%) per 30 Stripes tadpoles (%) z- Value 1 Sterile Environment 1 17 (56.6) 13 (43.3) 0.52 2 12 (40.0) 18 (60.0) 0.81 3 14 (46.6) 16 (53.3) 0.29 1 26 (86.6) 4 (12.3) 2.65 (P<.01) Squares 2 21 (70.0) 9 (30.0) 2.09 (PC.01) 2 3 24 (80.0) 6 (20.0) 2.48 (PC.01) 1 4 (12.3) 26 (86.6) 2.65 (PC.01) Stripes 2 1 (03.3) 29 (96.6) 3.47 (PC.01) 3 3 (10.0) 27 (90.0) 2.84 (PC.01) 1 20 (66.6) 10 (33.3) 1.61 (PC.05) Squares 2 21 (70.0) 9 (30.0) 1.98 (PC.05) 3 3 24 (80.0) 6 (20.0) 2.48 (PC.01) 1 7 (23.3) 23 (76.6) 2.33 (PC.01) Stripes 2 9 (30.0) 21 (70.0) 2.09 (PC.01) 3 5 (16.6) 25 (83.3) 2.37 (PC.01) strate patterns, as well as through the develop- mental changes taking place during metamor- phosis. Furthermore, as pointed out by Wiens (1970), the acquisition of this preference res- ponse does not appear to be characterized by a critical period during which the preference must be established as the older tadpoles esta- blished a preference as quickly as the younger animals. This suggests that the underlying me- chanisms involved in the formation of pre- ference responses are different from those which characterize imprinting behaviour. The digits free or webbed, outer metatarsals which are united, precoracoids and omo stern um ab- sent, a cartilagenous sternum, and the diapo- physes of the sacral vertebrae being slightly dilated (Boulenger 1890; Parker 1934; Porter 1972; Smith 1935). There are eight known spe- cies, three of which occur in the Malay Archi- pelago (Parker 1934). The Malayan painted frog, K. pulchra, ranges from Peninsular India and Sri Lanka, to Burma, southern China and the Malay Peninsula. Tadpoles used in this study were reared from adults orginally collect- 275 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 ed in Sri Lanka. Adults of K. pulchra are gener- ally fossorial in habit, and feed extensively at the surface on hymenopterous insects found in or near decaying vegetation (Porter 1972; Smith 1935). The adaptive significance of learning a pre- ference for a particular substrate pattern is of supreme importance to the survival of these tadpoles. The adult females normally deposit the eggs in a favourable environment thereby ensuring that the hatchling tadpoles will en- counter physical cues from the spatial pattern- ing of this habitat, learn to establish a prefer- ence for them, and maintain themselves in this habitat until their development is completed. Undoubtedly, the optimal habitat of a species is one which confers a certain degree of camou- flage for the animal thereby making it more difficult to detect by its potential predators. Therefore, the survival capacity of the species is greatly increased by the ability to select and remain in the optimal environment. For ex- ample, tadpoles that were hatched in an aqua- tic environment characterized by slender, sub- merged branches, stems, grasses and algae which are basically linear objects that would project linear shadows on sandy substrates, would have a selective advantage if they were able to rapidly establish a preference for that substrate pattern and thus maintain themselves in a more favourable, cryptic environment. Furthermore, in rapidly flowing streams where tadpoles might be carried by currents, the ability to respond vigorously when confronted by an unfamilar substrate pattern would faci- litate the animal in relocating its position to the more favourable habitat. The results of this experiment confirm this hypothesis. When K. pulchra tadpoles entered the area of the test chamber characterized by an unfamiliar substrate pattern they became extremely agi- tated and quickly swam back to the area pro- vided with the pattern on which they had been reared. More frequently, the animals would stop at the boundary between the two substrate patterns and refuse to enter the unfamiliar area. It is evident from the previous discussion that tadpoles of K. pulchra have the capacity to learn rapidly to respond in a positive man- ner to the substrate pattern on which they are reared, thereby establishing a habitat pre- ference based on early experience. This sug- gests that the preference response for a parti- cular habitat is not an instinctual and rigid behavioural act but rather a flexible response capable of a high degree of modification. Per- haps the potential to learn to respond selec- tively to a particular spatial patterning of the environment is innate, but the actual prefer- ence established is a function of the substrate pattern that the tadpoles first encounter upon hatching from the egg. This is the first demon- stration of the effects of early experience on subsequent habitat selection by microhylid tadpoles, and is in general agreement with some of the findings reported for larval ranids (Heatwole 1962; Sexton et al. 1964; Wiens 1970, 1972) and salamanders (McKenzie & Storm 1970; Schneider 1968). In addition, once the preference for a particular habitat has been established, it is retained even over a period of isolation from the preferred sub- strate. Thus, the role of learning in the evo- lutionary success of anurans in general, may not be as diminutive a one as suggested by some previous investigators (Nobel 1931; Thorpe 1963). 276 HABITAT SELECTION IN TADPOLES References Ambrose, H. W. (1973): An experimental study of some factors affecting the spatial and temporal activity of Microtis pennsylvanicus. J. Mammal. 54(1) : 79-1 10. Barash, D. P. (1973) : Habitat utilization in three species of subalpine mammals. J. Mammal. 54(1) : 247-251. Bateson, P. P. G. (1966): The characteristics and context of imprinting. Biol. Rev. 47:177-220. & Reese, E. P. (1969): The reinfor- cing properties conspicuous stimuli in the imprinting situation. Anim. Behav. 77:692-699. Boulenger, G. A. (1890): The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma : Reptilia and Batrachia. Thacker & Co., Bombay. Cameron, G. N. & Rainey, D. (1972) : Habitat selection by Neotoma lepida in the Mojave Desert. 7. Mammal. 53 ( 2) : 25 1-266. Chu, P. K. & McCain, G. (1969): Discrimina- tion learning and extinction in toads. Psychon. Sci. 74:14-15. Geluso, K. N. (1971) : Habitat distribution of Peromyscus in the Black Mesa region of Oklahoma. 7. Mammal. 52(3) : 605-607. Goodman, D. E. & Goin, C. (1970): The habitat of Centrolene geckoideum in Ecuador. Herpetolo- gica 26(2) : 276-278. Gosner, K. L. (1960) : A simplified table for staging anuran embryos and larva with notes on identification. Herpetologica 14(3) : 27-39. Heatwole, H. (1961) : Habitat selection and activity of the wood frog, Rana sylvatica. Amer. Midi. Nat. 66:301-313. (1962): Environmental factors affecting local distribution and activity of the sala- mander, Plethodon cinereus. Ecology 43:460-472. Hilden, O. (1965) : Habitat selection in birds. Ann. Zool. Fenn. 2:53-75. Klopfer, P. H. (1967) : Stimulus preference and imprinting. Science 756: 1394-1396. & Hailman, J. P. (1965): Habitat selection in birds. In : Advances in the Study of Behaviour. D. S. Lehrman, R. A. Hinde & E. Shaw, eds. 7:279-303, Academic Press, New York. Kuntz, A. (1923) : The learning of a simple maze by the larva of Ambystoma tigrinum. Univ. Iowa Studies in Nat. Hist. 76:27-35. Lack, D. & Venables, L. S. (1939): The habi- tat distribution of woodland birds. J. Anim. Ecol. 5:39-71. McKenzie, D. S. & Storm, R. (1970) : Patterns of habitat selection in the clouded salamander, Aneides ferreus. Herpetologica 26(4) : 21 1-217. Miller, A. (1942) : Habitat selection among higher vertebrates and its relation to interspecific variation. Amer. Nat. 76: 25-35. Munn, N. L. (1940) : Learning experiments with larval frogs. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 29:97-108. Noble, G. K. (1931) : The Biology of the Am- phibia. McGraw-Hill, New York. Parker, H. W. (1934) : A Monograph of the Frogs of the Family Microhylidae. British Museum, London. Porter, K. R. (1972): Herpetology. Saunders, New York. Sargent, T. D. (1965) : The role of early ex- perience in the nest building of the zebra finch. Auk 52:48-61. Schneider, C. W. (1968) : Avoidance learning and the response tendencies of the larval salaman- der, Ambystoma punctatum to photic stimulation. Anim. Behav. 76(4) : 492-496. Sexton, O. J., Heatwole, H. & Knight, D. (1964): Correlation of microdistribution of some Panamanian reptiles and amphibians with the struc- tural organization of the habitat. Carib. J. Sci. 4: 261- 295. & Ortleb, E. (1966) : Some cues used by leptodactylid frogs, Engystomops pustulo- sus, in selection of an oviposition site. Copeia (1966): 225-230. Sluckin, W. (1965) : Imprinting and early learn- ing. Aldine, Chicago. Smith, M. A. (1935): The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma : Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II. Taylor & Francis, London. Thorpe, W. H. (1963) : Learning and instinct in animals. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts. Wecker, S. C. (1963) : The role of early experi- ence in habitat selection by the prairie deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi. Ecol. Monogr. 33 : 307-325. Wiens, J. A. (1970): Effects of early experience on substrate pattern selection in Rana aurora tad- poles. Copeia (1970) : 543-548. (1972): Anuran habitat selection: early experience and substrate selection in Rana cascadae tadpoles. Anim. Behav. 20(2) : 21 8-221. 277 Comparative studies on the functional morphology of two gekkonid lizards1 Uwe Hiller2 {With two plates) Summary The fine morphology of adhesive bristles in the gelckonids Tarentola mauritanica and Hemidactylus frenatus was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The adhesive apparatus is similar in both species, and so is their adhesion ability. Former theo- ries regarding gekkonid “strolling on the ceil- ing” (e.g. insertion of claws, use of suckers, electrostatic forces) are dealt with and are disproved. A single seta of the foot pads consists of a shaft, the surface of which shows longitudinal structures terminally ramifying in- to first, second or third branchings. These branchings form terminal layers, sometimes with deepenings on the end of each ultimate branch, where adhesion proper occurs. Adhesion is a physical process relying on the surface tension of the substratum and can be precisely measured by means of the contact angle between distilled water and the substra- tum. Various materials possess different sur- face tensions which can even be altered, e.g. by coronary discharge. Increasing surface ten- sions offer increasing clinging abilities of the geckos. 1 Accepted October 1975. 2 D-44 Munster/ W, Dept. Physiology and Eco- logy, Munster University, West Germany. Introduction After the functional morphology of adhesive toes has been elucidated in the Mediterranean gekkonid lizard Tarentola mauritanica (Hiller 1968) it is now possible to extend these find- ings to other gekkonids. The present paper offers an explanation of the adhesive abilities of Hemidactylus frenatus, in comparison with Tarentola mauritanica. In both lizards body size, toe morphology and adhesive function are similar. The gecko’s ability of walking on vertical surfaces and even on ceilings has been known since a long time. Various authors have spe- culated on it, and several theories have been advanced. Thus, Cartier (1872) disproved a secretory adhesion (as in tree frogs) because of the lack of digital glands. Tornier (1889) favoured the theory of suction, and Haase (1900) and Schmidt (1904) thought that electrical forces would be responsible for ad- hesion. Mahendra (1941) arrived at the con- clusion that geckos would use their digital setae as claws inserting them into the sub- stratum. The first experimental studies of the problem were done by Hora (1923), who offered substrata of various surface structures correlating them to climbing ability. Dellit (1949) did away with the theory of suction by reducing air pressure down to 0.5 mm Hg, 278 FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY OF GEKKONID LIZARDS and yet fresh killed geckos would still cling to the surface structures in the same manner as before. In addition, Dellit could also dis- prove Schmidt’s (1904) theory of electrostatic adhesion by employing X-rays on a gecko clinging to a vertical metal surface. Yet, cling- ing ability was not reduced. Then, Dellit tried to clean glass surfaces with petrol, and prom- ptly the geckos fell off these substrata. Hence, Dellit concluded that climbing geckos would grip “into” the minute rugosities of the sur- face. His microscopic study of the adhesive bristles led him to the above mentioned con- clusion. However, light microscopy could only partly reveal the fine structure of the setae. His “cleaning” of the glass plates with petrol left a thin film of long-chained carbohydrates, and thus his conclusions were not too well founded. Haase’s (1900) adhesion theory was not disproved either. Obviously, the problem could only be solv- ed by an improved observation technique, functionally and microscopically. Using elec- tron microscopical methods, Altevogt (1954) could show that there are very many more setal ramifications beyond those known to light microscopists. Later, Ruibal & Ernst (1965) continued such studies by transmission electron microscope and depicted the terminal branchings of the digital bristles. Materials and scanning electron micro- scopical (sem) methods Toes of Tarentola mauritanica and Hemi- dactylus frenatus ,3 the Indian house gecko were studied by using the “Stereoscan” Mk 1 3 1 am grateful to Professor Dr. T. A. Davis, ISI Calcutta, for giving me the Indian geckos. Dr. K. Klemmer verified the specific diagnosis. and Lei tz- AMR 1000.4 Both these instruments yield images of the surface structures with very high depth of focus. The objects to be studied are glued to aluminium stages by liquid contact silver dispersion. Then they are coated with gold and carbon in alternating repetition.5 The study proper is done under 20 kV accelerating voltage. Results Morphology of adhesive setae a) Tarentola mauritanica The survey (fig. 1) shows that the adhesive pads cover each toe totally in an imbricate man- ner. The distal parts of the setae are curved towards a proximal direction. Proximally, their diameter is about 2.5 m. Their distal ramifications end in plate-like structures of 0.5 Mm with a slight central deepening (fig. 2). The surfaces of these minute ramifications are normally arranged in one level at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the seta. The setae originate in fours from a papilla of the basal fibrous layer (Hiller 1972). The distal surfaces, the site of adhesion, of each four setae are also arranged in one level. This is an important fact to make adhesion at all pos- sible. The distal ramifications can be traced down along the shaft of each seta right to its base. Hence, column-like cannelures can be seen (fig. 3). They are proof of their ontogenetic development as epidermal structures, which also explains the occasional occurrence of other surface structures along the setal shaft without any relevance to adhesion. 4 Grant No. A1 13/11 from the Deutsche For- schungsgemeinschaft. 5 Apparatus granted in part by Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Westfalischen Wilhelms-Uniyersitat. 279 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 b) Hemidactylus frenatus A palmar view of Hemidactylus frenatus shows a typical arrangement of adhesive pads along the toes (fig. 4). Only the distal pad is not paired, the others being arranged in pairs under an angle of about 70° to the me- dian line. The latter is a deep epidermal groove (fig. 5) with several irregular interruptions, and sometimes this medial groove is even absent. The adhesive bristles are 4.5 Min wide, and their length depends on their posi- tion on each pad. On the proximal side of a pad they are 50 m long (fig. 6), and their length increases by about 50 per cent in a dis- tal position (fig. 7). The setae originate in twos to fours as in Tarentola. Sometimes, even a single seta sprouts from one papilla. These papillae also give rise to minute and simple setae of only 2 m length (fig. 8). Along the shaft of the adhesive setae one can sometimes trace the ramification, so fully developed at the distal portion. Ramification proper begins about 10-15 Mm from the distal surface, and sometimes even 5 Mm will do. Besides this primary ramification there are secondary branchings yielding even more ad- hesive surfaces. The length of these secondary ramifications ranges from 2-5 Mm (fig. 9). The diameter of these final branches is 0.2 Mm. All setae are again curved proximally. There is hardly a broadening of the terminal surfaces in this species. Comparison of adhesive structures in Tarentola and Hemidactylus The gross morphology in Tarentola reveals adhesive pads without interruption across the whole toe. All setae are uniformly curved proximally. In Hemidactylus , however, the pads are separated by a medial groove, and consequently there is the 70° position refer- red to above. While there are almost no dif- ferences in the structure of the setal shaft in both species, the terminal ramifications are quite different. In Tarentola, there are three levels of branchings, in Hemidactylus but two. It is highly interesting and certainly very im- portant for the process of clinging that the width of the terminal bristles is 0.2 nm in both lizards. This finding holds also for the New World Iguanids Anolis carolinensis and Anolis roquet extremus (Hiller 1968). The terminal curvature of setal ramification is equal in both, Tarentola mauritanica and Hemidactylus frenatus. Judging from the fine morphology of bri- stles in Tarentola and Hemidactylus one may rightly infer that the formation of adhesive structures (Hiller 1970, 1972) is similar if not equal. According to these findings, the setal ramifications originate first by a growth process of keratine bundles from the Ober- hautchen — cell (Oz) into cells of the so call- ed clear layer (Hs). Hence, a matrix of ad- hesive bristles is formed, and subsequently Hs- and Oz-layer separate from each other giving rise to the adhesive apparatus proper. In the following shedding, the Hs-layer is re- moved, and the newly formed adhesive bri- stles are ready for immediate function. Functioning of adhesive bristles Judging from the almost identical morpho- logy of adhesive setae in both gekkonids there can be no doubt about the functional prin- ciple (Hiller 1968), all the more as Hemid- actylus is almost as good a climber as Taren- tola. Though this — physical — principle has been fully elucidated (Hiller 1968), the old theories of suction etc. are still relied on in several scientific and popular papers on this astonishing gekkonid ability (for instance 280 Plate 1 J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 Hiller: Two gekkonid lizards. Fig. 1. Tarentola mauritanica, toe showing the adhesive pads. Scale 400 /mi. Fig. 4. Hemidactylus frenatus, palmar view of toe. Note the typical arrangement of adhesive pads. Scale 400 /im. Fig. 6. Hemidactylus frenatus , proximal side of a pad with 50 /im long setae. Scale 10 ^m. Fig. 9. Hemidactylus frenatus, distal ends of a seta, showing the first and second grade ramifications. Scale 1 /x m. iiiisi J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 Hiller: Two gekkonid lizards. Plate II Fig. 2. Tarentola mauritanica, distal ramification of a seta. Scale 1 /xm. Fig. 3. Tarentola mauritanica, adhesive seta showing column-like cannelures along the shaft. Scale 40 /xm. Fig. 5. Hemidactylus frenatus, median epidermal groove between the adhesive pads. Scale 15 /xm. Fig. 7. Hemidactylus frenatus, the length of the adhesive bristles in a distal position (left) increases by about 50 per cent. Scale 20 /xm. Fig. 8. Hemidactylus frenatus, numerous minute and simple setae of only 2 /xm length cover the region between the footpads. Scale 20 /xm. FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY OF GEKKONID LIZARDS Gennaro 1969; Gruber 1971). Using the claws, well developed in some gekkonids, does indeed sometimes play a minor role. On the other hand, on superbly smoothened glass surfaces (by surface melting) the adhesive pads cling so well that sometimes single bristles are torn off the toe. The physical mechanism of adhesive cling- ing in geckos is relatively easy to demonstrate by having the animals walk on substrata of high and low surface energy. Surface energy and its role in adhesion has only lately become understood. The surface energy of a material depends on molecular polarity (Driedger et al. 1965; Neumann 1967; Sell & Neumann 1966; Baumann 1967). This polarity is especially weak in polytetrafluorethylene (Hostaflon ®, Teflon®). In newly moulted geckos the bri- stles’ adhesive quality is best developed and loses this ability gradually until the next moul- ting (Hiller 1968). Even immediately after such a moult, geckos will slip on polytetra- fluorethylene and will fall off. Glass, how- ever, shows high molecular polarity, and it is glass, which has made gekkonid clinging so widely known. Surface energy can be quan- tified, and hence the adhesive mechanism of the various gekkonid species can be precisely compared to each other (Hiller 1969). In polyethylene sheets, surface energy can be adjusted to a desired level by treating the sheets with (coronary) discharges of high vol- tage low frequency currents. Depending on the kind of treatment one can produce sheets with surface energies of a wide range which can be measured by the “Union Carbide Test- ing Method” (Becker 1967-68). In addition, the surface energy of these sheets can be pre- cisely measured by using the contact angle method (c.f. Baumann 1967; Hiller 1968). Adhering power is defined as the force acting in caudal direction, at which, on a horizontal surface, the animal begins to lose its clinging ability and slips off. This force can easily be measured by a spring scale. In table 1 the ad- hering power (g) is tabulated as a function of surface tension. It is evident from these data that increasing surface energy means in- creasing adhesive ability. Table 1 Adhering power (g) as a function of surface TENSION Sheet Surface Contact Average adher- energy angle ing power (dyn/cm) (°) (g) 1 32 92.7 85.8 2 36 77.4 133.4 3 36 79.4 137.3 4 36 80.6 141.8 5 48 66.3 142.4 6 50 62.6 149.4 From the physical laws governing surface tension and the physiological processes invol- ved in gekkonid adhesion one must conclude that the above findings are generally appli- cable to all reptiles capable of “strolling on the ceiling” (Audy 1953) regardless of minor differences in the fine morphology in the setal structure. 281 3 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Refer Altevogt, R. (1954) : Probleme eines Fusses. Kosmos 50:528-430. Audy, J. R. (1953) : Strolling on the ceiling. Malayan Nat. J. 7:182-190. Baumann, H. (1967) : Leime und Kontaktkleber. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer. Becker, P. (1967-68): Probleme beim Druckvor- behandeln von Polyathylenfolien. PV 75:511-518. Cartier, O. (1872) : Studien fiber den feineren Ban der Haut bei den Reptilien. Verh. Phys.-med. Ges. Wurzburg 7:281. Dellit, W. D. (1949): Zum Haftproblem der Geckoniden. Dtsch. Aquar. Terr. Z. 2:56-58. Driedger, O., Neumann, A. W. & Sell, P. J. (1965): Uber die grenzflachenenergetische Zustands- funktion. Kolloid-Z. u. Z. Polymere 207:52-57. Gennaro, J. F. (1969) : Science solves secret of the Gekko gecko. International Herald Tribune, September 15. Gruber, U. (1971): Geckos in: Grzimeks Tier- leben Vol. 6, Kriechtiere. Kindler Verlag Zurich. Haase, A. (1900) : Untersuchungen uber den Bau und die Entwicklung der Haftlappen bei den Geckotiden. Diss. Berlin. Hiller, U. (1968): Unterschungen zum Feinbau und zur Funktion der Haftborsten von Reptilien. Z. Morph. Tiere 62:307-362. (1969) : Zusammenhang zwischen vorbehandelten Polyathylen-Folien durch Koronar- Entladung und dem Haftvermogen von Tarentola iNCES m. mauritanica (Rept.). forma et functio 7:350-352. (1970) : Morphologische Untersu- chungen der Haftborstenbildung und Hautung bei Tarentola mauritanica (Rept.). forma et functio 2:169-177. (1972) : Licht- und elektronenmi- kroskopische Untersuchungen zur Haftborstenent- wicklung bei Tarentola m. mauritanica L. (Reptilia, Gekkonidae). Z. Morph. Tiere 73:263-278. Hora, S. L. (1923) : The adhesive apparatus on the toes of certain Geckos and tree-frogs. J. Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 9: 137. Mahendra, B. C. (1941): Contributions to the bionomics, anatomy, reproduction and development of the Indian house-gecko, Hemidactylus flaviviridis Riippell. Part II, The problem of locomotion. Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 4: 288-306. Neumann, A. W. (1967) : Die Oberflachenspan- nung fester Korper. Umschau 6: 198. Ruibal, R. & Ernst, V. (1965) : The structure of the digital setae of lizards. J. Morph. 777:271- 293. Schmidt, H. (1904) : Zur Anatomie und Physio- logie der Geckopfote. Jena. Z. Naturw. 39: 551. Sell, P. J. & Neumann, A. W. (1966): Die Oberflachenspannung fester Korper. Angew. Chem. 78: 321-331. Tornier, G. (1899) : Ein Eidechsenschwanz mit Saugscheibe. Biol. Cbl. 79:549-552. 282 I Metamorphic changes in the haemocyte picture of the citrus butterfly, Papilio demoleus (L.) (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)1 K. Narayanan and S. Jayaraj2 Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai Introduction The haemoiymph of insects can undergo quan- titative changes to an extent virtually unknown for other tissues. In recent years increased attention has been paid to qualitative and quantitative studies of haemoiymph in view of the fact that the internal environment in insects is regulated in its medium. Suggestions have been made for several haematological analyses of insect blood and their applications by Jones (1962) and Wittig (1963). The study presented here is an attempt to charac- terise the qualitative and quantitative aspects of blood picture of the citrus caterpillar, Papilio demoleus. Total haemocyte counts, differential haemocyte counts and blood volume determination have been made in the larval and early pupal stages to study the changes associated with metamorphosis. Materials and Methods The citrus caterpillars that are about to moult into third instar which can be recognis- ed by the change in colour from brown to 1 Accepted June 1973. 2 Present address : Director of Extension Educa- tion, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimba- tore 641 003. yellowish green were used in the study. Care was taken to keep the groups of test material homogenous by way of selecting 10-12 days old larvae based on colour changes and 1-2 days old pupae. For the differential haemocyte counts the caterpillar was heat-fixed at 52- 56 °C for a minute or two, and by puncturing the first abdominal proleg, a drop of blood was collected on a clean, grease-free slide. The blood smear preparation was stained with Giemsa stain and the various types of haemo- cytes were classified according to the recent classification given by Jones (1962) and Patton (1963). For the total haemocyte counts, the haemo- iymph was collected in a Thoma White blood cell pipette to the 0.1 mark, diluted with 1.5 per cent acetified saline solution to prevent clotting, and made up to 11 mark. The blood cell counts were made by using double ruled Neubauer Haemocytometer. The number of haemocytes per mm3 of blood was calculated by counting the cells of five 1 mm square areas in each of the two chambers by using the for- mula given by Jones (1962): Haemocytes in five mm2 x Dilution factor x Depth factor Number of squares counted The procedure for dye dilution technique 283 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 described by Lee (1961) was adopted using Congo red for the blood volume determin- ation. Fifty ml of Congo red equivalent to 0.125 mg of the dye was injected into the haemocoele through the first abdominal pro- leg and inserted upto the thorax region. After five minutes, 100 ml of blood was drawn and made up to 7 ml with stock solution of sod- ium chloride and its optical density determin- ed using Systronics colorimeter at 480 m/* with a blue filter. In the case of 1-2 days old pupae, owing to the small quantity of the haemo- lymph, only 50 ml of blood was drawn, made up to 7 ml and optical density determined. From the optical density values of the sam- ple, the amount of the dye in the blood sam- ple was determined by referring to a standard graph. From the amount of dye injected and the amount of dye in the blood sample, the blood volume was determined by the formula given by Lee (1961): V = (dgi/g2) — a, where ‘V’ is the volume of blood, ‘gi’ is the weight of the dye injected, ‘g2’ is the weight of the dye in the sample, ‘d’ is the volume of the sample and ‘a’ is the vo- lume of saline injected with the dye. To this value is added 100 ml as 100 ml of blood was drawn from the test insect in the case of larvae and 50 ml in the case of pupae to serve as blanks. In the estimation of the blood volume, the wet weight of the animal is important, as the water imbibed by the in- sect constitutes to the dilution of the blood and a certain proportion to hydration of tis- sues. The wet weight was determined after removing adhering water from the insect which was wiped well with folds of filter paper. The blood volume was expressed as percentage of wet weight of the animal in mm3. Results and discussion The blood of the larva and pupa of Papi- lio demoleus was pale yellowish green in colour and watery in consistency. It took about 35 minutes to clot when extracted from the heat fixed sample. The clotting of the blood was accompanied by a change in colour to dark green and ultimately black. 1. Differential haemocyte counts There is much confusion in insect haema- tology since few authors have agreed on a common terminology. A critical discussion of the problem of blood cell classification was recently put forth by Jones (1962), and in the present paper the terminology suggested by him and Patton (1963) has been adopted. The cell types namely prohaemocytes or proleu- cocytes, plasmatocytes, spindle-shaped cells and vermiform cells could be distinguished in the haemolymph of P. demoleus larvae. The plas- matocytes constitute the major portion of the haemocytes counted, followed by prohaemo- cytes, spindle-shaped cells and vermiform cells. The prohaemocyte has a large nucleus and very little cytoplasm whereas the plasmato- cytes have well defined cytoplasm and small nucleus. The cytoplasm of this type of cell may be relatively clear, or in certain cells granules and vacuoles may be found. The spindle-shaped cells are also with small nucleus and well defined cytoplasm with vacuoles. In the case of vermiform type of cells, both the ends of the cell are twisted in a thread- like manner and have small nucleus with large cytoplasm. The spindle-shaped cells and ver- miform type of cells now observed in P. de- moleus larvae may be nothing but the plasma- tocytes which at times may send out pseudo- podia or get rounded up, or twisted at both the ends as suggested by Jones (1962) and Patton (1963). When viewed edgewise the plasmatocytes may become spindle-shaped. 2. Total haemocyte counts It is seen from Table 1 that the total haem- 284 METAMORPHIC CHANGES IN PAPILIO DEMOLEUS ocyte counts (THC) of heat-fixed larvae rang- ed from 17500 to 22750 cells /mm3 with a mean of 21541 cells. In the case of pupa, the blood cells varied from 2250 to 3250 cells/mm3 with a mean of 2812 cells. It is evident that there has been a 7.7 fold decrease in the number of haemocytes from the actively feeding larval stage to the inactive pupal stage. That the total and differential haemocyte counts are diminished in the pupal stage has also been reported in Anagasta kuhniella (Zeller) (Arnold 1952), Bombyx mori (L.) (Nittono 1960), Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Clarke & Chandbourne 1960), Prodenia eridania (Cramer) (Yeager 1945; Rosenberger & Jones 1960), Galleria mello- nella L. (Jones 1967a) and Sarcophaga bul- lata P. (Jones 1967b). 3. Haemolymph volume The haemolymph volume expressed as per- centage of the body weight of the larvae rang- ed from 29.48 to 37.20 with an average of 32.94 (Table 1). In the case of pupae the volume ranged from 15.90 to 19.87 per cent with a mean of 17.53. The volume has been decreased by 46.8 per cent in the pupa. This reduction is in accordance with the observa- tions made by Lee (1961) in the case of locust Schistocera gregaria in which the volume of 22.0 per cent in nymph was reduced to 13.95 per cent in the newly formed adult. Similarly Jones (1967a) found that the haemolymph volume declined from 34 per cent in preco- coon spinning larvae to 16.4 per cent in the newly formed pupa in Galleria mellonella. These observations indicate that fluctuations in blood volume are related to the stage of development of an insect. The results presented above on THC and haemolymph volume of both larvae and pu- pae may be combined to indicate the changes in the haemocyte population within the whole insect. When the THC was multiplied with haemolymph volume the calculated haemocyte population could be arrived at. The estimated mean number of haemocytes in the whole larva was found to be 7,09,562 as against only 49,226 in the pupa (Table 1). Table 1 Haemocyte counts, blood volume and expected population of Haemocytes in the larvae and pupae of Papilio demoleus L. Particulars Larva Pupa % decrease Levels of S.E. CD. in pupa significance (%) 1. Total Haemocyte counts (THC) 21541.30 2812.5 86.9 1 1381.0 4289.3 2. Blood volume (% on wet weight basis) 32.94 17.53 46.8 1 2.1 6.5 3. Expected Haemocytes population (THC x Blood volume) 7,09,562 49,226 93.0 1 19055 50184 285 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Acknowledgement We wish to express our gratitude to Dr. C. V. Govindaswamy, Dean, Agricultural Col- Refer Arnold, J. W. (1952) : The haemocytes of the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuhniella Zell. (Lepidoptera : Pyralidae). Can. J. Zool. 30: 352-364. Clarke, E. W. & Chandbourne, D. S. (1960): The haemocytes of non-diapause and diapause larvae and pupae of the pink bollworm. Ann. En- tomol. Soc. Am., 53:6 82-685. Jones, J. C. (1962): Current concepts concerning insect haemocytes. Am. Zool. 2: 209-246. (1967a): Changes in the haemocyte picture of Galleria mellonella Linnaeus. Biol. Bull., 752:211-221. (1967b) : Estimated changes with- in the haemocyte population during the last larval and early pupal stages of Sarcophaga bnllata Par- ker. J. Insect Physiol., 75:645-646. Lee, R. M. (1961): The variation of blood vo- lume with age in the desert locust ( Schistocerca gregaria). J. Insect Physiol. 6:36-51. lege and Research Institute, Madurai for pro viding facilities and encouragement. iNCES Nittono, Y. (1960) : Studies on the blood cells in the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. Bull. Sericult. Expt. Sta. {Tokyo), 76:171-266. Patton, R. L. (1963): The function of transport- blood and circulation. In “Introductory Insect Phy- siology”, R. L. Patton (ed.) 46-66. W. B. Saun- ders Company, London. Rosenberger, C. R. & Jones, J. C. (1960): Stu- dies on total blood cell counts of the Southern army worm larvae, Prodenia eridania (Lepidoptera). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 55:351-355. Wittig, G. (1963) : Techniques in Insect path- ology. In “Insect pathology: An Advanced Treatise”. E. A. Steinhaus (ed.) 2:5 91-636. Academic Press, New York. Yeager, J. E. (1945): The blood picture of the Southern army worm {Prodenia eridania ) . J. Agr. Res., 77:1-40. 286 Plants of Corbett National Park, Uttar Pradesh1 P. C. Pant2 Botanical Survey of India, Dehra Dun (With a map) A sketch of the vegetation and its constituent elements, in the Corbett National Park, with local names for several of the plants as also a habit-wise list of 232 species is presented. Currently, an awareness of our rapidly chang- ing environment, and the consequent need for conservation of the quickly altering and some- times dwindling or even disappearing wild life, including plants and animals, has underlined the need, for an adequate knowledge of our wild life. In different parts of the country Na- tional Parks and wild life sanctuaries have been established. In view of the more appealing nature of the wild animal life and the publi- city given to some, like the lion, the rhino and the tiger, the plant cover in which these live and the close interaction of vegetation with animal life, tends to remain unemphasised. However, recently this aspect is being attend- ed to and either preliminary or full accounts of the flora of some of our sanctuaries and Na- tional Parks have been published (Santapau & Randeria 1955, Maheshwari 1963, Naithani 1966). The Botanical Survey of India has taken up detailed and elaborate study of the vegeta- tion of these interesting areas, in different parts of the country. Thus Botanical Survey of India (Northern Circle) has been concerned with 1 Accepted August 1973. 2 Present address : Botanical Survey of India, 10 Chatham Lines, Allahabad 211 002. the vegetation of Corbett National Park, which is within its area. This account is based upon studies and collections made at intervals dur- ing November, 1970 to May, 1971 at different points in the park (Map). Corbett National Park, earlier twice different- ly named, first as Hailey National Park, in 1935, and later as Ramganga National Park, is situated in the foot hills of the Western Him- alayas, along Delhi- Ranikhet National High- way between 29° 13' 30" and 29° 35' 15" N and 78° 46' and 79° 33' E. Originally compris- ing of an area of about 324 sq km it now ex- tends to 525 sq km. The park partly consists of the forest reserves of Ramnagar and Kala- garh division of Uttar Pradesh. The part in Kalagarh division includes the drainage area of the Ramganga river (Map). The natural forest of the park is confined to the Bhabar tract of Siwalik formation at alti- tudes of 700-1500 m with varied topography of many temporary marshy depressions, rav- ines and plateau land (Patli Dun). The river Ramganga flows through the plateau in west- ward direction before it takes a southward turn at Boxar. An appreciable portion of the present park area along the Ramganga river will be submerged in the near future on corn- 287 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 73 pletion of the “Ramganga Multipurpose Hydel Project” at Kalagarh (Uttar Pradesh). This project necessitates all the more, the urgent conservation of vegetation in suitable areas to avoid silting and protect the vicinity of the dam from soil erosion, as it has begun to become evident in the case of some other multipurpose hydel projects. Geologically, like other submontane tracts of the Western Himalayas the park belongs to Siwalik formation which is composed of conglomerates, sand rocks, sand stones and boulders. The soil is alluvial, the river beds are composed of water borne debris of the granite core of the Himalaya, small rounded pebbles. scattered conglomerates, loose river gravel and sand. The climate of the park area can be broadly distinguished as being cold from December- February with chilly and often frosty nights, at times with sufficient rains during this period, warm with sultry and high temperature from May- June, at times thunder showers with hail- stones not being unusual. Wet, warm and hu- mid July-September with plenty of monsoon rains. During October-November with south- west monsoon retreating autumn prevails with clear days and moderate temperature. Spring is ushered in March-April, the period being quite pleasant with moderate warmth, \ KANDA MOHAN IMAN6AD) "--•D7S DWIKALA SARPADULI ^BOXAR PATER PAW ^ G RUJ PAN I JAMNAGWAR BiJRANi CORBETT NATIONAL PARK (m to scaie) zfcf'gy; CAMP SITES 8 AREAS OF COLLECTION J H IRNA* O6 □ ^ KALAGARAH Map of Corbett National Park. 288 PLANTS OF CORBETT NATIONAL PARK and fast growing vegetation all round. The vegetation is a mixed one of deciduous tropical and subtropical species. Mention may be made of botanically interesting pockets in the park such as Dhulwa east, Dhikala, Dhan- gadi nallah, Panod nallah, Pater nallah (Pater- pani block), Kanda, Domunda block. Riparian tract of Ramganga and the section between Bijrani-Mailani. The dominant tree species in the park is Sal ( Shorea robusta), with its characteristic straight bole forming pure stands. After cross- ing Gajar sot near the sultan Forest Rest House there is a particularly dense, pure popul- ation of these lofty trees. A frequent associate of sal is Adina cordi folia with its buttressed base, hard reddish brown wood and heart shaped leaves. Holarrhena antidy sent erica is a shorter tree with rough, brown bark, white flowers and slender follicles, also occurs scat- tered amidst the Sal. In open scrub land, one can easily spot Bombax ceiba the silk cotton tree; a tall deciduous tree with buttres- sed stem, widespread branches with large upright crimson flowers and woody cap- sules with closely packed seeds all cover- ed in white silky hairs. A few other easily noticeable trees in the park are Anogeissus latifolia; a gregarious tree on hilly tracts with smooth pale yellowish or pinkish brown flut- ed crooked trunks and the foliage turning pur- ple red at the onset of winter. Piliostigma malabarica with rough dark brown or blackish bark and characteristically acidic leaves. Bau- hinia racemosa with short bole, low spread- ing crown, deeply fissured bark and sickle shaped pods. Kydia calycina with pale brown bark, heart shaped leaves and panicles of white flowers. Lagerstroemia parviflora with lax panicles of white flowers and ellipsoid glossy fruits. Cassia fistula — the Indian Laburnum, with dark grey rough bark, pendent bunches of bright yellow blossoms and slender cylin- drical long fruits. Semicarpus anacardium with obovate-oblong leaves, turning to yellow be- fore falling and black fruits hanging from bright orange fleshy receptacles. Emblica offi- cinalis with minute greenish flowers in axil- lary fascicles and pale yellow, waxy, sour fruits, Zizyphus mauritiana with dense spreading crown, blackish to grey or brown bark, yellow to red, globose or ovoid stony fruits. Some other miscellaneous deciduous species are Holoptelea integrifolia or Indian Elm — A large tree, bark smooth silvery grey with small green flowers and membraneous circular winged fruits. Careya arborea with brown bark, large sweet scented flowers and numerous con- spicuous stamens. Madhuca indica with dark brown bark, fascicles of fragrant flowers and the sweet fleshy corolla which is edible raw, or used in sweet preparations. Mention may be made of Erythrina sp. and Butea sp. with their characteristic butterfly shaped scarlet and bright red orange tinged corollas, respectively. Among the evergreen trees along the dry nallahs and on exposed habitats occur Wend- landia heynei with terminal pyramidal panicles of small white fragrant flowers. On other places a noticeable tree species is Mallotus philippen- sis with its leaves having the characteristic red glands and the fruits coated with a scarlet red resinous powder. Syzygium cumini or Black plum with pale brown bark, small fragrant flowers and the familiar dark violet fleshy edi- ble fruits. The only indigenous conifer at Ghil- modya sot (Forest compartment No. 9/10) in the park boundary is Pinus roxburghii with the dark green needles in threes. Association of Dalbergia sissoo-Acacia catechu, along Ramg- anga river bordering Savannah at Dhikala is an interesting feature in the landscape of the park where a large area is covered with a dense growth of Themeda arundinacea a tall wavy 289 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 grass, bordered with Thysanolena maxima and Vetiveria zizanioides. Annually after the burn- ing of the dense dry grass of the savannah of Dhikala (Dhikala chaur) there spring up amidst the new culms many other herbaceous element. This temporary herbaceous growth constitutes the food of the herbivorous hog- deer (Para) and spotted deer (Chital). Some of the easily noticeable herbaceous elements on Dhikala chaur are Evolvulus alsinoides with wiry branches and beautiful blue flowers. Roughly pubescent, slender, Vicoa indica with its yellow floral heads and Lactuca sp. with milky latex. Trichodesma indicum with rough leaves and funnel shaped corolla crowned with its cone of anthers. Other species that may be mentioned are Ajuga, Polygala, Desmodium, Crotalaria, Oldenlandia, rush like Cyperaceae and terrestrial orchids such as grass like Zeux- ine and tuberous Eulophia species with flowers in varying shades of pink-blue. An interesting stemless undershrub in Dhikala chaur with its close rosette of 2 or 3 pairs of leaves resting on the ground is the dwarf Pygmaeopremna herbacea. Apart from the savannah land of Dhikala, in quite a number of other spots also members of the Poaceae are widespread. Amongst these may be mentioned Eulaliopsis binata, Apluda mutica, Oplismenus compositus and Eragrostis uniloides. Of these Eulaliopsis binata — the baib grass is of considerable commercial value being used in the paper industry. At other places in the park amongst com- mon shrubs mention may be made of Clero- dendrum viscosum with quadrangular chan- nelled branches, large opposite leaves, scented white flowers and red fruits. This is a very close associate of Sal and densely gregari- ous. Colebrookea oppositifolia with densely silky tomentose quadrangular twigs. Pogoste - mon benghalense with herbaceous purple- ting- ed, smooth, sub-quadrangular twigs and strong aromatic flowers in dense spikes, Adhatoda vasica, with two lipped white flowers and foe- tid smelling leaves. Artemisia nilagirica, with aromatic pinnatisect leaves. Spermadictyon suaveolens with blue flowers and foetid smell- ing young leaves. Murraya paniculata, with numerous fragrant white flowers. Murraya koenigii, with its aromatic leaves (used in flavouring curries), Rubus ellipticus, with prick- ly stem and branches, white flowers and golden yellow succulent fruits, favourite of the birds in the area. Zizyphus xylopyros, with its spreading crown, rusty tomentose prickly twigs. Zizyphus oenoplia, a straggling shrub with slender, brown tomentose twigs. Glycos- mis arborea, with its orange smelling glossy leaves and white flowers, forms dense grega- rious groups. Still other shrubs of interest in the area are Helicteres isora, easily noticed due to its twist- ed fruits. Moghania strobilifera a loosely bran- ching shrub with foliaceous bracts concealing the small flowers and later the little pods. Sida cordifolia a diffuse shrub with pale yellow flowers. Sida orientalis, with stellately hairy branches and rhomboid 3-nerved leaves. Teph- rosia Candida, with grooved branches, white and at times red-tinged flowers. Carissa spin- arum an evergreen dense thorny shrub with sweet scented pinkish-white flowers. Wood- fordia fruticosa a large shrub with long bran- ches and numerous clustered tubular red flo- wers. Among fleshy climbers occasionally Pothos can be seen scrambling over the tall trunks of Sal trees. The lianoid climbers of common occurrence in the park area are Milleiia auricu - lata, with odd pinnate leaves and woody brown velvety pods; Cryptolepis buchanani with dark purplish-brown or blackish bark, terete whitish branches, opposite leaves and fruits of 2 divari- 290 PLANTS OF CORBETT NATIONAL PARK eating follicles; Aspidopterys nutans, with op- posite leaves, scented flowers and winged fruits; Vallaris solanacea, with fragrant white flowers tinged with green and blaze exuding milky juice. Forming a striking scene with its dense canopy of profuse flowers covering small to tall trees, is another fairly common climber, Porana paniculata. Still another common clim- ber is Phanera vahlii, cream yellow flowered and with rusty, flat pods enclosing glossy dark brown seeds. Parasitic plants, particularly the stem para- sites, are easily noticeable due to their foliage, quite different from that of their host trees. These are Dendrophthoe falcata, with grey smooth bark, thick and fleshy leaves, upon Shorea robusta. Scurrula pulverulenta, with young leaves and shoots having white floccu- lent fugaceous tomentum and thick opposite leaves, on Boehmeria rugulosa and Shorea robusta. Scurrula cordifolm, with dark brown smooth bark, leaves covered with buff coloured scurfy tomentum on Ougeinia ougeinensis. Cuscuta reflexa the holo-parasite, leafless and long stranded, covers many shrubs and low trees. The epiphytic growth is scarce and consists of a few orchid species like Vanda with flat keeled leaves and Bulbophyllum with leaves on pseudobulbs. These too are seen only in the environs of Bijrani and Sultan respectively. There are numerous prostrate, slender herbs forming the ground cover. Of these the most noticeable, particularly in moist shady habitats is Drymaria diandra a spreading slender annu- al with stem-clasping cordate leaves and small white flowers. Other scattered fairly common herbs are Justicia procumbens, with quadran- gular branches and flowers in dense axillary or terminal spikes. Procumbent Borreria arti- cularis with opposite leaves and many tiny white flowers in compact globose axillary heads. Boerhaavia diffusa, with deep stout roots and very small umbellate red flowers atop diffuse branches. Erect, Cynoglossum lanceolatum with white bluish-tinged flowers and fruiting nutlets with barbed bristles. Small hairy annu- al, Gonotheca ovalifolia, generally with four unequal leaves in a whorl. Procumbent Indigo - fera linifolia, with bright red flowers and small pods. Hoary tomentose Leucas mollissima with quadrangular stems and white flowers. Erect much-branched Bupleurum hamiltonii, with umbellate, yellow coloured flowers. Prickly bright green Solanum surattense with bluish flowers and yellow berries streaked green. Small delicate Oxalis sp. with 3-foliolate leaves. There are several members of the large family Asteraceae, easily recognised when in bloom by their characteristic heads. Of these mention may be made of Vernonia cinerea with beauti- ful pink-lilac heads. Radiating heads of Erig- eron canadensis with flat heads, the heads with yellow tiny disc florets, encircled by white ligulate florets. Dichotomously branched deep rooted Elephant opus scaber with radical leaves and violet-purple, tubular flowers. Bidens biter- nata with white ray florets and sticky achenes. Tridax procumbens, with pinnatisect leaves and the head atop a long weak scape. A strik- ing constitutent of the undergrowth below Dal- bergia sissoo at Dhikala along the Ramganga river is Leonotis nepetaefolia singularly straight, with its stiff quadrangular stem and interspersed large globose green verticillasters and projecting bright orange to red bilipped flowers. Another noticeable plant is the scrambling cypress vine — Ipomoea quamoclit with its finely divided leaves and scarlet flowers. Purely aquatic vegetation does not exist in the park, but there are many herbaceous plants characteristic of moist, marshy or water-logg- ed areas. Of these mention may be made of 291 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Ammania sp. Oenothera sp., Veronica sp., Hypericum sp. and Polygonum sp. In tempor- ary little pools occur small colonies of Pota- mogeton, and here and there can be noted the characteristic rush-like clumps of Cyperaceae members. In open, moist areas Ranunculus sp. also occurs, easily noted when in bloom. Amongst some of the other familiar plants should be mentioned the bamboos. They occur frequently in several blocks of the park. There are practically no palms, excepting for the stem- less Phoenix acaulis scattered at places along the park boundary and the quite rare palm Wallichia densiflora easily recognised by its large leaves, the leaflets dark green above and white beneath. Mention should also be made of some of the non-flowering plants. In many cool, shady moist areas, often in gregarious patches occur different species of ferns, all of them equally attractive due to their differently dissected leaves and the variously coiled young fronds. Pteris sp. Adiantum sp. etc. occur along run- ning streams appearing almost like an arrang- ed fernery. The snake- tongued fern Ophioglos- sum reticulatum has been spotted below sal trees, and the horse-tails or scouring rushes— Equisetum has been seen in clumps on sand banks along the river or stream margins. The park with its falling trees, rotting trunks and accumulating debris supports its due share of fleshy and other kinds of fungi and lichens. The liverworts and the mosses too are seen in their usual habitats, on moist trunks. But this study has not particularly touched them. The Corbett National Park is becoming in- creasingly popular with tourists, and has al- ready begun to show evidence of the hand of man in altering vegetation. Established weeds that follow closely on the heels of man have begun to settle and spread. This will undoubt- edly affect the indigenous vegetation. Amongst these enterprising hardy intruders should be mentioned the ubiquitous Lantana. Still others are Acanthospermum hispidum and Xanthium strumarium. Yet another naturalised element forming gregarious colonies, is the ‘Bhang’ or Cannabis sativa. The plants collected during this preliminary study have been classified habit-wise and listed with local Hindi vernacular names for some species as gathered from the staff of the forest department. The collection is deposited in the Botanical Survey of India, Northern Circle Herbarium at Dehra Dun (BSD). LIST OF PLANTS TREES Adina cordifolia (Roxb.) Hook. f. ex Brandis ‘Haldu’ Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. ‘Bel’ Albizzia odoratissima Benth. Anogeissus latifolius (Roxb.) Wall, ex Bedd. ‘Bakli’ Bauhinia racemosa Lamk. Bauhinia retusa Roxb. Boehmeria rugulosa Wedd. Bridelia squamosa (Lamk.) Gehrm. D alter gia sissoo Roxb. ex DC. ‘Sisham’ Diospyros exsculpta Buch.-Ham. Ehretia laevis Roxb. Emblica officinalis Gaertn. ‘Aonla’ Ficus benghalense L. ‘Bar’ Grewia glabra Bl. Kydia calycina Roxb. ‘Pula’ Madhuca indica Gmel. ‘Mahwa’ Mallotus philippensis (Lamk.) Muell.-Arg. ‘Roli’ Piliostigma malabaricum (Roxb.) Benth. ‘Khatwa’ Semicarpus anacardium L.f. ‘Bhilawa’ Terminalia alata Heyne ex Roth Trema politoria Planch. W endlandia heynei (R. & S.) Sant. & Merch. ‘Tirchoniya’ Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk. ‘Ber’ SHRUBS Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet Acanthospermum hispidum DC. Achyranthes aspera L. Achyranthes bidentata Bl. 292 PLANTS OF CORBETT NATIONAL PARK Adhatoda vasica Nees Aerva sanguinolenta (L.) Bl. Ageratum conyzoides L. Alysicarpus vaginalis DC. Ardisia floribunda Wall. Ardisia solanacea Roxb. Arachne cordifolia (Decne.) Hurusawa Artemisia nilagirica (Clarke) Pamp. Asparagus adscendens Roxb. Barleria cristata Lindl. Barleria strigosa Willd. Boehmeria platyphylla D. Don Buddleja asiatica Lour. Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl. Cannabis sativa L. ‘Bhang’ Carissa spinarum L. Cassia occidentalis L. Cissampelos pariera L. Clerodendron viscosum Vent. Colebrookea oppositifolia Sm. Crotalaria bialata Schrank Crotalaria sericea Retz. Crotalaria tetragona Andr. Deeringia amaranthoides (Lamk.) Merr. Desmodium gangeticum DC. Desmodium heterocarpon (L.) DC. Desmodium pulchellum (L.) Benth. Desmodium retusum (D. Don) Sweet Embelia robusta Roxb. Glycosmis arborea (Roxb.) Corr. Helicteres isora L. ‘Maror phali’ Holmskioldia sanguinea Retz. Inula cappa DC. Inula cuspidata Cl. Iso don coesta (Spreng.) Kudo Lantana camara L. Maesa indica Wall. Maoutia puya Wedd. Mimosa himalayana Gamble Mimosa rubicaulis Lamk. Moghania strobilifera (L.) St. Hil. & Jacks. Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. Pavetta tomentosa Roxb. ex Rees Phoenix humilis Royle Pogostemon benghalense (Burm. f.) O. Ktze Pupalia lappacea Jacq. Rumex hastatus D. Don ‘Bhilmora’ Scoparia dulcis L. Scutellaria repens Buch-Ham. ex D. Don Sida acuta Burm. f. Sida cordifolia L. Sida orientalis Cav. Sida rhombifolia L. Solanum erianthum D. Don Solanum incanum L. Solanum khasianum Cl. Spermadictyon suaveolens Roxb. Tamarix dioica Roxb. Tephrosia Candida DC. Triumfetta rhomboidea Jacq. Uraria lagopodioides (L.) Desv. ex DC. Uraria neglecta Prain Urena lobata L. Urtica parviflora Roxb. W oodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz Xeromphis spinosa (Thunb.) Keay Zizyphus nummularia (Burm. f.) Wt. & Arn. Zizyphus oenoplia (L.) Mill. Zizyphus xylopyros (Retz.) Willd. HERBS Acrocephalus indicus (Burm. f.) O. Ktze. Adenostemma lavenia (L.) O. Ktze. Adiantum caudatum L. Adiantum philippense L. Aleuritopteris grisea (Blauf.) Panigrahi Amaranthus spinosus L. Ammania multiflora Roxb. Anagallis pumilla Swartz Anaphalis busua (Buch.-Ham.) Hand.-Mazz. Anisomeles indica (L.) DC. Apluda mutica L. Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit. Asplenium alternans Wall. Athyrium pectinatum (Wall.) Pr. Atylosia crassa Prain Atylosia scrabaeoides Benth. Bidens biternata (Lour.) Merr. & Scherff Biophytum reinwardtii Klotzsch Blainvillea acmella (L.) Philipson Boerhaavia diffusa L. Borreria articularis (L.) F.N. Wils. Borreria pusilla (Wall.) DC. Brachiaria distachya (L.) Stapf Bupleurum hamiltonii Balakrishnan Canscora diffusa R. Br. Canscora decussata R. & S. Cassia obtusifolia L. Cassia tora L. Cheilanthes farinosa (Forsk.) Fee Chenopodium album L. Chenopodium ambrosioides L. 293 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Chrysanthellum americanum (L.) Vatke Conyza strict a Willd. Cor chorus olitorius L. Crotalaria albida Heyne ex Roth Crotalaria calycina Schrank Cyclosorus aridus (Don) Ching Cypcrus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk. Cy perns giobosus All. Cyperus kyllinga Endl. Cynoglossum lanceolatum Forsk. Cythocline purpurea (D. Don) O. Ktze. Dichanthium annulatum (Forsk.) Stapf Dicliptera roxburghiana Nees Dipteracanthus beddomei (Cl.) Santapau Distemon indicum Wedd. Dryopteris arida (Don) O. Ktze. Dryopteris cochleata (Don) C. Chr. Drymaria diandra Blume Elephantopus scaber L. Emila sonchifolia DC. Eragrostis tenella (L.) P. Beauv. ex Roem. et Schult. Eragrostis uniloides (Retz.) Nees ex Steud. Erigeron canadensis L. Eriophorum comosum Wall, ex Nees Equisetum debile Roxb. Euphorbia hirta L. Euphorbia hypericifolia L. Evolvulus alsinoides L. Floscopa scandens Lour. Gonotheca ovatifolia (Cav.) Sant. & Wagh Hedyotis verticillata (L.) Lamk. Indigofera linifolia Retz. Justicia procumbens L. var. simplex (D. Don) Yamazaki Justicia prostrata Gamble Knoxia sumaatrensis (Retz.) DC. Laggera falcata (D. Don) O. Ktze. Leonotis nepetaefolia R. Br. Lepidagathis incurva D. Don Leucas cephalotes (Roth) Spreng. Leucas lanata Benth. Leucas molissima Wall. Limnophila indica (L.) Druce Lindernia anagallis (Burm. f.) Pennell Lindernia ciliata (Colsm.) Merr. Lindernia nummularifolia (Don) Wettst. Lindenbergia indica (L.) Vatke Lygodium flexuosum (L.) Sw. Malvastrum coromandel ianum (L.) Garcke Mazus pumillus (Burm. f.) Steenis Mukia madraspatana (L.) Roem. Murdannia nudiftora Roxb. Murdannia spirata (L.) Brueckn. Nelsonia canescens (Lamk.) Spreng. Nepeta graciliflora Bth. Ophioglossum reticulatum L. Oplismenus compositus (L.) P. Beauv. Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. Peristrophe bicalyculata (Retz.) Nees Peristrophe speciosa Nees Phaseolus aureus Roxb. Phaseolus trilobus Ait. Phyllanthus urinaria L. Phyllanthus virgatus J.G. Forst. Polygonum barbatiun L. Polygonum glabrum Willd. Polygonum hydro pi per L. Pouzolzia pentandra Benn. Pouzolzia zeylanica (L.) Benn. Pteris biaurita L. Rhynchoglossum obliquum Blume Rungia pectinata (L.) Nees Sida cor data (Burm. f.) Bross. Siegesbeckia orientalis L. Solanum nigrum L. Solanum surattense Burm. f. Sorghum nitidum (Vahl) Rees Tectaria macrodonta (Fee) C. Chr. Tephrosia hamiltonii J.R. Drummond Themeda arundinacea (Roxb.) Hassk. Themeda villosa (Poir) A. Camus Torenia cordifolia Roxb. Trichodesma indicum (L.) Lehm. Tridax procumbens L. Vernonia cinera Less. Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash Vicoa indica (L.) DC. Zornia gibbosa Span V/OODY CLIMBERS Abrus fruticulosus Wall, ex Wight & Arn. Acacia pennata (L.) Willd. Acacia tort a (Roxb.) Craib Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb. Clematis gouriana Roxb. ex DC. Clematis roylei Rehder Ichnocarpus frutescens (L.) Ait. Milletia auriculata Baker Porana paniculata Roxb. Tetrastigma lanceolarium Planch. 294 PLANTS OF CORBETT NATIONAL PARK HERBACEOUS CLIMBERS Ampelocissus divaricata (Wall.) Planch. Dioscorea anguina Roxb. Ipomoea hederifolia L. Ipomoea purpurea Roth Ipomoea quamoclit L. PARASITES Dendrophthoe falcata (L.f.) Ettingh. Scurrula cordifolia (Wall.) G. Don Scurrula pulverulenta (Wall.) G. Don Acknowledgements I am grateful to Dr. M. A. Rau, Deputy Director, Northern Circle, Botanical Survey of India, for the encouragement in studying the plants from Corbett National Park and Dr. A. S. Rao, Regional Botanist, Eastern Circle, Botanical Survey of India for his help and valuable guidance in the preparation of this note. I express my thanks to wild life Warden, Corbett National Park and his staff for render- ing facilities in the exploration work. References Maheshwari, J. K. (1963) : A contribution to the Flora of Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh. Bui!. Bot. Surv. India 5(2) : 117-140. Naithani, B. D. (1966): Studies on the Flora of Bandipur Reserve Forest, Mysore State. Bull. Bot. Surv. India 8( 3 & 4) :252-263. Santapau, H. & Randeria, Aban J. (1955) : The Botanical Exploration of the Krishnagiri National Park, Borivli, near Bombay. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 55(2) : 185-200. 295 Some birds observed in the monsoon in Central Nepal1 M. W. and B. J. Woodcock2 {With a text -figure) The following notes were made during a three week trek from Pokhara towards Annapurna at the height of the monsoon in July and August 1973. Our original objective was to get up to around 14,000 feet in the Annapurna “Sanctuary” area to find and study breeding Rosefinches ( Carpodacus spp.), but this pro- ved somewhat ambitious in view of the time available to us. Also, there was an unfortunate deterioration in the weather when we were within three or four hours of our objective, and we were forced to camp at Hinko cave, at around 10,400 feet in the valley of the Modi Khola, by cold driving rain and high winds, and we could not spare the few days necessary to allow the weather to moderate and still give us time for our return walk. Despite the conditions, every opportunity was taken to study and identify the birds that came under our notice, and we hope that in recording this list, some comparison may be made with the species encountered at other times of the year when it is easier to operate, and in consequence for periods covered by most other accounts. One or two of the com- ments concern birds observed in the Gokarna Forest Reserve near Kathmandu. We would like to record our gratitude to 1 Accepted January 1975. 2 The fives, Elderden Farm, Staplehurst, Ton- bridge, Kent, England. Richard Odell and John Flatt of the Lumle Agricultural Research station for much kind- ness and assistance, and to Dr. Robert Flem- ing of Kathmandu for his comments on the list. Pernis ptilorhynchus — Crested Honey Buzzard A single bird circled round overhead several times in the Gokarna Reserve, on 8th August. It was flying at tree-top height, and therefore easily identifiable, being in fairly typical plum- age, with well barred wings, and two bars close to the base of the tail. Proud ( JBNHS 53: 71) records a Honey Buzzard sp. as common in the valley between November and March, and Biswas ( JBNHS 57:283) records two females from Hitaura in the Dun in July. Milvus mi grans govinda — Pariah Kite Common at Kathmandu and Pokhara. One at Ghandrung at 2350 m. Milvus migrans lineatus — Large Indian Kite Three birds together on hillside above Pok- hara at 1130 m. Accipiter nisus — Sparrow-Hawk A large immature Sparrow-hawk above Chhumrung at 2350 m was thought to be of this species. It was seen well as it perched on a branch, and the tarsus looked long and thin enough to rule out the Shikra {A. badius). Spizaetus nipalensis — Hodgson’s Hawk-Eagle Two birds of either this species or S. cirrha - tus, the Changeable Hawk-Eagle, were seen soaring over forest in the Modi Khola valley SOME BIRDS OBSERVED IN CENTRAL NEPAL near Chhumrung at about 2400 m. They were dark brown above, rather bleached in places, and showed dark, even barring on the tail. Ictinaetus malayensis — Black Eagle At least four individuals were seen around Lumle 25-26 July. Torgos calvus — King Vulture A single bird seen in the hills above Pokhara. Aegypius monachus — Black Vulture One individual flew close overhead in open hill country between Lumle and Pokhara on 6 August. This is apparently a very early re- cord for this uncommon winter visitor (Flem- ing— in litt.). Gyps himalayensis — Himalayan Griffon One near Pokhara. The huge size and pale coloration are distinctive. Gyps bengalensis — Whitebacked Vulture Pokhara and Lumle, seen at up to 2400 m. Neophron percnopterus — Scavenger Vulture Pokhara and Lumle, up to 1850 m. Gypaetus barbatus — Lammergeier Seen several times at Lumle at 1900 m, 25th and 26th July, and two together on 5th Au- gust. Ghandrung, one on 3rd August. Spilornis cheela — Serpent Eagle Seen commonly from the hills above Pok- hara up to Chhumrung at 2900 m. Falco peregrinus — Shahin Falcon Two pairs and a single bird in a range of open, rocky hillside north-west of Pokhara at 1350 m. One pair were indulging in the im- pressive display flight; as one bird circled around high in the air, a second rose to join it, and then both swooped down the hillside in a great rush, actually rolling over in mid flight and showing the rusty coloured under- parts. Falco tinnunculus — Kestrel Seen near Pokhara 23 July, and at Chandra- kot 4 August. Ardeola grayii — Pond Heron. Kathmandu. Bubulcus ibis — Cattle Egret Kathmandu. Egretta grazetta — Little Egret Kathmandu and Pokhara. Lophura leucomelana — Kaleej Six females supposed to be of this species flew over a path in the Gokarna reserve from one hillside to another. Treron sphenura — Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon A male and two females together in a tree at Khuldi at 3000 m on 2 August. Streptopelia tranquebarica — Red Turtle Dove Gokarna Reserve, Kathmandu. Streptopelia chihensis — Spotted-necked Dove Common around Kathmandu and Pokhara. Coracias benghalensis — Indian Roller Pokhara. Halcyon smyrnensis — White-breasted King- fisher Gokarna Reserve, Kathmandu. Collocalia brevirostris — Himalayan Swiftlet Common over river valleys from around 1300 m near Pokhara up to 3800 m above Hinko cave, where there was a single bird fly- ing around in driving rain. There is a paucity of records in the literature for this species, and although Scully in 1879 mentioned it as being common on the hills round the Nepal valley from 1830 m upwards, more recent observers have not elaborated much on the position in print. Smythies ( JBNHS 47:442) found parties over the Gandak-Kosi watershed in September, and Proud ( JBNHS 50:365) found it there in spring. This is some 140 km eastwards. Fle- ming (in litt.) says “we have found it quite common” but does not say where. It is a small 297 4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 swift, the wings not being as sharply pointed as in A pus, and the tail showing a slight fork only when closed, but generally looking square or even rounded when the bird is banking. As remarked in the handbook the flight at inter- vals becomes suddenly very fluttery. Although the bird can look very dark against the sky, it is actually brownish-grey, the head, body and wing coverts being darker, and the rump and under tail coverts lightest, contrasting with the dark tail. A pus afjinis — House Swift Common around Kathmandu and Pokhara. Hemiprocne longipennis — Crested Tree Swift One was watched hawking over a glade in the Gokarna Reserve on 22 July. Biswas (JBNHS 58: 120) only lists three specimens, from the central bhabar and dun biotopes, and I cannot find a record of this species from the Nepal valley. There was no possibility of a mistake in the identification, and I am fami- liar with the species from northern Thailand. Megalaima virens — Great Barbet One was seen in surprisingly open country- side with scattered trees near a small village above Pokhara at about 1350 m. Megalaima franklinii — Golden-throated Barbet Seen and heard fairly commonly from Lumle at 2000 m to Chhumrung at 2500 m. Not in the Gokarna Reserve. Megalaima asiatica — Blue-throated Barbet Common in the Gokarna reserve, and in the hills north-west of Pokhara. Megalaima haemacephala — Coppersmith The unmistakable call of this bird was heard at Pokhara, 7 August. Ficus canus — Blacknaped Green Woodpecker One watched for some time in the Gokarna Reserve. Dendrocopus darjellensis — Pied Woodpecker Seen near IChuldi at 2500 m. Dendrocopus auriceps — Brown-fronted Pied Woodpecker Several around Lumle and Chhumrung at up to 2350 m. Dendrocopus canicapillus — Pygmy Woodpecker Two in the Gokarna Reserve 22 July. Picumnus innominatus — Speckled Piculet Several seen in mixed flocks around the hills above Lumle at about 2000 m, 25th and 26th July. Hirundo rustica — Swallow Seen at Kathmandu on 22 July and 8th August, and at Pokhara 6th and 7th August. Hirundo daurica — Redrumped Swallow Common at Kathmandu and Pokhara, but not seen above 1800 m. Delichon nipalensis — Himalayan House Martin Seen commonly above river valleys and woods from about 2000 m near Lumle, but much scarcer above 2800 m. Fleming & Tray- lor (1968:168) seem to have been first to re- cord this species from central Nepal, and on the previous page published the first record of Delichon urbica — the House Martin — from western Nepal. The present species is quite easily told in flight by the square tail, and both upper and under tail coverts being black. This results in a narrower white rump band above, and the base of the black underside of the tail looks more “squared-off’ below (Fig. 1). Motacilla cinerea — Grey Wagtail Seen commonly by streams from Lumle to Chhumrung. Anthus novaeseelandiae — Richard’s Pipit Three in a wet grassy area of the Gokarna Reserve. Anthus similis — Brown Rock Pipit Several near Pokhara, 6th and 7th August, 298 SOME BIRDS OBSERVED IN CENTRAL NEPAL Fig. 1. Diagram to show different pattern of black and tail shape. Above : Kashmir House-Martin — Deiichon urbica cashmeriensis; Below : Himalayan House-Martin — Deiichon nipalensis nipalensis. one by the airport. This is a fairly large and rather pale brown pipit, lacking the heavy dark streaking above and below of A. novaeseelan- diae and A. sylvanus. Anthus sylvanus — Upland Pipit Two seen, both in open rocky areas, one above Pokhara at 1350 m the other near Lumle, at 1900 m. Pericrocotus ethologus — Longtailed Minivet Small party of females and/or young males watched at Khuldi at 1900 m. They showed only a small patch of yellow on the forehead, and whitish cheeks and throat, contrasting with the underparts. Pycnonotus leucogenys — White- cheeked Bulbul Common. More of a forest bird than P. cajer. Pycnonotus cafer — Redvented Bulbul Common, up to nearly 2000 m. Hypsipetes virescens — Rufous-bellied Bulbul Seen at 1950 m at Lumle. Hypsipetes madagascariensis — Black Bulbul Several parties at Lumle and above Pokhara. Chloropsis hardwickii — Orange-bellied Chloro- psis Seen above Biritante at 1200 m. Lanius schach — Blackheaded Shrike Common up to 2300 m. Copsychus saularis — Magpie Robin Common in the Nepal valley, but not seen elsewhere. Rhyacornis fuliginosus — Plumbeous Redstart Common by streams from Biritante to Chhumrung. Enicurus maculatus — Spotted Forlctail Several adults and at least one immature seen by Ghandrung on 28th July and 3-4 August. Although this is obviously a resident species, there do not seem to be many summer records. Saxicola torquata — Stonechat Several in the Gokarna Reserve, and from Pokhara to Ghandrung. Saxicola caprata — Pied Bush-chat Gokarna Reserve and Pokhara. Saxicola ferrea — Grey Bush-chat Seen commonly about Khuldi and Ghand- rung, but not below about 2000 m. Monticola rufiventris — Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush An immature male and a female seen at Khuldi at 2500 m. Myiophoneus caeruleus — Whistling Thrush Common by rivers and streams from 1300 m at Pokhara to about 3000 m near Khuldi. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Zoothera mollisssima — Plain-backed Mountain Thrush Two pairs with fully grown young frequent- ing forest edge near the new large sheep pen on the hillside at Khuldi, at 2900 m. They tend- ed to be shy, but could with care be watched at close quarters. Zoothera dauma — Small-billed Mountain Thrush A single bird in the same locality as the previous species. There seem to be very few summer records. Turdus boulboul — Grey-winged Blackbird Several around Khuldi, at 2800 m. Pomatorhinus ruficollis — Rufous-necked Scimi- tar Babbler In small parties near Lumle at 25th July at 2000 m and on 27th July at Chhumrung at 2200 m. Pomatorhinus erythrogenys — Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler One at Lumle. Stachyris ruficeps — Redheaded Babbler One bird of this species was seen at 1800 m at Lumle with a party of other small birds including Phylloscopus spp. and Grey- headed Flycatchers, Nuthatches and Red-head- ed Tits. The combination of lemon yellow throat and underparts and the bright brown forehead were distinctive. A good view was obtained as the birds hunted through bamboo and bushes by a stream gulley. The species has only been recorded a few times from Ne- pal, and has hitherto thought to be confined to the Mai valley in the east of the country. Garrulax albogularis — White-throated Laugh- ing Thrush Common around Lumle up to 2000 m. Garrulax moniliger / pectoralis A bird which was either the Necklaced or Blackgorgeted Laughing Thrush was seen with several other birds in bushes above Lumle at about 1750 m on 26 July. Fleming (in litt.) comments that this is high for either of these species, although Proud recorded both at 1675 m in June in the valley (JBNHS 48: 699). Garrulax leucolophus — White-crested Laughing Thrush Common at Lumle. Garrulax rufogularis — Rufous-chinned Laugh- ing Thrush A small party of four birds at Lumle, 27th July. Garrulax ocellatus — Whitespotted Laughing Thrush Several at Chhumrung, at about 2750 m on 29th July. Garrulax lineatus — Streaked Laughing Thrush Very common around Lumle, Ghandrung and Khuldi. Garrulax erythrocephalus — Red-headed Laugh- ing Thrush Several seen at Khuldi at 2800 m. Leiothrix lutea — Redbilled Leiothrix Several were found in song in damp gullies around Ghandrung and Khuldi at about 2700 Pteruthius xanthochloris — Green Shrike Bab- bler One in a mixed flock at Khuldi at 2800 m. It looked like a tubby and large-headed PhyU loscopus with a short bill, until studied more closely. Actinodura nipalensis — Hoary Barwing Seen twice near Khuldi, at 2700 m. Minla strigula — Stripe-throated Siva Common in mixed flocks around Khuldi. 300 SOME BIRDS OBSERVED IN CENTRAL NEPAL Yuhina flavicollis — Yellow-naped Ixulus Common around Lumle at over 1830 m and also Ghandrung and Khuldi. Yuhina gularis — Stripe- throated Yuhina Seen near Biritante at 1330 m, and also at Khuldi. Yuhina zantholeuca — White-bellied Erpornis Twice seen in the Gokarna reserve, on one occasion singing a short little snatch of rather undistinguished notes. If this was the song — which is as yet unrecorded — it is unimpressive. Alcippe vinipectus — Hodgson’s Fulvetta Seen quite commonly around Khuldi above 2800 m. Heterophasia capistrata — Black-headed Sibia Common in forest from Lumle at 1400 m to Khuldi at about 3000 m. Phylloscopus maculipennis — Grey-faced Wil- low Warbler Several seen around Khuldi and at Hinko cave at 3500 m. One bird was watched at close range feeding a wing-fluttering but fully grown youngster. The habitat was mixed deciduous forest, with rhododendron, and also in soaking wet dwarf bamboo. Phylloscopus reguloides — Blyth’s Willow Warbler Seen satisfactorily on several occasions at Lumle and Khuldi, and although some other unidentified species were noted, including a larger species with a single wing bar, this seem- ed to be the commonest. Seicercus burkii — Black-browed Flycatcher- Warbler One at Khuldi on 2nd August. Seicercus castaniceps — Chestnut-headed Fly- catcher-Warbler Several seen in mixed flocks around Khuldi. Seicercus xanthoschistos — Grey-headed Fly- catcher-Warbler Very common around Lumle, Ghandrung and Khuldi. Also in the Gokarna reserve. Prinia criniger — Brown Hill Warbler Several birds singing from maize stalks in terraced fields near Ghandrung. Ficedula westermanni — Little Pied Flycatcher Several adults and immature birds around Lumle at the end of July. Niltava sundara — Rufous-bellied Niltava An adult with an immature at Khuldi, and an immature in the Gokarna reserve on 8th August. Muscicapa rubeculoides — Blue-throated Fly- catcher A male in the Gokarna reserve, 8th August. Muscicapa moniliger — White-gorgeted Fly- catcher An adult of this distinctive, rather round little Flycatcher, and several less distinct juven- iles around Lumle, 25th July. Muscicapa thalassina — Verditer Flycatcher Quite common at Lumle, Ghandrung, Khuldi and also in the Gokarna reserve. Culicicapa ceylonensis — Grey-headed Flycatcher Common from Lumle to Khuldi, and also in the Gokarna reserve. Rhipidura hypoxantha — Yellow-bellied Fantail One in a mixed party above Khuldi at 3000 m on 1st August. Parus major — Grey Tit One was watched as it fed in a maize field at 1650 m near Lumle on 24th July. Although commonly recorded from the lowlands this seems an unusual locality, but perhaps some records have not got into print. Parus monticolus — Green-backed Tit Common in forest, around Lumle, Ghand- rung and Khuldi to 3000 m. 301 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Varus xanthogenys — Yellow-cheeked Tit In similar habitats, and also seen in the Gokarna Reserve. Sylviparus modestus — Yellow-browed Tit Several in mixed flocks above Khuldi at 3000 m. Aegithalos condnnus — Red-headed Tit Not uncommon at Lumle and around Ghand- rung. Sitta castanea — Cinnamon-bellied Nuthatch Two birds together in the Gokarna reserve, 22nd July. Sitta himalayensis — White-tailed Nuthatch Common in hill forests, singly and in mixed parties, around Lumle and up to 2800 m at Khuldi. Sitta frontalis — Velvet-fronted Nuthatch One in the Gokarna reserve, 8th August. Certhia himalayana — Himalayan Tree Creeper One seen prospecting an old, gnarled rhodo- dendron near Khuldi on 1st August at 2800 m. The cross-barring on the tail could be seen when looked for, but was not especially con- spicuous. I am fairly happy about this identi- fication as I had only recently been painting Himalayan Tree Creepers from Museum skins. If correct, it is a very interesting record as this species is supposed to have a discontinu- ous distribution in the Himayalas, apparently being absent between west Nepal and northern Burma. Dicaeum igni pectus — Firebreasted Flowerpecker Near Ghandrung at 2500 m. Dicaeum melanozanthum — Y ellowbellied Flowerpecker Males seen several times near Khuldi at 2900 m usually adorning the very top of a tree, and twitching rather mechanically from side to side. Dicaeum erythrorhynchos — Tickell’s Flower- pecker One or two in the Gokarna Reserve, 8th August. Dicaeum concolor — Plain Flowerpecker Seemed rather commoner in the Gokarna reserve than Tickell’s and easily told in a good view by the thin, curved dark bill. Aethopyga gouldiae — Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird A male above Ghandrung at 2200 m, 29th July. Aethopyga nipalensis — Yellow-backed Sunbird Seen near Ghandrung and Khuldi, at around 2500 m. Aethopyga saturata — Blackbreasted Sunbird Males seen at Lumle and at Chhumrung, at 2100 m. Zoster ops palpebrosa — White-eye Two in the Gokarna Reserve, 8th August. Melophus lathami — Crested Bunting A female was seen in the little terraced fields at Biritante at 2100 m on 28th July. Carduelis spinoides — Himalayan Greenfinch Not uncommon in maize fields in the Ghand- rung-Chhumrung area. Lonchura malacca — Chestnut-bellied Munia Two in wet grassland at Gokarna. Passer domesticus — House Sparrow The House Sparrow was not seen higher than Lumle, at 1800 m. Passer montanus — Tree Sparrow Not seen above Chhumrung at 2150 m. Sturnus malabaricus — Grey-headed Myna Pokhara. Acridotheres tristis — Common Myna Seen at up to 3300 m near Chhumrung. Acridotheres ginginianus — Bank Myna Seen between Kathmandu and the Gokarna reserve. This species does not seem to have been recorded from the valley, but here again perhaps the records have not got into print. 302 SOME BIRDS OBSERVED IN CENTRAL NEPAL Acridotheres fuscus — Jungle Myna Several around Pokhara, 7th July. Oriolus oriolus — Golden Oriole One in a large tree near Pokhara lake, 7th August. Oriolus traillii — Maroon Oriole One in forest near Biritante, at 1200 m. Dicrurus macrocercus — Black Drongo Kathmandu, Pokhara. Dicrurus leucophaeus — Grey Drongo Common in the Gokarna Reserve, and aro- und Lumle, to 2300 m near Chhumrung. Dicrurus remijer — Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo A single bird (with only one racket) near Lumle. Dendrocitta formosae — Himalayan Tree- Pie Seen near Lumle, Biritante and Ghandmng. Corvus splendens — House Crow Kathmandu, Pokhara. Corvus macrorhynchos — Jungle Crow Seen commonly above 1300 m near Pokhara to Chhumrung. References Biswas, B. (1960-67) : The Birds of Nepal. J. Bom- bay nat. Hist. Soc. 57:278-308; 516-546. 55:100-134; 441-474; 653-677. 59:200-227; 405-429; 807-821. 60: 173-200; 388-399; 638-654. 63:365-377. (1969) : Some New Bird records for Nepal, ibid. 65:782-784. Fleming, R. L. & Traylor, M. A. (1961) : Notes on Nepal Birds. Fieidiana . 35(8) : 443-487. (1964) : Further notes on Nepal Birds, ibid. 35(9) : 495-558. (1968) : Distributional notes on Nepal Birds, ibid. 53(3) : 147-203. Proud, Desiree (1949): Some Notes on Birds of the Nepal Valley. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 48: 695-719. (1951) : Some Birds seen on the Gandak-Kosi Watershed in March, ibid. 50: 355-366. (1951): More Bird Notes from Ne- pal Valley, ibid. 49:784-785. (1952): Further Notes on the Birds of the Nepal Valley, ibid. 50:667-670. (1958) : Bird Notes from Nepal. ibid. 55:345-350. (1955): More Notes on the Birds of the Nepal Valley, ibid. 53:57-78. Rand, A. L. & Fleming, R. L. (1957) : Birds from Nepal. Fieidiana 41(1): 3- 21 8. Ripley, S. Dillon (1952): Birds from Nepal (1947-49). J. Bombay nat. Hist Soc. 49:355‘-417. Scully, J. (1879) : A Contribution to the Orni- thology of Nepal. Stray Feathers. 8: 204-368. Smythies, B. E. (1948): Some Birds of the Gandak-Kosi Watershed. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 47: 432-443. (1952) : More Notes on Birds of the Nepal Valley, ibid. 49: 513-518. 303 A population survey and observations on the behaviour of the blackbuck in the Point Calimere Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu1 S. S. Nair Department of Zoology, University of Kerala, Kariavattom, Trivandrum (With three text-figures) One of the largest reported populations of the Blackbuck ( Antilope cervicapra cervi - capra ) survive in the Point Calimere sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. J. C. Daniel of the Bombay Natural History Society censused this popula- tion in May 1967 and estimated 750-800 ani- mals in the population. Considering the gen- eral rapid decline of all wild life in India, a detailed survey of the same - population and a pilot investigation of the behaviour of the animal in its natural habitat were undertaken in the second half of October, 1974. Field descriptions of the behaviour of this animal are almost totally lacking excepting Schaller’s account (the deer and the tiger, 1967) of the herd in Kanha numbering less than 20 in 1964-65 and a few other fragment- ary reports. Point Calimere (Kodikkadu) (10°18'N, 79° 51'E) is a sandy promontory on the east coast of Tamil Nadu in the Tanjore District, the protected area of which is over 4120.70 acres having a very specialized ecosystem described in detail by Daniel [JBNHS (54(3), 1967] and Blasco [JBNHS 70(2), 1973]. 1 Accepted July 1975. Daniel found the herd strength at Point Calimere to range in between 3 and 47, the normal being a dozen. He recorded 47 herds in the sanctuary, of which six were inside the forest. In all natural populations studied, the sex ratio favoured the female. Method of survey The antelope are mostly found in the wide open grassy meadows dotted with thickets. They do not permit approach to nearer than about 300 yards and once put to flight may cover long distances at top speed. Direct visual counting was done and a suit- able route determined, zigzagging from one end to the other end of the sanctuary dividing the maidan into triangular plots (Fig. 1). Herds were stalked and approached with the least disturbance to the animals, and counting, sex- ing and classification done with the help of 7 x 50 binoculars from each of the sides of the triangular plot. Such surveys were con- ducted on the 19th, 22nd and 27th, and on the 27th the same route was backtracked and counting repeated to check movement of ani- mals. Since the herds on the eastern side were 304 BLACKBUCK IN THE POINT CALIMERE SANCTUARY found to be very stable in both location and numbers, further repeated countings were done only on the southern part. On consecutive days in the forenoons and afternoons alter- nately the herds in plots 1 to 9 were counted and on the 24th, 26th and 29th, the meadows in the forest were thoroughly checked. Though the sex of an adult could easily be distinguished, it was found more difficult in the case of yearlings, unless the spike horns were discernible in males. Similarly yearling females lying down were difficult to distinguish from adult females. During the survey 54 sightings were made of heterosexual groups, ranging in strength from 2 to 129; and 26 unisexual groups were seen, 17 of which were of males alone. Soli- tary animals were seen only five times of which only one was a female. Analysis of the data from the population studies shows the average strength of heterosexual herds to be 23, of female herds to be 15 and of male herds to be 4. From Table 1 it can be seen that stable herds number about 8 to 10. In the popula- tion, males including yearlings form 17.52 per cent and females 82.47 per cent i.e. the sex ratio of the population is lcf:4.7$. Of the males numbering 58, 12 were yearlings, 7 to 9 two-three year olds, and three were mature but pale brown in colour perhaps due to pel- age moult or were permanently light coloured. The two-year old males have broadly curved horns in place of the spike horns of yearlings and are darker. Females totalled 273 of which 15 were subadults. Only 2 fawns were seen possibly because the census was just before the birth peak. Comparison of this estimate with that of Daniel, where the sex ratio was 1:2 and one out of every 11 $ was accompanied by a fawn, shows the general trend of the popul- ation. In 1967 according to Daniel 5.81 per cent of c? and 26.08 per cent of $ were yearlings and the subadults formed 17 per cent of the total population, but in 1974 the subadults formed only 8.88 per cent, a decline by half. But the ratio of male to female year- lings does not show any great discrepancy. It is 1:1.25 compared with 1:1.5 in 1967. Of the females 7 were obviously pregnant (Table 1). It could clearly be seen that in spite of the fact that the population is inside a sanctuary, the last six years have shown only a drastic and tragic decline of the population, especial- ly of the magnificent bucks — truly the most beautiful of all antelopes. The very low per- centage of subadults also shows an undesir- able, unhealthy trend. Herd structure, Size and Composition Of the total of 85 animal sightings during the survey, 80 were of 2 or more animals. Herd strength varied from 2 to 129 with a mean value of 23. The large numbers of frag- 305 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 mentary herds with about 5 to 8 animals each, recorded from the disturbed plots No. 1 to 4 may possibly be a recent development. 34 out of the 54 heterosexual herds seen had one adult male and 11 had two. In herds with more than one adult male, intermale relation- ships are unknown. Though all older liter- ature notes the leadership of an old female in the herd, no evidence was found substan- tiating it. Often when herds start running, a doe with a kid will take the lead, if there is one such present. Males wander away from herds especially in the evenings when the females become less active. Females generally do not show any tendency to follow males. Fig. 2 No. of Animals /Herd but on a few occasions some females were seen following a male, .which moved away 1 from the herd. Does may have both a yearling and a fawn with them as was seen in two of the recorded instances. Of the three fawns one ; was suckling actively while the other two were being prevented by the mothers from suckling. (Fig. 2). Social Behaviour Blackbuck social organization is typical of antelopes and consists of harems, normally with one male and a large number of females and young forming a herd during the repro- ductive season, and mixed, loose herds at other times. They have a well demarcated territory. Even though the survey was conducted in the nonrutting season, the keeping of the territorial boundaries indicates that at least the reproduc- tive territory nucleus may be a permanent feature. This is most clearly suggested by the herds in plots 9 to 15. In the southern half of the sanctuary the territorial organization has broken down, perhaps due to large scale en- croachments by villagers into plots No. 1 to 3, causing behavioural disruption, and due to pressure exerted by ousted animals on the adjacent herds. The natural reorganization prior to harem formation may be the causa- tive factor. The normal range of movement of herds was surprisingly small in stable territories. For example, the herd of 110 + animals in plot 10 could always be found within an area less than 500 metres across. Even in the more disturbed areas animals tend to return to the original locations soon. The conclusion of Schaller that cyclic dis-organization and re- organization of population correlated with rut, needs further study before acceptance in the case of the Point Calimere population. 306 Distribution pattern of the blackbuck ( Antilope cervicapra ) in Point Calimere Sanctuary T3 U >. U > U > 5° 1 . ^ o CH- CH- ON d" o 1 1 d 00 o o O CH- o Z o o H CH- m OO d- o o T3 o —1 n ^ U b CQ u > Ul T3 u T3 U b§ OQ > CQ P Tf =1 >> d- > o d d Z CO CO O n ■!_> O CH- o h QQ n n CO r-i T— 1 o o CH- o O O n rn n ^ b~ b bb , b b b bb oq baa CO OQ OQ CQ 0Q OQ OQ — < t" (N n CN| n vn "» o r~ o o d- >H ^ b a«> vn j* VO CN >* O VO o N 1 m (N i o £ o CH- O CH- 1 ON vo VD — OO 00 >1 OQ CH- CQ CQ OQ >i 03 ’—I VO «o CN cn ON — H r-lM-l i o O as o Hb b > CO OQ OQ r- n n T_l b U >< «n O rM. b u Vi On n m o b Oo oo ^ 0Q OQ n U » u o bb OQ CQ ^ u O— >H VO 00 P H CB ® >* u > d c/a Tfr n > > n Tj- r— | o O 14 d d Z 00 m 0 o o 0^0 +■» o o CH- CH- o tT Z Z n | b OQ b OQ b b b CQ OQ 2Q b b b CQ 00 >> n «0 OV b OQ » b” b ^ 1 OQ pa OQ O CQ *S 9 91-100 av.96 5*5-6*6(6*l) 35-40 (38*5) (ih 90-98 from skull 7-9 37-41) Three unregistered birds from Central and Western Bhutan with wings 97, 98, 98 are in- cluded in the measurements and the largest (100) is from NE. Assam, showing an increase in size eastwards towards cuttingi (type Gang- fang, 5500', near Burma- Yunnan Border). The black is restricted to the chin and can hardly be said to occur on the throat except for a large greyish brown patch in the eastern- most specimen. All have black patches on the sides of the breast which do not meet across the breast to form a band. Measurements 912 Riparia paludicola chinensis (J. E. Gray) Wing Bill Tarsus Tail d'd1 85-96 av. 91* 6 5*4-6*8 av. 6*1 c. 10-11 36-42 av. 39*7 9 9 85-95 av. 91 5*5 -6*6 av. 6*1 c. 11 36-42 av. 38*8 (ih d1 9 90-96 from skull c. 8 10-11 37-45) 913 Hirundo rapestris rapestris Scopoli Wing Bill Tarsus Tail d-d1 127-133 av. 129* 8 8-9 av. 8*7 11-12 30-55 av. 52*8 9 9 130.130,133 7.9, 8, 8*9 11-12 53.54,55 (ih d1 9 127-134 from skull 1 1-12 11-12 53-57) 914 Hkimdo concolor concolor Sykes Wing Bill Tarsus Tail d'd 105-112 av. 109*4 7-8*3av. 7*4 10-11 42-45 av. 43*5 9 9 107,108,112 7*6, 8,8 10 43,44,45 (ih d9 105-113 from skull 9-11 9-10 42-46) 921 Hirundo smith?! hlifera Stephens Wing Bill Tail Central Outer dd 108*, 115-126 av. 120- 1 6*5-8*5 35-39 86-178 (ih 113-122 from skull 11-12 109-173) 9 9 114-117 av. 116 7*5-8*7 35-38 49-72 one 132 (ih 108-116 from skull 11-12 51-71) 930 Delichon urbica urbica (Linnaeus) Wing Bill Tail Fork Nominate urbica d1 9 107-115 av. 111*2 6* 5-7*6 54-59 (56*8) 13-18(16) cashmiriensis d1 9 97-108 av. 101*8 6*2-7 47-48(47*8) 7-11 (8*4) {to be continued) [335] 355 Key to Indian spiders1 B. K. Tikader Deputy Director, Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona {With eighty text-figures) Introduction This paper on Indian spiders is intended as a popular guide for the identification of spiders at least upto the family and generic levels with notes on their habitats, behaviour and how to collect them and preserve them for scientific study or museum display. Spiders are geologically very old and although spiders are extremely abundant throughout the country from sea shore to the high Himalayan mount- ains, our knowledge of Indian spiders is ex- tremely fragmentary. One of the earliest contributions on Indian spiders was by Sto- liczka (1889), while Karsch (1873), Thorell (1895), Pocock (1900) and Gravely (1924) added considerably to our knowledge of Indian spiders. During my study of spiders, over the last two decades, I felt the necessity for a hand- book on spiders of India for the benefit of lay- men as well as for the student for easy identi- fication of Indian spiders as well as to create interest of Arachnology in them. It would gratify me if this paper would serve in some measure to create some interest in the readers on spiders as a stepping stone for the future advancement of arachnology in India. I am indebted to the following for help, 1 Accepted February 1975. encouragement and useful information of various kind: Dr. M. S. Mani, Emeritus’ Pro- fessor of Entomology, St. John’s College, Agra, Mr. J. C. Daniel, Curator, Bombay Natural History Society and Dr. M. Babu Rao, Zoo- logical Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona. What are spiders? Generally Spiders are confused with Insects, however, spiders can be easily separated from insects by the following characters: SPIDERS 1 . Body divided into two unsegmented parts; cep- halothorax (or head) and abdomen. 2. Cephalothorax has four pairs of legs and a pair of six segmented pedipaips modified in the male sperm for transport. 3. Wings absent; eyes simple, two to eight in num- ber. 4. Respiration by book lungs and genital pore on the ventral side near anterior end of abdomen. 5. vSilk apparatus always present, opening at hind end of abdomen below anus. 6. Poison apparatus opening on fangs of chelicerae. 7. Development direct, no larval stages, spiderlings resemble their parents. INSECTS 1 . Body divided into three parts; head, thorax and abdomen. 2. Head has a pair of antennae and the thorax three pairs of legs. 356 KEY TO INDIAN SPIDERS 3. Generally paired wings present in adult and eyes commonly compound ocelli. 4. Respiration by ostia and genital pore just below anus at posterior end of abdomen. 5. Silk apparatus absent in adults, present only in some larvae which open on the lower lip. 6. Poison apparatus, if present usually opening at posterior end of abdomen. 7. Development may have a metamorphosis with larval and pupal stages or with nymphs. The class Arachnida includes many other animals like scorpions, whip-scorpions, pseu- doscorpions, king-crab, solifugids, daddy-long- legs, ticks and mites. The daddy-long-legs (harvestmen) are often confused with spiders mainly with the Pholcidae spiders. But the former may be readily separated from spiders by the fact that they have the abdomen notice- ably segmented and broadly joined to the cephalothorax and also lack the spinnerets at the posterior end of the abdomen. Habitat of spiders Spiders make up a considerable portion of the animal life of this vast and diversified land. They are widespread and are found in all types of habitats and occupy all but a few niches. Spiders may be found near water’s edge, on the ground, in underground caves and the top of mountains. In fact jumping spiders have been collected from Mt. Everest (22,000 feet), the highest elevation at which any animal has ever been found. It is recorded that ballooning spiderlings have been collected from airplanes at an elevation of 5000 feet. Some spiders like Pholcidae, Oecobidae, Heteropodidae and Filistatidae live inside human habitations, and others frequent the walls outside. Almost every plant has its spider fauna, as do the dead leaves on the forest floors, and on trees in winter. They may be found under bark, under stones, under fallen logs, these are only a few exam- ples of their various habitats. There may be different yarieties of spiders even in a small area as for example almost 600 species of spi- ders are known from Connecticut, a very small state of America. The number of individuals is also very high in a given area. One worker in America found a population of 407,000 per acre of clay meadow, and another over 2,200,000 per acre of grassy field. Some ground spiders like Geolycosa and trap-door spiders of Western Ghats dig holes in the ground and remain there during their whole life, except for the short period when the male ventures out to seek a mate. The silklined tunnel of Atypus extends partly into the ground, and partly along the surface of a tree. The wolf spiders, mainly Lycosa and Hippasa may make use of shallow holes in which they hide. Many gnaphosids and some clubionids run over the ground and have been found under stones in the foothills and in the forests. Many spiders like Uloboridae, Pholcidae prefer dark and shaded places, where the hu- midity is high. Some Pardosa and Lycosa spe- cies are found along the edges of streams and ponds, running over the water surface quickly and in an emergency they can dive under water. Araneus and Tetragnatha species also prefer water sources but are usually found on the shrubs, which overhang the ponds or streams. Many crab-spiders like Thomisus and Misu- mena live among flowers, waiting in ambush for insect visitors who come for nectar on the flowers. It was observed that crab spiders change their colour according to the colour of the petals of the flowers. Tibellus, Thanatus and Oxyope s run along green grass leaves or stems, clubionids and salticids hunt from leaf to leaf. Hersilid spiders live on the wall of houses and tree trunks; they are usually dark in colour like the bark of a particular tree or 357 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 wall, on which they occur. The only social spider Stegodyphus sara- sinorum Karsch, has attracted the attention of many naturalists in India. They build their nests in the foliage of Acacia arabica or Zizy- phus sp. Many species are found in tall grass, on bushes and trees. Some run over the branches and trunk and hide under loose bark and in crevices. Snares may be built among twigs and many linyphiids, theridiids and argiopids construct their webs in tall grass, bushes and tree foliage. Some spiders mimic other animals and among these the ant-like species are most common. Many examples are known in seve- ral families and often the mimicry extends not only to the shape of the body but sometimes to the behaviour too. Collection and preservation of spiders The collection of spiders is very easy as they are available in a variety of habitats. One of the oldest collection methods for getting spiders in large numbers is by using a sweep net, through tall grass and weeds and picking out the spiders from among the insects, leaves and debris that will be gathered with them. It is more effective if an umbrella is inverted underneath flowering shoots or bushes and to thoroughly shake the shoots or bushes, when spiders along with a variety of insects, mites etc. will be collected in the umbrella. After removing the leaves etc. from the um- brella the spiders can be transferred into col- lecting tubes containing 75 per cent alcohol with the help of a fine brush. It is very essen- tial to see that only a small number of speci- mens of spiders are kept in a single tube, other- wise spider specimens will be preserved in bad shape due to the pressure of the upper layers and this type of preserved specimen is not use- ful for scientific study. For purposes of scientific study, when the specimens preserved in alcohol are brought to camp or laboratory, from the field, the col- j lection should be transferred into a petri dish after two or three hours and the spiders sep- arated and preserved in the following manner: The ideal way of preservation is to keep the specimens in a petri dish containing 75 per cent alcohol and adjust the body parts (legs etc.) as it is in live condition with the help of brush, forceps and needle. The specimens should be kept in this condition in the petri dish overnight before transferring them into tubes for permanent preservation. The Mygalomorph spiders which live in burrows and which are big in size are best | collected by keeping an empty tube against I the burrow and allowing the spider to crawl into the tube. The spider is then put in a Cya- nide bottle for killing. Later it is transferred into a tube containing 75 per cent alcohol. The smaller spiders, especially those be- longing to the families Oonopidae, Caponii- dae, which live under the barks of big trees need careful search to locate them. A brush dipped in alcohol should be used to transfer the small spiders from under the barks into the tubes containing alcohol. In all cases too many specimens should not be put in one specimen tube and as far as possible the spe- cimens should be arranged in their natural posture, before preservation. Whenever there are more than one specimen in a tube, the tube containing the specimens should be filled with alcohol upto fth height and the tube should be very lightly shaken horizontally to allow the specimens to spread out. Then the tube should be kept in horizontal position overnight so as to allow the specimens to spread out and get fixed in that position. Later 358 KEY TO INDIAN SPIDERS on the tube can be kept in normal position for permanent preservation. Spiders can be arranged in a petri dish or cavity block in alcohol medium and studied under binocular microscope. Name of body parts of spider The body of the spider is divisible into a distinctive cephalothorax and abdomen, joint- ed together by a narrow pedicel. The cepha- lothorax is covered dorsally by a hard sclero- tic shield, the carapace, and ventrally by the sternum. The anterior margin of sternum arti- culates movably with the labium. With few exceptions there is a deep transverse groove, forming a kind of hinge, between the sternum and the labium. The legs are articulated in the pleural membrane between the lateral edges of the carapace and sternum. On the cephalic region are present two to eight simple eyes. The eyes are generally of two kinds, namely, black or diurnal and white or nocturnal eyes. When only one type is present, the condition is described as homogeneous in contrast to the heterogeneous, when both the types are pre- sent. The eyes are usually arranged in a double row, an anterior row and a posterior row. Each row usually contains four eyes. The eye row is described as recurved, when the con- cavity of the curve is directed backward, and as procurved when the concavity is turned forwards. According to their position, the eyes are described as the anterior medians, the posterior medians, the anterior laterals and the posterior laterals. The cephalic area, occu- pied by the eyes, is known as ocular area. The area margined by the four median eyes is termed ocular quad. The area between the an- terior row of eyes and the base of chelicerae is the clypeus. The space between the anterior median eyes and the margin of clypeus re- presents the width of clypeus. There is often a depression in the middle of the thorax, call- ed thoracic groove. A convex, lens-like, black or deep brown mark called fovea replaces the thoracic groove in the families Gnaphosidae and Drassodeae. The chelicerae are the first pair of appen- dages of the cephalothorax. Each chelicera bears a curved fang at its apex. The inner sur- face of chelicera may be finely denticulate and may also have a groove, into which the fang can be closed when not in use. This groove may also be armed with teeth on each side; the outer row of these teeth is described as promargin and the inner row as retromargin. There are sometimes long stout hairs on the promargin to constitute the so-called fang sca- pulae. The pedipalps are the second pair of ap- pendages. The palp proper is composed of six segments, coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia and tarsus. In females the tarsus is sim- ple and may or .may not be with a single claw. In mature males the tarsus of palp is modi- fied to carry a more or less complicated copu- latory organ. Generally the tibia, sometimes also the patella constitute apophyses (which may be of different variety of shapes in different species) and which is of important taxonomic value. In many spiders the tarsus has a bowl- shaped cavity on its ventral surface called cymbium. In many groups mature males are provided with an appendage, the paracym- bium. The structure of mature male palp is very important for generic or specific identi- fication of spiders. The complicated palpal organ has many parts, but that is a matter beyond the scope of this paper. There are four pairs of legs designated I, II, III and IV res- pectively. Each leg is composed of seven seg- ments, coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus and tarsus. The legs are variously 359 CE PH A LOTHORAX JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 clothed with spines, spinules, bristles and hairs of various types. The tarsus ends are provid- ed with two or three claws. A characteristic tuft of hairs called claw-tuft is sometimes found just above the claw. In the Gnaphosidae there are dense rows of hairs called leg-scopuiae below the metatarsi and tarsi. Spines on the dorsal sides of legs are distinguished as dor- sal spines and those on the ventral side as ventral spines. The abdomen is produced posteriorly into a conical anal tubercle and bears three pairs j of spinnerets ventrally, viz., the first or the anterior pair, the second or the median and Figs. 1-3. Three views of spider, without legs, showing parts labeled. (1) Dorsal. (2) Ventral. (3) Lateral. 360 KEY TO INDIAN SPIDERS CLAW Figs. 4-10. (4) Pedipalp of female. (5) Fang. (6 & 9) Face and chelicerae from the front. (7) Spinnerets. (8) Leg. (10) Claw. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 the third or the posterior pair of spinnerets. In a number of families there is present in front of the anterior (ventral) spinnerets a seive-like plate, called the cribellum. The spe- cial type of silk emitted from this organ is combed by the calamistrum borne on meta- tarsus IV. In many families of spiders which do not possess the cribellum a conical appen- dage called the colulus, lies between the bases of the anterior spinnerets. The ventral surface of abdomen is provided with one or two pairs of lung-books, follow- ed by one or two paired spiracles. The female genital opening is the vulva or epigyne, with a transverse fold, known as epigastric furrow. The tarsi of spiders are often armed with hairs of the type known as tenent hairs, i.e., hairs dilated at their tips, and as in insects, secrete an adhesive fluid. Setae which are stout apically and clubshaped, as in Oxyptila, are called clavate hairs, Argiopidae have very fine hairs known as pubescence. Sometimes the hairs are modified as spiny-hairs. Key for the identification of spiders The key is based on characters that can be readily distinguished such as the number of tarsal claws, the arrangement of the eyes and manner in which the legs are turned. In the key, characters such as these are arranged, in couplets, each half of the couplet bearing the same number but different letters, as la, lb, 2a, 2b, and so on. The characters given are contrasting, and the student, while examin- ing the specimen, must decide which alterna- tive fits. At the end of each statement of cha- racters is a number indicating which coup- let is to be tried next, until eventually a coup- let line ends in a name, which should be that of the specimen in hand. To assist the student in visualizing the posi- tion of any spider in the system a list is ap- pended giving the placement of spider families in accordance with the view of the author. Those families whose names are preceded by a single asterisk have representatives in the Indian sub-continent. List of families and higher categories of SPIDERS Order araneae Suborder — O rthognatha Mesothelae (atypical tarantulas) Family *1. Liphistiidae Thorell 1869. 2. Antrodiaetidae Gertsch 1940. 3. Mecicobothriidae Holmberg 1882. *4. Atypidae Bertkau 1878. Opisthothelae (typical tarantulas) Family *5. Theraphosidae Thorell 1869. 6. Paratropididae Pocock 1903. 7. Pycnothelidae Petrunkevitch 1923. *8. Barychelidae Pocock 1897. 9. Migidae Pocock 1897. *10. Dipluridae Pocock 1897. *11. Ctenizidae Thorell 1887. 12. Actinopodidae Pocock 1903. Suborder — L abidognatha Hypochiloidea Family 13. Gradungulidae Forster 1955. Neocribellatae Family *14. Filistatidae Ausserer 1867. *15. Oecobiidae Blackwall 1862. *16. Eresidae Koch 1850. 17. Dinopidae Koch 1850. *18. Uloboridae Cambridge 1871. *19. Dictynidae Cambridge 1871. *20. Amaurobiidae Bertkau 1878. *21. Psechridae Simon 1890. 22. Tengellidae Dahl 1908. 23. Zoropsidae Bertkau 1882. 24. Acanthoctenidae Cambridge 1902. Ecribellatae Haplogynae (Primitive hunters and weavers) Family 25. Sicariidae Keyserling 1880. 362 KEY TO INDIAN SPIDERS *26. Scytodidae Blackwall 1852. *27. Loxoscelidae Gertsch 1949. 28. Diguetidae Gertsch 1949. 29. Plectreuridae Banks 1898. *30. Caponiidae Simon 1890. *31. Oonopidae Simon 1890. 32. Tetrablem m idae Cambridge 1873. 33. Ochyroceratidae Fage 1912. 34. Leptonetidae Simon 1890. 35. Telemidae Petrunkevitch 1923. 36. Dysderidae Koch 1837. 37. Segestriidae Petrunkevitch 1933. Entelogynae Trionycha (Higher web weavers) Family *38. Pholcidae Koch 1850. 39. Symphytognathidae Hickman 1931. *40. Theridiidae Sundevall 1833. 41. Nesticidae Dahl 1926. 42. Hadrotarsidae Thorell 1881. *43. Linyphiidae Blackwall 1859. 44. Micryphantidae Bertkau 1872. 45. Theridiosomatidae Vellard 1924. *46. Argiopidae or Araneidae Dahl 1912. *47. Tetragnathidae Menge 1866. *48. Agelenidae Koch 1837. 49. Argyronetidae Menge 1871. 50. Desidae Pocock 1895. *51. Hahniidae Bertkau 1878. Three clawed hunters Family *52. Hersiliidae Thorell 1869. *53. Urocteidae Thorell 1869. 54. Mimetidae Simon 1890. 55. Archaeidae Koch 1854. *56. Zooariidae Thorell 1881. 57. Palpimanidae Cambridge 1871. *58. Pisauridae Simon 1890. *59. Lycosidae Sundevall 1833. *60. Oxyopidae Thorell 1869. 61. Senoculidae Simon 1890. 62. Toxopidae Hickman 1940. Dionycha (two clawed hunting spiders) Family 63. Am m oxen idae Simon 1893. *64. Gnaphosidae Pocock 1898. 65. Prodidomidae Simon 1894. *66. Homalonychidae Petrunkevitch 1923. 67. Cithaeronidae Caporiacco 1937. *68. Clubionidae Wagner 1888. 69. Anyphaenidae Bertkau 1878. 70. Amaurobioididae Hickman 1949. 71. Zoridae Dahl 1912. *72. Ctenidae Keyserling 1876. *73. Sparassidae Bertkau 1872. *74. Heteropodidae Pocock 1896. *75. Selenopidae Cambridge 1900. *76. Platoridae Simon 1890. *77. Thomisidae Sundevall 1833. 78. Aphantochilidae Thorell 1873. *79. Salticidae Blackwall 1841. *80. Lyssomanidae Banks 1892. Illustrated key for identifying the families OF COMMON INDIAN SPIDERS la. Chelicerae paraxial, i.e. projecting forward and fang articulated with chelicerae in a vertical plane and movable in a plane more or less parallel to the median plane of the body, fang closing back- ward (Figs. 11-14). With two pairs of book lungs (Figs. 15, 16) Suborder Orthognatha-2 Figs. 11-12. Fang action in the Orthognatha, lateral views 411) Fang closed. (12) Fang opened. 15 16 Figs. 13-14. Fang action in the Orthognatha, front view. (13) Fang closed. (14) Fang opened. Figs. 15-16. Ventral view of Labidognatha. (15) Calommata fulvipes (16) Atypus niger. lb. Chelicerae diaxial, i.e. projecting downward and fang articulated with chelicerae in a horizontal plane and movable in a more or less transverse plane (Figs. 17-20). Commonly with one pair of 363 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 book lungs (Fig. 46) . . Suborder Labidognatha-7 2a. Abdomen with one to nine sclerotized ter- gites (Fig. 21). Furrow of cheliceral fang indistinct. 17 18 Closed. (18) Opened. (19) Ctenium banksi. (20) Dysdera crocata. Anal tubercle not immediately behind spinnerets, but separated from the spinnerets by considerable distance (Fig. 21) The atypical tarantulas-3 2t 22 Figs. 21-22. (21) Lateral view of Calommata ful- vipes female. (22) Spinnerets and tubercle. 2b. Abdomen without sclerotized tergites. Anal tubercle immediately behind the four spinnerets (Fig. 22). Furrow of cheliceral fang distinct. Typical tarantula-4. 3a. Abdomen furnished with nine distinct tergi- tes. Maxillae normal. Eight spinnerets situated in the lower middle of abdomen. (Fig. 24) Family Liphistiidae 3b. Abdomen not furnished with distinct tergites. Maxillae strongly developed and labium fused with sternum (Fig. 16). Six spinnerets, situated in the 23 24 Figs. 23-24. (23) Cephalothorax and abdomen of the Mygalomorphae. (24) Cephalothorax and ab- domen of the Liphistius. lower end of abdomen. (Fig. 23) Family Atypidae 25 26 Figs. 25-26. Showing scopulae and claw tufts of Theraphosidae. 4a. Tarsi with a small median (a) as well as two large lateral claws, and without claw tufts (Fig. 25) 5 4b. Tarsi with only two claws and with claw tufts (Fig. 26) Family Theraphosidae 5a. Chelicerae with a rastellum (Figs. 27, 29). Posterior spinnerets short or moderately long, ante- rior spinnerets close together at base 6 5b. Chelicerae without rastellum. Posterior spin- nerets very long, anterior spinnerets separated by at least their length (Fig. 28). Family Dipluridae / \ 27 29 Figs. 27-29. (27 & 29) Showing rastellum of cheli- cera. (28) Ventral view of abdomen of Dipluridae. 6a. Head region much higher than the thoracic region. Tarsi without ungual tufts Family Ctenizidae 6b. Head region not much higher than the tho- 364 KEY TO INDIAN SPIDERS racic region. Tarsi with distinct ungual tufts Family Barychelidae 7a. With a cribellum in front of spinnerets (Figs. 30-32) and a calamistrum on metatarsus IV, vary- ing from just a few bristles to a row the entire length of the metatarsus (Fig. 33) Section Cribellatae-8 Figs. 30-32. (30) Showing spinnerets and cribellum of Oecobius. (31) Showing spinnerets and cribellum of Hyptiotes. (32) Showing spinnerets and cribel- lum of Amaurobius. 7b. Without a cribellum and calamistrum Section Ecribellatae-15 8a. With two pairs of lungs (Fig. 34) Family Hypochilidae 8b. With only one pair of lungs 9 9a. Anal tubercle large and prominent, two seg- mented with a fringe of long hairs (a) (Fig. 35). Posterior median eyes triangular or irregular in Figs. 34-36. (34) Ventral view of Hypochilus. (35) Ventral view of Oecobius. (36) Dorsal view of Oecobius. shape. Small spiders 2 to 2.50 mm long with cara- pace sub-circular (Fig. 36) Family Oecobiidae 9b. Anal tubercle of the usual type, without a conspicuous fringe of hairs. Posterior median eyes circular 10 10a. Head region large, rounded, high, posterior lateral eyes remote from the rest. Family Eresidae 10b. Head low, narrowed, posterior lateral eyes very rarely remote from the others 11 lla. Tarsi furnished with ungual tufts and an inferior claw Family Psechridae llb. Tarsi without ungual tufts and inferior claw 12 12a. Chelicerae fused together at the base. (Fig. 37). Labium fused to the sternum (Fig. 38). Tra- cheal spiracle considerably in advance of the spin- nerets. Calamistrum short (Fig. 39) Family Filistatidae Figs. 37-38. (37) Front view of Filistata. (38) Ven- tral view of Filistata. 12b. Chelicerae not fused at base. Labium free. Tracheal spiracle in the usual position close to the spinnerets. Calamistrum much longer (Fig. 40) 13 13a. Tarsi with a dorsal row of trichobothria. Eight eyes all light in colour, homogeneous. 365 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Family Amaurobidae 13b. Tarsi either without trichobothria, Eight eyes, either all dark or eyes heterogeneous 14 Figs. 39-40. (39) Amaurobius, IV leg showing cal- amistrum and trichobothria. (40) FUistata, IV leg showing calamistrum. 14a. Eyes eight, homogeneous, dark, both rows recurved. Metatarsus IV compressed and concave above (Fig. 41) Family Uloboridae 14b. Eyes eight heterogeneous, the anterior me- dians alone dark, Metatarsus IV of the usual shape. Family Dictynidae Fig. 41. Hyptiotes, IV leg showing calamistrum. 15a. Tibia and metatarsus I and II with a pro- lateral row of long spines, in the intervals between which is a row of much shorter spines, curved near their ends and increasing in length distally (Fig. 42) Family Mimetidae Fig. 42. Mimetus, metatarsus I showing spination. 15b. Tibia and metatarsus I and II without spines or spine arrangement not as illustrated in (Fig. 42) 16 16a. Sternum much wider than long, the pos- terior coxae widely separated. (Fig. 43) Family Platgridae 16b. Sternum not wider than long, posterior coxae not widely separated 17 17a. Posterior spinnerets absent or much shor- ter than the anterior Family Zodariidae i 17b. Posterior spinnerets present, not shorter than anterior jg 18a. Posterior spinnerets enormously long, usu- ally longer than the abdomen (Fig. 44) Family Hersiliidae Fig. 44. Abdomen with spinnerets of Hersiliidae. 18b. Posterior spinnerets shorter and thick . . 19 19a. Anal tubercle very large, fringed with long hairs, ocular group compact. . . Family Urocteidae 19b. Anal tubercle small, not fringed, ocular group not compact 20 20a. Tarsi long and flexible. Labium broader than long, legs very long and slender Family Pholcidae 20b. Tarsi of the usual type. Labium longer than wide 21 21a. With less than eight eyes 22 I 21b. With eight eyes 25 22a. Eyes six in three groups 23 22b. Eyes six in one group 24 Figs. 45-46. Dorsal view of Loxosceles. (46) Ven- tral view of Loxosceles. KEY TO INDIAN SPIDERS 23a. Carapace round and high behind, sternum round behind. (Figs. 47-48). . . Family Scytodidae 23b. Carapace flat and depressed. Sternum point- ed behind. (Figs. 45, 46) . . . Family Loxoscelidae 24a. Very small spiders 1 to 3 mm long. Labium as wide as long. Median eyes larger than the later- als. (Fig. 49) Family Oonopidae 47 Lateral view of Scytodes. 24b. Small but larger than Oonopidae, eyes two, or four or six in number (Figs. 50, 51). Epigastric furrow far behind the normal region Family Capon iidae 49 50 51 Fig. 49. Eyes of Oonopidae. Figs. 50-51. Eyes of Caponiidae. 25a. Anterior row with six eyes (Figs. 52, 53). Family Selenopidae Figs. 52-53. Eyes of Selenopidae. (52) Dorsal view. (53) Front view. 26b. Tarsi with three claws, without claw tufts. 37 27a. Tarsal claws without teeth (Fig. 54) Family Homalonychidae 27b. Tarsal claws with usual teeth 28 28a. Eyes in three or four rows 29 28b. Eyes in the more common arrangement of two rows 32 29a. Eyes in four rows, the front very large (Fig. 56) Family Lyssomanidae 29b. Eyes in three rows 30 30a. Front row of eyes more or less vertical face; median eyes enormously large, (Fig. 55), se- cond row of two very small, often minute, third row of two eyes of medium size. Family Salticidae Figs. 55-56. (55) Phidippus, carapace from the front. (56) Lyssomanes, carapace front view. 30b. Front row of eyes not vertical, and eyes of this row smaller than those of the second. 31 31a. First row of two eyes, second row with four and third row with two. (Figs. 57, 58). Anterior 25b. Anterior row with four or two eyes .... 26 Figs. 57-58. (57) Ctenus, showing eyes from above. 26a. Tarsi with two claws, with claw tufts... 27 (58) Ctenus, showing eyes from front. 367 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 73 lateral much closer to the posterior laterals than to the anterior medians. Retromargin of cheliceral fang furrow with at least three teeth. Family Ctenidae 31b. First row with four eyes, second and third row each with two (Fig. 59). Anterior laterals much closer to anterior medians than to the posterior laterals. Retromargin of cheliceral fang furrow with two teeth Family Zoridae 32a. Tracheal spiracle in advance of the spinne- rets at least one-third of the distance betweeen the latter and epigastric furrow (Fig. 60) Family Anyphaenidae Figs. 59-60. (59) Showing the eyes of Zoridae. (60) Showing the ventral view of abdomen of Anyphaenidae. 32b. Tracheal spiracle in the usual place just in front of spinnerets 33 Fig. 61. Crab-spider showing laterigrade legs. 33a. Legs at least I and II laterigrade, crab- like (Fig. 61) 34 ! 33b. Legs all usual prograde type 36 34a. Colulus absent. Retromargin of cheliceral fang furrow armed with teeth 35 34b. Colulus present (Fig. 62). Retromargin of f cheliceral fang furrow smooth. Family Thomisidae 35a. Cephalothorax as long as wide. Posterior row of eyes recurved, anterior row straight or pro- curved, lateral eyes larger. Apex of metatarsus with a soft trilobate (Fig. 64). .. Family Heteropodidae 35b. Cephalothorax as long as wide or slightly longer than wide. Posterior row of eyes straight or slightly procurved, anterior row usually straight and subequal, lateral not larger than medians Family Sparassidae 36a. Anterior spinnerets conical, contiguous. Maxillae without a transverse or oblique depression. Eyes homogeneous or almost so (with few excep- tions). (Fig. 63) Family Clubionidae Figs. 62-64. (62) Xysticus, spinnerets and colulus. (63) Clubiona spinnerets. (64) Heteropoda leg, metatarsus and tarsus. 36b. Anterior spinnerets cylindrical, and separat- ed by a distance about equal to the diameter of one (Fig. 65). Maxillae with an oblique depression. (Fig. 66). Eyes distinctly heterogeneous, the ante- rior medians dark; the posterior medians often ob- lique, oval, or triangular. . . Family Gnaphosidae 37a. The six spinnerets in a more or less trans- verse row (Fig. 67). Tracheal spiracle removed from the spinnerets at least one third of the distance to epigastric furrow Family Hahniidae 368 KEY TO INDIAN SPIDERS 37b. Spinnerets not so placed, but of the usual arrangement. Tracheal spiracle in the usual place in front of the spinnerets 38 Figs. 65-66. (65) Gnaphosa, spinnerets. (66) Gna- phosa showing maxillae and labium. 38a. Eye groups hexagonal, the posterior row procurved, and anterior row recurved, with the clypeus high (Fig. 68). Abdomen pointed behind and legs with very conspicuous spines Family Oxyopidae 67 68 Figs. 67-68. (67) Showing spinnerets of Hahniidae. (68) Showing eyes of Oxyopes . 38b. Eye groups not forming a hexagon, and clypeus much lower. 39 39a. Tarsus IV with, in most specimens provided for at least one sixth its length from the distal end with a ventral row of 6 to 10 serrated bristles, form- ing a comb (Fig. 69) which may be poorly develop- ed in males. Spiders hanging in an inverted posi- tion in irregular mesh webs. . . Family Theridiidae 39b. Tarsus IV without such combs 40 40a. Tarsi with trichobothria (Fig. 70) .... 41 40b. Tarsi without trichobothria 45 41a. Tarsi with single row of trichobothria (Fig. 71). Trochanters not notched, most species living in sheet webs with a funnel, over which they run rapidly in an upright position. . . Family Agelenidae 41b. Tarsi with numerous trichobothria, but irregularly distributed (Fig. 69). All trochanters with a curved notch 42 42a. Posterior row of eyes so strongly recurved that it may be considered to form two rows (Fig. Fig. 69. Theridion, tarsus IV showing comb of serrated bristles. 73). Median claw smooth or with a single tooth. Anterior piece of lorum (a) rounded behind and fitting into a notch of the posterior piece (Fig. 72). 70 71 Figs. 70-71. Lycosa, tarsus showing trichobothria. Egg sac carried attached to spinnerets and young carried on mother’s back Family Lycosidae Figs. 72-73. (72) Lycosa lorum of pedicel. (73) Showing eyes of Lycosa. 42b. Posterior row of eyes not forming two distinct rows, but only slightly recurved. Median claw with two or three teeth. Anterior pieces of Jo mm with a notch into which the posterior piece fits. Egg sac held under cephalothorax. Young not carried by mother Family Pisauridae 43a. Clypeus in most lower than the height of the median ocular area (Fig. 74). Eyes homogene- ous (Most are orb weavers) 44 43b. Clypeus usually as high as or more com- monly higher than, height of the median ocular 369 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 area (Fig. 75). Eyes heterogeneous (The majority are not orb weavers) 45 Figs. 74-75. (74) Araneus, face and chelicerae. (75) Pityohyphantes, face and chelicerae. 44a. Epigastric furrow between lung slits pro- curved (Fig. 76). No boss on chelicerae. In most cases the chelicerae are large and powerful (Fig. 77). Family Tetragnathidae 44b. Epigastric furrow nearly straight. Boss pre- sent on chelicerae (Fig. 78) though rudimentary in some cases. (True orb weavers) Family Argiopidae or Araneidae 45a. Tibia of male pedipalp without apophyses (though the tibia may be dilated distally). (Fig. 79). Palp of female in most species with a claw at the end of the tarsus. Tibia IV in most species with two dorsal spines, or if only one spine is pre- sent then there is one short spine on metatarsi I and II Family Linyphidae 45b. Tibia of male pedipalp in most species with at least one apophysis (Fig. 80). Palp of female without a claw at end of tarsus. Tibia IV with a single dorsal spine or bristles and with the meta- tarsi spineless Family Micryphantidae Refer The following represent the few works in English, that give general information about spiders or assist in further identification of at least some groups. Bristowe, W. S. (1939-1941): The Comity of Spiders. 2 vols. London. (1958) : The world of Spiders. London. Comstock, J. H. (1912) : The Spider Book (Rev. ed. 1940). Garden City. Emerton, J. H. (1902): Common Spiders of the United States, Boston. Fabre, J. H. (1912): The Life of the Spider, 76 Figs. 76-78. (76) Tetragnatha ventral view of abdo- men and showing procurved epigastric furrow. (77) Tetragnatha showing body and chelicerae. (78) Lateral view of cephalothorax of Araneus showing boss. Figs. 79-80. (79) Male palp of Lepthyphantes. (80) Male palp of Ceraticelus with tibial apophysis. EN CES New York. Gertsch, W. J. (1949) : American Spiders, New York. Kaston, B. J. (1948) : Spiders of Connecticut, Hartford. (1972): How to know the Spiders. Dubaque. Levi, H. W. & L. R. (1968): Spiders and their Kin, New York. McCook, H. C. (1889-1894) : American Spiders and their Spinning Work. 3 vols. Philadelphia. Savory, T. H. (1928): The Biology of Spiders, London. 370 Reviews 1. FUNCTION AND EVOLUTION IN BEHAVIOUR: Essays in Honour of Professor Niko Tinbergen, F.R.S. Edited by Gerard Baerends, Colin Beer and Aubrey Manning, pp. xxxii + 394 (24 x 16 cm), with 7 black-and-white plates and many illustrations. London, 1975. Oxford University Press. Price £ 16.50. The origins of this volume are made clear in a dedication and introduction: it is a set of essays written mainly by former students and close associates of Professor Tinbergen, pre- pared for presentation to him on his retirement from the Chair of Animal Behaviour at the University of Oxford. The editors tell us that they called for contributions on the major theme of ‘the functions and evolution of ani- mal behaviour’, subjects which they note have been at the heart of the studies of ‘a Grand Master of Ethology’ during his time at Oxford. The editors’ introduction describes the deve- lopment of Professor Tinbergen’s work, be- ginning with his vigorously intellectual up- bringing in Holland and going on to show how greatly he influenced those who studied under him, first at Leiden University, then at Oxford. This introduction is followed by a useful bibliography of Tinbergen’s works. The functions and evolution of the book are less clear than its origins. The editors ap- parently started with a four-part plan. There was to be a major division between contribu- tions treating the evolutionary history of be- haviour patterns and those dealing with the survival-value of particular behaviours. Each of these major divisions was to be divided into a general theoretical section and a section dealing with particular pieces of research. However, we are told that the essays received did not fit well into this scheme and instead the editors decided to arrange the contribu- tions according to whether they dealt primarily with the function of behaviour or whether they relied mainly on comparative method to make their points. Within these two parts the essays have been grouped to lead from the general conceptual statement to the account of a de- tailed piece of research. The editors them- selves admit that some of the ‘functional’ essays are concerned with work that relies heavily on comparisons, while it is found that some of the contributions in the comparative section concern themselves largely with the functions of the behaviours which are com- pared. So the division of the book is not straightforward, nor is it, one feels, particul- arly useful: it does not read easily from be- ginning to end. This lack of clear structure is one aspect of a general fault: the book does not appear to have had strong editorial direc- tion. Perhaps this is to be expected when three editors residing in separate countries are in- volved. It is impossible to treat all the many con- tributions to this volume in any detail here, but it may be useful to the potential reader to record, in order of appearance, the impres- sive list of contributors together with an ab- 371 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 breviated version of their essay titles: Hinde (Cambridge) — Concept of Function; Beer (Rutgers) — Multiple Functions and Gull Dis- plays; Roeder (Tufts) — Feedback and Spon- taneous Activity; Manning (Edinburgh) — Behaviour Genetics; Liley (British Columbia) and Seghers (Manitoba) — Guppy Morphology; Kruuk (Banchory) — Carnivore Social Hunt- ing; van lersel (Leiden) — Orientation of Bem- bix; Patterson (Culterty) — Rook Aggression; Baerends (Groningen) — Conflict; Lindauer (Wurzburg) — Orientation and Learning; Im- melmann (Bielefeld) — Early Experience; Mar- ler (Rockefeller) — Behavioural Development; Moynihan (Smithsonian, Panama) — Conser- vatism in Cephalopod Display; Robinson (Smithsonian, Panama) — Araneid Spider Pre- dation; Nelson (Aberdeen) — Sulid Behaviour McKinney (Minnesota) — Duck Display; Tsch- anz and Hirsbrunner-Scharf (Bern) — Adapta- tions of Guillemot and Razorbill Chicks. This is certainly not a book for the general reader (who would not be alone in stumbling over such headings as: ‘Trans-Modality Trans- posing of Menotactically Maintained Angles of Orientation’), nor is it well suited to the biologist who is not a specialist ethologist. One feels that while some of the contributions will be of interest to many working in the now very broad fields of ethology and ecology, the book as a whole will be fully appreciated by only a limited audience. (It will no doubt be greatly appreciated by Professor Tinbergen himself, but in printing the book the publishers presumably have a more extensive audience in mind). The dust-jacket states that the authors endeavour to trace the development of concepts ‘towards a synthesis with other branches of behavioural research’. Whatever that may mean, a strong feeling of synthesis does not appear as one goes through the volume, and no attempt at a synthesis is made by the editors. Instead, one has a set of rather disparate contributions, ranging from straight- forward reports of research on one species or one small group of animals to purely con- ceptual essays. Not all the contributions are strictly within the set bounds of the book: Liley and Seghers confine themselves almost entirely to the evolution of growth rate and body size, for instance. Most of the essays are written in highly technical language. This is a pity, since one of major factors in Tinber- gen’s influence, as is pointed out in the in- troduction, has been his ability to speak and write simply and clearly, allowing him to carry ethology and the fascination of animal beha- viour to the general public. Although the sheer variety of the material presented in this book is a tribute to the multiple stimuli given by Tinbergen, one feels that the editors have not made a sufficient effort to present this variety to a public audience in a digestible form. However, though the meal as a whole may be somewhat indigestible, different readers will find satisfaction in different particular courses. This reviewer found the contributions of Kruuk, Marler and Moynihan to be of especial interest. Kruuk directly relates dif- ferences in the social behaviour of carnivores (emphasizing the hunting behaviour of hyae- nas) to differences in diet and habitat, and he gives some thought to the relevance of his findings to aspects of human behaviour. The essay is readable, interesting, and directly con- cerned wit h the title of the book. Marler’s contribution stresses the need for caution in labelling behaviour as innate or acquired. He shows, by referring to an elegant series of bird- song studies, how an adult behaviour pattern can result from the complex interaction, dur- ing development, of experience with a built-in ‘template’. He also comments on the relevance of his work to theories on the origin of human 372 REVIEWS language (in their introduction, the editors note that contributions dealing specifically with human ethology, one of Tinbergen’s most recent interests, are unfortunately absent from this volume). Moynihan presents a convincing hypothesis to explain the persistence for more than 190 million years of some cryptic and alarming displays amongst cephalopods. Con- servatism in alarming displays may have re- sulted from the wide diversity of display re- ceivers likely to have been present throughout this period. Even in these contributions there are some grounds for criticizing the editors. In a work such as this, inevitably concerned heavily with conceptual problems, the careful definition of terms assumes considerable importance. But in this direction a lack of rigour is again evi- dent. For example, having defined ‘hunting’ as ‘the pattern of activities adapted to the capturing of other animals’, Kruuk states that it is ‘virtually absent in other orders of mam- mals (except in man), ungulates, and rodents, with the exception of insectivores’. A moment’s thought tells one that there are as many mam- malian orders containing carnivores and in- sectivores (i.e. predators) as there are con- taining herbivores. One thinks of monotremes, marsupials, bats, edentates and pangolins, whales and the many insectivorous and omni- vorous primates. Although Kruuk includes the termite- eating aardwolf in his account, one feels that for ‘hunting’ he usually has in mind the capture of vertebrate prey; in his discus- sion he introduces ‘foraging’ to cover the broader subject he treats. One last minor criticism also concerns edi- torial control. The book carries three indices (species, author and subject) covering 12 pages. Several species (such as gazelle, kitti- wake and zebra) are listed in both species and subject indices and sometimes given more page references in one than the other, while not all the pages on which they appear are listed (zebra, p. 123). One-word species-names ap- pear throughout with their initial letter in lower-case type, while any species whose com- mon name contains an adjective has the ini- tial letter in upper-case. This is irritating, especially when a list of species contains both types of name. Surely rook is no less a proper name than Snow Goose? Despite these criticisms, it must be said that the volume contains a great deal of import- ant material, some of which will be required reading for those engaged in ethological and eco-ethological research. The standard of pro- duction is high and there are relatively few typographical errors. But it is a pity that a greater effort could not have been made to produce a more strongly-integrated book with a wider appeal. The price alone (£ 16.50) will reduce the size of its audience, yet when a large amount of money is being spent one ex- pects to find that some effort has gone into the planning and editing of a book. J.F.O. 373 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 2. A PUNCHED CARD KEY TO THE DICOT FAMILIES OF SOUTH INDIA. By Cecil J. Saldanha and C. Kamcswara Rao. pp. 18 + Cards A-Y and 1-51. Bangalore, 1975. Centre for Taxonomic Studies, St. Joseph’s College. Price Rs. 35.00. This is the first attempt to prepare a punched- card-key for the identification of families of plants in India. One, not familiar with the use of punch-card-keys of this type, gets a pleasant surprise on using it. This reviewer has used it several times with great satisfaction. Repeated use by others will bring to focus its true values. The cost of the index is not within reach of an average graduate student of Botany but its popularity will perhaps result in lowering its price. The authors are to be congratulated for publishing this valuable taxo- nomic tool in the service of botanists and others wanting to classify plants. P.V.B. 3. RODENTS OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE IN INDIA. By S. A. Barnett and Ishwar Prakash. pp. xii + 176 (22 x 14.5 cm), with 14 plates and 41 text- figures. New Delhi, 1975. Arnold-Heinemann. Price Rs. 35.00. The authors rightly emphasise that no match- ing research efforts have been made on rodents considering their damage potential to food grains. In contrast, intensive efforts are made on insect pests like locusts. The accumulated literature on rodents is however concerned largely with public health importance and transmission of a variety of diseases. Need for the creation of vertebrate biology department in Agricultural Universities has been rightly pointed out and a co-ordinated re-orientation of courses in biology is very essential to pro- vide the perspective training. In the second chapter, the reproduction as- pects have been detailed. But use of chemo- sterilants for possible control of rodents should have been dealt with in greater detail and deserve a place in the chapter along with acute poisons, anticoagulants etc. Much more work has been done on synthetic oestrogen reproduction inhibitor ‘BDH 10131’. In growth section, the investigations of Spillett (1966) on three species of rats are not referred. In fact. it would have been appropriate, to present Spillett’s data on its entirety. In population Dynamics, the extrinsic factors like food, disease and intrinsic factors such as social interactions have been well detailed. Some re- ferences to the investigations of DeLong (1967) on population ecology of feral house- mouse, and Calhoun’s (1962), would have imparted more information on these aspects of rodents. In feeding and exploratory beha- viour, more information on new object re- actions and Rzoaka’s (1953) work on baits shyness would have been a welcome addition. The third chapter deals with the principles of control. The authors rightly advocate measures like prevention of entry through proofing measures, reduced fertility, use of poisons to minimise the population and en- couragement of natural predators. The fourth chapter deals with the analysis of losses. The authors substantiated their opi- nion in the introductory chapter that know- ledge of statistics is essential to a Biologist to 374 REVIEWS conclude the meaningful estimates of the dam- age caused by the rodents. Chapter 5 deals with methods of control. More information on zinc phosphide and role of brass material used in the baits for ultimate acceptance by rats is desirable. Other con- ventional acute poisons like Thallium Sul- phate are concisely mentioned since they are not in popular use. Anticoagulants are being preferred increasingly in the rodent control programmes in India and are the preferred rodenticides in Western Countries. Therefore, more details and better treatment to this class of rodenticides is essential. Warfarin is effec- tive to Rat t us rattus at 0.025 per cent con- centration including Mus musculus and Dip- hacinone has no special advantage as such. Anticoagulants have been successfully tried in sugarcane, jowar and wheat fields. Aluminium phosphide can be used successfully not only during monsoon and in irrigated fields, but also in other climatic conditions. Only pre- caution to be taken is to create humid condi- tion by using a little water in the burrows be- fore use. It is not flammable by itself and such situation can exist only when it comes in con- tact with liquid water. The authors should have gone to the depth of the various characteristics of the chemicals used in rodent control work. Other aspects like environmental control are interesting. Principal species are dealt in chapter 6. Ade- quate details are given which help to plan control strategies. Chapter 7 gives essential information on research which will be parti- cularly interesting for a fresh student in rodent control investigations. The book is a welcome addition to the liter- ature on Indian rodents. There is a definite derth on literature that deals with economic rodent species highlighting their role as agri- cultural pests. H.N.M.R. 4. TAXONOMY OF INDIAN MOSSES. By R. S. Chopra, pp. xl + 631 (24 x 16 cm), with 122 text-figures and a map. New Delhi, 1975. Publication & In- formation Directorate, (CSIR). Price Rs. 96.00, $38.00, £15.00. This publication indeed fulfils a long-felt need of a comprehensive taxonomic account of the Moss flora occurring in the Indian subconti- nent (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Western & S.E. Tibet). It reviews and brings together all the Taxo- nomic information on the moss flora of the region since 1808 when the first paper on Ne- pal mosses collected by Buchanan-Hamilton at the end of the 18th Century was published by William J. Hooker. About 328 genera and over 1200 species of Mosses have been classi- fied in this volume. The author has deffered consideration of the following moss genera (which are in a confused state and a satisfac- tory treatment would be possible only when all the species reported from all over the world can be studied in the form of monographs). Fissidens, A nisothecium-Dicrenella-Microdus complex, Campilopus, Calymperes, Hypophila, Pohlia, Brachymenium, Bryum, Orthotrichum, Macromitrium, Pterobryopsis, Calyptothecium, Daltonia, Thuidium, Symphyodon, Brachythe- cium, Rhyncostegium, Entodon, Clastobryum, Brotherella, Acroporium, Hypnum and Ectro- pothecium. The author has studied majority of colle- tions of Indian Mosses in India and abroad. 375 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 and has consulted monographers and other authorities on taxonomic studies in support of his contentions regarding the status of several taxa. This CSIR Botanical Monograph No. 10 is the largest in the series and perhaps the best of the Moss floristic works of India so far. The book contains a conceptus of classes, orders, families and genera which are also des- cribed and keys upto species level are provid- ed. A glossary of terms used is appended in 15 pages. Bibliography of 33 pages and an al- phabetical index are also included. All in all this work fulfils the need of a comprehensive work on the Moss flora of the Indian sub- continent. The author deserves the thanks of Bryolo- gists of India and abroad for presenting this important work for teaching and research pur- poses. The publication and Information Direc- torate deserves compliments for the production values of such a complicated work so ably executed. It compares well with any standard taxonomic work in any part of the world. P.V.B. 5. THE INDIGENOUS TREES OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. By Joseph F. Rock. 2nd edition, pp. xx + 548 (26 x 18.5 cm), with 215 photographic plates. Tokyo, 1974. Charles E. Tuttle Company. Price S 22.50. Hawaii is today an extraordinary blending of the new and the old, the endemic and the exo- tic. In order to truly appreciate these islands, the naturalist as well as the anthropologist has to unravel the many threads that go to make its many-splendoured fabric of life. Joseph F. Rock’s work, first published in a limited edition in 1913 and now re-edited for a wider public, is an important contribution to the understanding of the indigenous elements that have gone to make up the present-day flora of these bewitching islands. The Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden has done a good service to Botany by undertaking the reprinting of Dr. Rock’s original book. A striking feature of this work is a set of 215 revealing black and white photographs taken by Dr. Rock. They form a portrait gallery of the best of the indigenous Hawaiian plants. The reader is also given a general description of the vegetation of the Hawaiian Islands in the first 87 pages. The body of the book con- sists of a systematic treatment of the families of ferns, monocots and dicots indigenous to Hawaii. Several of the plants are endemic and not a few were new to science when first des- cribed in the original edition. The second edition contains an appendix by Derral Herbst updating Rock’s nomen- clature. Not the least interesting part of the book is the introduction by Sherwin Carlquist who indicates the importance of this work to plant geographers trying to understand the origin and evolution of vegetation in isolated oceanic island groups. A good book for the Hawaiian Naturalist and an interesting acquisition for the Botanist interested in insular vegetation. C.J.S. 376 REVIEWS 6. INDIAN SCIENCE INDEX 1975. Edited by Satyaprakash. pp. xvi + 140 (25 x 18 cm). Gurgaon/New Delhi, 1976. Indian Documentation Service. Price Rs. 50.00. This volume of the Indian Science Index is the beginning of an attempt at collecting articles, research papers and notes, conference/ semi- nar/symposia proceedings and transactions of societies in the form of a subject index. Its aim is a ‘bibliographical control’ of the grow- ing volume of scientific knowledge, and its purpose is to make this knowledge available to workers in various scientific disciplines. The present publication deals with over 6000 arti- cles classified under various headings and sub- headings. Going over the list of journals and periodicals whence these articles are taken from, one feels that the index is by no means an exhaustive one. The omission of such out- standing journals as the Records of the Zoo - logical Survey of India, The Indian Forest Records, the Proceedings of the Indian Na- tional Academy, and the Journal of the Bombay Natural Flistory Society, to mention a few, leaves much to be desired. However, the thought that this is the first annual and is just a beginning, makes one to feel that the num- bers which follow would be exhaustive ones. The price of Rs. 50/-, however, is very much on the high side and is beyond the reach of students and individual research workers. J.S.S. 7. CHECKLIST OF THE BIRDS OF MAHARASHTRA WITH NOTES ON THEIR STATUS AROUND BOMBAY. By Humayun Abdulali. pp. ii + 16 (20 x 14 cm). With a sketch map of Maharashtra State on the inside of the front cover. Bombay, 1973. Bombay Natural History Society. Price Rs. 2.50. This checklist is a very v/elcome addition to the necessary prerequisites for any person in- terested in the avifauna of the Maharashtra State. The absence of such checklists greatly handicap even knowledgeable birdwatchers when birding for the first time in an area. A checklist therefore can provide the basis for serious work being started in a region. It is a pity we do not have such inexpensive lists for the various parts of the country. Checklists can, however, have their utility greatly overstretched when they purport to cover an area as large as the Maharashtra State which has such very dissimilar climatic regions within its limits, such as the Konkan and the Deccan. The compiler, however, has anticipated possible criticism on this score by clearly indicating those species which are found only in the Deccan and those inhabit- ing the Konkan. The status comments refer to the rest with a qualification that these apply more specifically to the immediate vicinity of Bombay. Anyone intending to birdwatch in Maha- rashtra and in particular in the Thana, Kolaba and Greater Bombay districts would find this checklist very handy, being prepared by a person who has an intimate knowledge of the natural history of the area and is an expert of acknowledged merit in the subject in his own rights. Any additions to this checklist would be worthy of recognition! K.S.L. 377 9 Miscellaneous Notes 1. NOTES ON ANIMALS SEEN ON SALSETTE ISLAND AND AROUND 5th April 1931: On the path between Powai Lake and Vihar Lake, near the Pipe line at about 4.30 p.m. a leopard crossed the path about 50 yards ahead of me going towards the West. There were one or two occupied huts and he must have passed very close to them. 1st January 1933: While snipe shooting in the afternoon about 4 miles from Thana on the Ghodbunder Road, a man came and told me a leopard had killed a goat on the hill to the left of the Road. I only had my 12 bore with some No. 8 shot, but went with him and found the goat with a broken neck and deep tooth marks in the neck. I just had time to return to Bombay and get some SG cart- ridges, while the man rigged a machan and I sat up all night, but saw nothing. The next weekend I went out and had a goat tied up nearby, but nothing came either on the Sa- turday or Sunday night. I thought I would try once more the following weekend, and early on the Saturday evening about 5 p.m. I saw the leopard about 100 yards away on the hill looking down at me, but he must have seen me and never came near. August 1933: On the path from Tulsi Lake to Gaimukh Bunder on the Thana Ghod- bunder Road there was a sounder of about 20 wild pig, all sows and young ones. These were the only wild pigs I ever encountered on Salsette. Between Gaimukh Bunder and Ghodbunder, where the road goes inland from the creek I I occasionally saw peafowl and also spur fowl, and once I heard a jungle cock crowing in the early morning. Easter 1934: Parol, Bassein District. A tiger killed a cow in the low hills on the border of the reserve forest about one mile from Parol. There were distinct and unmistakeable tiger pug marks in the nullah which leads to the Tansa River from the South. By the time I arrived on the scene the cow was half eaten and was pretty high, and although I had a pit dug (there was no suitable tree) and sat up all night, nothing came to the kill. 30th May 1935: I had been all day round Kanheri Peak and passed through the village of Tulsi on my way back to my car which was parked on the side road leading from the Thana Rd. to Vihar Lake. As I was walk- ing along the east side of Tulsi Lake about 6 p.m. I heard the “sawing” of a leopard which appeared to come from the west side of the lake near the dam. I waited a few mi- nutes and to my surprise, not one, but two leopards walked slowly across the dam from north to south and disappeared into the jungle. 1936-37: On numerous occasions I went after a leopard in the hills to the right of the Poona Road, a mile or two beyond Thana where the road skirts the creek. There was a small tank up on the hill not far from the Rest House. I eventually shot a small female in May 1937 after what must have been at least 30 nights spread over 2 years. I know many other 378 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES people tried for this particular animal, which was a menace to goats and even to cattle. And I believe that the same year a male was killed from the same tree. During the late 1920’s and through the 1930s and indeed even as late as 1949 I saw small mugger at various times on the north side of Vihar lake. The biggest I would say would be 6 ft. 1938: There was a small tank about 1 mile north-west of Thana, and in June 1938 I saw a small animal in the hills above the tank at a range of about 75 yards. At first I thought it was a Muntjac, but the colour seemed to be wrong as it was a light grey brown in- stead of the reddish brown of a muntjac, and I wondered whether it was a four horned anie- lope. In fact I now think it must have been, for in 1948 when shooting in Reserved Forest to the right of the main Nasik Road, one of the party shot a male four horned antelope, and I am fairly certain that this was the spe- cies of the animal I saw earlier. It would be interesting to know if there are other records of four horned antelopes on Salsette. X’inas 1948: When shooting in reserved forest about mile 48 near the Nasik Road we were beating for jungle fowl and peafowl when a tigress and two 3/4 grown cubs came right through and passed me about 40 yards away. She seemed quite unhurried and was less than 100 yards in front of the beaters who were making a lot of noise. On the same day I saw a nilgai bull and two cows, also a large sounder of wild pig. A fortnight later at the same place I was charged by a very large wild sow. She looked very vicious. I hit her head on with both bar- rels of my 12 bore loaded with No. 6 shot and turned her. After about 200 yards she collapsed dead. She measured 33 in. at the shoulder and weighed 196 lbs. on the railway station weighing machine. She was an old beast and rather lean. 1949: I have no date, but it was just after the monsoon. After crossing on the ferry on the Old Nasik Road, and about a mile beyond the ferry I was exploring a nullah for butter- flies when I came across a very clear set of tiger pug marks in damp sand. I am not sure how far this was from Bombay but probably 45 to 50 miles. Incidentally I once saw two chital does on the Old Nasik Road but cannot remember the date except that it was 1928 or 1929, and I saw wild pigs on more than one occasion. In the late 1920’s I used to know one of the Engineers working on the electrification of the GIP Railway between Lonavla and Poona, and often went up to stay with him for week- ends at Lonavla. He used to drop me at Wad- gaon station from his rail trolley and I spent many days after blackbuck and chinkara. Blackbuck were fairly common in those days and I got two good heads of 22 in. and 21 in. and a good chinkara on one occasion I found I had shot two buck with one shot with my .355 Mannlicher, which was a great pity, but I never saw the second one, and certainly did not want to kill it. Later I shot 2 leopards at Mangaon one of which was a very heavy male, which was said to be responsible for killing over 100 cows. When skinning him I found four lethal balls, eight buck shot and one rifle bullet in the car- cass. One other unexpected animal was a sloth bear killed in a beat near Wadgaon in 1928. I never saw one before or since in Western India. The last occasion on which I had any con- tact with wild animals near Bombay was in March 1950 when I was after butterflies on Trombay. My wife and small son were with me and I parked the car under a tree near a 379 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 small culvert on the road to Trombay village. My wife remarked that there was a strong smell of cat, but I could not perceive it my- self and went off into the hills. When I came back in the afternoon I heard a lot of shout- ing and saw some men carrying a goat which had obviously been killed by a leopard. It had deep tooth marks on the back of its neck, and the men said they had seen the leopard and had driven it off. On going back to the culvert I had a look and sure enough there 1, Applewood Close, St. Leonards on Sea, Sussex TN 37 7JS, U.K., September 30, 1975. were the pugmarks. The men said this was the second goat they had lost that week. Both had been killed while grazing at the bottom and to the north of the highest hill on Trom- bay, a few hundred yards from a small vil- lage which I think was named Wadhavi or something similar. One wonders how the leo- pard got to Trombay, unless he came down the road from Ghatkopar at night. Otherwise as far as I remember Trombay is surrounded by marshes. A. E. G. BEST 2. SOME NOTES ON THE BREEDING HABITS AND GROWTH OF THE MALAYAN GIANT SQUIRREL ( RATUFA B ICO LOR) IN CAPTIVITY Acharjyo & Misra [1973: /. Bombay nat. Hist . Soc. 7(9(2) : 375] reported on the birth of a female Malayan Giant Squirrel ( Ratufa bico- lor) young on 15th July 1972 at Nandankanan Biological Park, Orissa. Table 1 Date of last parturition Date of subsequent parturition Inter-parturition interval in days Remarks 15-vii-1972 8-iii- 1 97 3 235 The young of 15-vii-1972 died on 17-ix-1972. 8-iii-1973 20-iv-1974 407 The young of 8-iii- 197 3 is living till the time of this report. 20-iv-1974 13-ix-1974 145 The young of 20-iv-1974 died on 21-iv-1974. 13-ix-1974 17-xii-1974 94 The young of 13-ix-1974 died on 15-ix-1974. 17-xii-1974 19-iv-1975 122 The young of 17-xii-1974 died on 19-xii-1974. Further five births were recorded to the fe- male of the same pair of Malayan Giant Squir- rels in the same Park as follows: March, 1; April, 2; September, 1; and December, 1. The litter size was always one. There were 3 males 380 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES and 2 females. The eyes of all the young were closed at birth and the eyes of one young un- der observation opened on the 27th day. At birth the young weighed 58 to 89 gm with a mean of 74.5 gm and measured 25.5 to 29.5 cm with a mean of 27.3 cm including tail lengths of 11 to 13 cm with a mean of 12.1 cm. The details of inter-parturition interval observed in this female which was living with her mate throughout the period of observation is given in Table 1. From this table it can be seen that inter- parturition interval varies from 94 to 407 days mainly depending on the period of survival of the young. This female could give birth to six litters within a period of less than 3 years. The incisors of the lower jaw of one young born here on 8-iii-1973 appeared in the second week and that of the upper jaw appeared in the fifth week. Whenever required, the mother used to lift the baby with the teeth mostly by holding the base of one of the hind limbs. At times just before moving with the baby, the mother used to handle the baby with her fore- limbs, probably to enable her to have a good grip of the baby with the teeth. The mother weighed 2.7 kg and the male 1.83 kg on 29- vii-1973. Other observations are more or less simliar to those observed earlier by Acharjyo & Misra (loc. cit.). The one female young born here on 8-iii- 1973 with a weight of 74.5 gm at birth, attained her maximum weight of 2.770 kg at the age of 65 weeks (15 months). Weekly weight growth records were taken at the end of each week and an abstract of the same is given in Table 2. Once the male was seen carrying the baby born here on 19-iv- 1975 and gnawing the left hind limb within a few hours of birth. The mother followed the male attempting to save the baby. However, on our intervention the injured young was dropped by the the young died from the injuries. Acharjyo & Misra (loc. cit.) Table 2 male. Later stated that Dates Age in weeks Weight in Kg. 8-iii- 197 3 Birth 0.0745 5-iv-1973 4 0.227 3-V-1973 8 0.590 31 -v- 1973 12 1.010 28-vi-1973 16 1.375 26-vii-1973 20 1.795 23-viii-1973 24 2.032 20-ix-1973 28 2.135 18-X-1973 32 2.200 15-xi-1973 36 2.200 1 3-xii-197 3 40 2.150 10-i-1974 44 2.230 7-ii-1974 48 2.310 7-iii-1974 52 2.370 4-iv-1974 56 2.535 9-V-1974 61 2.730 6-vi-1974 65 (15 months) 2.770 4-vii-1974 69 2.740 8-viii-1974 74 2.750 8-ix-1974 78 (18 months) 2.755 one female young weighed 77 gm , measured 29.5 cm including the 12.5 cm long tail and the eyes of this young opened on the 22nd day. They further stated that at the age of two months the young measured 59 cm in total length and weighed 445 grams. Nothing exact is known of the breeding habits of the giant squirrels (Prater, S. H., 1971: the book OF INDIAN ANIMALS). Ack nowledgem en ts We are grateful to Shri S. Tee, I.F.S., Chief Conservator of Forests, Orissa and to Shri 381 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 73 S. N. Das, I.F.S., Conservator of Forests, De- and to Shri N. Das of Bhubaneswar for the velopment Circle, Cuttack for the facilities photographs. Veterinary Asst. Surgeon, L. N. ACHARJYO Nandankanan Biological Park, P.O. Barang, Dist. Cuttack. Wild Life Conservation Officer, r. MISRA Orissa, Old Secretariate Building, Cuttack 1, Orissa, September 25, 1975. 3. A RE-SURVEY OF THE STATUS OF WILD BUFFALOES IN WEST BASTAR, MADHYA PRADESH Introduction J. C. Daniel & R. B. Grubh (1966) conducted a brief survey of the Indian wild Buffalo, [Bubalus bubalis (Linn.)] to assess its status in Bastar District, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa which are the last strongholds of wild buffalo in peninsular India. As a result of this survey the buffalo was declared an endangered species and was listed in the IUCN, Red Data Book. However, for the last ten years there has been no authentic study of the status of the buffalo population. Therefore I undertook to resurvey the status of the wild buffalo in Bhairamgarh and Toinar Forest Ranges of the West Bastar Division covering most of the areas surveyed by Daniel & Grubh. The areas omitted were Pengonda, Farasnar, Dudapalli, and Kanglare of Toinar Range. General account of survey The survey was carried out from 18th March to 26th March 1975 covering Bhairamgarh and Toinar Forest ranges. The survey party consisted of myself, R. C. Chamaluram, Dy. * Forester, Bhairamgarh range and two forest guides and tribal guides upto camp Kutru, thereafter Shri Parihar, A.C.E.F., West Bastar Division and Mr. R. C. Thind, Forest Ranger, Toinar range joined the party from Kutru onwards. Four camps were made, three in Forest vil- lages of Matwada, Jegur, Hingom and a fourth at Forest rest house at Kutru. Transects were made from three camps from early morning to late evenings, covering most of the area covered by Daniel & Grubh in west Bastar Division. Individual hoof marks were measur- ed to identity the herd strength. Hoof marks which were not more than 24 hours old only were taken into account. During 8 days of walks through the forest 1 saw only 3 buffaloes around 6 p.m. near Velcher area and these disappeared into patch of tall grass. The composition of herd could not be ascertained. I also saw 4 chital, 2 nil- gai, 10 to 12 fourhorned antelopes (at night), 2 sambar (at night), porcupine (at night), 1 jackal, 2 sarus cranes. Apart from the above I thrice saw fresh pug marks of tiger. The remains of a python estimated to be around 20 feet long and a foot in width poached only 382 H < Q H U w 73 Z < H 00 & *n o O oo 43 O ’J3 £ a o G -4— > a o 00 G G 00 0) C3 *G c3 £ >> 13 a cj . c a T3 ^ 4) oo O G S § * S3 a ° S 8 *» § §.a P-I-O G <0 ea w g rC rt .2? 73 S -O T3 o3 oS B B o3 ^r ■p- r^i 15 9 9 . Family Coenagriidae Subfamily Pseudagriinae Pseudagrion rubriceps Selys Material : 5 d d , 3 9 9 . Subfamily Ischnurinae Ischnura forcipata Morton It has 7 to 8 postnodal nervures in the hind wing. Material : 47 cT cf , 24 9 9 . Ischnura delicata (Hagen) Proximal half of the pterostigma in hind wing is rose- red while its distal half is al- most colourless. Material: 3d* d> 14 9 9 . Rhodischnura nursei (Morton) Material : 2 d d , 1 9 . Aciagrion pallidum Selys Labium is creamy white in the female, and antennae up to 2nd segment are brownish in colour in both the sexes. Material : 5 d d > 5 9 9 . Subfamily Agriocneminae Agriocnemis clauseni Fraser It has 8 postnodal nervures in the hind wing. Material: 8 d* cT » 13 9 9. Agriocnemis pygmaea (Rambur) Material : 2 d d , 19. Superfamily Lestinoidea Family Lestidae Subfamily Lestinae Lestes viridula Rambur Material : 75 d cf » 86 9 9 . Family Chlorocyphidae Rhinocypha quadrimaculata Selys Discoidal cell is traversed 3 to 5 times, ante- nodal nervures are 15 to 19 in male and 14 to 17 in the female. Material : 3 1 d d , 10 9 9 . Rhinocypha bifasciata Selys Head totally black, prothorax has a spade- shaped cream yellow mid-dorsal longitudinal spot on its posterior lobe, discoidal cell is tra- versed 4 times, antenodal nervures 20 in num- ber, first three abdominal segments have some- what rounded yellow spots on their lateral 419 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 sides. This species has been recently reported from North-West India (Singh & Prasad, in press) . Material : 2 cf cf . Labellago lineata lineata (Burmeister) Pterostigma in hind wing is yellowish and bordered by black nervines, 6 to 7 antenodal nervures are present in the fore wing and 11 in the hind wing. Material : 1 cf , 1 9 . Family Agriidae Subfamily Agriinae Neurobasis chinensis chinensis (Linn.) Material: 10cT cf, 12$ $. Suborder Anisoptera Superfamily Aeshnoidea Family Gomphidae Subfamily Gomphinae Mesogomphus Uneatus (Selys) Material : 1 cf , 4 9 $ . Superfamily Libelluloidea Family Libellulidae Subfamily Tetratheminae Tetrathemis platyptera Selys Material : 1 cf - Subfamily Libellulinae Cratilla lineata (Brauer) Material : 1 $ . Orthetrum taeniolatum (Schneider) Material: 21 cf cf , 28 $ $ . Orthetrum chrysostigma luzonicum (Brauer) The middle portion of labium is black, 2 rows of cell are present in between the IRIII & RSPL. Material: 29cfcf, 21$ $. Orthetrum sabina (Drury) Material: 29cfcf, 18$ $. Orthetrum triangulare triangulare (Selys) Labium totally black, postclypeus brownish black, the blackish brown triangular spot in the hind wing extending up to 2nd antenodal nervures; membrane brownish black; discoidal cell in fore wing, 2 celled; 4 to 5 cells are pre- sent in the subtrigone in the fore wing. Material : 1 cf . Orthetrum japonicum internum MacLachlan Pterostigma extends over more than 2\ cells; but less than 3 cells; reticulation of the wing incomplete; development of 6th antenodal nervure is incomplete. Material : 50 cf cf , 32 $ $ . Orthetrum glaucum (Brauer) Distal border of the labium is black; lab- rum is totally black; pterostigma covers 2\ cells and membrane is brown. Material : 143 cf cf » 44 $ $ . Orthetrum pruinosum neglectum (Rambur) Arc is situated on the 2nd antenodal nervure in the fore wing. Material : 80 cf cf , 14 $ $ . Subfamily Diastapidinae Palpopleura sexmaculata sexmaculata (Fabricius) Occiput is brownish-black; fore wing is tinted with yellow from base to pterostigma; cubital stripe extends up to the anterior half of the discoidal cell. Material : 49 cf cf » 42 $ $ . Subfamily Sympetrinae Acisoma panorpoides panorpoides Rambur Material : 1 $ . Diplacodes nebulosa (Fabricius) Material: 1$. Diplacodes trivialis (Rambur) Material : 2 cf cf - Crocothemis servilia servilia (Drury) Material: 136cfcf> 122$ $. 420 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Neurothemis fulvia (Drury) Material : 2 d d , 1 $ . Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius) Material : 1 $ . Sympterum commixtum (Selys) Margins of labrum and occiput are black; membrane is blackish-brown. Material : 1 cf - Subfamily Tritheminae Trithemis aurora (Burmeister) Material : 30 d d , 25 9 9 . Trithemis f estiva (Rambur) Material: 133 c? d1, 25 9 9. Trithemis pallidinervis (Kirby) Middle lobe and margins of lateral lobe of labium black; anal appendages reddish-yellow at the base. Zoological Survey of India, Dehra Dun, (U.P.), May, 21, 1975. Refe Fraser, F. C. (1933) : The Fauna of British In- dia including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata. Vol. 1 : Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 423. (1934) : The Fauna of British In- dia including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata. Vol. 2: Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 398. Material : Id, 1 9 . Subfamily Pantaliinae Pantala flavescens (Fabricius) Material : 44 d d , 22 9 9 . Tramea Virginia (Rambur) Recently recorded from India for the first time (Singh & Prasad, in press). Material : 2d d , 1 9 . Acknowledgements We are thankful to the Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, for providing facili- ties to carry out this work. Thanks are due to the Chief Wild Life Warden, Uttar Pradesh and the Wild Life Warden, Corbett National Park, for their help extended to the survey parties in the collection and study of the ma- terial. ASKET SINGH MAHABIR PRASAD EN CES (1936) : The Fauna of British In- dia including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata. Vol. 3: Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 461. Singh, A. & Prasad, M. (in Press) : New record of Rhinocypha bifasciata Selys (Odonata: Zygop- tera: Chlorocyphidae) from North-West India. 29. A NEW DISTRIBUTIONAL RECORD FOR PHYSAL1S PERUVIANA LINN. FROM NORTH GARHWAL Physalis peruviana Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 2 (1763), p. 1670. An indigenous species of Tropical America, introduced in the past in India and South Africa. It runs wild as an under growth of forests in the hills of Western and Eastern Ghats. In the plains of India it is generally cultivated in gardens for its bright amber coloured fruits which are either eaten raw or cooked. I recently surveyed the area of Tharali block in Chamoli District and observed this species growing wild in exposed sandy soils 421 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 near Tharali along the right bank of the river Pindar (24-3-74 Nautiyal 4932). It seems that the plant has become naturalized in this part of western Himalayas where it is not under cultivation. Further the distribution of the taxon is not widespread and its migration seems to be more recent within the area. Department of Botany, Meerut University, Meerut, August 23, 1975. The taxon is distinguished by solitary, axil- lary, yellow coloured flowers with a purple ring like spot at the base within the corolla and globose amber coloured berry enclosed by large persistent calyx. I am thankful to Professor Y. S. Murty for his guidance. K. N. NAUTIYAL 30. HYPECOUM PROCUMBENS LINN.: A NEW RECORD FOR INDIA The genus Hypecoum Linn. (Family Hypeco- aceae or Papaveraceae) , comprising of about 15 species, is distributed in the Mediterranean region and temperate Asia. Among Parietales ( sensu Bentham and Hooker), the genus is easily distinguished by its bimerous, regular flowers with the inner 2 petals characteristi- cally deeply 3 -parted. In India, hitherto, it was represented by one species, namely, H. lepto - carpum Hook. f. and Thoms, in Sikkim Him- alayas (Santapau & Henry 1973) A A few spe- cimens of another species, H. procumbens Linn., were gathered from a locality in Pun- jab. The present report is a south-east exten- sion of the distributional range of the species and the first record of its occurrence in In- dia. Hypecoum procumbens Linn. Sp. PI. 124, 1753; Fedde in Engler, Pflanzenreich 40: 87, f. 13 A & P, 1909; Bailey, Stand. Cycl. Hort. 2:1629, 1928. A glaucous annual. Stems (scapes) 1-3, ascending or becoming decumbent in fruit, 1 Santapau, H. & Henry, A. N. (1973): A Dic- tionary of the flowering Plants in India. New Delhi. 8-21.5 cm long. Leaves radical, rosulate or subrosulate, glaucous-green, 3.5-13.5 cm long, long-petioled, 2-3-pinnatisect, segments very narrow, linear, entire, acute or mucronulate. Floral-leaves whorled, sessile or subsessile, 0.8-3. 5 cm long, dissected into linear lobes. Scapes dichotomously divided above with the flowers in branched, dischasil, umbellate cy- mes up to 7 cm long. Flowers bimerous, sym- metrical, pedicelled, 5-8 mm long, bright yel- low. Sepals 2, free, much shorter than the petals, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acute, denti- culate along the upper margin, yellow-green, deciduous. Petals yellow, veined, 4, free, in 2 series of 2 each; outer 2 petals somewhat 3-loged but the side lobes very short or obso- lete, obovate or oval-oblong, base cuneate; inner 2 petals deeply 3 -parted, middle lobe the largest, stalked, elliptic, entire but usually toothed or fringed all-around the margin, ob- tuse or emarginate; lateral lobes narrow, linear- oblong, with black spots or not, entire, obtuse. Stamens 4, free, opposite the petals; filaments membranous, winged, black-spotted on the edges or not; anthers 2-celled, linear-oblong. Ovary bicarpellary, syncarpous, superior, 1- 422 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES celled, ovules 10-14 on 2 parietal plancentas; style short, 2-fid; stigmas obtuse or subcapi- tate. Capsule 2-4 x 0.2 cm, narrow and sili- qua-like, subcompressed, curved with elevated reticulate striations, tapering into a slender beak, glabrous, few-seeded, constricted bet- ween the seeds. Seeds plano-convex, yellowish or brownish. Specimens described : M. Sharma 3965 (PUN). Locality : Samana (alt. 240 m) in Patiala dist. of Punjab. In cultivated and fallow fields. The species has also been observed in Ludhi- ana and Faridkot districts and probably also occurs in other drier districts of Punjab. Depatrment of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala 147 002, August 23, 1975. Flowers and fruits : March- June. Distribution : Mediterranean region. West Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan. English name : Horned cumin. H. leptocarpum Hook. f. & Thoms, can be easily separated from H. procumbens Linn, by its pale purple flowers and the inner petals, mid-lobe of which is oblong and cucullate. The contiguity of Pakistan with Punjab (In- dia) suggests almost with certainty the path of introduction of this newly reported species in India. I am indebted to Prof. S. S. Bir for en- couragement and facilities. M. SHARMA 31. OCCURRENCE OF SOLANUM INTEGRIFOLIUM AND 5. GILO IN NORTHEASTERN HILLS During surveys in Meghalaya and Manipur in 1972-73 for the collection of plant material of agri-horticultural importance, two red- fruited Solanum species were collected. These have been subsequently identified as Solanum integrifolium Poir. and Solanum gilo Raddi, hitherto not reported from India. Both are considered to be of African origin — S. gilo occurring in a naturalised state in many parts of South America. Solanum integrifolium Poir. — the Chinese scarlet egg-plant (Bailey 1902) is a coarse much branched herbaceous annual upto 80 cm tall, scurfy tomentose and usually armed with sharp spines. It bears lobed leaves much like the egg-plant in size and shape but often more deeply lobed and spiny on the midrib and petiole, with white flowers about 1.50 cm across, in axillary clusters of 2-6; fruit upto 4 cm across, flattened and much compressed, distinctly lobed, usually bright scarlet in colour. The plant is grown by the Khasi tri- bals of Meghalaya in their courtyards and was collected from Nongstoin and Mawrygkneng (± 1500 m). The other species Solanum gilo Raddi — a herbaceous non-prickly herb is very much similar to the above species from which it can be differentiated by its much globular, pear- shaped fruits borne in groups of 2-4, 3-4 cm across, and its comparatively small white flowers with more deeply lobed petals. This bushy herb is grown by the Manipur tribals in homestead gardens particularly near Ukhrul 423 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 (— 1600 m). It was also collected from Mot- bung near Imphal (± 1000 m) and from Nongstoin in Khasi hills (± 1500 m). No mention of these species is made in the Flora of Assam (Kanjilal et al. 1939) or in any other botanical work (Anon. 1972; Watts 1971). Though the tribals use these semi-bit- ter fruits as vegetable, it appears that these plants might have been introduced initially as Plant Introduction Division, Indian Agricultural Res. Institute, New Delhi 110 012, March 10, 1975. Refer Anonymous (1972): The Wealth of India Vol. IX, CSIR Publ., New Delhi. Bailey, L. H. (1 902) : Cyclopedia of American Horticulture (R-Z). MacMillan & Co. London. ornamentals chiefly through missionaries. Sol- arium integrifolium in some parts is grown for its scarlet tomato coloured berries. Inci- dentally, the material could also be of use to breeders and botanists engaged in studies on Solarium melongena complex. Our grateful thanks are due to the Kew authorities for confirming the identity of some of the specimens. R. K. ARORA M. W. HARDAS EN CES Kanjilal, U. N. (1939) : Flora of Assam. Govt, of Assam, Shillong. Watts, G. (1971) : A Dictionary of the Econo- mic Products of India, (reprint ed.) 1971. Cosmo Publ., Delhi. 32. PTERIS ROSEO-LILACIN A HIERON., A NEW RECORD FOR PENINSULAR INDIA Pteris roseo-lilacina Hieron, is a Chinese (Yunan) species described by Hieronymus based on the collection of A. Henry 13222 from the banks of river Papien at Talan. Sub- sequently, Mehra & Bir ( 1964) 1 reported this taxon from Teesta (alt. 200 m), Darjeeling, as a new record for India. During a collection of ferns and fern allies from Western Ghats we discovered this interesting species at Pon- mudi, Trivandrum District, Kerala State. As this species is not previously known from any region in India other than Darjeeling a report 1 Mehra, P. N. & Bir, S. S. (1964): Pterido- phytic flora of Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas. Res. Bull. (N.S.) Punjab Univ. 75:69-181. on it is considered desirable. This taxon is closely related to Pteris aspericaulis Wall, ex Agardh but the two species can be easily dis- tinguished by the following key. Stipe scabrous; frond coreaceous, brownish green on drying; apex of pinnule mucronulate; very few spines on the costa only P. aspericaulis Wall, ex Agardh Stipe glabrous; frond membranaceous, deep green on drying; apex of pinnule obtuse rounded; spines abundant on costa and costule P. roseo-lilacina Heiron. As no description of the taxon is available in any of the Indian publications a full des- cription based on our specimens is provided below. The specimens are deposited in the Central National Herbarium, Sibpur (CAL). 424 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Pteris roseo-lilacina Hieron. in Hedwigia 55: 350, 1914. Rhizome erect, short, tufted, stipe 25 to 40 cm long, glabrous, glossy, roseo-lilacinous, smooth, grooved 15 to 40 cm long. Frond 40 to 80 cm long, 40-60 cm wide, membranous, deltoid, deeply bipinnatifid, with lower pinnae bipartite, upper pinnae gradually reduced with an apical pinnae like the lateral ones. Pinnae 10-20 cm long, 1.5 to 5 cm wide, sessile, trun- cate at base, oblong, acuminate apex, lower pinnae petiolate, petiole 3-4 mm long pinna lobed almost to the costa, abundant spines on Botanical Survey of India, Indian Botanic Garden, Sibpur, Howrah 3, March 3, 1975. the costa, spine roseolilacinous, segments near- ly at right angle to the costa, oblong, entire, apex obtuse rounded 3.5 m wide, 2.5 cm long, sinus within 1 mm, texture thin, membrana- ceous, veins close, once-forked; sori continu- ous along margins of the lobes, not reaching sinus and apex of the lobe. Stipe, rachis and costa are decolourised after drying. Specimens examined. — Ponmudi (alt. 1100 m), N. C. Nair 52601, 52607 (October, 1974). The plants were growing in a deep ravine on steep slopes under shade of Euphorbia sp. This is a very rare species in the area. N. C. NAIR S. R. GHOSH 33. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE XYLARIACEAE OF WESTERN INDIA— VIII1 The paper describes three species of Xylaria collected from forests of Western India, of which two are new records to India. 1 . Xylaria longipes Nitschke Pyren. Germ. 14 : 1867. Stromata clavate, with a long and rounded apex. Stipe 6-8 cm long, cylindrical or strap like, with a conical padding at the base, twist- ed. Fertile part 4-5 cm long, 0.5 cm thick, hollow on drying, surface layer buff coloured. Perithecia large ‘black, embedded, flask shap- ed, laterally flattened, with papillate ostioles, 800-1200 x 480-600 r-. Ascospores elliptic to navicular, dark brown, with mucilaginous sheath, 10-14 x 4-6 /*. Collected on wood of Tectona grandis, at Borivli National Park, Bombay, by V. Sub- ramoniam, dated 8-ix-1972, deposited in 1 Contribution No. 528 from the Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology. Ajrekar Mycological Herbarium under No. AMH 2412. Remarks'. This constitutes an addition to the Fungi of India. 2. Xylaria pallida Berk. & Cooke J. Linn. Soc. Bot. 15, 395 (1876). Stromata cylindrical, erect, stipitate, with distinct, short, broadly rounded apex. Fertile part 1-3 cm long, 0.5-0.8 cm thick, surface smooth, covered by cream coloured surface layer with irregular cracks; underlayers black. Perithecia embedded, ostiolate, globose to oval, laterally compressed. Ascospores brown, oval with rounded tips, 10-16 x 4-6 /*. Collected on wood of Tectona grandis at Borivli National Park, Bombay, by V. Subra- moniam dated 20-viii-1972 deposited under No. AMH 2413. Remarks’. This is an addition to the Fungi of India. 425 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 73 3. Xylaria nigripes (Klotsch.) Sacc. Syll. Fung. IX:527 (1891). Stromata cylindrical or rarely clavate, simple, buff to brown coloured, with smooth crust, tip rounded, surface reticulately crack- ed exposing black, papillate ostioles. Stipe short, smooth, concolorous, with conical pad at base, bearing one to three fertile clavae. Flesh yellow. Perithecia flask shaped, embed- ded, with black ostioles. Ascospores 8, dark brown oval to inequilateral with obtuse ends, germ slit straight; 10-14 x 6-8 /*. Collected on wood of Tectona grandis at Borivli National Park, Bombay by V. Subra- Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science, Law College Road, Poona 411 004, March , 3, 1975. moniam, dated 8-ix-1972, deposited under No. AMH 1883. It is interesting to note that all the three species of Xylaria were collected from the same host under identical conditions of envi- ronment. ACK N OWLEDGE M E N TS We are grateful to Prof. M. N. Kamat, Head of the Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, for his deep interest and guidance. Thanks are extended to the Direc- tor, M.A.C.S. for facilities. ALAKA PANDE V. SUBRAMONIAM 34. THE CLIMBING ORCHID— VANILLA The genus Vanilla (family Orchidaceae) has about 90 species of tall, climbing, branched, orchids scattered over the tropical regions of both hemispheres. The name Vanilla is derived from a Spanish word Vaynilla meaning a knife from the shape of the capsule. Records show that vanilla essence was used by Aztec Indians of Mexico for flavouring chocolate before America was discovered and its use was adopted by Spani- ards. Vanilla planifolia Andr. an epiphytic orchid — is indigenous to Tropical America and was introduced in the equitorial belt of the world where it is widely cultivated special- ly in Java, Borneo, Mauritius, Reunion, Sey- chelles and Tahiti in the old world and in Hondurus, Costa Rica in the new world. It was probably brought to Europe in 1510 and first described by Hernandez in 1651 and introduced into England in the early 19th century. Vanilla planifolia is of great economic im- portance in the tropics as the climate is very favourable for its cultivation on a large scale. The stems are almost cylindrical with a large number of widely and alternately spaced shiny dark green leaves. The flowers are about 4" in width appear in summer in groups of ten or thirty arranged in a terminal racemose spike without an involucre. The labellum which is yellowish green with a bright yellow spot on the throat protrudes from the greenish white sepals. Small, silvery green, aerial roots exerted op- posite to the leaves help the plant to cling to its host. The heavily branched absorptive roots are found at ground level in a thick layer of decaying humus. The stems of Vanilla climb 426 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES a considerable height and send aerial roots at all angles to the ground. Vanilla roots perhaps represent a transitional stage between the epi- phytic and terrestrial forms. Pollination is effected by humming birds and bees as in some orchids. The flowers do not set fruit if the correct pollinating agent does not appear. When cultivated for commercial purposes away from its natural habitat, the flowers are pollinated artificially by hand and the best time for it is early morning when the flower expands. When fertilised long green fruits hang down in bunches. The plants fruit when they are about 3 years old and continue to fruit for 30-40 years. The fruits are to be picked before they are ripe and dry. The best variety of pods are of a very dark chocolate brown or nearly black colour with crystallisation outside. The peculiar fragrance of vanilla is due to vanillin C8 H8 03. Vanillin is not present in the fleshy exterior of the pod. Besides Vanil- lin the pods also contain vanillic acid, soft resin, sugar, gum and oxalate of lime. The fragrant aroma of vanilla is developed through an artificial process at which Chinese are said to be experts. After harvesting the fruits they are dipped in water for a few seconds and then wrapped in woollen blankets and kept in metal-lined boxes in a damp atmosphere for 24 hours. They are then sun dried for a few days and further dried in the shade for 2-3 months. During this process they lose weight and the dark brown surface becomes covered with a glittering layer of fine crystals. Inside the capsule seeds grow on placenta and ultimately become loosened by fine hygroscopic hairs. The fruits produced by cultivation are bet- ter than the wild ones. The artificial methods used in curing vanil- la by the aid of hot water, sun’s heat or arti- ficial heat are intended to hasten maturity to produce uniform ripening throughout its en- tire length and to prevent splitting of pods. In Peru the pods are collected and heaped in the shade away from sun and rain, and are then subjected to a sweating process. On warm and fine days such pods are spread out in the morning on woollen blankets and ex- posed to sun. At mid-day the blanket is fold- ed over the pods and left so for the reminder of the day. In the evening all the pods are kept in air-tight boxes so that they may sweat for the whole night. On cloudy days the pods are made into bundles and with a number of bundles to a bale, wrapped with woollen cloth, and then coated with banana leaves and final- ly covered by a thick matting sprinkled with water. The bales containing larger pods are placed in ovens heated to 140°F and when the tem- perature falls to 113°F bales containing smal- ler pods are introduced and the oven is closed tightly. After 24 hours the smaller pods are taken out and 12 hours later the larger pods are also taken out. During this process the pods sweat and acquire a fine chestnut colour. Such pods are spread for over two months in the sun and marketed after drying. Vanilla is a good flavouring essence, largely used in the manufacture of chocolate in con- fectionary and in perfumery. Records show that like cacao it was first cultivated by Indians who never combined the two to make sweet scented chocolate. Mexican Vanilla is chiefly consumed in USA. Besides V. plant folia Andr. there are other species of Vanilla which produce commercial Vanilla. Trees suitable for growing Vanilla : Pterocarpus indicus, Lagerstoemia flos- reginae, Albizzia lebbek, Salmalia malabari - cum, Ficus elastica, Jatropha curcus, Croton i 427 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 73 triglium, Bixa orellana, etc. Sometimes hard- wood posts and bars, also, are used, having resting notches at the top. Growing vanilla from seeds : Fully matured pods are allowed to blacken and the seeds after being separated from pods are soaked in alcohol for 24 hours and then thoroughly washed and planted. It is reported that the seedlings grow well in light and friable soil rich in humus. The plants require water throughout the year. Growing from cuttings: The plants are propagated by cuttings vary- ing in length from 1 to 2 feet, the longer ones are more satisfactory. These may be planted 524, Circular Road, Howrah 2 (W.B.), August 16, 1975. in the ground or merely tied to a tree so that they are not in direct contact with the earth. They soon send out aerial roots by which the connection with the soil is establish- ed. They are usually trained on trees. Use in medicine : It is reported that the sticky juice of vanilla brings out blisters in human skin but it is used in the treatment of wounds and as an aromatic stimulant in case of hysteria. I am thankful to Sri V. S. Agarwal for sup- plying some valuable information and to Dr. R. B. Ghosh for going through the manuscript. I express my gratitude to Dr. S. N. Mitra for his valuable guidance. K. D. MUKHERJI 35. LYCOPODIUM COMPLANATUM LINN.: A NEW RECORD FOR KERALA STATE While studying the species of Lycopodium housed in the herbarium of the Cryptogamic Unit of the Botanical Survey of India, Cal- cutta, we came across a collection of Lycopo- dium complanatum Linn, from Kerala State. As the species is a new record for that region it is reported here. Clarke (1880) gives the distribution of the species in the Indian subcontinent as Assam, Khasia, Moflong, Syung and Mumbree and in extra limital distribution as Java, Northern Europe, Asia and America. Baker (1887) does not include India in the distribution of the species. The only authentic record of the taxon, we are aware of from peninsular India is by Chowdhury (1937) who reports that the plant was collected by Levinge from Kodai- kanal at an altitude of 2100 m. Levinge’s ma- terial is in the Central National Herbarium, Sibpur, Howrah (CAL), and, other than this specimen, there is no sheet from South India. It has not been reported from South India by subsequent collectors. It appears that this is a very rare plant in South India. Lycopodium complanatum Linn. Sp. PI. 1567, 1753; Schk. Krypt. Gew. t. 163, 1809; Hook, et Bauer, Gen. Fil. 117A, 1842; Spring, Monogr. Lycopod. 101, 1842; Milde, Fil. Eur. 257, 1867. Roots adventitious arising from the under side of the prostrate portion of the stem. Stem 60-70 cm long, bears erect dichotomous branches, 10-15 cm long and 4.5 mm dia- meter. Leaves dimorphous, greenish, rigid, simple, arranged in four rows on the stem, lanceolate, base broad, apex shortly acumi- 428 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES nate, 3-4 mm in length, median leaves erect, adpressed to the stem. Spike cylindrical small, pale in colour, 4-5 cm long. Bract ovate, short- ly cuspidate with dentate margin. Botanical Survey of India, 76 Acharya Jagdish Bose Road, Calcutta 14, July 3, 1974. Material examined — Thenmala, Munnar, Idikki District, T. S. Padmanahhan A. B, C (December, 1972). Along the road on moist sand-stone. N. C. NAIR1 S. R. GHOSH References Baker, J. G. (1887) : Handbook of the Fern- distribution of the genus in India. Trans, nat. Inst. Allies. London. India 1: 183-226. Clarke, C. B. (1880): A revision of the ferns Chowdhury, N. P. (1937) : Notes on some In- of Northern India. Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Ser. dian species of Lycopodium with remarks on the 2, Bot. 7:425-619. 1 Present address: Regional Botanist, Central Na- tional Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Sib- pur, Howrah-3 (W.B.). 36. A NEW DISTRIBUTIONAL RECORD FOR ALTERNANTHERA PUNGENS H.B. & K. FROM NORTH GARHWAL Alternanthera pungens H. B. & K. Nov. & Sp. 2:206, 1818; Melvill in Kew Bull. 174, 1958 — An indigenous species of tropical Ame- rica was first collected from Madras in 1913. Since then it has spread fast and is established in Coimbatore, Bangalore, Madras, Bombay, Orissa, Delhi and Dehra Dun. During a floristic survey of Chamoli dis- trict the species was collected from the road side on 15.6.74 (Nautiyal, 3505) from Adi- badri (600 m) at a distance of 18 km. from Karanprayag. This taxon is distinguished by prostrate spreading herbaceous habit; sub-orbicular un- equal opposite leaves. Flowers in chaffy com- pressed auxiliary heads. I am grateful to Professor Y. S. Murty for valuable suggestions. Department of Botany, K. N. NAUTIYAL1 Meerut University, Meerut, December 16, 1974. 1Present address: Dept, of Botany, Gochar Ma havidyalaya, Rampur Manhyaran, Distt. Saharanpur, U.P. 429 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 37. PLANT RECORDS FOR MAHARASHTRA STATE FROM CHANDRAPUR DISTRICT— III In this note a few interesting plants have been listed which are new to the State of Maha- rashtra. The correct nomenclature of the spe- cies, diagnostic characters, exact locality, col- lector’s name, field numbers and critical notes are given. All the specimens cited in the note are deposited in the herbarium of the Western Circle, Botanical Survey of India, Poona (■ BSI ). Linaceae 1. Erythroxylon monogynum Roxb. Cor. PI. I. t. 88, 1798; FI. Ind. 449, 1874; FI. Pres. Madras 1: 127, 1915; FI. Brit. India 1: 414, 1874. Shrub or small tree. Leaves small, obovate- cuneate. Flowers white. Fruits green with red- dish tinge. Flowers & fruits: October-February. Loca- lity: Sironcha, Malhotra 108027; Somanpalli, Malhotra 108060. Common on the road side and sandy soils. Gamble (l.c.) records this plant from North Circars, Deccan and Carnatic in dry evergreen forests. The present record of the species from the deciduous forests of Chandrapur district, extends its distribution further north. Rubiaceae 2. Hedyotis ovatifolia Cav. Icon. 6: 52, 1801. Oldenlandia nudicaulis Roth Nov. PI. Sp. 95, 1821; FI. Pres. Madras 1: 602, 1915; Beng. PI. 2: 409, 1963 (Repr. edn.); FI. Brit. India 3: 70, 1880. A herb. Leaves ovate, oblong, 2-4 together at apex of stem. Flowers white with pinkish tinge on peduncled corymbose many flowered inflorescence. Capsule, hemispheric, glabrous. Flowers and fruits: September- January. Lo- cality: Bartini, Malhotra 109188; Lakkarkote, Malhotra 118781; Khatora, Malhotra 122799; Mulcera, Malhotra 123124, Repanpalli, Mal- hotra 123313; Wamanpalli, Malhotra 123797. 3. H. umbellata (Linn.) Lamk. in Wt. & Arn. Prodr. 413, 1834. Oldenlandia umbellata Linn. Sp. PI. 119, 1753; FI. Brit. India 3: 66, 1880. A diffused much branched small herb. Stem woody. Leaves usually fascicled linear or al- most acicular with recurved margins. Flowers white. Capsule globose, glabrous. Flowers & fruits: October- January. Locality: Bamni, Malhotra 109195; Lakkarkote, Mal- hotra 117756. Usually found growing in moist shady sandy soils. The present record of the species from Chandrapur district is interesting as it extends its distribution further north and there is pos- sibility of its occurrence in the adjacent States of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Poace AE 4. Paspalum distichum Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2. 855, 1759; Grasses Burma, Ceylon, In- dia and Pakistan, 338, 1960; FI. Brit. India 7: 12, 1897. A small creeping grass with ascending branches, roots from lower nodes forming mats. Leaves distichous. Spikelets green in racemes of 4 cm long, upper glume pubes- cent. Flowers & fruits: September-December. Locality: Mul, Malhotra 134615. A rare herb growing in the marshy areas near ponds and puddles. This plant has been 430 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES earlier recorded from Malabar (South India), Ganganagar (Rajasthan) and Bahraich (U.P.). The present record of this plant in such dry deciduous forests of Chandrapur district (Ma- harashtra) indicates the possibility of locating this taxon in the surrounding deciduous for- Botanical Survey of India, Western Circle, Poona- 1, December 2, 1974. ests and hilly tracts. Acknowledgement We are thankful to the Director, Botanical Survey of India, for providing the facilities. S. K. MALHOTRA S. MOORTHY References Gamble, J. S. & Fischer, G. E. C. (1915-36): Prain, D. (1963): Bengal plants. Vol. I & II. Flora of the Presidency of Madras. 11 parts, Lon- (Reprinted) Calcutta, don. 38. A NOTE ON ENKIANTHUS HIMALAICUS HOOK. F. ET THOMS. (ERICACEAE) In course of identification of some sheets in the Herb. CAL , we came across some speci- mens of the taxon which form a new record of distribution for Assam and NEFA in the Eastern India. The collection was mainly from Aka hills (Assam) by Dr. N. L. Bor which was not included in his list of Aka hill (As- sam) plants published in Indian Forest Records 3(1), 1941. Hence the report of this taxon from Aka hills shows its extended distribu- tion in Assam including NEFA. Enkianthus himalaicus Hook. f. et Thoms, in Hook. Kew Journ. 7:126, t. 3 (Ic bona) 1855.— Hook. f. in Bot. Mag. t. 6460. 1879. — C. B. Clarke in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 3: 461, 1882; Rhodora deflexa Griff. Itin. notes 2:187, No. 969, 1848. A bush or small tree, sometimes 6 m tall. Botanical Survey of India, Central National Herbarium, Howrah-3, December 17, 1974. Leaves mostly in terminal clusters, obovate or elliptic, entire or serrulate, narrowed at both ends, acute or obtuse, pubescent beneath when young. Peduncles 2.5 — 5 cm long, about 10, 1 — (rarely 2 — ) flowered, hairy. Flowers red- dish orange in terminal, umbellate or subco- rymbose, pencfulus or cernuous. Capsule glo- bose, glabrous. Seeds ellipsoid. Specimen examined : assam: Aka Hills, Bor 1843 (CAL). Distribution : Himalaya, China, Japan and Co- chinchina. Acknowledgements We are grateful to the Director, Botanical Survey of India, for encouragement and to De- puty Director, Central National Herbarium, for help in course of identification. R. B. GHOSH R. N. BANERJEE 431 Volume 72(3): December 1975 Miscellaneous Note 29 Syzygium cuminii (Linn.) Skeels var. axillare comb. nov. ERRATUM On page 882, line 13 For phyllifolia Lam. var. axillare Gamble. read “ phyllifolia Lam. — var. axillare Gamble.” ADDENDUM On page 883, line 15 For var. axillare (Gamble) Tenjarla et Kashyapa. read “var. axillare (Gamble) Tenjarla et Kashyapa syn. S. jambolanum DC. var. axillare Gamble.” THE SOCIETY’S PUBLICATIONS Mammals The Book of Indian Animals, by S. H. Prater. 3rd (revised) edition. 28 plates in colour by Paul Barruel and many other monochrome illustrations. Rs. 40 ( Price to members Rs. 35) India’s Wildlife in 1959-70, by M. Krishnan. With 242 photographs. 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Rs. 90 Members residing outside India should pay their subscription by means of orders on their Bankers to pay the amount of the subscription to the Society in Bombay on the 1st January in each year. If this cannot be done, then the sum of £3.50 should be paid annually to the Society’s London Bankers — The Grindlays Bank Ltd., 23 Fenchurch Street, London EC3P 3ED. Account No. 1101091. The subscription of members elected in October, November, and December covers the period from the date of their election to the end of the following year. CONTENTS Ecology of the weaver birds. By D. N. Mathew Dietary habits of rhesus monkeys ( Macaco, multatta Zimmermann) in Indian Forests. By D. G. Lindburg The effects of early experience on habitat selection in tadpoles of the Mala- yan painted frog, Kaloula pulchra (Anura: Microhylidae). By Fred Punzo Comparative studies on the functional morphology of two gekkonid lizards. By Uwe Hiller Metamorphic changes in the haemocyte picture of the citrus butterfly, Papilio demoleus (L.) (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae). By K. Narayanan and S. Jayaraj Plants of Corbett National Park, Uttar Pradesh. By P. C. Pant Some birds observed in the monsoon in Central Nepal. By M. W. and B. J. Woodcock A POPULATION SURVEY AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE BLACKBUCK IN the Point Calimere Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu. By S. S. Nair Reptile predators of the Desert Locust. By R. K. Bhanotar and R. K. Bhatnagar A new species of Lysaphidus, from India (Hymenoptera : Aphidiidae). By Shuja-uddin A note on two species of Ipomoea, namely /. carnea Jacq. and /. fistulosa Mart, ex Choisy in eastern Asia. By P. K. Bhattacharyya Notes on the breeding habits of the Indian sheath-tailed bat, Taphozous melanopogon (Temminck). By M. S. Khaparde Butterfly fauna of Patna (Bihar). By R. K. Varshney and B. Nandi A botanical trip to Moralkanda (Himachal Pradesh). By S. L. Kapoor, P. C. Sharma, D. P. Badola and L. D. Kapoor A Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of the Bombay Natural History Society — 19, By Humayun Abdulali Key to Indian spiders. By B. K. Tikader Reviews Miscellaneous Notes page 249 261 270 278 283 287 296 304 311 314 317 321 325 329 348 356 371 378 Printed by Bro. Leo at St. Francis Industrial Training Institute, Borivli, Bombay 400 092 and published by Editors: J. C. Daniel, P. V. Bole and A. N. D. Nanavati for Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023. of the Bombay Natural History Vol. 73, No. 3 Editors'. J. C. Daniel, P. V. Bole & A. N. D. Nanavati DECEMBER 1976 Rs. 35 NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS Contributors of scientific articles are requested to assist the editors by observ- ing the following instructions: 1. Papers which have at the same time been offered for publication to other journals or periodicals, or have already been published elsewhere, should not be submitted. 2. 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(1948): The Book of Indian Animals. Bombay. Titles of papers should not be underlined. 8. Reference to literature in the text should be made by quoting the authors name and year of publication, thus: (Banerji 1958). 9. Synopsis : Each scientific paper should be accompanied by a concise, clearly written synopsis, normally not exceeding 200 words. 10. Reprints : Authors are supplied 25 reprints of their articles free of charge. In the case of joint authorship, 50 copies will be given gratis to be distributed among the two or more authors. Orders for additional reprints should be in multi- ples of 25 and should be received within two weeks after the author is informed of the acceptance of the manuscript. They will be charged for at cost plus postage and packing. 11. The editors reserve the right, other things being equal, to publish a mem- ber’s contribution earlier than a non-member’s. Hornbill House, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023. Editors, Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. VOLUME 73 NO. 3 — DECEMBER 1976 Date of Publication: 5 - 12 - 1977 CONTENTS PAGE Further records of Myotis peshwa (Thomas 1915) (Chiroptera: Vespertilioni- dae) from the Indian Peninsula. By J. E. Hill . . 433 Pteris quadriaurita Retz. and a few related taxa in Kerala State. By N. C. Nair and S. R. Ghosh . . 438 A STUDY OF THE ASSOCIATIVE BEHAVIOUR OF THE FISH Amphipriotl polymriUS (LlNN.) and Sea Anemone Stoichactis giganteum (Forsk.). By Yogendra Trivedi .. 444 Notes on the birds of prey in the Indus valley. By F. J. Koning . . 448 Fungal flora of Panhala. By A. N. Thite and A. R. Kulkarni . . 456 Parturition in the Indian False Vampire Bat, Megaderma lyra lyra Geoffroy. By A. Gopalakrishna, M. S. Khaparde and (Smt) V. M. Sapkal . . 464 History of botanical explorations in Nepal. By K. R. Rajbhandari . . 468 Food-habits of water-birds of the Sundarban, 24 Parganas District, West Bengal, India — VI. By Ajit Kumar Mukherjee . . 482 Some new records to the flora of Ladakh. By Gurcharan Singh and R. N. Gohil 487 A Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of the Bombay Natural History Society — 20. By Humayun Abdulali . . 491 Miscellaneous Notes: Mammals: 1. Occurrence of Indian Pipistrelle, Pipistrelius coromandra (Gray) [Mammalia: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae] in Car Nicobar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. By T. P. Bha- ttacharyya (p. 516); 2. Status of the Nilgiri Langur Presbytis johni (Fischer) in the Nil- giris. By Md. Ali Reza Khan (p. 517); 3. A survey of bites and other injuries inflicted by Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta on man in Maroth Village (Rajasthan, India). ( With a text-figure). By P. R. Ojha (p. 518); 4. Notes on a young hybrid Macaque. (With a photo- graph). By L. N. Acharjyo and R. Misra (p. 521); 5. Longevity of two species of Indian Mongooses in captivity. By L. N. Acharjyo and S. Mohapatra (p. 522). Birds: 6. Some Riddles of Game Bird migration in Kutch — 2. By H. H. Madansinhji of Kutch (p. 523); 7. Communal roosting in the Mynah Acridotheres tristis. By C. J. Feare (p. 525); 8. Occurrence of Finn’s Baya ( Ploceus megarhynchus Hume) in Darrang District, Assam. (With a photograph). By Subhendu Sekhar Saha (p. 527); 9. Sight records of un- usual birds from Colaba point, Bombay, Maharashtra. By J. C. Sinclair (p. 530). Reptiles: 10. A note on Crocodilian sex determination. (With two photographs). By R. Whitaker (p. 531); 11. Growth studies on two species of Crocodiles in captivity. By V. S. Krishnamurthy and R. Bhaskaran (p. 532). Fishes: 12. Colour during life of the Spinycheeked Anemone fish Premnas biaculeatus (Bloch). (With a text-figure). By B. F. Chhapgar (p. 534); 13. On the specific validity and distribution of the Loach, Lepidocephalus annandalei (Chaudhuri) (Cypriniformes : Cobi- tidae). (With a text-figure). By G. M. Yazdani (p. 535); 14. Occurrence of the Anchovy Coilia korua on the West Coast of India. By B. V. Seshagiri Rao (p. 537); 15. An instance of unsual feeding behaviour of the Indian Mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier) off Mangalore. By P. S. B. R. James and P. Santha Joseph (p. 538). Arachnida: 16. Redescription of type specimens of the species Eucamptopus coronatus Pocock and Euprosthenops ellioti (Cambridge) (Fam. Pisauridae) with critical notes. ( With seven text-figures). By B. K. Tikader and M. S. Malhotra (p. 539). Insects: 17. Delias eucharis Linn. (Lepidoptera, Pieridae) as a control of the plant parasite Dendrophthoe falcata (Linn.) (= Loranthus longiflorus Desr.) in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. (With a photograph ). By B. K. Varma and Mangal Sain (p. 544); 18. Effect of hosts on the parasite Brachymeria lasus (Walker). By T. C. Narendran and K. J. Joseph (p. 547); 19. A note on seasonal fluctuation of midge population on hybrid sorghum CSH-1. ( With a text-figure). By K. S. Darekar and G. M. Talgeri (p. 548). General: 20. A note on the settlement of fouling organisms of copper plates, (With two text-figures). By L. N. Santhakumaran and S. R. Madhavan Pillai (p. 550). Botany: 21. Additions to the flora of Bihar and Orissa. By H. O. Saxena (p. 553); 22. Eupa- torium erythropappum Robinson — A new record for India. (With a text-figure) . By R. B. Ghosh, R. N. Banerjee and A. K. Ghosh (p. 554); 23. Canscora sessiliflora Roem. & Sch. — extension of Geographical Range. (With a text-figure). By G. M. Oza (p. 556); 24. The occurrence of Phalaris minor Retz. m Maharashtra State. By S. D. Ugale and R. C. Patil (p. 558); 25. lsoetes in Rajasthan. (With a plate). By C. B. Gena, P. L. Mital and T. N. Bhardwaja (p. 559); 26. Rosenscheldiella orbis (Berk.) Petr, and Sclerotiopsis concava (Dum.) Shear and Dodge, new records for India. By V. Subramoniam and V. G. Rao (p. 562). Annual Report of the Bombay Natural History Society for the year 1975-76 565 Statements of Accounts of the Bombay Natural History Society 571 Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 582 JOURNAL OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY 1976 DECEMBER Vol. 73 No. 3 Further records of Myotis peshwa (Thomas 1915) (Chiroptera : Vespertilionidae) from the Indian Peninsula1 J. E. Hill Department of Zoology, British Museum ( Natural History ), Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD There are few records of bats of the genus Myotis from central and southern India or from Sri Lanka and no more than three forms have been reported from that area. One, Myotis montivagus peytoni Wroughton & Ryley, 1913 is known only from the Gersoppa Falls, Ka- nara, Mysore (Brosset 1962: 716). Another, Myotis hasseltii (Temminck 1840) has been recorded from four localities in Sri Lanka (Wroughton 1915: 86, Thomas 1915: 611, Phillips 1935: 125, 126). The third, Myotis peshwa (Thomas 1915) is apparently record- ed in the literature only from two locations, one the type locality at Poona and the other Elephanta Island, off Bombay (Brosset 1962: 717). 1 Accepted October 1975. A small collection of bats received recently at the British Museum (Natural History) from Dr. S. V. Tirodkar, of the Science Col- lege, Satara, Maharashtra State includes four further specimens of Myotis peshwa, obtained in the neighbourhood of Satara, while the col- lections in London also include additional examples collected many years ago that have not been reported hitherto. These all agree closely with the holotype and with one other specimen from Poona, largely confirming the detailed description by Thomas. In one res- pect, however, the original description is mis- leading. Thomas says “Middle upper premolar about two thirds the size in cross-section of the anterior one, slightly drawn inwards, but not completely invisible from the outside. Below, the corresponding tooth is three fourths JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 the size of p1, and stands quite in the tooth- row.” In the small series now available (in- cluding the holotype and the second specimen from Poona also examined by Thomas) the second or middle upper premolar (pm3) is in fact about one third or very slightly more the cross-sectional area of the anterior tooth (pm2). Usually in the toothrow or only slight- ly intruded from it, the tooth is occasionally more intruded but nevertheless remains clearly visible laterally, with pm2 and the posterior upper premolar (pm4) not in contact. The second or middle lower premolar (pm3) is about the same size or even slightly larger than the anterior upper premolar (p1 of Tho- mas) : it is one half or a little less than one half the area of the anterior lower premolar (pm2), and stands either in the toothrow or is slightly intruded from it, but not to the extent that pm2 and the posterior lower pre- molar (pm4) touch. The species has been obtained from Sabal- garh, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, 26° 15' N, 77° 24' E; Elephanta Island, off Bombay, 18° 58' N, 72° 57' E; Poona, Maharashtra, 18° 34' N, 73° 58' E; near Satara, Maharashtra, c. 17° 43' N, 74° 05' E; and Kodai, Kumrun, Mangalore, Mysore, c. 12° 54' N, 74° 51' E. Specimens from all but Elephanta Island are in the collections of the British Museum (Na- tural History). Brosset (1962: 717) remark- ed of the specimen from Elephanta Island that it was roosting in a hole in the ceiling of a room with another individual, which escap- ed. Two of the specimens from Satara were collected from cracks in the stony ceiling of an abandoned tunnel in the forests of the Western Ghats, about two feet above the water level in the tunnel; the other two came from holes in the ceiling of a similarly abandoned tunnel. Each hole, made when the tunnel was constructed, held a pair of the bats. The first of these tunnels was shared with Miniopterus schreibersii, the second with Hipposideros speoris. Myotis peshwa may be distinguished from M. montivagus peytoni by its smaller size (length of forearm in peshwa 36-3-40T mm, in peytoni 43 *5-48 ”0 mm) and relatively larger foot which in length considerably exceeds one half of the length of the tibia. Although very similar externally to M. hasseltii it differs from this species in its narrower rostrum and brain- case. Moreover, in hasseltii the second upper premolar (pm3) is minute, usually about one quarter the area of the first upper premolar (pm2) and as a rule is intruded from the tooth- row to the extent that pm2 and the posterior upper premolar (pm4) are in contact or nearly so. The second lower premolar (pm2) in has- seltii is correspondingly very small, sometimes minute, usually intruded from the row, on occasion almost completely so. Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951: 149) list peshwa as a provisional subspecies of Myotis adversus (Horsfield 1824), a species which in their view, based on Tate (1941: 551), perhaps extends from Australia west- wards to India. However, there is evidence (Hill 1972: 32; Hill & Thonglongya 1972: 188) to suggest that continental Myotis for- merly referred to adversus should be allocat- ed to Myotis hasseltii (Temminck 1840), ad- versus not extending westwards beyond Java and Borneo, where it appears to be sympatric with the easternmost of hasseltii. Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951: 149) refer hasseltii from Sri Lanka to “ Myotis (?) adversus (?) subsp.” since they say that the form quoted by Wroughton (1918) as hasseltii from Sri Lanka, forearm 40 mm in the key [in Wrough- ton 1918: 598] cannot be hasseltii, as Tate shows this to be a small form, with forearm 32 mm. Tate (1941: 557) quotes Temminck 434 Measurements (in mm) of Myotis peshwa, M. dry as, M. horsfieldii, M. hasseltii and M. adversus r-~- On Vt- NO «n vf V- 1 On NO 0 00 CM c- no' 10 Vf vf" o' Vf f-" OO vf NO* NO V-H CM NO* r-H 1—1 . a 2 o vf 00 ON r-~ 10 CO O. O 00 q vf ON in ON vf in Vf vf O vf" OO oo" vf 0* NO T-H CM* NO P4 vf r— < T-H ( * 1 — 1 oo CO On O in vf 0 OO in in Vf ON cn NO CO ON NO* Vt" Vf vf o' vf K oo' vf" no" IO rH ^4 NO co t-H t-H z 27 CO OO 00 00 vf 00 00 00 00 00 00 r- 00 OO NO On •n 00 ,-H 0 ON vf vf CO f- r-H CO CM s OO id vf CO vf" o' vf r-' 00 vf NO m" t-H T-H no’ ro NT-H 1 3 CM NO in c- c- CO CM NO 0 q O q q IO Co r— ( no" in vf vf o' vf OO' 00’ Vf no" NO T-H CM NO a Vi- r-H Ta“H T-H ( T-H 1—1 P4 c- ON z CM 00 CM NO O Z 00 Vf CO in On si «n id CO CO Vf" On CO o' 00 vf in’ in o' O* id CO r“H 7-1 m r- r- r-~ no 0 ON 0 CO O O 00 00 Z CM t—H T-( CM T— ' ’ 1 CM CM T“’ t-H T-H «n Vf 0 vf ON vf in T—H 0 r-, ON T_ CM t-4 in vf CO CO ON* CO o' 0* Vf id in" 0 T-H no' CO T-l T_l 1-1 Hr O 0 r-~ ON CM m C- vf q CO 1— 1 q q Vf vf o' no' Vt-’ CO vf On CO 0 06 vf" NO NO T— H t-H NO vf ’T ■ , 1 l— 1 T -s; p4 T-H NO CM 0 NO O CM On in ON NO Vf Vf OO O NO Vf CO CO CO ON CO NO O CO* in" in* 0* o' NO* S CO rH 1—1 00 m m in vf NO «n in vf vf «n •n ON Vf m z CM cm CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CO Q id q CO m" l> t-H O CM 1— 1 in t-h Vf c- CM 00 CM os O no’ tJ- »n vt-’ CO* Vf ON CO O 0’ vf" in r~-~ r- 1 S' CO id io NO On 0 00 r-~ Vf q CM q r- 00 CO CM j s oo in vf CO* vf ON co* 0 oo' vf no' id O r-H no’ 8 £ -s; co ,-h T— 1 C~- — CM OO On in CM co 00 q iq CO p4 o' NO vt vf Vf ON CO* 0" 00 vf NO id —H rH NO* vi- t-h 1 , ( T— 1 ■ co vf CO NO On c- in CO ON q 00 IQ NO 1-H T-H J2 NO in vf CO CO ON CO o' 0" vf 10" id O* t-H no' CO 1 Z OO 00 00 00 OO CO 00 00 00 00 00 00 OO 00 00 3 _H § 3 «G ccS h-> 3 3 G G 00 43 t-i 60 0 O X G *2 JO <0 G G X 3 X 3 G U _G -G 3, S 0 tG 60 0 £ 00 c n <0 G X 0 *>» T3 O 3 T3 2 0* ** G 66 G s 0 «HH 0 X 3 '0 rH 0 eo s 1 CO s 0 £ 60 ‘tH 3) M s 1 g > N 09 O eu 3 g G s 1 rH 0 eo s 1 0 G Mus. civ. Stor. nat. Giacomo Doria (3), 3(43): 1 5-45. Brosset, A. (1962) : The bats of central and western India. Part II. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 59:5 83-624, 9 figs., 4 pis. Ellerman, J. R. & Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. (1951): Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mam- mals 1758 to 1946. London. Hill, J. E. (1967): The bats of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 64 : 1-9. (1972) : The Gunong Benom Ex- pedition 1967. 4. New records of Malayan bats, with taxonomic notes and the description of a new Pipistrellus. Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist., Zool. 23 : 21-42, 3 tabs. & Thonglongya, K. (1972) : Bats from Thailand and Cambodia, ibid., Zool. 22:171- 196, 4 figs., 2 tabs. Horsfield, T. (1824): Zoological researches in Java, and the neighbouring islands. London. Phillips, W. W. A. (1935): Manual of the mammals of Ceylon. Colombo. London. Tate, G. H. H. (1941): Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 39. Review of Myotis of Eurasia. Bull. Am. Mus. nat. Hist. 78:537-565, 2 figs. Temminck, C. J. (1840): Monographies de Mam- malogie. 2. Paris. Thomas, O. (1915) : Scientific results from the Mammal Survey. No. X. A. — The Indian bats as- signed to the genus Myotis. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 23:6 07-612. Wroughton, R. C. (1915): Bombay Natural History Society’s Mammal Survey of India, Burma and Ceylon. Report No. 18. ibid. 24:19-96. (1918): Summary of the results from the Indian Mammal Survey of the Bombay Natural History Society. Part I. ibid. 25:5 47-598. & Ryley, K. V. (1913): Scientific results from the Mammal Survey. III. A. — A new species of Myotis from Kanara. ibid. 22:13-14. 437 Pteris quadriaurita Retz. and a few related taxa in Kerala State1 N. C. Nair2 and S. R. Ghosh3 Pteris quadriaurita Retz. is considered to be a Sri Lanka and South Indian species. Reports of this taxon from other parts of Indian subcontinent need confirmation. Additional infor- mation about P. multiaurita Agardh is provided. These two taxa hybridize freely in nature. P. confusa Walker, P. gongalensis Walker and P. praetermissa Walker are recorded for the first time from India. Pteris quadriaurita Retz. and related taxa re- present one of the most confusing assemblage of ferns whose taxonomic separation is extre- mely difficult and consequently several species have been passed off in the past as P. quadri- aurita Retz. On a study of this bewildering group in Kerala we have come across some interesting findings which are recorded below. The specimens mentioned are deposited in the herbarium of the Cryptogamic Unit of the Bo- tanical Survey of India, Sibpur, Howrah. 1. Pteris quadriaurita Retz. was named and described in 1791 by Retzius based on a specimen from Sri Lanka collected by King. The circumscription of the species varied ac- cording to different authors. Hooker (1858) and Hooker & Baker (1868) used the name in a very wide sense and considered P. nemo- ralis Hook, et Baker, P. biaurita var. Sw., and P. calcar ata Bory as synonyms. A more or less similar view was held by Agardh (1839). Clarke (1880) has included P. aspericaulis 1 Accepted January 1974. 2 Botanical Survey of India, R.S. Puram, Coim- batore 641 002. 3 Botanical Survey of India, Sibpur, Howrah 711 103. Wall, ex Agardh, P. pectinata Don, P. pyro- phylla Blume, P. spinescence Presl, and P. subquinata Wall, ex Agardh as synonyms of P. quadriaurita Retz. in addition to P. nemo- ralis Hook, et Baker. He also distinguished three varieties namely, major, khasiana and blumeana. Beddome (1883, 1892) recognised Clarke’s varieties and added another variety setigera. P. subindivisa Clarke, P. subquinata Wall, ex Agardh and P. aspericaulis Wall, ex Agardh are also treated as varieties. Beddome (1863) gave two figures, one for P. otaria and another for P. otaria var. The latter bears a mark of interrogation. A few years later he (1883) considered P. otaria Bedd. as the same as P. quadriaurita var. ludens Bedd. Hieronymus (1914) showed that the name P. quadriaurita Retz. was misapplied to seve- ral taxa, gave a new description to it, and re- cognised (1911, 1914) several new species in the original circumscription of the species. Blatter & Almeida (1922) expanded the des- cription to embrace three species, P. quadri- aurita Retz., P. biaurita Linn., and P. nemor- alis Willd. thereby creating more confusion in the study of this group of Indian ferns. Beddome (1892) gave the distribution of 438 PTERIS QUADRIAURITA IN KERALA STATE P. quadriaurita Retz. as follows, “Throughout India, Sri Lanka and Malay Peninsula, from the plains up to 8000 feet, very common. (Also all round the world throughout the tropics and a little beyond them)”. In giving this distribu- tion he faithfully followed Hooker (1858), and Hooker & Baker (1868). This seem to be the reason for the supposition by Indian authors that the taxon exists throughout India. An ex- amination of the material in the Cryptogamic Unit of the Botanical Survey of India, Sibpur, confirmed the view of Walker (1958) that the true P. quadriaurita Retz. does not occur outside Sri Lanka and South India. Therefore the reported occurrence of P. quad- riaurita Retz. from Assam (Kachroo 1953), Darjeeling (Mehra & Bir 1964), Eastern In- dia (Panigrahi 1960), Eastern Himalayas (Hara 1966), Kashmir (Stewart 1945), Mad- hya Pradesh (Tiwari 1964), Mussoorie (Mehra 1939), Nainital (Loyal 1960), North-Western India (Hope 1901), Orissa (Mooney 1950); Panigrahi et al. (1964) and Simla (Bir 1963) etc. needs confirmation. Pteris quadriaurita Retz. Obs. 6:38, 1791; Willd. Sp. PI. 385, 1810; Agardh, Gen. Pter. 24, 1839; Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 110, 1883 (pro parte); Hieron. in Hedwig. 55:1914; Walker in Evolution 12: fig. 4 top right, 1958; Kew Bull. 14:324; fig. 1, la, t. 5, fig. c, I, 1960. Rhizome erect. Fronds variable in size. Stipe tufted, stramineous 40-45 cm long, grooved, glabrous. Lamina 30-35 cm or more semi- coreaceous. Rachis grooved, stramineous. Pinnae 4-10 subopposite pairs, the lowest bipartite, narrowly oblong, acuminate and cut down into several oblong segments 1.5 x 0.8 cm, apex rounded, serrated, sinus nearly reach- ing the costa. Veins usually once-forked, free, 6-10 pairs, lowest vein reaching the margin above sinus, long spinules present on the costa and costule. Sorus not reaching the sinus and apex of the segments. Indusia membranous, white. Spores light brown or honey coloured, about 30 m in diameter, tuberculate. In Kerala this fern appears to be not very common. It is seen in small populations on the margin of forests where the ground vege- tation is sparse. Wherever human interference is common this species is either very rare or absent. Diploid and sexual material have chromsome numbers n = 29, 2n = 58 (Abraham et al. 1962; Manton & Sledge 1954; Walker 1960). Material examined — Vennikulum, N. C. Nair 50824 (Dec. 16, 1972) : Vennikulum — Thiruvella, N. C. Nair 50832 (Dec. 16, 1972). Plants having general similarity and affinity with P. quadriaurita Retz. but with extremely varying degrees of abortive pinnules are abund- ant and widely distributed along road-sides, riverbanks, paths through forests, as under- growth in forests, in well lighted places, and in forests where human interference is com- mon. Thwaites (1864) and Walker (1958, 1960) state that an array of such forms are abundant in Sri Lanka. Some of the Kerala forms have serrate apex for ultimate pinnules. Others lack this character. Some have spinules on ultimate pinnules; others have none. All gradations from wiry to rigidly erect habit can be met with. Similar wide range of vari- ation is very common. These forms were named as P. otaria by Beddome (1863) and later (1883, 1892), P. quadriaurita var. ludens Bedd. Thwaites (1864) suggested that some of the forms were of hybrid origin. He was also of the opinion that another pinnate spe- cies P. ensiformis Burm. might also be involv- ed here. But P. ensiformis Burm. is a tetra- ploid with n = 58 (Abraham et al. 1962), 2n = 116 (Walker 1958). Further, when Walker (1958) crossed it with P. otaria Bedd. triploid 439 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 73 hybrids were formed showing complete failure of chromosome pairing. Giesenhagen (1918) concluded that P. otaria Bedd. is nothing but developmental stages. He attributed the abor- tion of the pinnules to lack of availability of nutrients to the juvenile fronds. After making a comprehensive study of cytotaxonomy and hybridization. Walker (1958) has clearly shown that P. otaria Bedd. is nothing but a hybrid between P. quadriaurita Retz. and P. multiaurita Agardh. Where the natural habi- tat of these two taxa have been disturbed by man these species frequently hybridize and an imposing array of hybrid swarms exhibiting an intricate seggregation marked by different- ly and irregularly pinnatifid pinnae are formed ( see Walker 1958). In spite of the fertile hy- brid nature of P. otaria Bedd., Abraham et al. (1962) treat it as a distinct taxon. In Kerala P. quadriaurita Retz. x P. multiaurita Agardh. hybrid swarms are more common than the parents. This speaks for the large scale human interference in the ecological preferences of the parent species. Specimens examined. — Aryankavu, N. C. Nair 50673, 50674, 50690, 50694, 50697, (Dec. 24, 1972); Kulathupuzha, N. C. Nair 50656, 50663, (Dec. 23, 1972); Punalur, N. C. Nair 50884, 50886 (Dec. 26, 1972); Ranni, N. C. Nair 50589 (Dec. 18, 1972); Vennikulum, N. C. Nair 50827, 50829, 50834, 50846, 50847 (Dec. 16, 1972). 2. Pteris multiaurita Agardh was considered as a synonym of P. cretica Linn, by Beddome (1863). In his Handbook (1883) and Supple- ment (1892) no mention is made of P. multi- aurita Agardh. Christensen (1906) also con- sidered P. multiaurita Agardh as the same as P. cretica Linn. Pteris cretica Linn, and P. multiaurita Agardh are clearly distinct spe- cies, differing in several characters. The con- fusion seems to be due to the simply pinnate nature of the two taxa. They can be easily distinguished by the following key: Pinnae on each side 11-13; lateral veins of pinnae usually twice forked; spinules present on the ste- rile pinnae; rhizome creeping .... P. multiaurita Pinnae on each side 4-6; lateral veins of pinnae usually once-forked; spinules absent in the sterile pinnae; rhizome not creeping, erect .... P. cretica Walker (1958, 1960) thinks that P. multi- aurita Agardh is allied to P. quadriaurita Retz., since they hybridize freely producing fertile hybrids (see above). Agardh (1839) states that P. multiaurita Agardh is a Sri Lanka species. He also adds that he has seen a sheet in Paris Museum col- lected from Nilgiri mountains by Leschenault. It is significant that no subsequent author has recorded this species from India. We have made several gatherings of this taxon from Kerala. Pteris multiaurita Agardh, Rec. Sp. Gen. Pteridis 12, 1839; Walker in Kew Bull. 14:323, 1960. Rhizome creeping. Fronds dimorphous, simply pinnate, semi-coriaceous or herbaceous. Stipe of sterile frond 12-25 cm long glabrous, wiry, stramineous, grooved, scaly and black at the base. Pinnae 8-10 cm x 0.6-0.8 cm peti- olate; petiole 0.2 mm, most pinnae except api- cal ones bipartite, apex acuminate, margin en- tire except a few denticulations towards the tip; veins free, mostly twice forked. Long spinules present on the costa of the sterile pinnae. Fertile frond much larger than the sterile frond. Stipe 35-44 cm long, grooved. Pinnae 10-13 x 0.8 cm. Veins twice forked. Spinules mostly absent. Indusium hyaline. Spores light brown to dark brown. As mentioned above this species freely hy- bridizes in nature with P. quadriaurita Retz. and according to Walker (1958) these two species are separated in nature by ecological barriers only. This species has a preference 440 PTERIS QUADRIAURITA IN KERALA STATE for lightly shaded areas such as the edge of forests, road sides etc. Specimens examined. — Kulathupuzha, N. C. Nair 50657 (Dec. 23, 1972); -Pathanamthitta, N. C. Nair 50586 (Dec. 18, 1972), 50859 (Dec. 12, 1972); Ranni, N. C. Nair 50590 (Dec. 18, 1972); Thiruvella, N. C. Nair 50840 (Dec. 16, 1972). 3. Walker (1960) described a new species P. gongalensis from Sri Lanka. This species is distinguished from other members of the P. quadriaurita Complex by (1) the deltoid frond, (2) the spinules throughout inconspi- cuous, (3) the very regular appearance of pinnae, (4) non serrated apex of the ultimate segments, (5) large dark brown spores inter- mixed with mishappen spores, and (6) the sculpturing and size of the spores. According to Walker (1960) this species is endemic to Sri Lanka. But one of us has collected it from several localities in Kerala. This discovery is not surprising since Kerala is not far removed from Sri Lanka and the climatic conditions are almost identical. Pteris gongalensis T. G. Walker in Kew Bull. 14:328, fig. 4, 4a, t. 5, fig. A, G., 1960. Rhizome short erect. Stipes 20-60 cm, stra- mineous grooved. Lamina deltoid, up to 50 cm long, 16-32 cm broad, lateral pinnae 5-8 pairs, herbaceous 2 cm long, lanceolate, lowest bipar- tite, terminal pinnae of the same size and shape, pinnae regularly pinnatifid, sinus about 1 mm from the costa; segments oblong 1.2- 2.2 x 0.4-0.6 cm, apex rounded not serrated; veins free, 9-14 pairs; spinules present on the costa and costules, inconspicuous. Indusium very narrow, papery, white. Sori continuous except base and apex of segments. Spores tetrahedral globose. Not a common fern in Kerala. Chromosome number in the gametophyte and the sporophyte of Sri Lanka material is 87 (Walker 1960). Specimens examined. — Nadukani (near Idiki alt. 800 m), N. C. Nair 40727 (Dec. 27, 1970), on moist slopes in shade; Thankamani (800 m), N. C. Nair 40755 (Dec. 28, 1970), near stream along footpaths and on steep slopes in shade; Vennikulum, N. C. Nair 50845 (Dec. 16, 1972). 4. A second new species having close affi- nity with P. quadriaurita Retz. described by Walker (1960) is P. confusa Walker which can be distinguished by the stramineous stipe, sinus not nearly reaching the costa, the pre- sence of well-filled spores intermixed with mis- happen abortive ones, and the conspicuous spore markings. According to Walker (1960) this is an apogamous diploid with 59 chromo- somes. This species has certain features of similarity with P. biaurita Linn. These two species can be easily separated by its venation, P. biaurita Linn, has basal veins which ana- stomose and form a costal arch whereas P. confusa has free veins. This is the first report of the taxon from India. Pteris confusa T. G. Walker (in Evolution 12: 88, fig. 4, tip middle, nomen et fig.) in Kew Bull. 14:329, fig. 5, 5a, t. 5, fig. B, J, 1960. Rhizome short erect. Stipe 30-70 cm, stra- mineous, base chestnut brown. Lamina green, ovate 56 cm long, lateral pinnae 4-9 pairs; 12- 27 cm long about 3 cm broad, lowest bipartite, regularly pinnatifid; segments oblong 1.5 x 0.4 cm, about 26 pairs, apex entire; veins free 12-14 pairs; sinus nearly 2 mm from costa, spinules absent or very few at the crossing of costa and costule. Indusia thin, papery. Spores tetrahedro-globose. This appears to be a rare fern in Kerala. Specimens examined. — Kumuli (alt. 750 m), N. C. Nair 40463 (Oct. 16, 1968); Neriaman- galam, N. C. Nair 50711 (Jan. 7, 1973); Than- kamani (alt. 800 m), N. C. Nair 40417 (Dec. 441 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 f 1970). 5. A third species described by Walker (1960) namely, P. praetermissa Walker was considered to be endemic to Sri Lanka. This is recorded here for the first time from India. This taxon can be distinguished from other allied species by the characters such as the presence of long, conspicuous spinules on the costa, the usually dark colour of the rachis and stipe, the long spinules on the segments, the sinus extending almost to the costa and the characteristic spore. Sri Lanka plants are sexual diploids having chromosome number x = 29 and 2x = 58 (Walker 1960). Pteris praetermissa T. G. Walker in Kew Bull. 14:327, fig. 3, 3a, t. 5, fig. F. 1960. Rhizome short, erect stipes tufted 20-50 cm long, purpureus, base blackish, glabrous. Rhachis stramineous glossy. Lamina ovate 17- 40 cm, lateral pinnae 4-8 pairs oblong, acumi- nate, 13-15 x 3 cm, regularly pinnatifid, seg- ments 14-25 pairs, apex rounded not serrated, veins free 9-12 pairs, long spinules are present on costa and costule. Sinus not greater than R E F E i Abraham, A., Ninan, C. A. & Mathew, P. M. (1962) : Studies on the cytology and phylogeny of the pteridophytes. VII. Observations on one hund- red species of South Indian ferns. Jour. Indian Bot. Soc. 41 : 339-418. Agardh, J. G. (1839): Recensio Specierum Generis pteridis, Lundae. Beddome, R. H. (1863) : The Ferns of Southern India being Descriptions and Plates of the Ferns of the Madras Presidency. Madras. (1883): Handbook to the Ferns of British India, Calcutta. (1892): Handbook to the Ferns of British India with a Supplement. Calcutta, (reprint, 1969, New Delhi). Bir, S. S. (1963) : Observations on the pterido- 1-33 mm from the costa. Indusia white, con- tinuous; sorus not reaching the sinus and apex of the segments. This is a very common species in Kerala growing along road sides, near streams and in jungles both open and closed. Sri Lanka plants are sexual diploids accord- ing to Walker (1960) and have chromosome numbers x = 29 and 2x = 58. Specimens examined. — Chadayamangalam N. C. Nair 50929 (Dec. 31, 1972); Kaviyur, N. C. Nair 50808 (Dec. 15, 1972); Kottarakara, N. C. Nair 50921 (Dec. 30, 1972); Kulathu- puzha, N. C. Nair 50642 (Dec. 22, 1972), 50644 (Dec. 22, 1972), 50667 (Dec. 23, 1972); Kunnumthanam, N. C. Nair 50812 (Dec. 15, 1972), 50821 (Dec. 15, 1972), Pathanamthitta, N. C. Nair 50593 (Dec. 12, 1972); Perunna (alt. 30 m), N. C. Nair 40268 A, 40268B (Dec. 12, 1970); Punalur, N. C. Nair 50878 (Dec. 26, 1972), 50881 (Dec. 26, 1972), 50909 (Dec. 28, 1972), 50913 (Dec. 28, 1972); Thiruvella, N. C. Nair 50805 (Dec. 15, 1972); Venniku- lum, N. C. Nair 50835 (Dec. 16, 1972). E N CE S phytic flora of Simla Hills. Bull. Bot. Surv. India 5:149. Blatter, E. J. H. & o’ Almeida, J. F. (1922) : The Ferns of Bombay. Bombay. Christensen, C. (1906): Index Filicum. Copen- hagen. Clarke, C. B. (1880): A review of the ferns of Northern India. Trans. Linn. Soc. London Series 2: Bot. 7:425-611. Geisenhagen, Von K. (1918) : Uber einen selts- amen fern der Flora von Ceylon. Flora 111/112: 294-316. Hieronymus, Von G. (1911): Polypodiacearum species novae vel non satis, cognitae africanae. Engl. Jahrb. 46:345-404. (1914) : Beitrage Zur Kenntnis der 442 PTERIS QUADRIAURITA IN KERALA STATE Gattung Pteris. II. Uber Pteris quadriaurita Retz. und einige asiatische malesische und polynesische Pteris Arten aus der Gruppe und Verwandtschaft dieser Art. Hedwigia 55: 325-375. Hara, H. (1966): Flora of Eastern Himalayas, Tokyo. Hooker, W. J. (1958): Species Filicum. London. & Baker, J. G. (1868): Synopsis Filicum. London. Hope, C. W. (1901) : The ferns of North-Western India. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 75:443-461. Kachroo, P. (1953) : Ferns of Assam. Jour. Asiat. Soc. 79:161. Loyal, D. S. & Verma, S. C. (1960): Ferns of Nainital. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 57:479. Manton, I. & Sledge, W. A. (1954): Observa- tions on the cytology and taxonomy of the pteri- dophytes of Ceylon. Phil. Trans. 238B: 127-185. Mehra, P. N. (1939): Ferns of Mussoorie. Lahore. & Bir, S. S. (1964): Pteridophytic flora of Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas. Res. Bull. Panjab TJniv. 75:169-182. Mooney, H. F. (1950) : Supplement to the Bo- tany of Behar and Orissa. Ranchi. Panigrahi, G. (1960) : Pteridophytes of the Eastern India. 1. Enumeration of the species collect- ed and their nomenclature. Bull. Bot. Surv. India. 2:309. , Chowdhry, S., Raju, D. C. S. & Deka, G. K. (1964): A contribution to the botany of Orissa. Bull. Bot. Surv. India. 6:237-266. Stewart, R. R. (1945) : The ferns of Kashmir. Bull. Torey Bot. Cl. 72: 399-426. Tiwari, S. D. N. (1964) : Ferns of Madhya Pradesh. Jour. Indian Bot. Soc. 45:431-452. Thwaites, G. H, K. (1864) : Enumeration Plan- tarum Zeylaniae. London. Walker, T. G. (1958) : Hybridization in some species of Pteris L. Evolution 72:82-92. (1960) : Pteris quadriaurita com- plex in Ceylon. Kew Bull. 74:321-332. 443 A study of the associative behaviour of the fish Amphiprion polymnus (Linn.) and Sea Anemone Stoichactis giganteum (Forsk.)1 Yogendra Trivedi2 Marine Biological Research Station, Port Ok ha Though sea anemones are known to prey upon fishes of many species by means of the venomous nematocysts covering their tentacles (Gudger 1941; Mariscal 1966a), several spe- cies of Amphiprion live in intimate associa- tion with the anemones throughout life. A summary of reported associations of Amphi- prion with sea anemones has been given by Mariscal (1972). Day (1878) reported the fish Amphiprion percula in association with the sea anemone Actinia sp. at Andaman Is- lands. Mahadevan & Nayar (1965) were the first to describe an association of Amphiprion sebae with the giant sea anemone Stoichactis giganteum off Tuticorin on the south Indian coast. Recently, Amphiprion polymnus (Linn.) has been recorded from the Indian coasts (Trivedi 1974). The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a field and laboratory study of the associative behaviour of Amphi- prion polymnus and the giant sea anemone Stoichactis giganteum. Field Observations Field observations were made at Mithapur coast (69° OF E., 22° 25' N.) of Gujarat. 1 Accepted December 1975. 2 Present address : Prawn Culture Unit, 960 Sameja Niwas, Dawn Area, Bhavnagar, Gujarat. The sea anemone, Stoichactis giganteum, was found in depressions tmd crevices in littoral zone of the limestone reef among stands of living coral and seaweeds. Its pedal disc is fastened strongly to the rocky substratum and the well-expanded oral disc is immediately retracted on disturbance. S. giganteum merged nicely with its surround- ings of green-and-red algae and corals, and could be distinguished only on close obser- vation. Often one or two A. polymnus, of unequal size when found in a pair ,were found swim- ming over and about the anemone. On ap- proach the fishes quickly entered the mouth of the anemone. The anemone, if disturbed further, immediately retracted enclosing the fishes between its tentacles. Despite the dis- turbance the fish, however, did not move away from its host, although the anemone was in retracted condition for a period ranging 10-15 minutes. This type of behaviour has been ob- served in A. percula, A. akallopisos and A. perideraion (Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1960; Mariscal 1966a, b, 1970b). In one case the author attempted to trans- fer an A. polymnus from its original host to another individual of the same species and size; the new host was then not harbouring any symbiotic fish. In the changed condition 444 ASSOCIATIVE BEHAVIOUR OF FISH AND SEA ANEMONE also the fish showed the normal behaviour as with the former host. This supports the find- ing of Mariscal (1972) that there was no che- mical recognition or preference by an Amphi- prion for an anemone with which it had been living for an extended period and that any preference between two anemones of the same size, shape, colour, and species seemed to be correlated with the relative expansion of the oral disc at the time of the experiment. Some S. giganteum without any symbiotic Amphi prion were found harbouring a pair each of symbiotic shrimps of Periclimenes sp. The shrimps were of unequal size and con- sisted generally of one male and one female (bigger than male). The presence of a berried female afforded a clue to sexual dimorphism of the shrimps present. Laboratory Studies Laboratory studies were conducted at Okha in a 90 cm x 45 cm x 45 cm glass aquarium with sea water, with necessary aeration faci- lities, using A. polymnus fishes collected from Mithapur and S. giganteum anemone from Okha coast. In order to note behavioural pattern in the experiments the fish was introduced first. Soon after introduction the fish went straight to one corner of the aquarium and started “ rocking movement ” in a rhythmic manner. This movement, also described as “up and down swimming ”, “ bobbing ”, “ bouncing ” and “ seesawing ” behaviour, consisted of ra- pid elevation and depression of anterior por- tion of the body at a fixed place. This type of behaviour is found to be more pronounced among isolated fishes, although it occurs in the fishes kept with anemones (Eibl-Eibes- feldt 1960; Mariscal 1970b). This behaviour can possibly be ascribed as an attempt to gauge the distance between shelter and approaching object, in order to facilitate easy and quick retreat. A. polymnus also bathed in the air bubbles produced by the air diffuser stone, in the same manner as described by Mariscal (1966b, 1970b) in the case of A. xanthurus. No territorial defence or agonistic behaviour was exhibited by A. polymnus during isola- tion. On introducing a pair of shrimps of Periclimenes sp., the Amphi prion quickly swam towards them, observed them cautiously and returned to its corner apparently without paying much attention. After two days a Stoichactis giganteum from Okha coast was introduced into the aquarium. Mariscal (1972), commenting on the findings of Fishelson (1965), has remarked that A. bicinctus specimens already living with anemones would not be expected to undergo acclimation again with new anemones of the same species. Although A. polymnus were living with S. giganteum in this case, they had to undergo the acclimation with a new ane- mone of the same species. For about an hour A. polymnus did not seem to come in contact with the anemone and remained in a corner. After that, the fishes were forcibly driven towards the anemone and they started the acclimation process, perhaps after recognition of the host. Visual stimuli are thought to be primary in the recognition of anemones by anemone fishes (Verwey 1930; Herre 1936; Gohar 1948; Davenport & Norris 1958; Mariscal 1966b, 1970b). At the start of acclimation behaviour, the fish hovered above the anemone in its typical ‘up-and-down-swim- ming ’ without touching it. Then it suddenly, but cautiously, nibbled a clump of tentacles of the anemone from the side and went up. After hovering for some time it made a brief contact of the tentacles with its pelvic and 445 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 anal fins, causing a strong clinging of tenta- cles to the fish followed by a violent jerking back by the fish and subsequent contraction of the tentacle in typical prey-capture res- ponse. The fish repeated the process many times, gradually increasing the degree of con- tact and penetration of the anemone’s tenta- cles. As a result the clinging reaction of the anemone’s tentacles diminished, indicating that the fish was becoming partially protected from the anemone’s nematocysts. Finally the fish began “ bathing ” among the tentacles, with little or no response on the part of the ane- mone, indicating acclimation was complete, and the guest accepted. The time of acclimation varies with diffe- rent species of anemones. In this case it took only about 15 minutes. A. xanthurus got ac- climated to the tropical anemone Stoichactis kenti in about 10 minutes, to the California anemone Anthopleura xanthogrammica in about 1 hour, and to Anthopleura elegantis- sima (California) in about 45 hours in one instance (Mariscal 1970a). Now the question arises as to the type of change that occurs — in fish or in anemone — which gives protection from the nemato- cysts to the fish. Experiments by Davenport & Norris (1958) and Mariscal (1966b, 1970a, 1971) demonstrated that it is the mucus coating of an acclimated Am phi prion which is responsible for the protection. They found out that, if this mucus is carefully removed, the acclimated or partially acclimated fish immediately becomes deacclimated and is stung upon every contact with the tentacles of its former anemone, though this has not been confirmed by this author. The territorial behaviour of Amphiprion has been well known (as listed by Mariscal 1972). A. polymnus also showed this type of behaviour. It did not allow the shrimp, Peri- climenes sp. to come near anemone. On keep- ing the Periclimenes directly between the ten- tacles of the anemone occupied by A. polym- nus, the fish attacked the shrimp aggressively, chasing and driving it away from the ane- mone. A. polymnus like other Amphiprion was also found to be an omnivorous feeder. It ac- cepted any kind of plankton or other organic material. However, as also reported by Maris- cal (1970b), once such material touched the bottom A. polymnus usually did not try to seize it. A. polymnus, like other Amphiprion (see Mariscal 1972) also fed on waste material egested by the anemone. It was also found to nibble or tear off and ingest pieces of the tentacles of S. giganteum. This type of beha- viour is also reported in other Amphiprion by Verwey (1930), Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1960) and Mariscal (1966b, 1970b). A. polymnus also took food to its anemone as described in other species of Amphiprion by many authors (Ma- riscal 1972). Ack nowledge m e n ts I wish to express my thanks to the late Shri K. S. Bhullar, Fisheries Commissioner, Guja- rat State, for the encouragement given by him. I am grateful to Dr Kiran Desai, Reader in Biosciences, Saurashtra University, Rajkot for critically going through the manuscript. Special thanks are due to Shri P. P. Bhanderi, my colleague, for the help rendered in the studies. 446 ASSOCIATIVE BEHAVIOUR OF FISH AND SEA ANEMONE References Davenport, D. & Norris, K. S. (1958) : Obser- vations on the symbiosis of the sea anemone Stoi- chactis and the pomacentrid fish Amphiprion percula. Biol. Bull. 775:397. Day, F. (1878): Fishes of India. Vol. I, p. 379. William Dawson, London, Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. (1960): Beobachtungen and Versuche an Anemonenfischen ( Amphiprion ) der Maldiven and der Nicobaren Z tschr. Tierpsychol. 17, 1. Fishelson, L. (1965): Observations on the Red Sea anemones and their symbiotic fish Amphiprion bicinctus. Bull. Sea Fish. Res. Stat. Haifa 39, 1. Gohar, H. A. F. (1948) : Commensalism bet- ween fish and anemone (with a description of the eggs of Amphiprion bicinctus Ruppel). Publ. Mar. Biol. Sta. Ghardaqa (Red Sea) 6:35. Gudger, E. W. (1941) : Coelenterates as ene- mies of fishes. IV. Sea anemones and corals as fish eaters. New Eng. Naturalist 10, 1. Herre, A. W. (1936): Some habits of Amphi- prion in relation to sea anemones. Copeia 1936(3 ) : 167. MahadevEn, S. & Nayar, K. Nagappan (1965) : Underwater ecological observations in the Gulf of Mannar, off Tuticorin. V. On sea anemones and fishes Amphiprion and Dascyllus found with them. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. India 7(19): 169. Mariscal, R. N. (1966a) : The symbiosis bet- ween tropical sea anemones and fishes — review. In the Galapagos (R. I. Bowman, Ed.) pp. 157-171, University of California Press, Berkeley. (1966b) : A field and experimental study of the symbiotic association of fishes and sea anemones. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Califor- nia, Berkeley. University Microfilpis, Ann Arbor, Mich. (1970a) : An experimental analysis of the protection of Amphiprion xanthurus Cuvier & Valenciennes and some other anemone fishes from sea anemones. 7. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 4:134. (1970b) : A field and laboratory study of the symbiotic behaviour of fishes and sea anemones from the tropical Indo-Pacific. Univ. Calif. Publ., Zoo/. 97:1. (1971) : Experimental studies on the protection of anemone fishes from sea anemones. In The Biology of Symbiosis (T. C. Cheng, ed.), University Park Press, Baltimore. (1972) : Behaviour of symbiotic fishes and sea anemones. In Behaviour of Marine Animals. (H. E. Winn & B. L. Olla, Eds.) Vol. 2. Plenum Publishing Corp., New York. Trivedi, Y. (1974). A note on the fish Amphi- prion polymnus (Linn.), a new record to the In- dian coasts. Curr. Sci. 43 ( 12): 387. Verwey, J. (1930): Coral reef studies. I. The symbiosis between damselfishes and sea anemones in Batavia Bay. Treubia 72(3-4): 305. 447 Notes on the birds of prey in the Indus valley1 F. J. Koning Belkmerweg 35, Burgervlotbrug N.H., Holland Introduction In this paper I hope to give an impression of the present status of the birds of prey. Their existence is threatened in almost all parts of the world. The favourable conditions presently prevailing will certainly diminish, and we can only hope that a part of the richness of the Indus valley can be preserved. Material The observations have been made during five visits to Pakistan in the years 1970 to 1974. All visits took place in the months De- cember, January and February. Only very few observations have been made in March. The aim of the expeditions was to carry out a winter survey of waterfowl on the lakes and wetlands of Pakistan on behalf of the Inter- national Waterfowl Research Bureau. The work involved intensive travelling by car, during which we noted down all the rap- tors seen. Most lakes in the Punjab and in Sind are situated close to the river Indus. We did not survey Baluchistan, and have only very few observations from the NWFP. Table 1 summarises all sightings of birds of prey. It should however be understood that such a list does not give an exact picture of 1 Accepted October 1976. the composition of the birds of prey popula- tion. This for the following reasons: 1 . When observing from a moving car one certainly overlooks the smaller birds of prey very easily. 2. Species having the habit of perching prominently on telephone poles etc. will be represented in higher numbers than those species which do not have this habit. 3. Our surveys only covered the valley of the river Indus. The total number of species observed was 34. It is remarkable that the Falconidae only play a very unimportant role in the total popu- lation. Of some species we were able to form an impression about the densities by tak- ing the average number seen per stretch of 10 miles. Often those densities far exceeded our experience in the surrounding countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey or Gujarat in India. Conservation In the province of Sind all birds of prey are protected by law and we hope that the other provinces will follow this example. Hardly any statistical material has been collected so far. It is however certain that many species, especially the falcons, have diminish- ed considerably during the last years. The reasons for the decline are deforesta- 448 BIRDS OF PREY IN THE INDUS VALLEY tion, drainage of marshes, land use and the use of pesticides. All those developments are related with the social circumstances and it will be very difficult to take measures to stop the decline. Very rare and specialized species like the Pallas’s Fishing Eagle certainly need protec- tive measures. Big trees in the surroundings of lakes are becoming scarce and the eagles need such trees for nesting. It would be inter- esting to build artificially made nests and place them near suitable lakes. For storks and birds of prey such nests have been successful in Europe. Table 1 Sightings of birds of prey during five winter visits to the Indus Valley 1970-1974 Blackwinged kite Elanus caeruleus 181 Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus 10 Black kite Milvus mi grans 4,599 Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus 80 Shikra Accipiter badius 38 Longlegged Buzzard Buteo rufinus 220 Buzzard Buteo buteo 2 White-eyed buzzard Butastur teesa 262 Bonelli’s Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus fasciatus 262 Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus 8 Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos 1 Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca 56 Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax 386 Tawny? or Imperial Eagle? Aquila ?? 223 Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga 204 Pallas’s Fishing Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus 77 Whitetailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla 12 Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus 20 Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus 140 Whitebacked Vulture Gyps bengalensis 1,725 Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus 229 Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus 18 Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus 14 Pale Harrier Circus macrouru\ 57 Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus 3 Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus 509 Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus 18 Osprey Pandion haliaetus 155 Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus 14 Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus 6 Merlin Falco columbarius 1 Indian merlin Falco chicquera 15 Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 69 Saker Falcon Falco cherrug 1 449 2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 blackwinged kite Elanus caeruleus The Blackwinged kite can be seen in most parts of the Indus valley. The best habitats in which we observed this magnificent bird were cultivated lands with scattered trees and an abundance of shallow waters, marshes or rice fields. The population is resident but consider- able differences in population density occur. In the habitat mentioned we observed aver- ages ranging from 0.5 to 2.8 bird on a stretch of 10 miles. In Lower Sind the Blackwinged kite is very common and in the regions of Mirpur Sakro, Badin and Ladiun we observed densities of 0.3 to 0.9 bird per 10 miles. Once near Khand- kot we counted 15 birds in 31 miles which accounts for 4.8 bird per 10 miles. In the Punjab, and certainly in NWFP, the blackwinged kite seemed less common to us. crested honey buzzard Pemis ptilorhyncus The Honey Buzzard is a resident or at least a summer visitor to Pakistan. It frequents forests and this habitat is rather scarce. Most of our records are from the Punjab and from northern parts in Sind. Only one record from Lower Sind. We observed 10 birds only, but according to Mr. T. J. Roberts (pers. comm.) the Honey Buzzard breeds in good numbers in the Punjab up to the Murree hills. black kite Milvus migrans Three different subspecies of this kite can be found in Pakistan. We made no attempts to separate them. The Black kite is certainly the most common bird of prey in Pakistan. The cities have hundreds of kites and met- ropoles like Lahore or Karachi will have popu- lations of several thousands of birds. The kites concentrate on rubbish dumps, near fishing industries or in parks. It often was impossible to estimate their exact num- bers. Some of our records show their abund- ance : 250 on a roost in Thatta on -9-1-1974; 319 between Thatta and the outskirts of Kara- chi and 550 on a rubbish dump near Karachi both on 17-xii- 1972 and finally 320 kites along the shores of lake Rap near Ghauspur. The kites breed in trees, on buildings, on telephone poles or on electricity pylons. In January and February we often found nests with eggs or young birds. brahminy kite Haliastur Indus A magnificent raptor which can usually be seen on wetlands with strongly fluctuating water levels. It frequents barrages and tree- lined canals also. It is common along the tidal creeks in the mouth of the Indus river. On a boat trip from Karachi to Ketti Bandar we observed 12 birds on 20-ii-1972. Our most northern observations are from the Taunsa Barrage. We have no ob- servations from NWFP, the Saltrange or the Punjab N. of Multan. The habitat of this species is rather restrict- ed and this is probably the reason why it is not a common bird in Pakistan. The food of this kite consists of dead fish, frogs, mud-skippers and lizards. shikra Accipiter badius and/or A. nisus7y- The Sparrow-Hawk lives in forests and ip former days certainly has been more common than at present. During our waterfowl surveys we usually worked in open country with the result that we observed few Shikras. The re- cords are all from the Punjab and Irom Sind; none from NWFP. In the Punjab the Sparrow-* Hawk breeds along treelined canals, in forests and even in cantonment gardens. LONGLEGGED BUZZARD Buteo rufinUS Common winter visitor to all parts of Pakis- tan. The Longlegged Buzzard can be seen in 450 BIRDS OF PREY IN THE INDUS VALLEY all types of habitat ranging from deserts to cultivated areas. When we analyze our 220 observations we find that in Sind the popula- tion is 4 times as dense as that in the Punjab or NWFP. In Sind their number averaged 0.8 bird in 10 miles; in the Punjab, the NWFP and near Quetta this figure was 0.2 bird on a stretch of 10 miles. The species is extremely variable in colora- tion. In Pakistan the whitish and reddish phase dominate, while only one out of twenty birds shows a very dark brown plumage. buzzard Buteo buteo A rare bird in most parts of the Indus val- ley. The buzzard breeds in the Himalayas and probably does not migrate to the plains. It remains in the foothills during winter. We have two records only, both from the NWFP: one bird near lake Kheski on 29-1- 1974 and one bird near Kohat only a few days later. Mr. T. J. Roberts (pers. comm.) has definite re- cords from Lower Sind but agrees it is rare. white-eyed buzzard Butdstur teesd One of the commonest species, especially in the Punjab and in Sind. It lives in open country with small groups of trees or bushes. It is absent from the higher parts of Pakistan. We have only two observations from the NWFP, both from the month of March and none from January or February. Also in the Salt range the white-eyed Buzzard can be classified as rare. In Sind we counted 73 birds in 784 miles which averages 0.9 bird per 10 miles. In the Punjab the population density seemed less. Here we observed 22 birds in 546 miles which averages 0.4 bird in 10 miles. BONELLl’S HAWK-EAGLE NisdetllS jdSCidtllS A rather rare bird which can be found in small numbers on some of the lakes in Sind. It also occurs in hilly habitats (Kohistan, Salt Range and Margalla hills). We have 14 sight- ings only. The lakes where we observed this species often had a rich vegetation and an abundance of waterfowl (Phoosna, Sadori, Talli, Charwo, Langh and Haleji). Conserva- tion of those rich freshwater lakes of Sind will certainly contribute to the survival of this rare eagle. Bonelli’s Eagles often catch duck or coot. However their prey is frequently pirated from them by less active birds of the genus Aquild. booted eagle Hiemetus pennatus An easily overlooked resident species which breeds in Baluchistan and Hazara district. Rare bird: eight observations only. Three birds were seen between Basal and Attock on 30-iii-1970. One near Bahawalpur on 15-ii-1972 and four records from Sind in the months January and December. It is perhaps a regular but rather rare winter visitor to Lower Sind. golden eagle Aquild chrysaetos The Golden Eagle is said to breed in the Himalayas and in the higher parts of Balu- chistan. It seldom comes down to the valley of the river Indus. We have only one record: a juvenile on 14-i- 1974 at 20 miles S. of Ba- din. IMPERIAL EAGLE Aquild hdidCd Most authors are very vague about the status of the Imperial Eagle in Pakistan. The reason is that the different species of the genus Aquild are very difficult to identify. The Im- perial Eagle can easily be mistaken for a Tawny Eagle. It however can easily be dis- tinguished from the Spotted Eagle. Out of 442 big eagles 56 were Imperial Eagles. So we have the impression that at least 1 out of 8 big eagles can be an Imperial Eagle. The spe- 451 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 cies is a winter visitor and prefers open desert areas or lakes; in general it avoids extensive cultivations. tawny eagle Aquila rapax Common in all parts of Pakistan. We identi- fied 386 individuals while most of the 223 un- identified eagles certainly also belonged to this species. It prefers all sorts of open coun- try. In the Punjab and in many parts of Sind the densities are between 0.4 and 1.2 bird per stretch of 10 miles. In Lower Sind the Tawny Eagle is extremely abundant: 4.2 per stretch of 10 miles. greater spotted eagle Aquila clanga Not uncommon. Almost all observations are correlated with the presence of water like lakes, canals or marshes. The total number seen was 204 birds. So the Greater Spotted Eagle is less abundant than the Tawny Eagle but certainly commoner than the Imperial Eagle. The spe- cies is a winter visitor mainly. We do not have records from lakes situated N. of the Taunsa Barrage. whitetailed sea eagle HaUaeetus albicilla The rarest regular winter visitor to Pakis- tan. Total population less than five! There are only three locations in Pakistan where we observed this very rare winter visi- tor. All these three are large wetlands which afford winter refuge to between 20,000 and 50,000 ducks and coots. List of observations : Chasma Barrage: 2 on 9-ii-1971 and 1 on 2-ii- 1973. Ghauspur: 2 on 15-ii-1971, 1 on 10-ii- 1973 and 3 on 28-xii- 1973. Taunsa Barrage: 2 on 5-ii- 1973 and 1 on 26-xii-1973. pallas’s fishing eagle HaUaeetus leucory - phus The habitat of this rather rare bird is scarce and for this reason the birds are mainly seen in the southern parts of Pakistan. We encountered Pallas’s Fishing Eagle on 18 different lakes. The habitat should include freshwater with an abundance of fish, water- fowl and vegetation. As nesting site it usually chooses a very old tree. It is a resident bird which breeds in the winter when scores of waterfowl provide a good supplement to the fish food. During our waterfowl surveys we surveyed about 50 different lakes, probably the best lakes of the country. The result was a popula- tion of 26 pairs of this eagle only! We did not explore the numerous dhands and jheels situ- ated in the desert east of the Nara, but we have a strong impression that its total popula- tion in Pakistan does not exceed 40 or 50 pairs, perhaps much less! List of lakes where we observed the Pallas’s Fishing Eagle: Lai Suhanra Ghauspur Haleji Chateji Dho Maboobshah Jafferli Phoosna Taunsa Barrage Manchar Sadori Sanghriaro Soonahri Jamrao Head Borthie Dabhko Charwo 452 BIRDS OF PREY IN THE INDUS VALLEY Also the Indus near Sukkur, and canals around Badin. A serious threat to this species is the dis- appearance of old trees around the lakes. Pakistan is densily populated and big trees are the only safe places left for nesting. It might be an interesting experiment to offer man- made nests for the birds in areas where old big trees are absent. A good protection and conservation of both habitat and the birds is urgently needed. cinereous vulture Aegypius monachus A resident vulture breeding in Baluchistan and NWFP. Is seldom seen in the plains of the Indus. Twenty observations only. Most of our sightings are from the surroundings of Karachi where it frequents the rubbish dumps with numerous other species of raptors. Other ob- servations are: 2 birds near Hyderabad on 17-i- 1974, 2 near Attock on l-ii-1973 and 2 at the Chasma Barrage on 2-ii- 1973. GRIFFON VULTURE Gyps fulvus A breeding bird of the Khirtar Range and the Himalayas. It can be seen regularly in the surroundings of Karachi where up to 15 birds visit the rubbish dumps. They perhaps orginate from the Khirtar. Regular visitor to the plains and deserts of Lower Sind: 2 near lake Sadori (Sanghar), 2 near Boharo and 7 near the lake Hadero on 15, 17 and 22 February 1973 res- pectively. Is also regularly seen around Kam- ber (Larkana district). Two records from more northern regions: 14 near the Chasma Barrage on 2-ii- 1973 and 5 N of Saidu in Swat on 4-iv-1970. longbilled vulture Gyps indicus In the Salt Range we often observed vul- tures which we identified as Griffon Vulture. Other authors regard those vultures as belong- ing to the species Gyps indicus. So far we never where sure having seen this species. On the ground their small size struck us but we could not see any difference with the plumage of the Griffon Vulture. I doubt whether the birds are a different species from Gyps fulvus. There is a small colony on the rocks in the pass between Kushab and Talagang. Other records are from the same area near Chakwal, Ucchali and Kalar Kahar. whitebacked vulture Gyps bengalensis The commonest vulture in Pakistan. Our total number of sightings is 1725 but certain- ly very low as we did not survey all the parks or refuse dumps in the big cities. Many colo- nies are situated in parks or along tree-lined canals or roads. Well distributed all over the valley of the Indus. Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus In winter the Egyptian vulture can be found on the rubbish dumps in the big cities where it feeds along with the other vultures and kites. Concentrations seldom exceeding 40 birds. In winter it is absent from the higher parts of Pakistan (Salt Range and many parts of the NWFP). Our total of 229 records shows that it is less abundant than the Whitebacked Vulture but more widespread than the Griffon. L A M m ergeier Gypaetus bar bat us The distribution of the Bearded Vulture is restricted to the mountainous parts of Asia and Europe. We have no records from the Indus Valley. All three observations from rocky parts: 1 near the Warsak Barrage (NWFP); 1 at the Khyber pass and 1 N of Saidu (Swat). hen harrier Circus cyaneus Rather scarce winter visitor to Pakistan. Fourteen observations only. Usually this spe- cies winters at higher altitudes. 453 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 pale harrier Circus macrourus The commonest of the “slender” harriers. A total of 57 observations, mainly from Sind. In this province we observed an average of 0.3 bird in a stretch of 10 miles. Montagu’s harrier Circus pygargus Scarce winter visitor. Three observations only. Identification of females is difficult. In Sind the species might be more common than Circus cyaneus. Its main wintering grounds are probably situated more S of Pakistan. In seasonally flooded areas and in many other humid areas the Marsh Harrier can be found. Therefore the list is far from complete. It however gives a rough impression about the common occurrence of this harrier. short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus A rare bird in all parts of Pakistan except in Lower Sind were it is a winter visitor in small numbers. It probably leaves the moun- tains in order to winter close to the Rann of List of lakes with their estimated populations Rasoul Barrage 15 Kheski 1 Chasma Barrage 15 Kharrar jheel 1-2 Khabakki 1 or 2 Marala Barrage 1 Nammal 1 or 2 Lake Rawal 1-2 Ucchalli 1 or 2 Manchar 20 Kalar Kahar 1 or 2 Mehar 3 Taunsa Barrage 3 or 5 Maboobshah 3 Lai Suhanra 10 Sanbher 7 Ghauspur 20 Dho, Thalli 1-2 Drigh 5 to 7 Phoosna 4-8 Langh 3 to 4 Atch 4 Haleji 30 Sadori 20 Kalri 30 Nungra 8 Hadero 5 or 6 Klanghar 3 Sandho 5 Kambar 3 Jafferli 1 Jamrao head 2 Charwo 4 or 5 Ladia 2 Soonari 5 to 10 Sangriaro 8 to 10 Gujo 3 One bird was seen between Thatta and Ba Kutch. Between January 11 and 14 we ob- din on 13-1-1974. Two records of birds on served a total of 17 birds in the surroundings migration, both in the Salt Range on March of Badin, Ladiun, Sujawal and Seerani (1974). 30 and 31, 1970. Two other records probably concern mig- marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus rants: One on 24-2-1971 SE of Islamabad, and one bird at Lai Suhanra in the month of Abundant winter visitor to the lakes and April (1970). marshes of Pakistan. The total population con- sists of several hundred birds. Sind with its osprey Pandion haliaetus numerous lakes is the main wintering area in The valley of the Indus is perhaps one of this part of Asia. the main wintering areas of the Osprey in 454 BIRDS OF PREY IN THE INDUS VALLEY Asia. The Sind lakes are well provided with fish and for this reason we still encounter this raptor in good numbers. It probably is also common along the coasts of Pakistan. On a boat trip from Karachi to Ketti Bandar on 20 and 21 February 1972 we observed 8 Os- preys. Other high numbers were seen at Ghaus- pur where usually up to 10 birds can be found. The highest count was 16 birds at lake Hadero on 3 January 1974! kestrel Falco tinnunculus In winter the Kestrel is the commonest fal- con in Pakistan. A total of 69 observations. We had the impression that the Kestrel pre- fers the drier habitats like deserts and rocky areas (Salt Range, Kohistan). merlin Falco columbarius Rare winter visitor. One observation only. A female on 5-ii- 1973 at the Taunsa Barrage. redheaded merlin Falco chicquera This magnificent falcon used to be common- er than at present. A total of 14 sightings; all observations from the middle and southern parts of the country: Thatta district, Larkana district and near Bahawalpur. saker falcon Falco cherrug A rare winter visitor to the Indus valley. One observation of a bird on 224-1975 near the Rann of Kutch. lagger falcon Falco biarmicus Nowadays quite a rare birds in Pakistan 14 observations only. Distribution not con- fined to certain provinces. peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus Like the other big falcons a rather rare rap- tor which usually can be found near coasts or lakes where waders or ducks concentrate. A pair can usually be seen at lake Rap near Ghauspur. One bird was seen on 17-ii-1971 near Karachi where it seems to be a regular winter visitor. On 21-ii- 1972 we observed a bird near Ketti Bandar, and on 17-ii- 1973 another at lake Hadero. Ack nowledge m e n ts We are very much indebted to Mr. W. A. Kermani, Secretary to the Government of Sind and member of the Sind Wildlife Management Board. Mr. T. J. Roberts was very helpful and we often had very good discussions on our orni- thological observations. Both Mr. L. J. Dijksen and Mr. J. G. Walmsley were enthusiastic companions dur- ing the surveys. They had much work in not- ing down all the observations while travelling. Finally we have to thank Dr. L. Hoffmann who enabled us to do the waterfowl surveys. 455 Fungal flora of Panhala1 2’1 A. N. Thite and A. R. Kulkarni3 Department of Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur Panhala hill fort (16°48' N, 74°8' E), is situ- ated 13 miles south-east of Kolhapur city in Maharashtra. The altitude at the base of the fort is 856 metres and the plateau 398 metres above sea level. The annual rainfall varies from 187 to 200 cm and most of it is received between June to September. March- April are the driest months. Occasional showers start from May. The temperature goes upto 32-33 °C during the hotter parts of the year, particularly in April-May; and falls to 25-26°C during December- January. The temperature fluctu- ation is about 7°C throughout the year. Panhala is being developed as a hill station, and a number of new buildings are being con- structed. The population is increasing fast. This already has had an adverse effect on the natural vegetation of this place. Possibly with- in next 15-20 years the area may loose a num- ber of its important plants. It was, therefore, felt that an estimate of its present flora may be useful. In this paper only the fungal flora is given. The fungi are arranged alphabetically under their respective classes. The total number of species listed during the period 1971-1972 are 1 Accepted September 1974. 2 Part of Research Project “Flora of Panhala” financed by Shivaji University, under research grant- scheme during 1971-1972. 3 Present address: Biology Department, Ramana- rain Ruia College, Matunga, Bombay 400 019. Phycomycetes 35, Ascomycetes 125, Basidio- mycetes 120 and Fungi imperfecti 150. Phycomycetes Albugo bliti (Pers.) Kuntze. On leaves of Achyranthes aspera, Alternanthera sessilis. A. Candida (Pers.) Kuntze. On Raphanus sativus. A. evolvuli (Damle) Safee & Thirum. On leaves of Evolvulus alsinoides. Albugo portulaceae (DC.) Kuntz. On leaves of Portulaca oleracea. Bremia graminicola Naoumoff. var. indica Patel. On leaves of Arthraxon serrulatus. Choanephora simsoni Cunn. On flowers of Zinnia elegans. Circinella spinosa van Tregh. & Le Monnier. On fruits of Artocarpus integra. Mucor indicus Linder. On dung. M. mucedo (L.) Brefeld. Causing soft rot on Annona reticulata, Arachis hypogea. Peronospora parasitica (Pers.) de Bary. On leaves of Raphanus sativus. P. rumicis Corda. On leaves of Rumex vesi- caris. P. trigonellae Gaum. On leaves of Trigonella foenumgruecum. Physoderma aeschynomeni Thirum & White- head. On submerged portion of Aeschyno- mene indica. P. commelinae Lingappa. On leaves of Com- melina forskalaei. 456 FUNGAL FLORA OF PANHALA P. schroeteri Krieger. On leaves of Cyperus rotund us. Phytophthora colocasiae Racib. On leaves of Colocasia antiquorum. P. parasitica Dastur. Causing fruit rot on Artocarpus integra. Plasmopara vernoniae-chinensis Sawada. On leaves of Vernonia cinerea. Pythium aphanodermatum (Edson) Fitzp. Causing soft rot of Carica papaya, Coccinia indica, Cuminis sativus. Rhizopus arrhizus Fischer. On dung. R. nigricans Ehrenb. Causing fruit rot on Achras sapota, Annona squamosa, Artocar- pus integra, and Ficus carica. Sclerospora graminicola (Sacc.) Schroet. On leaves and inflorescences of Andropogon halepensis, Pennisetum typhoides and Setaria italica. S. sorghi (Kulkarni) Weston & Uppal. On leaves of Sorghum vulgare. Synchytrium alysicarpi Ramkar & Sund. On Alysicarpus tetragonolobus, A. vaginalis. S. balsamini Patil & Mahabale. On Impatiens dalzelli. S. cylistae, Patil & Mahabale. On Cylista scar- iosa. S. lepidagathidis Mundk. & Mahtre. On Lepi- dagathis cristata. S. pogostemonis Patil & Mahabale. On Pogos- temon plectranthoides. S. tragiae Patil & Mahabale. On Tragia muel- leriana var. unicolor. Ascomycetes Acanthostigma heterochaete Syd. & But. On leaves of Alysicarpus vaginalis. Amphisphaeria carissae Tilak. On stem of Carissa congesta. A. gymnosporiae R. Rao. On stem of Bouga- invillea spectabilis, Gymnosporia montana. Asteridiella subapoda Syd. On Mallotus phil- ippinensis. Asterina gymnosporae E. Castel. On leaves of Gymnosporia montana. A. lawsoniae P. Etenn. & Nyman. On Law- sonia alba. A. malloti Sawada. On leaves of Mallotus philippinensis. A. sphaerotheca Karst & Roum. On leaves of Vitex negundo. A. spissa Syd. On leaves of Jasminum mal- abaricum. Bagnisiella bougainvilleae R. Rao. On stems of Bougainvillea spectabilis. B. celastrina Tilak. On stems of Celastrus paniculata. B. mangi ferae Tilak & R. Rao. On stems of Mangifera indica. Balansia andropogonis Syd. On Cymbopogon martinii. Balladyna autriani P. Henn. On leaves of Xeromphis spinosa. B. velutina P. Henn. On leaves of Pavetta indica. Balladyna sp. On leaves of Canthium parvi- florum. Calosphaeria lantanae Tilak & Nagre. On stems of Lantana camara, Pongamia pin - nata. Calospora tectonae Tilak & Rao. On stems of Tectona grandis. Capnodium annonae Pat. On leaves and twigs of Ficus glomerata and F. rumphii. C. citri Berk. & Desm. On leaves of Citrus medica. C. eugeniarum Cooke. On leaves of Jambosa vulgaris. C. ramosum Cooke. On leaves of Mangifera indica. Chaetothyrium pongamiae Harris. On Pon- gamia pinnata. Claviceps microcephala (Wall.) Tul. On Pen- 457 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 v nisetum typhoides. Clypeolella inversa V. Hohn. On leaves of F Celastrus paniculata . Daldinia concentrica (Bolt) Ces & de Not. On dead wood. Diatrype mangiferae R. Rao. On stems of - Mangifera indica. Diatrype sp. On Sapindus laurifolius. Diatrype sp. On stems of Smilax zeylanica. Diatrypella cassiae Tilak. On twigs of Cassia fistula. Diatrypella sp. On twigs of Syzygium spp. Erysiphe graminis var. tritici Marshall. On leaves of Triticum aestivum. E. mutheranensis .Visw. On leaves of Leucas stelligera. Eutypella stellulata (Fr.) Sacc. On stems of Celastrus paniculata. Hypoxylon rubiginosum (Pex.) Fr. On Livis- tona chinensis. Hypoxylon sp. On dead wood, Hysterium celastrina Tilak. On stems of Cel- astrus paniculata. H. lantanae Tilak & R. Rao. On stems of Lantana camara . II. tamarindii Tilak. On stems of Bougainvil- lea spectabilis, Tamarindus indica. Hysterium sp. On Dalbergia sympathetica. Irenopsis crotonis (Stem & Theon) Stem On - leaves of Pavetta indica. Lophodermium agharkarii Tilak. On leaves of Syzygium cumini. Meliola allophylii Doidge. On the leaves of Allophyllus serratus. M. brideliae Steu. & Rold. On leaves of Bri- delia squamosa. M. carrissa Doidge. On leaves of Carrissa : conjesta. M. canthi Hansf. On leaves of Canthium par- viflorum and Wendlandia thyrsoidea. M. cladotricha Lev. On leaves of Syzygium cumini. M. jasminicola P. Henn. On leaves of Jasmi- num malabaricum. M. kibirae Flansf. On leaves of Xeromphts spinosa. M. cadgensis Yates. On leaves of Glycosmis pentaphylla. M. diospyri Syd. On leaves of Diospyros mon- tana. M. indica Syd. var. careyae Stev. On leaves of Careya arborea. M. osyridicola Hansf. On leaves of Osyris wightiana. M. zizyphi Hansf. On leaves of Zizyphus ru- . .gosa and Z. mauritiana. Mycosphaerella bombycina Visw. On leaves of Syzygium cumini. M. cassiae Tilak. On leaves of Cassia tora. M. indica Visw, On leaves of Morus alba. Parodieila perisporioides (Berk. & Curt.) Speg, On leaves of Alysicarpus vaginilis, A. teil ragonolobus, Crotalaria linijolia, C. filipes, Desmodium rotundi folium, D. triflorum , In- digofer a cordifolia, and Smithia conferta. Phyllachora ajrekari Syd. On leaves of Cero- pegia tuberosa, and Tylophora dalzellii. P. ambigua Syd. On leaves of Syzygium cu- mini. P . bambusac (Syd. & Butler) But. On leaves of Bambusa sp. P. bauhiniae (Wint.) Theiss. & Syd. On leaves of Bauhinia purpurea. P. cassicola Ananth. On leaves of Cassia tora. P. cynodontis (Sacc.) Niessl. On leaves of Cy- nodon dactylon. P. dalbergiae Niessl. On leaves of Dalbergia latifolia and Dalbergia sympathetica. P. dolichospora . On leaves of Tinospora cor? difolia. P. glycosmidis Petch. On leaves of Glycosmis pentaphylla. P. graminis (Pers. & Fr.) Fuckel. On leaves of Digit aria sp. 458 FUNGAL FLORA OF PANHALA P. ixorae Thesiss. & Syd. On leaves of Ixora arborea. P. pongamiae (Berti & Br.) P. Henn. On leaves of Pongamia pinnata. P. repens (Corda) Sacc. On leaves of Ficus religiosa. P. themedae Ananth. On leaves of Themeda quadrivalvis. Phyllactinia brideliae Patil. On leaves of D ri- del ia squamosa. P. corylea (Pers.) Karst. On leaves of Careya arborea, Cassia fistula, and Morus alba. P. indica Patw. On leaves of Combretum ova- Ufolium. P. thirumalchari Pyak. On leaves of Cordia dichotoma. Physalospora rhodina (Berk. & Curt.) Cooke. On Mangifera indica. Plagiostigme deodikari Ananth. On leaves of Syzygium cumini. Pleospora herbarum Rabenh. On stem of Lantana camara. Prigsheimia alianthi Tilak & R. Rao. On stems of Alianthus excel sa. P. cestri-nocturni Tilak & Kale. On leaves of Cestrum nocturnum. Pseudopeziza rependa (Fr.) Karst. On leaves of Rubia manjith. Rosenscheldiella eugeniae Petch. On leaves of Syzygium spp. Taphrina maculans. On leaves of Curcuma pseudomontana. T. rhomboidalis Syd. On leaves of Pteris quadriaurita. Tryblidaria pongamiae R. Rao. On stems of Pongamia pinnata. Tryblidiella rufula (Spreg) Sacc. On branches of Bougainvillea spectabilis and Dalbergia sympathetica. Uncinula tectonae Salm. On leaves of Tectona grandis. Xylaria apiculata Sacc. Saprophyte. Xylaria dealbata Berk. & Curt. On wood. Xylaria obovata Berk. On wood. Xylaria sp. On dead leaves. Xylaria sp. Saprophyte. Basidiomycetes Aecidium argyreae ( Chavan. On leaves of Ar- gyreia hookeri. A. crini Kalch. On leaves of Crinum asiaticum. A. lepidagathis-cuspidatae Chavan. On leaves of Lepidagathis cristata. A. rhytismoideum Berk & Br. On leaves of Diospyros montana. A. vangueriae Cooke. On leaves of Meyna laxiflora. Aecidium sp. On leaves of Ledebouria hya- cinthiana. Aecidium sp. On leaves of Barleria spp. Agaricus woodrowii Mass. On ground. Agaricus sp. On ground. Agaricus sp. On dung. Auricularia epitricha Berk. On wood. A. mesenterica Br. On wood of Tectona gran- dis. Bollitus grandiusculus Cooke & Mass. On ground. Calocera viscosa (Pers.) Fr. On wood. Cerotelium fid (Butler) Arther. On leaves of Ficus glomerata and Ficus spp. Chaconia butleri (Syd.) Mains. On leaves of Jasminum malabaricum. C. tectonae Ramak. On leaves of Tectona grandis. Clavaria lilacina. (Mont. & Berk.) Marqan. On ground. Clavaria sp. On ground. Clavaria sp. On wood of Tectona grandis. Cyathus microsporus Tull. On wood & on ground. C. sterconcus (Schw.) de Toni. On ground. Dasturella divina Syd., Mundk. & Kheshwala. 459 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 On leaves of Dendrocalamus strictus and Xeromphis spinosa. Entyloma globigenus Thirum. & Safee. On leaves of Blumea lacera. Fomes senex Nees & Mont. On wood. Ganoderma applanatum (Pex.) Pat. On tree trunks. G. colosum Bers. On tree trunks. Graphiola sp. On leaves of Phoenix sylvestris. Hemileia pavetticola Mubl. & Roger. On leaves of Pavetta indica. H. themasii Thirum & Narasim. On leaves of Xeromphis spinosa. H. vastatrix Berk. & Broome. On leaves of Coffea arahica. H. woodii Kal & Cooke. On leaves of Meyna laxiflora. Hymenochaeta cacao. On wood. Hymenochaeta sp. On wood. Kamatomyces narasinhani (Thirum) Sathe ( Masseela narasimhani) . On leaves of Secu- rinega leucopyrus. Kueheneda flacourtiae (Mundk. & Thirum). On leaves of Flacourtia indica. Kulkarniella pavettae Gokhale & Patel. On leaves of Pavetta indica. Lenzites sp. On wood. Liora emodenis (Berk.) Cif. On Polygonum chinense. Melampsora helioscopiae Wint. On leaves of Euphorbia geniculata. M. ricini (Beauv.) Pass. On leaves of Ricinus communis. Olivea colebrookiana Thirum & Yadv. On leaves of Colebrookia oppositifolia. Phakopsora phyllanthi Diet. On leaves of Phy- llanthus ssp. P. zizy phi -vulgaris Diet. On leaves of Zizy- phus mauritiana. Phragmidiella heterophragmae (Mundk. & Thirum) Thirum & Mundk. On leaves of Heterophragma quadrilocularis. Physopella stakmani Sathe. On leaves of H eterophragma quadrilocularis. Plerotus membranaceus Mass. On Trunks. Polyporus campbelli Berk. On ground. P. gramocephalus Berk. On trunks. P. umblicatus Berk. On wood. Polystictus occidentalis Kolotzsch. On wood. Polystictus sp. On wood. Puccinia arthraxonis Syd. & Butler. On leaves of Art hr axon sp. P. colletiana Barklay. On leaves of Rubia manjith. P. graminis Pers. var. tritici Erik. & P. Henn. On leaves of Triticum aestivum. P. helianthi Schw. On leaves of Helianthus annus. P. heterospora Berk. & Curt. On leaves of Abutilon indicum, Sida glutinosa and Sida acuta. P. leucadis Syd. On leaves of Leucas stelligera. P. nakanishikii Diet. On leaves of Cymbopo- gon martinii. P. prainiana Barklay. On leaves of Smilax zeylanica. P. solmsii P. Henn. On leaves of Polygonum chinense. P. sorghi Schw. On leaves of Sorghum vulgare and Zea mays. P. stenotaphri Cummins. On leaves of Penni- setum typhoides. P. substriata El. Berth var. indica Ramachar & Cummins. On leaves of Pennisetum typho- ides and Solanum melongena. P. versicolor Diet. & Hdw. On leaves of Lan- tana camara. P. wattiana Barklay. On leaves of Clematis gouriana. Puccinia sp. On Solanum indicum. Ravenelia acaciae-concinnae Mundk. & Thi- rum. On leaves of Acacia concinna. R. breyniae-patentis. On leaves of Melanthesa tuberinata. 460 FUNGAL FLORA OF FANHALA R. emblicae Syd. On leaves of Cicca acida. R. hobsoni Cooke. On leaves of Pongamia pinnata. R. kirganeliae Mundk & Thirum. On leaves of Kirganelia reticulata. R. sessilis Berk. On leaves of Albizzia lebbek. Schizophyllum alneum (L.) Schroet. On wood. S. communae Fr. On wood. Sorosporium pseudanthistriae Syd. & Butler. On Pseudanthistria heteroclita. Sphaecelotheca bursa (Berk.) Mundk. & Thirum. On Themeda quadrivalvis. S. sorghi (Link.) Clinton. On Sorghum vul- gare. Spherophragmium acaciae (Cooke) Magnus. On leaves of Albizzia lebbek. Stereum hirsutum (Wall). Fr. On wood. Stereum sp. On wood. Trametes sp. On wood. Throchodium sampathense Thirum. On leaves of Argyreia elliptica & A. hookeri. Uromyces appendiculatus (Pers.) On leaves of Phaseolus sp. U. clignyi (Pat.) Har. On leaves of Chlorophy- tum laxum. U. commelinae Cooke. On leaves of Comme- lina forskalaei and Cyanotis sp. U. hobsoni Vize. Jasminum malabaricum and J. grandiflorum. U. orientalis Syd. On leaves of Indigofera cordifolia. Ustilago cynodontis P. Henn. On Cynodon dactylon. U. scitaminea. Syd. var. sacchari-officinarum Mundk. On Saccharum officinarum. Fungi imperfecti Alternaria crassa (Sacc.) Rand. On leaves of Datura sp. A. dioscoreae V. Rao. On Dioscorea bulbi- fera. A. gomphrenae Togashi. On leaves of Gom- phrena celosioides. A. ricini (Yoshii) Hansford. On leaves of Ricinus communis. A. sesami Kawamura. On leaves of Sesamum indicum. A. solani (Ellis & Mart.) Jones & Grout. On leaves of Solanum melongena and Solanum indicum. A. tenuis Auct. On leaves of Arachis hypogea, Bougainvillea spectabilis, Coccinia indica, Cassia tora, Cocos nucifera, Musa par ad i- siaca, Phaseolus vulgaris , Vitis sp. and Zea mays. Alternaria tenuissima (Fr.) Wilshine. On leaves of Polyalthia longifolia. A. zinniae Pape. Ageratum sp., Blumea sp. and Helianthus annus. Ascochyta caryotina V. Rao. On leaves of Caryota urens. Aspergillus niger Van Teigh. On Arachys hypogea, Emblica officinalis, and Mangi- fera indica. Beltrania mangiferae Munjal & Kapoor. On leaves of Mangifera indica. Bispora muhlenbeckiae Chiplonkar. On Phyl- loclades of Muhlenbeckia platyclodos. Cephalosporium curtipes var. predinicola. On rusts. Olivea colebrookiana, Chaconia tecto - niae. Cercospora acalyphae Peck. On leaves of Acalypha ciliata. C. achyranthina Thirum. & Chupp. On leaves of Achyranthes aspera. C. agharkarii Chidd. On leaves of Grevillea robust a. C. ailanthicola Patw. On leaves of Ailanthus excelsa. C. arachidicola Hori. On leaves of Arachys hypogea. C. blepharidia Chidd. On leaves of Blepharis asperrima. C. blumeicola Das. On leaves of Blumea lacera. 461 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 C. caladii Cooke var. colocasiae V. Hochn. On leaves of Colocasia esculent a. C. careyae Ramekar. & Ramekar. On leaves of Careya arborea. C. cassiocarpa Chupp. On leaves of Cassia tora. C. citrullina Cooke. On leaves of Coccinia indica. C. cocculi Syd. On leaves of Cocculus macro- carpus. C. consimilis Syd. On leaves of Vernonia cinerea. C. crassa Sacc. On leaves of Datura metal. C. elaegnicola Chidd. On leaves of Elaeagnus coriferta. C. fici-religiosae Chidd. On leaves of Ficus religiosa. C. fleuryae Thirum & Govindu. On leaves of Fleurya interrupta. C. fukushiana (Mat). Yam. On leaves of Impatiens balsamina. C. gymnosporia Visw. On leaves of Gymnos- poria rothiana. C. jasminicola Muller & Chupp. On leaves of Jasminum malabaricum. C. kamatense Chidd. On leaves of Cryptolepis buchnani. C. koepkei Kruger. On leaves of Saccharum officinarum. C. lepidogathida Thirum. & Govindu. On leaves of Lepidagathis cristata. C. leucadis Thirum. & Govindu. On leaves of Leucas stelligera. C. nebulosa Sacc. On leaves of Althea rosea. C. pavetticola Thirum. & Govindu. On leaves of Pavetta tomentosa. C. personata (Berk. & Curt.) Ell. & Ec. On leaves of Arachis hypogea. C. pogostemonis Chidd. On leaves of Pogos - temon plectranthoides. C. randiae Thirum & Govindu. On leaves of Xeromphis spinosa. C. smilacis Thuem. On leaves of Smilax zey- lanica. C. solani-nigri. Chidd. On leaves of Solanum nigrum. C. tectoniae Stevens. On leaves of Tectona grandis. Ciliochorella magniferae Syd. On leaves of Mangifera indica. Cladosporium herbarum. On Mangifera in- dica. C. glenosporoides Sacc. On leaves of Meyna laxi flora. Cladosporium sp. On leaves of Xeromphis spinosa. Colletotrichum capsici (Syd.) Butler & Bisby. On fruits of Capsicum annum. C. falcatum Went. On leaves and culms of Saccharum officinarum. C. graminicolum (Ces.) Wilson. On leaves of Sorghum vulgare. Curvularia lunata (Wakkdr) Boedijn. On Carica papaya. Cylindrosporium mappiae Thirum. & Nara- sim. On leaves of Nothopodytes foetida. Dendrogliphium kamatii. V. Rao. On twigs. Diplodia argyriae Chippionkar. On Argyreia hookeri. D. natalensis Evans. On Mangifera indica and Trichosanthes bract eata. Exosporium fici Payak & Thirum. On leaves of Ficus benghalensis. Fusarium oxysporum Schl. On Capsicum an- num, Zizyphus mauritiana. F. roseum Link. On Musa paradisiaca. Fusarium sp. On Arachys hypogea and An- nona squamosa. Fusicladium pongamiae Syd. On leaves of Pongamia pinnata. Gloeosporium artocarpi Delacr. On fruits of Artocarpus integra. G. mangiferae P. Henn. On Mangifera indica. Helminthosporium oryzae Breda de Hann. On 462 FUNGAL FLORA OF PANHALA Oryza sativa. H. sacchari Butler. On leaves of Saccharum officinarum. H. turcicum Passer. On leaves of Zea mays. Isariopsis indica Gopinath. On leaves of Zizy- phus mauritiana. Macrophomina phaseoli (Maubl.) Ashby. On Arachys hypogea, Saccharum officinarum and Sorghum vulgare. Microdiplodia caryotae V. Rao. On leaves -of Caryota urens. Monochatia sp. On leaves of Brideha stipul- aris. Oidiopsis balsaminae Rajderkar. On leaves of Impatiens balsamina. O. euphorbiae Desphande & Rajderkar. On leaves of Euphorbia sp. O. taurica (Lev.) Salm. On leaves of Rici- nus communis, Solanum melongena . Ovularia hydrabadense Salam & Rao. On leaves of Euphorbia geniculata. Penicillium digitatum Sacc. On fruits of Citrus spp. Penicillium sp. On Mangifera indica and Em - blica officinalis. Periconia medreeya Subbram. On leaves of Cynodon dactylon. Pestcdotia eugeniae Thirum. On leaves of Syzy- gium cumini. P. ixorae Rangel. On leaves of Ixora arbor ea. Phoma palmarum Cooke. On Cocos nucijera. Phoma sp. On fruits of Annona and Mangi- fera. Phyllosticta artocarpicola Batista. Artocarpus Integra. P. bougainvillicola V. Rao. On leaves of Bougainvillea spectabilis. P. cassiae torae V. Rao. On leaves of Cassia tor a. P. cestricola V. Rao. On leaves of Cestrum nocturnum. P. coffeicola Speg. On leaves of Coffea ara- bica. P. cycadina Passer. On leaves of Cycas revo- luta. P. gymnosporicola V. Rao. On leaves of Gymnosporia rothiana. P. lohogadensis V. Rao. On leaves of Bridelia squamosa. P. phascolina Sacc. On leaves of Phaseolus sp. P. polyalthicola V. Rao. On leaves of Poly- alt hia longifolia. P. pongamiae Syd. On leaves of Pongamia pinnata. P. pothosinae V. Rao. On leaves of Pothos scandens. P. religiosa Syd. On leaves of Ficus religiosa. P. zinnae P. Brun. On leaves of Zinnia elegans. Phyllostictina tinosporae Syd. On leaves of Tinospora cor difolia. Piricularia orzyae Cav. On leaves of Oryza sativa. Ramularia tinosporae Thirum & Lacy. On leaves of Tinospora cordifolia. Rhincosporium sp. On Digitaria sp. Selenophoma kamatii Kalani. On leaves of Syzygium cumini. S. terminalae Thite. On fruits of Terminalia chebula. Septoria arcuata Cooke. On leaves of Ficus sp. S. colebrookiae Sukapure & Thirum. On leaves of Colebrookea oppositifolia. S. pulicariae Sukapure & Thirum. On leaves of Pulicaria wightiana, Sphacelia sorghi McRae* On Sorghum vulgare Volutella cassiicola V. Rao. On Cassia sp. Zygosporium oeschoides. On leaves of Cocos nucifera. We are grateful to the authorities of Shivaji University, Kolhapur, for financial aid and to the Head of the Botany Department for con- stant encouragement. 463 Parturition in the Indian False Vampire Bat, Megaderma lyra lyra Geoffroy1 A. Gopalakrishna, M. S. Khaparde and (Smt) V. M. Sapkal Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Nagpur ( With a plate) Details of parturition in the Indian False Vampire Bat Megaderma lyra lyra are describ- ' ed here based on the observation of 11 normal deliveries, where a single young one was brought forth by each mother, and one unique case, where the mother delivered still-born twins, a male and a female. The mother remains hanging in her normal posture (head down) by only her right leg during the entire period of labour, and delivers the young with head presentation. It takes on an average 97 minutes for normal delivery. The mother eats the placenta completely. The eyes of the young open within a few minutes after the head emerges out. The young one is active and moves the head vigorously even before the body is completely out of the vagina. Introduction Although voluminous literature has accumu- lated on the various aspects of reproduction, the details of parturition are known with re- gard to a few species only such as Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephala (Sherman, 1937), Artibeus planirostris (Jones, 1946), Myotis lucifugus lucifugus (Wimsatt, 1945, 1960), Hipposideros speoris and Cynopterus sphinx (Ramakrishna, 1950), Corynorhinus rafines- quei (Pearson et al., 1952), Rhinopoma kin - neari (Anand Kumar, 1965) and Pipistrellus ceylonicus chrysothrix (Gopalakrishna & Ma- dhavan, 1971). The present paper embodies observations on the details of parturition in Megaderma lyra lyra, the Indian False Vampire Bat. This spe- cies conceives in November and delivers the young in the second half of the following 1 Accepted September 1975. April (Gopalakrishna, 1950; Ramakrishna, 1950; Ramaswamy, 1961; Brosset, 1962). A single young is delivered by each female dur- ing each pregnancy, which is usually carried in the left uterine cornu and rarely in the right (Gopalakrishna, 1950). Material and Methods Twelve pregnant females of Megaderma lyra lyra carrying full term conceptuses were col- lected between 16th and 21st April, 1972 and were kept under continuous observation in the laboratory. Each specimen was kept in a se- parate glass cage with a wire mesh on the top. Ten deliveries took place during the day time between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., while two deliveries between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. 11 out of the 12 specimens delivered a single young each, while one exceptional specimen deliver- ed two young ones, a male and a female, both still-born. A minute to minute record was 464 J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 Plate Gopalakrishna, Khaparde & Sapkal: Megaderma lyra lyra Photograph of a female in mid-labour with the head of the young one completely out of the vagina. The eyes of the young are open. INDIAN FALSE VAMPIRE BAT made of the various events during each deli- very. The timing mentioned in the present re- port relates to the average calculated from the observations on the 11 normal deliveries. The exceptional case has been mentioned separa- tely. Observations 1. Normal parturition Prior to the onset of labour the female is restless and constantly changes her position in the cage. But, after the commencement of labour she does not normally change her place although she exhibits spasmodic contortions of her body. During the early stages of labour the mother remains in her natural freely hang- ing head-down posture and hangs with legs hooked wide apart to the wire mesh at the top of the cage. Micturition accompanied by puffing up of the lower part of the abdomen invariably occurs a few minutes before the mother exhibits more pronounced signs of labour. A few drops of clear thick fluid — pre- sumably the amniotic fluid — oozes out of the vaginal opening about 25 minutes before the young one actually begins to emerge from the vaginal orifice. During this interval the mother frequently licks her vaginal orifice, which be- comes alternately dilated and contracted se- veral times. The abdominal wall of the mother exhibits a series of contractions, each series lasting about one minute, and consisting of about 75 to 100 violent twitches of the abdo- minal muscles. During such paroxysms the mother lifts her whole body as if she is ap- plying some pressure on her abdomen and bends the head backwards and forwards, and the foetus appears to be moved inside the uterus. Each series of contractions is punctuat- ed by a gap of 3 to 4 minutes, when the fe- male appears to be at rest, and does not ex- hibit abdominal contractions. The mother licks the vaginal opening vigorously as the young starts emerging. Perhaps, the constant licking is intended to lubricate the vaginal ori- fice to facilitate the emergence of the young. Soon after a part of the head of the young emerges out of the vagina, the mother invari- ably withdraws her left leg from its attachment to the wire mesh and remains hanging only by the right leg until the young one is com- pletely delivered, except when she is disturb- ed when she hooks her left leg also to the wire mesh of the cage. This happened when- ever the cage was either moved slightly for better observation or whenever some one in the room made a sudden movement or spoke even gently. However, she invariably released her left leg from the roof of the cage within a short time after the disturbance was over. The free left leg of the mother is bent at the knee and does not take any active part in delivery. A period of about 20 minutes elapses between the first appearance of the head in the dilated vaginal opening and the entire emergence of the head. When the head of the young is completely out of the vaginal orifice the mother licks the head of the young one vigorously for a short time and then goes to rest for a period varying from 3 to 4 minutes. The eyes of the young open within 2 to 4 mi- nutes after the entire head is out of the vaginal opening (see plate) and the young is able to move its eyelids. The mother becomes rest- less after the short period of rest, and expe- riences quick paroxysms of contractions of the abdominal muscles accompanied by violent contortions of the body as if the mother is try- ing to forcibly eject the young. The shoulders of the young one emerge out next after about 10 minutes after the emergence of the head. Until this stage the young does not make any apparent movement, but now onwards it fre- quently shakes its head vigorously and opens 465 3 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 its mouth emitting chirping noises. After a few violent contractions of the abdomen of the mother the entire body of the young is ejected out of the vaginal opening. About 18 minutes elapse between the time when the shoulders of the young emerge and the ejec- tion of the young. Immediately after the young is completely delivered, the mother hooks her left leg also to the wire mesh at the top of the cage wide apart from the right leg, folds her wings round the young one and curves her head ventrally so as to prevent the young from falling down, and licks the young, and her own vaginal opening vigorously. The young is active and crawls about on the abdomen of the mother, and the mother also actively pushes the young towards the pubic teats with the help of her wings. The young soon catches hold of one of the pubic teats with its mouth and the other by the thumb of its forelimb. The hindlimbs of the young embrace round the neck of the mother and the claws of the feet of the young get hooked to the fur on the mother’s neck. After a period of about 5 minutes, when the mother appears to rest and does not show any movement except the movements of breathing, she exhibits slow con- tractions of the abdomen at frequent inter- vals. The placenta starts emerging out of the vagina within 18 minutes after the birth of the young. It takes about six minutes for the whole placenta to come out of the vaginal opening during which time the mother conti- nuously licks the placenta and appears to pull the placenta out. As the placenta comes out of the vaginal opening, the mother holds it by her mouth and chews up the placenta. The en- tire process of parturition starting from the time when the amniotic fluid oozes out from the vagina until the mother eats up the pla- centa takes place in about 97 minutes — the maximum period noted in the present series of observations being 132 minutes and the mi- nimum being 76 minutes. The part of the um- bilical cord which is not consumed by the mother dries up and shrivels within a few hours after delivery. The back of the newly born young has a sprout of fine fur, which is dull grey in colour, while the rest of the body is nearly naked and pinkish. The average weight of the eleven young ones delivered was 10.25 g with 8.6 and 11.38 g being the lowest and the highest weights respectively. The average weight of the mother after delivery is 36.21 g. 2. Twin Birth It was mentioned earlier that out of the twelve specimens, which were kept under con- tinuous observations, there was an exception- al case of one female which delivered two young ones, a male and a female weighing 8 and 5 g respectively. The two young ones were still-born, and both were delivered with breech presentation. The smaller young one was deli- vered first, and the placenta remained in the uterus. The dead young remained hanging by the umbilical cord. The second young was delivered within 20 minutes after the first, and the placental disc of this young was ejected along with the young. Examination of the uterus revealed that the second young was car- ried in the left uterine cornu, and the placenta of the first was still in the right cornu. There was profuse bleeding and the labour lasted for about \\ hours. The details of this exceptional case are described elsewhere. Discussion There are considerable variations amongst the bats with respect to the posture the mother assumes during delivery and the manner in which the young emerges out. In Tadarida 466 INDIAN FALSE VAMPIRE BAT brasiliensis cynocephala (Sherman, 1937), Cynopterus sphinx and Hipposideros speoris (Ramakrishna, 1950) the young is delivered while the mother remains in its natural (head down) posture. On the other hand in Myotis lucifugus lucifugus (Wimsatt, 1945, 1960) the mother assumes an inverted posture (that is head up for the bats) during delivery. In Cory- norhinus rafinesquei (Pearson et al., 1952) and Pipistrellus ceylonicus chrysothrix (Gopa- lakrishna & Madhavan, 1971) the mother hangs to the ceiling horizontally by hooking the claws of the thumbs and toes to projec- tions in the ceiling and converts her body into a cradle-like posture during delivery. In Arti- beus planirostris (Jones, 1946) the mother re- leases one leg and remains hanging by one leg only during delivery. In Megaderma lyra lyra the mother remains in her natural (head down) posture, and invariably unhooks the left leg and remains hanging only by its right leg during delivery. The free leg does not take any active part during parturition. With regards to the emergence of the young, it occurs by breech presentation in Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephala (Sherman, 1937) and in most of the vespertilionids (Wimsatt, 1945, 1960; Person et al., 1952; Gopalakrishna and Madhavan, 1971), while delivery by head pre- sentation occurs in Cynopterus sphinx, Hippo- sideros speoris (Ramakrishna, 1950), Artebius planirostris (Jones, 1946) and Rhinopoma kinneari (Anand Kumar, 1965). Normal deli- very in Megaderma lyra lyra occurs by head presentation. The time taken for the ejection of the pla- centa after the delivery of the young one varies amongst the different species so far studied be- ing about two hours in Artebius planirostris (Jones, 1946) and five hours in Myotis luci- fugus lucifugus (Wimsatt, 1945, 1960). In Megaderma lyra lyra the placenta is expelled out within 15 to 20 minutes after the emer- gence of the young. References Anand Kumar, T. (1965) : Reproduction in the rat-tailed bat, Rhinopoma kinneari. Jour. Zool. London 747:147-155. Brosset, A. (1962): The bats of Central and Western India, Part II. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 59:583-624. Gopalakrishna, A. (1950): Studies on the em- bryology of Microchiroptera, Part VI. Structure of the placenta in the Indian vampire bat, Lyroderma lyra lyra (Geoffroy). (Megadermatidae) . Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India 76:93-98. & Madhavan, A. (1971) : Parturition in the Indian vespertilionid bat, Pipistrellus ceylo- nicus chrysothrix. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 68:6 66- 670. Jones, T. S. (1946): Parturition in a West Indian Fruit Bat, (Phyllostomidae) . Jour. Mammal. 27:221- 330. Pearson, O. P., Koford, M. R. & Pearson, A. K. (1952): Reproduction of the lump-nosed bat, Corynorhinus rafinesquei in California, ibid. 33 : 273-320. Ramakrishna, P. A. (1950): Parturition in cer- tain Indian bats. ibid. 57:274-278. Ramaswamy, K. R. (1961): Studies on the sex- cycle of the Indian vampire bat, Megaderma {Lyro- derma) lyra lyra (Geoffroy). Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India 27:287-307. Sherman, H. B. (1937) : Breeding habits of the free-tailed bat. Jour. Mammal. 18:176-187. Wimsatt, W. A. (1945): Notes on breeding be- haviour, pregnancy and parturition in some vesper- tilionid bats of eastern United States, ibid. 26: 23- 33. (1960) : An analysis of parturition in Chiroptera including new observations on Myotis lucifugus lucifugus. ibid. 47:183-200. 467 History of botanical explorations in Nepal1 K. R. Rajbhandari Herbarium Section, Dept, of Medicinal Plants, Thapathali, Kathmandu An attempt has been made in this paper to trace out the history of plant collection in Nepal. Plant collection in Nepal begins from the early nineteenth century when Buchanan- Hamilton visited the valley of Kathmandu in 1802. Later in 1820 Nathaniai Wal- lich travelled from Raksaul in the south to Nuwakot collecting plants en route. Hooker (1848), Burkill (1907) and other English botanists like Polunin (1949), Sykes, Williams (1952), Stainton (1954) play important roles in increasing the botanical wealth of Nepal. Indian botanists are also active in the collection of Nepalese plants since 1929 when B. L. Gupta had made a trip in western Nepal. J. Banerji (1948), S. K. Banerji (1949), M. L. Banerji (1948-1965), and V. Puri (1954) collected plants from eastern as well as central parts of Nepal. M. L. Banerji had submitted his Ph.D. thesis on the Nepalese flora in 1958. Japanese expedition of 1952 in Central Nepal brought several new plants to light. Since 1960 University of Tokyo seems to be interested in the flora of Eastern Himalayas including Nepal. In 1961 a National Herbarium was established in Kathmandu to preserve al) the plants of Nepal collected through the Department of Medicinal Plants. Introduction Nepal, situated on the mid-Himalayas between 26°20'-30°10'N and 80°15,-88°10' E, has an area of 54,362 square miles, with an average length of 550 miles from Mechi river in the east to the Mahakali river in the west. The width varies from 150 miles to 90 miles. The major part of the country consists of high mountains and rolling hills, accounting for about 83 per cent of the total land area, the remaining 17 per cent is occupied by the flat lands of the Terai. The altitude varies from 500 to 29,000 feet. The vegetation varies from tropical to alpine. 1800-1900 A.D. Kirkpatrick, 1793: The botanical exploration in Nepal begins with the visit of Buchanan-Hamilton to Nepal 1 Accepted December 1974. in 1802, though a few years before Hamilton, Colonel Kirkpatrick had visited Nepal in 1793 on a political mission to the country. Kirk- patrick’s book ‘An Account of the King- dom of Nepaul' published in 1811 gives a vivid sketch of the vegetation of Nepal from Terai at Birgunj to midland valley at Kathmandu. Most of his botanical descriptions include the Nepali vernacular names. Hamilton, 1802: Buchanan-Hamilton (1762-1829), later Sir Francis Hamilton visited Nepal during 1802 to 1803. He was the third superintendent of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Calcutta. In 1814 he succeeded Roxburgh, the second su- perintendent of the Garden. He returned to England in 1815 after making extensive tours in Nepal. Hamilton was perhaps the first bo- tanist to visit Nepal. He was one of the most productive authors who worked for the East 468 HISTORY OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN NEPAL India Company. He visited Nepal only once with the mission of Captain Knox. Collecting information was not an easy task as he was unable to see anything beyond the road leading from the plains to the Kathmandu Valley where he stayed for eleven months. He had to rely on informants whom he himself had chos- en. Concerning the country between Sikkim and Nepal proper, his information was chief- ly derived from the five different sources. Among them was a slave of the King of Gor- kha, who had been received into his service in order to bring plants from the Alpine re- gions. Finding him very intelligent, and a great traveller, Hamilton employed him to construct a map. He had also gone to the Company’s territories all along the southern border of Ne- pal, from Sikkim to the headwaters of the Ganges, in order to collect information from people coming down from the mountains. This task seemed to have been completed by 1814. He took the plants collected here to England where they were worked by Don. His book ‘An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal’ published in 1819 deals with the history of Nepal and contains chapters which describe the vegetation of Nepal. Wallich, 1820: The second botanist to visit Nepal was Na- thaniel Wallich (1786- 1854). He was the su- perintendent of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta from 1815 to 1835. He organized col- lecting expeditions to Nepal, Western Hindus- tan, Lower Burma, and made vast collections of plants which were studied by Candolle, Kunth, Lindley, Bentham and others. Wallich spent a year at Kathmandu (1820- 1821) and collected plants intensively in the valley and along the wooded hills surrounding it. Al- though he was not allowed to go beyond the confines of the valley, he prevailed on pilgrims to bring him plants from the mountains sur- rounding the sacred lakes of Gossain Than, which lie at an altitude of 15,000 feet and are three to four day’s march north of Kath- mandu. They are visited annually, by thou- sands of pilgrims during the months of August and September, and it is from this locality that many interesting Himalayan plants were recorded for the first time by Wallich. His plants are described in his Tentamen Florae Nepalensis (1824). These two Nepalese collections of plants (Hamilton, Wallich) were preserved in A. B. Lambert’s extensive herbarium. In 1825 and 1826 two volumes of Prodro- mus Florae Nepalensis by David Don ap- peared containing 766 species of phanerogams. This pioneer work was prepared by Don while he was employed as the librarian of Lambert. This book is actually the compilation of the flora of Nepal collected by Hamilton and con- tains the description of some of Wallich’s Ne- pal plants. It includes some interesting horti- cultural plants as Primula rotundifolia and Potentilla coriandri folia, which were not redis- covered until 1927. Don’s book was written in standard Latin. Reviewing it John Lindley said it is ‘written in so strange a language, that we can scarcely guess its name, unless, “with great facility, after three lessons of an hour each”, without the incumbrance of previous education’ (Stearn 1973, pp. 13). Don not only described many new species collected from Nepal but also formed new genera. Tri - chosporum and Lysionotus were recognised as two new genera by him for the plants collect- ed by Wallich from Nepal, who had mistaken- ly identified them as Incarvillea parasitica and Incarvillea sp. respectively. Hodgson, 1822-1843: There has been a British resident at Kath- 469 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 mandu since 1817. In 1822 Sir Brian H. Hodg- son came to Kathmandu and lived for about 21 years (1822 to 1843) in the valley. He was the first person to bring to the notice of west- ern scientists the incredible variety of plants and animals of Nepal. As he was obliged to stay in Kathmandu by an order of the Nepa- lese court, he employed Shikaris or profession- al hunters to collect animals for him. His pri- mary interests were ornithology and herpeto- logy, and he did little plant collecting himself. However, he encouraged his fellow country- men to look into the plant life of Nepal. Hooker, 1848? The third botanist to come to Nepal was Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1848. His plan was to explore botanically little known region of Himalayas. Sikkim was chosen for him to explore by Lord Auckland and Dr. Falconer. During this trip Hooker entered into Nepal through the eastern border and collected plants in the valley of Tamur and Arun re- aching as far north as Wallunchoongola. He wanted to cross, into Tibet, but the porters refused to go any farther north. He, there- fore, returned to Sikkim. Entry into Nepal was not an easy task for him. It was only with the help of Dr. Camp- bell, who had gained the friendship of Jung Bahadur, that he could get permission to enter and explore Nepal. No European at that time was allowed to travel anywhere except to and from the plains of India and valley of Kath- mandu. Hooker was fully equipped with por- ters and instruments during his travelling. While traversing in Nepal his party consisted of fifty-six persons including himself, and one personal servant, a Portuguese half caste. Hooker’s travels in the eastern Himalayas are described in his book Himalayan jour- nals Vols. 1 & 2, published in 1855. These books are truly the classics in the botanical literature of the world. He reported on the general features, geography, vegetation, and climate of the region unknown to the western world at that time. Bower considered Hima- layan journals to rank with Darwin’s Voy- age of the Beagle, and Wallace’s Malay Archi- pelago, ‘these books forming a veritable tri- logy of the golden age of travel in pursuit of science.’ (Hutchinson 1964, pp. 23). The Ne- palese plants which he collected are described in his books ‘The Flora of British India, Vols. 1-7 (1875-1897), which are much exploited during the recent times also while describing the Nepalese flora. Scully & Duthie: Dr. J. Scully in 1876 and J. F. Duthie in 1880 to 1884 have been reported to have col- lected plants along the Mahakali river in the border of Kumaon and Doti Baitadi districts of west Nepal. 1900-1950 A.D. Burk ill, 1907: On November 28th, 1907, after marching along nearly one hundred miles of the Nepa- lese frontier between Jainagar and Raksaul, I. H. Burkill turned into the Kingdom of Ne- pal and reached Kathmandu by the usual route on 2nd December. Thence with his friend, Lieut-Colonel J. Manners-Smith, the Resident, he visited the Trisuli Valley, in the neighbour- hood of Niakot (Muwakot). Burkill returned from Kathmandu to the plains by a route through Pharping, which di- versified the first seventeen miles of the way. His dates of visit almost coincided seasonally with the dates of Wallich’s march to Kath- mandu, and it seems, Burkill and Wallich, gathered plants with a gap of 87 years the same plants in the same spots. Wallich had 470 HISTORY OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN NEPAL thoroughly explored the areas he had visited so Burkill got no more new plant records but three species of Impatiens and apparently one Eriocaulon. Burkill listed plants that he came across on his march to Niakot in a very descriptive way and compared the flora to that of adjoining areas of Bhutan and Sikkim. His ‘Notes from a Journey to Nepal’ (1910) gives about 470 plant species that he collected and refers to other plants reported from Nepal by Wallich. Landon’s Nepal, 1928: Prior to 1928 the literature on Nepal was very meagre, but in that year were published two handsome volumes entitled ‘Nepal’ by Percival Landon (1928). This talented author was given special privileges by the Nepal authorities, so that this book was the most authoritative and comprehensive account of Nepal at that time, but he died before his fas- cinating account of Nepal was through the press. Published as an Appendix XIV in the same book, Nepal, is ‘Flora of Nepal’, compiled un- der the authority of the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (from different sources such as D. Don’s prodromus florae nepa- lensis, N. Wallich’s tentamen florae nepa- lensis. Col. R. H. Beddome’s ferns of Bri- tish india, Hooker’s The flora of British India, Sir G. King and Pantling’s the orchids of sikkim Himalayas in Annals of the Cal- cutta Garden, Voi. Ill, I. H. Burkill’s Notes from a Journey to Nepal (Records of the Bo- tanical Survey of India, Vol. IV). This ‘Flora of Nepal’ consists of a list of 1672 phanero- gams. Wollaston, 1922: In 1922 Balfour published some new species of plants collected by Mr. A. F. R. Wollaston, Medical Officer and Naturalist to the Mount Everest Expedition, 1921. The complete set of the whole collection was presented to the Roy- al Botanic Gardens, Kew, by the Mount Eve- rest Committee. The new species from the neighbourhood of Mt. Everest described were Aconitum orochryseum Staff, Tanacetum khartense Dunn., Anrosace sessiliflora Turrill, Primula buryana Balf. f., P. wollastonii Balf. f., P. younghusbandiana Balf. f., Gentiana stellata Turrill, G. tubiflora Wall. var. lortgi- flora Turrill, Dracocephalum breviflorum Turrill. Collections between 1927-1949: Between 1927 and 1931, two Nepalese col- lectors, Major Lai Dhwoj and Prof. Khadan- anda Sharma, made extensive joumies in Ne- pal in search of herbarium specimens and horticultural treasures. They found some out- standing new and little known plants such as Meconopsis regia , M. longipetiolata, M. dhwojii, Primula wigramiana, P. wollastonii , P. buryana, Cyananthus hayana, C. peduncul- atus var. crenatus, Gentiana ornata. Many of these plants were first grown by T. Hay in Hyde Park from seeds sent by these collectors and some of them are now well established in British gardens. It is difficult to follow the exact routes of these collectors owing to vari- ation in the spelling of place names, but they covered most of East, Central and West Ne- pal, as far as the massif of Annapurna, and it is probable that they collected most of the conspicuous and attractive alpine plants of this area. In the spring of 1929 with the permission and cooperation of the Nepalese Govcernment a botanical party consisting of Mr. Basant Lai Gupta, Botanical Assistant at the Forest Re- search Institute, Dehra Dun, and Bis Ram, collector, entered Nepal being joined by Ma- 471 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 jor Lai Dhwoj, a representative of the Nepalese authorities. It was the intention of the party to collect in the valley of the Karnali river in the neighbourhood of Simikot as this area was likely to be of considerable interest. Unfortunately Mr. Gupta was taken serious- ly ill and had to be carried back from Silgarhi. The collector Bis Ram remained behind but it was a long time before instructions could be sent to him to continue the work alone. As the funds with which the party had started had to be divided an insufficient amount was left with the collector, which did not enable him to go more than 5 or 6 stages beyond Silgarhi. The area, explored, therefore, con- tained little of special interest. About five hundred plant species were collected during this expedition. These plants are listed in Forest Bulletin (Botany Series No. 76, 1931). Major Lai Dhwoj was selected in 1928 by the then Prime Minister of Nepal for the task of collecting seeds and specimens. As a young man, Major Dhwoj had some botanical train- ing in the Darjeeling Botanic Garden, and he had an eye for a good plant. In 1931 he died at his task and so did not live to receive the Gold Medal awarded to him by the Royal Horticultural Society. After the death of Dhwoj a very worthy successor had been found in the person of Professor K. N. Sharma; his botanical knowledge, care in the selection of specimens and seeds, the fulness of his field notes, and other qualities, was a pleasant sur- prise to botanical authorities in U.K. Sir C. Wigram and Sharma collected plants from 1927 to 1931. The major set of their collection are preserved at the British Museum and have been little worked out so far as Meconopsis, Primula and Gentiana. Some parts of the collection are at the Herba- rium, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. During 1935 and 1937 Bailey collected plants in the valley and also sent collectors to west and central Nepal. In 1948 J. Banerji visited the eastern part of Nepal in connection with the Kosi Project and collected plants in the valleys of Tamur river. Dr. S. K. Banerji, Keeper of the Indian Botanic Garden that time collected plants along the Nepal-Sikkim border in 1949. Poluiiin & Lowndes, 1949-1950: In 1949 Oleg Pol unin had the good fortune to be asked to join an expedition to the cen- tral Nepal Himalaya which was being organi- zed by the Himalayan Committee. It was the first time since the memorable journey of Sir J. D. Hooker in 1848 to East Nepal, that a European party had been given permission to explore the mountains lying within the boun- daries of Nepal. The expedition was organized in the first place as a climbing expedition under the ex- perienced leadership of Major H. W. Tilman, but on the recommendation of the then Prime Minister of Nepal, two scientists were includ- ed in the party. Their itinerary was the two mountain massifs lying on the Nepal-Tibet boundary, the Langtang Himal and the Ga- nesh Himal with peaks of 23,000 feet and 24,000 feet. Polunin visited Langtang, Rasua Garhi, and Chilime Khola to the north of Kathmandu, and found Gentiana nubigena, Saussurea gossipiphora, primulas and rhodo- dendrons at an elevation of 16,000 feet. In 1950 Col. D. G. Lowndes collected seeds and plants in the vicinity of the Marsyandi River, Manangbhot, and the Jargeng Khola. Some of the high altitude plants collected by Col. Lowndes at 10,000 to 16,000 feet were: Pedi- cularis, Primula, Lonicera, Ephedra and Del- phinium. The collections of Polunin and Lowndes, which went to the Herbarium of the 472 HISTORY OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN NEPAL British Museum (Nat. Hist.) and which in- cluded the new species Rhododendron cowanianum and Rh. lowndesii, whetted the British appetite for further botanical collect- ing. A small list of flowering plants collected in Langtang area is published as an Appen- dix in Tilman’s Nepal Himalaya 1950. 19504974 A.D, The revolution of 1950-1951 brought about a significant change in the outlook of the Go- vernment and people of Nepal toward foreig- ners, who were given greater freedom to ex- plore the country in the post revolution period, and the many mountaineering expeditions that have come to Nepal since this period gave opportunity to a number of botanists to ex- plore plant life in the Himalayas. British Expeditions: The British Museum (Natural History) started to send botanical expeditions to Nepal from 1952. In the spring of 1952 an expedi- tion was organized jointly by the British Mu- seum (Natural History) and The Royal Horti- cultural Society. The party consisted of three botanists, Leonard Howard John Williams, Oleg Polunin and William Russel Sykes. They explored an area of about 1000 square miles lying between the Karnali and Kali Gandaki rivers in western Nepal in the districts of Jum- la, Humla, Jajarkote and Sallyan. As a mem- ber of the staff of the Royal Horticultural So- ciety Gardens at Wisley, Sykes was trained as a botanical and horticultural collector. In the field they were assisted by six native col- lectors, some of whom had been on collecting journeys with both Ludlow and Sherriff, and Kingdon-Ward. The general plan of the expedi- tion was to make direct for Jumla and using this village as their base, to work as 3 parties so that as much ground as possible could be covered. Each party was to consist of one European with two native collectors. The Ne- palese Government provided each party with an escort of three constables and they found these men invaluable not only for their help in the often difficult task of obtaining coolies and food but also in assisting with the daily drying of their plant press papers. In March 1954 another expedition was jointly sponsored by the British Museum (Na- tural History) and The Royal Horticultural Society to collect in central Nepal. The coun- try south of the great mountain ranges of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, and the drainage system of the Kali Gandaki river between and behind them, was then unknown botanically and zoologically. Besides Mr. John D. Adam Stainton and W. Sykes, who were both bota- nists, the party consisted of Mr. L. H. J. Wil- liams (Botanist and leader), Mr. K. Hyatt (zoologist), Mr. J. Quinlan (entomologist), all from the British Museum (Natural History). In India they were joined by Dr. V. Puri of Meerut College, who remained with the ex- pedition for nearly two months. They decided to make the little town of Pokhara, south of the Annapurna range, their main base because it possessed reasonable means of communi- cation with the outside world, including a fairly regular air service to and from Kath- mandu to the east and Indian border to the south. As in the case of the expedition of 1952, the 1954 expedition also decided to sep- arate into three parties in order to collect over a larger area. It fell to Williams to work the area south of the Annapurna range, Stainton was to concentrate upon the area of the Upper Kali Valley towards the Tibetan border, while Sykes was to journey westward to the country to the south and south-west of the Dhaulagiri range. In the pary of Sykes, which was com- posed similarly to the other parties, he had 473 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 a Lepcha collector making his third plant- collecting expedition, a Bhotiya, who primarily came as a cook, and usually eight or nine porters each carrying about 60 lb. The latter were recruited locally, and those from the higher villages were usually very strong and hardy peoples of the Magar and Gurung branches of the Gurkha race. These two big expeditions together with the previous ones of Polunin and Lowndes, brought back a total of over 17,000 gatherings of plants for the herbarium of the Museum. After these expeditions Stainton became deeply interested in Nepalese flora. He took interest in the vegetation of Nepal since that time and after making many tours and col- lections in almost all parts of Nepal, Stain- ton wrote forests of nepal (1972) a very valuable book when considering the phyto- geographical problems of certain plants. All the gatherings of plants of Stainton went into the herbarium of the British Museum. In fact the number of gatherings from Nepal in the herbarium of the Museum totals pro- bably around 40,000 at present. The enumer- ation of ‘Flowering Plants of Nepal’ by L. H. J. Williams which is being published quotes over 6,000 species. Quite a large number of new species are noted for the first time as the outcome of these British expeditions. It is the intention of the British Museum ‘to publish from time to time descriptions of new species and interesting re- cords of plants represented in the extensive collections which have accumulated in the Museum from the Himalayas and neighbour- ing countries’ ( Novitates Himolaicae, 1955- 62, p. 1). Some of the new species described are Pedicularis pseudoregeliana, P. poluninii (Tsoong 1955); Saussurea chrysotricka, S. linearifolia, S. platyphyllaria (Ludlow 1955- 62); Berberis mucrifolia (Ahrendt 1956); Saxifraga royleii, S. alpigena, S. williamsii, S. hypostoma, S. lowndesii, S. mira, S. poluniana, S. staintonii, S. rhodopetala, S. micans, S. cinerea, S. excell ens, S. sphaeradena subsp. sphaeradena, S. namdoensis, S. lepida, S. gla- bricaulis, S. contraria, S. granulifera (Smith 1958, 1960); Silene helleboriflora (Excell & Bocquet 1959-61); Allium hypsistum (Stearn 1960); Epilobium staintonii, E. sykesii, E. brevisquamatum, E. williamsii, E. squamosum, (Raven 1962); Nepeta staintonii, Lamium tuberosum, L. staintonii, L. nepalense (Hedge 1963-69); Aconitum tamuranum, A. balan- grense, A. staintonii, A. vAlliamsii, A. amplexi - caule, A. poluninii (Lauener 1964); Pedicularis annapurensis, P. armatoides, P. chamissonoides (Yamazaki 1970); Meconopsis taylorii (Wil- liams 1971); Rubus acaenocaly, Begonia minicar pa, Bilderdykia filipes, Fagopyrum megacarpum, Impatiens williamsii, Pegaephy- ton minutum (Hara 1972); Elaeagnus kanaii (Momiyama & Hara 1973); Eriocaulon stain- tonii (Satake 1973). Mrs, Proud’s Collections: Mrs. Proud, the wife of Col. Proud, who was for a long time attached to the British Embassy at Kathmandu, had also been a re- gular collector for the British Museum but the list of her collections is not available. Writing about Primula aureata H. R. Fletcher says, ‘In 1952, Mrs. Desire Proud sent to the Herbarium of the Botany Department of the British Museum, various fragments of plants which she had collected in Nepal. But among the fragments was an entire plant, in full flower and beautifully pressed, which Mr. Frank Ludlow recognised immediately as P. aureata. This is the only known specimen of the plant to have been collected in the wild and Mrs. Proud has given me details of the habitat. She found a small colony of five or 474 HISTORY OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN NEPAL six plants on the steep slopes surrounding the head water of the Thadi Khola, a tributary of the Gandak, and some 20 miles as the crow flies (But 5 days on foot) almost due north of Kathmandu’. (Fletcher 1953, p. 177). Japanese Expeditions: In 1952, the reconnaissance party to Man- aslu, Nepal, was organised by the Japanese Alpine Club (JAC). Kinzi Imanishi, an eco- logist and anthropologist, and Mr. Sasuke Nakao, a botanist, member of both the Fauna and Flora Research Society (FFRS), and JAC, were elected to join. The party was organised originally to find a route to Man- aslu, and consisted of six members under the leadership of Imanishi. Again in 1953 the Himalayan Committee decided to send a party to scale Manaslu from the same side during the premonsoon season. Jiro Kawakita, an ethnologist and geographer, member of the FFRS and JAC, and Nakao joined the climbing party of the Manaslu expedition. On March 28, with an interpreter and seventeen porters, they sepa- rated from the climbing party at Panch Mane Bhanjyang which is a day’s journey from Kathmandu. Nakao had joined the expedition especially to collect the plants from the Hima- layan regions. He collected in central Nepal from September to December, 1952, entering the alpine belt up to the snow line, approxi- mately 1000 dried specimens, seeds of both wild and cultivated plants, and stocks of perennial herbs and shrubs. In 1953 he made a botanical journey to central Nepal from April to August, and he devoted himself to herbs bringing about 4000 specimens and many seeds. Tadashi Fujimura, a member of the Annapurna Expedition of ACK collected about 250 specimens in central Nepal, from September to December, 1953. These her- barium specimens are preserved both in the Herbarium of the National Science Museum in Tokyo and in the Herbarium of the Botanical Institute, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University. The results of the above expeditions are pub- lished in three volumes. The first volume FAUNA AND FLORA OF NEPAL HIMALAYA is en- tirely devoted to the flora and fauna of Cen- tral Nepal and consists of 924 species of pha- nerogams. A number of new reports and new species of plants are described in this volume, some of them such as Aristolochia nakaoi, Saxifraga nakaoi, Micromeria nepalensis, Corydalis nepalensis , C. mitae, Geranium nakaonum are noteworthy. FLORA OF EASTERN HIMALAYA Was published in 1966 under the editorship of Hiroshi Hara. This book includes the scientific results ob- tained from the Botanical Expeditions to Eastern Flimalayas by the University of Tokyo in 1960 and 1963. The main objects of their expeditions were to make clear the close bo- tanical relationship between Eastern Hima- laya and Japan, to investigate critically the corresponding taxa in both regions, and to ana- lyse the process of evolution in the plant groups originating from a common ancestor in the Early Tertiary and now widely separated in both regions. They had, therefore, concentrat- ed their effort to study the temperate flora of Eastern Himalaya in comparison with that of Japan. Their collections consisted of about 60,000 specimens of plants, in v/hich many new species were noted. Salix plectilis, Balio- spermum nepalense, Tithymalus pseudosikki- mensis, Liparis togashii, Malaxis tamurensis are the new species described in this book. Among the newly reported plants Tetracentron sinense and Hydrobryum griffithii are import- ant, as these plants throw some light on the affinities between the flora of Japan and east 475 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Himalayas as their very close allies are found in Japan. The Third Botanical Expedition to Eastern Himalaya (Bhutan, Nepal) in 1967 and the Fourth Expedition (Nepal, Sikkim) in 1969 were again organised by the University of Tokyo. The results of these expeditions are published in flora of eastern Himalaya Second Report, in which new species from Nepal as Eriocaulon exsertum, E. kathman- duense, E. obclavatum, Bulbophyllum otoglos- sum are described. This book also includes supplementary remarks to an earlier volume of the FLORA OF EASTERN HIMALAYA and which was based on the data from the botanical expeditions by the University of Tokyo. In 1963, from April to June, the Himalayan Expedition Club of the Chiba University orga- nised an expedition to Eastern Nepal under the leadership of Makoto Numata, an ecologist. The target of this expedition was to climb Mt. Numbur (6954 m) and to carry on the vegetational analysis of the area in the vicinity of Numbur, which was carried out by Kyoji Yoda. Numata collected grasses, bamboos, weeds etc. from these areas and studied their ecological condition. Swiss Expeditions: In 1949 Wyss-Dunant collected plants in the north-east regions of Nepal. The two Swiss expeditions, one to the Everest in 1952 and the other to Gaurisankar in 1954, were also active in studying Nepalese plants and collect- ing them. These expeditions were jointly or- ganised with the alpine expeditions. The first was led by Dr. Edouard Wyss-Dunant and Rene Dittert, leaders of the Swiss Expedition to the Everest, the second by Raymond Lam- bert. The botanical party was placed under the direction of Prof. Charles Baehni, director of ‘Conservatoir et Jardin botaniques de Geneve’. The results of these expeditions are published serially in Candollea. Bamerji’s Collections: Since 1948 Mohan Lai Banerji had visited eastern Nepal collecting plants for a number of times. During his training at the Botanical Survey of India, 1947-49, one of the duties assigned to him was the cataloguing of the sheets of Nepal plants housed in the Calcutta Herbarium. In the course of this work he soon realised that Nepal was one of the botanicallv least known parts of Asia. This presented him a challenge and a problem, which he decided to tackle at the earliest opportunity. In 1948, he was on deputation with the Central Water Power and Irrigation Commission, which or- ganised a Soil Conservation Expedition to East Nepal. In the course of his work as a botanist to the commission, he made an extensive col- lection of plants mainly from the Kosi Catch- ment area. These plants are now preserved in the herbarium of the Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta. This was his first experience in the study of the flora of Nepal in the field. On termi- nation of the training scheme of the Botanical Survey of India in 1949, he joined the Meerut College, Meerut, and he was for several years given facilities to carry on his exploration of Nepal. After his first visit to Nepal he decided to limit his field of exploration to East Nepal, as he thought, the whole of Nepal was too large an area for a single botanist to explore. In all, seven expeditions were organised to East Nepal between the years 1948 and 1957. In 1958 Banerji submitted his Ph.D. thesis ‘Contribution to Flora of Nepal’ reporting 591 dicots. In the same year ‘Botanical Explora- tion in East Nepal’ was published in Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society re- porting 169 species of flowering plants belong- 476 HISTORY OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN NEPAL ing to 123 genera of 51 families. In 1965 he published ‘Contribution to the Flora of East Nepal’ in Records of the Botanical Survey of India giving short descriptions of 583 species of flowering plants belonging to 342 genera, out of 109 families of Dicotyledons only. In this paper a new variety of Caltha palustris, and of Acer campbelli are described. Out of these expeditions Banerji found new species of Pimpinella and Cuscuta and named them as P. clarkeana and C. santapaui. In the words of Banerji some of the results of explorations in East Nepal obtained by him are the following: (Banerji 1965) ‘(i) The area which botanically was scarcely known previously, has been covered extensi- vely, and large collections of plants have been made in it and at the same time abundant field notes taken on the spot. (ii) As a result of the work, well over 75 new records have been established for the area under study. Further a number of new taxa have been described for the first time. (iii) From the phytogeographical point of view this exploration has been able to produce a number of ‘missing links’ between the plants of the eastern and those of the western Him- alayas. In this way the range of a large num- ber of plants has been extended far beyond the previously known limits’. Other Collections: In 1953, John Tyson made a collection of plants in the vicinity of Api in west Nepal. Oxford University organized an expedition to west Nepal in 1954. The original plans of the expedition were to explore the Saipal Group, east of Api. Dr. Harrington, leader of the expedition, was to carry out geological research, J. E. M. Arnold was the botanist collecting plants above 14,000 feet for the British Museum, Murray was to collect mice and lizards, also for the British Museum, I.F. Davidson was to study the people, with parti- cular reference to their religion. Seshagiri Rao Rolla was connected with the Indian Cho Oyu Expedition of 1958. He col- lected plants in the eastern Nepal during this expedition. C. Jest in 1961 collected plants in North- West Nepal in the region of Dolpo and pre- pared a list of these containing 133 species of flowering plants. These plants are deposited in the Laboratoire de Phanerogamie, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Kazuhiro Itoh and S. B. Rajbhandari went on botanical survey of West Nepal along Ghurchi (3,000 m) and Khaptar (3,300 m) in 1963. The object of their survey was collection of general plants, especially the medicinal ones. During their survey about 1000 plant speci- mens were collected. A list of 132 plants with their notes is given in a report by Itoh. An extensive list of medicinal plants of Nepal with the corresponding Vernacular names also is given in it. Rimal (1968) gave a list of gymnosperms collected in Kathmandu and its surrounding hills which include cultivated as well as wild ones. Swan’s Studies: L. W. Swan, an ecologist, made two trips to the Nepal Himalaya, first with the Ameri- can Himalayan Expedition to Makalu (27,790 ft) in 1954, and again in 1960 with Sir Ed- mund Hillary’s Yeti hunting expedition. He collected plants and animals in the neighbour- hood of Barun Glacier and certain other un- named peaks in that region, and found evid- ence of life at the extreme altitudes of 19,000- 22,000 feet. At 20,130 feet he found a small cushion plant ( Stellaria decumbens) and in this area there was no evidence of other plants. All JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 It seemed to him that this was near the upper limit for flowering plants; ‘In all likelihood 20,130 feet stands as the highest altitude at which any living plant has been collected, though it is reasonable to expect that flowering plants can be found still higher.’ (Swan 1960). Rao’s Collections; C. R. Rao in 1967 published a paper en- titled ‘Plant Collection in Eastern Nepal’ in Indian Forester in which he gave a list of 200 species of flowering plants he had collected belonging to 60 families. Rao’s study was based on a number of botanical excursions undertaken in different parts of the Kosi Catch- ment at various seasons during the years 1950- 1960 (Dr. K. George and K. B. Thapa), 1962- 1963 (C. R. Rao). Plant collecting had been done upto an altitude of 2,592 m (8,500 ft) in Eastern Nepal. Out of these excursions Rao noted a new species of Begonia and described it under the name of B. tribenensis. Dobremez’s Studies: J. F. Dobremez, an ecologist, came to Nepal in 1968 to carry on ecological studies. He started the preparation of the ecological maps which would cover the whole of Nepal. The series of maps published already are of Anna- purna-Dhaulagiri, Jiri-Thodung and Kath- mandu-Everest regions. In 1972 Dobremez published his thesis for D.Sc. on the ecology of Nepal Himalaya. Activities of the Department of the Medicinal Plants: Formerly the Department of the Medicinal Plants was just a small section of Botany (Banaspati Phant) which was established in 1937 in order to exploit and deal with the trades of crude herbs and drugs of Nepal. Prof. Khadananda Sharma, a chemist, was the head of this section. During this time a herbal farm in Shivapuri, north of Kathmandu at an altitude of 6,000 ft with about 3-4 acres of land was set up. Some important exotic herbs like Digitalis purpurea, Saussurea lappa and indigenous herbs like Aconitum laciniatum were cultivated. In 1961, a new plan was in- troduced for the development and research on the Nepalese crude herbs and drugs and a name Department of Medicinal Plants was given for this section. The Botanical Survey and National Herbarium is one of the sections of this Department. Twice or thrice a year the Department sends collecting expeditions to different parts of the country and the plants collected are preserved in the Herbarium sec- tion. At present there are more than 60,000 sheets of specimens housed in the Herbarium. It is expected that more than 6,000 species of flowering plants are present in Nepal. How- ever, only about 3,500 species have been col- lected from different localities of Nepal. In 1967 the first book ‘Keys to the Dicot Genera in Nepal Part I (Polypetalae)’ ap- peared which was the first venture of the De- partment published under the guidance of Dr. M. L. Banerji. The second book ‘Keys to the Dicot Genera in Nepal Part II (Gamopetalae and Monochlamydeae) ’ of this series came out in 1968, which was the product of a joint venture of Mr. Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha of the Department and Dr. Dan H. Nicolson. These two books help much in identifying the dicot flora of Nepal both in the field and in the laboratory. Since 1967 the Department is publishing a series of flora of local regions like ‘Notes on Flora of Rajnikunj’ (1967), ‘Flora of Phulchoki and Godavari’ (1969), ‘Flora of Nagarjun’ (1973). These books are just the preliminary work of the Department for the preparation of a detailed ‘Flora of Nepal’. The responsibility for the preparation of ‘flora of Nepal’ has been taken by the Department, aiH work is in progress. 478 HISTORY OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN NEPAL References Ahrenot, L. W. A. (1956): A New Dwarf Bar- berry from Nepal. Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edin. XXVI: 355-356. Balfour, I. B. (1922) : New Species from Mt. Everest. Kew Bull. 3:149-155. Banerji, J. (1948) : The Tamur Valley Expedi- tion. Ind. For. 74: 96-101. Banerji, M. L. (1953): Two New Species of Pimpinella. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 50(1): 88- 90. (1958) : Botanical Exploration in East Nepal. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 55(2): 243- 268. (1965): Contributions to the Flora of E. Nepal. Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. 19(2 ) : 1-90. (1973) : Nepal: Its Forests and Phytogeography. In “Glimpses in Plant Research Vol. 1” pp. 182-205, Ed. P. K. K. Nair, R. K. Gro- ver & T. M. Varghese. Vikas Publishing House, Pvt. Ltd. Banerji, M. L. & Das, S. (1965) : A New Cus- cuta from Nepal. J. Am. Arbor. 46: 86-89. Bijatt, D. D. (1964) : Plant Collection in Nepal. Madrono, 77(5) : 145-152. Burkill, I. H. (1910) : Notes from a Journey to Nepal. Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. 4(4) : 59-140. Davidson, I. F. (1955-56) : Oxford University West Nepal Expedition 1954. Him. Jour. XIX: 142- 146. Dobremez, J. F. : Carte ecologique du Nepal : region Jiri-Thodung 1 /50000. Doc. Carte Veg. Al- pes, 10. : Carte ecologique du Nepal: region Kathmandu-Everest 1 / 250000. (1972): Mise au point d’une me- thode Cartographique d’etude des montagnes tropi- cales. Le Nepal, ecologie et phytogeographie. These, Grenoble. Dobremez, J. F. & Jest, C. : Carte ecologique du Nepal. I. Region Annapurna — Dhaulagiri. Doc. Carte Veg. Alpes, 9, 1/250000. Don, D. (1822) : Descriptions of Two New Ge- nera of Nepaul Plants. J. Edin.-Philos. 7:82-86. (1825) : Prodromus Florae Nepa- lensis. London. Excell, A. W. & Bocquet, G. (1959-61): Silene helleboriflora, spec. nov. Candollea, 77:149-155. Fletcher, H. R. (1953) : Notes from Fellows, Primula aureata in Nepal. J. Roy. Hort. Soc., LXXVIII(5) : 177-178. (1963) : A New Primula from Ne- pal. J. Roy. Hort. Soc. LXXXVIII(\ 1) :488-489. Hamilton, Fr.-Buch. (1819) : An account of the Kingdom of Nepal. Bibliotheca Himalayica, Series 1, Vol. 10. Rep. Ed. 1971. Hara, FI. (1955) : A New Geranium from Nepal collected by Sasuke Nakao. Acta. Phytotax. Geobot. XVI(\) : 1. (1966) : The Flora of Eastern Himalaya. Univ. Tokyo. — (1971): Flora of Eastern Himalaya, Second Report. Bull. No. 2. Univ. Mus., Univ. Tokyo. — — — (1972) : New or Noteworthy Flower- ing Plants from Eastern Himalaya (9). Jour. Jap. Bot. 47 ( 4): 107-1 15. (1972) : New or Noteworthy Flo- wering Plants from Eastern Himalaya (10). ibid. 47(5) : 137-143. — (1972): New or Noteworthy Flo- wering Plants from Eastern Himalaya (11). ibid. 47(11) : 269-277. Hay, T. (1934): Plants of Nepal. J. Roy Hort. Soc. LIX(6) : 459-462. Hedge, I. C. (1963-64) : A New Species of Lam- ium from Nepal. Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edin. XXV: 49-50. — (1964-66): A New Dwarf Nepeta from W. Nepal, ibid. XXVI: 355-356. — ■ — — (1969) : Two New Species of Lam- ium from Nepal, ibid. XXIX: 29-31. HMG Publ. (1967) : Keys to the Dicot Genera in Nepal. Part 1 (Polypetalae) H.M.G. Dept. Med. Plants. (1967) : Notes on Flora of Rajni- kunj (Gokarna Forest). Bull. Dept. Med. Plants No. 1. (1968) : Keys to the Dicot Genera in Nepal. Part 2 (Gamopetalae & Monochlamydae) . H.M.G. Dept. Med. Plants. (1969) : Flora of Phulchoki and Godavari. Bull. Dept. Med. Plants No. 2. (1973) : Flora of Nagarjun. Bull. Dept. Med. Plants No. 4. Hooker, J. D„ et al. (1872-97): The Flora of British India. 7 Vols. London. 479 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 73 Hooker, J. D. (1969 Rep. Ed.) : Himalayan Journals. Today & Tomorrow’s Printers. Hutchinson, J. (1964) : The Genera of Flower- ing Plants. Vol. 1. Oxford. Itoh, K. : Report of Botanical Survey in West Nepal on 1963. Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency. Jest, C. (1971): Plantes Sauvages Utilises Comme Aliments a Dolpo, haute vallee himalayene du Ne- pal. In Langes et Techniques. Nature et Societe, Paris, Klinsieck. pp. 669-676. Kiiiara, H. (1955) : Fauna and Flora of Nepal Himalaya. Kyoto. Kirkpatrick (1811): An Account of the King- dom of Nepaul. Bibliotheca Himalayica Series 1 Vol. 3' Rep. Ed. 1969. Landon, P. (1928) : Flora of Nepal. Appendix in ‘Nepal’ Vol. 1, pp. 334-358. London Constable & Co. Ltd. Lauener, L. A. (1964): New Species and Re- cords of Aconitum of Nepal. Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edin. XXVI (1) : 1-10. Ludlow, F. (1955-62): Novitates Himalaicae — I. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Bot. 2:67-81. Majumdar, N. C. (1968) : A New Species of Stellaria (Caryophyllaceae) from the Nepal Hima- laya. Blumea, XVl(\) : 267-269. Momiyama, Y. & Hara, H. (1973) : The genus Elaegnus of Eastern Himalaya. Jour. Jap. Bot. 48 (9) : 257-267. Murata, G. (1973) : A List of Plants collected by the Chiba University Rolwaling Himal Expedi- tion, 1963. Acta. Phytotax. Geobot. XXV (4-6) : 107- 118. Numata, M. (1964): Ascent of Mount Numbur. Him. Jour. XXV : 67-68. (1965) : Ecological Study and Mountaineering of Mt. Numbur in Eastern Nepal, 1963. Himalayan Expedition of Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. (1967) : Notes on Botanical Trip to Eastern Nepal. J. Coll. Arts & Sci. Chiba Univ. (N.S.) 4: 559-569. Parker, R. N. (1931): List of Plants Collected in West Nepal. For. Bull. 76:1-9. Polunin, O. (1950) : An Expedition to Nepal. J. Roy. Hort. Soc. LXXV( 8): 302-315. (1952) : The Natural History of the Langtang Valley. Appendix in ‘Nepal Himalaya’ by H. W. Tilman. Cambridge. Rao, C. R. (1967) : Plant Collection in Eastern Nepal. Ind. For. 95(1) : 4 1-60. (1968) : A New Begonia from East Nepal. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 65(3) : 724-725. Raven, P. H. (1962): The Genus Epilobium in the Himalayan Region. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Bot. 2(12) : 327-382. Rimal, S. P. (1968) : Gymnosperms of Kath- mandu Valley and Adjoining Hills. Nep. Nat. Comm. UNESCO, Reg. Sem. Eco. Highlands, 8-16 April. Satake, Y. (1973) : A New Species of Eriocaulon from Nepal. Journ. Jap. bot. 45(10) : 314-317. Shrestha, T. B. (1969): The Herbarium of Ne- pal. Taxon. 75:353-354. Smith, H. (1956) : Saxifraga of the Himalaya — I. Section Kabaschia. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Bot. 2(4): 87- 129. (1960) : Saxifraga of the Hima- laya— II. Some New Species, ibid. 2(9) : 229-260. Stainton, J. D. A. (1963) : A Spring and Summer in Central Nepal. J. Roy. Hort. Soc. LXXXVIII( 3) : 110-115. (1972): Forests of Nepal. John Murray. Stearn, W. T. (1960) : Allium and Milula in the Central and Eastern Himalaya. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Bot. 2(6) : 161-191. (1973) : Botanical Latin. David & Charles. Swan, L. W. (1961): Ecology of the High Him- alayas. Sci. Am. 205 ( 4) : 68-78. Sykes, W. (1955): 1954 Expedition to Nepal, Part I. /. Roy. Hort. Soc. LXXX( 12) :538-544. (1956): 1954 Expedition to Nepal, Part II. ibid. LXXXl(l) :6-14. Tilman, H. W. (1952): Nepal Himalaya. Ap- pendix. pp. 261-263. Cambridge. Tsoong, P. C. (1955) : New Himalayan species of1 Pedicularis. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Bot. 2(1) : 3-34. Tyson, J. (1961): Three Months in West Nepal. Him. Jour. XXIII: 89-99. Van Soest, J. L. (1961) : New Species of Taraxa- cum from the Himalayan Region. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Bot. 2(10) :263-273. Wallich, N. (1826) : Tentamen Florae Nepalensis Illustratae. London. Williams, L. H. J. (1953): The 1952 Expedition to Western Nepal. J. Roy. Hort. Soc. 75:323-337. 480 HISTORY OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN NEPAL (1971): Meconopsis taylorii, a New Species from Nepal. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 41 : 347-349. Yamazaki, T. (1970): New and Noteworthy Plants of Scrophulariaceae in Himalaya (1). Jour. Jap. Bot. 45( 5): 145-149. Yu, Tse-Tsun (1954): Cotoneasters from the Eastern Himalayas. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Bot. 7(5) : 125-141. Zimmermann, A. (1956) : Resultates des Expedi- tions Scientifiques Genevoises au Nepal en 1952 et 1954 (Partie Botanique). I. Itineraires. Candol- lea, 75:127-147. Food-habits of water-birds of the Sundarban, 24 Parganas District, West Bengal, India— VI Ajit Kumar Mukherjee Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta [Continued from Vol. 72(2): 447] Discussion and Conclusions The food-habits of 24 species of water-birds of the Sundarban were studied during 1955- 1960. In all 2617 birds were collected from the southeastern part of the 24-Parganas Dis- trict covering both forested and reclaimed areas of a sector of the Sundarban. The food of the birds has been ascertained on the basis of analysis of the contents of the crop and stomach of specimens collected in different seasons of the year, from different localities and habitats. The specimens of birds were collected in the early morning and late evening hours just after their first and last meals, so that the stomach-contents were available in almost undigested or partially digested state. This per- mitted identification of the contents to a rea- sonable degree of accuracy. The analysis of food of birds reveals that: 1. Some species of birds concentrate on a few species of prey (specialized diet), though on occasions the diet may vary to include some other species. For instance, the Openbilled Stork feeds mainly on gastropods but it may take reptiles, fishes and crabs also when the gastropods are difficult to obtain. The Darter’s principal diet is fish but it may devour other 1 Accepted June 1976. aquatic organism also when fish population is inadequate. 2. In some species the diet is highly vari- able, for example the food of the Little Grebe is composed of fish, frogs, gastropods, crusta- ceans, insects, annelids, its own feathers and vegetable matter. Similarly the Grey Heron’s food consists of mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, toads, molluscs, crustaceans, insects, spi- ders, etc. 3. The diet of certain species varies season- ally, for example the Whitebreasted Kingfisher takes mainly aquatic organisms during the wet season (monsoon), but terrestrial ones during the dry season. 4. In species inhabiting different habitats, the diet varies according to the ecological niches the population lives in. For example, in the population of the Smaller Egret and Little Egret which inhabit creeks and marshes, the food consists of aquatic organisms, such as fish, frogs, water-insects, crustaceans, etc., but those residing in terrestrial habitat (cultiva- tions, fallow lands) subsist on terrestrial in- sects, spiders, etc. In such species the food- habits are not very specialized. However, in- dividuals of a species, e.g. the Little Cormo- rant, living on the brackish (creek) water or- ganisms take mostly estuarine fishes and a very small amount of crustaceans but those thriv- ing on the food available in fresh waters take 482 [110] FOOD-HABITS OF WATER-BIRDS mixed toll consisting of fish, frogs, water-in- sects, molluscs, crustaceans and vegetable mat- ter. 5. Two factors appear to influence the choice of food, viz. size of the prey, and taste. a) Size of the prey. The Darter has been found to prefer large-sized fishes (standard length 50-150 mm), the Openbilled Stork pre- fers large-sized Apple-snails (diameter 20-40 mm), the Grebe selects smaller fish-fry (stan- dard length 5-40 mm), gastropods and aqua- tic insects. b) Taste. The Grebe and the Smaller Egret have been found to avoid bugs; the Little Egret’s meal does not contain either bugs or crustaceans. 6. The greater portion of the food of the majority of the birds examined consisted of fish and crustaceans. Such birds may be group- ed as piscivorous and carcinovorous. The food of certain birds was found to consist mainly of insects and they may be classified as insec- tivorous. Birds under these categories are, therefore, of economic value. The piscivorous and carcinovorous birds that consume fishes and crustaceans of commercial importance are ‘harmful’ from the point of view of human economy, and the insectivorous birds that de- stroy insect pests of agriculture or those affect- ing public health may be regarded as ‘bene- ficial’, while those birds that cannot be accom- modated under either of the categories are ‘neutral’. The status of the various birds whose food-habits have been studied, may be given as: A. Harmful. Under this category 13 spe- cies which affect fish, crustaceans and their fisheries may be included. Since the extent of damage done is variable, this category for convenience may further be subdivided as fol- lows: a) Very harmful. Fish and crustaceans to- gether consumed over 75% of the total bulk of food. b) Moderately harmful. Fish and crusta- ceans together consumed range between 50% and 75% of the total bulk of food. c) Less harmful. Fish and crustaceans to- gether consumed between 25% and 50% of the total bulk of food. The ‘harmful’ birds are listed below under the three divisions showing the extent of da- mage caused to fish and fisheries by each: Category Percentage of wt. of commercial fish in relation to total wt. of food Percentage of wt. of commercial crustaceans in rela- tion to total wt. of food Percentage of wt. of com- mercial fish and crus- Remarks taceans in re- lation to totaj wt. of food Very harmful 1 . Little Cormorant 91.09 0.87 91.96 2. Darter 81.20 1.00 82.20 3. Large Egret 72.00 3.00 75.00 4. Smaller Egret 75.00 2.00 77.00 in wet season 5. Little Egret 78.00 — 78.00 in wet season [111] 483 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Percentage of Category Percentage of wc of commercial fish in relation to total Percentage of wt. of commercial crustaceans in rela- wt. of com- mercial fish and crus- Remarks wt. of food tion to total wt. taceans in re- of food lation to total wt. of food Moderately harmful 1 . Grey Heron 33.00 17.75 50.75 2 . Purple Heron 52.00 8.00 60.00 3. Pied Kingfisher 57.00 17.00 74.00 4. Little Green Heron 24.00 27.00 51.00 Less harmful 1 . Little Grebe 22.8 8.5 31.30 2. Openbilled Stork 3. Whitebreasted 4.59 25.37 29.96 in dry season Kingfisher 31.23 11.23 42.46 in wet season 4. Whiskered Tern 20.00 20.00 40.00 B. Beneficial. Seven species may be includ- and vegetables or insects that are nuisance to ed in this category, for they consume large the public health and animal husbandry. They quantities of insect-pests of agricultural crop are: Percentage of wt. Name No. of ex. examined of insect pests in relation to total Remarks wt. of food 1. Cattle Egret 318 61.00 2. Smaller Egret 220 79.00 in cultivated tract 3. Little Egret 138 71.00 in cultivated tract 4 . Redwattled Lapwing 174 57.00 5. Spotted Sandpiper 38 20.10 6. Chestnut Bittern 8 15.00 7 . Whitebreasted Kingfisher 192 10.00 in dry season C. Neutral. The following six species of 5 . Bronze- winged Jacana birds may be included in the category. 6. Little Stint 1. Indian Moorhen The study of food-habits of birds and their 2. Night Heron inter-relationships with other organisms reveal 3. Cotton Teal the complexity of the process. Birds have a 4. Coot definite role to play in the scheme of nature. 484 [112] FOOD-HABITS OF WATER-BIRDS They are an important link in the chain which regulates balance of nature and maintains the biological equilibrium. The present problem has been studied in a limited area on limited number of species and is, consequently, limit- ed in scope. Nevertheless, the present study R E FE i Abdulali, H. (1964) : On the food and other habits of the Greater Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus roseus Pallas) in India. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 67:60-68. Ali, Salim (1941): The book of Indian birds (1st ed.). Bombay Natural History Society. Archibald, C. F. (1910) : A few notes on the food of wild birds. Bull. Univ. Leeds (11) : 3- 10. Baker, E. C. S. (1922-1929) : Fauna British In- dia, Birds (2nd ed.). Vols. 1-6. London. Baker, F. C. (1889) : Notes on the food of birds. Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad. 57:266-270. Barrows, W. B. (1912): Michigan birdlife. Bull. Mich, agric. Coll. (162). Bates, R. S. P. (1943): A note on the feeding habits of the Little Bittern ( lxobrychus minutus). J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 44:179-181. Baynard, O. E. (1912): Food of the herons and ibises. Wilson Bull. 24:167-169. Bent, A. C. (1922) : Life Histories of North American Petrels and Pelicans and their allies. Bull. U.S. nat. Mus. (121) :pp. 343. (1926): Life histories of North American marsh birds, ibid. (135) : pp. 490. Blanford, W. T. (1895-1898): Fauna of British India, Birds. Vols. 3 & 4. London. Brown, G. (1928) : The economic value of birds of Ceylon. Trop. agric. Mag. Ceylon agric. Soc. 77:272-280. Brown, R. H. (1927) : Field notes from Lake- land. Br. Birds 27:114-116. Bump, G. & Bohl, W. H. (1961) : Possible trial introduction of the Black and Grey Francolin. Part 1. South and Hawaii. Part 2, Southwest. Proc. Rep. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. ( For Game introduc- tion progm ) pp. 20. Bump, G. & Bump, J. W. (1964): A study and review of the Black Francolin and the Grey Fran- colin. Spec. Scient. Rep. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. (81) : 1-81. has not only brought out some very interest- ing and highly useful data on economic orni- thology, but also revealed the necessity of more intensive and extensive works on the problem so that it may be possible to utilize the re- sults for the economy of the country. e n c e s Champion, H. G. (1936): A preliminary survey of the forest types of India and Burma. Indian For. Rec. (n.s.) 7(1): 286 pp. Christensen, G. C., Bohl, W. H. & Bump, G. (1964): A study and review of the common Indian Sandgrouse and the Imperial Sandgrouse. Prog. Rep. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. (84): 1-71. Collinge, W. F. (1913) : The food of some British Wild birds (2nd ed.) York. Dewar, J. M. (1940) : Identity of specialized feeding-habits of the Turnstone and the Oyster- catcher. Brit. Birds 34: 26-28. Faruqi, S. A. & Bump, G. (1957): A study of the seasonal foods of three Pakistan game birds. Prog. Rep. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. (For. Game in- troduction Progm.). Faruqi, S. A., Bump, G., Nanda, P. C. & Chris- tensen, G. C. (1950) : A study of the seasonal foods of the Black Francolin, the Grey Francolin, and the Common Sandgrouse in India and Pakistan. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 57: 354-361. Florence, L. (1912): The food of birds. Trans. R. Highld. agric. Soc. Scotl. 180-219. (1914) : The food of birds. Report for the years 1911, 1912. ibid. (1915) : The food of birds. Report for the years 1913, 1914. ibid. Gibson Hill, C. A. (1951): A note on the food habits of three kingfishers occurring on Singapore Island. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 48: 146-152. Glading, B., Biswell, H. H. & Smith, C. F. (1940): Studies on the food of the California Quail 1937. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 4: 128-144. Gross, A. O. (1923): The Black-crowned Night Heron ( Nycticorax nycticorax naevius) of Sandy Neck. Auk 40: 1-30. Hume, A. O. & Marshall, C. H. T. (1881): The game birds of India, Burmah, and Ceylon. Vol. 3. Calcutta. Hussain, M. A. & Bhalla, H. R. (1937) : The [U3] 485 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 birds enemies of the Cotton Leafroller ( Svlenta derogata Fabr.) at Khanewal, Multan (Punjab). Indian J. Agric. Sci. 7:785-792. (1937): Some birds of Lyallpur and their food. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 39:831- 842. Jerdon, T. (1862-1864): The birds of India. Vols. 1, 2. Calcutta. Judd, S. D. (1900): The food of nestling birds. Yb. U.S. Den. Agric.: 411-436. Lack, D. (1954) : The natural regulation of animal numbers. Oxford. Latham, R. (1914) : Notes on the Blackcrowned Night Heron and other birds at Orient, L.I. Bird Lore 16: 112-113. Lowe, F. A. (1954) : The Heron. London. Mason, G. W. & Lefroy, H. M. (1912): The food of birds in India. Mem. Dep. agric. India, Ent. 3: 1-371. McAtee, W. L. (1912): Methods of estimating the content of bird stomachs. Auk 29: 449-464. Moltoni, E. (1936) : Garzaie in Italia. Riv. Ital. Orn. 6: 211-269. (1948) : L’alimentazione degli Ar- deidae (Aironi) in Italia, ibid. 18 : 87-93. Mukherjee, A. K. (1963): An analysis of the food of the Grey Quail Coturnix coturnix (Lin- naeus) in western Rajasthan (India). Pavo 7:32-34. Owen, D. F. (1955): The food of the Heron, Ardea cinerea, in the breeding season. Ibis. 97: 276-293. (1960) : The nesting success of Heron, Ardea cinerea in relation to the availability of food. Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 733:597-617. Ridley, M. W. (1954): Observations on the diet of flamingoes. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 52: 5-7. Samuel, C. K. (1949): The Indian House-Spar- row, Passer domesticus indicus Jard. & Selby, as a serious orchard and wheat pest in Baluchistan. In- dian J. Ent. 77:219-220. Smyth, R. [1857 (1858)]: Statistical and geogra- phical report on the 24 pargunnahs District. Cal- cutta Rev. 37:385-411. Thompson, P. (1923) : Bird pellets and their evidence as to the food of birds. Essex Nat. 20: 115-142. Voous, K. H. (1950) : Atlas of European birds. Amsterdam. Whistler, H. (1928): Popular handbook of In- dian birds. London. Wetmore, A. (1916): Birds of Porto Rico. Bull. U.S. Den. Agric. (1920): Observations on the habits of birds at Lake Burford. New Mexico. Auk 37: 393-412. WlTHERBY, H. F., JOURDAIN, F. C. R., TlCE- hurst, N. F. & Tucker, B. W. (1939-1941): The handbook of British birds. Vols. 1-5. London. C 486 [114] Some new records to the flora of Ladakh1 Gurcharan Singh and R. N. Gohil2 The paper is first in the series on the explorations of Floristic elements of Ladakh district. It puts on record 45 angiospcrmic species, hitherto unreported from the area. The collec- tions are mainly from the southern part of the district. Introduction Subsequent to Stewart’s (1916, 1917) com- pilation of the flora of Ladakh, many frag- mentary reports have accumulated on the flora of this “high altitude desert” (Blatter, 1927- 29; Mukerjee, 1940; Pennell, 1943; Ludlow, 1951; Chatterjee, 1953; Bor, 1960 and Ste- wart 1967a and b). However, none of these works is as comprehensive as that of Stewart’s (1916, 1917) who has not only made floristic records but also described the physical featu- res of the region. Although Stewart’s (1916, 1917) work still remains monumental he has not been clear about the geographical limits of the areas referred to as Ladakh and this fact he has himself confessed. Since the publication of Stewart’s (1916, 1917) work the limits of the area have been specified and as such Ladakh today is not what it was in the twenties. This has neces- sitated a fresh floristic survey of the region, and hence the present project. So far, two trips have been made, during which about 400 plant species have been collected. As a first step towards the compilation of a com- prehensive flora for the district we are putting on paper some new records. 1 Accepted April 1972. 2 P.G. Department of Botany, Kashmir University, Srinagar, Kashmir. The tour itinerary : In our first trip under- taken in July, 1970 the entire area between Zojila (3578 m) and Dras was scanned. The important places explored included Gumri, Machoi, Meenamarg, Matayan, Paan Dras and Dras. Large collections were made from the rich meadows of meenamarg (Meena = fish; marg = meadow, the fish shaped meadow). Beyond Kargil (2676 m) collections were made from Mulbeck (3275m ), Bodh Kharbu (3420 m), Khalsi and Leh (3580 m). In 1971 we went collecting up to Kargil. Thereafter we changed the route; following the course of river Suru. We proceeded to- wards Zanskar and on the way scanned Sanku (2930 m), Umba (3515 m) and Daphne (3120 m). The trip had to be abandoned at the foot of the Nun Kun peak (7135 m). On this route as well as in dry zones, typicals of the Ladakh landscape are common. The voucher specimens of the plants re- ported in this communication have been de- posited in the herbarium of the Department of Botany, Kashmir University. List of Plants Achillea millefolium Linn. Sp. PI. 699, 1753. Dras (Gohil No. 1100), Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2747). Aconitum rotiMidifolium Kar. & Kir. in Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Mosc. 15: 139, 1842. (A. 487 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 napellus Linn. var. rotundifolium Hook. f. & T. FI. Brit. Ind. 1: 29, 1872). Zanskar (Koelz No. 2912). Arenaria orbicidata Royle ex Edgew. et Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 1:240, 1874. ICharbu (Gohil No. 1130). Bupleurum longicaide Wall. var. clarke- anum Wolff in Engl. Pflanzen. Heft 43: 123; 1910; ( B . diversifolium Clarke in FI. Brit. Ind. 2:675, 1879). Near Matayan (Gurcharan Singh No. 2786a). Capsella bursa-pastoris (Linn.) Medic. Pflenzeng. 85, 1792. Leh (Gurcharan Singh No. 2850), Sanku (Gurcharan Singh No. 2742a). Crepis sancta (Linn.) Babe. ssp. bifida (vis.) Thell ex Babe, in Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 22: 736, Fig. 236-239, 1947 (Pterotheca falconeri Hook. F. FI. Brit. Ind. 3:399, 1889). Dras (Gohil No. 1110). Dipsacus mitis Don. Prodr. FI. Nep. 161, 1825 ( D . inermis Wall, var. in Roxb. FI. Ind. ed. Wall. 1:367, 1824). Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2690). Erysimum altaicum C. A. May. in Ledeb. FI. Alt. 111:153. Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2690a), (Gohil No. 1064). Euphorbia kanaorica Boiss. in DC. Prodr. XV, ii, 154, 1862. Bodh Kharbu (Gohil No. 1152), Near Dras (Gohil No. 1230a). Fagopyrum cymosum Meissn. In Wall. PI. As. Rar. 111:63. Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2739). Geranium tuberaria Camb. in Jacq. Voy. Bot. 33, t. 37, 1841-44. Sanku (Gurcharan Singh No. 2755), Dras (Gohil No. 1240a). Jaeschkea gentlanoides Kurz. in Journ. Asiat. Soc. Pt. II, 230, t. 13, 1870. Matayan (Gohil No. 1174). J uncus bufonius Linn. Sp. PI. 328, 1753. Near Matayan (Gohil No. 1166), Dras (Gur- charan Singh No. 3529). Lactuca lassertiana Clarke Comp. Ind. 270, 1876. Dras (Gammie). Launea fallax (Jaub. & Spach) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 351, 1891. [L. nudicaulis Hook. f. (Non Less.) FI. Brit. Ind. 3:416, 1889]. Bodh Kharbu (Gohil No. 1046), near Sanku (Gur- charan Singh No. 2789). Leontopodlum leontopodinum (DC.P Pland.- Mazz. in Beih. bot. Centralbl. XLIV, 11:93, 1927 ( Antennaria leontopodinum DC.). Lepiditim pinnatifidum Ledeb. FI. Ross. I: 206, 1841. Bodh Kharbu (Gurcharan Singh No. 2781a). L. sativum Linn. Sp. PI. 644, 1753. In Sanku fields (Gurcharan Singh No. 2642b). Lespedeza juncea Pers. Enel. II: 318, 1807. Kharbu (Gohil No. 1245). Morina coulteriana Royle III. Bot. Himal. 245, 1835. Zojila pass (Gurcharan Singh No. 2658). Nepeta connata Royle ex Benth. in Hook. Bot. Misc. 111:378, 1833. Near Dras (Gohil No. 1321), Near Matayan (Gurcharan Singh No. 2750b). Pcdicularis pyramidata Royle ex Benth. Scroph. Ind. 52, 1835. Dras (Gohil No. 1209). P. punctata Dene, in Jacq. Voy. dans Linde Bot. 117, PI. 122, 1844. Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2738), near Daphne (Gurcharan Singh No. 2765). Pleurogyna s path ul at a A. Kerner in Ber. Naturw. ver. Innsbruck, 1:104, 1870. (Koelz No. 2356). Polygonum plebejum R. Br. Prodr. 420. Near Umba (Gurcharan Singh No. 2833). P. polycnemoides Jaub. & Spach, Ulustr. 11:30, t. 120. Zanskar (Koelz No. 2993). Prunella vulgaris Linn. Sp. PI. 600, 1753. Near Matayan (Gohil No. 1299), Dras (Gur- charan Singh No. 2671). Saussurea roylei Clarke Comp. Ind. 229, 1876. Zanskar (Koelz No. 2916). 488 FLORA OF LADAKH Schulzia dissecta (C. B. Clarke) C. Norman in Journ. Bot. Lond. 76:231, 1939. ( Trachy - dium dissectum C. B. Clarke in FI. Brit. Ind. 11:672, 1879). Leh (Gohil No. 1274). Sempervivella mucronata (Edgew.) Berger in Pflanzenfom. 2 ed. 18a: 467, 1930. ( Semper - vivum mucronatum Edgew. in Trans. Linn. Soc. XX, 1:49, 1846). Leh (Gohil No. 1280a). Silene duthiei Majumdar Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. 42 (4): 648, 1963. ( Lychnis brachypetala Hornem. Hort. Hafn. Suppl. 51). Chuha-gund (R. R. Stewart 21045). Siam latijugum Clarke in FI. Brit. Ind. II: 683, 1879. Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2761a). Stachys sericea Wall. PL As. Rar. 1:64, 1830. Matayan (Gohil No. 1160), Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2675). Stellaria monosperma Buch.-Ham. ex Don. Prodr. FI. Nep. 215, 1825, ( S . crispata Wall, ex Edgew. et Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 1:229, 1874). Zojila Pass (Gurcharan Singh No. 2690b). Swertia purpurea Royle III. Bot. Himal. 277, 1839. Zojila Pass (R. R. Stewart No. 21257). S. thomsonii Clarke in FI. Brit. Ind. IV: 129, 1883. Dras to Matayan (R. R. Stewart No. 21174). Taraxacum azizii Von Soest. Near Dras (Gohil No. 1029), Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2741a). T. bicolor DC. Prodr. VII:148, 1838. Near Refer Blatter, E. (1927-29) : Beautiful flowers of Kash- mir. Staples & Staples Ltd. Westminster. Vol. I & II. Bor, N. L. (1960): The grasses of Burma, Cey- on, India and Pakistan (Excl. Bambuseae). Perga- mon press, Oxford. Chatter jee, R. (1953) : Studies on Indian Ber- Dras (Gohil No. 1029), Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2741a). T. dealbatum H.-Hm. Mud (Koelz No. 2355). Trifolium repens Linn. Sp. Pl.:768, 1853. Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2780a), near Sanku (Gurcharan Singh No. 2741a). Valeriana hardwickii Wall, in Roxb. FI. Ind. Ed. Carey 2:166, 1824. Zojila pass (Gur- charan Singh No. 2655), near Meena marg (Gohil No. 1273). V. officinalis Linn. Sp. PI. 31, 1753. Bodh Kharbu (Gurcharan Singh No. 2748a). Veronica lanosa Royle ex Benth. Scroph. Ind. 45, 1835. Dras (Gohil No. 1211). V. salina Schur Enum. PI. Trans. 492, 1866. Near Umba (Gurcharan Singh No. 3220), Dras (Gurcharan Singh No. 2725a). Vicia hirsuta (L.) Gray Syst. Arrang. Brit. PI. 11:614, 1821. Sanku fields (Gurcharan Singh No. 2725). Acknowledgements We are grateful to Prof. P. Kachroo for encouragement, to Dr. A. K. Koul for the help rendered in the collection of plants dur- ing our first trip and to U. G. C. for finan- cial assistance. Thanks are also due to Dr. K. C. Sahni, Systematic Botanist, F.R.I., Dehradun for providing necessary facilities for the use of herbarium to one of us. • n c e s beridiaceae. Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. 16(2): 1-86. Ludlow, F. (1951): The Primulas of Kashmir. Illust. Jour. Royle. Hort. Soc. 76(6) : 191-206. Mukerjee, S. K. (1940): A revision of the La- biatae of Indian Empire. Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. 14(1). Pennell, F. W. (1943) : Scrophulariaceae of the Western Himalayas. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., Mono.5. 489 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Stewart, R. R. (1916): The flora of Ladak, (1967a): Grasses of Kashmir. Bull. Western Tibet. I. Discussion of the flora. Bull. Torr. Bot. Surv. Ind. 9: (1-4) : 114-133. Bot. Cl. 45:571-590. (1967b): Cyperaceae of Kashmir, (1917): The flora of Ladak, West- a check list. ibid. 9(1-4). ern Tibet. II. List of Ladak plants, ibid. 43: 625-650. 490 A Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of the Bombay Natural History Society- 20 Laniidae, Oriolidae, Dicruridae, Artamidae Humayun Abdulali [Continued from Vol. 73 ( 2): 355] 940 specimens of 63 species and subspecies up to No. 983 in Indian handbook and regis- tered No. 23203 are covered by this part. 933 Lanins excubitor lahtora (Sykes) (Dukhun) Indian Grey Shrike 2: 285 20: 8 $ $ 10$ $ 2? 1 Rawalpindi, 1 Shikohpur, Julliinder, 1 Ambala, 1 Taxila, 1 Multan, 1 Jajjah Abbesian, Bahawal- pur, Punjab; 2 Delhi; 1 Jodhpur; 1 Jakhan, 1 Chadva, 1 Kharirohar, 1 Kutch; 1 Deesa, Palan- pur, 1 Radhanpur, 1 Dabka, Baroda, Gujarat; 1 Ratlam, 1 Saugor, C.P.; 1 Nasik, Maharashtra; 1 Cawnpore, U.P. The shoulders are all black with no grey lesser wing-coverts. $ 17004 from Rawal- pindi has a slight wash of grey on all the white parts, but otherwise agrees with lahtora. There is some variation in the shades of grey on the upperparts but this appears to be individual. $ 4418 from Shikohpur, Jullun- der, collected as far back as 1898 is the palest. Measurements on p. 509. 934 Lanins excubitor pallidirostris Cassin (Eritrea) Baluchistan Grey Shrike 2: 287 3: 1$ 2 o? 1 Shaiba, Mesopotamia; 1 Harboi, 1 Devankot 5000', Baluchistan. Wing 111, 112(2) (ih 105-112); bill 16.7, 17.8; tail 102(2), 105, (ih 104-116). 935 Lanins excubitor aucheri Bonaparte [336] (Persia) Persian Grey Shrike 2: 288 16: 5$ $ 7$ $ 4 o? (1 juv.) 2 R. Tanhat, 2 Muscat, Arabia; 1 Baghdad, Iraq; 1 Sanowah, 1 Mishun, 3 Tanb Is., Persian Gulf; 1 Rotak, nr. Sib, 1 Barpun, Persian Baluchistan; 1 Isfandak 33 m. west of Kalat, 1 near Korak and 1 Gajjar Mashkki, 150 and 165 m. s.w. of Kalat, Baluchistan; 1 Bahawalpur Town environs, Pun- jab. Measurements on p. 509. Specimen 4436 from Isfandak has grey on the shoulders and a little black on the fore- head. Nos. 4427 and 20758 from Mishun and Tanb Is. in Persian Gulf collected on 13 May and 30 March are immature birds which have pale bills as in pallidirostris and very pale upperparts washed with pale fulvous. 936 Lanins excubitor homeyeri Cabanis (Sarepta) Turkestan Grey Shrike 2: 289 nil. 937 Lanins minor Gmelin (Italy) Lesser Grey Shrike 10: 3$ $ 4$ $ 3 ? 2 Sheik Saad, 1 Tigris, 1 Basra, 1 Felujah, R. Euphrates, Iraq; 1 Fao, 1 Teheran, 3 Shiraz, Iran. Measurements on p. 509. All have been collected between 14 April and 20 August. Three specimens obtained in 491 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 April, May and August have the black on the head incomplete. Vaurie (1959) and Peters (1960) both accept Fediuschin’s turanicus which can only be told in the juvenile plumage, cf 20755 from Teheran obtained on 11 June had enlarged gonads and was believed to be breeding. Both races, if separable, would ap- pear to be resident or migrants in the area covered by the specimens listed and it would not be possible to decide which race has occur- red in Indian limits. There is much difference in the size of the bills, but it is usually smaller, which with the shorter tail are additional characters for dis- tinguishing this species from excubitor. Specimen 20759 from Felujah has been identified as L. m. turanicus by Mr Bond. 938 Lanius collurioides Lesson (Pegu) Chestnut-rumped Shrike 2: 291 6: 5$ $ 1$ 1 Shwebo, 2 Maymyo, 1 Mandalay, 1 Tarokman, 1 Prome, Burma. Wing c?1 c? 86-95 av. 90 9 93 (iHd1 9 85-94 Bill 13-15 av. 14 14-5 17-19 Tail 88-95 av. 91 97 92-102) The bill and tail measurements in ind. handbook quoted from C. B. Ticehurst ap- pear to be in error, and my figures are closer to those in fauna, i.e. 13-14 and 86-95 respec- tively. There is some difference in the intensity of the chestnut of the upperparts. The single fe- male No. 4638 Mandalay does not have the whitish lores and nasal feathers mentioned in ind. handbook, while cf No. 4634, Tarok- man, has a fine white fringe to the black on the forehead. 939 Lanius vittatus nargianus Vaurie (Champ, southern Persian Baluchistan) Bay- backed Shrike 29 9 1 Panjgur, 26.57 N., 64.7 E., Baluchistan; 1 Chit- ral Drosh 5000'. Only two of the several from Baluchistan and northwestern India can be separated as brighter chestnut and paler than the others. The plumage can be matched with immature specimens without black foreheads, e.g. No. 4463 from Cumbum Valley, Kurnool District, Madras. Wing 89,91; bill 12.2,13.7; tail 84,85 These measurements are no larger than those of the nominate form. 940 Lanius vittatus vittatus Valenciennes (Pondicherry) Indian Baybacked Shrike 2: 289 70: 33$ $ (2 pull., 5 juv.) 27 9 9 (7 juv.) 10 o? (4 pull. 3 juv.) 1 Tanb Is., Persian Gulf; 1 Ghilamambcnt (?), 21 m. north of Pasni, 1 near Chuttok 95 m. south of Kalat, 1 Kalat, Baluchistan; 3 Chitral; 1 Rawal- pindi; 1 Lahore, 1 Nawashar, 2 Shikohpur, Jullun- der, 2 Ambala, 1 Harunabad, Bahawalpur; 2 Kotri, Sind, 1 Bajji State, Simla Hills; 5 Delhi; 2 Bharat- pur; 2 Kharirohar, 1 Kala Dongar, Pacham I., 1 Chadva, 3 Bhuj, 1 Kutch; 1 Gir, 1 Amreli, 1 Patan, Mehsana, 2 Victoria Park, Bhavnagar, 1 Ajwa, 1 City environs, Baroda, Gujarat; 1 Choral, Indore; 1 *Ghoti, Nasik, 2 Juhu, Salsette, Maharashtra; 1 Hebbankheri, N. Kanara; 1 Kuruvenitho, 1 Aram- boli, Travancore; 2 Kurambapatti, 2 Gingee, S. Arcot, 1 Palkonda Hills, 3 Seshachalam, S. Cud- dappah, 8 Cumbum Valley, Kurnool; 2 Sankrametta, Vizagapatam Hills, 3 Ramgarh Band, Orissa; 2 Meerut, U.P. (* missing). The adults of both sexes are said to be simi- lar but most of the males (and only one fe- male) show a distinctive pure white patch after the black of the forehead. Those without it are probably not fully grown, while the fe- male may be an exception or wrongly sexed. The pullets are heavily barred, with No. 21200 from Bhavnagar showing a very grey head. The juveniles are in varying plumages in which the differences in the colour of the 492 [337] BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT . HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 20 tail, the upperback, the crown, and the extent and distribution of the barring do not appear to develop or change in the same sequence. The bird from Tanb Is., Persian Gulf (which would appear to extend the recorded range of this species) is in juvenile plumage and cannot be separated from others in the same phase from India. Similar remarks apply to others from Baluchistan, and nargianus , if tenable, is resident beyond these limits. Wing Bill Tail 82-92 av. 86 11-6-14 3 av. 13 2 80-94 av. 85.3 $ 9 84-91 av. 86-7 11-5-14 av. 12-8 76-89 av.84.4 Specimen 4456, a female from Seshachalam has a small white patch on the forehead in front of the black. 941 Lanius collurio collurio Linnaeus (Sweden) Redbacked Shrike 2: 296 17: 6$ $ (1 imm.) 6$ $ (2 imm.) 5 o? (4 imm.) 1 Muscat, Arabia; 2 Baghdad, 4 Felujah, R. Euphrates, 1 Tikrit, 3 Tigris River, 1 Basra, Iraq; 1 Kharg L, Persian Gulf; 1 Bhujia, 1 Anjar, 1 Ra- par, 1 Bhadreshwar, Mundra, Kutch. Second primary longer than fifth. No white spot on wing, grey head and black-and-white tail distinctive. In immature birds, the tail is brown and not black, but the outermost rectri- ces are margined with white. The adult has the bill black contra yellowish or horny in younger birds. Measurements under 943 on p. 510. 942 Lanius collurio phoenicuroides (Scha- low) (Tschimkent) Rufous Shrike 2: 303 13: 5$ $ (1 by pi., 1 imm.) 5$ $ (1 imm.) 3o? 1 R. Tanhat, 2 Muscat, Arabia; 1 Shaikh Saad, 2 Shatt-al-Adhain, Iraq; 1 Tanb Is., Persian Gulf; 1 Aliabad, 13 m. S.E. of Shiraz, Iran; 1 Murad Khan, Kalat, 1 Pirandar 190 m. ssw. of Kalat, 1 Teghat 107 m. S. of Kalat, 1 Quetta, Baluchistan; 1* Radhanpur, N. Gujarat. Second primary almost equal to and less than 5 mm shorter than fifth. All-rufous tail. Head and rump rufous with grey back. White wing patch in males, but smaller or absent in females. Two males and one unsexed with black bill and prominent black eye patch. Two immature birds, a <$ and a $ have the head and forehead barred blackish on a ruf- ous background which turns white on the fore- head. * c? No. 4768 from Radhanpur (5 January) was marked as phoenicuroides ^ isabellinus by Meinertzhagen. The upper plumage is very like isabellinus but the white spot on the wing and the second and fifth primaries agrees with this subspecies. The key to species in ind. handbook (5: 79) errs in requiring that all subspecies of collurio lack the white patch. Measurements under 943 on p. 510. 943 Lanius collurio isabellinus Hemprich & Ehrenberg (Kunfuda, Arabia) Pale Brown Shrike 2: 302 35: (a) 28 isabellinus and (b) 7 hybrid isabel- linus ^ phoenicuroides. (a) 28: 6$$ (1 imm.) 17$$ (2 imm.) 5 o? (2 imm.) 1 Khamisiyan, Iraq; 2 Duzdap, Seistan, Iran; 1 Phuljan, Sind; 1 Ambala; 1 Lai Sohara, 1 Haruna- bad, 1 Yazman, 2 Town environs, Bahawalpur; 2 Delhi, 1 Bharatpur; 1 Hamavas, Jodhpur; 1* Bhujia, 1 Bhuj, Kutch; 2 Wonk, 1 Saiat, Kaira, 1* Nadiad Town, 1* Dabka, Baroda, Gujarat; 2 Ghoti, 1 Igat- puri, Nasik; 2 Thana, 1 Andheri, 1 Esplanade, Bom- bay. Isabellinus shows considerable variation in the colour of the upperparts ranging from a brown very similar to that in phoenicuroides through pale rufous to a distinct greyish. The tail is all-rufous with the central pairs slightly browner. There is no white spot in the wing. The second primary is more than 6 mm shor- ter than the fifth, a consistent character for separating it from phoenicuroides in which it [338] 493 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 is equal to, or just longer or shorter, than the fifth. This is however wrongly quoted for isa- bellinus by Ticehurst ( Ibis 1922, p. 61) and repeated in ind. handbook (5: 90), where incidentally the tail character for separating Lanius collurio from L. cristatus is mentioned in the paragraph distinguishing the two sub- species phoenicuroides and isabellinus. The 5 marked * tend towards phoenicuro- ides in colour and some are marked isabel- linus ^ phoenicuroides by Meinertzhagen, and 17044 from Thana (12 Nov. 1948) was nam- ed phoenicuroides by Bond. They can how- ever, I think, well be included under isabel- linus and may be young of the year as sug- gested by the slightly smaller bills and the markings on the breast. Their measurements are included under isabellinus. (b) Lanius collurio isabellinus ^ phoeni- curoides 7: 43 3 3$ $ 1 Tanb L, Persian Gulf; 1 Jammu State, near Madhopur, Gurdaspur, 1 Jagadhri, 1 Ambala, Pun- jab; 1 Bhinmal, Jodhpur; 1 Nandur-Madhmeshwar, Nasik, Maharashtra; 1 no locality (col. F.J.R. Field 3 1-ii- 1 892) . The primaries are as in isabellinus but they have distinct white spots on the wings. S 4768 obtained at Nandur-Madhmeshwar, Nasik, Maharashtra (5 Dec. 1942) was identi- fied as phoenicuroides by Mr Bond. To me it appears closer to isabellinus and I am not extending the currently accepted range of the subspecies until a more distinctive specimen is secured. Measurements on p. 510. EL Lanius collurio tsaidaniensis Stegmann (Tarim Basin, Chinese Turkestan) 3: 2$ 3 1 o? 1 Kut, 1 Felujah, R. Euphrates, Iraq; 1 South Persia. These birds are outstandingly different in colour and the identification of two has been confirmed at the Smithsonian Institution. Tice- hurst (Ibis 1920, p. 610) refers to an adult male obtained at Karachi, on 20 Oct. 1918 with the head and underparts uniformly grey. Could it have been this subspecies? Measurements under 943 on p. 510. The bills are yellowish-horny and heavier than in phoenicuroides. 944 Lanius tephronotus Sahulcnsis Koelz (Kolung, Lahul, Punjab) Ladakh Greybacked Shrike 2: 297 nil. 945 Lanius tephronotus tephronotus (Vig- ors) (Loothills of the Llimalayas near Darjeel- ing, where breeding birds of Gyantse may be expected to winter) Eastern Tibet Greybacked Shrike 2: 297 23: 133.3 (4* imm.) 55$ (2 imm.) 5 o? (2 imm.) 1* Gyantse, 1 Kharta, S. Tibet; 1 Bankulwa Mor- ang, 1 Dingla, 1 Bijaypur, 1 Nepal; 2 Kurseong 4750', 1 Suthra, 1 Darjeeling; 1 Poomong 3500' 1 Rangpo, 1 Singtam, Teesta Valley, Sikkim; 4 Dib- rugarh, 1 Mishung, Abor country, 1 Sadiya, Upper Assam, 1 Roopchena, 1 Dimapur, Manipur; 2 Upper Burma. There is considerable variation in the colour of the upperparts— five of the nine adult males are varying shades of grey, while four have a wash of olive-green. Of the four immatures with barring on the underparts only one is grey. The females show the same difference in the amount of grey above. The specimen from Gyantse (Capt. R. S. Kennedy, i.m.s., Octo- ber 1909) is immature, the barring of the underparts extending to the rump. None of the specimens show a white wing spot. Measurements on p. 509. There are noticeable differences in size, but as it is not possible to associate any difference 494 [339] BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 20 in colour with any size group, they have all been measured together. 946 Lanius schach erythronotus (Vigors) (Himalayas, restricted to Lucknow; re-restrict- ed to Simla-Almora dist.) Rufousbacked Shrike 2: 295 59: 33$ $ (3 juv.) 20$ $ (2 juv.) 6 o? (2 fledg- ing) 3 Mastang, 1 Nichar 7000' (?), 2 Kanain Jaun- sar 5000' (?), Baluchistan; 1 Razmak, Waziristan; 8 Chitral, 1 Ladwa, Karnal, 2 Ambala, 1 Shikar- pur, Jullundur, 1 Lai Sohara, Bahawalpur; 1 47 m. from Srinagar, Kashmir; 1 Sissoo, 10000' Lahul; 5 Simla, 2 Solon, 5000', Bhagat State, 1 Sairi, Pati- ala; 2 Delhi; 1 Hamavas L., Pali, Jodhpur; 1 Kutch, 1 Golana, Cambay, Gujarat; 1 Devlali; 2 Borivli, 1 Malad, 1 Andheri, 1 Santa Cruz, 1 Kurla, 2 Trom- bay, Bombay; 1 Mumbra, Thana; 2 Bhimashankar, Poona; 2 Mahableshwar, 1 Satara, Maharashtra; 1 Mokegadda (T.R. Bell — N. Kanara?); 1 Jog, Sagar, Mysore; 1 Barma, 1 Chota Dongar, Bastar, M.P.; 1 Baghowni, Bihar; 1 Bareilly; 1 Ganai, Al- mora, 1 Tapoban, Yoshimath, Garhwal, 1 Bhimtal, Kumaon. A few have no white patch on the wing. Measurements and remarks under caniceps (947) on p. 510. 947 Lanius schach caniceps Blyth (Mad- ras) Southern Indian Greybacked Shrike 2: 296 15: 9$$ (1 juv.) 4 $ $ 2 o? (1 juv.) ' 1 Kharaghoda, 1 Dohad, Gujarat; 1 Dodi, Malwa Plateau; 1 Chikalda, Berar; 1 Poona; 1 Kaulas, Nander district; 1 Mahdi, Satara, Maharashtra; 1 Molem, Goa; 1 Kodaikanal, 1 Shembaganur, Palnis; 1 Wadakancheri, Cochin; 1 Palkonda Hills, S. Cud- appah; 1 Paloncha, Hyderabad; 1 Golapalli, Bastar; 1 Bakhruj, Monghyr, Bihar. The upper back is pale grey ( contra darker grey in most erythronotus) and not tinged with rufous, which is restricted to the rump. While individuals in the field at Poona ( cani- ceps) can sometimes be easily distinguished from the migrant erythronotus in Bombay, several of the skins marked caniceps or ery- thronotus by earlier workers, or so referred to in published works are difficult to place with any degree of confidence. Except in a few instances, I am leaving them unchanged, but they certainly need a more extensive investi- gation. The two juveniles from the Palnis obtained in May and July and no doubt of a resident population are more heavily barred and deeper rufous than birds in equivalent plumage from the north. Measurements on p. 510. 947a Lanius schach kathiawarensis Koelz (Jamwala, Junagadh) Kathiawar Shrike 6: 3$ $ 2$ $ 1 o? 2 Rudra Mata, 1 Chadwa, 1 Godsar, Bhuj, Kutch; 1 Thana, Bombay, Maharashtra; 1 Simla (?). See Abdulali, JBNHS 72{ 3): 854-855 for note on validity and probable error in label marked “Simla”. This subspecies is more dis- tinct from both erythronotus and caniceps than the latter from each other. Specimen 20304 obtained at Thana, near Bombay, on 6th February 1960 by A. Brosset, indicates a migratory tendency as in the nor- thern erythronotus. Measurements under 947 on p. 510. 948 Lanius schach tricolor Hodgson (Ne- pal, restricted to Kathmandu) Blackheaded Shrike 2: 292 24: \0$ $ 10$ $ 4o? 1 Jagadhri, Ambala; 3 Pithorgarh, Almora; 1 Pirandar, 1 Sonaripur, U.P.; 1 Remchea, 1 Bans Bahari, Nepal; 1 Temi, W. Sikkim; 1 Rampur, Bihar, 1 Mandasa, Ganjam, 1 Bensarai, Mahendragiri; 1 Bans, 1 Nilgiri, 2 Barkul, 1 Bhusanpur, Chilka, Orissa; 4 Sankrametta, Vizagapatnam, A.P.; 1 Dib- rugarh, Assam; 2 Upper Burma. The black heads appear distinctive and the rufous on the upperparts varies in a manner very similar to that in erythronotus and cani- [340] 495 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 ceps in the west, southernmost birds being the greyest. Three from Temi, Dibrugarh and Upper Burma have almost no grey on the back between the black head and the rufous back. Three from Pithorgarh, Almora (2 in June) and Rampur, Bihar (October) with their heads grey mixed with black, would appear to be young birds acquiring adult black heads, but may be the “hybrids” so frequently as- sociated with the subspecies. Measurements under 947 on p. 510. 949 Lanius cristatus cristatus Linnaeus (Benghala) Brown Shrike 2: 300 39: \2$ $ 21$ $ 6 o? 1 Bharatpur, Rajasthan; 1 Galkund, 1 Chikli, Surat Dangs; 1 Chikalda, Berar; 1 Molem, Goa; 1 Santgal, 1 Karwar, 1 North Kanara; 2 Talguppa, 1 Murgimatta, 1 Hikkeri, 1* Sagar, 1 Bangalore, My- sore; 1 Shembaganur, Palnis; 1 Nemara, Cochin, 1 Pambanar Estate, Peermade, 1 Cape Comorin, Kerala; 3 Pt. Calimere, Tanjore; 1 Kur- umbapatti, Salem, 1 Seshachalam, S. Cudappa; 2 Jabalpur, 1 Golupalli, Bastar, M.P.; 1 Ramgarh Bund, 1 Kutri, Daspalla, 1 Barkul (Chilka Lake), Orissa; 1 Baghowni, Darbhanga, Bihar; 1 Sanna- chura, Nepal; 1 Rinchinpong, W. Sikkim; 1 Dar- jeeling, Bengal; 1 Upper Burma, 1 Thayetmyo, 1 Prome, 2 Petye, Henzada, Burma; 1 South Anda- mans. There is considerable variation in the inten- sity of colour on the upperparts, some being much redder than the others. The extent of barring on the underparts and the intensity of the black eye stripes are puzzling but the material available leaves one no alternative but to list them all together. Sp. No. 22011, a female obtained on South Andamans on 15 February 1964 was origin- ally identified by me as of the nominate race and confirmed by Biswas. However, P. K. Das of Zoological Survey of India and Dillon Rip- ley both thought it was an immature lucion- ensis and it was so listed in my Andaman paper (1965). In the course of the present examination, I am again prompted to include it with the nominate form, some of which in all probability pass through the Andaman Islands on their way to peninsular India. Some of the more puzzling specimens were sent to the Smithsonian for subspecific identi- fication with the intention of settling the ident- ity of some of the others which resembled them, after they were returned. Unfortunately a parcel of 7 skins has been lost in the post. Where their identification adds to the known distribution, it has been mentioned in these notes, but it is possible that some others re- main included with the present group. Measurements on p. 511. 950 Lanius cristatus lucionensis Linnaeus (Luzon) Philippine Shrike 2: 302 10: 4$ $ 2$ $ 4 o? 2** Pt. Calimere, Tamil Nadu; 1 Narcondam I.; 1 Mannarghat, 1 Port Blair, 1* Wrightmyo, South Andamans; 1 Car Nicobar, 3 Camorta, Central Nicobars. INDIAN handbook (5:100) refers to its oc- casional or regular occurrence in Sri Lanka and to an old record from Kerala as the only one from peninsular India. Two recently ob- tained by BNHS Bird Ringing Party at Pt. Calimere, on the southeast coast opposite the northernmost part of Ceylon, appeared to agree with Andaman birds, and their identi- fication as lucionensis has been confirmed by Mr Bond. They are probably regular visitors to the east coast, at least to this area. Measurements under 949 on p. 511. 950a Lanius cristatus superciliosus Lat- ham (Java) 1 $ * Baghownie, Tirhut, Bihar. Sp. 4752 obtained by Inglis on 17 Novem- ber 1907 did not agree with the others avail- The specimens marked * have been lost in the post when returned by the Smithsonian Institute. 496 [341] BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 20 able and was sent to the Smithsonian and identified as of this race, establishing a new record for India. Vaurie (1959) gives the distribution as “Sokhalin and Hokkaido south to central Hondo. Migrates through Japan and eastern China to winter from southern Yunnan; southern Kwangsi and southern Kwantung (probably), to Hainan, Indo-China, southern Malay Peninsula, Anambas, and Greater and Lesser Sundas eastward to Flores and Sumba.” EL Lanius crisiatus confusus Stegmann (Kumara, Amurland) 2 $ $ * Peking, China. 951 Lanins senator niloticus (Bonaparte) (White Nile) Eastern Woodchat Shrike 2: 299 11: 6$ $ 2$ $ 3 o? 2 R. Tanhat, Arabia; 1 Shaiba, 1 Sheik Saad, 1 Jubail Creek, Basra, 2 Felujah, R. Euphrates, Meso- potamia; 1 Shiraz, Persia; 2 Mishun, 1 Bilkarz Plain, 2000', Persian Gulf. <$ 4743 and 9 4736 from R. Tanhat, Ara- bia (1 April) and Bilkarz Plain (25 March), Persian Gulf, have their heads a paler chest- nut and backs greyer. The $ was obtained off 5 eggs on 25 March. The <5 has an indis- tinct patch of black on the forehead. Two other c? c? 4734 Mishun (1 June) and 20810 Basra (8 Sept.) have still paler heads, with the black forehead absent in the former. None of the four however show any traces of bar- ring, above or below, referred to for juveniles in ind. handbook etc. : Wing Bill Tail tfc? 97-103 av. 100 131-15 av. 13-6 74-82 av. 78 9 9 102(2) 14-4(2) 79,81 (99-104 14-15 71-83) EL Lanius tigrinus Drapiez (Java) 1$ Peking, China (purchased alive). Wing 87; bill 15.3; tail 70. EL Lanius nubicus Lichtenstein (Nubia) Masked Shrike * See footnote on page 496. 12: 4$ $ 29 $ 6 o? 1 Randha Tanhat, Arabia; 3 Basra, 1 Sheik Saad, 1 Baghdad, 3 Felujah, Mesopotamia; 2 Tanb Is- land, Persian Gulf; 1 Bagh Rezi, near Shiraz, Iran. According to Etchecopar (1970), the fe- males are duller above and almost white below. Of the three in this plumage, one is marked a male. Female 20909, Randha Tanhat, Ara- bia (1 April) has the fourth rectrice from the outside, on one side only, projecting 20 mm beyond the rest of the tail. Wing Bill Tail d1 9 85-93 av. 90.6 13 1-14 9 av. 14.2 83-90 av. 86 7 952 Orioles orioles orioles (Linnaeus) (Sweden) European Golden Oriole 3: 5 2 : 1 $ 19 Fahama, Baghdad, Iraq. The female has a pale grey (or dirty?) chin unlike any other under kundoo. Measurements and remarks under 953. 953 Orioles orioles kundoo Sykes (Duk- hun) Indian Golden Oriole 3: 6 51: 23$ $ (1 by pi., 13 adult) 249 9 4 o? 6 Chitral, N.W.F.P.; 1 Lehak Lala, Rawalpindi; 5 Simla, 2 Jabli, Baghat State; 1 Kashmir Valley; 1 Almora; 1 Tuna, Kutch; 1 Radhanpur, 1 Ajwa, Baroda; 1 Bijwar, Vindhyas, Indore; 1 Goregaon, 3 Bandra, 1 Colaba, Bombay; 1 Taloja, Panvel; 1 Panchgani, 1 Satara, Maharashtra; 1 Kumta, 1 Maj- oli, 1 Gondbala, 1 Kop, Karwar, 1 Jog, N. Kanara; 2 Bangalore; 1 Wynaad, 1 Shembaganur, 1 Thatta- kad, 1 Rajampura, Panthalam Hills; 1 Pt. Calimere, 1 Seshachalam, 1 Madras, 2 Cumbum Valley, 1 Godavary Delta; 1 Bhopalpatna, 1 Saugor; 1 Nar- sampeth, Hyderabad; 1 Baghowni, Bihar; 1 Hathi- ban, Nepal; 1 no data. Sykes when describing kundoo said the sexes were alike but his reference to a black bill leaves no doubt that he was handling juvenile specimens. Even after the bill be- comes pale, the male has a subadult plumage in which it is still very similar to the adult female and it is possible that it breeds in this plumage, resulting in pairs in identical plum- age being seen nesting together. There is no [342] 497 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 female in the collection identical with the 13 adult males. The black behind the eye is indistinct in fe- males and in males not yet in full adult plum- age, but the two specimens under the nomin- ate form are appreciably larger and have the second primary distinctly longer than the fifth (Vaurie 1958, Amer. Mus. Novit., 1869, p. 2), which is either smaller or about the same size in kundoo. Measurements on p. 511. 954 Oriolus chinensis diffusus Sharpe (In- dia) Eastern Blacknaped Oriole 3: 7 3: 2$ $ (1 juv., 1 by pi.) 1$ 1 Gudalur, 3000', Nilgiris; 1 Temple of Heaven, Peking, 1 Foochow, China. All have black napes broader than in tenu- irostris (No. 955). The S (by plumage) from Foochow is the only bird in 954 and/or 955 which has a pure yellow back. The Nilgiri 9 (9th February) has a bill stouter than in tenui- rostris, but not as stout as in the two males from China. Measurements under 955 on p. 511. 955 Oriolus chinensis tenuiroslris Blyth (Central India; restricted to Assam) Slender- billed Blacknaped Oriole 3: 9 7: 4 $8 (1 juv.) 29 9 1 o? 2 Dimapur Road, Manipur, 1 col. by Stuart Baker = Assam?; 1 N. Shan States, 1 Kama, Thayetmyo, 1 Tardemaw, 1 Pankkaung, Prome dist., Burma. None show the all-yellow upperparts as in the adult male of diffusus and the races from the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Measurements on p. 511. The measurements of the bills do not show very appreciable difference in length, but those of tenuirostris are noticeably more slender. The two females (both from Burma) have their underparts a paler yellow, and the upper- parts are also a paler (more yellowish) olive- green. In the Systematic Checklist appended to Smythies Birds of Burma (1953, p. 589) O. c. invisus is included as the resident form over most of Burma. Ripley (1940, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 53:79-80) when describing invisus from South Annam, states that they are similar to tenui- rostris from Yunnan but considerably smal- ler. He measures 5 males from Yunnan, wing 151-159 (154.8) and tail 84-89 (85.9) contra wing 141-150 (147.2), tail 75-80.5 (78.5) in Annam birds. The wings of the birds from Yunnan are larger than the available speci- mens from India and Burma, but the tails of invisus are very small. I am leaving our speci- mens from Burma under tenuirostris. 956 Oriolus chinensis andamanensis Tytler (South Andaman) Andaman Blacknaped Ori- ole 3: 10 6: 5 $ $ (2 juv.) 1$ 1 Guitar I., 1 Long I., 1 Bakultala, Middle An- damans; 2 Wrightmyo, 1 Mannarghat, S. Anda- mans. The single 9 does not have the pure yellow head and back of the three adult males. The two juvenile males with streaked underparts lack the black nape. Measurements under 957 on p. 511. 957 Oriolus chinensis niacrourus Blyth (Nicobar Islands, Central Group*) Nicobar Blacknaped Oriole 3: 10 15: details below (a) 7: 3$ $ 29 9 2 o? 6 Car Nicobar; 1 Battye Malve ( 9 ) (b) 8: 6$ $ 29 9 (juv.) 2 Nancowry, 2 Trinkat, 3 Camorta, Central Nico- bars; 1 Pilu Bhabi, Great Nicobar. As in andamanensis the adult female differs 498 [343] BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT . HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 20 from the male in not having a pure yellow and unsullied back. The size of the bill in- creases southwards, being noticeably larger in the single male from Great Nicobar. Though Oberholser’s eustictus from Car Nicobar does not appear separable, Blyth after describing macrourus said (1846, JASB 75:370) that it was found only in the Central Group; and it may be well to restrict the type locality to this area. Measurements on p. 511. ind. handbook (5:108) quotes measure- ments made by me but those relating to the bill should be read as “from feathers” and not “from skull” as stated. Juveniles (1 9 1 o?) resemble adult fe- males in colour, but lack the black nape. 958 Oriolus xanthomes xanthomas (Lin- naeus) (Chandernagore, Bengal) North Indian Blackheaded Oriole 3: 11 26: 145 5 (3 by pi., 5 juv.) 119 9 (2 by pi., 3 juv.) 1 o? (juv.) 1 Daspalla, 3 Badrama, Bamra, 1 Balasore, 1 Dimiria Band, Orissa; 2 Hazaria, Patharghatta, Bihar; 1 Allahabad, 2 Kumaun, Naini Tal, U.P.; 1 Hitwada, Nepal; 2 Calcutta; 1 Goalpara, 1 Dib- rugarh, 1 Sadiya, Assam; 1 N. Shan States; 1 May- myo, 1 Popa, Yengo, 1 Lienden, 1 Monda village, Thayetmyo 2 Sindha, Prome, 1 Bassein, 1 collected by Lightfoot = Burma (?). Notes and measurements under 959 on p. 512. 958a Oriolus xanthornus reubeni* Abdul- ali (Wrightmyo, South Andamans) Andaman Blackheaded Oriole 3: 11 25 5 (*Holotype) : 1 Bambooflats, 1* Wright- myo, South Andaman. Wing 132, 134; tail 80, 84. When describing this form I omitted to re- fer to the bills being thicker than in Indian and Ceylonese specimens, as is noticeable in the material now available. The name has had to be changed from andamanensis [J BN HS 73(2): 395]. 959 Oriolus xanthornus maderaspatanus Franklin (Ganges between Calcutta and Be- nares, and in the Vindhyian Hills etc., restrict- ed to Jubbulpore) South Indian Blackheaded Oriole 3: 11 (part) 18: 115 5 (3 by pi., 2 juv.) 79 9 (3 juv.) 1 Guna, Gwalior, C.I.; 1 Dediapada, Rajpipla, 2 Laochali, Surat Dangs, Gujarat; 1 Chikalda, Berar; 1 Jabbalpore, 1 Gondia, 1 Bhanupratappur, Kanker, 1 Chota Dongar, Bastar, M.P.; 1 Bhandup, Bom- bay, 1 Khandalla, 1 South Konkan, 1 Rajapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra; 1 Karwar, N. Kanara; 2 Palkonda Hills, S, Cudappah, 1 Chitteri Range, Salem, Madras; 1 no data. The validity of this form has been question- ed. Northern adults, individuals of which are appreciably larger, can be separated from southern birds by the paler yellow of the up- per and underparts, and the yellow markings on the outer edges of the inner secondaries and tertiaries being elongated and narrow, rather than round and spot-like, and often forming one large patch instead of two. The type locality of maderaspatanus has been res- tricted to Jubbulpore by Whistler. Birds from Orissa are distinctly of the northern form but very similar to individuals from the Central Provinces and the name can be considered for the southern form only if it were possible to move the type locality to Madras as sug- gested by the name. Males are more brightly coloured than the females, the difference being visible in the field. The females have slightly smaller wings, and also have all the tail feathers marked with black contra only the two central pairs in the adult males. Two southern birds do not agree in this respect but this may be due to error in sexing. This marking is least, or sometimes absent on the penultimate feathers. In juvenile or first year birds (which show differences in colour among themselves) : (1) the throats and upper breasts are streak- [344] 499 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 ed and the upperparts more deeply sullied than in adult females, (2) the bills (except in 6534 from Kumaun) as in other orioles, are dark contra pale in adults, and (3) in both sexes, the black is not restricted to the two central pairs of rectrices but extends, though to a smaller degree, on to the others, as in adult females. The yellow on the forehead varies in extent and is only visible in a few specimens. Two juvenile males from Calcutta (19th December) have a very distinct greenish wash all over. Measurements on p. 512. The average wing measurements of the males are deceptive for the northernmost birds from Nepal, Hazaria, and Kumaun have their wings over 140 mm and those from Orissa and Burma are smaller. 960 Oriolus xanthomus ceylonensis Bona- parte (Ceylon) Ceylon Blackheaded Oriole 3: 12 2 o? 1 Anuradhapur, N.C.P., 1 Ceylon. Wing 129(2) (ih 123-135); tail 79,80 (ih 75-84) In both specimens the third pair of tail feathers from the centre is slightly marked with black, the outer ones being all yellow. Such markings occur only in two males under mad eraspat anus and in another nominate xanthomus from Prome disk, Burma. 961 Oriolus traillii traillii (Vigors) (Hima- layas-Darjeeling) Indian Maroon Oriole 3: 14 34: 19$ $ (3 first-year) 12? $ (1 juv., 8 first- year) 3 o? 1 Ranibagh, 2050', 3 Dehra Dun, 2 Kumaon, U.P.; 1 Buxa, 1 Gournara, Jalpaiguri, Bihar; 1 Sevoka, 6 Darjeeling, 4 Kurseong, Bengal; 1 Mortam, Rongni Valley, 1 Kalighora, 500', Tista Valley, 1 Rin- chingpong, W. Sikkim; 1 Bhutan Duars; 1 Barha Pani, 3 Tezu, 1 Dening, Lohit Valley, 1 Margh- erita, Assam; 2 N. Kraung, Upper Burma; 1 Mt. Victoria, Pokokku Hills; 2 Mendon Yoma, Thdyet- myo, Burma. In ind. handbook (5:112) it is said that in adult females the upperparts are more or less like the adult male’s. The four adult fe- males with black chins do not show any trace of maroon except in the tail, nor the gloss in the black of the head. The young of both sexes are alike and resemble the adult female except for the dark chin of the latter. A single male in another pre-adult plumage has a glossy head, streaked underparts, and a ma- roon wash on the upper and lower parts. Some males are darker maroon both above and below, showing almost black. Measurements on p. 512. The Burmese birds have slightly smaller wings and measure: 2$ $ , 2$$, lo? Wing 142, 143, 137, 130, 139; bill 30.5, 31, 28.5, 29.4, 32.5; tail 102, 103, 93, 95, 100 Female No. 6548 from N. Kraung, Upper Burma, obtained in July has slight pale edges to the wing coverts presumably representing a juvenile plumage. 962 Dicrurus adsiniilis albirictus (Hodg- son) (Nepal) North Indian Black Drongo 2: 357 34: (a) 21 adults: 6$$ 6$$ 9 o? (including 5 Upper Burma) (b) 11 subadults: 5$$ 5$$ l*o? (*Maung- peng, N. Shan States) (c) 2 juveniles: 1$ 1 o? (a) 1 Gujar, 1 Jeboo 147 m. ssw. of Kalat, Baluchistan; 2 Boya, 1 Miranshah, Waziristan; 1 Kooargh, 1 Bula, Koenthal, 1 Simla Hills; 1 Baha- walpur, Punjab; 1 Gir, Gujarat; 1 Barkot, Orissa; 1 Bulandshar, U.P.; 1 Paratpur, 1 Dingla, Nepal; 1 Sarung, Bengal; 1 Saroga(?) 5* Upper Burma (* see remarks below). (b) 1 Bhanri, 132 m. ssw. of Kalat; 1 Ambala, Punjab, 1 Bhinmal, Jodhpur; 1 Pachmari, M.P.; 1 Santa Cruz, Bombay; 3 Barkot, Barma, 1 Bar- kul, Chilka, Orissa; 1 Ghazipur, U.P., 1 Maungpeng, N. Shan States (27 September, “irides very dark red brown*’). 500 [345] BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 20 (c) $ 5270 Barha Pani, Shillong, Assam; o? 5277 N’Krang, Upper Burma (no rictal spot — see remarks below) . Earlier workers have admitted that the Drongos are not very easy birds to identify but the 70 Black ( adsimilis ) and 75 Grey ( leucophaeus ) have provided more work and difficulty than anticipated. Even in the adult plumage the two species are not so easily separated as is evidenced by the fact that 12 specimens of leucophaeus were found listed under adsimilis or vice versa. In both species the sexes differ in size and pass through more than one pre-adult stage. All adsimilis are jet black above and below, but this colour acquires a brownish tinge, most marked in the primaries. Specimens ob- tained between April and September (9) are generally duller and do not have the same gloss as others between October and March (13). All, except the five from Upper Burma and the two juveniles under (c) above, have the white rictal spot. In leucophaeus the two dark ( contra pale) subspecies, longicaudatus and hopwoodi are accepted in our limits. Neither has a white rictal spot. In longicaudatus the upper plum- age has a steel grey gloss and a similarly coloured band runs across the breast with the areas above and below lacking this gloss. In both races the bill is heavier, being longer and broader, and lacks the sharply turned tip of macrocercus and albirictus, a character visible in all phases of plumage and some- times an important aid in determining an identification. The wing feathers are darker and less brown than in adsimilis in which the under wing-coverts at the base of the prim- aries are black and form a patch of colour contrasting sharply against the rest of the underwing. Subadults both in macrocercus and albiric- tus have their upper breast black as in the adult, with wide white margins to the feathers of the lower belly and under tail-coverts show- ing these areas largely white. The upper tail- coverts are similarly tipped white, but less prominently. Subadult leucophaeus have the feathers of the lower belly finely fringed with white, while the under tail-coverts are more prominently marked. The last character is prominent in life and often liable to be hidden in the pre- paration of the skin. The iris is brown and not red as in the adult. (S specimen No. 5262 with a white rictal spot obtained in the Chitteri Range, Salem District, on 16-vi- 1929 and bearing collector’s No. V 426 is presumably one of the ‘nestlings’ referred to in the Eastern Ghats Survey ( JBNHS 36: 348). The specimen is too large to be taken in the nest, but Whistler’s Ms. notes refer to its having a soft skull. This plumage (dull brown all over, paler below) is described in Indian handbook 5:118, but an equivalent stage in the Grey Drongo can- not be determined, and two specimens Nos. 5270 — Barhapani, Shillong, 1 5-vii- 1908, and N’Krang, Upper Burma, which were listed under leucophaeus have their bills nearer to those of this species but no rictal spots. There is a further pre-adult plumage in which both the upper and underparts are washed with a varying amount of grey and/or brown but it is not possible to determine if this is consistent. The 2 subspecies of adsimilis, albirictus and macrocercus are separated by size alone. Tice- hurst (1933, JBNHS 36:921-929) stressed the necessity of separating the measurements of adult and first year birds but measured the sexes together. He described first year birds as with “browner less glossy wing feathers” and made no reference to the extensive white on the lower belly, undertail coverts, on the [346] 501 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 edge of the wing and on the rump referred to above. Vaurie [1949, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 93(4) : 236-238] examined and me- asured 95 specimens of which only 1 male and 2 females were sexed! Sex for sex and plum- age for plumage, the two subspecies show no overlap in size. Table of measurements on p. 514. The wing and tail measurements of 5 un- sexed birds from Burma agree with those of adult male albirictus but their bills are notice- ably larger: Wing 151-158 av; 154; bill 22.4-24.5; from nostril 18.3-21.9 (19.5); tail 167, 169, 173. In one, the upper mandible is deformed, being twisted over the side of the lower. They are too large for cathoecus but agree in lack- ing the white rictal spot. Cripps (S.F. 7:272) noted that there was no rictal spot in any of many he callected in Fareedpur, East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Ripley ( JBNHS 50:5 12) referred to a female shot in Manipur being by its measurements the Burmese form cath- oecus. The measurements are not mentioned and the record omitted in subsequent publi- cations. Koelz (1954, p. 15) described D. m. tsipi (type locality Pallasbari, Assam), which he separated from those from Nepal and Punjab, because of a larger bill and added on the fol- lowing page that this was the character which distinguished this race from its neighbours. It is possible that the large-billed birds without the rictal spot which are obviously larger than Swinhoe’s cathoecus from China may merit separation. The measurements of unsexed No. 5274 from Maungpeng, North Shan States in sub- adult plumage (v/ing 135; bill 20.1, from nos- tril 16.2; tail 136) agree with those of female albirictus in this phase. Adult (3 5229 from Bulandshar, U.P. (wing 150, tail 170) is dated 23 July and was pos- sibly in its breeding range. The adults include single specimens taken in Nepal in December and February and the southernmost from the Gir (March) has tra- ces of white on the upper and under tail-cov- erts. The subadults dated between 16 Novem- ber and 30 January are mostly from further south than the adults suggesting that their migrations are more extensive. 963 Bicrurus adsimiiis macrocercus Vieil- lot (Madras City) South Indian Black Drongo 2: 237 35: (a) 23 adults: 12 £ $ 10$$ 1 o? (b) 11 subadults: 5$ $ 4$$ 2o? (c) 1 juvenile: 1 $ (a) 1 Hamavas, Jodhpur; 1 Bijwar, Indore; 1 Kharirohar, 1 Chadwa, 1 Bhuj, Kutch; 1 Dalkhania, Amreli, 1 Jambugodha, Gujarat; 1 Vasind, Thana, 1 Vihar, 1 Marol, 1 Khar, Bombay, 1 Pen, Kolaba, Maharashtra; 1 Molem, Goa; 1 Kumta, 2 Karwar, North Kanara; 1 Cape Comorin; 1 Kodur, South Cudappah, 1 Cumbum Valley, 1 Godavary Valley; 1 Antagarh, Bastar, M.P.; 2 Kanpur, U.P. (b) 1 Bhavnagar, Gujarat; 1 Thana, 2 Andheri, Bombay, 1 Pen, Kolaba; 1 Satara, Maharashtra; 1 Kumta, North Kanara, 1 Kalai, Trichinopoly; 1 Tirthimalai, Salem; 1 Bhopalapatnam, Bastar, 1 Jabalpur, M.P. (c) 1 Chitteri Range. See remarks under albiric- tus above. The northern subspecies is accepted as migratory but there is no doubt that macrocer- cus also undertakes some local migration. In Ibis 1926, p. 570, Whistler, while dealing with the birds of Kangra District, Punjab, refers to the possibility of the two races occurring in the area, and his inability to say whether those seen in winter and summer (in varying num- bers) are of one or both races. We have no macrocercus from so far north, but the identi- fication of breeding material from several places is necessary, for it is possible that some of the large specimens from further south of 502 [347] JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Bombay (e.g. c? 24077 Molem, Goa, wing 148, tail 158, with slight traces of white on rump and under tail and heavy 22.7 mm bill) may be migrant al birictus, requiring an adjust- ment in the range of measurments of the two subspecies. Measurements under 962 on p. 514. 964 Dicrurus adsimilis minor Blyth (Cey- lon) Ceylon Black Drongo 2: 358 nil. EL Dicrurus adsimilis thai Kloss (Koh Lak, s.w. Siam) 1 $ Pankaung, Central Burma. Wing 142; bill 18.8; from nostril 16; tail 155. $ No. 5248 from Pankaung has a long tail in keeping with this subspecies. The rump is touched with grey and the under tail-coverts tipped white. 965 Dicrurus leucopfaaeus longicaudatus Play (Segour Pass, Ncilgherries) Indian Grey Drongo 2: 362 54: 27 $ $ 21$ $ 6 o? 1 Kupwara Road, 52 m. from Srinagar, 1 Kash- mir; 7 Simla, 1 Simla Hills; 1 New Delhi; 1 Mandvi, Kutch, 1 Cambay City, 1 Laochali, Surat, 1 Sarwar, Surat Dangs, Gujarat; 2 Bassein, 1 Kan- heri, 1 Vihar Lake, 1 Bandra, Bombay, 2 Khandala; 1 Kihim, Alibag, 1 Rajapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra; 1 Molem, Goa; 2 Kanthalli, 1 Kodra, 1 North Kanara; 2 Gomaghatta, 1 Talguppa, 1 Ulavi, Shi- moga, 1 Manmane, Sidhapur, 1 Bhadrapur, 1 Ligad- hally, Sorab Tal, Mysore; 3 Shembaganur, Palnis; 1 Pirmade, 1 Maraiyur, Kerala; 3 Pt. Calimere, Tanjore; 1 Kurumbapatti, Salem; 1 Bailadilla, Bas- tar; 1 Gurguria, Simlipal Hills; 1 Peori, Almora, 1 Gupta Kashi, 1 Kaliaghat, Gharwal; 1 Mussoorie, U.P.; 2 Bans Bihari, Nepal; 1 Lamba Thach? The Grey or Ashy Drongo though describ- ed from the Nilgiris is known only as a cold weather visitor to the better-forested parts of India, extending into Ceylon. As in the Black Drongo, adsimilis, the differences in size and plumage together with its migrations have left much uncertainty regarding the number of subspecies acceptable within our limits. In 1949, Vaurie [Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 95(4): 243] separated beavani, type locality Khud Khel, eastern Afghanistan, as slightly larger than longicaudatus and migrating into peninsular India in winter. He restricted longi- caudatus to the southern and eastern parts of peninsular India, accepting A.M.N.H. unsex- ed specimen No. 61855 in juvenile plumage, obtained at Calicut in August, as evidence of its having bred in that area. Later (1958, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 1869, p. 6) he dis- carded this evidence but failed to give detailed reasons for his decision. Subsequent authors have synonymised this with longicaudatus. The specimens fall into 3 (if not 4) different plumages. Adults show a wide diversity in size, but with our present knowledge of its migrations, it is not possible to localize any groups of this dark Ashy Drongo, except for the large-billed population [see (d) under hopwoodi. No. 966] in Eastern Madhya Pra- desh and Orissa. Table of measurements on p. 513. The northern and southern birds show no difference in size. In addition to the normal measurements of the bill from feathers, the length from, and the width at the nostril is also indicated. Though unorthodox, half the product of the last two measurements roughly representing the surface area of the bill, exhibits more cle- arly the disparity in size, so visible to the eye, but not evidenced by the other measurements. 966 Dicrurus leucophaeus hopwoodi Baker (Dacca) Bengal Dark Ashy Drongo 2: 361 16: details below. All are distinguished from longicaudatus by their decidedly bulkier (longer and wider) and more strongly hooked bills. Some are slightly [348] 503 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 paler. In the absence of topotypes and more material from Assam, it is not possible to determine which group represents hopwoodi. Baker said it was the largest and darkest of the eastern forms of Dicrurus leucophaeus, but this need not be treated as incompatible with his other statement that stevensi (type locality Darjeeling, now synonymised with hopwoodi) was “decidedly darker than any of the more eastern forms”. The last reference would well appear to be to the several paler french-grey forms found further east, rather than to darker hopwoodi from south, as has been assumed by Vaurie (1949). (a) 4: 3$ $ (2* juv.) 1 o? 1* Mussoorie, U.P.; 1 Martam, Rongin Valley, Sikkim; 1* Margherita, 1 Dening, Lohit Valley, N.E. Assam. The juveniles are included on geographical grounds and their heavier bills. An adult from Mussoorie (16 June) has the small bill of longicaudatus and is included with them. The two adults are dark above, and with a faint wash of grey below. The sexed male from Dening marked hopwoodi by Salim Ali has a 155 mm wing which is appreciably larger than the size 138-148 in ind handbook (5: 121). Baker measured both sexes together 130-153 av. 146. The unsexed bird from Sik- kim is marked beavani by Ripley. It may be worth recalling that Stanford and Mayr (1941, Ibis, p. 237) when dealing with the birds of Northern Burma, specifically re- ferred to their specimens being distinctly lar- ger and longer-tailed than a series of typical hopwoodi from Assam and Cachar. (b) 4: '13 19 2*o? (1 subadult) 2 Dibrugarh, East Assam; 2* N’Krang, Upper Burma. The three adults have their underparts greyer and paler than those in (a). (c) 2: 13 (juv.*) 1$ 1* Cherrapunji, Khasia Hills; 1 Kangpokpi, Mani- pur, Assam. In the adult female from Manipur (also marked beavani by Ripley) the measure- ments agree with those of the specimens un- der (a) but the underparts are paler grey ap- proaching the pale Ashy Drongos ( mouhoti and others) from further eastwards. The spe- cimen from Cherrapunji has a heavy bill and agrees well with the juvenile under (a) but is included here as it is geographically closer. (d) 6: 43 3 2$ $ 1 Lamasinghi, 2 Sankrametta, Vizagapatnam Hills, A.P.; 1 Kontia, 1 Bailadilla (No. 20209), Bastar, M.P.; 1 Kuldiba, Orissa. Of five adults, the two from Sankrametta (March and April) are duller and less steel- blue above, and paler below, than those from Bastar and Orissa (1st November, 2nd Janu- ary). These birds are immediately separable by their heavier bills from longicaudatus from further south and west. La Personne in the Eastern Ghats Report ( JBNHS 36: 349) re- ferred to birds in pairs by 17 March and with developed organs at the latter end of April. Specimen No. 23870 from Lamasinghi (origin- ally identified and listed as Black Drongo!) was obtained by me on 30 May 1944. The tail in moult, and the dull brown wash above and below indicate a juvenile plumage. There can be little doubt that a large-billed form different from longicaudatus is resident in this area, but it has to be decided whether this is identical with hopwoodi or some other subspecies already described. It is possible that some of the specimens under longicaudatus with exceptionally heavy bills, e.g. $ 20405 Vihar Lake, Bombay and S 24078 from Molem, Goa (3 December) are migrants of this form. Measurements under 965. 504 [349] BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT . HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION-20 966a Dicrurus leucophaeus selangensis Reichenow (Junk Seylon or Phuket) White- cheeked Grey Drongo nil. 966b Dicrurus leucophaeus leucogenis Walden (Ichang, Hupeh) Pale White-cheeked Drongo 2: 367 1 $ Narcondam Island, Bay of Bengal. Wing 143; bill 22.8; from and at nostril 18.5 X 9.7 (x i) = 90; tail 135. EL Dicrurus leucophaeus mouhoti Walden (Angkor, Cambodia) Pale Ashy Drongo 3: 2$ $ (1* subadult) 1$ 1* Maymyo; 1 Ngaphaw, 1 Kandin, Prome, Bur- ma. Specimen No. 5270* dated 20 April is dark- er above and below, and lightly washed with pale brown all-over, most distinct on the head and throat, and appears to be in a subadult plumage, the grey not being as pure as in adults. The two adults from Prome were examined by Ticehurst (1931 JBNHS 36: 907) but only recorded as “D. leucophaeus Pale Ashy Dron- g°” The Bird Gallery of Prince of Wales Mu- seum of Western India exhibits a Grey Dron- go which has almost white under tail-coverts, but which may otherwise well be included in this group. The section register shows it as obtained at “Salem, Madras in 1929” which would suggest that it is one of the specimens obtained by the Eastern Ghats Survey which was camped in this district from 8 April to 7 May 1929. The specimen is not referred to in Whistler’s report but it is possible that it was mounted and retained for exhibition, and never taxonomically examined. But this would be a most unexpected record of a Burmese bird from Tamil Nadu and only a fresh speci- men can warrant its acceptance. EL Dicrurus leucophaeus nigriscens Oates (Kyeipaden, near Pegu, Burma) Burmese Dark Grey Drongo 1 $ Ataran River, Amherst, South Burma. Wing 130, bill 23.1; from nostril 19 X 9.6 width at nostril x \ - 91; tail 127. This small bird is marked nigriscens and was shot off eggs by J. P. Cook on 25 April 1913. It has an ashy brown plumage, very similar to that of subadult longicaudatus. It is curious that a dark form should be separated from the other dark subspecies hopwoodi by an intervening pale mouhoti. It may be worth keeping in mind that in South Tenasserim Hopwood ( JBNHS 26: 856) found two nests which he attributed to this species but which were very different in construction and held eggs of different types. 967 Dicrurus caerulescens cacrulescens (Linnaeus) (Benghala) Whitebellied Drongo 2: 365 43: 26 $ $ 11$ $ (2 juv.) 6 o? (3 juv.) 1 Ladwa, Karnal, Punjab; 1 Gwalior, 1 Bijapur, Indore; 1 Cambay City, 1 Balaram, Palanpur, 2 Pandwa, 1 Galkund, Surat Dangs, Gujarat; 1 Raipur, Melghat, 1 Kalyan, Thana, 1 Khandala, Poona, 1 Savantwadi, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra; 3 Molem, Goa; 2 Karwar, 1 North Kanara; 1 Ulavi, Sorab Tal, Mysore; 1 Maraiyur, Travancore; 1 Kurumbapatti, Salem, 1 Palkonda Hills, 1 Seschachalam, South Cudappah, 2 Nallamalai, South Kurnool; 1 Paryal, 2 Jabalpore, 1 Gondia, 2 Bhanupratapur, Ranker, C.P.; 1 Daspulla, 1 Badrama, Barma, 1 Pithabata, 1 Besai, Mayurbhanj, 1 Keongarh, 1 Koira, Bonia, Orissa; 3 Baghowni, Bihar; 1 Pilibhit Terai, U.P.; 2 Tribini, Nepal. The juvenile has a white belly like the adult, but lacks the gloss on the head and breast which are brownish. The head first acquires a gloss, followed by a grey tinge on breast, which becomes darker in the final phase. This widespread species shows no consistent dif- ference of size or colour but it must be noted that specimens are lacking from over large areas in the north and east and no definite [350] 505 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 information is available regarding the nature of the seasonal movements which undoubted- ly occur. Table of measurements on p. 510. Two males from Nepal have the longest wings (134, 136) and tails (136, 137) and are the only specimens in which the tail is longer than the wing. Some have bills noticeably lar- ger than others, e.g. <$ 5301 Kalyan, Bombay. 968 Dicrurus caerulescens insularis (Sharpe) (Lunugalla, Madodouna, Ceylon) Ceylon Whitebellied Drongo 2: 365 nil. 969 Dicrurus caerulescens leucopygialis Blyth (Colombo, W.P. Ceylon) Ceylon White- vented Drongo 2: 366 nil. 970 Dicrurus annectans (Hodgson) (Nepal) Crowbilled Drongo 2: 353 4: 3$$ (1 juv.) lo? 1 Bahraich, Oudh; 3 Dibrugarh, Assam. Wing 139, 143(2), 152; bill 26.1, 27.9; tail 126(2), mltg. (2) The juvenile is brownish below with the feathers of the lower breast broadly tipped with white. 971 Dicrurus aeneus aeneus Vieillot (Dacca) Bronzed Drongo 2: 368 44: 20 $ $ (2 juv.) 159$ (4 juv.) 9o? (1 juv.) 1 Karwar, 2 N. Kanara; 1 Govadsagar, 1 Cana- cona, Goa; 2 Calicut, 1 Balamore, Ashambo Hills, 1 Maraiyur, Kerala; 1 Sheveroy Hills, 1 Chitteri Range, Tamil Nadu; 1 Lamasinghi, 3 Sankrametta, Vizagapatnam Hills; 2 Kameli, Bailadilla Hills, Bastar; 2 Badrama, Barma, 1 Toda, Bonai, 1 Gur- guria, Simlipal Hills, Orissa; 2 Ranibag, U.P.; 1 Martam, Rongi Valley, Sikkim; 4 Dibrugarh, 1 Margherita, 1 Sadiya, 1 Bipani, Dibang Valley, Mishmi Hills, 1 Roopchena, 1 Cherrapunji, 2 Haf- long, Assam; 1 Nanyaseik, Chindwin, 2 N’Krang, 1 Upper Burma, 2 Leindon, 1 Thanichang Res., 1 Kandin, 1 Sinde, Prome, Burma. Except for 3 from Ashambo Hills, Sadiya and Mishmi Hills which are almost completely black, the other adults have a varying shade of grey on the und£rparts, which cannot be divided into darker and/or paler groups. The juveniles are dull brown below, with the sheen lacking on the head and upperparts in some. Stuart Baker (2:368) refers to young birds being heavily spotted with white on the axil- laries and under wing-coverts. All except six (3 juveniles and 3 adults) from widely sepa- rated areas show a varying amount of spot- ting. The juveniles are not included in the measurements. Measurements on p. 512. 972 Dicrurus remifer tectirostris (Hodg- son) (Nepal) Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo 2: 373 8: 5$ $ 39 9 2 Darjeeling, U.P.; 1 Singtam, Teesta Valley, 1 Berrick 600', 1 Martam, Rongni Valley, Sikkim; 2 Margherita, 1 Sadiya, Assam. Measurements on p. 509. 973 Dicrurus hottentottus hottentottus (Linnaeus) (Chandernagore) Haircrested or Spangled Drongo 2: 370 39 : details below. (A) 12: 5$ $ 69 9 (1 juv.) 1 o? 1 Savantwadi; 1 Valpoi, 1 Canacona, Goa; 1 Kodra, 2 North Kanara; 1 Namadachilume, Tum- kar, Mysore; 1 Kuldhiha, Nilgiris, 1 Mahendragiri, 2 Badrama, 1 Berberi, Puri, Orissa. (B) 10: 6$$ 29 9 (1 juv.) 2 o? (1* juv.) 1 Kalka, Ambala, 2 Simla; 1 Naini Tal, U.P.; 2 Martam, Rongni Valley, 2 Singtam, Teesta Valley, Sikkim; 1 Kurseong, Bengal; 1* Kutch. (C) 9: 8$$ 19 juv. 7 Goalpara, 2 Dibrugarh, Assam (D) 8: 3H 49 9 1 o? 1 Sadan Chaung, Thayetmyo; 3 Toungoo; 1 N’Mai Village, 1 Sandoway; 1 Kyibim, Henzada; 1 Ataran R., Amherst, Burma. 506 [351] BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 20 There can be little doubt that the Himalayan birds (B) described as crishna by Gould (P.Z.S., 1836, p. 5) are distinctly larger than those from peninsular India and Burma and deserve separation. Birds from Burma have their bills slightly thicker than in both Hima- layan and peninsular birds but do not have them short enough for brevirostris (Cabanis & Heine, China). The type locality of nomin- ate hottentottus has been shifted from the Cape of Good Hope to Siam and then to Sik- kim and now rests at Chandernagore in Ben- gal. The birds from Orissa are small but those from Assam and Burma intermediate and may consist of an admixture of large migrants and smaller residents. The unavailability of the type or topotypes has prevented any statement as to whether the nominate form is large or small, and allowing for the known movements of the species, it is not possible to take a de- cision. I trust that somebody with access to topotypical (Chandernagore) material will settle this problem and permit the acceptance of two subspecies in Indian limits. It would probably be simplest to accept the type loca- lity as Sikkim, synonymise criskna therewith and recognise Koelz’s londae for the smaller southern birds. The bill measurements in Indian handbook quoted from Vaurie (1949) are said to be “from skull” but are actually from “the an- terior border of the nostril” (loc. cit., pp. 207 and 280). Juveniles have no glossy feathers on the breast. The spangles in young birds are small and spot-like contra large and elongated in adults. Table of measurements on p. 512. The specimen from Kalka, Ainbala, was collected by A. E. Jones on 13 December 1919 and is marked “Hornets in gizzard.” 974 Dierurus andamanensis dieruriforniis (Hume) Great Cocos and Table I.) Large An- daman Drongo 2: 372 nil. 975 Dierurus andamanensis andamanensis Tytler (Port Blair, Andaman Island) Small Andaman Drongo 2: 371 6: 4$$ (1 subad.) 29$ (1 subad.) Measurements on p. 509. 1 have already ( JBNHS 61:5 50) referred to measurements of these specimens. The species resembles D. hottentottus in the hair on the forehead, the upturned ends of the outermost tail feathers, the white spotting on the under wing-coverts and the traces of the spangling as specks visible on the breast of the largest male (No. 22026). 976 Dierurus paradiseus grandis (Gould) (Nepalia) Northern Large Racket-tailed Dron- go 2: 378 28: details below. Indian handbook (5:136-137) includes the birds from Orissa and Central India with the large-crested birds from Nepal and Assam. Though they agree more closely with the northern birds, this intermediate population was accepted as rangoonensis (Gould) by Vaurie (1949) and are now separately listed, as also the few from Burma. (a) 12: 5$ $ 4$ $ 3 o? 2 Hazaria, Patharghatta, Bihar; 1 Salukapur, 2 Ranibag, Kurseong, 1 Kumaon, U.P.; 1 Sukna, Dar- jeeling; 1 Goalpara, 1 Margherita, 1 Tezu, 1 Den- ning, Lohit Valley, 1 Garo Hills, Assam. These are true grandis with large crests. (b) 11: S$$ 39$ 1 Juna, Rajpipla, Gujarat; 1 Narsampeth, Pak- hal Lake, Warangal, A.P.; 2 Gondia, 2 Bhampratap- pur, Ranker, 1 Antagiri, 1 Bhopalapatnam, Bas- tar, C.P.; 1 Bhusandpur, Chilka Lake, 2 Badrama, Barma, Orissa. (c) 5: 3$ $ 1$ 1 o? 1 Pwaydone, 2 Lower Chindwin, 1 Bassein, \Ata~ ran, Burma. Measurements on p. 515. [352] 507 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 977 Dicniras paradiseus paradise us (Lin- naeus) (Siam, restricted to the region between Ayuthia and the head of the Gulf) Southern Large Racket-tailed Drongo 2: 377 14: 48 8 4$ $ 6 o? 1 Laochali, Surat Dangs; 1 Jogeshwari, Bombay; 2 Vengurla, Ratnagiri; 2 Molem, Goa; 2 Karwar, 1 Castle Rock, 1 Jog, Sagar, 1 Bhadrapur, Sorab, Karnataka; 1 Shevaroy Hills, 1 Wynaad, 1 Ten- malai, Kerala. Measurements on p. 515. Most of both sexes have a varying amount of white spotting on the under wing-coverts. 978 Dicrurus paradiseus ceylonicus Vaurie (NE Province, Ceylon) Ceylon Large Racket- tailed Drongo nil. 979 Dicrurus paradiseus lophorhinus Vieil- lot (Africa, restricted to Ceylon) Ceylon Crested Black Drongo 2: 373 nil. 980 Dicrurus paradiseus otiosus (Rich- mond) (Andamans) Andaman Racket-tailed Drongo 5: 3$ $ 2$ $ 2 Long Island, Middle Andamans; 1 Wrightmyo, 2 Port Blair, South Andamans. In one male the crest is as distinct as in nicobariensis, but this subspecies is slightly larger than nicobariensis from Great Nicobar (see JBNHS 64: 178). The two females have the under wing-coverts more distinctly spotted with white than the males. Measurements on p. 515. 981 Dicrurus paradiseus nicobariensis (Stuart Baker) (Kondel, Nicobars) Nicobar Racket-tailed Drongo 2: 380 4: 28 8 2$ $ Great Nicobar. As in 1980, the females are slightly smaller than the males. Measurements on p. 515. 982 Artamus fuscus Vieillot (Bengal) Ashy Swallow Shrike 2: 348 30: 17 8 8 (1 imm.) 12$ $ 1 o? 1 Solon, 5000' Simla; 1 Goregaon, Bombay, 2* Vengurla, Ratnagiri; 1 N. Kanara; 2 Perumalmalai, Palnis 5000', 2 Jamestown, Kanyakumari, 1 Marai- ! yur, 3500', Kerala; 1 Shevaroy Hills, 1 near Madras; 1 Buchireddipalam, Kavur, Nellore, A.P.; 1 Koira (Bonai), 1 Badrama, Barma, Orissa; 1 Bhutan, near Aie River; 1 Seooke, Teesta Valley, 1 Denton, Sikkim; 1 Dibrugarh, 2 Margherita, 1 Roopchena, 1 Cachar, 1 Hungrum, 1 Guilang, N. Cachar, Assam; 1 Akyab, 1 Tarokmaw, Prome district; 1 Inbin, 1 Yebank, 1 Henzada, Burma. There is a very small difference in size bet- ween the sexes, and northern birds from Simla, Orissa, and eastwards, are slightly larger than those from the south. Measurements on p. 515. Two of the specimens Nos. 5214 Inbin, Henzada district, 27 December 1930, and 17219 $ Seooke, Teesta Valley, Sikkim, 1 February 1944, are marked as “V. fat”. Immature No. 5209, a c? from Dibrugarh, dated 19 July 1901, has pale edges to the tips of the primaries and coverts, and the head is brownish like the back, rather than grey. There is some variation in the extent of grey on the head and back as also the extent of the greyish or brownish wash on the under- parts, but it is not possible to group them by sex, season or locality. Two from Jamestown, Kanyakumari, which are the most recent spe- cimens, appear greyer than the others. 983 Artamus leucorhynchus humei Strese- mann (Andamans) Whitebreasted Swallow Shrike 2: 350 6: 4 8 8 2*$$ * missing 5 Wrightmyo, S. Andamans; 1* Bakultala, Mid- dle Andamans. Measurements on p. 509. The difference between the grey of the head and the colour of the back is greatly exaggerated in fig. 8, Plate 5, in Indian hand- book (Vol. 5, facing p. 32). 508 [353] BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 20 Measurements 933 Lanius excubitor lahtora Wing Bill Tail 110-115 av. 112.7 17-19.1 av. 18 107-123 av. 114 Oh 108-115 from skull 20-26 106-122) 9 9 106-120 av. 110 8 16 5-18 9 av. 17 6 100-125 av. 110 (lH 105-113 from skull 19-25 107-118) 935 Lanius excubitor aucheri Wing Bill Tail 113,114,118 17-5-20.1 av. 18-6 109-113 av. 109-8 9 9 109-112 av.110 6 16-7-18.6 av. 17 8 104-113 av. 107.8 (ih c? 9 107-116 — c. 106- -118 ex Hartert) 937 Lanius minor Wing Bill Tail d'd1 117,117,118 13-6,16.9,17 & broken 87,90, - 9 9 117,118,121,126 15 1, 16-7(2), 17-3 88(2), 92,94 (ih c? 9 ex Hartert 115-123 Females - usually 85-95) somewhat smaller 945 Lanius tephronotus tephronotus Wing Bill Tail cTcf 96-107 av. 102 15-7-18 5 av. 17 1 96-113 av. 106-5 9 9 95-108 av. 101 16-2-17.9 av. 16 8 94-109 av. 103 972 Dicrurus remifer tectirostris Wing Bill Tail 136-148 av. 140 4 21-3-24 (23) 349,441, 446 (ih ex Vaurie 137-149 from skull 25-30 402-532) 9 9 134,138,139 23,23,23-6 321,366,402 (ih ex Vaurie 133-146 for skull 24-28 354-466) 975 Dicrurus andamanensis andamanensis Wing Bill Outermost Tail c? > ^ cd as < 00 — 2 O oo 3 oo i i < i o o n. r- t"- r- r-~ > . ad oo r-~ cn » Ch OO r-* r-" to" > > aS to oo 'TO' CN i OO OO TO oo o' O in oo r- oo 44 > OO TO _ > * H ro > TO 12 as -r • r- > CN „ TO TO ^ o . ,—l y—> i— h 1—1 Cn O'* 00 oo cn m O CN O ON * § ^ 5 8 5 © ^ w ^ w cn to c~- "T H m (N (N ^ o 4P TJ C (TO = 2D pO TO SB c 2 CO TOl- ON TO _ O *9 TO O — > as P 44 m M m £ ~ O ’T 3 44 >n 00 in | S «+3 to CN 00 CN CN On r- to- on cn ON CN ON To- on ON 6 ON oo G > OS > OS CO ON 1 r- > OS n~ ON i > 03 To- on i > oS > 03 > 03 5 NO ON NO ON oo -n ON ON in ON o ON ON ON i To- on i TO- ON CN ON ON ON cn ON ON OO ON OO o\ OO > TO- CS *-H ^ "f A cn > NO OS ON o 53 -E >% 0, l- :§ 5 S-. 3 Nj 8 5 3 _ Nj Nj 3 NJ o „ ^ o o _ 4 4 3 1 £ b o b b b ■bo I S !< 3 _NJ *3 Ci G as -o cn to- on b o | o B * 5 b ON CO a> ’o 0) Oi co -D 3 oo O T3 C TO «J Ph 8 TO ■g TO WS .5 *3 TO r-~ to- on | £ -.5 to <* 2 •s % § * -e s ^ -r- « Cn co O X *■* o <> O b O TO f=o b PQ S fQ NO ’ ON H ON T*H O 1 as ^ ~ ^ > a C a - rj TO - 5 r- * ~ co ^■s»ls ^ E~ o «ip m S i-1 On 5a > ^ °°. £ _ TO g , ~ 2 ^ r- ” r- ^ ns ^ o > ^ 0S — in to i — i ! a .s S2 1 no n- oo S m 2 CN r- 00 «n ON cn CN On oo ON > O'. 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CM t~~ VO ? ~ s j© ^ ^ -2^SHioS > .g S > ^ | g « ~ $ £ £ ^ " m ^ n S ^ ^ A ^ ^H^Hr.voT7, £in,n cn’Voo'T'^co t-h ’— i ’“ ' vo "n m cn ^ T— I C~ ■>— I VO T—l •n p oo jpc-iTj- w cd w c5 w > > § <4J C o "S K <3 5*. &C 'O r- Os ^ a I -.2 £ <3 g £ -f? 'b g C5, w <0 w ^ r- O oo Qq os os •n cn W. VO N O «n in m m s-33«-k o' 2 ” 10 't VO - ^ 1— I os 1+ as CiJ •5 co cS Q O 5 *■ vo f' ^ C' os °q os o K o — < oo oo OS OS oo oo Tf 'b ’b o o b b cm- o c a g a t-l U lH C 90 43 18 4 5 24 9 48 ' (90+4 double bites ) from their guardians. The healed scars of ‘bites’ and nail scratches too were examined in several cases. Hospital records (15 cases) of ‘bites’ were available in the Government Hospital at Maroth alone for the year 1971. Cases duplicated in the hospital and in the interview records were treated as of hospital ing 23 (22%) on other parts of the body. The nature of the wounds varied from simple scratches (evidently made by nails) to larger wounds inflicted by the canines. The latter varied from linear to curved cuts (about 10- 55 mm long); rounded or irregularly shaped canine marks (size roughly 5 x 10 mm), some 519 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 single and others double; and larger wounds, one of them being as large as about 20 x 37 mm at the surface. Most of the wounds ap- peared to have been caused by the large cani- nes of males and a few by the incisors and smaller canines of females. Seasonal frequency of ‘bites’ The bites inflicted were least frequent from January to May and in September and Octo- ber, and most frequent from June to August and in November and December (Fig. 1). This seasonal difference may be because of the fact that from June to August, and again in November and December many females are with young and are probably more aggressive. According to Prakash (1958, 1962) there are two birth seasons in Jaipur (which is not far from Maroth village), the first in late March to early April and the second from end of September to early October. Most of the ‘bites’ were inflicted when the monkeys were prevented from pilfering food- stuff from houses, and in a few cases when the mother monkey felt that her infant was threatened. ‘Bites’ were inflicted as a rule by individual monkey only. Four cases of attack by groups were recorded but fuller details were not available. Up to about 20 years of age there is no MONTHS Fig. 1. Macaca mulatta. Graphs showing monthly frequency of ‘bites’ on human beings in Maroth village during the years 1968-1971. 520 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES appreciable difference in the proportion of assaults on male and female victims, but the circumstances of bites seem to differ. Child- ren (1-10 years) had practically an equal chance of being bitten irrespective of sex. Even in the age-group of 11-20 years there is no appreciable difference between assaults on different sexes, although the reasons for this lack of difference are probably different. Thus, on males of this age-group most of the ‘bites’ were inflicted either while chasing away the monkeys or while preventing them from snatching food, and on females mainly for the latter reason since girls of this age-group do not usually take part in chasing the monkeys and also because they are as a rule in the kitchen, either cooking food or helping their mothers. In the third age-group (21 years and above) interestingly the majority of victims (about 75%) are females. This is perhaps Zoology Department, Government College, Nagaur (Rajasthan), July 15, 1974. Refei Prakash, I. (1958) : The breeding season of the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann) in Rajasthan. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 55(1) : 1 54. (1962) : Group organisation, sexual behaviour and breeding season of certain Indian monkeys. Jap. J. Ecol. Tokyo, 12( 3):83-86. because most of the time it is the women who stay in the house (which monkeys invade so often), and the male members being generally away. Most of the victims were bitten only once, but three were bitten twice and one thrice. Acknowledgements This paper is a small portion of the study on the ecology and behaviour of the Rhesus Macaque, which is being carried out by me under the supervision of Dr M. L. Roonwal to whom I am indebted for guidance. Thanks are also due to Professor S. D. Misra for pro- viding working facilities, to Dr N. K. Soni for permission for examining the records at the Government Hospital at Maroth, and to Dr S. M. Mohnot for assistance in various ways. P. R. OJHA E N C E S Singh, S. D. (1969) : Urban monkeys. Sci. Amer., New York, 221, pp. 108-115. Valerio, D. A., Miller, R. L., Innes, J. R. M., Courtney, K. D., Pallotta, A. J. & Guttma- cher, R. M. (1969): Macaca multatta. Manage- ment of a Laboratory Breeding Colony, xii + 140 pp. New York & London (Academic Press). 4. NOTES ON A YOUNG HYBRID MACAQUE ( With a photograph ) A female Assamese Macaque ( Macaca assa - mensis) living with a group of five Stumptail- ed Macaques of both sexes and one male Pig- tailed Macaque preferred to escape into an ad- jacent enclosure occupied by one adult male and one young female Bonnet Macaque (. Macaca radiata ) in March 1974 at Nandan- kanan Biological Park, Orissa. Several attempts were made to separate her from the Bonnet Macaques without success. 521 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 A male hybrid macaque young was born to this female Assamese Macaque and the male Bonnet Macaque on 9-iii- 1975. The hy- brid baby was born completely covered with hair and with its eyes open. In the crown hair of the head, the shape of the ears and the length and shape of the tail it resembled the father. The colour of the body coat resembled that of the mother. There appears to be no record of such a hybrid in the available literature (Gray, A. P., 1972; mammalian hybrids Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal, Slough, England). We are thankful to Shri P. K. Patnaik, Bhubaneswar for the photograph. L. N. ACHARJYO Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, Nandankanan Biological Park, P.O. Barang, Dist. Cuttack. R. MISRA Wildlife Conservation Officer, Old Secretariat Buildings, Cuttack 753 001, Orissa, November 28, 1975. Photo. 1. The Assamese Macaque ( Macaca assa- mensis ) mother with her six weeks old hybrid baby. 5. LONGEVITY OF TWO SPECIES OF INDIAN MONGOOSES IN CAPTIVITY The present report embodies observations on the longevity of two species of Indian mon- goose in captivity at Nandankanan Biologi- cal Park, Orissa. small Indian mongoose ( Herpestes auro- punctatus). A full-grown adult male of this species received in the Park on 5-ii- 1967 died on 27-ix-1975, i.e. after 8 years, 7 months and 23 days in captivity. The estimated age at the time of death was about 9 years and 8 months. This was housed in a small enclosure having a cemented floor space of approximately 3.25 sq. metres and with provisions of a wooden sleeping box and a water trough. It was kept 522 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES either alone or with common mongooses and maintained very good health on a mixed diet of fish, snail-flesh and banana. crabeating mongoose ( Herpestes urva). An adult male of this species received in the Park on 24-i-1965 died on ll-i-1975, i.e. after 9 years, 11 months and 19 days. The esti- mated age at the time of death was about 12 years. It was living in an enclosure having a cemented floor space of approximately 5.25 sq. metres and was provided with a wooden sleeping box and a water trough. It was kept with two females of the same species from 1971 onwards. As already reported by Ach- arjyo & Misra (1972) it maintained excellent Veterinary Asst. Surgeon, Nandankanan Biological Park, P.O. Barang, Dist. Cuttack. Wildlife Conservation Officer, Orissa, Old Secretariate Buildings, Cuttack 1, December 23, 1975. Refer Acharjyo, L. N. & Misra, R. (1972): On ifte feeding habits of Crabeating Mongoose ( Herpestes urva) in captivity. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 69(2 ) : 411-412. Blanford, W. T. (1888-91): The Management of Wild Mammals in captivity. By Crandall, Lee S. (1965). Crandall, Lee S. (1965) : The Management of health on a diet of fish and snails. Prater (1971) states that the smaller spe- cies of mongooses like the Small Indian Mon- goose live from seven to eight years, whilst the larger forms like the big Stripednecked Mongoose, may have a life span of 13 years and more. The life span of the genus Her- pestes is given as 7 to 12^ years (Walker et al. 1964). Longevity records of these two species are not given by Crandall (1965). According to Blanford (1888-91) fruit is sometimes in- cluded in the diet of the Indian Mongoose, but this could not be supported by Crandall (loc. cit.). L. N. ACHARJYO S. MOHAPATRA E N CE S Wild Mammals in captivity. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, pp. 352-354. Prater, S. H. (1971): The Book of Indian Ani- mals, Third (Revised) Edition. Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay, pp. 96-105. Walker, Ernest P. et al. (1964): Mammals of the world, Vol. II. The Johns Hopkins Press, Balti- more, pp. 1249-1250. 6. SOME RIDDLES OF GAME BIRD MIGRATION IN KUTCH - 2 It is almost two decades, since I wrote the first note (J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 54:466- 468; 1957). This instalment gives some further information on other migratory birds. Of the three, namely Imperial Grouse [Pt erodes ori- entals (Linn.)], Waku Grouse [Pterocles. senegallus (Linn.)] and duck dealt with in my first article, the position has not changed ex- cept that I have noticed a large collection of duck this year in Banni where there are vast 523 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 areas under rain water; but in inland tanks very few birds are to be seen. The other four migratory birds I am now writing about, are the Houbara [Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii (Gray)], the Florican [Sypheotides indica (Miller)], Comb Duck [Sarkidiornis melanotos melanotos (Pennant)] and Lesser Flamingo [Phoeniconaias minor (Geoffrey)]. While I have noticed over many years that the numbers of the Houbara have been dwindling from year to year, this year shows a very sharp decrease, so much so that I fear this species is on the verge of extinc- tion. Houbaras are regular winter visitors to Kutch and a normal bag of 6 to 12 in a day’s shoot was considered quite normal; and any- thing from 20 to 50 birds were seen in a day’s hunt. This year in all the areas favoured by these birds (which covers over 300 sq. miles) not more than 12 to 15 birds have been seen. In a normal year one expects to see about 100 to 150 birds over this area. The migration of the Forican no doubt de- pends on the rainfall, since they come to Kutch in the rainy season. When the rains are good and timely, they come in good numbers and breed here. 30 to 40 birds can be seen in a day. This year, in spite of good rains and suit- able conditions practically no bird was ob- served! Both these birds are apparently well on the way to extinction! At any rate they are not coming to Kutch as they did before. On the other hand both Comb Duck and Lesser Flamingo seem to have done well. Both breed in Kutch, when conditions are favour- able. I saw quite a few birds (with half grown Palace, Bhuj, Kutch, February 1, 1976. chicks puddling in the creek near Pacham Island — just near India Bridge; I did not see any flamingo of the larger variety. The Lesser are easily distinguished from their larger cousins by being so very pink. The half grown chicks are greyish black, with no trace of pink. They were quite at a distance and I could not say whether the half grown birds* could fly. But I think not. The Comb Duck seem to have bred all over Kutch this year. In practically all the tanks including small tanks near the villages, I saw chicks — quite small and unable to fly — with the parent birds all around Bhuj and in the Lakhpat district. Of course the local game such as the Grey Partridge, Black Partridge, Hare and Chinkara are persecuted mercilessly, and sold in the market. Today’s true sportsmen in Kutch have to content themselves with reading the re- cords of what was once available for sport, in this country, described by Dr Salim Ali as ‘Sportsman’s Paradise’ in the book he wrote in 1945 on birds of kutch. If the local and residential game is not given protection, they will disappear and therefore, the implementa- tion of game laws is essential, before it is too late! As it is, four migratory birds have stopped coming; Imperial Sandgrouse and Greylag Geese completely and the Houbara with the Florican almost. It will be interesting to find out whether the numbers of these birds has also been affected in the neighbouring terri- tories such as Rajasthan and Saurashtra. H. H. MADANSINHJI OF KUTCH 524 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 7. COMMUNAL ROOSTING IN THE MYNAH ACR1DOTHERES TRISTIS Sengupta (1973) concluded that communal roosting in the Common Myna, Acridotheres trisds (L.) had evolved primarily as an anti- predator adaptation. He considered that com- munal roosting was of no advantage with res- pect to food location in this species because the birds he studied fed either individually (in towns) or in small parties (in country areas), rather than in large flocks, although he found that Mynas did flock when food became locally abundant. This range of feed- ing dispersion patterns is found in many omni- vorous species, and is related to the kind of food that is available at any moment. Thus Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis feeding on insects or chasing seabirds to make them regurgitate their last meal do so singly or in small parties, but when food becomes locally abundant, e.g. at refuse dumps, they feed in loose flocks (Feare 1975). Similarly Rooks Corvus frugi- legus feed in large dense flocks in the winter while feeding on grain, but feed in smaller, widely dispersed groups when they feed on soil invertebrates in the summer. Patterson et al. (1971) thought that this wider disper- sion within small groups reduced interference between individual birds feeding on inverte- brates that could take avoiding action. Even in the summer, however. Rooks roosted com- munally, and when unpredictable local abund- ances of food did appear large numbers of birds quickly assembled there (Feare et al. 1974). Furthermore, it seemed likely that communal roosting helped birds to discover these local abundances when they did occur, and Feajre ea al. (1974) obtained circum- stantial evidence that large winter roosts help- ed birds to find food in unfamiliar feeding grounds when their usual feeding areas were rendered unavailable due to unpredictable falls of snow. Ward & Zahavi (1973) stress- ed that large communal roosts may exist even when all members of the roost are adequately fed, but could act as an insurance against any unpredictable food shortage affecting part of the population. Solitary feeding in birds that roost communally, and which will feed in flocks if suitable food is available, need not therefore negate the hypothesis that commu- nal roosting has evolved as a method of dis- seminating information about food distribu- tion. Both Ward & Zahavi (1973) and Feare et al. (1974) regarded this as the main func- tion of communal roosts, but noted that these assemblages of birds could attract predators, and therefore required protected positions for the inactive period and anti-predator behaviour while the birds were assembling. In 1972-73 I made observations on Mynas in the Seychelles which suggest that the food location hypothesis does apply to roosts of this species. Mynas were introduced to the Seychelles, probably in the early nineteenth century (Gaymer et al. 1969) and have be- come successful colonisers of many of the islands. On Mahe, the largest island of the group. Mynas are common except in the highest forest. In lowland areas they fed sing- ly and in small parties in plantations and other fairly open habitats, but assembled in larger flocks at refuse tips and on ripe fruit trees where they caused damage. In secondary forest on higher ground they appeared to be mainly furgivorous, and fed in flocks on the ripe fruits of guavas Psidium sp., mangoes Mangifera indica, Santol Sandoricum indicum , bois rouge Dillenia ferruginea, etc. although they also fed in smaller groups in open grass- 525 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 land, in tea plantations and occasionally on breadfruit Artocarpus altilis and jackfruit A. heterophyllus which had been crushed on roads. In these situations their food was loal- ised in both space and time, and on Mahe communal roosts were conspicuous by their noise both in the towns and villages and in the mountains. Potential predators at these roosts included rats Rattus rattus, Barn Owls Tyto alba and occasional migrant falcons. On Bird Island, on the other hand, no com- munal roost of Mynas was found during a total of 10 months residence on the 70 ha. island, most of this period being out of the birds breeding season (Feare in prep.). Al- though no estimate of the population was ob- tained, there were probably well over 100 birds on the island. Apparently suitable trees (e.g. Ficus sp., Cordia subcordata, Guettarda speciosa) were present, though not widespread. Rats were abundant but very recently intro- duced (1967), and both Barn Owls and mig- rant falcons occasionally visited Bird Island. The main difference between the two islands in terms of Myna ecology appeared to lie in the distribution of food, which on Bird Island appeared to consist mainly of insects (and possibly seeds) and ripe pawpaws Carica papaya. The insects were obtained from open areas within the coconut plantation, and from treeless areas such as the airstrip, and also the Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata colony once this Culterty Field Station, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, December 29, 1975. was vacated by the terns. Pawpaw trees were also widely distributed within the coconut plantation, and there were no localised concen- trations of ripe fruit. The only time that a flock of 10-20 Mynas was seen when I put out large quantities of rice to attract Madagascar Fodies Foudia madagascariensis — the fodies, which did roost communally, rapidly discovered the rice and a large flock formed, but the assembly of Mynas was slo- wer, and they appeared to be attracted by the fodies. These observations on Mynas in the Sey- chelles thus support the hypothesis that com- munal roosting is related to food distribution in this species. The solitary feeding frequently seen by Sengupta (1973) and myself is most likely related to the type of food available at the time, but the birds continue to roost communally as this helps them to utilize the local abundances of food that periodically occur. The apparent absence of communal roosting on Bird Island is remarkable since Fryer (1910) did not mention the Myna in a list of species that occurred there, and it has presumably reached Bird Island very recently. The observations in the Seychelles were made possible by a Natural Environment Re- search Council grant to Prof. G. M. Dunnet, which enabled me to hold a Research Fellow- ship at the University of Aberdeen. C. J. FEARE1 1 Present address : Ministry of Agriculture, Fish- eries and Food, Pest Infestation Control Labora- tory, Tangley Place, Worplesdon, Guildford, Surrey, U.K. 526 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES References Feare, C. J. (1975): Scavenging and klepto- parasitism as feeding methods of Seychelles Cattle Egrets. Ibis 117:388. Feare, C. J., Dunnet, G. M. & Patterson, I. J. (1974): Ecological studies of the rook ( Corvus frugilegus L.) in north-east Scotland. Food intake and feeding behaviour. /. appl. Ecol. 77:867-896. Fryer, J. C. F. (1910): Bird and Denis Islands, Seychelles. Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. ( Zool .) (2) 74:15-20. Gaymer, R., Blackman, R. A. A., Dawson, P. G., Penny, M. & Penny, C. M. (1969) : The endemic birds of Seychelles. Ibis. 777:157-176. Patterson, I. J., Dunnet, G. M. & Fordham, R. A. (1971): Ecological studies of the rook (Cor- vus frugilegus L.) in north-east Scotland. Disper- son. J. appl. Ecol. 5:803-821. Sengupta, S. (1973) : Significance of communal roosting in the Common Myna [Acridotheres tristis (Linn.)]. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 70: 204-206. Ward, P. & Zahavi, A. (1973): The importance of certain assemblages of birds as “information- centres” for food finding. Ibis 775:517-534. 8. OCCURRENCE OF FINN’S BAYA ( PLOCEUS MEGARHYNCHUS HUME) IN DARRANG DISTRICT, ASSAM (With a photograph) The Finn’s Baya, Ploceus megarhynchus Hume, has always been a subject of great interest to the ornithologists for its alleged rarity. It was first obtained from Kaladoongi, Naini Tal District, U.P., by its describer A. O. Hume in December 1866. In 1901, Frank Finn obtained birds in breeding plumage from a Calcutta bird dealer, said to have come from Naini Tal. Eater, in 1912, H. V. O’Donel found for the first time its breeding colony in Bhu- tan Duars (= Hasimara, Jalpaiguri District, W.B.), and obtained some birds too. During the next four decades, though a few birds turned up from time to time in the Cal- cutta bird market, their exact provenance was not known. It was, therefore, supposed to be very rare and an endangered species. In 1934, Salim Ali undertook a special ex- pedition to Kaladoongi but his mission failed to locate the bird or to procure any workable clue concerning its whereabouts. Again, in 1953, Salim Ali and H. Alexander made a second fruitless quest there. But in 1959 (July- August) Salim Ali and J. H. Crook redis- covered the species with its breeding colonies in the Rampur and Haldwani districts, U.P. (Ali & Crook 1959). Eater, V. C. Ambedkar revisited the area and studied its breeding habits (Ambedkar 1968). In eastern India, after O’Donel, W. Koelz obtained specimens from Agia, Goalpara District, Assam, and they were separated into an eastern subspecies, Ploceus megarhynchus salimalii, by H. Abdul- ali (Abdulali 1960). Saha reported on its occurrence, and described its nests, eggs and chicks in a breeding colony in the Salt Fakes near Calcutta (Saha 1967), presumably form- ed by escapees from the Calcutta bird market. During a recent field trip in Darrang Dis- trict, Assam, a colony of the Finn’s Baya was found by me near Dharamjuligarh area, some 100 km north of Rangia Railway station on 5 June 1975. The habitat is typically duars, in the foot- hills region. The area is a grassland, dominat- ed by Elephant grass, periodically burnt dur- ing the dry seasons. Much of the land has 527 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 been reclaimed for cultivation by the increas- ing human settlements. Traditional tea gar- dens, however, prevail throughout the area. Clusters of villages are dotted everywhere. The terrain is flat, but cris-crossed with numerous deep nullahs, all being the tributaries of the Suklai river. The nullahs remain dry during most of the year, except when the rain water flows after a heavy shower in the hills of Bhutan and adjacent areas. There is exten- sive cultivation all around the villages. Dhar- amjuligarh, locally called Rajagarh, is a typi- cal village, some 2 to 3 km north of the Dhar- amjuli Tea Garden. Within the village, bet- ween two plots of cultivated fields stood a Silk Cotton ( Bombax . ceiba ) tree, on the top of which the colony of the Finn’s Baya was found. Nests in the colony numbered 24, all complete, and were placed some 9 to 11 m above the ground. The nests and the colony agreed with the descriptions of those from Kumaon, U.P. in all respects (Ali & Crook 1959). Thirty-five birds, all adults, could be spot- 528 Photo. 1. Nests in colony of the Finn’s Baya ( Ploceus megarhynchus Hume) on a Silk Cotton ( Bombax ceiba) tree. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ted in the colony. The males were in lesser number than the females (in a ratio of appro- ximately 3:4), a clear indication of poly- gamy. The birds were very agile and noisy, and were frequently leaving the colony to bring something in. A few individuals were seen bringing inflorescence of the maize ( Zea mays), obviously to make the inner lining of the nests. In the adjacent areas, breeding colonies of the Common Baya ( P . philippinus ) were found in the Betel nut ( Areca catechu) plants, while those of the Streaked Baya (P. man- yar) were found in the Elephant grass (Sac- charum sp.). All the three species were ap- parently feeding on the same ground, i.e. in the paddy fields or in the grass jungles. Breeding colonies of the Finn’s Baya have been recorded from Kumaon terai (Ali & Crook 1959; Ambedkar 1968), from Bhutan Duars (O’Donel 1916) and from lower Ben- Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, December 1, 1975. gal (Saha 1967). Nests are built in tree-tops, in the grasses or in the reed-beds. Although Baker (1934) reported O’Donel’s findings as nests built in the grasses, O’Donel (1916) him- self and Inglis (1920), who recorded O’Donel’s findings, confirmed that in the Bhutan Duars the nests were actually built in tree-tops. The present findings, thus, confirm that the breed- ing habit and habitats of the eastern subspecies, which was apparently known to make their nests only in the grasses and reeds, are indeed similar to that of the nominate subspecies. So far as distribution is concerned, the east- ern limit of the species was known from Agia, Goalpara District, Assam. The present find- ing, therefore, extends the range of the spe- cies further north-eastward to Darrang Dis- trict of Assam. I thank Dr B. Biswas of the Zoological Survey of India for his interest in this work and for kindly going through the manuscript. SUBHENDU SEKHAR SAHA References Abdulali, Humayun (1952) : ‘Finn’s Baya ( Ploceus megarhynchus Hume). J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 57:200-204. (1954) : ‘More notes on Finn’s Baya ( Ploceus megarhynchus Hume)’, ibid. 25:559- 601. (1960) : ‘A new race of Finn's Baya, Ploceus megarhynchus Hume’, ibid. 57:659— 662. Ali, Salim & Crook, J. H. (1959) : ‘Observations on Finn’s Baya ( Ploceus megarhynchus Hume) re- discovered in the Kumaon terai, 1959’. ibid. 56: 457-483. & Ripley, S. D. (1974) : Hand- book of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. 10: 94-96. Oxford University Press, Bombay. Ambedkar, V. C. (1968) : ‘Observations on the breeding biology of Finn’s Baya ( Ploceus megar- hynchus Hume) in the Kumaon terai’. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 65:5 96-607. Baker, E. C. S. (1934) : The notification of birds of the Indian Empire, Vol. 3: 4. Taylor & Francis, London. Inglis, C. M., Travers, W. L., O’Donel, H. V. & Shebbeare, E. O. (1920): ‘A tentative list of the vertebrates of the Jalpaiguri district, Bengal’, Part 2. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 26: 994. O’Donel, H. V. (1916) : ‘The Eastern Baya ( Ploceus megarhynchus) nesting in the same tree as the Jungle Bee ( Apis indicus)’. ibid. 24: 821. Saha, S. S. (1967) : ‘The Finn’s Ploceus megar- hynchus Hume [Aves: Passeriformes: Ploceidae], and its breeding colony near Calcutta’. Proc. Zool. Soc. Calcutta 26:181-185. 529 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 9. SIGHT RECORDS OF UNUSUAL BIRDS FROM COLABA POINT, BOMBAY, MAHARASHTRA The southernmost tip of Bombay Island, Colaba Point, provides an excellent habitat for roosting gulls and terns. The remnant patch of mangroves, the open golf course and the surrounding vegetation also provide shelter and refuge for many migrants moving south in the autumn. The shape and position of the peninsula tends to funnel the migrants moving down the coast so that a concentration of birds is to be found at the tip, creating an area that has considerable potential as a ring- ing station or an observatory. The observer spent several days in the area in late 1974 (26-28 October, 17-20 Novem- ber). The following species are of interest be- cause of their rare occurrences in the Bom- bay region. All are well known to me in parts of the world where they are of regular occur- rence. A draft of this note was shown to Mr Humayun Abdulali and his remarks are in- cluded in parenthesis under each species. Wilson’s Storm Petrel Oceanites oceanicus. Two birds were sighted offshore in 17th No- vember and were identified by their flight characteristics combined with the feet pro- jecting beyond the end of the tail. Not pre- viously recorded in the Bombay area. [Sinclair ( JBNHS 1 : 167) said it was known but rare along the Konkan, but there was no further record in the neighbourhood until a specimen was collected out of a party of 8-10 birds at the en- trance to Bombay Harbour on 22 October 1947, several single birds having been seen a few miles southwards on the same day (ibid. 47: 550).] Crab Plover Dromas ardeola. An adult and an immature bird were seen feeding near the mangroves on 27th October. Unmistakable, large, long legged, black-and-white wader with a large heavy bill. [This is now rare near Bombay and the only available records are of individuals shot /seen at Thai and Rewas, Kolaba district, on the mainland almost opposite Colaba in Bombay, both on 26 October 1930 and 1935.] Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus. Many birds seen on most days in mixed flocks with Mongolian (C. mongolus ) and Large Sandplovers (C. leschenaulti) . [Horace Alexander noted them at Colaba on 25 February 1949 ( JBNHS 49: 311) and we saw them again together in February 1951. They are presumably regular visitors though confused with the Large Sandplovers and overlooked.] Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus. Para- sitic or Richardson’s Skua Birds were sighted almost daily and may have involved five indi- viduals. Observed chasing small gulls and terns. [I was shown an unmistakable skua chasing a Les- ser Crested Tern, Sterna bengalensis .] Pomatorhine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus. Two adults seen pursuing an immature Her- ring Gull Larus argentatus. [Our only records are from Ceylon.] Slenderbilled Gull Larus genei. One seen on 26th October and two on 18th November. Not easily separable from the Blackheaded Gull. L. ridibundus but the longer decurved bill rules out confusion. [Br A. Navarro, s.J. has seen and obtained speci- mens near Bombay in December/ January ( JBNHS 65: 218).] Whitewinged Black Tern Chlidonias leucop- terus. Four birds positively identified on 27th October; separated in the field from the Whiskered Tern C. hybrida by the daintier flight, paler rump and the ‘ saddle ’ appear- ance on the immatures seen. [I have published a sight record supported by Horace Alexander on 31 March 1950 (JBNHS 49: 310) and others have been subsequently reported. The Bird Migration Camp at Point Calimere ring- 530 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ed some 50 birds but no specimen has been obtain- ed from Indian limits. Some of the terns includ- ing S. hirundo, are very confusing and it would be well to obtain specimens in support of the first few records.] Common Tern Sterna hirundo. Over 400 birds in October with a few present in No- vember. Dark wing tips, grey rump and longer tarsus separates this from the very similar Arctic Tern S. paradisaea in winter plumage, the latter not being present. Short-toed Larks Calandrella cinerea. Flocks of 100 and over were seen feeding near 120, Madeline Road, Morningside, Durban 4001, South Africa, March 25, 1976. the golf on most days. [Flocks often seen on dry open land adjoining salt pans, mangrove, etc. October to February.] Many more Palaearctic migrants were seen in the area in fluctuating numbers. The spe- cies involved were mostly wheatears, warb- lers, redstarts, bluethroats, bee-eaters and a continual stream of swallows. This area would be excellent for migrational studies by local ornithologists and is only a few minutes by bus from the Society’s rooms. J. C. SINCLAIR 10. A NOTE ON CROCODILIAN SEX DETERMINATION {With two photographs) Rene Honegger has written in IUCN Bulletin 32 (1971) that the sex of living crocodiles of certain species can be determined by manual probing of the cloaca of specimens over 75 cm in length. Other methods include body size comparisons in large adults (the male grows larger) and scalation (the scales surrounding the cloaca are larger in the males of some species) but these are limited in scope and accuracy. We have one Alligator mississipiensis 129 cm long and one 15 year old Crocodylus palustris 195 cm long. On transferring them recently we were able to check and determine their sex by the manual probing method. The Alli- gator proved to be a female with an unobst- ructed cloacal passage. The Marsh Crocodile is a male, the penis being a soft obstruction about 7 cm inside the cloaca. An unexpected bonus was that the crocodile extruded its penis about 12 cm while it was being checked re- sulting in the accompanying photograph. Sex determination by external features is extremely difficult in many reptiles but very important when planning breeding and rear- ing programmes such as a crocodile farm. The success of the Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm in Thailand with its population of 11,000 cro- codiles (C. siamensis and C. porosus) points to very good chances of successful crocodile farming in India. This will be a necessity to save India’s three crocodilians and can be an economically profitable project as well. 531 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Photo. 1. Slightly elevated area of a crocodile with penis withdrawn. Photo. 2. Tip of the penis of an adult male Marsh Crocodile. Madras Snake Park Trust, R. WHITAKER Guindy Deer Park, Madras 600 022, March 21, 1973. 11. GROWTH STUDIES ON TWO SPECIES OF CROCODILES IN CAPTIVITY Information on the economics of rearing cro- codiles in captivity in India is almost lacking and the available literature (Daniel 1970, Misra 1970) points to the danger of Indian species facing the threat of extinction due to illegal hunting for skins. The preliminary sur- vey of Bustard (1974) lays stress on the im- portance of crocodile farming in our country from the view point of both conservation and economic return. The present study deals with the growth rates of two species of crocodiles namely Crocodylus palustris and C. porosus in cap- tivity. These studies tend to show that they 532 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Table Growth rates (length /girth) of C. palustris and C. porosus in captivity (measurements taken IN JULY EVERY YEAR IN CENTIMETRES)* Year 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 C. palustris 40/16 51/21 89/34 130/52 179/67 C. porosus — 87/29 130/44 153/52 168/55 * Average of measurments of five individuals. exhibit variation in their growth rates (see Table). The average seasonal rainfall seems to have a direct bearing on the growth and this point has also been observed by others. (U. Tai Yangprapakorn et al. 1971). The juveniles of C. palustris were obtained from Chidambaram municipality of South Arcot District in August 1970, and were ap- proximately 15 months old while those of C. porosus were obtained from Singapore in April 1972, and were approximately 2 years Department of Bacteriology, Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Madras 600 020, February 7, 1976. old. Further details regarding this study such as effect of habitat and climate on the growth rate and economics of rearing for commercial purposes will be published elsewhere. ACK N OWLEDGE M E N TS Thanks are due to Prof. Y. Nayudamma, Director-General, CSIR, New Delhi and Prof. M. Santappa, Director, CLRI, Madras for their keen interest in this study. V. S. KRISHNAMURTHY R. BHASKARAN References Bustard, A. R. (1974): India — a preliminary survey of the prospects of crocodile farming. UNDP Report, FO :IND/71 /033. Daniel, J. C. (1970) : A review of the present status and position of endangered species of Indian reptiles. 1UCN Publ. (N.S.) No. 18: 75-76. Misra, R. N. (1970) : The endangered crocodiles of India. 1UCN. Publ. (N.S.) No. 18: 77-81. U. Tai Yangprapakorn, McNeely, J. A. & Cronin, E. W. (1971) : Captive breeding of croco- diles in Thailand. IUCN. Publ. (N.S.) No. 10: 98- 103. 533 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 12. COLOUR DURING LIFE OF THE SPINYCHEEKED ANEMONE FISH PREMNAS BIACULEATUS (BLOCH) (With a text -figure) In February 1974, Mr D. H. Mhasawade, the then Curator, Taraporevala Aquarium, Bom- bay, and Rodney Jonklaas of Sri Lanka, brought back alive from the Andaman Islands, together with other fishes, a pair of anemone fish. Although these fishes normally live in sym- biosis with a sea anemone, and no sea ane- mone was collected from the Andaman Is- lands or made available to them at the Tara- porevala Aquarium, the anemone fishes soon made themselves at home in a 180 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm aquarium, the other occupants being a pair of the Anemone Fish Amphiprion ephippium (Bloch) (also collected in the Andaman Islands), several Clown Fish [Amphiprion percnla (Lacepede)] (from Sri Lanka) and Yellow-tailed Blue Damsel Fish (Pomacentrus melanochir) . Fig. 1. Spinycheeked Anemone Fish Premnas bia- culeatus (Bloch). That the fishes were really anemone fish was apparent from the colour pattern — verti- cal stripes on a chestnut-brown body, and from the peculiar swimming pattern which has vari- ously been described as “bobbing” or “see- sawing”, comprising a rapid elevation and depression of the anterior portion of the body. However, they did not have the chalk-white bands which are present in most species of the genus Amphiprion. Instead, there were three sulphur-yellow bands; the first band passed behind the head in a curved “collar”, similar to that found in Amphiprion percula. The second was straight, starting from the juncture of the spiny and soft portions of the dorsal fin and extending to the ventral part of the body. This band was quite broad dor- sally but abruptly narrowed to a stripe. The third band was over the free portion of the caudal peduncle. All the three bands were edged with pale blue. Identification of the fishes could not be carried out while they were alive, as the speci- fic characters, such as fin-ray and scale count could not then be made. One of the fishes must have died and been eaten by the others before its body could be recovered for exami- nation. The other one (of total length 63 mm) lived till October, 1975 and was fortunately well preserved thereafter. On examination, it turned out to be Premnas biaculeatus (Bloch). This is the only species belonging to the genus, which latter can be distinguished from all other genera of the family Pomacentridae by having a strong sub-orbital spine directed backwards and a smaller pre-orbital spine, about equal to the eye. The bands on anemone fishes of the genus Amphiprion are chalky-white or ivory, and usually are edged with black. Woods & Schultz (1960), in their key to the fishes of the fam- ily Pomacentridae, use the term “pale bands”. Day (1878) describes the bands as “white... 534 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES margins with black”. De Beaufort (1940), too, mentions “three chalky white transverse bands, lined with black.” Day gives the habitat of Premnas biaculeatus as “Seas of India to the Malay Archipelago and beyond”. This would lead one to expect that it is widespread along Indian coasts. However, this does not seem to be so. It is not recorded by Munro (1955) from Sri Lanka. If this species had occurred in South African waters. Smith (1953) would have given, besides its diagnostic features, an ac- curate colour description and a colour-illus- tration, as he based his colour plates on sket- ches made from freshly dead specimens, or, if this was not possible, on notes made at that time. Unfortunately, however, the species does not appear to extend to those seas, since he E-31, Cusrow Baug, Colab a Causeway, Bombay 400 039, December 31, 1977. has recorded only two species of anemone fishes, namely Amphiprion polymnus (Lin- naeus) and A. bicinctus Ruppell. It is interesting to note that, on preserva- tion in formalin, the colours of the specimen soon changed. Within a month and a half, the vivid yellow of the bands had faded to white, while the pale blue edging darkened to black. The brown coloration of the body, however, remained unchanged. It may, therefore, be remarked that the previous descriptions of coloration in Premnas biaculeatus have been based on preserved specimens. Acknowledgements I am grateful to Mr A. V. Sheode, Curator, Taraporevala Aquarium, Bombay, for mak- ing available the specimen for examination. B. F. CHHAPGAR References De Beaufort, L. F. (1940) : The fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. VIII. Percomorphi Cirrhitoidea, Labriformes, Pomacentriformes. E. J. Brill, Leiden: 1-508, figs. 1-56. Day, Francis (1878): The fishes of India. Wil- liam Dawson and Sons Ltd., London. Vol. I: 1- 778; It: 198 pis. Munro, Ian S. R. (1955): The marine and freshwater fishes of Ceylon: i-xvi, 1-351, pis. 1-56, 19 figs. Smith, J. L. B. (1953): The sea fishes of sout- hern Africa: i-xvi, 1-564, 107 pis., 1219 figs. Woods, L. P. & Schultz, L. P. (1960): Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands. Vol. 2. Families from Mullidae through Stromateidae. Bull, no. 202 U.S. Nat. Mus.: 47-120, figs. 91-93, Tables 84-89, pis. 79-90. 13. ON THE SPECIFIC VALIDITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE LOACH, LEP1DOCEPH A LUS ANNANDALEI (CHAUDHURI) (CYPRINIFORMES: COBITIDAE) (With a text -figure) Chaudhuri (1912) originally described Lepi- Siliguri and River Tista near Jalpaiguri, West docephalus annandalei based on the speci- Bengal (India). Subsequently, Shaw & Sheb- mens collected from River Mahananda at beare (1937) reported this species from River 535 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Panchenai near Matighara (West Bengal). Thus L. annandalei is so far known only from northern Bengal. A perusal of literature on the Indian Cobiti- dae reveals that there exists some confusion regarding specific validity of L. annandalei. figure of L. annandalei, except in the disposi- tion of barbels. The rostral pair is minute and narrow, the two maxillary pairs are distinct and close-together (inner pair is longer) and the mandibular pair is broad and well deve- loped. Fig. 1. Lepidocephalus annandalei (Chaudhuri). Menon (1963), in his distributional list of fishes of the Himalayas, regarded L. annan- dalei as a valid species but later in his check- list (1974) of fishes of the Himalayan and Indo-gangetic plains, he considered this spe- cies as a synonym of L. guntea (Ham.). Simi- larly, Banarescu & Nalbant (1966), in their account of Cobitidae collected by the Gerrnan- India Expedition, pointed out that L. annan- dalei may be a synonym of L. thermalis (VaL). Recently, three specimens (29.0 to 40.0 mm in total length) of L. annandalei were found in the fish collection of Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary, Assam (India) which were received for identification from our Eastern Regional Station, Shillong, Meghalaya. These specimens agree well with the original description and L. annandalei can be easily distinguished from its close allies, L. guntea and L. ther- malis, by the characteristic body profile with an abrupt compression at caudal base and large eyes, the diameter of which is greater than inter-orbital distance and more than half the snout length. The present record of L. annandalei from Kaziranga Sanctuary, which is situated on the southern bank of River Brahmaputra in Sibsagar District of Assam, extends the dis- tributional range of this species considerably eastwards. Acknowledgements I am grateful to Dr B. K. Tikader, Deputy Director, for kindly providing necessary facili- ties. 536 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Zoological Survey of India, G. M. YAZDANI Western Regional Station, Poona 5, March 24, 1976. References Banarescu, P. & Nalbant, T. T. (1966): Cobi- tidae (Pisces, Cyriniformes) collected by the Ger- man-India Expedition. Mitt. Hamburg. Zool. Mus. Inst. (55:327-351. Chaudhuri, B. L. (1912) : Descriptions of some new species of freshwater fishes from North India. Rec. Indian Mus., 7, 442, pi. 40, figs. 3, 3a, 3b. Menon, A. G. K. (1963): A distributional list of fishes of the Himalayas. J. Zool. Soc. India, 14 (1 & 2): 28. (1974) :A check-list of fishes of the Himalayan and the Indo-gangetic plains. In- land Fisheries Society of India, Special Publication No. 1:53. Shaw, G. E. & Shebbeare, E. O. (1937): The fishes of Northern Bengal. /. Asiat. Soc. Beng. 3: 67, fig. 64. 14. OCCURRENCE OF THE ANCHOVY COILIA KORUA ON THE WEST COAST The Rat-tailed Anchovy Coilia korua Dutt & Seshagiri Rao 1972 has been originally des- cribed from Gollapalem, Andhra Coast. The species can be identified on the following characters. Br. St. 10-11, D I 12, P xii-xiii (free filaments) + 5-7, V i 5-6, A 101-106, g.r. 23- 26 + 30-33, scutes 7-9 + 9-11 (total, 17-19) and with maxilla not reaching the gill open- ing. C. korua occurs in Hoogly estuary (White- head 1972), at Kakinada (Rao 1975) and Dept, of Zoology, D. N. R. College, Bhimavaram 534 202, Andhra Pradesh, July 6, 1976. R E FE ] Dutt, S. & Seshagiri Rao, B. V. (1972): On a new species of anchovy belonging to genus Coilia Gray, 1831. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 69(1): 136- 138. Rao, B. V. Seshagiri (1975): Systematic stu- OF INDIA Gollapalem on the Andhra Coast. The species is now being recorded for the first time from Bombay based on 5 specimens 93-106 mm S.L. collected on 14-i- 1975 along with C. dus- sumieri and C. ramacarati. The following counts were made. D I 13-15, P xii (free fila- ments) + 7, V 7, A 104-110, g.r. 24-25 + 32- 33, scutes 8-9 + 9-12 (total, 17-20). C. korua is likely to occur on the Southwest Coast of India also. B. V. SESHAGIRI RAO E N CE S dies of fishes belonging to the genus Coilia Gray, 1831. ibid. 72(3) :732-739. Whitehead, P. J. P. (1972): A Synopsis of the Clupeoid Fishes of India. J. mar. biol. Ass. India 74(1) :242. 537 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 15. AN INSTANCE OF UNUSUAL FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF THE INDIAN MACKEREL, RASTRELLIGER KANAGURTA (CUVIER) OFF MANGALORE Information on the food of the Indian mack- erel, Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier) from the seas around India was summarised by Ven- katraman (1970). Though data on this sub- ject are quite extensive, it is significant that specific references to Acetes as an item of food of this fish are few (Kuthalingam 1956; Kutty 1965; Jones & Rosa 1965 and Luther 1973). In this context, the present report of intensive feeding of adult mackerel almost ex- clusively on species of Acetes is noteworthy. This is the first report of the kind from the seas around India. Fifty two specimens, ranging in size from 218 to 250 mm in total length and weighing 100 to 170 gm and in stage II of maturity (both males and females, former predominat- ing, ova ranging in size from 0.14 to 0.84 mm, majority 0.44 to 0.56 mm) obtained from drift net catches off Mangalore in the month of May 1975, had gorged stomachs. The con- tents, which varied from 2 to 5.5 ml were com- posed almost exclusively of two species of Acetes, namely A. cochi nensis Rao and A. japonicus Kishinouye, ranging in size from 10 to 21 mm in total length and numbering 36 to 206 individuals per stomach. Besides Acetes, only traces of semi-digested parts of copepods were found in the stomach contents. Most workers agree that the mackerel is University of Agricultural Sciences, College of Fisheries, Mangalore 575 002, March 16, 1976. primarily a plankton feeder (Venkataraman, op. cit.). However, at times, it resorts to bot- tom feeding (Bhimachar & George 1952; Kutty 1965). Differences in the food of young and adult stages (Chidambaram 1944; Deva- nesan & Chidambaran 1948; Kuthalingam op. cit. and Rao & Rao 1957) as well as instances of heavy feeding on Stolephorus (Tham Ah Kow 1950) and clupeids (Venkataraman & Mukundan 1970) are on record. The present report of intensive feeding on Acetes indicates that it is one of the important substitute items of food of adults, supporting the view that the mackerel is a facultative type of feeder, cap- able of modifying its diet depending on the availability of different organisms in the en- vironment (Rao 1965). Swarms of Acetes are known to occur in the inshore waters and ascend up the estu- aries in this region during this time of the year. The senior author found Acetes to be an important item of food of other fishes also like Lactarius lactarius and Trichiurus lep- turus at the same time in this area. Occurrence of immature individuals of L. lactarius (35 to 112 mm total length) in large numbers in the inshore waters off Mangalore during this period has been correlated with occurrence of swarms of Acetes in the area (James et al. 1974). P. S. B. R. JAMES P. SANTFIA JOSEPH 538 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES x References Bhimachar, B. S. & George, P. C. (1952): Ob- servations on the food and feeding of the Indian mackerel, Rastrelliger Canagurta (Cuvier). Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 36B (3): 105-118. Chidambaram, K. (1944) : Food of the Indian mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta Russell of the West-coast of Madras Presidency. Curr. Sci. 73(8) : 214-215. Devanesan, D. W. & Chidambaram, K. (1948) : The Common food fishes of Madras Presidency. Govt. Press, Madras. James, P. S. B. R., Shanbhogue, S. L., & Chandrasekhara Gupta, T. R. (1974) : Biology and fishery of Lactarius lactarius (Schneider) off Mangalore. Indian J. mar. Sci. 3:72-79. Jones, S. & Rosa jr., H. (1965): Synopsis of biological data on Indian mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier) 1817 and short bodied mackerel Rastrelliger brachysoma (Bleeker) 1851. FAO fish- eries synopsis, 29. Kuthalingam, M. D. K. (1956): Observations on the food and feeding habits of the Indian ma- ckerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta (Russell). J. Zool. Soc. India 5:99-106. Kutty, M. N. (1965): Observations on the In- dian mackerel Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier) from the trawl catches along the Bombay coast. Indian J. Fish. 9/4(2) : 590-603, 1962. Luther, G. (1973) : Observations on the biology and fishery of the Indian mackerel Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuvier) from Andaman Islands, ibid. 20(2) : 425-447. Rao, K. V. N. (1965): Food of the Indian ma- ckerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta (Ctivier) taken by drift nests in the Arabian sea off Vizhingam, South Kerala. Indian J. Fish. 9/4(2) : 530-451; 1962. & Rao, K. P. (1957): Differences in the food of the young and adult mackerel, Ras- trelliger kanagurta (Cuv.). Nature 759:711-712. Tham, Ah Kow (1950) : The food and feeding relationships of the fisheries of Singapore Straits. Fish. Publ. London 7(1): 35. Venkataraman, G. (1970): The Indian mackerel. Bull. cent. mar. Fish. Res. Inst. 24. & Mukundan, C. (1970): A note on the food of young mackerel. 7. mar. biol. Ass. India. 72(1 & 2) : 230-232. 16. REDESCRIPTION OF TYPE SPECIMENS OF THE SPECIES EUCAMPTOPUS CORONATUS POCOCIC AND EUPROSTHENOPS ELLIOT1 (CAMBRIDGE) (FAM. PISAURIDAE) WITH CRITICAL NOTES (With seven text-figures ) Introduction During the course of revisionary studies of the family Lycosidae from India, we got an opportunity to examine the type specimens of Indian lycosids deposited in the British Museum (Natural History), London and Ox- ford University Museum, Oxford, which were originally described by the Pocock and Cam- bridge. While examining these type-specimens, we found that two species, namely Eucamp- topus coronatus Pocock 1900 and Euprosthe- nops ellioti (Camb.) 1877, were wrongly placed in the family Lycosidae. Pocock had erected two new genera in the family Lyco- sidae, namely Eucamptopus Pocock 1900 and Euprosthenops Pocock 1897, which actually should be placed in the family Pisauridae. The purpose of the present paper is to clear the position of these genera and species in the family Lycosidae. The original descriptions of the two species are inadequate and without proper illustrations. Hence we are redescribing and illustrating the two species in detail. 539 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST , SOCIETY, Vol 73 Figs. 1-3. Eucamptopus coronatus Pocock (1) Dorsal view of male, legs omitted. (2) Lateral view of male palp. (3) Ventral view of male palp. 540 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 1. Eucamptopus coronatus Pocock Eucamptopus coronatus Pocock, 1900, Faun. Brit. Ind. Arachnida., London, p. 245. General. Carapace and legs chocolate-brown and abdomen brown. Total length 17.00 mm. Carapace 9.00 mm long, 9.00 mm wide; ab- domen 8.20 mm long, 6.00 mm wide. Cephalothorax. Nearly as long as wide, round, except the anterior narrowing portion, high in the middle, convex with a prominent fovea at the highest portion of cephalothorax. The sub-marginal areas of thoracic region dirty brown and base of carapace and ocular area deep brown in colour. Clypeus slanting. Eyes in two rows, both rows recurved but posterior row strongly recurved. Eyes of the anterior row smaller than posterior row and medians slightly larger than the laterals; pos- terior row nearly equal in size, bases of pos- terior row of eyes provided with deep brown patches as in figure 1. Ocular quad slightly longer than wide and narrowing in front. Ster- num heart shaped, pointed behind, clothed with erect spine-like hairs, sternum depressed than the base of coxae. Labium longer than wide with a notch at the proximal end. Maxil- lae wider at the distal end and provided with conspicuous scopulae. Chelicerae slender and outer side with conspicuous scopulae and hairs, inner margin with four strong pointed teeth and outer margin with two teeth. Legs very long, strong and slender, clothed with spines and hairs, tibiae I and II with four pairs of ventral spines, tibiae III and IV with one dor- sal spine. Apophysis of male palp very pro- minent, as in figures 2 & 3. Abdomen. Slightly longer than wide, cloth- ed with pubescence and spine-like hairs. Mid- dorsally provided with a pale longitudinal patch as in figure 1. Ventral side pale, clothed with pubescence. Posterior spinnerets longer than the anterior spinnerets, apical piece of anterior spinnerets short and round with cap- like appearance. Type-specimen. One male deposited in B.M. (N.H.), London. Reg. No. 99.924.7. Type- locality. Tinnevelly, South India. Distribution. India. 2. Euprosthenops ellioti (Camb.) Podophthalma ellioti Cambridge, 1877, Proc. Zool. Soc., p. 567. Euprosthenops ellioti Pocock, 1900, Faun. Brit. India Arachnida, London, p. 249. General. Carapace and legs brown, abdo- men pale brown. Total length 24.50 mm. Cara- pace 9.50 mm long, 7.00 mm wide; abdomen 15.50 mm long, 6.00 mm wide. Cephalothorax. Longer than wide, narrow- ing anteriorly, flat and clothed with pubes- cence. Thoracic region provided with a distinct depressed fovea. Anterior row of eyes strong- ly procurved and posterior row strongly re- curved so as to form four rows of two eyes each. Anterior medians smaller than others, anterior lateral eyes situated much forward on the prominence projected anteriorly. Pos- terior medians slightly larger than the posterior laterals. Pdsterior lateral eyes provided with tubercles. Ocular quad longer than wide and narrowing in front as in figure 4. Sternum heart shaped, pointed behind, clothed with pubescence and spine-like hairs. Labium lon- ger than wide with a notch at the base. Maxil- lae slightly wider at the distal end and pro- vided with conspicuous scopulae. Chelicerae strong, outer side provided with spine-like hairs; inner and outer margin each with three teeth. Legs very long and slender, clothed with hairs and spines, provided with trans- verse brown bands dorsally; tarsi and meta- tarsi of I and II provided with five pairs and three pairs of ventral robust spines respect- JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Figs. 4-7. Euprosthenops ellioti (Camb.) (4) Dorsal view of female, legs omitted. (5) Epigyne. (6) Ventral view of male palp. (7) Lateral view, of male palp. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES \ ively. Tibial apophysis of male palp promi- nent, as in figures 6, 7. Abdomen. Narrow and very long, tapering behind, clothed with pubescence, antero-mid- dorsally with two conspicuous brown spots and dorsal middle with longitudinal pale lens- shaped marking. Mid-dorsally with a light brown longitudinal band. Ventral side pale. Epigyne as in figure 5. Male slightly smaller and darker than female. Type-specimens. One mature female, one mature male and one subadult female depo- sited in University Museum, Oxford. Regd. No. 1513. Type-locality. Eastern Central India. Distribution. India. Remarks. There are some characters which are common both to Lycosidae as well as to Pisauridae. For example the posterior row of eyes is strongly recurved in the family Lyco- sidae as well as in some genera of the family Pisauridae. The trochanters are also notched in both the families and tarsi bears three claws in both the families. It appears that both Pocock and Cambridge may have been mis- lead by the characters in placing these species in the family Lycosidae instead of Pisauridae. The members of the family Pisauridae dif- fer from those of Lycosidae in that the tibia of the pedipalp of male pisaurids are provided Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Station, Poona 5, January 22, 1976, with an external apophysis which is lacking in the lycosids. The other striking difference is the length of legs and position of legs at the resting position. Pisaurids have long and slen- der legs as compared to the lycosids. The structure of the pedicel is that in Pisauridae the parts or the lorum of the pedicel are either united by a transverse suture or the anterior piece is furnished with a notch behind into which a projection of the posterior piece fits; while in the Lycosidae the lorum of the pedi- cel is composed of two pieces of which pos- terior one is notched to receive the anterior one. The type specimens of Eucamptopus coronatus Pocock and Euprosthenops ellioti (Camb.) agree in the above characters with Pisauridae and therefore the two species have been removed from the family Lycosidae and placed under the family Pisauridae. Acknowledgements Our thanks are due to Mr F. R. Wanless, in charge of the Arachnida Division, British Museum (Natural History), London and Mr E. Taylor, Hope Department of Entomology, University Museum, Oxford, who were kind enough to send the type-specimens for our studies. B. K. TIKADER M. S. MALHOTRA 543 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 17. DELIAS EUCHARIS LINN. (LEPIDOPTERA, PIERIDAE) AS A CONTROL OF THE PLANT PARASITE DENDROPHTHOE FALCATA (LINN.) (= LORANTHUS LONGIFLORUS DESR.) IN HYDERABAD, ANDHRA PRADESH ( With a photograph) Loranthus is a partial perennial parasite of economic plants such as mango, guava, pome- granate, banyan, etc. much to the detriment of the host plant. In Hyderabad it is also ob- served to grow on cotton plants and those supporting Loranthus produce lesser number of bolls than the plants free from it. Of the many species of Loranthus, Den - drophthoe falcata is a common one and while surveying for natural enemies of insect pests of crops in Hyderabad, the plant parasite was seen to be attacked by caterpillars of Delias eucharis in large numbers. The caterpillars feed voraciously on Loranthus leaves and were able to keep the cotton plant free from it within a few days. Looking to the destructive potential of the butterfly the nature of dam- age, life-history, feeding capacity, etc. were studied in the laboratory. Nature of damage. The caterpillars, a few hours after hatching start scraping the leaves of the parasite, and in the second instar they are capable of cutting the leaves along the margin. Caterpillars up to six in number were found on a leaf. In the 3rd, 4th and 5th in- stars they feed gregariously on leaves eating away even the midribs and tender branches of the host. Thus the entire parasite is defoli- ated within a few days of attack, seriously jeopardising its survival. The twigs without the leaves gradually dry out if fresh leaves do not appear. So far the caterpillars have not been seen to attack any other plant except Loranthus. They, however, do not survive without the specific host for more than seven days. An interesting habit of the caterpillars is that, they start and stop feeding simultaneous- ly. It appears that their activity is guided by mutual stimulation. Life-History The female butterfly lays eggs in batches of 20 to 60. Up to 100 eggs may be laid by a single butterfly. The eggs are laid either on the dorsal or ventral side of the leaves and firmly glued to the surface. Eggs are creamy white in colour becoming yellow at the time of hatching, dome shaped and measure 800 n in length and 400 v- in width. Under the microscope, the eggs show a white ring on the top and from this ring longitudinal lines radiate upto 2/3 part of its length. Freshly hatched caterpillars are very minute, about 1 mm in size, brownish yellow in colour with black head and abdomen covered with white hairs. In size, the full grown caterpillar is 40 to 45 mm in length and 5 to 6 mm in width. The body of the mature caterpillar is slightly yellowish in colour, interspersed with white spots giving rise to white setae. On the dorsal surface of each segment, 2 large white spots in the front bearing long setae and 10 small spots in the back bearing short setae are present. Prepupal period. Prepupal period is 1 to 2 days during which caterpillar stops feeding and becomes pale yellow in colour and 30 to 35 mm in length. When they get a suitable place, generally the leaves or twig of Loran- thus, they adhere firmly to pupate. 544 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Table 1 Incubation period and duration of different larval instars and pupal period of Delias eucharis (in days) Month Incubation period I Larval period II III IV V Total larval period Pupal period Total life Cycle Instar Instar Instar Instar Instar January and February 6 to 8 4 4 4 6 4 22 14-16 42-46 August and September 5 to 6 3 3 4 5 3 18 10-12 33-36 Table 2 Feeding rate (average) of one caterpillar in 24 hours Size of caterpillar Instar Wt. of one caterpillar Wt. of the leaf consumed in 24 hrs. by one caterpillar Wt. of fecal matter collected in 24 hrs. from one caterpillar 5 mm First 0.0041 gm. 0.0029 gm. 0.0004 gm. 1 5 mm 2nd 0.1055 gm. 0.1360 gm. 0.0190 gm. 25 mm 3rd 0.1310 gm. 0.2071 gm. 0.1787 gm. 35 mm 4th 0.5396 gm 0.8871 gm. 0.5112 gm. 45 mm 5th 0.6696 gm. 1.4820 gm. 1.0032 gm JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 The pupae are yellow in colour and orna- mented with large black and minute yellow warts on the dorsal surface of abdomen. The size of the pupa varies from 20 to 24 mm in length and 6 to 7 mm in width. There is a black knob on the head. The size of butterfly with wings expanded varies from 65-70 mm. Dorsal surface of the wings white with prominent black wing vena- tions, while ventral surface of the forewing is yellow at the tip and the hindwings are com- Photo. 1. Female and male butterfly. pletely yellow with orange-red coloured bor- der. There are 7 orange spots near the outer margin skirted with black wing venation. The male butterfly exhibits darker wing venation than the female. The longevity of the butter- fly is 6-7 days. The total life cycle is completed in 33-46 days (Table 1). Economic importance. Loranthus is being currently eradicated by cutting or spraying copper sulphate, 2, 4-D or 2, 4, 5-T or diesel oil emulsion. The advantage of Delias sp. for controlling the plant parasite can be consider- ed in localities where it is found on cotton as this plant is extremely sensitive to hormone type of herbicides and oils. At places where caterpillars of Delias sp. are operating care should be taken not to spray Loranthus with any of the above chemicals which would kill the caterpillars. A dozen caterpillars of 35 mm in size can completely eat away 15 leaves from a twig in 24 hours. The feeding rate of one caterpillar according to their body weight and size is given in Table 2. Ack nowledge m e n ts We are thankful to Dr S. N. Banerjee, Plant Protection Adviser to the Government of In- dia, Directorate of Plant Protection, Quar- antine and Storage, N.H. IV, Faridabad, Haryana and to Dr N. C. Joshi, Project Direc- tor, Central Plant Protection Training Institute, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, for providing neces- sary facilities and help. Thanks are also due to the Director, British Museum, London for kindly identifying the insect. Central Plant Protection B. K. VARMA Training Institute, MANGAL SAIN Hyderabad, A.P., March 10, 1976. 546 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 18. EFFECT OF HOSTS ON THE PARASITE BRACHYMERIA LASUS (WALKER) Brachymeria lasus (Hymenoptera : Chalcidi- dae) is an insect parasite of the pupal stage of many butterflies and moths. During the course of our studies on the host-parasite relationships of this parasite we noted that the parasitised host is capable of exerting an in- fluence on the morphology, physiology and behaviour of the adult B. lasus emerging from it. The effect of hosts on the size of the para- site was found to be the most obvious in- fluence. When the amount of food provided by the host is not adequate but just sufficient to enable the parasite to complete its develop- ment, the parasite emerges as a dwarf but normal individual. Comparatively small Neph- antis serinopa pupae (measuring 9-12 mm in length) when parasitised by B. lasus gave rise to relatively smaller individuals of B. lasus (measuring less than 3.5-4 mm in length) whereas comparatively larger Plusia peponis pupae (measuring 20-25 mm in length) gave rise to relatively larger individuals (measur- ing more than 4-4.5 mm). The quantity of nourishment provided by Plusia peponis pupae is more than the quantity required for the development of the parasite B. lasus and some excess tissue is left over at the posterior end of the host pupa after emergence of the adult parasite. An unduly high proportion of male B. lasus has been observed among the dwarf individuals produced by smaller sized host pupae (such as smaller N. serinopa pupae). The probable reason for the production of high proportion of males and dwarfism among the individuals that emerged from relatively smaller hosts, may be the same as pointed out by Joseph (1958) in the case of the Fig- wasp parasite (Torymidae). According to him the production of high proportion of males and the dwarfism in males of Philo- trypesis is due to the partial starvation of the parasite larvae during development as a result of non-availability of adequate quantity of food. The same author referred to the obser- vation of Grosch (1948) indicating that hap- loidy is the factor which permits the larval forms to survive better in partial starved con- dition. Consequently more of the males sur- vived than the females (differential mortality of the sexes) and this resulted in a sex-ratio with higher proportions of males. Certain physiological characteristics such as fecundity, longevity and vigour of B. lasus are influenced by its hosts through their effect on size. Smaller females of B. lasus emerging from small-sized hosts were found to be less active and less agile compared to the relatively large-sized individuals emerging from larger host pupae. Also these small-sized females laid comparatively fewer eggs than the large- sized individuals and in the smaller individuals mating was found delayed compared to large- sized individuals. The large-sized individuals were found to pierce the outer pupal cuticle of the host more easily with its ovipositor than the small-sized females. In the case of the In- dian strain of B. lasus, the female could not succeed in thrusting its ovipositor through the hard cuticle of the pupa of Papilio demoleus in spite of repeated trials lasting over two minutes. However, there are instances of New Guinea specimens of B. lasus recorded as emerged from Papilio aegaeus indicating that the successful parasitization of its host by this strain of B. lasus may be due to its rela- tively larger size and probably stronger build than the Indian strain. 547 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 In view of these findings it would appear that if larger hosts are utilized for the breed- ing of Brachymeria parasites and for that mat- ter for any mass breeding for biological con- trol programmes, the larger sized individuals Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, Calicut University P.O., Kerala 673 635, India, April 13, 1976. Refer Grosch, D. S. (1948) : Dwarfism and differential mortality in Habrobracon. J. Exp. Zool. 107 \ 289- 313. produced would certainly have advantageous characters — morphological, physiological, as well as behavioural — enabling them more readily to parasitise their hosts. T. C. NARENDRAN K. J. JOSEPH : n ce s Joseph, K. J. (1958) : Researches sur les Chal- cidiens Blastophaga psenes (L.) et Philotrypesis caricae (L.) du figuier Ficus carica (L.). Ann. Des. Sc. nat. Zool. 20(1 1) : 197-260. 19. A NOTE ON SEASONAL FLUCTUATION OF MIDGE POPULATION ON HYBRID SORGHUM CSH - 1 (With a text-figure) Among the several insect-pests recorded in- festing earheads of sorghum, the sorghum midge ( Contarinia sorghicola Coquillet) is considered to be important. Karve (1967) observed heavy damage due to severe attack of the pest on CSH-1 and CSH-2 varieties in Rabi season. Dhumal (1967) reported heavy infestation in the same season. For an under- standing of the incidence of the pest in three different seasons of the year, studies on the fluctuation of midge populations infesting hybrid sorghum CSH-1 were undertaken. One hundred and fifty jowar earheads of variety CSH-1 were bagged with loose muslin cloth bags (33 cm x 16 cm, one side opened) just prior to emergence from boot. The tech- nique used by Doering & Randolph (1963) was employed with little modification in the present experiment. Daily 10 earheads were exposed for 24 hours and kept rebagged. Such fresh exposures were continued for 15 con- secutive days so that the earheads up to milk stage were exposed for egg laying. The rebag- ged earheads were observed daily to note the number of adults flies that emerged. Similar experiments were conducted in Kharif, Rabi and summer seasons separately. The data on the total number of adults that emerged daily following earhead emergence in different seasons are presented in the figure. Results It is evident from the graph that midges remained active in all three seasons of the year with varying intensity of infestation. The comparative activity of the pest was judged on the basis of adult emergence from expos- ed earheads. The intensity of the pest on the 548 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Fig. Seasonal fluctuation of midge on CSH - t crops was in order of (723), (206) and (99) emerged adults in Rabi, Kharif and summer season. In all the seasons except summer the highest population was on the 4th day from earhead emergence. In summer it was on the 3rd day. In both cases, the probable reason for highest population on 3rd day in summer and 4th day in Kharif and Rabi may be due to flowering stage of earheads which is suit- able for midge attack. The average minimum and maximum temperatures were 23.30°C and 29.0°C and 11.0° and 30.6°C, 15.6°C and 34.0°C in Kharif, Rabi and summer seasons respectively, while relative humidity was 78.5%, 57.3% and 47% for those seasons. No co-relation was found between temperature, humidity and incidence of pest. Further, in- formation is necessary on the ecological as- pects to determine the protection measures necessary against the pest in a particular season. Division of Entomology, K. S. DAREKAR1 College of Agriculture, G. M. TALGERI2 Poona 5, December 15, 1975. 1 Asstt. Professor, Entomology. Present address : 2 Deputy Director of Agriculture, Maharashtra 214 New Hostel (4), I.A.R.I., New Delhi 110012 State, Poona 411001. for Ph.D. Programme. 549 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 References Dhumal, V. S. (1967) : A thesis submitted for Master’s Degree in Agriculture to University of Poona. (Unpublished). Doering, G.W. & Randolph, N. M. (1963): Habits and control of sorghum midge, C. sorghi- cola Coq. on grain sorghum. J. econ. Ent. 56(4) : 454-459. Karve, A. D. (1967): Observation on sorghum during the Rabi season — 1966-67. Sorghum News Letter 10: 51. 20. A NOTE ON THE SETTLEMENT OF FOULING ORGANISMS ON COPPER PLATES (With two text-figures) Observations on the settlement of fouling organisms on the copper-sheathed bottom of M.F.V. ‘Harpodon’ are presented with suitable illustrations. Bryozoans, serpulids and barnacles were found to be the major foulers which were capable of settling on metallic copper. The present observations on the immunity acquired by these organisms are not only of biological interest, but also of great practical value in investigations on the pre- vention of marine fouling. With the introduction of various antifouling paints, the use of copper sheathing for protect- ing the hulls of ships and boats from the settlement of marine fouling and wood-boring organisms has diminished considerably. Fur- ther, the prohibitive cost of copper has also come in the way of its extensive use. Never- Fig. 1. A portion of Copper plate (15 X 13 cm), removed from the bottom of ‘M.F.V. Harpodon’, fouled by serpulids. theless, it is still considered the most effective method for preventing marine fouling and wood-borer attack (Laidlaw 1952, Redfield 1952) and is employed even now. Gopalakrishnan and Kelkar (1958) have reported heavy fouling by bryozoans and moderate fouling by serpulids and barnacles on the copper sheathed bottom of Indian Naval crafts with wooden hulls. During the recent dry-docking of m.f.v. Harpodon, be- longing to Central Institute of Fisheries Edu- cation, Bombay, after 14 months of operation, settlement of fouling organisms in large num- bers was noticed on the copper sheet (fig. 1). An account of this unusual observation is pre- sented in this note. Fouling organisms collected from the cop- per sheathings were in the order of decreas- ing intensity, serpulids (Hydroides sp.), bry- ozoans ( Membranipora savarti, Electra ben- galensis and Hippoporina sp.) and bivalves (Modiolus sp.). Several specimens of Ostrea sp. were found growing on propeller blades. The intensity of fouling organisms counted at 550 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES six different areas is given in the Table. It was noticed that the settlement was in patches and was not uniform throughout the bottom area. Keel proper was absolutely free from any fouling. It can be seen from the table that on the bottom of the vessel on either side of the keel up to the bilge, the settlement of serpulids and bryozoans is al- most equal in number, whereas on the sides of the vessel serpulids settled in higher inten- sity. In general, the sides showed more settle- ment than the bottom. Another interesting observation is that on the edges of the plates, where copper nails have been fixed in a line, no settlement of foulers was noticed to a dist- ance of about 2 cm. The presence of Ostrca only on propeller in- dicates that copper may be highly poisonous to this bivalve. However, further work is neces- sary to obtain direct evidence on this aspect. Length of Ostrea ranged from 2.9 cm to 5.3 cm. The number of foulers found on the pro- peller blades is as follows: Blade Serpulids Bryozoans Ostrea I Inner surface (back) 8 Nil 26 Outer surface (face) 3 — 17 II Inner surface (back) 7 2 14 Outer surface (face) Nil 5 7 III Inner surface (back) — 30 12 Outer surface (face) — 11 3 Table Number of FOULING ORGANISMS SETTLED ON THE COPPER SHEATHED BOTTOM of m.f.v. Harpodon Area (sq. in.) Number of serpulids Number of bryozoans Mean number per sq. in. serpulids bryozoans Remarks 55 1750 470 32.0 8.5 Side of the vessel 15 400 160 26.7 10.7 99 4 180 21 45.0 5.2 99 6 192 5 32.0 1.0 99 6 86 94 14.3 15.7 Bottom of the vessel 9 123 112 13.7 12.4 99 The longest serpulid measured 4.2 cm, and the diameter of the largest bryozoan colony was 5.0 cm. Settlement of these two groups were also noticed on the tar sheets below, which are exposed due to damage to copper sheathing. Settlement of bryozoans on ser- pulids and vice versa was also observed. Mo- diolus sp. was found as stray specimens on the sides. Settlement of foulers on the propeller baldes also was noticed. Here in addition to serpu- lids and bryozoans, Ostrea sp. was also seen. The back of blades harboured a larger number of foulers than the face. The complete absence of barnacles, which are comparatively resistant to toxic surfaces, on the copper sheathing was rather surprising. However, during the next dry-docking of this vessel, Balanus amphitritQ was observed in large numbers on the copper sheets. Further, copper plates immersed at Trombay, where settlement of barnacles is quite severe, indi- cated heavy incidence of B. amphitrlte (fig. 2). 551 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Fig. 2. A Copper sheet (20 x 20 cm) immersed at Trombay showing heavy settlement of small bar- nacles (4 per sq. cm) in two months. Heavier fouling accumulation on the bottom of ships between the bilges than on the sides has been reported earlier, perhaps because of a geotropic response of the larvae combined with their negative phototropism (Ketchum 1952). However, in the case of Harpodon with a draft of 6 feet only, the difference in the intensity of settlement on the sides and the bottom observed here may be due to the fact that during low tide the vessel used to actually rest on the mud getting buried up to the bilge and therefore many specimens, settled in these areas, might have been dislocated on account of friction. It has been reported (Edmondson 1944; Ketchum 1952a; Ryland 1965) that, among the various fouling organisms, bryozoans, barnacles and hydroids are extremely resist- ant to antifouling paints containing different toxic ingredients including copper, and it takes more than 12 months to foul 25% of the sur- face of a copper plate. In contrast to this, during the present investigation, the panel im- mersed at Trombay was completely fouled by barnacles within a short period of two months. The settlement of serpulids in large numbers seems to indicate a gradual process of acquiring immunity to copper by this group also. It may also be mentioned in this connec- tion that serpulids were responsible for only 10% of the fouling on copper reported earlier by Gopalakrishnan and Kelkar (1958), 90% being constituted by the bryozoans. It is well known that copper sheets, when in contact with other metals like iron or zinc, are prone to be fouled (Redfield 1952). In the case of copper, a dissolution rate of 10 g Cu/cm2/day is necessary to give it the anti- fouling properties. When cathodic protection is provided, using sacrificial zinc anodes, to prevent corrosion, sometimes overprotection will lead to a slower dissolution of copper be- low the optimum rate resulting in the fouling of the copper sheets (Ravindran & Balasubra- manyan, 1974). Although cathodic protection is also given by fixing small zinc blocks at the stem and stern portions of the hull of Harpo- don, the copper sheets are not at all overpro- tected so as to reduce it to a nontoxic surface. Further, as mentioned earlier, the sheets have been fixed using copper nails thereby avoiding contact with other metals. Hence the fouling of copper observed in the present case can be due to the immunity to copper developed by these organisms. This is further substan- tiated by the intense settlement of barnacles on copper sheets immersed at Trombay. Thus, this phenomenon is not only of biological im- portance but also of great practical value in investigations on the prevention of fouling with protective devices. We are grateful to Dr S. N. Dwivedi, Direc- tor, C.I.F.E., for critically going through the manuscript and to Shri A. R. Abraham, Assistant Professor, C.I.F.E., and to the auth- orities of Bombay Port Trust for facilities given for collecting the data. Thanks are also due 552 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES to Mr A. C. Sekhar, Director, Forest Products Research and to Dr M. C. Tewari, Officer- Wood Preservation Centre (Marine), Forest Research Institute & Colleges, Dehra Dun. C/o Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Bombay 400 061, April 21, 1974. Refer Edmondson, C. H. (1944): Incidence of fouling in Pearl harbour. Occasional papers, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, 14(4) : 251-300. Gopalakrishnan, V. & Kelkar, V. V. (1958) : A note on very heavy fouling of copper-sheathed hulls of naval craft at Bombay. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 55 ( 3): 588-590. Ketchum, B. H. (1952): Factors influencing the attachment and adherence of fouling organisms. In Marine fouling and its prevention, Published by United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Mary- land, pp. 230-240. (1852a) : The prevention of fouling in-Charge, Wood Preservation Branch, for their keen interest in the work. L. N. SANTHAKUMARAN S. R. MADHAVAN PILLAI , N CES with toxics, ibid. 241-263. Laidlaw, F. B. (1952): The history of the pre- vention of fouling, ibid. 211-223. Ravindran, K. & Balasubramanyan, R. (1974) : Cathodic protection of the hulls of fishing trawlers in India. Fish. Technol. 77(1) : 17-21 . Redfield, A. C. (1952): The fouling of metallic surfaces. In Marine fouling and its prevention, Published by United States Naval Institute, Anna- polis, Maryland, pp. 349-364. Ryland, J. S. (1965): Polyzoans of European waters. Catalogue of main marine fouling organ- isms. Vol. 2. Polyzoa. 21. ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF BIHAR AND ORISSA In the course of my studies for three and a half years on the flora of Orissa, a number of interesting plants were collected from Ganjam, Simlipal reserve forest in Mayurbhanj district and tidal forests of Mahanadi delta. Reported here are nine new records for Bihar and Orissa. Occurrence of Justicia nilgherrensis Wall, ex T. And. in Orissa is of particular interest as it extends the distribution of the species from south, towards eastern India. Cassia hirsuta Linn. Koraput near Machkund on rocky ground, fl. & fr. 26-X-70. Y oganarsimhan 90. Distribution : Introduced and run wild in many parts of Deccan, Madras, Mysore. — Native of tropical America. Crotalaria nana Burm. (Fl. Brit. India 2: 71 pp- Jambu, in grassland, fr. 9-iii-73. Saxena 1313. Distribution : W. Coast, W. Ghats and Kar- natak. Euphorbia prostrata Ait. Mayurbhanj: Simlipal, a weed, fl. & fr. 24- iv-72. Saxena 447. Distribution: Deccan, Karnatak. — Native of W. Africa and Mauritius. Hibiscus prainii Raizada & Chatt. Local name\ Halbali, Beniya. 553 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Jambu, common in tidal forests, fl. & fr. 9-iii-73. Saxena 1321. Distribution : Sunderban in West Bengal. Justicia nilgherrensis Wall, ex T. And. A small herb or undershrub with character- istic tubercled-glochidiate seeds. Mayurbhanj: Simplipal, in open places near the forest, fl. & fr. 24-iv-72. Saxena 454. Distribution : Karnatak, Melpat, S. Arcot, W. Ghats, Nilgiris upto 1800 metres. Merremia aegyptia Urb. Syn. Ipomoea pentaphylla Jacq. Ganjam: Gadgal fall, fl. 2-xi-1973. Saxena 1206, 1207. Distribution : Western India, West Deccan Peninsula. — Africa, Polynesia, Tropical Ame- rica. Rothia indica (Linn.) Druce Paradeep, on sandy sea coast, fl. l-i-74. Sax- ena 1484. Ganjam: Chandiput, in forest, fr. 6-xi-73. Saxena 1444. Distribution : Tropical Plains from Bundel- Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar, August 23, 1975. khand to Sri Lanka. — Australia. Synedrella nodiflora Gaertn. Ganjam: Taptapani, along a stream, fl. 7- xi-73. Saxena 1466. Distribution : Assam, Martaban, Andaman Islands. — Tropical America, introduced from Mexico. Tylophora tenuis Blume Kujang, climbing over chrubs in tidal forests, fl. 17-iv-73. Saxena 1005. Distribution : Bengal, Deccan Peninsula from Kanara southwards. — Burma, Malacca, Sri Lanka, Java, Borneo. Acknowledgement I am grateful to the Director, Regional Re- search Laboratory, Bhubaneswar and to Dr. P. K. Dutta, Project Coordinator for facilities. Thanks are due to the Director, Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta and to the staff of the Central National Herbarium, Sibpur, Howrah for their cooperation and the facilities provided for consulting the Herbarium. H. O. SAXENA 22. EUPATORIUM ERYTHROPAPPUM ROBINSON— A NEW RECORD FOR INDIA {With a text -figure) During an identification programme we came across some specimens of the taxon Eupat- orium which appeared after critical study based on available literature and herbarium specimens preserved in the Central National Elerbarium (CAL) to be new to Indian flora. The specimen under study was indentified as Eupatorium erythropappum Robinson (Com- positae). As there is no description in any of the standard floras of India, a detailed des- cription along with an illustrative diagram, place of occurrence, distribution and field notes are given. Eupatorium erythropappum Robinson in Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 31(6): 248, 1904. Shrub: Stems minutely glandular pulveru- 554 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Fig. 1. Eupatorium erythropappum Robinson A. Twig; B. Capitulum; C. Flower; D. Flower split open showing stamens and pistil. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 lent. Leaves: 2.5-5. 5 x 1-2.2 cm, opposite de- cussate, obovate, coriaceous, glabrous, acute at apex, alternate at base, margins serrated, lateral nerves 3 on either side of the midrib. Bracts 2, spathulate 5 x 1.5-20 x 3 mm, lower ones lanceolate, upper ones linear, shorter. Flowers in 7.5-8 cm long in terminal corymb. Sapitulum 6-7 mm long, involucral bracts 8- 9, unequal, 3-4 mm long, linear oblong, round- ed at apex, pubescent. Pappus many, reddish, hairy, (microscopic 10 x). Petals 5-lobed, 5 mm long, white, lobes acute or obtuse at apex. Stamens 5, 3 mm long, filament adnate to the base of petals, anthers hyaline, basifix- ed. Ovary 2 mm long, linear, faintly angular, silky hairy; style 5.5-6 mm long, bipartite. Botanical Survey of India, Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta, May 13, 1975. stigma linear. Fruits: achenes 3 mm long, black, hispid. Flowers and Fruits : November- January. Locality: west Bengal: Darjeeling dt., Nov. 1971, A. K. Mitra, 55 (A-G) deposited in the Herbarium (CAL) . Field Notes : A mesophytic shrub. Distribution : Mexico. Acknowledgements We wish to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to Dr. R. S. Rao, Deputy Director, and Dr. M. P. Nayar, Central National Her- barium, Botanical Survey of India for encour- agement, guidance and various facilities for this investigation. R. B. GHOSH R. N. BANERJEE A. K. GHOSH 23. CANSCORA SESSILIFLORA ROEM. & SCH.— EXTENSION OF GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE (With a text-figure) C. B. Clarke (1883) in Hooker’s flora of British india 4:104, noted this species from S. Deccan Peninsula; Ceylon. J. S. Gamble (1923) in his flora of the presidency of madras listed it, 2:618 (rep. ed. 1957) from N. Circars and Carnatic, westwards to the foot of the Madura Hills, in moist places. S. K. Malhotra & S. Moorthy (1973) in Journal, Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 70: 600, recorded it from Aksapur, Chandrapur Dist., Maharashtra State. The species described by Roem. & Sch. (1818) Syst. 3. Monat. 230, apparently re- mained, endemic to southern parts of India for several decades. Th. Cooke (1901-08) did not mention it in his flora of the presidency of Bombay. It is nearly after about a century that the species has, in recent years, extend- ed its geographical range in Western India. I collected the plant from the ravine area of Por, on the bank of a rivulet, Dist. Baroda, Gujarat State, on 2nd March 1975, and the collection is presented here, with a line drawing, to help taxonomic workers to note the occurrence and spread of the species in different parts of the country. Erect herbs about 50 cm tall; stems 4-wing- ed, continued into the inflorescence. Leaves 556 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Fig. 1. Canscora sessiliflora Roem. & Sch., part of the herb and flower. 557 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 sessile, ovate, obtuse or subacute. Flowers rosy in colour; pedicels of central flower O, of others short and winged or O (Fig. 1). The specimens Oza 231975, 331975, have been deposited in the Blatter Herbarium (BLAT) of St. Xavier’s College, Bombay. General Education Centre, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Baroda 390 002, June 3, 1975. ACK NOWLEDGE M E N TS Grateful thanks are due to Dr. S. K. Muk- erjee, F.L.S., of Howrah, for helping with the determination of the plant; the identity was established in the Central National Herbarium (CAL) of the Botanical Survey of India, Cal- cutta. The line drawing has been prepared by Artist Jade of the Drugs Laboratory, Baroda, to whom I owe debt of gratitude. G. M. OZA 24. THE OCCURRENCE OF PHALARIS MINOR RETZ. IN MAHARASHTRA STATE A weed having some characters similar to bajra and some to wheat, was located on the farm of the College of Agriculture, Pune, by us. It can be easily mistaken to be a mutant of bajra or wheat. It is commonly known as chiria-bajra or Duthie grass and is used as fodder Phalaris minor Retzius (1784) is one of the five species of the sub-tribe Phalaridae Kunth, and is distributed in the Mediterranean region and Baluchistan. As described by Hooker (1896) its stem is 1 to 3 feet long, slender and hollow; leaves long narrow with festucoid anatomy, and ob- long silica cells; ligules membraneous, linear, acuminate; sheath smooth. Panicles small and ovoid, longer and cylindric i\ inches and 2\ inches long by f inch diameter, green, spikelet 1 /5th long, very shortly pedicelled, shiny. The species with 2 n = 28 chromosome is an annual with spikelets all similar, lower re- duced, hermaphrodite, strongly compressed three flowered with the two lower florets. barren and reduce to the lemmas or one or both absent; rhachilla disarticulating above glume but not above the florets; glumes per- sistent, equal and as long as the spikelet; lower two lemmas small, sometimes reduced to minute scales fertile lemma becoming indurat- ed, awnless five nerved; palea as long as the lemma, two nerved, two keeled. Loducles two; stigmas two; stamens three. Grain closely in- vested by the indurated lemma and palea, hilum oblong, short, embryo small; starch grain compound; wings of the glumes minu- tely serrate and undulate, sterile lemmas are very dissimilar, the lower very minute, the upper about one-third of the spikelet (Kunth 1829-34). The species is resistant to diseases under field conditions and could be used in improv- ing related grasses. In addition to Pune re- gion the species also was seen last year in Nasik and Satara districts. It might have been introduced in Maharashtra as an adulterant 558 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES in wheat as it was found to be quite vigorous in rabi season. The meiotic studies of the plant showed slight irregular behaviour of chromosomes. The bridges, laggards and tetrads with micro- nuclei were also observed. Multivalents at metaphase-I were also recorded and this may be due to the allosyndetic pairing of the Botany Department, College of Agriculture, Pune 411 005, July 4, 1975. Refer Hooker, J. D. (1896): Flora of British India, Vol. 7. Grammineae, by J. D. Hooker and O. Stapf. Kunth, C. S. (1829-34) : Revision des grami- nees, 1-168 (1829); 169-386 (1830); 387-522 (1931); 25. 1SOETES IN (With a Two new forms of Isoetes have been dis- covered in South East Rajasthan since the genus was first recorded in 1969 from Mt. Abu in South West Rajasthan. Morphological features of all the Rajasthan forms of Isoetes are described and comparisons made with seven species of the genus known from India. Dissemination of spores in nature and repro- duction in the genus is commented upon in the light of observations made in the field and in the garden. Similarities between Isoetes and water fern Marsilea in respect of habitat, vege- tative reproduction and sporal aberrations are emphasized. Mital (1969) recorded the occurrence of an Isoetes sp. for the first time in Rajasthan from Mt. Abu in his catalogue of the ferns and fern-allies of Rajasthan. Another locality for Isoetes — at Atru, a Tehsil about 100 kilo- chromosomes. From the meiotic behaviour of this species, it may be presumed that it may have originated from two allied groups having 2 n = 14 chromosomes and subsequent diplo- disation. A specimen of the species has been depo- sited in Botanical Survey of India, Pune. S. D. UGALE R. C. PATIL NCES 523-578 (1832); 579-end (1834). Retzius, A. J. (1779-91): Observationes bota- nicae, Vol. 2 (1781), Vol. 3 (1784). RAJASTHAN plate) metres from Kota in SE. Rajasthan has now been discovered. Isoetes was found growing in ponds and ditches just near the Railway line at this locality. Two distinct forms of the genus, one larger with plants measuring upto 45 cm (Fig. 1) and the other with very small plants (upto 6.5 cm) in height grow at this place. The bigger form grows in the ponds and ditches in an aquatic habitat mostly with oc- casional incursions on land, the smaller form being confined to the drying margins of these ponds and ditches. A preliminary examination of these three Isoetes forms of Rajasthan, one at Mt. Abu (Fig. 9) and the other two at Atru (Figs. 1 & 5) from the point of view of specific determination yielded morphologi- cal features found in none of the Indian spe- cies described so far. It is possible to distinguish these three Iso- 559 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 73 etes forms of Rajasthan from each other as well as from the known Indian species (Pant & Srivastava 1962; Goswami & Arya 1970) on the basis of usual criteria employed for specific determination in this genus. The lar- ger Atru form shows over all resemblance with Isoetes coromandelina Linn, in size of plants and megaspore features. However, the presence of two and three-lobed rhizomorphs (Fig. 2) in equal proportions in nature, a well developed upper labium of the velum and complete absence of microspores in the ma- terial examined so far are features in which the larger Atru form is different from /. coro- mandelina and /. indica Pant and Srivastava. Moreover, the branching of proximal rays in /. indica megaspores has not been observed in the megaspores of the larger Atru form. Similarly the smaller Atru Isoetes seems to resemble /. sampathkumaranii Rao in rhizo- morph lobes, velum, megaspore characters and complete absence of microspores. The presence of tubercles on the proximal side and the slight- ly wavy proximal rays of small megaspores (Fig. 6) however, are features in this Atru form which distinguished it from /. sampath- kumaranii. On comparison with /. dixitei Shende the smaller Atru Isoetes is again found to be different as the former lacks a velum and possesses megaspores with tuberculated surface whereas in the latter a velum is pre- sent and the megaspores have mostly reticulat- ed surface with few round tubercles (Figs. 6 and 7). Isoetes from Abu is distinctive in possessing trimorphic megaspores with medium sized megaspores showing distinctly wavy proximal rays (Fig, 10) when it is compared with the other two forms of the genus from Atru, Ra- jasthan. In this respect it resembles /. indica but the latter is a much bigger plant (upto 56 cm) and is velumless whereas in the Abu form a distinct velum covering almost two- thirds of the megasporangium is present. Ano- ther characteristic feature of the Abu form is the great frequency of fused megaspores (Figs. 11 & 13). In this respect as well as in the possession of trimorphic megaspores it re- sembles 1. pantii described by Goswami & Arya (1970) from Narsingarh, Madhya Pra- desh. It may be mentioned here that all the united megaspores in the Abu form seem to be fused bodily (Figs. 13 & 14) like the one seen in /. pantii figured by Goswami & Arya (1970). In the rare united megaspores obser- ved by us in the larger Atru form the two united megaspores are only joined by a narrow bridge (Fig. 4). /. pantii again is a velumless Indian species of the genus and thus different from the Abu form in this respect. Isoetes is a difficult genus taxonomically and inspite of the distinctive features of the three Rajasthan forms of the genus we can- not at present say if they are new species pending detailed investigations in progress in this laboratory. However, some observations pertinent to the biology and reproduction of the genus in nature are made here. Dissemination of spores Pant and Srivastava (1962) substantiate Duthie’s observations on African species of Isoetes regarding spore dispersal by Earth- worms in Isoetes plants growing at village Ram Nai, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. In both the Atru forms however, the megasporangia burst from base to apex after the onset of dry sea- son. Plants with megaspores scattered around on the surface were frequently observed in nature. Earthworms were neither observed in nature nor when the plants were grown in the garden. 560 J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 Gena, Mital & Bhardwaja: Isoetes Plate (For captions, see overleaf) Isoetes bigger form— Atru Figs. 1-4: 1. Plant; 2. two-and three-lobed rhizomorph, c. x 2; 3. distal and proximal surface of large and small megaspore respectively, c. x 35; 4. megaspores joined by a bridge, c. x 35. Isoetes smaller form — Atru Figs. 5-8: 5. Plants; 6 and 7. dimorphic megaspores showing distal and proximal surface, c. x 35; 8. megaspore surface (higher magnification) showing reticulations and few tubercles, lateral view, c. X 100. Isoetes form — Abu Figs. 9-15: 9. Plant; 10 and 11. Trimorphic and fused megaspores showing distal, proximal and lateral surfaces. Note distinctly wavy nature of me- dium sized megaspores in fig. 10, c. x 35; 12. small megaspore, proximal surface showing straight proximal rays and round tubercles on pyramidal region c. x 100; 13. fused megaspores, distal surface showing reticulation and few round tubercles c. x 100; 14. two fused megaspores in reflected light, c. X 90; 15. microspores c. x 90. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Contiguous occurrence of the two forms of Isoetes at Atru Pant and Srivastava found /. coromandelina, /. indica and /. panchananii growing together at village Ram Nai in Madhya Pradesh. Simil- arly the larger and smaller forms of Isoetes at Atru grow contiguously. However, instead of growing intermixed the bigger form at Atru grows generally inside the ponds and ditches in an aquatic habitat while the smaller form occupies only the drying margins of these ponds and ditches. Further in contrast to the bigger /. coromandelina and /. indica at Ram Nai which mature early both the larger and smaller forms at Atru mature almost at the same time. In contrast to the smaller /. pan- chananii at Ram Nai the smaller Isoetes at Atru disappears early, the larger form con- tinuing to grow till the water dries up com- pletely. Reproduction in Isoetes Rare occurrence of microsporophylls and microspores in natural populations of the genus in India as reported in the literature (Verma 1960; Bhambie 1963) and the pre- sence of spore polymorphism including enu- cleate spores raises interesting questions re- garding mechanism of reproduction in the genus. Bhambie (1963) suggests /. coroman- delina could be an apogamous species. Pant & Srivastava (1965) suppose that the more common method of reproduction in the In- dian species of Isoetes may be vegetative. This is fully borne out by our observations of the Rajasthan material both in nature and in culti- vation. We found that the dried up corms of a previous season sprout up again during next rainy season at Atru. The same thing has been observed in plants grown in the garden for the past three years. As far as known to us this fact has not been mentioned in the liter- ature. The megasporal polymorphism, joined and fused spores, enucleate spores and related spore abnormalities draw attention to the situation prevailing in the heterosporous fern Marsilea. Both these genera are heterosporous with basically identical ecological patterns of growth, being aquatic as well as terrestrial. Both seem to depend largely on vegetative propagation. In Marsilea sexual reproduction is of very limited occurrence in nature. So much so that certain populations in the genus produce abnormal sporocarps containing non- viable aberrant spores. The microsporangia of certain species like Marsilea rajasthanensis Gupta contain a variable number of polymor- phic spores (Gupta 1962; Bhardwaja 1966). Besides quite a good number of Marsilea species produce parthenogenetic plants (Bhardwaja & Abdullah 1972). Partheno- genesis in Isoetes has been observed by Pant and Srivastava (1965) who found that only bigger megaspores with full chromosome com- plement in nature and the laboratory. Recent- ly Goswami (1975) also reports apogamous germination of spores in /. pantii. The extent of parallelism shown by Isoetes and Marsilea in habitat, vegetative propagation and sporal aberrations however, is significant. It is this fact which makes it difficult to identify de- pendable criteria for interspecific delimitations in both these genera. Ac K NO WLEDGE M E N TS Grateful thanks are due to Principal N. M. Kothari and Prof. A. N. Parashar, Govern- ment College, Ajmer for laboratory facilities and encouragement. Prof. H. S. Saxena, Prin- cipal, Government College, Bundi (Rajas- than) and kind enough to provide facilities for field and laboratory work to one of us (C. B. Gena). 561 9 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 Government College, Bundi. Government College, Ajmer, February 3, 1975. C. B. GENA P. L. MITAL T. N. BHARDWAJA References Bhambie, S. (1963) : Studies in Pteridophytes — III. On the structure and development of the Leaf and sporophyll of Isoetes coromandelina. Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India, 28 B: 169-190. Bhardwaja, T. N. (1966): Sporal aberrations in relation to leaf morphology in the water fern Mar- silea. Nova Hedwigia 72:405-415. & Abdullah, S. (1972): Some obser- vations on parthenogenetic sporelings of the water fern Marsilea. ibid. 27:521-524. Goswami, H. K. (1975) : The morphogenetics of mixed sporangia in Isoetes. J. Indian Bot. Soc. 54 : 210-219. & Arya, B. S. (1970): A new spe- cies of Isoetes from Narsingarh, Madhya Pradesh, ibid. 49:30-37. Gupta, K. M. (1962) : Marsilea — Botanical monograph No. 2, New Delhi. Mital, P. L. (1969) : Ferns and fern-allies of Rajasthan. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 66 : 31-42. Pant, D. D. & Srivastava, G. K. (1962): The genus Isoetes in India. Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India, 28B: 242-280. (1965) : Cytology and reproduc- tion of some Indian species of Isoetes. Cytologia 30: 239-251. Verm A, S. C. (1960): Enucleate spores in Iso- etes coromandelina L. Caryologia 13 : 274-284. 26. ROSENSCHELDIELLA ORB1S (BERK.) PETR., AND SCLERO- T I OPS IS CON CAVA (DUM.) SHEAR & DODGE, NEW RECORDS FOR INDIA Introduction During the course of a mycological survey of the forests of South-West India (Kanya- kumari to Bombay through Karnataka) two interesting and are follicolous fungi, hitherto unreported from India were collected. One of these belonged to the Dothidiaceous genus, RosenscheldieUa Theiss. & Sydow [R. or bis (Berk.) Petr.] and the other, to the form- genus, Sclerotiopsis [S. concava (Dum.) Shear & Dodge] (Fam. Leptostromataceae). These two collections are described. Description 1 . RosenscheldieUa Theissen & Sydow This genus was established by Theissen & Sydow (1915) for a Dothidiaceous fungus with R. styracis (P. Henn.) Theiss. & Syd. as the type collected on the leaves of Styrax sp. (Fam. Styraceae) from Brazil. No member of the genus was known from India until Anan- thanarayanan (1962) reported the occurrence of R. eugeniae Petch causing tar-spot disease in Eugenia heyneana Duth. (Fam. Myrtaceae) from Maharashtra State. Later, Muthappa (1967) described R. cinnamomi Muth., para- sitizing leaves of Cinnamomum zeylanicum Bl. (Fam. Lauraceae) collected from Coorg forests of Karnataka. As early as 1921, (Sydow 1921) reported a fungus similar to the present collection on the leaves of Lit sea glauca Siebold from Ceylon and named it R. lit sea Syd. Later, Petrak 562 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES (1941) listed it as a synonym to R. orbis (Berk.) Petr. 1 . Rosenscheldiella orbis (Berk.) Petr. Stroma hypophyllous, aggregate, minute, slightly raised, multi-loculate, measure 0.5- 1 mm in diam. Locules globular to oval, non- ostiolate measure 68-102 x 42.5-68 /*, asci fasciculate, slightly clavate, bitunicate, apex rounded, 8-spored, aparaphysate, measure 38- 60.8 x 9.5-19 n, ascospores hyaline, 2-celled, slightly bent, with rounded ends, 13.3-15.2 x 3. 8-5.7 /x. This fungus was on the dried, dechloro- phylled leaves of Lit sea coriacea Hook. (Fam. Lauraceae), collected at Ponmudi forests of Trivandrum (Kerala State) on 28-ix-1973 and has been deposited at the Ajrekar Mycologi- cal Herbarium (AMH) of this Institute under No. AMH 2519. Remarks’. It is interesting to note that this fungus was collected on the same host-genus, namely Litsea, also reported earlier from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) with no significant variations (Table 1). Again, its collection in India, in close geographical proximity to Ceylon is of ecological interest. or navicular, lunate or curved, hyaline uni- cellular spores arising acrogenously from dense, erect, crowded, unbranched conidiophores. The fungus material was collected on the leaves of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (Fam. Myrtaceae) from Argentina with S. australasica Speg. as the type. Desmaziers (1847) reported a closely similar fungus and assigned it to Ceuthospora con - cava Dum. growing saprophytically on the leaves of Rosa sp. from France. Shear & Dodge (1921) assigned the fungus causing post-harvest rot of strawberries to Sclerotiopsis concava (Dum.) Shear & Dodge (using the specific epithet concava because of its earlier chronology). By doing so, Spegazzini’s S. australasica (which is the type) has been em- mended to be a synonym to S. concava (Dum.) Shear & Dodge. No member of this genus was known from India, until Ramakrishnan (1952) reported Sclerotiopsis indica Ramakr. parasitizing leaves of Ilex wightiana Wall. (Fam. Aquifoliaceae) from South India. Later, Garud (1970) des- cribed S. microspora Garud on the leaves of Acacia auriculiformis L. from Maharashtra. Table 1 Rosenscheldiella orbis (Berk.) Petr, on Litsea sp. Species : Ascostromate : Locules : Asci : Ascospores : Authority Rosenscheldiella litseae Sydow 0.5-2 mm 60-88 x 60-75/* 38-60 x 15-20/* 15-20x4-4.5/* Sydow. 1921 R. orbis (Berk.) Petr. — 50-80/* 40-60 x 15-20/* 15-20x4 -6/* Petrak, 1941 R. orbis (Berk.) Petr. (Indian collection) 0.5-1. 5 mm 68-102 x 42.5-68/* 38-60 x 9.5-19/* 13.3-15.2x3.8-5.7/* ” ” 2 . Sclerotiopsis Speg. This genus was established by Spegazzini (1880) for a pycnidial fungus with hemisphe- rical, non-ostiolate, black, raised fructifications which are sclerotic with fusoid to cylindrical These are the only two known species from India. The present collection is from the leaves of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. collected at forests near Devikulam (Kerala State) on 563 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 24-ix-1973. Our collection was identified as S. concava after a detailed study and the ma- terial has been deposited at the AMH under No. 2518. 2. Schlerotiopsis concava (Dum.) Shear & Dodge Pycnostroma epiphyllous, raised, non-ostio- late, 1-2 mm diam., inner content parenchy- matous uniloculate with an inner lining of dense erect crowded and unbranched conidio- phores measuring 28.5-41.8 x 2 /*; conidia con- Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science, Pune 411 004, August 23, 1975. Refer Ananthanarayanan, S. (1962) : Rosenscheldiella euginiae Petch — a new record to India. Curr. Sci. 31: 517-518. ♦Desmaziers, J. B. H. J. (1847): Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. Ser. Ill, 8: 17. Garud, A. B. (1970) : Some follicolous Fungi- Imperfecti from India. Sydow ia, Ann. My col. Ser. II, 24: 69-72. Muthappa, B. N. (1967) : A new species of Rosenscheldiella Theiss. & Syd. from India. Sydo- wia, 27:163-164. Petrak, F. (1941): Uber Rosenscheldiella litseae Syd. Annl. Mycol. 39:341. cave, navicular, apex rounded (not acute), hyaline, one-celled, measure, 9.5-15.2 x 1.7-2 /*. ACKN OWLEDGE M E N TS We are very grateful to Professor M. N. Kamat for his valuable suggestions and in- terest and to the Director, M.A.C.S., Poona 4, for laboratory and literature facilities. Thanks are also due to the Government of India for financial assistance to one of us (VS.). V. SUBRAMONIAM V. G. RAO E N C E S Ramakrishnan, T. S. (1952): Additions to fungi of Madras-X. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. B 34: 163. Shear, C. L. & Dodge, B. O. (1921): The life history and identity of ‘ Pattellina fragariae \ Lepto- thyrium macrothecium and Peziza oenotherae’. Mycologia 13: 163. * Spegazzini, C. (1880): Fungi Argentini 4: 282. Sydow, H. (1921) : Novae fungorum species — XVII. Annl. Mycol. 79:306. Theissen, F. & Sydow, H. (1915): Die Dothi- diales. Ann. Mycol. 75:645. * Originals not seen. 564 2?a “ i-» “ i-i i-t >— i i— t “ ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR 1975-76 Executive Committee President Dr. Salim Ali, d.s.c., f.n.a. V ice-Presidents Mr. R. E. Hawkins Mr. G. V. Bedekar, i.c.s. (Retd.) Hon. Secretary Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati, m.d. Hon. Treasurer Dr. C. V. Kulkarni, m.sc., ph.D. Member Secretary, Ministry of Education, Govt, of India > Ex-officio Dr. S. R. Amladi, m.d. Prof. P. V. Bole B. Dasgupta H. K. Divekar Lavkumar J. Khacher Elected Members Mr. Nazir Latif Mr. Bansi Mehta Mr. Kisan Mehta Mr. S. V. Nilakanta Mr. D. J. Panday Advisory Committee H. G. Acharya F. C. Badhwar, o.b.e. B. Biswas S. Chaudhuri Chintaman Deshmukh, Ahmedabad New Delhi Calcutta New Delhi i.c.s. (Retd.) Hyderabad Mr. Zafar Futehally Mr. Shivrajkumar Khachar Mr. M. Krishnan Mr. Duleep Matthai Mr. Ranjit Sinh, i.a.s. Bangalore Jasdan Madras New Delhi New Delhi 565 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1975 This report covers the activities of the So- ciety in the 92nd year of its existence. Membership This is the first year of report after the en- hanced subscription which was necessary to meet the increased administrative and other costs. We are gratified by the continued sup- port extended by our members. The number of Life and ordinary members, the backbone of the Society, has in total — deviated little from the last years figures, 966 as against 995 in 1975. 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Ordinary Members 780 801 770 763 719 The number of other classes of members are given below : i 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Life Members 181 187 198 232 247 Student Members 5 9 16 20 19 Honorary Members 3 3 4 4 4 Forest Department Nominees 80 89 90 90 36 There is no cause of complacency and re- issue for 1974 and the April issue for 1975. uiting more members should be first charge The December 1974 issue. the Salim Ali : our active members. Feschrift number and the journals for 1975 ACTIVITIES Publications The Journal unfortunately continues to lag. Owing to printing delays only two issues of the journal bear the year’s date. The August Books : During the year following sales were made were delayed. Among these the December 1974, Vol. 71(3) and the issue for 1975, Vol. 72 (1, 2) have since been published. The articles continued to cover a wide range of subjects with emphasis on the ecology, be- haviour, and taxonomy of Indian fauna and the taxonomy and regional lists of Indian flora. Sale Balance Stock BOOK OF INDIAN BIRDS 1634 590 BOOK OF INDIAN ANIMALS 662 1335 SNAKE CHARTS 43 887 CHECKLIST OF THE BIRDS OF MAHARASHTRA 60 589 GLIMPSES OF NATURE IN INDIA BOOKLET 172 2937 The question of printing a revised 2nd edi- Nature Calendar : The 1975 Nature Calen- tion of the synopsis of the birds of India is under active consideration. The Govern- ment of India has been asked for assistance to reprint out-of-print books. dar was awarded a prize for excellence in printing. The calendar continues to be popular with members and a source of income to the Society. 566 A.G.M. 1975-76— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS Conservation The Society continued to take a leading part in the conservation movement in the country through its representatives on the State and Central Wildlife Boards, and through its members on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resour- ces, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Inter- national Council for Bird Preservation. Member Activities It has been possible to involve members in Bombay in local field activities. Borivli National Park Project : With the assistance of interested members an attempt was made during the year to record the chan- ges in the vegetation, animal life and other natural phenomena in a small valley in the Borivli National Park close to Bombay. The programme was primarily an exercise in train- ing in scientific observation. The activity is being continued. Bird Count : A monthly roadside count of birds in the Borivli National Park was orga- nised with the assistance of members. The activity received financial assistance from the Salim Ali-Loke Ornithological Research Fund. The activity is being continued. Nature Walks : Nature Walks were organis- ed in Borivli National Park for birdwatching and for study of the vegetation. A large num- ber of members participated. Photographic Cell : Amateur Nature Photo- graphers among the members held meetings to discuss methods and see photographs taken by members. Research and Field Studies Salim Ali-Loke Wan Tho Ornithological Research Fund : The Fund continued to sup- port with a fellowship, Mr M. A. Reza Khan who is investigating the ecology of the Black and Orange flycatcher of South India. A felliowship was awarded to Mr Zacharias of Calicut University, Kerala. Mr Zacharias will study the ecology and biology of Babblers under the guidance of Dr D. N. Mathew. The fund also extended support to the or- ganisation of a monthly bird census at Borivli National Park. The Migration Study : The Government of India approved our proposal for computer analysis of the data collected under the mig- ration study project. Financial assistance has been sanctioned and the project will be un- dertaken in collaboration with Dr M. Gadgil of the Indian Institute of Science. Kaziranga Bird Camp : At the instance and with financial and other assistance from the Forest Department of Assam a banding camp was organised at the Kaziranga National Park. The effort was not successful as work at night was not possible owing to interference from elephants and rhinoceros. Hingolgadh Migration Study : A fortnights migration study camp was held at Hingolgadh at Jasdan, Gujarat, for training local students in bird study. University Department : Mr. R. B. Grubh, senior Research Assistant at the Society was awarded the Ph.D. in field Ornithology of the Bombay University for his thesis on the “Eco- logy of Vultures of the Gir Forest”. During the year the Society had two stud- ents registered for Ph.D. under Dr Salim Ali’s guidance and two students for M.Sc. under Mr J. C. Daniel. Orissa Bird Survey. Dr Salim Ali, accom- panied by Dr. Dillon Ripley, Secretary, Smith- sonian Institution and members of the Society’s staff surveyed areas in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh in search of the rare Blewitt’s Owl 567 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 and Jerdon’s Courser. Though not successful in their main enquiry the survey party brought several interesting additions to the Research Collections. Nil gins: A small collection of bird was obtained from the Nilgiris by Mr Humayun Abdulali with financial assistance from the Charles McCann Field Work Fund. Pudukottai Gazetteer : At the instance of the Government of Tamil Nadu the birds of Pudukottai District in that state was surveyed by Dr Salim Ali assisted by the Society’s staff and notes were prepared for the Ornithology section of the District Gazetteer. Tier pet ological Survey : The herpetology of the Malabar District of Kerala was surveyed and interesting additions including type loca- lity material was added to the Society’s col- lections. Borivli National Park : With the active as- sistance of its local members and other organi- sations the Society was able to convince Go- verment that it would be highly detrimental to run a highway through a section of the Park. The Chief Minister and his colleagues in Government deserve the thanks of all con- servationists for deciding to realign the road. Kinwat Survey : At the instance of the local Member of Legislative Council, the Kinwat forest areas were visited again by M/s J. C. Daniel, S. R. Amladi, and S. A. Hussain to examine the areas’ potential for wild life con- servation. Financial support was received from the World Wildlife Fund. Jayakwadi Project area Survey : The Hono- rary Secretary and Dr S. R. Amladi assisted by the Curator visited the Jayakwadi Project area to investigate possible areas for monitor- ing effects of the Dam on the environment. The survey was financed by the World Wild- life Fund. Jerdons Courser Pamphlet : As a follow up of the Orissa Survey a pamphlet with col- our pictures of the Common & Jerdon’s Courser was prepared with financial assistance from the Salim Ali-Loke Wan Tho Ornitho- logical Research Fund. The pamphlet was circulated through the forest departments in likely habitats of the species. Field Work Awards Dorabji Tata Field Work Fund : A grant was made from the fund to Miss Anuradha of Bangalore University to study the ecology of the little known Opilionid arachnids, com- monly known as Harvestmen. Charles McCann Field Work Fund: A grant was made to Dr Andrews of Marthoma College, Kerala for studying the food habits of the commercially important bull frogs of his area. Donations Film on Baobab Tree: We are deeply in- debted to Dr Dillon Ripley and the Smith- sonian Institution for the donation to the So- ciety of this excellent film to assist in the fund raising activities of the Society. The film is being censored and prepared for use. Binoculars: We are grateful to Mr C. C. Adenwalla for the donation of a pair of bino- culars suitable for use at night. Jerdon’s Courser Painting: We are grateful to Mr J. P. Irani for donating a painting of the Courser for use by the Society for a pam- phlet on the bird to aid its rediscovery. We are grateful to members and others for the following donations: 568 A.G.M. 1975-76— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS Charles McCann Field Work Fund : 1. Mr S. Chaudhari 2. Mr Bansi Mehta 3. From a well wisher 600.00 25.00 250.00 875.00 World Wildlife Fund Dr Salim Ali Other donations 6000.00 2000.00 105.00 8,105.00 Mr H. K. Divekar for Library Pirojsha Godrej Foundation Grants Grant from Government of Maharashtra for establishment expenses, printing, and nature education activities and building maintenance. Grant from Government of India for Jour- nal Plan Expenditure (Publication) (Govern- ment of India) 500.00 10,000.00 82,049.00 20,000.00 40,000.00 Meetings January : Two films were shown: “Lokande Wilder- ness” and “In Company of Birds”. April: Mr J. C. Gouldsbury spoke on “Experiences of Wildlife Management in South India” on 4th April 1975. Release of Bird Stamps on 28th April 1975. Mr S. R. Nayak showed slides on Natural History subjects on 28th April. May : Prof. Steven Green spoke on “Lion-tailed Monkeys and their rainforest habitat in the Western Ghats” on 21st May 1975. July : Br Navarro spoke on “Bird calls from the Western Ghats” on 31st July 1975. Reference Collection During the year 562 specimens were receiv' ed at the Society. Mammals 4 Birds 282 Reptiles 90 Amphibians 186 Important additions are'. Birds : Sturnus burmanicus Emberiza citrinella Reptiles'. Cnemaspis littoralis Ristella guentheri Cyrtodactylus collegalensis Coll: P. B. Shekar Nature Education Scheme 28 field trips were arranged to Borivli Na- tional Park for school students and trainee teachers. 52 schools were visited personally 569 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 by the Nature Education Organiser, during the year and about 400 schools were contacted from time to time through circulars. Guidance was given to 11 schools in pre- paring projects on common birds, plants, trees and butterflies and other insects for exhibitions. Three Radio programmes on nature educa- tion (with school children) were given during the year. A T.V. programme on nature edu- cation was given in June. 17 schools were taken to Prince of Wales Museum, 5 Victo- ria Garden and 3 to Taraporewala Aquarium. Silkworm caterpillars were distributed to the schools. Nature Education was introduced to the students of Sriharikota Students (Andhra Pradesh). Library During the year 348 books were added to the Library, of which 23 were purchased, 314 donated and 11 received as review copies for the Journal. The total number of books and bound periodicals in the library is over 8000 and includes many rare and out-of-print volumes on Indian natural history. We are grateful to the donors, particularly to Dr S. S. Kalbag and the trustees of the Estate of the late Loke Wan Tho. Revenue and Accounts The financial situation of the Society con- tinued to be unsatisfactory. The year’s oper- ation showed a small surplus. Staff The Committee wishes to record its appre- ciation of the willing co-operation of the staff in the activities of the Society. ACK N OWLEDGE M E N TS The Society thanks the following persons and organizations for the cooperation and generous assistance in various ways. 1 . Godrej Foundation, World Wildlife Fund - India and Dr Salim Ali for fin- ancial assistance. 2 . The Divisional Forest Officer, Borivli and the Forest Department for facilities to assist in tree-planting campaign. 3. Smithsonian Institution and Dr S. Dillon Ripley for printing and donating to the Society 750 copies of the Synopsis of the Birds of Indian Region. 4. The Government of Maharashtra and the Government of India for their con- tinued support, financial and other. 5. The German Consulate, USIS, British Council, French Consulate for provid- ing on loan excellent wildlife movies. 570 A.G.M. 1975-76— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS H Q u o CO & o H QJ 04 On < H < £ >< c CQ S o m 10 on * -g CQ § O ■ kj £ ^ »— h — < cn W P P ft § I c*a tc3 >N w ft p W Nn ffl ^ u W c< 0 tk fcj bQ g to 1 Kl X cq o Vo o' o cj On o o o 04 d o m oo o 4-4 On § CD v ft £ >. o c 3 n-f rP CJ >n s O cn a 05 3 ■H < ■d O T3 l-J X) CCS O ttf o ^ d O cj o o o S § s o e £ ^ o ^ P N o c £ « CJ « 2 8^ «» v ft p 1/3 cj >» Q ft & 13 _H CO ccs CJ i *S «5 " ft ^ «# I E S?° o >» -5 cS c ft a 6 ^ o ^ ft tH co Dh a a) »® O P a k £ 23 -2 p ^ O CQ P ft VN m p- ON rc o O oo m oo 4— 1 P; o o On 00 p- rn tri «TN ft i> ft CJ r- O — H CJ ON rn r4 On V «n ft" u o" p- 00 4—^ 4-4 m • • 5 « ft ^ Sf o »o ■§ p k, ^ S p 03 0) ( D o ’B S.S O tJ cj P P ft £ 13 ft PQ SJ 4-» C-> 2 <-> 03 0> ^ Ih ft ^ QJ O CO P -y ft P O M p 3 3 & s a) to > « o s o ft p p p o O J-4 «» 8 p ^ o CJ per p p p k Ih CJ ft o CJ the ye grant U CJ 4-4 CO CJ 03 P O Cl) Ol !k per to a o B t>3 1 to p 13 P cc3 Uh CJ 5-4 P 3 60 .3 H ft ‘o CJ l-H c< CJ CJ p X p U ft P ft ft p 3 ft r3 ft 3 p 45 CJ OJ g 3 13 ft ft CJ K 13 ft ft H4 45 <5J ft ft CJ 13 ft X m kl CU CQ k 0 CJ .11 S 13 ^ PQ CQ <4—1 S-H o CJ co £ 8 3 & ft B u ft ft a ^ ft s g, o ^ 4Q «2 cj ft 00 ft P ft ft p CJ O b SCO ft « cj 3 ^ SI £ •2 < k, £ cu cj ft 4. 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SOCIETY, Vol. 73 3- o 3" o O O O O O Ov OV in on o »o av (3 o <3 H— 1 t"- O oo on o VO G r-‘ <3 O »o rn rn f3 o G 3" ON I— 1 OV o 3 H— 1 r— H OV 00 0-3 <3 m o VO ON vo m r- (3 H-H m vn H— 1 in 3- *A vo rn 3-" o' 3- rn G 1 <3 a S o U T3 £ CQ o a G 3 e>o gq 3 O C/3 cd 3 3 W y Oh > Uhh Cd > 3 > OJ) *•3 G 3 G 3 ^ 05 G '3 cd •S g ■3 o X to (D g 4-H 6X5 c y •G > Ih •-* TD y Oh 2 S G *- 3 C/3 "3 y S c/3 .3 3 C/3 3 -3 «-i 0 _ C/3 O 1 ■g 3 °S« G 'to 00 O G 3 -O G 3 OO c .2, g & 0 5 w CQ G 00 3 o In CQ ® 8 6 05 3 © CD Xi I-h £ ^ G CD tt) 3 > G CD |j G u O O £ <3 r- § VO oo O m On o f3 >— j On °o <3 On d d in d in in O 00 m On <3 (3 C3 On VO vo in y o' oo f3 y CH m m o £ g ~ Id J J > fa g S-h C 3 3 O C/3 G i-l O ’Td *-h 3 o o p & 2 G y Gh y O G G 43 C/3 3 Lh 2 'd 3 O 'o +_) y vi__i c» o G y G G 3 O y o * o y GO w W ^ G -3* S-l O 00 C/3 t O 3 G -h *o ■ G ct G £ 5) y J? 3 ?> ^ ° o o » y O 03 CD C* 3 05 ^ « 2 Q ^ X 3 I-1 O +-> y . O c/d G CD 05 — Q> "3 2C c 95 g g M « Oh Oh-^ 'S >< -3 00 c qj iG O C3 M-C oo rG >+H 00 O ^ O c ■5 5 •s g Dh 03 o « o 5 G *3 cd G X M £ O o ° ° W l§ !* x ° 3 ^ & 03 c 5 ° G 05 G (J 05 03 -3 s « w S s ^ 2 3 ^ -3 +-> H M 00 cd ^iS td or) 3 3 O "3 w B CD > G > ^ VM ^ o 0 G jd 8 ^ 3 2 tt a G iG l) G r-H w ^ Oh X w G 05 3 "O 03 Ch 3 U <+-l 3 y « u_, So y _ & O w 3 H G2 .G Q G | O Q o ^ < 3 p. CQ 3 *W G ° y ^ w 3 M g y ,2 'S o O y CQ W A.G.M. 1975-76— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS © p G- m c4 r- G tu S o u £ HH X OX) 3 o m G £ O #% g 00 O o o CQ -o a c I g g p ^ § x £ a§ g § o o c/3 0) rS 5 2 6 “ X t|_! tU o o G XI o H t/3 o 5 22 G G p ox n Gh V ^ * I I to o £ 2 £ " G X M 0> -G ’3 m o •-H 0) > > X O O o O-i +■> x W w £ G '4-1 X O G 5? | 1 Q H or) , 4 2 p 2 3 g g 2? 2 X &* 8 _ to g 2 o Q > g x p ^ M O G & w G~ u o 8 :s 2 > ox) 'S o to . O. fc x <2 cu G Vi ft 2 G > C/3 £ •& G OX) G X P 2 Oh cp O Q m i/~3 o OO 00 p O *0 ^ G X H GO 8 G g o a '£ .2 a> 5 C±i -m G 5 8 g IS fe £ X g £ X W Pm O W Mh o hi JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 73 43 OX) 3 o u PQ 43 OX) o o Sh CQ K ca *3 o hi •K O 2 2 oj (L> O q=i s a .2 _ «« 2 (S . .sp Cfl (« a q c o *r &|S , P3 co *>o S3 g t? g i3 h n . If 2 2 cd 3 u, 43 u ^ .53 S ^ 'O a * a # m I— i « <3 1 n ra PQ a a> o a 03 t3 <£ CO ,» ’G o c/5 03 o c3 £ >> JO B o pq &o a so a Honorary Treasurer. Bombay Natural History Society A.G.M. 1975-76— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS !* H w ug oo o CtfQ d3 <&a £> <5 pq S o PQ in as 5 I f2 T3 d d ^ x; a 3 o m h J O ° "a . CQ ^ TJ d +- d C " § R | d d t3 <_. d d m 2 a § 3 u 'I § ^ d a £ §| *•> Z to >> X> 5 I co qq a ^ d o >» d X) £ o 03 TJ 3 M d d PQ -*-> c/5 d §■ g e c3 «H o *j 6 E £5 o o x> os OS T- 1 ^H 00 ■8 I o Z “ >, •>, d •&•§ 3 § & co & 3 >5 w o Xh xS >5 o _« +-> •£ C§ 3 a h c a u a ** o o O Ph Ph C/3 ^ 3 ffi d d oo PQ c n z ^ % l j a D ^ £ *£ o § 00 . a ^ a . J33 5 c E ^ x ts < to CO a ^0h T3 00 6 a ° I a a oa a 5 ^ ffi ^ Bombay, 30th August, 1976. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 22nd NOVEMBER 1976 AT 6 p.m. AT HORNBILL HOUSE, SHAHID BHAGAT SINGH ROAD, BOMBAY, WITH MR R. E. HAWKINS IN THE CHAIR The following forty-eight members were present : 1 . Mr Dinsha J. Panday 2. Mr Nazir Latif 3. Mr I. G. Valles 4. Dr P. J. Deoras 5. Mr A. A. Dikshit 6. Dr R. N. Vasa 7. Mr Shahid Ali 8. Dr A. N. D. Nanavati 9. Mr G. V. Bedekar 10. Mr H. Abdulali 11. Mr P. Kannan 12. Mr H. K. Divekar 13. Mr Ulhas Rane 14. Mr. J. C. Daniel 15. Mr Lavkumar Khacher 16. Dr P. T. Thomas, Indore 17. Mr R. E. Hawkins 18. Dr S. R. Amladi 19. Mr V. K. Paralkar 20. Dr B. Das Gupta 21. Prof. P. V. Bole 22. Mrs D. E. Aranha 23. Mr John F. Wakefield 24. Mr. A. Hidayatullah 25. Mr M. R. S. Captain 26. Mr G. C. Patel 27. Mr Jagdish Agarwal 28. Mr V. I. Moizuddin 29. Mr Satyendra Yadav 30. Mr Sam J. Bhacka 31. Mr Satish Sabharmal 32. Miss Renee Borges 33. Mrs D. S. Variava 34. Mr Bansi Mehta 35. Mr Chandragupta Bhogilal Mehta 36. Dr C. V. Kulkarni 37. Mr Harish R. Yadav 38. Dr A. K. Joshee 39. Mr S. R. Nayak 40. Smt Mulibai Ratanshi Kapadia 41. Mr M. B. Lukmani 42. Mr S. N. Mistry 43 . Mr Anil A. Dave 44. Mr K. K. Vajifdar 45. Mr Himmat Kalsia 46. Mr David Fernandes 47. Mr Ramesh Bhat 48. Mr Krishna Paupamah At the outset the Chairman expressed the hope that, in view of the substantial Agenda, speeches would be brief and to the point. He recalled that the Society was nearly 100 years old and that the present Rules and Regul- ations had been drawn up nearly 50 years ago, at a time when the Society had no pre- mises of its own but was housed through the generosity of Messrs Phipson & Co. Ltd., the members of which firm also provided a me- asure of supervision. When Messrs Phipson were no longer able to house us, the Govern- ment of Maharashtra made temporary accom- modation, larger than we had previously oc- cupied, available to us off Walkeshwar Road. We are now housed in a handsome building of our own, by courtesy of the trustees of the Prince of Wales Museum and with the sup- 582 A.G.M. 1975-76— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS port of the Government of India. Because of such changes, amendment in the Rules be- came necessary, and the changes were to be considered at this meeting. Dr P. J. Deoras suggested that the amend- ments proposed would not sufficiently mod- ernize the Society, or make it comparable with similar societies in other parts of the world. He poposed appointment of a committee to consider the matter afresh. The Chairman in answer stated that the business of today’s meeting was to consider the amendments which had been printed and which were the result of long deliberations by a committee appointed to consider such amendments. The Chairman then called upon the Hono- rary Secretary to present the Annual Report. The Annual Report for 1975, copies of which had been supplied previously, was taken as read. The Honorary Secretary further in- formed members of notable events during the period following the report. The most im- portant event was the award of the Paul Getty Prize for 1975 for Conservation activities to our President, Dr Salim Ali. He further in- forfed the house that Dr Salim Ali had ex- pressed a desire to donate Rs 3.5 lakhs to the Society as a Nature Conservation Fund to encourage Conservation, Research studies and educational activities. The objectives and terms for utilization of this Fund were being worked out by a sub-committees. In the mean- time, Dr Salim Ali had undertaken to defray the cost of publishing a Newsletter, and we have revived HornbiU, the first issue of which will shortly be distributed to members. Among other important events and acti- vities he mentioned the Nature Camp at Bha- ratpur which had been greatly appreciated by all members, the survey, and projected field guide to Sriharikota Island, and the further donation of Rs 10,000/- (bringing the total to Rs 20,000/-) from the Pirojsha Godrej Foundation. The Chairman invited questions on the re- port. Mr Humayun Abdulali wished to know who represented the Society on the IBWL, State Wildlife Board, IUCN and ICBP, and how many meetings of each they had attended. The Honorary Secretary stated that he represented the Society on the first two bodies and had attended every meeting except the last one early this month. Dr Salim Ali represented us on the two International bodies; the number of meetings attended would have to be ascer- tained. Mr Abdulali complained that Dr Grubh’s thesis was not available in the Society’s Lib- rary. The Honorary Secretary undertook to see that one copy was placed in the Library. Mr Abdulali recalled that the Fauna volume of the Maharashtra Gazetteer, matter for which had been supplied by the Bombay Natural History Society had been full of mis- takes and hoped that such unfortunate mis- takes should not be repeated in the Tamil Nadu Gazetteer. The Honorary Secretary replied that while we were helping to collect data and would perhaps prepare a write-up, the Society had no editorial responsibility in respect of the Tamil Nadu Gazetteer. The Amnual Report was then approved by show of hands. The Chairman called upon the Honorary Treasurer to present the Balance Sheet and Statement of Accounts. Mr A. A. Dikshit asked why election ex- penses were so much higher than last year. He was informed that this would be checked and the items shown to him. The Balance Sheet and Statement of Ac- counts were approved by show of hands. 583 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 The Chairman then said that, in accordance with the Society’s Rules, item 4 on the Agen- da (elections) would have to be considered before item 3 (amendments). He stated that in addition to the ten members proposed by the Executive Committee, whose names were printed on the reverse of the Agenda paper, Mr Abdulali’s name had been proposed by Mr Sadiq A. Futehally and seconded by Dr P. J. Deoras, so that an election by postal ballot would be necessary. Mr Abdulali suggested that an election by postal ballot might not be necessary, as he believed at least one of the members pro- posed by the Executive Committee was dis- qualified as he had not paid his subscription for the year on the day of his nomination. Mr Dikshit added that the Societies Regis- tration Act required that a member should have paid his subscription three months prior to the date of the election. Mr Captain sup- ported Mr Dikshit’s contention. The Chair- man undertook to inquire into the matter. Consideration of the amendments proposed to the Rules and Regulations was then begun. The Chairman proposed the addition of Rule 64, enabling changes to be made in the Rules, and after some discussion the addition was approved by a majority of 35 for and 8 aga- inst. The Chairman then proposed the adoption of the following resolution validating changes introduced in the past: ‘Resolved by the General Body of the So- ciety that all additions, deletions and alter- ations made in the past, to the Rules and Regulations of the Society are valid and shall be deemed always to have been valid from the date of their being approved by the General Body of the Society, and all the acts of the Committee under the powers given to it under Rule 31 of the Rules and Regulations of the Society, from the date of resolution of the Committee as having been authorised by the General Body of the Society.’ Mr M. R. S. Captain proposed the substi- tution of the words original approval for being approved. . His proposal was seconded by Mr Dikshit and approved by show of hands. The amended resolution was then approved with- out opposition, namely: ‘Resolved by the General Body of the So- ciety that all additions, deletions and alter- ations made in the past, to the Rules and Regulations of the Society are valid and shall be deemed always to have been valid from the date of their original approval by the General Body of the Society, and all the acts of the Committee under the powers given to it under Rule 31 of the Rules and Regulations of the Society, from the date of resolution of the Committee as having been authorised by the General Body of the Society.’ The meeting then proceeded to clause-by- clause consideration of the proposed amend- ments as printed. All amendments were pro- posed by the Honorary Secretary and second- ed by the Honorary Treasurer. Clause 1. Mr Captain proposed and Mr Dik- shit seconded, that paragraph 2 should read: There shall be six classes of members — Life Members, Ordinary Members, Corporate Members, Honorary Members, Student Members and Forest Department nominees. Student members and Forest Department nominees shall not be entitled to vote. The amendment was put to vote and negativ- ed by 23 to 14. The amendment as printed was put to vote and carried by 24 to 9. Clause 5. Approved by the show of hands. Clause 6. ditto Clause 6A. ditto 584 A.G.M. 1975-76— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS Clause 6B. ditto ClausQ 7. ditto Clause 11. Mr Abdulali opined that no change in the existing rule was required. When put to vote however the amendment was carried by a majority of 22 to 4. Clause 16. Mr. Captain proposed and Mr G. V. Bedekar seconded the insertion in line 4 of a member of before ‘the Committee’. The amendment was approved and carried with this change. Clause 16A. Mr Captain proposed and Mr Bedekar seconded the insertion of the word prior before ‘approval’, in line 3. The amend- ment was approved and carried. Clause 18. Mr Captain proposed that the existing Rule should be kept with the addi- tion of the words: Provided that before passing the resolution to expel the member the Committee shall give one month’s notice of the proposed expulsion to the member and call for an explanation why he should not be expelled, after the word Society in line 2 on p. 5. The proposal was defeated by 22 voting against and 10 for. The amendment as print- ed v/as put to vote and carried by 22 to 8. Clause 19. The Honorary Secretary proposed and Mr Abdulali seconded the addition of the words the collections or to in line 5 of the Proposed Amendments (p. 5) between ‘visi- tors to’ and ‘any meeting’. His suggestion was accepted and the amended version approved by show of hands. Clause 20. Approved by show of hands. Clause 26. Mr. Captain pointed out that the business of an Annual General Meeting should include the appointment of auditors. He pro- posed the addition of (c) The appointment of auditors and the fixing of their remuneration. In consequence the amendment as proposed would become ( d ) instead of (c), and ( d ) would be (e). His proposal was seconded by Mr Nanavati. The addition of a new clause (c), with consequential changes, was approved, as well as the proposed addition to existing clause (c). Clause 31. Mrs D. S. Variava proposed and Mr Captain seconded that the words in Greater Bombay in lines 5-6 (p. 6) be changed to within 200 km of Bombay. This amendment was carried by show of hands. Mr Captain proposed and Mr Abdulali seconded that there should be 6 ex-officio members and 10 ordinary members as in the old rule. The proposal was defeated by 15 votes to 3, and the printed amendment car- ried by a show of hands. As the time was then nearly 9 p.m. the Chairman adjourned the meeting until 6 p.m. on the following day (Tuesday, 23 Novem- ber). Continuation of Minutes. Adjourned meet- ing reconvened at 6 p.m. on 23rd November 1976. Twenty-six members were present: 1 . Mr Humayun Abdulali 2. Mr M. R. S. Captain 3. Mr A. A. Dikshit 4. Mr Ulhas Rane 5. Mr J. C. Daniel 6. Mr P. Kannan 7. Mr G. V. Bedekar 8. Dr C. V. Kulkarni 9. Prof. P. V. Bole 10. Dr S. R. Amladi 11. Mr Bansi Mehta 12. Mr R. E. Hawkins 13. Mr Lavkumar Khacher 14. Mr Dinsha J. Panday 15. Dr A. N. D. Nanavati 16. Mr S. R. Nayak 585 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 17. Mr H. K. Divekar 18. Mr M. K. Patel 19. Mrs D. S. Variava 20. Mr Chandragupta Bhogilal Mehta 21. Mr S. N. Mistry 22. Mr Ramesh Bhat 23 . Mr I. G, Valles 24. Mr K. K. Vajifdar 25. Mrs Mulibai Ratanshi Kapadia 26. Mr K. Paupamah Iii response to a question concerning the elections which had taken place yesterday, the Chairman stated that the ex-officio members nominated by the Committee, whose names were printed on the reverse of the Agenda, namely: Dr Salim Ali, President Mr R. E. Hawkins Mr G. V. Bedekar Vice-Presidents Dr A. N. D. Nanavati, Hon. Secretary Dr C. V. Kulkarni, Hon. Treasurer were deemed to have been accepted by the meeting and that whatever a postal ballot for the other ten members of the Committee would be necessary or not was to be investi- gated. If Mr Dikshit’s contention that the So- cieties Registration Act requires a candidate to have paid his subscription three months be- fore the date of his election is valid, and if it is then found one or more of the members whose names have been proposed by the Exe- cutive Committee had not paid their sub- scription three months before the date of election he would be disqualified. Not more than ten members would then have been pro- posed for membership of the Committee and all would be deemed to have been elected. If however Mr Dikshit’s contention is not up- held, an election by postal ballot will be neces- sary. Clause-by-clause consideration of the pro- posed Amendments was then resumed. Clause 31. After discussion, the printed amendment was approved by a majority of 22 to 0. Clause 32. The Chairman suggested there had been a typographical error in line 3 from the end and that the words / in the separate space provided / should read jin the separable por- tion provided / . With this change the amend- ment was carried without opposition. Clause 32A. Approved by show of hands, with only one dissentient. Clause 33. Approved by show of hands, with no dissentient. Clause 34. On the proposal of Mr Captain, seconded by Mr Bedekar, the words Subject to Rule 32A, were to be inserted at the be- ginning of the clause, and in lines 3 and 2 from the end of the words ‘an ex-officio ’ were to be substituted for ‘a nominated’, so that the final words would read ‘ . . . and if he is an ex-officio member shall hold office till the next nomination of ex-officio members’. With these changes the amendment was approved by show of hands. Clause 35. Mr Captain proposed, seconded by Mr Dikshit, that the clause be deleted as be- ing no longer relevant. When put to vote, 13 members were in favour of retaining the clause and 6 against. Clause 43. Approved by show of hands. Clause 44. Mr Captain contended that no addition to the existing rule was necessary, or that if the addition was made the words subject to ratification by the next meeting oj the General Body should also be added. After several other amendments had been consider- ed it was decided to delete the words on all members, when applicable so that the addi- 586 A.G.M. 1975-76— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS tion will read: ‘All such Bye-Laws, until re- voked or altered, shall be binding as if they were contained in these Rules and Regula- tions.’ This was approved by 18 votes to 3. Clause 45. Mr Captain suggested that the or- der of words at the end should be ‘shall not be entitled to vote at the meeting’ instead of ‘at the meeting shall not be entitled to vote’. With this modification the amendment was approved by show of hands. Clause 53. Approved by show of hands. Clause 55. The propriety of the opening phrase ‘The Honorary Treasurer or his de- puty’, which appears in the 1928 Rules, was questioned by several speakers, but when put to vote the amendment as printed was ap- proved by 20 to 0 by show of hands. Clause 57. Approved by show of hands. Clause 60. Approved by show of hands, with three dissentients. Clause 61. Approved by show of hands, with three dissentients. Clause 64. Already approved at the beginning of the meeting. Clause 65. It was suggested that this clause was unnecessary because the procedure for dissolution is governed by the Societies Regis- tration Act. Mr Abdulali also pointed out that account had not been taken of commit- ments entered into at the time of receiving the building grant from the Government of India. It was therefore decided by show of hands not to add this clause, or Clause 66 which is related to it. Clause 67 (which will now be 65). Approved by show of hands. Clause 68 (now 66). Two amendments were proposed, the first, proposed by Mr Captain and seconded by Mr Abdulali, suggested the substitution of the words binding subject to confirmation in a General Meeting instead of the last word final. The other amendment. proposed by Mr Divekar and seconded by Mr Captain, was that the words binding unless overruled at a General Meeting be substituted. The first amendment was rejected by 4 to 15, the second approved by 15 to 6. With the second amendment the clause was approved by show of hands. The business of item 4 of the Agenda hav- ing been concluded, the meeting proceeded to the appointment of auditors. The Honorary Secretary indicated that Messrs Habib & Co. had kindly agreed to act at a fee of Rs 1 ,000 1 - and proposed that their appointment be ap- proved. The meeting approved this appoint- ment. The Chairman then called upon Mr Dik- shit to move the resolution of which he had given notice. Mr Dikshit then proposed the following resolution: Resolved than an Enquiry Committee be constituted to thoroughly investigate the reference made by the Second Enquiry, headed by Mr Wagle, to certain activities instigated by somebody against Mr Huma- yun Abdulali and prompt and stern action taken on that Committee’s recommenda- tions. Mr Dikshit gave his reasons at length and was seconded by Mr Abdulali. Several other members spoke. In reply the Chairman point- ed out that an Inquiry Committee had been appointed, of which he had himself been a member, and that the activities referred to in the Resolution had been included in its terms of reference. In this connection the In- quiry Committee had used the words ‘an aberration, possibly instigated’ and had not recommended any further action. The resolu- tion was rejected by 18 votes to 3. Mr Bansi Mehta, who had also given notice of a resolution, said that he desired to with- draw it. 587 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 73 The Agenda having been completed, the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.15 p.m. The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the Chair. Executive Committee President Dr Salim Ali, d.sc., f.n.a. V ice-Presidents Mr R. E. Hawkins Mr G. V. Bedekar, i.c.s. (Retd.) Hon. Secretary Mr A. N. D. Nanavati, m.d. Hon. Treasurer Dr C. V. Kulkarni, m.sc., ph.D. Member Mr Zafar Futehally Mr Shivrajkumar Khachar Mr M. Krishnan Mr Duleep Matthai Mr N. D. Jayal Bangalore Jasdan Madras New Delhi New Delhi At the Annual General Meeting held on 23 November 1976 it was suggested that one of the ten Gentlemen nominated for member- ship of the Executive Committee was dis- qualified on account of his subscription hav- ing been in arrears for a period of more than three months. Only one other Gentleman had been proposed for election, and a Committee of ten was to be elected. Learned Counsel has now expressed the opinion that the objection raised was valid, and therefore the following Gentlemen are declared elected to the Executive Committee for the year 1976-77: Secretary, Dept, of Science & Technology, Government of India Advisory Committee Mr H. G. Acharya Mr F. C. Badhwar, o.b.e. Dr B. Biswas Mr S. Chaudhuri Dr Chintaman Deshmukh, i.c.s. (Retd.) Ahmedabad New Delhi Calcutta New Delhi Hyderabad Mr Humayun Abdulali Dr S. R. Amladi Prof. P. V. Bole Dr B. Dasgupta Mr H. K. Divekar Mr Lavkumar J. Khacher Mr Nazir Latif Mr Bansi Mehta Mr S. V. Nilakanta Mr D. J. Panday 588 THE SOCIETY’S PUBLICATIONS Mammals The Book of Indian Animals, by S. H. Prater. 4th edition (Reprint). 28 plates in colour by Paul Barruel and many other monochrome illustrations, (in Press ) India’s Wildlife in 1959-70, by M. Krishnan. With 242 photographs. Rs. 35 (Price to members Rs. 30) The Ecology of the Lesser Bandicoot Rat in Calcutta, by James Juan Spillett. Rs. 10 Birds The Book of Indian Birds, by Salim Ali. 10th (revised) edition. 70 coloured and many monochrome plates. Rs. 45 (Price to members Rs. 40) Checklist of the Birds of Maharashtra, by Humayun Abdulali. Rs. 2.50 ( Price to members Rs. 2) Snakes Identification of Poisonous Snakes, Wall chart in English, Gujarati, and Marathi. Rs. 5 Plants Some Beautiful Indian Trees, by Blatter and Millard. With many coloured and monochrome plates. 3rd edition (Reprint). Rs. 40.00 (Price to members Rs. 35) Some Beautiful Indian Climbers and Shrubs, by Bor and Raizada. With many coloured and monochrome plates. 2nd edition, (in Press) Miscellaneous Glimpses of Nature Series Booklets: 1. Our Birds I (with 8 coloured plates) in Hindi, and Marathi, Rs. 0.80 Kannada. Rs. 0.62 2. Our Birds II (with 8 coloured plates) in Hindi. Rs. 0.62 3 . Our Beautiful Trees (with 8 coloured plates) in Hindi & Marathi Rs. 0.62 4. Our Monsoon Plants (with 8 coloured plates) in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi. Rs. 0.80 5. Our Animals (with 8 coloured plates) in English, Gujarati, Hindi, and Marathi. Rs. 1.25 Glimpses of Nature in India (with 40 coloured plates) in English Rs. 7.50 (Price to members Rs. 5) Back numbers of the Society’s Journal. Rates on application. The Society will gratefully accept back numbers of the Journal, from mem- bers who may not wish to preserve them. TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP Entrance Fees: Ordinary and Life Members Rs. 25 Forest Department Nominees Student Members Rs. 10 bscription: (a) Ordinary individual Members Rs. 50 ( b ) Ordinary Corporate Members Rs. 100 (c) Ordinary Members resident outside Tndia Rs. 85 Life Members Rs. 750 Compound Corporate Members (Rs. 250 after 20 years) Rs. 1000 Forest Department Nominees Rs. 36 Student Members (without Journal) Rs. 10 Annual subscription to Journal Rs. 90 Members residing outside India should pay their subscription by means of orders on their Bankers to pay the amount of the subscription to the Society in Bombay on the 1st January in each year. If this cannot be done, then the sum of £ 3.50 should be paid annually to the Society’s London Bankers — The Grindlays Bank Ltd., 23 Fenchurch Street, London EC3P 3ED. Account No. 1101091. The subscription of members elected in October, November, and December covers the period from the date of their election to the end of the following year. CONTENTS Further records of Myotis peshwa (Thomas 1915) (Chiroptera: Vespertilion- idae) from the Indian Peninsula. By J. E. Hill Pteris quadriaurita Retz. and a few related taxa in Kerala State. By N. C. Nair and S. R. Ghosh A study of the associative behaviour of the fish Amphiprion polymnus (Linn.) and Sea Anemone Stoichactis giganteum (Forsk.). By Yogendra Trivedi Notes on the birds of prey in the Indus valley. By F. J. Koning Fungal flora of Panhala. By A. N. Tliite and A. R. Kulkarni Parturition in the Indian False Vampire. Bat, Megaderma tyra lyra Geoffroy. By A. Gopalakrishna, M. S. Khaparde and (Smt) V. M. Sapkal History of botanical explorations in Nepal. By K. R. Rajbhandari Food-habits of water-birds of the Sundarban, 24 Parganas District, W. Bengal, India — VI. By Ajit Kumar Mukherjee Some new records to the flora of Ladakh. By Gurcharan Singh and R. N. Gohil A Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of the Bombay Natural History Society— 20. By Humayun Abdul ali Miscellaneous Notes Annual Report of the Bombay Natural History Society for the year 1975-76 Statements of Accounts of the Bombay Natural History Society Minutes of the Annual General Meeting page 433 438 444 448 456 464 468 482 487 491 516 565 571 582 Printed by Bro. Leo at St. Francis Industrial Training Institute, Borivli, Bombay 400 092 and published by Editors: J. C. Daniel, P. V. Bole and A. N. D. Nanavati for Bombay Natural History Society. Hornbill House. Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023. SI INSTITUTION NOIlfUliSNI NVINOSHIIWS S3 I a VB 8 11 LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUT y 00 Z CO Z »,• . 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