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JOURNAL

of the

Bombay Natural History

Society

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.

♦ ■ ..

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4. Trinomials referring to subspecies should only be used where identifica-
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thus:

Banerji, M. L. (1958): Botanical Exploration in East Nepal. J. Bombay nat.

Hist . Soc. 55(2): 243-268.

Prater, S. H. (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 author’s
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
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11. The editors reserve the right, other things being equal, to publish a mem-
ber’s contribution earlier than a non-member’s.

Hombill House, Editors,

Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Journal of the Bombay

Bombay 400 023. Natural History Society.

VOLUME 80, NO. 1: APRIL 1983

Date of Publication : 28-11-1983.

CONTENTS

Page

Large mammalian prey-predators in Bandipur. By A. J. T. Johnsingh. ( With

eight plates & fourteen text-figures ) . . 1

An east-west Aquila eagle migration in the Himalayas. By Robert L. Fleming, Jr. 58

A Catalogue of species added to Gamble’s “Flora of the Presidency of Madras”.

By S. Karthikeyan and B. D. Sharma . . 63

Studies on spawning migration and spawning of hillstream fish Discognathus

mullya (Sykes). By G. Loviah Joseph and S. V. Job. {With a text-figure) 80

Observations on the movement of two captive- reared mugger crocodiles,

Crocodylus palustris Lesson when returned to the wild. By Lala A. K. Singh 86

Records of Mesostigmata, Ereynetidae and Pterygosomidae (Acarina) in
western Himalayas, Sikkim and hill districts of West Bengal. By H. R.

Bhat, S. M. Kulkarni and A. C. Mishra . . 91

Biology of Houbara Bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata macqueeni ) with reference
to Western Baluchistan. By Afsar Mian and Mohammad Ibrahim Surahio.

{With two text-figures ) .. Ill

The food and feeding of juvenile Bengal Monitor Lizards {Varanus benga-

lensis ). By Walter Auffenberg and Ipe M. Ipe . . 119

Courtship and copulation in Myllocerus undecimpustulatus maculosus Desb.
(Coleoptera: Curculionidae) . By K. Thangavelu. {With two plates containing
seven figures) . . 125

The genus Lindernia All. (Scrophulariaceae) in India. By V. V. Sivarajan

and Philip Mathew .. 131

Survey of South Indian Pelicanries. By V. Nagulu and J. V. Ramana Rao 141

Field key to Rana alticola Annandale (Anura: Ranidae) tadpoles. By A. K.

Sahu and M. K. Khare. {With five text-figures) . . 144

A Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of Bombay Natural History

Society-27. By Humayun Abdulali . . 149

New Descriptions:

Descriptions of three New Subspecies of butterflies found in Nepal. By C. P. Smith.

{With four text-figures) . . 166

Description of a New Genus Nirmaladia for the species Culladia dentilinealis

Hampson (Lepidoptera : Crambinae). By H. S. Rose. {With seven text-figures) 171

First record of Clausenia Ishii (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from India with descrip-
tions of two new species. By S. Adam Shafee and Rajendra Kumar Avasthi.

{With a text- figure) . . 176

A New Species of Parablastothrix (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from India. By M.

A. Khan. {With seven text-figures) . . 180

Description of a New Species of Anicetus Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from

India. By Rajendra Kumar Avasthi and S, Adam Shafee. ( With a text- figure) 182

A New Species of T etrastichus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) from India. By M. A.

Khan. ( With eleven text-figures) . . 185

On a New Species of Genus Aspidomycter Marshall (Coleoptera: Curculionidae :

Eremninae) from India. By H. R. Pajni and C. S. Sidhu. (With six text- figures) 188

A New Species of Cladocera of Genus Indialona Petkovski, 1966 (Family Chydoridae)

from India. By Pramod Rane. (With four text-figures) . . 194

Tripogon narayanii — A New Species of Poaceae from Kerala, India. By P. V.

Sreekumar, V. J. Nair and N. C. Nair. (With nine text-figures) . . 196

Chrysopogon tadulingamii : a New Species of Poaceae from Kerala, India. By P. V.

Sreekumar, V. J. Nair and N. C. Nair. (With fifteen text- figures) . . 198

Reviews :

1 . Wild is Beautiful. (Humayun Abdulali) . . 201

2. A Checklist of the Birds of Punjab and Chandigarh. (Humayun Abdulali) . . 202

3. The freshwater fishes of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka.

(B. F. Chhapgar) . . 202

Miscellaneous Notes:

Mammals: 1. Albinism in the House Shrew, Suncus m. murinus Linnaeus. By H. Khajuria
(p. 206); 2. Occurrence of Pipistrellus paterculus Thomas, 1915 (Chiroptera: Vesperti-
lionidae) in Bihar: An addition to the Indian Mammal Fauna. By Y. P. Sinha (p. 206);
3. Further notes on the birth and growth of the Leopard-Cat (Felis bengalensis) in
captivity. By L. N. Acharjyo and Ch. G. Mishra (p. 207); 4. Abnormal horns in the
Nilgai. (With a text-figure). By M. B. Chitampalli (p. 209); 5. Grooming of chital by
langur in Kanha National Park, India. By Mark S. Boyce, Kenneth Reed and Jacob V.
Cheeran (p. 209); 6. Mating behaviour of the Plumbeous Dolphin, Sousa plumbea, Cuvier,
1829. By T. J. Roberts, Khan Mohammed Khan and Janet Knuckey (p. 210).

Birds: 7. Some observations on breeding of the Chinese Whitebreasted Waterhen Amaurornis
phoenicurus chinensis (Boddaert). By Manjit S. Dhindsa, P. S. Sandhu and H. S. Tool*
(p. 213); 8. Occurrence of the Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) at Point Calimere, Tamil Nadu.
By V. C. Ambedkar (p. 215); 9. Pigeons (Columba livia) nesting on the ground — some
more bird notes from the Vengurla Rocks. By Humayun Abdulali (p. 215); 10. Golden
Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) nest in Bombay. By S. G. Monga and J. Rodriques (p. 218);

11. Nocturnal habits of Black Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis). By Nitin Jamdar (p. 218);

12. Habits of the Bank Myna, Acridotheres ginginianus. By S. Dillon Ripley (p. 219);

13. Some observations on the intelligence of crows. By K. D. Muthana (p. 219); 14. Nest
building error by a female Purplerumped Sunbird. By Erach K. Bharucha (p. 220);
15. Community bathing by Sunbird and White-eyes in summer. By Erach K. Bharucha
(p. 221); 16. Reciprocal predation between a Weaver birds and a lizard species. By
Manjit S. Dhindsa and H. S. Toor (p. 221); 17. Sight record of Serinus pusillus at
Manang, Central Nepal. By David S. Melville and Vicky J. Hamilton (p. 222); 18. Occur-
rence of Emberiza cia near Pune. By Shrikant Ingalhalikar (p. 223); 19. Unusual bird
records from the Bombay area. By D. Summers-Smith (p. 224).

Reptiles: 20. Growth rates in sub-adult gharial Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin) (Reptilia,
Crocodilia). (With a text-figure). By H. R. Bustard and S. Maharana (p. 224); 21. Notes

on little known lizards from Jammu & Kashmir state. By Deep N. Sahi and P. L. Duda
(p. 227); 22. On Flying Lizard in Mundanthurai Sanctuary. By J. Mangalraj Johnson (p. 229).

Fishes: 23. Longevity of fish Megalops cyprinoides (Brouss). (With a text-figure ). By
C. V. Kulkami (p. 230); 24. Extension of range of the Dadio, Chela ( Neochela ) dadi-
burjori (Menon) (Pisces: Cyprinidae). (With a text-figure) By S. R. Sane and B. F.
Chhapgar (p. 232); 25. An interesting method of fishing in Dhanbad district, Bihar. (With
a text-figure). By G. M. Yazdani and P. D. Gupta (p. 234).

Insects: 26. Field observations on the occurrence of Micronecta scutellaris Stal. (Hemi-
ptera: Corixidae). (With a text- figure) . By Mukhtar Ahmad and Suhela Ahmad (p. 236);
27. Systematics of undescribed males of some Thysanoptera from India. (With four text-
figures). By S. K. Kulshrestha and Vijay Veer (p. 240).

Botany : 28. Studies on Kashmir Himalayan Umbelliferae III — some new records. By I.
A. Hamal and A. K. Koul (p. 243); 29. Phenotypes of Sandal (Santalum album L.).
By R. A. Srimathi, H. D. Kulkami and K. R. Venkatesan (p. 245); 30. Occurrence of
Eleocharis geniculata (Linn.) Roem. & Schult. (Cyperaceae) in Uttar Pradesh. (With four
text-figures). By Veena Chandra (p. 247); 31. On the occurrence of Oleandra neriiformis
Cavanilles in India. By S. R. Ghosh (p. 248); 32. Paliurus Mill. (Rhamnaceae) — A Genus
New to India. (With three text-figures) By B. Safui (p. 250); 33. Occurrence of Elaeocarpus
grandifolius Kurz in Assam. (With a text-figure). By H. B. Naithani (p. 252); 34. New and
interesting plant records from Maharashtra. By S. Karthikeyan and Anand Kumar (p. 254);

35. Notes on Viola pilosa Bl. (Violaceae). By S. P. Banerjee and B. B. Pramanik (p. 258);

36. Some noteworthy plants from Kolaba district (Maharashtra state). By M. J. Kothari
and Sirasala Moorthy (p. 259); 37. The Genus Deschampsia in N. W. Himalaya. By B. P.
Uniyal and U. C. Bhattacharyya (p. 260) ; 38. Additions to the Grasses of Bihar, Orissa
& West Bengal. By B. P. Uniyal and (Mrs.) R. Dutta (p. 262); 39. A little known Fern
from the Himalaya — Asplenium nesii Christ, and the Nomenclature of A. exiguum Bedd.
( Aspleniaceae) . (With a text-figure). By S. P. Khullar, Shanti S. Sharma and Paramjit
Singh (p. 262); 40. Onychium plumosum Ching, O. tenuifrons Ching — Two new records
of Fem for India. (With a plate and four text-figures). By Anjali (Das) Biswas and S. R.
Ghosh (p. 265); 41. Elaphoglossum ceylanicum Krajina ex Sledge — A new record of
Fern for India. (With five text-figures). By Anjali (Das) Biswas (p. 267).

Minutes of a Special General Body Meeting of the Bombay Natural History

Society . . 269

Minutes of the Second Special General Body Meeting of the Bombay Natural
History Society

270

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY

SOCIETY

1983 APRIL

Vol. 80

No. 1

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS
IN BANDIPUR1

A. J. T. JOHNSINGH2
{With eight plates & fourteen text-figures)

Large mammalian prey species and predators were studied in a 32 Km2 area
around Bandipur village in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, between August
1976 and July 1978. Chital ( Axis axis ) comprised 69% and sambar ( Cervus unicolor)
13 to 14% of prey number. The fertility rate of chital does was 1.3 and that of
sambar does was 1. The average biomass of the hoofed prey species was 3320 Kg/Km2;
including elephant ( Elephas maximus) the average ungulate biomass was 9831 Kg/Km2.

Dholes ( Cuon alpinus) accounted for 80%, leopards ( Panthera pardus) 15% and
tiger ( Panthera tigris) 5% of the 379 kills collected. Ratio of predator to prey biomass
was 1:124. Annually the predators removed nearly 20% of the standing crop of the
hoofed prey. This high predation rate was possibly because of the sudden removal
of 100 + cattle from the study area which were grazing till the beginning of the study.

Hunting habits of dholes are described. Antipredator behaviour of the prey species,
their ecological adaptations to breeding, biomass, and various ecological parameters
which separate the predators are discussed. Calculations on the effect of predation on
chital and sambar and the impact of stealing kills are presented.

Introduction

In the last two decades some important field
studies on the large carnivores have been con-
ducted in the Indian subcontinent (Fig. 1 and
Table 1). Species studied include leopard

1 Accepted April 1982.

2 Project Scientist, Endangered Species, Bombay
Natural History Society, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road,
Bombay-400 023.

Panthera pardus (Eisenberg and Lockhart
1972, Muckenhirn and Eisenberg 1973, Seiden-
sticker 1976a), sloth bear Melursus ur sinus
(Eisenberg and Lockhart 1972, Laurie and
Seidensticker 1977), tiger Panthera tigris
(Schaller 1967, Seidensticker 1976a, McDougal
1977, Panwar 1979, Sunquist 1981) and lion
Panthera leo persica (Joslin 1973, Berwick
1976). The techniques adopted varied from
natural history observations (Schaller 1967,

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

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2

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

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4

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BAN DIPUR

Eisenberg and Lockhart 1972, Joslin 1973,
Muckenhirn and Eisenberg 1973, Berwick 1976,
Laurie and Seidensticker 1977, McDougal 1977,
Panwar 1979) to radio telemetry (Seidensticker
1976a, Sunquist 1981).

I observed large ungulates and their preda-
tors in Bandipur from August 1976 to July
1978. The major purpose of this study was to
assess the effect of dhole ( Cuon alpinus) pre-
dation on chital ( Axis axis) as Sharatchandra
and Gadgil (1975) found dhole to be the major
predator of chital and concluded that the chital
population was declining. To compare the pre-
datory habits of the dhole with those of the
leopard and tiger kill data were collected for
all three carnivores. Information was also col-
lected on population density, movement
patterns, reproduction, mortality, antipredator
behaviour and biomass of the prey species.

Study Area

Bandipur, one of the 15 Tiger Reserves in
India, offered an excellent opportunity to study
the impact of dhole, leopard and tiger preda-
tion on chital and sambar ( Cervus unicolor)
and understand the ecological separation bet-
ween a courser (dhole) and the stalking pre-
dators (leopard and tiger).

Because the study was carried out mainly on
foot an area of 32 Km2 was chosen around
Bandipur (Fig. 2) and collection of kills, scats
and prey censuses were restricted to the core
area of the study pack, an area of 20 Km2
(Fig. 3). Water in the study area was restrict-
ed to pools, some of which were perennial.
Dense vegetation bordering pools and stream
beds provided excellent cover for both ungu-
lates and predators. The core area was divided
into 219 quadrats for data analysis. In addition
to the above mentioned animals the large mam-
mal fauna in the Reserve included wild ele-

phant ( Elephas maximus), gaur (Bos gaurus),
wild pig (Sus scrofa ), muntjac ( Muntiacus
muntjak) and four horned antelope ( Tetra -
cerus quadricornis) .

The vegetation was dry deciduous forest
dominated by Anogeissus lati folia and Tectona
grandis. Exotic weeds ( Lantana camara and
Eupatorium glandulosum) had established in
many places. Bamboo ( Bambusa arundinacea
and Dendrocalamus strict us) regeneration was
poor, after flowering in 1964 (Spillett 1966).
Krishnan (1975a) gives a detailed account of
the vegetation of Bandipur. The vegetation
cover of the core area was classified into short
grass scrub tree jungle (98 quadrats), scrub
tree jungle (97 quadrats) and tall grass tree
jungle (24 quadrats). Eleven of the 219 qua-
drats had permanent pools (Fig. 3).

Heavy premonsoon showers began in late
April and May and the south west monsoon
commenced in June and ended in August. The
north east monsoon began in the later part of
September and extended through November.
Three seasons hot, wet and cool were distin-
guished (Neginhal 1974). The cool season
started in November and lasted until mid
February. During this period temperature sel-
dom exceeded 25 °C, relative humidity at noon
was 70% and there was enough light to make
field observations until 1800 h. Vegetation was
green and dense after the retreat of the north
east monsoon. Within a month, however, the
grass turned yellow and began to seed. In
January Forest department personnel burnt the
road side grass and fire watchers patrolled the
area during February, March and April.

The hot season commenced in late Febru-
ary and lasted until the middle of April. Dur-
ing March, the hottest month, temperature rose
to 30°C even in shade and humidity was 42%.
Sunset was around 1835 h. and there was suffi-
cient light for field work until 1900 h.

5

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

o

sr

6

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BAND1PUR

The wet season was the longest, extending Methods

from May to October. The sky was overcast general

throughout, temperature seldom exceeded 27 °C

and humidity rarely went below 60%. From the The study was conducted between 1st August
beginning of April premonsoon clouds drifted 1976 and 13th December 1977 and 4th Febru-
across the study area and showers activated the ary 1978 and 31st July 1978. Two local tribes-
emergence of winged termites ( Odontotermes men served as field assistants throughout the
spp.) and swarms of butterflies. study. Working on foot afforded an excellent

Fi<j. U. Sightings of elephants, solitary as well as herd,
from August 1976 to July 1977 (512 sightings).

7

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

opportunity to understand the terrain and its
microhabitats but it imposed severe limitations
on mobility. Elephants were common in the
study area (Fig. 4) and their presence eliminat-
ed the possibility of working at night.

Twenty nine sites safe from elephants were
used as observation points. The daily schedule
began at 0630 h. when 3 observers went off
in different directions looking for dholes.
Observers stayed in one of the observation
points or walked listening for the alarm calls
of chital, sambar, common langur ( Presbytis
entellus). Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) and Grey
jungle fowl ( Gallus sonneratii). Jungle Crows
(Corvus macrorhynchos) were of great help
in locating kills. Fifty five per cent (n = 219)
of fresh dhole kills, 72% (n = 58) of leopard
kills and all (n = 19) tiger kills were located
by observing crows. Tracking resumed again
between 1500 h. and 1800 h. During the mid-
day heat we searched the scrub for kills or
remained in hides near water holes.

Whenever a prey species gave an alarm call
we attempted to discover the cause when pos-
sible. For instance during the first year of study
alarm calls of chital were heard 157 times,
sambar 109 times and langur 56 times. Obser-
vations and indirect evidence helped to ascer-
tain the reason only 12 times (8%) for chital
alarms, 21 times (19%) for sambar alarms and
15 times (27%) for langur alarms. When alarm
calls were recorded on the quadrats we acquir-
ed additional information on prey concentration
and dispersion and preferred habitats of
predators.

Whenever dholes were sighted we followed
them at a distance of approximately 100 m.
If a kill was made, the pack was approached
as close as possible without detection, and
while the pack was feeding it was possible to
observe them for longer periods of time. The
pack size, location, weather and time of day

were recorded at each sighting. Tiger and
leopard numbers were assessed on the basis of
sightings, tracks and location of different fresh
kills.

Kills and their age estimation

In cases where direct observation was not
possible the prey’s wounds, tracks and trampl-
ed vegetation helped to determine the identity
of the predator. Tiger kills were distinguished
from leopard kills mainly by the tracks and
hair seen around the kill.

Whenever possible kill remains were weigh-
ed to estimate amount of meat eaten. Lower
jaws were collected and teeth were inspected
for dental deformities. Size and condition
(velvet or hard) of antlers were also recorded.

Eruption and wear of premolar and molar
teeth was used to determine the relative age of
prey. Chital were classified into 9 age cate-
gories (Schaller 1967) and sambar were
classified as young fawns, large fawns, yearlings
and adults. Fawns with erupting premolars
were classified as young fawns. Fawns with
fully erupted milk premolars were considered
large fawns. Sambar fawns completely eaten by
dholes were also included in the young fawn
group.

Six chital carcasses were checked for ecto-
and endoparasites. Lungs of 9 partly eaten
chital and of 2 sambar fawns were checked
for parasitic cysts.

Scat study

Dholes use scats for marking their home
ranges and one or two scats were, therefore,
collected from latrine sites. It was assumed
that fresh droppings represented the previous
meal and I was thus able to investigate the
sequence of kills.

8

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Johnsingh: Predator-Prey in Bandipur

Plate I

A herd of chital in a pool in Bandipur.

Sambar leaving a pool.
(Photos: Author )

Plate II

A gaur herd in Bandipur tree jungle.

Wild pig - dominant mammalian scavenger in Bandipur.
(Photos: Author )

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80

Johnsingh: Predator-Prey in Bandipur

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

Leopard and tiger defecate either on the
central grassy strip of forest roads or on grass
immediately bordering them. These areas were
searched for scats.

The scats were later soaked in water and
dissected thoroughly to separate hair, bones
and other components. Hair samples donated
by Bombay Natural History Society and those
collected from kills were used as reference.
Whenever identification was not possible with
the naked eye a binocular microscope and the
key by Koppikar and Sabnis (1976) were used.

Adult and fawn remains in scats were
visually differentiated by the nature of the hair,
presence of hooves teeth and digested calcium.
Presence of soil and grass was taken into
account if 50% or more of the droppings con-
sisted of these items (Schaffer 1967). When the
remains of more than one species was found
in a scat, all hair types were identified and all
species that had contributed to the scat con-
tent were considered eaten by dholes. A total
of 509 dhole, 70 leopard and 36 tiger scats
were collected. Sixty seven scats of jungle cat

9

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

(Felis chaus) and 86 of sloth bear were also
analysed.

Prey density estimates

Population estimates of prey species were
based on direct counts. In Bandipur from May
to October chital formed large herds in certain
parts of the core area (Fig. 5). In these months
nearly 500 chital from Sommayanakatte,
Mysore lodge pool and Huvinkatte came to
Bandipur campus to spend the night. They
were counted from trees near trails either when
they came to the campus or left.

Chital in other areas were counted either
from vehicles or from a distance with bino-
culars. Counting was difficult during the dry

season when chital were dispersed. Chital were
classified as adult cf cf in hard and velvet
antlers, yearling cf cf with spike antlers, does
and fawns (Table 2). Males in shed antler
were included in the velvet group.

Accurate estimation of sambar numbers is
difficult as they prefer dense cover and are soli-
tary or found in small groups (Fig. 6). In un-
disturbed parts of the study area sambar were
active during the day, but in disturbed areas
they retired to cover at day break and emerged
late in the evening. Sambar were counted and
observed as they came out of cover in the
evening to feed and when they returned to rest
sites. From May to September sambar visited
waterholes during the day time more frequently
than in other months (X2 = 34.57, d.f., 1,

Table 2

Age and sex ratios of chital counted in the core area

Month

Total number
counted and classified

Spike /Stag

Total male/
Total female

Fawn/

Female

August, 1976

701

0.15:1

0.57:1

0.28:1

September

629

0.25:1

0.62:1

0.37:1

October

525

0.31:1

0.4 : 1

0.38:1

November

708

0.42:1

0.63:1

0.42:1

December

510

0.24:1

0.47:1

0.39:1

January, 1977

508

0.25:1

0.68:1

0.44:1

February

504

0.20:1

0.59:1

0.42:1

March

521

0.24:1

0.74:1

0.60:1

April

643

0.47:1

0.52:1

0.53:1

May

740

0.32:1

0.81:1

0.70:1

June

910

0.28:1

0.77:1

0.66:1

July

857

0.32:1

0.93:1

0.67:1

August

935

0.51:1

0.69:1

0.58:1

September

801

0.39:1

0.85:1

0.53:1

October

619

0.51:1

0.85:1

0.44:1

November

756

0.49:1

0.84:1

0.42:1

February, 1978

332

0.28:1

0.49:1

0.29:1

March

361

0.09:1

0.51:1

0.33:1

April

872

0.53:1

0.62:1

0.49:1

May

1096

0.34:1

0.72:1

0.61:1

June

1114

0.33:1

0.81:1

0.60:1

July

1172

0.33:1

0.86:1

0.63:1

10

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

40 r

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 18 39

Number of individuals in a group

Fig. 6. Frequency of sightings of sambar groups o.f various sizes
(Total 1995 sightings).

11

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vo!. 80

Fig. 7. Concentrations of sambar in the Core area during July 1977.

P< 0.001, Table 3). Preferred localities of
sambar are marked in figure 7. Sambar were
classified into adult <$ d in hard and velvet
antlers, yearling c? c? with spike antlers, does
and fawns (Table 4).

The abundance of other prey species includ-
ing elephants, gaur, wild pig, muntjac, common
langur, porcupine ( Hystrix indica) and Black-
naped hare ( Lepus nigricollis ) was also esti-
mated. Peafowls were counted at roost sites.

A line transect study was carried out in
other parts of the study area to document the

abundance and seasonal migration of prey
species. Eight 4000 m long transects were laid
out at intervals of 600 to 800 m (Fig. 2). Every
month from September 1976 to August 1977
ungulate counts were made from these tran-
sects. The study area was then divided into 27
sectors and sightings were recorded on the
map. In addition a monthly watch was kept on
waterholes between October 1976 and August
1977. Animals were counted as they came to
drink between 0900 and 1600 h. two days each
month (Table 3). Temperature, humidity and

12

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

-Months

Fig. 8. The total number of rutting calls of chital stags
heard daily between 0630 and 0930 h and between
1600 and 1830 h over the period February 1977 to
January 1978.

13

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

Table 3

Number of large mammalian herbivores visited

THE WATERHOLES DURING THE DRY SEASON (5 MONTHS)
AND THE WET AND COOL SEASON (6 MONTHS) —

(October 1976 to August 1977)

Wet and Cool Season Dry Season

Chital

20

284

Sambar

50

5

Muntjac

—

10

Wild pig

1

1

Langur

—

1

Maximum humidity

77

Maximum humidity

' 77

Minimum humidity

36.5

Minimum humidity

20

Maximum

Maximum

temperature 28 . 5 °C

temperature

32°C

Minimum

Minimum

temperature

21°C

temperature

19°C

time of visit were recorded. Observation points
were chosen in such a way that the observer’s
presence could not be detected. Chital rutting
calls were counted between February 1977 and
January 1978 (Fig. 8). Jungle cat ( Felis chaus),
jackal ( Canis aureus), stripe necked mongoose
( Her pest es vitticollis) , Indian rock python
{Python molurus) and Crested Hawk-Eagle
{Spizaetus cirrhatus) were also observed.

Biomass estimation

While estimating the weight and biomass of
the species the procedure largely following
Schaller (1967, 1972) was adopted. In ele-
phants, gaur, sambar and chital there is large
variation in size of different sexes and sex
ratio. The biomass was calculated based on

Table 4

Age and sex ratios of sambar seen in the core area

Month

Total number
classified

Spike /Stag

Total male/
Total female

Fawn/

Female

October, 1976

140

0.43:1

0.49:1

0.11:1

November

211

0.25:1

0.37:1

0.20:1

December

174

0.19:1

0.44:1

0.31:1

January, 1977

182

0.18:1

0.43:1

0.27:1

February

142

0.26:1

0.50:1

0.37:1

March

144

0.32:1

0.37:1

0.25:1

April

162

0.56:1

0.29:1

0.40:1

May

315

0.47:1

0.43:1

0.36:1

June

315

0.56:1

0.41:1

0.33:1

July

379

0.68:1

0.50:1

0.28:1

August

346

0.68:1

0.48:1

0.29:1

September

253

0.93:1

0.33:1

0.21:1

October

229

0.70:1

0.50:1

0.32:1

November

164

1 : 1

0.33:1

0.25:1

February, 1978

56

2 :1

0.16:1

0.35:1

March

99

1.2 : 1

0.33:1

0.30:1

April

161

0.76:1

0.29:1

0.26:1

May

263

0.36:1

0.34:1

0.35:1

June

448

0.42:1

0.24:1

0.43:1

July

254

1.10:1

0.34:1

0.44:1

14

Plate III

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Johnsingh: Predator-Prey in Bandipur

An elephant family group in Bandipur. The matriarch is drinking from a rock puddle.

Dholes have an excellent sense of smell.

Dhole on the right hand side tried to smell out the author’s presence.
(Photos: Author)

Plate IV

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80

Johnsingh: Predator-Prey in Bandipur

Common langur was the prominent primate in Bandipur.

An alert pea hen. Peafowls are potential prey of large carnivores.
(Photos: Author)

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

the actual composition of the population.
Weights of elephants were obtained from
Mudumalai elephant camp (John Joseph pers.
comm.) and for other animals data given in
Prater (1971) were used. The biomass of
langur, porcupine, hare and Peafowl was ob-
tained by multiplying the three quarters of the
weight of an adult 9 by the number in the
population. For pig and muntjac approximate
minimum adult weight and number in the
population was used. Since lone gaur bulls were
mostly seen in the core area weight of an
average sized bull was used.

Prey species
chital

Density and population composition

Chital were the most common and conspicu-
ous mammal of the study area. From May to
October 857 to 900 chital congregated within
a 7 to 8 Km2 area around Bandipur and reach-
ed a density of 120 /Km2. These large herds
fragmented at the onset of the dry season and
formed bachelor herds, small groups of does
and mixed parties. The dispersion of chital
during the dry season may be influenced by a
number of factors such as scarcity of green
forage, availability of fruit and permanent
water sources.

The movement pattern of chital in Bandipur
(aggregation after rains) was different from
that of Wilpattu where chital at the onset of
rains dispersed from concentrations at selected
villus (tank) toward villus which were dry
during the drought (Eisenberg and Lockhart
1972). During the dry season it was estimated
that nearly 800 chital remained in the core area,
a dry season density of 40 /Km2. Density in
Bandipur can be compared with the ecological
density of 12. 3 /Km2 in Bharatpur (Spillett
1967), 12/ Km2 in Wilpattu (Eisenberg and

Lockhart 1972) and 17.3/Km2 in Chitawan
(Seidensticker 1976b). Extensive patches of
short grass and dense thickets (fawning and
escape cover) were the major reasons for the
high density of chital in the core area.

Chital in Bandipur showed a sex ratio biased
in favour of 9 9 throughout the year. During
the peak months of rut (1977 and 1978) the
c? to 9 ratio was 84:100. The highest fawn:
doe ratio averaged for May, June and July

1977 was 68:100 and for the same period in

1978 the ratio was 61:100. In Bandipur 44%
of the population was < 2 years old and for
Kanha the figure was 53% (Schaller 1967).

Reproduction and peak in fawning

In Bandipur the peak rutting season was
between April and July (Sharatchandra and
Gadgil 1975 and Fig. 8). Extrapolating from
the April to July rutting peak and assuming
an 8 month gestation period (Schaller 1967)
more fawns should have been seen from Dec-
ember to March. Young fawns, however, re-
mained hidden during the early weeks and
could only be reliably counted when they began
to accompany the does. This occurred in May,
June and July after the summer rains and
sprouting of grass. Twin fawns were observed
on 5 occasions.

Peak in fawning could be confirmed by
distributing fawn kills, number of scats with
fawn remains collected in Bandipur and fawn
births recorded by Crandall (1964) over diffe-
rent months of the year (Fig. 9). In total 100
fawns killed by dholes, 1 1 by leopard and 1 by
tiger were collected. Fawn remains were seen
143 times in dhole scats. Twenty five scats of
leopard and 8 of tiger had fawn remains. When
distributed over the year it was clear:

a) fawn kills showed a peak from February
to July;

15

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 9. Chital fawn kills, scats with fawn remains and birth
of fawns in different months of the year.

16

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

b) scats with fawn remains were common in
December, February and March;

c) birth of fawns showed a peak from
March to July.

Young fawns are said to be scentless. (Bran-
der 1927, Graf and Nicholas 1966). Scat ana-
lysis, however, showed that in December,
February and March many fawns were killed
than in other months (X2 = 25.885, d.f., 1,
P < . 100). Pooled together the data indicated
a fawning peak from December to March.
Fawn sex ratio (Graf and Nicholas 1966, Schal-
ler 1967, Acharjyo and Padhi 1972) indicates
an even sex ratio at birth. Adult sex ratio how-
ever, favoured $ $ and this could be attribut-
ed to a higher mortality of cf fawns.

Mortality

Possible causes of mortality include accident,
disease and predation. Two does and one stag
were killed by vehicles. Deep wounds were fre-
quently seen on rutting stags and one stag kill-
ed by dholes had a deep stab wound in the
lower jaw. In May 1977 one stag was killed
by another stag.

All chital examined had ticks ( Haemophy -
salis spp) and flies ( Lipoptena spp). Of the 13
checked for cysts, one young stag with 40 cm
long hard antlers, had an infestation of 30
Cysticercus cysts in the lungs and a prime adult
doe had 3 cysts and Setaria spp worms in its
peritoneal cavity. Deformities which can affect
feeding efficiency and lead to debility are listed
in Table 5.

The major cause of mortality was predation.
Chital accounted for 74% of the 379 kills by
predators. An analysis of 509 dhole, 70 leopard
and 36 tiger scats showed chital hair in 52%,
51% and 39% respectively.

Local people frequently stole kills of preda-
tors. This probably had a deleterious effect on
chital population as predators were forced

to make more kills. During August and Sept-
ember 1976 there were 18 dhole and 3 leopard
kills of chital. All 3 leopard kills and 10 of the
18 dhole kills were stolen.

Antipredator behaviour

Chital have an excellent sense of smell and
hearing but they often failed to detect me at
distances of 5 to 7 m when I sat and froze close
to a tree. They were alerted by the alarm calls
of other animals, and sensed the presence of
dholes which were not noticed by me (see Ap-
pendix I, hunt 17). When attacked by dholes
(e.g., hunt 9) even chital with long hard antlers
fought ineffectively. Chital employed a variety
of antipredator strategies including:

(a) Bunching: Chital were seen to bunch
in the presence of dholes (n=16) and in the
presence of leopard (n = 2) and tiger (n = l).
Bunching was seen 17 times in wet and cool
months.

Dholes were not observed to attack chital
in a herd. The fear of being trampled and the
inability to concentrate on a particular indivi-
dual may deter dholes. Stags on seeing dholes
moved either to the front or to the middle of
the bunched fleeing herd. When 7 dholes went
past a herd of nearly 100 chital the stags ran
to the middle and 4 to 6 chital does with raised
tails and stamping feet came forward to investi-
gate. Once a leopard walked by and nearly
25 chital bunched and with raised tail sounding
alarm and stamping their forefeet trailed at a
distance of 40 to 50 m behind the cat, similar
to an incident reported by Eisenberg (in
Smythe 1970). The behaviour of the chital was
like the curiosity behaviour reaction of hoofed
mammals towards African predators (Kruuk
1972).

(b) Distraction display: Does with young
fawns ran off and left the fawn on two occa-
sions. A doe with a young fawn as soon as it

17

2

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 5

Deformities seen in chital killed by predators

SI. Date or
No. month

Particulars of Prey, Sex,
age class and antler Deformity

length in cm.

Predator

1 . August, 1976

2. March, 1977

3. 12 June, 1977

4. 1 August, 1977

5. 20 August, 1977

6. January, 1978

7. 28 February, 1978

8. 14 April, 1978

9. 21 June, 1978

$, VIII

9, VIII
9, VIII

Stag, V, 82 cm hard
antlers

$,VIII

Stag, V, Velvet antlers
eaten

9, VIII
.9, VIII

Stag, V, 18 cm hard

10. 3 July, 1978 Stag, IV, 45 cm hard

11. 11 July, 1978 Stag, V, 72 cm hard

Exerstosis on the left maxilla
on the medial aspect at the
first molar level. Both the first
molars not well developed.
Differential wear. No wear on
the first premolar and heavy
wear on the last molar.
Differential wear. First premo-
lar was not worn down. Pos-
sibly the upper apposing molar
was absent.

Excess callus formation at the
junction between the last
maxilla and the maxillary sym-
physis probably due to a pierc-
ing wound.

Differential wear on molars.
First premolar and last crown
of the 3rd molar were not
worn down.

Congenital maldevelopment
(hypoplacia) of the first molar
on the right maxilla
Differential wear conspicuous
on the second molar on the
left maxilla.

Exerstosis on the right maxilla.
Maldevelopment of teeth ex-
cept the last molars.

Left antler of the stag had bro-
ken and had healed when it
was in velvet at a height of
50 cm.

First crown of the last molar
and the last crown of the
second molar were broken. Left
antler was broken at a height
of 12 cm from the base.

Extra third premolars

Dhole

Dhole

Leopard

Dhole

Leopard

Dhole

Dhole

Dhole

Dhole

Dhole

Dhole

18

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

saw me, lay flat on the ground and kept the
head level with the grass. When I approached
her closer she rose, spronked, heavily thumped
her forefeet and the fawn ran away.

(c) Remaining motionless in cover: Adult
chital sometimes hid in dense cover when
alarmed by dholes (n = 3). One doe, took
refuge in a bamboo clump when chased and
attacked by a village dog in Sigur an adjoining
forest tract. Chital fawns were also found hid-
ing in dense cover (n = 7) (Appendix I, hunt
18). When chital were surprised in the scrub
they gave a startled call and dispersed abruptly
in different directions. This may confuse a pre-
dator.

(d) Flight: Chital flight distance varied in
different parts of the study area. Near Bandi-
pur they could be approached to a distance of
30 m but in the more remote parts of the study
area, where poaching occurred, flight distances
in excess of 80 m were common. When directly
approached by hunting dholes the flight dis-
tance was usually 60 m or more. When pursued
by dholes chital fawns called in distress.

(e) Seeking refuge in water: On 4 occa-
sions during the study chital stood at bay in
water to escape dholes but all were killed.
Chital twice ran across the river in Sigur when
pursued by dholes, probably in an attempt to
lose them. On another occasion a chital doe
stood at bay in Sigur river to evade a village
dog. Only our intervention saved the doe.

Sambar

Distribution

Sambar were the most widely distributed
large prey species in the study area. Their dis-
tribution and abundance appear to be influenc-
ed by dense cover, water and by their ability
to subsist on a wider variety of plants. During
the wet and cool season cover was afforded

by Lantana and bamboo while grass Imperata
arundinacea under shady trees (e.g., Shorea
talura ) provided cover during the dry monfhs.
Rest sites near water were preferred. In con-
trast with chital sambar were found in hilly
terrain (e.g., sectors 3 and 19) and tall grass
(e.g., sectors 10 and 15).

Group size, density and biomass

Sambar in the study area formed large
groups only at water holes and feeding sites.
Otherwise single animals and groups of 2 form-
ed 36% and 31% respectively of the 1995 sight-
ings. An unusually large aggregation formed in
response to a dhole pack; a total of 39 sambar
(6 stags in hard, 4 in velvet, 3 spike bucks, 19
does and 17 fawns) was observed standing in
a pond where they sought refuge. The popula-
tion estimate for the core area in July 1977
was 160 to 180 or a density of 8 to 9 /Km2.
This concentration was not seen during dry
months when nearly 140 sambar stayed in the
core area which gave a dry season density of
7/Km2.

The high wet season density of sambar form-
ed 13 to 14% of the total number of prey
animals (excluding porcupine, hare and pea-
fowl) and 36 to 38% of the prey biomass ex-
cluding elephant. The wet season density gave
a total biomass of 24, 875 to 27, 984 Kg. or
1244 to 1399 kg/Km2 (Table 6). The related
figure from Wilpattu is 158 kg/Km2 (Eisenberg
and Lockhart 1972) and Chitawan 443 Kg/Km2
(Seidensticker 1976b). The high density in the
core area was mostly due to dense patches of
escape cover ( Lantana and bamboo) around
water holes, which are distributed evenly in the
core area.

Sex ratio

Sex ratio of sambar at birth appears to be
even; of the 35 births recorded by Acharjyo

19

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

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Proportion in velvet and hard
antler stags

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BAN DIPUR

Velvet antler
I~1 Hard antler

Fig. 10. The proportion of sambar stags in velvet and
hard antlers.

21

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

and Padhi (1972) there were 14 d d and
21 $ $ or a ratio of 2:3. The null hypothesis
that d and 9 sex ratio was even is acceptable
(Z = 1.645, P > .05). Nevertheless the sex
ratio showed a bias in favour of $ $ through-
out the year (Table 4). Average d to $ ratio
during November, December and January was
41:100. Schaller sexed 11 kills and found the
ratio of d and $ to be 120:100 and ratio in
the population was 30:100. Male kills were
more common than expected (X2 = 11.46, d.f.,
1, P < .005). My data (see discussion: preda-
tion and sex of prey) and Schaller’s confirm
preferential predation on yearling and
adult d d ■

Rut

In Bandipur sexual activity was indicated by
antler development, sore patch, wallowing and
courtship behaviour. Stags in hard antlers were
observed mainly between November and April
and most d d had shed their antlers by May
(Fig. 10).

Fawning period

Sambar fawn population is difficult to esti-
mate because they do not consistently follow
the 9 9 during the first 3 months (Eisenberg
and Lockhart 1972). Lone resting fawns were
flushed out of cover on 24 occasions (Janu-
ary, February and June each 3, March 4, April
5, May and August each 2 and November and
December each once). This does not coincide
with the beginning of rut (November) and may
be the result of young fawns freezing in cover
instead of running away when approached.
Forty one kills of young sambar fawns (38 by
dhole, 2 by leopard and 1 by tiger. Fig. 11)
show that more fawns were killed from August
to March than expected (X2 = 11.2, d.f., 1,
P < 0.001) which assuming an 8 month gesta-
tion period (Acharjyo and Misra 1971) indicat-

ed these fawns were conceived during the rutting
season, November to April. Fawn to doe ratio
averaged for May, June and July 1977 was
32:100 and for the same period in 1978 the
ratio was 41:100.

Mortality

The major cause of observed mortality was
predation. Of the 379 kills found in this study
sambar accounted for 17%. Sambar remains
were found in 14% of dhole (n = 509) and
leopard scats (n = 70) and 31% of tiger scats
(n = 36). Predation took a heavy toll of sam-
bar fawns. Of the 66 sambar kills 41 (62%)
were of fawns < 4 months of age. An exami-
nation of 93 predator scats with sambar re-
mains (72 of dhole, 11 of tiger and 10 of
leopard) showed 71 of them (76%) had sam-
bar fawn remains. I removed 5 snares set for
sambar.

Antipredator behaviour

Sambar have an excellent sense of smell but
like chital they seem unable to distinguish im-
mobile objects. Sambar have the ability to sense
danger from the excitement created by the pre-
sence of a predator (hunt 3). The sambar’s
preference for dense cover may be an adapta-
tion against dholes but could be disadvantage-
ous when stalked either by tiger or leopard.
Sambar do not have any white markings on
their bodies which may be a cryptic adaptation
for a life in the scrub. Sambar antipredator
behaviour include:

(a) Watching: Schaller (1967) mentions
the ability of sambar to remain motionless for
long periods of time. This was observed many
times and may enable them to remain unseen
while investigating the movement of predators;

(b) Investigation of curious objects: When
wind was not in their favour sambar were
curious to know the identity of the object which

,22

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

Fig. 11. Bachelor herds of sambas stags in hard antlers with

does and fawn kills seen over the period August 1976 to

July 1978

23

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

attracted their attention. Once a sambar mis-
took me for a predator and keeping the tail
vertical, thumping forelegs and jerking the head
it approached me 7 to 10 m. A solitary adult
tusker interrupted the observation. This type
of curious approach may be advantageous if
the stalking predator is forced to launch a
preemptive attack;

(c) Belling: Sambar called when they saw
predators including jungle cat. Their alarm calls
varied in tone and intensity depending on the
type of predator and whether or not it was
hunting. When hunted by dholes sambar with
young were not observed to call but adults
without young did (hunt 6). When dholes
hunted, 9 9 with fawns were seen to leave the
area (hunt 3). A leopard going through a scrub
prompted a sambar to call in a subdued tone
but the sambar did not run. Once 2 tigers kill-
ed a sambar doe in a patch of scrub and their
movements were indicated by sambar alarms
from the same scrub. It appeared that for the
2 days the tigers remained in the scrub the
sambar of that area were not unduly disturbed.
But on 6 different occasions when a tiger was
hunting in the same scrub 1 to 14 sambar
emerged giving alarm calls. Probably on these
occasions the tiger was hunting;

(d) Remaining motionless in cover: Bran-
der (1927) noted that sambar squat like a hare
so they would be passed undetected. Once a
fawn and another time a stag stayed in cover
allthrough aware of my approach. The fawn
placed its chin on the ground and lay crouched
until I passed 5 m of it. The stag remained
motionless until I was within 8 m;

(e) Seeking refuge in water: This was the
most common and successful strategy against
dholes and was seen 15 times. On 6 occasions
sambar ran over a 3 m high tank bund to get
into water. On 2 occasions they ran through
scrub to get into 6 to 7 m wide puddle. While

24

in the water sambar seemed to have control
over the situation. Together an adult and a
yearling doe successfully kept off the study
pack from a fawn (hunt 21). While in water
sambar kept their rumps together as moose
( Alces alces) do (Mech 1966) (hunts 20 and
21). They also rose on their hind feet and
struck at dholes with forefeet (hunt 20). The
fear of being chased again often forced sambar
to stay in water even after the dholes left (hunt
21). In Bandipur dholes did not press home
their attack when sambar retreated to water
(hunt 21) as chital were the main prey species;

(f) Attack: On land sambar were not able
to protect their fawns successfully from dholes
(hunts 5, 16, 17 and 19). But on 3 occasions
in open areas adult sambar chased dholes —
on two occasions solitary does chased 3 to 5
dholes and another time 2 does, watched by 2
yearling does, drove off 3 dholes (e.g., hunt
19). When sambar faced dholes on land they
bristled their body hair, held their tails vertical
laid back the pinnae and exposed the white
of the eyes. Snorting was also heard. While
approaching dholes they kept the head low to
the ground extended the neck and stamped
their forefeet.

On two occasions sambar fawns screamed
when chased by dholes even though not physi-
cally assaulted (hunt 20 and 21). When chased
by dholes sambar did not enter Bandipur
village as was done by chital on 6 occasions.

Ecological adaptations of breeding in

CHITAL AND SAMBAR

Continued optimal season is seen in tropics
and equatorial regions where the seasons vary
so little that young may be born at any time
of the year and have an approximately equal
chance of survival (Sadleir 1969). Although
Bandipur is a tropical monsoon forest its envi-

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

ronment has seasonality in food availability
which presents a situation some what similar
to the ‘fixed optimal season found in temperate
areas’ (Sadleir 1969).

In Bandipur food for ungulates was scarce
and was of low nutritional value from January
to April. Grass was tender and green from May
to August. Chital fawns, however, were born
even in very dry months. Although chital fawns
nibble grass when they are a week old they
begin eating it in quantity by 5 weeks (Graf
and Nicholas 1966). By the time many chital
fawns were weaned and had greater food re-
quirements the fodder condition had dramati-
cally improved which enabled them to feed
exclusively on grass.

A continued supply of tender grass from
May to August would also enhance the deve-
lopment of the embryo conceived at the end
of April. Further more the arrival of the north
east monsoon by the end of September and the
sprouting of more grass in October may pro-
vide the embryo with all essential nutrients.
Thus at Bandipur chital are finely adapted to
their environment by evolving weaning and
pregnancy to synchronize with the time of
abundant growth of grass.

In sambar rut commenced after the end
of the May to September aggregation. Assem-
blage before the rut could lead to the forma-
tion of new breeding herds, social order and
exchange of gene pool. Sambar hinds conceiv-
ing between November end and the beginning
of May may have nutritional difficulties. The
ability of sambar to eat a wide spectrum of
forage, however, may nullify this hardship.
Sambar fawns born in dry months have thin
vegetation cover but their ability to remain
hidden may help them overcome this difficulty.

solitary cT cT - Lone $$ were seen 81 times
(53%) and the largest group had 32 (8 adults
and 24 young). Of the 155 sightings 123 (79%)
were seen in wet and cool months and 32
(21%) during the dry season. Pigs may be
mostly nocturnal in their activity during the
dry months.

The estimated number of pigs in the core
area in July 1977 was 50 animals, a density of
2.5/Km2. Stripers (young piglets) were seen
in the months of June, July and August which
implies littering after rains in May.

Wild pigs were the major terrestrial scaven-
gers of the area. Five times they were seen
eating the kill remains of dhole; three times in
the presence of the pack (Johnsingh 1978). A
chital fawn killed by a leopard and a chital
doe killed by a tiger were also scavenged.

Table 7

Frequency of occurrence of food items in 509

DHOLE SCATS COLLECTED IN BANDIPUR

Food Item No. of
scats with
the re-
mains of

Percent

No. of
times with
the re-
mains of

Percent

Chital adult

126

24.75

127

23.87

Chital fawn

138

27.11

143

26.88

Hare

71

13.95

74

13.91

Sambar adult

16

3.14

18

3.38

Sambar fawn

54

10.6

54

10.15

Microtine

Rodents

31

6.09

34

6.39

Cattle

14

2.75

14

2.63

Muntjac

8

1.57

8

1.50

Langur

6

1.18

6

1.13

Wild pig

4

0.79

5

0.94

Gaur calf

1

0.2

1

0.19

Beetle

5

0.98

13

2.44

Grass

35

6.88

35

6.58

Total

509

100

532

100

Wild Pig

There were 155 sightings of sounders and

25

Sightings of wild pig, gaur* and muntjac correlated with rainfall

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Tt rH OO

O m Tt

Daniel (1967) suggests that pigs may kill and
eat fawns but this was not observed during this
study.

Only 5 pig kills were collected. Four of
these were adult boars killed by tigers and one
was an unsexed adult killed by dholes. This
latter pig had attempted to escape the dholes
by backing into a pit and facing the dholes. Pig
remains were seen in 6% of tiger scats (Fig.
12) and 1% of dhole scats (Table 7).

Gaur

Gaur was one of the most common large
mammals of Bandipur before the 1968 rinder
pest epidemic. During the study there were 48
sightings of gaur; lone bulls were seen 25 times
(52%). The largest herd consisted of 45 to 60
animals. It was not possible to classify the ani-
mals with regard to sex except that mature bulls
were black and females and young bulls were
brown. Six herds were classified and within
these there were 19 black adults (22%), 43
brown adults (51%) and 23 young (27%).
There is a positive correlation (+569) bet-
ween the number of sightings of gaur and rain-
fall (Table 8). Nearly 96% of gaur sightings
were in wet and cool months.

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Muntjac

This deer was not seen close to human habi-
tation and its habitat was more often shared
by sambar than by chital. In total 86 animals
were seen belonging to 66 groups. Six animals
could not be sexed. The rest were classified as
25 d d (31%), 39 $ $ (49%) and 16 young
(20%). The sex ratio was 64 S : 100 $ $ .
Of the 66 groups solitary animals were seen
50 times (76%) groups of 2 12 times (18%)
and groups of 3 or 4 4 times (6%).

26

Group size of elephants counted in the core area — August 1976 — July 1977

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

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in relation to rain. Sixty one (71%) animals
were seen during dry months when water was
restricted to certain ponds. An estimate of 20
animals for the core area gave a density of 1
animal /Km2.

No muntjac kill was collected ; 3% of leo-
pard, 3% of tiger and 2% of dhole scats had
muntjac remains in them.

Porcupine

Tracks and droppings of porcupine were
commonly seen. The estimate for the core area
was 100 animals, a density of 5 /Km2. Signs
indicated that they centered their activities
around water holes in summer. Six per cent of
tiger and 1% of leopard scats had porcupine
remains.

Hare and Rodents

The number of black naped hare was assess-
ed to be 200 animals for the core area or a
density of 10/ Km2. Fourteen per cent of dhole,
11% of leopard, 10% of jungle cat and 3% of
tiger scats had hare remains. Crested Hawk
Eagles were seen eating hare three times and
once a hare, to escape the aerial attacks of a
Crested Serpent Eagle ( Spilornis cheela),
abruptly crouched 3 times. Rodents were
found in 64% of jungle cat, 14% of leopard
and 6% of dhole scats.

Elephants

Elephant was not a common prey animal
but its contribution to the biomass was signifi-
cant. During the first year 2283 sightings were
classified: adult tuskers 18%, juvenile tuskers
11%, Cows 40%, juvenile cows 17% and calves
15%. Mean group size between November and
April varied between 6 and 8.7 and for May

27

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

to October it was between 5.8 and 12.5 (Table
9). During the wet and cool season there were
nearly 100 elephants in the core area and for
the dry season the estimate was around 20.
One calf was killed and eaten by a tiger. A
leopard was chased by an adult tusker and
dholes were chased 8 times.

Peafowl

This potential prey was restricted to the core
area and there were nearly 180 birds. The sex
ratio in the population was biased in favour of
males throughout the year. In April, a month
prior to the active breeding season, the ratio
was 224 d d : 100 9 9. This can be compar-
ed with the ratio of 47 d d : 100 9 9 at In jar
(Johnsingh and Murali 1980).

Peahens lay 3 to 5 eggs (Ali 1972) and in
Bandipur chick mortality was high. Of the 27
broods seen 8% had 1 chick, 48% 2 chicks,
22% 3, 19% 4 and 4% had 5. Five kills (2
d d with trains, 1 $ without, 1 9 and 1 chick)
were collected. Crested Hawk Eagles killed all
3 d d and a jungle cat killed the chick. Many
brooding females killed in the scrub may go un-
noticed.

Antipredator behaviour of Prey Species

The response of the prey species to the pre-
dator depends on the activities of the preda-
tor. If the predator is not hunting and happens
to go past the prey the latter becomes alert,
curious, and subdued alarm calls may be pro-
duced. When the predator is hunting the res-
ponse entirely changes and any one of the fol-
lowing strategies — hiding in cover, flight or
attack may be adooted. In general the antinre-
dator behaviour is influenced by the size, habi-
tat, sex, renroductive condition, sociability of
the prey and size of the predator. Eisenberg and

Mckay (1974) give a detailed sequence of
events and their alternatives which may be
followed by a terrestrial herbivore upon per-
ceiving a predator. Table 10 summarizes the
various antipredator behaviours seen in Bandi-
pur. Certain antipredator behaviour are dis-
cussed further.

Bunching

Gregarious behaviour is a form of cover
seeking in which an animal tries to reduce its
chance of being caught by a predator (Hamil-
ton 1971). Bunching of chital in the presence
of dhole was first reported by Sharatchandra
and Gadgil (1975). Reproductive investment of
chital cf d (sperms) is insignificant when com-
pared with those of 9 9 which carry the em-
bryo for 8 months and nurse the fawn for 3 to
4 months. This high reproductive investment
may prompt the 9 9 to come forward and
investigate the danger while the d d run to the
safety of the middle of the herd. Bunching was
seen in truly social mammals such as wild pig,
gaur and elephants.

Remaining motionless in cover

This is an excellent means of escape for small
animals and was often shown by hare and occa-
sionally by chital. Sweeny et al. (1971 ) observed
this in white tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginia-
nus) when chased by dog ( Canis familiaris)
and call this behaviour ‘holding’. Older black-
tailed stag ( Odocoileus hemionus) remain
bedded to escape hunters (Dasmann and
Taber 1956). Interestingly this behaviour was
shown by the much larger sambar. If sambar
remains bedded when a predator approaches
the bush down wind there is every chance the
deer, whose dark brown coat blends well with
the dim interior of the scrub, may escape un-
noticed.

28

Antipredator behaviour seen in Bandipur

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Alarm calls

Kin selection (Hamilton 1964, Maynard
Smith 1965) and individual selection (Trivers
1971) have been evoked as two explanations
for the evolution of alarm calls. Yahner (1980)
discusses the functions and adaptiveness of
barking in muntjac. Alarm calls of chital in
the presence of a stalking predator may be a
‘pursuit invitation signal’ (Smythe 1977).
Though chital form social groups late prenatal
and early post natal care of the young rests
only with the individual does and in that type
of situation alarm calls may have evolved
through individual selection. This is more so
in sambar.

Through direct and indirect evidence many a
time I recorded chital calling in the presence
of leopard and tiger but never I saw chital
calling when they clearly saw dholes. A stalking
predator could be dangerous only at close quar-
ters and repeated alarms could be given while
the distance between them is sufficiently large
for a reasonable chance for chital’s escape if
the stalking predator is hunting. This may not
be the case with dholes. When dholes ran
through the scrub chital gave subdued single
alarms. Presumably the deer did not identify
the predator.

Seeking refuge in water

Burton (1940) suggested that water is not a
place of refuge and the habit of animals run-
ning to water or being killed near water is the
result of their down hill race which accidentally
takes them to water. Observations in Bandipur
indicate that sambar purposely ran to water.
A study of 9 kills including those of 5 adults
(e.g., hunt 3) showed that certain prerequisites
are necessary for this tactic to be successful :

(a) Water should be shallow enough to
allow sambar to use forelegs powerfully;

(b) Water should not be too shallow which
would permit dholes to walk in and
attack;

(c) It would be better for sambar if there is
scrub bordering the edge of water not
affording space for the intercepting
dholes.

Attacks

Wild pig, sambar, gaur and elephant actively
chased dholes. Muntjac are said to attack and
kill domestic dogs Canis familiaris (Hoogerwerf
1970). If the size of the prey determines the
capability to attack then chital which are larger
than muntjac and wild pig should attack. Horns
and tusks evolved primarily as the weapons
for the fight between the members of the same
species rather than as defence against preda-
tors (Geist 1966). Chital is another example for
this speculation. Probably shorter weapons like
the canines of muntjac and pig can be effective-
ly used against a predator than a longer antler.
Sheer size of gaur and elephants enable them
to intimidate dholes. Observations of sambar
does and gaur cows chasing dholes in the pre-
sence of their young support the hypothesis
that ‘chasing predators may give naive prey in-
dividuals the opportunity to learn to recognize
predators by participating in low risk chases’
(Kruuk 1972, Berger 1979).

Biomass

For understanding the effect of predation a
calculation of biomass is necessary. The first
attempt to estimate the biomass in the oriental
region was made by Schaffer and Spillett (1966)
for the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary. Recently
Eisenberg and Seidensticker (1976) reviewed
the data on ungulate communities and their
biomass in the Indian subcontinent.

In Bandipur if the contribution of other small

30

Plate V

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80

Johnsingh: Predator-Prey in Bandipur

Leopard was the second common predator in Bandipur.

A young tiger in Bandipur
(Photos: Author)

Plate VI

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Johnsingh: Predator-Prev in Bandipur

Jackal was rare in the study area.

Sambar-dhole interaction.
(Photos: Author)

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BAN DIPUR

prey species such as porcupine (8x 100 = 800
Kg.), hare (2x200 = 400 Kg.) and peafowl (3
x 180 = 540 Kg.) was added to the figure deriv-
ed in Table 6 the biomass of prey animals was
between (68,825 + 1740) 70,565 Kg. and
(73,587 + 1740) 75327 Kg. or 3528 Kg.
to 3766 Kg/Km2. The average was 3647 Kg/
Km2. With the contribution of elephants the
biomass ranged between 289,765 and 294,527
Kg. or 14,488 to 14,726 Kg/Km2. The average
was 14,607 Kg./Km2.

This biomass was maintained almost through-
out the wet and cool season. During the dry
season owing to the dispersal of chital and sam-
bar and the absence of gaur the prey biomass
went down to 2863 Kg/ Km2. The prey biomass
for dry months (2863 x 5 = 14,315) and for
wet and cool seasons (3647 x 7 = 25,525) gave
an average of 3,320 Kg/Km2 for the year. In
dry season hardly 20 elephants remained in the
core area and their biomass (2,192 Kg /Km2
with prey biomass 2,863 Kg/Km2) gave 5055
Kg/ Km2 which was 35% of the average bio-
mass of the wet and cool season (14,607 Kg/
Km2).

Another aspect of the study of biomass con-
cerns the relative proportions contributed by
the different species in the community (Mckay
and Eisenberg 1974). In the core area during
the wet and cool season numerically less and
highly mobile elephants formed 76% of the
total biomass, chital 11% and sambar 9%. The
prey biomass of the core area is much higher
than the biomass of 465 Kg/ Km2 for the entire
Reserve (calculated from Wesley 1977). Major
reasons for the core area having a high prey
biomass were evenly distributed water holes and
heterogeneous vegetation which afforded forage,
escape cover and rest and fawning sites.

PREDATORS
Number and Densities

In the core area there was a pack of dholes
varying in number between 7 and 18 giving a
density between 0.35 and 0.9 dholes/ Km2.
Mean number of adults was 8.3; when pups
were present the mean number was 16. Dholes
were the major predators and accounted for
80% of the kills (n = 379). Two or 3 leopards
and at least a d1 and a $ tiger hunted in the
core area. Leopards accounted for 15% of the
kills and tigers for 5%.

Hunting Habits of Dholes
Time of hunt

The exact time was recorded for 124 kills
made in the morning. Of these 96 (77%) were
made after sunrise and 28 (23%) before sun-
rise. Of 67 kills in the evening 52 (78%) were
seen before sunset and 15 (22%) after sunset.
Three kills were made at different nights (e.g.,
hunt 11) of which 2 nights were moonlit.

Prelude to hunt

When prelude to the hunt was observed (4
instances) the dholes rested and played on
roads and on 3 occasions near their defecation
sites. While resting close to one another they
nuzzled and rubbed their bodies together. Active
submission, tail wagging, chase and ambush
were common. Mounting was noted once. On
3 occasions some dholes playfully walked on
branches of fallen trees. Once this peaceful get
together suddenly gave way to vigorous play
which abruptly subsided as the pack started off
to hunt. Vocalization at the climax of play,
reported in Lycaon (Estes and Goddard 1967)
and in wolves (Mech 1970) was not heard.

At the beginning of the hunt dholes often
moved in single file and the trotting speed was

31

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

around 9 km /hr. Occasionally one or two
dholes lagged behind sniffing a tuft of grass,
lapping water or scavenging a bone.

Locating prey

Dholes have an excellent sense of smell and
were able to locate the observer more than
100 m away (hunt 12). Dholes located prey
by sight but they also depended on smell (hunts
3, 4, 8 and 12). In scrub where visibility was
limited they primarily depended on smell.
When the prey ran sight and hearing aided
them to follow the quarry. Running sounds of
prey in the scrub informed other dholes of the
progress of the hunt. In one case 6 or 7 dholes
approached a herd of gaur by stalking through
the tall grass.

Dholes adopted two hunting strategies. In
one strategy they moved through the scrub in
an extended line formation (e.g., hunts 5, 8, 16,
18, 19 and 24) and any adult may begin the
attack when it locates prey. In the other strategy
some pack members remained at the periphery
of the scrub to intercept fleeing prey as it was
flushed (e.g., hunts 1 to 5, 15 and 19). Both
formations are effective for locating hidden
fawns and resting adults. Dholes adopted the
former strategy 39 times and the latter 14 times
in total.

Rush and chase

Other than gaur, wild pig and occasional
sambar all prey ran when chased by dholes.
Handicapped prey trailed behind (e.g., hunt 6).
Dholes may determine vulnerability by the
prey’s initial reaction. During the early phase
of the chase dholes run faster than the prey.
Owing to this and team work most of the chases
did not last long. In 92% of 48 occasions the
chase ended within 500 m of its starting point.
Twice the chase went beyond 500 m (e.g., hunt

1) and on two occasions the distance could not
be assessed.

One widely prevalent belief is dholes hunt in
relays pursuing prey casually at a loping canter
until the quarry is exhausted (Burton 1940,
Davidar 1975, Krishnan 1975b). In a dense
habitat especially where many animal tracks
crisscross it would be difficult for dholes to run
in relays or follow a prospective prey animal
for a long distance. Even in the African plains
Lycaon hunt occasionally in brief relays
(Kruuk and Turner 1967, Schaffer 1972) but
Estes and Goddard (1967) never saw a true
relay chase.

Attack and kill

Small mammals like hare and chital fawn
were seized by any part of the body as they
ran. With a single head shake such small prey
were killed instantly (e.g., hunts 8 and 14).
Dholes were capable of inflicting serious wounds
on the rump and flanks of the larger prey
(hunts 5 and 6) and consequently even large
chital stags were brought down (e.g., hunt 10).

Generally larger animals are attacked from
behind and the usual points of attack are rump
and flank. Dholes are wary if prey are capa-
ble of injuring either with antlers or forelegs
(hunt 9). The nose hold seen in wolves (Mech
1970) and Lycaon (Estes and Goddard 1967,
Van Lawick 1971, Schaffer 1972, Malcolm and
Van Lawick 1975) was used by dholes when
the speed of the prey was arrested. Nose hold-
ing enabled dholes to accelerate their attack
on the rump and flank which ultimately sub-
dued the victim. If the prey’s nose is caught
while it stands in water the weight of the dhole
may drown the prey before the dhole frees
itself from suffocation. This was interpreted as
intentional drowning of the prey by dholes
(Sankhala 1977). However, I cannot believe

32

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BAND1PUR

that dholes drown their prey intentionally. Once
the nose hold was used to drag a chital fawn
out of water (hunt 13).

During this study 27 out of 40 fresh kills had
snout injury (4 sambar $ c? , 6 chital stags in
velvet, 15 chital stags in hard antlers, 1 chital
doe and 1 sambar fawn). Snout injury occurred
in all sambar males, in 55% of chital stags in
velvet and in 82% of chital stags in hard antler.
More chital stags in hard antler were injured
on the snout by nose hold than expected
(Hypergeometric distribution, p. 0878, p > .05).

Attack on the rump and flanks led to evis-
ceration. Bite wounds, shock and loss of blood
eventually killed the prey. Of 40 fresh kills
checked none had throat wounds. Dholes re-
moved the scrotum during hindquarter attack
and this has led to the popular belief that they
deliberately emasculate their prey. The scrotum
was usually eaten as it was found on only 4
occasions (n = 33).

Prejudice against dholes arises from their
method of disemboweling prey and eating them
alive (hunts 3 and 9). Ten direct observations
showed that prey weighing 50 Kg or less were
killed within 2 minutes after the attack began.
The maximum time was 15 minutes (hunt 9).
Killing was delayed by human interference as
‘some members of the pack hung back appre-
hensively and were not able to do their share
in killing’ (Van Lawick 1971). In the absence
of human interference a yearling c? sambar was
killed within 7 minutes by the pack of 15 (hunt
3).

Dholes do not deserve the reputation as cruel
hunters as their method and time required to
kill are not much different from those of other
predators. Hyenas take 1 to 13 min. (Av. = 6.3)
to kill wild beast (Kruuk 1972). A lioness took
more than 8 min. to kill a warthog and 3
lionesses more than 7 min. to kill a zebra (Schal-
ler 1972). Tigers (Burton 1925) and lions

(Schaffer 1972) have been reported to eat their
prey alive. Obviously natural selection has led
to effective means of disabling prey (incapaci-
tation) rather than quick and painless death.

When the pack moves through the scrub
there may be opportunities to attack 2 or 3
large prey animals. There was only one inci-
dent of dholes, however, killing 2 large chital
stags at one time. This suggests dholes are not
wanton killers. Kills were not made by a parti-
cular dhole (see hunts 1, 6, 10, 11 and 13).

Sequence of eating a carcass

Dholes fed excitedly soon after killing. The
belief that every dhole gets its share was not
true when kills were small (e.g., hunt 1). Even
for medium sized animals like chital doe and
sambar fawn, especially when the undivided
pack was around, there was always squabbling
until the excitement of the hunt was over. Fawns
were torn to pieces within seconds after killing
and each dhole ran away with its share (e.g.,
hunt 8). Even when the kill was as large as a
yearling sambar or an adult chital stag all
pack members did not lie around the kill and
eat. When my presence was noted they dragged
the kill away (e.g., hunts 2, 5, 12 ana 17) and
once a male weighing nearly 18 kg dragged a
49 kg chital doe for 5 m through grass and
creepers.

As all dholes could not eat at the rump
they tugged at the carcass from all directions.
Belly and loin were soon torn open and the
entrails were puffed out. The viscera were drag-
ged aside (hunts 3, 9, 13 and 24). If it was a
fawn the intestine was eaten spiffing the con-
tents. The rumen was usually left though its
tissue was some times eaten. Lungs were often
torn out but were not always eaten. There was
always a scramble for the liver and the heart.

Dholes seemed to relish the eye balls. Of the
40 fresh kills checked 21 had both eyes remov-

33

3

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ed, in 8 cases left and in 6 cases right eye were
removed. Five animals had intact eyes. In 4
hunts dholes removed the eye balls as soon as
the kill was made. Pinnae were also eaten. Of
the 40 kills both the pinnae were removed in
17 animals, left pinnae in 12 and right in 5.
In 16 cases pinnae were present. Uneaten dis-
membered pinna was (three times) found close
to kills.

When a kill was fully eaten dismembered
parts of the prey were left around the kill site.
Usually the vertebral column with the attached
ribs and the skull formed the main piece. The
limb bones and pectoral girdle were usually
separated. If the prey was large the skin was
neatly removed of meat and then left with the
head attached. When dholes ate a mature chital
stag (around 75 kg) the remains weighed
around 25 kg. (33%). However, on 4 occasions
the remains varied between 51 and 68% (Av. =
55). Dholes left these kills in the absence of
human disturbance. This contradicts the belief
that dholes leave only bone fragments even
from large kills such as adult sambar.

Feeding dholes frequently drank if water was
nearby. If water was some distance away they
headed for the nearest waterhole soon after
eating. When the day became hot before the
kill was eaten dholes did not go to their dis-
tant rest sites. Instead they found shelter under
dense thickets near the kill till the evening.

Speed of eating and meat consumption rate

As Kruuk (1972) noted in hyena competi-
tion between feeding dholes expressed itself
mostly in the speed of eating rather than in
fighting. Dholes consumed their kills quickly.
The pack (9 adults + 9 pups) once ate 50 kg
of meat from a 70 to 75 kg chital stag within
90 min. They were aware of my presence and
had a brief uninvited interaction with 4 village
dogs. Another time 8 adults and 7 pups ate 14

kg of meat from a yearling chital doe (30 to
35 kg) within 4 min.

For three periods I collected almost all the
kills made by the pack (Table 11). The prey
varied from chital fawn to chital stag, number
of dholes ranged from 15 to 18 and the meat
available per dhole varied between 0. 7 kg and
3 kg. The total meat consumed by a dhole dur-
ing the 15 day period was 27.9 kg (1.86 kg
of meat per day or 0.103 kg of meat per kg
of 18 kg dhole). This is comparable to the con-
sumption rates for wolves (2.6 to 6.3 kg per
wolf per day or 0.09 to 0. 19 kg per kg., Mech
1966) and for Lycaon (2.0 to 4.0 kg per
Lycaon per day or 0.11 to 0.15 kg per kg,
Estes and Goddard 1967). The estimate for the
dhole may be a little lower than the actual
amount of meat eaten as they may be feeding
on smaller animals which would go unrecorded.
My observations indicate that when dholes ate
about 2 kg in the morning they did not hunt in
the evening. On 7 occasions when the morning
kill provided each dhole < 2 kg of meat they
hunted again in the evening. On 6 occasions
when the first kill was a fawn one more kill
was made in the same hunting session.

Scavenging and attendant scavengers

Dholes scavenged once on a tiger kill (John-
singh 1979b) and 7 times on leopard kills.
Dholes returned and ate their own kills for the
second time either on the same day or 2 or 3
days after (n = 1 1 ) . Although dholes were not
seen hunting langurs remains of langurs were
seen in 6 dhole scats. This may have been the
result of scavenging. Food caching was not
observed though it is seen in wolves (Murie
1944) and rarely in Lycaon (Malcolm 1980).

The jungle crow was the major scavenger at
Bandipur. Besides this there were King Vul-
tures ( Torgos calvus), Whitebacked ( Gyps
bengalensis) , Longbilled ( Gyps indicus). Pariah

J . Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate VII

Johnsingh: Predator-Prey in Bandipur

Dholes at a sambar kill.

Sambar skin removed of meat by Dholes.
(Photos: Author)

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

Table 11

Estimation of meat consumption rate of dhole

S.No. Date and time

Particulars of prey

Estimated
weight
(in Kg.)

Weight of
remains
(in Kg.)

No. of
dholes

Average meat
available per
dhole (in Kg.)

1.

7 Sept. ’77

Chital stag velvet

morning

age class V

70-75

30

16 or 17

2.5

2.

8 Sept. ’77

Chital doe

evening

age class VIII

50

10

}>

2.5

3.

9 Sept. ’77

Chital doe

< 0600

age class VI

50

9

19

2.5

4.

10 Sept. ’77

Chital stag hard

. • - 3 £

1800

88 cm. age class V

75

30

99

3

5.

11 Sept. ’77

Big chital fawn

0730

30

6

11

1.5

6.

11 April ’78

Chital fawn

0830

20

2

18

1

7.

12 April ’78

Chital fawn

0600

15

1.5

18

0.7

8.

13 April ’78

Chital stag velvet,

0610

age class VI

75

21

18

3

9.

14 April ’78

Chital doe,

< 0600

age class VIII

50

12

18

2

10.

15 April ’78

Chital stag velvet,

1830

age class VI

70-75

24

18

2.5

11.

16 April ’78

Sambar fawn

1900

30

3

18

1.5

12.

15 June ’78

Chital yearling doe

0800

age class II

30

5

15 or 16

1.7

13.

16 June ’78

Chital fawn

0630

15

1.5

11

0.8

14.

17 June ’78

Chital fawn

1100

25

3

8 adults

1.5

7 pups

15.

18 June ’78

Chital fawn

1400

20

2

”

1.2

Kites ( Milvus migrans) and on one occasion
a White Scavenger Vulture ( Neophron perc-
nopterus). Village dogs scavenged on dhole kill
remains four times.

Observations on Other Predators

Tiger

There were 18 sightings. The tigress of the

area was followed by 2 cubs from the end of
May 1977. Sightings of the 3 till March
1978 indicated that the tigress was successful in
rearing the cubs.

Once when I mimicked the whistle of a dhole,
suspecting the presence of a predator in the
scrub, a tiger came out growling and stood at
the edge of the scrub with pinnae laid flat. I

35

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 12

Frequency of occurrence of food items in 67

JUNGLE CAT SCATS COLLECTED IN BANDIPUR

Food item

Frequency of occurrence

No. of scats

Per cent

Rat and mouse

43

64.17

Bird remains

9

13.43

Hare

7

10.45

Lizard

5

7.46

Chital fawn

3

4.48

3 scats had grass — 2 in combination with rat re-
mains and 1 with bird remains.

9 scats had insect remains — 7 along with rat re-
mains, 1 with bird remains and 1 with hare
remains.

mimicked dhole whistle another time when a
tiger 16ft a waterhole. The tiger turned back
came forward two steps and then sat and look-
ed for 2 minutes in my direction.

Sloth bear

There were 16 sightings but tracks and drop-
pings showed that sloth bear were not rare.
During April 1977 when water was restricted to
the perennial ponds tracks showed that 3 adults
and 1 young made use of the core area.

Of the 95 scats analysed over the period
August 1976 to July 1977 one had bones and
hairs of hare and another a beetle wing. Forty

nine had earth, termites and ants probably of
the genus ( Componotus spp.); 35 had earth
and fruit, 4 earth and grass and 5 earth and
beeswax. Cassia fistula seeds were seen in Dec-
ember, March, April and May; Zizyphus jujuba
fruits in January; Cordia myxa and Syzygium
cumini in June and July. These findings are
similar to those of Laurie and Seidensticker
(1977).

Jungle cat

There were 28 sightings; 14 were in Septem-
ber and October. Results of the scat analysis
are presented in Table 12. One dead jungle cat
was seen and cause of death could not be
ascertained as crows had mutilated the carcass.

Jackal and others

There were 13 sightings of jackals 5 of which
were of pairs. Eleven sightings were in dry
months.

Stripe-necked mongoose were seen 8 times
hunting for small animals along pond margins.

Python was seen 5 times and once a python
killed a chital fawn.

Crested Hawk Eagle was the most common
avian predator of hare and peafowl.

Kills located

In the core area 233 chital, 56 sambar, 1
wild pig, 3 hare and 2 cattle calves, all killed

Table 13

Collected kills of dholes, leopard and tiger in Bandipur (August 1976 — July 1978)

Chital* Sambar Wild Hare Langur Cattle Ele- Village Dhole Leo-

Fawn $ $ Fawn $ $ Pig phant Dog pard

Dhole 100 68 64 46 3 7 1 3 — 3 — — — —

Leopard 11 18 9 2 — 1 — — 1 10 — 5 1 —

Tiger 1 31 1514 __ i 1 — — 1

Seven chital kills by dholes could not be aged and sexed.

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

DNOLE
SCAT DATA

LEOPARD
SCAT DATA

TJGER

SCAT OATA

KILL OATA

KILL DATA

FIG. 12. FOOD ITEMS OF DHOLE, LEOPARD AND TJGER AS SHOWN BY SCAT AND KILL DATA.

ClCHITAL, S: SAMBAR, H:HARE, WP;WILDPIG, R: RODENTS, CL: CATTLE, P-.PORCUPINE
G:GAUR, Gr: GRASS, VD : VILLAGE DOG, LC : LEOPAPD CUB, E: ELEPHANT CALF,

M: MISCELLANEOUS.

by dholes, were collected. Outside the core
area 6 chital and 1 cattle calf kills of dholes
were seen. In total 302 dhole kills were seen
(Table 13 and Fig. 12).

Of the 58 kills by leopard (Table 13 and
Fig. 12) 66% was chital and 5% sambar. In-
ability to collect sambar fawns killed by
leopard may be due to their occurrence in the
scrub. Ten cattle and 5 village dogs were also
killed by leopard.

A classification of tiger kills (n = 19) is
shown in Table 13 and Fig. 11. Chital and
sambar fawn kills of tiger are well represented
in scats (Fig. 12) but 1 chital and 1 sam-

bar fawn killed by tiger were collected. This is
mostly due to tiger’s ability to consume more
than 20 kg of meat in one night and to dispose
of small kills within hours.

Scat Data

Dhole

Of the 509 scats 24 had remains of more
than one animal species. Chital was the most
common prey eaten (Table 7, Fig. 12) followed
by hare and sambar. Although only 3 cattle
calves were killed by dholes 14 dhole scats had
cattle remains. Nearly 500 cattle were driven

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

through the Reserve to the slaughter houses in
Kerala. Weak and unfit cattle abandoned on
the road were frequently killed by the local
people and leopard. Scavenging on the remains
of these cattle may account for 14 dhole scats
having had cattle remains. In the months of
September and October, after the onset of
north east monsoon, partly chewed remains of
the beetle ( Dorysthenes rostratus) were found
with other animal remains.

Thirty five scats consisted almost entirely of
fresh grass. On two occasions grass was seen
wrapped around chital fawn hoof and bone
splinters of hare. A scat had 5 Lantana leaves,
Themeda and Cymbopogon spp grass, 3 tape
worms ( Taenia spp.) and mucous. Estimation
of the number of kills from scats is given in
Appendix II.

Leopard

Results of the analysis of leopard scats
(n = 70) are presented in Figure 12. Of these
chital formed 51%, sambar 14% and the rest
was composed of cattle, langur and hare. Calcu-
lation of the number of kills from scats is given
in Appendix II.

Tiger

Results of the analysis of tiger scats (n = 36)
are presented in Figure 12. Three scats con-
tained soil along with the remains of chital
fawn (1 scat) and porcupine (2 scats). Two
scats (one with sambar fawn remains and the
other with cattle remains) had large quantities
of grass. Thirty nine per cent of the scats con-

Table 14

A CORRELATION OF SCAT AND KILL DATA TO ESTIMATE THE EXPECTED KILLS AND BIOMASS OF WILD PREY RE-
MOVED FROM THE FOCAL AREA BY THE DHOLES

Prey species and their
weight (in Kg.) used
in computation

No. of No. of

meals scat samples
the pack with the
( 1 3 animals) remains
can have of

Corrected
estimate
of scat

Observed

Kills

Expected

Kills

Corrected
estimate
of Kills

Biomass
of correct-
ed estimate
of kills
(in Kg.)

♦Adult and year-

ling sambar

(110)

2

18

21

10

9.5-12

11

1210

Sambar fawn

(32)

1

54

63

46

54

63

2016

♦♦Chital adult

148

134

131

153

9098

( $ : 69; $

: 44)

1

127

Chital fawn

(15)

0.5

143

167

98

286

334

5010

Muntjac

(15)

0.5

8

9

—

16

18

270

Wild pig

(30)

1

5

6

1

5

6

180

Hare

(2)

0.08

74

86

3

222

258

516

Gaur calf

(50)

1

1

1

1

1

50

Rodent

(0.1)

0.004

34

40

8160

9600

960

Total

19310

♦Average weight, derived from actual weights, is used in computation.

♦♦Biomass of corrected estimate of kills was calculated based on the sex ratio seen in the kill (94$ : 100$).

38

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

Table 15

Correlation of scat and kill data of the leopard

Prey species and
their weight used
in computation
(in Kg.)

No. of No. of Probable oc- Corrected Observed Expected Kill Biomass
meals a scat currence of estimate of Kill (in Kg.)

leopard samples scats with scats

can have with 95% confi-
the re- dence
mains of interval

Yearling

sambar

(130)

4

Sambar fawn (32)

2

♦Chital adult

3

8 : 69, $ :

44

Chital fawn

(15)

1.5

Muntjac

(15)

1.5

Hare

(2)

0.33

Langur

(8)

1

Porcupine

(8)

1

Rat

(0.1)

0.01

Total . .

Lower Upper
Limit Limit 5

2 1% 8% Lower Upper

Limit

Limit

8

6

40

10

9

50

27

24

135

2

2

10

8

6

40

7

6

35

1

1

5

1

1

5

66**

1

1

130

2

3-20

640

27

3-17

1413

11

16-90

1350

—

1-5

75

—

18-120

240

1

6-35

280

—

1-5

40

—

100-500

50

4218***

* Biomass is calculated for the kill observed. (9 $ : 18$)

** Excluding 4 scats with cattle remains,

*** Biomass of 10 cattle and 5 village dog kills is not included.

tained chital, 31% sambar and the rest was
composed of cattle, pig and gaur remains.

DISCUSSION

In this report I have presented observations
on the large mammalian prey predators in the
core area of my study in Bandipur. While
dholes were primarily diurnal, tigei and leo-
pard were essentially nocturnal. All the three
predators chiefly preyed on chital and sambar
and the local people derived their animal pro-
tein stealing chital and sambar kills. The basic
questions that are to be answered to fully under-
stand the interactions among the prey, preda-
tors and local people are as follows :

a) What was the prey-predator ratio?

b) What ecological and behavioural features
isolated the predators in the core area?

c) What ecological conditions permitted the
co-existence of predators?

d) What was the effect of predation on chital
and sambar population? and

e) What was the impact of people stealing
chital and sambar killed by predators?

The answers to the last two questions are
presented in Appendix III and IV.

Prey-Predator Ratio

From the scat data it was inferred that dholes
killed 19,310 kg (Table 14), leopard 4,218 kg

39

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

(Table 15) and tiger 3203 kg including the
elephant calf (Table 16) of prey biomass in
the core area. This was nearly 20% of the
66,400 kg (average biomass was 3,320 kg/Km2
and the core area was 20 Km2), the average
total biomass calculated for the core area. This
serious predation is probably because of the
sudden removal of 100 + cattle from the study
area at the onset of the study. Inspite of this
heavy predation there was a significant increase
in chital and sambar population (Appendix III
and IV).

Average predator biomass 534 kg (13
dholes = 234 kg; tiger =180 kg, 2 leopards =

120 kg) and prey biomass showed a ratio of
1:124. In Ngorongoro Crater the ratio was
1:100 and in Serengeti 1:250-300 (Schaller
1972).

Ecological Separation of Predators

When several predatory species hunt in the
same area competition in the sense of joint de-
mand for a limited prey resource is likely to
occur. One way in which such competition can
be reduced is for the predators to occupy diffe-
rent habitats or to use the same one at diffe-
rent times (Schaller 1972). Table 17 lists 15

Table 16

Correlation of scat and kill data of tiger

Prey species and

No. of

No. of Probable oc-

Corrected

Observed

Expected Kill Biomass

their weight used

meals a

scat currence of

estimate of

Kill

of expect-

in computation

tiger

samples scats with

scats

• -

ed kill

(in Kg.)

can have

with 95% confi-

(in Kg.)

the re- dence

mains of interval

Lower Upper

Limit

Limit

22

6

6

1200

Sambar adult (200)

4

2 1%

22%

Lower Upper

Limit Limit

3 63

Sambar fawn

(32)

1.5

9

27 567

1

18-378

576

♦Chital adult

2

6

18 378

4

9-189

446

8 : 69; $ : 44

Chital fawn

(15)

1

8

24 504

1

24-504

360

Muntjac

05)

1

1

3 63

—

3-63

45

♦♦Wild Boar

(50)

2

2

6 126

4

3-63

200

Gaur Calf

(50)

2

2

6 126

—

6-63

150

Hare

(2)

0.15

1

3 63

—

1-9

2

Porcupine

(8)

0.5

2 .

L\Vc

6 126

—

3-63

24

Total .

33***

•

30Q3****

* Sex ratio in the kill was 1 8

: 3$.

• . ^

** Biomass is calculated for the observed kills.

*** One more scat with grass and earth was collected.

**** If the elephant calf weight is added the biomass reaches 3203 Kg.

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

mechanisms that reduce competition between
Bandipur predators.

Differential use of habitat

Signs of predators were seen in 138 quadrats
of the core area (n = 219). Hard terrain and
tall grass were the major reasons for not re-
cording predator occurrence in other quadrats.
Of the 138, indications of all the 3 predators
were seen in 31 (23%). Evidence for dhole
alone were seen in 35 (25%) and such figures
for leopard and tiger were 13 and 7 respectively.
Thirty seven quadrats (27%) contained sign of
dhole and leopard. Dhole and tiger signs and
clue to tiger and leopard occurrence were seen
in 9 and 6 quadrats respectively. This suggests
possible ‘tolerance’ (mutual use of space) bet-
ween dhole and leopard and ‘intolerance’ bet-

ween leopard and tiger. This ‘intolerance’ led to
a tiger killing and eating a leopard cub ( John-
singh 1979a) and ‘tolerance’ resulted in a
leopard killing a dhole pup. Schaller (1967)
and Seidensticker (1976a) report avoidance
between tiger and leopard.

Large cats like the tiger (Schaller 1967,
Sunquist 1981) and the lion (Wright 1960)
rarely kill prey on short grass or open habitats.
In areas north east of Bandipur, where vege-
tation was thin, 56 quadrats were checked for
predator signs. Dhole, leopard and tiger signs
were found in 21, 13 and 2 quadrats respec-
tively. Fifty six quadrats in dense vegetation,
south west of Bandipur, yielded 47, 39 and 28
quadrats with signs of dhole, leopard and tiger
respectively. This indicates preference of tiger
for dense vegetation.

Table 17

Ecological differences and behavioural separation between predators

Ecological and behavioural parameters

Tiger

Leopard

Dhole

Nocturnal

+

+

Diurnal

—

—

+

Need for cover

- . +

+

—

Tolerance for sun

—

+

—

Need for water

+

—

+

Tolerance for human disturbance . .

0

---■

—

Arboreal

" —

+

0

Smallest mammal killed
(scat analysis)

Hare

Rat

Rat

Largest wild mammal killed

Elephant

Sambar

Adult

calf

yearling

sambar

stag

doe

Food caching

:-;\V L +

+

0

Scavenging . .

+

+

+

Tolerance for rain

i +

—

+

Sociability

Solitary

Solitary

Social, lives

1 _ * • * ■ '

in packs

Territory marking

+

+

Intraspeeifjc /
Interpack tolerance

—

. -■ • ; ■' r

?

+ Yes, Great; — Less; 0 Absent.

• / • " " r - ;

.

41

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

All 19 kills by the tiger and 55 of the leo-
pard (n = 58) were found in scrub. Sixty three
per cent of fresh kills of dholes (n = 219) were
in scrub, 17% in meadows, 9% on or near
roads, 8% in or near water and the rest in tree
jungle and near stream beds. Dholes like leo-
pards and tigers, entirely do not require cover
for killing prey.

Prey size

All three predators were capable of killing
large prey but in tiger kills the > 100 kg class
formed 42% (Table 18). Larger species must

Table 18

Weight classes of kills of the tiger,

LEOPARD AND THE DHOLE

Weight class
in Kg.

<25

25-50

50-100

>100

Tiger — kills
Percent in

2

8

1

8

total kills
Leopard

10.5

42.1

5.26

42.1

— kills
Percent in

18

22

9

9

( 1 Sambar +
8 cattle)

total kills

31

37.9

15.5

15.5

Dhole — kills
Percent in

127

96

75

4

total kills

42

31.78

24.8

1.3

rely upon energy source that occur in large
food items unless they can collect smaller prey
with great efficiency (McNab 1963) and carni-
vores usually prey upon herbivores of about
their own size and weight (Bourliere 1963).
Excluding 8 adult cattle kills 69% of leopard
kills weighed < 50 kg. Kruuk and Turner
(1967), Pienaar (1969) and Schaller (1972)
have recorded that leopards very rarely kill
prey heavier than 100 kg. Of the dhole kills the
> 100 kg class formed 1%, 50 to 100 kg group

25%, 25 to 50 kg group 32% and < 25 kg
class 42%.

No evidence of leopard killing wild pig was
seen in Bandipur which was frequently observed
in Wilpattu (Eisenberg and Lockhart 1972) and
in Chitawan (Seidensticker 1976a). Dholes also
very rarely killed wild pig. On the contrary tiger
killed 4 adult boars which formed 21% of their
total kills. When chital, an easier prey to kill,
are abundant leopard and dhole may not risk
attacking either a solitary boar which may be
difficult to kill or a member of the sounder
which can trigger off the protective instinct of
the sounder. The ability of the tiger to hunt
prey ranging from hare to elephant calf indi-
cates that tigers use a much wider spectrum of
food resources.

Prey density and utilization by predators

In July 1977 the total number of prey ani-
mals in the core area (excluding porcupine,
hare and peafowl) was 1247 to 1310. Of this
chital constituted 69%. Kill data show that
chital formed 79, 66 and 26% respectively of
the prey of dholes leopard and tiger. Fifty two
per cent of dhole, 51% of leopard and 39%
of tiger scats had chital remains (Fig. 12).
Fewer chital remains in the scats of dholes is
due to the occurrence of the remnants of hare
and rodents in scats which are not included in
the total number of prey (1247-1310). It is also
due to the scavenging by the dholes on cattle
and langur which are poorly represented in kill
data. The same situation lowers rhe occurrence
of chital remains in the scats of Jeopard.

Tiger scat and kill data reveal that propor-
tionately fewer chital were killed than were
present in the population. This can be
attributed to the antipredator behaviour of
chital which assemble in the campus and in
open areas to spend the night where they are
immune to tiger predation. More over, prefer-

42

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

ence of chital for areas around Bandipur, where
tiger may not be able to hunt in lay time, keeps
a major fraction of the population free from
tiger predation.

Sambar were only one fifth as abundant as
chital. Yet tiger proportionately preyed more
on sambar (Fig. 12). Sambar use the scrub
intensively, live in small groups and do not rest
in open areas. These ecological and behavioural
factors make the less abundant sambar more
vulnerable to tiger predation or tiger may speci-
fically hunt sambar.

Predation and sex of prey

Males are said to be more susceptible to

predation. Weakened condition after rut (Hor-
nocker 1970) and territorial contest (Estes
and Goddard 1967, Schaller 1972) make <$
vulnerable to predation. During this study 132
yearling and adult chital killed by dholes were
collected. The ratio in the kill was 94 <d cf : 100
$ $ and in the population it was 84 cf cf :
100 $ $ . Predation of cf cf was not signifi-
cantly different from expected.

Dholes very often killed stags with long
antlers (Figs. 13 and 14, Table 19). Two hypo-
theses could be offered for stags with long
antlers being vulnerable to predation:
a) Stags with long hard antlers which take an
active part in rut (Sharatchandra and

0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90
ANTLER LENGTH IN CM

Fig. 13. Antler length and age classes of 20 chital stags in velvet
killed by dholes ; 3 animals in shed antlers are included in
0-10 category (August J976 to July 1978).

43

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 14. Antler length and age classes of 31 chital stags in hard
antlers killed by dholes {August 1976 to July 1978).

Table 19

Hard antler lengths of chital $ $ from the

POPULATION AND FROM DHOLE KILLS

August 1976-July 1978 — Bandipur

Stags with

25-50 cm

> 50 cm

< 25 cm.

antlers

antlers

antlers

Random sample

from the
population

26

27

24

(n = 77)

Kills

(n=31)

1

8

22

Preference to kill stags with longer antlers was signi-
ficantly greater than expected.

X2 = 15.6, d.f., 1, P < .001.

Gadgil 1980) are indifferent to predators
and are spent after the rut;
b) there is strong sexual selection among males
for large antlers but there is also counter
selection by predators against large antlers.

Number of chital stags in hard antlers killed
by dholes in different months (Table 20) did
not indicate any significant concentration
during or after rut. Nor any significance was
seen when the kill data were compared with
chital stags in hard antlers in the population
(Table 21). Hence the first hypothesis is reject-
ed. The explanation for the second hypothesis
is that stags with large antlers may be hampered
when running through dense vegetation and are
easily killed.

During fawning does frequently visit scrub
which may make them more vulnerable to tiger

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR
Table 20

Number of chital stags killed by dholes in different months (August 1976 to July 1978)

JFMAM JJASOND Total

Stags in hard antlers — — 434 363344 — 34

Stags in velvet antlers 33483 — 1221 12 30

Table 21

Chital stags in hard antlers killed by dholes
August 1976-July 1978, Bandipur

Stags

counted

Kills

Kills collect-

ed for equal

# of stags

May to October

1897

23

8.24

November to April

680

11

11

Preference to kill stags from May to October (rut-
ting season) was not significantly greater than
expected.

X2 = 0.4, d.f., 1, P > .05.

Table 22

Relating chital kills with

PROBABLE NUMBER OF SCATS PRODUCED

Chital

Chital

Chital

Chital Kills of Total

fully

eaten

stolen

stolen leopard

eaten

more

after

before scaveng-

than

some

any

ed

once

feed-

feed-

ing

ing

Kills

113

7

6

8

4

138

Probable
number
of scats
produced

113

14

3

0

4

134

and leopard predation. Tiger Kills (1 c? + 4 $ $ )
and leopard kills (9 c? c? + 18$ $) had more
does than stags; however, even leopard preda-
tion of does was not significantly more common
than expected (X2 = .463, d.f., 1, P > .5).

Sex ratio in the sambar population was 41
d d : 100 $ $ and in dhole kills the ratio was
233 : 100$ $ (n=10). Dholes killed

more males than expected (X2 = 11.95, d.f., 1,
P < .005). All males killed were yearlings or
young adults which suggests that their solitary
habits may have made them prone to dhole
predation.

Predation and age of prey

Chital of the age class II, III and IV because
of their agility and alertness may escape dholes
but often fall prey to leopards which hunt by
stealth and surprise. Chital belonging to the
above mentioned classes formed 25% and 37%
of the total yearling and adults killed by the
dholes (n=131) and leopard (n = 27) respec-
tively. Forty three per cent of chital killed by
dholes (n = 231) were fawns and the corres-
ponding figure for leopard was 23% (n = 38).
The inability of dholes to kill more yearling
and young adult chital is similar to coyote pre-
dation where deer between 2 and 6 yrs. of age
appear most secure from coyote caused morta-
lity (Ogle 1971). Similarly wolf predation is
heaviest on fawns and old animals (Murie
1944, Mech 1966, Pimlott et al. 1969, Kole-
nosky 1972).

45

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Yearling females of age class II and III were
much more susceptible to dhole predation
(19% of 9 kills, n = 67) than yearling males
(6% of cf kills, n = 64). The probable reason
was pregnancy.

Caching food

Dholes did not cache food and this may re-
sult from the absence of any significant remains
from a meal. Tiger and leopard usually cached
the kill when it was large enough to afford more
than one meal. Curiously leopards in Bandipur
had left 6 chital kills, all < 50 kg, in open
and a hind leg of only one chital was covered
with litter and earth. The leopard carries its kill
up a tree when potential food thieves are about
(Ewer 1973). In Chitawan leopards pulled
about half of their kills up trees (Seidensticker
1976a) and in Wilpattu kills were kept in trees
to keep them safe from hunting packs of jackals
(Eisenberg and Lockhart 1972). In Bandipur
in spite of the frequent scavenging by dholes
and human beings leopards hauled their kills
up trees only three times.

Ecological conditions permitting the

CO-EXISTENCE OF PREDATORS

Large prey biomass, a large proportion of
ungulate biomass in the smaller size classes and
dense vegetation structure enabled tigers and
leopard coexist in Chitawan (Seidensticker
1976a). The prey biomass of the core area
(3320 kg/Km2) is higher than the 2400-2500
kg/ Km2 of wild and domestic prey biomass of
Kanha (Schaller 1967) and 766 kg/Km2 of
Wilpattu (Eisenberg and Lockhart 1972) and
the 2789 kg/Km2 of Chitawan (Seidensticker
1976b). As in Chitawan in the core area there
were not many species of ungulates in the small
size classes and chital alone formed 69% of
prey number or 48% of large hoofed mammal

biomass. The heterogeneous habitat of the core
area with many stream beds may be much
more ideal for the predators and the prey
species than the tall grass /riverine forest of
Chitawan and the open short grass meadow/
Shorea forest habitat of Kanha.

Complexity of vegetation types, high prey
biomass and a large number of chital as the
optimum prey for dhole and leopard and a
sizable population of sambar and wild pig for
the tiger allowed these predators to coexist in
the core area. An analysis of the factors men-
tioned in Table 17 shows that the first 12 para-
meters could determine the survival of the
three predators. A predator which can survive
in a deteriorating habitat should be both noctur-
nal and diurnal and should have the ability to
feed on small and large prey. Further the
capacity to cache food, climb trees and
scavenge would also promote survival. Hence
leopards would survive in a much disturbed
habitat where dholes would be rare and tigers
totally absent.

Ack no wledge m e n ts

This paper is part of my Ph D. thesis sub-
mitted to Madurai Kamaraj University in 1980.

I wish to thank Mr. J. C. Daniel, Drs.
Madhav Gadgil, S. Krishnaswamy and Michael
W. Fox for their various help when in the field
and while writing up the thesis.

I kindly acknowledge the ideas of Dr.
Madhav Gadgil for inferring the number of
prey killed from scat analysis. Dr. Niranjan
Joshi helped me assess the effect of predation
on chital and sambar.

Dr. John Seidensticker, Mrs. Fiona Sunquist,
Dr. Mel Sunquist and Dr. Chris Wemmer pro-
vided valuable comments and criticism of this
paper. Ms. Pat Schoknecht helped in statistics.

Financial support for the dhole study was

46

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BAN DIPUR

provided by World Wildlife Fund, India and
International Appeals; Centre for Theoretical
Studies, Indian Institute of Science; Fauna and
Flora Preservation Society; Bombay Natural
History Society and by M.K.S. Ranjit Singh.

The Karnataka Forest Department kindly
permitted me to work in Bandipur and Ayya
Nadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi gave

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ween coyotes and white tailed deer. North. West. Sci.
45: 213-218.

Panwar, H. S. (1979): Population dynamics and
land tenures of tigers in Kanha National Park. Paper
presented at International symposium on the tiger,
February 22 and 23, 1979, New Delhi, India.

Pienaar, U. de (1969) : Predator-prey relations
amongst the large mammals of the Kruger National
Park. Koedoe. 12: 108-76.

Pimlott, D. H., Shannon, J. A. and Kolenosky,
G. B. (1969) : The ecology of the timber wolf in
Algonguin Park, Ont. Dept. Lands. For. 90 pp.

Prater, S. H. (1971) : The book of Indian animals.
Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay.

Sadleir, R.M.F.S. (1969): The ecology of repro-
duction in wild and domestic mammals. Methuen and
Co., London.

Sankhala, K. (1977): Tiger: The story of the
Indian tiger. Simon and Schuster, New York.

Schaller, G. B. (1967): The deer and the tiger:
A study of wildlife in India. University of Chicago
Press, Chicago.

(1972) : The Serengeti Lion. The

University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Schaller, G. B. and Spillett, J. (1966) : The status
of big game species in the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary,
Rajasthan. Cheetal 8: 12-16.

Seidensticker, J. (1976a) : On the ecological sepa-
ration between tigers and leopards. Biotropica. 8:
225-234.

(1976b) : Ungulate populations

in Chitawan valley, Nepal. Biol. Conser. 10: 183-210.

Sharatchandra, H. C. and Gadgil, M. (1975) : A
year of Bandipur. /. Bombay, nat. Hist. Soc. 72: 625-
647.

(1980): On the time — budget

of different life history stages of chital Axis axis. ibid.
75 (Supplement) : 949-960.

Smythe, N. (1970): On the existence of pursuit
invitation signals in mammals. Am. Nat. 104: 491-
494.

48

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY

(1977) : The function of mammalian

alarm advertising social signals or pursuit invitation,
ibid. Ill: 191-194.

Spillett, J. (1966): A report on wildlife surveys
in south and west India. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
65: 296-325.

(1967) : A report on wildlife surveys

in North India and Southern Nepal, The large mam-
mals of the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary, Rajasthan,
ibid. 63: 602-607.

Sunquist, M. E. (1981) : The social organization
of tigers ( Panthera tigris) in Royal Chitawan National
Park. Smithsonian contrib. Zool. 336 : 1-98.

Sweeny, J., Marchinton, R. L. and Sweeny, J. M.
(1971) : Responses of radio-monitored white tailed

-PREDATORS IN BAN DI PUR

deer chased by hunting dogs. J. Wildl. mgmt. 35: 704-
716.

Trivers, R. L. (1971) : The evolution of reciprocal
altruism. Q. Rev. Biol. 46: 35-57.

Van Lawick, H. (1971): Wild dogs. In Innocent
Killers, pp. 47-101. H. and J. Van Lawick Goodall,
Collins, London.

Wesley, D. G. (1977) : Census of wild animals in
Bandipur Tiger Reserve. My Forest. 13 : 15-19.

Wright, B. (1960): Predation on big game in
Africa. J. Wildl. mgmt. 24: 1-15.

Yahner, R. H. (1980): Barking in a primitive
ungulate, Muntiacus reevesi: function and adaptive-
ness. Am. Nat. 116: 157-177.

49

4

APPENDIX I

Details of 25 Dhole Hunts

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

uj ^
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PQ

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Rumen con-
tent, limb
bones.

scapula and
part of pel-
vic girdle

Kill was
dragged into
bush

Weighed
30 kg. Visce-
ra was drag-
ged aside.
Eyes were
removed

Kill was
dragged into
bush, later
stolen by a
local man

49 kg. One
eye was
removed.
One cf dhole
dragged
away the
kill

44 kg.

2 c
c*_ .3

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katte

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mara-
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kere

2 o ^ c

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«n o

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50

Table 1 (contd.)

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BAN DIPUR

« M o « u ts

O V #-* — - *n

o

■2 2.S •5<1J=

^ -S sz CM

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84 cm

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77

27

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77

31

July

77

26

Aug.

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51

Table 1 (contd.)

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

M U Ri
CD £

I5i

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43

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recorded

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recorded

Sought
refuge in
water. 2
does 4 1
two year
old stag
+ 1 fawn
stood ru-

mps toge-
ther

An adult
sambar
doe 4- 1
yearling
doe + 1
fawn ran
into pool
Stood

rumps

together

Chital

bunched

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bar

fawn

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bar

fawn

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bar

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was

not

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sful

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kill

rf-S
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1«3

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* £ o3
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77

19

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24

Oct.

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3

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77

20

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77

22

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77

11

May

78

vo

00

o

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52

1 (contd.)

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

a

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tu = «2

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d1 81
cm
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l

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<N

53

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

APPENDIX II

Estimation of number of kills from scats

Dhole

This aspect of research is difficult as bias could
occur from the following:

a) an adult sambar can provide two meals for the
pack and two sets of scats can be derived from
one kill;

b) young chital fawn or hare could be eaten by
one member of the pack and a random collection
of one or two scats from the scat group may not
represent the prey eaten;

c) confusion over differentiating hair of big fawn
from that of young adult.

Assumptions'. The following assumptions were made:

a) the mean size of the pack including pups was 13;

b) two chital fawns (average weight 15 kg, an
average of 81 kills) or one sambar fawn (average
weight 32 kg, an average of 34 kills) or 12 hare
(average weight of each 2 kg) or 240 rodents
(average weight of each 100 gm) are needed to
provide the pack its minimal rate of 1.86 kg
meat per dhole per day. It is not possible, how-
ever, for the pack to feed exclusively either on
hare or on rodents;

c) there was much variation in the contribution of
stolen kills to the scat formation; chital adults
in Bandipur hardly provided more than one meal
(138 kills gave 134 scats or 1 kill provided 0.97
meals or scat groups) (See Table 22).

Deriving expected kills: There was discrepancy bet-
ween observed and expected kills. The observed kill
of adult sambar was 10 and the expected kill based
on the assumption that a kill gave 2 sets of scats
(18 scats were collected) should be 9. Entire adult
sambar was not stolen. On 5 occasions dholes ate
sambar kills for the second time (10 sets of scats).
Once part of a tiger kill (a prime adult sambar stag
in velvet) was eaten (1 set of scats). Two sambar
kills, before dholes could feed on them for the second
time, were stolen (2 sets of scats). All these account-
ed for 13 scats and the rest 5 could have been de-
rived from 2.5 or 5 kills. Hence it was assumed that
the number of adults killed was between 9.5 (10)
and 12.

Adult chital remains were seen 127 times and as
one kill could give 0.97 scats the expected kill would
be 131 and the number derived was also 131. This
is explained as follows. Total number of adult kills
dholes ate was 138 and of this 4 were of leopard

(Table 22). The observed dhole kills, therefore, were
134. Scats produced from the total kills eaten should
be 134 (113 scats from 113 kills eaten once, 14 scats
from 7 kills eaten twice and 3 scats from 6 partly
eaten kills and 4 from 4 leopard kills). While cal-
culating the expected dhole kills from scats 4 scats
derived from leopard kills and 7 from dhole kills
eaten twice should be deducted. This gives 123 kills
and with the addition of 8 kills stolen figure 131 is
derived.

There is a difference of 3 between the observed
(134) and expected kills (131) of adult chital. This
may be due to the failure to collect the representa-
tive samples of all scats or misclassification of year-
lings as big fawns.

While correlating sambar fawn remains in scats with
the kills a difference of 8 was found. It is possible
that dholes may have scavenged on large sambar
fawn kills for the second time or they would have
eaten the kills of other predators or it may have
been due to the inability to collect all the sambar
fawn kills.

Within my knowledge 3 chital fawn kills were
stolen and dholes may have eaten much of the fawns
before they were removed. Dholes scavenged on 2
chital fawn kills of leopard. If chital fawn remains
were seen 143 times in the scats the minimum ex-
pected kill should be (143 X 2) 286.

Correction factor and corrected estimates of kills:
Another correction was made to account for the
representative scats not collected. This was based on
the assumption that the number of scats with adult
sambar remains was equal to the number of scat
groups produced by the dholes with adult sambar
remains. The average of minimum (10) and maxi-
mum (12) adults killed was 11. Of these 2 kills gave
rise to 2 sets of scats and the other 9 could have led
to 18 scats. One set of scats was derived from the
tiger kill and so 21 sets of scats with adult sambar
remains may have been produced and 18 were col-
lected. Hence the correction factor 21/18 or 7/6 was
applied to assess the corrected estimate of number
of scats and kills (Table 14).

The application is explained as follows: There were
54 scats with sambar fawn remains and the corrected
estimate of scats was (54 x 7/6) 63 and the corrected
estimate of kills 63. The corrected number of scats
with chital adult remains was (127 x 7/6) 148, which

54

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — FRED ATORS IN BANDIPUR

could be derived from (131/127 x 148) 153 kills.
Floyd et al. (1978) have found that 0.41 kg of snow
shoe hare can form one wolf ( Canis lupus ) scat.
If this is applicable to black naped hare — dhole
feeding interactions 3 hares can provide enough food
for each pack member to produce one scat. There
were 74 scats with hare remains which means a mini-
mum of (74 x 3) 222 hare were killed and the
corrected estimate of scats would be (74 x 7/6) 86
and the corrected estimate of kills (86 x 3) 258.

As small prey are composed of relatively more
indigestible matter (Floyd et al. 1978) each rodent
remains could be voided out as one scat. Thirty four
scats with rodent remains were collected and it is
estimated (240 x 34) 8160 rodents were killed. The
corrected estimate of scats containing rodent remains
was (34 x 7/6) 40 and the corrected estimate of kills
was 240 x 40) 9600. Biomass of prey killed was cal-
culated based on the estimated number of kills.

Tiger

As the sample size of collected scats of tiger
and leopard was smaller than that of dhole sampling
error is likely to be inflated. Therefore, I resorted to
specifying 95% confidence interval. In both cases
collected sambar kills and scats with adult sambar
remains were used as the basis for estimating the
corrected estimate of expected kills. The reason for
this was all the adult sambar kills were collected
and the possible number of scats resulted from the
kills and the number collected in the field could be
used to derive a correction factor. This could aid in
estimating the corrected number of scats and kills.
It was assumed that:

a) an adult sambar can give 4 full meals either
to a tiger or a leopard;

b) a full meal was eaten once a day;

c) each meal resulted in one pile of scats.

Six adult sambar killed by tiger were collected
and as one kill was partly scavenged by dholes the
expected number of scats was 22. Number of scats
collected was 2, 6% of the total 35 scats (one scat
entirely of earth is not included in the calculation).
The expected proportion of scats with sambar re-
mains should have been between 1% and 22% or
0.35 and 8 scats with 95% confidence. From this a
correction factor of 3 and 63 was derived by divid-
ing the corrected estimate of 22 scats by 8 and 0.35.
This correction factor was used to find the corrected
estimate of scats and corrected estimate of expected

kill with 95% confidence (Table 16).

The corrected number of scats with sambar fawn
remains was between 27 and 567, with chital adult
between 18 and 378 and with chital fawn between
24 and 504. The expected kill of sambar fawn was
between 18 and 378 (1 sambar fawn can give 1.5
meals or lead to 1.5 piles of scats and 27 scats can
be derived from 18 kills), chital adults between 9
and 189 and chital fawns between 24 and 504 etc.
Regular search for the kills led me to conclude
that kills of tiger were near the lower estimate.

Leopard

One yearling $ sambar (age class III) killed by a
leopard was collected. It was estimated to have weigh-
ed 130 kg and could have provided 4 full meals and
consequently 4 piles of scats. Two scats were collect-
ed that contained adult sambar remains. One was
probably from a kill and the other, I concluded, was
due to scavenging. These 2 scats constituted 3% of
the total 66 scats (4 scats with cattle remains are not
included in the calculation). Using 95% confidence
limits the proportion of scats with the sambar remains
should have been between 1% and 8% of the total
66 scats or 1 and 6 scats. Correction factors of 0.8
and 5 were derived from this for the upper and
lower bounds by dividing the corrected estimate of 5
scats with 6 and 1.

The corrected estimate of scats based on 95% con-
fidence and the corrected estimate of expected kills
were calculated (Table 15). Examples:

a) a sambar fawn can give 2 meals and there were 8
scats with sambar fawn remains. When multiplied
by the correction factors 0.8 and 5 the corrected
estimate of 6 to 40 scats was obtained. The cor-
rected number of kills was 3 to 20;

b) three hares can give a full meal to a leopard.
There were 8 scats with hare remains and the
corrected estimate of scats was 6 to 40. The
corrected number of kills was 18 to 120. I assum-
ed that the number of leopard kills was near
the upper limit.

APPENDIX III

Estimation of the effect of predation and

STEALING KILLS ON CHITAL POPULATION

The following details are necessary for the calcula-
tion:

(a) the number of chital fawns killed averaged 224

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

for one year (167 by dhole, 45 by leopard and 12
by tiger) and the corresponding figure for adults
was 95 (Tables 14, 15 and 16);

(b) during May, June and July 1977 there were 333
does and 224 fawns on the average (Table 2).
Total fawns produced in 1977 was 448 and the
fertility rate of does (333) was 1.3;

(c) the mortality rate was (448/224) 0.5. The life
span of a chital as a fawn is 6 months after
which it becomes either a spike $ or a yearling
doe. During a year if 100 fawns are seen and
50 are killed it means in 6 months there must
have been 50 fawns and 25 kills giving 0.5 survi-
val for 6 months;

(d) sex ratio at birth was even and the survival rate
of 9 fawn was 0.54 and of $ fawn 0.46. This
estimate was based on adult sex ratio in the
population (84 $ $ : 100 9 9);

(e) annual adult mortality rate (0.13) was calculat-
ed by dividing the total adult kills (95) by the
total adult number (95+612) 707. (Six hundred
and twelve is an average of May, June and July
1977 adult $ number). Adult mortality rate for
6 months was 0.07 and survival rate 0.93;

(f) One adult kill (average weight 57 kg) is equiva-
lent to 3.8 fawns.

I assumed that there were 100 does. In 6 months
7 will die and 93 will survive. In 6 months 100 does
100 x 1 . 3

can give birth to ( ) 65 fawns and at an

2

even sex ratio there will be 32.5 $ fawns and at a
survival rate of 0.54, 18 fawns will grow into does
and at the end of 6 months with the existing preda-
tion rate the number of does would be 111.

The same calculation was projected for $ $ whose
population based on adult sex ratio was assumed to
be 84. The survival rate of $ fawns is 0.46 and
(32.5 X 0.46) 15 fawns will grow into spike $ $.
By the end of 6 months $ number (84) with the
survival rate (0.93) would be 78. With the addition
of 15 animals it would increase to 93 giving a
growth rate of 11% for 6 months and 23% for one
year. The same growth rate was also seen in the case
of does.

Stealing of kills and chital population : Calculations
are projected here to assess what would happen if
50% of adult chital kills were stolen. This would
increase predation rate on both fawns and adults. A
total of 585 fawns (95x 3.8 + 224) would be killed
under these circumstances. If 50% of adult kills were

stolen (47.5) and if dholes compensated their loss
by preying exclusively on fawns then 181 additional
fawns (47.5x3.8) would be killed. When the pro-
bable number of additional fawns killed was calculat-
ed (181 x 224/585) 69 was obtained. The likely
number of adults killed with reference to total con-
verted fawn number (585) and fawn number derived
from 95 adult kills (361) would be (47.5 x 361/585)
29. With the additional adult kill the annual mortality
rate would be (95 x29/707) 0.18 and survival rate
0.82 and survival rate for 6 months would be
V0.82 = 0.91. Fawn mortality rate would be (224 +
69/448) 0.65 and survival rate 0.35. The survival
rate of $ fawns (0.35x54/50) would be 0.38 and
$ fawns (0.35x46/50) 0.32.

With the increased mortality rate 100 does will be
reduced to 91 at the end of 6 months. At the fecun-
dity rate of 1.3 100 does can produce 65 fawns by
the end of 6 months. Of this 32.5 will be $ $ . With
the given $ fawn survival rate (0.38) 12 fawns will
grow into does and at the end of 6 months there will
be 103 does. Growth rate of $ population will be
of the same order and on the average at the end of
6 months the population would have increased by
3%. When uncontrolled scavenging by man removes
> 50% of kills to the population will decline in
the long run.

APPENDIX IV

Estimation of the effect of predation and

STEALING OF KILLS ON SAMBAR POPULATION

The following particulars are necessary for com-
putation :

(a) on the average in a year there were 51 fawn
kills and 9 adult kills (Table 14, 15 and 16);

(b) age and sex ratio of the population, averaged
over the period May, June and July 1977 and
1978 had 58 adult and yearling does and 8 year-
ling $ $ (Table 4). Percentage of yearling $ 9
in the population was assessed to be 8. Hence
the percentage of adult 9 9 in the population
would be (58- 8) 50. Based on this the adult
doe number in July 1977 population (160 to
180, average 170) was calculated to be 85. Dur-
ing May, June and July 1977 and 1978 the ave-
rage fawn: doe ratio was 36: 100 or 85 does had
31 fawns. With this the total fawn killed (51)
was added and the fecundity of does was cal-

56

LARGE MAMMALIAN PREY — PREDATORS IN BANDIPUR

culated to be (82/85) 1.

(c) by considering total fawn production (82) and
fawn mortality (50) the mortality rate of fawns
was calculated to be (50/82) 0.6 and the survi-
val rate 0.4;

(d) fawns after 6 months were considered either as
spike $ $ or as yearling does;

(e) survival rate of both $ and $ fawn is supposed
to be 0.4;

(f) more yearling and adult $ $ were killed than
$ $ (see discussion: predation and sex of prey).
Total kills collected were 17 (9 $ $ + 8 $$)
and based on scat data it was assessed that on
the average 9 adults were killed in a year (see
estimation of number of kills from scats). If the
sex ratio seen in the kills is projected for the
9 kills derived from scat study a ratio of 5 $ $ :
4 2 $ is obtained;

(g) total adult sambar in the population was 134
(79% of the population was adult and in July
1977 there were 160-180 animals or 170). Num-
ber of adult $ $ and $ $ in the population as
per the sex ratio (41 $ $ : 100 $ $ ) was 39
$ $ and 95 $ $ ;

(h) annual adult $ mortality rate (0.11) and survi-
val rate (0.89) were calculated by dividing $
kills (5) by the total number of $ $ in the
population (39 + 5) 44. Annual adult $ morta-
lity rate (0.04) and survival rate (0.96) were
derived by dividing doe kills (4) by total does
in the population (95+4) 99.

I assumed that there were 100 does. In 6 months

2 of these will die. In 6 months 100 does can give

birth to (100 x y) 50 fawns. At an even sex ratio

25 will be $ $ and with a survival rate of 0.4 10
fawns will be added and there will be 105 does. This
is an increase of 8% in 6 months or 17% in one
year. If calculations are made for $ $ with the
assumption that 41 $ $ were present at the beginning
at the end of 6 months with the survival rate of
(\ 0.89) 0.94, 39 will survive. Male fawn survival will
be (0.4 x 25) 10 and adult $ $ at the end of 6
months will be 49 and the growth rate will be 8%
for 6 months and 17% for one year.

Stealing of kills and sambar population : Stealing
an adult sambar kill is difficult and it is specu-
lated that mostly fawn kills were stolen. An assess-
ment is made here to know what would happen to
the population if 50% of the fawn, kills is stolen.
It is presumed that in the absence of many adult
sambar kills additional mortality will be borne by
fawns. If this is the case, fawn mortality rate would
51+25

be ( ) 0.93 and survival rate 0.07. This survi-

82

val rate is the same for the $ and the $ fawns.

Hundred does in 6 months would be reduced to 98
and would produce (100 Xy) 50 fawns of which
25 will be $ $ and 25 $ $. At the survival rate of
0.7 2 animals will be added to the population and
the doe number would be 100 showing no growth
rate. In the case of $ $ (41) with the survival rate
of 0.94, 39 will survive and at the survival rate of
0.07 2 $ fawns would grow into spike $ $ and the
$ population at the end of 6 months will be 41
indicating no growth rate. This indicates that sambar
population can be seriously suppressed by the stealing
of kills.

57

AN EAST- WEST AQUILA EAGLE MIGRATION
IN THE HIMALAYAS1

Robert L. Fleming jr.2

An autumn east-west Aquila migration in the Himalayas is reported in detail for the
first time. A. nipalensis predominates with A. clanga and A. heliaca also occurring.
The migration period lasts for more than a month. A high count of 275 birds per
hour is reported and a minimum estimate indicates that over 45,000 birds may be
involved. The migration has been noted at different points over a distance of some
1000 kilometres (from Dzongri, Sikkim to Naini Tal, Kumaon). Where these birds
winter is unknown.

Introduction

That many birds from accentors to cranes
and geese migrate across the Himalayas in a
north-south direction is well known (see Flem-
ing, Fleming and Bangdel 1979:13), although
how high most of the birds fly while crossing the
chain, at what points they actually pass over
the crest, and in what numbers they appear
needs much additional investigation. That some
raptor species, notably Aquila eagles, use the
Himalayas as an east-west pathway, moving
westward in a steady stream during the autumn
has remained largely unreported although
Hutton in Mussoorie and Donald near Dharam-
sala mention sightings (Donald 1924: 1054-
1055). While our current understanding of this
Aquila migration is still far from complete, we
present our data hoping to encourage additional
study of this phenomenon.

Observations

The initial first-hand information that eagles
migrate from each to west in the Himalayas
was gathered on 28 Oct. 1971 during a visit
to the delightful Lariya Kanta Hill [elevation

1 Accepted November 1982.

2 Box 229, Kathmandu, Nepal.

just over 2440 m (8000')] five kilometres north-
east of Naini Tal in the Kumaon Himalayas.
While silting on top of this hill, we noticed an
Aquila nipalensis circling in the east below us.
It rapidly gained height, soaring quite near, and
then glided away to the west. This was at 12.30
hrs. Then we found a group of six birds that
again started out below us but rose on broad
wings to pass nearby and glide west. More fol-
lowed. In the first hour of observation, 17
Aquila eagles passed our field of view. Between
13.30 and 14.17 hrs (47 min.), an additional
36 birds appeared. At 14.17 the clouds, already
building for some time, enveloped us and
obscured further observations. All birds as far
as we could tell were A. nipalensis.

Subsequently, in 1975, my father, R. L.
Fleming, Sr., noted a similar concentration of
Aquila eagles in late October on a ridge called
“Two Trees” at the southern edge of the Kath-
mandu Valley. On this occasion he spotted, at
about 10.30 hrs, some 16 birds approaching
from the east. They soared near him and then
glided west along the north side of the Chandra-
giri ridge. About 30 minutes later he noted a
“rather haphazard” collection of some 30 birds
following in exactly the same manner. These
were identified as A. nipalensis.

Similarly, on 19 Nov. 1975, we noted eagles
along the northern edge of Kathmandu Valley

58

AQUILA MIGRATION IN THE HIMALAYAS

where they circled over the Shivpuri monastery
and then glided to Ahale Dara above which
they soared again to gain height. A total of
44 birds were counted between 11.13 and
12.13 hrs.

Thus we were aware that Aquila eagles
migrate from east to west, but were unprepared
for the numbers that appeared during a visit
to the Annapurna area. Central Nepal in the
autumn of 1976. On this occasion, we were
climbing towards the Dhampus ridge from
Suikhet valley when at about 16.00 hrs on 31
Oct. we noted 17 eagles circling closely over-
head. The eagles were at about 1708 metres
(5600') with heavy clouds above them.

That night we camped on the Dhampus ridge
and the following morning (1 Nov.) kept an
early and sharp lookout in the direction where
the eagles had been seen the previous evening.
But as we saw no further activity, our atten-
tion was drawn to the nearby forest.

Early on the morning of 2 November we
shifted our operations to a campsite one kilo-
metre further north and suddenly spotted eagles.
They appeared on a route approximately three
kilometres north of where we had been them
on 31st Oct. During these observations (see
Table 1). the weather remained clear and the
eagles passed over within about 305 metres
(1000') of the ridge, flying at an estimated alti-
tude of between 2745 metres (9000') and 3050
metres (10000'). Three species of eagles appear-
ed to be represented.

We continued our observations on 3 and 4
November and noted the following concentra-
tions (numbers of birds here reflect totals for
the time period, not aggregations of large size
travelling together).

By 5 November we had noted that in this
general area, eagles used three different routes,
depending on the time of day. At first, eagles
passed far to the north, close to the snow peaks.

Table 1

Location : Dhampus,
Central Nepal

Date : 2 Nov. 1976

Time of Day

Numbers of eagles
divided into the sizes of
the groups as they passed

9.55 to 10.00

2, 11,2

10.00 to 10.05

2, 4, 3, 2

10.05 to 10.10

9, 1, 20, 4, 4

10.10 to 10.15

6, 3, 8, 1,5, 1, 1, 1

10.15 to 10.20

2,1,2, 2, 1,2, 1,2

10.20 to 10.25

6,1,2, 3, 5, 2,4

10.25 to 10.30

1, 18, 2, 1, 11, 3,4

10.30 to 10.35

2, 1,1,7, 5,1

10.35 to 10.40

6, 2,6

10.40 to 10.45

2,1,11,3, 10, 2, 9, 6,1

10.45 to 10.50

6, 3, 4, 1

10.50 to 10.55

4, 2, 9, 3, 1

10.55 to 11.00

10, 3, 6, 6, 7

Total of the above: 275

in 1 hr; 307 in 1 hr 5 min.

15.30 to 16.10

2,5,2,1,4,17,3, 1, 2, 1,

4, 3, 2, 1

Total of 48 birds in 40 min.

03 Nov. 1976, Dhampus, central Nepal

9.10 to 9.30

36 birds

9.30 to 9.45

66

9.45 to 10.00

43

Total of 145 birds in 50

min.

First bird of the day seen at 9.10

04 Nov. 1976, Dhampus, central Nepal

15.10 to 16.10

Last eagle seen at 16.30

131 birds

But when cloud buildup covered the northern
route, they moved to a “middle” section (the
Dhampus ridge) which they used until clouds
forced them to a southern flyway (the Kaski
ridge). On 5 November, the shift from the
middle to the southern route occurred between
15.55 and 16.00 as the following data shows:

59

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

5 Nov. 1976, Dhampus, central Nepal; observations

on the “middle route”:

•

15.40 to 15.45

18 birds

15.45 to 15.50

8

15.50 to 15.55

1

none after 15.55 hrs.

Observations on the “southern route”:

No birds noted prior to

15.55

15.55 to 16.00

7 birds

16.00 to 16.05

8

16.05 to 16.10

25

16.10 to 16.15

33

Last bird seen at 16.14

(sunset at about 17.00 hrs)

6 Nov. 1976, Hanja, central Nepal; observations on

the “southern route”:

15.00 to 15.05

18 birds

15.05 to 15.10

6

15.10 to 15.15

11

15.15 to 15.20

7

15.20 to 15.25

6

15.25 to 15.30

7

15.30 to 15.35

3

15.35 to 15.40

3

15.40 to 15.45

5

Last bird seen at 15.44

Total of 66 birds in 45 mins.

In October 1978 we found a north-south
migration along the Kali Gandaki valley near
Lete. These eagles circled over Lake Titi area
and then, crossing the Kali Gandaki, they con-
tinued around a spur of Dhaulagiri, staying close
to the mountainside. On the same day, we
again observed numbers circling about the cliffs
immediately above Ghasa. From here the birds
glided away in a south-south-west direction and
would likely join the main east-west stream
somewhere southeast of Dhaulagiri.

Observations in the Kali Gandaki valley, near Lete,
24 Oct. 1978:

10.30 to 10.45 27 birds

10.45 to 11.00 26

11.00 to 11.15 23

Total of 76 birds in 45 mins.

We have very little data from the eastern
parts of Nepal or from the eastern Himalayas.
Phil Hall and Jack Cox reported that on the
13th of November 1978, between 12.00 and
13.00 hrs they noted 10 eagles circling over the
ridge above Xlam, eastern Nepal, and then glid-
ing west. These were identified as 8 A. nipalen-
sis and 2 A. clanga.

On 3 Nov. 1980 we noted five A. nipalensis
soaring at about 12,500' over the Dzongri ridge
in western Sikkim. No further sightings ensued.

In addition, we have scattered observations
of eagles moving south along the Arun river
valley as well as the Dudh Kosi valley, both in
eastern Nepal.

Remarks

From the foregoing data, it can be seen that
an east-west Aquila eagle migration occurs in
the Himalayas in the autumn. The birds use
updrafts to gain height and then glide to attain
horizontal distance. The exact route used (speci-
fic hilltops and ridge lines) does not remain
static, but varies according to local cloud build
up. Himalayan autumn days usually begin with
clear skies but by mid-morning clouds appear
that by late afternoon may develop into tower-
ing thunderheads. Eagles avoid these cloud and
the change of route, in the Annapurna area, is
from Machapuchare to over Pokhara Bazaar,
an estimated shift of about 8 km.

Eagles begin flying just after 9.00 hrs and
this coincides with the beginning of sun-generat-
ed updrafts. The migration continues fairly
steadily throughout most of the day. Most birds
moving after about 16:00 hrs need to beat their
wings in order to maintain altitude and migra-
tion ceases for the day at about 16.30 (with
sunset at about 17.00 hrs). Eagles passed as
single birds or in groups of up to twenty indivi-
duals.

60

AQUILA MIGRATION IN THE HIMALAYAS

As for the “flow rate” of the migration, we
noted (on 3 November) 145 birds in the first
50 minutes of the period which would allow
approximately 174 birds per hour. At the end
of the day, on 4 November, we observed 171
birds in the final 1 hour and 15 minutes which
equates with about 137 birds per hour. The
highest count recorded was of 275 birds per
hour between 9.55 and 10.55.

In discussing total numbers of eagles involv-
ed in this migration, we are on shaky ground.
But if we allow an average of 200 birds per
hour ovei a seven and a half hour span, this
gives a total of 1,500 birds per day. The migra-
tion lasts for at least 38 days (24 Oct. to 30
Nov.) and very likely carries over to about 45
days, so that using a conservative figure of 30
days multiplied by 1500 birds, we reach a total
of 45,000 individuals. Also it should be noted
that these figures are based on sightings from
the Pokhara area of Nepal. Thus all the eagles
coming down the Kali Gandaki valley (i.e.
about 100 in an hour) would join the main
flow west of Pokhara and would not be includ-
ed in the 45,000. While these figures are ex-
trapolated from grossly insufficient data, they
do show considerable movement and indicate
that a further detailed study of this pheno-
menon is much needed.

The exact species composition of this migra-
tion is yet to be determined. Certainly three
species take part: A. nipalensis, A. clanga and
A. heliaca with the majority appearing to be
A. nipalensis. Eagle identification can be diffi-
cult and we were unable to determine exact
percentages due to the speed of the migration,
the distance of many birds from the observer,
and unfavourable sighting angles.

Curiously, this migration appears to be res-
tricted almost entirely to Aquila eagles. On one
occasion we saw two Hen Harriers ( Circus
cyaneus) with the eagles and one time a Eura-

sian Buteo ( Buteo buteo ) came past, but the
eagles remained surprisingly free of migratory
associates. In many cases, various vulture
species also used the updrafts and while the
vultures were not on migration, one had to be
careful to distinguish eagles from vultures when
counting birds at a distance.

Most birds appear to be coming from the
direction of Tibet. Besides the sightings in the
Kali Gandaki valley, we also noted birds in the
Arun and Dudh Kosi valleys. It is likely that
the eagles cross the Himalayas on a broad front,
using valley systems as navigational aids, and
then join forces for a mass westward progres-
sion.

Where these birds are going we do not know.
In winter on the plains of India one sees some
Aquila eagles but unless there is some as yet
undiscovered concentration of eagles in the
subcontinent, it is hard to see where 45,000
eagles might winter. Africa appears to be a
favourite wintering ground for A. nipalensis and
the eagles are common in east and central
Africa (Williams 1963: 55) and they occur
as far south as South Africa (McLachlan and
Liversidge 1978: 99). Might our Himalayan
eagles not be going to Africa? In the autumn
and spring we frequently see little knots of the
Redfooted Falcon ( Falco vespertinus) and the
Lesser Kestrel ( Falco naumanni) as they pass
through from China to Africa (and reverse in
the spring). Possibly the eagles are following
suit?

We have been discussing an autumn migra-
tion; curiously we lack figures for any concen-
trated form of Aquila migration in the spring.
We do note scattered birds in high altitude
valleys (such as in the Everest National Park)
in spring, but have never seen substantial num-
bers. Obviously a great deal of additional in-
vestigation will be necessary before we will be

61

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

able to determine the full extent of this Aquila
migration.

ACK NO WLEDGE M E NTS

We take this opportunity to thank a number
of friends who have sponsored treks on which
eagle data have been gathered. Thus we express

Re fe

Donald, C. H. (1924): Migration of Eagles. J.
Bombay tiat. Hist. Soc. 29 (4) : 1054-1055.

Fleming, R. L. sr., Fleming, R. L. jr. and Bang-
del, L. S. (1979) : The Birds of Nepal. Avalok, Kath-
mandu. pp. 358.

McLachlan, G. R. and Liversidge, R. (1978) :

our appreciation to Bessie Fleming and Jimmie
Brooks (Annapurna 1976), Frank Wheat and
Ronald Klein (Manang 1977) and Dennis and
Barbara Farrar (Tilicho 1978 and West Sikkim
1980). Thanks also to Robert L. Fleming, Sr.,
Phil Hall and Jack Cox for their contributions
and to Linda F. Fleming for her spotting and
recording.

E N CES

Roberts Birds of South Africa. John Voelcker Bird
Book Fund, Cape Town. pp. xxxii+660.

Williams, J. G. (1963) : A Field Guide to the
Birds of East and Central Africa. Houghton Mifflin,
Boston, pp. 288.

62

A CATALOGUE OF SPECIES ADDED TO GAMBLE’S
“FLORA OF THE PRESIDENCY OF MADRAS”1

S. Karthikeyan and B. D. Sharma2

Sebastine (1962), Sebastine and Ramamurthy (1966) and Karthikeyan (1971) have
compiled the species that have been added to Gamble’s “Flora of the Presidency of
Madras”. In the present list 6 genera, 403 species, 10 subspecies, 61 varieties and 4
forma have been enumerated.

Gamble’s “Flora of the Presidency of
Madras” covers the present States of Andhra
Pradesh, parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil
Nadu. A total of 4516 species have been des-
cribed from these areas, (Gamble & Fischer,
1915-1936).

Since the publication of the Flora many new
species and new records have been described
from this area. Sebastine (1962), published a
list of 80 such species. Sebastine and Rama-
murthy (1966) further enumerated 47 species.
Karthikeyan (1971) listed 78 grasses alone.

Since then many species have been added to
this area and the publications are scattered. All
such information has been gathered here to be
of use to research workers on taxonomic botany
in general and of this area, in particular. Some
species which have been recorded earlier and
did not find a place in earlier lists have also
been included here.

A total of 6 genera, 392 species, 10 sub-
species, 61 varieties and 4 forma have been
enumerated here. They have been arranged in
the same family sequence as that of Gamble’s
‘Flora’. Under each family, the species have
been arranged alphabetically. The names of
species have been followed by original citation

1 Accepted September 1981.

2 Present address : Botanical Survey of India,

Western Circle, Pune 411 001, Maharashtra.

of publication in case of new taxa only. For
new records reported from this area as new
for India or for the region alone, the publica-
tion reporting it is cited and not the original
publication. The abbreviated name of the State
from where the species have been collected has
been given. The following abbreviations have
been used to save space.

AP.

: Andhra Pradesh

K.

: Kerala

KA.

: Karnataka

TN.

: Tamil Nadu

ENUMERATION

Ranunculaceae

Thalictrum foliolosum DC.; Bull. bot. Surv.
India 12: 208. (1970) 1972. AP.

Dilleniaceae

Dillenia aurea Sm., Bull. bot. Surv. India 12:
208. (1970) 1972. AP.

Menispermaceae

Parabaena sagittata Miers; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 6: 81. (1964) 1965. AP.

Tinospora malabarica (Lam.) Miers; Ibid. 9:
186. (1967) 1968. AP.

63

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Cruciferae

Lepidium ruderale Linn.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
14: 157. (1972) 1975. TN.

L. virginicum Linn.; Ibid 14: 157. (1972) 1975.
TN.

Capparaceae

Cap paris flavicans Kurz; Blumea 12: 451-452.
1965. AP.

C. nilgiriensis Subbarao, Kumari & Chandra-
sekaran, J. Bombay nat. Hist Soc. 78: 146.
1981. TN.

Gynandropsis speciosa DC.; Biol. Mem. 2: 14.
1977. TN.

Bixaceae

Scolopia crenata (Wt.) Clos var. brevifolia N.
Mukh., J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 69: 394.
(1972) 1973. TN.

S. pusilla (Gaertn.) Willd.; Blumea 20: 37.
1972. K.

Taraktogenos kurzii King; Indian Forester 96:
527. 1970. K.

PlTTOSPORACEAE

Pittosporum anamallayense Nayar & Giri, Fasc.

FI. Ind. 6: 4. 1980. TN.

P. viridulum Nayar, Giri & Chandrasekaran,
Ibid. 11. TN.

POLYGALACEAE

Polygala arillata Buch. — Ham. forma char-
tacea Mukerjee, Cent. Souv. Mad. Herb. 50.
1954. K., TN.

P. arillata Buch. — Ham. forma meeboldii
Mukerjee, Ibid. 50. 1954. K., TN.

P. arillata Buch. — Ham. forma revoluta Muker-
jee, Ibid. 50. 1954. TN.

P. chinensis Linn. var. linarifolia (Willd.)
Chodat; Bull. bot. Soc. Bengal 12: 40. (1958)
1960. AP., TN.

P. dunnii Panigrahi, Kew Bull. 29: 655-657, fig.

7. 1974. TN.

P. erioptera DC. var. vahliana (DC.) Chodat;
Bull. bot. Soc. Bengal 12: 47-48. (1958)
1960. AP., K., TN.

P. furcate. Royle; Indian Forester 94: 682, fig.

8. 1968. AP.

P. glomerata Lour.; J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
53: 523. 1956. TN.

P. jacobii Chandr., Bull. bot. Surv. India 9:
288. 1968'. TN.

P. javana DC. var. angustifolia Thw.; Bull. bot.

Soc. Bengal 12: 45. (1958) 1960. K., TN.

P. ramaswamiana Mukerjee forma devicola-
mensis Mukerjee, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
53: 56. 1955. K.

P. ramaswamiana Mukerjee var. palinsensis
Mukerjee, Ibid. 53: 56. 1955. TN.

P. raoi R. N. Ban. & L. K. Ban., Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 82B: 218-220, fig. 7. 1975. TN.

P virgata Thunb., Biol. Mem. 2: 16. 1977. TN.

Caryophyllaceae

Dry maria villosa Cham. & Schlecht.; Indian
Forester 94: 645. 1968.

= D. cordata Willd. TN.

Scleranthus annuus Linn.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
13: 347. (1971) 1974. TN.

Guttiferae

Garcinia echinocarpa Thw. var. monticola
Maheshwari, Bull. bot. Surv. India 6: 126-
127, fig. 3. (1964) 1965. K., TN.

G. spicata (Wt. & Arn.) Hook. f. var. glome-
rata Vesque; Ibid. 6: 113. (1964) 1965. AP.
Mesua ferrea Linn. ssp. pulchella Vesque; Ibid.
5: 339. (1963) 1964. K.

64

ADDITIONS TO GAMBLE'S FLORA

M. ferrea Linn. ssp. pulchella Vesque var.
coromandeliana (Wt.) Maheshwari, Ibid. 5:
340. (1963) 1964. TN.

M. ferrea Linn. ssp. thwaitesii Vesque; Ibid. 5 :
339. (1963) 1964. K., TN.

Dipterocarpaceae

Dipterocarpus barryi Dunn, Kew Bull. 1920:
337. 1920. TN.

Malvaceae

Abelmoschus crinitus Wall.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 6: 81. (1964) 1965. AP.

Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet ssp. albescens
(Miq.) Borss. var. australiense Hochr.; Ibid.
12: 276-277, fig. 7. (1970) 1972. AP.

A. theophrasti Medic.; Ibid. 15: 160. (1973)
1976. TN.

Hibiscus beddomei Rakshit & Kundu, Sci. &
Cult. 27: 192. 1961. S. India.

H. macrophyllus Roxb. ex Hornem.; Blumea
14: 47.48. 1966. Pen. India.

Sida ovata Forsk.; Curr. Sci. 33: 593-594. 1964.
AP.

Sterculiaceae

Cullenia exarillata Robyns, Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat.

Belg. 40: 249-252, pi. 2. 1970. K., TN.
Pterospermum acerifolium Willd.; FI. Hassan
Dt. 143. 1976. KA.

Elaeocarpaceae

Sloanea sterculiacea (Benth.) Rehder & Wil-
son; Bull. bot. Surv. India 12: 208. (1970)
1972. AP.

Linaceae

Hugonia belli Sedgwick, Indian Forester 46:
424. 1920. KA.

H. ferruginea Wt. & Arn..; Ibid. 101 : 569. 1975.
AP.

Geraniaceae

Biophytum proliferum (Arn.) Wt.; J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 66: 657. (1969) 1970. TN.
Impatiens hooderiana Arn.; Biol. Mem. 2: 24.
1977. TN.

Oxalis acetosella Linn.; Ibid. 2: 23. 1977. TN.
O. corymbosa DC.; Rec. bot. Surv. India 6:
337-340. 1919. TN.

O. latifolia H.B. & K.; Ibid. 6: 335-337. 1919.
TN.

O. pescaprae Linn.; Ibid 6:239. 1919. TN.

O. pubescens H.B. & K.; Ibid. 6: 333. 1919. TN.
O. tetraphylla Cav.; Ibid. 6: 334-335. 1919. TN.
O. variabilis Jacq.; Ibid. 6: 329. 1919. TN.

Rutaceae

Clausena excavata Burm. f.; J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 66: 658. (1969) 1970. K.

Euodia lunu-ankenda (Gaertn.) Merr. var.
tirunelvelica Henry & Chandr., Bull. bot.
Surv. India 15: 144. (1973) 1976. TN.
Glycosmis macrocar pa Wt.; Ibid. 12: 3. (1970)
1972. TN.

Meliaceae

Aglaia littoralis Talbot, Trees, Shrubs & Woody
climbers, Bomb. Pres. 76. 1902 & For. FI. 1 :
235, f. 139. 1909 (non Miq. ex Zipp. 1868).
-A. talbotii Sundara Raghavan. KA.

Khaya senegalensis A. Juss.; J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 56: 370-373. fig. 4. 1959. Pondi-
cherry.

Celastraceae

Bhesa paniculata Arn.; Blumea 4 (Suppl.):
151. 1958. S. India.

Maytenus rothiana (Walp.) Lobreau-Callen,
FI. Hassan Dt. 320. 1976. KA.

65

5

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

VlTACEAE

Cayratia anemonifolia (Zippl. ex Miq.) Sussey;
Bull. bot. Surv. India 13: 158-159. (1971)
1973. TN.

Tetrastigma bracteolatum (Wall.) Planch.; Ibid.
6: 82. (1964) 1965. AP.

Anacardiaceae

Not hope gia beddomei Gamble var. wynaadica
Ellis & Chandrasek., Bull. bot. Surv. India
12: 257. 1970. K.

LEGUMINOSAE

Papilionaceae

Aeschynomene americana L.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 18: 236. 1979. K.

Alysicarpus bupleurifolius (L.) DC. var. hybri-
dus DC.; Ibid. 21: 191. (1979) 1981. KA.,
TN.

A. roxburghianus Thoth. & Pramanik, Ibid. 21 :
189. AP., KA., TN.

Canavalia podocarpa Dunn, Kew Bull. 1922:
137. 1922. K., TN.

Centrosema virginianum (L.) Bth.; Curr. Sci.
39: 353. 1970. = C. pubescens Benth.

K., KA.

Crotalaria agatiflora Schweinf.; Biol. Mem. 2:
37. 1977. TN.

C. anagyroides H.B.K.; Ibid. 2: 37. 1977. TN.
C. incana Linn.; J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 67:
132-133. 1970. K.

C. madurensis Wt. var. kurnoolica Ellis &
Swamin., Ibid. 66: 227. 1969. AP.

C. paniculata Willd. var. nagarjunakondensis
Thoth., Bull. bot. Surv. India 6: 67-68. 1964.
AP.

Dalbergia tinnevelliensis Thoth., Ceylon J. Sci.
(Biol. Sci.) 12: 47-48. fig. 1. 1976. TN.

D. travancorica Thoth., Reinwardtia 8: 329-
330. 1972. K.

Derris brevipes Baker var. coriacea Baker
emend. Thoth., Bull. bot. Surv. India 3: 185.
(1961) 1962. K., TN.

D. brevipes Baker var. travancorensis Thoth.,
Ibid. 6: 67-68. (1964) 1965. K.

Desmodium concinnum DC.; FI. Hassan Dt.
249. 1976. KA.

D. heterocarpon (Linn.) DC. var. strigosum
van Meeuwen; Biol. Mem. 2: 41. 1977. TN.
D. tortuosum (Sw.) DC.; J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 66: 658 (1969) 1970. TN.

D. velutinum DC.; Ibid. 66: 659. (1969) 1970.
K.

Erythrina subumbrans (Hassle.) Merr.; Biol.

Mem. 2: 42. 1977. TN.

Flemingia iuberosa Dalz.; Ibid. 2: 42. 1977. TN.
Glycine wightii Verde, ssp. wightii var. coimba-
torensis Ajita Sen, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
74: 330-332, fig. 1. (1977) 1978. = Neono-
tonia wightii (Wt. & Arn.) Lackey ssp.
wightii var. coimbatorensis (Ajita Sen)
Karthik. in Ind. J. For. 4: 65. 1981. TN.
Indigofera benthamiana Hance; Ibid. 73: 242-
243, pi. 1. 1976. K.

/. stachyodes Lindley; Biol. Mem. 2: 43. 1977.
TN.

/. vicioides Jaub. & Spach.; Sci. & Cult. 33:
406-407. 1967. TN.

Kunstleria keralensis C. N. Mohanan & N. C.
Nair, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Plant Sci.)
90: 208-209. 1981. K.

Macroptilium atropurpureum (DC.) Urb., J.
Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 77: 357. (1980) 1981.
TN.

M. bracteatwn (Nees & Mart.) Verde.; Ibid.
77: 359. AP.

Moghania prostrata (Roxb.) Mukerjee; Bull.

Bot. Surv. India 6: 82. (1964) 1965. AP.
Mucuna nigricans (Lour.) Steudel; Ibid. 6: 83.
(1964) 1965. AP.

Rhynchosia jacobii Chandr. & Shetty, Ibid. 15:
139-141, fig. 15. (1973) 1976. TN.

ADDITIONS TO GAMBLE’S FLORA

Trifolium cernuum Brot.; Ibid. 17: 186-187,
fig. 6. (1975) 1978. TN.

Zornia quilonensis Ravi, J. Bombay nat. Hist.
Soc. 66: 489. 1969. K.

Caesalpiniaceae

Amherstia nobilis Wall.; Biol. Mem. 2: 48.
1977. TN.

Cassia intermedia Sharma, Vivek. & Rathak.,
Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 80B: 301-306, fig.
15. 1974. K., TN.

C. sericea Sw.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 21: 203
(1979) 1981. KA.

Mimosaceae

Acacia megaladena Desv., FI. Hassan Dt. 227.
1976. KA.

Albizzia sikharamensis Sahni & Bennett, Indian
Forester 101: 337-338, pi. 1. 1975. AP.
Dichrostachys muelleri Benth.; J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 63: 227-228. 1966. TN.

Mimosa barberi Gamble, Kew Bull. 1920: 5.
1920. AP.

M. invisa Mart.; J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 61:
469-471. 1964. K.

Prosopis gland ulosa Torr.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 8: 359. (1966) 1967. KA., TN.

P. glandulosa Torr. var. torreyana (L. Benson)
M. C. Johnst.; Ibid. 8: 359. (1966) 1967.
TN.

Rosaceae

Prunus jcnkinsii Hook, f.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
13: 155. (1971) 1973. AP.

Crassulaceae

Kalanchoe cherukondensis Subbarao & Kumari,
Bull. bot. Surv. India 17: 177-179, fig. 8,
t. 1. (1975) 1978. AP.

Haloragaceae

Laurembergia agastyamalayana Henry, J. Bom-
bay nat. Hist. Soc. 62: 603-605, pi. 1. (1965)
1966. = L. coccinea (Bl.) Kan. var. zeyla-
nica (Arn. ex. Cl.) Meyden. TN.

L. hirsuta (Wt. & Arn.) Schindl.; Rec. bot.
Surv. India 6: 128. 1914. K., TN.

Myriophyllum oliganthum (Wt. & Arn.) F.v.M.;
Blumea 17: 308. 1969. KA., TN.

M. tuberculatum Roxb.; J. Bombay nat. Hist.
Soc. 64: 391-394, pi. 1. 1967. K.

Myrtaceae

Eugenia mabaeoides Wt.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
12: 2-3. (1970) 1972. TN.

Syzygium aqueum (Burm. f.) Alston; J. Bom-
bay nat Hist. Soc. 63: 227. 1966. TN.

Lecythidaceae

Barringtonia acutangula (L.) Gaertn. ssp. spi-
cata (Bl.) Payens, Blumea 15: 231-233. 1967
TN.

B. asiatica (L.) Kurz.; Ibid. 15: 184. 1967.
Coromandel coast.

Melastomataceae

Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don; Kew Bull. 20:
161. 1966. K.

Medinilla fuchsioides Gardn.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 18: 215. 1979. TN.

Memecylon hookeri Thw.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
13: 165, fig. 8. (1971) 1973. TN.

M. subramanii Henry, J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 77: 492. (1980) 1981. TN.

Osbeckia kewensis C.E. C. Fischer, Kew Bull.
1938: 34. 1938. TN.

Sonerila devicolamensis Nayar, J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 71: 632-633. (1974). 1976. K.

S. pedunculosa Thw.; Curr. Sci. 45: 527. 1976.
KA.

67

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

S. sadasivanii Nayar, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci.

69B: 256-258, fig. 1. 1969. K., TN.

S. wynaadensis Nayar, J. Indian bot. Soc. 48:
322-323, fig. 1. (1969) 1970. K.

Lythraceae

Ammannia auriculata Willd.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 10: 238-239, fig. 17. (1968) 1969. K.
A. pygniaea Kurz; J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.

63: 784-785, fig. 18. (1966) 1967. K.

Rotala malampuzhensis Vasudevan Nair [Ibid.
72: 57-60, fig. 18. 1975] ex C.D.K. Cook,
Boissiera 29: 98. 1979. K.

Samydaceae

Casearia rubescens Dalz. var. gamblei N.
Mukh., J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 69: 393-
394. 1972.

Passifloraceae

Passiflora antioquiensis Karst.; Adansonia 7:
385. 1967. M. Pr.

P. biflora Lam.; Ibid. 7: 385. 1967. M. Pr.

P. caerulea Linn.; Ibid. 7: 385. 1967. M. Pr.
P. gracilis Jacq. ex Link.; Ibid. 7: 385. 1967.
M. Pr.

P. holosericea Linn.; Ibid. 7: 385. 1967. M. Pr.
P. incarnata Linn.; Ibid. 7: 385. 1967. M. Pr.
P. mollissima (H.B.K.) Bailey; Ibid. 7: 385.
1967. M. Pr.

P. subpehata Ortega; Ibid. 7: 385. 1967. M. Pr.
P. trifasciata Lemaire; Ibid. 7: 385. 1967. M. Pr.

CUCURBITACEAE

Momordica balsamina Linn.: Indian Forester
96: 527. 1970. K.

Thladiantha cor difolia (Bl.) Cogn.; Bull. bot.

Surv. India 6: 84. (1964) 1965. AP.
Trichosanthes brevibracteata Kundu; J. Bom-
bay nat. Hist. Soc. 43: 373. 1942. K.

T. brevibracteata Kundu var. sublobata Kundu;
Ibid. 43: 373. 1942. K.

T. villosula Cogn. var. nilgiriensis Kundu; Ibid.
43: 375-376. 1942. TN.

Cactaceae

Cereus forbesii Hort. Berol. ex Forester; Proc.
natn. Acad. Sci. India 43B: 128, PI. 1. 1973.
K.

Umbelliferae

Bupleurum andhricum Nayar & Ban., Bull. bot.

Surv. India 12: 255. 1970. AP.

Eryngium foetidum Linn.; J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 70: 597. (1973) 1974. K.

Pimpinella bract eat a Haines; Bull. bot. Surv.
India 6: 83. (1964) 1965. AP.

Rubiaceae

Anotis nummularia (Arn.) Benth. & Hook. f.
ex Hook, f.; Sci. & Cult. 31: 376-377, fig. 8.
1965 = Neanotis nummularia (Arn.) W. H.
Lewis. TN.

Borreria eradii Ravi, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.

66: 539-540, fig. 10. (1969) 1970. K.

B. verticillata (Linn.) G.F.W. Meyer; Curr. Sci.

33: 379-380, fig. 1. 1964. KA.

Dentella serpyllifolia Wall, ex Airy Shaw; Bull,
bot. Surv. India 10: 389-390. (1968) 1969.
A.P.; TN.

Hedy otis erecta Manilal & Sivarajan, Bot. Noti-
ser 129: 191-192, fig. 1. 1976. K.

H. eualata (Gamble) Henry & Subr. var.
agastyamalayana Henry & Subr., Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 76B: 28-29, fig. 6. 1972. TN.

H. gamblei Henry & Subr., Ibid. 76B: 26-28,
fig. 5. 1972. TN.

H. pinifolia Wall, ex G. Don; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 21: 212. (1979) 1981. AP.

H. santapaui Shetty & Vivek., Bull. bot. Surv.
India 11: 448-449, fig. 11. (1969) 1972. K.

68

ADDITIONS TO GAMBLES FLORA

Meyna spinosa Roxb. var. pubescens Robyns;

Indian Forester 94: 682, fig. 3. 1968. AP.
Mitracarpus verticillatus (Schum. & Thonn.)
Vatke; Bull bot. Surv. India 9: 291. 1967.
K., TN.

Neanotis monosperma (Wt. & Arn.) Lewis var.
tirunelvelica Henry & Chandr., Ibid. 17: 188-
189, fig 5. (1975) 1978. TN.

Oldenlandia hygrophila Bremek., Kew Bull. 29:
359. 1974. K.

Ophiorrkiza tirunelvelica Henry & Subr., Bull,
bot. Surv. India 12: 277-278. (1970) 1972.
TN.

Paederia foetida Linn.; Ibid. 6: 84. (1964)
1965. AP.

Psychotria canarensis Talbot; FI. Hassan Dt.
588. 1976. KA.

Richardia scabra Linn.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
6: 85. (1964) 1965. AP.

Tarenna agumbensis Sundara Raghavan, Ibid.
10: 341-343, fig. 9, pi. 1. (1968) 1969. KA.

COMPOSITAE

Anaphalis adnata DC.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
6: 85. (1964) 1965. AP.

Centratherum sengaltherianum B. M. Narayana,
Curr. Sci. 50: 279. 1981. TN.

Chromolaena odorata (L.) King & Robinson;

FI. Hassan Dt. 608. 1976. KA.

Conyza floribunda Kunth; Ibid. 608. 1976. KA.
Crassocephalum crepidioides (Benth.) S.

Moore; Ibid. 610. 1976. KA.

Emilia alstonii Fosberg; Ibid. 613. 1976. KA.
E. exserta Fosberg; Ibid. 613. 1976. KA.
Enhydra fluctuans Lour.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
13: 155. (1971) 1973. AP.

Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng; J. Univ.
Poona (Sci. & Tech.) 48: 77-78, fig. 1. 1976.
TN.

Galinsoga ciliata (Rafin.) Blake; Bull. bot.
Surv. India 13: 158. (1971) 1973. TN.

Gnaphalium purpureum Linn.; Curr. Sci. 42:
368-369. 1973. TN.

Hypochoeris radicata Linn.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 5: 247-249. 1963. TN.

Mikania cordata (Burm. f.) B. L. Robinson;

Sci. & Cult. 34: 254-255, fig. 5. 1968. K.
Parthenium hysterophorus Linn.; J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 66: 234. 1969. AP., TN.
Saussurea heteromalla (D. Don) Hand.-Mazz.;
Bull. bot. Surv. India 9: 186. (1967) 1968.
AP.

Silybum marianum (Linn.) Gaertn.; Indian For-
ester 102: 685-68 6. 1976. TN.

Spilanthes paniculata Wall, ex DC.; FI. Hassan
Dt., 624. 1976. KA.

Struchium sparganophorum (Linn.) O. Kuntze;
Bull. bot. Surv. India 8: 202-203, fig. 18.
(1966) 1967. K.

Taraxacum javanicum van Soest; Biol. Mem.
2: 81. 1977. TN.

Vernonia anaimudica Shetty & Vivek., Bull,
bot. Surv. India 12: 266-268, fig. 11. (1970)
1972. K.

Xanthium pungens Wallroth emend Widder;

Curr. Sci. 42: 327-328. 1973. AP., KA.
Ximenesia encelioides Cav.; J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 53: 523-524. 1956. KA., TN.

Campanulaceae

Laurentia longiflora (Linn.) Endl.; J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 62: 323-324. 1965. Pondi-
cherry.

Lobelia beddomeana E. Wimm.; Pflanzenr.

Campanulae 2: 645. 1953. TN.

L. courtallensis K. K. N. Nair, Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 87B: 105-107, fig. 1. 1978. TN.

Vacciniaceae

Vaccinium leschenaultii Wt. var. zeylanica C.
B. Cl.; J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 77: 366.
(1980) 1981. TN.

69

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Ericaceae

Andromeda leschenaultii Broughton, Pharm. J.
3, 2: 281. 1872; Rec. bot. Surv. India 18: 3.
1959. TN.

Primulaceae

Lysimachia alternifolia Wall.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 6: 85. (1964) 1965. AP.

L. decurrens Forst. f.. Ibid. 6: 86. (1964) 1965.
AP.

Sapotaceae

Madhuca insignis (Radik.) H. J. Lam; Blumea
10: 79. 1960. KA.

Ebenaceae

Diospyros crumenata Thw.; FI. Hassan Dt. 195.
1976. KA.

D. saldanhae Kostermans, J. Bombay nat. Hist.
Soc. 74: 326, pi. 1. (1977) 1978. KA.'

Oleaceae

Ligustrum confusum Decaisne; Blumea 24:

144. 1978. S. India.

Apocynaceae

Wrightia indica P. t. Ngan, Ann. Mo. bot. Gdn.
52: 140-141. 1965. TN.

Asclepiadaceae

Brachystelma elenaduensis M.B.S. Char, Curr.

Sci. 47: 965-966, fig. 2. 1978. KA.

B. ciliatum Arekal & Ramakrishna, Ibid. 50:

145. 1981. KA.

B. kolarenses Arekal & Ramakrishna, Proc. In-
dian Acad. Sci. (Plant Sci.) 90: 203-205.
1981. KA.

Caralluma nilagmana Kumari & Subba Rao,
J. Bombay nat Flist. Soc. 73: 194-196. 1976.
TN.

Ceropegia omissa Huber, Mem. Soc. Broter.
12: 67. 1957. K., TN.

Gymnema alterniflorum (Lour.) Merr.; Curr.

Sci. 37: 595. 1968. TN.

Hoya kanyakumariana Henry & Swamin., J.
Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 75: 462, fig. 5. 1979.
TN.

Janakia Joseph & Chandrasekaran, J. Indian
bot. Soc. 57: 308-309. 1978. K.

/. arayalpathra Joseph & Chandrasekaran, Ibid.
57: 309.

Marsdenia raziana Yog. & Subr., Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 83B: 147-149. fig. 10. 1976. KA.
M. tirunelvelica Henry & Subr., J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 73: 186-187. 1976. TN.

Tylophora dalzellii J. Hooker; FI. Hassan Dt.
453. 1976. KA.

T. subramanii Henry, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci.
65B: 161-164. 1967. TN.

Gentianaceae

Nymphoides macros per mum Vasudevan, Kew
Bull. 22: 101-106, fig. 3. 1968. K.

Boraginaceae

Heliotropium keralense Sivarajan & Maniial, J.

Indian bot. Soc. 51: 348-350, fig. 5. 1972. K.
Tournefortia argentea Linn, f.; J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 63: 226-227. 1966. TN.

CONVOLVULACEAE

Argyreia arakuensis Balak., Bull. bot. Surv.

India 3: 163-165, fig. 12. (1961) 1962. AP.

A. roxburghii Chois, var. ampla C. B. Cl.; Ibid.

13: 155. (1971) 1973. AP.

Cuscuta approximata Bab.; Geobios 3: 180.
1976. AP.

70

ADDITIONS TO GAMBLE’S FLORA

Evolvulus nummularius Linn.; Bull. bot. Surv.
India 6: 86. (1964) 1965 & 12: 279. (1970)
1972. AP., K.

Ipomoea macrantha Roem. & Schult.; Geobios
2: 122-123. 1975. K.

1. triloba L.; Indian J. For. 2: 23-24, fig. 6.
1979. K.

I. pescaprae (Linn.) Sw. ssp. brasiliensis (Linn.)
Oostr.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 17: 197-198, fig.
8. (1975) 1978. K.

SOLANACEAE

Datura quercifolia H. B. & K.; J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 53: 524. 1956. TN.

Solarium elaeagnifolium Cav.; Curr. Sci. 43:
734. 1974. KA.

S. hispid um Pers.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 11:
197-198, fig. 8. (1969) 1971. TN.

S. khasianum CL; FI. Hassan Dt. 461. 1976. KA.
S. khasionum Cl. var. chatterjeanum Sen Gupta,
Bull. bot. Surv. India 3: 413-415, fig. 9.
(1961) 1962. = S. viarum Dunal. TN.

S. maurianum Scop.; Sen Mem. vol. 426. 1969.
TN.

SCROPHULARIACEAE

Limnophila glandulifera Philcox, Kew Bull. 21 :
157-160, fig. 4. 1967. K.

Linder nia angustifolia (Benth.) Wettst.; J. Bom-
bay nat Hist. Soc. 67: 611-613, fig. 5. (1970)
1971. K.

L. manilaliana Sivarajan, Kew Bull. 31: 151-
153, fig. 9. 1976. K.

Melasma avense (Benth.) Hand.-Mazz.; Bull.

bot. Surv. India 12: 208. (1970) 1972. AP.
Striga lutea Lour. var. coccinea (Bth.) O. Ktze.;
Ibid. 5: 69. 1963. K.

Torenia lindernidides C. J. Saldanha, Ibid. 8:
129-130, fig. 4. (1966) 1967. K., KA.

T. violacea (Azaolo ex Blanco) Pennell; Ibid.
8: 128. (1966) 1967. K.

Orqbanchaceae

Christisonia keralensis Erady, J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 64: 10-12, pi. 1. 1967. K.

Lentibulariaceae

Utricularia australis R. Br.; FI. Hassan Dt. 563.
1967. KA.

U. minutissima Vahl; J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
62: 180-182, fig. 20. 1965.

( U . lilliput Subr. & Balak. non Pellegrin,
Bull. bot. Surv. India 2: 347-348. 1960, is
this species only). K., KA., TN.

U. nivea Vahl; Curr. Sci. 43: 571. 1974. (con-
sidered to be a synonym of U. caerulea Linn,
by Gamble) AP., K., KA., TN.

Gesneriaceae

Chirita hamosa Wall, ex R. Br.; Bull. bot. Surv.
India 9: 187. (1967) 1968. AP.

Pedaliaceae

Sesamum ekambaramii Naidu, J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 51: 698, 1953. TN.

Acanthaceae

Andrographis nallamalayana Ellis, Bull. bot.
Surv. India 8: 362. (1966) 1967. AP.

A. neesiana Wt. var. rotundifolia Sreem., Ibid.
9: 9L 1966. TN.

Barleria vestita T. And.; J. Bombay nat. Hist.
Soc. 53: 524-525. 1956. TN.

B. pratt ensis Santapau, Kew Bull. 1948: 487.
1949. TN.

Kanjarum Ramam., Bull. bot. Surv. India 13:
153. (1971) 1973. K.

K. palghatense Ramam., Ibid. 13: 153. (1971)
1973. K.

Rostellularia vahlii (Roth) Nees var. rupicola
Ellis, Ibid. 11: 435-437. (1969) 1972. AP.

71

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Strobilanthes walkeri Arn. ex Nees; Ibid. 15:
280. 1976. TN.

Sympagis petiolares (Nees) Bremek.; J. Bom-
bay nat Hist. Soc. 71: 176-177. 1974. AP.

Verbenaceae

Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 6: 86. (1974) 1975. AP.

Clerodendrum bracteosum Kostel.; Allg. Med.-
Pharm. FI. 3: 831. 1834; Rec. bot. Surv.
India 18: 12. 1959. K.

C. paniculatum Linn.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 10:
240-241. (1968) 1969. K.

Lantana veronicifolia Hayek in Fedde, Repert.

Nov. Sp. 2: 163. 1906. KA., TN.

Lippia asperifolia A. Rich. ex. Marthe; Bull.

bot. Soc. Bengal 23: 69-70, fig. 1. 1969. TN.
Verbena officinalis Linn.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
6: 87. (1964) 1965. AP.

Labiatae

Anisomeles indica (Linn.) O. Ktze. var. albi-
flora (Hassk.) Backer; Proc. nat. Acad. Sci.
India 42B: 225-226, fig. 6. 1972. K.

Hyptis pectinata Poit.; Rec. bot. Surv. India 14:
64. 1940. Madras.

Lavandula bipinnata O. Kze. var. rothiana O.

Ktze.; Ibid. 14: 65. 1940. AP., KA., TN.
Leucas lavanduliifolia Rees var. decipiens
(Hook, f.) Chandr. & Srin., Bull. bot. Surv.

India 17: 165. (1975) 1978. K., TN.

L. lavanduliifolia Rees var. nagalapuramiana
Chandr. & Srin., Ibid. 17: 165-167, fig. 6. (1975)
1978. AP.

L. mollissima Wall. var. sebastiana Subba Rao
& Kumari, Ibid. 11: 452-454, fig. 7. (1969)
1972. AP.

L. mukerjiana Subba Rao & Kumari, Ibid. 10:
358-359, fig. 8. (1968) 1969. AP.

L. veslita Bth. var. devicolamensis Shetty &
Vivek., Ibid. 10: 236-237, fig. 12. (1968)
1969. K.

Plectranthus parvifolius Talbot, J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 11: 238. 1897. KA.

Pogostemon travancoricus Bedd. var. devicola-
mensis Shetty & Vivek., Bull. bot. Surv. India
15: 155-157, fig. 7. (1973) 1976. K.

Plantaginaceae

Planiago exigua Juss. ex Murray; Kew Bull.
30: 671-672. 1975. TN.

Nyctaginaceae

Oxybaphus himalaicus Edgew.; Geobios 2: 196.
1975. KA.

Amaranthaceae

Alternant hern paronychioides St. Hil.; J. Bom-
bay nat. Hist. Soc. 53: 525. 1956. TN.

A. pungcns H. B. & K.; Ibid. 58: 551-553. 1961.
AP.

Amaranthus polygonoides Linn.; Ibid. 69: 687.
(1972) 1973. K.

Cyathula tomentosa Moq.; Indian Forester 96:
529. 1970. K.

Chenopodiaceae

Chenopodium carinatum R. Br.; J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 69: 683. (1972) 1973. TN.

C. pumilio R. Br.; Curr. Sci. 38: 173-175, fig.
13. 1969. TN.

Polygon aceae

Polygonum barbatum Linn. ssp. gracile Danser;
Bull. bot. Surv. India 6: 87. (1964) 1965.
AP., TN.

P. orientale Linn.; Ibid. 6: 88. (1964) 1965.
TN.

Rumex crispus Linn.; Biol. Mem. 2: 120. 1977.
TN.

72

ADDITIONS TO GAMBLE'S FLORA

PODOSTEMACEAE

lndotristicha tirunelveliana Sharma, Karthik. &
Shetty, Bull. bot. Surv. India 16: 157-161, pi.
1, fig. 17. (1974) 1977. TN.

Polypleurum munnarense Nagendran & Arekal,
Bot. Notiser 132: 49-50, fig. 1. 1979. K.

PlPERACEAE

Peperomia meeboldii C. DC. in Fedde. Repert.
13: 297. 1914. KA.

Piper ootacamundense C. DC. in Candollea 1 :
184. 1923. TN.

P. trioicum Roxb.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 12: 4.
(1970) 1972. (Gamble considered this to be
conspecific with P. attenuatum Buch.-Ham.
ex Miq.) TN.

Myristicaceae

Myristica laurifolia Hook. f. & Thoms.; Biol.
Mem. 2: 122. 1977. TN.

Lauraceae

Beilschmiedia sikkimensis King ex Hook, f.;
Bull. bot. Surv. India 9: 188 (1967) 1968.
AP.

Loranthaceae

Viscum articulatum Burm. f. var. thelocarpum
(Danser) Rolla Rao; Biol. Mem. 2: 126.
1977. TN.

V. heyneanum A. P. DC. var. liocarpum Dan-
ser, Blumea 4: 305. 1941. TN.

Balanophoraceae

Balanopkora abbreviata Bl.; Curr. Sci. 44: 96-
97. 1975. KA.

Euphorbiaceae

Antidesma walkeri (Tulasne) Pax & Hoffm.;

Curr. Sci. 35: 106, fig. 1. 1966. TN.

Bridelia pubescens Kurz; Bull. bot. Surv. India
6: 88. (1964) 1965. AP.

Euphorbia agowensis Hochst. ex Boiss.; Ibid.

15: 126. (1973) 1976. TN.

E. coudercii Gagnep.; Kew Bull. 26: 263. 1972.
S. India.

E. laciniata Panigrahi, Ibid. 30: 531. 1975. TN.
E. linearifolia Roth var. nallamalayana Ellis,
Bull. bot. Surv. India 8: 345-346, fig. 9.
(1966) 1967. AP.

E. longistyla Balak. & Subr., J. Madras Univ.
29B: 45-47. 1959. AP.

E. serpens H.B.K.; J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.

68: 852-856, fig. 9. (1971) 1972. AP., TN.
Jatropha villosa Wt. var. ramnadensis Ramam.,
Bull. bot. Surv. India 9: 278. (1967) 1968.
TN.

Mallotus intercedens Pax & Hoffm., Pflanzenr.

4: 147, 7: 179. 1914. K.

Meineckia parvifolia (Wt.) Webster; J. Bom-
bay nat. Hist. Soc. 72: 237. 1975. and Sci. &
Cult. 41 : 436-438. 1975. AP., K., TN.

O st odes integrifolius Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. 16:
362-364. 1963. = Fahrenheitia integrifolia
(Airy Shaw) Airy Shaw, Ibid. 20: 410. 1966.
K.

Phyllanthus kozhikodianus Sivarajan & Manilal,

J. Indian bot. Soc. 56: 165-168, fig. 6. 1977.

K.

Sapium eugeniaefolium Hook, f.; Bull. bot.
Surv. India 12: 209. (1970) 1972. AP.

Moraceae

Artocarpus gomezianus Wall. ex. Tree. ssp.
zeylawcus Jarrett, J. Arnold Arbor. 41 : 90-
91. 1960. K., KA.

73

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Cudrania cochinchinensis (Lour.) Kudo &
Masaru.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 6: 89. (1964)
1965. AP.

Ficus auriculata Lour.; Ibid. 6: 89. (1964)
1965. AP.

F. geniculata Kurz; Gdn’s Bull. Singapore 21 :
9. 1965 Madras.

F. lacor Buch.-Ham.; Ibid. 21: 8. 1965. Madras.
F. rumphii Blunie; Bull. bot. Surv. India 6: 90.
(1964) 1965. AP.

F. trimemi King; Gdn’s Bull. Singapore 21 : 24.
1965. KA.

Urticaceae

Boehmena scabrella Gaud.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 6: 90. (1964) 1965. AP.

Urtica hyperborea Jacq.; Biol. Mem. 2: 137.
1977. TN.

Orchidaceae

Acampe ochracea (Lindl.) Hochr.; J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 61: 323. 1964; Ibid. 75: 525.
(1978) 1979. AP., K.

Aphvllorchis prainii Hook, f.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 10: 97-99. 1968. K., KA., TN.
Brachvcoryphis wightii Summerhayes, Kew Bull.
1955: 242. 1955. K.

Bulbophyllum densiflorum Rolfe; Bull. bot.

Surv. India 12: 209. (1970) 1972. AP.
Cheirostylis parvifolia Lindl.; Ibid. 13: 2.
(1971) 1973. TN.

CoeIo%yne glandulosa Lindl. var. bournei Das
& Tain, Bull. bot. Surv. India 18: 244. (1976)
1979. TN.

C. glandulosa var. sathyanarayanae Das & Jain,
Ibid. 242. TN.

Cymbidium ensifolium. (L.) SW. var. haema-
todes (Lindl.) Trimen; FI. Hassan Dt. 817.
1976. KA.

Dendrobium crepidatum Lindl.; Ibid. 820. 1976.
KA.

D. lawianum Lindl.; Ibid. 821. 1976. KA.

D. mabelae Gammie; Ibid. 821. 1976. KA.
Diploprora championi (Lindl.) J. Hooker; Ibid.

824. 1976. KA.

Eria microchilos (Dalz.) Lindl.; Ibid. 828. 1976.
KA.

E. muscicola (Lindl.) Lindl. var. brevilinguis
Joseph & Chandrasek., Bull. bot. Surv. India
15: 267-269, fig. 6. (1973) 1976. K.

Eulophia emilianae Saldanha, Indian Forester
100: 566-569, fig. 1. 1974. KA.

E. explanata Lindl.; Bull. bot. Surv. India: 9:
188. (1967) 1968. AP.

E. hirsula Joseph & Vajravelu, Ibid. 17: 192-
194, fig. 10. (1975) 1978. K.

Gastrochilus flabelliformis (Blatt. & McC.)

Saldanha, FI. Hassan Dt. 830. 1976. KA.
Habenaria furcifera Lindl.; Bull. bot. Surv.

India 6: 91. 1964. AP., K., TN.

Liparis prazeri King & Pantl.; J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 66: 233. 1969. AP., K., TN.
Luisia macrantha Blatt. & McC.; FI. Hassan
Dt. 835. 1976. KA.

Nervilia prainiana (King & Pantl.) Seidenfaden
& Smith; Ibid. 837. 1976. KA.

Oberonia brachyphylla Blatt. & McC.; Ibid.
838. 1976; Bull. bot. Surv. India 20: 169.
(1978) 1979. KA., K.

O. gammiei King & Pantl.; J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 75: 524. (1978) 1979. K.

O. iridi folia Lindl.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 13:
2. (1971) 1973. K.

O. josephi Saldanha, Indian Forester 100: 568-
571, pi. 1. 1974. KA.

O. sebasliana Shetty & Vivek., Bull. bot. Surv.
India 17: 157-159, fig. 8. (1975) 1978. K.
& TN.

O. seidenjadeniana Joseph & Vajravelu, Ibid.

13: 344. (1971) 1974. TN.

Peristylus lawii Wt.; Biol. Mem. 2: 143. 1977.
TN.

74

ADDITIONS TO GAMBLES FLORA

Phaius luridus Thw.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 16:
147-149, fig. 9 (1974) 1977. K.

Phalaenopsis mysorensis Saldanha, Indian For-
ester 100: 571-572, pi. 1. 1974. KA.
Proteroceras Joseph & Vajravelu, J. Indian bot.

Soc. 53: 189-193, fig. 6. 1974. TN.

P. holttumii Joseph & Vajravelu, Ibid. 53: 190-
192. 1974. TN.

Smithsonia Saldanha, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
71: 73. 1974. KA.

S. macuiata (Dalz.) Saldanha; FI. Hassan Dt.

850. 1976. KA.

S. st rammed Saldanha; J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 71: 73-74, pi. 1. 1974. KA.

S. viridijiora (Dalz.) Saldanha; FI. Hassan Dt.

851. 1976. KA; J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
75: 525. (1978) 1979. K. [as Gastrochilus
dalzelllanus (Sant.) Sant. & Kapadia.]

Trias stocksii Benth. ex Hook, f.; Bull. bot.

Surv. India 10: 241. (1968) 1969. K.
Tropidia curculigoides Lindl.; Ibid. 10: 365-
366. (1968) 1969. K.

ZlNGIBERACEAE

Boesenhcrgia pulcherrima (Wall.) O. Ktze.; FI.

Hassan Dt. 766. 1976. KA,

Paracautleya Smith, Notes, R. bot. Gdn. Edinb.
35: 365. 1977. KA.

P. bhatii Smith, Ibid. 35: 365-368, fig. 1. 1977.
KA.

Musaceae

Ensete glaucum (Roxb.) E. E. Cheesm.; Bull,
bot. Surv. India 14: 164-166. (1972X 1975.
AP.

Musa acuminata Colla; Kew Bull. 25: 332.
1971. TN.

M. balbisiana Colla; Ibid. 1948: 11-17 1948.
KA., TN.

M. kattuvazhana Jacob, Monogr. Madras Bana-
nas 129. 1952. K., TN.

M. ornata Roxb.; Kew Bull. 25: 331-333. 1971.

AP,

M. sapidisiaca Jacob, Monogr. Madras Bananas
129. 1952. K., TN.

Liliaceae

Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Sprengel; Curtis,
Bot. Mag. 173: t. 386. 1962. TN.

Asparagus racemosus Willd. var. javanicus
(Kunth) Baker; FI. Hassan Dt. 795. 1976.
KA.

Chlorophytum acaule Baker; Bull. bot. Soc.

Bengal 29: 81. 1975. TN.

C. bharuchae Ansari, Sundararaghavan &
Hemadri, Indian Forester 96: 304-306, fig.
10. 1970. KA.

C. nimmonii Dalzell; Kew Bull. 30: 565. 1975.
K., TN.

Iphigenia mysorensis Arekal & Swamy, Bot.

Notiser 125: 220-222, fig. 5. 1972. KA.

I. pallida Baker; FI. Hassan Dt. 798. 1976. KA.
/. sahyadrica Ansari & Rolla Rao, Bull. bot.

Surv. India 20: 163. (1978) 1979. KA.
Urginea govindappae Boraiah & Fatima, Bull,
bot. Surv. India 12: 128-130, pi. 2. (1970)
1972. = Drimta indica (Roxb.) Jessop [U.
indica (Roxb.) Kunth]. KA.

U. polyantha Blatt. & McCann; Ibid. 16: 122-
123. (1974) 1977. TN.

Comm ELI N ACE AE

Amischotolype mollissima (Bl.) Hassk. var.
glabrata (Hassk.) Rolla Rao, M. V. M.
Patrika 6: 53. 1971. AP.

Aneilema pulneyensis Fyson, Kew Bull. 1914:
332. 1914. TN.

Commelina alisagarensis Kumar & Deodikar,
Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 13B: 168. 1941.

= C. imberbis Ehrenb. ex Hassk. AP.

75

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

C. maculata Edgew.; Blumea 14: 353. 1966.
Pen. India.

C. tricolor Barnes, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
49: 79-80. 1946. TN.

Cyanotis arcotensis Rolla Rao, Blumea 14:
346-348, fig. 1. 1966. K. TN.

C. cerifolia Rolla Rao & Kammathy, J. Linn.

Soc. (Bot.) 59: 306-308, fig. 6. 1966. TN.

C. obtusa Trimen; Blumea 14: 349. 1966. Hill
tops of Pen. India

C. thwaitesii Hassk.; FI. Hassan Dt. 646. 1976.
KA.

Forrestia mollissima (Bl.) Koorders var. gla-
brata (Hassk.) Backer; Bull. bot. Surv. India
12: 209. (1970) 1972. AP.

JUNCACEAE

J uncus effusus Linn.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 14:
19. (1972) 1975. K., TN.

Palmae

Calamus delessertianus Becc., Ann. Roy. Bot.
Gard. Calc. 11: 276-277. 1908. S. Peninsular
India.

C. nagbettai Fernandez & Dey, Indian Forester
96: 223-225, pi. 1. 1970. KA.

Araceae

Allocasia fornicata (Roxb.) Schott; Bull. bot.

Surv. India 6: 91. (1964) 1965. AP.

Pauella Ramam. & Seb., Ibid. 8: 348. (1966)
1967. = Theriophonum Bl.

P. sivagangana Ramam. & Seb., Ibid. 8: 348-
351, fig. 9 (1966) 1967. = T. sivaganganum
(Ramam. & Seb.) Bogner. TN.
Rhaphidophora decursiva (Roxb.) Schott; Ibid.

13: 155. (1971) 1973. AP.

Sauromatum pedatum (Willd.) Schott; FI.
Hassan Dt. 789. 1976. KA.

Lemnaceae

Lemna eleanorae McCann, J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 43: 154-155, pi. 3. 1942. K., TN.
Pseudowolffia hyalina (Del.) Hart. & Plas;
Aquatic Bot. 1: 71-73, fig. 1. 1975. AP.

Alismataceae

Sagittaria sagittifolia Linn. ssp. leucopetala
(Miq.) Hartog: FI. Hassan Dt. 632. 1976.
Wiesneria triandra (Dalz.) Micheli; J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 77: 169. 1980. K.

Aponogetonaceae

Aponogeton appendiculatus van Bruggen, Blu-
mea 16: 265. 1968. K.

A. echinatus Roxb.; Biol. Mem. 2: 152. 1977.
TN.

Eriocaulaceae

Eriocaulon christopheri Fyson, Kew Bull. 1914:
330. 1914. TN.

E. heterolepis Steud.; FI. Hassan Dt. 652. 1976.
KA.

E. hookerianum Stapf ; Ibid. 653. 1976. KA.

E. infirmum Steud.; Ibid. 653. 1976. KA.

E. luzulifolium Mart.; Bull. bot. Surv. India 9:
188-189. (1967) 1968. AP.

E. mariae Fyson, Kew Bull. 1914: 331. 1914.
TN.

E. oliveri Fyson, Ibid. 1914: 331. 1914. TN.
Cyperaceae

Carex capillacea Boott; Biol. Mem. 2: 153.
1977. TN.

C. eluta Nelmes, Kew Bull. 6: 271. 1940. TN.

C. indica Linn.; FI. Hassan Dt. 660. 1976. KA.
Cyperus atroglumosa Govindarajalu, Proc. In-
dian Acad. Sci. 81B: 187-189, fig. 1. 1975.
KA.

76

ADDITIONS TO GAMBLES FLORA

C. curvibracteatus Govindarajalu, Ibid. 88B:
231-233, fig. 1. 1979. TN.

C. flabelliformis Rottb.; Biol. Mem. 2: 155.
1977. TN.

C. haspan L. ssp. juncoides (Lamk.) Kuekenth.;

FI. Hassan Dt. 666. 1976. KA.

C. latiglumijera Govindarajalu, J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 69: 161-162, fig. 1. 1972. TN.

C. latovaginata Govindarajalu, J. Indian bot.

Soc. 52: 74-76, fig. 1. 1973. TN.

C. lurida Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian Acad.

Sci. 81B: 189-192, fig. 1. 1975. TN.

C. melanospermus ssp. bifolius (Miq.) Kern;
Bull. bot. Surv. India 8: 352-353, fig. 9.
(1966) 1967. KA., TN.

C. plumbeonucea Govindarajalu, J. Indian bot.

Soc. 52: 76-78, fig. 1. 1973. TN.

C. plurinodosa Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 81B: 192-194. fig. 1. 1975. KA.

C. polyant helus Govindarajalu, Ibid. 88B: 234-
236, fig. 1. 1979. TN.

C. pulchellus R. Br.; Indian Forester 103: 412-
413. 1977. KA., TN.

C. rubriglumosus Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 88B: 229-231, fig. 1. 1979. TN.

C. sesquiflorus (Torr.) Mattf. & Kukenth. var.
subtriceps Koyama; Biol. Mem. 2: 156. 1977.
TN.

C. stricticulmis Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 81B: 194-196, fig. 1. 1975. TN.
Fimbristylis aestivalis (Retz.) Vahl, var. tricho-
poda Kern, Blumea 12: 27-28. 1963. K.

F. alboviridis Cl.; FI. Hassan Dt. 675. 1976. KA.
F. amplocarpa Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 80B: 41-44, fig. 1. 1974. TN.

F. crystallina Govindarajalu, Ibid. 79B: 166-
169, fig. 1. 1974. TN.

F. dauciformis Govindarajalu, Ibid. 76B: 181-
184, fig. 1. 1972. K.

F. eligulata Govindarajalu, Ibid. 76B: 184-187,
fig. 1. 1972. TN.

F. eragrostis (Nees) Hance; Biol. Mem. 2: 157.
1977. TN.

F. latiglumijera Govindarajalu, J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 69: 161-162. (1972) 1973. TN.

F. latinucifera Govindarajalu, Ibid. 69: 159-
160, fig. 1. 1972. TN.

F. longistigmata Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 76B: 190-193, fig. 1. 1972. TN.

F. monospicula Govindarajalu, Ibid. 79B: 169-
172, fig. 1. 1974. KA., TN.

F. podocarpa Nees & Meyen ex Nees; FI.

Hassan Dt. 680, 1976. KA.

F. rectifolia Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian Acad.

Sci. 80B: 46-49. fig. 1. 1974. TN.

F. rigidiuscula Govindarajalu, Ibid. 78B: 45-48,
fig. 1. 1973. TN.

F. rugosa Govindarajalu, Ibid. 78B: 48-51, fig.
1. 1973. TN.

F. semidisticha Govindarajalu, Ibid. 78B: 51-
54, fig. 1. 1973. KA., TN.

F. sieberiana Kunth; FI. Hassan Dt. 680. 1976
& Indian Forester 103: 416-417. 1977. AP.,
KA.

F. squarrosa Vahl. var. esquarrosa Makino; FI.

Hassan Dt. 681. 1976. KA.

F. strigosa Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian Acad.

Sci. 78B: 54-57, fig. 1. 1973. TN.

F. woodrowii CL; FI. Hassan Dt. 682. 1976. KA.
Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb. var. stellulata
(Valck.-Sur.) Hooper, Ibid. 687. 1976. KA.
Lipocarpha raynaleana Govindarajalu, Adanso-
nia 2, 20: 369-375. 1981. TN.

Pycreus diaphanus (R. & S.) S. Hooper &
Koyama; Flora Hassan Dt. 691. 1976. KA.

P. diaphanus var. gracilescens (Kueken.) S.

Hooper, Ibid. 692. 1976. KA.

P. polystachvos (Rottb.) Beauv. var. laxiflorus
(Benth.) Cl.; Ibid. 693. 1976. KA.

Rikliella kernii (Raymond) J. Raynal; Ibid.
696. 1976. KA.

Scleria africana Benth.; Bull. bot. Surv. India
9: 301, fig. 4. (1967) 1968. KA.

77

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

S. foliosa Hochst. ex. A. Rich.; FI. Hassan Dt.
700. 1976. KA.

S. lithosperma (Linn.) Sw. var. multispiculata
Govindarajalu, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 7 IB:
221-222, fig. 1. 1970. TN.

S. lithosperma (Linn.) Sw. var. muricata Govin-
darajalu, Ibid. 71B: 222-225, fig. 1. 1970. K.
S. pergracilis (Nees) Kunth; FI. Hassan Dt.
700, 1976. KA.

Gramineae

Alloteropsis semialata (R. Br.) Hitchc.; FI.

Hassan Dt. 707. 1976. KA.

Anthoxanthum borii Jain et Pal, J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 72: 92-94. 1975. TN.
Arundinella hookeri Munro ex Keng; Indian
Forester 103: 513-524. 1977. TN.

A setosa Trin. var. nilagiriana Subba Rao &
Kumari, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 72: 827-
828, fig. 7. (1975) 1976. TN.

Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz.) Blake; Ann. Arid
Zone 17: 255. 1978. KA.

B. concanensis (Hook.) Henr.; FI. Hassan Dt.
713. 1976. KA.

B. ischaemum (Linn.) Keng; Ann. Arid Zone
17: 256. 1978. KA.

Brachiaria deflexa (Schumach.) C. E. Hubb.
ex Robyns; Bull. bot. Surv. India 15: 162.
(1973) 1976. TN.

B. nilagirica Bor, Bot. Tiddskrift 67: 325. 1973.
TN.

Capillipedium magdaleni Almeida, J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 72: 813-814, pi. 1. (1975)
1976. KA.

Cephalostachyum pergracile Munro; Indian
Forester 102: 596. 1976. AP.

Cymbopogon flexuosus (Nees ex Steud.) Wats,
var. coimbatorensis Gupta, Proc. Indian
Acad. Sci. 71B: 94-95. 1970. TN.

C. martinii (Roxb.) Wats. var. sofia Gupta,
Ibid. 71B: 97-98. 1970. K.

Cyrtococcum accrescens (Trin.) Stapf; FI.

Hassan Dt. 720. 1976. KA.

Digitaria bicornis (Lamk.) R. & S. ex Loud.;

Ann. Arid Zone 17: 256. 1978. KA.

D. biformis Willd.; Ibid. 17: 256. 1978. KA.

D. stricta Roth ex R. & S. var. denudata (Link.)

Henr.; FI. Hassan Dt. 724. 1976. KA.
Enteropogon coimbatorensis K. K. N. Nair,
Jain & Nayar, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 86B:
84, fig. 7. 1977. TN.

Eulalia thwaitesii (Hack.) O. Ktze; Bull. bot.

Surv. India 15: 276-278. (1973) 1976. K.
Garnotia exaristata Gould, Kew Bull. 27: 558.
1972. ( =G . tectorum Hook. f. nom. illegit.)
K., TN.

G. fergusonii Trimen; Kew Bull. 27: 537-538.
1972. TN.

Isachne globosa (Thunb.) O. Ktze; FI. Hassan
Dt. 736. 1976. KA.

/. mysorensis Sundararaghavan, Indian Forester
97: 304-307. 1971. KA.

Ischaemum barbatum Retz.; FI. Hassan Dt.
737. 1976. KA.

/. vembanadense Patil & D’Cruz, J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 70: 324-325, pi. 1. (1973)
1974. K.

Lepturus radicans (Steud.) A. Camus; FI.

Hassan Dt. 739. 1976. KA.

Ochlandra ebracteata Raizada & Chatterij,
Indian Forester 89: 362-364, pi. 1. 1963. K.
Oropetium villosulum Stapf ex Bor; Bull. bot.
Surv. India 9: 284-285, tab. 1. (1967) 1968.
AP.

Oryza perennis ssp. balunge; Curr. Sci. 33:
515-517, fig. 3. 1964. K.

Paspalum compactum Roth var. fimbriatum
Bor; FI. Hassan Dt. 746. 1976. KA. = P .
canarae (Steud.) Veldk. var. fimbriatum
Bor) Veldk.

Polypogon fugax Nees ex Steud.; J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 72: 232-233. 1975. TN.

78

ADDITIONS TO GAMBLE’S FLORA

Tripsacum laxum Nash; Biol. Mem. 2: 170.
1977. TN.

Urochloa panicoides P. Beauv. var. pubescens
(Konth) Bor; FI. Hassan Dt. 758. 1976. KA.
Zenkeria sebastinei Henry & Chandr., Bull. hot.
Surv. India 15: 142-144, fig. 9. (1973) 1976.
TN.

Gamble, J. S. and Fischer, C. E. C. (1915-1936) :
“Flora of the Presidency of Madras” Part I to XI.

Karthikeyan, S. (1971) : A contribution to the
family Gramineae of the “Flora of the Presidency
of Madras”. Bull . bot. Surv. India 13: 175-179.

ADDITIONAL FAMILIES

Butomaceae

Limnocharis flava (Linn.) Buchenau; J. Bom-
bay nat. Hist. Soc. 64: 389-390. 1967 & In-
dian Forester 94: 641-644, pi. 1. 1968. K.

Cabombaceae

Cabomba aquatica Aubl.; Curr. Sci. 47: 136-
137, fig. 5. 1978. K.

iNCES

Sebastine, K. M. (1962): Some additions to
“Flora of the Presidency of Madras”, ibid. 4: 219-225.

and Ramamurthy, K. (1966) :

Some additions to the “Flora of the Presidency of
Madras” — 2. ibid. 8: 80-81.

79

STUDIES ON SPAWNING MIGRATION AND SPAWNING
OF HILLSTREAM FISH D1SCOGNATHUS MULLYA

(SYKES)1

G. Loviah Joseph2 and S. V. Job3
(With a text-figure)

Introduction

Migration of fishes from their native habitat
prior to spawning to another area, which may
offer favourable conditions for spawning, and
their subsequent return to their original home
has been recorded in many riverine forms
(Cadwallader 1976), and first migration of
Discognathus was reported by Hora (1921).
An excellent account of the prespawning migra-
tion of D. mullya was given by Jones (1941),
who observed the migration of this species in
the Kallar river of Western Ghats in Peermedu
Taluk, Travancore.

In this study the migration of D. mullya was
investigated in a hillstream called Ulakkaruvi,
situated at an altitude of 1255 m above MSL
in the southern slopes of Western Ghats in
Ashamboo hills of Kanyakumari District,
Tamilnadu. This hillstream has two major water
falls — upper and lower, several pools and
rapids.

Material and Methods

An area of approximately 1 Kilometre from
upper falls down to the lower beds of the
Ulakkaruvi stream, embracing several pools

1 Accepted December 1980.

2 Scott Christian College, Nagercoil-629 003,
Kanyakumari Dist., India.

3 School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj
University, Madurai-625 021, India.

and rapids was taken up for study. The area
taken for observation was divided arbitrarily
into three major zones (Fig. 1 ) for convenience
and the study was carried out from November
1977 to March 1978. The area of the upper
falls lying at an elevation of 614 m above MSL
has two major pools and ten rapids, called
zone A, while the lower falls (537 m above
MSL) and area around it including a side
stream constituted zone B. In this area, there
are five medium sized pools and nine rapids.
Zone C consisted of the lower reaches of the
main stream lying at an elevation of 502 m
above MSL. Here there are three pools one
major and the other two medium sized, and
five rapids.

Preliminary investigations were carried out
in the laboratory to find out a suitable mark-
ing method on the fish so that they could be
easily identified on recovery. Tagging (plastic)
of either the operculum or fin was found to be
unsuitable, since the tagged fishes behaved
abnormally, and there was considerable morta-
lity. This method was abandoned and a group
marking technique (Nikolsky 1963, Brian Stott
1971) was adopted. Group marking is perform-
ed either by painting or branding the fish, or
by cutting part of the fin, was found to suit
well for Discognathus and hence this method
was employed, and the following procedure was
followed in the field.

Fishes were captured in the early hours of
the day (8 a.m.), and those with length range

80

SPAWNING MIGRATION AND SPAWNING OF DISCOGNATHUS MULLYA

Fig. 1. Showing a section of the Ulakkaruvi stream probed in migration studies.

P — Pools R — Rapids

Arrows radiating from the pool at Zone-C indicate the direction and areas of
prespawnal migration.

Arrow from pool at Zone-B towards Zone-A indicate the direction of post-spawnal
migration.

Small arrows inside the pools and rapids show the direction of the flow of water.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL 80

55 mm and above were only taken for study.
The netted fishes were released in net cages
(3 x 1 m) kept half submerged in a pool. From
this sample the fishes were taken individually
in a small hand dip net; its length was measured
and the dorsal lobe of the caudal fin was spread
and the postero-dorsal edge (> 3 mm) was
clipped off. On the amputated surface methy-
lene blue solution was rubbed using cotton.
The marking was done as rapidly as possible
and the marked fishes were released in another
net cage kept half submerged in the same pool.
The amputation of very small portions of the
caudal fin caused no change in the mobility
of the fish and the time lag between their re-
lease and recovery was too short for full regene-
ration of the cut portion. All the marked fishes
were allowed to swim inside the net cage for a
period of four hours. The stain lasted for a
few hours and in many cases it faded off. Any
fish which showed abnormality in mobility was
isolated and not used in the study. All the
other fishes were released in the major pool
at zone C around 3 p.m. Following the above
modalities fishes were captured and released
on five occasions (20th, 22nd, 25th, 28th Nov-
ember and 2nd December 1977) in zone C and
a total of 293 fishes were released. As there
was no sexual dimorphism in D. mullya, the
sex of the released fishes could not be ascer-
tained.

To find out the possible presence of any
early migrants from the lower beds (zone C)
of the stream to the upper reaches (zones A &
B), intensive netting was done in these latter
areas at regular intervals from 7th December
to 30th January 1978. Only accessible pools
and rapids were searched for the marked fishes,
while a few pools located in the steep (35 m)
slippery part of the main stream could not be
probed due to their inaccessibility. If any mark-
ed fish was caught, after measuring its length,

a small mutilation was made on the inner mar-
gin of one of the pelvic fins and it was released
again. This had to be done to identify the
recaptured from other marked fish. Fishing was
done in areas beyond zone C also to find out
any possible downward movement of the mark-
ed fishes.

Result

The number of fishes captured with their
size range and the number of them marked and
released are given in the Table I. The percen-
tage of recapture was rather low (17.06%)
and this was due to the different terrain and
uneven topography of the area where no stan-
dard netting device could be employed. An-
other difficulty faced was the inaccessibility of
a few pools lying on the main stream.

Discussion

Though the total percentage of recapture in
migration study (17.06%) was low, it fairly
reflects the mode of migration of D. mullya at
Ulakkaruvi. From the place of recapture of
marked fishes it can be inferred that these fishes
ascended from Zone-C climbing along the 35 m
high slippery rocky terrain to the rapids and
pools present around the base of the lower
falls and side stream. Thus their movement was
against the current. Intensive movement of
fishes were observed on 18th January 1977 at
dawn among the rapids and pools of the side
stream and spawning of the fishes was observed
in a rapid, and eggs were collected immediately
after spawning and thereafter (vide spawning).
From the dates of recovery of marked fishes,
observation of spawning and subsequent egg
collection, it is reasonable to assume that D.
mullya might have undertaken a prespawnal
migration from the last week of December 1977
to the second week of January 1978.

82

Number of D. mullya released and recovered in migration studies

SPAWNING MIGRATION AND SPAWNING OF DISCOGNATHUS MULLYA

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Veil. 80

In the month of March 1978, the water level
in most of the pools and rapids dwindled and
adult fishes were scarcely seen. In order to find
out whether these fishes ascend further upward,
undertaking a post-spawning migration, fishing
was done on several occasions (25th, 28th, 30th
March and 5th, 7th and 10th April 1978), in
the major pool lying at the base of the upper
falls, 19 marked fishes (2 previously captured)
were recovered during this intensive probing.
This recapture emphasizes the fact that D.
mullya undertakes post spawning migration
when the water level in their breeding grounds
goes down to a precarious level. Though water
level had gone down and most of the rapids
and pools were cut off without any water flow,
the pools and rapids were full of larval fish in
various stages of development. Several observa-
tions made by Jones (1941) may be pertinent
in understanding the migration of D. mullya.
While observing the prespawning migration of
these fishes in Kallar stream of Western Ghats
in Peermade Taluk, Travancore, he stated that
the migration ‘does not seem to have any rela-
tion to rain, as no rainfall had been recorded
in this area for over 2 months’. Around Ulak-
karuvi stream too there was little or no rainfall
during the breeding month.

Spawning :

The first spawning at Ulakkaruvi was observ-
ed in the early hours of 18th January 1978 in
a rapid, where the temperature of the water was
19°C while that of the atmosphere was 20° ±
1°C. Small shoals of D. mullya moved in pre-
spawning period mostly from the main stream
and pools to the rapids which hardly had a
depth of 750 mm, where water flows over slow-
ly. The bottom of the rapids was filled with an
admixture of sand and mud, gravel and small
boulders measuring less than 500 mm in size.
The entire bottom had abundant detritus.

It was group mating, where some 15 to 20
fishes took part. Courtship behaviour involved
movements such as following, chasing, and but-
ting which appeared again and again during
which extrusion of ova was clearly visible, but
shedding of sperm was not observed. Eggs were
shed in the water in staggering quantities and
simply left to the mercy of the environment.
A noteworthy feature was that the fishes were
not scared by the presence of the observer.

One odd thing about Discognathus during
spawning was that they were often found to
move in groups underneath boulders. The
whole process took place up to 8.30 a.m.; by
that time most of the eggs were shed and their
haphazard movements almost ceased. Thirteen
fish were captured around 11 a.m. from the
breeding rapids, out of which 8 were females
and 5 males — all between 72-96 mm length
range. The females were dissected in the field
itself and all of them showed fully spent ovaries,
thus emphasizing the fact that they had shed
all the matured ova in one burst of spawning.

Eggs were highly adhesive and heavily yolk-
ed, and demersal. They adhered to the sides of
the rocks and submerged decaying vegetation
such as leaves and twigs; thus they were not
likely to be washed down by the flowing water.
When a few boulders were lifted in the evening
around 4 p.m., hundreds of eggs were found
to have been laid by the fishes in trough-like
depressions carved out of the mud. Though
95% eggs were found to be fertilized, 5%
appeared whitish (obviously unfertilized). Eggs
were collected at different intervals after spawn-
ing.

On the early morning of 19th January 1978
it was surprising to find that the rapid in which
spawning was observed on the previous day,
no water found and the entire water had pro-
bably drained down to the neighbouring smaller
crevices on the rocky terrain. This exposed the

84

SPAWNING MIGRATION AND SPAWNING OF DISCOGNATHUS MULLYA

entire bottom of the rapid to the atmosphere.
The whole area was however wet and the under-
lying mud and sand held a good amount of
water, thus not allowing the bottom to dry up.
When the decaying vegetation and boulders
were removed, it was a pleasant surprise to
find that the hundreds of eggs lying beneath
them had well developed embryos, which show-
ed normal movements. A good harvest of em-
bryos was made. The eggs showed a high degree
of adhesiveness and clumped together when
held in the hand. Eggs with live embryos were

R E F E ]

Brian Stott (1971) : Marking and tagging, IBP
Hand Book No. 3 pp 78-92, Methods for assessment
of fish production in fresh waters — (Ed) W. E.
Ricker.

Cadwallader, P. L. (1976) : Homage range and
movements of the common river Galaxias, Galaxias
vulgaris Stokell (Pisces: Salmoniformes) , in the

Glentui river, New Zealand. Aus. J. mar. Freshwater
Res. 27: 23-33.

taken from the rapid along with some stream
water and detritus, and were brought to the
laboratory. They were left inside large, well-
aerated tanks to observe their further develop-
ment. Unfortunately they survived for only a
few hours.

Ack no wledge m e n ts

One of us (L.J.) is grateful to Mr. M. Maru-
thanathan for accompanying him throughout
the work at Ulakkaruvi in spite of the hard-
ships of travel in the hills.

EN CES

Hora, S. L. (1921) : Indian Cyprinoid fishes be-
longing to the genus Garra (with notes on related
species from other countries). Rec. Ind. Mus. 22:
633-687.

Jones, S. (1941) : An interesting case of migra-
tion of the stone licking fish, Garra mullya (Sykes)
for breeding. Current Science X: 445-446.

Nikolsky, G. V. (1963) : The Ecology of Fishes.
Academic Press, London. New York.

85

OBSERVATIONS ON THE MOVEMENT OF TWO
CAPTIVE-REARED MUGGER CROCODILES,
CROCODYLUS PALUSTRIS LESSON WHEN RETURNED

TO THE WILD1

Lala A. K. Singh2

Two mugger crocodiles, at six-months age and 56.9 and 54.3 cm size escaped from
captivity at GRACU into the river Mahanadi during October 1975. The maximum
distance moved during the first three months after escape was 4.0 km and during the
entire observation period of 18 months was 10.8 km. Growth of these mugger in the
wild was similar to the ones in captivity. It is recommended that mugger when reach

a size of about 55 cm can be rehabilitated ii

Introduction

In August 1975 the Gharial Research and
Conservation Unit, Tikerpada received fifteen
mugger crocodiles ( Crocodylus palustris
Lesson) from Tamil Nadu. Of these fifteen
mugger, five hatchlings were collected from
Hogenakal waterfall on Cauvery River in
Dharmapuri district, five were collected from
Kedarhali stream on Moyar River in Nilgiri
district and five had hatched in captivity from
eggs laid by parents collected from Mettur Dam
of Salem district and captive reared in the
Madras Snake Park.

Since the mugger varied in size even within
the individual group, they were sorted out ac-
cording to size and kept in three different pools,
five per pool. Pools were 2 m x 2 m x 30 cm
in size with a slope of 1.3 on one side and
with one metre width sand area on all the sides
for basking. Ample vegetation was provided as
cover to give a feeling of security to the ani-
mals. The pools were covered by wire-mesh on

1 Accepted November 1981.

2 Gharial Research and Conservation Unit, Tiker-
pada 759 122, Orissa, India.

the wild for conservation purposes,

the sides and roof. Adjacent pools were separat-
ed by 50 cm vertical wire-mesh partitions.

All mugger had the habit of moving, during
the night, along the side of the enclosure facing
the river (River Mahanadi), flowing at a dis-
tance of about 40 metres on the west. Presu-
mably this resulted from their water orientation
behaviour, as reported for gharial, Gavialis
gangeticus (Gmelin) (Singh 1978).

On 29th October 1975, two mugger juveniles
of average size from the largest group escaped
by breaking through a rusted portion of the
wire-mesh enclosure at a height of 15 cm above
the ground. Interestingly, the side through
which the mugger had escaped faced the river.
This information has been published earlier
(Singh 1976) but in the present paper observa-
tions relating to the detection of these mugger
in the Satkoshia Gorge of Mahanadi and the
subsequent movements executed by these juve-
niles on the next eighteen months in the wild
are discussed. It is to be noted that according
to a survey made earlier by Bustard (FAO
1974) and the author (unpublished data) the
Satkoshia Gorge had seven wild gharial and
seven wild mugger. None of the wild mugger
were of sizes similar to the ones escaped from

86

MOVEMENT OF CAPTIVE REARED CROCODILES

captivity. Furthermore, observations made by
ten Gharial Guards regularly patrolling the
river by boat had no report of any other mug-
ger of this size during their observations through
eighteen months.

Observations

Exactly one month after their escape, at
about 1 . 5 km downstream from the Unit, a
crocodilian track and a faecal pellet were de-
tected on a rocky shore having an interspersed
thick deposition of clay. Nature of the spoor,
and size of the pug marks and the faecal pellet
indicated that the animal that had come out
to the spot for basking was a 0.5 m long
mugger crocodile (Unpubl. MS.). Since the
Gorge didn’t have any of its recorded mugger
of this size the findings suggested that perhaps
both the mugger escaped out from the Unit had
come into the Gorge. In confirmation to this
assumption, the length of these two escaped-
juveniles, taken six days before the detection
of their escape, was 56.9 cm for one and 54.3
cm for the other.

A week later, two mugger were sighted at
this locality both by the fishermen and the
Gharial Guards. One of these juveniles moved
to the opposite bank, later followed by the
second one, and remained near the mouth of
a stream that drains off into the river. At that
time of the year (March) the spot receives a
slow stream of water and it forms an ideal place
to harbour a large number of fishes in small
pools among half submerged rocks. Observa-
tions subsequent to these (25th December 1975
to 9th June 1977) are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 does not show the movements sepa-
rately for these two juveniles; yet a close study
of the data shows that after remaining near
the nullah for sometime, both the juveniles
moved downstream and then separated, one

Date-wise

Table 1

SIGHTINGS OF THE MUGGER JUVENILES IN

Satkoshia Gorge

Date

Location

Water level in
cm (height
above datum)

25.12.75

14.4*

+10.5

30.12.75

14.4

+19.0

4.1.76

14.4

+ 8.5

24.1.76

13.2

+10.5

16.2.76

17.2*

+ 7.0

27.3.76

17.2*

+ 2.0

3.4.76

16.0

+ 1.0

18.5.76

9.6

0

25.6.76

9.6

—14.0

26.7.76

9.0

+622.5

5.8.76

11.2

+640.5

16.8.76

14.0

+954.0

26.8.76

9.6

+534.5

1.9.76

9.6

+511.5

11.9.76

9.6

+425.5

14.9.76

16,0

+454.5

15.9.76

14.0

+477.5

17.9.76

16.0

+256.5

3.10.76

14.0

+60.0

14.10.76

17.6*

+47.0

27.10.76

16.0

+30.0

16.11.76

17.2*

+16.0

24.11.76

16.0

— 3.0

12.12.76

9.6

—16.0

15.12.76

9.6

—16.0

29.12.76

11.2

—26,0

3.1.77

9.6

—23.0

8.1.77

9.6

—14.0

11.1.77

11.2

— 7.0

26.1.77

16.0

—16.0

2.2.77

15.0

—14.0

9.2.77

15.0

+30.0

2.3.77

10.0

+17.0

8.3.77

11.2

+ 9.0

16.3.77

11.2

+22.0

1.4.77

11.2

+17.0

2.4.77

11.2

+12.0

19.4.77

14.4

— 9.0

23.4.77

8.0

—19.0

24.4.77

9.6

—15.0

2.5.77

(10.30 a.m.) 11.2

— 2.0

87

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

2.5.77

(11.30 a.m.) 16.0

2.0

7.5.77

17.6

—14.0

9.5.77

6.8

—10.0

14.5.77

8.0

— 17.0

Upto 9.6.77 no more sightings.

having moved upstream and the other moving
further downstream. The numbers denoted in
the Table for different localities refer to the
distance of the place from the foot of the gorge.
When the place is on the right bank, if viewed
from downstream, the number is followed by
an asterisk (*). The numbers in the column
showing water level shows the height of the
water level above the datum on the particu-
lar date at a time close to the time of sighting.
During the period of observations, the highest
flood was 1323 cm above the datum on 14th
August 1976.

During the eighteen months observation re-
corded in Table 1, there were 22 sightings
recorded between the places 14.0 to 17.6, and
23 sightings recorded between 6.8 and 11.2.
These data clearly form two different sets of
observations, apparently denoting the approxi-
mate areas occupied by the two juveniles. The
location from which the juveniles had escaped
was near 17.5*. The observations recorded on
11th September 1976 followed by the observa-
tion on 14th September 1976, and the observa-
tion on 7th May 1977 followed by the
observation on 9th May provide further
evidence to support the view that the two juve-
niles had occupied two different areas separat-
ed by a distance of 3-11 km. The most
convincing evidence, however, is that recorded
on 2nd May 1977. On that day one of the
juveniles was sighted at 11.2 and the other was
sighted at 16.0. The time lapse between the
two observations was only an hour.

Irrespective of the fact about which particu-
lar juvenile was sighted, the number of sightings

were 2 each during the months December 1975
and January 1976. From February 1976 to
July 1976 there were only one sighting a month.
During 1976 monsoon the sightings were more
— August 3, September 5 and October 3. From
November 1976 to February 1977 the sightings
were 2, 3, 4 and 2 respectively. During the
summer months of March 1977 to May 1977
the sightings were 3, 5 and 5 respectively.

When these mugger were last observed, they
were of the size of our average captive juveniles
among the largest ones of the remaining thir-
teen, and they had a definitely slim body when
compared to the girth attained in captivity. The
length and the weight of the five large juveniles
among the remaining thirteen in early May
1977 are given in Table 2.

Table 2

Length and weight of the five large captive
MUGGER MEASURED DURING EARLY MAY 1977
(age 25 month)

SI. no.

Length in m

Weight in kg

1

1.40

14.6

2

1.45

16.9

3

1.54

20.9

4

1.56

20.9

5

1.16

9.8

Discussion

Table 1 shows that after escape, between
the period 25th December 1975 and 3rd April
1976, the maximum distance moved by the two
animals was 4.0 km and during the entire
eighteen months the movement was through a
maximum distance of 10.8 km.

The two different localities occupied by the
two juveniles are small stretches of the river,
probably because the mugger, if receiving all
their requirements, show very restrictive move-

88

MOVEMENT OF CAPTIVE REARED CROCODILES

ments, as is observed in the Satkoshia Gorge fc
its resident adults. To give an example, during
1975 winter an adult mugger estimated to be
about 3 m long had dug a tunnel near 6 . 8 and
in the following winter the same mugger had
dug the tunnel near about 7.0* in the opposite
bank.

It is noteworthy that these two escaped
mugger maintained in the wild the normal
growth rates (length) of their captive groups.
However, as is normally the case with captive
crocodilians the latter were considerably stockier
than the wild ones.

Since 1975 Government of India has been
offering assistance to several State Crocodile
Projects in order to conserve the remaining wild
populations of all three species of Indian croco-
dilians Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin), Croco-
dylus palustris (Lesson) and Crocodylus poro-
sus (Schneider). In order to restore good popu-
lations in the wild within a short period of time,
grow and release techniques are carried out
(Bustard in FAO 1975). This technique involves
collection of wild -laid eggs, hatchery incubation,
rearing the hatchlings in captivity and ultimately
rehabilitating the young in suitable protected
areas. Rearing of mugger is easy compared to
the more delicate gharial. Moreover, mugger
juveniles appear to be much more resistant to
disease than gharial juveniles. Mugger, how-
ever, consume much more food than equal
sized gharial (Singh 1978). This, therefore,
makes it important to determine a suitable
release size for mugger in order to minimise
expenditure on husbandry.

When the mugger had escaped at that time

the flood level was 169 cm above the datum
(29th October 1975) and the animals were only
six months old. Their escape was soon after-
wards followed by the winter, and the highest
flood (1323 cm: August 1976) came when the
mugger reached an age of sixteen months.
These observations suggest that mugger of
about half a metre length can be released at
an age of six months and will readily adapt to
the changing conditions of the river. However,
the main criterion should be the size of the
mugger, not the age. Growth of crocodilians is
greatly dependent upon food and temperature
besides best husbandry conditions. Therefore,
in rehabilitation programmes these factors
should be maximum to achieve best growth
and thus release the animals into the wild as
quickly as possible thereby minimising expense
and also possible changes in behaviour. It is
observed that during the time of high flood
the crocodilians go into the side tributaries or
the backwater areas. The Satkoshia Gorge has
a number of such places. For that reason it
was possible for the juveniles to withstand such
high flood, and this also recommends for selec-
tion of releasing sites with good zones for
retreat during the flood.

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge the help received from
Orissa Forest Department (Crocodile Project),
Government of India and FAO /UNDP. Dr. H.
R. Bustard, Chief Technical Adviser to Gov-
ernment of India provided necessary guidance
during the course of the study and preparation
of the reports.

89

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

References

Cott, H. B. (1961) : Scientific results of an inquiry
into the ecology and economic status of the Nile
Crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ) in Uganda and
Northern Rhodesia. Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. 29 (4) :
211-356.

F. A. O. (1974): India: A preliminary survey of
the prospects for crocodile farming. Based on the

work of H. R. Bustard. FO: IND/71/033. pp. i-iii+
1-66.

Singh, L. A. K. (1976) : Back to the wild. Cheetal
18 (1, 2) : 22-24.

— (1978) : Ecological Studies on the

Indian gharial Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin) (Repti-
lia, Crocodilia). Ph.D. thesis, Utkal University,
Bhubaneswar, pp. i-xvi+1-325.

90

RECORDS OF MESOSTIGMATA, EREYNETIDAE AND
PTERYGOSOMIDAE (ACARINA) IN WESTERN
HIMALAYAS, SIKKIM AND HILL DISTRICTS OF
WEST BENGAL1

H. R. Bhat, S. M. Kulkarni and
A. C Mishra2

During a survey of haematophagous arthropods in the western Himalayas, Himalayan
districts of West Bengal and Sikkim, between 1966 and 1970 a large number of
Mesostigmatid, Ereynetid and Pterygosomid mites were collected. They represent 10
families, 23 genera and 54 species. Eighteen of them are new records to India and
seventeen await description. They are recorded in this communication with additional
notes on their ecogeographic distribution.

Introduction

Parasitic Mesostigmata, Ereynetidae and
Pterygosomidae are very little known groups of
ectoparasites in India. A thorough faunistic
study has been still pending. The known species
are very small in number, and the available
information deals either with the records of
small number of species come across during
ectoparasitic surveys (Mehta 1937, Mitchell et
al 1966, Wattall et al 1965, 1967a and b),
description of new species (Hirst 1921, Rad-
ford 1941, 1947, 1953), or inclusion of Indian
species in the faunistic reviews of the group
(Strandtmann and Wharton 1958). The last
authors record only 12 species from India under
Mesostigmata. Allred’s (1969) list of 39 species
of mites infesting rodents in the northern part
of Kashmir and Prasad’s (1974) list of 17
species infesting rodents in Nepal throw some
light on the group elsewhere in India, particu-
larly the western and central Himalayas.

1 Accepted November 1980.

2 National Institute of Virology, Indian Council of
Medical Research, Pune, India.

The Mesostigmatid mites infesting bats form
a distinct group themselves. The literature on
this group, particularly on the families Macro-
nyssidae and Spinturnicidae deals very little
with Indian species, except a monograph on bat
parasites by Hiregaudar and Bal (1956), which
lists only eleven species. The revisions of
Macronyssidae and Laelapidae of bats by
Radovsky (1967) and Spinturnicidae by
Rudnick (1960) add very little to the Indian
species.

The families Ereynetidae and Pterygosomidae
are also very little studied in India. The 699
species of mites listed by Prasad (1974) in his
Catalogue of mites of India is poorly repre-
sented by mites associated with vertebrates,
particularly the mesostigmatid mites, as com-
pared to our rich reptilian, bird and mamma-
lian fauna.

The present communication deals with Meso-
stigmatid, Ereynetid and Pterygosomid mites
collected as ectoparasites from Mammals, Birds
and Reptiles during a haematophagous arthro-
pod survey conducted in western Himalayan
region, Sikkim and Himalayan districts of West
Bengal, between 1966 and 1970, under the

91

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

auspices of Indian Council of Medical Re-
search (Ramachandra Rao et al. 1973). The
collection represents 23 genera and 54 species
belonging to 10 families, 18 of which are new
records to India and 17 need description. Per-
haps this is the largest collection of Mesostig-
matid mites ever made in India. Each species
is recorded here with additional notes on
ecology.

Material and Methods

The material was collected as ectoparasites
from small mammals, birds and reptiles. The
small mammals were trapped in wire cage
traps, popularly known as wonder traps and
portable Sherman traps which were set up in
different habitats. A few animals were also
collected by shooting. The birds and bats were
collected by trapping them in mist nets. Some
specimens of birds were also collected by shoot-
ing. A few specimens of reptiles were collected
by beating them with stick.

Each animal trapped was put inside a plastic
bag and killed with chloroform vapour. The
killed animal was wrapped in white lint cloth
and held for four to six hours. Every animal
was given a field number and entered in a field
register giving details of the species, sex, date
and locality of collection. The mites were comb-
ed out along with other ectoparasites and pre-
served in 70 per cent alcohol. Each sample was
given an arthropod collection card number and
entered in a specially designed card giving all
the collection data. As much care was taken
as possible to avoid the mixing of mites from
different individual hosts or contamination at
the time of brushing and preserving.

A few collections of mites were also obtained
from the habitats of the hosts.

Representative specimens of each species of
small mammals were skinned and the skins and

skulls were preserved for confirming the identity
and further reference. Bird and bat specimens
were skinned and stuffed while reptiles were
preserved in formalin or as dry specimens.

The mite specimens were partially cleared in
10 per cent KOH and mounted in Hoyer’s
medium. The mounted specimens were identi-
fied under the microscope. The small mammals
were identified on the basis of classification by
Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) and
Ellerman (1961) and the identity of the birds
were determined on the basis of Fauna of
British India volumes and according to Ripley
(1961).

Inspite of utmost care, due to large body of
collections there is every possibility of conta-
mination while processing a large number of
hosts at a time and error in determining the
identity of the host specimens, particularly the
juveniles.

RESULTS

A. Systematic list of mites collected

Order ACARINA
Suborder mesostigmata Canestrini, 1891
Cohort gamasina Leach, 1815
Family Laelapidae Berlese, 1892
Genus Androlaelaps Berlese, 1903

1 . Androlaelaps aduncus Allred, 1969

2. Androlaelaps casalis (Berlese, 1887)

3. Androlaelaps marshalli Berlese, 1911

4. Androlaelaps zuluensis (Zumpt, 1950)

5. Androlaelaps sp.

Genus Hypoaspis Canestrini, 1884

6. Hypoaspis pavlovskii (Bregetova, 1955)

7. Hypoaspis miles (Berlese, 1892)

Genus Laelaps Koch, 1836

8. Laelaps agilis Koch, 1836

9. Laelaps algericus Hirst, 1925

10. Laelaps buxtoni Radford, 1941

11. Laelaps jugalis Allred, 1969

12. Laelaps nuttalli Hirst, 1916

13. Laelaps traubi Domrow, 1962

14. Laelaps turkestanicus Lange, 1955

92

RECORDS OF AC ARINA IN HIMALAYAS

15.

16.

17.

Genus

18,

Family

Genus

19.

Genus

20.
21.
22.

23.

Genus

24.

Genus

25.

Genus

26.

27.

28.

29.

Genus

30.

31.

Family

Genus

32.

33.

Genus

34.

35.

Family

Genus

36.

Family

Genus

37.

38.

Genus

39.

40.

Family

Genus

41.

Family

Genus

Lae laps sp. 1
Laelaps sp. 2
Laelaps sp. 3
Echinolaelaps Ewing, 1929
Echinolaelaps echidninus Berlese, 1887
Macronyssidae Oudemans, 1936
Macronyssus Kolenati, 1858
Macronyssus kumaonicus Bhat, 1973
Omithonyssus Sambon, 1928
Omithonyssus bacoti (Hirst, 1913)
Omithonyssus bursa (Berlese, 1888)
Omithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini and
Fanzago, 1877)

Omithonyssus sp.

Sauronyssus Sambon, 1928
Sauronyssus sp.

Hirstionyssus Fonseca, 1948
Hirstionyssus musculi (Johnston, 1849)
Steatonyssus Kolenati, 1858
Steatonyssus javensis javensis Oudemans,
1914.

Steatonyssus sp. 1
Steatonyssus sp. 2
Steatonyssus sp. 3

Pellonyssus Clark and Yunker, 1956
Pellonyssus passeri Yunker, 1956
Pellonyssus sp.

Dermanyssidae Kolenati, 1859
Liponyssoides Hirst, 1913
Liponyssoides muris (Hirst, 1913)
Liponyssoides sanguineus (Hirst, 1914)
Dermanyssus Duges, 1834
Dermanyssus gallinae (DeGeer 1778)
Dermanyssus sp.

Myonyssidae Strandtman and Wharton,
1958

Myonyssus Tiraboschi, 1904
Myonyssus sp.

Haemogamasidae Oudemans, 1926
Eulaelaps Berlese, 1903
Eulaelaps indiscretus Allred, 1969
Eulaelaps stabularis (Koch, 1836)
Haemogamasus Berlese, 1889
Haemogamasus nidiformis Bregetova, 1955
Haemogamasus gyrinodes Allred, 1969
Rhinonyssidae Trouessart, 1895
Tinaminyssus Strandtmann and Wharton,
1958

Tinaminyssus sp.

Spinturnicidae Oudemans, 1901
Spinturnix von Heyden, 1826

42. Spinturnix pindarensis Bhat, 1973

43. Spinturnix plecotinus (C. L. Koch, 1839)

44. Spinturnix sp.

Genus Paraperiglischrus Rudnick, 1960

45. Paraperiglischrus rhinolophinus (C. L.
Koch, 1841)

46. Paraperiglischrus sp.

Genus Ancystropus Kolenati, 1856

47. Ancystropus eonycteris Delfinado and
Baker, 1963

48. Ancystropus kanheri Hiregaudar and Bal,
1956

49. Ancystropus taprobanicus (Turk, 1950)

50. Ancystropus zeleborii Kolenati, 1856
Genus Meristaspis Kolenati, 1857

51. Meristaspis lateralis (Kolenati, 1856)
Family Macrochelidae Vitzthum, 1930
Genus N othroholaspis Berlese, 1903

52. Northroholaspis sp.

Suborder trom bidiformes Reuter, 1909
Family Ereynetidae Oudemans, 1931
Genus Boydaia Womersley, 1953

53. Boydaia sp.

Family Pterygosomidae Oudemans, 1910
Genus Pterygosoma Peters, 1849

54 . Pterygosoma sp.

B. Records and notes

The detailed host and locality records for
each species together with taxonomic and gene-
ral ecological notes are given below in a syste-
matic sequence. The altitudes given are
approximate.

1. Androlaelaps adunais
Described and recorded from Tat era indica
from several localities in Pakistan (Allred
1969).

Present records :

Host and Habitat

No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus
gangutrianus
Tatera indica
Mus platythrix
Suncus murinus
Rodent burrow

1 1 9

1 1 cf, 1 9 . IN

1 6c?, 69. IN

1 1 9

1 29

93

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Kangra :
Nurpur (580 m) Uttar Pradesh : Naini Tal :
Garjia (450 m); Pauri : Dalmisain (900 m);
Dehra Dun: Ramgarh (620 m). Sikkim: Shyari
at Gangtok (1350 m).

Notes: These are the first records of this
species from India.

The generic differentiation of Androlaelaps
Berlese, 1903, Haemolaelaps Berlese, 1910 and
Hypoaspis Canestrini, 1884 is still under con-
troversy (Allred 1970). In this communication
the genera and species of Androlaelaps and
Hypoaspis are sorted out on the basis of the
keys provided by Allred (1969).

2. Androlaelaps casalis

Cosmopolitan, recorded from a wide variety
of birds and mammals and from straw, hay,
and detritus (Strandtmann and Wharton 1958).
Earlier the species was recorded from Mus
musculus at Kanha National Park, Madhya
Pradesh (Mitchell et al. 1966).

Present records :

Host

No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Mus musculus

2 2$

Suncus murinus

3 5$

Localities : Jammu & Kashmir : Baramulla :
Sopore (1630 m); Dehari (750 m); Rajouri :
Naushera (750 m). Plimachal Pradesh: Mahasu:
Bhadras (1300 m). Sikkim: Shyari at Gangtok.
Notes: First record from Suncus murinus.

3. Androlaelaps marshalli
Recorded earlier from Pakistan (Allred 1969).
Present records:

Host and Habitat No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Mus platythrix 1 7 $

Patera indica 3 9 $

Rodent burrow 1 1 $

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Rajauri:
Naushera. Himachal Pradesh: Kangra: Nurpur.
Uttar Pradesh: Dehra Dun: Ramgarh; Tehri:
Munikireti (450 m).

Notes: First record from India.

4. Androlaelaps zuluensis

Recorded earlier from Pakistan (Allred 1969).
Present records:

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus

1

1 $

Mus platythrix

1

19

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Udhampur:
Udhampur (750 m). Uttar Pradesh: Tehri:
Ghonti (900 m).

Notes: First record from India.

5. Androlaelaps sp.

Apparently a new species related to Andro-
laelaps casalis.

Records :

Host and Habitat

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus
gangutrianus

26

5cf , 48 9 , 5N

Rattus rattus
brunneusculus

2

49

Rattus nitidus

1

19

Rattus rattoides

2

29

Rattus fulvescens

1

IN

Rattus sp.

3

6c?, 3 9

Rattus ( Millardia )
meltada

1

2 9, IN

Mus platythrix

1

1 9

Mus musculus

6

7 9, IN

Mus sp.

2

29

Suncus murinus

10

12 9

Rodent burrow

1

29

94

RECORDS OF AC ARINA IN HIMALAYAS

Localities: Jammu Sc Kashmir: Udhampur :
Dehari; Doda : Bhadarwah (1800 m); Rajauri :
Naushera. Himachal Pradesh : Kulu: Bhuin
(1100 m), Hurla (1000 m), Larji (1000 m);
Mahasu : Dukolad (1000 m); Bilaspur : Deoli
(510 m); Kangra : Baijnath (1350 m), Nurpur;
Chamba : Krain (900 m), Chamba. Uttar
Pradesh : Nam/ Pal : Bilaspur at Bhim Tal
(1450 m), Dugada (750 m), Haldwani (420
m), Basutia (750 m), Garjia, Ranibag (700
m); Almora : Sukhidhang (1400 m), Chalthi
(750 m); Pithoragarh : Aat (950 m); Chamoli :
Bagrigad (1850 m), Didoli (900 m); Dehra
Dun : Ramgarh, Sahasradhara (900 m) : Tehri :
Munikireti; Uttarkashi : Sukrala (1400 m).
JTes? Bengal : Darjeeling : Tashiding (450 m);
Jalpaiguri : Chunabhatti (180 m). Sikkim :

Shyari at Gangtok.

Notes: The species comes close to Androlae-
laps casalis (Berlese, 1887), but differs by hav-
ing metapodal plate less than two times as long
as wide; which in A casalis is three times as
long as wide.

6. Hypoaspis pavlovskii

Recorded earlier from Pakistan (Allred
1969).

Present records:

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus
gangutrianus

7

7$

Rattus rattoides

3

3$

Rattus sp.

2

3$

Apodemus flavicollis

5

8$

Mus musculus

1

1 $

S uncus murinus

1

1 $

Localities : Jammu &

Kashmir :

Khilani (1400 m). Himachal Pradesh: Lahul
& Sp/tf: Keylong (3250 m); Kulu: Bhuin;
Kangra: Baijnath; Kinnaur: Sangla (2700 m).

Rakcham (3120 m), Chitkul (3400 m). Uttar
Pradesh: Naini Tal: Mukteshwar (2150 m),
Latoli (1800 m), Dugada; Almora: Kalika at
Ranikhet (1800 m); Chamoli: Gwaldam (1900
m); Dehra Dun: Asarodi (700 m), Mussoorie
(2000 m); Uttarkashi (1000 m).

Notes: First records from India.

7. Hypoaspis miles

Recorded earlier from Pakistan (Allred
1969).

Present records:

Host No.

of coll.

Specimens coll.

Mus musculus

3

2$, IN

Suncus murinus

1

3 $ , 2N

Herpestes edwardsi

1

1 $

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Udham-
pur: Phalata (710 m), Dehari; Rajauri: Nau-
shera. Himachal Pradesh: Mahasu: Pipty at
Rampur (1100 m), Ratanadi at Baghi (2700
m).

Notes: First records from India.

8. Laelaps agilis

The species is known to be distributed in
Europe and USSR on Apodemus, Clethriono-
mys and Tal pa (Strandtmann and Wharton
1958). Also recorded from Turkey on Apode-
mus, Cricetulus and Mus (Garret and Allred
1971).

Present records:

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Apodemus

flavicollis

126

183 c?, 1045 $ ,

Mus musculus

4

88N

2c?,30$,3N

Rattus rattoides

2

5$

Alticola roylei

2

3 $

Crocidura sp.

2

3$

95

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir : Ladakh :
Kargil (2700 m), Brass (3200 m), Fraw (3200
m), Baru (3200 m), Leh (3500 m). Baramulla :
Chektreran (2250 m), Chetternar (2000 m); Sri-
nagar: Sonamarg (2750 m); Anantnag: Pehalgam
(2450 m). Himachal Pradesh: Chamba: Kaia-
top (2450 m), Surkhigalli (1650 m), Thirot
(3150 m), Tindi (2500 m); Lahul & Spiti:
Kelong, Sissu (3120 m), Yongkirting (2800
m); Kulu: Kothi (2460 m); Kinnaur: Kalpa
(2750 m), Sangla, Rakcham, Chitkul; Mahasu:
Ratanadi at Baghi. Uttar Pradesh: Pit hor agar h:
Milam (3540 m), Relkote (3000 m); Chamoli:
Badrinath (3170 m); Uttarkashi: Harsil (2600
m), Choolmie (2750 m).

Notes: Allred (1969) recorded Laelaps pav-
lovskyi Zachvatkin, 1948 from Pakistan. His
further comparative studies of L. pavlovskyi
and L. agilis from Turkey led him to the pre-
sumption that the two species are synonymous,
and represent only intra-specific variant as is
typical with several other species of Laelaps
(Garrett and Allred 1971). The senior author
of the present paper has examined USSR speci-
mens of both the species, L. agilis from Apode-
mus flavicollis and L. pavlovskyi from A.
agrarius. The species appear to be quite dis-
tinct and associated with A. flavicollis and A.
agrarius respectively. The specimen of L.
pavlovskyi differs from those of L. agilis main-
ly by having the posterior setal pairs on geni-
toventral plate wide apart, in addition to other
specific characters.

In the Himalayas the species has been col-
lected only in the upper temperate and alpine
zones, the ecogeographical limit of the distri-
bution of Apodemus flavicollis. This is the first
record of this mite from India.

9. Laelaps algericus

The species has been recorded from Algeria,
Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Pakistan, USSR; from

mammals of 13 genera (Strandtmann and
Wharton 1958, Garrett and Allred 1971). In
India it has been recorded from Mus booduga
and Mus musculus (Mitchell et al. 1966).
Present records:

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Mus musculus

274

19 cf ,1234 $ ,30N

Mus sp.

9

24$

Apodemus flavicollis 1

8$

Alticola roylei
Rattus rattus

1

6$

gangutrianus

2

2$

Rattus rattoides
Rattus rattus

3

3$

rufescens

5

6$

Rattus sp.

10

ldM8$

Suncus murinus

2

3$

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Ladakh:
Kargil, Baru; Shrinagar: Sonamarg; Anantnag:
Pehalgam, Mondilan (3200 m); Baramulla:
Ferozpur (2460 m), Chektreran, Sopore, Bandi-
pore (1850 m), Chetternar, Erin (2000 m),
Marder (2000 m), Rampore (1400 m); Doda:
Bhadarwah, Khilani; Udhampur: Phalata.

Himachal Pradesh: Chamba: Salooni (1770
m), Rakh (1070 m), Schuin at Bharmaur (2300
m), Bharmaur (2300 m), Gothalhu at Bhar-
maur (2150 m), Durgathi (1500 m), Tissa
(1570 m), Dikrund at Tissa (1700 m); Lahul
& Spiti: Morang (3820 m); Kangra: Dadh
(1080 m), Bagsunag (1900 m); Kulu: Bharie
at Kulu (1400 m), Bhuin, Gutkar (710 m),
Sooma (1400 m), Palchan (2350 m), Kothi at
Mandi, Hurla, Kasol (1550 m), Naggar (1550
m), Jibi (1900 m), Khundan (1420 m), Larji,
Manali (1824 m), Vaishista (1820 m); Mahasu:
Pipty, Rachauli (1450 m), Dukolad, Nirith
(990 m), Khaneri (1300 m), Sarhan (2500 m),
Manjagaon (2150 m), Gangtoli & Kapoori at
Rohru (1600 m), Samoli (1700 m) & Somala

96

RECORDS OF AC ARINA IN HIMALAYAS

(1600 m) at Rohru, Kotkhai (1800 m), Chhoi
(1700 m), Darhar at Kothaki (1800 m), Gumma
(1700 m), Jugatkhana (1200 m), Bhadras,
Jeori (1400 m), Gaura, Ratanadi at Baghi,
Bhagi (2740 m), Sungri (2650 m); Kinnaur :
Jeorit, Karcham (1800 m). Uttar Pradesh :
Naini Tal : Bhim Tal (1380 m); Almora :
Sukhidhang, Silagadi (1400 m); Khati (2350
m); Pithoragarh : Kotera at Dharchula (1050
m); Chamoli : Gwaldam, Radki (750 m), Sun-
yala (1050 m), Badrinath, Joshimath (2000 m),
Sonia (900 m); Tehri : Ghansali (1050 m);
Uttarkashi : Sukhi (2650 m), Choolmie (2700
m), Kuthnaur (1600 m), Sukrala. Sikkim :
Lachung (2750 m).

10. Laelaps buxtoni

Originally described on specimens collected
from “a gerbille”, probably Tatera indica, at
Madras (Radford 1941).

Present record :

Host

No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Tatera indica

1 1$

Locality: Uttar Pradesh: Naini Tal: Garjia.
Notes: The species appears to be rare. A
dozen specimens of Tatera indica collected in
Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh were
found negative for this mite. The record
appears to be the first, subsequent to its des-
cription by Radford.

1 1 . Laelaps jugalss

Described on the basis of specimens collected
from Rattus rattus, Nesokia indica and Tatera
indica in Pakistan (Allred 1969).

Present records:

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rattus ( Millardia )

meltada 11 lc?,193$

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Udhampur:
Dehari; Rajauri: Naushera. Himachal Pradesh:
Kangra: Nurpur; Mandi: Gutkar.

Notes: First record from India and on
Rattus ( Millardia ) meltada.

12. Laelaps miftalli

Originally described on specimens collected
from R. rattus and R. norvegicus in Ceylon,
by Hirst. Subsequently it has been recorded
from several genera and species of rodents. The
preferred hosts of this mite are species of the
genus Rattus. The mite is found throughout
tropical and warm temperate zones wherever
its host is found, with the apparent exception
of Europe (Strandtmann and Wharton 1958).
Present records:

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus
gangutrianus

SI

2c?, 237 9

Rattus rattus
brunneusculus

2

1 d\ 37 $

Rattus rattus

10

1 c?, 53 9

Rattus nitidus

1

3?

Rattus ratloides

1

3$

Rattus ( Millardia )
meltada

8

4c? ,24 $, IN

Mus platythrix

1

1?

Mus sp.

1

9?

Suscus murinus

2

4$

Localities: Jammu Si Kashmir: Udhampur:
Dehari; Rajauri: Naushera. Himachal Pradesh:
Mandi: Gutkar; Kangra: Dadh, Nurpur,

Baghany (600 m); Kulu: Palcham; Bilaspur:
Deoli, Ghumarwin (740 m); Mahasu: Baghi.
Uttar Pradesh: Naini Tal: Bhim Tal, Dugada,
Basutia, Dwan (250 m), Garjia, Ranibag (650
m); Almora: Chalthi; Pithoragarh: Dharchula
(1050 m); Pauri: Raitoli (770 m), Shrinagar
(560 m), Dugadda (700 m), Dalmisain, Hanu-

97

7

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

manti (770 m); Chamoli : Radki, Sunyala,
Didoli at Sonia; Dehra Dun : Ramgarh, Barkote
(450 m), Satyanarayan (370 m), Asarodi;
Tehri : Ghansali; Uttar has hi: Sukrala.

Notes : From the record this species appears
to be distributed in the tropical and subtropical
zone only.

13. Laelaps traubi

This species was described on the basis of
specimens collected from Rattus fulvescens, R.
edwardsi, Rattus sp. and Dremomys rufigenis
from Gunong Brinchang, Camerol Highlands,
Malaya by Domrow (1962). Recently the
species was recorded from R. nitidus, R. eha,
R. fulvescens and Rattus sp. in Nepal (Prasad
1974).

Present records :

Host

No. of coll

. Specimens coll.

Rattus fulvescens

24

11 cf, 314 9 , 2N

Rattus niviv enter

10

58$

Rattus eha

2

11$

Rattus rattoides

3

7$

Rattus sp.

1

1 $

Suncus murinus

1

1$

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Kangra :
Dadh; Kulu : Jibi, Rashala (1900 m); Sirmaur :
Moginand (500 m). Uttar Pradesh: Naini Ted :
Mukteshwar; Almora: Khati, Dwali (2750 m);
Pithoragarh : Munshiari (2300 m); Chamoli :
Gwaldam, Sunilgaon at Joshimath (2300 m),
Bagrigad (1800 m); Uttar kashi : Kuthnaur.
West Bengal : Darjeeling : Kurseong (1400 m),
Jorepokhri (2350 m). Sikkim: Chungtang

(1850 m).

Notes: This is the first record from India.
The species appears to be associated with the
subgenus Myxomys of the genus Rattus. The
record from Rattus rattoides is probably due
to its overlapping distribution with the species

of Myxomys, because the specimens of R.
rattoides collected from other localities where
this subgenus was not found did not yield this
species.

14. Laelaps turkestanicus

Original description and record is based on
specimens from Rattus turkestanicus in Tadzhi-
kistan, USSR. Allred (1969) recorded it in
Pakistan and Prasad (1974) in Nepal.

Present records:

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rattus rattoides

61

4d\554$

Rattus fulvescens

17

3 cf , 252 $ , 4N

Rattus niviv enter

6

27$

Rattus eha
Rattus rattus

1

1$

gangutrianus
Rattus rattus

4

22$

rufescens

1

1 $

Rattus sp.

14

Id, 138$

Mus musculus

1

2$

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Baramulla:
Rampore; Doda: Bhadarwah. Himachal Pra-
desh: Chamba: Banikhet (1700 m), Surkhi-
galli, Kalatop; Kulu: Kothi at Manali, Palcham,
Jibi, Vaishista at Manali; Simla: Simla (2000
m); Mahasu: Sarhan, Chool, Guara, Dobhdha
(2000 m), Baghi, Sungri (2650 m); Kinnaur:
Kalpa, Sangla, Rakcham. Uttar Pradesh:
Naini Tal: Mukteshwar, Latoli; Almora:

Khati, Dwali; Pithoragarh: Kuity (1250 m),
Munshiari; Chamoli: Gwaldam, Sunilgaon,

Bagrigad, Pangarpoora (2450 m), Dogalbita
(2350 m); Dehra Dun: Mussoorie, Polu at
Mussoorie (1800 m); Tehri: Chirbatia (2450
m); Uttarkashi: Sukhi, Kuthnaur, Sukrala.
West Bengal: Darjeeling: Jorepokhri.

Notes: This is the first record from India.

98

RECORDS OF ACARINA IN HIMALAYAS

The species appears to be primarily associated
with Rattus rattoides and secondarily adapted
to the subgenus Myxomys wherever there is
geographical overlapping between rattoides and
Myxomys in the Himalayan temperate zone.
Records from other host species appear to be
spurious.

15.

Laelaps sp.

1

Records :

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Mus platythrix

13

51 $,2N

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Kangra :
Dharamashala (1250 m). Baijnath; Simla :
Malkumajara (500 m); Sirmaur : Beradwala at
Nahan (520 m), Moginand (500 m). Uttar
Pradesh : Almora : Silagadi; Pauri : Narkota
(750 m); Chamoli: Radki at Karnprayag;
Tehri : Munikireti, Ghonti.

Notes : The species closely resembles L.
algericus by heavily chitinized thickened ante-
rolateral margin of the dorsal plate, but the
specimens are much larger. The larger size and
the association with Mus platythrix distin-
guishes this species. The species awaits descrip-
tion.

16. Laelaps sp. 2

Records'.

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Golunda ellioti

6

3d1, 13 9

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir : Udham-
pur : Dehari; Rajauri : Naushera. Himachal
Pradesh: Mandi: Gutkar. Uttar Pradesh:

Pauri: Raitoli; Chamoli: Radki.

Notes: Somewhat resembles L. nuttalli, but
differs from it by having slender and longer
coxal spurs. A distinct species, apparently asso-
ciated with Golunda ellioti. The species is await-
ing description.

17. Laelaps sp. 3

Records:

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Golunda ellioti

10

Id1, 5 69

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Udhampur:
Dehari; Rajauri : Naushera. Himachal Pradesh :
Mandi: Gutkar. Uttar Pradesh: Chamoli:

Radki.

Notes: This is a distinct species awaiting
description.

18. Echinolaeps echidninus

(= Laelaps echidnina)

A cosmopolitan species found on commen-
sal Rattus ( Rattus ) spp., but occasionally found
on non-commensal species. It is not known to
bite man and is never found on birds. The re-
cords from mammals other than Rattus pro-
bably represent accidental associations (Mit-
chell et al. 1966, Strandtmann and Wharton
1958).

Present records:

Host

No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus

gangutrianus

202

10c? , 1769 $, IN

Rattus nitidus

12

82$

Rattus rattoides

1

1$

Rattus fulvescens

6

202$

Rattus rattus

5

79$

Rattus sp.
Rattus rattus

26

6^,279$

brunneusculus

4

9$

Tatera indica

2

2$

Mus musculus

2

Id1, 3$

Suncus murinus

6

9$

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Udhampur:
Phalata, Dehari; Rajauri: Naushera; Doda:

99

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Khilani. Himachal Pradesh : Kulu\ Jibi; Kan-
gra\ Dadh, Dharamshala, Nurpur, Baghany,
Dugaclda at Hamirpur (900 m); Mandi : Mandi
(1050 m); Mahasu : Jagatkhana; Bilaspur :
Ballu at Ghumarwin. Uttar Pradesh : Naini Tal :
Bhim Tal, Sat Tal (1400 m), Dugada, Basutia,
Dogaon, Nandpur (400 m), Dwan, Garjia,
Bilaspur (1400 m), Bhowali (1650 m), Ranibag;
Almora : Sukhidhang, Chalthi, Silagadi, Lohar-
khet (1750 m), Bageshwar (750 m); Pithora-
garh : Tadigaon (1550 m), Dharchula, Aat at
Gocher, Kuity, Tejam (950 m), Lilam (2000
m), Gocher (950 m), Pithoragarh (1800 m);
Pauri : Narkota, Raitoli, Gugadda, Dalmisain,
Hanumanti; Chamoli : Galdam, Radki, Sunyala,
Guliyo (1050 m), Debal (1350 m), Bagrigad.
Didoli, Sonia, Nandprayag (900 m), Phata
(1700 m); Dehra Dun : Dehra Dun (600 m),
Ramgarh, Sahasradhara, Asarodi (620 m);
Tehri : Munikireti, Ghansali; Uttar has hi:

Basunga (1050 m), Uttarkashi, Jnanasu (1050
m), Kathnaur, Sukrala. West Bengal : Darjee-
ling'. Tashiding; Jalpaiguri: Chunabhatti (170
m).

Notes: As many as 93 specimens of this mite
were collected from one individual of Rattus
rattus gangutrianus and 115 specimens from a
Rattus fulvescens.

19. Macronyssus kumaonicus

The species is new to science and was des-
cribed in a separate paper (Bhat 1973a).

20. Ornitlionyssus bacoti

A cosmopolitan mite associated with rodents,
particularly Muridae (Strandtmann and Whar-
ton 1958).

Present records:

Host and Habitat No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus

gangutrianus

14

7d\ 12 $ , 47N

Rattus nitidus

4

4$, IN

Rattus rattoides

9

9 $ , 23N

Rattus sp.

7

£

r-

Of

oo

Rattus niviv enter

1

IN

Rattus rattus

rufescens

5

3 cf , 1 9,4N

Bandicota bengalensis

1

4N

Aldcola roylei

1

IN

Mus musculus

11

1 cf , 8 $ , 11N

Mus platythrix

1

IN

Suncus murinus

3

3 9, IN

Chicken coops

1

1 cf, 50 9 , IN

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Ladakh:
Kargil; Baramulla: Marder, Rampore. Hima-
chal Pradesh: Chamba: Salooni, Dikrund at
Tissa, Shekari (1540 m); Kangra: Baghany,
Lad (900 m), Dugadda (900 m), Jintnu (1000
m); Kulu: Naggar, Rashala, Palchan; Mandi:
Gutkar, Jogindernagar (1250 m); Mahasu:
Sirhan Samala at Rohru (1600 m), Jagatkhana;
Bilaspur: Ballu at Ghumarwin, Bakrol (800
m); Sirmaur: Moginand (500 m). Uttar Pra-
desh: Naini Tal: Dugada, Mukteshwar;

Almora: Kalika; Pithoragarh: Aat, Milam;
Chamoli: Sinhdhara at Joshimath (1800 m),
Dogilbita, Baniakund (2500 m), Gwaldam;
Dehra Dun: Satyanarayan; Tehri: Ghansali;
Uttarkashi: Uttarkashi, Jnanasu, Sukhi, Kuth-
naur, Sukrala.

2 1 . Omithony ssus bursa

The species has been commonly known as
tropical fowl mite and is tropicopolitan in dis-
tribution. Commonly found on birds and rarely
on mammals in peridomestic surroundings
(Strandtmann and Wharton 1958).

100

RECORDS OF AC ARINA IN HIMALAYAS

Present records :

Host and Habitat No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Chicken coops

1

3$

Psittacula himalayana

2

4 $

Rattus rattoides

1

2$

Rattus rattus
gangutrianus

1

1 $

Rattus sp.

1

1 $

Dendrocitta himalayana

1

2$

Aegithalos concinna

1

1$

Zoothera sp.

1

ldU?

Localities : Jammu & Kashmir : Baramulla :
Marder. Himachal Pradesh : Chamba : Kala-
top; Mindi : Gutkar; Bhuin; Kangra;

Dugadda, Hamirpur, Lad. Uttar Pradesh :
Chamoli : Dogalbita, Baniakund.

22. Ornithonyssus sylviarum

The species has been known in the temperate
regions of all the continents on mammals and
birds (Strandtmann and Wharton 1958).
Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Pycnonotus leucogenys 1 2 $

Rat t us nitidus 1 2 $

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Mandi :

Mandi. Uttar Pradesh: Uttarkashi : Jnanasu.

Notes : This is the first record of this species
from India and appears to be rare in Indian
area.

23. Ornithonyssus sp.

The identity of 2 $ and IN collected from
Herpestes auropunctatus at Bandipore, Bara-
mulla district, Jammu & Kashmir on 2 Nov.
1969 has yet to be determined. The specimens
come close to O. bursa but differ from it by
the broader scutum.

24. Sauronyssus sp.

Records :

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Agama tuberculata

23

28c?, 4 $ , 57N

Localities: Himachal Pradesh: Kinnaur:
Wangtu (2040 m). Pooh (2700 m); Kulu:
Naggar; Mahasu: Pipty. Uttar Pradesh: Pitho-
ragarh: Lilam, Thalkedar J2600 m), Bogdyar
(2850 m), Khela (1400 m); Chamoli: Lohar-
jungdhar (2400 m).

Notes: Very little information has been avail-
able on the acarines of Indian reptiles. This is
a virgin field for acarologists.

25. Hirstionyssus mtiscuSi

The species has been known from Rodent
genera Apodemus, Clethrionomys, Microtus,
Micromys and Rattus in Europe and Asia
(Strandtmann and Wharton 1958).

Present records:

Host No.

of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rattus rattoides

11

7cT,48?, 17N

Apodemus flavicollis

57

10 <?, 211 9 ,28N

Mus musculus

23

4d\ 34 9 , 4N

Alticola roylei

10

18 9 , 12N

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Ladakh:
Kargil, Honaki (2800 m), Bodhkharbu (3250
m), Dumgal (2500 m), Drass, Fraw, Bam
(Kargil); Anantnag: Mondilan (2250 m),

Pehalgam; Baramulla: Chektreran near Tang-
marg, Rampore. Himachal Pradesh: Chamba:
Sindwadi, Tindi; Lahul & Spiti : Keylong, Chhe-
tru (3450 m), Thirot, Yongkirting (2700 m);
Kulu: Palchan; Mahasu: Jeorit, Baghi; Kin-
naur: Kalpa, Sangla, Rakcham, Chitkul. Uttar
Pradesh: Pithoragarh: Relkote, Munshiari,

Milam; Chamoli: Badrinath.

Notes: The specimens were compared with

101

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

identified material from Russia and were found
identical with them. This is the first record of
this species from India.

26. Steatonyssus javensis javensis

The species was earlier recorded from Maha-
rashtra (Prasad 1974) and Pakistan (Allred
1969).

Present record :

Host

No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Pipistrellus sp.

1 1 $ , 2N

Locality: Jammu & Kashmir : Udhampur :
Phalata.

27. Steatonyssus sp. 1

A total number of 1 1 nymphs were collected
from the following species of Chiropteran hosts.
The specific identity of the specimens could not
be determined due to the lack of adequate asso-
ciated adult material and the inadequacy of the
literature on the immature stages.

Records’.

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rhinolophus pearsoni 1 3N

Scotophilus healthi 2 1 ? , 6N

Pipistrellus mimus 2 2N

Localities: Uttar Pradesh : Naim Tal :

Haldwani, Ramnagar; Pauri : Narkota. Hima-
chal Pradesh : Simla : Malkumajara.

28.

Steatonyssus sp. 2

Present record:

Host

No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Mus platythrix

1 1$

Locality: Jammu & Kashmir : Udhampur :
Phalata.

Notes: The species could not be placed
under any known species. Apparently this is a
new taxon.

29. Steatonyssus sp. 3

Present record :

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Pipistrellus babu

1

4cf, 3 $ , 7N

Locality: Uttar Pradesh : Almora : Sukhi-
dhang.

Notes : The species closely resembles S.
javensis javensis (Oudemans, 1914), but differs
from it by having divided peritremal plate. The
earlier record of S. javensis javensis from Pipi-
strellus babu needs confirmation.

30. Pellonyssus passeri

The species was first described from Passer
domesdcus in United States (Clark and Yunker
1956).

Present records :

Host No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Passer domesdcus

3

ld\ 17 9 , 26N

Pycnonotus leucogenys

1

29

Cuculus canorus

1

1(7,29

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Ladakh:
Pratapgunj (2750 m) near Kargil. Himachal
Pradesh: Mandi: Mandi. Uttar Pradesh:

Uttarkashi: Kuthnaur, Sukrala.

Notes: The senior author of this communi-
caton has examined specimens from Ploceus
philippinus (Weaver bird) collected around
Poona and specimens of Pellonyssus passeri
collected from Passer domesdcus at College
Park, Md., U.S.A. All these specimens includ-
ing the present collections are identical and

102

RECORDS OF AC A RINA IN HIMALAYAS

they conform with the description of Pellonys-
sus passeri. This is the first record of this
species from India.

3 1 . Pellonyssus sp.

1 9 and IN, collected from a Munia
( Lonchura sp.), Phalata, Udhampur, Jammu &
Kashmir, 27 Nov. 69.

Notes : The species closely resembles P. viator
(Hirst, 1921) in many respects; but differs from
it by having proportionately longer anterior
sternal setae, which are approximately three
times longer than the length of the sternal plate.
The anterior pair of sternal setae in P. viator
is as long or slightly longer than the length of
sternal plate.

32. Liponyssoides muris

The species has been recorded from Africa
and Asia ex rodents (Strandtmann and Whar-
ton 1958).

Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus

gangutrianus 3 1 cf , 4 9 , 2N

Suncus murinus 3 3 9

Passer rutilans 1 1 9

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir : Doda :

Bhadarwah. Uttar Pradesh : Naim Tal : Nav-
kuchia Tal, Dugada; Pithoragarh : Aat, Kuity;
Dehra Dun : Satyanarayan.

Notes : The authors have examined several
other populations of this species. The species
obviously differs from Liponyssoides (= Allo-
dermanyssus) sanguineus and has a distinct
identity.

33. Liponyssoides sanguineus

A very common parasite of rodents with a
wide geographic range including North Africa,

Asia and North America (Strandtmann and
Wharton 1958). Recently it was recorded from
Pakistan (Allred 1969).

Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rattus rattus

gangutrianus

14

8c?, 18 9, 27N

Rattus rattoides

15

9 9 , 17N

Rattus nitidus

3

1 cf , 5 9

Rattus rattus

rufescens

2

1 9 , 6N

Rattus sp.

4

1 9,4N

Bandicota bengalensis

1

IN

Apodemus flavicollis

17

6c?,43 9,61N

Mus musculus

22

1 cf , 24 9 , 27N

Alitcola roylei

4

1 cT, 5 9 , 12N

Suncus murinus

7

2 cf , 6 9 , 9N

Passer domesticus

1

IN

Pycnonotus cafer

1

2N

Localities : Jammu

&

Kashmir : Ladakh:

Kargil, Dumgal, Fraw, Leh, Bodhkharbu
(3400 m); Doda : Bhadarwah, Khilani; Udham-
pur: Phalata. Himachal Pradesh : Chamba :
Rakh, Sindwadi (3000 m), Tissa; Lahul &
Spiti : Keylong, Yongkirting, Kaza (3650 m),
Morang; Kangra : Baghany, Dugadda at Hamir-
pur; Mandi: Gutkar; Simla : Simla, Dassuma-
jara, Malkumajara, Pud at Nalagarh (600 m);
Mahasu: Nirith, Sarhan, Gangtoli at Rohru,
Chool, Darhar, Jagat-Khana, Jeori, Bhagi;
Sirmur : Moginand. Uttar Pradesh: Almora:
Gania Deoli (1800 m); Chamoli: Guliyo,
Dogalbita; Dehra Dun: Satyanarayan; Tehri:
Ghansali; Uttarkashi: Jnanasu.

34. Dermanyssus gallinae

The common fowl mite found in temperate
and tropical zones. Apparently an obligate
parasite of birds (Strandtmann and Wharton
1958).

103

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Passer domesticus

2

2$

Par us major

1

2$

Rattus sp.

1

1$

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir : Ladakh :
Pratapgunj (2700 m), Kargil. Himachal Pra-
desh: Chamba: Pukhri (1150 m).

35. Deraianyssus sp.

1 $ ex Dendrocopos auriceps was collected
at Naggar, Kulu Dist., Himachal Pradesh on
20 Apr. 1968. The identity of the specimen has
not yet been determined.

36. Myonyssus sp.

A single female specimen was collected from
Ochotona roylei at Salgran (2650 m), Chamba
Dist., Himachal Pradesh on 20 Sept. 1968.

37. Eulaelaps indlscretus

This species was described ex Apodemus
flavicollis, Crocidura sp. and Rattus from
Pakistan by Allred (1969).

Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rattus rattoides

2

1 d\ 7 9

Rattus fulvescens

1

1 $

Apodemus flavicollis

31

3 <5\ 78 9

Alticola roylei

1

1 9

Suncus murinus

1

1 $

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir : Baramulla:
Rampore. Himachal Pradesh : Chamba : Tindi;
Mahasu : Ratanadi at Baghi, Sungri; Kinnaur :
Sangla, Rakcham, Chitkul. Uttar Pradesh :
Naini Tal : Mukteshwar; Pauri: Dogadda;

Chamoli : Badrinath.

Notes : The species has a wide ecological
range from tropical to alpine in distribution.
This is the new record in India.

38. Eulaelaps stabularis

This is the oldest known species under the
genus. The species has a very wide distribu-
tion and has been recorded from North Africa,
Europe, Asia and North America. The record-
ed hosts include several species of rodents, in-
sectivores and birds (Strandtmann and Whar-
ton 1958).

Present records :

Host & habitat No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rattus rattoides

9

Id, 13$

Rattus rattus
Rattus rattus

2

3$

gangutrianus
Rattus rattus

1

19

rufescens

Rattus {Millar dia)

1

19

melt ad a

1

1 9

Bandicota bengalensis

1

19

Apodemus flavicollis

20

3d, 27 9

Mus musculus

24

30 9

Mus platythrix

1

19

Mus sp.

1

1 9

Alticola roylei

4

49

Suncus murinus

1

29

Cattle shed

3

Id, 149, 13N

Localities: Jammu Si Kashmir : Ladakh :
Kargil, Dumgal, Drass; Anantnag : Pehalgam;
Baramulla : Rampore, Chektreran, Sopore,

Marder; Doda : Bhadarwah, Khilani; Ud ham-
pur: Dehari. Himachal Pradesh: Chamba:

Salooni, Tindi; Lahul & Spiti : Keylong, Thirot,
Chhetru; Kangra: Baijnath; Kulu: Palchan at
Manali, Naggar, Largi; Mahasu: Pipty and
Rachauli near Rampur, Dukolad, Khotkai,
Chool near Khotkai, Ratanadi near Baghi, Sun-

104

RECORDS OF AC A RINA IN HIMALAYAS

gri, Baghi; Kinnaur: Sangla, Baring-Suring near
Sangla (2700 m), Chitkul, Rakcham. Uttar
Pradesh : Naim Tal : Mukteshwar; Pauri :

Dogadda; Chamoli : Badrinath.

Afote: This is the new record in India.

39. Haemogamasiis gyrinodes

The species was described from Pakistan ex
Alticola roylei.

Present record : 1 9 , ex Apodemus flavicollis,
Chitkul (3400 m), Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh,
22 June 1970.

Note : This is the new record of this mite in
India.

40. Haemogamasiis nidiforaies

The species was described and recorded from
Europe and Asia — U.S.S.R., ex Microtus
gregalis by Eregetova (Strandtmann and Whar-
ton 1958). Recorded from Pakistan by Allred
(1969) and from Turkey by Garrett and Allred
(1971).

Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rattus rattoides

3

69

Rat t us fulvescens

1

1 9

Alticola roylei

1

1 9

Apodemus flavicollis

5

7 9 5 IN

Mus musculus

1

19

Ochotona roylei

1

IN

Suncus murinus

1

1 cf , 2 9

Crocidura sp.

1

19

Localities: Jammu & Kashmir: Baramulla :
Chektreran. Himachal Pradesh : Kulu : Vai-
shista at Manali; Lahul & Spiti: Chhetru,
Thirot; Mahasu : Ratanadi at Baghi, Kinnaur :
Sangla, Chitkul. Uttar Pradesh : Naim Tal :
Mukteshwar, Latoli, Pithoragarh : Milan;

Chamoli : Dogalbita, Baniakund.

Note : This is the new record in India.

41. Tinaminyssus sp.

Very little information is available on the
Rhinonyssid mites of Indian birds. The field
remains open for the acarologists.

Present record :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Psittacula cyanocephala 1 10 9

Garrulax erythrccephala 1 3 9

Localities: Himachal Pradesh: Mandi:

Gutkar, on 21 May ’67. Uttar Pradesh:
Chamoli: Wan (2500 m), on 18 Oct. ’67.

42. Spinturnix pindarensis

The species was described on the specimens
collected from Myotis siligorensis in Kumaon
and Garhwal regions of Uttar Pradesh during
the present survey (Bhat 1973b).

Additional records:

Host No.

of coll.

Specimens coll.

Myotis siligorensis

2

Id1, 29, IN

Nyctalus leisleri

1

Id'

Localities: Himachal Pradesh: Kulu: Kothi.
Uttar Pradesh: Chamoli: Dogalbita.

Notes: The specimen from N. leisleri slightly
differs from the type specimens by the absence
of shoulders on the sternal plate, otherwise
identical with type specimens in all other
characters.

43. Spinturnix plecofinus

Described by C. L. Koch (1839) from Pleco-
tus auritus in Europe. Since then the species
has been recorded from several European
countries from the type host-species. There is
one record from Nyctalus noctula (Rudnick
1960).

105

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Present records :

Host

No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Plecotus auritus

homochrous

2 4 <$ and 1 9

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Mahasu :
Ratanadi near Baghi. Uttar Pradesh : Pithora-
garh : Martoli (3500 m).

Notes : This is the first record from P. a.
homochrous in India.

44. Spsnturnix sp.

The species closely resembles Spinturnix para -
cuminatus Baker and Delfinado, 1964, describ-
ed from Miniopterus sp. and Pipistrellus sp. in
Borneo and New Guinea, but differs from it
by the absence of tritosternum. The species
awaits description.

Present Record :

Host

No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Pipistrellus babu

1 1(7,2$

Locality: Uttar Pradesh : Tehri : Ghonti.

45. Paraperiglischrus rhinolophinus

This species was first described under the!
genus Periglischrus as P. rhinolophi by Hiregau*
dar and Bal (1956) on the basis of specimens
collected from Rhinolophus rouxi, and later
transferred under the new genus Paraperiglis-
chrus and synonymised with the species P.
rhinolophinus (C. L. Koch, 1841) by Rudnick
(1960).

Present record :

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rhinolophus rouxi

1

1 d\ 5 9

Locality: West Bengal : Darjeeling : Tashi-
ding.

Notes : Apparently several taxa have been
included under this species due to the absence
of differentiating characters. But the specimens
collected from different host species show con-
sistent difference in size. The species appears
to be polyvalent and needs revision.

46. Paraperiglischrus sp.

Records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Hipposideros armiger 1 2c? , 1 9

Locality: Uttar Pradesh : Almora : Katar-
mal.

Notes : The specimens collected from this
host are distinctly larger than all the known
taxons under the genus and await description.

47. Ancystropus eonycteris

The species was described by Delfinado and
Baker (1963) ex Eonycteris robusta from Min-
danao. It is similar to Ancystropus zeleborii in
general morphology, but the leg I lacks lateral
hooks on distal 4 segments; femur I and genu
I each with only 1 large ventral projection; and
the ventral setae on region above and shield
strong and stout.

Present record :

Host

No. of coll.

Specimens coll.

Eonycteris spelaea

1

29

Locality: Uttar Pradesh : Pithoragarh:

Thai.

Notes : This is the first record of this species
in India. Ancystropus nakatae described on the
basis of a single mutilated female specimen
by Prasad (1969b) is identical with A. eonyc-
teris and is obviously a synonym.

106

RECORDS OF AC ARINA IN HIMALAYAS

48. Ancystropus kanheri

This species was first described by Hiregau-
dar and Bal (1956) under the genus Ancystro-
pus on the basis of specimens collected from
R. leschenaulti from India. Delfinado and Baker
(1964) recorded this species ex R. amplexi-
caudatus from Philippines, O. Sumba and
Solomon Islands; and ex bats from New Guinea.
They transferred this species under a new genus
Oncoscelus. Prasad (1969a) recorded the species
from Philippines ex R. amplexicaudatus. Dom-
row (1972) brought back the species under the
former genus Ancystropus because of its strik-
ing similarity to other co-generas. He also re-
corded this species ex R. stresemanni from
New Guinea.

Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rousettus leschenaulti 8 15 $ , 2N

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Kulu :

Sooma, Bandrol; Kangra : Dadh. Uttar Pradesh:
Pauri : Dalmisain; Almora : Kapkote; Pithora-
garh : Thai.

49. Ancystropus taprobanius

This species was originally described from
Rousettus seminudus from Ceylon. Later re-
described from R. leschenaulti by Hiregaudar
and Bal (1956) under the name A. indicus and
from Rousettus sp. by Baker and Delfinado,
1964 under A. rudnicki. Prasad (1969a) record-
ed some more material from New Guinea and
Philippines under A. rudnicki Both the latter
species are synonymised with A. taprobanius
by Domrow (1972), who records this species
from R. stresemanni
Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rousettus leschenaulti 16 81 $

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Kangra :
Dadh; Kulu: Sooma, Bandrol; Mandi: Gutkar.
Uttar Pradesh: Pauri: Raitoli, Shrinagar, Dal-
misain; Almora: Kapkote, Kataithbara; Naini
Tal: Dugada; Pithoragarh: Patet, Tejam, Thai.

50. Ancystropus zeleborii

Recorded from Egypt and Cyprus ex Rouse-
ttus aegyptiacus, Uganda ex Lavia pons rex,
Thailand ex bat, and India ex R, leschenaulti
(Rudnick, 1960). A. palawanensis Delfinado and
Baker (1963) is synonymised with A. zeleborii
by Domrow (1972).

Present records:

Host No.

of coll.

Specimens coll.

Rousettus leschenaulti

22

8d*, 59$, IN

Cynopterus sphinx

10

28$

Sphaerias blanfordi

11

1 1 c? , 28 $ , 6N

Localities: Himachal Pradesh: Kulu:

Sooma, Bandrol; Kangra: Dadh; Mandi:

Mandi; Bilaspur: Ballu. Uttar Pradesh: Naini
Tal: Dugada, Garjia, Haldwani; Almora: Kap-
kote, Khati, Loharkhet, Phaltaniya, Kataith-
bara; Pithoragarh: Dharchula, Kotera, Kuity,
Tejam, Dummer, Khela, Thai, Aat; Pauri : Dun-
gripanth, Narkota, Raitoli, Dalmisain; Chamoli:
Guliyo, Dogalbita; Sahranpur: Fatehpur; Dehra
Dun: Ramgarh, Sahasradhara.

Notes : C. sphinx and S. blanfordi are the
two new hosts recorded.

51. Meristaspis lateralis

Recorded from Egypt, Palestine and Cyprus
ex R. aegyptiacus; from Ceylon ex R. seminu-
dus (Rudnick, 1960); from India ex R. lesche-
naulti (Hiregaudar and Bal, 1956); from
Yemen ex Eidolon sebaem (Rudnick, 1960);
from Philippines ex E. robusta, R. amplexicau-
datus and C. brachyotis; from New Guinea ex
Rousettus sp. and on undetermined sp. of bat;

107

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

from N. Borneo ex Tupaia ; and from Timor
ex an undetermined host species (Delfinado and
Baker, 1963; Baker and Delfinado, 1964); and
again recorded from New Guinea ex R. strese-
manni (Domrow, 1972).

Present records :

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Rousettus leschenaulti

29

97 cf, 171 $,36N

Eonycteris spelaea

2

7$

Cynopterus sphinx

2

1 $,2N

Sphaerias blanfordi

12

8c?,49 9, 32N

Pteropus giganteus

1

1 $

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Kulu :

Sooma, Bandrol; Kangra : Dadh; Mandi :

Mandi. Uttar Pradesh: Naini Tal : Dugada;
Almora : Kapkot, Dhakuri, Loharkhet, Phalta-
niya, Kataithbara; Pithoragarh: Dharchula,

Kuity, Patet, Tejam, Girgaon, Khela, Tawa-
ghat, Thai; Pauri : Dungripanth, Narkota, Rai-
toli, Shrinagar, Dalmisain; Chamoli : Dogalbita;
Dehra Dun : Sahasradhara, Sahaspur.

Notes : New record from E. spelaea, C.
sphinx and S. blanfordi in India.

52. Nothroholaspis sp.

Nothroholaspis sp. are extremely common
and are found in the soil and on invertebrates
and vertebrates. Although they are regularly
associated with various hosts they are probably
not parasitic in the actual sense (Baker and
Wharton 1952).

Present records :

Host and habitats No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Man

1

IN

Cattle shed

3

17N

Chicken coops
Rattus rattus

1

IN

gangutrianus

1

1 o, IN

Suncus murinus

1

1 $

Localities: Himachal Pradesh : Kulu: Pal-
chan; Kinnaur: Chitkul, Baring Suring at

Sangla, Sangla, Bilaspur: Deoli. Uttar Pra-
desh: Pithoragarh: Aat. Sikkim: Gangtok

(1500 m).

53. Boydaia sp.

27 specimens were collected from the nasal
chambers of Blueheaded rock thrush ( Monti -
cola cinclorhynchus) at Sundargaon (1100 m)
near Karnaprayag, Chamoli dist., Uttar Pra-
desh, on 14th May 1967.

54. Pterygosoma sp.

The family Pterygosomidae, for the most
part, are parasites of lizards, usually being
found beneath the scales of their host. Very
little is known about their biology (Lawrence
1935, 1936). Indian Pterygosomidae still awaits
systematic study.

Present records:

Host No. of coll. Specimens coll.

Agama tuberculata 3 6L, 8N, 13d\ 18 $

Localities: Himachal Pradesh: Kulu:

Naggar. Uttar Pradesh: Pithoragarh: Lilam,
Thalkedar.

Discussion

The present survey lists 54 species of mites,
of which 52 are Mesostigmatid mites. A num-
ber of species recorded here need confirmation
of their identity, some of which are apparently
new species.

Among the Mesostigmatid mites most of the
species, except Spinturnicidae, Laelaps spp. and
Sauronyssus, did not show a close host specifi-
city at the species level. Laelaps spp. have been
observed to have some host specificity at the
specific or generic level of the host. While the
family Spinturnicidae did show a high degree

108

RECORDS OF AC ARINA IN HIMALAYAS

of host specificity by having associated with
one or a few species of Chiropteran hosts.

The species of Ornithonyssus, Steatonyssus,
Pellonyssus, Liponyssoides, Dermanyssus and
Haemogamasus were found to have fresh blood
within them and are obviously haematophagous
parasites. Actual blood was not observed in
other species of Mesostigmatid mites.

Ack no wledge m e n ts

We are grateful to Dr. T. Ramachandra Rao,

Refer

Allred, D. M. (1969) : New Mesostigmatid mites
from Pakistan with keys to genera and species. J.
Med. Ent. 6: 219-244.

(1970) : Two new mites (Laela-

pidae) from West Pakistan. /. Med. Ent. 7: 107-111.

Baker, E. W. and Delfinado, M. D. (1964) : Spin-
turnicidae of South East Asia and the Pacific Region.
Pacific Ins. 6(4) : 571-591.

Baker, E. W. and Wharton, G. W. (1952): An
introduction to Acarology. Macmillan Co., New York.

Bhat, H. R. (1973a) : Macronyssus kumaonicus sp.
nov. (Acarina, Mesostigmata, Macronyssidae) infest-
ing bats in the Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh,
India. Indian J. Med. Res. 67(8): 1158-1160.

(1973b) : Spinturnix pindarensis sp. n.

(Acarina, Spinturnicidae) infesting Myotis siligorensis
(Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) in the Himalayan re-
gion of Uttar Pradesh, India. Oriental Ins. 7(4) : 471-
474.

Clark, G. M. and Yunker, C. E. (1956) : A new
genus and species of Dermanyssidae (Acarina: Meso-
stigmata) from the English sparrow, with observa-
tions on its life cycle. Proc. Helminthol. Soc. Wash-
ington 23: 93-101.

Delfinado, M. D. and Baker, E. W. (1963) :
Mites of the family Spinturnicidae from the Philip-
pines (Acarina). Pacific Ins. 5(4): 905-920.

Domrow, R. (1962) : Seven new species of Laelaps
from Malaysia (Acarina, Laelaptidae) . Acarologia
4(4): 503-519.

(1972): Acari Spinturnicidae from

Australia and New Guinea. Acarologia 13(4): 552-

584.

former Director, Virus Research Centre (now
National Institute of Virology), Pune, under
whose direction the survey has been carried
out. The material was collected under a scheme
for the survey of Haematophagous arthropods
in the mountainous regions of India, financed
by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
The assistance rendered by the Armed Forces
Medical Services and the State Governments
during the collection tours is gratefully acknow-
ledged.

EN CES

Ellerman, J. R. (1961) : The fauna of India, in-
cluding Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon. Mammalia, 2nd
edition, Vol 3, parts 1 & 2, Govt, of India.

Ellerman, J. R. and Morrison-Scott, T. C. S.
(1951) : Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian Mam-
mals, 1758 to 1946, British Museum (Nat. Hist.),
London.

Garrett, D. A. and Allred, M. D. (1971) : Meso-
stigmatid mites from Turkey, with keys to genera
and species. J. Med. Ent. 8: 292-298.

Hiregaudar, L. S. and Bal, D. V. (1956): Some
ectoparasites of bats from India. Agra Univ. Jour.
Res. (Sci.) 5 (pt. 1 ) : 1-134.

Hirst, S. (1921) : On some new parasitic mites.
Proc. Zool. Soc. London: 769-802.

Lawrence, R. F. (1935) : The Prostigmatic mites
of South African lizards. Paarasitol. 27(1) : 1-45.

(1936) : The Prostigmatic mites

of South African lizards, ibid. 28: 1-39.

Mehta, D. R. (1937): Studies on Typhus in the
Simla Hills, Part VIII: Ectoparasites of rats and
shrews with special reference to their possible role in
the transmission of Typhus. Indian J. Med. Res. 25
(2): 353-365.

Mitchell, C. J., Hoogstraal, H., Schaller, G. B.
and Spillett, J. J. (1966) : Ectoparasites from mam-
mals in Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh,
India, and their potential disease relationships. J. Med.
Ent. 3(2) : 113-124.

Prasad, V. (1969a): Bat mites (Acarina: Spintur-
nicidae) mainly from southeast Asia and the Pacific
region. Acarologia 11 : 657-677.

— (1969b): New species of bat mites

109

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

from southeast Asia and the Pacific region, with a
note on Perigischrodes gressitti Bak. & Delf. Proc.
Ent. Soc. Wash. 77(4): 533-540.

(1974) : A Catalogue of Mites of India.

Indira Acarology Publishing House, Ludhiana, pp..
320.

(1974): Parasitic Mesostigmatic Mites

from Nepal (Acarina: Mesostigmata) . Oriental In-
sects 8(1) : 63-70.

Radford, C. D. (1941) : Notes on some new
species of parasitic mites, IV. Parasitol. 33: 306-315.

— (1947) : Parasitic mites from snakes

and rodents (Acarina: Cheyletidae, Listrophoridae
and Laelaptidae) . Proc. Zool. Soc. London 117: 228-
240.

(1953) : Notes on mites (Acarina:

Entonyssidae). Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr. 48: 106-110.

Radovsky, F. J. (1967): The Macronyssidae and
Laelaptidae (Acarina: Mesostigmata) parasitic on
bats. Univ. Calif. Publ. Ent. 46: 1-288.

Ramachandra Rao, T., Dhanda, V., Bhat, H. R.
and Kulkarni, S. M. (1973): A survey of haema-
tophagous arthropods in western Himalayas, Sikkim
and hill districts of West Bengal. Indian J. Med. Res.
61: 1421-1461.

Ripley, S. D. II (1961): A synopsis of the birds
of India and Pakistan, together with those of Nepal,

Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon. Bombay Natural History
Society.

Rudnick, A. (1960): A revision of the mites of
the family Spinturnicidae (Acarina). Univ. Calif.
Publ. Ent. 77(2) : 157-284.

Strandtmann, R. W. and Wharton, G. W.
(1958): A manual of Mesostigmatid mites parasitic
on vertebrates, Contribution No. 4 of the Institute of
Acarology, Department of Zoology, University of
Maryland, pp. 330-69.

Wattall, B. L. and Tandan, S. K. (1965): An
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2(4) : 297-307.

Wattall, B. L., Kalra, N. L., Srivastava, S. P.
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342-359.

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Ectoparasite fauna of small mammals and domestic
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202.

no

BIOLOGY OF HOUBARA BUSTARD ( CHLAMYDOT1S
UNDULATA MACQUEENI) WITH REFERENCE TO
WESTERN BALUCHISTAN1

Afsar Mian2 and Mohammad Ibrahim Surahio3

{With two text -figures)

Introduction

The Asian race of Houbara Bustard
{Chlamydotis undulata macqueeni) mainly
breeds in Kirgiz steppes of USSR, as far as
Mongolia and migrates in winter to Iran, Afgha-
nistan, Pakistan and part of India (Collar
1979). Pakistan receives one of the largest win-
tering populations of this bird and is found in
high densities of about four birds per ten square
miles (Goriup 1981). The vast desolate steppes
of western Baluchistan, spread over thousands
of square kilometre is said to receive a reason-
able proportion of the total population of this
bird, wintering in Pakistan.

There is a general feeling that the wintering
population of Houbara is declining at an alarm-
ing rate and that there is an eminent need for
conservation (Goriup 1980). However, where-
as effective conservation needs an elaborate
study of the biology and distribution of the
wintering population of the bird, very few
studies are presently available (Mirza 1971;
Sorahio 1981, 1982), and only certain guess
estimates exist for Baluchistan. These facts and
the presence of a sizeable population alongwith
the existence of certain optimistic speculations
regarding the residential nature of Houbara in
Baluchistan prompted us to collect first hand

1 Accepted September 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, University of Baluchi-
stan, Quetta, Pakistan.

3 Houbara Bustard Conservation and Research
Scheme, Sind Wildlife and Forest Department.

information regarding the population of the bird
wintering in the area. This paper attempts at
presenting a preliminary report regarding the
biology and ecology of the bird with particular
reference to Baluchistan.

Methods and material

An extensive tour of western Baluchistan
was undertaken in April, 1982, with the active
collaboration of the Baluchistan Forest Depart-
ment in order to collect first hand information
on the biology and ecology of Houbara in
various wintering grounds of western Baluchi-
stan and to ascertain whether the birds breed
in the area. For this purpose Dasht area of
Mustung; Dak plains spread along the border
area around Inam Bostan; Zangi Nawer area
towards northwest of Nushki; the vast plains
along the road from Nushki to Sathiar, the
vast plains in remote areas of Chagai and the
plains around Yakmuch, falling in Chagai dis-
trict were visited. Similarly the vast plains of
Gwash, Padak, Jalawar, Hurmagai and Washuk
of Kharan district were also toured. Local
people, forest staff and watchers and reputed
shikaris were contacted and were questioned
regarding feeding habits, population dynamics,
migration patterns and routes, local techniques
pertaining to capturing the live bird, hunting
bag data of the hunters from Middle East and
Gulf States, and evidences of breeding activities
in the area. While analysing the data, due im-
portance was given to the status of the informer

111

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 1. A line sketch of the enclosure, used by local people of the western Baluchistan for

live trapping of Houbara.

and data lacking a consensus of opinion were
excluded from the final analysis. The topo-
graphy and the distribution of vegetation of the
wintering grounds were examined by us.

Results and discussions
Habit: Houbara is basically a very shy bird

and avoids human interference. However, it is
approachable within reasonable shooting dis-
tance on camel back or from behind a herd
of slowly moving camels. This finding is in
conformity with similar observations reported
by Ali and Ripley (1969). It is generally be-
lieved that the bird is not scared of slow mov-

112

BIOLOGY OF HOUBARA BUSTARD

MIGRATION TO U.S.S.R.

Fig. 2. A line sketch of Baluchistan depicting the probable migration routes of Houbara.

ing larger objects and is said to take little notice
of a gradually approaching man, camouflaged
in a haphazard tented structure. The bird can
be captured alive by forming a special triangu-
lar trapping enclosure. The blind and narrow
end is provided with a suitable trapping net.
The boundaries of the net and the further exten-
sions are bounded by locally available shrubs,
specially by Haloxylone ammodendron, locally
known as Tagaz (Fig. 1). The birds are then
gradually driven towards the open and wider
end of this enclosure by riding on a camel back

and are then further pushed deep into the net,
where the bird gets trapped.

Houbara is solitary in nature and occurs in
a dispersed population in accordance with the
availability of protection and food, except at
the time of migration. However, it appears that
the bird probably does not exhibit territorial
behaviour and some 4-5 birds can be seen to-
gether under good conditions of food and
shelter. The call of the bird has never been
heard. This confirms the earlier report of Ali
and Ripley (1969).

113

8

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Habitat and Distribution in Baluchistan :
Houbara is very widely distributed in Western
Baluchistan, which is an extensive cup shaped
valley surrounded by high mountain ranges on
three sides leaving a northern open area which
extends deep into Afghanistan (Fig. 2). The
eastern side of the valley is traversed by the
Central Brahui Range while the southern and
western sides are partially bounded by two
parallel ranges, i.e. the Siahan Range and the
Central Makran Range. The western side has
Kuh-i-Birg and Kuh-i-Tuftan, which extend
deep into Iran with an northwestern orienta-
tion. The western range is further supported
by an extremely arid tract from west of Nok
Kundi. Within this valley, there are two isolated
ranges of mountains with an east-west orienta-
tion, i.e. Chagai Hills in the north and Raskoh
in the central area. Topographically, most part
of this valley is an extensive plain having sandy
soil sometimes with loose stones. Generally the
plains gradually slope towards the mountain
ranges. The vegetation of the area includes cer-
tain xerophytic shrubs, various annual herbs
and scattered grasses (Table 1).

During winter, the Houbara is widely dis-
tributed, preferably in open plain steppes,
having sandy or loose stony background with
small shrubs, which offer sufficient protection
and camouflage from predators, especially man,
and through which the bird can see from a long
distance an approaching predator. It generally
avoids hilly terrain though it inhabits the un-
even plains in the vicinity of a hill range, having
dried water courses, which provide shelter from
sun and human predation. It lives in compara-
tively arid uncultivated areas, away from
human populations, without caring for water.
The bird has never been seen in the vicinity
of water bodies or while drinking water. It is
expected that the bird mainly depends upon
the metabolic water for the purpose of its water

requirements. Further studies on the adapta-
tions of the bird to the arid conditions could
yield interesting information. The vast plains
of Baluchistan provide ideal wintering grounds
for the bird, having a sparsely distributed
human population, sparse but sufficient amount
of vegetation for feeding activities and a camou-
flaging background of sandy buff coloration
of the soil. All these features are in conformity
with similar reports regarding Punjab and Sind
(Ali and Ripley 1969, Sorahio 1981, 1982).

From the initial studies it seems that the
Plains around Kharan are rich with the win-
tering population of Houbara, followed by
Yakmuch and Chagai plains. The birds are pre-
sent abundantly in Dak, Zangi Nower and
Dasht area in October but their population
decreases in the area by December, and in the
later period these areas have a scanty popula-
tion. Further detailed studies are still needed
about the population levels of the different
areas, to prepare reliable concentration maps
of the wintering population of the bird.

Migration : The probable migration routes
for Houbara are presented in Fig. 2. A look
at the figure would reveal that the migration
routes in Baluchistan are very much dispersed.
This is in conformity with an earlier guess
(Goriup 1980). The Houbara exhibits a north-
south migration from the various adjacent areas
of Afghanistan right from Muslimbagh to the
western side of Chagai upto Manzil. The first
batch of the migrating birds is said to enter
Baluchistan in late September or early October,
depending upon the conditions of temperature.
It first reaches the areas located in vicinity of
Pak-Afghan border, i.e. Muslimbagh, Dak
plains (Inam Bostan), Zangi Nawer (northwest
of Nushki) and whole of the Chagai plains.
They stay there, consuming the available food
and gradually move southwards to Dasht plains
of Mustung, Kharan and Yakmuch area. Some

114

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE TOPOGRAPHY, BACKGROUND SOIL, VEGETATION AND APPROXIMATE PERIOD
OF STAY OF HOUBARA BUSTARD IN THE CERTAIN LOCALITIES OF WESTEkN BALUCHISTAN

i

BIOLOGY OF HOUBARA BUSTARD

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115

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

of the Kharan and Yakmuch populations may
further move southwards to the coastal areas of
Makran. The Dasht population may move
southwards and thence finally going to Sind.
The bird is said to follow almost the same
routes, while migrating back to their residential
areas in USSR, in March. Ringing data is need-
ed to confirm these findings. There is very
little evidence in favour of the immigration of
Houbara into Baluchistan, from adjacent areas
of Iran. In this regard our findings differ from
an earlier report (Anon. 1972), which predicts
that the major migrating population enter
Makran, Kharan and Chagai districts from Iran,
which bifurcate at Mach so that one group
move towards Sind, while the other towards
northern Baluchistan. However, possibilities for
such a migration directly to the southern coastal
area cannot be completely ruled out.

Houbara is said to enter Baluchistan in
groups of 10-15 birds, having a slower south-
ward movement. They usually rest after every
1-2 miles, consuming the available food and
gradually disperse in the area alongwith their
southward movement. The bird migrates during
night, spending the day in various hideouts. The
arrival of the Houbara in the northern areas
of Baluchistan seems to be well coordinated and
synchronized, as it is usually believed that one
could see many birds in Dak and Chagai plains
on one fine morning of the September/ early
October, whereas there was hardly any in the
previous evening. However, birds keep arriv-
ing for the next 15-20 days. It seems that the
further southward movement of the bird is
mainly in response to the availability of food
and in search for better and unutilized feeding
grounds.

The migration of birds, back to their resi-
dential areas in USSR, is said to be in larger
groups of 20-30 birds. During this migration,
the bird is said to take much longer stretches

of flight and generally passes over the various
areas falling in their route without stopping.

Food and Feeding Habit : Houbara is omni-
vorous and nocturnal in habit and is said to
consume whatever is available. Thus the food
of the bird varies with type of the vegetation
in the area and the season. It is said to depend
upon the seeds, and the young shoots of
Calligonum comosum (Phog), Koeleria phleoi-
des (Gayab), Malcolmia africana (Chammar),
Haloxylon ammodendron (Tagaz), Ephedra sp.
(Gomazg), Salsola arbuscula (Narrunk) and
Polygonum afghanicum, in Dak, Zangi Nower
and Kharan area. The Houbara prefers the dry
seeds of Polygonum afghanicum, Calligonum
comosum, Haloxylon ammodendron and Pani-
cum sp. in these areas. In Chagai and Yak-
much plains the bird consumes Tribulus terres-
tris (Sarang), Tribulus alatus (Korka), Ero-
dium sp., Plantago ciliata, Rhazya stricta, and
Holosteum umbellatum. Though certain detail-
ed quantitative studies of the stomach contents
of the bird, at different times, are needed in
order to work out the food preferences of the
bird in different areas, the present information
can prove helpful in organizing such studies.
A comparison of these studies with the reports
of Mirza (1971), regarding Punjab and Sorahio
(1981), regarding Sind reveals that Haloxylon,
Tribulus and Crotalaria are the preferred food
of Houbara, which is consumed everywhere.

Population Levels and Hunting Stress : The
partial hunting bag data collected by officials
of Baluchistan Forest Department from visiting
foreign hunters for Chagai and Kharan districts
suggests that the bird is present in high den-
sities in western Baluchistan, specially in certain
areas of favourable habitat. Our initial calcula-
tions reveal that the wintering Houbara in the
area is present around one bird per 3 . 0 square
kilometre. Comparing this figure with the one
suggested by Goriup (1981) for Punjab and

116

BIOLOGY OF FIOUBARA BUSTARD

Sind, i.e. one bird per 6.25 square kilometre,
suggests that this area is richer in Houbara. A
detailed population census is required to know
exact biological potentials of this population of
the bird and to construct certain reliable con-
centration maps for the area.

The initial information collected from the
officials of the forest department, local people
and the reputed hunters, present in the area;
suggest that population of Houbara, wintering
in remote areas of western Baluchistan is also
under a tremendous hunting pressure. Accord-
ing to some very conservative estimates the
total hunted birds during the year 1981-82 can
be any figure between 2,000 to 3,000. The exact
effect of this heavy hunting toll on the popula-
tion is hard to be assessed with the limited in-
formation available regarding the population
size and population structure; but such a figure
sounds too high for the bearable limits of the
population wintering in the western Baluchistan.

Breeding : There are certain reports in lite-
rature regarding the presence of the breeding
activities of the bird in Chagai, Kharan and
Makran areas (Ali & Ripley 1969, Roberts &
Savage 1971 and Siddiqi 1972). We tried our
best for some evidence in favour of occurrence
of this activity of the bird in the area, however,
we could not find convincing proof of egg lay-
ing and nesting in Chagai, Kharan and Nushki
areas. During our tour some enthusiastic
workers and hunters did report the presence of
some very sporadic cases of nesting and breed-
ing in Booto Jungle (a protected reserve forest
near Nushki); towards the north of Chagai,

Refei

Ali, S. and Ripley, S. D. (1969): Handbook of
the birds of India and Pakistan, Oxford University
Press. Bombay, London, New York.

Anon. (1972) : Houbara in Baluchistan. Outdoor-
man 2(6) : 15.

adjacent to Afghanistan border; Yakmuch
plains. However, we could not physically
ascertain these reports though it was an egg
laying season for the bird. In the light of the
available information, it seems that the chances
of breeding of Houbara in the area are very
remote, and even if, at all, occasional breeding
occurs in the area, it is a chance occurrence
and sparse. The available information on the
breeding activities in the coastal areas of
Makran are not very conducive (Hamidullah
1982).

It seems that the major support for the belief
in the breeding of Houbara in the area mainly
emerges from the fact that C. undulata undulata
(the African race of Houbara) can breed in
similar inhospitable hot and arid conditions and
that there are high densities of this bird in
unapproachable areas of Baluchistan. However,
it seems that C. undulata macqueeni (the Asian
race of Houbara) is adapted to a colder climate
and hence it breeds at higher latitudes in USSR
or Afghanistan.

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Mr. K. M. Shams, Chief
Conservator, Mr. M. Shafiq, DFO (Wildlife),
Mr. Arbab Inayat Ullah, Sub Divisional Officer
(Wildlife) and several other members of the
Baluchistan Forest Department for affording us
all possible help, cooperation and guidance dur-
ing our tour. Thanks are also due to Mr.
Mohammad Ali, of the Department of Zoology,
University of Baluchistan for typing.

EN CES

Collar, N. (1979): The Birds of the Western
Palaearctic. Vol. II. (Eds: S. Cramp and S. Kel).
Oxford University Press, London, New York, pp.
649-655.

Goriup, P. D. (1980): Report to the Secretary,

117

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

Sind Wildlife Management Board on Houbara Bus-
tard ( Chlamydotis undulatd) in Pakistan. (Unpub-
lished document.).

(1981): The Houbara Bustard.

Houbara conservation and research in Pakistan.
Western Tanager, Los Angeles Audubon Society, 48
(4): 1-2.

Hamidullah (1982) : Breeding of Houbara in
Makran. (Personal communication with senior
author) .

Mirza, Z. B. (1971): Houbara faces trial. Out-
doorman, 7(8): 40-45.

Roberts, T. J. and Savage, C. D. W. (1971) :
Houbara Bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata macqueeni )
and its management, ibid. 1(8): 37-39.

Siddiqi, M. S. U. (1972): Identifying the bustards,
ibid. 2(7&8) : 29-39.

Sorahio, M. I. (1981): Houbara Bustard in Pakis-
tan-Research and conservation” WWF/IUCN, Project
No. 855, Annual Report, (Unpublished document).

(1982): Houbara Bustard in Pakis-

tan-Research and conservation” WWF/IUCN,
Project No. 855, Annual Report, (Unpublished
document) .

118

THE FOOD AND FEEDING OF JUVENILE BENGAL
MONITOR LIZARDS (VARANUS BENGA LENS1S ) 1

Walter Auffenberg2 and Ipe M. Ipe3

A sample of 29 juvenile Varanus bengalensis were examined for prey remains in the
gut. Results show that most probably find several individuals of about two species of
insect prey per day. While both sexes take the same prey species, males caputure a
somewhat higher number of prey items per unit time. The most common prey are
orthopterans and coleopterans. Weight of individual prey to predator weight is .0169 :1
— a low ratio when compared to that known for other monitors, but probably due to
the insectivorous feeding habits of the Varanus bengalensis juveniles.

Introduction

During September to December, 1979, the
senior author was afforded the opportunity to
study several aspects of the ecology and habits
of two species of monitor lizards in northern
India — Varanus bengalensis and V. flavescens.
One of the projects suggested by the available
material was a study of the food habits of V.
bengalensis. This paper is the result of a joint
study of that material by the two authors.

The study was prompted by (1) the fact
that extremely little information is available re-
garding the food of juvenile varanids of any
species (though the species studied by Pianka,
1968, 1970, 1971), are all less than 1 m total
length, and (2) what little information is avail-
able on the food of varanid lizards is largely
in the form of prey lists (Stirling 1912, Bur-
den 1928, Waite 1929, Cowles 1930, Zakhidov
1938). Few publications concerning the feeding
of varanids provide data useful in determining
their predatory strategy; exceptions are Dry den

1 Accepted December 1981.

2 Florida State Museum, University of Florida,
Gainesville FL 32611.

3 Department of Zoology, St. John’s College, Agra
282 002, India.

(1965), Pianka (1968, 1970, 1971), and Auffen-
berg (1981).

Most published food data for Varanus ben-
galensis are very general (Smith, H. 1931,
Deraniyagala 1931, Smith, M. 1935, Minton
1966). The most detailed study is that by
Sharma and Vazirani (1977). In no case are
results based on an examination of more than
five individuals. The following study is based
on the food remains found in the digestive
tracts of 29 juvenile Bengal monitor lizards
and records several previously unknown facets
of the feeding biology of this species. While
the number of specimens examined may be
considered small, and the fact that they were
obtained from supply houses less than entirely
satisfactory, the chances of obtaining more
material of this species (listed as endangered
in IUCN Red Data Book and protected by
Indian law) is extremely remote.

Methods and Materials

After the law protecting Varanus bengalensis
was passed, several Indian biological supply
houses in the Agra area were left with a num-
ber of preserved individuals originally intended
for sale to university anatomy classes. Because

119

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

the species could no longer be sold, most
supply houses discarded their stock of pre-
served V. bengalensis several years ago; some
did not, and most of these had apparently
been forgotten in the interim. The senior author
visited each of these supply houses and re-
quested that their old stocks of preserved speci-
mens of this species be donated to this
scientific project. Several houses generously
responded, so that 29 juveniles were accumu-
lated. They were sexed, measured, examined
for a number of scale characters, and then
dissected to obtain data on food in the gut.

Average snout vent length (= SVL) of
the sample studied was 180 mm (range 155-
286) and Av. weight 124.7 g. There was no
significant difference in either SVL or weight
between males and females. Estimated age of
individuals in the sample was one year. The
sex ratio was 1:1.

Stomach contents were kept separate from
those of the large intestine of each individual.
The food remains (often completely macerat-
ed) in each of these collections were identified
as closely to species as possible.

Estimates of the number of individuals of
each of the prey species eaten were based on
the number of identical anatomical parts. The
weight of prey species were obtained by weigh-
ing a sample of five average-sized complete
adult specimens of each of these prey species.

Results

Number of Prey. — Only two lizards con-
tained food in the stomach, suggesting that few
individuals had eaten in the 48 hours previous
to capture. On the other hand, 59 . 6 per cent of
the lizards contained food remains in the large
intestine. Assuming gut passage rate in V.
bengalensis is the same as in V. komodoensis
(4-6 days, 96-114 hr; Auffenberg 1981), over

half had eaten during the last several days be-
fore they were killed.

The number of prey items in the two
stomachs were 3 and 14. The number of prey
species per stomach were 2 and 8. These data
suggest that each daily feeding foray usually
results in the capture of several different prey
species, each represented by several indivi-
duals.

In those monitors containing food in the
large intestine, the number of prey items varied
from 1 to 273. The highest item numbers were
represented by two cases in which many ants
had been eaten. When these are excluded the
prey items per individual range from 1 to 27
(Av. =14.14). If this prey load represents a
maximum of 6 days, as suggested by the V.
komodoensis passage rates mentioned above,
2.12 prey items represent the normal stomach
daily load.

Of all the males available for dissection,
64.13 per cent had food in their gut (stomach
and intestines combined), with the range in
number of prey items from 1 to 27 (Av. = 13.00,
SD 7.49); and the total number of prey species
in the gut of the same sex varied from 1 to 8
(Av. = 3, SD 5.33). Of the females available,
71.4 per cent had prey in the gut, with the
number of prey items ranging from 1 to 17
(excluding those with ants, due to the large
number of individual prey items represented
per individual monitor in which ants occurred)
(Av. = 5.29, SD 5.33), with the number of
snecies ner gut ranging from 1 to 3 (Av. =2.29,
SD 1.33). There is no significant difference
between number of males and females with
food in the gut, or in the number of prey
snecies per gut. However, there is a significant
difference in the means of the number of prey
items in the gut of males and females (t test
2.61, df 48, p = 0.25), with males having a
significantly greater number. Thus it appears

120

FOOD OF MONITOR LIZARDS

Table 1

Number of individual prey items eaten by
juvenile Varan us bengalensis

Lizard Sex

Percent of
Total
(no

Total ants)

Prey Species Males Females ?

Coleoptera

Tenebrionidae

( Gonocephalum )

43

7

50

20.2

Carabidae

13

11

24

9.7

Elateridae

8

0

8

3.2

Staphylinidae

1

0

1

0.4

Cetonidae

1

6

7

2.8

Meloidae

2

0

2

0.8

Curculionidae

2

2

4

1.8

Scarabaeidae

5

1

6

2.4

(larvae)

2

1

3

1.2

Chrysomelidae

(larvae)

1

0

1

0.4

Dermaptera

16

19 16

51

20.6

Hymen optera

Formicidae

{Campanotus)

2

511

513

Orthoptera

Gryllidae

16

61 2

77

31.1

Nymphs

2

2

4

1.6

Gryllotalpidae

( Gryllotalpa )

2

0 3

5

2.0

Acrididae (nymphs) 1

0

1

0.4

Arachnidae

Scorpions

2

0

2

0.8

Centipedes

( Scolopendra )

1

1

2

0.8

Totals

120

622

761

excluding ants

118

111

248

100.0

that males and females probably hunt in equally
diverse areas and capture an equally diverse
number of prey species, but that males obtain
a larger number of the same species than
females do. This agrees with the behavioural
data presented in Auffenberg (1979), showing
that at least captive males of this species of
monitor lizard eat more food and are generally

more active than females of the same general
size and age. Thus I suspect that in the wild,
juvenile males of this species are probably also
more active than females, travel further, or
hunt more actively in the same amount of
time.

Table 1 shows the prey species recorded in
the guts, the total prey individuals of each in
the total sample, the number of individuals per
predator sex, and the per cent of the total. We
found a total of 761 individual prey items, of
which ants were the most numerous, and all
were the same species — Campanotus compres-
sus. The 513 ants recorded were found in five
monitors, and in these the greatest proportion
was found in two females (270, 240, and 1
per three females possessing ants, 1 ant was
found in each of two males). Although the
females may eat ants more commonly than
males, it is clear that ants are often taken in
large numbers at the same time. The fact that
both soldiers and workers occurred in the
samples suggests that nests of these ants were
uncovered. Mertens (1942) speculated that the
tongue may be used to transfer small food
particles to the mouth. This is substantiated
by observations made by the senior author of
captive monitor lizards of the same species,
which frequently feed on carpenter ants by
licking them up individually.

Prey of the family Gryllidae were common
in terms of number of individuals preyed upon.
Both nymphs and adults were eaten, though
the latter make up most (80%) of the total
crickets taken.

Excluding ants, tenebrionids were the most
commonly eaten. The differences between
these and both dermapterans and gryllids are
probably not significant. The overall number
of prey items in the gut (to 270 if ants are
included) was 1 to 54. The remaining prey
items represent a second prey category of

121

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 2

Average dry weight of major prey species of juvenile Varanus bengatensis

Prey species

Av. dry w.
(g) (n=5)

wt

Number Eaten,
range (Av.)

Total wt (g),
range (Av.)

Coleoptera

Tenebrionidae

0.67

0.54

1-24

(9.0)

0.67-16.12

(6.04)

Curculionidae

0.19

0.16

2

(2.0)

2

(0.38)

Carabidae

1.21

0.97

1-4

(2.18)

1.21-4.84

(2.64)

Scarabaeidae

1.82

1.46

1-4

(2.0)

1.82-7.28

(3.64)

Dermaptera

0.46

0.37

3-16

(7.29)

1.38-7.39

(3.36)

Scorpions

9.96

7.98

2

(2.0)

19.91

(19.91)

Gryllidae

0.47

0.38

1-54

(8.3)

0.47-25.4

(3.9)

Gryllotalpidae

2.08

1.67

2-3

(2.5)

4.16-6.24

(5.2)

much less common prey species (1-4 per gut).

Size of Prey. — Table 2 lists the most com-
mon prey species taken, the average dry
weights of individuals in each prey category,
the average number eaten when preyed upon,
and the overall range and average total dry
weight of each of the prey species found in
each monitor. These data show that (exclud-
ing ants) the dry weights of individuals of
common prey species taken by juvenile vara-
nids vary from 0.19 to 9.95 g (curculionids
to scorpions), representing an overall weight
increase of 523 per cent from the smallest to
the largest prey. The mean individual prey
weight is 2.11 g, and the overall range in
prey-to-predator weight is 0.16 to 7.98 per
cent (Av. = 1.69%). The mean total weight of
each prey species expected in the gut varies
from 0.38 (curculionids) to 19.21 g (scor-
pions), with a mean of 4.88 g, or 3.91 per cent
of the total average predator weight.

The largest prey are scorpions, though they
are not often eaten. Gryllidae and Tenebrio-
nidae are probably the most important prey
taken in terms of their size and number.

Prey Habitat. — Table 3 shows that of the
10 most common prey categories, most (60%)

are found in and under decaying vegetation
debris, and one moves back and forth through
shallow burrows in the soil. Thus, 70 per cent
of the prey categories are represented by
secretive species, all of which can be obtained
at or near the surface. Observations on captive

Table 3

General habitat and food of insect prey of
Varanus bengatensis .*

Prey Species

In or under (+)
decaying
vegetation debris

Injurious
(+) or not
(-) to
crops

Coleoptera

Tenebrionidae

4-

4-F

Carabidae

-1 — (varies)

+ -

Scarabaeidae

4- —

+ -

Curculionidae

- (on leaves)

4-

Elateridae

+

-

Meloidae

- (active on surface)

+

Chrysomelidae

- (on leaves)

4-

Dermaptera

4- (active nocturnally)

-

Orthoptera

Gryllidae

4- (active nocturnally)

+

Gryllotalpidae

underground, secretive

+

* After Lutz, 1948.

122

FOOD OF MONITOR LIZARDS

V. bengalensis make it clear that the most prey
are obtained by rooting through surface debris
with the snout, or by scratching through it with
the front feet. The habit of using the snout
so extensively in prey-seeking may be an ex-
planation for the posterior position and slit-like
narial opening in this and certain other monitor
species. Only 2 of the 10 prey categories (both
are beetle families) are not found near or on
the soil surface, but on leaves.

The same table also shows that almost all
prey categories are injurious to agricultural
crops. Dryden (1965) came to the same con-
clusion regarding the prey of Varanus indicus
on Guam.

Vegetation as Food. — Though both Parry
(1932) and Sharma and Vazirani (1977) im-
plied that Varanus bengalensis occasionally
feeds on vegetation on the basis of stomach
contents, there is no behavioural data that they
do so. While eating animal prey that is either
dead or alive, vegetal debris is regularly in-
gested accidentally and this apparently accounts
for the vegetation sometimes found in the sto-
mach. However, Varanus grayi, an arboreal
species from the Philippines, regularly feeds
on several types of fruits (Auffenberg 1979),
and Varanus prasinus, another arboreal species,
from New Guinea, has also been reported to
occasionally feed on bananas in captivity
(Mertens 1942). Other than these two species,
no other members of the family Varanidae are
known to deliberately feed on any vegetation.

Discussion

The data presented above show that juvenile
Varanus bengalensis are probably completely
insectivorous. This agrees with the data pre-
sented by Sharma and Vazirani (1977), for a
very small sample of the same species from
the same general part of India, and taken in

the same part of the year. Additionally, in both
studies the Order Coleoptera makes up most
of the diet, with tenebrionids the major beetle
group represented. Sharma and Vazirani
(1977) also reported that termites are occa-
sionally taken. This largely insectivorous feed-
ing habit of juvenile V. bengalensis provides
a rather low prey to predator weight ratio
(.0169:1). While no accurate comparable data
are available for adult Bengal monitor prey
weight preferences, Minton (1966) listed pro-
portionately larger prey in five adults from
West Pakistan. Thus large individuals can be
expected to have a larger prey to predator
weight ratio. The same trend has been demon-
strated in Varanus komodoensis (Auffenberg
1981), in which the largest adults, who often
attack and kill deer, some weighing up to 204
kg (= prey to predator wt. 365:1), or even
water buffalo up to 340 kg (= ratio of 608 : 1 ) .
These predator-to-prey ratios are probably the
highest of any lizard species. However, the
ratio for juvenile V. komodoensis (.0208:1)
is approximately the same as in the present
sample of V. bengalensis , though somewhat
higher because juvenile Komodo monitors also
feed on small lizards.

Though literature data are scanty and rarely
comparable, I conclude that varanids may
generally exhibit a higher predator-prey ratio
than other lizards, for, in additon to V. komo-
doensis (Auffenberg 1978, 1981), proportiona-
tely large prey are also eaten by several other
varanid species (Dryden 1965, Pianka 1968,
1970, 1971).

The data presented above, plus general ex-
perience, suggest that there are relationships
existing between the mass of reptile predators
and their prey that have not yet been brought
to light by previous studies of reptilian food
habits. These relationships may change from
juveniles to adults in some species, and show

123

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

no change in others. Considerable differences
in these relationships are expected between
various reptilian groups. They probably con-
stitute one of the most important factors in
feeding behaviour and functional morphology
of feeding mechanisms.

Ack no wledge m e n ts

The study could not have been completed
without an Indo-American Fellowship provid-
ed the senior author through the University

Refer

Auffenberg, W. (1978): Social and feeding be-
haviour in Varanus komodoensis. In Behavior and
Neurology of Lizards (N. Greenberg and P. D.
MacLean, Eds.). National Institutes of Mental
Health.

(1979) : A monitor lizard in the

Philippines. Oryx 75(1): 38-46.

(1981): Behavioral ecology of

the Komodo dragon. University Presses of Florida,
Gainesville.

Burden, W. D. (1928): Observations on the

habits and distribution of Varanus komodoensis.
Amer. Mus. Nov. (316) : 1-10.

Cowles, R. B. (1930): The life history of Vara-
nus niloticus (Linn.) as observed in Natal, South
Africa. J. Entomol. Zool. 22: 1-31.

Deraniyagala, P. E. P. (1931): Some Ceylon

lizards. Spolia Zeylanica 16 (2): 139-180.

Dryden, G. L. (1965): The food and feeding of
Varanus indicus on Guam. Micronesia 2: 72-76.

Lutz, F. E. (1948): Field Book of Insects. G. P.
Putnam’s Sons: New York. 510 p.

Mertens, R. (1942): Die Familie der Warane
(Varanidae). Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges. Parts
1-3, (465): 1-39.

Minton, S. (1966): A contribution to the herpe-
tology of West Pakistan. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.
134(2): 31-184.

Grants Commission (India), the American In-
stitute of Indian Studies (U.S.A.), and the
International Communications Agency (U.S.A.).
The authors also wish to fully acknowledge
the cooperation of Dr. Santokh Singh, Chair-
man, Entomology Department, St. John’s
College, and Dr. J. C. Dickinson, Jr., then
Director, Florida State Museum. Special thanks
are also extended to Mr. Sadar Singh (Agra)
for assistance locally and to the biological
supply houses for the donation of the speci-
mens.

ENCES

Parry, N. E. (1932) : Some notes on the water
monitor in the Garo Hills, Assam. J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 35: 901-905.

Pianka, E. R. (1968) : Notes on the biology of
Varanus eremius. Western Australian Nat. 11(2) :
39-44.

(1970) : Notes on Varanus salva-

tor. ibid. 11(5): 113-116.

(1971): Notes on the biology of

Varanus tristis. ibid. 77(8) : 180-183.

Sharma, R. C. and Vazirani, T. G. (1977) : Food
and feeding habits of some reptiles of Rajasthan.
Rec. Zool. Surv. India 73 : 77-93.

Smith, H. C. (1931): The monitor lizards of
Burma. 7. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 34: 367-373.

Smith, M. A. (1935) : The fauna of British India.
Reptiles and Amphibians. Vol. 2 Saurians. Taylor
and Francis: London. 305 p.

Stirling, E. C. (1912) : Observations on the habits
of the large central Australian monitor (Varanus
giganteus), with a note on the fat bodies of this
species. Trans. Proc. Soc. South Australia 36: 26-33.

Waite, E. R. (1929): The reptiles and amphibians
of South Australia. Govern. Printer, Adelaide. 183 p.

Zakhidov, T. (1938) : Biology of reptiles of south-
ern Kyzl-Kumy desert and the Noura-Tan Moun-
tains. Acta Univ. Asiae Zool. 54: 1-126 (in Russian).

124

COURTSHIP AND COPULATION IN MYLLOCERUS
UNDEC1MPUSTULATUS MACULOSUS DESB.
(COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE)1

K. Thangavelu2

(With two plates containing seven figures)

Introduction

Several aspects of the ethology of reproduc-
tion in Coleoptera are well documented in the
families Buprestidae (Alcock 1976), Carabidae
(Lorochelle 1973), Cicindelidae (Master 1976),
Coccinellidae (Wang et al. 1977), Dermestidae
(Barak and Burkholder 1977, Chaudhary and
Kapil 1976 and Hammack et al. 1976), Hydro-
philidae (Scheloske 1974), Lucanidae
(Mathieu 1969), Meloidae (Selander 1964,
Selander and Pinto 1967, Pinto 1972, 1974,
1975, 1977a and 1977b); Scarabaeidae (Ben-
nett 1974, Halffter and Yrma 1977, Hardy 1976)
and Staphylinidae (Peschke 1978). Though the
family Curculionidae is a very large one and
several species are economically important re-
productive behaviour is known only in a few
species, Hylobius abietis (Selander and Jans-
son 1977), Microlarinus laervnii (Kirkland and
Geoden 1978) and Anthonomus grandis (Villa-
vaso et al. 1975). Therefore an attempt, though
preliminary in nature is made on the ethology
of reproduction in the ash-weevil, Myllocerus
undecimpustulatus maculosus Desb, which is
Oriental in distribution. It is a polyphagous
species and a serious pest on Cotton (Gossy-
pium barbadense and G. hirsutum), Brinjal

1 Accepted April 1980.

2 Entomology Division, Central Institute for Cotton
Research Regional Station, Coimbatore-641 003,
South India. Present address : Joint Director, Regional
Sericultural Research Station, Central Silk Board,
Titabar 785 632 (Assam).

(Solanum melongena) and other crops in India.
The previous works on M. maculosus pertain
to control measures (Krishan Kumar and
Rattan Lai 1966); recording the host plants
(Bhutani 1975) and unusual occurrence
(Kareem et al. 1977) etc. are of preliminary
nature only.

Material and Methods

Late instar grubs and pupae were brought
from the fields and reared on cotton root in
petri dishes. Newly emerged adults were re-
leased in pairs in glass jars to observe their
courtship and mating. Fresh cotton leaves were
provided as food for the adults. To avoid
possible behavioural variability due to “learn-
ed” sexual behaviour, studies on courtship
were performed on virgin adults.

The following different combinations of
male and female were maintained separately to
study the reaction of the adults in various
mating types that exist under natural condi-
tion. (1) Newly emerged males and females,
(2) Newly emerged males and unmated females
of different ages (5-10 days after eclosion), (3)
Newly emerged males and previously mated
females, (4) Newly emerged females with pre-
viously unmated males, (5-10 days after eclo-
sion), (5) Newly emerged females with previ-
ously mated males, (6) A few males along with
more number of females, (7) Several males
along with less number of females. The labo-
ratory observations were compared with obser-

125

JOURNAL . BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

vations made in the field during September
1976 to December 1978.

Set up 1 shows the normal mating behaviour.

Set up 2 to 5 show the effect of age on
mating response.

Set up 6 and 7 show the mating competition
and aggression when one sex is predominent
in a colony.

Observations and Results

Normal mating (Mating type 1):

Adults start mating 2-3 days after eclosion.
When the male encounters the female, it in-
stantaneously strikes the antennae of the female
with its own antennae (Fig. 1). A receptive
female remains motionless while an unrecep-
tive female escapes with jerky movements. The
male advances its fore legs and rubs the fore
tarsi of the receptive female (Fig. 2) and the
responding female reciprocates with a few
antennal strokes on the attempting male. Then
the male moves to the side of the female (Fig.
3) and with its fore legs rubs the pronotum of
the female. This tactile stimulus rouses the
female to raise the tip of its abdomen after
disengaging the pygidium. Meanwhile, the male
having released its aedeagus finds no resistance
to establish genital connection (Fig. 4). The
entire courtship does not extend beyond two
minutes. Among virgin males and females the
antennation and fore tarsal stimulation conti-
nues for 5-10 seconds. Once genital connection
is achieved the male remains docile through-
out and keep its antennae either straight or
bent midway. The female, on the other hand,
moves about dragging the male to suitable
secluded places. Both males and females do
not feed during copulation. When undisturbed
the copulation lasts for 5-7 hours. Mating is
quite common during early hours of the morn-
ing (05.00 hrs to 09.00 hrs). After copulation

the male and female move away and occasion-
ally the males continue to pester by dorsal
riding (Fig. 5). The various sequences involved
in the courtship and copulation are shown
diagrammatically in Fig. 7.

Effect of age on mating response

(Mating type 2) :

Though the females are sexually active, they
never initiate mating behaviour. Newly emerg-
ed males and virgin females behave in a similar
fashion as described above, the females readily
responding to the mating attempts initiated by
the males. (Mating type 3): When newly
emerged males are released among already
mated females, the latter do not readily res-
pond and, therefore, the pre-courtship beha-
viour is a bit more elaborate. Occasionally
such females run away while the males persis-
tently run after them and grab them with the
fore legs and forcibly detain them by suddenly
jumping upon them and lifting the posterior
tip of the female’s abdomen with their hind
legs. An un receptive female shakes off the male
convulsively or only allows dorsal riding (Fig.
5) without separating the pygidium. But a
virgin male persists in coaxing the female by
gently drumming on the antennae and head of
the female with its antennae, also frequently
lifting the female’s abdomen with its hind legs.
When the female responds by straightening the
abdominal segments and opening its genital
aperture, the male secures genital connection
while remaining on the dorsal side itself and
releasing its aedeagus. Male releases its aedea-
gus only when the genital aperture of the
female is opened and never in anticipation.
This type of pre-courtship and dorsal riding
by the male may last for more than 30
minutes. Occasionally, inspite of the coaxing
of the male, the female remain unreceptive,
dissection of such females show gravid

126

§

8

"a

o

g

§

a

_ o
Oo ^3

u *
0
in

co

a

j*.

.o

X

o c

PQ g
^ H

Fig. 1: Antennation. Fig. 2: Fore tarsi rubbing. Fig. 3: Male attaining lateral position to the female. Fig: 4: Copula position.

(Photos: Author )

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80

Thangavelu: Myllocerus u. maculosus

Plate II

Fig. 5: Dorsal riding (without genital connection). Fig. 6: Intruding male attempting to sit in between copula pairs.
Fig. 7: Sequence diagram of mating in M. maculosus. (Numbers within the circle refer to figure number)

COURTSHIP & COPULATION IN M. U. MACULOSUS

ovarioles with already matured eggs. (Mating
type 4) : When newly emerged females are
paired with aged as well as virgin males the
latter start antennation and fore tarsal rubbing,
but the newly emerged females never show
any receptivity, either they run away or allow
dorsal riding by the males and final separation.
Aged and virgin males remain excited and
aggressive as indicated by the forcible lifting
of the posterior tip of female’s abdomen and
pulling by his fore legs and violently stop-
ping her from running away. Occasionally the
males suddenly jump on the other male but
separate quickly as the typical feminine res-
ponse is not evoked by the male. (Mating type
5) : When newly emerged females are placed
along with previously mated males, the males
are not aggressive and therefore the females
move around the males. Mating is rarely
attempted. In mating types 3, 4 and 5, fre-
quency of successful mating is comparatively
less (Table 1).

Table 1

Effect of age on mating response

Mating

type

Number
of copula
pairs

Number of
mating
attempts

% of
successful
mating

1

10

35

86

2

15

50

80

3

15

43

50

4

15

45

55

5

10

30

33

Mating Competition and Aggression when one
sex is predominent (Mating type 6) :

When few males are placed along with seve-
ral females, normal mating similar to mating
type 1 is observed, the females without mates
wander around and do not disturb the other
pairs engaged in courtship and copulation.

(Mating type 7): When males predominate in
a colony of few females, the males without
mates often disturb the copula pairs. Invaria-
bly the disturbing male persists by drumming
on the mating female or rubbing the foretarsi
of the female, but such female never responds.
If the disturbance persists, then the female
carries the male to a more isolated place.
Occasionally the disturbing male is allowed to
rest in between the mating pair (Fig. 6). In
such cases the mating male raises its ventral
side to accommodate the intruding male, the
position of the mating male under such situa-
tion become almost perpendicular to the
female. The intruder may thus rest for more
than an hour — this type of unusual three in a
mating position is also seen in the field fre-
quently.

Field Observations

The ashweevil, M. maculosus lives and re-
produces throughout the year in South India.
They are abundant in the field during winter
months, October to January. During this period
mating is quite common. Newly emerged adults
are sexually not active and require a matura-
tion period. Hence mating is initiated only
after 2-3 days of adult emergence. The males
live 25-30 days while the females live for 30-45
days. During the entire adult period, females
mate only 4-5 times, while the males mate more
frequently. Receptivity in females decreases
with age and previous mating attempts. The
cool part of the day (05.00-09.00 hrs.) is pre-
ferred for mating in the field. In the laboratory
conditions they mate throughout the day.
Halffter and Yrma (op. cit.) recorded noon
time to be the most favoured time for mating
in Phanaeus (Scarabaeidae). During hotter
times, the adults rest between the bracts and
bolls or underneath the foliage.

127

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Discussion

Sexual identification is apparently visual.
Morphologically the male and female look
similar except for the size, the female is con-
siderably larger than the male. Similarly vision
plays the major role in the sex identification in
Pantorlytes szentivanyi (Curculionidae) (Has-
sen 1975). The entire courtship is very brief
and never lasts more than 2 minutes. Court-
ship is initiated by males only. When the male
sights the female, he swings his antennae over
the female. Similarly brief series of antennal
contacts were recorded in Microlarinus lareynii
(Curculionidae) (Kirkland and Goeden, op.
cit.). Antennation detains the responding
female, otherwise the unwilling female runs
away swiftly. When the female stops, the male
rubs with his fore legs the fore tarsi and pro-
notum of the female, which further stimulates
the female. Engelmann (1970) refers this kind
of tactile stimulus during courtship and mating
in many species of Coleoptera. Apart from tac-
ticle stimulation, Selander and Jansson (op.
cit.) reported stridulation in males to be asso-
ciated with the mating behaviour of the large
pine weevil Hylobius abietis. Once the genital
connection is secured the male rides on the
female, fully supported by her body and re-
mains motionless with his antennae erect or
bent. This is the most dominant feature during
mating in M. maculosus and Pinto (op. cit.)
also records such behaviour in blister beetles
of the subtribe Eupomphina (Meloidae).
Whenever the intruder persists, the agitated
male rubs the pronotum of the female with his
fore legs, compelling the female to move to
suitable isolated sites. While mating is in pro-
gress, the fore and mid legs of the male grip
the lateral sides of the female’s abdomen just
over the mid and hind legs and the hind legs
of the male hold the genital segments of the

female. The tibiae, tarsi and claws of the fore
and mid legs and tibial tips of the hind legs of
the male are engaged in holding the female.
The tarsi and claws of the hind legs of the
male are kept bent and do not hold the female
when at rest. Only when the female moves
rapidly these organs are engaged in holding the
venter of the abdominal tip of the female. In
the mating position the female spreads all the
three pairs of her legs on the resting surface.
When copulation is intensive the foretarsi of
the male are firmly placed on the elytra of the
female and the male is almost vertical to the
female. The percentage, of successful matings
decrease when aged and previously mated
adults were tested (Table 1). Fresh and unmat-
ed females are invariably receptive to mating,
with 80% of successful mating (mating type
2 — Table 1). Only 50% of successful mating
resulted with previously mated females (mat-
ing type 3). The percentage of successful mating
is lowest (33%) when mated and aged males
were tried with virgin females (mating type 5).
Just mated females and those with fully matured
eggs (confirmed by dissection of ovaries)
never allow copulation. When the female is
decidedly not receptive, the male does not
persist in establishing genital connection but
climbs over the female (Fig. 5) and sits for a
considerably time and then lifts the genital
segments in order to secure genital connection.
However the male’s aedeagus is only released
when the female responds by opening the geni-
tal aperture. Unmated males, when coupled
with newly emerged females, become sexually
more excited when the newly emerged females
do not respond to the repeated mating attempts
of the males (mating types 2 and 6) indicating
more sexual drive in the males than in the
females. It also appears that the females do
not become violent but the males become aggres-
sive if denied an opportunity for mating.

128

COURTSHIP & COPULATION IN M. U. MACULOSUS

Females never disturb other copula pairs while
males do.

Summary :

Males and females of Myllocerus maculosus
live and reproduce throughout the year, how-
ever sexual activity is more vigorous only dur-
ing October- January. Mating in the field is
quite common in the early hours of the day.
Mating started only after 2-3 days of adult
emergence. Sexual identification is mainly
visual. Antennation and rubbing of fore tarsi
and pronotum provides the mating stimulus for
the female. The male only initiates courtship
and thereafter remains docile, whereas female
is very active during courtship and mating.

Refer

Alcock, J. (1976): Courtship and mating in
Hippomelas planicosta (Coleoptera : Buprestidae) .

College Bulletin 30 (4) : 343-348.

Barak, A. V. and Burkholder, W. E. (1977) :
Behaviour and Pheromone studies with Attagenus
elongatulus Casey (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Jour-
nal of Chemical Zoology, 3 (2) : 219-237.

Bennett, G. (1974) : Mating behaviour of the
Rosechaefer in Northern Michigan (Coleoptera:
Scarabaeidae) . Coleopterists Bulletin, 28: 167-168.

Bhutani, D. K. (1975): Crops pests and their
control-1 Cotton. Pesticides 9 (3) : 21-27.

Choudhary, J. P. and Kapil, R. P. (1976): Re-
productive biology of Khapra beetle, Trogoderma
granarium EV. (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Zeitsch-
rift fur angewandte entomologie, 81 (1) : 30-37.

Engelmann, F. (1970): The Physiology of Insect
Reproduction. Pergamon Press.

Halffter, G. and Yrma Lopez, G. (1977) : Deve-
lopment of the ovary and mating behaviour in
Phanaeus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Annals of

Entomological Society of America. 70(2) : 203-213.

Hammack, L. et al. (1976): Sex Pheromone re-
leasing behaviour in females of dermestid beetle
Trogoderma glabrum (Col.). Journal of Insect
Physiology, 22(4) : 555-561.

Hardy, A. R. (1976): Observations on the mating
behaviour of Pseudocotalpa ginlianii Hardy (Col.,

Courtship is not elaborate, it lasts for two or
three minutes only. Females mate only 4-5 times
in their life. Gravid females do not mate. Males
mate quite frequently. Mating efficiency de-
creases with age and previous mating in both
sexes. Males disturb other copula pairs in
crowded condition and, if denied a chance for
mating, become aggressive. Males are sexually
more vigorous than females.

Acknowledgement

I thank Dr. J. G. Bhatt, Project Coordinator
& Head, Central Institute for Cotton Research,
Regional Station, Coimbatore-3 for facilities
provided and encouragement.

EN CES

Scarabaeidae). College Bulletin 30(3): 301-302.

*Hassen, E. (1975) : Sex characteristics and mat-
ing behaviour of Pantorhytes szentivanyi Marshal
(Col., Gurculionidae). Anz. Schadlingskd. Pflanz .
Umweltschutz. 48 (2) : 25-27.

Kareem, A. et al. (1977) : Unusual large-scale
occurrence of the cotton ashweevil grub and its con-
trol. Pesticides 11 (3) : 27-28.

Kirkland, R. L. and Goeden, R. D. (1978) : Bio-
logy of Microlarinus lareynii (Coleoptera: Curculio-
nidae) on Puncturvine in Southern California.
Annals of Entomological Society of America 71 (1) :
13-19.

Krishan Kumar and Rattan Lal (1966): Com-
parative toxicity of recently introduced organic in-
secticides to some insects pests of crops. Indian Jour-
nal of Entomology, 28 (2) : 258-264.

Lorochelle, A. (1973): Notes on the mating
periods of some carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Cara-
bidae). Proceedings of Entomological Society of
Ontorio. 104: 50-52.

Master, C. 1976: Notes on sexual behaviour of
Cicindela Oregona (Col. Cicindelidae) . Cicindela 8
(1): 13-14.

Mathieu, J. (1969): Mating behaviour of five
species of Lucanidae (Col. Insecta). Canadian Ento »•
mologist. 10 (1): 1054-1062.

Peschke, K. (1978): Functional and morpholo-

129

9

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

gical investigations on the copulation of Aleochara
curtula Goeze (Col. Staphylinidae) . Zoomorphologie :
89 (2): 159-184.

Pinto, J. D. (1972) : Comparative courtship be-
haviour of Neqalius, Phodaga and Cordylospasta,
three closely related genera of blister beetles (Coleo-
ptera: Meloidae). Journal of Kansas Entomological
Society, 45 : 459-476.

(1974) : Courtship behaviour in

Linselya compressicornis (Coleoptera: Meloidae) and
its taxonomic significance. Canadian Entomologist,
50: 1-8.

(1975) : Intra and inter specific court-
ship behaviour in blister beetles of the genus Tegro-
dera (Meloidae). Annals of Entomological Society of
America. 68: 275-285.

(1977a) : Sexual behaviour in the

blister beetle Cysteodemus (Meloidae). Canadian
Entomologist. 109: 389-396.

(1977b) : Comparative sexual beha-
viour in Blister beetles of the sub-tribe Eupomphina
(Coleoptera: Meloidae) and an evaluation of its
taxonomic significance. Annals of Entomological
Society of America. 70: 937-951.

* Scheloske, H. W. (1974) : Reproductive behavi-

our and sound production in Laccobius minutus (L.)
(Col., Hydrophilidae). Verh. Dtsch. Zoologie Gazette.
67: 329-334.

Selander, J. and Jansson, A. (1977) : Sound pro-
duction associated with mating behaviour of the
large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis (Col. Curculio-
nidae). Annals of Entomological Society Fennici, 43
(2): 66-75.

Seleander, R. B. (1964) : Sexual behaviour in blis-
ter beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) I. The genus
Pyrota. Canadian Entomologist. 96: 1037-1082.

Seleander, R. B. and Pinto, J. D. (1967) : Sexual
behaviour in blister beetles (Coleoptera : Meloidae) II.
Linsleya conuexa. Journal of Kansas Entomological
Society. 40: 396-412.

Villa vAso, E. J. et al. (1975) : Response of virgin
vs. mated and sterile vs. fertile female bollweevils to
male baited traps ( Anthonomus grandis (Col., Cur-
culionidae). Environmental Entomology, 4{ 4): 566-
568.

Wang, T. S. et al. (1977): Observations on the
reproduction of Coccinella septumpernctata L. Acta
Entomologie Sinai. 20 (4) :

* original not consulted.

130

THE GENUS LINDERNIA ALL. ( SCROPHULARIACEAE )

IN INDIA1

V. V. Sivarajan & Philip Mathew2

The Indo-Burmese species of the genus Lindernia All. have been revised by Mukherjee
(1945). Since then, there have been considerable change in the circumscription and
nomenclature of many of the taxa. The present paper is a taxonomic revision of the
Indian species of the genus. In all, 22 species have been recognised, two of them,
L. molluginoides and L. elata, being new records for India. A new variety, L. tenuifolia
var. pygmaea Sivarajan & Philip Mathew is recorded from Kerala. An artificial key
for the species, their current nomenclature, and notes on their salient features, habitat

and world distribution are provided.

The genus Lindernia All., as currently re-
cognised, has about 100 species described under
various generic names, viz. Lindernia All., Van-
dellia Linn., Bonnaya Link & Otto and llysan-
thes Rafin., circumscribed mainly on the basis
of number of fertile stamens and nature of
staminodes. However, generic alignments with-
in this group has long been a matter of dis-
cussion and controversy. Linnaeus treated
Lindernia and Vandellia, both with four perfect
stamens, as two distinct genera (cf. Mukherjee
1945) though Bentham and many others pre-
ferred to unite them, llysanthes and Bonnaya
are characterised by two perfect stamens and
two staminodes but differ in their relative posi-
tion. In llysanthes , the posterior pair is fertile
and the anterior staminodal whereas in
Bonnaya they are in the reverse order. Ben-
tham (1835, 1846, 1876), J. D. Hooker (1884)
and many others have preferred to keep them
as distinct genera while others have united them
under llysanthes. Blatter and Hallberg (1918)
have pointed out the inadequacy of the stami-

1 Accepted October 1981.

2 Department of Botany, University of Calicut,
Kerala-673 635.

nal characters to circumscribe genera within
this group but, have still opted not to disturb
the then prevailing system of treating them
under different generic names. Haines (1922)
reduced the four genera into two but, in a
different manner. He included Bonnaya in
Vandellia and llysanthes in Lindernia, thus
mixed up taxa with four and two perfect sta-
mens. He recognised these groups mainly based
on major vein configurations in their leaves,
Vandellia with penninerved leaves and Lin-
dernia with basally veined ones.

Neither staminal nor venation characters
have provided adequate and reliable taxonomic
criteria for circumscribing the different genera
within this group. In fact, ‘it would have been
more appropriate for him (Haines) to go one
step further and combine the four into a single
genus’ (Mukherjee 1945). This was however,
done by Pennell (1935, 1943) who combined
all these taxa under the single generic name
Lindernia, a natural assemblage characterised
by ‘the remarkably uniform corolla, curiously
recurving anterior filaments and by similar
septicidal dehiscence of capsule’.

Indian species of this genus have been re-
vised by Mukherjee (1945). He recognised 28

131

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

species in all, from the Indo-Burmese region.
Subsequent studies have however, altered the
concept of species in this genus very drastically
(Philcox 1964, 1968). Circumscription of seve-
ral species have been expanded. For instances,
L. anagallis (Burm. f.) Pennell, currently in-
cludes several taxa which were previously des-
cribed under different binomials like L. cor di-
folia and L. angustifolia. L. sessiliflora is under-
stood to be conspecific with L. nummularifolia
and L. laxa with L. pusilla. Several species
described by Blatter and Hallberg (1918) have
been reduced to synonymy while one of them,
L. quinqueloba (Blatt. & Hallb.) Mukherjee,
which almost crosses the generic limits in the
nature of corolla is no more considered to be
a natural species (Saldanha 1963). Consequent
to this change in the concept of species, several
species recognised by earlier workers have
been reduced to synonymy. The purpose of this
paper is to bring the Indian species of this
genus in line with the current concept of species
in the genus. A study of the materials avail-
able in the various herbaria (mentioned at the
end) have revealed that 22 species are avail-
able in India of which L. data and L. mollu-
ginoides have hitherto not been known to occur
here.

Key to the species

1. Perfect stamens usually two:

2. Capsules linear, much longer than the calyx:

3. Lvs broadly ovate/ elliptic •

4. Lvs petioled ruellioides

4. Lvs sessile or subsessile:

5. Lvs aristate-dentate ciliata

5. Lvs crenate-serrate antipoda

3. Lvs linear /oblong:

6. Lvs distinctly serrate oppositifolia

6. Lvs shallowly toothed or subentire:

7. Lamina 15 cm or more long

estaminodosa

7. Lamina not more than 4 cm long

tenuifolia

2. Capsules subglobose or ovoid:
8. Capsules equalling the calyx:

9. Lvs ovate /oblong minima

9. Lvs orbicular/ rounded rotundifolia

8. Capsules longer than the calyx:

10. Pedicels deflexed in fruit:

11. Corolla twice as long as the calyx

parviflora

11. Corolla 3-4 times longer than calyx

hyssopioides

10. Pedicels not deflexed in fruit

manilaliana

1 . Perfect stamens usually 4 :

12. Capsules equalling or shorter than calyx:
13. Flowers in terminal racemes, also axillary,

solitary :

14. Calyx shortly toothed Crustacea

14. Calyx deeply divided:

15. Plants hairy viscosa

15. Plants glabrous multiflora

13. Flowers never in terminal racemes,

always axillary, solitary:

16. Calyx shortly toothed:

17. Plants glabrous molluginoides

17. Plants hairy hookeri

16. Calyx divided to the base:

18. Plants glabrous:

19. Lvs pinnately veined elata

19. Lvs basally veined procumbens

18. Plants hairy:

20. Lvs ovate /oblong, densely hairy

on both sides montana

20. Lvs ovate/ orbicular, sparcely hairy

pusilla

12. Capsules much exceeding the calyx:

21. Calyx shortly toothed at apex

nummularifolia

21. Calyx deeply divided anagallis

L. ruellioides (Colsm.) Pennell, Brittonia 2 :
182. 1936 & J. Arn. Arb. 20: 81. 1939;
Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 133. 1945;
Philcox, Kew Bull. 17: 484. 1964 & 22: 54.
1968. Gradola ruellioides Colsm. Prod. Desc.
Grat. 12. 1793. Bonnaya reptans (Roxb.)
Spreng. Syst. 1: 41. 1824; Hook. f. FI. Brit.
Ind. 4: 284. 1884. I lysanthes reptans (Roxb.)
Urb. in Berl. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 2: 436. 1884;
Gamb. FI. Madr. 962. 1923.

132

GENUS LINDERNIA IN INDIA

Stem usually creeping and rooting at nodes;
leaves ovate /elliptic, obtuse; flowers lilac or
purple; pedicels slender; capsules linear, acute,
to 2 cm long.

In moist or swampy grasslands, cultivated
fields and waste places, throughout tropical and
subtropical Asia. In India Eastern Himalayas
and W. ghats.

Selected specimens studied :

Deb 25817, 26005, Panigrahi 14692, 14890
(NEFA), Joseph 37410 (Nongpoh), Kanjilal
927 (Khasi & Jaintia Hills), 5370 (Garo Hills),
Bor 21017 (Naga Hills), Sharma 9770, 16813,
13395 (Khasi & Jaintia Hills), Kanjilal 3377
(Lakhimpur), Sworoopanandan 381, 403 (Pal-
ghat), Calder & Ramaswami 374, Rama Rao
1501 (Kerala), Clarke 25171, King 4843
(Sikkim), Deb 27095 (Tripura), Clarke 45671,
Hook. f. & Thoms, sn. 323542 (Meghalaya).
L. ciliata (Colsm.) Fennell, Brittonia 2 : 182.
1936 & J. Arn. Arb. 24: 253. 1943; Mukher-
jee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 133. 1945. Gratiola
ciliata Colsm. Prod. Desc. Grat. 14. 1793.
Bonnaya brachiata Link & Otto, Ic. PI.
Select. 25, t. 11. 1820; Hook f. FI. Brit. Ind.
4: 284. 1884; Blatt. & Hallb, J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 25: 418. 1918. llysanthes
serrata (Roxb.) Urb. in Berk Detsch. Bot.
Ges. 2: 436. 1884; Gamble FI. Madr. 962.
1923. Vandellia brachiata (Link & Otto)
Haines, Bot. Bih. & Or. 632. 1922. Lindernia
bracteoides (Blatt. & Hallb.) Mukherjee, J.
Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 133. 1945.

Erect annuals; leaves elliptic-oblong, aristate-
dentate; flowers bluish or pink, rarely white;
pedicels upto 1 cm long; capsules linear, 1.5
cm long.

Very common in moist or wet lateritic slopes
and grasslands during monsoon, in South and
S. E. Asia and Australia. In India throughout.
Selected specimens examined :

Deka 20283 (Assam), Panigrahi sn. 16007

(Orissa), Blatter & Hallberg 1514 (type mate-
rial of Bonnaya bacteoides from Mt. Abu. S.

K. Mukherjee has noted on the sheet that the
characters selected by the authors to distinguish
this from B. bracteata do not hold good); A.
S. Rao 47924 (NEFA); Sebastine 8761 (Rewa,
M. P.), Panigrahi 13207 (Bilaspur), Arora
4706 (Allahabad); Reddi 99032 (Lonavla),
Billore 113184 (Thana, Pune); Balakrishnan
11021 (Andhra); Sivarajan 283 (Calicut),
Thomson sn. 323506 (Karnataka); Fischer
2248 (Coimbatore); Clarke 25128 (Sikkim).

L. antipoda (Linn.) Alston in Trimen FI. Ceyl.
6. suppl. 214. 1931; Philcox, Kew Bull. 17:
484. 1964 & 22: 57. 1968. Ruellia antipoda
Linn. Sp. PI. 635. 1753. Bonnaya grandiflora
(Retz.) Spreng. Syst. 1: 41. 1824. B. vero-
nicifolia (Retz.) Spreng. Syst. 1: 41. 1824;
Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 285. 1884. llysan-
thes veronicifolia (Retz.) Urb. in Berl.
Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 2: 436. 1884; Gamb. FI.
Madr. 962. 1923; Lindernia veronicifolia
(Retz.) Haines, Bot. Bih. Or. 634. 1922, excl.
Vandellia augustifolia, Mukherjee, J. Ind.
Bot. Soc. 24: 133. 1945. L. anagallis (Burm.
f.) Pennell, var. grandiflora (Retz.) Mukher-
jee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 133. 1945.
Prostrate or diffuse herbs; leaves variable, ser-
rate; flowers blue with yellow mouth, axillary,
solitary and in terminal biparous racemes;
fruiting pedicels spreading, 1.5 cm long; cap-
sule twice as long as the calyx, 1-1.5 cm long.

Common in swamps, grasslands, waste places
and also as a weed in cultivated fields. Tropi-
cal and subtropical Asia, from India eastwards.
In India throughout.

Selected specimens examined :

Ellis 19984, Sivarajan 389, 1014 (Calicut),
Sebastine 20826, Fischer 1814 (Palghat);
Ramamurthy 25994 (Trichur), Fischer 4508,
Hook. f. & Thomas, sn. 323584 (MH, Kerala);
Sebastine 16547 (Kottayam); Rao 26764,

133

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Karthikeyan 26880, Rao 26880 (This sheet in
MH contains two different elements, L. anti -
poda and L. hyssopioides), Deb 31296
(Salem); Subrammanyam 9379, 8290 (Madu-
rai), Sharma 35822, Subba Rao 36146, Subra-
manyam 10392, (Nilgiris), Henry 45547 (Chin-
galpet), Shetty 32233, Vajravelu 38861 (Tinne-
velly); Sebastine 2486, Chandrabose 31135
(Coimbatore); Bourne 149, Fischer 226, 817
(Tamilnadu); Meebold 10114 (Pondicherry);
Subba Rao 32019 (Chittoor), 19720, Bala-
krishnan 10792 (Visakhapatanam); Panigrahi
13218 (Bilaspur, M. P.); A. S. Rao 39140
(Assam); Biswas 5159 (Tripura); Meebold
10114 (Pondicherry); Fischer 1814, 4508
(Kerala); Haines 575 (Bihar); Panigrahi 8475
(Orissa).

L. oppositf folia (Linn.) Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot.
Soc. 24: 134. 1945. Gratiola oppositifolia
Linn. Sp. PI. (Ed. Willd.) 1: 105. 1797.
Bonnaya oppositifolia (Linn.) Spreng. Syst.
1: 41. 1824; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 286.
1884. Vandellia oppositifolia (Linn.) Haines,
Bot. Bih. Or. 634. 1922. llysanthes oppositi-
folia (Linn.) Urb. in Berl. Deutsch. Bot.
Ges. 2: 435. 1884; Gamble FI. Madr. 962.
1923.

Erect, annuals; leaves oblong-obtuse, serrate;
flowers blue in terminal racemes; capsules
linear, much exceeding the calyx; pedicels de-
flexed in fruits, almost as long as the fruit.

Common weed in wet low lands and paddy
fields, in India.

Selected specimens examined :

Ramamurthy 22720 (Ramnad), 17652 (N.
Arcot), Joseph 3956, Sivrajan 317 (Calicut);
Henry 45549 (Chingalpet); 2110 (Coimbatore);
Reddi 97926 (Lonavla); Panigrahi 12584
(Mirzapur, U.P.); Hooper 39629 (Orissa);
Fischer 2110 (Coimbatore); Thomson sn.
322701 (CAL).

L. estaminodosa (Blatt. & Hallb.) Mukherjee,
J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 133. 1945. Bonnaya
estaminodosa Blatter & Hallberg, J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 25 : 416 1918.

Erect, profusely branched annuals, 20-40 cm
tall; leaves oblong to oblanceolate, entire or sub-
entire; flowers in terminal racemes; staminodes
absent; fruiting pedicels and capsules about
four times as long as the calyx.

In wet low lands. This species is extremely
rare and was collected from the back waters
at Cherukunnu, Cannanore Dt. Distributed
along the western peninsular India.

Specimens examined :

Sivarajan 518 (Cannanore), Talbot 1930,
1584 (Karnataka).

L. tenuifolia (Colsm.) Alston in Trim. FI. Ceyl.
6. suppl. 214. 1931; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot.
Soc. 24: 134. 1945; Philcox, Kew Bull. 22:
62. 1968. Gratiola tenuifolia Colsm. Prod.
Desc. Grat. 8. 1793. Bonnaya tenuifolia
(Colsm.) Spreng. Syst. 1: 42. 1842; Hook. f.
FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 286. 1884. llysanthes tenui-
folia (Colsm.) Urb. in Berol. Deutsch. Bot.
Ges. 2: 435. 1884; Gamb. FI. Madr. 962.
1923. Vandellia tenuifolia (Colsm.) Haines,
Bot. Bih. Or. 634. 1922.

Erect, or diffuse annuals, branches 5-8 cm
long; leaves narrow, linear-oblong, upto 3x0.3
cm; flowers solitary axillary or leaf-opposed,
8 mm long; pedicels deflexed in fruit, 1.2 cm
long; capsules linear, 8 mm long.

In wet lowlands and along backwaters in
Malaysia, Indochina, Sri Lanka and India. In
India, Bengal and S. India.

Specimens examined :

Meebold 12684 (Quilon), CAL (erro-
neously identified as Bonnaya oppositifolia );
Sivarajan 517, Sivarajan & Suresh 21627 (Cali-
cut). These specimens match well with the
Koenig’s material kept at Vahl’s Herbarium at

134

GENUS LINDERNIA IN INDIA

the University of Copenhagen (only photo-
graph seen) based on which Colsmann describ-
ed the species.

var. pygmaea Sivarajan & Philip Mathew,

var. nov.

Haec varietas habitu multu diverso, pyg-
maea, foliis pseudo-acicularibus, floribus roseis
et capsulis brevioribus habit ut in L. tenuifolia
typica quae maior est et folia plana, flores
caeruleos, capsula et pedicellos fructigeros lon-
giores habet.

Erect, tufted herbs 3-5 cm long; leaves linear,
apparently acicular, up to 2 cm long; flowers
axillary or leaf-opposed, solitary, pale blue,
much smaller than in the typical form; pedicels
almost as long as the capsule, deflexed in
fruit; capsules linear, 5 mm long.

Holotype Sivarajan 1368 (Kallai, Calicut) is
deposited in the Central National Herbarium,
Howrah and isotypes in the Calicut University
Herbarium.

L. minima (Benth.) Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot.

Soc. 24: 132. 1945. llysanthes minima Benth.

in DC. Prodr. 10: 420. 1846; Hook. f. FI.

Brit. Ind. 4: 284. 1884; Gamb. FI. Madr.

961. 1923.

Leaves only 2-3 pairs, entire, flowers yellow;
pedicels capillary; capsules subglobose, equal-
ling the fruiting calyx.

In wet or moist grounds, in S. India.

This species has been added on the authority
of Mukherjee. We have not seen any material
of this species from India.

L. rotundifofiia (Linn.) Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot.

Soc. 24: 132. 1945. Gratiola rotundifolia

Linn. Mant. 274. 1767. llysanthes rotundi-
folia (Linn.) Benth. in DC. Prodr. 10: 420.

1846; Hook f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 254. 1884;

Gamb. FI. Madr. 962. 1923.

Erect or diffuse herbs; leaves sessile, orbicular
or ovate, entire or serrate; flowers white with

purple blotches; capsules globose, equalling the
fruiting calyx.

Common in wet or marshy lowlands, during
monsoon, in S. India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and
Madagascar.

Selected specimens examined :

Vivekanandan 21347, 22993 (Kottayam),
Sharma 41674 (Idukki), Sivarajan 433, 1343
(Calicut), Subramanyam 8220 (Madurai).

L. parviflora (Roxb.) Haines, Bot. Bih. Or.

645. 1922; Pennell, Acad. Nat. Soc. Phil.

Mon. 5: 29. 1943; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot.

Soc. 24: 132. 1945. Gratiola parviflora Roxb.

Cor. PI. 3: 3, t. 204. 1811. llysanthes parvi-
flora (Roxb.) Benth. Scroph. Ind. 34. 1835

& in DC. Prodr. 10: 419. 1846; Hook. f. FI.

Brit. Ind. 4: 283. 1884; Gamb. FI. Madr.

961. 1923.

A variable species, branched or unbranch-
ed; leaves ovate-acute, sessile, 3 -veined from
base, entire; flowers axillary, solitary, white
with purple blotches; pedicels long, deflexed in
fruit; corolla variable in size, capsules ovoid
or ellipsoid, almost twice as long as the calyx.

In wet low lands and cultivated fields during
rainy season, in Trop. Africa, Indo-China and
major part of India. The typical form of the
species is branched from base, slightly suffruti-
cose with well developed leaves and axillary,
solitary flowers. Some of the specimens collect-
ed by the authors are delicate, sparcely branch-
ed, and fleshy with the upper leaves reduced
to bracts giving the inflorescence an appearance
of a raceme.

Selected specimens examined :

Sethi & Negi 25900 (Kottayam), Barnes sn.
106065 (Vandalur), Lawson 154 (Travancore),
Fischer 1812 (Palghat), Sivarajan 1658, 21632
(Calicut); Subramanyam 5108 (W. Godavari),
Sebastine 9767 (Nalconda), 8045 (Hyderabad),

135

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Chandrabose 29760 (Coimbatore), Rama-
murthy 21036 (Ramnad), Vajravelu 34010
(Tinnevelly), 22443 (Salem), Talbot 864 (N.
Canara), Sebastine 13926 (Jubbulpore), Pani-
grahi 16777 (Bilaspur), Rolla Rao 77744
(Bombay), Raizada 22768— with white flowers
— (Gir, Saurashtra), Santapau 475 (Khan-
dala), Clarke 26263, 26275, Hook. f. sn.
323428 (CAL) (W. Bengal); Gamble 8905,
Clarke 34279 (Bihar) Fischer 836, 839 (Tamil
Nadu), Lawson 154 (Travancore) ; Fischer
1812 (Dhoni).

L. hyssopioides (Linn.) Haines, Bot. Bih. Or.

635. 1922; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24:

132. 1945; Philcox, Kew Bull. 22: 50. 1968.

Gratiola hyssopioides Linn. Mant. 174. 1767.

llysanthes hyssopioides (Linn.) Benth. in

DC. Prod. 10: 419. 1846; Hook. f. FI. Brit.

Ind. 4: 283. 1884; Gamb. FI. Madr. 961.

1923.

Erect herbs, leaves variable in size and shape,
basally veined, entire; flowers blue, axillary,
solitary; pedicels very variable in length, de-
flexed in fruit; capsules ovoid, twice as long as
the calyx.

Common in wet low lands in South and S.
E. Asia. In India it is reported from South and
also East Himalayas. It is difficult to diffe-
rentiate this species and L. parviflora as has
been mentioned by Santapau (1967). Both are
variable and the range of variations often over-
lap. However, shape of leaves and relative size
of the reproductive parts provide rather relia-
ble diagnostic characters, to distinguish the two.

Selected specimens examined :

Vajravelu 27597, Joseph 17724 (Palghat),
Rama Rao 1674, Ellis 18589, Sivarajan 47,
21632, 21633 (Calicut), Rama Rao 2187
(Quilon), Fischer 1811 (Palghat), Calder &
Ramaswami 965 (Travancore), Balakrishnan
10210 (Coimbatore). Subramanyam 6591, 7524

(Salem), Ellis 34662, Subba Rao 36603 Nil-
giri). Bourne 1132 (Pulney), Perottet 51
(Shevaroi Hills), Subba Rao 22579 (Visakha-
patanam), Chandra Bose 45179 (Chittoor),
Gamble 21807 (Visakhapatanam), Meebold
8237 (Karnataka), Balakrishnan sn. 83875 j
(S. Canara), Deka 19324 (Chirapunjee), Bala-
krishnan 47034, 47196 (Khasia & Jaintia Hills),
Subramanyam 7182 (Bastar), Reddi 99079
(Poona).

L. maniialiana Sivarajan, Kew Bull. 31: 151-

153. 1976.

Annual fleshy herbs, rooting at lower nodes, :
closely resembling the two preceeding species >
but can readily be identified by undivided
staminodes, erect fruiting pedicels and unreduc-
ed upper leaves.

Reported from Calicut (Kerala), in wet
swampy low lands.

Specimens examined :

Sivarajan 435 (Calicut), Sivarajan & Suresh
21629 (Calicut).

L. Crustacea (Linn.) F. Muell. Syst. Cens.

Austral. PI. 1: 97. 1882; Mukherjee, J. Ind.

Bot. Soc. 24: 130. 1945; Philcox, Kew Bull.

22: 17. 1968. Capraria Crustacea Linn. Mant.

1: 87. 1767. Vandellia Crustacea (Linn.)

Benth. Scroph. Ind. 35. 1835 & in DC. Prod.

10: 413. 1846; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 279.

1884; Gamb. FI. Madr. 959. 1923.

Erect or diffuse herbs, often purplish in
colour; leaves ovate to elliptic, crenate-serrate or
subentire; flowers pink, axillary, solitary and in
terminal racemes; pedicels long; capsules
equalling the calyx.

A variable species growing in almost all
types of habitats, in South and S. East Asia,
tropical Africa and America. In India through-
out.

Selected specimens examined :

Rama Rao 1346 (Alleppy), Calder & Rama-

136

GENUS LINDERNIA IN INDIA

swami 14 (Konni), Sivarajan 23, 322, 360, 1369
(Calicut), Thomson 316, Fischer 2075 (Nil-
giri), Talbot 9, 469 (N. Canara), Raju 548
(Godavari), Balakrishnan 934 (Srikakulam);
Cooke 64 (Mahabaleshwar), R. S. Rao 92497
(Maharashtra), Abraham 164 (Orissa), Clarke
34173 (Chota Nagpur); Prain sn. 322990
(CAL), Malick 265 (Purulia), Ghosh 2444
(Hoogly), Balakrishnan 39282, Panigrahi 11206
(Assam), R. S. Rao 8823 (Tripura), King
sn. 322971 (CAL), Duthie 4247, 4249 (U.P.),
Panigrahi 12958 (Bilaspur), Sebastine 8756
(Rewa), Ansari 63825 (Gujarat), R. S. Rao
19969 (NEFA).

Panigrahi 238354, 23867 and Janaki Ammal
9268 (CAL) labelled as L. Crustacea are
Lobelia alsinoides and Fischer 859 is Torenia
lindernioides. It is observed that this species
is usually confused with L. nummularifolia
(Narayanaswamy 3359 CAL) and L. pusilla
(T. A. Rao 8037 CAL, Panigrahi 21534, Deb
29162 (assam), also besides the earlier men-
tioned species.

L. viscosa (Hornem.) Merr. Sp. Blanc. 14. 1918
& En. Philip. PI. 3: 349. 1923; Philcox, Kew
Bull. 22: 38. 1968. Gratiola viscosa Hornem.
En. PI. Hort. Hafn. 19: 1807; Vandellia
hirsuta Benth. Scroph. Ind. 36. 1835; Gamb.
FI. Madr. 959. 1923; Linder nia hirsuta
(Benth.) Wettst. in Engl. & Pr. Pfam. 4 (3b) :
79. 1891; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24:
131. 1945.

Erect or diffuse herbs, softly hairy through-
out leaves ovate-oblong to obovate, obtuse, cre-
nate-serrate; flowers white with a yellow mouth;
capsules subglobose, almost as long as the
fruiting calyx.

In moist, shady places, in Malaysia and Indian
subcontinent. In India, along Himalayas and
S. India.

Specimens examined :

Erady 2170, Sivarajan 343 (Calicut), Deka
21550 (K.&J. Hills), Bor 17246 (Aka Hills);
Naithani 1953 (Dehra Dun), Nafday 32 (Nag-
pur), Sharma 515 (Calcutta).

L. multiflora (Roxb.) Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot.
Soc. 24: 131. 1945. Philcox. Kew Bull. 22:
36. 1968. Torenia multiflora Roxb. FI. Ind.
(ed. Carey 3: 96. 1832 Vandellia multi-
flora (Roxb.) G. Don, Gen. Syst. 4: 549.
1838; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 280. 1884.
Erect or diffuse, glabrous herbs with variable
leaves; flowers in terminal racemes, short pedi-
celled; calyx deeply divided; capsules equalling
the calyx.

In marshes and lowlands of Malaysia and
India.

Specimens examined :

Mandal 9(?); Kurz sn. 323068, Chatter jee
729, Sen Gupta 72, Dutt 472 (W. Bengal); King
56, Banerjee 432 (Champaran, Bihar).

L. molluginoides (Benth.) Wettst. in Natur.
Pflanzen. f. iv. 3b: 80. 1891. Vandellia mol-
luginoides Benth. Scroph. Ind. 35. 1835.
Erect or diffuse herbs; leaves ovate-elliptic;
flowers in apparent terminal racemes; pedi-
cellate; calyx pubescent; capsules equalling the
calyx.

This species can be distinguished from the
related New Guinean species, L. glabra Philcox,
by the pubescent calyx and much smaller
flowers.

In wet or moist places in India and Burma.
Specimens examined :

We have come across only a single speci-
men of this species (Aroong 3661, CAL) from
Orissa.

L. hookeri (Clarke ex Hook, f.) Wettst. in
Natur. Pflanzen. f. iv. 3b: 79. 1891; Mukherjee,
J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 130. 1945. Vandellia

137

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

hookeri Clarke ex Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4:
280. 1884. V. stemonoides Haines, Bot. Bihar
& Orissa, 661. 1922, non Miq.

Diffusely branched, hairy herbs; leaves ovate-
oblong or lanceolate, hairy; flowers in terminal
and axillary verticillate clusters; pedicels hairy;
calyx hispid; strongly ribbed, cleft to the base.

In moist or wet places in Bihar, Bengal and
N. E. Himalayas.

Specimens examined :

Meebold 6356 (Manipur); Clarke 40642,
40647 & sn. 323054 (CAL) and Clarke’s illus-
tration of the species. Panigrahi 16766 (NEFA)
in the Shillong Herbarium of Botanical Survey
of India labelled as L. hookeri is actually
Torenia thourasii.

L. hookeri var. kumaunensis Pennell (Acad.
Nat. Sci. Phil. Monogr. 5: 29. 1943) is record-
ed here on the authority of Pennell & Mukher-
jee (1945). The authors did not come across
materials of this taxon in any of the Herbaria
consulted.

L. elata (Benth.) Wettst. in Natur. Pflanzen. f.
iv. 3b: 79. 1891; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc.
24: 131. 1945. Vandellia elata Benth. Scroph.
Ind. 36. 1835 & in DC. Prodr. X: 414. 1846;
Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 280. 1884.

Slender, wiry herbs with short-petioled,
ovate-acute, serrate leaves; flowers short pedi-
celled; calyx deeply divided, linear; capsules
subglobose, as long as the calyx.

Andaman & Nicobar.

Specimens examined :

Mukherjee (l.c.) has recorded this species
from Burma. This species is represented in the
Calcutta Herbarium by a single specimen.
Heifer 3908 from Andamans & Nicobar and
hence included here.

L. procumbens (Krick.) Philcox, Taxon 14: 30.

1965 & Kew Bull. 22: 29. 1968. Anagalloides
procumbens Krock. FI. Siles 2: 398 t. 1790.
Lindernia pyxidaria Linn. Mant. 2: 252.
177; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 131.
1945, nom. illeg. Vandellia erecta Benth.
Scroph. Ind. 36. 1835, in part; Hook. f. FI.
Brit. Ind. 4: 281. 1884.

Erect annuals; leaves sessile, ovate-obtuse;
flowers white, long-pedicelled; capsules ellip-
soid, 3-4 mm long.

In wet lowlands in South and S. E. Asia. In
India throughout.

Specimens examined :

Meebold 10380, Arora 3747 & 3952 (?);
Hooker J. D. sn. 32175, Anderson sn. 323174
(Sikkim); Verma 1976 (Rajasthan); Thomson
sn. 323185 (Punjab); Kurz sn. 323176, Dutta
51, Prain sn. 323179 (W. Bengal); Clarke
31357 (Kashmir); Duthie 8362, 9626, 9630
(M.P.); Duthie 4248 (U.P.); Brekett 298
(Bihar).

L. montan a (Blume) Koord. Exk. FI. Java 3:
178. 1912; Philcox, Kew Bull. 22: 44. 1968.
Diceros montanus Blume, Bijdr. 752. 1826.
Vandellia mollis Benth. Scroph. Ind. 37.
1835; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 281. 1884.
Lindernia mollis (Benth.) Wettst. in Natur.
Pflanzen. f. iv. 3b: 79. 1891; Mukherjee, J.
Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 131. 1945.

Diffuse, profusely hairy herbs; leaves ovate
to oblong, crenate-serrate, subsessile; flowers
axillary, solitary or in few-flowered cymes;
capsules shorter than calyx.

In marshy lowlands, in Indochina, Malaysia
and India.

Specimens examined :

Bor 17244 (Aka Hills), 6480 (Naga Hills);
Deka 23324 (K.&J. Hills), 16898 (Lakhim-
pur); Craib 182 (Haflong); Gammie 149, Watt
11728 (Assam); Hook. f. & Thoms, sn. 323158

138

GENUS LINDERNIA IN INDIA

(CAL) (Meghalaya); Panigrahi 14976, R. S.
Rao 19976, 20084, Deb. 26644, 25870 (NEFA);
Cousins 65, 167, Ripley 20. 47 (W. Bengal);
Ribu 848, Watt 5717, King sn. 323148, Ander-
son 24816 (Sikkim).

L. pusilla (Willd.) Boldingh, Zakfl. Land-
bowstr. Java 165. 1916; Philcox Kew Bull.
22: 41. 1968. Gratiola pusilla Willd. Sp. PI.

1 : 105. 1797. Vandellia scabra Benth. Scroph.
Ind. 36. 1835; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 414.
1884. Lindernia hirta (Cham. & Schlech-
tend.) Pennell, J. Arn. Arb. 24: 250. 1943;
Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 131. 1945.
L. laxa (Benth.) Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc.
24: 1945. Vandellia laxa Benth. Scroph. Ind.
36. 1835; Blat. & Hallb. J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 25: 416. 1918.

Prostrate or diffuse herbs rooting at nodes,
hirsute all over; leaves ovate to orbicular, basally
veined; flowers white with a yellow throat; dis-
tinctly pedicellate; capsules subglobose, less
than the fruiting calyx.

In marshy lowlands, in South and S. E. Asia
and S. Africa.

Specimens examined :

Fischer 4526 (Puttur), Meebold 8551 (S.
Kanara), Calder & Ramaswamy 1618 (Travan-
core), Meebold 12153 (Cochin); Sivarajan 44,
436 (Calicut), Wight 2381 (?), Bennet 986
(Howrah), Saxena 1352, Panigrahi 23867
(Orissa), Clarke 26555 (W. Bengal), Prain sn.
323102 Banerjee 516 (Bihar), 4210
(Assam), Prain sn. 323107 (Nagaland), Ribu
3702 (Sikkim), Debbarman 742 (Tripura).

L. numimilarifolia (D. Don) Wettst. in Natur.
Pflanzen. f. iv. 3b: 79. 1891; Mukherjee, J.
Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 132. 1945; Saldanha &
Nicolson, FI. Hassan Dt. 522. 1976. Van.
dellia nummularifolia D. Don. Prodr. FI.
Nep. 86. 1825; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 282.
1884; V. sessilijlora Benth. Scroph. Ind. 37:

1835; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 282. 1884;
Lindernia sessilijlora (Benth.) Wettst. in
Natur. Pflanzen. f. iv. 3b. 79. 1891; Mukher-
jee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24: 132. 1945; Philcox,
Kew Bull. 22: 10. 1968.

Erect annuals, 4-5 cm tall; leaves sessile,
ovate, serrate; flowers sessile or pedicellate; cap-
sules ellipsoid, much longer than the fruiting
calyx.

In shaded grasslands in Malaysia, India and
Burma.

Specimens examined :

Vajravelu 41889, Sharma 35901 (Nilgiri);
Barner sn. 131561 (Gudalur), Meebold 10113,
11537, Fischer 174, Clarke sn. 323219, 40053
(Tamil Nadu), Sexton 1264 (Maharashtra),
Mukherjee 3894 (Bihar), Kinghorn 3, Gamble
3454 (W. Bengal), Johnson sn. 323199,

King sn. 323201, Gill 117, Gupta 1546,
Hooper 38962, Gamble 15091, Duthie sn.
323234 (CAL), Meebold 2826 (U.P.); Clarke
23712 (Himachal), 40053, Balakrishnan 658

(Assam), Clarke 40957, Prain sn. 323216
(CAL) (Nagaland), Panigrahi 14739, R. S.
Rao 16451 (NEFA); Kurz sn. 323205 (CAL),
Thomson sn. 323234 (CAL) (Sikkim).

L. anagallis (Burm. f.) Pennell, J. Arn. Arb.
24: 252. 1943; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc.

24: 133. 1945; Philcox, Kew Bull. 17: 484.

1964 & Kew Bull. 22: 45. 1968. Ruellia
anagallis Burm. f. FI. Ind. 135. 1768. Van-
dellia pedunculata Benth. Scroph. Ind. 37.
1835 & DC. Prodr. 10: 416. 1846; Hook. f.
FI. Brit. Ind. 4: 282. 1884. V. angustifolia
Benth. Scroph. Ind. 37. 1835 & DC. Prodr.
10: 417. 1846; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4:
282 1884; V. cordifolia (Colsm.) G. Don,
Gen. Syst. 4: 549. 1838; Haines, Bot. Bihar
& Orissa 633. 1922. Lindernia angustifolia
(Benth.) Wettst. in Natur. Pflanzen. f. iv.
3b: 79. 1891; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc.

139

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

24: 132. 1945. L. cor difolia (Colsm.) Merr.

En. Born. PI. 524. 1921 & En. Philip. PI. 3:

437. 1923; Mukherjee, J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 24:

132. 1945.

Prostrate or diffuse annuals rooting at lower
nodes; leaves very variable, ovate to linear-
lanceolate, crenate-serrate to sub-entire; flowers
white or pink axillary, solitary or in terminal
racemes; capsules linear.

Specimens examined :

Sethi & Negi 25831 (Kerala), Si vara j an
1664, 1665 (Calicut), Rama Rao 2188

(Quilon), Ritchie 1134 (S. Concan), Wight
2380, Gamble? (CAL) (Tamil Nadu), Sebas-
tine 3130 (Coimbatore), Rodriguez 2069 (Pul-
neys), Fischer 4551 (S. Canara), Dalzell sn.
323267 (CAL) (Maharashtra), Narayana
Swamy 530 (Kota), Talbot 2129 (Orissa), (Of
the 5 sheets of Panigrahi 8725 from Orissa
(CAL) labelled as Vandellia pedunculata four
belong to Mecardonia procumbens), Ribu 942
(Sikkim), Craib 542, King sn. 323251 (CAL),
Clarke 37854 (Assam), R. S. Rao 1641, Deb-
barman 190, Biswas 4962 (NEFA), Thothathri

R E FE ]

Bentham, G. (1835) : Scrphularineae lndicae. A
synopsis of the East Indian Scrophulariaceae, London.

(1846): Scrophulariaceae: in de

Candolle’s Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni
vegetabilis 10: 409-422.

(1876): Scrophulariaceae: in Ben-
tham, G. & J. D. Hooker, Genera Plantarum 2: 954-
956, London.

Blatter, E. & Hallberg, F. (1918): New Indian
Scrophulariaceae and some notes on the same order.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 25: 416-429.

Haines, H. H. (1922) : The Botany of Bihar and
Orissa 4: 629-635, London.

Hooker, J. D. (1884): Flora of British India 4:
279-286, London.

Mukherjee, S. K. (1945) : Revision of Indo-

10002 (Bihar), Kurz sn. 323243, Mukherjee
5615 (W. Bengal), Panigrahi & Arora 8557
(Madhya Pradesh), Duthie 224 (Garwal).

In marshy lowlands in South and S. E. Asia.
In India throughout.

Excluded species :

llysanthes capensis Benth. The single sheet
(Meebold 10380, sn. 323467, CAL) from Tari-
kerem, Mysore (?) at an altitude of 2000 feet is
labelled llysanthes capensis by Meebold who
has also noted that it is a novelty to India. How-
ever, it seemed to us to be L. parviflora.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Dr. Philcox, Kew and Dr.
C. J. Saldanha for advice and discussions dur-
ing the course of the work. We are also thank-
ful to the Ofhcers-in-Charge of the Calcutta
Herbarium, Shillong Herbarium, Madras Her-
rium and the Herbarium of Forest Research In-
stitute, Dehra Dun for making the required
materials available and to Dr. Vaczy, Romania
for the Latin diagnosis.

en c ES

Burmese species of Lindernia Allioni. J. Ind. bot. Soc.
24: 127-134.

Pennell, F. W. (1935) : Scrophulariaceae of
Eastern temperate North America. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philad. Monogr. 1: 137-159.

(1943) : The Scrophulariaceae

of the Western Himalayas. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad.
Monogr. 5: 27-32.

Philcox, D. (1964): Typification of Ruellia anti -
poda Linn, and clarification of its synonymy. Kew
Bull. 17: 481-484.

(1968): Revision of the Malesian

species of Lindernia All. (Scrophulariaceae). Kew.
Bull. 22: 1-72.

Saldanha, C. J. (1963): Taxonomic revision of
Scrophulariaceae of Western Peninsular India. Ph.D.
Thesis, University of Bombay.

140

SURVEY OF SOUTH INDIAN PELICANRIES1

V. Nagulu and J. V. Ramana Rao2

A survey was undertaken as part of a docto-
ral programme to assess the grey pelican
( Pelecanus philip pensis Gmelin, 1789) popula-
tion and its distribution in the Indian sub-
continent. As a first step we concentrated on
known pelicanries in South India. Since the
abandonment of the famous Kolleru Pelicanry
(Neelakantan, 1946), Gee (1960), Guttikar
(1974) and personal observation in 1980, a
survey has become necessary to locate and cen-
sus existing birds.

Keeping Nelapattu (Nagulu et al, 1980),
Nagulu & Ramana Rao (1981), as a field
station for continuous study of the ‘Breeding
and Feeding Biology of grey pelican or the
spottedbilled pelican ( Pelicanus philip pensis),
we visited the known Pelicanries during the
breeding season on the dates mentioned against
each

Location

Date visited

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary,
Chengalpattu District,

Tamil Nadu

12.12.1981

Telineelapuram,
Srikakulam District,
Andhra Pradesh

24.1.1982

Kokkare Bellur & Bannalli,
Mandya District,

Karnataka

4.7.1982

Kundakolam &

Personal

Moondraidapu

communication

(not visited)

with the village
head 17.12.1981

1 Accepted July 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, Osmania University,
Hyderabad 500 007.

Vedanthangal :

The grey pelican is an occasional visitor
but not as a breeding bird to this ancient bird
sanctuary. Grey Pelicans come here in flocks
of 5-10 spend some time and depart (accord-
ing to Forest Guard). We did not see any
during our visit.

T elineelapuram :

A small hamlet of 40 to 60 houses in Srika-
kulam District, Andhra Pradesh, close to
Tekkali off a by-pass road to Naupada on the
east-coast. The village has Tamarind, Neem,
Acacia and Prosopis trees. Of these, the tama-
rind and Neem are used by grey pelicans and
painted storks (Ibis leucocephalus) .

Though the Forest Department notified this
pelicanry only in 1978, according to local
people the pelicanry has been traditionally pro-
tected.

This village has a small tank which is practi-
cally dry and cannot store sufficient water as its
bund is breached at more than one place.

During our visit we recorded 65 nests of
pelicans on the 3 tall tamarind trees and in all
about 65 young. The pelican population is
around 200-250 birds including young. The
young were in the age group of 30 to 45 days.
As it was 11.00 in the morning the adult
birds were returning from feeding. Pelicans
regularly nest here during the months of
October /November, every year without fail
irrespective of climatic conditions. The Vamsha-
dhara river, its estuary and Naupada swamp
are the source of food.

The painted storks nested on 3 neem and 1
tamarind tree opposite to the pelicanry. About

141

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

500-600 painted storks were counted. The young
were in the age group of 30-45 days. The peli-
cans and painted storks visit about the same
time (October/ November). However, the arri-
val date requires personal confirmation as the
painted storks arrive two months later than
the pelicans in other places like Bellur, Karna-
taka, Edurupattu, Andhra Pradesh.

Kundakolam & Moondraidapu :

At the extreme south of Tirunelveli District,
Kundakolam is a small interior village with
200-300 houses spread over 1 sq km in area.
It has a very old Pelicanry first re-
ported by C. E. Rheinus (1906). Since then it
has been attracting grey pelican and painted
storks every season but unfortunately this year
the birds had not come for want of water as
most of the tanks were dry due to paucity of
rains (personal communication from village
head and also news item in Hindu daily, Sun-
day Magazine, May 23, 1982).

In the same weekly edition, it was reported
that the grey pelicans and painted storks have
shifted to new refuge in Ariyakulam of Tiru-
nelveli District.

Moondraidapu, a small village on national
Highway No. 7, 20 km from Tirunelveli on
the road to Nagercoil has 2 large tamarind trees
which accommodates painted storks and grey
pelicans every year but this year grey pelicans
came and left without nesting while the few
painted storks stayed throughout to rear their
young. Here the colony has been established
for the last 17 or 18 years. It is the youngest
Pelicanry of those listed above.

In the new refuge at Ariyakulam the peli-
cans nest on a Banyan tree ( Ficus bengalensis)
and an “illuppai” tree ( Bassia latifolia). The
Tirunelveli District has several tanks and re-
servoirs, which satisfy the needs of the birds.

Kokkare Bellur & Bannalli :

These two adjoining villages in Mandya
District, located 12 km from Rudrakshapuram
on the Halgur Road, between Bangalore and
Mysore is one of the oldest Pelicanries in India.
It is probably the place visited by Jerdon
(1864) a century ago, when he was told that
the Pelicanry had been in existence for ages.
Only recently Neginhal (1976) drew attention
to it again. The villagers fear that the birds
will get disturbed and may desert their village
if undue disturbance follows publicity.

The village receives its name Kokkare as a
prefix to Bellur because of the presence of the
birds (Kokkare = Heron). Recently, we made a
visit to the Pelicanry on hearing that the pelicas
came there in the month of January /February
for breeding. Unfortunately the pelicans were
not sighted but we confirmed the arrival and
departure timings of the pelicans. Though the
pelicans were not seen, we had the chance of
seeing the painted storks. There are about 22
trees big and small located in the dry-non-
irrigated fields along the road side and in court
yards. These were exclusively occupied by
painted storks numbering 800 to 1000, each
tree had on an average about 16 nests with
either one or two young. None had three young.
Almost all the young were flying.

The place is undisturbed and the young
move under the trees in perfect harmony with
cats and dogs in search of dropped fish. The
Brahminy kites were present usually in large
numbers with their immature young, and were
seen scanning below the trees.

An interesting feature was that as the local
people were engaged in transporting the scrap-
ed guano in bullock-cart, the young birds
moved around them as if tame and domesti-
cated. But when we approached they took to
flight and started soaring.

142

SURVEY OF SOUTH INDIAN PELICAN RIES

The following trees are used for nesting:

Ficus bengalensis 4, Ficus religiosa 2, Tama -
rindus indicus 11, Acacia arabica 3 and an
Avenue tree with yellow flowers 2.

We were told by the villagers that of these
trees, only three were used by grey pelicans,
two being Banyan trees located in the fields and
a tamarind located in the middle of village. All
the trees are reasonably tall about 30-40' in
height and it is very difficult to photograph a
bird with 200 mm telephoto lens. We were told
that about 12 grey pelicans still visit the village
for roosting though majority of them left in the
month of May.

The local people keep strict vigil on these
birds, poachers and egg lifters are heavily fined.
The bird excreta is rich manure and is scraped
from the ground for use as manure in the fields.
The landless however, sell the manure at
Rs. 400/- per tree.

It was said that painted storks use tanks and
irrigated fields as their foraging ground whereas
pelicans exclusively feed in the tanks.

The whole Mandya District of Karnataka is
well irrigated by tanks and rivers. Simsa a
tributary of River Kaveri is barely half kilo-
metre from the Pelicanry site, which again is
a source of food for fish eating birds.

According to the local people about 100-150
pelicans breed in the village every year.

Discussion

The spottedbilled or grey pelican (Felica-

Refer

Ali, Salim (1967): The Book of Indian Birds,
Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay.

Gee, E. P. (1960): The Breeding of the Grey &
Spotted billed Pelican ( Pelecanus philippensis philip -
pensis Gmelin). J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 57(2):
245-251.

Guttikar, S. N. (1979) : Lost Pelicanry. /. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 75: 482-84.

Neelakantan, K. K. (1980) : “A Pelicans Pathetic
Plight”. Tiger paper VII (2), pp. 21-24.

Nagulu, V. et al. (1981): Pity the Pelican. Tiger

nus philippensis Gmelin 1789) frequents well
watered tracts throughout the country and
Pelicanries have existed in well watered tracts
without increasing in numbers. It appears that
the trees and water sources were same even
before, no improvement has been made in the
habitat of the areas. Probably this may be
one of the reasons for maintaining the almost
balanced number all through the years.

The southern states with their rich natural
resources can provide a suitable habitat for
such avifauna and attract increased numbers,
especially where villagers themselves have re-
cognised a mutualism and find that bird’s pre-
sence helps in their rural economy.

As the birds are mostly fish dependent, its
excreta contains high percentage of Phosphates
and Nitrogen and is a very good substitute for
chemical manures.

Acknowledgements

We thank the Andhra Pradesh Forest Depart-
ment; Mr T. Radhakrishnamurthy, Asstt. Direc-
tor of Fisheries, Srikakulam; Mr A. N. Jagan-
natha Rao, Mr Menon of Range Rovers
Foundation, Madras; Dr Victor of Bird
Foundation, Bangalore; Mr K. S. Iyer, Photo-
grapher, Karnataka Forest Department, Banga-
lore, for their timely help during our Survey.
A travel grant from the Salim Ali-Loke Wan
Tho Ornithological Research Fund of the Bom-
bay Natural History Society is gratefully
acknowledged.

iNCES

Paper VIII (2), pp. 19-20.

Nagulu, V. & Ramana Rao, J. V. (1981) : Andhra
Pradesh still the Traditional Home of the Pelicans.
Hornbill (3) : 30-31.

Neginhal, S. G. (1976) : Discovery of a Pelicanry
in Karnataka. Newsletter for Bird watchers. Vol. 16,
pp. 14-15.

Saxena, V. S. (1980): Kokkare Bellur Pelicanry,
Cheetal 27(4): 20-24.

Suresh Kumar, V. K. (1980): Kondakulam

Heronry. Hornbill (2) : 10-16.

143

FIELD KEY OF RAN A ALT1COLA ANNANDALE
(ANURA: RANIDAE) TADPOLES'

A. K. Sahu and M. K. Khare1 2
(With five text-figures)

Rana alticola tadpoles are characterised by the presence of 2 clusters of parotid glands
on the body, one ocellus on each side of the tail and marginal teeth rows in the oral
disc with a large number of keratodonts having a formula 2: 5+5/ 1+1: 6.

Introduction

Rana alticola is one of the high altitude frog
species found in the north eastern hill regions
of India. Earlier reports on Rana alticola tad-
poles by Annandale (1905 and 1912) and
Smith (1924) are not adequate to identify and
connect them to the species to which they be-
long. During the present investigation the
tadpoles were reared and metamorphosed in the
laboratory to the young froglet stage. The pre-
sent description is based on at Gosner’s (1960)
stage 38 as per the criteria of Van Dijk (1966),
which has been found to be most acceptable for
the description of the tadpoles. It includes mor-
phometric ratios also which are almost constant
from species to species whereas the absolute
measurements vary. The measurements given
in the present description are mean of the sam-
ples collected ranging from smallest to the
largest sizes.

Habitat and Habits : The tadpoles are gene-
rally found in the coves of mountain tor-
rents, where they usually graze in large num-
bers on the stream bed. They are also found
swimming up side down and filtering the plank-

1 Accepted February 1980.

2 Developmental Biology Laboratory, School of
Life Sciences, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong-
793 014, Meghalaya.

ton from the water. They occur in almost all
months of the year in the mountains streams.
Sometimes they turn out to be scavengers feed-
ing on their dead relatives and other dead
organisms.

Description

Body size and shape : Size 65.0-98.0 mm.
Stream lined body, more or less ovoid and with
a rounded snout. The tadpoles have two kidney
shaped parotid glands on the dorsal side be-
hind the eyes.

Mouth : The mouth is more or less subtermi-
nal in position with a round opening.

Oral disc : The oral disc is slightly emarginate.
Lateral sides of the oral disc are somewhat
expanded to form wing like structures. The
width of the oral disc is 6.0-10.0 mm and that
of the head at the level of the disc is 7.0-12.0
mm.

Oral Papillae : The marginal row of oral
papillae is single. The margin is scalloped with
a rostral gap (4. 0-7.0 mm) and without a
mental gap. Supra and infra-angular intra-
marginal oral papillae are arranged in rows.

Rostrodonts (Supra and infrarostrodonts) :
The suprarostrodont has lateral inflexions and
serrated in the medial convex region. Serrations
are longer (0.06 mm) than wide (0.04 mm).

144

FIELD KEY OF RANA ALTICOLA ANNANDALE

blunt and entirely keratinized. The infra-rostro-
dont is with medial inflexions, deeper than wide
and serrated along with the entire margin.
Serrations are longer (0.05 mm) than wide
0.035 mm) and entirely keratinized.

Keratodonts : Individual keratodont is com-
pound, complex and longer (0.12 mm) than
wide (0.05 mm). There are 2 uninterrupted
and 5 interrupted rows of Supra 1 interrupted

and 6 uninterrupted rows of infra-angular Kera-
todonts. The mental and aboral rows of
Keratodonts are almost equal in length.

Keratodont formula: 2: 5+5/ 1+1: 6.

Nostrils : The nostrils are oval in shape and
without raised rim. The nasal openings are visi-
ble from the anterior side which open antero-
dorsally in the general body surface.

Fig. 1. Lateral view of a tadpole of Rana alticola.

Fig. 2. Ventral view of a tadpole of Rana alticola.

Abbreviations : Od, Oral disc; Pg, Parotid gland; Sg, Secretory glands; Sp, Spiracle;

Sp.t, Spiracular tube.

Morphometric ratios :

1 . Distance between nostrils

Internarial distance

== 8.0-10.0 (Av. 8.6; SD 0.73)

Nostril Width

Head width-distance
between lateral margins
of nostrils

2. Extranarial proportion 2.0-2. 8 (Av. 2.27; SD 0.28)

Distance between lateral
margins of nostrils

145

10

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

3. Longitudinal position of the Rostronasal distance

nostrils in relation to the eyes. = — = 1.1- 1.6 (Av. 1.38; SD 0.17)

Orbitonasal distance

4. Eyes: The eyes are dorsolateral in position

Head Width-distance
between lateral margins
of the eyes

Extraocular proportion = 0.3-0.4 (Av. 0.35; SD 0.07)

Distance between lateral
margin of the eyes

The orbitonasal line is visible as an unpigmented or slightly pigmented line. The pineal spot
is visible as an unpigmented spot.

5. Spiracle: There is a single sinistral spiracle. The spiracular tube and the opening are visi-
ble from the dorsal side. The opening is raised constricted and opens posterodorsally.

Rostrum to spiracle
distance

Spiracular position = =

anteroposteriorly Rostrum to trunk distance

a) Posterior displacement along the trunk = 0.53-0.6 ( Av. 0.57; SD 0.01)

b) Posterior displacement along the tail - 0.19-0.26 (Av. 0.23; SD 0.01)

6. Vent: The vent is dextral, marginal and basicaudal with a folded aperture.

Proctodocal tube length

Vent ratio = 1 1.6-2.0 (Av. 1.85; SD 0.18)

Vent Width

7. Tail: The tip of the tail is rounded. Maximum height of the dorsal fin is at 40.0-59.0 mm
from the snout and that of the ventral fin at 42.0-61.0 mm. The height of the tail is more
or less equal to the height of the trunk. The fins originate in fleshy crests approximately
near the base of the tail. The tadpole is euthyoural and the tail axis extrapolated forward
passes through the ventral margin of the eye. There are some secretory glands near the
margins of the tail fins and in the fleshy crest of the dorsal fin.

Tail length

Tail length = 1.6-1.9 (Av. 1.68; SD 0.11)

Head length & trunk length

Tail height

8. Trunk height = 1.0-1.2 (Av. 1.09; SD 0.08)

Trunk height

Pigmentation : Some of the stream forms are Discussion

yellowish while the pond forms are brownish The keratodont formula js one of the most

m colour. The concentration of the melano- . , . . _ t A . -

, important characteristics of the tadpoles tor

phores is more near the margins of the tail .....

fins. Pigmentation near the posterior margin of t^r sPec^es identification. Annandale (1912)

the eye is greater than the surrounding. Two reported that the keratodont formula of Rana

large ocelli are present on either sides near the alticola tadpoles was 2:5+5/ 1+1:8. In the present

base of the tail. investigation we have invariably found it to be

146

FIELD KEY OF RANA ALTICOLA ANNANDALE

Fig. 3. Oral disc of a tadpole of Rana alticola.

Fig. 4. Single keratodont of Rana alticola.

Fig. 5. Freshly metamorphosed young one of Rana alticola.
Abbreviations: Ir, Infrarostrodont; K, Keratodont; LI, Lower lip; M, Marginal teeth;
Op, Oral papillae; Rg, Rostral gap; Sr, Supra-restrodont; Ul, Upper lip.

2:5+5/ 1+1:6. He further reported that there
were numerous large and small ocelli on the tail
of the young tadpoles which gradually disappear
with age and only one remained on each side of
the tail of fully grown tadpoles. In the present
investigation only one ocellus has been recorded
on each side of the tail. The black spots on the

fin membranes have been found to be secre-
tory glands. Annandale recorded that the tad-
poles grew at least up to 57 mm whereas in the
present investigation they were found up to 98
mm in length which is comparable with the size
(96 mm) reported by Smith (1924).

147

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ACK NO WLEDGE M E NTS

We are grateful to Prof. R. George Michael,

Refer

Annandale, N. (1905) : On abnormal ranid larvae
from north-eastern India. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 6:
58-61.

(1912) : Zoological results of Abor

Expedition 1911-12, Batrachia. Rec. Ind. Mus. 8: 7-36.

Gosner, K. L. (1960) : A simplified table for stag-
ing anuran embryos and lavae with notes on iden-

Head of the Zoology Department for neces-
sary facilities provided for this work.

e n c e s

tification. Herpetologica. 16: 183-190.

Smith, M. A. (1924) : Descriptions of Indian and
Indo-Chinese tadpoles. Rec. Ind. Mus. 26: 137-143.

Van Dijk, D. E. (1966) : Systematic and field keys
to the families, genera and described species of
southern african anuran tadpoles. Ann. Natal Mus.
18(2): 231-286.

148

A CATALOGUE OF THE BIRDS IN THE COLLECTION
OF BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY — 27

Muscicapidae (Timaliinae) ( contd .)

Humayun Abdulali
[Continued from Vol. 79(3): 619]

This part covers 459 specimens of 67 species
and subspecies (Nos. 1272-1332 in Indian
Handbook together with 8 extra-limitals), the
last specimen handled is Register No. 26290.
Mr. Eric D’Cunha, Research Assistant helped
with the work.

1272 Garrulax cinereifrons Blyth (Ceylon)

Ashyheaded Laughing Thrush 1:196

1 o? (juv.) Petragalla, Balangoda, Ceylon.

Measurements on p. 159.

1273 Garrulax albogularis whistleri Baker

(Simla) Western Whitethroated Laughing
Thrush 1:154

26: 10^ 5 12$ 9 4 o? (1 juv.)

5 Simla, 4 Koti State; 1 Narkanda, 1 Mundali
N. W. Himalayas, 1 Moundkhal, 1 Yorltnath, 1
Pothibassa, 5000', Garhawal; 3 Ranibag, 1 Mornaula,
1 Binsar, 1 Pindari Glacier, 3 Dakuri, 1 Kumaon, 1
Mussoorie; 1 no data.

There is some local variation in the extent
of rufous on the underparts and also the colour
of the upperparts which do not appear as “a
cline of increasing saturation towards the east”,
as stated in Vaurie (1959, p. 424). Nominate
albogularis, infra, are more uniformly deeper in
colour both above and below, and slightly
smaller.

Measurements on p. 159.

1274 Garrulax albogularis albogularis

(Gould) (Nepal) Eastern Whitethroated
Laughing Thrush 1:153

12: 75 5 5$ $

1 Nagarcot, 1 Kakeni, Nepal; 1 Yigong Valley,
Sikkim; 1 Gedu West, 1 Tongsa, 3 Tama, 2 Sham-
gong Central, 2 Wamrong East, Bhutan.

See remarks under 1273.

Measurements on p.

1275 Garrulax moniliger moniliger (Hodg-
son) (Nepal) Necklaced Laughing Thrush

1:151

7: 4 5 <5 2$ $ 1 o?

1 Pershoke, 1 Poomong 2500', Sikkim; 1 Samchi,
West, 1 Mangdechu, Central, Bhutan; 1 Dening, Lohit
Valley, 1 Miao, 1 Hornbill Camp, A.P.

The key in Indian Handbook (7, p. 2) sepa-
rates this species from pectoralis as having a
tarsus under 40 mm. and wanting a black chin
stripe. The tarsus, wing and bill are noticeably
smaller, and the chin is a misprint for cheek,
an error repeated on p. 6.

In addition to the size, all pectoralis have a
large ear-patch with a varying amount of white
and/or black, but which can generally be
termed grey. Only a few grey feathers are visi-
ble in moniliger. Biswas in Birds of Nepal
(JBNHS 59, p. 211) refers to subadults of
nominate pectoralis having “rufous anterior to
the pectoral band” but all such birds in our
collection now are moniliger, the area being
white in all pectoralis.

Measurements on p. 159.

1276 Garrulax moniliger badius Ripley
(Tezu, Mishmi Hills) Mishmi Necklaced
Laughing Thrush

[473]

149

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

10: 63 3 49 9

1 Margherita, 1 Gujuri, Aka Hills, 1 Tezu, Lohit
Valley, 2 Haflong, North Cachar, 1 Roopchena, 1
Cachar; 1 Haibum, 1 Tawkmane, Chindwin; 1 s. e.
of Maymyo, Kywizen, Henzada dist., Burma.

This race said to be darker and more satu-
rated with rufous is not very easily separable in
the absence of topotypes or a more diagnostic
description. Most of the above do have a
rufous wash on the upperparts, though the 2
birds from the Chindwin River lack it and it
is not quite clear if the distribution is restrict-
ed to the Mishmi Hills or how much further
it extends into Cachar and Burma.

The species however can be easily separated
from pectoralis by its smaller wing, bill and
tarsus linked with the few grey feathers form-
ing the earpatch detailed under 1275.

Measurements on p. 159.

1277 Garrulax pectoralis pectoralis (Gould)

(Nepal) Nepal Blackgorgeted Laughing
Thrush 1:150 (part)

nil.

1278 Garrulax pectoralis melanotis Blyth

(Arracan) Assam Blackgorgeted Laughing
Thrush 1:150 (part)

21: 1 13 3 7$ $ 3 o?

3 Rinchingpong, West, 1 Pershoke, Sikkim; 1
Samchi, West, Bhutan; 1 *Goalpara, 1 Dibrugarh, 2
Sadiya, 1 Lakeri, Assam; 2 *Haflong, North, 1
♦Rupachena, Cachar- 1 Kaira, 1 Pavtha, Lower Chind-
win, 1 *Kawaya, Chindwin, 1 Jade Mines, 2
**Maymya, 1* Ruby Mines, Burma ; 1* no data.

There are no specimens from Nepal and
Garrulax waddelli described from Ranjeet
River, Sikkim, being synonymised with mela-
notis, it would appear that all the present speci-
mens are melanotis, though none of them can
be said to have all-black ear-coverts as required
in the original description. There is considera-
ble variation in the amount of chestnut on the
upper and underparts, being almost absent be-
low in some and leaving an almost all-white

undersurface. This phase* cannot be associated
with any specific age, season or area and among
them No. 780 from Maymyo is marked as “a
most unusually coloured specimen” by the col-
lector J. P. Cook.

All the pale birds have the black coverts to
their primaries tipped with grey, a character
which appears in the others also.

Measurements on p. 159.

1279 Garrulax striatus striatus (Vigors)

(Himalayas, restricted to Naini Tal) Western
Striated Laughing Thrush 1:184

18: 8338992 o?

4 Simla, 2 Koti State; 8 Mornaula, 3 Dakuri,
Almora, 1 Kumaon, U.P.

These have larger wings and tails than the
other races.

Measurements on p. 159.

1280 Garrulax striatus vibex Ripley (Goda-

vari, Central Valley, Nepal) Nepal Striated
Laughing Thrush 1:184 (part)

4: 33 3 19

2 Godavari, 2 Mayam, Nepal.

This is not very easily separable from the
next form sikkimensis , though paler in series.
Of the two from Mayam, the female No. 20350
was first separated as sikkimensis and also so
marked by Biswas, but the other a male No.
20351, agrees with vibex. These and the next
group have been subspecifically named largely
on geographical grounds.

Measurements on p. 159.

1281 Garrulax striatus sikkimensis (Tice-

hurst) (Sikkim) Sikkim Striated Laughing

Thrush 1:184 (part).

5: 23 3 39 9

1 Nawrong, 1 Singhik, 1 Dikchu, Sikkim; 1 Dar-
jeeling (purchased); 1 Crawford Market, Bombay
(purchased).

Measurements on p. 159.

1282 Garrulax striatus cranbrooki (Kinnear)

(Adung Valley, Burma) Assam Striated

[474]

150

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 27

Laughing Thrush 1:185

13: 2$ $ 10$ 9 1 o?

1 Tongsa, 1 Batase, Central Bhutan; 6 Narphong,
2 Wamrong, 1 Gomchu, 1 Rongtong, Eastern Bhutan;
1 Mishmi, Abor Country, Assam.

The “broad black stripe from eye to nape”
is given as the key feature to separate this
race from the others. A reference to the “dark
edge of the bushy crest” would be more appro-
priate for the stripe disappears if the crest is
brushed aside.

The two males from Central Bhutan lack
this character, but are left here for they do
not quite agree with sikkimensis.

Indian Handbook (7 p. footnote to p. 13)
refers to 13 out of 14 sikkimensis obtained in
Sikkim & Bhutan in different years being
females. A similar anomaly is found under
cranbrooki which is appreciably smaller, and
has the head less streaked than the other 3
races.

Measurements on p. 160.

1283 Garrulax leucolophus leucolophus
(Hardwicke) (Mts. above Hardwar) Hima-
layan White-crested Laughing Thrush 1:146

(part)

26: 143 3 109 9 2 o?

2 Kalka, 3 Simla; 1 near Gurnu, 1 Kumaon; 2
Hathiban, 1 Pathibajan 8000', 2 Firping, Nepal; 2
Longview, Darjeeling; 2 Singtam, Teesta Valley, 1
Kurseong, 1 Sikkim, 1 Mangdechu, 1 Shamgong, 1
Khosala, Central Bhutan; 1 Dibrugarh, 2 Margherita,
1 Tezu, Lohit Valley, 1 Rotung, Mishmi Hills, Assam.

The three recent specimens from Bhutan
(1967) lack the rufous on the hind neck pre-
sent in all the others and so prominent in the
five under patkaicus q.v.

Measurements on p. 160.

1284 Garrulax leucolophus patkaicus Rei-
chenow (Patkai Range, Upper Burma)
Assam White-crested Laughing Thrush 1:146

(part)

10: 8 4 $ 1$ (imm.) 1 o?

2 Longkam, 1 Mehuri-Phek Rd., 59 m. east of

Kohima, Naga Hills; 1 Leisung, 1 Haflong, N.
Cachar; 1 Dimapur, Manipur; 1 Mowlaik, Chind-
win River; 2 Mindon Yomas, Thayetmyo; 1 Loikan,
N. Shan States.

These birds do not agree with the description
of patkaicus in Indian Handbook, the first 3
from the Naga Hills as also the one from Mow-
laik being very similar to nominate leucolo-
phus, but which are kept apart for they are
from south of the Patkai Hills.

Five more from further south have large
rufous patches on the back of the neck. The
sixth c? (727) also from Cachar, has the white
of the breast running into the abdomen as in
belangeri, but lacks the heavy rufous wash on
the upperparts as in that form. It has a small
wing and may well be a juvenile indicating its
origin.

cf 754 from Mowlaik, Chindwin River, was
marked hardwickii at the American Museum
of Natural History, but this name is synonymis-
ed with patkaicus in Indian Handbook.

Measurements on p. 160.

EL Garrulax leucolophus belangeri Lesson
(Pegu Div., Lower Burma) Burmese White-
crested Laughing Thrush 1:148

6: 1$ 39 9 2 o?

1 Upper Burma; 1 Pankaung, 1 Prome Dist.; 1 S.
Irawaddy; 2 Ataran, Tenasserim.

These are distinguished by the heavy rufous
wash on the upperparts and the white of the
breast running further downwards.

Measurements on p. 160.

1285 Garrulax chinensis nuchalis Godwin-
Austen (Khasi-Naga Hills, N. Bengal) Chest-
nut-backed Laughing Thrush 1 : 140

29 9 .Margherita, Assam.

The type locality in Peters’ Checklist (X p.
358) is said to be Lhota, Naga Hills, Assam.

Measurements on p. 160.

EL Garrulax chinensis lochmius Deignan
(King Chian Saen, lat. 20° 15' N., long. 100°
05' E.) Black-throated Laughing Thrush

[475]

151

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

4: 13 1$ 2 o? (1 imm.) N. Shan States.

All collected by J. P. Cook in Aug-Oct. 1913.

The racial idenitfication is based on the
distribution in Peters’ Checklist (X p. 359).

Immature (?) No. 714 is more rufous both
above and below.

Measurements on p. 160.

1286 Gamilax galbanus galbanus Godwin-

Austen (Manipur Valley, N. E. Bengal)
Yellowthroated Laughing Thrush 1:107

1 $ Imphal area, Manipur (March 1946)

Wing 95 (3$ 92-96); bill 22.5 (20-22); tar-
sus 32.5 (c. 35); tail 98 (c. 105-110).

There is no trace of yellow on the under-
parts and no white supercilium which is re-
placed by thick black lines over the eyes meet-
ing on the forehead and presenting the only
black on the head.

1287 Garrulax delesserti delesserti (Jerdon)
(Wynaad, S. India) Wynaad Laughing Thrush

1:149

5: 33 3 2$ $

1 N. Canara; 1 Wynaad, 1 Kottamalai, Cheram-
badi, Gudalur, Nilgiris; 1 Nelliampathy Hills; 1
Thattakad, N. Travancore.

Measurements on p. 160.

1288 Garrulax delesserti gularis (Mc-

Clelland) (Assam) Yellow-breasted Laughing
Thrush 1:152

5: 13 4$ (1 juv.).

1 Deothang, E. Bhutan; 2 Margherita; 1 Mugiva,
Naga Hills; 1 Laisung, N. Cachar.

Though the yellow on the front is very pro-
minent in the plate in Gould’s Birds of Asia
(1969) none of the specimens available, (the
most recent being from Bhutan, 1966), show
any trace of this colour. The text on the oppo-
site page by A. Rutgers refers to the cheeks,
throat and chin being white, though the next
sentence says they are yellow’.

Measurements on p. 160.

1289 Garrulax variegatus simile (Hume) (Far

Northwest — Gilgit) Western Variegated Laugh-
ing Thrush 1:174

8:3^4$$ 1 o?

1 Chitral, N.W.F.P.; 2 Murree, Rawalpindi; 1
Dachigaum, 1 Pijos Kishtwar, Kashmir; 1 Dalhousie,
Gurdaspur, 1 Dharamsala, Kangra.

The specimens available are slightly smaller
than of the next form.

Measurements on p. 161.

1290 Garrulax variegatus variegatus (Vigors)

(Himalayas-Simla-Almora) Eastern Variegat-
ed Laughing Thrush 1:173

30: 203 $ 8 $ $ 2 o?

3 Summer Hill, 12 Simla; 3 Kheri, Koti State, 2
Fagoo, Keonthal State; 1 Kaliaghat, Ramni, Garhwal;
8 Dakuri, Kumaon; 1 Bodier?

This is another instance of the difficulty of
identifying birds in which the colour fades and
disappears rapidly. Jerdon (2 p. 45) refers to
the outer webs of primaries being ashy white,
tinged yellowish (probably bright yellow in the
fresh bird), while Hume after separating simile
for lacking the yellow even suggested (S. F. 3
p. 407) that his name may apply to what was
described as variegatus, leaving the yellow
tinged bird without a name. He later (S. F.
4:457) withdrew this suggestion for Gould had
illustrated Vigors’ type with yellow. Though
the Old Fauna (1 p. 95) refers to the outer
webs of the primaries and secondaries being
bright golden yellow, a difference in colour is
barely visible, the yellow now showing as a
slightly stained effect contra a purer grey in
simile.

Measurements on p. 161.

1291 Garrulax cineraceus cineraceus (God-

win-Austen) (Manipur Valley, N. E. Bengal)
Ashy Laughing Thrush 1:156

2: 13 1 o?

1 Phik, 54 m. east of Naga Hills, Assam; 1 Chin
Hills, Burma. Wing 82, 85 (86-89), bill 21.4, 20.9
(c. 20), tarsus 29.2, 30.9 (c. 32), tail 92, 89 (c. 100).

Measurements on p. 161.

152

[476]

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 27

1292/3 Garralax rufogularis occidentals
(Hartest) (Dehra Dun) Western Rufouschin-
ned Laughing Thrush 1:159

8: 3^ 3?? 2 o?

2 Gama-ki-hatti 4500', 1 Dharni State; 1 Bhagat
State, 2 Simla Hills, 1 Simla; 1 Naini Tal, U.P.

ltf (No. 812 Simla) and 1$ No. 15889
Dharni State) have the tips of several rectrices
projecting in hair-like strands 3-4 mm. long.
Both have the black of the head broken up and
together with the short (90 mm.) wing and the
more rufous upperparts are no doubt juve-
niles. The curious character of the tail does not
appear to have been noted.

Measurements on p. 161.

1294 Garralax rufogularis rufogularis

(Gould) (Sikkim) Rufouschinned Laughing
Thrush 1:158

11: 6$ $ 42 9 1 o?

1 Rinchingpong, W. Sikkim; 2 Kurseong Div., Dar-
jeeling; 1 Honka, W. Bhutan; 4 Tama, 1 Mangdechu,
C. Bhutan; 1 Rongtong, E. Bhutan; 1 Buxa (Duars?),
Assam.

These show more grey on the underparts
than the last 1292/3. d* 21564 from Rinching-
pong, Sikkim, has the underparts very faintly
spotted. Three (2 Kurseong, Darjeeling, and
1 Honka, W. Bhutan) have pure white chins,
the rufous chin being quite absent in one of
the former No. 809, by measurements a juve-
nile.

Measurements on p. 161.

1295 Garralax rufogularis rufitinctus (Koelz)

(Pynursla, Khasia Hills) Khasi Rufouschinned
Laughing Thrush 1:159 (part)

nil.

1295a Garralax rufogularis rufiberbis

(Koelz) (between Langyang and Htawgaw,
Kachin State, Upper Burma) Burmese Rufous-
chinned Laughing Thrush

nil.

1296 Garrulax rufogularis assamensis (Har-

tert) (Margherita, Assam) Assam Rufouschin-
ned Laughing Thrush 1 : 159 (part)

3: 2$ $ 1$ Margherita, Assam.

The upperparts and the vent are darker
rufous than in nominate rufogularis and the
rufous lores are distinctive.

Measurements on p. 161.

1297 Garrulax ocellatus maximus (Ver-
reaux) (Mouping) Giant Laughing Thrush

nil.

1298 Garrulax ocellatus griseicauda Koelz

(Wan, Garhwal, U.P.) Garhwal Whitespotted
Laughing Thrush

4: 3$ $ 1 $ Dukari, Kumaon, U.P.

In both wing and tail the rufous is more
prominent than in ocellatus. The upperparts
are paler and less heavily spotted.

Measurements on p. 161.

1299 Garrulax ocellatus ocellatus (Vigors)
(Darjeeling) Whitespotted Laughing Thrush

1:155

5: 13 39 9 1 o?

2 Tongloo, Darjeeling, 1 Laching, N. Sikkim; 2
Chapecha, W. Bhutan.

See remarks under 1298. The spots are more
triangular.

Measurements on p, 161.

1300 Garrulax caerulatus caerulatus (Hodg-

son) (Nepal) Himalayan Grey sided Laughing
Thrush 1 : 141

8: 3$ $ 39 9 2 o?

1 Rinchingpong. W. Sikkim; 1 Darjeeling (purchas-
ed); 1 Gedu, West Bhutan, 4 Wamrong, 1 Rongtong,
East Bhutan.

The first two from Sikkim and Darjeeling
have a pale yellow wash on the underparts and
the earcoverts are less white and more incon-
spicuous than in those from Bhutan, cf No
24941 from Wamrong, East Bhutan, has traces
of barring on the lower half of the upper sur-
face of the central tail feathers.

Measurements on p. 162.

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153

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

1301 Garrulax caemlatus subcaemlatus

Hume (Shillong) Khasi Hills Greysided Laugh-
ing Thrush 1:142

nil.

1302 Garrulax caerulatus livingstoni Ripley
(Mt. Japvo, Naga Hills, Assam).

nil.

EL Garrulax caerulatus kaurensis (Rippon)
(Kauri-Kachin tract, to east of Bhamo, and
bordering on the south of the Taping River)
Nagaland Greysided Laughing Thrush

1:141 (part)

2 o?

1 Loishong . 1 N. Shan States.

These collected by H. Wood were acquired
by the Society in 1907 and presumably subse-
quent to his paper on the birds of Paholkar
Hills (1902, JASB 71, p. 121).

Peters’ Checklist says it is only known from
the type locality. It differs from the others
available in having white tips to the tail and
the white earcoverts much less pronounced.

Measurements on p. 162.

1303 Garrulax ruOcollis (Jardine & Selby)
(Sikkim) Rufousnecked Laughing Thrush

1:139

24: 6$ $ 89 9 10 o?

2 Rinchingpong, 1 Martam, Rongni Valley, Sikkim;
3 Longview Tea Estate, Darjeeling; 2 Samchi, West
Bhutan, 1 Deothang, East Bhutan; 2 Sadiya, 1 Mishmi,
Abor Country, 1 Miao, 1 Firm Base, A.P.; 1 Dibru-
garh, 1 Roopachena, 1 Laising, N, Cachar; 1 Debu,
Chindwin River, 3 Upper Burma; 1 Hsipaw, 2 N.
Shan States, Burma.

There are some differences in colour, no
doubt due to fading. A few of both sexes have
faint barring on the upper surface of the tail
feathers.

Measurements on p. 162.

1304 Garrulax merulinus merulinus Blyth

(Cherapunji, Khasi Hills) Assam Spottedbreast-
ed Laughing Thrush 1:186

nil.

1305 Garrulax merulinus toxostiminus

(Koelz) (Karong, Manipur) Manipur Spotted-
breasted Laughing Thrush 1:186

1 $ 40th mile from Miao, Tirap Div., Arunachal
Pradesh.

In Indian Handbook (7 p. 3) the key to
species requires a white supercilium, but as
stated under Field Characters, p. 37, the white
is behind and not over the eye. In the absence
of any material for comparison it is not pos-
sible to decide the race of the single specimen
though it agrees with the original description
of merulinus.

Measurements on p. 162.

1306 Garrulax sannio albosuperciliaris

Godwin-Austen (Nr. Kaiba, Manipur) White-
browed Laughing Thrush 1:144

6: 2$ $ 4 o?

3 Maymyo; 2 Chatgi-Shia, 1 Loi Cuppara, N . Shan
States, Burma.

The 3 from Maymyo (J.P. Cook, 1913) are
more rufous below and paler above than the
others which were collected by H. Wood, The
latter bear no date but there is another speci-
men (No. 1439) of Si bia picaoides collected
by H. Wood in N. Shan States on 16 January
1903 and these would be about the same period.

Measurements on p. 162.

1307/8 Garrulax cachinnans (Jerdon) (Nil-
giris) Nilgiri Laughing Thrush 1:176

10: 3 $ 5 59 9 2 o?

1 Kodanad, beyond Kotagiri; 4 Ootacamund, 1
Upper Bhavani, 2 Avalanche, 2 Naduvattam, Nilgiris.

There is some variation in the extent of grey
on the head and the depth of rufous on the
underparts.

Measurements on p. 162.

1309 Garrulax jerdoni jerdoni Blyth (Bana-
sore Peak) Coorg Whitebreasted Laughing
Thrush 1:177

nil.

In Indian Handbook (7 p. 2) in the key to

154

[478]

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT . HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 27

species, this is separated from several others
by having the throat and breast grey, contra
black chin in the others. On p. 41 in the key
to subspecies this form is said to. show a black
chin! The original description says the black is
less developed than in cachinnans.

1310 Garrulax jerdoni fairbanki (Blanford)
(Palni Hills) Palni Laughing Thrush 1:178

19: 10$ $ 4$ $ 5 o?

The birds from the Palnis are slightly larger
than those from N. Travancore and are listed
separately: —

(a) Palnis 8: 3$ $ 5 o?

(b) N. Travancore 11: 1$ $ 4$ 9

Measurements on p. 163.

1311 Garrulax jerdoni meridionale (Blan-
ford) (Mynall, S. Travancore) 1:178

4: 2$ $ 29 9 Muthukuzi, Ashambu Hills, S.
Travancore.

The eye stripe turns grey behind the eye
while the grey of the breast turns white and
runs down the middle of the belly. The head is
less distinctly “capped” than in those under
fairbanki.

Measurements on p. 163.

1312 Garrulax lineatus bilkevitchi (Zarudny)

(Kulyab, Tadzhikistan) Baluchistan Streaked
Laughing Thrush 1:182

nil.

1313 Garrulax lineatus gilgit (Hartert) (Gil-
git) Gilgit Streaked Laughing Thrush 1:182

6: 3$ $ 29 9 1 o?

1 Chitral, N.W.F.P., 1 Base of Diobani Mt., 12000',
Bagrot, 1 Godai, Astor; 1 4m. below Yusmarg
(7500'), 1 7500' above Banihal village, 1 7200'
Kashmir.

The second and third in the list above agree
best with the description, while the three from
Kashmir verge towards nominate lineatus.

Measurements on p. 163.

1314 Garrulax lineatus lineatus (Vigors)
(Simla-Almora) Simla Streaked Laughing

Thrush 1:142

25: \2$ $ 11 (1 juv.) 9 9 2 (1 juv.) o?

1 Dalhousie, Punjab; 12 Simla, 1 Koti State, 2
Mussoorie, 1 Dhanaulti, east of Mussoorie; 2 Yoshi-
nath, 1 Lohaghat, 1 Adabadri, Garhwal; 2 Dakuri,
Almora, 2 Marnavla, Kumaon, U.P.

The key to subspecies in Indian Handbook
(7 p. 44) first divides the five races into two
groups on the basis of the subterminal band
on the undersurface of the outer rectries as
over and under 1 cm. We have no specimens
of G. 1. bilkevitchi, but those available can be
more readily divided on the basis of the broad
(1 cm.) whitish tips in lineatus and gilgit contra
very narrow white tips in setafer and imbrica-
tus. The terminal band is more easily seen than
the subterminal.

Measurements on p. 163.

1315 Garrulax lineatus setafer (Hodgson)
(Nepal) Nepal Streaked Laughing Thrush

2 : 1 $ 19 collected by Lt. Col. R. L. Kennion at
Kakani 7000' and Thunsi 11000' Nepal on 9 Sept.
1920.

The cf agrees with the description in Indian
Handbook regarding the throat, breast and ear
coverts being rufous, but the 9 is very worn
and with almost no rufous. Hodgson’s original
description refers to the bird as the Spiny
Cinlosoma “slaty blue, overlaid with ruddy

brown ”. The feathers on the head

and neck are said to be rigid and spinous. This
description does not apply to the present speci-
mens. Neither show any streaks on the ear-
coverts.

Measurements on p. 163.

1316 Garrulax lineatus imbricatus Blyth
(Bhutan) Bhutan Streaked Laughing Thrush

1:183

11: 5$ $ 49 9 2 o?

1 Gedu, West, 2 Batase, 3 Shamgong, Central, 2
Gomchu, 2 Wamrong, 1 Rongtong, East Bhutan.

The earcoverts and a patch around are pro-
minently pale shafted. The tail is longer than

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155

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

in the other races.

Measurements on p. 163.

1317 Garrulax virgatus (Godwin- Austen)
(Razam, under Kopamedza Ridge, Naga Hills)
Manipur, Streaked Laughing Thrush 1:179

nil.

1318 Garrulax austeni austeni (Godwin-

Austen) (Hengdan Peak, N. Cachar) Brown-
capped Laughing Thrush 1:160

nil.

EL Garrulax austeni victoriae (Rippon) (Mt.
Victoria) Chin Hills Laughing Thrush 1:161

2: 1$ 1$ Mt. Victoria, Burma.

In the absence of any specimens of the nomi-
nate form the subspecific identification is based
on their place of origin. The measurements on
p. 163 are slightly smaller than those given for
the nominate form in Stuart Baker’s Fauna.

1319 Garrulax squamatus (Gould) (Sikkim)

Bluewinged Laughing Thrush 1:174

6: 1$ 3$ $ 2 o?

1 Kurseong, Sikkim; 1 Honka, West, 1 Batase,
Central Bhutan; 1 Miao (Deban), Tirap Div., Aruna-
chal Pradesh; 2 Pimpri Bam, N. Shan States,
Burma.

Measurements on p. 164.

1320 Garrulax subunicolor subunicolor

(Blyth) (Nepal) Plain Coloured Laughing
Thrush 1:171

7: 5$ $ 2 o?

1 Mogam, Nepal; 1 Runjeet Valley, Sikkim; 2
Shamgong, Central, 1 Wamrong, East Bhutan; 1
Dreyi, Lohit Valley, N. E. Assam; 1 Loi Song, N.
Shan States, Burma.

There is some variation in the amount of
buff on the underparts and the extent of grey
on the earcoverts. The last bird has buff ear-
coverts and the place of origin suggests the
subspecies griseatus (Rothschild) (Shweli- Sal-
ween Divide, Yunnan) of which the original
description is not available, but which is said
to occur in Kachin State (just north of N. Shan

States) in Peters’ Checklist.

Measurements on p. 164.

1321 Garrulax henrici (Oustalet) (South

Tibet = Aio Soutu) Prince Henry’s Laughing
Thrush 1:183

nil.

1322 Garrulax affinis affinis Blyth (Central
Nepal) Western Blackfaced Laughing Thrush

1:172

According to the distribution in Indian
Handbook, none of the specimens available
would be of this form.

1323 Garrulax affinis bethelae Rand &
Fleming (Thangu, Sikkim) 1:172 (part)

10: 3$ $ 6$ $ 1 o?

2 Phalut, Darjeeling; 2 Lachung, Sikkim; 2
Chapcha, W. Bhutan, 1 Ganglipoketi, Central Bhutan,
1 Rongtong, East Bhutan; 2 Leu Tsu River, Mishmi
Hills.

Measurements on p. 164.

EL Garrulax affinis oustaleti (Hartert)
(Tzeku, Yunnan)

1 o? Shaung Mawphy.

This specimen was collected by F. Kingdon
Ward and received at the Society on 24 Octo-
ber 1919. The place cannot be located and
the specimen differs from the others in lacking
markings on the undersurface. It is marked
oustaleti by a previous worker (?).

Measurements on p. 164.

1324 Garrulax erythrocephalus erythroce-

pbalus (Vigors) (Himalayas, restricted to
Chamba by Baker 1920) Redheaded Laughing
Thrush 1:163

15: S$ $ (2 juv.) 79 $ (1 chick).

3 Koti State, 1 Simla Hills, 2 Simla; 1 Almora,
4 Dakuri, 2 Mornaula, 1 Deoban, Jamsar, Kumaon;
1 Dhanaulti, e. of Mussoorie, U.P.

The two juveniles have no spots on the back
and to this extent do not agree with the key to
species in Indian Handbook (7, p. 3). One (cf

156

[480]

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION— 27

819 Dakuri) is more rufous than the other
(c? 15896 Koti State). The juveniles and the
chicks are dated August-September.

Measurements on p. 164.

1325 Garrulax erythrocephalus kali Vaurie
(Lete, Kali River Valley, Baglung dist., West-
Central Nepal) Nepal Redheaded Laughing
Thrush 1:163

nil.

1326/7 Garrulax erythrocephalus nigrimen-

tum (Oates) (Himalayas, from Nepal to Dafla
Hills in Assam, restricted to Sikkim) Sikkim
Redheaded Laughing Thrush 1:164

27: 14^ $ 92 2 (1 juv.) 4 o?

1 Kewzing-Temi, 2 Dentam, W. Sikkim; 3 Kur-
seong, Darjeeling; 1 Honka, 1 Chimakothi, 4 Chapcha,
West, 2 Batase, 3 Shamgong, 2 Bhumthang, Central,
1 Deothang, 3 Gomchu, 1 Wamrong, 1 Rontong,
East Bhutan; 1 Gujir, Aka Hills,, 1 Shengarh, Dafla
Hills, Assam.

There is some variation in the extent of
rufous in different parts of the plumage and
the last from Shengarh, Dafla Hills (24 Oct.
1876, collected by Godwin- Austen) is very
rufous all over.

$ No. 828 from Kurseong (30 Sept. 1920)
with no spots on the upperparts and a 100 mm.
wing is presumably a juvenile.

The specimens are quite unlike the illustra-
tion in Indian Handbook (7: op. p. 16).

Measurements on p. 164.

1328 Garrulax erythrocephalus chrysopterus

(Gould) (Khasi Hills) 1:166

1 $ Dumpep, Shillong, Assam.

The spots on the back are brownish and cres-
centic rather than black and more oval. The
rufous on the head forms a cap extending al-
most to the forehead.

Measurements on p. 165.

1329 Garrulax erythrocephalus godwini

(Harington) (Hengdan Peak, N. Cachar Hills)
Nagaland Redheaded Laughing Thrush 1:165

1 $ Mt. Japu, Naga Hills, Assam.

The marking on the breast is very indistinct.

Measurements on p. 165.

1330 Garrulax erythrocephalus erythroce-
phalus (Hume) (Matchi, E. Manipur Hills)
Manipur Redheaded Laughing Thrush 1:164

3: 15 2$ $

1 Fort White, 2 Mt. Victoria, Chin Hills, Burma.

Measurements on p. 165.

EL Garrulax melanostigma (?)

2 o? Loi Wong, N. Shan States, Burma.

Both are without markings above and below
and have black wing coverts. G. e. woodi was
described by Harington (JBNHS 23 p. 318)
from Loi Song, N. Shan States and though this
may not be the same as Loi Wong, it is notice-
able that Harington referred to these two (?) at
the same time as G. melanostigma and not ery-
throcephalus though they are referred to as the
same species in Peters’ Checklist (1964, 10 p.
378).

Measurements on p. 165.

1331 Garrulax phoeniceus phoeniceus

(Gould) (Nepal) Himalayan Crimsonwinged
Laughing Thrush 1:168

6: 35 5 1$ $ 2 o?

1 Buxa Duars, Bengal; 1 Gedu, West, 1 Tama, 1
Shamgong, Central, 1 Deothang, 1 Narphong, East
Bhutan.

There appears to be no colour difference to
separate this from bakeri, infra, and the sepa-
ration is made on geographical grounds.

Measurements on p. 165.

1332 Garrulax phoeniceus bakeri (Hartert)
(Laisung, North Cachar) Assam Crimsonwing-
ed Laughing Thrush

9: 3$ $ 42 2 2 o?

2 Embiong, Tirap, Arunachal Pradesh; 1 Kohima,
Nagaland; 2 N. Cachar; 3 Mt. Victoria, Chin Hills;
1 Sima, Upper Burma.

Some show a little grey on the lower parts,
but the same shows in some under nominate

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157

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

phoeniceus. In series this group (1332) is per-
haps a slightly paler brown both above and
below.

Measurements on p. 165.

EL Gamilax phoeniceus ripponi (Oates)
(Fort Stedman, Shan States, Upper Burma)
Burmese Crimsonwinged Laughing Thrush

1:170

2 o?: 1 Loi Song, 1 Chatzesha, N. Shan States,
Burma.

Measurements on p. 165.

EL Garrulax milnei sharpei (Rippon)
(“Kauri-Kachin tract to the east of Bhamo, &
bordering on the south of the Tapeng River”,
Kachin State, Burma) Burmese Redtailed
Laughing Thrush 1:170

2 o? : 1 Pimpri Bam, 1 Loi Lem, N. Shan States,
Burma.

The bird from Pimpri Bam is appreciably
grey on the underparts.

Measurements on p. 165.

158

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165

EL. Trochalopterum milnei sharpei

O? (2) 102, 106 22.5, 23.8 35, 36.5 112, 113

( to be continued )

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

DESCRIPTIONS OF THREE NEW SUBSPECIES OF BUTTERFLIES

FOUND IN NEPAL1

C. P. Smith2

( With jour text-figures )

(1) Pamassius epaphus chiddii spp. nov.

The Common Red Apollo, P. epaphus
(Oberthur 1891) is widely distributed all along
the Himalayan range. In Nepal it is generally
rarer than the Common Blue Apollo, P. hard-
wickei (Gray 1831) being restricted to higher
altitudes, and it therefore seems more naturally
to form isolated races. This is indeed the fourth
one to be described from Nepal, the others
being —

P. epaphus boschmai (Eisner 1964) from
Solu Khumbu in E. Nepal.

P. epaphus robertsi (Epstein 1979) from
Manang in C. Nepal,

P. epaphus capdevillei (Epstein 1979) from
Mustang in C. Nepal.

P. epaphus chiddii was found in one locality
in the remote Mugu district of N. W. Nepal in
the Summer of 1980.

Description

Male — upperside: Ground colour-forewing is
transparent white heavily dusted with black,
hindwing is opaque white. The black markings
follow the usual pattern and are heavy. The
forewing submarginal black spots are comple-
tely joined up to form a diffuse band, leaving
only a narrow band of white spots between
this and the almost entirely grey margin. The

1 Accepted March 1982.

2 139 Hivings Hill, Chesham, Bucks. England, HP5
2PN.

marginal white spots are small and faint. The
hindwing submarginal spots are also joined into
a chain of black lunules, again leaving only a
very narrow band of white between that and
the marginal grey. The hindwing red spots are
large and bright.

The underside corresponds with the upper,
having heavy black, and prominent red mark-
ings.

Female — This is identical in markings to the
male. Note that in many forms of P. epaphus
the female is darker.

Differences with other subspecies

The main difference with the other three
subspecies given above is the submarginal band
of both fore and hindwings. The closest ap-
proach to this is found in some P. epaphus
robertsi females. A summary of the main fea-
tures of all four subspecies is given below. Note
that the following features are not significant —

(a) The forewing preapical red spots — two
specimens have 2, one has 1 and two have none
(under and uppersides the same in each case.)

(b) The upperhindwing anal red spot — pre-
sent in three, absent in two.

Size

Measurement — forewing — base to apex = 25
mm. (both sexes.)

Habitat

It was found on an open rocky ridge above
the tree-line. The south side was a precipitous

166

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

1. Dallacha hyagriva hyagriva (for comparison with others)
male — male underside

female — female underside

Courtesy : British Museum, Natural History.

slope with little vegetation, and the north side
was a very steep grassy one. Further up the
ridge was entirely of rocks with scarcely any
vegetation.

Data

Holotype — female — Lekh above Chiddi —
13000 ft. (=4000 m.) 1 Aug. 80.

Allotype — male — Lekh above Chiddi —
13000 ft. (= 4000 m.) 2 Aug. 80.

Paratypes — 1 m, 2 f — Lekh above Chiddi
— 13000 ft. (= 4000 m.) 2 Aug. 80.

(2) Metaporia leucodice debdice ssp. nov.

The Himalayan Blackvein, M. leucodice
(Eversmann) occurs commonly in the Western
Himalayas, but until 1980 had not been re-
corded as far east as Nepal. It was found locally
plentiful in the little explored Jumle area of
N. W. Nepal, and has been named after the
Nepali collector who obtained the first speci-

men (the Holotype).

Description

Male — Upperside white, forewing with
black discocellular bar and postdiscal band
(from 2 to costa, bulging outwards in 4), veins
and termen narrowly black. Hindwing — ends
of veins and termen narrowly black; discal sagi-
ttate line showing through from below. Under-
side-Forewings white, apex pale creamy yellow;
black markings as above, but post discal band
and termen less heavily marked. Hindwing pale
creamy yellow, precostal area bright yellow;
veins uniformly black, fine but clearly defined
discal sagittate line.

Female — above as male, but very slightly
yellowish, and forewing postdiscal band heavier.
Below — exactly as male, except the yellow on
hindwing is one shade deeper.

167

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

2. Dallacha hyagriva nepalica
male — female

male underside female underside

Courtesy : Natural History Museum, Nepal.

Size

Measurement — forewing (base to apex) —
Male — 26-31 mm. (average 30 mm.)
Female — 30-32 mm.

Discussion of subspecies

M. leucodice soracta (Moore 1857) would
be the subspecies expected in Nepal (reported-
ly common at Mussoorie.) But this ssp. has the
upperforewing postdiscal band obsolete in 3,
which is certainly not the case of these Nepal
specimens.

M. leucodice sara (Evans 1932) from
Kumaon would also be possible, but that has
the upperhindwing discal sagittate line strongly
marked in the female which is hardly true of
the present specimens. Also the upperforewing
is supposed to have large spots in 2 and 4,
which isn’t how the present specimens would
normally be described where those spots are
part of a line also going through 3.

It is therefore suggested that these Nepal

specimens should be considered a new sub-
species.

Habitat

It was found at first in open country, mostly
around flowering bushes, often settling high on
the leaves, and sometimes on flowers. Later on
it was found at slightly higher altitude on the
edge of the jungle area. Total altitude range —
7600-8500 ft. (2320-2600 m.) All specimens ex-
cept the paratypes (e) were from the Jumla
area.

Data

Holotype — male — Bora Gau, JUMLA 19
May ’80 7800 ft. (2380 m.)

Allotype — female — Bora Gau, JUMLA 20
May ’80 7600 ft. (2320 m.)

Paratypes — (a) 1 m type locality 19 May
’80 7800 ft. (2380 m.)

(b) 9 m type locality 20 May ’80 7800 ft.
(2380 m.)

(c) 2 m Jagard Khola 20 May ’80 7900-
8000 ft. (2410-2440 m.)

Fig. 3. Metaporia leucodice debdice
Male — female

male underside female underside
Courtesy : Natural History Museum, Nepal.

168

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Fig. 4. Parnassius epaphus chiddii
male — female

male underside female underside

Courtesy : Natural History Museum, Nepal.

(d) 13 m Poi Village 23 May ’80 8000 ft.

(2440 m.)

(e) 2 m Gumgardhi W. (MUGU) 30 May

’80 8300 ft. (2530 m.)

(f) 7 m Jumla N. W. 3 June ’80 7900 ft.

(2410 m.)

(g) 4 m, 3f type locality 4 June ’80 7800-

8500 ft. & above (2380-2600 m.)

(h) 8 m, 2f type locality 5 June ’80 7800

ft. (2380 m.)

(3) Dallacha hyagriva nepalica ssp. nov.

It is difficult to tell who to attribute this to,
since the species has been recorded in Nepal
for a number of years. There are Nepal speci-
mens of the Brown Argus, D. hyagriva (Moore
1857) in the British Museum Collection which
are obviously different from those from the
Western Himalayas. It appears that no-one has
yet described them. The types were obtained
by me in 1975.

Description

Male — above dark brown with very slight
submarginal dark bands, a large bipupilled
apical ocellus on the forewing, and a smaller

single pupilled tornal one on the hindwing;
sometimes additional minute ones on the fore-
wing in space 2 or on the hindwing in space 1.

Below — forewing plain brown, hindwing
mottled; submarginal bands pronounced. Fore-
wing ocellus as above; hindwing with two pairs
(apical and tornal) of conjoined ocelli: apical
one has black rings always joined, and some-
times a third white pupil, tornal one has black
rings touching or nearly so.

Female — As male but larger and with ocelli
larger. The yellow ring round the apical ocellus
of the upperforewing of the holotype is 7 mm.
in diameter.

Difference with nominate race

The main difference is the larger size of these
ocelli, also the fact that the underside tornal
ones are subequal, and the underside colour
slightly more greyish.

Size

Measurement — forewing base to apex —
Male — 22-23 mm.

Female — 26-28 mm.

Habitat

It inhabits open jungly hillsides, and is less
confined to shady places than the related
Callerebias. It is often found by streams, but
usually singly, and has not been observed to
congregate on damp ground as the Callerebias
have.

Distribution

It occurs in both far East Nepal (East of
Arun), and in Central Nepal in Gandaki basin
(paratypes (l)-(3)) with a total altitude range
of 2600-4900 ft. (800-1500 m.).

Note — Specimens from Kathmandu Valley
(between the two localities, but at higher alti-
tude) appear to belong to the nominate race, as
do those from further west in Nepal.

Data

Allotype male — Ham 24 Sept. ’75 4300 ft.

169

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Comparison of the four Nepal subspecies of Parnassius epaphus

boschmai

capdevillei

robertsi

chiddii

Forewing length

22-23 mm

24-25 mm

25-26 mm

25 mm

Ground colour

white

white

grey

F.W. grey,
H.W. white

Black markings

light

light

heavy

heavy

Red spots (H.W.)

small orange

large red

large red

large red

F. W. submarginal
black markings

irregular
narrow band

band at apex,
separate spots
at tornus

uniform
distinct band

wide diffuse
band

H. W. submarginal
black markings

narrow lunules-
touching

v. small lunules-
separate

large lunules-
separate

wide limules-
joined

(1300 m.)

Holotype female — Ham 3 Oct. ’75 4400 ft.
(1340 m.)

Paratypes (1) m. Barang Barung GORKHA
8 Oct. ’77 3400 ft. (1040 m.)

(2) f. Maikot, GORKHA 12 Oct. ’77 3900
ft. (1200 m.)

(3) m. Phaewa Lake, POKHARA 23 Sept.
’79 2700 ft. (820 m.)

(4) m. Sallari Ban, DANKUTA 18 Oct.
’79 4400 ft. (1340 m.)

(5) f. Kowrini, TERATHUM 21 Oct. ’79
4900 ft. (1500 m.)

(6) f. Phidim 23 Oct. ’79 3600 ft. (1100

m.)

(7) f. Chisso Pani, ILAM 1 Nov. ’79
2600 ft. (800 m.)

References

Epstein, H. J. (1979): Interesting & New Papi-
lionids from central Nepal, Himalaya. Ent. Gazette
30: 157-188.

Evans, W. H. (1932) : The Identification of Indian
Butterflies — 2nd ed. Bombay Natural History So-

ciety.

Moore, F. (1857): Cat. Lep. Ins. E. I. C.
Oberthur, C. (1891) : Faunes Entomologiques.
Descriptions D’Insectes Noveaux Ou Peu Connus.
Etudes D’Entomologie 14, Rennes.

170

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GENUS NIRMALADIA FOR THE SPECIES
CULLADIA DENT ILJNEALIS HAMPSON
(LEPIDOPTERA: CRAMBINAE)1

H. S. Rose2

(With seven text-figures)

Culladia dentilinealis Hampson is not congeneric with other species of genus Culladia
Moore, as evidenced from the structure of different body parts. The species has been
accordingly put under a new genus Nirmaladia.

Introduction

During an exhaustive collection survey of
Pyralid moths from North India in the last
five years or so, I collected one hundred and
forty-five species belonging to different sub-
families of family Pyralidae. Out of these,
seven species are referable to the subfamily
Crambinae. One of the Crambin species name-
ly, Culladia dentilinealis Hampson does not
agree with the description of the diagnostic
features of its type-species ( Araxes admigra-
tella Walker) and is also not congeneric with
other described species under this genus
(Hampson 1895, 1896; Bleszynski 1970). The
characters possessed by the species, Culladia
dentilinealis are so unique and conspicuous
that it requires a new genus and, accordingly,
the genus Nirmaladia is proposed to form a
new combination N. dentilinealis (Hampson).

Observations and Discussion

The genus Culladia was first erected by
Moore (1886) in order to replace the pre-
occupied generic name Araxes (Walker 1863),
the latter being established on the type-species
admigratella Walker. This type-species along
with other Culladia spp. were further examined

1 Accepted April 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, Punjabi University,
Patiala - 147 002.

by Hampson (1895, 1896, 1919), who slightly
improved the diagnostic characters of this genus
by adding the venation of the fore and hind
wings. Later, Bleszynski (1963, 1970) revised
and redefined the genus Culladia, which he
considered to be a waste basket for species be-
longing to several distinct genera. He, thus,
suggested a rearrangement of the species referr-
ed to this genus alongwith the erection of new
genera allied to Culladia (Bleszynski 1970a).
He however, reluctantly retained the species
dentilinealis Hampson under the genus Culladia
although he made a mention of the exceptional
features possessed by this species. Recently,
Gaskin (1973) pointed out that Bleszynski has
failed to give characters exclusive to Culladia
and distinct from the characters of other allied
genera.

In the course of present studies, I examined
fifteen specimens of the species under refer-
ence and identified it as Culladia dentilinealis,
first described by Hampson (1919). Its identity
is definite because it completely agrees with
the description given by Hampson (1919) and
its genitalia are similar to those figured by
Bleszynski (1970). A careful examination of
the present species reveals that the structure
of the antennae, the venation of the wings and
the various constituent parts of the genitalia
are quite distinct and different from those of
Culladia.

171

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Nirmaladia dentilinealis (Hampson)

Fig. 1. Photograph of the adult moth.

The structure of the antenna in male denti-
linealis Hampson, is not serrate as in other
Culladia spp. and also the ocellus is extremely
poorly developed in the former as compared
to the well developed ocellus in latter. In Culla-
dia, the vein R5 of the forewing is very short
and stalked with R4 but in the species under
reference, the veins R3 and R4 are stalked and
vein R5 is quite long and arises independently
from the discal cell. The veins M? and of the
hind wing are stalked in dentilinealis whereas
one of them is either absent or vestigial in
Culladia. The male genitalic structures of the
present species differ drastically from Culladia
in many important characters namely, lacking
a fine hook at the distal end of the uncus, the
complete absence of apical processes of the
aedeagus and in having a single long cornutus
in the vesica. The structure of the valvae is
very unique and of rare occurrence (I have
dissected one hundred and forty-five species of
family Pyralidae and this is perhaps the soli-
tary example where such type of valva occurred).
The female genitalia in dentilinealis Hampson
is conspicuous in lacking a scobinate signum in

its corpus bursae and by the absence of ante-
rior apophyses. The abdomen of the female in
Culladia is furnished apically with broad scales
and such scales are completely wanting in den-
tilinealis.

Keeping in view these differences of the
species, I am proposing a new genus for it.
The genus is named as Nirmaladia gen. nov.,
which is characterised below :

Genus : Nirmaladia gen. nov.
Type-species: Culladia dentilinealis Hampson
Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (9) 3: 286.

2

4 mm

Nirmaladia dentilinealis (Hampson)
Figs. 2 & 3. Fore and hind wing.

172

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

0-5mm

04mm

Nirmaladia dentilinealis (Hampson)

Fig. 4. Male genitalia with one valva and aedeagus removed. Fig. 5. Valva.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Nirmaladia dentilinealis (Hampson)

Fig. 6. Aedeagus. Fig. 7. Female genitalia.

174

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

(Type-locality: India, Punjab)

(Figs. 1-7)

Labial palpus porrect, extending about thrice
the length of head, thickly scaled. Maxillary
palpus triangularly scaled. Frons rounded.
Antenna of male thickened but without any
serrations. Ocellus poorly developed. Fore-wing
with vein Rx free; R2 free; R3 stalked with R4;
R5 arises from below upper angle of cell; M1
absent; M2 and M3 stalked. Hind wing with Rs
anastomosing with Sc + Rx; veins M2 and M3
stalked. Abdomen of the female tapering dis-
tally and without any prominent scales.

Male genitalia : Uncus moderately long,

slender, tapering to apex, densely setose with
anteriorly directed setae, extreme tip naked and
without any hook; gnathos well developed,
almost equal to uncus, strongly sclerotized;
tegumen very long, with sides almost parallel
and strongly sclerotized, without pons; vincu-
lum produced anteriorly into an extremely rudi-
mentary saccus. Valva of unique type, with
basal half without any differentiation of costa
and sacculus; distal half sharply and deeply
bifurcated, its dorsal lobe slender and densely
setose, ventral projection pointed and naked.

Refei

Bleszynski, S. (1963) : Studies on Crambinae
(Lepidoptera) . Part 40. A review of the genera of
the family Crambidae with data on their synonymy
and types. Acta. Zool. Cracov., 8: 91-132.

(1970): A revision of the genus

Culladia Moore. Studies on the Crambinae, Lepidop-
tera, Part 50. Tijdschrift voor, Ent., 113 : 44-59.

(1970a) : New genera and species

of tropical Crambinae. Studies on the Crambinae,
Lepidoptera, Part 48. Tijdschrift voor Ent., 113 : 1-26.

Gaskin, D. E. (1973): Revision of New Zealand
Chilonini (Lep. Pyralidae) and redescription of some
Australian species. N. Z. Journ. of Sci., 16: 436-463.

Hampson, G. F. (1895) : On the classification of

Transtilla inconspicuous; juxta small and notch-
ed. Aedeagus long, rounded anteriorly (with-
out any apical process), finely tapering towards
distal end; vesica impregnated with a heavily
sclerotized long cornutus and small patches of
short setae below the curvature of cornutus.

Female genitalia : Corpus bursae relatively
short, membranous with a few sclerotized lines;
signum absent; ductus bursae long, semi-mem-
branous, denticulate around the middle; ante-
rior apophyses absent; posterior apophyses
moderately long and thick, each with an angu-
lar thickening near base; ovipositor lobes broad
and fringed with different sized setae.

Distribution : India and Nepal.

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my deep gratitude to Dr
H. R. Pajni, Dept, of Zoology, Punjab Uni-
versity, Chandigarh, for his valuable sugges-
tions during the course of preparation of this
manuscript. Thanks are also due to Mr. I. J.
Gupta, Lepidoptera Section, Zoological Survey
of India, Calcutta for his comments on the
identity of the species.

E N ces

Schoenobiinae and Crambinae, two subfamilies of
moths of family Pyralidae (Lepidoptera). Proc. Zool.
Soc. Lond., 1895: 897 -97 4.

(1896): Fauna of British India.

Moths, 4: 1-594. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London.

(1919) : Description of new Pyra-
lidae of subfamilies Crambinae and Signiae. Ann.
Mag. nat. Hist., 3 : (9) : 275-292.

Moore, F. (1886) : Lepidoptera of Ceylon, 5: 305-
392.

Walker, F. (1863) : List of the specimens of Lepi-
dopterous insects in the collection of the British
Museum. Part 27, Crambites and Tortricites, 286,
pp., London.

175

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

FIRST RECORD OF CLAUSEN l A ISHII (HYMENOPTERA:
ENCYRTIDAE) FROM INDIA WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW

SPECIES1

S. Adam Shafer
and

Rajendra Kumar Avasthi2

( With a text -figure)

Clausenia Ishii is reported for the first time from India. Two new species (C. longi-
pennis sp. nov. and C. indica sp. nov.) are described and illustrated. Key to species
of Clausenia is also provided. Types deposited in Zoological Museum, Aligarh
Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

Genus Clausenia Ishii

Type-species: Clausenia purpurea Ishii, 1923
(by original designation and monotypy).
The genus Clausenia was first proposed by
Ishii (1923) with C. purpurea Ishii as type-
species. The generic characters of this genus
have been given in detail by Kerrich (1967).
Some additional generic characters are suggest-
ed which are as follows: Female genitalia, first
valvifer (fig. 1 G) semicircular, second valvi-
fers -(fig. IF) very narrow at apical one-third;
subgenital plate (fig. 1 E) with anterior margin
concave, anterolateral apodemes long.

The genus Clausenia Ishii is reported for the
first time from India. Two species are describ-
ed here as new. Kerrich’s (1967) key to species
of Clausenia Ishii has been revised in order to
accommodate C. indica sp. nov. and C. longi-
pennis sp. nov.

Revised key to species of Clausenia Ishii, based
ON FEMALES

1 . Abdomen not much shorter than thorax; sub-
genital plate (=hypopygium) boat-shaped, point-
ed at apex 2

— Abdomen much shorter than thorax; subgenital
plate (-hypopygium) semitruncated and notched

1 Accepted October 1981.

2 Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

in the middle, scarcely boat-shaped; antennal
club with second suture not strongly curved or
oblique; frontovertex shining, with reticulate
microsculpture very fine and punctation sparse:
Africa C. confusor Kerrich

2. Antennae having funicle segments 5 and 6 only

a little longer than broad 3

— Antennae having 6th funicle segment about one

and a half times as long as broad and 5th still
longer 5

3. Mesoscutum less densely punctate; marginal vein

of fore wing almost twice length of stigmal vein;
head not dominantly dark green 4

— Mesoscutum more densely punctate; marginal

vein of fore wing only moderately longer than
stigmal vein; head usually dominantly dark green:
Asia, U.S.A C. purpurea Ishii

4. Postmarginal vein distinctly longer than margi-

nal vein; legs with coxae and trochanters except
at apex, and femora except at base and apex,
pale blackish brown with weak, mostly purplish,
metallic reflections; mesoscutum with setigerous
puncts separated by about twice their own dia-
meters: West Africa C. corrugata Kerrich

— Postmarginal vein distinctly shorter than margi-
nal vein (fig. 1 K); legs orange yellow; mesos-
cutum with setigerous puncts separated by more

than four times their own diameters: India

C. indica sp. nov.

5. Fore wings with marginal vein less than twice
the length of stigmal vein; eyes moderately

setose . .6

— Fore wings with marginal vein almost twice as
long as stigmal vein; eyes weakly setose 7

6. Fore wings broad, about twice as long as wide.

176

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

H.-K. Clausenia indica sp. nov., $ : H. Mandible; I. Maxillary and labial palpi;
J. Antenna; K. Part of fore wing venation.

12

177

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

disc proximal to speculum with thin setae be-
neath submarginal vein (Rosen, 1965: fig. 6);
antennae with first funicle segment slightly longer

than wide (Rosen, 1965: fig. 4): Israel

C. josefi Rosen

— Fore wings moderately narrow, more than two
and a half times longer than wide, disc proximal
to speculum with numerous coarse setae beneath
submarginal vein (fig. ID); antennae with first
funicle segment twice as long as wide (fig. 1 C) :

India C. longipennis sp. nov.

7. Head in side view (Kerrich, 1967: fig. 42) with
cheeks not sharply narrowed to mouth; punc-
tures on mesoscutum not very fine, many sepa-
rated by less than twice their own diameters;
hind tibiae usually mainly pale, darkened above,
but if more extensively darkened then at least

broadly pale at apex: West Africa

C. quineensis Kerrich

— ■ Head in side view (Kerrich, 1967: fig. 41) with
cheeks rather sharply narrowed to mouth; punc-
tures on mesoscutum very fine, mostly sepa-
rated by well over twice their own diameters; hind
tibia only rather narrowly pale at apex: South
Africa, Eritrea C. com per ei Kerrich

Cfiausenia longipennis sp. nov.

(Fig. 1 A-G)

Female:

Head— Dark, slightly wider than long in
facial view; antennae inserted below lower level
of eyes; space between antennal sockets about
one-third width of frons between eyes; malar
space shorter than eye width; eyes moderately
setose; maxillary and labial palpi (fig. IB)
4- and 3 -segmented respectively; mandibles
(fig. 1A) bidentate. Antennae (fig. 1C) dark
brown except basal three-fourth of scape orange
yellow; scape long and slender, about 8 times
as long as wide; pedicel distinctly longer than
1st funicle segment; funicle segment 1st shor-
test, 2nd and 3rd subequal in length and each
about twice as long as wide, 5th and 6th one
and a half times as long as wide; club 3-
segmented, as long as preceding 3 funicle seg-
ments together.

Thorax. — Dark brown; mesoscutum coarsely

setose and with distinct parapsidal furrows
anteriorly, axillae and scutellum finely setose
and reticulately sculptured. Fore wings slightly
infuscated, about two and a half times as long
as wide; disc proximal to speculum with nume-
rous coarse setae beneath the submarginal vein;
submarginal vein slightly widened at apical
third; marginal vein slightly longer than post-
marginal vein and less than twice the length of
stigmal vein (fig. ID); marginal fringe small,
spaced by a distance equal to one-fourth their
length. Hind wings hyaline, about five and a
half times as long as wide (1.01:0.19 mm);
marginal fringe small, spaced by a distance
equal to one-fourth their length. Legs dark
brown except fore and mid tibiae at apical
halves, hind tibiae completely, and tarsi
yellowish; middle tibial spur as long as basi-
tarsus.

Abdomen. — Dark, slightly longer than thorax;
tenth tergum long; paratergites long and
narrow; subgenital plate boat-shaped, pointed
at apex, reaching beyond apex of abdomen.

Body length : 1.6 mm.

Holotype $ . India: Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh,
ex. Coccidohystrix insolitus (Green), on Sola-
num melongena L., 2. viii. 1977 Coll. S. Adam
Shafee.

Paratypes. $ , same data as holotype.

Clausenia indica sp. nov.

(Fig. 1 H-K)

Female.

Head. — Dark, slightly wider than long in
facial view; antennae inserted below lower level
of eyes; eyes dark brown and sparsely setose;
space between antennal sockets about one-half
the width of frons between eyes; maxillary and
labial palpi (fig. II) 4 and 3-segmented respec-
tively; mandibles (fig. 1H) bidentate. Antennae
(fig. 1J) dark except scape orange yellow;
scape four and a half times longer than wide.

178

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

pedicel about twice the length of first funicle
segment, first funicle segment shortest and slight-
ly longer than wide; funicle segments 2-6 sub-
equal in length, 2-4 one and a half times as
long as long as wide, 5th slightly longer than
wide, 6th as long as wide; club 3 -segmented,
slightly longer than preceding three funicle
segments combined.

Thorax. — Dark and recticulately sculptured
with setigerous puncts sparsely distributed and
separated by more than four times their own
diameters; mesoscutum with parasidal furrows
as in C. purpurea Ishii (Rosen, 1965: fig. 16);
axillae triangular, meeting medially. Fore wings
hyaline, about two and a half times as long as
wide; submarginal vein long, slightly dilated
at apical third, marginal vein slightly longer
than postmarginal and twice the length of stig-
mal vein (fig. IK); marginal fringe small,
spaced by a distance equal to one-third their
length. Hind wings hyaline about five and a

Refe

Ishii, T. (1923): Observations on the Hymenop-
terous parasites of Ceroplastes rubens Mask., with
descriptions of new genera and species of the sub-
family Eucyrtinae. Bull. Imp. Pi. Quarant. Stn. Yoko-
hama 3: 69-114.

Kerrich, G. J. (1967): On the classification of

half times longer than wide; marginal fringe
small, spaced by a distance equal to one-fourth
their length. Legs uniformly orange yellow;
middle tibial spur as long as basitarsus.

Abdomen. — Dark brown, as long as thorax;
subgenital plate boat-shaped, reaching slightly
beyond apex of abdomen.

Body length : 1.2 mm.

Holotype $, INDIA: Tamil Nadu, Coimba-
tore, ex. Rastrococcus sp. on Acacia monili-
formis, 27. iii. 1979. Coll. R. K. Avasthi.

Acknowledgements

We are deeply indebted to Prof. Nawab H.
Khan, Head, Department of Zoology, for pro-
viding research facilities. Thanks are also due
to Prof. S. Mashhood Alam for encouragement.
One of us (R. K. Avasthi) is grateful to
C.S.I.R, New Delhi, for financial assistance.

EN CES

the Anagyrini Encyrtidae with a revision of some
of the genera (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) . Bull.
Brit. Mus. nat. Hist. ( Ent .) 20: 141-250.

Rosen, D. (1965) : A new species of Clausenia
Ishii (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from Israel. Proc.
R. ent. Soc. Lond., (B) 34: 61-64.

179

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

A NEW SPECIES OF PARABLASTOTHRIX (HYMENOPTERA:
ENCYRTIDAE) FROM INDIA1

M. A. Khan2

(With seven text-figures)

Parablastothrix Mercet 1917

The genus Parablastothrix was erected by
Mercet (1917) for the Palaearctic species P.
vespertinus. Holier (1960) considered Matrella
Erdos as synonym of Parablastothrix Mercet.
Miller (1965) has given a very good diagnostic
key for its separation from the closely related
genus Tetracnemus Westw. Shafee et al. (1973)
recorded the genus for the first time from India,
represented by P. indicus Shafee et al.

So far only one species of the genus is known
from India. A new species has been described
and key to species of Parablastothrix Mercet
has also been proposed.

Key to the species of Parablastothrix Mercet

1. Body black or bright, metallic, greenish-blue..

2

— Body blue; mid legs white with base of femur,

2. Body black; front and mid legs and coxa, femur

& tarsus of hind leg white; integument of head
finely, densely punctate with widely scattered
large punctures P • nearcticus Miller.

— Body blue; mid legs white with base of femur,

tibia and last tarsal segment dark; hind leg
with coxa bluish, femur blackish with white apex,
tibiae darkish, tarsus white; integument of
head finely and densely shagreened, the shagreen-
ing becoming rugose .P. vespertinus Mercet.

3. Ocelli arranged in obtuse angle triangle; antennae

uniformly dark brown; club two times longer
than wide; marginal vein as long as Post mar-
ginal vein; abdomen yellowish brown with slight
metallic reflections P. indicus Shafee et al.

— Ocelli arranged in equilateral angle triangle,
antenna dark brown with funicle segments 5th,

1 Accepted October 1981.

2 Department of Entomology, College of Agricul-
ture, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture 8c Tech-
nology, Pantnagar-263 145, U.P., India.

6th and club white; club less than three times
longer than wide; marginal vein longer than post
marginal vein; abdomen dark brown.
P. zygonomus sp. nov.

Parablastothrix zygonomus sp. nov.

Male:

Head (Fig. 1): Dark brown with metallic
bluish reflections, wider than long in facial
view; fronto vertex reticulate punctate with sil-
very setae, less than twice longer than wide
(0.14:0.08) and more than one third of head
width (0.08:0.26); ocelli arranged in equila-
teral angle triangle, basal ocellus separated by
less than its own diameter from eye rim and
two times its diameter from occipital margin;
eyes black; mandibles tridentate (Fig. 2), maxil-
lary (Fig. 3) and labial (Fig. 4) palps 4 and
3 segmented respectively.

Antennae (Fig. 5): Dark brown with funicle
segment 5th, 6th and club white, scape delat-
ed, more than three times longer than wide
(0.19:0.06); pedicel as long as wide (0.06:
0.06), distinctly longer than first funicle seg-
ment, funicle segments 1-4 with branches, funi-
cle segments longer than wide except first
which is wider than long, third funicle seg-
ment as long as basal two funicle segments
united, 4th funicle segment as long as 5th
and 6th less than twice as long as 5th funicle
segment; club less than three times as long as
wide (0.15:0.055), distinctly shorter than
preceding two funicle segments combined.

Thorax (Fig. 6) : Dark brown with metallic
bluish reflections, scutum twice wider than long
(0.24:0.12); axillae narrowly united; scutellum

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Figs. 1-7. Parablastothrix zygonomus sp. nov., $

1. Head, dorsal aspect; 2. Mandible; 3. Maxillary palp; 4. Labial palp;

6. Thorax; 7. Part of fore wing venation.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

wider than long (0.19:0.17), longer than
scutum, posterior margin of scutellum rounded.

Fore wings : Hyaline, slightly more than two
times longer than wide; costal cell broad, mar-
ginal vein (0.07) (Fig. 7) longer than post-
marginal vein (0.05), stigmal vein very long
(0.09), speculum absent, basal triangle with
few setae.

Hind wings : Hyaline, less than four times
longer than wide, apex of marginal vein with
three curved hooklets.

Legs : Dark brown, except apex of femora,
bases and apices of tibiae and tarsi white.

Abdomen'. Dark brown with slight metallic
reflections, slightly shorter than thorax.

Male length : 0.95 mm.

Holotype: d\ 1 cf paratype, India, U.P.

Pantnagar Ex. Leaf miner Acrocercops zy go-
noma (Lepidoptera: Gracillaridae) on wild
plant 3.7.1978 (M. A. Khan).

Acknowledgements

I am thankful to Prof. K. C. Sharma, Dean,
College of Agriculture, Prof. B. P. Pandya,
Director Research, Experiment Station and
Prof. B. P. Khare, Head, Department of
Entomology, for all the necessary facilities.
Thanks are also due to Dr. V. K. Sehgal, Asso-
ciate Professor, Entomology, for the identifica-
tion of Lepidopterous leaf miner.

References

Hoffer, A., (1960) : A revision of the Czechoslo-
vak genera of the sub-family encyrtinae with reduced
number of funicle joints (Hym. : Chalcidoides) . Acta
faun. Mus. nat. Pragae, 6: 93-119.

Mercet, R. G., (1917) : Generos nuevos de Encir-
tinos (Himenopteros : Calcidos). Bol. R. Soc. Esp.
Hist. Nat. 17: 538-544.

Miller, C. D. F., (1965): A nearctic species of
Parablastothrix Mercet (Hymenoptera : Encyrtidae).
Cand. Ent. 97(7) : 750-753.

Shafee, S. A., Alam, S. M. and Agarwal, M. M.,
(1973): Taxonomic Survey of Encyrtid parasites
(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) in India. Alig. Musi.
Univ. Publ. (Zool. Ser .) Ind. Ins. Typ. 103-105.

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF ANICETUS HOWARD
(HYMENOPTERA: ENCYRTIDAE) FROM INDIA1

Rajendra Kumar Avasthi
and

S. Adam Shafee2
(With a text-figure)

Anicetus tibimaculatus sp. nov. (Fig. 1 A-F)
Female :

Head. — Yellowish brown, distinctly wider
than long in facial view; frontovertex slightly

1 Accepted May 1982.

2 Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

less than twice as long as wide; ocelli red,
arranged in equilateral triangle, lateral ocelli
less than their own diameters from orbital and
occipital margins; antennae inserted below
lower level of eyes; space between antennal
sockets as long as the width of frons bet-
ween eyes; malar space slightly shorter than

182

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Fig. 1. A.-F. Anicetus tibimaculatus sp. nov., $ : A. Antenna; B. Mandible; C. Part
of fore wing; D. Part of fore wing venation; E. Part of external genitalia; F. Apex

of abdomen in dorsal view.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

eye width; malar sutures absent; maxillary and
labial palpi 4- and 3 -segmented respectively;
mandibles (fig. IB) tridentate. Antennae (fig.
1A) yellowish brown, except inner margin of
scape dark; scape much flattened, distinctly
longer than wide; pedicel much longer than
wide with dorsal edge flattened; funicle flat-
tened, 6-segmented, gradually increasing in
width distad; club flattened, 3 -segmented,
greatest length distinctly longer than funicle.

Thorax. — Yellowish brown; mesoscutum
entire, densely setose and about twice as wide
as long; scutellum distinctly wider than long
and with 30 setae, apex triangular; mesopost-
phragma well developed, reaching beyond the
propodeum. Fore wings (fig. 1C) infuscated
except a triangular area at base hyaline, two
and a half times as long as wide; costal cell
well developed, marginal vein as long as stig-
mal and distinctly longer than postmarginal
vein (fig. ID); speculum proximally with 50
coarse setae; marginal fringe short, spaced by
a distance equal to one-third their length. Hind
wings hyaline, four times as long as wide; mar-
ginal fringe short, spaced by a distance equal
to one-third their length. Legs yellowish, except
hind legs with two bands on tibiae and basal
apical tarsal segments dark brown; middle tibial
spur as long as basitarsus.

Abdomen. — Yellowish, slightly shorter than
thorax; paratergites absent (fig. IF); Female
genitalia (fig. IE): ovipositor hidden, arising
from basal one-third of abdominal venter, first
valvifers triangular with basal and apical angles
at different levels, second valvifers of uniform
width, third valvulae long and movably articu-
lated with second valvifers.

Body length : 1.33 mm

Holotype $ ; 3 $ $ paratypes, INDIA: Tamil
Nadu, Coimbatore, ex. Ceroplastodes cajani
(Maskell), on Abutilon indicum, 27. iii. 1979
( R . K. Avast hi). Types deposited in Zoologi-
cal Museum, Aligarh Muslim University, Ali-
garh, India.

In the key to species-groups of Anicetus
proposed by Annecke (1967), the new species
comes under the group Anicetus abyssinicus
Annecke. Annecke’s (1967) key to the species
in the group of Anicetus abyssinicus Annecke
has been revised in order to accommodate
Anicetus tibimaculatus sp. nov.

Revised key to species in the group of Anicetus
abyssinicus Annecke, based on females

1. Marginal vein slightly longer than stigmal and

about twice the length of postmarginal vein; base
of fore wing proximal to speculum with 30 or
less coarse setae 2

— Marginal vein as long as stigmal and slightly
longer than postmarginal vein; base of fore wing
proximal to speculum with about 50 coarse setae;
ocelli arranged in equilateral triangle; hind tibiae

with two infuscated bands

A. tibimaculatus sp. nov.

2. Ocelli in a right angle; middle and hind tibia

each with two well-marked brown bands

A. abyssinicus Annecke

— Ocelli in a strongly acute-angled triangle; middle
tibia not marked with spots or bands, hind tibia

with two brown spots or incomplete bands

A. deltoideus Annecke

Acknowledgements

We are deeply indebted to Prof. Nawab H.
Khan, Head, Department of Zoology, for pro-
viding research facilities. Thanks are also due
to Prof. S. Mashhood Alam, for encourage-
ment. One of us (R. K. Avasthi) is grateful to
C.S.I.R., New Delhi, for financial assistance.

Reference

Annecke, D. P. (1967): The genera Anicetus allies, with descriptions of new genera and species

Howard, 1896, Paracerapterocerus Girault, 1920 and (Hymenoptera : Encyrtidae). Trans. R. ent. Soc.

Lond., 119 : 99-169.

184

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

A NEW SPECIES OF TETRASTICHUS (HYMENOPTERA:
EULOPHIDAE) FROM INDIA1 - 2

M. A. Khan3
(With eleven text-figures)

Tetrastichus Haliday 1843

Genotype: Cirrospilus attatus Walker by
original designation [= miser (Nees)].

The genus Tetrastichus Haliday is a useful
member of the Chalcidoidea which attacks a
wide variety of hosts, including important pests
of agriculture crops such as caterpillars, stem-
borers, leaf miners, aphids, beetles, midges and
thrips. The parasites attack different stages of
the host including eggs, larvae, nymphs and
pupae. They are either primary parasites or
hyperparasites. Some of the species of Tetras-
tichus have also been reared as secondary para-
sites. The species described here has been rear-
ed as a secondary parasite upon cocoons of
Apanteles sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on
the larvae of Bihar hairy caterpillar, Diacrisia
obliqua Walker (Lepidoptera : Arctiidae).

The genus has been revised by Burks (1943)
and the generic characters proposed by him
apply well to this species.

Tetrastichus pantnagarensis sp. nov.
Female:

Head : Brownish with yellowish reflections,
reticulate sculpture, wider than long in frontal
aspect (0.6:0.48) (Fig. 1), width of frons
between eyes less than twice the width of head,
frontovertex wide (0.35), sparsely setose, ocelli
arranged in obtuse angle triangle, basal ocelli
removed from eye rim by almost twice the dia-
meter of an ocellus: eyes setose; distance bet-

1 Accepted May 1982.

2 Research paper No. 2213 through the Experi-
ment Station, G.B.P.U.A. and T., Pantnagar, Nainital,
U.P., India.

3 Deptt. of Entomology, G. B. Pant Univ. of Agric.
& Tech., Pantnagar, U.P. 263 145, India.

ween antennal sockets less than one sixth width
of frontovertex at median ocellus, antennal
sockets with their basal margin well above the
level of the basal ocular line, distance between
antennal sockets and eye twice the distance
between two antennal sockets; malar space
shorter than eye length, subocular suture dis-
tinct; mandibles tridentate with two teeth and
a truncation (Fig. 2), maxillary (Fig. 3), and
labial palpi (Fig. 4) one segmented.

Antennae (Fig. 5) : Uniformly brown except
scape yellowish, sparsely setose, scape cylindri-
cal, more than three times longer than wide
(0.16:0.05), pedicel twice as long as wide
(0.09:0.045), funicle with a ring, segments
elongated, first funicle segment very long (0.14:
0.05), 2nd and third segment subequal in size
(0.11:0.06), club three segmented, three times
longer than wide (0.21:0.07), shorter than
preceding two funicle segments united; first
funicle to last club segment with 9,10,12,12,10
and 5 sensoria respectively.

Thorax (Fig. 7): Brown with yellowish re-
flections, with fine reticulate sculpture, prono-
tum (Fig. 6) wide with a notch in the middle
of anterior margin, posterior margin convex
with 16 setae, scutum convex with longitudi-
nally fine striate, wider than long (0.4:0.27)
with a median groove, seven small setae at
each lateral side of the scutum, scutellum shor-
ter than the scutum, with distinct longitudinal
grooves and with two pairs of strong setae;
postscutellum, slightly shorter than the propo-
daeum measured in the middle; mesopost-
phragma long, notched at apex.

Fore Wings (Fig. 8) : Hyaline, twice as long

185

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Figs. 1-11. Tetrastichus pantnagarensis sp. nov., $

1. Head, frontal aspect; 2. Mandible; 3. Maxillary palp; 4. Labial palp;
5. Antenna; 6, Pronotum; 7. Thorax; 8. Forewing; 9. Subgenital plate;
10. Ovipositor; 11. First valvifer.

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

as wide, costal cell narrow with three distinct
setae, submarginal vein with 10 setae, post-
marginal vein wanting, stigmal vein (0.04)
almost one third length of marginal vein (0.11),
marginal fringe short.

Hind Wings: Almost four times longer than
wide, apex of marginal vein with three hook-
lets, marginal fringe long, spaced by a distance
almost equal to one fifth length of a fringe.

Fore Legs : Coxae, trochanter and almost
three fourth of the tibiae dark brownish, rest
of the leg yellowish, femora compressed.

Middle Legs : Coloration same as of forelegs
except the last tarsal segment brown; tibial spur
short, apical rim of tibial with 3 short pegs.

Hind Legs: Coloration same as of fore legs
except the last tarsal segment brown, two long
setae on outer face of the base of coxae, femora
much compressed, tibial spur short.

Abdomen: Brown with yellowish reflections,
triangular, longer than thorax; subgenital plate
(Fig. 9) with anterior margin concave in the
middle, the central notch of its posterior mar-
gin with laterally directed ridges; outer plates
of ovipositor with a ridge in the middle (Fig.
10), first valvifers (Fig. 11) semicircular with
articular knobs prominent, second valvifers
(Fig. 10) thickened on dorsal margin through
out, third valvulae long, lanceolate (Fig. 10),
movably articulated with second valvifers; ovi-
positor slightly exserted.

Female Length: 1.51 mm.

Male : Not known.

Holotype $ , India, U.P., Nainital, Pant-
nagar, 10-4-1979, emerged from the cocoons of
Apanteles sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on
the larvae of Diacrisia obliqua (Walker) on
sugarbeet (R. C. Chibber), Cat. No. Eulo.
1004.

Paratype 8 $ $ same data as holotype. Cat.
No. Eulo. 1005. Material will be deposited in
the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta.

Tetrastichus pantnagarensis sp. nov. resem-
bles Tetrastichus inferens Yoshimoto, 1970 from
which it can be distinguished as follows:

Tetrastichus inferens
Yoshimoto

Tetrastichus pantnagaren-
sis sp. nov.

i) Body dark brown or

i)

Brownish with yel-

black with slight

lowish reflections

blue green irides-

cence

ii) Head slightly broad-

ii)

Head distinctly broa-

er than mesonotum

der than mesonotum

iii) Malar space about

iii)

Malar space not so,

1/3 height of com-

but slightly shorter

pound eye

than height of com-

pound eye

iv) Mandibles sharply

iv)

Mandibles tridentate

bidentate

with two teeth and

a truncation

v) Scape less than five

v)

Scape three times

times longer than

longer than wide,

wide, pedicel very

pedicel very short

long, longer than

slightly more than

first funicle segment,

half the length of

funicle segments gra-

first funicle segment,

dually broadening

funicle segments

apically, club slight-

elongated, first funi-

ly more than twice

cle segment very

longer than wide,

long, second and

longer than preced-

third segment sub-

ing two funicle seg-

equal in size, club

ments combined.

three • times longer

than wide, shorter

than preceding two

funicle segments

combined.

vi) Scutum

with three

vi) Scutum

with seven

pairs of

adnotaular

pairs of

adnotaular

bristles

bristles

vii) Stigmal

vein about

vii) Stigmal

vein almost

one-fifth

length of

one-third

length of

marginal

vein.

marginal

vein.

187

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ACK NO WLEDGE M ENTS

I am thankful to Prof. K. C. Sharma, Dean,
College of Agriculture, Prof. B. P. Pandya,
Director Research, Experiment Station and

Prof. B. P. Khare, Head, Department of Ento-
mology for providing the necessary facilities.
Thanks are also due to Mr. R. C. Chibber for
providing the specimens for identification.

Reference

Burks, B. D. (1943): The north American para- Yoshimoto, C. M. (1970): A new species of
sitic wasps of the Genus Tetrastichus — A contri- T etrastichus (Hymenoptera : Eulophidae) parasitizing
bution to Biological control of insect pests. Proc. U.S. pupae of Sesamia inferens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
Nat. Mas. 93: 505-608. Cand. Ent. 102 (12): 1607-1609.

ON A NEW SPECIES OF GENUS ASPIDOMYCTER MARSHALL
(COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE : EREMNINAE) FROM INDIA1

H. R. Pajni and C. S. Sidhu2
{With six text-figures)

A new species, A. laesicollis has been described under genus Aspidomycter Marshall.
A key to the three so far known Indian species in this genus has been included and
the characters of the genus have been elaborated. The structure of the male and
female genitalia of A. lunalus Marshall has also been included.

Introduction

We have studied more than one hundred
species of subfamily Eremninae during the
course of a five year U.S. PL-480 project on
Indian Curculionidae. As many as 49 new
species and 9 new genera have been proposed
under this subfamily. The present communica-
tion deals with a new species of genus Aspido-
mycter Marshall.

The genus Aspidomycter was raised by Mar-
shall (1943) on a type species, A. lunatus. He
also described a new sub-species namely A.
lunatus lefroyi to which he later on (Marshall
1944) accorded the status of a valid species.
The present new species thus marks the record
of a third species under the same genus. Keep-
ing in view the current knowledge on the genus

1 Accepted March 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, Punjab University,
Chandigarh- 160 014.

Aspidomycter, the characterization of this genus
has been revised and a key to all the three In-
dian species has been given. The structure of
the male and female genitalia of A. lunatus
Marshall, also studied by us, has been included.

Results and Discussion

Genus Aspidomycter Marshall
Marshall, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (11) 10, p.
108 (1943): (11) 11, pp. 77, 81 (1944).

Head with dorsal area of rostrum broadly
ascending its anterior part, and terminated pos-
teriorly by a deeply impressed transverse line;
eyes circular, somewhat convex. Rostrum very
broad, dorsal area elevated and without any
median sulcus or carina; epistome elongate, its
margins carinate and forming an acute angle
behind; scrobes short, curving inwards, sud-
denly effaced behind; mentum with four setae.
Antennae with scape curved, gradually clavate;

188

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

funicle with joint 2 longer than 1. Prothorax
deeply bisinuate at base, its ocular lobes feeble
or moderate, with obliquely prominent shoul-
ders. Legs with corbels of hind tibiae fully
enclosed, each having two rows of setae on
external edge. Male genitalia with aedeagus
sinuate at apex, there produced into a process
in middle in which lies exophallic valve, orifi-
cial plates prominent, aedeagal apodemes more
than twice as long as aedeagus. Female geni-
talia with bursa copulatrix sclerotized towards
apex.

Type species: Aspidomycter lunatus Marshall

Aspidomycter laesicollis sp. nov.

(Figs. 1, 3, 5)

Head with frons ferrugineous, covered with

shining blue-green and brownish scales and
some greenish sub-erect setae, only slightly
wider than base of rostrum and separated from
it by an incision; eyes black, somewhat convex,
moderately large and circular. Rostrum ferru-
gineous, almost as long as broad, running
parallel from base to scrobes and only slightly
dilated at apex, posteriorly ascending frons to
form a raised plate, broadly truncate at base,
almost flat and shallowly depressed behind the
epistome and there provided with a fine cen-
tral carina; surface of rostrum covered with
shining blue-green and brownish scales and
short spathulate pale setae, area close to epis-
tome bare; epistome long, with its delimiting
carinae high and forming and acute angle be-
hind; scrobes short, broad, open behind, almost

1. Photograph of Adult Aspidomycter laesicollis sp. nov.
2. Photograph of Adult A. lunatus Marshall.

189

UJULlOO I

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

visible from above; mentum with 4 setae.
Antennae lerrugineous, long; scape stout, curv-
ed, gradually clavate, reaching three-fourth of
prothorax, its surface densely covered with

brownish-green scales and sub-recumbent pale
setae; funicle with second joint 1.3 times as
long as first, third and fourth subequal but
shorter than first, fourth to seventh subequal

Fig. 3. Male genitalia of A. laesicollis sp. nov.

Fig. 4. Male genitalia of A. lunatus Marshall.

Abbreviations

ADA, Aedeagal Apodeme; AED, Aedeagus; END, Endophallus; ENDP, Endophallic
plate; OP, Oriflcial plate; PHB, Phallobase; PHBA, Phallobasic apodeme;

PHT, Phallotreme.

190

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

and shortest, all joints covered with brownish-
green scales and sub-recumbent pale setae; club
dark brown, fusiform, finely and uniformly
pubescent.

Prothorax ferrugineous, as long as broad,
its anterior margin arcuate dorsally, with feeble
ocular lobes and fine vibrissae laterally; dorsal
surface of pronotum marked with small dense
punctures; each puncture having a pale, sub-
recumbent and spathulate seta; surface also
furnished with blue-green scales, with a central
and two dorso-lateral indistinct longitudinal
stripes of brown scales, also with two deep and
broad depressions near basal angles on brown
stripes; lateral sides almost straight, about as
broad at apex as at deeply bisinuate base, nar-
rowly constricted near base. Scutellum small,
rectangular, with anterior margin rounded, com-
pletely covered with blue-green scales. Elytra
ferrugineous, oblong, their dorsal outline con-
vex, running parallel from base to behind
middle in male and widening in female,
shoulders prominent and roundly rectangular;
striae narrow, formed by small deep punctures,
each puncture containing a minute recumbent
seta; intervals broad, flat, covered with shining
blue-green scales, with some scattered spots of
dark-brown scales, each interval with numer-
ous short and pale setae with long erect ones
on and near top of declivity.

Legs ferrugineous, covered densely with blue-
green and brownish scales, and small recum-
bent setae; forecoxae contiguous, placed a little
towards anterior margin of prostemum; femora
clavate, each with a sharp tooth; tibiae slender,
each with a fringe of brownish bristles and a
mucro at apex; anterior and middle tibiae with
a row of spines on inner apical halves, corbels
of hind tibiae enclosed, each with an outer
row of short and an inner row of long bristles.
Tarsi densely setose; hind tarsus with first joint
nearly twice as long as second, third bilobed

joint spongy beneath; claws free. Thoracic
sterna ferrugineous, covered with blue-green
and pale scales, punctate and each puncture
with a pale seta. Abdominal sterna ferrugine-
ous, covered with blue-green scales laterally
and with narrow pale scales in the middle, pun-
ctate and each puncture with a pale seta, setae
becoming long, dense and broad towards apex.

Male genitalia with aedeagus straight, bilobed
at apex and produced in middle in a long and
narrow process, apex and sides strongly sclero-
tized; phallotreme subapical, with an orificial
plate on each side; aedeagal apodemes very
long and slender, nearly thrice as long as aedea-
gus; phallobase ring-shaped, its ventral
apodeme longer than aedeagus and thicker
than aedeagal apodemes; endophallus surpass-
ing aedeagal apodemes anteriorly, with much
dense rows of spine-like setae laterally and
strongly denticulate centrally, papillate towards
apex, with a small curved plate at apex. Female
genitalia with long and weakly sclerotized ovi-
positor, with coxites comparatively more sclero-
tized and sparsely setose; bursa copulatrix
well-developed, sclerotized towards apex; spicu-
lum ventrale long and much slender, spathu-
late at apex. Spermatheca with cornu pointed,
collum somewhat bent towards ramus.
Measurements
Length :

Male body: 6.1 to 6.6 mm;
rostrum : 0.9 to 1.0 mm.

Female Body: 7.3 to 7.7 mm;
rostrum : 1 . 0 to 1 . 1 mm.

Breadth :

Male body: 2.0 to 2.2 mm;
rostrum: 0.9 to 1.0 mm.

Female body: 3.0 to 3.2 mm;
rostrum : 1 . 0 to 1 . 1 mm.

Holotype, Male, India: Assam, Sylhet, from
Euphorbia indica , C. S. Sidhu. Material in
Entomology Section, Department of Zoology,

191

lOOmm

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 5. Female genitalia of A. laesicollis sp. nov.

Fig. 6. Female genitalia of A. lunatus Marshall.

Abbreviations

BC, Bursa copulatrix; C, Cornu; CO, Collum; CX, Coxite; OV, Ovipositor; R, Ramus;
SD, Spermathecal duct; SV, Spiculum ventrale; V, Vagina; VIII, 8th sternum.

192

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Punjab University, Chandigarh (11.x. 1977).

Paratypes, 4 males and 4 females (same data
as for holotype) (11.x. 1977).

Remarks’.

The present species can be easily made out
from the only two other species known from
India under this genus. Both the described
species namely, lunatus Mshll. and lefroyi
Mshll. carry distinct longitudinal bands of green
and fuscous scales on the pronotum and elytra.
This species is completely devoid of such dis-
tinct bands on the body.

A. lunatus Marshall
(Figs. 2, 4, 6)

Marshall, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (11) 10, p.
109 (1943).

The following information on the male and
female external genitalia is being added.

Male genitalia with aedeagus straight, bilob-
ed at apex, produced into a process in middle,
its apical half strongly sclerotized; phallotereme
subapical, with an orificial plate on each side;
aedeagal apodemes more than twice the length
of aedeagus; phallobase ring-shaped; phallo-
basic apodeme about as long as aedeagus,
thicker than aedeagal apodemes; endophallus
surpassing aedeagal apodemes anteriorly, with
much dense rows of spine-like setae in basal
half and strongly denticulate thereafter, papil-
late towards apex, having a small curved plate
at apex. Female genitalia with ovipositor long

and weakly sclerotized; coxites comparatively
more sclerotized and sparsely setose; bursa
copulatrix well-developed, with apical half scle-
rotized, provided with a membranous lobe at
apex; spiculum ventrale long and slender. Sper-
matheca with cornu broadly pointed and curv-
ed, collum displaced and lying over ramus.

Key to the Indian species of Genus Aspidomycter
Marshall

1 . Prothorax and elytra not marked with longi-
tudinal bands of green and fuscous scales

laesicollis sp. nov.

Prothorax and elytra marked with distinct longi-
tudinal bands of green and fuscous scales 2

2. Each elytron with a green sub lunate band at

the top of the declivity lunatus Mshll.

Each elytron with two transverse green bands —
one about middle on intervals 4-6, the second
posterior band not lunate and ceasing internally
on interval 3 lefroyi Mshll.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to U.S. Department of Agri-
culture and Indian Council of Agricultural
Research for financing a five year project on
Indian Curculionidae, We are also thankful
to Mr. R. T. Thompson of British Museum
(Natural History), London and Dr. P. K. Sen-
sarma of F.R.I., Dehradun for allowing the
comparison of collection and for generous loan
of material. The laboratory facilities provided
by the Chairman, Department of Zoology, Pan-
jab University, Chandigarh are also gratefully
acknowledged.

References

' Marshall, Sir G. A. K. (1943): New Indian (1944): On the genera

Curculionidae (Col.). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., London, of the tribe Cyphicerini (Col. Cure.), ibid. (11)77:
(11) 10: 105-119. 73-98.

193

13

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

A NEW SPECIES OF CLADOCERA OF GENUS INDIALONA
PETKOVSKI, 1966 (FAMILY CHYDORIDAE) FROM INDIA1

Pramod Rane2
(With four text-figures)

Introduction

While examining the Cladocera collection
from various localities of Madhya Pradesh, I
came across several new species of Cladocera.
The present paper describes a new species of
the genus Indialona. The type specimens were
deposited in the National Zoological Collec-
tion of the Zoological Survey of India, Cal-
cutta-12.

Indialona jabalpurensis sp. nov.

Description : Body 1.2 time as long as high.
Valve oval compressed laterally. Posterodorsal
corner of valves slightly projecting. Posteroven-
tral corner rounded, with 6 equally spaced
denticles, placed at some distance from each
other. Ventral margin of valve with a row of
setae at its whole length. Valve with longitudi-
nal'lines which are only marked in the freshly
preserved specimens. Rostrum blunt. Anten-
nules ending less than their length before apex
of the rostrum. Sensory setae longer than ros-
trum. Distal segment of the antennae coming
out from the apex of rostrum. Postabdomen
narrowing distally, with distinct preanal round-
ed corner. Anal denticles about 30, first are
slightly recurved and placed closely associated
with each other. Distal anal denticles are small
and in groups. Claw with a basal spine which is
more than half as long as the claw and with
out setae on its cancave margin. Postabdomen
has two spine like setae on the distal portion
above the natatorial setae. Ocellus one third as
long as eye, situated nearer to the eye than

1 Accepted April 1982.

2 Zoological Survey of India, Central Regional
Station, 1544/ A, Napier Town, Jabalpur 482 002.

to the apex of the rostrum. Legs typical for
this genus, outer ramus of endite of the first
leg with curved hook like setae. Length 0.51
mm. Male unknown.

Type specimens : 1 $ , Holotype, paratype two
females. Two females are in 5% formalin and
one is on slide. Cat. No. C 2890/2.

Type-locality: A hill-top tank near Madan
mahal, 1 km. south-west of Premnager, Jabal-
pur, Madhya Pradesh, India, Coll. Pramod
Rane, 8-3-1982.

Discussion

This species closely resembles Indialona
macronyx (Daday 1898) but can be separated
from it as follows: (i) Setae on the concave
margin of the claw absent, but in I. macronyx
these setae present (ii) Number of anal den-
ticles about 30 and first 8 slightly recurved,
closely placed nearer to each other but in /.
macronyx they are 12-14, all are straight and
of same length, (iii) Postero ventral corner of
valve with 6 small equally spaced denticles,
but in /. micronyx they are absent, (iv) Head
portion with slight evagination of the valve
above the eye region, but in /. micronyx that
region is evenly round, (v) Sensory setae of
antennules coming out of the rostrum but in
/. macronyx these end before apex of rostrum.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Dr. K. Reddiah, Deputy
Director-in-charge of this office for facilities
to carry out this work. Thanks are also due to
Professor C. H. Fernando, University of Water-
loo, Canada for reprints of his valuable contri-
butions on Cladocera and answering my in-
quiries about identification from time to time.

194

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Figs. 1-4. lndialona jabalpurensis sp. nov.

1. Lateral view of female; 2. Posteroventral corner of valve, showing denticles; 3.
Postabdomen, showing anal denticles; 4. Outer ramus of endite of first leg with

curved hook like setae.

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

TRIPOGON NARAYANII — A NEW SPECIES OF POACEAE FROM

KERALA, INDIA1

P. V. Sreekumar, V. J. Nair and N. C. Nair2
(With nine text-figures)

Tripogon narayanii sp. nov.

Tripogon bromoides Roem. et Schult. affinis,
sed ligulis membranaceis; spiculis viridoluteis
ubi no vis et cremeoalbis ubi exsiccatis; paleis
angustioribus, ellipticis, glabratis, apicibus
rotundis, carinis dimidiis superis ciliatis; anthe-
ris purpureis differt.

Tripogon narayanii sp. nov.

Densely tufted perennial herbs. Culms 10-20
cm high, nodes glabrous. Leaves 10-25 x 0.15-
0.25 cm, linear, flat, densely villous on upper
surfaces and sparsely villous below, midrib in-
conspicuous. Ligule a thin membrane. Sheaths
villous, basal ones breaking up into fibres. Race-
mes 6-12 cm long, contracted. Rhachis smooth,
glabrous. Spikelets 5-10 mm long, greenish-
yellow when fresh and cream-white when

glumes c. 5.5x1 mm, lanceolate, 1 -nerved,
notched at apex with a very short mucra c. 0 . 5
mm. Lemmas c. 4x1.75 mm (excluding
awns), coriaceous, 3-nerved and 3-awned; lobes
on either side of median awn short, acute. Awns
unequal, median awn c. 2.5 mm long, lateral
ones c. 1 mm long, scabrid. Paleas c. 3x0.5
mm, elliptic, rounded at apex, 2-nerved, 2-
keeled; keels ciliate along the upper halves,
glabrous elsewhere. Lodicules 2, c. 0.25 x 0.15
mm, obovate, 3-lobed at apex. Stamens 3,
anthers c. 1 mm long, narrow, purple coloured;
filaments c. 2.5 mm long. Ovary c. 0.5 mm
long, obovate. Styles 2, each c. 0.4 mm long,
slender. Stigmas c. 0.6 mm long, feathery.

The present species is closely allied to Tripo-
gon bromoides Roem. & Schult. with which it
differs as given below:

Tripogon bromoides Roem. et Schult.

Tripogon narayanii sp. nov.

1 . Ligule obscure

2. Spikelets pale grey when fresh and dark grey
when dried

3. Upper glumes prominently aristate

4. Paleas c. 1 mm broad, obovate, tip acute

5. Keels of palea scabrid throughout

6. Paleas hairy on the dorsal surface

7. Lodicules 2-horned at apex

8. Anthers cream coloured.

Lingule a thin membrane

Spikelets greenish yellow when fresh and creamy
white when dried

Upper glumes acute, not aristate

Paleas narrow, c. 0.5 mm broad, elliptic, tip rounded

Keels ciliate in the upper half

Paleas glabrous on the dorsal surface

Lodicules 3-lobed at apex

Anthers purple.

dried, with 4-6 florets. Callus bearded. Lower
glumes c. 3.5 x 1 mm, ovate-lanceolate, 1-
nerved, shallowly notched on one side. Upper

1 Accepted February 1982.

2 Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore-641 003.

The holotype P. V. Sreekumar 68412 (CAL),
Isotypes (K, MH) and paratype P. V. Sree-
kumar 68421 (MH) were collected from Era-
vikulam National Park, Idukki District, Kerala
at an altitude of 2000 m on 28-8-1980.

The specific epithet is after Prof. N. Nara-

196

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Figs. 1-9. Tripogon narayanii sp. nov.

1. Plant; 2. Spikelet; 3. Lower glume; 4. Upper glume; 5. Lemma; 6. Palea; 7. Stamen;

8. Pistil; 9. Lodicule.

197

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

yana Pillai, first author’s teacher and Head of
the Department of Botany, S. D. College, Allep-
pey, Kerala, who suggested Eravikulam area
for intensive study.

Dr. Thomas A. Cope, The Herbarium, Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew, has given the follow-
ing opinion (personal communication) about

our specimen, “almost certainly a new species
of Tripogon. Only two other Indian species
share the same kind of lemma (3 awns, 2
lobes), T. bromoides and T. filiformis. It is
clearly neither of these”. We are thankful to
him for his constant help and valuable sugges-
tions.

CHRYSOPOGON T ADXJ LIN GAM II: A NEW SPECIES OF POACEAE
FROM KERALA, INDIA1

P. V. Sreekumar, V. J. Nair and N. C. Nair2
( With fifteen text-figures)

Chrysopogon tadulingamii sp. nov.

Chrysopogon lancearius (Hook, f.) Haines,
lamina folii convoluta glauca ad basim rotun-
data, costa non prominenti, ligula tenui fim-
briata membranacea, panicula parviore laxa,
ramis paniculae breviores (usque 4 cm), spicu-
lis perpaucis, pilis pedicelli brevioribus differt.

Chrysopogon tadulingamii sp. nov.

Perennials. Culms 30-100 cm tall, tufted,
erect, slender; nodes glabrous. Leaves 5-15 x
0. 1-0.2 cm, acicular or linear, rigid, convolute,
glaucous, base rounded, glabrous or with a
few long hairs near the collar. Sheaths 2-6 cm,
equal to or shorter than the internodes, closely
fitting, rounded, striate and glabrous. Ligule a
thin fimbriate membrane. Panicles 5-15 cm
long; branches 1-4 cm long, whorled in the
lowest node, alternate above, with very few
spikelets, capillary, slender, terete and glabrous;
nodes bearded; spikelets in groups of three
with a middle sessile spikelet and two lateral
pedicelled ones. Sessile spikelet 5-6 mm long,
oblong or oblanceolate, laterally compressed.

1 Accepted May 1982.

2 Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore-641 003.

grooved; callus 3-4 mm long, densely bearded
with stiff chocolate-brown hairs 1-2 mm long;
lower glume 5-5.5 x 0.75-1 mm, linear-lanceo-
late, coriaceous, brownish, setose towards apex;
upper glume 5-6 x 1-1.5 mm, oblong, obtuse
and awned at apex, awns 10-15 mm long, straight
or slightly curved, scabrid; lower floret empty;
lemma 3.5-4 x 0.75-1 mm, linear-oblong,
acute, delicate, hyaline, margins long ciliate;
upper floret bisexual; upper lemma 4-5 x 0.5-1
mm, linear or oblong ending in a very long,
stout awn, 3 -nerved, delicate and hyaline in the
lower half, coriaceous and rigid in the upper,
awn 50-60 mm long, geniculate, column 20-30
mm long, villous with short golden-yellow hairs,
bristles scabrid; lodicules 2, each c. 0.4 x 0.3
mm, obovate, 2-lobed at apex; stamens 2-3,
anthers 3-4 mm long, deep-yellow, filaments
short; ovary 0.4-0. 5 mm long, ovate, styles
0.75-1 mm long, slender, stigmas 1-1.5 mm
long, pale-yellow, plumose. Pedicelled spikelets
8-10 mm long, purplish; pedicels 5-6 mm long,
angular, dialated at the tip, covered with short
golden-yellow hairs, callus hairs 0.5-1 mm long,
brownish; lower glume 7-8 x 0.75-1 mm, lan-
ceolate, acute or shortly acuminate, 3 -nerved,
purple, margins infolded, hyaline glabrous or

198

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Figs. 1-15. Chrysopogon tadulingamii sp. nov.

1. Plant; 2. Pedicelled spikelet; 3. Sessile spikelet; 4. Sessile spikelet-enlarged with a
portion of awn; 5. Lower glume of sessile spikelet; 6. Upper glume; 7. Lower lemma;
8. Upper lemma with a portion of awn; 9. Lower glume of pedicelled spikelet;
10. Upper glume with a part of awn; 11. Lower lemma; 12. Upper lemma; 13.
Stamen; 14. Pistil; 15. Lodicule.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 1

Characters Chrysopogon lancearius Chrysopogon tadulingamii

1 . Leaf-blades

2. Midrib

3. Culms below panicles

4. Ligule

5 . Panicle

6. Branches of panicles

7 . Spikelets

8. Hairs on pedicels

Flat, green, narrowed towards
base and quite glabrous

Prominent
Minutely hairy
A row of hairs
Dense

5-10 cm long
Numerous
1-1.5 mm long

Convolute, glaucous, rounded
at base with a few long hairs
near the collar
Not Prominent
Glabrous

A thin fimbriate membrane.
Lax

up to 4 cm
Very few

At the most 0.5 mm long

with a few shaggy hairs; upper glume 8-10 x
1-1.5 mm, lanceolate, acuminate ending in a
straight or slightly curved awn, 7-nerved,
purple, margins infolded, hyaline, with a few
setose hairs especially towards apex, awns 10-
15 mm long, straight or slightly curved, scabrid;
lower floret empty; lemma 6-8 x 0.75-1 mm,
pblong-lanceolate, faintly 3-5 nerved, delicate,
hyaline, villous especially along the margins;
upper floret male; lemma 4-5 x 0.5-0.75 mm,
oblong, acute, faintly 2-3 nerved, delicate, hya-
line, shortly ciliate along the margins; lodicules
2, each c. 0.4 x 0.3 mm, obovate, 2-lobed at
apex; stamens 2-3, anthers 3-4 mm long, bright-
yellow, filaments short.

Holotype: kerala, Cannanore District,

Periye, ± 50 m, 18th October 1981, P. V.

Sreekumar 71758 (CAL). Isotypes in K, MH.

Rare, along dry rocky hill-slopes and open
grasslands, usually in very dry habitats, along
with other grasses such as Themeda triandra
Forssk., Dimeria bialata C. E. C. Fischer, Arun -
dinella mesophylla Nees etc.

This species is allied to Chrysopogon lancea-
rius (Hook, f.) Haines, but markedly differs
from it as shown in the table 1.

The specific epithet is in honour of C.
Tadulingam one of the pioneers in agrostologi-
cal studies in Southern India.

We thank Dr. Thomas A. Cope, The Her-
barium— Grasses, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
for kindly examining our specimens and giving
his opinion.

REVIEWS

1. WILD IS BEAUTIFUL. (Introduction to the magnificent, rich and varied
Fauna and Wild Life of Nepal). Edited by Trilok Chandra Majupuria.
pp. 507 (21 x 14 cm) with 59 colour, 45 black and white, 321 live draw-
ings. Gwalior, M.P., 1981-1982. S. Devi. Price Rs. 200/- (post free for
US $50.00).

The title is odd and puzzling but the subtitle
explains it more clearly. Until 1950 Nepal was
The Forbidden Land and the dream goal of
naturalists and tiger-cum-rhino hunters. The
latter are now practically extinct but the enor-
mous wealth of animal life available in the
area is mainly known from the collections made
by members of the British Embassy in the last
century. After the war and with changed cir-
cumstances others have had access and Japa-
nese, German, American and other expeditions
have made collections of various items adding
to our taxonomic knowledge, but except for
birds and perhaps the game animals our field
knowledge is in almost all instances “nil”.

There are chapters on Zoogeography,
National Parks, Invertebrates, Insects, Aphids,
Mosquitoes, Butterflies, Fishes, Amphibians,
Reptiles, Birds, Mammals (and separately on
several species) with others on Bird Migration,
Pheasants, Spiny Babbler, Gharial, Yeti etc.

The book is dedicated to Robert L. Fleming
Sr., while the chapter on Birds by R. L. Flem-
ing Jr., is undoubtedly the most complete sec-
tion. The other contributors and the Editor
are mostly persons associated with the Tribhu-
van University at Kathmandu, and other
organisations like Ground Water Board

(Physiography), National Parks, Deptt of Agri-
culture, Nepal Malaria Eradication Organisa-
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With the publishers, producers, composers,
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subject matter and photos all being different
organisations as far apart as the Punjab and
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be blamed for the innumerable typographical
errors which have found their way on to almost
every page. Some are quite amusing: A pair
of pelicans visiting Nepal presumably refers to
two species, while it is not difficult to guess
the identity of the Openbellied Stork. Some of
the photographs and sketches are amateurish
and also poorly reproduced.

Inspite of all this, the whole is indeed a
magnificent effort at an “Introduction to Fauna
and Wildlife of Nepal” (printed on the cover),
particularly by a person whose interest was
first aroused by seeing the Rhino diorama at
the American Museum of Natural History. An
attempt has been made by most of the authors
to get together the relevant literature which is
referred to in a Select Bibliography at the end,
making the book a valuable reference for any
work on the fauna of Nepal.

HUMAYUN ABDULALI

201

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

2. A CHECKLIST OF THE BIRDS OF PUNJAB AND CHANDIGARH.
By H. S. Toor, A. K. Chakravarthy, M. S. Dhindsa, P. S. Sandhu and
P. K. Ananda Rao. pp. 37 (21x14 cm). Ludhiana, 1982. Punjab
Agricultural University. Price Rs. 4/-.

The publication of checklists of birds of
different parts of the country is an indication
of growing interest in Bird Watching. We have
over 2100 different species and subspecies in
India and a checklist of an average state would
cover 400-600 species, thus lessening the search.

The frequency of local names raised the
hope that the authors had been more success-
ful than most workers until a more careful
scrutiny revealed that the name Jal Kukkri
applied to the Little Grebe, the Common Teal,
The Whitebreasted Waterhen and the Moor-
hen, Chaha meant both Common Sandpiper
and Fantail Snipe, and neel sir stood against
the Mallard and Purple Coot! With the Collar-
ed Bush Chat as the Kalar Wala Pidda and
the Spanish Sparrow as Speni Chiri it became
evident that most of the names are manufac-
tured. This may be a final necessity but the
actually existing local names must first be ex-
hausted before the improvisation starts.

Though a skeletal bibliography exists at the

end, the total number mentioned adds up to
240 species and subspecies (against 416 in the
checklist of the adjoining area of Delhi, Agra
& Bharatpur). Together with the complete ab-
sence of all sandgrouse (3 loc. cit.), the omis-
sion of 11 out of 29 ducks and geese (in the
same Checklist) 3 out of 4 Cranes, 6 of 11
Rails and Crakes, 11 of 15 Plovers, 8 of 17
Larks and many more including 32 out of 39
Warblers, makes it evident that the list is based
on the personal observations of the authors as
is said in the text (p. 3). But the term Check-
list is then a misnomer and we can only hope
the same or other authors will take up the
matter more seriously and prepare a genuine
one.

Though a Checklist can never be complete
and final, it must bring together all that has
been recorded. It must also be noted that Bird
Watching by itself is not Ornithology, though
it may lead to it.

HUMAYUN ABDULALI

3. THE FRESHWATER FISHES OF INDIA, PAKISTAN, BANGLA-
DESH, BURMA AND SRI LANKA — a handbook. By K. C. Jayaram.
pp. xxii+475 (24 x 16 cm) with 13 plates and 208 text-figures.
Calcutta, 1981. Director, Zoological Survey of India. Price Rs. 100/-.

Every Indian zoologist, whether at under-
graduate college level or as an accomplished
ichthyologist, has had occasion to refer to the
century-old monumental treatise by Francis
Day, popularly known as “The Fishes of India”,
but whose full title reads : “The fishes of India,
being a natural history of the fishes known to
inhabit the seas and fresh waters of India,
Burma and Ceylon.” It is a tribute to his

methodical, painstaking study that, even after
the lapse of a century, his work of 1875-1878,
comprising 1418 marine and freshwater species,
is still invaluable for a taxonomic study of our
fishes. And Day, to start with, was not even a
professional zoologist; he was an Assistant
Surgeon of the East India Company who came
to India in 1852.

Taxonomy, especially of fishes, is notorious

202

REVIEWS

for its frequent — and to a neophyte, annoy-
ingly perplexing — change in nomenclature,
and the century since Day’s work has been a
proliferation of such changes. So it was but
natural that ichthyologists would try their hand
at revising updating the subject in India. The
authority pre-eminently suited for such a revi-
sion was the late Dr. S. L. Hora who, in the
early thirties of this century, was assigned this
work. But, although he had to his credit well
over 92 technical papers spanning a period of
33 years, his preoccupation with administration
as Director of the Zoological Survey of India,
and his untimely death in 1955, deprived him
of the opportunity of a full-scale revision of
Day’s (1889) two volumes on Fishes in the
“Fauna of British India” series. K. S. Misra
then took up this work with his “An aid to the
identification of the common commercial fishes
of India and Pakistan”, published from 1952
to 1962 and covering 402 species. For the re-
vived “Fauna of India” series, he wrote three
volumes, the last two of which were published
posthumously in 1976. The need for a tho-
roughly revised book on Indian fishes continu-
ed to be felt. Dr. K. C. Jayaram’s book now
fills this important lacuna.

When ichthyologists first came to hear of
Jayaram’s new book, the general feeling was
that it would be a re-hash of Francis Day’s
work. By browsing through the book, however,
I could see that he has done his homework
well, having taken great pains to bring out a
well-researched survey of the taxonomic posi-
tion of the 742 species covered by him.

Day had given a fairly detailed description
of each and every species covered by him,
together with half-tone illustrations for all of
them (with very few exceptions). This necessi-
tated a compilation running to 778 pages and
195 plates, bound as two voluminous tomes.
By restricting his coverage to distribution lists

and keys to species, Jayaram has successfully
managed to have the book in a conveniently
handy (and not heavy) single volume compris-
ing 475 pages. This condensation may some-
times lead a novice to confusion in the identifi-
cation of a species; one wishes the author would
have at least given colour descriptions of all
species, which he has done for quite many.

The author has included, in addition to the
territories covered by Day (Pakistan and
Bangladesh are encompassed in pre-independent
India), fishes from Nepal and Bhutan as well.

His revision of nomenclature is thorough,
and he has given previous generic positions
wherever synonymic changes have taken place,
thus clearing up a lot of confusion which would
have otherwise prevailed. A few examples of
new names for familiar old (but now discard-
ed) fishes are: the genera Pseudoxygaster,
Dangila, Clupanodon, Chatoessus and Jerdonia
are now named Securicula , Labiobarbus, Ano-
dontostoma, Goniolosa and Enobarbichthys,
while Laubuca dadiburjori, Gagata itchkeea,
Colisa chuna and Muraenesox talabonoides are
now Chela ( Neochela ) dadiburjori , Nangra
itchkeea, Colisa sota and Congresox tala. The
author prefers to use the generic name Harpa-
don instead of the more familiar Harpodon.

A few technical mistakes have crept in. Thus,
on page 13, the definition of “Scales from the
back to lateral line” states: “generally the
count is taken from the insertion of the first
dorsal fin including the small scales, counting
downward and backward following the natural
scale row to but not including the lateral line
scale.” But Fig. 2 A on page 8, illustrating this,
shows the count as taken from two scales for-
ward of this row, and the scale on the lateral
line is included.

For Fig. 11 on page 18, the caption states
“Outline drawing of Tetraodon ” (puffer fish),
but the illustration is of Balistes (trigger fish).

203

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

On page 52, for the family Notopteridae
(feather backs or razor fishes), it is stated:
“Dorsal profile not so convex as of ventral
profile.” Apart from faulty construction of the
sentence, the reverse is true.

On page 56, the key no. 1 identifying Salmo
gairdnerii gairdnerii states: “Body without spots
below lateral line.” But Fig. 34 of this fish
shows a few such spots.

Again, although the author has taken care
to revise the distribution of Indian fishes, on
page 176 (footnote) he has wrongly retained
Babu Rao & Yazdani’s (1977) record of occur-
rence of Botia dayi ( = Botia rostrata) from
Mahableshwar. This has been subsequently
found to be a wrong identification of Botia
striata [see Journ. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 16
(3): 525-528].

A few errors /omissions in framing sentences
have also crept in, which tend to confuse the
reader. For instance, on page 22: Cranial air-
bladder diverticula are lodged within bullae
formed principally from to intercalare of each
side (word missing between “from” and “to”).
On page 52: The air-bladder diverticula is
closely applied to the lateral aspects of two
otic region (word “two” is wrong). On page
53: Eyes moderate, superior, in part of head.

On page 60: Lips reflected from one of

the other. On page 61 : Scales without any tile-
like or sheath of scales (word “row” is missing
between “tile-like” and “or”). On page 9’:

“ a single row of degenerate along base

of dorsal fin occasionally extending as far as
scales tail”. On page 144: Caudal fin to be
almost of equal length (words “to be” should
actually be “lobe”). On page 317: Mouth wide,
protractile, one extending to front border of
orbit or slightly beyond. On page 392: Skin
covering modified into small or large spines or
laminae in the form of a beak, having a cut-
ting edge and covered with a layer of ivory-

like substance (One line is missing between
“laminae” and “in the”).

The “Remarks” on Garra, comprising ten
lines on the bottom of page 136, are repeated
on top of page 139.

The technical perfection of the book is mar-
red by very slipshod and careless editing. The
reviewer could count well over a 105 spelling
mistakes alone; an erratum sheet from the pub-
lisher is definitely needed. (A list of these mis-
takes is being sent to the author, as they are
too numerous to be listed here.)

Apart from the numerous spelling mistakes,
the text also suffers from the annoyingly fre-
quent omission or misplacement of commas,
which changes the meaning of many sentences.

In consideration of the handicap faced by a
novice, the author has included in his book an
elaborate glossary of words, as well as methods
of various measurements. Had he given some
illustrations about skull bones and/or included
these in his glossary, the budding ichthyologist
would have had his work still more easy. For
example, words like ethmoid, hypural, parietal,
pterosphenoid, post-temporal and zygapophyses
are bewildering to the beginner.

The plates at the end of the book appear
to have been added as an after-thought, or be-
cause money was available to print them. Many
of them are redundant, as the same fishes are
depicted as line drawings in the text, which
latter are far superior in quality of print.

The first plate, depicting Salmo levenensis,
Carassius auratus and Cyprinus carpio commu-
nis, are poor quality photographs of specimens
with folded fins and drooping tails and do not
give a correct idea of the fish’s shape.

Plates II to XIII are, fortunately, half-tone
illustrations, superior in quality to the photo-
graphs of Plate I. But one wishes that the
author had depicted those fishes which had not
been illustrated in the text. As many as 14

204

REVIEWS

species are repeated both in line drawings in
the text as well as in the plates. (See Table
below)

Name of fish

Plate No.

Text fig.
No.

Rasbora daniconius

II

43

N and us nandus

II

183

Esomus danricus

III

41

Glossogobius giuris

V&X

193

Channa punctatus

V

172

Osteobrama vigorsii

V

55

Fundus sarana sarana

V&XI

53

Rhinomugil corsula

VI

191

Xenentodon cancila

VI

164

Accrossocheilus hexagonolepis XI

59

Rohtee ogilbi

XI

54

Hilsa ilisha

XII

24

Tor tor

XIII

61

Catla catla

XIII

65

Channa marulius

XIII

171

The colour in the last two plates is highly
distorted and not at all like the natural colora-
tion of the live fishes.

If we neglect these lapses on the part of the
author, we find that he has turned out an ex-
cellent treatise. His inclusion of brackish water
fishes which visit fresh water is also welcome,
inasmuch as 185 additional species are thus
covered. A detailed bibliography at the end
will help ichthyologists searching for original
literature referred to in the text.

One wishes that Dr. Jayaram or some other
fish taxonomist brings out a companion volume
treating Indian marine fishes on the same lines.

The book is a “must” for every college and
fisheries institution as well as to individual fish
taxonomists, affordable at its modest price of
Rs. 100/-.

B. F. CHHAPGAR

205

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1. ALBINISM IN THE HOUSE SHREW, SUNCUS M. MURINUS

LINNAEUS

Albinism in the house shrew does not
appear to have been recorded before. A
beautiful albino female was collected alive in
Jabalpur city, Madhya Pradesh on 16 October
1975 and kept alive in a wooden cage with
glass top for about three days. The general
colour ranged from pure white to dirty white.

Natural History Research Centre,

Baghdad, Bab Ul Muadham,

Iraq,

June 9, 1982.

2. OCCURRENCE OF PIPISTRELLUS PATERCULUS THOMAS,
1915 (CHIROPTERA : VESPERTILIONIDAE) IN BIHAR: AN
ADDITION TO THE INDIAN MAMMAL FAUNA

The naked parts and colour of iris was pin-
kish. The measurements in mm are: Head
and body, 126; tail, 92; hind foot, 19.5; ear
(from intertragal notch to the tip of the ear),
14.4. The specimen has been deposited in
the collection of Central Regional Station,
Zoological Survey of India, Jabalpur.

H. KHAJURIA

While examining the collection of bats from
Bihar present in the National Zoological
Collections (Zoological Survey of India, Cal-
cutta), I came across two specimens of a
pipistrelle (15, 1 $ : Collector N. A. Baptista,
15 Aug. 1922, Z. S. I. Reg. No. 19899 and
16990 respectively) from Buhnar, Darbhanga
Dist., Bihar, labelled as Pipistrellus mimus
Wroughton. On detailed examination of the
skulls, these were identified as Pipistrellus
pater cuius Thomas. The skull characters as
mentioned by Tate (1942) for pater cuius;
‘profile sloping uniformly from brain-case to
rostrum, top of rostrum broad, smooth and
flat and basial pit absent’, are present in these
two specimens. Although externally the speci-
mens are very much alike to P. mimus, the
above mentioned skull characters clearly diffe-
rentiate them from the latter.

' This is, incidentally, the first record of
Pipistrellus pater cuius from India and extends
its distribution much westwards from Mt.
Poppa and Chindwin both in Burma to Bihar,
India.

Measurements — External: Length: Head
and body 39, 41; tail 29, 31; ear 11, 11 (taken
by the collector); Forearm 26.6, 28.7; tibia
9.7, 11; foot including claw 6.2, 6.6 (taken
from dry skins).

Skull: Total length 11.4, 11.7; zygomatic
width 6.9, 7; length of brain-case 6.4, 6.6;
length of rostrum 5, 5.1; maximum height of
rostrum 3.6, 3.4; width of brain-case 6, 5.9;
maxillary width (m3-m3) 5.2, 5.1; length of
upper tooth row (c-m3) 4.2, 4.4; length of
lower tooth row (c-m3) 4.5, -; length of man-
dible 8.3, -.

206

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Gangetic Plains Regional Station, Y. P. SINHA

Zoological Survey of India,

Rajendra Nagar, Road No. 7,

Patna 800016 (Bihar),

April 28, 1982.

Reference

Tate, G. H. H. (1942) : Review of the vesperti- species of the Archibold Collections. Bull Am. Mus.
lionine bats, with special attention to genera and nat. Hist., 80: 221-297.

3. FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRTH AND GROWTH OF THE
LEOPARD-CAT {FELIS BENGALENSIS ) IN CAPTIVITY

Acharjyo and Mishra (1980) reported the
birth of four litters to the female of a pair of
Leopard-Cats ( Felis bengalensis) at the Nan-
dankanan Biological Park, Orissa upto Decem-
ber, 1978. The present note is intended to
place on record the details of three more lit-
ters born to the female of the same pair of
Leopard-Cats in the same Park.

The pair of Leopard-Cats were housed in
an enclosure having the floor space of
approximately 7 square metres, height 2.80
metres. There were two cave like retiring
dens one above the other at a height of half
a metre from the ground. Each of them was
fed with 300 gms of goat meat and 50 gms of
beef daily. One live chicken to each was given
once a month in place of goat meat and beef.

Out of three litters born during the period
from January, 1979 to August, 1980, two
were recorded in March and one in June.
The size of each of the three litters was always
two and interestingly all the six kittens were
females. The eyes of all these kittens were
closed at birth and the eyes of four kittens
under observation opened on 14th day (two
kittens), 15th day (one kitten) and 16th day
(one kitten). The canines of two kittens
under observation erupted on 29th and 30th
day respectively. The inter-parturition inter-

vals recorded thrice (Dates of birth: 4.7.1978,
30.3.1979, 9.3.1980 and 30.6.1980) were 267
days, 344 days and 112 days respectively gene-
rally depending upon the period of survival
of the kittens after birth. Unfortunately the
female died in August, 1980. During the
period from April, 1976 to August, 1980, she
had given birth to seven litters.

The four kittens born on 30-3-1979 and
9-3-1980 weighed 113 to 120 g with a mean
of 115.75 g and measured 24 to 26 cm from
tip of nose to tip of the tail with a mean of
24.88 cm including tail lengths of 7 cm each
at birth.

Growth: Weekly growth records of two (one
female and one male) mother- reared kittens
born in the Park on 4-7-1978 was maintained
upto 37 weeks (about 81 months) and the
details are given in the Table.

Date

Age in weeks

Weight in Kg.
Female Male

4-7-1978

Birth weight

0.118

0.120

18-7-1978

2

0.232

0.243

8-8-1978

5

0.460

0.480

5-9-1878

9

0.845

0.910

3-10-1978

13

1.190

1.280

7-11-1978

18

1.760

1.780

19-12-1978

24

2.200

2.410

30-1-1979

30

2.880

2.900

20-3-1979

37

2.990

3.230

207

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

A study of this table reveals that the weight
of the kittens were almost doubled at the age
of two weeks and quadrupled at the age of
five weeks. There is a little over ten fold in-
crease of birth weight at the age of 13 weeks
and appeared almost as large as the parents
at the age of 37 weeks (8J months). The
table also reveals that the growth rate of the
male kitten was comparatively faster than the
female kitten.

Both kittens were able to come down from
the upper cave like den on 4-8-1978 (32nd
day) and started licking minced goat meat
along with their mother.

The litter size of three births of this species
at West Berlin Zoo was 1, 3 and 2 respectively,
there were two females and four males and
the births were recorded in April, July and
October (Frese 1980). He has further given
the estimated birth weight of four kittens as
between 100 to 130 g.

The four births of this species were record-
ed as follows: February, 1; March, 1; May,
1; and July, 1 and the litter size was one to
two with a mean of 1.75 kittens per litter
(Acharjyo and Mishra 1980). They have fur-

Veterinary Assistant Surgeon,
Nandankanan Biological Park,

P. O. Barang, Dist. Cuttack.

Wildlife Conservation Officer,

145-Saheed Nagar,

Bhubaneswar 751007,

October 4, 1982.

Refer

Acharjyo, L. N. and Mishra, Ch. G. (1980):
A note on the Breeding of the Leopard-Cat ( Felis
bengalensis) in captivity. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
77: 127-128.

Asdell, S. A. (1964) : Patterns of Mammalian
Reproduction. Second Edition, Cornell University
Press, Ithaca, New York. pp. 490.

ther stated that there were four females and
three males; at birth seven kittens weighed 93
to 120 g. (mean 113.14 g.) and measured 22
to 25 cm. (mean 24.14 cm.) tip to tip in-
cluding tail lengths of 6.5 to 7 cm. and the
inter-parturition intervals recorded thrice were
81,305 and 104 days respectively mostly de-
pending on the period of survival of the young.

Prater (1971) states that the young of this
species have been obtained in March and May
and 3 to 4 kittens may be born in a litter.
In India, this species mates in May and has 3
to 4 young per litter after a gestation period
of 56 days (Asdell 1964).

Weekly growth record of a female kitten
of this species maintained upto the age of 11
weeks and reported by Acharjyo and Mishra
(1980) reveals the weight of 1.156 kg. at the
age of 11 weeks. A single male kitten born
in a litter doubled its birth weight in 11 days,
quadrupled in 26 days and by 50th day there
was an eight-fold increase in weight whereas
the three male kittens born in another litter
have doubled their birth weight in 25 days,
quadrupled in about 44 days and increased
eight fold in 60 days (Frese 1980).

L. N. ACHARJYO

'

CH. G. MISHRA

E N CE S

Frese, Reinhard (1980) : Some notes on Breed-
ing the Leopard Cat Felis bengalensis at West
Berlin Zoo. International Zoo Year Book, 20 :
220-223.

Prater, S. H. (1971): The Book of Indian Ani-
mals. Third (Revised) Edition. Bombay Natural
History Society, Bombay, pp. 73-74.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

4. ABNORMAL HORNS IN THE NILGAI
{With a text-figure)

In April 1978 during my study of the wild
dogs of Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary (Bhandara
District), I located a pack at the water hole

Asstt Manager,

Forest Development Corpn.,
Tilak Nagar,

Nagpur 440 010,

'November 5, 1982.

at Umarzari, While walking towards them I
saw a Nilgai-bull grazing in a plantation. The
shape of its horn was unusual. It was curved
down like a sheep’s horn instead of the straight
and vertical normal horn.

I inquired with local Shikaris and tribals
and understood that such horns among the
Nilgai, though rare, have been noted and such
bulls are known as Mendha nilgai meaning
sheep nilgai.

M. B. CHITAMPALLI

5. GROOMING OF CHITAL BY LANGUR IN KANHA NATIONAL

PARK, INDIA

A close association is known to exist bet-
ween Hanuman langurs {Presbytis entellus )
and chital deer (Axis axis) (Beck & Tuttle
1972, Nagel & Lohri 1973). Langurs drop
large quantities of foliage, buds, flowers and
fruits from trees while foraging which are sub-
sequently utilized by chital. Close affinity may
develop between a band of chital and a troop
of langurs with the chital following a langur
troop about the forest (Paul Newton, pers.
comm.). In this note we record an observation
of a langur grooming a chital in Kanha National
Park in Madhya Pradesh in central India.

At 1320 hrs on 12 January 1982, we were
travelling on elephant back through a mature
Sal (Shorea robusta Roxb.) forest 5 km. S.
of Kanha Village when we disturbed a small
band of chital and associated troop of at
least 10 langurs. One adult chital doe ran

several metres, and stopped to watch us. When
she stopped adjacent to an adult langur of
unknown sex, the langur immediately walked
toward the chital and began grooming its right
rear flank while sitting on the ground behind
the chital. We watched the grooming behaviour
for at least 1 minute as the chital remained
alert and motionless.

Langurs have been observed grooming
domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in Jodhpur
(Sharma 1977) in an artificial association crea-
ted by man. Toque macaques ( Macaca
sinica) in Sri Lanka have been observed
grooming langurs but reciprocation has not
been observed (W.P.J. Dittus, pers. comm.).

The natural association between chital and
langurs appears to offer distinct advantages to
chital since langurs knock food down from
trees, and also elicit alarm calls when preda-

209

14

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

tors are observed. The relationship may be and Roonwal and Mohnot (1977) suggest their
symbiotic commensalism because chital also sense of smell is keener than that of langurs,
give alarm calls when predators are detected

Department of Zoology and Physiology, MARK S BOYCE

University of Wyoming,

Laramie, WY. 82071,

U.S.A.

H. D. R. Associates, KENNETH REED

804 Anacapa,

Santa Barbara, CA.,

U.S.A.

College of Veterinary and Animal JACOB V, CHEERAN

Sciences,

Kerala Agricultural University,

Mannuthi 690 651,

Kerala, India,

May 14, 1982.

References

Beck, B. B. and Tuttle, R. (1972) : The Behavior
of Grey Langurs at a Ceylonese Water Hole. Pages
351-377. In : R. Tuttle (ed.), The Functional and
Evolutionary Biology of Primates. Aldine, Ather-
ton, Chicago, 487 pp.

Nagel, U. and Lohri, F. (1973) : Die Languren
der Kanha-Wiesen. Stellung im Okosystem, Kom-
mensalismus mit Axishirschen und Press-Soziologie.

Vierteljahrsschrift naturl. Ges Zurich 118 (1) : 71-85.

Roonwal, M. L. and Mohnot, S. M. (1977):
Primates of South Asia. Ecology, Sociobiology and
Behavior. Harvard University Press, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, U.S.A. 421 pp.

Sharma, I. K. (1977) : Development of Com-
mensalism between Prey and Predator. Am. Nat.
Ill : 1009-1010.

6. MATING BEHAVIOUR OF THE PLUMBEOUS DOLPHIN,
SOUSA PLUMBEA, CUVIER, 1829

Free wild cetaceans are notoriously diffi-
cult to study for obvious reasons. Most of
their activity and behavioural repertoire must
take place beneath the water and out of sight
of the human observer. Because there are so
few written accounts of the behaviour of even
the smaller dolphin species outside of the
artificial conditions of aquaria and captivity,
it seems worthwhile recording in detail obser-

vations made of a group of Plumbeous Dol-
phins in the Indus delta which corresponds
closely with previous reported possible mating
behaviour (see Pilleri et al. “Cetaceans of
Southwest and Monsoon Asia”, 1973-74).

The Plumbeous Dolphin ( Sousa plumbed),
is a neritic species preferring to feed close in
shore and in tidal creeks and mangrove chan-
nels. It is a relatively large dolphin (adults

210

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

measure 2.3 to 2.75 m. in body length and
may weigh up to 200 kg.), with a prominently
developed narrow rostrum or beak armed with
about 36 sharp pointed and non-differentiated
conical teeth in each jaw (Roberts, 1977).
Such a physiognomy would enable it to prey
upon quite large and swift fish species, but
there is also evidence that small cuttle fish
( Sepia spp.) and even prawns form a large
part of their diet in Pakistan coastal waters.

Along the Mekran coast and particularly in
Sonmeani lagoon and the Indus delta creeks,
the Plumbeous Dolphin is quite common, be-
ing usually encountered in small groups of 5
or 6 animals and allowing smaller motor ves-
sels to approach as close as 5 metres before
diving deeply and taking evasive action by
swimming underwater and at right angles to
the passage of the boat.

The ususual behaviour recorded hereunder
occurred between 12.00 and 14.30 hours on
January 15th 1982 in clear sunny weather at
a location known as Pitiani Creek, a wide
channel some 60 miles southeast of Karachi
and inside the labyrinth of the Indus mangrove
channels. The observations were made from
a hired fishing boat of approximately 16 feet
beam, by Mr. Khan Mohammed Khan, De-
puty Conservator of Forests and administrator
of the Sind Wildlife Management Board, and
by Miss Janet Knuckey, a New Zealand
national who has previously made extensive
studies of the Indus Dolphin ( Platanista indi).

An unusually large school of Plumbeous
Dolphins caught the attention of the party
because individuals were leaping completely
out of the water and producing loud splashes.
Normally this species is relatively sluggish and
does not leap bodily out of the water and
keeps in small pods of 3 to 6 animals. In
this instance an estimated 25 to 30 animals
were observed in scattered groups over a radi-

us of about 400 metres. They were in shallow
water of about 3 metres depth and 50 to 100
metres from a sandy beach. Quite frequently
silt from the bottom was stirred up by the
cavorting dolphins which exhibited the follow-
ing striking behaviour.

Broad side leaping : Adult animals would
leap suddenly wholly out of the water, always
on their sides or twisting while in mid-air and
invariably trying to land back in the middle
of the swimming pod of dolphins and always
hitting the water on their right side. Only
one individual at a time would do this, usually
from amongst a group of 3 or 4 animals.

Vertical rising : This appeared to be the
most significant behaviour pattern. Two ani-
mals would rise vertically out of the water,
belly to belly and sometimes almost until
three-quarters of their bodies were wholly out
of the water. They would hold this position
for 1 to 2 seconds only before sinking in the
same vertical position back into the water.
It is speculated by Dr. G. Pilleri who saw
similar behaviour in the Persian Gulf (loc.
cit.), that this was probably copulatory behavi-
our. Whenever this behaviour was deserved
it appeared to involve only two animals with
no evidence of any third dolphin in the vici-
nity. Moreover vertical rising always occurred
well out in mid-channel where the water was
presumably deepest, probably a necessary con-
dition to achieve the acceleration required for
breaching vertically (Khan Mohammed Khan,
pers. comm.).

Tail slapping: One animal out of a group
would raise its tail almost vertically out of
the water until the dorsal fin was exposed and
then slap it downwards onto the surface with
a smack like a rifle shot. This did not cause
any panic amongst the others in the group
and was not a preliminary to diving and eva-
sive action but seemed rather an expression

211

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

of “high spirits”.

Surface rolling : Two or three animals in
one group would roll horizontally around one
another and either on the surface or just
beneath it.

Resting on the surface : A single animal
would separate itself from its group, often ap-
proaching very close to the boat where it
would hang motionless on the surface for
several seconds, most of its dorsal surface
being exposed. During this short interval it
would expire audibly two or three times.
Whenever a single individual was observed
“resting on the surface”, it appeared relati-
vely close in shore and in the shallow waters.
Generally before broadsiding, tail slapping or
vertical rising was observed, a tight group of
three animals would appear to synchronise
their movements very closely, swimming close
alongside each other and rising simultaneously
to breathe.

Interpretations : These can only be specu-
lative, but since these Dolphins rarely associate
in groups of more than 6 to 12 animals, the
aggregation of over 25 dolphins would appear
to be associated with the oestrus state of cer-
tain females.

In a dolphin which normally never breaches
out of the water, and if it does so it is with its
body held in a vertical plane, the broad-side
leaping within a close formation group could

P. O. Box 3311,

Malir City Post Office,

Karachi-23,

Pakistan,

November 9, 1982.

be an attempt by rival males to displace a
consort and get close to an oestrus female.
Tail slapping has been observed in Delphinus
species as a warning signal, invariably follow-
ed by panic dispersal (Knuckey, pers. comm.)
but in the case of these Plumbeous Dolphins
no reaction was observed from associated ani-
mals and the display, if not one of “joie de
vivre”, was certainly not associated with panic
or danger warnings. In fact until the group
dispersed and swam purposefully away after
almost 21 hours of continuous observation,
they appeared quite undisturbed by the proxi-
mity of the boat (which was of course drifting
with the engine switched off).

Surface rolling certainly appears to be as-
sociated with courtship or mating behaviour
whilst the surface resting could possibly be
in associating with a second individual invisi-
ble beneath the water’s surface or it might be
the deliberate separation of one individual
from a group while it rapidly inhales an extra
supply of oxygen. If copulation actually took
place at this time it would indicate a gestation
period of approximately nine months, since
females of this species are generally observed
with small calves from late September and
during October, and pregnant females have
been autopsied in late August and early
September.

T. J. ROBERTS
KHAN MOHAMMED KHAN
JANET KNUCKEY

References

Pilleri, G. AND Gihr, M. (1973-74) : Investiga- Switzerland,
tions on Cetacea. Vol. V. “Cetaceans of Southwest Roberts, T. J. (1977): Mammals of Pakistan.
& Monsoon Asia”, Brain Anatomy Institute, Berne, Ernest Benn Ltd. 315 p.

212

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

7. SOME OBSERVATIONS ON BREEDING OF THE CHINESE
WHITEBREASTED WATERHEN AMAURORN1S PHOENICURUS
CHINENSIS (BODDAERT)

The Chinese Whitebreasted Waterhen
Amaurornis phoenicurus chinensis (Boddaert),
locally known as jal kukkari, has become
quite a common bird in the Punjab with the
spread of rice cultivation during the last few
years. Inspite of its common occurrence
throughout the northern India, Sikkim, Bhu-
tan duars, Assam, Nepal and West Pakistan,
very little is known about its breeding habits
(Ali and Ripley 1969). Even the incubation
period had not been recorded so far.

We recorded some observations on a nest
of this bird at Ludhiana (30°56'N, 75°52'E),
Punjab and have been able to add some new
information. A brief account of the observa-
tion follows:

Nest : The nest was located on a small
mango ( Mangifera indica Linnaeus) tree at
about 1130 hr on 23 June 1981 near a stock-
ing pond at the Fisheries Research Complex
of the Punjab Agricultural University. It was
built among branches of the tree 3.73 m high
from the ground level. The material used to
construct the nest was dry twigs, feathers,
grass, dry leaves and pieces of polythene.
Some thin iron wires and two comparatively
thicker spokes of cycle wheel were entangled
into the nest to strengthen it.

The nest was a cone-shaped structure hav-
ing a cup at the top. The length (from lower
to upper end) and diameter of the cone were
17 cm and 28 cm respectively. The cup was
8 cm deep and 14 cm in diameter. After
completion of the clutch, the cup of the nest
was lined with a layer of grass which decreas-
ed its depth by about 1 cm.

Eggs: The eggs are oval with light pink
background and blotches of light brown, dark

brown and light violet colour. The blotches
are denser on the blunt ends of the eggs.

On 23 June, 1981, when the nest was first
discovered there were four eggs in it. These
were marked 1 to 4 with a lead pencil, mea-
sured with vernier callipers and weighed with
a two-pan field balance true to 100 mg. Ano-
ther egg was laid on 24 June and the clutch
of six eggs was completed on 25 June. Earlier
workers have reported the clutch size of this
bird to be four to eight (Baker 1929, Whistler
1949, Ali and Ripley 1969).

The data on size and weight of the eggs
and the dates of their laying and hatching
have been shown in Table 1. Average size

Table 1

Size, weight and the dates of laying and hatching

OF EGGS

Egg Length Breadth Weight
No. (mm) (mm) (g)

Date of
laying

Date of
hatching

1

37.5

28.7

17.3*

7

12

July

2

37.9

29.0

17.5*

?

12

July

3

38.8

28.5

16.9*

?

12

July

4

39.9

29.2

18.5*

?

13

July

5

38.9

28.5

17.4

24

June

13

July

6

39.5

28.3

17.2

25

June

14

July

Av.

38.75

28.70

17.47

—

—

S.D.

0.92

0.34

0.55

— T

—

S.D. = standard deviation.

* = not exactly fresh weight as these eggs were

weighed on 23 June.

Incubation period on the basis of last egg =19 days.

of 6 eggs was 38.75 ±0.92 x 28.70±0.34 mm.
Earlier, Baker (1929) reported average size
of 100 eggs of this bird as 40.5 x 29.7 mm.
Average weight of the eggs was 17.47 ±0.55 g.
The first four eggs could not be weighed
afresh. This, however, does not seem to in-

213

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

troduce error in the average egg weight be-
cause the birds probably started incubation
after laying of the third egg (i.e., on the day
the fourth egg was laid) as revealed by the
hatching of first three chicks on single day
(12 July). The weight of eggs starts decreas-
ing only when the parents supply heat during
incubation .

Incubation Period : Sixth egg of the clutch,
which was laid on 25 June, hatched on 14
July. Therefore, the incubation period (on
the basis of last egg of the clutch) was 19
days.

Newly Hatched Chick : The newly hatched
chick of the Chinese Whitebreasted Waterhen
is precocial and nidifugous. It is covered with
silky black down feathers throughout the body
excepting legs and bill. The bill is greyish
black with sides of about l/3rd anterior part
of upper mandible and distal half of lower
mandible whitish in colour. At the tip of
the upper mandible is present a pure white
egg tooth. Legs and feet are greyish black.
The measurements of one chick at hatching
were as follows: weight 11.7 g, culmen 10.5
mm, tarsus 19 mm and wing 23 mm.

Department of Zoology,

Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana- 141 004,

Punjab,

August 13, 1981.

Ali, S. and Ripley, S. D. (1969): The Hand-
book of the Birds of India and Pakistan together
with those of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon,
Vol. 2, pp. 168-170. Oxford Univ. Press, Bombay,
London, New York.

Baker, E. C. S. (1929): The Fauna of British

Fate of the Chicks : It is already known
that the chicks of this bird at hatching are
very active (Ali and Ripley 1969). Therefore,
the first hatched chicks probably leave the
nest before hatching of all eggs of the clutch.
According to Ali and Ripley (1969) this
species usually constructs its nests either on
the ground or “in the interior of a shrub or
bamboo clump up to 2 to 3 metres from the
ground”. The present nest, however, was
built among branches of a small mango tree
at a height of 3.73 m. There was no vegetation
at the base of this tree and the bare ground
was quite hard. This unusual site of the nest
and its more height from the ground proved
fatal for the chicks. Three chicks which
hatched on 12 July died by falling to the
ground while attempting to leave the nest
around noon of the same day. Two more
chicks hatched and died similarly on 13 July.
The sixth chick also met with the same fate
on 14 July. The nesting success of the pair
was, therefore, zero. Selection of the wrong
nesting site seems to be the cause of repro-
ductive failure of the pair.

MANJIT S. DHINDSA
P. S. SANDHU
H. S. TOOR

EN CES

India, including Ceylon and Burma, Birds Vol. VI,
p. 24. Taylor and Francis, London.

Whistler, H. (1949) : Popular Handbook of

Indian Birds (Fourth Edition), pp. 437-438. Oliver
and Boyd. Edinburgh and London.

214

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

8. OCCURRENCE OF THE SOOTY TERN ( STERNA FUSCATA) AT
POINT CALIMERE, TAMIL NADU

After the publication of the earlier note
( JBNHS , Vol. 78 (2) : 377) I picked up ano-
ther specimen of this species on the seashore
at Point Calimere (10°18'N; 79°51'E), Than-
javur Dist., Tamil Nadu, on 17th June 1981.
Only the wings (287 mm.) are preserved in
the B.N.H.S. collection (Reg. No. 26083).
This is the first record of its occurrence on
the eastern side of Tamil Nadu, one storm-
tossed (?) individual having been for id at
Tirunelveli (ind. hb. vol. 3: 62). It would
appear that the species is occasionally found
on the mainland, being swept inland or cast

Bombay Natural History Society,
Hornbill House,

Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road,

Bombay-400 023,

January 8, 1982.

ashore.

In the meantime Mr. H. Abdulali (Per.
comm.) again visited the Vengurla Rocks,
West Coast, India on 10th May 1981 and saw
several dessicated wings and remains of terns.
They included one body and wings which are
undoubtedly of this species and his first re-
cord (1942, JBNHS, 43 (3): 446-451) was
no doubt correct. See his note below.

I thank Dr. R. Sugathan for providing faci-
lities for the field work. This observation is
part of the Society’s Avifauna Project.

V. C. AMBEDKAR

9. PIGEONS ( COLUMBA LIVIA) NESTING ON THE GROUND —
SOME MORE BIRD NOTES FROM THE VENGURLA ROCKS

Twelve species of terns have been recorded
from the neighbourhood of Bombay and seve-
ral of the marine forms were known to nest
on the Vengurla Rocks, 4 to 5 miles off-shore
about 200 miles south of Bombay and one
of the few places where they are known to
do so.

As far back as February 1875, Hume (Stray
Feathers 4: 420) visited Burnt Island the
largest of the group and found innumerable
addled and broken eggs with dessicated corp-
ses of young and old birds, which he confi-
dently named as the Brown- winged Tern
Sterna anaetheta. In addition he found a few
very much larger eggs which were too decayed
for preservation but which had “the charac-

teristic markings of one of the larger Laridae”
and which may well have been of Sterna bergii.

In February 1938 and March 1941, I visited
the island again ( JBNHS 41: 661-664, and
43: 446-451) and though no terns were seen
on the island we found evidence similar to
that obtained by Hume for the nesting of
Sterna anaetheta, fuscata, bergii, repressa and
dougalli. In view of the element of uncertainty
attached to the identification of S. dougalli and
the possibility of having over-looked some of
the other oceanic species occasionally washed
into Bombay during the monsoon, I had always
wanted to make a visit during, or as close as
possible to, their breeding period, presumably
during the monsoon i.e. June to September.

215

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

'

Early this year I was able to get the assist-
ance of Vice-Admiral M. P. Awati, Flag Offi-
cer Commander-in-Chief, Western Naval
Headquarters, Bombay, who offered to have
us dropped on the island by a naval frigate
en route to Goa and to pick us up on its
return a day or so later.

Accompanied by Rishad Naoroji, a keen
photographer of birds, we boarded the I.N.S.
“Himgiri” on the night of Friday 8th May
1981. The ship sailed on the following morn-
ing and during the coming night anchored
about 1 mile south-east of Burnt Island.

When forty years younger, I had discovered
that the rocks were “the hardest in the world
to sleep upon” and this did not make me
very anxious to be marooned thereon for
twentyfour hours or more with no terns to
look at. It was therefore arranged that we
land early in the morning and decide in half
an hour if we would like to be taken off at
11 a.m. or stay till the morrow. A helicopter
recce put out at 6 a.m. came back to report
some “sparrow-like” birds. We took off in
a motor-propelled whaler at about 6-30 a.m.
with the paraphernalia necessary to stay over-
night. As we approached the rocks a large
flight of birds in the distance which appeared
to have taken off the island raised hopes. A
little nearer, we saw small flocks of pigeons
(Columba livid) come off the lighthouse rock,
and it was evident that the others could only
be the same, though as many as a hundred
were seen together at one time.

On the first trip we had seen a small flock
of 10 to 15 pigeons, including an albino, and
noted that one collected had fed on grass
seeds. Hume had also seen them in 1875.
The second time he noted a few flying out of
the cave. Their numbers had now multipled
enormously. There can be no doubt that these
are feral and must have originated from those

on the lighthouse island half a mile away.
They have probably resorted to nesting on
the flat ground after the standard ledge sites
inside the cave and elsewhere were exhausted.
There is no evidence of their going to the
mainland to feed, but the large flight first seen
may suggest some form of concerted move-
ment. I would estimate about 200 pigeons
on the island.

Landing had to be made by jumping on to
tide-washed rocks, and our luggage, including
the camera, was left behind. The island was
more broken up than I remembered and we
clambered through the coarse grass and other
low vegetation which covered every inch of
the island which was not bare rock. The dried-
up remains of birds picked up in the opener
areas included mummified chicks and wings
of pigeons and terns but the latter appeared
to be fewer than before.

Out of the dense grass and other vegetation
numbers of pigeons rose with a fluster in the
manner of the Painted Partridge when beaten
out near Bombay (though of course never
so numerous ! ) . A closer examination revealed
that the birds were rising off their nests most-
ly with 2 eggs or young. Some 15 nests were
examined. As I did not remember seeing or
reading of pigeons nesting on flat ground in
the shelter of small overhanging stones or
tussocks of grass in the manner of game birds,
the apparent sparsity of the remains of terns
and the abundance of the pigeons, prompted
the suggestion that the latter had driven off
the terns and appropriated the island to them-
selves. I put this to Derek Goodwin of the
British Museum (N. H.) at Tring and though
he did not think this likely he suggested that
I put my notes on record, for they were un-
usual. He also referred me to Moreau in
Ibis 1944: 36 where he noted the surprising
predilection of the dove Streptopelia semitor -

216

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

quota Ruppel for islets in the Mafia group all
down the east African coast. Here Piggot
found many of them nesting (with eggs) in
bushes on the coral islets, “where they come
flighting in to roost from the mainland every
evening.”

The cave where we had seen numbers of
the Edible-nest Swiftlet was examined from
the fallen-in-skylight. Some of the Swiftlets
were seen (9.30 a.m.) flying about near the
entrance both over the sea and the island.
On our earlier visits we had only seen them
when they left at daylight and returned in
the evening. No nests were visible from the
skylight and it was difficult to imagine how
we had reached the mouth of the cave at sea-
level without any ropes.

Four Turnstones were seen on the tide-flood-
ed floor of the cave entrance. This was rather
late in the season.

Except for the remnants referred to above,
there was no trace of the terns until at about
10 a.m. Rishad drew attention to some 50
birds circling up in the air east of the island
over the water half-a-mile away. They were
largish birds with the upperparts showing
brown and the underparts pure white when
they turned in flight. The bill and feet were
dark. They were undoubtedly Sterna anae-
theta. After some watching they appeared to
be of 2 distinct sizes, the larger birds show-
ing black and not brown above. These were
fuscata a fact confirmed by the measurement
of the dry wings picked up on the island.

75 Abdul Rehman Street,

Bombay-400 003,

January 8, 1982.

This removes the doubt regarding this species
expressed after examination of the material
collected on the second trip. There were
many more anaetheta than fuscata. They flew
in circles fairly high over the water making
no attempt at fishing. They would occasion-
ally scatter and reassemble on the other side
of the island. Single birds or pairs often
separated and flew in a line towards the is-
land, but did not reach it.

Three large terns with orange bills ( S . her -
gii) flew across, calling loudly.

On the west of the island about half-a-mile
away large numbers of small terns were scat-
tered over the water, many moving together
but all more or less staying in the same area.

The mummified chicks were identified by
Dr. Jon Fieldsa, Zoological Museum, Univer«
sity of Copenhagen, Denmark, as of the Little
Tern ( Sterna albifrons subsp.) and this is the
first record of this species nesting on this is-
land. The subspecies could not be deter-
mined but the nearest breeding records from
near Bombay are of S. a. sinensis the White —
shafted Ternlet.

We are indebted to Admiral Awati for
arranging the trip and to Captain Singh for
the courtesy and co-operation extended to us
during the voyage. We hope it will be possi-
ble to visit the island again at a more oppor-
tune time and get more information about
the birds which nest there and also determine
if the increase in the number of feral pigeons
has in any way affected the breeding of the
maritime species.

HUMAYUN ABDULALI

217

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

10. GOLDEN ORIOLE ( ORIOLUS ORIOLUS) NEST IN BOMBAY

I was surprised when I learnt that there was
no authentic record of the Golden Oriole
( Oriolus oriolus) nesting in the Bombay area,
the nearest record of nests, as Mr. Humayun
Abdulali informed me being from Pune in
the Deccan and from Baroda in Gujarat state.

I had observed the oriole breeding during
1979-80 around Kandivli, a suburb in North
Bombay. Also, I had found a pair making a
nest sometime in May-80 on a jambool tree
near the MLA hostel at Churchgate. Unfor-
tunately this pair did not breed there and the
nest was subsequently destroyed. However,
this year (1981), on 8th May, a nest of the
Golden Oriole was found on the grounds of
a cattle farm at Kandivli.

The nest was about thirty five feet high on
an outhanging branch of a huge Rain tree
( Pithecolobium samari). According to obser-
vations that could be made from below the

45/46, “Madhurima”,

M. G. Road,

Kandivli (W.),

Bombay-400 067,

August 18, 1981.

bird was probably incubating. It would
occasionally be away from its nest for as long
as 15-20 minutes after which one of the birds
would come and settle in the nest — incubate?
This was surprising, because hardly 25 feet
from the Oriole’s nest was a nest of the Com-
mon House Crow ( Corvus splendens ), where
the bird was incubating. Also not very far
from the Oriole’s nest, a Black Drongo ( Die -
rurus adsimilis) was seen making a nest which
it abandoned when the nest was more than
halfway through.

This nest of the Golden Oriole being a new
record for Bombay and its surroundings, I
contacted Mr. Humayun Abdulali, who came
down and saw it on the 14th May. On 29th
May, the female Oriole was seen bringing
food to its nest, to its nestlings. According
to a friend, Joslin, the nestlings flew away in
the second week of June.

S. G. MONGA
J. RODRIQUES

11. NOCTURNAL HABITS OF BLACK DRONGO
( D1CRURUS ADSIMILIS)

On many occasions I have observed drongos
hawking insects at street lamps at night. Seve-
ral birds would perch on the electric wire and
make aerial sallies on insects attracted by the
light, especially after first rains when swarms
of insects come out of the ground and fly around
street lamps. Once I saw a drongo making a

27A/1, Civil Lines,

Nagpur,

August 29, 1981.

dash at a Spotted Owlet ( Athene brama)
which was perching on a wire. What is in-
teresting is that the drongos appeared to be
quite active around the light even though it
was pitch dark everywhere.

No mention has been made about this be-
haviour in available literature.

NITIN JAMDAR

218

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

12. HABITS OF THE BANK MYNA, ACRWOTHERES GINGIN1ANUS

In the handbook (1972, Vol. 5:1981-2)
there is a lively description of the habits of
the Bank Myna, Acridotheres ginginianus,
which in addition to its presence in restless
small flocks near refuge dumps, railway sta-
tions, near food stalls and some bazaars (Old
Delhi), is traditionally found in fields follow-
ing the ploughing cattle or perched familiarly
on cattle and buffalo’s backs and heads look-
ing for ticks or insects disturbed by their feet.
My wife and I with an American Embassy
Officer, Peter Kaestner, had been commenting
on the species’ characteristic presence in cul-
tivated land near cattle on Janaury 12, 1982
near the Sultanpur Jheels in Haryana while
bird watching.

On January 13, the following day, the two
of us took the morning Delhi-Bombay flight
from Delhi airport. On our way out to the
aircraft, wandering over the vast artificial de-

Smithsonian Institution,

Washington, D. G, U.S.A.

January 15, 1982.

sert of tarmac with parked and moving planes,
there were no birds visible except for an
occasional moving kite taking advantage of a
thermal updraft. However, we soon spotted
a new adaptation of the cattle-riding habit.
Here and there in the scattering of vehicular
traffic, there were food catering vans, coming
or going to the parked planes. Riding confi-
dently on the roof, the front bonnet, or the
rear ledge near the open sliding rear door of
the food carrier were groups and individual
busy Bank Mynas, the only bird species seen,
quite at home and seemingly well adapted to
their novel conveyance. They clustered only
on the catering vans, not on the buses or cars,
or fuel tankers. The Bank Myna appears to
have adapted thus to a new urbanized niche,
as I have not noticed them before in this other-
wise sterile environment.

S. DILLON RIPLEY

13. SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE INTELLIGENCE OF CROWS

It is interesting to watch the behaviour of
birds and specially of crows. Wherever water
pots are hung on the branches of trees for
birds, it is fascinating to watch the types of
birds namely pigeons, sparrows, bulbuls, bab-
blers, parakeets, doves, mynas, sunbirds, crows
and other smaller birds perch on the pot to
drink. Once the birds get used to certain
water pots they visit them regularly and some
time baffled when the water level is not re-
plenished or the pot is empty. Invariably, it
has been seen that crows consume the maxi-

mum share from the pot. It is interesting and
surprising to observe a crow carrying in its
beak a dried piece of bread (Chapati) and
placing it inside the water pot for a couple
of minutes, then it picks up and settles down
on a higher branch to consume it. Thus it
is evident that the object of placing the dried
piece of bread is to soften it for easy con-
sumption.

Another instance observed was that when
a crow is about to build its nest, it picks up
lots of small thin sticks from all over like any

219

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

other bird. When it gets hold of a small lump
of coconut fibre, it carries the same and places
it inside the water pot for a few minutes.
The thoroughly soaked bit of fibre is picked
up and the crow settles down on the ground.

I/C Silviculture,

Cenral Arid Zone Research Institute,
Jodhpur, Rajasthan,

January 15, 1982.

By pressing the lump of fibre on the ground
with one claw, the crow peels off small strips
with its beak and thus manages to use the
entire lot for its nest. Such intelligence is
probably noticeable in the case of crows only.

K. D. MUTHANA

14. NEST BUILDING ERROR BY A FEMALE PURPLERUMPED

SUNBIRD

In July this year I was watching a Purple-
rumped Sunbird building her nest in a
Bougainvilia bush in my garden. The usual
excited twittering which accompanies this acti-
vity could be heard throughout the day for
about a week.

On closer inspection of the completed nest
I was surprised to find that she had made a
strange error during it’s construction. The

nest had no opening at all. It was closed all
round like a deflated balloon. There was no
attempt at a projecting porch either. The
pendant nature was basically like a normal
nest, but it was not fully expanded like a cor-
rectly designed one.

After several days of excited twittering and
repeatedly settling on the nest and hopping
all around it, the pair unhappily left it alone.
The female sunbird appeared agitated but was
unable to take any corrective steps to create
a hole, after the completion of the nest. This
was not surprising as the entrance hole is for-
med during the early stage of building the
nest.

I find that in a fairly large number of nests
the entrance hole is placed facing the bush.
I presume that the birds prefer to alight on
the nest after having checked out its safety
by hopping around in the bush if danger ap-
pears to be at hand. In this case there were
several other trees and bushes close to the
nest site. This may have confused her about
its placement? The rather thin appearance of
the nest is explainable, as I have noticed that
the female after nearly completing the nest
enters it, and by ruffling out her wings re-
peatedly expands it from within. This in-
creases the space inside and probably makes
the nest more comfortable for her. Since
there was no way of entering this nest she
could not get inside for finishing touches.
However, I was unable to find out what had
gone wrong during building of this nest.

Could this have been a young immature
female perhaps indulging in nest building for
the first time? Is it possible that she could not
decide in which direction to place the hole
and thus did not make one at all?

23/5 Bund Garden Road,
Pune-411 001,

October 14, 1981.

ERACH K. BHARUCHA

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

15. COMMUNITY BATHING BY SUNBIRDS AND WHITE-EYES

IN SUMMER

At the peak of the summer when Pune is
incredibly hot and dry, I have observed a
rather unusual phenomenon. At sun-up on
these very hot mornings there is always some
moisture on the wide banana leaves. A large
number of Purple Sunbirds, Purple ramped
sunbirds and White-eyes collect on these
leaves for a community bath. I have seen
several birds, as many as twenty at a time,
aggregated on the four banana trees in my
garden. They have a bath on the wet drops,
and sometimes also drink the drop. I have

23/5 Bund Garden Road,

Pune-411001,

October 14, 1981.

seen them fluttering their wings and sliding
down the sloping central rib. They also turn
on their side to wet their wings more effecti-
vely.

The birds often squabble over the leaves
which have the most moisture. As the sun
rises further the leaves dry up and the birds
move off to come back the next morning.

This summer I watched this for about three
weeks, by which time the monsoons came and
put an end to this daily morning activity.

ERACH K. BHARUCHA

16. RECIPROCAL PREDATION BETWEEN A WEAVER BIRDS AND

A LIZARD SPECIES

While studying the ecology of weaver birds
in the Punjab, we have come across an inter-
esting interaction between a weaver bird and
a lizard species. We observed adult Baya
Weavers Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus) hunt-
ing small young of the Common Garden Li-
zard Calotes versicolor Daudin and feeding
them to their nestlings on 24 August 1979
at Village Bias Pind, District Jullundur. The
parts of young Calotes lizards were also re-
covered from the gut of 10.9% (6 out of 55)
Baya nestlings killed for studying their food
from the same area during 1979. This clearly
established that these lizards were common
constituents of the nestling diet of Baya in
the study area. On the contrary, the adult
lizards of the same species were recorded
feeding on eggs of the Baya Weaver birds.

Therefore, Ploceus philippinus and Calotes
versicolor were predating upon the young
stages of each other.

There are no earlier records of the Baya
Weaver feeding on lizards in any part of India.
However, Calotes versicolor is already a known
predator of eggs and young of birds (Smith
1934). Ali and Ambedkar (1957) also re-
corded a Calotes lizard feeding on eggs of the
Baya. In the study area, Calotes lizards were
observed predating also upon eggs of the
Blackthroated Weaver Ploceus benghalensis
(Linnaeus) and the Streaked Weaver P.
manyar (Horsfield) but these two weaver
species did not predate upon lizards.

According to Professor T.R.E. Southwood
(Pers. Comm.) there may be several other
similar instances, particularly where the young

221

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

stages of the predators are smaller. There
has been no particular term applied to such
observations as yet and, therefore, the term
‘reciprocal predation’ is proposed hereby. Re-
ciprocal predation in general can be defined
as predation by a prey species on the young
stages of its predator species.

Department of Zoology,

Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana-141 004, Punjab,
December 8, 1981.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. T. R. E. Southwood,
Linacre Professor, Department of Zoology,
University of Oxford for replying to our en-
quiry and giving useful comments and sug-
gestions. The first author is thankful to the
Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun (U.P.)
for financing his research on weaver birds
with a Wildlife Research Fellowship.

MANJIT S. DHINDSA
H. S. TOOR

References

Ali, S. and Ambedkar, V. C. (1957): Further Smith, M. A. (1934): The Fauna of British
notes on the Baya Weaver bird, Ploceus philippinus India including Ceylon and Burma, Reptilia and
Linn. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 54: 491-502. Amphibia, Vol. 2. Taylor and Francis, London.

17. SIGHT RECORD OF SERINUS PUSILLUS AT MANANG,

CENTRAL NEPAL

On 17 November 1981 we observed an adult
Red-fronted Serin ( Serinus pusillus) at about
3960 m near Manang, central Nepal (approx.
28°50'N, 83°55'E). The bird was first seen at
1540 hours at a distance of about 2.4 m, per-
ched in a small thorn bush ( Carangana sp.)
on an arid scrub-covered hill side. It was
noted as a small, heavily streaked finch, with
a dark face and red forehead but colours were
difficult to determine as we were looking into
the sun. It was flushed after about half a
minute and flew off down the slope accom-
panied by a second bird. It was relocated
after a minute about 10 m away and was
observed for a further minute perched in a
thorn bush and on the ground. The red
‘guardsman’s cap’ top to the head and dark
face were very conspicuous; the body was a

pale yellowish background colour, heavily
streaked dark brown; the pale orange-yellow
rump was obvious in flight. The second bird
was only observed briefly and appeared to be
similar to the first.

The Red-fronted Serin ranges across the
mountains of Asia Minor as far east as the
north-western Himalayas, Ladak and Kashmir
(Paynter 1968, Hue and Etchecopar 1970).
Flemming et al. (1979) record it as “fairly
common” in North Nepal occurring “as far
east as the Kali Gandaki”, which they regard
as a biogeographical division between Eastern
and Western species. Our record appears to
be the most easterly of the species in Nepal,
being to the east of the Kali Gandaki Valley
and separated from it by a spur of mountains
running north from Annapurna Himalaya.

222

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

DAVID S. MELVILLE
VICKY J. HAMILTON

C/ O 44 The Ridgeway,

Tonbridge,

Kent TN 10 4NJ,

England,

June 22, 1982.

References

Fleming, R. L. Sr. Fleming, R. L. Jr., and
Bangdel, L.S. (1979) : Birds of Nepal. Avalok,
Kathmandu.

Hue, F. and Etceiecopar, R. D. (1970): Les
Oiseaux du Proche et du Moyen Orient. Boubee,

Paris.

Paynter, R. A. (Ed.) (1968) : Check-list of the
birds of the World. Vol. XIV. Museum of Com-
parative Zoology, Cambridge.

18. OCCURRENCE OF EMBER1ZA CIA NEAR PUNE

The occurrence of Rock Bunting ( Emberiza
cia) has been recorded on four instances since
1977 near Pune. A single bird was observed
on all occasions. A photographic evidence to
confirm though not of good quality, was ob-
tained on one of the occasions. The details
of occurrence and habitat are as below.
Occurrence :

Field Characteristics’.

The typical black bands on the forehead,
crown and cheeks together with bluish-grey
chest confirmed with the field characteristics
of a Rock Bunting. The bird seen in the
month of July showed rich chestnut-brown
breeding plumage. The sex identification,
however, could not be done in the field.

Date

Place

Location from Pune

Altitude

3rd June,

1977

Katraj

8 kms South

Between

22nd July,

1980

Khambataki

60 kms South

650-700

5th March,

1981

Bopadeo

8 kms South

metres.

18th June,

1981

Katraj

8 kms South

Habitat :

All the above places happen to be near
Ghat roads. The northern slopes of these
Ghats (where all four birds were seen in the
various instances) are gradually sloping and
are at lower altitudes as compared to their
respective southerly slopes. The birds were
seen on stony barren slopes at the base of the
hills. The habitat in general was stony scrub
jungle.

Behaviour :

The solitary birds were seen eating grass
seeds and calling ‘chee-up chee-up’ during
their short dipping flights. They were often
seen on almost vertical walls of loose red soil
(Red bowl) on rocky clefts.

Typical birds seen in the Habitat :

Crested Bunting (common resident), Grey-
necked Bunting (winter visitor, found to stay
back till late June), finch larks, Whitebellied
Minivet, Painted Sandgrouse.

123 Kasba Peth, SHRIKANT INGALHALIKAR

Pune-411 Oil,

November 6, 1981.

223

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

19. UNUSUAL BIRD RECORDS FROM THE BOMBAY AREA

I spent from 10th to 14th December 1981
in northern Bombay and subsequently sub-
mitted a list of the birds seen, to Mr. H. Abdul-
ali. He kindly pointed out that the following
three records were somewhat unusual.

Anser indicus (Latham) Barheaded Goose

Three flew low over Powai Lake at 07.15
on 14th December, circled round the lake, but
did not settle.

Buteo rufinus (Cretzschmar) Longlegged
Buzzard

Single birds seen in flight over Borivli
National Park on 13 th December and over
Powai on 14th December were identified as

Merlwood, The Avenue,

Guisborough, Cleveland,

England, TS14 8EE,

February 16, 1982.

belonging to this species. The former had a
pale rufous tail and was probably an adult;
the latter was a juvenile with a pale tail with
dark terminal bars. Although Salim Ali and
Ripley (1978) are dubious about the specific
identification of Buzzards in the field, it seems
worth recording these sightings in view of the
increasing number of such records in the
Bombay area.

Chlidonias hybrida (Pallas) Whiskered Tern
Two birds were seen regularly during my
stay at Powai Lake. This species may well
be a regular winter visitor, though records for
December appear to be lacking.

D. SUMMERS-SMITH

Reference

Ali, Salim and Ripley, S. D. (1978): Handbook
of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Vol. 1.

20. GROWTH RATES IN SUB-ADULT GHARIAL GAVIALIS
GANGETICUS (GMELIN) (REPTILIA, CROCODILIA)
(With a text-figure)

Bustard and Singh (1980) provided an out-
line of growth rates in young gharial from
hatching to an age of 4.5 years. The only
published data on growth of larger gharial
are limited data provided on a male gharial
reared at Nandankanan Biological Park,
Orissa (Biswas, Acharjyo & Mohapatra 1978).

As a part of the State Crocodile Project, a
gharial breeding pool was constructed at
Nandankanan Biological Park, Orissa, in 1975,
and three existing sub-adult gharial were in-
troduced to this pool on 13 Ferbruary 1976.

This group comprised of one male and two fe-
males. All three were from Mahanadi river,
Orissa. The male was brought to the Park
on 22 March 1963 at a length of 1.35 m. Its
age at capture was subsequently estimated as
33 months (Singh 1978). The females were
brought in November 1964 and November
1965 at lengths of 0.9 and 1.20 m and at esti-
mated ages of 17 and 29 months respectively.
From 1975 they were measured annually. Bis-
was et al. (1978) state that this male measured
2.5 m in January 1973 and 2.56 m in January

LENGTH

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Table 1

Growth of one male and two female sub-adult/
adult Gharial (Length in m)

Year

Date of

Length

measurement

Male

Female 1

Female 2

1975

31 January

2.56

2.48

2.45

1976

13 February

2.70

2.65

2.50

1977

11 December

2.72

2.96

2.73

1978

20 December

2.79

3.09

2.80

1979

15 December

2.84

3.12

2.82

1980

23 July

2. 90*

3. 17**

2.88

1981

23 March

—

3.25

3.00

Mean annual

increment

6.

8cm

12.8cm

9. 1cm

* Killed

in a conflict

with

an introduced male

(Bustard and Maharana, in press, b) and mea-
sured following its death on 8 February 1980.
** Measured on 20 April 1980.

1974. The data, therefore, cover six years
growth and are presented in Table 1 and
Figure 1.

These data are of great interest in that the
gharial were maintained in a large pool simu-
lating the natural environment (Bustard and
Maharana, in press, a) and Nandankanan is
located within the natural distributional range
of the gharial (Mahanadi river is only 5 km
from the park). Hence growth rates following
their introduction into the breeding pool are
considered to closely approximate those occur-
ring in nature.

It is interesting to compare the growth rates
between the sexes (Fig. 1). At the start the
male was slightly larger than either female.
However, both females grew rapidly between

3.3-

3.3-

31-

30-

2.9-

2.8-

2.7-

2.6-

2.5-

2 4 L

Fig. 1. Growth rates of sub-adult gharial between 1975 and 1981. F — female, M — male,
length in metres, (see Table 1).

225

15

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

1915 -16 whereas the male grew very slowly
at this time. In the next year the male caught
up with the second female and these two in-
dividuals grew at a similar rate thereafter. The
first female, however, continued to grow more
rapidly than the male throughout the study.
This result is surprising, as in view of the
much larger size of mature males compared
to females, it is to be expected that males
would show a faster growth rate. This was
not shown in the present study. It may be
thought that the rapid growing phase in males
takes place in the early years of life and that
this was already over in the case of this male
when the observations commenced and it
measured 2.70 m. Examination of the mean
early growth rates for all three individuals
using the size at time of capture together with
year of capture gives a mean and growth
between 1963 and 1975 of llcm/year for the
male. For the females, between their time

of capture in November 1964 and November
1965 it is 14.4 and 12.5 cm/year respectively.
Failure of the male and indeed all three in-
dividuals to show more rapid growth in the
early years may be explained on the basis
of stunting (Choudhury & Bustard, in press).

It is not suggested that the size of gharial
in the wild would have been similar to those
of captive individuals at the same age, since,
prior to the initiation of the Government of
India Crocodile Project, most gharial showed
markedly retarded growth (Choudhury &
Bustard, in press). But growth rates during
the period 1975-81 inclusive, when the gharial
were in the large breeding pool and receiving
adequate diet, are thought to reflect normal
growth rates for sub-adult gharial of this size,
that is, an average of 10 cm/ year.

We thank Dr. L.A.K. Singh and Mr. B.C.
Choudhury for their advice.

Central Crocodile Breeding and
Management Training Institute,

Raj ENDRAN AGAR, HYDERABAD 500 264.
Crocodile Project,

Nandankanan Biological Park,

Cuttack, Orissa,

June 24, 1981.

Refe

Biswas, S., Acharjyo, L. N. & Mohapatra, S.
(1978) : A note on the protuberance of knob on
the snout of the male gharial ( Gavialis gangeticus
(Gmelin). J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 74(3): 536-
537.

Bustard, H. R. & Maharana, S. (in press ) :
First captive breeding of gharial (Gavialis gangeti-
cus Gmelin). Inti. Zoo Yb.

— — — (1981):

Fatal male-male conflict in the gharial (Gavialis
gangeticus, Gmelin) (Reptiiia Crocodilia). /. Bom-

H. R. BUSTARD
S. MAHARANA

EN CES

bay nat. Hist. Soc. 78( 1) : 171-173.

Bustard, H. R. & Singh, L.A.K. (1980): Growth
in the gharial. Brit. J. Herpetol. 6(3) : 107.

Choudhury, B. C. & Bustard, H. R. (in press ) :
Stunted growth in captive-reared gharial J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc.

Singh, L.A.K. (1978) : Ecological studies on the
Indian Gharial Gavialis gangeticus (Reptiiia, Cro-
codilia). Ph. D. Thesis submitted to Utkal Univer-
sity, Orissa.

226

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

21. NOTES ON LITTLE KNOWN LIZARDS FROM JAMMU &

KASHMIR STATE

The lizards under report were collected
from various parts of J & K state during the
years 1974 — 1978. Of the six reported species,
1 ( Ablepharus pannonicus) is new to India
whereas 3 ( Sitana ponticeriana, Ophisops jer-
doni and Acanthodactylus cantoris cantoris)
have been recorded for the first time in the
state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Ablepharus pannonicus Fitzinger
Mediterranean Dwarf Skink

Ablepharus pannonicus Fitzinger (1823) in
Lichtenstein, in Eversmann’s Reise nach Buc-
hara, p. 145.

Material examined : (1) Near Bahu Fort,
Jammu, Oct., 1978.

The genus Ablepharus is recorded in India
for the first time. A single specimen of A.
pannonicus , with snout vent length 30 mm,
was obtained from the dry alluvial bed of river
Tawi in Jammu.

Minton (1966) obtained the specimens of
this species from mountainous northern sec-
tions of province from Quetta to Chitral in
Pakistan. His specimens were collected at
an elevation of 2133 m (7000 ft) while dis-
cussing world distribution of the species, Levi-
ton and Anderson (1970) reported its occur-
rence in Iraq, northern and western Iran,
U.S.S.R., Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Af-
ghanistan, the specimens were obtained at an
elevation of 2316 m (7600 ft). The single speci-
men examined, however, was collected at an
altitude of 260 m in Jammu province of J&K
state.

Sitana ponticeriana Cuvier
Fan-throated Lizard

Sitana ponticeriana Cuvier (1829) Re’gne

Anim. 2nd, ed. ii, p. 43.

Material examined : (5), 3 males and 2
females, Bahu Fort, Jammu. April — August,
1978.

The Sitana lizards were collected in a dry
alluvial bed of river Tawi, near Bahu Fort
in Jammu. It appears to be uncommon in
this part of country. It is fast runner, and
takes refuge in bushes or under stones when
chased. A female, with snout vent length 45
mm, collected in June had 8 oviducal eggs
with an average size 8.5 mm x 4 mm.

Ophisops jerdoni Blyth
Punjab Snake-eyed Lizard

Ophisops jerdonii Blyth (1853). Asiat. Soc.
Beng. xxii, p. 653. Material examined: (10)
3 males, 5 females and 2 juveniles, Jhajjar
kotli, Nagrota and Bahu-Fort in Jammu;
April— Nov., 1977.

Punjab Snake-eyed Lizard is a species
of xeric conditions found in dry, rocky or
alluvial plains along river Tawi- It is ati active
diurnal lizard, and was found to be quite
active even during noon hours of the months
of May and June when the temperature rises
as high as 40°C. Though commonly seen,
its speed, crepuscular nature and small size
makes it a difficult species for collection.
Specimens were collected from April to Nov-
ember, although some were seen during winter
months also basking on stones. A Juvenile
with a 17 mm snout vent length, was collect-
ed in the month of July.

The present collection of O. jerdoni showed
presence of 8 to 12 femoral pores on each
side. Smith (1935) described 7 to 12 femorals,
rarely 6 pores on each side. Minton’s (1966)
collection of O. jerdoni from Pakistan showed

227

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

8 to 9 in males and 6 to 7 femoral pores in
females. The series of collection from J & K
state showed no such sexual dimorphism in
the number of femoral pores. However, in
males femoral pores of each side was separat-
ed by one inter femoral scale (scale without
femoral gland) and 4-5 such inter-femoral
scales in females.

AcantSiodactyhis cantoris cantoris Gunther
Indian Fringe-Toed Sand Lizard

Acanthodactylus cantoris cantoris Gunther
(1864). Rept. Brit India, p. 73.

Material examined : (1) sex undertermined;
Akhnoor, Tehsil, in Jammu, July, 1977.

This is first record of the species from state
of Jammu and Kashmir. The species has
been earlier recorded from Ambala, Ferozpur
and Hissar, all of which lie to the south of
J & K state. It seems to be a rare species in
this part of the country. A single specimen
was collected under stones in the plain area
of tehsil Akhnoor. From the site of its collec-
tion the lizard appears to be an inhabitant
of dry, rocky, alluvial bed.

The specimen collected agrees with A. can-
toris cantoris described from Pakistan (Minton
1966) and from India (Smith 1935) except
for the presence of a small occipital shield and
a large triangular shield of uncertain nature
lying wedged between frontonasal and pre-
frontal. The species exists as a single sub-
species A. cantoris cantoris throughout its
range in the Indian limit but west of longi-
tude 60°, it may exist in other subspecific
forms, like A. cantoris blanfordi, A. cantoris
schmidti and A, cantoris arabicus. Of these
subspecies, A. cantoris schmidti and A. can-
toris arabicus have their range limited from
Arabia to western border of Iran and there-
fore, cannot in any case be related to one
available in the state.

The only other subspecies, A. cantoris blan-
fordi (Minton 1966) is distributed over the
area that lies to the north and west of the
range of the typical form. However, in the
presence of well differentiated dorsal and late-
ral scale and higher count of femoral pores
(31), the present form can be well differenti-
ated from A. cantoris blanfordi.

Phrynocepfiafius theobaldi Blyth
Kashmir Toad Agama

Phrynocephalus theobaldi Blyth (1863). J.
Asiat. Soc. Bengal xxxii, p. 90.

Material examined : (14), 7 males, 5 females
and 2 juveniles. Leh and Kargil districts in
Kashmir Province, June, 1976 and May, 1977.

The specimens were collected on the slopes
of hills on the road side of Kashmir-Ladakh
National Highway. The tract is almost de-
void of any plant cover. A very active lizard,
which when cornered assumes a threatening
posture by raising its body off the ground and
opening its mouth widely. It lives in burrows
which are sometimes 15 cm to 25 cm deep.
A montane species; specimens were collected
from 3,000 m to 3,500 m in Leh and Kargil.
The lizard feeds on high altitude beetles, ants
and grasshoppers. The other species which
have been seen in association with this lizard
are P. reticulatus, Cyrtodactylus stoliczkai,
C. lawderanus, Agama himalayana and Scin-
cella ladacense.

A female collected on May, 1977 died in
captivity in August of the same year. On dis-
secting it, 3 nearly full term embryos were
recovered, suggestive of its ovo-viviparous
habit.

In Indian limit, it has been recorded only
from Kashmir and elsewhere from southern
Tibet and East Turkestan. Prakash (1971)
stated “The genus Phrynocephalus is being
reported for the first time from India.” He

228

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

seems to have ignored the reports of P. theo-
baldi and P. reticulatus in Kashmir province
by Smith (1935).

Phrynocephalus reticulatus Eichwald
Ladakh Toad Agama

Phrynocephalus reticulatus Eichwald (1831).
Zool. spec., p. 183.

Material examined : (2) 1 male and 1 fe-
male; June, 1976, Leh.

Habits similar to that of P. theobaldi but

Department of Biosciences,

University of Jammu,

Jammu-180 001,

October 1, 1981.

Refer

Leviton, A. E. and Anderson, S. C. (1970):
The amphibians and reptiles of Afghanistan. A
checklist and Key to the Herpeto-fauna. Proc. Calif.
Acad. Sci., 38(10): 163-206.

Minton, S. A. (1966) : A contribution to the her-
petology of West Pakistan. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., 134:27-184.

an uncommon species. About P. reticulatus.
Smith (1935, p. 232) recorded, “The species
is included in the fauna of the Indian Empire
on the strength of a single specimen in the
British Museum collected by Schlagintweit
brothers and said to have come from Ladakh,
Kashmir. Unfortunately the localities given
by these collectors cannot be relied on.” The
collection of 2 specimens of P. reticulatus
from Ladakh confirms its occurrence within
Indian limits.

DEEP N. SAHI
P. L. DUDA

E N CES

Prakash, J. (1971) : Notes on little known lizards
from Rajasthan desert. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
69(2): 424-28.

Smith, M. A. (1935) : The fauna of British India,
including Ceylon and Burma, Reptilia and Amphi-
bia II. Sauria. Taylor and Francis, London.

22. ON FLYING LIZARD IN MUNDANTHURAI SANCTUARY

Flying lizards Draco dussumieri are fairly
common in Mundanthurai along the ribbon
of forests, fringing rivers Thambaraparani and
Servalar. In walks along the riverside foot-
paths, Ficus Prop-Kanikudi Nature Trail,
Rauf Ali’s Bonnet Macaque study area, Glyn
Davies, ‘Squirrel study area and around Koda-
madi Rest House region, they can be seen,
if one waits and watches for them. The
bright yellow dewlap projecting and disap-
pearing helps to locate this lizard though the
folded wings are difficult to see. It is easier
to watch them in the plantation of Teak, Neem

and Bombax just adjoining the river Servalar,
when they descend down to convenient eye-
level. They are found along the border plan-
tation lines 2-5 rows of planted area parrallel
to the river. On seeing one gliding in circles
and landing on a planted tree 1m above
ground, then running up to a height of 5-6
m then gliding down. I searched the area
and located another lizard moving on the
ground- One possible guess was that the
lizard on the ground was a female, who had
come to the ground for laying eggs.

The teak poles were about 6 m tall almost

229

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

uniform in height at an interval of 11 feet
while gliding the lizard turned away from the
tree lifted up let itself fall on outstretched
wings, resulting in a vertical fall of l^-2m a
short glide at an angle of about 45° to the
tree and followed a near horizontal flight path
till it landed on the next tree at a point l^m
from ground, keeping head upwards. All these

Wildlife Warden,

Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary,
Udhagamandalam-643 001,

Tamil Nadu,

November 12, 1982.

took about 3-5 seconds. Slowly spiralling up
as it climbed the tree. Insect population may
be highest in such river border areas. Sriran-
gan, a tracker from the local forest tribal
community “kanis”, said that they can be
easily killed by whipping with tender branches;
are roasted over a fire and eaten, younger
tribals are not aware of this practice.

J. MANGALRAJ JOHNSON

23. LONGEVITY OF FISH MEGALOPS CYPR1NOIDES (BROUSS)

(With a text-figure)

How long does a fish live, has been a com-
mon inquiry in ordinary parlance and has
usually been replied to as ‘we really do not
know’, though several anecdotes exist raising
the longevity to 250 years as in the case of
some old carps and the mythical Great Pyke
of the Emperor Fredrick II of England, as
recorded by Norman (1931). The same author
quotes Dr Roger that “Statements concerning
most of the very old carps rest on unreliable
evidence and although there is good reason
for believing that in artificial conditions this
fish may attain a good old age, it is doubtful
whether it exceeds 50 years in a wild state.”
Lagler et al. (1977) also records the probable
long life of carps as about 50 years. This un-
certainty persists because of lack of any reli-
able data. However, available records in the
Fisheries Department of Maharashtra and my
own observations at Lonavla have provided
dependable information about longevity of
Megalops cyprinoides. This is being record-
ed here.

The fish is, as many would know, a marine
one, the larvae and young ones of which enter
brackish water and then into fresh water, to
feed on the rich animal life, till they grow
upto about 15 cms and then return to the
sea for further growth up to about a metre.
Its near cousin is the great tarpon which in-
habits estuaries of northern America. If the
seaward movement of M. cyprinoides is ob-
structed they remain for long years in fresh
water, but do not breed. In July 1939, the
Fisheries Section of the then Department of
Industries decided to stock fingerlings of Catla
Rohu, Calbasu, etc in different perennial
waters of the then Bombay Presidency in which
Walwhan and Shirota lakes of Tata Hydro-
Electric Company were included (vide annual
report of the Department of Industries, Fishe-
ries Section 1939-40). As the fingerlings of
M. cyprinoides were also found to be very
efficacious in controlling cyclops, an interme-
diate host (carrier) of the dreaded quineaworm
pest (Setna & Kulkarni 1940), one of the con-

230

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

signments which completed the tally of 10,000
fingerlings for these lakes consisted of M.
cyprinoides and was released into the lakes
by me. Another reason for this introduction
was reported pre-eminence of this fish for
angling. The fingerlings thrived in the protected

in the lake in that year indicated its survival
over the years and was described as an exam-
ple of extreme tenacity of the fish. The in-
cident was also noted for the fact that those
who ate the fish cursed us for giving them
tasteless fish with rubber like flesh. The rub-

Fig. 1. 44 year old fish Megalops cyprinoides (Brouss).

water of Walwhan lake, extending to as much
as 650 hectares at full supply level and conti-
nued to do so even in the years when the lake
reached zero sill level, surviving in the dead
storage which was enough for the hardy fish.

Time went on without any incident as fish-
ing with nets was never permitted in these
lakes and no fresh stocking was done.
When netting was undertaken in 1970 for
catching gravid mahseers for artificial breed-
ing (Kulkarni 1971), a few M. cyprinoides
were also caught. The occurrence of this fish

beroid condition of the flesh, when cooked,
was probably due to long years of age (32
years) without substantial increase in size
which was only 65 cms in total length and
2.8 kg in weight. A few fish of almost the
same size were caught every year but never
any young ones, because the fish being a ma-
rine type does not breed in fresh water. They
were peculiar in being found dead in the nets
though the mahseers and others were found
alive. This was because of the special feature
of the fish in having an accessory respiratory

231

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

organ in the shape of vascular bands on the
inner walls of its air bladder which enable it
to utilize direct surface air for its respiration.
When the fish is prevented from reaching the
surface, being caught in the nets, it drowns
and dies. Other fish which take oxygen dis-
solved in water can remain struggling. During
a trial netting on August 19, 1983 some more
fish were caught in similar circumstances. They
were 67 cm in total length and varied from
2.75 to 3.1 kg in weight. Gonads were in-

B/4, Shardashram,

Bhawani Shankar Road,

Dadar, Bombay 400 028,

August 29, 1983.

conspicuous. This record gives reliable
data that M. cyprinoides is capable of living
for at least 44 years in fresh water in wild
conditions and grow to the length and weight
mentioned above. They were so healthy that
they appeared capable of living for another
8 or 10 years. Further records would there-
fore be interesting to assess the longevity of
this fish but one can assert from this record
that the fish can live at least for 44 years.

C. V. KULKARNI

References

Annual report, Department of Industries, Bom-
bay, 1939-40.

Kulkarni, C. V. (1971): Spawning habits, eggs
and early development of the Deccan Mahseer,
Tor khudree (Sykes). J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
67:510-521.

Lagler, K. F., Bardach, John, Miller, Robert,
and Passino, Dora (1977) : Ichthyology, John

Wiley and Sons, N. Y.

Norman, J. R. (1931) : A History of Fishes.
Ernest Benn Ltd., London.

Setna, S. B. and Kulkarni, C. V. (1940): The
fish Megalops as an aid to combat guineaworm
carrier Cyclops. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 41:672-
674.

24. EXTENSION OF RANGE OF THE DADIO, CHELA {NEOCHELA)
D ADIEU RJORI (MENON) (PISCES: CYPRINIDAE)

{With a text -figure)

In 1951, A. G. K. Menon published an
account of a new species of fish from Cochin.
PTis description was based on a few specimens
sent to the Zoological Survey of India by the
veteran aquarist, the late Mr. Sam J. Dady-
burjor.

The fish, named by Menon as Laubuca
dadiburjori after this aquarist, is closely rela-
ted to the species maassi from Sumatra, even

to the extent of fin-ray count. The fin-ray
formula is : —

D. 2/7, A. 3/11, P. 1/7, V. 1/5, C. 19; L. 1.
30-34, L. tr. 7.

Laubuca dadiburjori , now called Chela {Neo-
chela) dadiburjori, can be distinguished in
having a lateral steel blue stripe running along
the middle of the body, extending from the
angle of the opercle to the caudal peduncle.

232

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

and a band of the same colour along the dor-
sum from the base of the dorsal fin to the
occiput. On the lateral body stripe are three

Fig. 1. Chela ( Neochela ) dadiburjori', adult.

to four dark dots in the adult and as many
as six in the juveniles. In adult females these
dots diminish considerably in size until they
are almost inconspicuous along the dorsal stripe.
This is clearly seen in the colour photograph
in Axelrod et al. ’s (1967) book on page 365.
Above the dark stripe is a thin golden stripe.
The dark stripe and dots turn black on preser-
vation. The lateral line is incomplete. The
fins are transparent with a yellowish tinge.
The body in the female is colourless and
transparent except for the silvery sheen over
the viscera, but the adult male has a suffused
yellow coloration all over the body.

The fish is diminutive in size, growing only
to 30 millimetres in the adult female, and a
few millimetres less for the male. It is a
popular pet in the home aquarium, where it
is known as “dadio”, or sometimes as the
Indian glass barb (Frank 1979, page 177).
Incidentally, the photograph in Frank’s book
(page 176) is not of Chela ( Neochela ) dadi-
burjori, and his statement that the fish grows
to a length of four to five centimetres is also
incorrect. His measurements and photograph
are of the flying barb ( Esomus danricus), as
can be made out from the long pectoral fins
and the very long barbels below the chin seen
in his photograph.

In the course of our collection of fishes from

peninsular India over the last twenty years, we
have continually collected live specimens of
this species from Nagercoil in Tamilnadu
State, and from Sanguem in Goa. Nagercoil
(8° 3'N, 77° 40' E), which is situated just
north of Cape Comorin, is about 230 kilo-
metres (as the crow flies) south of Cochin
(9° 43' N, 76° 13' E), and this constitutes an
extension of range southward for Chela ( Neo-
chela) dadiburjori. Similarly, Sanguem, which
is over 615 kilometres north of Cochin, con-
stitutes a considerable extension of range for
this fish. From our findings of this fish from
such widely separated places, it can be as-
sumed that Chela ( Neochela ) dadiburjori may
be inhabiting suitable water stretches through-
out the area between the two aforestated
places. However, while collecting Puntius
melanampyx from Mundakayum, Kottayam
and Quilon, we did not come across any
specimens of this fish.

Axelrod et al. (loc. cit.) put Menon’s name
in parentheses after the name of the fish,
then known as Laubuca dadiburjori. This is
incorrect according to the international rules
of Zoological nomenclature, as Menon had
attributed this fish to the genus Laubuca.
They have also given the geographic distribu-
tion of the species as “vicinity of Bombay”.
This is erroneous and is probably based on
the fact that these fishes are exported from
Bombay airport in the international aquarium
fish trade. Such statements based on assump-
tion, and published in non-technical literature
and popular books, unfortunately lead to ich-
thyologists subsequently quoting these earlier
sources as authoritative, leading to confusion
about the true geographic distribution of the
species. This has happened in the present
instance, where Frank (1979) has wrongly
followed Axelrod et al. ’s (1967) distribution
of this fish.

233

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

“Sachetan”, s. R. SANE

L/4-5, Sitaram Building,

Palton Road,

Bombay-400 001.

E-31, Cusrow Baug, B. F. CHHAPGAR

Colaba Causeway,

Bombay-400 039,

December 30, 1981.

References

Axelrod, H. R., Emmens, C. W., Sculthorpe,
D., Vorderwinkler, W. & Pronek N. (1967) :Exo-
tic tropical fishes. T. F. H. Publications, Jersey
City, U.S.A.: 1-608.

Frank, S. (1979) : The pictorial encyclopedia of
fishes. (Translated by Helga Hanks). The Hamlyn
Publishing Group Ltd., London, New York: 1-552,
64 colour plates, 824 photographs.

Jayaram, K. C. (1981): The freshwater fishes of
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka.
Ed. Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta:
1-475, plates I-XIII, 208 text figs.

Menon, A. G. K. (1951) : Notes on fishes in the
Indian Museum. XLVI. — On a new fish of the
genus Laubuca from Cochin. Rec. lnd. Mus. xlix:
1-4, text-fig. 1.

25. AN INTERESTING METHOD OF FISHING IN DHANBAD

DISTRICT, BIHAR

(With a text-figure)

In connection with our studies on fishes of
Bihar, one of us (G.M.Y.), while making
faunistic survey of River Barakar during June,
1981, came across an interesting method of
fishing at Madrussa ghat (R. Barakar) c. 6
km. north of Tundi (Distt. Dhanbad). The
method essentially consists of a pot-trap — an
aluminium bowl, c 10 cm diameter, on top of
which a piece of cloth is tied around. A few
holes are made in this cloth and a small quan-
tity of baked and coarsely ground seeds of
white millet (“Jowar”, Sorghum vulgare ), Kund-
rung ( Bibiscus sabdariffa L.) (Malvaceae), and
Sarguja ( Guizotea abyssynica Cass. (Compo-
sitae) mixed in 4:1:1 proportion, respectively,
are placed in the bowl. The bowl is set in a

depression in the sand in such a way that the
cloth surface is almost level with sand around
it (Fig. 1).

This method is operated in shallow, running
waters where the bottom is generally sandy.
As the bowl is left under water, all fish avail-
able in the vicinity get attracted towards the
bowl owing to presence of ground seeds which
act as bait, and finally enter the bowl through
the holes. When a number of fish have gone
in they fail to come out, presumably due to
panic (Faruqui & Sahai 1943). The bowl is
now taken out of water and fish removed to a
fish basket. The operation is repeated as long
as fish are available in sufficient number, other-
wise the trap is shifted to a new spot.

234

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Fig. 1. The pot-trap in operation.

This method of fishing is quite efficient, for
about half a dozen small cyprinids belonging
to genera Puntius, Salmostoma and Barilius
were caught in one operation. The smell from
ground seeds — the bait, appears to play an
effective role in attracting fishes towards the
trap and for directing them into the bowl;
Sarguja seeds are known to yield an oil used
as an article of food (Haines 1922).

Of the various methods employed for catch-
ing fishes, netting and angling are the most
popular. While angling is practised by using
different types of bait, various modifications of
netting have also come in vogue. The method

Zoological Survey of India,

Gangetic Plains Regional Station,

Patna- 16,

October 21, 1981.

described above is a trap, resembling the pot-
trap described by Faruqui & Sahai (1943)
from Uttar Pradesh. However, the pot-trap
from U.P. consists of a flat earthen vessel with
raised walls, on top of which a piece of cloth
is tied around. A few holes are made in the
cloth and some flour pills are placed inside to
attract fishes. We have not so far seen the
earthen trap net described by Faruqui & Sahai
(1943) being used in Bihar.

We are thankful to Dr. V. S. Agrawal, Bota-
nical Survey of India, Calcutta, for the identi-
fication of seeds.

G. M. YAZDANI
P. D. GUPTA

235

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Referen ces

Faruqui, A. J. & Sahai, R. (1943) : On the
methods of catching fish in the United Provinces
and the scope of establishing inland fisheries in these
provinces Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 13(B) : 198-214.

Haines, H. H. (1922) : The Botany of Bihar and
Orissa, Vol. 2 (Reprinted 1961), Calcutta, Botanical
Survey of India, pp. 235-824.

26. FIELD OBSERVATIONS ON THE OCCURRENCE OF
MICRONECTA SCUTELLARIS STAL. (HEMIPTERA: CORIXIDAE)

(With a text-figure)

The water bug, Micronecta scutellaris Stal. is very common in stagnant water in ponds,
pools and ditches. Abundance of this bug was observed in the three ponds of Aligarh
district and was found to be influenced by the increase in percentage of organic matter
in the water. Alkalinity of water beyond pH 8.5 has an adverse effect on the popu-
lation density of M. scuttellaris. The temperature within the observed range (16.5-
32.3°C) did not affect the occurrence of this species.

Introduction

Micronecta scutellaris Stal. (Fam: Cori-

xidae) is usually found in stagnant water in
ponds, pools and ditches in many parts of the
world almost throughout the year (Butler
1923). M. scutellaris and several other species
of the family Corixidae are the preferred food
of poultry, cage birds and fishes in many coun-
tries. In Mexico, the eggs are collected by
placing reeds in the water (Aucona 1933) and
are used as human food (Hungerford 1948).
In view of this importance it was considered
desirable to study the distribution of M. scutel-
laris under Indian climatic conditions and also
the environmental factors that determine their
abundance.

Material and Methods

The abundance of M. scutellaris was studied
over a period of twelve months from October
1971 to September 1972 in three different ponds
in Aligarh. One of these Nilichhetri pond is
about 30.0 metres in length and 10.0 metres

in width. The second was Jamalpur pond which
is about 25 x 8 metres in area. The main source
of water in these ponds is rain. The polytechnic
pond, the third is small, spherical, cemented
and about 5 metres in diameter and largely
has tap water.

The bugs were collected from the ponds with
a hand net on every Sunday. On each
sampling day two collections were made, one
at 8.00 hr and other at 16.00 hr. Each sample
was subjected to differential numerical analysis
and mean of all the counts, made for all sam-
ples collected during a month in a Centre, was
taken as representing the monthly average and
plotted against the respective month. The per-
centage of organic matter in the soil was mea-
sured by the ignition of dried samples. Tem-
perature of the water was noted and pH was
determined by means of pH paper on the spot
during each collection.

Results and Discussion

The various hydrological features at sampl-
ing sites during the period of study are given

236

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Table 1

Monthly fluctuation in various hydrological features at sampling sites

% o.m.s.
Jamal, pond

Temperature °C

pH

Month

Nil.

pond

Drain

end

opposite

end

Poly.

pond

Nil.

pond

Jamal.

pond

Poly.

pond

Nil.

pond

Jamal.

pond

Poly.

pond

Nov.

1971

4.9

15.9

11.3

3.6

20.6

20.5

20.5

7.5

7.7

7.7

Dec.

1971

5.9

16.3

11.1

3.9

16.5

16.8

16.6

7.3

8.6

8.2

Jan.

1972

6.3

16.5

10.9

4.3

16,3

16.8

16.6

7.5

8.5

7.9

Feb.

5.6

16.5

11.3

4.8

17.0

16.8

17.2

7.9

8.7

8.1

March

6.4

15.8

11.5

4.6

22.8

23.3

23.6

8.7

9.5

8.0

April

5?

6.9

15.8

11.1

5.3

27.8

27.5

28.0

8.4

9.7

8.2

May

7.6

19.5

11.3

4.8

29.3

29.0

30.0

8.3

8.8

9.0

June

??

8.1

17.3

10.8

5.6

29.5

29.0

30.1

8.4

8.7

8.7

July

?>

8.2

16.7

11.5

5.3

30.1

29.1

30.5

8.1

8.3

8.3

August

7.6

16.7

10.9

4.4

32.3

32.0

32.3

7.6

7.7

8.3

Sept.

,5

8.0

16.5

11.4

4.9

31.0

31.0

31.6

8.1

8.2

8.5

Oct.

7.9

16.8

11.1

4.9

27.9

28.6

28.1

8.3

7.8

8.1

in table 1. The seasonal abundance of M.
scutellaris in these ponds is presented in Fig. 1
The results obtained showed that the amount
of organic matter and pH of water can affect
the population density of M. scutellaris, while
temperature, within the observed range, was
not found to be the determining factor of the
seasonal abundance of M. scutellaris.

Effect of organic matter :

The percentage of organic matter in an aqua-
tic soil has been shown to be an important
factor in the distribution of certain species of
Corixidae (Macan 1938). During the present
observations, the percentage of organic matter
of Nilichhatri pond ranged from 4.9 to 8.2
while it was 10.8-19.5 per cent in Jamalpur
pond. As polytechnic pond is small, cemented
and mainly filled with tap water, the % o.m.s.
was very less and ranged from 3.6 to 5.6. The
population density of M. scutellaris was observ-
ed the highest in Jamalpur pond throughout
the year. This may be due to high percentage
of decaying organic matter especially at a point
where human and animal excrements were
drained into the pond. This fact was further

confirmed by making collection from the drain
end and the opposite end of the pond. Due to
higher percentage of organic matter at the drain
end (15.8-19.5) than at the opposite end (10.8-
11.5) the population of M. scutellaris was
significantly higher at the drain end.

The population density of M. scutellaris was
directly proportional to the percentage of the
organic matter present in the water. The per-
centage of organic matter was 16.6, 6.95 and
4.68 in the water of Jamalpur, Nilichhatri and
Polytechnic pond respectively and consequently
the population density of M. scutellaris was the
highest in Jamalpur pond and then in Nili-
chhatri and Polytechnic ponds (Fig. 1). This
confirms my earlier findings (1977), that decay-
ing organic matter, is the most preferred food
for oviposition and development of the nymphs
of M. scutellaris.

Effect of temperature :

A number of workers including Allen (1920),
Prasad (1956) and Byars (1960) have report-
ed that temperature is the determining factor
in seasonal distribution of organisms. During
the present studies temperature of the water

237

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

of various sampling ponds ranged from 16.3°
to 32.3°C. (Table 1). This range of tempera-
ture did not appear to determine the popula-
tion density of M. scutellaris. The population
of this species was sufficiently high in Jamalpur
pond during the hot days of August (Temp.
32.0°C) and cold days of December (temp.
16.8°C). Therefore, during the present studies
temperature, within the observed range of 16.3°-
32.3°C did not affect the population density

of M. scutellaris.

Effect of pH: Devic (1954) believes

that pH is the most important chemical
factor affecting the abundance of living orga-
nisms in the water. During the present studies
pH of the water had a marked effect on the
occurrence of M. scutellaris. Alkalinity of the
water beyond pH 8.5 proved to be unsuitable
for the occurernce of this species. During the
period from February to June the water of

238

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Jamalpur pond was alkaline and the pH ranged
from 8.7 to 9.7 (Table 1), consequently the
number of M. scutellaris was greatly reduced
despite high percentage of organic matter.
During this period abundant green algae
appeared in the pond. The increase in pH
might be due to rise in carbonate alkalinity
resulting from photosynthetic activity of the
algae (Unni 1972). Higher level of pH causes
respiratory distress in the population of aquatic
animals (Erichsen 1964). The observations
confirm the earlier findings of Thornton and

Section of Entomology,

Dept, of Zoology,

Aligarh Muslim University,

Aligarh -202 001 (U. P. ) ,

December 18, 1980.

Wilhm (1974) who observed significantly lower
survival of Chironomas attenuatus i.e. 0 . 92 per
cent at a pH of 8 .2 while the survival was 5.94
and 5.98 per cent at pH 6.2 and 7.2 respec-
tively.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Professor Nawab H. Khan
for his keen interest and valuable guidance
and to Miss S. Pankajam for her help in pre-
paring the manuscript of this paper.

MUKHTAR AHMAD1
SUHELA AHMAD

References

Ahmad, M. and Khan, N. H. (1977) : Bionomics
of Micronecta scutellaris Stal. J. Bombay nat. Hist.
Soc. 74(3) : 453-458.

Allen, W. E. (1920) : A quantitative and statisti-
cal study of the plankton on the San Joaquin River
and its tributaries in and near Stockton, California,
in 1913. Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool., 22(1) : 1-292.

Ancona, L. (1933) : El Ahuotle de Texcoco. Ann.
Inst. Bio., 4: 51-69.

Butler, E. A. (1923) : Biology of the British
Hemiptera-Heteroptera H. F. and G. Witherby 326
High Holborn, W. C. London, pp. 557-602.

Byars, J. A. (1960) : A fresh water pond in New-
zealand. Aus. J. Mar. Freshw. Res., 2(2) : 227-240.

Devic, C. C. (1954) : A preliminary study of the
plankton of the Cleveland Hurbor area, Ohio, II.
The distribution and quantity of the phytoplankton.
Ecol. Monogr., 24: 321-347.

Erichsen, Jones (1964) : Fish and river pollu-
tion. Butterworth and Co. Ltd., London.

Hungerford, H. B. (1948) : The Corixidae of the

Western Hemisphere. Univ. Kansas. Sci. Bull., 32:
1-827.

Macan, T. T. (1938): Evolution of aquatic habi-
tats with special reference to Plankton in relation
to certain Hydrological conditions of River Ganga.
Proc. Nat. Sci., India, 36: 157-189.

Prasad, R. R. (1956) : Further studies on the
plankton of the inshore waters of Mandapam. Indian
Journ. Fish., 5(1) : 1-42.

Thornton, K. and Wilhm, Jerry (1974) : The
effects of pH, phenol, and sodium chloride on sur-
vival and calorie, lipid and nitrogen content of a
laboratory population of Chironomus attenuatus
(Walk.). Hydrobiologia 45(2): 261-280.

Unni, K. S, (1972) : An ecological study of the
macrophytic vegetation of Doodhadhari lake, Raipur,
M.P. Hydrobiologia 40 ( 1) : 25-36.

1 Present address: Research Officer (Entomology),
Forest Research Centre, (Govt, of India), Coimba-
tore-641 002 (T.N.), INDIA.

1 Present address: Research Officer (Entomology),
Forest Research Centre (Govt, of India), Coimba-
tore-641 002.

239

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

27. SYSTEMATICS OF UNDESCRIBED MALES OF SOME
THYSANOPTERA FROM INDIA

( With four text-figures )

The present paper includes detailed description of so far undescribed males of
Streothrips arorai (Bhatti), Ernothrips lobatus (Bhatti), Areothrips longisetis Anan.,
and Androthrips flavitibia Moulton.

1. Streothrips arorai (Bhatti)

(Figs. l-3c)

Aeolothrips arorai Bhatti, 1967, Thysanoptera
Nova Indica 4-5.

Streothrips arorai Bhatti, 1971, Oriental in-
sects 5(1 : 83-90.

Originally this species was described from
only one female. Males smaller than females.
The males agree with females in colour range
but prothorax, fore legs and middle femurs
yellow; distal two third of hind femurs, ex-
tremes of middle and hind tibiae, middle and
hind tarsi are greyish brown.

Head wider than long, 154-157 long1, 185-
198 across eyes, 205-210 across genae and 190-
195 at base. Antennal segments, length (width);
31-34 (33-34); 51 (28); 100-105 (25-26); 98-
100 (25-27); 72-75 (25-27); 11 (16); 9 (14);
8 (8); 8 (5). Segment II orange yellow. Sensory
areas on segment III 33-36 long and on IV
segment 47-49 long. Maxillary palpi; i, 42-45;
ii, 28-30; iii, 8-10 long.

Prothorax 154-155 long and 230-240 across
middle and 140-150 across base. Fore wing
700-750 long and 100-120 wide in the middle.
Hind wing 650-680 long and 80-100 wide in
middle. Middle tibiae 180-190 long and hind
tibiae 230-235 long.

Abdomen 120-130 at base, 220-230 across
middle and 80-90 across X tergite bears three
pairs of bristles, the inner pair of bristles

1 All measurements in microns unless otherwise
mentioned.

curved outwardly. Segments II to V bear two
pairs, VI to VII with three pairs and VIII with
four pairs of acessory setae. Phallus 112 long.

Total body length: 1 .40 mm -1.50 mm.

Material: 5 $ $ , 3 d d from flowers of
Cassia fistula and Pongamia glabra, Shasra-
dhara, Dehra Dun on 12.6.1978, 3 $ $,

2 d d from Aleurites sp. and a wild shrub,
Dehra Dun on 5.5.1979, Coll. Vijay Veer.

2. Ernothrips lobatus (Bhatti)

(Fig 4)

Thrips ( Ernothrips ) lobatus Bhatti, 1967,
Thysanoptera Nova Indica, 18 pp.

Ernothrips lobatus Bhatti. 1969. Oriental
Insects 3(4): 373-382.

The original description of this species is
only from one female.

The male differs from female, besides other
characters, in being smaller in size and colora-
tion. Body orangish-yellow. Antennal segments
IV to VII are brown. Forewings brownish be-
ing darker at middle.

Head 78-80 long, 112-117 across eyes, 120-
BO across genae, 126-133 across posterior
margin. Mouthcone 82 long. Eyes 50-56 long,
39-45 wide, 42 apart from each other. Antennal
segment: length (width): 18 (19); 28 (21);
33 (14-16); 28-30 (15); 26-28 (14); 35-39
(14); 14 (17).

Prothorax 106-108 long, 156-160 across
middle postangulars; outer 19-23, inner 31-34.
Pterothorax 106-208 long, 196-200 across meso-
thorax, 179-180 across metathorax. Fore wings

240

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Figs. l-3c. Streothrips arorai, $ : 1, head and prothorax; 2, terminal abdominal
segments, dorsal view; 3a, Antenna, dorsal view (microtrichia omitted); 3b, antennal
segment II, dorsal view, showing chaetotaxy; 3c, antennal segment II, ventral view.
Fig. 4. Ernothrips lobatus : 4, terminal abdominal segments of $, dorsal view.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

420-450 long, 31-33 across middle. Costa with
19-24 setae, upper vein with 4+3+2 setae, lower
vein with 9-10.

Abdomen 103-110 across base, 126-130 across
middle, 64-70 across X segment. Phallus 84-
92 long. Terga and sterna of XI-VIII with post-
marginal flange but that on sterna produced
into a fine comb.

Total body length: 80-90 mm.

Material: 10 2 2,6 c? cf from flowers of
Lantana camara Shasradhara, Dehra Dun, on

15.9.1978, 20 2 9 , 12 S <5 from flowers of

M allot us philippinensis, Dehra Dun on

15.10.1978, Coll. Vijay Veer.

3. Araeothrips longisefis Ananthakrishnan

Araeothrips longisetis Ananthakrishnan, 1976,
Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 83 B(5): 202-204
(Holotype 9 and paratypes 14 2 2 from

Kanha Reserve Forest, Madhya Pradesh, India,
20.1.1970).

This species has been described by Anantha-
krishnan (1976) on the basis of females.

Macropterous Male: General body colour
similar to females. Body brown except distal
one third of fore femora, all tibiae, all tarsi and
antennal segments 3-8 (except the tip of VIII
which is slightly darker), pale. Wings infumate,
base and scale more yellowish. All setae
greyish, blunt.

Head wider than long, 134 long, 140 across
eyes, 154 across genae, 148 at base. Eyes 56-58
long, 33-35 wide; median ocellus 9 wide. Paired
ocelli 11-12 wide and apart from each other
47. Mouth cone short, 61 long, broadly round-
ed, 126 wide at base and 50 wide at apex.
Maxillary stylets widely separate and refracted
into head about the level of the postoculars.

Postoculars 45-47, placed 103 apart from
each other. Antennal segments, length (width);
17 (31); 36-37 (22); 36 (17); 25-27 (19); 28
(20); 25 (19); 28 (14); 39-42 (9). Sense cones
on 3 and 4 10-14 long; Sense cone formula

31+0^ 41+0^ 51+1

Prothorax wider than long and shorter than
head, 92 long, 168 wide across anterior margin
and 184 across posterior margin. Anteroangu-
lars and anteromarginals weak 3-6 long; mid-
laterals 42-43, postangulars 76-80 and epi-
merals 48-50. Fore femora simple, 84-86 long,
44-46 wide, tarsi armed. Fore wings 450-460
long, 11-13 wide at middle with 3-4 double
fringes. Basal wing setae 5, 6-7, 14-16 long.
Pterothorax 196 long, 217-219 across meso-
thorax, 223-225 across metathorax.

Abdomen 145 across VIII, 100 across IX;
B^Bs of IX 87-89, 16-18, 84-86 long. Tube 75
long, 42, 45, 28 wide respectively at base, mid-
dle and apex; anal setae 110-115 long.

Total body length: 1.00 mm.

Material : 2 2 2 , 2 cf cf from leaves of wild
plant, Tapoban, Dehra Dun on 10.4.1979,
Coll. Vijay Veer.

4. Androthrips flavitibia Moulton

Androthrips flavitibia Moulton, 1933. Indian
Forest Records, XIX (1): 1-2 (Holotype 2
from New Forest, Dehra Dun, U.P.). Andro-
thrips flavitibia, Ananthakrishnan; 1964, Opusc
ent. Suppl. 25:31.

This species has been described from one
female by Moulton (1933).

Macropterous male. Smaller in size than
females. Colour range agree with that of female;
body dark brown except all tibiae, all tarsi
and III-VI antennal segments clear yellow;
fore femora yellowish brown in distal one
third; sometimes antennal segments VII also
brownish yellow in distal one third. Wings clear.

Head longer than wide, 115-204 long, 129-151
across paired ocelli, 143-145 across genae, and
120-145 across base. Eyes 45-48 wide, 67-75
long, 48-56 apart from each other. Median
ocellus 14 wide, 17 apart from paired ocelli;
30-31 wide and 28-29 apart from each other;
postoculars 53-70 long. Mouth cone 72-84 long

242

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

and 48-53 wide across tip. Antennal segments,
length (width); 14-16 (28-31); 31-38 (26);
50-59 (31); 60-62 (28-31); 42-53 (22-25); 39-
45 (19-22); 36-42 (14-17); 28-35 (8). Sense
cones 28-30 long.

Prothorax 120-140 long, 168-184 wide across
anterior margin, 234-260 across posterior mar-
gin. Anteroangulars 37-58, anteromarginals
minute, midlaterals 36-58, epimerals 53-77,
postangulars 50-75, Fore femora broad, 84-123
wide inclusive of tooth; width of fore tibia at
apex, inclusive of scale 36-44.

Pterothorax longitudinally reticulate, with a
minute pair of setae at middle, 22-25 long. Fore
wings 600-750 long with 5-7 double fringes;
basal wing bristles 42-56, 44-58 and 67-100 long
respectively, the first two little expanded, the
remaining one knobbed.

Department of Zoology,

D. A. V. (PG) College,

Dehra Dun-248 001,

August 6, 1980.

R E F E 1

Ananthakrishnan, T. N. (1964) : A contribution
to our knowledge of the Tubulifera (Thysanoptera)
from India. Opusc. ent. Suppl. 25: 1-170.

(1976) : Two new genera

and species of Tubuliferan thrips (Thysanoptera:
Insecta) from India. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 83 B (5) :
202-206.

Bhatti, J. S. (1967) : Thysanoptera nova indica.

Abdomen 92-98 wide across middle of IX
segment, bristles of IX segment 95-117,

20-31, and 126-154 long. Tube 117-140 long.
39-50 wide at middle; anal setae 110-182 long.

Total body length: 1.40-1.70 mm.

Material: 10 females and 5 males from galls
of M allot us philippinensis and Casearia tomen-
tosa on 18.5.1979 and 25.4.1979 respectively
from Raipur, Dehra Dun District, Coll. Vijay
Veer.

Acknowledgement

We are thankful to Prof. T. N. Anantha-
krishnan, Director, Zoological Survey of India
for help. Thanks are also due to Dr. S. K.
Sangal, Head of Zoology Department for pro-
viding laboratory facilities and encouragement.

S. K. KULSHRESTHA
VIJAY VEER

ENCES

24 pp. Privately Printed, New Delhi.

(1969) : Taxonomic studies in some

thripini (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Oriental Insects.
3(4): 372-382.

(1971): Studies on some Aeolothri-

pidae (Thysanoptera). Oriental Insects. 5(1): 83-90.

Moulton, D. (1933): New Thysanoptera from
India. Indian For. Rec. 79(1) : 1-6.

28. STUDIES ON KASHMIR HIMALAYAN UMBELLIFERAE III —

SOME NEW RECORDS

Umbelliferae (now Apiaceae) is cosmopoli-
tan in distribution with maximum diversity in
northern hemisphere particularly in Central
Asia and the Mediterranean region. The latter
for sufficient reasons is regarded as the primary

centre of umbellifer diversity (Mathias 1965).
Located as they are in mid-northern latitudes
in physical contiguity with the centre of origin,
Kashmir Himalayas too support a respectable
number of umbellifers (Hamal & Koul 1981)

243

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

which have been listed and/or described from
time to time by several explorers. Exploratory
trips undertaken to various parts of Jammu and
Kashmir state have brought to light four taxa
so far not known from this region. These are,
Hydrocotyle sibthorpoides Lam., Scaligeria
stewartianum (Nasir) Nasir, Torilis arvensis
(Hudson) Link, and T . stocksiana (Boiss)
Drude. While Hydrocotyle sibthorpoides re-
presents a new record for Jammu & Kashmir
state, the remaining three are new records for
India, and distribution notes of these species
form the text of the present communication.
Voucher specimens of all the four new records
have been deposited in the Herbarium of Bio-
sciences Department of the University of
Jammu Under No.’s. IAH, 103, 202, 203, 401,
182, 402, 90, 151, 78, & 74.

Hydrocotyle sibthorpoides Lam. Encyl. 3;

(1879): Nasir. FI. W. Pak. 20 (1972).

Plants herbaceous and glabrous; stem creep-
ing; abaxial leaf surface scarcely pubescent; in-
volucral bracts absent; flowers 3-9 per umbel,
subsessile, greenish-white in colour; fruit sub-
orbicular, compressed laterally, each mericarp
has five primary ridges of which dorsal and
intermediate are far more prominent than the
laterals; furrows wider in centre and narrowing
towards poles. Flowering time May-Septem-
ber.

Distribution : The species is widely distribut-
ed in tropical Asia, India, China, Japan and
Europe. In Kashmir Himalayas, it is abundant
on the grassy banks of water bodies, brooks
and channels. Place of present collection:
Nishat Garden, Srinagar (IAH, 103).
Scaligeria stewartianum (Nasir) Nasir FI. W.

Pak. 20 : 79 (1972).

Plants 15-60 cm tall, glabrous and branched;
root stock globose; radical leaves 2-3 pinnate,
segments filiform-linear, upper leaves sessile;
involucre absent; umbel rays 5-10; involucel of

3-5 minute, white margined bractlets; flowers
white; fruit ovoid, subdidymous, each meri-
carp has five obtuse and hispid primary ridges
that run from base to apex, commissural face
of mericarps grooved. Flowering time, April-
May.

Distribution : The species was first described
in 1963 by Nasir under the name Bunium
stewartianum from plants collected from
Kahuta Road near Rawalpindi in Pakistan. So
far the species is known only from northern
foot hills of that country. In Jammu and
Kashmir state, the species is distributed south
of Pir Panjal range, 600-1,200 metres above
sea level. Places of present collection : Poni
Parkh (IAH 202), Kangri (IAH 203) and Ram
Nagar (IAH 401).

Torilis arvensis (Hudson) Link; Enu. Hort.

Berol. Alt. 1 : 265 (1821) Tutin; FI. Europ.

(1968)

Plants 30-90 cm tall, erect; leaves 1-2 pin-
nate, segments lanceolate, coarsely toothed; in-
volucre mostly absent, rarely one; rays 4-6;
involucel of linear bractlets; flowers white; fruit
oval-oblong, compressed laterally, each meri-
carp bears five primary ridges and an equal
number of alternating, strongly developed
secondary ridges, the former bear two rows of
papillate hairs while the latter carries spines at
right angles to fruit surface; mature mericarps
4.0 x 2.0 mm, commissural face 0.25 mm
broad. Flowering time, February-April.

Distribution : The species is widely distribut-
ed in the Mediterranean region and Europe.
There is a solitary report of its occurrence in
Pakistan. In Kashmir Himalayas the species
abounds in the lower foot hills around Jammu
city. Restricted distribution in Kashmir Hima-
layas indicate that the species represents recent
introduction to this area. Places of present col-
lection; Bahu Fort, Jammu (IAH 82), Poni
Parkh (IAH 402).

244

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Torilis stocksiana (Boiss) Drude. In Engl. Das

Pflzn. (1898).

Plants 25-80 cm tall and hispid; leaves 1-2
pinnate, pinnae dissected,; ultimate segments
oblong-lanceolate; peduncles long, leaf opposed;
involucral bracts absent; umbels 2-6 rayed, rays
unequal, densely pubescent at base; involucel
of 5-7 linear bractlets; flowers white; fruit
oblong-elliptical, mericarps laterally compress-
ed with a narrow (0.5 mm broad) commissu-
ral face, each mericarp bears five primary
ridges that are clothed with a row of papillate
hairs, secondary ridges present in between the
primary ridges bear 2-3 rows of straight, hard
and glochidate spines; mericarp 5.0 x 1.5 mm

Dept, of Biosciences,

University of Jammu,

Jammu-180 001, India,

July 14, 1981.

in size. Flowering time, February-April.

Distribution : The species is so far known
only from Iran (Mediterranean region). In
Jammu and Kashmir state, it is distributed from
subtropical regions of Jammu (IAH, 90) and
Udhampur (IAH, 151) to outer hills of Rajouri
(IAH, 74) and Poonch (IAH, 78).

Ack nowledgements

We are thankful to Dr. S. L. Jury (Univer-
sity of Reading, Reading, U.K.) for help in
confirming identification of Torilis species.
Financial assistance received from CSIR, New
Delhi, is gratefully acknowledged.

I. A. HAMAL
A. K. KOUL

29. PHENOTYPES OF SANDAL {SANT ALUM ALBUM L.)

Introduction

Sant alum album L. exhibits plenty of varia-
tions and earlier workers attempted to cate-
gorise them into certain types. As early as
1874, Roxburgh found a variety of sandal
growing in Northern Circars which was quite
different from the normal sandal and described
it as a separate species Sant alum myrtifolium.
De Candolle (1856) believed it to be a variety
of Sant alum album L. Brandis however united
them into one species namely Santalum album
L. and this was followed by Hooker (1890)
in his Flora of British India. Lushington (1900)
believed them to be two distinct species.
Badami and Venkata Rao (1930) studied the

variations found in the Santalum album L. and
explored the possibilities of distinguishing dif-
ferent types. Griffith (1937) described a pecu-
liar variety of sandal occurring in the Noganur
R.F. of the present Hosur Division (Tamil
Nadu). It had all the outward characteristics
of spiked sandal but otherwise remaining
healthy and bearing flowers and fruits.

With this back ground, investigations were
carried out in this centre to find out the occur-
rence of distinct phenotypes in the natural
populations. Though, based on various morpho-
logical characters, a number of phenotypes
could be recognised. So far this centre has
been able to distinguish three definite pheno-
typic populations and they are described below.

245

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Description of phenotypes

1. Thindlu type of sandal :

This type is characterised by small diameter
class trees around 4 to 8 cm dbh with a dark
brown bark which comes out in irregular flakes.
The most distinguishable character is that the
sap wood thickness is very narrow 2 mm to 10
mm. The heartwood is dark brown in colour
with distinct annual rings. It appears to be
slow grown as the trees with 8 cm dia. show
around 25 to 30 annual rings. To conserve this
gene resource protection measures have been
undertaken.

Occurrence : This type was first found in the
Thindlu reserve in Hoskote range of Banga-
lore Division, Karnataka state and hence the
name. In this place, besides this type, other
types of sandal also occur in small percentage.
It also occurs in other nearby reserves of
Hoskote Range, in Vakkaleri reserve of Kolar
Division, Ammanakatte forest of Hassan Divi-
sion of Karnataka state and Valliyur R. F.
of Kallakad wild life Division of Tamil Nadu.

2. Chickballapur type of sandal :

This type is characterised by the presence
of small bluish green leaves with sparse crown.
This tree resembles more or less a spiked plant
and probably may correspond to the Noganur
type of sandal described by Griffith (1937).
Unlike Thindlu type the sapwood thickness is

Sandal Research Centre,

Bangalore-560 003,

April 21, 1981.

Refer

B adam i, V. K. and Venkata Rao, M. G. (1930) :

A preliminary note on varieties of Santalum album
L. in Mysore. Mysore Sandal spike investigation
committee, Bull. No. 1.

De Candolle, A. (1856) : Prodromus systematic
naturalis regni. vegetabilis. parisiis., S. V. Masson,
682-686.

Griffith, A. L. (1937) : Santalum album L. special

not narrow.

Occurrence : It occurs in Kamasettyhalli re-
serve, Chickballapur Range of Kolar Division
and in some reserves of Shimoga Division,
Karnataka State.

3 . Robust type of sandal :

These populations usually have a compact
crown with lush green foliage. The stem is
usually straight and cylindrical with rust brown
smooth bark having very thick sapwood
(around 5 cm). This appears to be fast grow-
ing as compared to all other types as seen in
even aged plantations.

Occurrence : This occurs as individual trees
or in groups in most of the sandal bearing
areas and can be readily recognised by the
above characters. In the Srinivasapura S. F. of
Kolar Division this is the most predominant
type.

Besides looking for other distinct types, in-
tensive studies on the above three types are
being done. The studies include morphological,
cytological and biological investigations which
are likely to establish the correct taxonomical
identity. In addition to establishing the taxo-
nomical identity of these phenotypes studies
on their performances in different eco-climatic
regions are also underway to evaluate their
usefulness in the genetic improvement of
sandal.

R. A. SRIMATHI
H. D. KULKARNI
K. R. VENKATESAN

EN CES

variety. Letter to the Forest Botanist, F.R.I. & Col-
leges, Dehra Dun. Letter No. 1356/37.

Hooker, J. D. (1890): Flora of British India. L.
Reeve & Co., Ashford Kent. 5: 231.

Lushington, P. M. (1900) : Notes on the sandal
tree in Southern India. Mysore Sandal spike investi-
gation committee, Bull. No. 1.

246

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

30. OCCURRENCE OF ELEOCHARIS GENICULATA (LINN.) ROEM
& SCHULT. (CYPERACEAE) IN UTTAR PRADESH
(With four text-figures )

Figs. 1-4. Eleocharis geniculata (Linn.) Roem. & Schult. 1. Habit; 2. Spikelet; 3. Glume; 4. Nut.

247

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

In the course of identification of the Cypera-
ceae collections made from Azamgarh district
of Uttar Pradesh, the author identified a col-
lection as Eleocharis geniculata (Linn.) Roem.
& Schult. which on scrutiny of the literature
has turned out as new to the state of Uttar
Pradesh (cf. Duthie 1903-1929, Rau 1968,
Raizada 1976, Babu 1977). E. geniculata is
earlier recorded from Assam, Bihar, Bengal,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and South India.
In view of absence of any detailed illustration
of the species so far, it is considered desirable
to give illustration with diagnostic features of
the spikelets to facilitate easy identification.

Eleocharis geniculata (Linn.) Roem. &
Schult. Syst. Veg. 2: 150. 1817. Scirpus geni -

culatus Linn. Sp. PI. 48. 1753. E. capitata R.
Br. Prodr. 225. 1810; Clarke in Hook. f. FI.
Brit. Ind. 6:627. 1893.

Annuals, up to 40 cm high, stems tufted;
spikelets broadly ovate, brownish, 4-8 x 3-3.5
mm; glumes broadly elliptic, scarcely keeled;
bristles ferrugineous, as long as the nut. Nut
smooth.

FIs. & Frts. : Jan. -Mar.

Specimen examined : Uttar Pradesh — Azam-
garh: Ahiraula 27.11.76. Veena Chandra 5769
(Herb. Gorakhpur Univ.).

Acknowledgements

I am thankful to Prof. S. N. Dixit and Dr
S. K. Singh of the Gorakhpur University for
helpful suggestions.

Botanical Survey of India, VEENA CHANDRA1

Central Circle, Allahabad-211 002,

May 8, 1981.

References

Babu, C. R. (1977) : Herbaceous Flora of Dehra
Dun. Dehra Dun.

Duthie, J. F. (1903-1929): Flora of the upper
Gangetic plains and of the adjacent Siwalik and
sub-Himalayan tracts, (repr. ed. 1960, Calcutta).

Raizada, M. B. (1976): Supplement to Duthie’s
Flora of the upper Gangetic plains and of the

adjacent Siwalik and sub-Himalayan tracts. Dehra
Dun.

Rau, M. A. (1968) : Flora of the upper Gangetic
plains and of the adjacent siwalik and sub-Himalayan
tracts. Checklist. Suppl. no. 2. Bull. Bot. Surv. India.
vol. 10.

1 Present address : Research Associate, Eastern

Circle, Botanical Survey of India, Shillong-793 003,
Meghalaya.

31. ON THE OCCURRENCE OF OLE AN DR A NER11FORMIS
CAVANILLES IN INDIA

Controversy over the reported occurrence of Oleandra neriiformis Cavanilles is discussed
in this paper and it is established that this taxon does not exist in India at all.
Instead another taxon Oleandra pistil laris (Sw.) C. Chr. exists in India.

The taxon Oleandra neriiformis was describ-
ed by Cavanilles (1799) from Mauben, Luzon,
Philippines. Later on, most of Indian pterido-
gists particularly Beddome, Clarke, recently
Mehra et Bir, Panigrahi, Ito considered the

Indian taxon as conspecific with this taxon.
Christensen (1934, 1937) raised a doubt about
the occurrence of this taxon in Malaysia
and he clearly established that Oleandra pistil-
laris (Sw.) C. Chr. existed in Malaysia, and

248

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

caused doubts about the identity of Indian
material.

During the study on the genus Oleandra Cav.
in India this problem was taken up. Study of
the original circumscription of Oleandra nerii-
formis Cav. and Oleandra pistillaris (Sw.) C.
Chr. and the examination of authentic material
housed in CAL herbarium, reveal that the
Indian taxon is also Oleandra pistillaris (Sw.)
C. Chr. which was first described from a speci-
men collected by Thunberg from Java by
Swartz under Aspidium.

Detailed description of Oleandra pistillaris
(Sw.) C. Chr. and a key to differentiate it from
Oleandra neriiformis Cav. is. provided in this
paper.

Key to the taxa

Fronds large, dimorphous, margin of old rhizome
scale profusely hairy, apex of the scale acuminate,
Phyllopodia 1-2 mm long. Lamina membranaceous,
hairy on both surface Oleandra neriiformis Cav.

Fronds shorter, sub dimorphous, margin of old
rhizome scale sparsely hairy, apex of scale acute,
Phyllopodia 2-4 mm long, Lamina coriaceous, gla-
brous on both surface

Oleandra pistillaris (Sw.) C. Chr.

Oleandra pistillaris (Sw.) C. Chr., Ind. Fil.
Suppl. Ill: 132, 1934; Dansk. Bot. Ark. 9: 17,
1937; Holttum, Fern. Malay 2: 386, 1954; Ito
in Hara’s FI. East. Himal. 3: 179, 1975.

Basinym : Aspidium pistillare Sw. Schrad
Journ. 1800/2: 30: 1801.

Synonyms'. Oleandra neriiformis Bedd., Fern.
South India 32, 1863; Fern. Brit. India t. 264,
1868; Hand book with suppl. 285, 1892; Clarke
Fern. North India 541, 1880; Panigrahi, Bull,
bot. Surv. India 2 (3 & 4): 313, 1960; Mehra
et Bir, Res. Bull, (n.s.) Punjab Univ. 15: 21,
1964. Ito in Hara’s FI. East Himal. 2: 208,
1971.

Epiphyte or terrestrial, rhizome stiff, cylin-
drical, 4-7 mm thick, erect or suberect, scan-

dent, branched, rooting copiously, densely
covered with imbricate, adpressed scales,
scale peltifixed with the stem leaving
a groove on the rhizome surface, dark brown,
lanceolate, 4-6 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide at
basal portion, scale margin sparsely hairy, ante-
rior part of scale gradually narrowed into acute
apex. Fronds are in whorl, subdimorphous,
each whorl is separated by 3-8 cm; Phyllopodia
2-4 mm long; stipe articulated to phyllopodium,
2 mm to 2 cm long, brown, dorsally grooved,
rounded; Lamina simple, entire, linear-lanceo-
late, gradually narrowed at both ends, apex
cardato-acuminate. Midrib scaly when young,
raised on abaxial surface, grooved in adaxial
side. Texture-coriaceous, glabrous on both
surface veins free, twice or thrice forked,
straight, parallel; on the margin of upper sur-
face of lamina there are hydathodes which are
arranged in a row and situated at vein endings.
Sori solitary, indusiate, situated on the lateral
veins forming a single row on either side of
the midrib. Induisium reniform, persistent,
opening away from the midrib, margin of in-
dusium entire. Spores monolete with distinct
circumvoluted perine and with echinate exine.
Specimens examined :

Nepal: Overhanging in form of big creeper
on a rock, Sundarizal, ± 1400 m, July 23, 1950,
B. D. Bande 245 (DD-124584); Mechiriver,
June 23, 1934, 5. /. 5. n. (BSI-5478).

India: Assam: Mowphlong, June 17, 1956,
G. K. Deka 2791 (assam-5617); Pynkrsla, K.
Biswas 4097 (CAL). Meghalaya: Jorrain Road,
Jowai, July 24, 1957, G. K. Deka 10165 (assam-
5620); Jawain Road, ± 1450 m, Khasia &
Jayantea hills, N. P. Balakrishna 49879
(ASSAM); Peak forest, Aug. 8, 1937, N. L.
Bor 15481 (ASSAM-3655); Serrarin, Khasia
and Jayantea hills. May 2, 1941; D. K. Deka
20711 (Assam-36552); Cherapunji, June 6,

249

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

1961, H. Deka 24537 (CAL-6035); Jayantea
hills, 1000 m, Aug. 1889, 5. /. s. n. (CAL-
19839); 49 miles from Jowai, May 31, 1965,
N. P. Balakrishnan 42298 (CAL-6406); Khasia,
Hooker et Thomson s. n. (CAL-19841);
Khasia, s. /. s. n. (CAL). Sikkim: Sonada, ±
1600 m, Jan. 24, 1909, R. E. Cooper 694
(CAL); Rinchingpong to Gassing, ± 1500 m,
T. Anderson 1449 (CAL-19843); Sikkim, ±
2100 m, /. D. Hooker s. n. (CAL-19849).

West Bengal: Karseong, dz 1200, July 1974,
k S. Gamble s. n. (DD); Rongting, March 14,
1938, K. Biswas 4813 (CAL); Karseong —
Way to Dow hill, Darjeeling, Oct. 3, 1974, R.
D. Dixit 53123 (CAL-4159); Karseong, ±
1200 m, July 1874, Gamble 5609A (CAL).
Karseong, 1200 m, July 30, 1879, H. C. Levinge
s. n. (CAL); Kalimpong, June 1958 , S. Nakao

Botanical Survey of India,

Howrah -7 11 103,

July 2, 1981.

5. n. (CAL); Meghma R. D. Dixit 52993
(CAL-4848).

Bhutan: Kamgi, ± 1200 m. Sept. 16, 1965,
G. Sengupta 2120 (CAL).

Distribution : India — Eastern Himalayas,
Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia- Java.

South Indian locality of this taxon referred
by Beddome is an error.

Oleandra meniformis Cavanilles An. Hist.
1(2): 115, 1799.

Specimen examined : Luzon, (Type locality)
Mouben, Phillippense, Cuming 94 (CAL)
(authentic material cited by J. D. Hooker).

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Dr. J. N. Vohra, Re-
gional Botanist (Cryptogams), Cryptogamic
Section, Hqrs, BSI for his encouragement.

S. R. GHOSH

32. PALIURUS MILL. (RHAMNACEAE) — A GENUS NEW TO

INDIA

( With three text-figures)

While working on the taxonomy of the
family Rhamnaceae in the Central National
herbarium. Botanical Survey of India, Howrah,
(CAL), I came across an interesting herbarium
sheet, collected from Kainshli, Chamba district
(Himachal Pradesh) in the N. W. Himalayan
region by J. H. Lace. The plant specimen appa-
rently looks like Zizyphus sp. but on careful
checking can be easily identified as Paliurus
sp. in having the following differences :

The taxon is studied and compared with
gatherings from the different regions like West-
ern Asia, Europe and U.S.S.R., in CAL and
properly identified with the help of literature
and microfisches of the available type speci-
mens.

Paliunis spina-chrisfi Mill., a straggling
shrub, is of great religious importance. It

Paliurus Zizyphus

1. Fruits dry, indehiscent surrounded by a circular 1. Fruits fleshy, wing absent (Fig. 3).

leathery wing. (Fig. 2).

2. Seeds flattened, erect, with a little albumen. 2. Seeds plano-convex, erect, albumen almost absent.

250

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

251

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

is commonly known as the Christ’s thorn as
it is believed to be the plant from which the
crown of thorn was made. It is generally dis-
tributed from South Europe to Japan, but was
not reported from India so far and hence is of
Phytogeographical interest.

The species is described below in detail with
a view to facilitate its easy identification.

Paliunis spina-christi Mill. Gard. Diet. ed.
viii. 1768; Post & Dinsmore, FI. Syria, Pale-
stine and Sinai 1:288. 1932; Hara & Williams,
Enum. FI. PI. Nepal 2:91. 1979. Rhamnus
paliurus L. Sp. PI. 194. 1753. P. aculeatus
Lamk. Tabl. Encycl. 1. t. 210. 1797; G. Don
Gen. Syst. 2: 23. 1832. (Fig. 1).

Shrubs; branches round with minute pubes-
cence on the younger parts. Spine of both types,
smaller hooked, larger straight. Leaves ovate to
elliptic-ovate, 2. 0-3. 5 x 1.3 -2. 5 cm, acute to
obtuse, entire to minutely serrulate, usually
oblique at base, prominently 3 -nerved, scarcely
pubescent along the nerves on both surfaces,
glabrous; petioles 0. 3-0.7 cm, grooved ciliate.
Flowers in cymes, umbellate, few; peduncle
0.4-0. 9 cm long, pedicels about 5 mm long
and about 1.0 cm in fruits. Calyx 5-cleft,

spreading, sepals glabrous, persistent; petals 5,
convolute. Stamens 5, protruding; anthers ovate,
2-celled. Disk flat, pentagonal. Ovary 3-celled,
half immersed in the disk; styles 2-3. Fruit dry,
indehiscent surrounded by a circular leathery
wing, 3-celled, 3 -seeded. Seeds flattened with a
little albumen.

Specimens Examined: India: Himachal Pra-
desh, Chamba, Kainshli, 7000 ft., 4.6.1896,
7. //. Lace 1404 (CAL).

Persia: Without any precise locality, Thanss
s.n. Acc. No. 87985 (CAL— Ex Herb. Kew);
Kurdistania, O. Stapf s. n. Acc. No. 87984
(CAL).

Syria: Tericho, 1863-64, B. T. Lowne s.n.
Acc. No. 87981 (CAL); Ad Jokat, Anatobiae,
H. F. Hance 4646 (CAL).

Switzerland: Pont Du Gard, Nimes, June
1891, 7. Roberts s. n. Acc. No. 87993 (CAL).

USSR: Tadjikistan, 24.6.1963, Seraliev s.n.
(CAL).

Acknowledgement

I am thankful to Shri G. G. Maity for his
valuable suggestions.

Central National Herbarium, B. SAFUI

Botanical Survey of India,

Howrah -7 11 103,

April 29, 1981.

33. OCCURRENCE OF ELAEOCARPUS GRAND1FOL1US KURZ

IN ASSAM

{With a text-figure)

During the course of identification of Elaeo-
carpus material collected from Arunachal Pra-
desh, I came across an obscurely determined
specimen of Elaeocarpus (fruiting) deposited
in Forest Research Institute Herbarium, Dehra

Dun. This was collected from Jeypore Range,
Lakhimpur, Assam in 1934. After critical study
of the literature, the specimen was identified
as Elaeocarpus grandifolius Kurz. The deter-
mination was later confirmed by the Central

252

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

253

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

National Herbarium, Howrah.

E. grandifolius was first described by Kurz
in Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng. 41(2): 294. 1872
from Burma. Though the species has not been
mentioned by Hooker f. in FI. Brit. Ind. 1874.
Brandis in Ind. Trees. 104. 1906 indicated the
possibility of Kurz’s specimen belonging to E.
rugosus Roxb., which is known from Assam.
However on the basis of critical diagnosis it
has been possible to establish that the two
species are distinct. This paper records the
occurrence of E. grandifolius from Lakhimpur
in Assam. As the description is not provided
in Hook. FI. Brit. Ind. 1874, a detailed des-
cription along with illustration is provided.

Elaeocarpus grandifolius Kurz in Journ.
Asiat. Soc. Beng. 41(2): 294. 1872 et For. FI.
Burma 1:165. 1877; Brandis Ind. Trees 104.
1906.

An evergreen tree, 9-15 m high, girth 1-1.5
m, young parts rusty tomentose; bark thin, grey.

Forest Research Institute,

New Forest,

Dehra Dun-248 006,

March 31, 1981.

minutely postulate. Leaves very large 30-46 cm
long c. 14 cm broad, obovate-oblong to obo-
vate, minutely and remotely serrate-toothed,
glabrous above, shortly puberulous beneath
along the nerves, base acute or acuminate,
cuneate; petiole thick, c. 5 cm long. Racemes
axillary shorter than leaf; pedicels 1.5-3 cm,
tomentose. Sepals c. 1.5 cm long, linear lan-
ceolate, rusty tomentosa. Petals somewhat
longer than sepals, appressed, rusty pubescent
outside, 2-cleft, the lobes jagged. Anthers c.
8 mm long, tipped by a long arista. Ovary
densely villous. Drupe oblong 3-5 cm in diam.
Pyrene one, boney, deeply lacunose- wrinkled,
somewhat compressed.

Specimen examined :

Jeypore Range, Lakhimpur (Assam), 26.6.
1934, R.O., Herb. Acc. No. 66530 (DD).

Distribution : Pegu Yomah and Martaban
down to Tennasserim in Burma.

H. B. NAITHANI

34. NEW AND INTERESTING PLANT RECORDS FROM
MAHARASHTRA

From the plant collections made during the
botanical explorations in Yavatmal District,
Maharashtra State, 12 plants were found to be
of interest, of which 10 were new records for
Maharashtra and 2 have been collected after a
lapse of a considerable period-about 4 to 14
(-) decades. They are enumerated below family-
wise. The families have been arranged aftr
Bentham & Hooker’s system of classification.
The herbarium specimens have been deposited

in the herbarium of Western Circle, Bota-
nical Survey of India, Pune (BSI). The collec-
tor’s name for all the specimens cited will be
S. Karthikeyan unless stated otherwise.

VlTACEAE

Ampelocissus tomentosa (Roth) Planch. J.
Vigne Am. 374. 1883. Vitis tomentosa Heyne
ex Roth, Nov. PL Sp. 157. 1821; Lawson in
Hook. f. FI. Brit. India 1: 650. 1875; Cooke,

254

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

FI. Press. Bombay 1: 252. 1902.

Cooke (l.c.) reported this species from
Dharwar, Belgaum and N. Kanara only. It is
reported for the first time from Maharashtra.

Field notes : A shrubby climber on Tectona
grandis L. f. Corolla pale-brown; filaments pale
red, anthers yellow; ovary and style red. Fruits
brown.

Specimens examined : yavatmal Dist. : Khan-
dala R.F., R. S. Rao 90970, 1-9-1963; Durg R.
F., 149293, 21-9-1978.

FI & FI. : Aug. -Sept.

Fabaceae

Flemingia nana Roxb. ex W. T. Aiton, Hort.
Kew. ed. 2, 4: 350. 1812; Cooke, l.c. 1: 391.
1902. F. congesta Roxb. var. nana Baker in
Hook. f. l.c. 2: 229. 1876 (as to the foregoing
citations, but not as described). Maughania
nana (Roxb. ex W. T. Aiton) Mukerjee, Bull,
bot. Soc. Bengal 6: 20. 1953 (‘ Moghania ).

Cooke (l.c.) reported this species from N.
Kanara only. He also commented that it was
a very rare plant in the Bombay Presidency.
It is reported here for the first time from
Maharashtra.

lllus. : Talbot, For. FI. Bombay Pres. & Sind
1: 419, fig. 237. 1909 (as F. nana); Ic. Rox-
burgh. Fasc. 6: 6, PI. 3. 1973 (as Moghania
nana).

Field notes: Herb, c. 0.25 m. high, in humus
soil, under shade of Tectona grandis L.f., on
banks of dried up nalas. Inflorescence red-
glandular. Calyx covered with red glands; stan-
dard petal brownish, wing petals brown with
red veins, keel petals mauve. Rather rare.

Specimens examined : yavatmal Dist. : Mor-
chandi Felling series, Bittergaon Range, 148538,
23-12-1976.

FI. & Fr. : Dec.-Feb.

Asteraceae

ChrysantheMism indicum DC. Prodr. 5: 631.
1836; Hook f. l.c. 3: 310. 1881.

This species has not been reported by Cooke
(1904) in “Flora of the Presidency of Bombay”.
Bedi & Thaker (1974) reported it from Guja-
rat. It is reported here for the first time from
Maharashtra.

Field notes: Small herb, in open, humus soil,
alongwith Kyllinga tenui folia Steud., Cassia
pumila Lamk., & Alysicarpus sp. Leaves pale
beneath. Heads yellow. Rare.

Specimens examined: yavatmal Dist.: Pen-
ganga Felling series, Kharbi Range, 160011,
5-8-1979.

FI. & Fr. : Aug. -Sept.

Lamiaceae

Orthosiphon rubicundus (D. Don) Benth. in
Wall., PI. As. Rar. 2: 14. 1831; Hook. f. l.c.
4: 614. 1885; Mukerjee, Rec. bot. Surv. India
14(1): 14(1): 25. 1940. Plectranthus rubicun-
dus D. Don, Prodr. FI. Nepal. 116. 1825
( Tlectranthes rubicunda) .

Cooke (1906) did not report it from the erst-
while Bombay Presidency. Mukerjee (l.c.) too
does not report it from this area. This is the
first record for the species in Maharashtra.

Field notes: Herb, in humus soil, as under-
growth in deciduous forest, along with Tylo-
phora fasciculata Ham., S cilia hyacinthina
(Roth) MacBride and Curcuma pseudomon-
tana Grah. Roots with fusiform tubers. Leaves
crowded at the base. Main veins of leaves,
raceme axis and sepals pale pinkish; corolla
white; filaments white, anthers dark brown;
style & stigma pale pink.

Specimens examined: yavatmal Dist. : Majra
Feeling series, Patan Bori Range, 160072, 8-8-

255

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

1979; East Gondwakadi R.F., 160187,

13-8-1979.

Euphorbiaceae

Bridelia montana Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 978.
1806; Hook f. l.c. 4: 269. 1887.

Cooke (1906) has not reported this species
from the erstwhile Bombay Presidency. Pre-
sent record of the species based on collections
from Yavatmal Disk, Maharashtra is therefore
an addition to Cooke’s flora.

Field notes : A stunted tree from crevices
of rocks on slopes. Fruits green, white speckled.

Specimen examined : Mahur R.F., on the
border of Yavatmal and Nanded districts,
148532, 22-12-1976.

Fr. : Dec.

Araceae

Amorphophallus sylvaticus (Roxb.) Kunth,
Enum. 3 : 34. 1841. Arum sylvaticum Roxb.
FI. Ind. 3: 511. 1832. Synantherias sylvatica
Schott, Gen. Aroid t. 28. 1858; Hook. f. l.c. 6:
518 1893; Cooke, l.c. 2: 829. 1908.

Cooke (l.c.) could not find any satisfactory
evidence of this as a Bombay plant and hence
he excluded it. Later, McCann (1941) collect-
ed it from Bhandup, Salsette Island, Bombay.
Afterwards it has not been collected from
Maharashtra. After a lapse of about 38 years,
it has been located in the north-eastern part
of Maharashtra, where it appears to be quite
common.

Ulus. : Wight, Ic. to 802. 1844.

Field notes : Herb, c. 0.75 m. high, in humus
soil, under the shade. Stem green with white
spots. Fruits green, ripening red. Common.

Specimens examined : yavatmal Dist. : East
Gondwakadi R.F., 156523, 22-9-1978; Pen-
ganga felling series, Kharbi Range, 160019,
5-8-1979; Morchandi Felling series, Bittergaon

Range, 160035, 6-8-1979; Majra Felling series,
Patan Bori Range, 160075, 8-8-1979.

FI & Fr. : Aug. -Sept.

Tiieriophonum minulum (Willd.) Engl.
Pflanzenr. IV, 23F: 105. fig. 15A-F. 1920.

Arum minutum Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 484. 1805;
Graham, Cat. Bombay PI. 228. 1839.

Cooke (1908) did not report this species
from erstwhile Bombay Presidency, though
Graham (l.c.) listed it from S. Concan based
on the authority of Nimmo. Since then, no col-
lections have been made for the past 14 de-
cades from Maharashtra including Concan.
Presently, it is being reported from Yavatmal
where it is quite abundant.

Field notes : Tuberous herb, under shade of
teak plantations in humus soil, alongwith
Neanotis lancifolia (Hook, f.) W. H. Lewis,
Justicia diffusa Willd., Sporobolus diander
(Retz.) P. Beauv. and Curcuma pseudomon-
tana Grah. Spathe green. Female flowers at the
base in a single row, green, stigma white;
neuter florets above the female, dark brown;
male flowers above the neuters, reddish-brown;
above male flowers neuter florets present;
appendage brown. Berries green.

Specimens examined : yavatmal Dist.: Durg
R.F., 149300, 9-9-1978; Morchandi Felling
Series, Bittergaon Range, 160039, 6-8-1979;
Hiwri R.F., 160170, 8-8-1979.

FI. & Fr. : Aug. -Sept.

Cyperaceae

Fimbristylis sieberiana Kunth, Enum. 2: 237.
1837; Kern in van Steenis, FI. Males, ser. 1,
7(3): 572. 1974; Shah & Suryanarayana, J.
Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 66: 414. 1969.

Cooke (1908) has not reported this species
from former Bombay Presidency. It has been
reported by Shah & Suryanarayana (l.c.) from
Gujarat. This is reported here for the first time

256

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

from Maharashtra.

Field notes : Herb, c. 0.75 m high in marshy
soil, on banks of nalas. Glumes rusty-brown;
anthers cream or brown; styles green with
brownish tinge. Abundant.

Specimens examined : yavatmal Dist. : Wani-
Mukutban road, 148420, 14-12-1976; Durg
camp, 156506, 21-9-1978.

FI & Fr. : Sept.-Dee.

Schoenoplectus litoralis (Schrad.) Palla, Verh.
K. K. Zool. — Bot. Ges. Wien 38, Sitzb.: 49.
1888 (‘littoralis’). Scirpus litoralis Schrad. FI.
Germ. 1: 142, t. 5, fig. 7. 1806; Clarke in
Hook. f. l.c. 6: 659. 1893; Cooke, l.c. 2: 894.
1908; Kern, l.c. 510.

Cooke (l.c.) reported this species from Sind
and Gujarat only. Presently this has been col-
lected in Maharashtra and hence reported here.

Ulus. : Mahesh. Ulus. FI. Delhi fig. 227. 1966.

Field notes : Herb, c. 2 m high, in marshy
soil, on the banks of river. Culm cylindrical.
Glumes brownish-red with scarious margins;
filaments white, anthers yellow; styles white.
Abundant.

Specimens examined : yavatmal Dist.: Pen-
ganga river, Kharbi, 149044, 13-2-1977.

FI 8z Fr. : Jan.-March.

Sderia parnila Steud. Syn. 2: 174. 1885;
Napper in Hepper, FI. W. Trop. Afr. ed. 2, 3
(pt. 2): 343. 1972; Kern, l.c. 746.

S. tessellata (non Willd.) Boeck, Linnaea
38: 470. 1874, p.p.; Clarke in Hook. f. l.c. 6:
686. 1894, p.p.\ Cooke l.c. 2: 903. 1908, p.p.

S. tessellata sensu Clarke (l.c.) from India
is a mixture of three species viz. S. mikawana
Makino, S. parvula Steud. and S. tessellata
Willd. So far, S. parvula Steud. has not been
reported from Maharashtra and is reported
here for the first time.

A key to differentiate S. tessellata Willd. from S.
parvula Steud. is given below:

Lateral panicles erect; peduncles rigid,

usually short; achene cylindric to ellip-

soid-cylindric, 1.5-2 mm diam., glabrous,
obscurely or distinctly striate-lacunose,
the lacunae vertically elongated. S. tessellata

Lateral panicles pendulous; peduncles
long and flexuous; achene obovoid-
globose to oblong-ellipsoid, 1.5-2. 2 mm
diam., deeply and squarely lacunose,
usually hairy on the walls S. parvula

Field notes: Herb, c. 0.75 m high, in marshy
soil, on edges of streams. Blades sharp. Glumes
green. Nuts green, ripening white. Common.

Specimens examined: yavatmal Dist.:

Jodhmoha grass farm, 156532, 22-9-1978;
Pandharkawda-Bhiwkund road, 3 km. point,
156581, 24-9-1978.

FI. & Fr. : Aug. -Sept.

POACEAE

Brachiaria remota (Retz.) Haines, Bot. Bihar
& Orissa 1005. 1924; Bor, Grass. India, Burma
& Ceylon 285. 1960. Panicum remotum Retz.
Obs. Bot. 4: 17. 1786; Hook. f. l.c. 7: 38. 1896.

So far, this species has been found to occur
only in Orissa and Tamil Nadu (Bor l.c.).
Hence it is an addition to the Flora of Maha-
rashtra.

Field notes: Herb, in humus soil, as forest
undergrowth. Glumes green.

Specimens examined : yavatmal Dist. : Majra
felling series, Patan Bori Range, 160079
8-8-1979.

FI. & Fr. : Aug. -Nov.

Themeda laxa (Anderss.) A. Camus in Bull.
Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 26: 423. 1920; Bor,
Grass. India, Burma & Ceylon 251. 1960.
Anthistiria laxa Anderss. in Nov. Act. Sci.
Upsal. ser. 3, 2: 243. 1856; Hook. f. l.c. 7:
1896.

This species has been previously recorded
from Madhya Pradesh (Bor, l.c.) only. This
is an additional species for the flora of Maha-
rashtra.

257

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Field notes : Herb, c. 1.75 m high, in culti-
vated fields, in open situations. Spikelets green.

Specimens examined : yavatmal Dist. :

Y avatmal- Y elabara road, 156529, 22-9-1978.
FI & Fr. : Aug. -Oct.

Botanical Survey of India,

Western Circle,

Pune 411 001,

January 21, 1981.

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the Director, Botanical
Survey of India for facilities and to Dr. B. D.
Sharma, Deputy Director, Botanical Survey of
India, Western Circle, Poona for encourage-
ment.

S. KARTHIKEYAN
ANAND KUMAR

Referen ces

Bedi, S. J. & Thaker, D. N. (1974): The occur-
rence of Chrysanthellum indicum DC. in Gujarat
State. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 70: 590.

Cooke, T. (1901-1908) : The Flora of the Presi-
dency of Bombay. London.

McCann, C. (1941) : Occurrence of Synantherias

sylvatica Schott in the Bombay Presidency, and notes
on some other Araceae of interest. /. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 42: 496.

Shah, G. L. & Suryanarayana, B. (1969) : New
plant records for Bombay, collected from Dangs
forest, Gujarat, ibid. 66: 414.

35. NOTES ON VIOLA PILOSA BL. (VIOLACEAE)

The plant, commonly known as V. serpens
Wall, in the Indian Floras is V. pilosa Bl.
Although Hook. f. et Thoms, in FI. Brit. Ind.
(1872) quoted V. pilosa Bl. Bijr. (1825) in the
synonymy of V. serpens Wall. (1824), the
diagnostic characters of V. pilosa were first
published by Blume in his Cat. Grew. Buitenz.
(1823). So the valid name of V. serpens Wall,
ex Ging. is V. pilosa Bl.

V. pilosa is a very variable species and is
common throughout the hilly regions of India.
Larger forms grow in shady humid places and
smaller forms in rock-crevices. V. serpens ssp.
serpens var. deltoidea W. Beck. (TYPE:
Shillong, C. B. Clarke 43494 in CAL!) and
V. serpens ssp. garhwalensis W. Beck. (TYPE:
Tihri-Gurhwal, Duthie 1178, CAL-lecto !) are
considered here synonymous with V. pilosa
being smaller forms of the same species. The

synonyms and citations of this species are
given below:

V. pilosa Bl. Cat. Grew. Buitenz. 57. 1823 et
in Bijdr. 57. 1825; Jacobs et D.M. Moore
in FI. Males. 7: 207. 1971, [— excl. syn. V.
glaucescens Oud.]; Hara in Bull Univ. Mus.
Univ. Tokyo 8:83. 1975 — Type: Java,

Blume s.n. L-holo, Photo. V. serpens Wall,
ex Ging. in DC. Prodr. 1: 296. 1824; Royle,
111. Bot. Himal 74. t. 18. f 1. 1834; Hook,
f. et Thoms., FI. Brit. Ind. 1: 184. 1872. V.
serpens ssp. garhwalensis W. Beck, in Beih.
Bot. Centralbl. Abt. 2., 34: 255. 1916, syn.
nov. V. serpens ssp. serpens var. deltoidea
W. Beck. l.c. 40: 105. 1923, syn. nov. FIs. :
March to May; Frts. : May to July, often
extending throughout the year.

Distribution: Throughout India; Afghanis-
tan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Ban-

258

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

gladesh, Burma, China, Indo-China (Thailand), Malaysia to Malesian Islands (Java).

Central National Herbarium, S. P. BANERJEE

Botanical Survey of India, B. B. PRAMANIK

Howrah -7 11 103,

June 19, 1981.

36. SOME NOTEWORTHY PLANTS FROM KOLABA DISTRICT
(MAHARASHTRA STATE)

During floristic studies of Kolaba district
(Maharashtra State) 5 plants namely Ficus
callosa Willd. (Moraceae), Flemingia gracilis
(Mukherjee) Ali (Fabaceae), Gymnema khan-
dalense Sant. (Asclepiadaceae), Hygrorhiza aris-
tata (Retz.) Nees ex W. & A. (Poaceae) &
Oldenlandia biflora L. (Rubiaceae) are found
to be noteworthy and hence it was thought
desirable to put these plants in record as it
will help in their location. All the specimens
cited are deposited in the herbarium of the
Botanical Survey of India, Western Circle,
Pune ( BSI ) under the senior author’s name.

Ficus callosa Willd. Mem. Acad. Roy. Sci.
Hist. (Berlin) 102. 1798; Gamble, FI. Pres.
Madras 8: 1364. 1928. ‘Ghurud — Marathi’.

Cooke (1901-1908) has not reported this
species while Gamble (l.c.) states that it is not
uncommon in W. Ghats. A solitary tree was
observed in the district, which, however, was
marked for cutting by the Maharashtra State
Forest Department. Hence the present record
from Kolaba district becomes the northern-
most limit of its occurrence in Western Ghats.

A huge tree with giant buttressed roots.

FI & Fr. : February-March.

Locality : Masadi Forest (Roha) 156470.

Flemingia gracilis (Mukherjee) Ali in Biolo-
gia 12: 78. 1966. Moghania gracilis Mukherjee in
Bull. bot. Soe. Bengal 6(1) : 22-24. 1953; Reddi
in Bull. bot. Surv. India 11: 145. 1969.

Mukerjee (l.c.) described this species from
Khandala in Pune district based on Santapau’s
collections. Thereafter it was collected by Reddi
(l.c.) from the same district and therefore its
present record from the adjoining Kolaba dis-
trict is very interesting and worth putting on
record.

An extremely rare plant in Kolaba district
as it was observed only in one locality that too
on a steep cut slope of the rock.

FI. & Fr. : September-October.

Locality : Porcupine point, Matheran 147387.

Gymnema khandalanse Sant, in Kew Bull.
1948. 486. January 1949 et Rec. bot. Surv.
India 16(1): 52. ed. 3. 1967.

It is described as a new species from Khan-
dala by Santapau (l.c.) and nobody has report-
ed it thereafter. Hence its present record from
Kolaba district is the second report of its occur-
rence and thus establishes itself as a good
species confined to a limited area. However,
because of biotic interference in that particular
locality its very existence is threatened and
thus it is very much endangered.

A climber with straight or slightly curved
follicles. This plant was collected only once
and that too in fruit. However, flowering speci-
mens collected by Santapau are represented in
Blatter Herbarium, Bombay.

Fr. : March 1979.

Locality: Masadi Forest, Roha 156472.

259

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Ilygrorhiza aristata (Retz.) Nees ex W. & A.
in Edinb. New Phil. J. 15: 380. 1833; Cooke
in FI. Pres. Bombay 2: 1041. 1908. Pharus
aristata Retz. Obs. 5: 23. 1789.

Cooke (l.c.) has recorded this plant from
Chikli (Gujarat) only and Gamble (1915-36)
records from both the coasts down south. The
present report from the Kolaba district in
Maharashtra State thus bridges the gap in its
distribution.

An attractive aquatic grass with purplish,
handsome swollen leaf-sheaths and greenish-
yellow spikelets; worth introducing in gardens
in shallow ponds.

FI. & Fr. : December-March.

Botanical Survey of India,

Western Circle, Pune,

May 7, 1981.

Locality : Gavalwadi pond, Karjat 154503.

Oldenlandia biflora L. Sp. PI. 119. 1753;
Hooker in FI. Brit. India 3: 70. 1897.

Cooke (1901-08) has not recorded this
species from Maharashtra State. Gamble (l.c.)
also notes its infrequent occurrence on the W.
coast and it was also represented from Laksha-
dweep (Laccadives) in BSI. Therefore, its
present record from Maharashtra State is the
first one from the State.

A branched succulent herb with white
flowers. A rare plant growing on moist-moss
covered rocks near sea-shores.

FI & Fr.: September-October.

Locality : Murud 147855.

M. J. KOTHARI
SIRASALA MOORTHY

Referen ces

Cooke, T. (1901-1908): The Flora of the Presi- Flora of the Presidency of Madras. Parts 1-11. Lon-
dency of Bombay, Vol. 1 & 2, London. don.

Gamble, J. S. & Fischer, G. E. C. (1915-36):

37. THE GENUS DESCHAMPSIA IN N. W. HIMALAYA

Deschampsia belongs to the tribe Aveneae
of Poaceae. It has about 60 species distributed
mostly in temperate regions. In India the genus
is represented by two species D. caespitosa and
D. koelerioides. Both occur in the North West-
ern Himalayan region at an altitude of about
4000 m. The plants have golden brown or pur-
plish green shining spikelets and may prove
worthy of introduction in alpine gardens. A
third species D. flexuosa occurs in Nepal and
may be expected in India. [Santapau & Henry
(Dictionary 53, 1973) while dealing with the
genus mention the occurrence of three species
in India].

Type species — Deschampsia caespitosa (L.)

P. Beauv. = Air a caespitosa L.

Deschampsia P. Beauv., Ess. Agrost. 91. t.

18. f. 3.1812; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 7: 273.

1897; Bor Grasses Burm. Cey. Ind. & Pak.

435. 1960.

Perennials. Culms ascending, glabrous;
sheaths glabrous, striate. Leaves mostly basal,
glabrous, acute; ligule membranous. Inflores-
cence contracted or spreading panicle, shining.
Spikelets usually 2-flowered; rhachilla produc-
ed, pilose, breaking up above the glumes.
Glumes hyaline, equal or sub-equal, longer than
the lemmas. Lemmas broad, toothed or lobed,
awned on the back; callus hairy. Paleas shorter
than the lemma, 4 -toothed. Anthers 3. Styles
2. Lodicules 2.

260

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Key to species

1. Inflorescence much spreading D. caespitosa

la. Inflorescence contracted D. koelerioides

D. caespitosa (L.) P. Beauv., Ess. Agrost. 91.

160. 1812; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 7: 273.

1897; Bor, Grass. Burma, Cey., Ind. & Pak.

435. 1960; Stewart, FI. West Pakistan 136.

1972; Kachroo et al. FI. Ladakh 157. 1977.

Perennial grasses. Culms glabrous, curved at
the base; sheaths scarious margined. Leaves
linear ± 25 cm x 2 . 5 mm wide; ligule — 4 mm
long, toothed, Inflorescence a spreading pani-
cle, shining purplish; rachis distantly scabrid.
Spikelets pedicelled, usually 2-flowered; rachilla
produced, pilose. Lower glume dz 4 mm long,
ovate-elliptic. Upper glume — 5 mm long,
boat-shaped, broader than the lower glume.
Lemma ± 3.5 mm long, broad, toothed or
4-lobed awned; awn basal to median, nearly
equalling the lemma, hardly visible beyond the
glumes. Palea shorter than the lemma- 4-tooth-
ed. Anthers 3, ± 2 mm. long. Ovary brownish.
Ecological note:

Fairly common, on moist, sandy stream beds
mainly in drier W. Himalayan region, 2800-
4400 m.

Specimens examined : Himachal Pradesh —
Kinnaur; Between Chitral & Ranikanda, 3400
m., 29.9.1964, N.C. Nair 34393. (BSD), Kulu:
Manali 2800 m, 2.8.1941, Kirat Ram 15586
(DD). Lahul & Spiti: Rohtang Pass, 3950 m.,
N. L. Bor 11939 (DD); Thumla, 4200 m.
1.8.1972, U. C. Bhattacharyya 49210 (BSD).
Jammu & Kashmir-Ladakh : Chushul, 4329 m.
26.7.1931, W. Koelz 2447b (DD.) Uttar
Pradesh-Kumaon : . Ralam Valley, 3800 m.
23.8.1884. J. F. Duthie 3549 (DD), 3550
(CAL); Tehri : Kharga Ka gadh, 3950 m.

Botanical Survey of India,

Northern Circle,

Dehra Dun,

May 26, 1981.

1 Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of

8.8.1883, J. F. Duthie 268 (DD); Uttarkashi:
Nila Valley 3900 m. 16.8.1883, J. F. Duthie
290 (CAL).

D. koelerioides Regel in Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc.

41: 299. 1868; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 7: 273.

1897; Bor Grasses Burm., Cey., Ind. & Pak.

435. 1960; Stewart, FI. West Pakistan 136.

1972; Kachroo et al FI. Ladakh. 157. 1977

Rhizomatous. Culms glabrous. Leaves ± 6
mm x 3 mm., glabrous, acute; ligule ± 3 mm.
long. Inflorescence contracted, shining purplish
green; rachis distantly scabrous. Spikelets pedi-
celled, usually 2-flowered; rachilla produced,
long hairy. Lower glume do 3 mm. long, lan-
ceolate, acute. Upper glume do 4 mm. long,
ovate-elliptic, acute. Lemma — 3 mm long,
oblong, toothed or lobed, awned; awn basal to
median, not or slightly visible beyond the
glumes. Palea shorter than the lemma, 4-lobed,
Anthers 3, ± 1.2 mm long.

Except in the compact nature of the inflores-
cence, this species cannot be distinguished from
D. caespitosa. Population study of both the
species may prove these to be variant forms
of one species. Since locating this species is a
matter of chance, very intensive field observa-
tion and biosystematic study are necessary to
establish specific identity of D. koelerioides .
Ecological note :

On wet sand around boulders. Rare. Though
it has been stated to be common, the repre-
sentation of this species from the Indian region
is very poor in DD herbarium and at CAL.

Specimens examined : Jammu & Kashmir-
Ladakh: Gomburangzang, Kargiakh Cho, 4500
m, 24.7.1973, U. C. Bhattacharyya 52200
(BSD, CAL).

B. P. UNIYAL1
U. C. BHATTACHARYYA

India, Howrah.

261

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

38. ADDITIONS TO THE GRASSES OF BIFIAR, ORISSA &
WEST BENGAL

Jain et al. (1975) published a list of grasses
of Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. They did
not include some of the known species be-
cause of the non availability of representative
specimens. We have identified few such speci-
mens that can now be added to the list. The
specimens studied are mentioned below.

1. Calamagrostis pseudophragmites (Hall, f.)
Koeler var. pseudophragmites.

w. Bengal: Darjeeling, 1800-2100 m.,
Aug., 1957, K. C. Chowdhury 1 (CAL).

2. Dichant hium pallidum (Hook, f.) Stapf ex
Fisch.

orissa: Gunjam, Dec. 1949, W. Wight
3023 (CAL).

Botanical Survey of India,

Central National Herbarium,

Howrah-711 103,

August 12, 1981.

3. Festuca gigantea (L.) Vill.

w. Bengal: Darjeeling, Tiger hill, 2400
m.. 6.7.1956, D. Chatterjee’s collector 77
(CAL).

4. F. undata Stapf var. aristata Stapf

w. Bengal: Darjeeling, 3500 m., 27.6.1960,
A. B. Chowdhury 31 (CAL).

5. Paspalum longifolium Roxb.

w. Bengal: Malda, Sarul forest, 25.8.1966,
R. M. Dutta 489 (CAL).

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the Deputy Director,
Central National Herbarium for encourage-
ment.

B. P. UNIYAL
(MRS.) R. DUTTA

Reference

Jain, S. K., Banerjee, D. K. & Pal, D. C. (1975) :

Grasses of Bihar, Orissa & West Bengal. J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc. 72(3): 758-773.

39. A LITTLE KNOWN FERN FROM THE HIMALAYA —

ASPLENIUM NESII CHRIST, AND THE NOMENCLATURE
OF A. EX1GUUM BEDD. (ASPLENIACEAE)

(With a text-figure)

A description of the little known, Aspienium nesii Christ, hitherto unrecorded in the
Himalayan fern literature is provided. Its further detection in the various herbaria
(under A. varians or A. exiguum ) or from other localities in the Himalaya would
help in determining the geographical range of this Chinese fern. The real A. exiguum
Bedd. occurs in south India only. The Himalayan fern conventionally so known is
much different and should be given another name.

An Aspienium collected from Deoban (2,700 layas) was found to be distinct from all known
m) above Chakrata, Mussoorie hills (W. Hima- Himalayan species of this genus. Prof. T.

262

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Reichstein (Basel, Switzerland) confirmed the
identity of this fern as Asplenium nesii Christ.
It is unrecorded in Himalayan fern literature
and a detailed description of this species is
very much required and desirable as it seems
to be not much known to Indian pteridologists.

Asplenium nesii Christ
Rhizome short, erect to ascending, apex
clothed in black clatherate ovate-lanceolate
2. 5-3.0 mm long scales; fronds numerous, 2-12
(14) cm long x 1-2 (3) cm broad (at the widest),
grey-green; stipe short 2-6 cm, 2-10 times
shorter than the lamina, invariably black, at
least in the lower half, green upwards, a tuft
of scales (similar to those on rhizome apex)
at base, less dense becoming scattered narrower
hair-like and light-brown upwards running on
to half of rachis, 0.5-1 mm thick; lamina
coriaceous to subcoriaceous, lanceolate widest
a little above the middle, tapering to base, tip
incised on both sides to produce 3-5 blunt teeth
on each side directed upwards, bipinnatifid or
partly bipinnate in the lower part; pinnae 8-12
pairs, 0.5- 1.5 cm long, more or less linear,
bases cuneform, lower ones shortly stipitate
stalk 0.5-1 mm, upper ones becoming decur-
rent and sessile, lower pair of pinnae small,
often irregular, about 1 cm apart from the next
pair, becoming slightly closer higher up and
sometimes touching the next but not crowded,
larger pinnae (0.5) 0.8-12 (15) cm long x
0.3 -0.5 cm broad, deeply incised to form 2-4
irregular lobes on both sides, the larger lobes
often forked or cleft again forming obtuse teeth
that are directed towards the midrib; rhachis
green, lower portion scaly; veins obscure; in-
dusia whitish, entire, open up at maturity; sori
close to the costae, 5-7 (10) to a pinna; spores
bilateral, brown, perinate, perine large, (30)
34-42 (45) /x m long.

(Based on Ching and Reichstein (1980);
emended on basis of present specimens per-

Fig. 1. Asplenium nesii Christ from Deoban 2700 m,
Chakrata hills.

sonally examined).

Characteristic features : A small fragile fern
growing in the clefts and fissures of dry but
shaded rocks. Stipes many, tufted, blackish at
least in the lower portion, higher up and
rhachis green; lamina bipinnatifid, grey-green,
coriaceous to subcoriaceous, widest a little
above the middle, lower pinnae small and dis-
tinct. Fig. 1.

Extremely rare in the Deoban forest (2,700
m), Uttar Pradesh. Specimens have been depo-
sited at PAN (Chandigarh) and PUN
(Patiala).

263

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

A. nesii has been detected from previous
collections from only the following three Hima-
layan localities: —

(i) Uttar Pradesh, Kumaon; rocks in
Dhauli Valley, 3,000 m, J. F. Duthie,
6.8.1886 (DD).

(ii) Uttar Pradesh, Deoban, 2,700 m; R.
L. Flemming, 1.10.1951 (MICH) No.
1096.

(iii) Himachal Pradesh, Lahul, Shipting
Nulla, 3,300 m; Walter ICoelz, 2.8.1938
(MICH) — doubtful.

The above three herbarium specimens were
identified provisionally as A. nesii, by Ching
and Reichstein ( pers . comm.) although no. (i)
had been labelled as A. exiguum and no. (ii)
as A. varians. (Herbaria: DD = herbarium of
the F.R.I. Dehradun; MICH - The University
of Michigan, U.S.A.).

The present gatherings of A. nesii are the
first authentic record for this fern from the
Himalaya. It is quite probable and possible
that a re-examination of the specimens in vari-
ous herbaria all over the country, under A.
varians Wall, ex Hook. & Grev. A. exiguum
Bedd. and A. pseudofontanum Koss., Naturl.
System. Herb. Hortii Petr. 3: 121-124 (1922)
(earlier known as A. fontarum (L.) Bemh. in
which the lamina is more divided and pinnae
more numerous), may be successful in detect-
ing and adding to the number of Himalayan
localities for this primarily Chinese fern. The
geographical range of A. nesii could also thus
be determined.

A. nesii shares with A. varians the absence
of proliferating buds on lamina. But in A.
varians the lamina is herbaceous, primarily bi-
pinnate (1 -pinnate or tripinnatifid), bright-
green (not grey-green); lowest pinnae generally
only a shade smaller (or even longer) than the
second pair which is often the largest and only
the extreme basal 1-2 cm of stipe may be black.

Another Himalayan fern quite close to A ,
nesii is A. exiguum. Both have a similar frond
form (tapering at ends and broadest a little
above middle) and blackish stipes. A. exiguum,
however, differs in having: complete and even
lower part of rhachis blackish, vegetative pro-
liferating buds always present, lamina herba-
ceous, bright-green; prefers more humid situa-
tions compared to A. nesii.

Nomenclature of A. exiguum

It would be pertinent to point out here that
true A. exiguum Bedd. occurs only in south
India. The form described from various loca-
lities in the Himalaya (Mehra, 1939, from Mus-
soorie; Bir, 1962 from Simla; Verma & Khullar,
1980 from Nainital; Dhir, 1980 from N. W.
Himalaya, etc.) under this name is different.
Earlier, Hope (1901) had pointed out the dis-
tinctness of the Himalayan and south Indian
forms, but later workers unfortunately treated
these under a common name.

In the south Indian taxon, vegetative buds
are present only on an extended rhachis and
not on pinnae; many fronds of a plant are with
such buds. The Himalayan form has vegetative
buds on both, an extended rhachis (only on a
few fronds of a plant) and pinnae. Another
fern of this group, A. yunnanense Franchet,
also has vegetative buds on the apex, but the
rhachis is not extended (Reichstein, pers.
comm.). The Himalayan form is thus distinct
from the true south Indian, A. exiguum.

Acknowledgements

We owe a great debt of gratitude to Prof.
T. Reichstein (Basel, Switzerland) for identi-
fications, and for providing some very impor-
tant literature and useful suggestions without
which it may not have been possible to redis-

264

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Pi ate

Biswas & Ghosh: Onychium sp.

Onychium plumosum Ching Onychium tenuifrons Ching

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

cover this fern. We would also like to record
our thanks to Profs. S. C. Verma (Punjab,

Botany Department,

Punjab University,

Chandigarh- 160 014,

April 30, 1981.

Chandigarh) and S. S. Bir (Punjabi, Patiala)
for their encouragement.

S. P. KHULLAR
SHANTI S. SPIARMA
PARAMJIT SINGH

References

Bir, S. S. (1962): Observations on the Pterido-
phytic flora of Simla Hills (N. W. Himalayas). Bull.
Bot. surv. India 5: 151-161.

Ching, R. C. & Reichstein, T. (1980) : Asplenium
nesii Christ (Aspleniaceae, Pteridophyta) . Studies in
Asplenium for flora Iranica, Candollea (pers. comm.).

Dhir, K. K. (1980): Ferns of North Western
Himalayas. Bibliotheca Pteridologica, J. Cramer,

Vaduz 1 : 1-158.

Hope, C. W. (1901): The ferns of N. W. India.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 13: 657-671.

Mehra, P. N. (1939) : Ferns of Mussoorie. Punjab
Univ. Publ., Lahore .

Verma, S. C. & Khullar, S. P. (1980): Ferns of
Nainital (Western Himalayas) : An updated list.
Fern. Gaz. 12: 83-92.

40. ONYCHIUM PLUMOSUM CHING, O. TENUIFRONS CHING —
TWO NEW RECORDS OF FERN FOR INDIA

( With a plate and four text-figures)

During the scrutiny and examination of
Onychium specimens housed in (CAL) the
herbarium of Botanical Survey of India, How-
rah, we came across a few specimens collected
by Gammie and Rao from Lachen valley,
Sikkim; and Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh
which after careful study turned out to be
Onychium plumosum Ching and O. tenuifrons
Ching. These two taxa were previously des-
cribed and reported from Yunnan, China by
Ching. Our study shows that these two taxa
occur also in India. O. plumosum is closely
allied to O. contiguum. A key to distinguish it
from O. contiguum and detailed description of
the two taxa based on Indian material is pro-
vided in this paper. The genus Onychium is
represented in India by five species and one
variety.

Key to the taxa

Frond compact, lamina 20-35 x 11-25 cm, sterile
pinnae finely dissected, ultimate segment small, colour
pale when dry, mature sori thick, 2-5 mm long ....

O. contiguum

Frond lax, lamina 50-60 x 20-30 cm, sterile pinnae
coarsely dissected, ultimate segments large, colour
green when dry, mature sori thin, 3-6 mm long ....
O. plumosum

Onychium plumosum Ching, Lingnan Sci. Jour.
13(3): 499. 1934. Onychium japonicum var.
parvisorum R. Bona parte. Notes Pterid. 14.
1923; Kummerle, Amer. Fern. Jour. 20: 137.
1930.

Lamina large 50-60 x 20-30 cm, 4 pinnate,
primary pinnae petiolate, alternate, 5-10 cm
apart, 8-12 pairs, basal pair largest 22-26 x
8-10 cm, secondary pinnae petiolate 8-12 x 4-6

265

JOURNAL . BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

Fig. 1. Sorus of O. plumosum Ching with indusium.
Fig. 2. A pinnule of O. plumosum Ching.

cm, 8-9 jugate, tertiary pinnae again pinnatifid,
ultimate segment about 8 mm long; texture
thin, colour green when dry; vein not very dis-
tinct, one in each lobe, Sori 3-6 mm long, thin;
Indusium whitish to grey, membranaceous,
entire.

Specimens examined :

sikkim — Lachen valley; 1880 m, 29.7.1892,
G . A. Gammie s. n. (7508, 7509 — CAL).
Falc. 1262 A; 1262B (CAL).

Earlier record : China.

Onychium tenuifrons Ching, Lingnan Sci. Jour.
13(3): 500. 1934; leones Filicum Sinicarum
Fasc. 4. PI. 163. 1937. Onychium japonicum
var. delavayi Christ, Bull. Soc. Bot. France
52. Mem I: 60. 1905; Kummerle, Amer.

Fern. Jour. 20: 137. 1930.

Tender plant 28-35 cm high; Rhizome short
creeping densely provided with pale brown
scales; rachis very thin furrowed; sterile pinnae
on short stipe; Lamina 12-25 cm; tripinnate
at base, bipinnate above; pinnae petiolate,
oblique, 6-12 cm, lanceolate 5-8 jugate, pin-
nules pinnate, 3-5 jugate, ultimate segment
linear, 5-8 mm x 1 .0-1 .5 mm, margin obscure-
ly denticulated, texture very thin membranace-
ous, pale brown in colour; vein prominent, one
to each segment; sori 3-7 mm long; indusium
grey, margin deeply erosed.

Specimens examined :

arunachal pradesh — Kameng : left bank of
Dirang river, 30.10.1970, Rao 49477 (CAL).

Earlier record : China.

Fig. 3. Sorus of O. tenuifrons Ching with indusium
showing erose margin. Fig. 4. A pinnule of O.
tenuifrons Ching.

266

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

According to R. C. Ching this species is and its area of distribution extends to Aruna-
endemic to China. But the present study shows chal Pradesh in India.

Botanical Survey of India, ANJALI (DAS) BISWAS

Sibpur, Howrah, S. R. GHOSH

February 11, 1981.

References

Ching, R. C. (1934) : On the genus Onychium Ching, R. C. (1937) : leones Filicum Sinicarum
from the Far orient. Lingnan Sci. Jour. 13(3) : 500. Fasc. 4. PI. 163, Fan Mem. Inst. Biol. Peiping.

41. ELAPHOGLOSSUM CEYLANICUM KRAJINA EX SLEDGE —
A NEW RECORD OF FERN FOR INDIA

(With five text-figures)

During the study of Herbarium specimens
housed in CAL Herbarium I came across a few
specimens pasted on one sheet from Sikkim
which have been identified as E. ceylanicum
Krajina ex Sledge. This was previously report-
ed from Ceylon only but the study shows that
this species also occurs in India. This is an
addition to the 7 species already reported from
India. Detailed description and illustration is
provided in this note.

Elaphoglossum ceylanicum Krajina ex Sledge
Rhizome creeping, covered by linear, dark
chestnut or almost black glossy scales margin
of which provided with concolorous setiformis
teeth; Fronds tufted several from a stock, sim-
ple pinnate, stipe short 1.5-6 cm long, thin,
dull brown to reddish brown in col., scaly, scale
narrowly lanceolate, light brown, membrana-

Botanical Survey of India,

Sibpur, Howrah,

April 20, 1981.

ceous, margin provided with dark almost black
setiformis teeth; Lamina 8-25 cm x 1-2 cm,
oblong elliptic, base attenuate, apex acute to
shortly acuminate, texture thin, lower surface
dark green, upper surface dull green, both the
surfaces scaly but neither surface covered by
dense coating of scales, scale of both surfaces
vary in shape — broadly to narrowly ovate or
sometimes orbicular margin of which fringed
by long setiformis teeth. Fertile frond like sterile
frond.

Specimens examined :

sikkim — 4000', 13.4.1857, Thomson Acc.
No. 25288 (CAL). Earlier Record : Ceylon,

According to Sledge this species is endemic
to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) but it is now recorded
from India.

ANJALI (DAS) BISWAS

267

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

Figs. 1-5. Elaphoglossum ceylanicum Krajina ex Sledge.

1. The whole plant; 2. Scale of Rhizome; 3. Scale of stipe; 4. Scale of upper surface
of lamina; 5. Scale of lower surface of lamina.

268

A SPECIAL GENERAL BODY MEETING

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

A Special General Body Meeting of the Bom-
bay Natural History Society convened by the
Executive Committee to consider two resolutions
amending the Memorandum of Association of
the Society was held on Friday, the 17th Febru-
ary 1983 at 6 p.m. at the BEST Conference
Hall. The following were present.

1 . Mr. Amin M. Tyabji

2. Mr. Naresh Dutt

3. Mr. K. Bhasker Rao

4. Mr. J. C. Daniel

5. Mr. H. Abdulali

6. Mr. S. G. Monga

7. Mr. Nitin Jamdar

8. Mr. K. T. Ravi Varma

9. Mr. U. A. Mehta

10. Mr. R. Sahgal

1 1 . Mr. Bittu Sahgal

12. Mr. M. D. Agharkar

13. Mr. Saleem S. Khamkar

14. Mr. Rishad Naoroji

15. Mr. K. N. Naoroji

16. Mr. S. N. Mistry

17. Mrs. D. S. Variava

18. Dr. Salim Ali

19. Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati

20. Mr. F. N. Husein

21 . Mr. D. P. Banerjee

22. Mr. M. K. Potdar

23. Mr. K. K. Vajifdar

24. Miss Usha Ganguli

25. Mr. O. S. Fernandes

26. Dr. C. V. Kulkarni

27. Mr. Aroon Tikekar for Dr. Tarneja

28. Dr. S .R. Amladi

29. Mr. D. J. Panday

30. Mr. J. P. Irani

3 1 . Mr. Ashraf I. Macchiwalla

32. Mr. S. M. Ketkar

33. Miss Sober S. Driver

34. Mr. V. K. Paralkar

35. Mr. M. C. Shah

36. Mr. S. V. Paranjape

37. Mr. Y. C. Thakkar

38. Mrs. R. Panthakee

39. Mr. A. V. Ghangurde

40. Mr. Bansi Mehta

41 . Mr. Suresh Bhatkal

42. Mr. S. V. Parande

43. Dr. Pradeep Salgia

44. Mr. Robert J. D’Souza

45. Mr. V. James

46. Mr. Ram V. Jethmalani

47. Mr. Dilip Patil

48. Mr. S. M. Thomas

49. Mrs. A. J. Jehangir

50. Mr. N. Kandhari

5 1 . Mr. Anil Dave

52. Mr. D. I. Solanki

53. Mr. Vishnu Mathur

54. Mr. Ulhas Rane

55. Mr. G. L. Kalro

56. Mr. Ranbir Singh

57. Mr. Firoze Mistry

58. Mr. C. B. D’Lima

59. Mr. S. D. Bhaumik

60. Ms. A. A. Kaikini

61 . Mr. S. H. Dhami

Dr. Salim Ali, the President of the Society
proposed Dr. C. V. Kulkarni to take the Chair
and conduct the meeting, which was seconded
by Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati.

269

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Dr. C. V. Kulkarni read out the Resolutions

1 . RESOLVED that at the end of object 2(a)
of the Memorandum of Association of the
BNHS., the following be added: “and to
promote conservation of nature and natu-
ral resources”.

2. RESOLVED that the Memorandum of
Association of the Bombay Natural History
Society be amended by deleting object
2(d).

Dr. C. V. Kulkarni stated that no full length
explanations on the two Resolutions were neces-
sary as the explanations have been already cir-
culated explaining why such amendments were
necessary. As there appeared to be some dis-
agreement in the minds of members present
on the question of proxies, the Chairman re-
quested Mr. M. D. Agharkar, a practising law-
yer, to explain the position to members present.

Mr. Agharkar stated that the Society’s rules
were quite clear on the matter. Rule 13 read
with Rule 19 of the Society’s Memorandum of
Association and Rules and Regulations laid
down quite clearly that only members who
had paid their subscription for the current year
were entitled to attend and vote at this meeting.
If the members voting in person or by proxy
and supporting the resolutions constituted more
than 3 /5th of the present paid-up membership,
the Resolution could be passed.

The Honorary Secretary announced that the
number of members entitled to vote at this
meeting was 1240, and 3 /5th of this figure
would be 744. He then called for volunteers
from the audience to act as scrutinizers and
count the proxies received, while the film an-
nounced would be shown to the audience.

Mr. Nitin Jamdar, Mr. R. Naoroji, Mr.
Parande, and Mr. Ulhas Rane volunteered to
count the proxies, along with the Honorary

Secretary in another room.

Meanwhile the film ‘Monsoon Birds” made
by Stanley and Belinda Breeden was shown to
the audience.

The Honorary Secretary then announced that
935 valid proxies, all supporting the two reso-
lutions, had been received and 60 members
were present at the meeting.

Resolution No. 1 was then put to the vote
and was passed unanimously.

Resolution No. 2 was put to vote and was
also passed unanimously.

The total of 993 votes recorded being well
above the required minimum of 3 /5th, i.e. 744,
both the resolutions were declared to have been
carried.

The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks
to the four volunteer scrutinizers and to the
Chair.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

The Second Special General Body meeting
of the members of the Bombay Natural History
Society was held on Thursday, 17th March 1983
at 6 p.m. at the BEST Conference Hall, to
confirm the resolutions passed on 17-2-83, when
the following members were present:

1.

Mr.

S. K. Tyagi

2.

Mr.

P. N. Navalkar

3.

Mr.

J. N. Barmeda

4.

Mr.

A. A. Dikshit

5.

Mr.

Andrew A. Rao

6.

Dr.

A. N. D. Nanavati

7.

Mr.

K. Bhasker Rao

8.

Mr.

H. K. Divekar

9.

Ms.

Usha Ganguli

10.

Mr.

Oswald Thayil

11.

Mr.

G. D. Uttam

12.

Ms.

Smita Patil

13.

Mr.

G. M. Gidvani

270

A SPECIAL GENERAL BODY MEETING

14.

Mr.

Naresh Dutt

15.

Mr.

K. R. Lobo

16.

Mr.

J. C. Daniel

17.

Mr.

R. Ashok Kumar

18.

Mr.

C. G. Gariba

19.

Dr.

C. V. Kulkarni

20.

Mr.

H. Abdulali

21.

Mr.

S. S. Sbarma

22.

Mr.

M. D. Agharkar

23.

Mr.

J. T. Munsiff

24.

Mr.

K. K. Vajifdar

25.

Ms.

A. A. Kaikini

26.

Mr.

John Mascarenhas

27.

Mr.

Nitin Jamdar

28.

Mr.

N. V. Aidyanathan.

Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati, the Honorary Secre-
tary, informed the audience of the inability of
Dr Salim Ali, the President, to attend the meet-
ing, and proposed Dr C. V. Kulkami, the
Vice-President of the Society, to the Chair. This
proposal was seconded by Mr. J. N. Barmeda.

The Chairman reiterated the purpose of the
meeting called for and stated that he was going
to read the Resolutions and to put them to vote
one by one.

Resolution No. 1. RESOLVED that at the
end of object to 2(a) of the Memorandum
of Association of the Society the following be

added: kand to promote conservation of nature
and natural resources.’

The Resolution was put to vote, twenty six
members voting for it with two abstaining. None
was against the Resolution. The Resolution was
therefore declared confirmed.

Resolution No. 2. RESOLVED that the
Memorandum of Association of the Bombay
Natural History Society be emended by delet-
ing object 2(d), namely: “To carry on the
business of Taxidermists and preservers.”

The Resolution was put to vote, once again
twenty six members voting for it with two
abstaining. None was against the Resolution.
The resolution was therefore declared con-
firmed.

The Chairman thanked the members for
attending the meeting.

The Honorary Secretary moved the vote of
thanks to the Chair.

The film GORILLA based on the Mountain
Gorillas of the Zaire region of Africa was
shown and highly appreciated by the audience.

Dr. C. V. Kulkarni
Vice President,
and Chairman of the Special
General Body Meeting,

Bombay Natural History Society.

271

ERRATUM

Volume 79(2) : August 1982

On page 331, Title,

and Table of Contents,

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CONTENTS

Page

Large mammalian prey-predators in Bandipur. By A. J. T. Johnsingh . . 1

An east-west Aquila eagle migration in the Himalayas. By Robert L. Fleming, Jr. 58

A Catalogue of species added to Gamble’s “Flora of the Presidency of Madras”.

By S. Karthikeyan and B. D. Sharma • . . 63

Studies on spawning migration and spawning of hillstream fish Discognathus

mullya (Sykes). By Loviah Joseph and S. V. Job . . 80

Observations on the movement -of two captive-reared mugger crocodiles,

Crocodylus palustris Lesson when returned to the wild. By Lala A. K. Singh 86

Records of Mesostigmata, Ereynetidae and Pterygosom iDAfe (Acarina) in
western Himalayas, Sikkim and hill districts of West Bengal. By H. R.

Bhat, S. M. Rulkarni and A. C. Mishra ... 91

Biology of Houbara Bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata macqueeni) with reference

to Western Baluchistan. By Afsar Mian and Mohammad Ibrahim Surahio 111

The food and feeding of juvenile Bengal Monitor Lizards ( Varanus benga-

lensis). By Walter Auffenberg and Ipe M. Ipe .. 119

Courtship and copulation in Myllocerus . undecimpustulatus maculosus Desb..

(Coleoptera: Curculionidae). By K. Thangavelu .. 125

The genus Linder nia All. (Scrophulariaceae) in India. By V. V. Sivarajan

and Philip Mathew .. 131

Survey of South Indian Pelicanries. By V. Nagulu and J. V. Ramana Rao 141

Field key of Rana alticola Annandale (Anura: Ranidae) tadpoles. By A. K.

Sahu and M. K. Khare . . 144

A Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of Bombay Natural History

Society- 27. By Humayun Abdulali . . 149

New Descriptions . . 166

Reviews ' " 201

Miscellaneous Notes ' . . 206

Minutes of a Special General Body Meeting of the Bombay Natural History

Society . . 269

Minutes of the Second Special General Body Meeting of the Bombay Natural

History Society . . 270-

Printed by Bro. Leo at St. Francis Industrial Training Institute, Borivli, Bombay 400 103
and published by Editors: J. C. Daniel, P. V. Bole and A. N. D. Nanavati for Bombay
Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023.

Vol. 80, No. 2

Editors : J. C. Daniel, P. V. Bole & A. N. D. Nanavati

AUGUST 1983 Rs. 45

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VOLUME 80 (2) : AUGUST 1983
Date of Publication : 27-2-1984

CONTENTS

Page

Observations on the Crested Serpent Eagle ( Spilomis cheela ) in Rajpipla
forests — SOUTH Gujarat. By Rishad K. Naoroji and S. G. Monga. (With five
plates and a text- figure) . . 273

Notes on feeding behaviour of Varanus bengalensis (Sauria: Varanidae). By

Walter Auffenberg. ( With seven text- figures ) . . 286

Breeding habits and associated phenomenon in some Indian bats. Part VIII —
Taphozous melanopogon (Temminck) Emballonuridae. By V. M. Sapkal and
K. G. Khamre . . 303

Potamogeton in north western Himalayas. By A. Majeed Kak. (With twelve text-

figures) . . 312

Bombay Natural History Society — the Builders and the Guardians. Part 4.

By Salim Ali. (With four plates) . . 320

Some observations on Dol (bag) net fishery at Sassoon Dock, Bombay. By S.

Krishna Pillai. (With four text-figures) . . 331

Studies on the intraspecific variations in Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius)
(Odonata: Libellulidae) , By M. Prasad and S. K. Ghosh. (With thirteen
text-figures) . . 341

A Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of Bombay Natural History

Society — 28. By Humayun Abdulali. (With a colour plate) . . 349

Grasses of Udaipur District (Rajasthan State). By S. S. Katewa and Y. D. Tiagi 370

Peregrine Falcon. By S. M. Osman . . 380

New Descriptions:

A New Species of Lonicera L. (Caprifoliaceae) from north west Himalaya. By M. P.

Nayar and G. S. Giri. (With a text- figure) . . 385

Two New Species of the Genus Storthecoris Horvath (Heteroptera : Pentatomidae) .

By M. Nayyar Azim and E. Adam Shafee. (With ten text-figures) . . 387

A New Species of the Genus Synidotea Harger from Waltair coast, India (Crustacea :

Isopoda: Valvifera). By C. Jalaja Kumari and K. Shyamasundari. (With twelve
text-figures) . . 389

Descriptions of two New Species of Tetrastichus Haliday (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)
from India. By S. Adam Shafee, Anis Fatma and Prem Kishore. (With five
text-figures) . . 393

Arundinella cannanorica: A New Species of Foaceae from Kerala, India. By V. J.

Nair, P. V. Sreekumar and N. C. Nair. (With eleven text-figures) . . 396

First Record of Paracoccus Ezzat & Mcconnell (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) from
India with description of a New Species. By Rajendra Kumar Avasthi and S.

Adam Shafee. (With two text-figures) . . 398

Hedyotis silent-valley ensis (Rubiaceae) — A New Species from South India. By E.

Vajravelu, N. C., Rathakrishnan and P. Bhargavan. (With five text-figures) 402

Miscellaneous Notes:

Mammals: 1. Status and ecology of Wild Buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis Linn.) in Chandrapur
.District of Maharashtra. By H. K. Divekar, R. B. Grubh and P. B. Shekar (p. 450);
2. Courtship and mating in the Indian Sheath-Tailed Bat, Taphozous longimanus longimanus
(Hardwicke). By J. P. Lai and D. K. Biswas (p. 409); 3. A note on the Status of the
Flying Squirrels of Darjeeling and Sikkim. By R. K. Ghose and T. K. Chakraborty (p. 411);
4. Unusual feeding behaviour of Nilgai. By M. B. Chitampalli (p. 412); 5. The Quills
that make a Red Porcupine. By J. Mangalraj Johnson (p. 412).

Birds: 6. Birds feeding on fire-driven insects. By Adrian Del-Nevo and Peter J. Ewins
(p. 413); 7. Occurrence of the Great Crested Crebe, Podiceps cristatus (Linne) at Ranchi,
Bihar. By Humayun Abdulali (p. 414); 8. Winter food of Spotted Owlet, Athene brama
indica. By A. P. Jain and Ranjan Advani (p. 415); 9. Occurrence of Northern Jungle
Myna Acridotheres fuscus Wagler in the Punjab and Haryana. By Manjit S. Dhindsa and
R. N. Singhal (p. 416); 10. Rustic Bunting ( Emberiza rustica ) — A New Species for
Nepal. ( With a text-figure). By Adrian Del-Nevo and Peter J. Ewins (p. 417).

Reptiles: 11. Observations on food requirement and food conversion in the Mugger ( Croco -
dylus paiustris ) reared in captivity. {With two text-figures). By L. A. K. Singh (p. 418);
12. Stunted growth in captive-reared Gharial. By B. C. Choudhury and H. R. Bustard
(p. 423).

Fishes: 13. A special method of fishing for juveniles of Mahseer {Tor putitora) in the
streams of Himachal Pradesh. By C. B. Joshi (p. 426); 14. Observations on the bathymetric
distribution of Hilsa larvae in Middle Stretch of River Ganga near Allahabad. {With a
text-figure). By Ravish Chandra, V. R. Desai and S. K. Das (p. 427); 15. Occurrence of
common Carp {Cyprinus carpio) in trout waters. By S. B. Raizada (p. 430).

Insects: 16. New records of Aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae) from Sikkim, north east
India. By Basant K. Agarwala and D. N. Raychaudhuri (p. 431); 17. First record of
Diplacodes lefebvrei (Rambur) (Odonata: Libellulidae: Sympetrinae) from NW. India. By
R. K. Thakur (p. 434); 18. A note on the Odonata (Insecta) from Sikkim, India. {With
nine text-figures). By M. Prasad and S. K. Ghosh (p. 435); 19. Niger Grain Fly, Diozina
sororcula (Wiedemann), a serious pest of Niger in Central India. By S. S. Jakhmola (p.
439); 20. Oviposition of two Chironomids (Diptera) in the laboratory. By P. K. Chaudhuri
and S. K. Nandi (p. 440).

Other Invertebrates: 21. Life history, Ephippia development, Cyclomorphosis and Tem-
perature effect on Life Cycle in Daphnia lumholtzi Sars (Cladocera: Daphnidae). {With two
plates & a text-figure) . By D. R. Kanaujia (p. 442) ; 22. A note on the Settlement of Fouling
Organisms on Fibre-Glass Boats. By L. N. Santhakumaran and S. R. Madhavan Pillai
(p. 448).

Botany: 23. Pulicaria petiolaris Jaub. et Spach (Asteraceae) — A New Record for India.
{With a plate). By C. L. Malhotra and D. Basu (p. 451); 24. The correct name of
‘Marotti’ plant in Van Rheede’s Hortus Indicus Malabaricus. By K. K. N. Nair (p. 452);
25. Identity and distribution of Ageratum houstonianum Miller (Compositae) in India.
{With three text-figures). By G. S. Giri and N. C. Majumdar (p. 453); 26. Rare or New
Exacum L. (Gentianaceae) from Southern India. {With two text-figures). By A. N. Henry
and M. S. Swaminathan (p. 456); 27. Avena ludoviciana Dur. (Poaceae) — New to West
Bengal. By Ratna Dutta and Anil Kumar Naskar (p. 459); 28. On occurrence of Juncus
maritimus Lam. in Saurashtra. By A. J. Joshi (p. 460); 29. Contribution to the Ferns of
Mizoram. By Prakash Chandra and Subhash Chandra (p. 461); 30. A New Taxon of the
Rubiaceae from north east India. {With two text-figures). By D. B. Deb and M. Gango-
padhyay (p. 466).

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY

SOCIETY

1983 AUGUST

Vol. 80

No. 2

OBSERVATIONS ON THE CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE
(SPILORNIS CHEELA) IN RAJPIPLA FORESTS —
SOUTH GUJARAT1

Rishad K. Naoroji and S. G. Monga
{With five plates and a text-figure)

Introduction

The Rajpipla forests comprise the highland
area at the western extremity of the Satpura
range between the Tapti and Narmada rivers
(21°50'N 73°30'E). The forests get the name
from the nearby Rajpipla town, capital of the
former princely state of Rajpipla, in which
these forests were included. The forests are
basically of two types : Tropical semi-evergreen
and moist-deciduous. There are some excellent
patches of forests remaining around Juna Raj,
Namgir and Piplod areas of both bamboo and
moist-deciduous types. This area of the Sat-
puras is of great importance in Indian ornitho-
logy and it is almost the meeting point of the
northernmost end of the Western Ghats with
the westernmost tip of the Satpura range which
in itself has been regarded as an ornithological
highway in Indian Ornithogeography (Salim
Ali — Guj. Res. Soc. Vol. 10).

We first visited these forests in June 1981

for the sole purpose of assessing its potential
for photographing the bird life with a possible
emphasis on raptors. Within a few days we
observed a great concentration of the Crested
Serpent Eagle, Spilornis cheela, and other birds
of prey for which unfortunately we were too
late that year. As the Serpent Eagle was still
breeding here in June, the help of the
local adivasis was sought and within a few days
five nests of this eagle were located. We then
concentrated on observing in detail the
behaviour and nesting habits of the eagle.
Though this eagle is common throughout the
subcontinent, there is little available infor-
mation on it. Besides, it may also be added
that during our visits to these forests we observ-
ed several birds hitherto not recorded from this
area.

Methods

Most of the observations on the Crested
Serpent Eagle were made from hides. Over

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

200 hours of observations were made from
hides during photography sessions. The birds
were also observed to a lesser extent on foot,
while moving about in the forests from hill
tops and in the valleys.

The peninsular Indian race, Spilornis cheela
melanotis (Jerdon) is resident in peninsular
India south of the Gangetic plain, arbitrarily
south of lat. 25 °N, from Gujarat east to Ben-
gal and south to Kanyakumari (handbook
Vol. I, pp. Salim Ali & Ripley). Besides these
two, there are four more races confined to
Sri Lanka, Burma, Andamans and Nicobars. i

As mentioned at the outset, we first reached
these forests in January 1981, when these
eagles could be commonly heard from almost
every hill and valley. It was not easy initially
locating the birds as we were still inexperienc-
ed in finding nests, we thus recruited local help
for doing so and this proved rewarding. Even-
tually, five nests were located. Among these,
one found on the 18 . vi . 1981 afternoon had
been tampered with and part of the nest was
lying on the ground. Our adivasi cook, Naika,
spread word around and on the 19 . vi . 81
morning during a five hour walk beginning
at 3.30 a.m. two more nests were locat-
ed — one of these in a hopeless location
for photography, high up on a very big tree
on a massive hill. An adivasi boy hired to
climb the tree to check its contents had almost
reached the nest, when an eagle which had
been sitting very close erupted into action and
flew off, unsettling the boy considerably. The
nest was empty. The nest was very large and
as it was very early in the morning, the eagle
was probably using it as a roost. About this
nest it may be added that it was the largest
Serpent Eagle nest that we saw in the Rajpipla
forests. One other nest found in the Murud-
Janjira forests, south of Bombay, compared

with this nest in size. The second nest located
by Bhanga our main adivasi helper was rather
small in size. In fact on first sighting it appear-
ed to be a loose collection of twigs and sticks.
Bhanga climbed the tree and reported that it
contained a nestling. To prove it, he picked up
a small downy eaglet from the nest and showed
it to us before replacing it back in the nest.
A long wait then ensured the confirmation of
the identity of the eagle. The same morning
we were shown another nest of Spilornis
cheela near Sankhri village. The nest at Sankhri
was also not a large one and contained a
fully fledged eaglet (Plate 1), which was ini-
tially invisible as it was sitting very close and
stood up in the nest only when an adult arrived
calling and perched nearby. Near Namgir,
Bhanga showed us two more nests of this eagle
but both were empty. The construction of the
machan for photography commenced on
22.vi.81 working for about an hour each day.
Five adivasis under our supervision completed
the machan by 29.vi.81. The following year,
1982, another nest near Namgir was observed
and photographed. (Plate I).

Spilornis cheela melanotis (Jerdon) is com-
mon in the Rajpipla forests. As a matter of
fact, we would not hesitate to consider this
eagle as abundant in these forests.

On occasions when the chick was about 15
days old and not brooded continuously we
observed the eagle in the afternoons, perched
on a high branch of some large tree overlook-
ing the nest, keeping a watchful eye on the
eaglet.

On the only day that SM entered the hide
on 1 1 . vi . 82, a roller was observed to alight
on the nest tree a few feet above the nest
calling harshly. This immediately elicited a
response and both adult eagles appeared at the
nest — the only time they were seen together.
The roller flew off immediately. With both

274

CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE

MAP OF RAJPIPLA EAST DIVISION

N

BARODA

FOREST CIRCLE

Fig. 1.

275

MAHARASHTRA STATE

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

eagles at the nest comparison was relatively
simple. One of the birds was distinctive-
ly smaller in size and lighter in colour.
Both eagles must have been in the near
vicinity to arrive at the nest as normally only
one of the eagles was somewhere around near
the nest. Besides these, some 16 other birds
were observed to alight on the nest tree: for
example, the little sun-bird which flitted and
hovered at the very rim of the nest and per-
formed aerobatics right in front of the nestling
which stared at them in fascinated concentra-
tion. Other than a stray roller and a jungle
myna, no other large bird was seen on the
nest tree, though on one occasion when an
adult Serpent Eagle was perched near the nest
two others were circling and calling about 200
feet above the nest. On yet another occasion,
I (RKN) saw a large unidentified raptor flying
past the nest without unduly alarming one of
the adults which half-heartedly followed it for
a short distance. A pair of the same birds of
a different species were noticed around a large
nest nearby (70 metres from the cheela nest)
and did not seem to be alarming the serpent
eagles. Leslie Brown has observed that diffe-
rent species of African Raptors nesting in close
proximity to each other are generally tolerant
of each other, but not to the same species.
Visits to the nest would decrease and some-
times no adults would be seen for 6-7 hours
when the eaglet was in the secondary downy
stage. During the eaglet’s first two and a half
weeks the female — would spend most of the
time brooding particularly continuing after the
cool hours of the morning are over, till late
evening after it had cooled. The adult bird
would tuck in the eaglet and sit lightly over it,
panting due to the heat. Brooding would be in-
terrupted when the male arrived with the food
and during feeding. On some days when extra
snakes are caught the prey would be dropped

into the nest next to the eaglet and brooding
would recommence without feeding. The brood-
ing female, had an outpost on a nearby tree
overlooking the valley below on one side and
on the other the nest. It was on this perch that
she would spend the early hours of the morn-
ing and evening when it was cool.

Nest & Egg

In Rajpipla forests we noticed that the nest
of Spilornis cheela distinctly appears small for
a bird so big. This has also been observed and
written about by several earlier authors. In
fact it may be stated that the very first occupied
nest of Spilornis cheela that was located and
checked on 20.vi.81 was so small and ill-made
that it seemed rather hard to believe that this
particular nest actually contained a nestling
and that too of an eagle. Most of the other
nests that we observed in this area were of
a rather small size, with a diameter of about
i\ feet. Nests of Spilornis cheela cheela vary
in size from 1.5-2 feet in diameter and from
“4-8” inches in thickness (Hume: Nests &
Eggs of Indian birds, iii, p. 154).

We observed that the nests of this race are
never on the top of trees but always some-
where half-way to Jth way up, on some fork,
often one jutting from the main stem.

From among the nests we observed and
checked it was noted that the nest-cup is deep
and is lined with green leaves and twigs. We
never actually saw the eagles bringing any
leaves or twigs even though we saw fresh
leaves and small branches often in the nest.
Perhaps, Major Cock’s surmise about Spilornis
cheela using twigs and leaves of the very tree
on which it nests, for its nest, holds true for
Spilornis cheela melanotis too.

The depth of the nest in the half a dozen
nests we actually checked varied from a few

276

mm

Plate I

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80

Naoroji & Monga: Spilornis cheela

Above : Crested Serpent Eagle ( Spilornis cheela ) at the nest. Below: Fully fledged
young eating a very large Rana ( Ran a tigerina ). Length of hind leg measured 260 mm.
Note undeveloped tail.

( Photos : R. K. Naoroji)

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate II

Naoroji & Monga: Spilornis cheela

Adult Crested Serpent Eagle ( S . cheela) bringing half-eaten unidentified mammal in left foot to the nesi

{Photo: R. K. Naoroji)

CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE

inches to slightly over a foot. In one of the
nests observed on 19.vi.81, the nest cavity
was exceptionally deep. SM on one occasion
was a good way above the level of the nest
and could clearly look into it. It was only
when an adivasi boy had climbed to within a
few feet of the nest that the bird flew off.
Inspite of being above the nest at a favourable
angle, the eagle was not visible and this also
supports the view held by others that Spilornis
cheela is a very close sitter. Leslie Brown has
noticed this among African Snake Eagles and
also Baker (nidification Vol. 4). On another
occasion RKN climbed to a nearby hillock
but was still unable to see the contents of a
nest. Our aim being to photograph these
eagles, it was decided to sit nearby and observe
the nest to see if it was occupied. After an
hour, the characteristic three-bar call of an
adult serpent eagle was heard and minutes
later, the bird arrived, alighting on a tree 25
feet away from the nest-tree calling vociferous-
ly. The nest which had looked empty came
to life and a fully fledged juvenile stood up
and called as energetically as the adult. It had
been till then sitting tightly on the nest,
making no sound at all to give its presence
away. Baker (nidification Vol. IV) writes
that Spilornis cheela often adds fresh material
to its nest every year as a rule, though some-
times they lay in the most dilapidated and ill-
repaired nest. Judging from the nests we check-
ed we feel that only occasionally does this
eagle add fresh material and hence rarely uses
a particular nest for several successive seasons,
though on rare occasions a nest might be used
successively. The two large nests found, one in
Rajpipla used for a nightly roost and another
in the semi-evergreen forest of the Murud-
Janjira coast, could be exceptions but this is
only a surmise.

In Africa, Leslie Brown observed that the

Snake Eagles ( Circaetus ) usually build a new
nest every year, in close proximity to the
previous year’s nest site. We feel that the same
could probably hold true for the Serpent
Eagles in Rajpipla and this should be looked
into in greater detail.

From among the seven nests of Spilornis
cheela melanotis that were observed and check-
ed during two nesting seasons (1981-82), four
were on the Sadada ( Terminalia foment osa)
trees while the occupied nest at Mozda was
on a Sheeshum ( Dalbergia sissoo) tree. The
sixth was on a Timru ( Diospyros melanoxylon)
tree and the seventh nest tree remains un-
identified.

Judging from the above Terminalia tomen-
tosa appears to be a favourite tree of raptors
to make their nests. Atleast four nests of the
Shikra (Acci piter badius) were also on Ter-
minalia tomentosa.

In the four occupied nests that were observ-
ed, three had one nestling each when first
located and only one of the nests contained an
egg on 13th May, ’82.

We did not check any egg in the Rajpipla
forests but the nest which contained an egg
found on 13th May, ’82 was, according to
our adivasi friend, Banga, unmarked dirty-
white in colour.

So far in our experiences with these eagles,
only one egg /chick has been noticed in occupi-
ed nests.

Feeding & Food

As the name of this eagle suggests it largely
feeds on snakes and will attack even large
sized snakes. Even the rat-snake, some as long
as 5 feet are tackled and killed with ease and
they seem to destroy poisonous snakes with as
little fear as the harmless ones (Baker, FBI:
Vol. 5).

277

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

The following prey species were observed
being brought to the nest during his photo-
graphic visits. All species observed were non-
poisonous and the main varieties were the tree
snakes.

(a) Snakes : i) Bronze-back ( Dendrelaphis

tristis) ii) Vine Snake/Whip Snake ( Ahaetulla
nasutus) iii) Rat Snake/Dhaman ( Ptyas

mucosus) iv) Olive keel-back ( Atretium
schistosum) v) Striped Keel-back ( Amphiesma
stolata).

(b) Half-eaten and almost mangled carcasses
of a mammal with fur — brought twice —
once on 30th May 1982, and on 3. 6. ’82.
(Plate II).

(c) Lizards : Two species of lizards were
brought to the nest. One of these was easily
recognizable as a Calotes; the other beautifully
mottled in colour like the bark of a tree.

(d) Frog on one occasion, possibly a Rana.

(e) Perhaps even junglefowl, domestic fowls
and probably other ground birds as reported
by the adivasis.

A. Anderson (P.Z.S. 1872, p. 77) writes
that Spilornis c heel a subsists almost entirely
on green frogs. Baker (FBI, 5) considers that
even though snakes are the principal prey of
Spilornis cheela, when snakes are not to be
found this eagle will eat reptiles, birds of all
kinds upto the size of the largest pheasants,
partridges and ducks and also grubs and larger
insects.

The adult eagles always brought snakes to
the nest in their beaks. The mammals though
on one occasion were brought in the beak and
once in the talons. It seems that heavier and
compact prey is brought to the nest in the
talons. Probably a snake carried in the talons
for the last few metres to the nest might inter-
fere with the landing. On one occasion, a snake
was actually seen being killed. While RKN
was photographing from the hide SM was

observing the hide concealed nearby. Lying
thus on the ground, a rustle was heard and
a Dhaman seen 25 feet away. Suddenly, a
Serpent Eagle landed on the ground a few feet
away from the snake. Cautiously disregarding
SM it walked briskly towards the snake “like
a large chicken” with wings wide-spread. The
snake by now trying to make its escape reach-
ed the base of a large tree. The eagle had
to run around the tree thrice in its attempt
to pin down the escaping snake. The third
time it managed to sink in its talons just be-
hind the snake’s head. After looking at SM
fiercely it gave a squawk and flew to a nearby
tree with its prey where it commenced to bash
and twist it with beak and claw for about 10
minutes. It then flew to a perch behind the
hide for 30 minutes before alighting at the nest.

When the snake appeared at the nest it
was noticed that it had been beheaded.
In EAGLES, HAWKS AND FALCONS OF THE WORLD,
by Leslie Brown and D. Amadon, it is stated
that Spilornis cheela sometimes pick dead
snakes and that all prey is taken on the ground.

On 5.vi.’82, some jungle crows were observ-
ed mobbing something very excitedly in the
vicinity of Mozda village near Namgir where
an occupied nest of Spilornis cheela was locat-
ed. Seconds later, a Serpent Eagle,

one of the Mozda breeding pair rose from
the river bed with a large snake in its talons
and settled further along the right bank of the
river. On (RKN’s) approaching closer for a
better look, it left the snake on the ground
and flew to a tree across the river. The snake
was identified as a 5 ft. rat-snake which had
recently been killed as the carcass was far from
being stiff. About 8 inches of flesh had been
eaten from head downwards, exposing the ver-
tebrae. This pair were observed to hunt along
this stretch of river for two consecutive nesting
seasons.

278

CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE

The adults arrival with food is heralded by
alarm calls of jungle mynas, parakeets and
babblers and the parent birds would have a
fixed approach or route to the nest, though on
rare occasions a different approach would be
adopted. The normal route was to fly
directly to a large nest-supporting branch
to the left of the nest. The final
few feet down to the nest would be covered
by hopping down with wings partially wide-
spread for balance. On two to three occasions
an adult was seen approaching the nest
directly and alighting on it, and sometimes
from the right. The eaglet is fed very
carefully and care is taken not to
directly step on it. Feeding is done with
great delicacy with that fearsome beak and
food is generally held out near the beak of
the chick which takes it on its own. When the
chick is very tiny (about 4 to 10 days old)
very small morsels are fed and the chunks of
meat torn out and fed increase in size along
with the eaglet’s growth and capability of
handling and swallowing large morsels. Noth-
ing is wasted and slivers of meat that are flick-
ed to the edge of the nest are immediately
retrieved and fed. Interestingly enough this has
been observed by F. Truslow on the Bald
Eagle and I (RKN) have also seen the female
Shikra interrupt the feed to retrieve pieces of
meat from the nest-rim. The eaglet is coaxed
when it refuses to eat and on two occasions
an unusual feeding posture was observed and
photographed to coax the chick to feed.

On one of her visits to the nest the female
could not get the chick to accept even a beak
full of food. She tried to coax the chick in
a variety of ways. Firstly by calling softly and
then by tapping beaks very gently with the
chick. The chick, still not responsive to her
feeding overtures kept its beak closed where-
upon the adult adopted the upside down head

posture as shown in the photograph, and this
proved successful, (see plate III).

All large snakes e.g.. Rat Snakes, were
brought beheaded to the nest while small slen-
der tree snakes like the bronze-back and the
vine snake were brought with heads intact but
battered and swallowed head first by the chick.
When the chick was a few days old
it was observed that on a few occasions the adult
would tear the snake in half and feed the
tail end of the snake to the young. The 15
days old chick was capable of swallowing a
3J ft. Dhaman when very hungry. It
would take a rest every now and then looking
very comical with the unswallowed tailend
hanging out from its beak. On two other occa-
sions when the same species of mammal (un-
identified) was brought to the nest the animal
had been torn in half and partly mangled.
Head and feet were missing but the tail and
part of the body was intact. Most probably
the other half had been eaten by the hunting
partner and was torn up to facilitate carrying
it to the nest. Fur, skin and bones — every-
thing was eaten. The eaglet would very often
fall into a deep slumber after a heavy meal.
Some of the African snake eagles, according to
Leslie Brown, swallow snakes and regurgitate
them to their chicks which pull them out of
the adults’ crop. Lizards were brought intact
along with frogs to the nest and on one occasion
a lizard was observed being torn lengthwise. On
yet another occasion a lizard brought to the
nest was torn in half and fleshy morsels from
both halves were fed to the Chick. Then the
halves were separately swallowed by the eaglet.
Sometimes while feeding the chick the adult
also feeds itself but leaves the choicest fleshy
parts for the chick.

On many occasions food in the form of
snakes would be stored in the nest. Once

219

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

a snake was brought and dropped beside the
chick. The adult brooded the chick till late
afternoon after which she fed the morning’s
catch to the chick. The same was observed
with a carcass of a mammal present in the nest
and fed later. On another occasion, I (RKN)
entered the hide in the afternoon after a heavy
morning’s rain had subsided and present in the
nest along with the chick was a large Dhaman.
An adult could be seen from the peep-hole
perched nearby. Later a crescendo of eagle
calls were heard close to the nest and to the
accompaniment of myna’s alarm calls an adult
arrived with a longish Bronze-back (head in-
tact) (see Plates IV & V) and merely dropped
it into the nest, along with the rat-snake. The
female brooded for an hour and a half and
then flew to her favourite evening perch over-
looking the nest and the valley below. Later in
the evening after the chick had called hungrily
for some time she appeared at the nest and
fed small morsels of the rat-snake to the eaglet.
This storage of food was seen on a number of
occasions. After the chick is about 20
days old, brooding decreases and the adults
visit the nest for the sole purpose of bringing
food. As the fledgling get older and can tear up
prey on its own, these visits become extremely
short and only two or three minutes are spent
at the nest after dropping in the food. Food
bringing intervals also increase and later during
the young’s development only one or two food
bringing visits are made during the day. As
prey species are more easily found during the
rains, we found many nests occupied at the
outset of the monsoon and nesting carried on
sometimes even into August, though most nest-
ed during the months of end May to July
coinciding with availability of prey species.
Tree snakes too would be easier to hunt during
the rains.

Most of the feeds that were observed were

generally in the late afternoons and the late
morning hours. Some kills must have
been made very early in the morning as on
several occasions snakes were seen present in
the nest at 8 a.m. when the previous evening
at dusk no prey was observed in the nest.

Voice and Calls

On our very first day in these forests in
June 1981, we could commonly hear the calls
of this eagle. There was not a single day on
our trips, when we did not hear Spilornis
cheela. We observed that this eagle has a good
variety of calls and is very vocal during its
breeding season.

The ordinary call notes of Spilornis cheela
are loud and high pitched whistling screams,
something like Kek .... Kek .... Kek, or
Kee .... Kee Kee, while soaring but some-

times also from a perch (Salim Ali and
Ripley, S. D. in Handbook Vol. 1, p. 331).

The calls of Spilornis cheela are among the
commonest raptor calls we heard in the
Rajpipla forests. It was noted that Spilornis
cheela is much more vocal when soaring high
up rather than when perched.

Davison (SF: X, p. 337) on Spilornis cheela
melanotis (the peninsular & south Indian bird)
writes, “Silent as a rule when seated. Occa-
sionally as it flies and takes off it utters its
wild plaintive note, more often when circling
up”.

We feel that the calls of Spilornis cheela
melanotis (we strongly suspect it to be mela-
notis) have not been properly described. The
commonest call of this bird, that we heard in
the Rajpipla forests can be best described as:

(a) phtueeeee tue tueeu

or

Kueeeee Kue Kueeeh

(I) (II) (HD

in three syllable notes.

The first note of Spilornis cheela that we so

280

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate III

Naoroji & Monga : SpUornis cheela

Unusual feeding behaviour of the Crested Serpent Eagle ( S . cheela).

On one of her visits to the nest the female S. cheela could not get the chick to accept any morsel of food. She tried
to coax the chick in a variety of ways. Firstly by calling softly and then by tapping beaks very gently with the chick.
The chick still did not respond and kept its beak closed whereupon the adult adopted the posture as shown in the photo-
graph and this proved successful. ( Photo : R. K. Naoroji)

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Bringing a Bronze-backed snake to pre-feeding perch.
{Photo: R. K. Naoroji)

CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE

commonly heard in Rajpipla is considerably
longer being almost twice as long as both the
following notes together. Most authors have
described the first note of Spilornis cheela as
very short and ‘almost fading away’.

(b) Frequently this eagle, when perched in
the afternoons somewhere high up on a large
tree overlooking the nest utters a shrill, pro-
longed whistle Keeeee which would

be repeated as many as 5-6 times in quick
succession.

A rather harsh single note was heard on
11th June, 1982. One of the adult birds was
perched on a nearby tree not far from the
nest when it suddenly emitted a harsh

‘Khweerar ’. This particular note was

also long drawn and it was the only time this
call was heard.

As the Serpent Eagles were vocal at their
nest, a variety of calls of different intensity and
cadence were heard and it was noticed that
they are particularly vocal when prey is brought
to the nest. There are often many variations
in the tone but the most frequently heard call

was the triple syllabled “Keeeu Keu

Keu,” the first note being extremely prolonged.

Most of the time, for the first few days of
the eaglets life, the adult female Spilornis
cheela would be brooding at the nest and for
long periods there would be absolutely no sign
of her mate. On many occasions it was noticed
that during brooding the female would
look skywards and let out a shrill croak or a
‘squawk’ as if summoning the male. This
squawking call was totally unlike the yelping
whistling screams typical of the Serpent
Eagle. If the mate arrived with prey the female
would fly off voicing this unusual squawk. The
male would then reply — a true rendition of
a Serpent Eagle call and after a wait of gene-
rally about twenty minutes or even more or
less the pair would be seen perched on a near-

by tree with a snake or the female would
directly fly to the nest with food within a few
minutes.

On 2nd June 1982, the nestling was left
unattended for what seemed to be the longest
period observed. In the afternoon after 5
hours of being left alone the eaglet called in-
cessantly. Suddenly with a swoosh of wings,
the female alighted on the nest. She brooded
for the next fifteen minutes and then emitted
her squawking call and flew away calling
characteristically ‘Keeeu . . . keu . . . keu’. She
circled low above the nest and continued call-
ing thus. Soon she was answered by her mate
and after disappearing for just a few minutes,
arrived with a lizard.

From these similar observations it appears
that the squawking call is synonymous to the
female’s recognition call, and was also heard
when the eagle at the nest was suddenly sur-
prised by the presence of the mate in the
vicinity or when he arrived with food.

The squawk of Spilornis cheela appears to
be reminiscent of the alarm call of the Great
Indian Horned Owl ( Bubo bengalensis) and
I (RKN) also liken it somewhat to the call
of the Night Heron ( Nycticorax nycticorax) .

Almost 60 per cent of our approaches to the
hide were greeted by the calls of Spilornis
cheela. I (RKN) would particularly like to
mention 3rd June 1982. On this day the eagles
were more vocal than on any other day. Some
of their calls were extremely high-pitched and
penetrating, and variations in tone, pitch and
half-notes were clearly discernible and diffi-
cult to describe in writing. Even when the pair
were away from their nest and soaring high
up, their calls were clearly audible at intervals
throughout the day.

On another visit during the nonbreeding
season during December- January, we always
heard these eagles while they soared, though not

281

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

as frequently as they were heard during their
breeding season. Often a pair could be calling
and replying to each other. I (RKN) feel that
these calls, of Spilornis cheela, could be a
means of communication, efficient for and in-
strumental in maintaining a territory, possibly
throughout the year. In March/ April 1980,
when we were in the forests of Murud-Janjira,
some 200 kms. south of Bombay in Maha-
rashtra, we observed four adult Spilornis
cheela together skimming low over the hills,
sometimes only 30-40 ft. above us, calling per-
sistently to each other loudly and penetratingly
for over twenty minutes at a stretch, after
which they started soaring and were soon out
of sight. Breeding was probably beginning in
this area though we did not check the huge
nest.

There was no apparent visible aggression
at all between these four eagles but it was
obvious that they were two pairs. This happens
to be one of the many occasions when
I (RKN) saw more than two Spilornis cheela
together. The memory, of their calls echoing
loudly across the valley is not easily forgotten.

The young Spilornis cheela eaglet has a call
much more similar to the clucking of a hen

“cluk cluk ”. We feel that the calls

and noises emitted by the eaglet of Spilornis
cheela have never before been described.

The down covered eaglet when nearly ten
days old (28.V.82) would emit a faint but
nevertheless penetrating and enchanting “cheep

cheep....”. After about 15 days the

call changed to a very weak one syllabled
whistle incorporating all three syllable adult
calls in pitch. However, intermittently the
eaglet frequently uttered its cluk .... cluk ....
and this clucking was prominent even when
the eaglet was almost ready to leave the nest
and also on the day it was last observed to
be present at the nest. The change in the calls

of the eaglet was distinctly noticeable. Calls
were also used to probably entice the fully
fledged chick out of the nest or even to re-
assure it. At the Sankri nest an adult eagle was
observed to have called characteristi-
cally and then alight on a tree opposite the
nest 25 ft. away calling continuously. No prey
was brought and the juvenile reacted instantly,
standing on the edge of the nest and calling. Its
call was not as resonant as the adult’s and
consisted of a one bar note.

Calls frequently heralded prey being brought
to the nest and the female would utter a
squawk and fly off. The male would call charac-
teristically and the female would reply. Minutes
later, an adult would fly to the nest with
food. When the chick was half grown the adult
sometimes arrived with prey and perched near-
by, calling to the chick and being repeatedly
answered. This exchange of calls would go on
for a few minutes after which the adult would
alight on the nest with food. Normally after
a snake is caught the eagle waits for a while
till the more vigorous movements lessen. It
then flies to a perch near the nest and calls.
It is answered by both eaglet (if it is about
25-20 days old) and also sometimes the mate.
A long wait (sometimes even 45 minutes or
more) before alighting at the nest is often pun-
ctuated at intervals by vocalising. On no
occasion has the senior author observed a
snake convulsively thrashing in its death throes
being brought to the nest. When the eaglet
is hungry it keeps on calling. A weak “cheep
cheep ” not unlike that of a copper-
smith but less metallic and at varying intervals.
This galvanizes the brooding adult to look
impatiently skywards and utter an impatient
squawk. Usually when one of the adults sits
lightly on the chick all its calls immediately
stop.

282

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate V

Naoroji & Monga: Spilornis cheela

Bringing a Bronze-backed snake in the nest.
{Photo: R. K. Naojoji)

CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE

The Eaglet

The young Serpent Eagle when first seen
(about 3 days old) was completely covered
with white down (prepennae stage). It was a
fluffy white ball and when first observed from
the hide on 28th May (when 11 days old) the
eaglet would emit a faint but penetrating
“cheep, cheep” call. It would move about in
the limited expanse of its nest and appeared
quite restless.

For the first 15 days, the eaglet is brooded
for most of the day by the female. After this
the eaglet is left by itself for longer periods
though normally one of the adults is not far
away. The feathers on the eaglet’s nape, neck
and wings are now visible and grow conside-
rably. This, Leslie Brown writes in ‘Eagles’,
releases the parent snake eagles (African —
Circaetus) from close attendance at the nest.

It is after the eaglet is almost two weeks
of age and by itself for long periods in the
nest that it is most delightful to observe. When
it is not sleeping, the eaglet spends its time
stamping about in the nest or yawning, pulling
at the sticks of the nest or attempting to
swallow any unconsumed food prey. It nods
its head and looks over the rim of the nest
for a short while only to fall asleep and wake
up soon after, frequently uttering its cheep,

cheep calls with an intermittent clulc

cluk

The eaglet grows visibly restless after a long
wait all alone in the nest. Most of the feeds
observed were in the afternoons and
it is after mid-day that the eaglet turns much
more restless. Frequently the anticipatory and
attentive look of the eaglet gives an indication
of the parents impending visit. Once it is hun-
gry, the eaglet starts calling and its calls at this
age resemble in less volume the calls of the
adult melanotis. It was often noticed that the

eaglet’s calls were answered by the adults and
after an exchange of calls for a few minutes,
an adult sometimes arrived even with food.
The eaglet when still young was fed small
morsels but when over two weeks old it
attempted to swallow a small snake neck first.
Small snakes were the only prey that we observ-
ed the over two week old Spilornis eaglet
swallow by itself. The other prey viz., Lizards,
frogs, mammals etc., were first torn by the
adult birds and then tiny morsels of flesh and
meat were very gently and delicately fed to the
eaglet.

Cleanliness is strictly maintained at the nest.
Like all raptors, the eaglet of Spilornis cheela
too stands up, moves backwards and positions
its rump towards the edge of the nest. It then
aims high above the level of the nest rim with
its rump directed upwards and its head crouch-
ed and bent inwards towards the bottom of
the nest. Once in this rather awkward looking
position, the eaglet ejects its faeces well clear
over the side of the nest. Most of the droppings
fall onto the forest floor below but several
leafy branches get a fair sprinkling of white-
wash too. Similar behaviour of ejection of
droppings from the nest has also been observ-
ed in Acci piter badius.

Extended duration in the hide, observing the
eaglet alone in the nest for several hours con-
tinuously never gets boring, whether it is
sleeping, yawning or just clowning. More often
than not, the eaglet pays little attention to
the great number of other forest birds that so
commonly move about around the Spilornis
cheela nest, often almost settling on the nest
itself.

We once noticed sixteen species of birds in
the space of three hours at and around the
Spilornis cheela nest. Most of these were small
birds, jungle mynas, bulbuls, warblers, fly-
catchers, sunbirds. At the nest, a fully fledged

283

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

eaglet was observed to sit tightly so that the
nest appeared empty. This is usually done when
intruders are in close proximity to the nest.
When danger threatens the fully grown eaglet’s
main defence is to sit tightly so as to become
almost invisible. At this particular nest I (RKN)
thought the nest empty till the adults’ voca-
lising galvanised the eaglet into action. It was
on 20th July, 1982 that the fully fledged eaglet
left its nest. In the afternoon, the eaglet was
perched on a branch near the nest, and was
calling “Kee... Kee... Ke” with an occa-
sional “cluk.... cluk”. The fledgling would
frequently flap its wings and seemed excited.
None of the adult birds seemed to be around
though on careful searching by Bhanga, one
of the adults was spotted on a perch nearby
with its beak open and looking very alert. After
some time the adult eagle called characteri-
stically and the eaglet dropped onto one of the
disused machan poles. The adult circled over-
head calling frequently and suddenly swooped
down and alighted on the nest, calling fre-
quently and was then joined by the juvenile.
Surprisingly, the adult eagle pecked furiously
at the juvenile; probably to lessen the eaglet’s
dependence on the nest. Soon after, the parent
flew into the valley below, calling agitatedly.
The eaglet remained near the nest and a short
while later another adult arrived which was
probably the male. This adult perched some
thirty feet from the nest, calling infrequently.
The eaglet flew towards this adult and was
not repulsed. Both remained together on the
branch for about ten minutes till it started
raining. The eaglet then made the first move
and flew into the valley and perched on a
small tree. Though still under the adult’s watch-
ful surveillance the eaglet, now enjoying its
newly found freedom, flew again and perched
nearer the nest tree. A flock of blossomheaded
parakeets now settled noisily on the upper

branches of that very tree. The eaglet stared
at the parakeets in bewilderment, emitting
occasional “cluck. . . . cluck”, calls reminiscent
of a hen’s. The parakeets soon departed and
the eaglet flew over the trees to a forest clear-
ing opposite the valley. It was observed to
settle on a teak tree and this was its longest
flight yet observed. An adult eagle was
also seen flying nearby as though keeping a
watchful eye on the eaglet. The eaglet then
took another long flight and was soon out of
sight.

Plumage of fledgling

Upperparts : Brown throughout, somewhat
lighter and paler than the adult. Whitish and
paler edges of feathers showing through on the
dark upperparts, thereby giving a white spotted
appearance. Crest erect and appeared better
formed and much more prominent than that
of the adults, being dirty white overall with
the tips blackish and brown. Crest was easily
noticeable even when the eaglet was in flight.

Under parts: rather dark. The lower plumage
unusually dark brown with whitish, streaks
and spots throughout. Chin and throat much
paler, almost dirty white.

Tail: distinctly lighter than the adults and
multi-banded with 3-4 dark bands and an equal
number of paler bands.

Underside of wings with more white and
pale cream and somewhat more barring.

Whitish bars on wings and tail more nume-
rous in juveniles than in adults (Blanford &
Dates, Old Fauna, Vol. 3, p. 359).

For making the last observation the nest
site was visited during the late afternoon on
21st June 1982. An eagle call was heard but in-
spite of a proper search the eagles and juvenile
could not be located. The monsoon vegetation
was very thick and this made spotting all the

284

CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE

more difficult. The eaglet of Spilomis cheela
had thus remained in and around the nest for
approximately 2 months.

Acknowledgements

I (RKN) would particularly like to mention
and thank my father, Mr. Kekoo Naoroji, and
my uncle, Mr. Naval P. Godrej, for taking an
interest in the project and funding the whole
trip. I am indeed indebted to them and to the
whole family for their understanding and co-
operation.

The Senior author is extremely grateful to
Shri K. S. Dharmalcumarsinhji for guiding him
to the Rajpipla forests and for his advice from
time to time. We also thank Mr. Bhatia, DFOs,

R E F E 1

Ali, Salim & Ripley, S. D. (1978): Handbook
of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. I, 2nd Ed.
Oxford University Press. Bombay, pp. 329-332.

Baker, Stuart (1935) : Nidification of Birds of
the Indian Empire. Talyor and Francis, London,
pp. 70-73.

Brown, Leslie (1976): Birds of Prey, Biology
and Ecology. Hamlyn, London.

Rajpipla, Mr. Sanat Chavan and Mr. Rashid,
Ex-Chief Wildlife Warden, Gujarat, for the
help they rendered to us during our trips to
the forest.

We would like to mention Mr. Narendra-
sinhji Mahida, Mr. Dharmendrasinhji Mahida
of Rajpipla and Dosu Modi for the assistance
they offered us.

We thank Osman Khan and Kasim Khan
for imparting to us their great knowledge of
the area.

We thank A. G. Sekar for drawing the map.

Last but not least we thank Bhanga, the
adivasi whose assistance to us was invaluable
and whose help contributed greatly to the
success of our trips.

ENCES

Brown, Leslie & Amadon, J. (1955) : Eagles,
Hawks & Falcons of the world. Country Life vol. 1,
Michael-Joseph, London, p. 360.

Grossman, & Hamlet (1956) : Birds of Prey of the
World. Cassel & Co. Ltd.

Hume, Allan O. (1890): The nests & eggs of
Indian Birds, Porter, London, pp. 154.

285

NOTES ON FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF
VARANUS BENGALENS1S (SAURIA: VARANIDAE)1

Walter Auffenberg2
{With seven text-figures)

The present study documents certain behavioural aspects of the feeding of Varanus
bengalensis. Search patterns are emphasized, showing that this species exhibits both
area- and object-concentrated foraging behaviour. Most successful area-concentrated
foraging includes casting behaviour. The perceptual field is estimated, with mean
reactive distance shown to be 1.3 m, and mean active pursuit distance 2.6 m. Flush-
pursuit foraging behaviours are most common, with success ratios varying from 44 to
82 per cent, depending largely on prey type. Social facilitation is an important aspect
of high predator densities, with piracy common, but with success dependent on size
of the interacting individuals. The most common hunting modes are speculative,

flushing, and open pursuit; stalking is rare.

Introduction

A number of studies have demonstrated the
importance of sensory modalities in predatory
behaviour of reptiles (see Burghardt 1970, Her-
zog and Burghardt 1974, for pertinent reviews).
Most students now realize that prey move-
ment, colour, morphology, and predator expe-
rience are all relevant variables in prey selec-
tion (Ruggiero et al. 1979). However, few
studies have analyzed the movements associat-
ed with predation by reptiles, as has been done
with many species of fishes, birds, and mam-
mals (see Curio 1976, for review). For the
most part studies of reptile predation behaviour
have been experimental and have focussed on
aspects of chemoreception in prey capture
(chiefly reviewed by Burghardt 1975, Burg-
hardt and Pruitt 1975), focussing on the nature
and role of innate chemical recognition of
prey and the effects of experience.

1 Accepted January 1982.

2 Florida State Museum, University of Florida,
Gainesville, 32611, U.S.A.

Description of predation in reptiles are large-
ly limited to isolated field reports and cursory
observation (see Drummond 1979, for a nota-
ble exception), and almost all of them deal
with snakes. Clearly, an understanding of the
sensory and behavioural adaptations of preda-
tory lizards demand more comprehensive and
detailed descriptions than are presently avail-
able. The research reported here was an in-
vestigation of the ethology of the predation of
the large varanid lizard Varanus bengalensis
under captive conditions.

Materials and Methods

Twelve adult Varanus bengalensis were used
as the basis of this study; two males and eight
females (Av. total lengths during the study for
males was 115 cm, for females 95 cm). All
were long time captives, raised from hatchlings,
thoroughly accustomed to conditions of cap-
tivity. All were kept in two greenhouses (156
m2) at the author’s home in Gainesville,
Florida. Each greenhouse contained five indi-
viduals (4 females, 1 male). While the females

286

FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF VARANUS BENGALENSIS

had been kept in specific greenhouses for seve-
ral years, the males were often interchanged
during spring to encourage reproductive beha-
viour, which was being studied at the same
time (see Auffenberg 1981a, b). Each green-
house was a seminatural situation, being pro-
vided with facilities for climbing, basking, and
hiding. While most of the central floor area
was clear, small rock and brush piles were
located around the edges; a few plants and a
log or two were near the center.

The data on which the study is based were
gathered by videotape recording. One (some-
times two) video cameras (Panasonic WV-
1300A) and time lapse recorders (NV-8030)
taped the monitors’ activity every day from
0800 to 1730 hrs for a period of three years.
These tapes form the basis the present study as
well as of the analyses already finished (Auffen-
berg, 1981a, b, on combat and courtship). As
a result, aspects of the feeding behaviour of
this species were recorded during a total of
250 feeding bouts. The completed tapes were
scanned every evening by means of a fast play-
back feature and appropriate sections marked
for later analysis.

On later review of pertinent tape sections,
movements over the surface, as well as move-
ments of parts of each monitor during food
searches (head, tongue, front feet, etc.), could
be traced off of the video screen (Panasonic
TR-9001M) and direction, angles or rates of
movement analyzed.

Four types of food were offered during the
study — “carrion,” turtle eggs, live white mice,
and live frogs ( Rana utricularia) . The “carrion”
was represented by pieces of dead laboratory
rats; frozen and then cut into 16-20 pieces.
Table 1 provides pertinent data on the physi-
cal characteristics of the prey.

Food was offered every two weeks during
the warmer months, every four weeks in win-

ter. Carrion was usually randomly scattered
about the greenhouse floors, turtle eggs ran-
domly placed on the surface or buried with
the top of shell 2 cm deep; live frogs and
mice were thrown into the greenhouses in
places where the monitors could not see them
hit the surface. These methods of food pre-
sentation tended to generate strong, consistent
search behaviours on the part of the resident
monitors.

Results

FOOD CONSUMPTION

Satiation Level. — Satiation level was deter-
mined on the basis of the monitors nudging the
food with their snouts instead of eating it. For
the adult males the mean total food weight
at satiation level is 160.7 g ± 24.8 g; for
females 99.8 g — 15.7 g. These results are
respectively 6.9 per cent of the mean body
weight of the males (g) and 5.8 per cent of
the mean body weight of the females (g). How-
ever, variability in total intake is great, being
from 68.4 to 495.9 g for males (to 18.1%
of total body weight). There is no correlation
between amount eaten and food type.

Handling Time —This period includes both
manipulating the food (including killing it, if
necessary) and swallowing. Both are clearly

Table 1

Physical characteristics of the prey offered to
Varanus bengalensis

Prey Type

n

X weight
(gm) + PE

X silhouette
size (cm2)

“carrion” (rat
chunks)

38

17.1

10.5

turtle eggs

12

18.6

5.1

frogs

23

13.1

14.8

mice

27

26.7

16.2

287

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

positively related to food particle size. How-
ever, in the present study, the “carrion,” live
frogs, and live mice were all approximately the
same size (Table 1).

Table 2 shows that mean handling time is
least for “carrion,” intermediate for live frogs,
and very significantly more for five mice. On
the basis of comparative review of the taped
sequences, it is obvious that the increased
handling time for live mice is largely due to
the fact that frogs are often swallowed alive,
with little or no attempt made to stun or kill

tatus , and Anolis carolinensis. All three species
were eaten, though not commonly, for some
individuals of particularly the last species re-
mained in the greenhouses for several weeks
and their remains were rare in the monitor
droppings. Two successful attacks on Anolis
carolinensis were observed; both after active
pursuit on the ground. No attacks on Eumeces
were witnessed, but their remains were some-
times found in monitor droppings.

Leilopisma were often taken, usually by a
short pursuit and grab after having been flush-

Table 2

Handling times (sec) of various food types

Food Type

n

O.R.

X

PE±:

S.D.

t-test

“carrion”

129

0.6-20.4

3.7

1.8

5.0

not sig.

live frogs

112

0.9-14.4

5.2

0.9

1.1

highly sig.
(df = 87,

live mice

88

6.9-28.8

16.3

3.1

2.4

t-test=3.17

them. On the other hand, live mice are quick-
ly, but repeatedly dashed and/or scraped
against the ground after being grasped. Un-
published data on feeding of adolescents of
this monitor species (Ganci and Auffenberg
MS) suggest that killing techniques are suited
to prey size and the extent to which the prey
can possibly injure the attacking individual.

Other Foods. — Several other prey taken, but
not specifically offered as food, were noted and
are worthy of mention. Ants were often eaten,
but only a large species of carpenter ant (Cam-
ponotus sp.). These were obtained either when
the monitors “rooted” through dry leaf litter
with their snouts, or when the ants were mov-
ing in the open. In either case, these ants were
usually picked up individually with the
tongue, less often grasped by the jaws.

Three native lizards frequented the green-
houses: Leilopisma laterale, Eumeces inexpec-

ed from surface debris by the rooting monitors.

Eggs of Varanus bengalensis were regularly
eaten by the males (only), either when the
eggs were strewn on the surface or placed in
natural nests by the females. Young hatched
naturally in the greenhouses were also some-
times eaten by adult males (only?). The largest
V. bengalensis cannabalized was a female with
a total length of 46 cm, by a male 121 cm
total length.

Earthworms and beetle larvae were regular-
ly eaten usually when digging next to rocks,
logs, or in other damp places.

HUNTING MODES

Four major hunting modes were identified:
random foraging, speculative foraging, stalk-
ing, and open pursuit. The first is discussed in
detail below. Speculative foraging is not ran-

288

FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF VARANUS BENGALENSIS

dom, but an area-concentrated search pattern
(see below). It included digging in the soil
or debris with the front feet, “ rooting ” through
surface litter with the snout, and flushing by
walking over or tonguing a small area. Specu-
lative foraging in areas expected to produce
prey was a common hunting mode. Most
commonly it took the form of digging under
and next to logs and rocks, or in the dampen-
ed soil under small leaks in the roof. Prey
secured this way were earthworms and beetle
larvae. For unexplained reasons, females dug
more commonly than males (93.8% of 66
digging bouts were by the females). Even when
a correction is made for the larger number of
females, digging was largely a female activity
(78.7% of all digging bouts). It may be re-
lated to nest selection, but there is no evidence
for this.

Rooting was an activity equally practiced
by both sexes. It consists of both lateral and
anterior movements of the snout, moving the
litter about in rather rapid, jerky movements.
The behaviour may be related to the slit-like,
posteriorly located nostrils in many Varanus
species. Rooting results in the capture of earth-
worms, ants, lizards, and particularly beetle
larvae. The latter is the predominant prey
category of this lizard species in the wild
(Auffenberg and Ipe 1983) and most are
probably captured this way.

Flushing includes behavioural patterns in
which a hidden prey is made to move. This
was accomplished by scratching with one front
foot, touching with the tongue, walking over
the area quickly, and rarely during digging and
rooting. It is a very effective hunting mode
and may be speculative, or follow a pursuit
sequence when the prey is momentarily lost to
view. When the importance of flushing and
distant visual recognition are compared in suc-
cessful foraging bouts, only 35.0% of the total

successful captures of frogs and mice were
accomplished by flushing the prey from a
hiding place; 65.0% were visually spotted. For
frogs, only 37.5% were flushed, 62.5% were
caught after the frogs themselves moved. For
live mice, the same ratio was 21 .2% to 77.8%.
Though the difference is significant at the 0.5%
level, the reasons are not apparent.

Stalking of prey was very rare. When prey
was seen, the attack was mounted from the
detection distance, with no apparent attempt to
shorten attack distance via a stealthy approach.
Stalking by following a scent trail, particularly
after flushing, probably occurs, though I found
no evidence for it in this analysis.

Open pursuit was the most common hunting
mode immediately preceding prey capture. Seve-
ral important factors relating to open pursuit of
both live frogs and mice were analyzed. These
are: reactive distance and direction, chase dis-
tance, predation pursuit speed, prey speed
(frogs and mice), and prey capture success
ratio (Table 3). There are no significant diffe-
rences in the successful pursuit of frogs com-
pared to mice, or the mean visual reactive
distance for each of these prey, or the mean
chase distance for each prey species. However,
prey escape speed is very different for the
two prey species. The similarity of chase dis-
tances is due to the fact that the monitors
grasp frogs anywhere on the body during their
pursuit, but mice are almost always grasped on
the side, resulting in the predator having to
spend more time during the chase to get its
head in an appropriate attack position. Frogs
were attacked in mid-air during a jump, or
immediately after stopping, when they frequent-
ly “froze.” Freezing behaviour is clearly
advantageous to frogs, for the attack success
ratio on continuously moving frogs was 59%,
while for those that freeze the ratio was 33%.
Gregory (1979) considered immobility an im-

289

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 3

Factors related to the open pursuit hunting mode for live frogs and mice*

Prey

X Visual
Reactive
Distance
(m)

X Chase
Distance
(m)

Prey Speed
m/sec

X Prey
Diameter
(mm)

Success

(%)

Normal

Escape

Frogs

0.3±1.13

0.57

0.82

14

49

—

1.34±0.41

Mice

2.6+2.15

0.004

0.12

51

* Prey density consistently 1/52 m2; frog n=112, mice n=88.

portant predator avoidance behaviour by Rana
aurora and showed that distances to which
potential predators can approach the frogs are
positively correlated with predator size, while
Heatwole (1968) proved that allowable pre-
dator approach distances are related to degree
of cryptic coloration in anoline lizards. In this
study, the majority of frogs remained com-
pletely immobile (81%) m until actually touch-
ed by the snout or tongue of the Varanus
bengalensis. The frogs flushed by Varanus ben -
galensis are chased again, apparently on the
basis of visual, rather than olfactory recognition.

When caught, the frogs were usually scrap-
ed against the substrate a few times to move
them into position for swallowing. Though no
testable data are available, male V. bengalensis
seem to have chased their prey at a higher
rate of speed and appeared somewhat more
motivated to capture them than females (see
Auffenberg 1979, for other intersexual diffe-
rences in the feeding of this species).

In contrast to frogs, more mice were cap-
tured when they froze (capture success for
all moving mice 44%, for all frozen mice 82%),
suggesting that scent probably plays a greater
role in location of frozen mice than frozen
frogs.

Mice were also grasped very specifically.

almost always on their side. They were then
violently shaken, bitten repeatedly, and scrap-
ed and hit on the substrate. These observations
were consistent with those of Loop (1974),
who studied the attack and ingestion behavi-
ours of V. bengalensis in considerable detail.
Similar attack and ingestive behaviours depend
on size of predatory snakes (Loop and Bailey
1972). Live mice often bit the predator on the
side of the head, particularly on the area of
the ascending maxillary process.

Mean reactive distances for mice in which
the tongue was used to locate prey was 0 . 06 m
± 0.26 (n = 3 1 ) . This distance is only slightly
more than the length of the tongue itself and
suggests that scent is important in locating prey
only at close range. Gettkandt (1931). Kah-
mann (1932), Burghardt (1964, 1966), Herzog,
and Burghardt (1974) all showed that prey
movement was most important in eliciting
attacks by snake predators and the same pattern
seems operative in Varanus bengalensis. Figure
1 shows the average visual- and scent-reactive
distances calculated in this species during the
study. In addition, it illustrates the positions
of prey resulting in pursuit. None of the pur-
sued prey were located in the area included
within 60 degrees on either side of the midline
and behind the head. Thus the visual angle

290

FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF VARANUS BENGALENSIS

the positions of those prey noticed and chased (n = 88) by the monitor in relation
to the direction of travel (arrow).

important in foraging V. bengalensis is pro-
bably about 240°, or 120° on each side of
the midline anterolaterally. The majority of
reactances occurred with prey located within
an arc of about 90° on each side, with most
between about 30° and 80°.

SEARCH BEHAVIOUR AND FORAGING TACTICS
Social Facilitation. — The sight of one indivi-
dual feeding often induced other nearby in-
dividuals to start feeding on their own, or in a
common feeding area. The behaviour is well
documented in various fish, bird, and mammal
species ( see Curio 1976, for review), but has

been only occasionally reported in reptiles
(Greenberg 1977 Auffenberg 1981c). In moni-
tor lizards it is common in particularly those
species feeding in aggregations at large carrion,
such as V or anus komodoensis (Auffenberg
1981c). In the Varanus bengalensis used in this
study social facilitation often took the form
of piracy, a form of which has previously been
studied in birds (Hatch 1970).

Piracy among Varanus bengalensis normally
occurred when one individual had prey in its
mouth. Analyses of piracy observed in this
study (n=45) show that, in general, it was an

291

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

unsuccessful tactic (success percentage 26.7).
However, success level was largely determined
by the sizes of the interacting individuals. Thus
piracy acts against smaller individuals by
larger ones was frequently successful (62.5%
of all such interactions). However, most piracy
attempts were conducted by smaller (n=33)
than by larger individuals (n=12), though
usually unsuccessful (n=33, 84.8% failures),
regardless of the victim’s size; and even less
successful when the victims were larger than
the pirates (n-23, 87.0%). Attempted piracy
among more or less equal-sized individuals was
usually unsuccessful (n-14, 28.6%).

Food particle size was also clearly impor-
tant, for when the food particle diameter was
larger than 14 mm and length greater than
50 mm, pirating attempts were more successful
(n=13, 81.0%) than when food particles were
smaller (n=20, 19.0%) and handling time was
short.

Piracy attempts were not particularly reward-
ing when food was plentiful, for other indi-
viduals were often drawn to the area of piracy
attempt, and these individuals may feed on

the surplus food, while the potential (usually
unsuccessful) pirate is chasing another. Piracy
attempts were also characterized by a chase
and/or grab at the mouth — sometimes even
when the other mouth had nothing in it. It
was also more common by certain individuals
than by others of equal size.

Search Movements. — Locomotion during
which there is no search for food was notice-
ably different than that while looking for food.
The primary differences during food search
were (1) more rapid and regular tongue flick-
ing, and (2) greater lateral head and body
movements. Nonforaging locomotion was usual-
ly practiced when individuals moved between
the retreat and basking sites. These trackways
were usually direct, with few and generally
small deviations; mean forward speed was 9.0
cm /sec. On the other hand, trackways made
by foraging individuals were less direct, often
convoluted, circular or sinuous (Fig. 3). Mean
forward speed was the same (8.1 cm/sec). The
head is rhythmically swung from one side to
the other (^scanning), with tongue-flicking
usually occurring at the end of each lateral

TRAVEL AXIS

292

Fig. 2. Typical scanning movements during foraging. Numbered heads show positions
at one-second intervals; dots show points at which tongues have been flicked; travel
axis and actual path both indicated.

FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF VARANUS BENGALENSIS

swing (Fig. 2). A special form of scanning
in small areas is called casting (see Curio
1976, for discussion of its use in invertebrates).
In casting the forward movement is stopped

entirely (or nearly so), with exaggerated late-
ral head sweeps and (in varanids) with more
tongue flicks (Table 4). Tongue flicks in non-
foraging movements usually occur at the

Fig. 3. Typical locomotor patterns. Scale indicated. Head positions shown as short
lines, with continuous line tracing movement of snout tip; arrow showing direction
of body movement. Dots indicate tongue flick locations; X shows food locations
(see text). A, non-foraging pattern, without scanning; B, foraging pattern with typical
increasing tonguing during wide lateral scanning movements, e, to right to trail
being position of buried turtle egg (not found) , non-area-concentrated pattern; C, same,
but foraging more intense as seen in slower movements and rate of forward pro-
gression; D, same, but with more intensive, slower search near buried turtle egg
(e, located and eaten); E, same, near wet spot on greenhouse floor (circle); F,
alternating low and high intensity area-concentration pattern; G, same, more intense
with slower greater lateral movement; H, pattern in which two buried turtle eggs (e)
are found and eaten, and place where egg found by same individual the day before
(y); (I) pattern preceding and following successful location of two pieces of meat (ee).

293

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 4. Components comprising the maximum food search path of Varanus bengalensis :
NB =: maximum lateral undulations of neck and body (c. 7 cm on either side of
travel axis), H = lateral movements of head, c. 5 cm, T = lateral movements of
head, c. 5 cm. Total width of scent discrimination path about 34 cm.

greatest extent of the head swings (sometimes
during the mid-swing distance) (Fig. 3A). Dur-
ing foraging the tongue flicks occur more rapid-
ly (Table 4), usually at several places between
the greatest lateral movements of the head
(Fig. 3B).

The lateral head scanning movements are
functionally increased by the tongue length,
for it is usually completely extended with each
flick (max. distance about 5 cm in adults). In
addition, the amplitude of the lateral move-
ment of the body is 5-10 cm (Av. = 7.3); the
“wave length” of the lateral head swings is one
per 10-80.3 cm, depending largely on lizard
length (Av. = 63.2 cm). Figure 4 illustrates
the extent of the major movements contribut-
ing to the total width of the search path in
Varanus bengalensis adults. The mean head
movement per second in casting is about 40%
slower than that when scanning, and 69%

Table 4

Comparison of movement patterns during the

SEARCH FOR FOOD AND OTHERWISE

Nonforaging

(n=31)

Foraging

Scanning

(n=12)

(n=28)

Casting

(o=16)

X Forward Speed
(cm/sec)

9.0

8.1

0.2

X Lateral Head Sweep
(total side- side)

(in cm)

8.0

10.2

25.6

Distance of Head
Movement /sec
(in cm)

1.1

0.6

0.3

X No. Tongue
Flick / sec

7.2

3.8

2.3

slower than when not foraging (Table 4). Thus
both head movement and forward progression
is slowed down as foraging intensity is in-

294

FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF VARAMUS BENGALENSIS

creased, and tonguing becomes more rapid.
Casting movements are slower and with a
greater lateral component than other patterns
(Table 4).

Area-concentrated Search Patterns. — Varanus
bengalensis shows typical area-concentrated
search behaviour, especially in reference to
casting search patterns. Area-concentrated
patterns using casting techniques typically alter-
nate with scanning patterns during the search

for food. Figure 3 provides typical examples
(Fig. 3D-I). A comparison of the non area-
concentrated search pattern of Figure 3B, with
area-concentrated types seen in parts of parti-
cularly patterns D through I clearly shows the
slower movements and more complete investi-
gation of the surface in the area-concentrated
types. The scent of buried turtle eggs leads to
area-concentration by casting, each at places
where a buried egg was found the day before

Fig. 5. Example of an extensive area-concentrated search brought in an area (dot)
where a live mouse had been captured 24 hours previously, then returning by way
of a rather circular path to the spot (X) where another live mouse had been captured
at the beginning of the sequence shown. Maximum diameter of search path shown
2.1 m, total elapsed time 321 sec.

295

JOURNAL . BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

(Fig. 3H). Such area-concentrated searching as
evidenced by casting clearly begins some dis-
tance (10-80 cm) before the food site (distance
undoubtedly related to olfacient strength). Note
that in Figure 3B a foraging monitor failed to
find and eat a buried turtle egg at E, though
it came within 30 cm of the location on two
scanning sweeps; the travel rate and direction,
as well as the tonguing frequency, all suggest
it did not detect the food.

Figure 5 also shows another feature of the
area-concentrated foraging pattern — that the
successful location of food is not only preced-
ed by, but also usually succeeded by casting.
Direction changes after food discovery are not
significantly different than changes before food
detection, unlike the hunting behaviour report-
ed in some birds (Smith and Dawkins 1971).
However, the arc produced in casting has a
mean radius of 1.2 m before discovery, a
radius of 0.7 m after discovery, with a pro-
portionately smaller variance. Scanning move-
ments are greater near a scent focal point (X
scanning width 28 cm) than they are when the
monitor is far from the focal scent area
(X = 15 cm).

Intense area-concentrated search patterns
occur when adult males respond to crossing the
track of a female. The major difference in this
pattern and that of a generalized, non-
concentrated pattern, such as Figure 3B, is the
former’s more convoluted path and the alter-
nation between more rapid and less rapid head
movements as the pattern shifts from high to
low intensity area-concentrated search patterns.

Figure 5 shows the resulting area-concentrat-
ed search pattern when food is repeatedly
located in fairly small area. Even without re-
peated food discovery in one area, there is a
tendency for Varanus bengalensis to spend
more time in places where it found food earlier
the same day, or even on previous days. As an

example, in a sample of nine food search bouts
randomly selected from the tape (total
6 hrs, or 21,776 sec, Av. bout length
40.3 min., or 2419 sec), individuals spent
an average of 3 1 . 6% of the total search time
at places where they had found food earlier
in the same bout. This entire time was spent
casting over the discovery area, with frequent
tonguing of the soil and leaf litter (5.4% of
the time was spent at food sites during earlier
bouts; 3.3% of the time was devoted to acti-
vities unrelated to food discovery; 59.7% of
the time was spent in areas where no food had
previously been found). Statistics important in
analyses of the situation are: each greenhouse
floor has an area of 7 m x 7 m (49 m2), mark-
ed in square metre squares, in which food was
offered and behaviours of the monitors taped.
Nine feeding bouts were photographed, pro-
viding a maximum possible surface for move-
ment of 441 m2. But of these only 181 m2
were visited (41.0% of total), probably due
to the fact that carrion food particles were
located on only 30 squares (6.8% of
total area available). The difference between
the visitation of 181 and 30 (difference = 151
squares) is due to both random food search
and movement from one food source to an-
other. The 30 squares provided with food at
one time or another were visited 105 times,
including 75 revisited a second (or more) time,
and only 8 never revisited again. Of the squares
traversed (310) that never had only food
(280), 82 were revisited a second (or more)
time, and 77 were never revisited after the
final crossing. This more or less equal distri-
bution regarding non-food square transverses
suggests these movements are random. How-
ever, the high order of revisits to squares in
which food was found earlier (that same bout,
or a subsequent one) suggests a very signifi-
cant non-random site-specific pattern related to

296

FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF VARANUS BENGALENSIS

Fig. 6. Varanus bengalensis; above, attentive posture when engaged in an object-
concentrated (entirely? visual) search for jumping frogs; below, normal body position
during an area-concentration (largely olfactory) search for buried turtle eggs.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

previous successful food location (X2 34.46,
df = 1, P-0.001).

Object-concentrated Search Patterns — In
many circumstances it is difficult to distinguish
between area- and object-concentrated search
patterns, especially when the search for food
is obviously largely scent-dominated. One
example is when the intensive search for an
object (female, buried turtle eggs, etc.) takes
place in a small area. Digging next to and
under logs and rooting in leaf debris for insect
prey are other examples. However, in other
circumstances concentration on a particular
object is clearly divorced from concentration
on a place. This perhaps is best illustrated in
the quite different search for larger active prey,
such as living frogs and mice.

During the search for moving prey the
tongue is rarely used. The head is held high,
though parallel to the ground (Fig. 6). The
entire demeanour appears tense and alert, with
the head often turned quickly from side to
side. Likely movements within several metres
lead to a rapid dash in that direction, and the
prey is often chased for some distance. Loss of
visual contact through freezing or hiding be-
haviour of the prey usually leads to intense
area-concentration behaviour with tonguing
and rooting of the surface litter in a small area
until the prey is flushed or found. Neither time
budget nor space utilization analyses during
object-concentrated searches show any signifi-
cant positive relationship with previous success-
ful capture sites — at least within the confines
of the greenhouses used in this study. However,
field investigations would undoubtedly show
that object-concentrated hunting modes lead to
selection of specific habitat types and probably
at specific times of the day, as they do in
Varanus komodoensis (Auffenberg 1978, 1981c).
Though no comparable studies have been con-
ducted on reptiles, research on other verte-

brates (i.e., birds and mammals) has shown
that specific hunting behaviours are affected
as a consequence of remarkable few experi-
ences by the predator (Crose 1970, Randall
1970).

Discussion

One of the results of this study is that the
satiation level has been shown to be much higher
for adult males than for adult females, agreeing
with earlier data that during adolescent growth
the males of this species tend to consume more
food than females of the same age class (Auffen-
berg 1979). This suggests that males may
process food faster than females and thus help
to explain why males tend to bask longer than
females (Auffenberg 1979). The fact that male
V. bengalensis eat more food per unit time than
females suggests that males are exposed to
higher predation levels by larger carnivores,
and thus the faster growth of males probably
results in a differential mortality in the sexes.
This should be checked by appropriately de-
signed data obtained from field studies.

Handling time is significantly lower for
carrion type food than live prey; particularly
those prey species, such as mice, that are capa-
ble of injuring the predator. These and other
data clearly show that attack techniques are
suited to prey type, as has been shown to be
the case in the Komodo monitor (Auffenberg
1981c). Unpublished data on captive adoles-
cent V. bengalensis suggest that these techni-
ques are developed quickly and very early,
requiring a remarkably short time for develop-
ment (Ganci and Auffenberg, MS).

Foraging behaviour of this species includes
a great amount of rooting in the surface litter.
The way in which this is done plus the similar
behaviour of other slit-nostriled varanids
( Varanus rudicollis, V. grayi, V . dumerilii)

298

FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF VARANUS BENGALENSIS

and apparent absence of such behaviour in the
round-nostriled forms with which I am familiar
( Varanus komodoensis, V. varius, V. sal vat or,
all in author’s field notes) suggests there is an
important functional relationship requiring
additional confirmation.

The ambush tactic is apparently not used
by Varanus bengalensis of any size to obtain
prey. However, in V. komodoensis, the adults
regularly practice this technique, while the
young or even half-grown individuals do not
(Auffenberg 1981c). I conclude that ambush
hunting is a behavioural pattern only regularly
practiced by very large monitors hunting pro-
portionately large prey. It may, in fact, be re-
stricted to only adult V. komodoensis as a
regular hunting tactic among at least varanids.

On the other hand, open pursuit of prey
much smaller than their own mass is a com-
mon behavioural mode in Varanus bengalensis,
as it seems to be in most (all?) other monitor
species, including all sizes of V. komodoensis.
Open pursuit often follows a deliberate
object-oriented search pattern — frequently ini-
tiated by visual prey recognition from a dis-
tance. Similar hunting modes have been report-
ed for varanids in the field (Auffenberg 1981c),
and we must conclude it is one of the most
important techniques for food procurement by
at least the more active species of the family
(there is no evidence that it occurs in Varanus
grayi, as an example, author’s field notes).

Area-concentrated search patterns are also
important, particularly for small, inactive live
prey (beetle grubs, etc.) and carrion. In this
mode, scent apparently plays a major role in
food location. It may be accompanied by root-
ing, digging, scratching, and similar surface
disturbance techniques designed to flush or
disclose the prey. Tonguing is frequent and
casting behaviours are characteristic during
high intensity search for particularly carrion.

The ability of varanids to locate carrion from
great distances (c 10 km) has been reported
in Varanus komodoensis (Auffenberg 1981c)
and from lesser distances in Varanus salvator
(Auffenberg 1980). Though V. bengalensis
apparently feeds on less carrion in the wild
than do these two species (Auffenberg, in
press), scent-oriented, area-concentrated pat-
terns are utilized in its location. Furthermore,
the present study makes it clear that indivi-
duals frequently return to area in which they
have found food previously. The same pattern
has been demonstrated for Varanus komodoensis
in respect to ambush locations for large prey
(Auffenberg 1978, 1981c). Long-lived lizards,
such as V. bengalensis , would clearly profit
from long-term area-concentrated search pat-
terns, for longevity provides the accumulation
of experience necessary to concentrate their
feeding forays in those areas where prey are
either actually more abundant, or attack is
facilitated by peculiarities of prey behaviour
or local topography. This is clearly demon-
strated in the behavioural relationship of adult
V. komodoensis and the deer and pigs on which
they regularly feed (Auffenberg 1978, 1981).
In V. komodoensis species ambushes are usually
performed in areas of high prey concentra-
tions, even when such concentrations occur only
during short parts of the day. On the other
hand, there is some evidence that younger
Komodo monitors are not as area-oriented as
are the adults, and this seems to be the case
in V. bengalensis as well, though proof is lack-
ing. If true, then it suggests that area-concen-
tration and, particularly, one prey-one place
associations take a long time to develop. How-
ever, the tendency to return to successful hunt-
ing sites is clear, even if the successful encounter
was several weeks previous. In the Komodo
monitor there is evidence that the location of
such successes may be remembered for at least

299

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol SO

several months. It is even possible that many
of the ambush sites visited over several days
foraging may represent a series of previously
successful prey encounter sites and that the
consistency of the foraging foray movements
may be based on such earlier successes. This
study has shown that in Varanus bengalensis
about one-third of the time spent in a foraging
bout is spent at previous successful food en-
counter sites.

It has been shown above that the perceptual
field of Varanus bengalensis is greatly widened
by the rhythmic lateral bending of the head
and body. But the actual field recognized is
probably similar to that demonstrated for
herring larvae (Rosenthal and Hempel 1970),
being in the form of an undulating tube (Fig.
7). Curio (1976) has suggested that similar
lateral movements in fishes tend to increase the
mean diameter of the predator, thus increasing

34 cm

Fig. 7. Diagrammatic representation of presumed undulating perceptual tunnel about
34 cm wide in adult Varanus bengalensis (adapted from illustrative concept of Rosenthal

and Dawkins, 1970).

300

FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF VARANUS BENGALENSIS

their discrimination efficiency. This is clearly
the case in Varanus bengalensis.

While the present study has helped elucidate
certain factors regarding the behaviour of forag-
ing monitors in the field, many important ques-
tions remain. Most of these can be answered
only after more thorough study in both the
field and laboratory. To date most studies of
the ethology of predation have used insects,
birds, fishes, and mammals as subject groups.
Little work has been done in this field with

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Randall, E. J. (1970) : The predatory sequence,
with emphasis of killing behavior and its ontogeny
in the cheetah. Z. Tierpsychol. 27: 492-504.

Rosenthal, H. & Hempel, G. (1970): Experi-
mental studies in feeding and food requirements of
herring larvae ( Clupea harengus ). Pp. 344-364. In
Marine Food Chains (J. Steele, ed.). Oliver and
Boyd: Edinburgh.

Ruggiero, L. F., Cheney, C. D. & Knowlton, F.
F. (1979): Interacting prey characteristic effects on
kestral predatory behavior. American Naturalist 113
(5): 749-757.

Smith, J. N. M. & Dawkins, R. (1971): The
hunting behavior of individual great tits in relation
to spacial variations in their food density. Anim.
Behav. 19: 695-706.

302

BREEDING HABITS AND ASSOCIATED
PHENOMENON IN SOME INDIAN BATS1

Part VIII — Taphozous melanopogon (Temminck) —
Emballonuridae

V. M. Sapkal and K. G. Khamre2

Specimens of Taphozous melanopogon (Temminck) were collected from dungeons
and passages of old discarded forts at Narnala, Chikaldhara, Mandu and Raysen.
The population varies at the colony during different seasons. It has a sharply defined
annual breeding cycle. Young are delivered between the last week of May and first
week of June. The gestation period is about 120 to 125 days. The newly born young
are 7 to 8 g in weight and are weaned when they attain a body weight of 20 g. There
is a complete dominance of the right side of the female genitalia over the left, and,
as a rule, ovulation occurs from the right ovary and conceptions in the right cornu.
The left side of the genitalia is functional in very exceptional cases. The young do
not attain sexual maturity within the first year of birth. The colony shows an even
sex-ratio only during the season of copulation, whereas the males are more numerous
in the colonies examined during the rest of the year. Evidently, the females migrate
from these colonies during the sexually quiescent period.

Introduction

Information concerning the details of breed-
ing habits and sex-cycle on Indian emballonurid
bats is confined to a brief description of the
breeding habits and ovarian cycle in Taphoz-
ous longimanus (Gopalakrishna 1954, 1955)
and to a preliminary account of the breeding
behaviour of Taphozous melanopogon (Kha-
parde 1976) inhabiting temples of Bhuvanesh-
war, Orissa. Even these short accounts have
revealed that there are basic differences in the
breeding sexual activity of the two species
which are so closely related taxonomically.
Whereas, Taphozous longimanus (Gopala-
krishna 1954, 1955) is a continuous breeder
with a quick succession of pregnancies with

1 Accepted March 1981.

2 Department of Zoology, Institute of Science,
Nagpur-440 001.

the two horns of the female genitalia function-
ing alternately, Taphozous melanopogon (Kha-
parde 1976) is a restricted breeder with the
right side of the genitalia being functional.
Further, there appears to be differences in the
breeding pattern of Taphozous melanopogon in
different climatic and ecological situations.
Hence, a detailed study has been undertaken
to study the breeding habits and sexual cycle
of Taphozous melanopogon collected from
three different localities in Central India, but
having nearly the same ecological conditions.

Material and Methods

The specimens of Taphozous melanopogon
(Temminck) were collected from dungeons and
passages of old forts at Narnala, Chikhaldara,
Mandu and Raysen. All these localities are
situated in the midst of dense jungle. Collection
from Narnala were made so as to have one

303

Summary of the collection diary

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

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Table I (Contd.)

BREEDING HABITS IN SOME INDIAN BATS — Part VIII

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Table II

Month-wise collection of specimens

Month

Males

Females

Total

January

78

52

130

February

23

21

44

March

39

19

58

April

16

26

42

May

32

24

56

June

33

28

61

July

5

5

10

August

22

0

22

September

11

4

15

October

12

11

23

Movember

28

20

48

December

24

16

40

323

226

549

collection or more representing each month.
The specimens were collected only a few times
from the other two localities. Since there is no
difference in the breeding behaviour of the
specimens in the different localities, the des-
criptions are common except where a special
mention is made regarding specimens from a
special locality.

The specimens were caught at random dur-
ing the daytime with a butterfly net and
brought to the laboratory alive. After noting
down the significant characters of the external
genitalia in the male and mammary glands in
the female, the specimens were killed by chloro-
form and their body weights recorded by a
sensitive spring balance. After fixation of the
dissected genital tracts in suitable fixatives they
were preserved in 70% alcohol. In the case of
males, the right testis of each specimen was
taken out of the preservative 70% alcohol,
rolled on filter paper and quickly weighed in
a Mettler balance. Although this does not give
the actual weight of the testis, this gives a
correct picture of the relative weights of the

305

3

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

testes of the different specimens, since the testes
of all the specimens were subjected to the same
procedure.

Table I is a summary of the collection diary,
and Table II gives the monthwise collection of
specimens.

Observations

Taphozous melanopogon is a medium sized
bat which lives in colonies in which the popu-
lation varies during the different seasons of the
year. The largest colony studied for the present
report was found at the main fort of Mandu,
having a population of 12,000 to 15,000 speci-
mens. The specimens clung to the rough surfaces
of the wall or were inside cracks in the walls.
At Namala also a colony of Taphozous mela-
nopogon was located in an old fort, and the
specimens were found in narrow dark tunnels
within the walls of the fort. The colony con-
tained about 2000 to 3000 specimens. At
Chikhaldara there was a colony of 400 to 500
specimens in narrow passages of an old fort.
The roost was almost empty at Narnala and
Chikhaldara during April During March and
August the roost at Chikhaldara has mostly
males with a very small number of females. Evi-
dently, the specimens migrate to some other
place during these months, and it appears as
if the females leave the colony during certain
months of the year and roost elsewhere.

Taphozous melanopogon is a medium sized
bat with an adult body weight ranging from
25 to 35 g. The males have a dark brown fur
on the body and are easily recognisable by
their having a black beard. The gular pouch,
which is so characteristic of other species of
Taphozous is not present in Taphozous mela-
nopogon.

Female genitalia :

The ovary is ellipsoidal in shape measuring

1 . 00 mm in length, 0 . 7 mm in breadth and
0.8 mm in the middle. It is attached to the
mesovarium by a broad hilus and is enclosed in
a complete ovarian bursa. The Fallopian tube
arises from the postero-mesial aspect of the
bursa, traverses along the anterior margin of
the bursa curves caudally passing on the lateral
side of the bursa and opens into the cranial
end of the respective uterine cornu. In the
nonparous females the two uterine cornua are
nearly equal in length (8.0 mm) and meet
caudally to form a ‘V’- shaped structure. In
the parous females the right uterine cornu is
distinctly thicker than the left. The vagina is
14 mm long has a transverse slit-like opening.

Examination of serial sections reveal that
the lumen of the uterine cornu do not become
widely confluent to form an uterine body, but
the lumen of each cornu continues indepen-
dently as a distinct canal without the typical
uterine glands, and joins its counterpart of the
contralateral side only near its distal end to
open by a common opening at the tip of the
cervix.

Breeding Habits :

The breeding behaviour of Taphozous mela-
nopogon is same in all the three localities from
which the specimens were collected for the pre-
sent study. Hence, the present observation are
common to specimens of all three localities.
Special mention of any specific locality is men-
tioned only where pertinent.

An examination of the collection diary and
Table I reveals several interesting feature.
Pregnancy, as evidenced by the presence of
bulbous uterine cornu, was noticed during the
period between 5th February and 30th May.
With the exception of two atypical specimens,
all adult females collected on 15th June had
delivered their young and the uterine cornu,
which bore the conceptus, had become comple-

306

BREEDING HABITS IN SOME INDIAN BATS

Part VIII

tely involuted and had reached the normal
condition. Many of the specimens were carry-
ing well grown young at their breasts. These
facts indicate that these females had delivered
their young atleast 10 to 15 days before. This
is further substantiated by the fact that two
females collected on 29th May had delivered
and were in full lactation. They carried a newly
born young each at the breast. Both the young
were nearly naked, had adherent eyelids and
had a stump of an umbilical cord, one young
weighed 7 g and the other 8 g. The average
weight of a full term foetus ranged between 7
to 8 g. Evidently, they had been delivered just
a few hours earlier — about 8 to 10 hours
before. The rest of the specimens collected on
29th and 30th May were heavily pregnant and
carried full term conceptuses which would have
been delivered in a day or two. It appears that
all the females in the colony, barring the two
exceptional specimens collected on 15th June,
delivered their young during the two weeks —
the last week of May and first week of June.

Microscopic examination of the female geni-
talia of specimens collected during January
revealed that copulation had not occurred in
any female collected upto 23rd January. Two
females collected on 27th January had sperms
in the uterus, an early corpus luteum in the
ovary and an egg in early cleavage in the ova-
rian part of the Fallopian tube. Most of the
adult specimens collected on 30th January had
either late morulae or early blastocysts. The
specimens collected on 5th February had late
implanted blastocysts. From this date onwards
the females carried progressively advanced con-
ceptuses until delivery during the last week of
May or first week of June.

The facts indicate that Taphozous melanopo-
gon has a sharply defined annual breeding
cycle. Secondly, copulation is immediately fol-
lowed by pregnancy, which advances progres-

sively during the following weeks. Pregnancy
was not noticed at any other period of the
year.

The first batch of newly delivered young
were obtained on 29th May and these, as has
already been shown, might have been delivered
a few hours before. The young ones collected
on 1st July weighed 15 to 17 g and were free.
The adult females, however, were still in lacta-
tion, and milk oozed out of the nipples when
the mammary glands were pressed. No speci-
men in lactation was collected after this date.

From the above description of the breeding
habits of Taphozous melanopogon, the annual
life of the adult female of this species can be
recognised into the following periods:

1) Period of sexual quiescence — from the
middle of July to the third week of January.

2) Oestrus — copulation and fertilization dur-
ing the last week of January.

3) Pregnancy — from the last week of Janu-
ary to first week of June.

This has been arrived at by taking into
consideration that the sucklings obtained on 1st
June were reasonably well grown, but not
grown enough to become completely indepen-
dent. The maximum weight of the young col-
lected on that date was 17 g. On 9th August
when the next collection was made, the young
were free and independent, and the lowest
body weight was 24 g. Looking at the rate of
growth of the young it is reasonable to assume
that the sucklings obtained on 1st July would
be weaned by about 10th to 15th of July when
they attain a body weight of about 20 g.

While the above pattern of sexual life of the
female is the normal situation, there were
noticed two unusual and exceptional specimens,
one on 29th April and the other on 15th June.
While all other pregnant specimens collected
on 29th April were nearly of one stage of
pregnancy, the exceptional specimen carried a

307

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

conceptus which was distinctly smaller than the
others. Likewise on 15th July while all other
specimens had delivered their young and the
uterus in these had undergone complete invo-
lution, there was one specimen which carried a
full term foetus, which, judging by its size,
would have delivered in a day or two. Strange-
ly, while in all other cases the pregnancy was
distinctly carried in the right uterine cornu,
these two exceptional specimens carried the
conceptus in the left cornu. Evidently, there is
a very small number of females in the colony
which conceive later than all others, and while
the number of specimens exhibiting such un-
usual behaviour is too small to warrant any
generalization, it is strikingly extraordinary that
only these should be carrying the pregnancy
in the left cornu. Perhaps they missed or under-
went unfruitful copulation or there was an
early degeneration of the ovum released from
the right side, and may have induced the left
ovary to release an ovum from the left ovary
at a later date within the breeding season.

It is interesting to note that amongst the em-
ballonurid bats, while Taphozous longimanus
(Gopalakrishna 1954, 1955), Rhychonyteris
naso (Burt and Stirtos 1961) breed through-
out the year, Taphozous georgianus (Kitchner
1973) and Taphozous magnis (A1 Rabaake
1968) breed once a year in a sharply defined
season. Taphozous melanopogon resembles the
latter two species in this respect. It is interest-
ing that two closely allied species such as
Taphozous longimanus (Gopalakrishna 1954,
1955) and Taphozous melanopogon living under
the same climatic conditions possesses diver-
gent breeding habits.

Number of young and symmetry of female

genitalia

Among the 89 pregnant females which ex-
hibited unquestionable pregnancy, 87 carried

the conceptus in the right cornu and two in
the left. The examination of the ovaries of 46
specimens carrying the conceptus in the right
cornu revealed that the corpus luteum was in-
variably present in the ipsilateral ovary. The
examination of the ovaries of the two ex-
ceptional specimens carrying pregnancy in the
left cornu showed that in both these cases
the ovary of the left side had released the ovum
as revealed by the presence of a corpus luteum.
The ovary of the nonfunctional side showed
a typical anoestrus condition in all the species.

The genitalia of all the females collected on
27th and 30th January were examined histo-
logically since copulation took place during this
period. Out of 36 such females 31 had released
the ovum from the right ovary, 3 had a pre-
ovulatory follicle each in the right ovary and
the other two were immature females. These
facts show that the right ovary is the normal
functional ovary in this species and the embryo
implants in the ipsilateral cornu. It is in very
exceptional cases that the left ovary releases
the ovum and the embryo implants in the left
cornu. The exceptional situations occur only
in the very few specimens in which there is
delayed copulation and ovulation. Hence, these
specimens conceive at least 2 to 3 weeks later
than the other specimens. Evidently, the right
side of the female genitalia is nearly completely
physiologically dominant in this species. The
left side becomes functional only under very
exceptional conditions.

Duration of pregnancy :

The collection diary and Table I indicates
that pregnancy in progressively advanced stages
occur between 5th February and 30th May. Two
specimens each carrying a young weighing 7 g
were obtained on 29th May 1977. Both were
nearly naked on the belly, reddish in colour
and had still a small umbilical stump which

308

BREEDING HABITS IN SOME INDIAN BATS — Part VIII

had not withered. Their eyelids had not yet
opened. This, taken along with the fact that
the weight of the full term foetus (average of
7 foetuses obtained from specimens collected
on 30th May 1977), indicates that the two suck-
ing young ones collected on May 1977 must
have been delivered a few hours before.

Histological examination of the specimens
collected in January showed that the earliest
date when a fertilised egg was noticed was 27th
January, and during the following days the
specimens contained progressively advanced
embryos either in the Fallopian tube or in the
uterus. Implanted blastocysts were present in
specimens collected on 5th and 9th February.

From the above data it is evident that the
duration of pregnancy in Taphozous melano-
pogon is 120 to 125 days allowing a couple of
days on either side — the date when fertili-
sation was observed (27th January) and the
date when the first batch of young ones were
collected (May, 29).

Growth and maturity :

The collection diary and Table I reveals
some interesting data on the growth and age of
maturity in Taphozous melanopogon. Except
the specimens, which are attached to the breast
of the mother during the suckling period, it is
not possible to determine the maturity or other-
wise in this species in the free specimens on
the basis of the size and body weight. By the
time the young ones leaves the mother, it is
nearly of the same size as the mother and very
soon attains adult body weight. Thus, after
about three months after birth the immature
animals cannot be distinguished from the adults
on the basis of the size of the body. However,
the size of the testis in male and the size and
nature of the mammary nipples and the fact
whether the uterus contains an embryo or not
in the female are valid criteria to determine

sexual maturity or otherwise. On the basis of
these criteria it is evident that during the sexual
season there are many immature males in the
colony. Likewise there are many nonpregnant
females in the colony during the season of
pregnancy. Since this species breeds only once
a year in a sharply defined period, since there
are immature specimens in the colony during
the breeding period, it is evident that the ani-
mals of this species do not attain sexual matu-
rity within the year of their birth. Since, the
young ones are delivered late in May or early
in June, since the reproductive season com-
mences in the last week of January and since
the animals do not attain sexual maturity within
the year of their birth, the animals are atleast
21 months of age (from the end of May to the
end of January of the year after the year of
birth) when they come to sexual activity, and
the female is atleast 24 months before she
delivers her first young.

Consequently, during the beginning of the
breeding season the colony has atleast three
kinds of individuals: (i) the immature ones,
(ii) those which would be experiencing their
first sexual season and (iii) those which had
experienced sexual activity atleast once before.
The data at present do not warrant a definite
conclusion regarding the possible longevity of
the species. The animal has to produce atleast
3 young ones for the preservation of the species
allowing for possible early mortality. This
would mean that this specimen should live at-
least for 50 months to produce 3 young and
wean the last one. Brosset (1962 a), who made
observations on this species, noticed the dead
bodies of many young ones during suckling
periods. He reported that atleast 30 per cent
of the young ones born in the colony each
year are thus lost before they are weaned. If
this factor is added to the normal expected
minimum maturity, then each female may lose

309

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

1 /3rd the number she delivers. Hence, she
should produce atleast four young in her life
time to perpetuate the species. Brosset’s (1962a),
and the present observations indicate that the
colony actually increases in size and after
reaching a certain maximum, the spillover of
the population migrate to form another colony.
This demands that atleast five young should
be produced by the female in her life time.
Hence, the female should have a minimum
longevity of atleast 74 months allowing for the
weaning of the 5th young born to the female.

Sex-ratio :

The collection record and Table II indi-
cates that out of the total 549 specimens
collected of all ages there were 323 males and
226 females. This gives a male dominant un-
even sex-ratio of 5 to 3% males in the popu-
lation. Earlier observations of Abdulali (1949)
also revealed an uneven male dominant sex-
ratio for this species and also for Hipposideros
lankadiva. In all other bats, in which the sex-
ratio has been studied so far, there is a prepon-
derance of the female (Gopalakrishna 1974).
The present study on Taphozous melanopogon
has revealed some extremely interesting data.
Although specimens have been collected
throughout the year and from different (three)
localities and although in all the localities the
total number of males collected was more than
the females, it appears it would be fallacious
to draw conclusion on the data thus obtained
in the case of Taphozous melanopogon. This
caution is indicated by the following facts. The
number of sucklings obtained is too small to
be of any statistical significance. The collection
record during the season of copulation (between
January 16 and January 30) shows that among

the mature animals there were 26 males against
31 females giving nearly even sex-ratio with
the females being slightly more than the males.
During the entire period of sexual activity from
copulation to delivery, there were 111 males
and 1 1 1 females. Evidently, the imbalanced sex-
ratio as revealed by the total collection is due
to the difference in number of the adult males
to adult females during the nonsexual season
(from June to the last week of the following
January) when collection contained 149 mature
males and only 13 mature females. This shows
that except during the sexual season the males
and females live segregated. It is also interesting
to note that, while the males remain in the
original colony, the majority of females migrate
to some other place.

It is difficult to determine the accurate sex-
ratio of colonial bats, which tend to live in
sexually segregated colonies during different
seasons of the year, unless it is possible to
establish their migratory routes and the place
where the emigrant bats roost. Hence, the sex-
ratio of this species as revealed by the collec-
tion record is not valid. Perhaps Abdulali (1949)
also drew conclusion on the sex-ratio of this
species on the basis of only a few collec-
tions and from one or two male dominant
colonies. A survey of many colonies of this
species within its migratory distance is neces-
sary for understanding the exact sex-ratio in
this species.

Acknowledgement

We express our deep gratitude to Dr. A.
Gopalakrishna, Director, Institute of Science,
Nagpur for his guidance throughout the pro-
gress of this work.

310

BREEDING HABITS IN SOME INDIAN BATS — Part VIII
References

Abdulali, H. (1949): Sex ratio in Indian bats.
/. Bombay nat . Hist. Soc. 48: 423-428.

Al Rabaake, K. (1968) : Notes on the biology of
the tomb bat, Taphozous nudiventris magnus v. Wet-
tstein 1913, in Iraq. Saugetierk Milt., 16(1) : 21-26.

Brosset, A. (1962) : The bats of Central and
Western India. Part I. /. Bombay, nat. Hist. Soc., 59
(1): 36-42.

Burt, W. H. and Striton, R. A. (1961): The
mammals of El Salvador. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool.
Uni. Michigon., 117: 1-69.

Gopalakrishna, A. (1954): Breeding habits of
the Indian sheath-tailed bat. Taphozous longimanus

(Hardwicke). Curr. Sci., 23: 60-61.

(1955): Observations on the

breeding habits and ovarian cycle in the Indian
sheath-tailed bat, Taphozous longimanus (Hardwicke).
Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India., 21: 29-41.

Khaparde, M. S. (1976): Notes on the breeding
habits of the Indian sheath-tailed bat, Taphozous
melanopogon (Temminck). /, Bombay nat. Hist.
Soc., 73(2): 321-324.

Kitchner, D. J. (1973) : Reproduction in the com-
mon sheath-tailed bat, Taphozous georgianus
(Thomas) (Microchiroptera: Emballonuridae) in

Western Australia. /. Zool., 21: 375-89.

311

POTAMOGETON IN NORTH WESTERN HIMALAYAS1

A. Majeed Kak2
(With twelve text-figures)

Potamogeton L. (Potamogetonaceae) consti-
tutes’ a natural genus with about 100 species
(Airy Shaw 1966), wide spread throughout the
world, except in the polar regions. The species
commonly known as “Pond Weeds”, are one
of the most important food resources of water-
fowls — which include migrant marsh birds and
shore birds. Most of the species provide food,
shelter and shade for fish and minute animal
life. The most important species used as
manure in floating islands of Kashmir lakes
is curled pond weed (P. crispus L,).

Hook. f. (1893) reported 9 species from the
Indian subcontinent, which was reduced to 4
by Subramanyam (1962). Stewart (1972) from
his personal and early collections reported 11
species from the Himalayas. I accept
14 species of Potamogeton L. as occurring in
the north western Himalayas. Two species are
reported for the first time from the Indian sub-
continent. Brief descriptions of all the species
are given. Voucher specimens are deposited in
the Herbaria, the University of Kashmir, Uni-

versity of Alabama (U.N.A.) and National
Botanic Gardens (BSI) Calcutta.

Potamogeton L. Sp. PI. 126 (1753).

Hydrogeton Lour. FI. Cochinchinensis 244
(1790).

Patamogeton Honckeny. Syn. Plan. Germ.
2. 110 (1793).

Potamogiton Raf. Med. Respos. 5: 354
(1808).

Potamogetum Clairville. Man. Herb. Suisse
& Valais 34 (1811).

Peltopsis Raf. Jour. Phys. Chim. Hist. Nat.
Arts. 89. 102 (1819).

Spirillus J. Gay. Compt. Rend. Hebd. Sean-
ces. Acad. Sci. 38. 703 (1854).

Potamogeton : Rootstocks creeping. Stems
usually branched. Leaves stipulate, stalked or
sessile, entire or finely toothed. Flowers small,
perfect; perianth segments 4, green; anthers 4;
ovary of 4 distinct, sessile 1 celled, 1 ovuled
carpels Druplets or nutlets small, more or less
beaked.

Artificial key to the species

1 . Leaves linear lanceolate, ovate or suborbicular; stipules not adnate to the leaf base; spikes stiff and
compact

2. Upper leaves mostly floating, ovate-suborbicular

3. Floating leaves oblong lanceolate or elliptic lanceolate; petiole shorter than lamina

4. Beak of the nutlets very short, hooked P. octandrus

4. Beak of the nutlets short and stout

5. Rootstocks persistent; prostrate, internodes somewhat thickened P. fluitans

5. Rootstocks annual, springing form a resting bud, which is deciduous or attached to a
short persistent stolen; internodes not thickened P. alpinus

1 Accepted September 1979. of Science & Commerce, Srinagar 190 002, Kashmir

2 Department of Botany, Xslamia Degree College (India).

312

POTAMOGETOM IN NORTH WESTERN HIMALAYAS

1.

2.

3. Floating leaves oval or ovate, as long as broad or longer than broad; petioles equal or much
longer than lamina

6. Submerged leaves reduced to phyllodes; peduncles thick at the base of the spike

P. natans

6. Submerged leaves linear to linear obovate; peduncle not thickened at the base of
spike

7 . Stipules subpersistent, 2-4 cm long, obtuse; upper leaves recurved not keeled

P. polygonifolius

7. Stipules decaying early, linear, acute or obtuse 3-9 cm long; upper leaves
more or less 2 keeled

8. Nutlets obovoid, 2. 5-3. 5 mm long, acutely keeled; beak short but stout

P. nodosus

8. Nutlets obovoid, 3. 0-4. 9 mm, scarcely keeled beak long slightly curved
P. tepperi

Upper leaves submerged or partly floating, linear lanceolate
9. Leaves sessile

10. Leaves linear usually crisped or serrulate, 3 ribbed P. crispus

10. Leaves oVate or cordate, never crisped or serrulate, 5-9 ribbed

P. perfoliatus

9. Leaves petio/ate

11. Upper leaves submerged; peduncles mostly solitary

• • • • P. lucens

11. Upper leaves slightly emergent or floating peduncles usually

in clusters P. zizi

Leaves setaceous or linear, filiform; stipules wh0Hy or partly adnate to the leaf base; spikes loose or
monoliform jSSRfPPM**- -

12. Plants dwarf; stems compressed branched throughout

P. pusillus

12. Plants tall or medium sized; stems terete, simple or
branched apical ly

13. Copiously branched apically forming mats, less
branched at the base; leaves 1 nerved; stigma not
discoid; beak facial usually recurved ...P. pectinatus

13. Slightly branched apically, unbranched near the
base; leaves 3 nerved; stigma disc shaped; beak

short almost subcentral with truncate apex

P. filiformis

Potamogetois tepperi A. Benn. in Jour, of Bot.

xxv. 178 (1887); Ascherson & Graebner.

Potamogetonaceae 31. 62 (1907).

P. odontocarpus Gandog. Bull. Soc. Bot.

France 3 ser VI. 393 (1899).

This broad leaved pondweed is often con-
fused with P. natans. In the field it can be dis-
tinguished by the following characters: phyl-
lodes absent; upper leaves floating, ovate-
lanceolate, base cordate light pink beneath with

20-30 prominent nerves.

Anchar lake; AMK 3144, Dal lake; AMK
3193, Nagin lake; 3812, Leper Hospital AMK
3879.

Clarke’s (1895) plate 29142 based on collec-
tions from this area preserved in the Kew
Herbarium was studied by Ascherson and
Graebner (1907) who pointed out its presence
here. Since then the plant has been overlook-
ed by collectors.

313

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Potamogeton polygonifolius Pourret. Act. Tou-
louse, 3: 325 (1734): Fryer et al. Potamo-
getons of Brit. Is. 18 (1913).

The species is very close to P. natans and
P. nodosus from which it can be differentiated
on the basis of characters given in the key.
(Fig. 1).

Hokhar sar; AMK 3645, Hazrat bal; AMK
2025, Nagin lake; AMK 3367, Verinag; AMK
3139.

A highly plastic species, P. polygonifolius is
susceptible to the influence of altitudinal and
other conditions, e.g. depth of water. Some-
times it grows on wet banks and then is stunt-
ed and without reproductive organs.
Potamogeton natans L. Sp. PI. 126 (1753);
Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 6: 565 (1893); Collett,
FI. Siml. 547 (1902); Yuzepehuk in Kom.,
FI. URSS 1: 200 (1934); Fryer l.c. 4; Cla-
pham, et al FI. Brit. Is. 946 (1962); Fassett,
Man. Aq. PL 55 (1972); Dandy in Rech. f.
FI. Iran. 83: 3 (1971); Stewart Ann. Cat.
Vas. PI. W. Pak. and Kash. 29 (1972).
Leaves heterophyllous, all stalked; lower
ones reduced to phyllodes; upper floating, ovate
lanceolate to elliptical. Nutlets compressed,
obovate usually reduced on the back, rarely
with an acute keel, dorsal margins reduced;
beak short.

Dal lake, AMK 3875; Anchar lake, AMK
3354.

Potamogeton nodosus Poiret in Lam. Encycl.
Meth. Bot. Supp. 4; 535 (1816); Yuzepehuk
l.c. 199; Fernald, Gray. Man. Bot. 8: 76
(1950); Clapham, et al l.c. 947; Dandy in
Rech. f. l.c. 3; Stewart, l.c. 29; Khatija et al.
l.c. 4.

P. indicus auct. non Roth. FI. Ind. 1: 471
(1820); Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 5: 565 (1893);
P. oblongus auct. non. Viv. Aitch, in J.
Linn. Soc. Bot. 18: 99 (1830); P. natans

auct. non. L. Rech. f. FI. Lowland Iraq 27
(1964).

Common plant of this area. Often confused
with P. natans and P. polygonifolius , but can
be separated by the characters given in the key.
(Fig. 2).

Highgam Rakh, AMK 3190; Nagin lake,
AMK 1811; Dal lake, AMK 3874.
Potamogeton octandrus Poir. in Lam. Encycl.
Meth. Bot. Suppl. 4: 534; Stewart, l.c. 29;
Khatija, et al l.c. 7.

P. juvanicus Hussk. in Act. Soc. Sci. Ind.
Neerl. 1.8: 26 (1856); Hook. f. l.c. 566;
Collett, l.c. 547; Yuzepehuk in Kom. l.c. 195.
Bennett. FI. Trop. Afr. 8: 220 (1901).
Grows in quiet or slow flowing waters, also
in irrigation channels. The species superficially
resembles P. nodosus but can be distinguished
from it by the petioles being longer than the
blades and the spikes usually shorter than in
P. nodosus ; Nutlets with hooked beak; ribs
often toothed in P. octandrus. (Fig. 3).

Dal lake, AMK 3283; Shalimar, AMK 3067;
Malgam, AMK 3879, 3810.

Potamogeton lucens L. Sp. PI. 126 (1753);
Boiss, FI. Or. 5: 567 (1882); Hook f. l.c.
567; Collett, l.c. 448; Yuzepeckuk in Kom.
l.c. 202; Clapham, l.c. 948; Dandy, in Roch.
f. l.c. 4; Stewart, l.c. 29; Khadija et al. l.c. 5.
Grows abundantly in our lakes; highly plas-
tic; leaves elliptic lanceolate or oblong ovate,
sessile or subsessile acute or acuminate. Nutlets
faintly keeled, obtuse on the back, lateral ribs
obscure, beak short, subcentral. (Fig. 4).

Economically less useful; used as manure
along with other aquatic weeds.

Dal. lake, AMK 3407; Highgam Rakh, AMK
3689; Bemma, AMK 461.

Potamogeton lucens var. acuminatix-s (Schu-
mach) Fries. Novit. FI. Suec. ed. 1, 46
(1816); Ascher & Graeb. Potamogetonaceae
31; 76 (1959). P. acuminatum Schumach,

314

POTAMOGETON IN NORTH WESTERN HIMALAYAS

Enum. PL Saell. 1; 49 (1801); A. Bennett.

J. of Bot. XIX, 151 (1891).

The species is restricted to Dal, Manasbal
and Nilnag lakes. It can be distinguished from
P. lucens by the sessile or subsessile lanceolate
leaves with 3-5 nerves; apex acuminate much
drawn out; spikes mostly curved.

Charchinari, AMK 3635; Ruph lank (Dal
lake), AMK 3229.

Potamogeton zizi Mert. et. Koch. Deutschl FI.
1. 845 (1823); Cham et Schlechtd. in Lin-
naea II. 202 (1827); Ascher et Graeb. l.c.
81; Fryer, et al. 72; Stewart, l.c. 29.

P. lucens subsp. zizi Roth. Hook, stued. FI.

Fig. 1. Potamogeton polygonifolius Pourret; Fig. 2. P. nodosus Poiret; Fig. 3. P.
octandrus Poir.; Fig. 4. P. lecens L.; Fig. 5. P. zizi Mert. et Koch.; Fig. 6. P.

fluitans Roth.

315

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ed. 3; 433 (1884); P. lucens var. heterophyl-
lus Fries. Novit. FI. Suec. ed. 2; 34 (1828).
Superficially similar to P. lucens also grows
in association with it and P. fluitans. It can be
distinguished from both by the subsessile leaves
and spikes arising in clusters. (Fig. 5).

Manasbal, AMK 3404; Charchenari (Dal
lake), AMK 3606; Nagin lake, AMK 3303.
Potamogeton fluitans Roth, Tent. FI. Germ. 1.
72 (1788); Bennett in J. of Bot. XXIII 375
(1885); Ascherson and Graeb. l.c. 58; Fryer
& Benn. l.c. 11. P. oblongus var. fluitans G.
F. May. Chloris, bannov 519 (1836); P.
natans var. explanatus Mert. U. Koch. Deut-
schl. FI. I. 837 (1828).

Occurs in fast flowing streams and in irri-
gation channels, can be distinguished in the
field by the long petioled, thin leaves. Stigma
exerted; spikes mostly barren. Nutlets 3 keeled,
central one acute (Fig. 6).

Nagin lake, AMK 751; Ghasma shahi, AMK
3876; Anchar lake, AMK 3193.

Potamogeton alpinus Balbis in Mem. Acad.
Sc. Turin Ann. 10-11 Sci. Phys. Math. 1;
329 (1804); Aschers. FI. Brandeub 658
(1864); Fryer, et al l.c. 11 Calpham, et al.
l.c. 950; Stewart, l.c. 29; Khatija & Jaffri,
l.c. 4. P. rufescens Schrad in Cham., Adnot
5 (1815); Boiss, l.c. 16. P. stylis Hagstr. in
Bot. Not. 98 (1908).

This species can be distinguished from other
Potamogetons of this area by the following
characters; Stems being pale or dark olive
green tinged with red or purple; Leaves sessile,
oblanceolate-elliptic. Nutlets oblique or obo-
vate, lenticular, acutely keeled, beak subcentral,
acute. (Fig. 7).

Nilnag, AMK 1149, 2016, 3890, 3946.
Potamogeton perf ©flatus L. Sp. PI. (1753);
Hook. f. l.c. 566; Collett, l.c. 547; Fryer, l.c.
38; Yuzepchuk, l.c. 30; Khatija et al l.c. 5.
This species is easy to identify in the field.

Leaves all similar, oval to ovate, suborbicular
or oblong lanceolate, sessile, amplexicaul. Nut-
lets obliquely ovate; beak slightly recurved;
subcentral, slightly winged towards the margin.
(Fig. 8).

Pulwama, AMK 3279; Panikar (Zanskar,
Ladakh), AMK 2031; Thungboo (Zanskar),
AMK 877.

The species has considerable variation in the
vegetative body and attempts have been made
to treat them as distinct varieties (Ascherson
& Graeb. 1907). But they seem to be merely
different states of the same species produced
by local and temporary conditions. Plants
growing at high altitude as at Panikar and
Parkhacheck (Zanskar) and Drass (Ladakh)
have small, rotundifolius leaves resembling var.
rotundijolius Sonder.

In the valley lakes it is present only and
rarely in Anchar lake.

Potamogeton crispus L. Sp. PI. 120 (1753); A.

Bennett, l.c. 8; Boiss, l.c. 17; Hook. f. l.c.

566; Collett, l.c. 547; Fryer, l.c. 43; Clapham,

l.c. 256; Dandy in Reich, f. l.c. 6; Stewart,

l.c. 29; Khatija, et al l.c. 3.

The early spring pond weed of this area,
it is easily recognised. The leaves are flat and
acutely serrate when young, but strongly un-
dulate when mature. Nutlets 3 keeled with the
central keel slightly winged and crested with
a long fleshy tooth at the base, sometimes re-
duced to a tubercle, but always present in the
fresh fruit. Lateral ridges obscure. The var.
serrulatus (Schrad) Reichb reported from this
area is merely an immature stage of the plant.
(Fig. 9).

Locally known as Zai Hill, it is used as
manure; and in the preparation of floating
islands with other emergent aquatic plants.
Fruits eaten by ducks and other water fowl,
also fish feed on the young leaves.

Leper Hospital (Nagin lake), AMK 809;

316

POTAMOGETON IN NORTH WESTERN HIMALAYAS

Dal lake, AMK 3803; Shalimar, AMK 3230;
Mirgund, AMK 2083; Highgam Rakh, AMK
2028.

Potamogeton fiiliforaiis Pers. Syn. PL 1 : 152
(1805); Clapham, et al. l.c. 957. Dandy in
Rech. f. l.c. 7; Stewart, l.c. 29; Khatija &
Jaffri, l.c. 10.

P. setaceus auct. non. Linn. Schum. Enum.
PI. Saell. 1:51 (1801).

P. pamiricus Vid, Meddel. Nat. Foren.
Kjobenhavn. 182 (1903).

Often overlooked by collectors as it super-
ficially resembles P. pectinatus. It can be dis-
tinguished in the field by the character that it

Fig. 7. Potamogeton alpinus Balbis; Fig. 8. P. perfoliatus L.; Fig. 9. P. crispus
Fig. 10. P. filiformis Pers.; Fig. 11. P. pectinatus L.; Fig. 12. P pusillus L.

L.;

317

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

branches uniformly from base to the apex.
Leaves submucronate, mostly 3 nerved, stigma
disc shaped. Nutlet beak facial, usually re-
curved. (Fig. 10).

Common in slow or fast moving cold
streams.

Drass, AMK 3709; Menamarg, AMK 3686;
Tungboo (Zanskar), AMK 936; Panikar, AMK
3874.

Potamogeton pectinatus L. Sp. PL 129 (1753);
Hook. f. l.c. 567; Boiss, l.c. 18; Fryer et al.
l.c. 86; Stewart l.c. 29; Khatija & Jaffri, l.c.
Copiously branched near the apex, forming
thick mats on or just below the surface. Leaves
narrowly ovate, usually 1 nerved, stigma not
discoid, stipular sheath open. Leaves narrowly
acute. Style short. Nutlets large. (Fig. 11).

Mostly in the lakes, rarely in slow flowing
streams.

Mirgund, AMK 929; Nagin lake, AMK 746;
Manasbal lake, AMK 730; Dal lake, AMK
1146.

Potamogeton pusillus L. Sp. Pl. 127 (1753) :
Hook. f. l.c. 567: Khadija Aziz and Jaffri,
l.c. 9.

Much branched, submerged herb, often con-
fused with P. pectinatus and P. filiformis. It
can be separated from both as it grows
totally submerged, and is a dwarf form. Nutlets
obovoid, obliquely elliptic, 3 keeled with a
short central beak. (Fig. 12).

Mostly in fresh and brackish waters of ponds,
streams, and in irrigation channels.

Saida Kadal, AMK 3024; Leper Hospital,
(Nagin), AMK 3274; Dal lake, AMK 3802.

Acknowledgements

I am thankful to Dr. R. R. Haynes (Ala-
bama, UNA) for going through the manuscript
and for identification of some of the speci-
mens. I am also grateful to the University
Grants Commission (New Delhi) for financial
assistance.

References

Airy Shaw, H. K. (1966): Willis Dictionary of
the Flowering Plants. Cambridge.

Arber, A. (1920): Water Plants. Cambridge.

Ascherson, A. & Graebner (1907) : Potamogeto-
naceae in Das Pflanzenreich Regni. Veg. Cons. 31
(IV. 11).

Aziz Khatija & Jafri. S. M. H. (1975): Pota-
mogetonaceae. FI. W. Pak No. 79. Karachi.

Biswas, K. & Calder, C. C. (1954) : Handbook
of common water and marsh plants of India and
Burma. Calcutta.

Correll, D. C. & Correl, H. B. (1972): Aquatic
and wetland plants of S. W. United States. Wash-
ington.

Duthie, J. F. (1893) : Report of Botanical Tour
in Kashmir. Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. 1 : 1-18.

Fasset, N. C. (1940) : A Manual of Aquatic
plants. New York.

Fernald, M. L. (1950) : Grays Manual of Botany,
ed. 8 New York.

Fryer, A & Bennett, A. (1915) : The Potamo-
getonaceae of Brit. Isles. London.

Haynes, R. R. (1968) Potamogetonaceae of Lou-
siana. Proc. Lous. Acad. Sci. 31 : 82-90.

(1973) : A revision of N. Ame-
rican Poiamogeton Subsec. pusillus (Potamogetona-
ceae) Abs. International Vol. 34(5).

& Wentz, W. A. (1975) : Flora

of Panama (Potamogetonaceae). Ann. of Missouri.
Bot. Gard. 62(1): 1-10.

Hooker, J. D. (1872-1897) : Flora British India vol.
1-7 London.

Kak, A. Majeed & Taveid, G. N. (1982) : Addi-
tions to the Aquatic and wetland flora of the N. W.
Himalayas — Two New records of the Potamegetons.
Ind. Forester 765(11): 719-722.

Misra, M. P. (1971) : Cytological studies in some
Potamogetons species. Bull. Bot. Soc. Bengal 26(1).

— (1972) : Cytological studies in some

Potamogetons and Aponogetons. ibid. 26(1): 31-47.

318

POTAMOGETON IN NORTH WESTERN HIMALAYAS

Muenscher, W. C. (1944) : Aquatic plants of
the United States, New York.

Naqshi, A. R. & Javeid, G. N. (1976) : Two new
plant record for Kashmir — Potamogeton lucens
var. acuminatus & P. cripsus var. serrulatus. Curr.
Sci. 42(2).

Rao, T. A. (1960) : A further contribution to the

flora of J&K State. Bull. Bot. Surv. Ind. 2(3&4) 387-
425.

Stewart, R. R. (1972): Catalogue of Vas. PI.
of W. Pak. & Kash. Karachi.

Subram anyam, K. (1962) : Aquatic Angiosperms
of India, C.S.I.R., N. Delhi.

— — (1962) : Aquatic Angiosperms

of India. Bull. Bot. Surv. Ind. 4(1-4) : 261-271.

319

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
The Builders and the Guardians

Part 4
Salim Ali
{With four plates )
[Continued from Vol 79(1): 46]

Hugh Whistler 1889-1943 (Vol. 44:289)
by N. B. K(innear).

Born in Lincolnshire on 28 September
1889; died July 1943. Came out to India
in the Imperial Police Service and was
assigned to the Punjab. During the 16
odd years prior to his premature retirement
he served for varying tenures in almost every
district of the Province, and being a dedicated
student of birds he made the best of his oppor-
tunities to amass a comprehensive collection
of bird skins and in the process to acquire un-
surpassed knowledge of the avifauna, not only
of Punjab but also of neighbouring Kashmir
and N.W.F.P. He kept meticulous notes on
the birdlife wherever his duties or pleasure
took him and his districtwise reports on Pun-
jab birds, published from time to time in The
Ibis or in JBNHS bear witness to his thorough-
ness and scientific acumen. A friendship struck
up with Dr. C. B. Ticehurst while the latter
was serving in the RAMC at Karachi in the
1st World War when Whistler was stationed
at Rawalpindi, and the introduction to sys-
tematic ornithology and guidance he received
from Ticehurst helped to develop him into an
expert ornithologist.

Shortly after the First World War Whistler
was approached by Mr. Millard and two other

old members of BNHS to undertake the
authorship of a popular illustrated work on
Indian birds. No happier selection could have
been made since Whistler, had the requisite
knowledge with a pleasing literary style. The
success of the book — popular handbook of
Indian birds — is shown by the fact that it
has now passed through 4 editions. When the
Society undertook the Survey of the Eastern
Ghats in 1923, Whistler who had meanwhile
settled down at Battle in U.K. was asked to
work out the collections jointly with Dr. Claud
Ticehurst and Mr. N. B. (later Sir Norman)
Kinnear. He threw himself wholeheartedly into
the work with the result that his paper in 16
parts published in JBNHS Vols. 34-39 became
practically a review of the birds of the Penin-
sula. He also worked out the bird collections
made by the various subsequent regional Sur-
veys.

Ticehurst and Whistler had jointly begun to
write a Handbook of Indian Birds to replace
the second edition of the Fauna by Stuart
Baker which had several obvious shortcomings.
After the death of Ticehurst, Whistler had
hoped to complete the book by himself but
unfortunately did not live to finish it. By
courtesy of the British Museum (Nat. Hist.),
the legatees, his meticulous MS notes have

320

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. SO
Ali: BNHS

Plate I

Hugh Whistler
(1889-1943)

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
All: BNHS

Father Jean Ferdinand Caius, s.j. Reginald Innes Pocock

(1877-1944) (1863-1947)

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

been largely utilized by Salim Ali and S.
Dillon Ripley in their Handbook of the Birds
of India and Pakistan.

Hugh Whistler was a perfectionist; pains-
taking, punctilious, and phenomenally indus-
trious, and he had no use for the careless
observer or slipshod worker. He was always
ready to help brother ornithologists, whether
a beginner or a seasoned colleague. In his
civic life in Battle, where he was Vice Chair-
man of the Rural District Council, it was the
same: he was consulted by every one and
was greatly respected by his large number of
friends and fellow councillors.

Fr. Jean Ferdinand Caius, S. J. 1877-
1944 (Vols. 45:79 — photo) by S.H.P (rater).

Born in France 17 January: died at Bom-
bay 27 July. “One of that distinguished com-
pany of Jesuits, men of great learning and
science, who devoted their lives to service in
India and who, passing, have left this country
richer for their labours and poorer for their
loss”. On coming out to India in 1895 as a Scho-
lastic in the Society of Jesus, he joined the
Madura Mission and was subsequently attached
to St. Joseph’s College, Trichinopoly, where,
among other things, he started a Natural History
Museum. Fr. Caius was Professor of Chemistry
at St. Joseph’s College, Trichy from 1911 to
1922 when he was transferred to Bombay as
director of the Chemistry Dept, of St. Xavier’s
College. By 1924 he had established his repu-
tation as a bio-chemist and was appointed by
the Government of Bombay to take charge of
the Pharmacological Laboratory of the Haffkine
Institute where he worked until his retirement
in 1932 at the age of 55. He was Chairman
of the Committee of Trustees of the Natural
History Section, Prince of Wales Museum of
Western India, and Honorary Secretary of
BNHS and one of the Editors of its journal

between 1938 and 1944. His obituarist, who
was the Curator of the Society at the time and
in close and constant touch with him, records
‘It was good to work with him. He brought
to his work the acumen, the clarity of thought,
and the critical mind of the true man of
science that he was. But he also brought to
it that human sympathy and understanding
which endeared him to all who worked with
him. In the field of science he was unable to
suffer fools gladly. But in the field of charity
his great heart got the better of him. For this
he will be loved and remembered by us.’

One important contribution by Fr. Caius
was his extensive studies of the poison ap-
paratus of snakes, and of the remedies em-
ployed against snake poisons. In India he
turned his attention to the investigation of the
value of various remedies in the Ayurvedic
and Unani systems of medicine supposed to
be effective against snake bite. After long and
laborious research he and his collaborators
rendered great public service by demonstrating
that these widely employed so-called remedies
were completely ineffective against cobra and
viper poisons. Fr. Caius was one of the lead-
ing authorities on the medicinal and poisonous
plants of India, and students of indigenous
drugs will be ever indebted to him for his
revision of Kirtikar and Basu’s out-of-print
work on Indian Medicinal Plants . Another
subject that interested Fr. Caius was “Earth-
eating and Salt-licks”. His chemical analyses
of the salt-lick earth sent to him from various
parts of India, published in the Society’s
Journal, should be of great relevance in the
scientific management of wildlife reserves.

Sir Ernest Hotson, K.C.S.I., O.B.E.
1877-1944 (Vol. 45:80) by W.S.M(illard).

John Ernest Buttery Hotson. Born 17
March: died 12 May. Entered the Indian

321

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Civil Service 1899, joined the Indian Army
Reserve of Officers when World War I broke
out and did military duty chiefly in Baluchis-
tan from 1915 to 1918. He was a keen natural-
ist and for many years one of the Society’s
strongest supporters. When in Baluchistan, and
also later in Persia, he collected specimens for
the Mammal Survey of India which was started
by BNHS, generously defraying half the ex-
penses of the Society’s field collector. Some
of his specimens were considered exception-
ally valuable by R.I. Pocock of the British
Museum (Natural History) (who was hand-
ling the Mammal Survey material) because
they had full particulars, localities, altitudes,
dates, and measurements. ‘I do not believe’
Pocock wrote ‘that Oorial, for example, have
ever been properly measured before, sports-
men caring for nothing but the horns and
shoulder height.’ Sir Ernest presented a large
collection of botanical specimens made by him
in Baluchistan, Afghanistan and Persia to the
late Fr. E. Blatter, S. J., which is now in the
Blatter Herbarium, of St. Xavier’s College,
Bombay.

Edward Charles Stuart Baker, C.I.E.,
O.B.E. 1864-1944 (Vol. 45:212— photo) by
N. B. K(innear).

Died 16 April. Following in the footsteps of
his father E. B. Baker he joined the Indian
(Imperial) Police in 1883 serving the first three
years in Bengal and the rest of his tenure in
Assam. Stuart Baker joined the Society in
1898 and his first bird paper ‘On the genus
Chloropsis ’ appeared in Vol. 6 of JBNHS in
1891 followed by many other contributions
from time to time. But it will be for his
beautifully illustrated popular serials on ducks
and other sporting birds that Baker will be
best remembered. These articles helped to
boost the Society and popularize the Journal

among sportsmen and naturalists throughout
the country and beyond more than anything
else. ‘The value of Mr. Baker’s papers in
popularizing the Journal’ his obituarist perti-
nently remarks ‘must never be forgotten’. They
were later published in book form, and the
success of the first volume on Indian Ducks
and their Allies emboldened the Society to
launch out cautiously on its natural history
book publication ventures which have proved
so profitable in the long run. During his long
service in Bengal and Assam Baker made a
large and scientifically invaluable collection of
bird skins in remote parts of the country then
almost unknown ornithologically, and of many
rare and interesting species. Besides, skins he
assembled a huge collection of birds’ eggs in
general and those of the parasitic cuckoos and
their hosts in particular. Studying the habits
of parasitic cuckoos was his special interest
and his book Cuckoo Problems is an epitome
of these researches. The eggs were collected
partly by himself and partly by hired local
tribals and his numerous correspondents all
over the Indian subcontinent. He relied per-
haps rather too trustingly on the information
supplied by his collectors, not always depend-
able, and this led to errors in his publications
detected long after his death on a critical re-
examination of his egg collection, a large part
of which has found its way to the British
Museum (Natural History). Based on his own
studies and those of other zoologists before
him. Baker wrote his comprehensive 4-volume
Nidification of Birds of the Indian Empire
(1932-35) which, despite obvious shortcomings,
is still the most complete reference work avail-
able on the subject. Baker retired in 1911 as
Inspector-General of Police for Eastern Ben-
gal and Assam and returned to England to
assume charge of the Port of London Police,
which he reorganised and brought up to a

322

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

high standard of efficiency before his final
retirement in 1925. Mr. Baker had plenty of
time to devote to ornithology after he return-
ed to live in London; in 1913 he was elected
Secretary and Treasurer of the British Orni-
thologists’ Union, which office he held till 1923.

Mr. Baker was a great shikari and a good
rifle shot. He wrote interesting accounts of his
experiences with big game in the Journal and
other sporting magazines. He was twice tossed
by a gaur and trampled on by a rhinoceros,
and had lost his left arm in an encounter with
a man-eating leopard in Silchar. He was
following the animal which had taken refuge
in a native hut, when it charged and knocked
the rifle out of his hand. The leopard seized
him, and to save himself he thrust his left
arm down the beast’s throat. Luckily his
shikaris came to his assistance and despatched
the animal. Despite the loss of one arm he
continued to shoot both with shot-gun and
rifle. Mr. Baker was an excellent tennis player
and a keen rider, and had won numerous
championships in either sport. With his single
hand he was extraordinarily clever, and it was
wonderful to see him place a small egg in a
box of sand and inscribe it.

Some of his contemporary and succeeding
ornithologists have often been less than chari-
table to Stuart Baker, accusing him (not
always unjustly!) of dubious practices in his
ornithological work. Indian ornithology, never-
theless, is deeply indebted to him for the rich
legacy of bird lore he has left behind.

Reginald Innes Pocock, F.R.S., 1863-
1947 (Vol. 47: 360 — photo) by N.B. K(in-
near) .

Born March 4: died August 8. On com-
pletion of his zoological studies at Oxford and
Bristol he was appointed in 1885 to the staff
of the British Museum (Natural History) and

given charge of the Arachnida and Myriopoda.
One of his first contributions dealing with the
Indian Region was on the Myriopoda of the
Mergui Archipelago in 1887. In 1895 he con-
tributed to JBNHS an account of the Galeo-
didae inhabiting India and Ceylon. This mar-
ked the beginning of Pocock’s long connection
with the Society. He was specially interested
in scorpions at the time and as a result of
his appeal through H.M. Phipson for speci-
mens to members of the Society large num-
bers of scorpions, alive or dead, were received
in the Society’s rooms, among them several
new species which Pocock described in the
Journal in 1897. He wrote the volume on
Scorpions in the Fauna of British India series
in 1901. Pocock retired from the British
Museum soon after and was appointed Superin-
tendent of the Zoological Society’s Gardens
in 1904. At the Zoological Gardens he made
full use of his opportunities to study live
animals, especially his favourite groups — the
monkeys, carnivora and ungulates. Among the
live animals from India received by the Zoo
from time to time there was a goral from
Chamba which excited Pocock’s special interest
and induced him to study these animals and
their allies, the serows. The result appeared
in the Journal for 1910 under the title of “The
Serows, Gorals and Takins of British India
and the Straits Settlements”. This was the
forerunner of the long series of papers on mam-
mals which he contributed to JBNHS. They
resulted in arousing keen interest among mem-
bers of the Society and in Pocock receiving
many valuable notes on the habits and distri-
bution of the various animals, which enabled
him to undertake the authorship of the second
edition of the Fauna of British India volumes
on Mammals. The first volume dealing with
monkeys and part of the Carnivora was
published in 1939, and the second volume

323

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. SO

which completed the Carnivora, in 1941. The
rest of the large animals — the ungulates and
elephants — were planned to be covered in the
third and final volume. Unfortunately Mr.
Pocock died before he could complete the
MSS for it. The new volumes are a great
advance on the first edition. The systematic
treatment is thoroughly updated and great
pains have been taken to make the paragraphs
on habits etc. more pleasantly readable, thus
rendering the volumes indispensable to the
systematist as well as to the sportsman and
the field naturalist. Pocock’s last contribution
to JBNHS was one of a series he was pub-
lishing on the Wild Asses of Asia for which
fresh material from the Rann of Kutch had
been procured for him by the Society through
the good offices of Maharao Vijayarajji of
Kutch. The necessary specimens were collec-
ted by Mr. Salim Ali who “afterwards wrote
the first accurate account of the animal’s
habits”.

A bibliography of Pocock’s more important
papers in JBNHS and other scientific periodi-
cals between 1910 and 1936 follows the obi-
tuary in Vol. 47. As can be seen, his know-
ledge of natural history was not confined to
spiders and mammals, but he also had a wide
and general acquaintance with many other
groups.

Alexander Edward Jones, 1878-1947 (Vol.
47:363) by Salim Ali.

Died at Simla 17 October. Joined the Society
in 1910 and was an active and useful member
during his long association with it. He was
an ardent and discriminating collector of birds
and a very keen and knowledgeable field
ornithologist whose notes and records have
added substantially to our knowledge of
Indian birds. Jones was the first ornithologist
to record the occurrence of the Blackthroated

Diver ( Gavia arctica ) in India in 1922, an
observation not repeated since but a notable
addition to the Indian avifauna. In 1944 Jones
generously gifted to the Society his entire
collection of some 3000 bird skins made in
many parts of the subcontinent in over 30
years of residence in the country. Most of the
specimens were shot and prepared by him
personally and the excellence of their make-
up and labelling adds immensely to their scien-
tific value. Jones was a reliable observer with
a contagious enthusiasm for bird watching. He
had acquired an extensive knowledge of Indian
birds in general, and particularly of the birds
of his ‘native’ western Himalayas. For this
area he was recognized as an authority and
consulted even by such contemporaries as
Stuart Baker and Hugh Whistler. Though a
tailor and cutter by profession, and owner of
a flourishing tailoring establishment at Simla,
he missed no opportunity of indulging in his
favourite hobby. His interest, however, was
not confined to birds alone; he was deeply
interested also in plants and insects, especially
butterflies, and has made important contribu-
tions to our knowledge of Simla butterflies.
Jones is described as a genial and lovable
man whose sincerity and sympathetic help at
all times endeared him to every young natura-
list who came in contact with him.

A bibliography of Jones’ more important
papers published in JBNHS follows his obi-
tuary in Vol. 47.

H. H. Shri Vijayarajji, Maharao of
Kutch, 1886-1948 (Vol. 47 : 530— photo) by
Salim Ali.

Died 28 February. Succeeded his long-lived
father Khengarji as Maharao in 1942 at the
age of 57, and during his short rule introduced
a number of liberal reforms for the benefit
of his subjects. In his younger days, before

324

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate III

Ali: BNHS

His Highness Maharao Shri Vijayarajji of Kutch.
(1886-1948)

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate IV

Ali: BNHS

Charles McFarlane Inglis Sunder Lai Hora

(1870-1954) (1895-1955)

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

a knee injury partly crippled him, he was a
fine all-round sportsman — an excellent rider
and tennis player, and an outstanding perfor-
mer with shot gun and rifle. Indeed his pro-
wess with the shot gun had become a byword
among his confreres, and though prevented
from indulging in his passion for small game
shooting as vigorously as before, he neverthe-
less retained his expertness as a bird shot to
the end. Though a keen all-round naturalist,
his special interest was birds, and soon after
assuming power he sponsored a thorough field
survey of the regional avifauna and encourag-
ed the publication of a popular colour-illus-
trated book of the birds of Kutch based on
the results.

Maharao Vijayarajji’s knowledge of the
birdlife of his State, particularly of the game
birds, gathered over a lifetime of discrimi-
nating sport and field observation was exten-
sive. He wrote little, but fortunately some of
the vast store of information he possessed has
found permanent record in The Birds of Kutch
by Salim Ali which will stand as a fitting
memorial to the deep interest he took in his
native birds.

Vijayarajji joined BNHS as an ordinary
member in 1920. He was elected a Vice Pat-
ron in 1943 by virtue of his numerous bene-
factions to the Society and the keen interest
he always took in its affairs and welfare during
his long association with it.

Brigadier General Reginald George
Burton, 1864-1951 (Vol. 49:763) by R. W.
B(urton).

Died 2 February, in his 87th year. Fourth
son of the late General E. F. Burton of the
Madras Staff Corps all of whose nine sons
followed their father’s profession. He was
commissioned in August 1884 and after a
period of service in Jamaica came to India

and was appointed to the Bengal Staff Corps
and the Hyderabad Contingent. He retired
from the Army in 1918 and after some stints
in civil employment in U.K. settled down in
Gloucestershire. Brig. Burton joined BNHS in
1898 and contributed many interesting notes
and articles on shikar and natural history
topics to the Journal. He had inherited both
sporting and literary tastes; his History of the
Hyderabad Contingent is a masterpiece of its
kind, and among other things gives vivid
vignettes of the wildlife of the Deccan of those
days. Besides numerous publications on mili-
tary history and historical works on Indian
campaigns, he wrote some fascinating and
highly informative books on shikar and wild
life in India including Sport and Wild Life
in the Deccan (1928), and A Book of Man-
eaters (1931), The Book of the Tiger
(1933), and The Tiger Hunters (1936).

The class of sportsman-naturalist of whom
Brig. Burton was a typical example has vanish-
ed from the Indian scene alas, and with their
going wildlife has lost some of its most dedi-
cated champions.

A.A. Dunbar Brander (Vol. 51:926) by
James W. Best.

Born and brought up at Lossiemouth in
Scotland. One of the last of the great shikaris
of the Indian Forest Service under the British
administration. Entered the service after his
studies at Cooper’s Hill and in Germany. His
entire service which extended from 1900 to
1921 was in the (then) Central Provinces
where he took full advantage of his opportu-
nities for sport whether big game hunting or
wildfowl shooting or pigsticking, and soon
became famous as a shikari. His knowledge
and experience of wildlife was unmatched.
During the whole of his service he was collec-
ting material for his book on Wild Animals

325

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

of Central India which is now a classic.

Brander was a most amusing and enter-
taining companion with a great sense of hum-
our, and in spite of a pose of truculence he
was one of the kindest of men.

Sir Peter Clutterbuck, 1867-1951 (Vol.
52:563) by J. E. C(lutterbuck).

Died in England on 20 December at the age
of 84. After his forestry training at Cooper’s
Hill for the Indian Forest Service he came
out to India in 1887 and found himself posted
to the Central Provinces. His first station was
Chanda where he was lucky enough, as he
said himself, to have as Conservator a man
who told him that shikar was the only way
to get to know the immense forests of that
area which then were unmapped and without
working plans. Shikar, his Conservator said,
would take him miles off the beaten track
and enable him to get to learn his territory
as no other method could. He plunged whole-
heartedly into this new life with an enthusiasm
and zest that never left him. He was a man
of tremendous physical strength and on occa-
sions in his early years he would spend days
and nights continuously with his Gond track-
ers following a bison or buffalo to study its
habits: where it fed and what it fed on and
where it drank and slept, etc. He prepared his
first working plans of Chanda and it was here
that he made his legendary walk of 64 miles
in 16 hours solidly through the night when
he got news that a man-eating tiger was inter-
fering with his fire protection staff and keep-
ing them away from guarding the most valu-
able teak forests at Allapili from fire. In U.P.,
where he was transferred shortly afterwards,
the forests were heavier, more developed and
richer. But they were no less rich in game
than the C.P. There were elephants for forest
work and inspection tours which was not the

case in the C.P. His wife was his constant
companion and went with him into camp
in October, not returning to their station till
the following rains. In the hot weather they
used to march early and his invariable orders
to the mahouts for the next morning were
“Hathi char bajay ” (Elephants at 4 a.m.).
‘This later became a family saying for any early
start’.

His interest in big game hunting gradually
waned: he gave up his rifle and took to field
glasses and bird watching. In his last 34 years
bird watching and fishing became his greatest
interests outside his work and home. A walk
with him from place to place in the hills was
not along the contours or bridle path but
straight down the khud and up again in a bee
line. At the seniority of Inspector General of
Forests he could outwalk and outstay men
of half his age.

In 1932, seven years after returning to
England after 40 years’ service in India, the
English climate and an invitation from his
friend the Maharao of Kutch brought him
back to India and he later accepted the post
of Chief Conservator of Forests, Kashmir. And
in the next 13 years prior to final retirement
in 1945 he worked wonders in reorganising
and developing the Forest Department of that
State. All who knew him will agree that Sir
Peter was a most remarkable man. Not only
had he exceptional abilities in the wide variety
of activities of a forest officer’s calling, but
he was an administrator of great vision and
tremendous faith. He was a keen and obser-
vant shikari and naturalist, a dedicated animal
and bird lover and an unusually knowledge-
able botanist. In fact it was his love of animals
and birds and natural history that had initi-
ally brought him to India.

326

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Charles McFarlane Inglis, 1870-1954
(Vol. 52:565 — photo) by Page.

Born in Scotland 8 November; died at Coo-
noor (Nilgiris) 13 February. When about 19
he came away to India from an office job in
Inverness and luckily found congenial vocation
as an assistant on the Roopachera Tea Estate
in the Hailakandi district of Cachar in Janu-
ary 1889. The journey to Cachar in those days
was a rather long one, partly by boat and
partly by river steamer. Roopachera was an
ideal spot for any one interested in natural
history as there was heavy forest on its boun-
daries, and it was all new and exciting for the
young naturalist. He spent his Saturday after-
noons and Sundays in the forest, sleeping on
a low machan beside some forest stream. At
that time Stuart Baker was working in the
North Cachar hills: Charles soon got in touch
with him and then began a friendship that
lasted for the rest of SB’s life to the mutual
benefit of both as well as of Indian ornithology.
With the help of one of Hume’s Indian collec-
tors, jobless after Hume had given up bird
collecting, Inglis contributed a great deal of
the material, both specimens and notes, which
later helped SB in writing the second edition
of the FBI volumes on birds. In 1898, by
which time he had given up tea, he moved
to a job in indigo planting(?) at Baghowni in
Bihar where he lived for 25 years, having
bought up the place in 1900. He made very
complete collections of birds, butterflies,
moths, and dragonflies while in Bihar and
had many outdoor aviaries where he bred
Burmese peafowl and swamp partridges, and
where a pair of green woodquail laid the first
known eggs of that bird in one of his aviaries.
Besides natural history his other hobbies were
gardening and painting; he often took his
painting materials with him on his treks to

paint any interesting bird collected. In 1923
Inglis took over as Curator of the Darjeeling
Natural History Museum which was in a state
of decay. He had to reorganise it and start a
Society and journal which he did well enough
to elicit praise from museum experts who came
from England in 1935-36, to survey Indian
museums. To the end he contributed regu-
larly to the Journal of Darjeeling (later Ben-
gal) Natural History Society, of which he had
been editor for 25 years. Inglis also co-author-
ed the book Birds of an Indian Garden with
Bainbrigge Fletcher. After retirement he set-
tled in a cottage in Coonoor on the Nilgiri
hills, where he lived till his death at the age
of 84.

Sunder Lal Hora 1895-1955 (Vol. 53:
445 — photo) by S. C. Law.

Died 8 December. Began his research career
at the age of 22, joined the Zoological Survey
of India as a research scholar in 1919, and
was appointed an Assistant Superintendent in
1921. In 1922 he earned a D. Sc. from Punjab
University for his work on fish and fisheries
of India; and in 1928 he secured a D. Sc. from
Edinburgh University for his studies on the
ecology, bionomics and evolution of torrential
fauna with special reference to the organs of
attachment. From 1942-1947 he was Director
of Fisheries of undivided Bengal, after which
he rejoined Zoological Survey of India as its
Director, a post he held till his death. His
primary interest was Ichthyology, and he was
best known as an ichthyologist. In all he pub-
lished over 400 papers in various foreign and
Indian scientific journals including JBNHS— *
a prodigious number for any man. He enun-
ciated what came to be well known as Hora’s
Satpura Hypothesis which attempts to explain
the presence of Malayan elements in the fauna
of Peninsular India. His work on the pond

327

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

culture of fishes evoked worldwide interest,
and in 1949 the United Nations Organisation
invited him to open a discussion on “Pond
culture of warm water fishes” at Lake Success.
He also contributed significantly to our
knowledge of the biology of the Indian
Shad, Hilsa, and in 1952 was the Chairman of
the Hilsa Sub-Committee of the Indo-Pacific
Fisheries Council. SLH had a deep-rooted
interest in nature and conservation of wild-
life and was the first honorary Secretary-Gene-
ral of the Indian Board for Wildlife created in
1952. He was also extremely interested in the
scientific knowledge possessed by ancient Hindus
as revealed in Sanskrit literature, and in archae-
ological relics such as the edicts of Asoka and
potteries of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. On
this topic he managed to generate considerable
interest during the course of his talks in the
Indian Museum and the Asiatic Society, Ben-
gal. SLH was on the Advisory Committee of
Bombay Natural History Society since 1945,
and always took an active and lively interest
in all the doings and welfare of the Society,
readily giving valuable advice and suggestions,
which were frequently sought. He was a man
with a great mind and generous heart; it was
characteristic of him that, whether in scientific
circles or in private life, he laid his vast store
of knowledge and experience at the disposal
of all who cared to seek it. He also worked
tirelessly and it is believed by many of his
friends that it was this overwork which told
on his health; he suffered his second attack
of coronary thrombosis while presiding over
a meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Calcutta, and passed away peacefully three
days later.

Brigadier W.H. Evans, C.S.I., C.X.E., D.S.O.,
R.E., 1876-1956 (Vol. 54:440) by K.C. (Keith
Cantlie) .

Born in Assam; died November. By
profession he was an engineer and served with
the Royal Engineers in the Somaliland Field
Force in 1903-1904, and in France in the 1914-
1918 War. In 1927 he became the Chief En-
gineer, Western Command, and in 1931 re-
tired from service. He was an extremely keen
entomologist and though his only extensive
collecting trips were five months in Burma in
1920-21 and two months in Sikkim in 1906,
he contributed very significantly to this study.
His major work was the Keys he constructed
for identification of the different species, and
subspecies, of Hesperiidae, based on the differ-
ence in the genitalia. His Keys have formed
the basis of the Keys of Talbot in the volumes
of 1939 and 1947 of his revision of part of
Bingham’s Butterflies of India, Ceylon and
Burma in the Fauna of India series. His serial
article in the Journal of Bombay Natural
History Society on the Identification of Indian
Butterflies was published in book form in 1927,
and a second edition in 1932 with many cor-
rections and additions. After retirement he
worked as an Honorary Associate at the
British Museum (Natural History). Here he
devoted himself entirely to the Hesperiidae of
the World, bringing out volumes entitled
‘Catalogue of the Hesperiidae in the British
Museum (Natural History)’. This is a monu-
mental work with the volume on Europe,
Asia and Australia alone comprising of 502
pages, the information on the species given in
the most economical terms. Since his first
article in 1912, he kept contributing to the
Journal of Bombay Natural History Society
till his last few years. In spite of poor and
failing health he managed to work with im-
mense concentration and steadiness of hand
and vision. To the end he continued doing
original work, always ready to put it aside to
help anyone with the identification of the

328

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

butterflies they brought, or to talk of his happy
days in India.

Arthur St. John MacDonald 1898-1956
(Vol. 55: 142) by J. M. Bannerman.

Born in Multan, Punjab on 8th November
1898; died on 6th December 1956. He was
educated mainly in Naini Tal at St. Joseph’s
College. In 1917 he joined an indigo concern
in Bihar. Soon after, in 1918 he got his com-
mission in the Indian Army and served for a
while in Mesopotamia, and later in the 1919
Frontier War. This was a temporary com-
mission after which he joined the sugar estates
of Messrs Begg, Sutherland and Co. at Purtab-
pore. In 1925 he left for Burma where he
joined Messrs Finlay Fleming and Co. and
was employed in the Shan States in the work
of clearing jungles for sugarcane cultivation.
It was the years in Burma that helped to deve-
lop AM into a keen naturalist. Fie acquired
an extraordinary store of knowledge of the
jungle and natural history for which he has
sometimes been compared to Jim Corbett. He
also acquired and indulged in a passion for
fishing and shooting. After many interesting
years in Burma, AM returned to sugar in
Bihar for a while and left again to become
the manager of a zaminary in Basti district,
Uttar Pradesh, near the Nepal border. Here
he continued his hobbies as a naturalist, and
also bred gun dogs. During the Second World
War, he served in the Army with distinction,
and at the end of the War left it as a £t.
Colonel. In 1948 he returned to sugar once
more and joined Begg, Sutherland and Co.
for the third time. Most of his holidays were
spent in the Himalayan foothills, Kumaon
hills and Kashmir, where he would spend al-
most all his time fishing and shooting. He
wrote many extremely interesting articles on
fishing, shooting and jungle life in various

Indian and foreign periodicals. His long series
on mahseer fishing in the Journal of Bombay
Natural History Society was published by the
Society in book form as circumventing the

MAHSEER AND OTHER SPORTING FISH IN INDIA
and Burma, and proved to be very popular
with Indian anglers.

Lt. Col. E. G. Phythian-Adams, o.b.e.,
f.z.s., 1883-1959 (Vol. 56:293) by Brig. S. T.
Apcar.

Born August 1883; died 9 February 1959.
Came out to India in 1904 initially with the
South Wales Borderers, then was transferred
to the Madras Regiment. During World War
I he saw service with his regiment in Meso-
potamia. He retired in 1924, but volunteered his
services at the outbreak of the Second World
War, during which period he was awarded
the O.B.E. In 1945 he retired for the second
time, and settled down in Kalhatty, a few miles
from Ootacamund. Lt. Col. Phythian-Adams
was a ‘born naturalist-sportsman’. His trophy
room was impressive and often visited by
admirers. In a series of articles, “Jungle
Memories” published in the Journal of Bom-
bay Natural History Society [Vols. 48(1) to
50(3)1, he gives a fascinating account of his
numerous shikars. It was the dangerous excite-
ment of hunting big game on foot that thrilled
him, and he deplored the unsporting ways of
those who killed an animal startled by the
glare of a car’s headlights, or hunted regard-
less of sex or season. Besides being a distin-
guished soldier and fine sportsman, Lt. Col.
Phythian-Adams also collected stamps, coins,
medals, butterflies and birds’ eggs. On regi-
mental history he compiled the books, the
madras infantry, the madras soldier and
the madras regiment. He first joined the
Bombay Natural History Society in 1909, and
was a member of the Advisory Committee for

329

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

many years and up to his death. During his
later life, when he stopped active shikar, it
became his desire to share with others the
experiences, knowledge and happiness which
he had obtained from the jungle — an object

well-accomplished through the “Jungle Memo-
ries”. For the last twelve months he suffered
from a weak heart and finally succumbed in
a Mysore hospital on 9th February at the age
of 75J.

{To be continued)

330

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON DOL (BAG) NET FISHERY
AT SASSOON DOCK, BOMBAY1

S. Krishna Pillai2
{With four text-figures)

The paper describes the species composition of the Dol (Bag) net catches at Sassoon
Dock, a major landing centre in Bombay, from January to December, 1971, grouping
them into two main categories, those occurring throughout the year and the those
having seasonal occurrence and then reclassifying them into market categories. The
estimated dol net catches fluctuated between 275 and 1485 tonnes during the year.
The monthly average catch was 829.5 tonnes which formed 41.6% of the total
landings. A list of 33 species caught in Dol net and their percentage composition is given.

I N TROD U CTIO N

The Dol net is an important gear used in
Bombay-Gujarat coasts, mainly for catching
Bombay duck, Harpodon nehereus, third in
importance in respect of marine fish landing
in India and non-penaeid prawns like Acetes
indicus, Palaemon tunuipes and Hippolysmata
ensirostris. The Bombay duck forms 14.10%
and 20 . 85% of the total catch of Maharashtra
and Gujarat states respectively, while the non-
penaeid prawns form 58.35% and 4.50% of
the total prawn catches of the above states
respectively. (C.M.F.R.L Annual Report, 1976).
The operation of the ‘DoF net has been des-
cribed by Pillai (1948), Hornell (1950), Setna
(1954) and Gokhale (1957).

Gokhale (1957) mentioned that H. nehereus
was taken along with Coilia dussumieri, species
of Penaeus and Metapenaeus, immature Stro-
mateus cinereus, Trichiurus savala and a few
other less important species in Saurashtra waters.
Chowdhury (1970) estimated the landings of

1 Accepted May 1981.

2 Present address : Mandapam Regional Centre of
C.M.F.R. Institute, Mandapam Camp, Tamil Nadu.

Fig. 1. Map of Bombay harbour, Sassoon dock
showing the nearshore Dol net fishing grounds.

331

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

fish at Sassoon Dock for a period of two
months only. Apart from this there is no de-
tailed published account of the ‘DoF net
catches. The present paper deals with the catch
composition of the fish caught by ‘doP nets
operated between 15 to 20 km. from Bombay
harbour and landed at Sassoon Dock from

the species composition of the catch and their
weight. The total catch and catch composition
of species were estimated based on the average
catch of unit. Stratified Random sampling
method adopted by Fishery Resources Assess-
ment Division of C.M.F.R.I. was used for the
estimation of the total landing as given below.

Total landing for the observed units Total No. of units landed

X during the observation period

No. of units observed

The estimate of catch for a day was obtained by adding the estimates for the forenoon (0.6.00-12.00
hrs), afternoon (12.00- 18. 00 hrs) and night landings. The estimate for the month was obtained by the
formula given below.

Total of the estimated landing No. of landing days

for the number of observed days X in the month

No. of observed days

January to December, 1971. These observa-
tions formed part of the work of the survey
programme for resources assessment.

Sassoon Dock, situated in South Bombay, is
one of the biggest fish landing centres (Fig. 1).
Though the landing takes place round the
clock, the activities have two peak periods,
once in the morning between 0.6.00 to 0.8.00
hrs. and again in the afternoon from 13.00 to
15.00 hrs. Apart from Bombay based boats,
from Karan j a and Uran also land their catches
at Sassoon Dock.

Material and Methods

According to the survey programme, 10 to
12 observations of 6 hours duration each were
made at Sassoon Dock every month. Data were
collected from 12.00 to 18.00 hrs. on the
first day and 0.6.00 to 12.00 hrs. on the fol-
lowing day. The night landings were recorded
after enquiry. Catches of each type of selected
units were examined in detail to determine

Gear and Craft

The Bag net locally known as ‘DoP is lower-
ed and hauled depending upon the turn of
the tides. A strong tidal current is very essen-
tial for the proper operation of the net. The
mouth of the net is always in the direction
of the tide and the bag net functions as a
filter to retain the fish. The strong tidal current
prevents the fish from escaping from the bag
net (Bapat 1970).

Two types of boats are used at Sassoon
Dock, mechanised and non-mechanised. The
non-mechanised boats are further divided into
canoes and said boats. The mechanised boats
are of Machva type, Satpati type and Bassein
type. They are propelled by diesel engines of
25 to 30 H.P. They save considerable time in
going to the fishing grounds and back and can
take advantage of 2-3 tides. In Sassoon Dock,
98% of the mechanised boats are used for
‘DoP net operation.

332

OBSERVATIONS ON DOL NET FISHERY

Results

Catches from 997 boats were examined for
estimating the total catch, catch composition
and weight of different species. Table 1 gives
the number of observations per month, total
number of dol nets observed with their per-
centage, the estimated total landings of dol
net and the other types of units operated.

the catch shows a declining trend, the maxi-
mum being in July (Fig. 2). In July, the fishing
operations were maximum (80.2%) and the
highest catch of 1485 tonnes were landed, with
H. nehereus contributing to 69 . 4% of the total
catch.

The monthly landings of dol net in Sassoon
Dock fluctuated between 275.347 tonnes (June)
to 1485.006 tonnes (July) with an average

Table 1

Monthwise estimated dol (bag) net catch of Sassoon Dock for the year 1971

Year No. of Total num- Total Percentage Monthly estimated total catch of Dol and other units

1971 days of ber of number of Dol (in tonnes)

observa-

tion

(24.00

hrs)

Dol units
during the
period of
observa-
tion

of Dol
units
observed

units

observed

Dol

net

catch

Percentage
of the Dol
units

Trawl

catch

Dalti or
Gill net
catch

Hook and
Lines

January

5

363

92

25.3

719.587

40.2

792.400

174.948

101.368

February

4

189

53

28.0

343.686

26.7

671.988

202.293

68.915

March

5

341

116

34.0

632.620

38.8

867.538

95.038

34.148

April

4

271

78

28.8

495.145

32.2

879.669

100.012

60.862

May

4

274

58

21.1

1381.987

46.9

1447.808

101.212

17.077

June

5

295

55

18.7

275.347

53.6

189.888

30.359

17.669

July

6

1061

121

11.4

1485.006

81.3

311.316

16.686

14.136

August

6

1019

135

13.2

1281.349

69.4

451.153

89.571

23.503

September

6

604

75

12.4

1126.085

47.2

1185.665

64.110

8.955

October

6

422

72

17.1

855.498

25.6

2065.193

365.530

49.296

November

6

474

80

16.8

787.750

25.4

2076.260

174.010

59.520

December

6

269

62

23.0

569.994

32.8

1008.514

69.809

88.145

Total

997

9954.054

11947.392

1483.578

543.594

It is seen from the table No. 1 the estimated
total catch for the year 1971 amounted to
23928.618 tonnes of which 9954.054 tonnes
(41.6%) were contributed by dol nets,
11947.392 tonnes (49.9%) by trawl nets,
1483.578 tonnes (6.2%) by Daldi or gill nets
and 543.594 tonnes (2.3%) by hook and
lines. A marked monthly fluctuation is seen
during January- June and in August-December

of 829.5 tonnes (Fig. 2). During the monsoon
months, Dol net catches showed an increase
for the following reasons:

1. Number of ‘Dol’ units in operation dur-
ing the monsoon months were considerably
more as boats of nearby fishing villages also
operated near Bombay harbour which is a pro-
tected area.

2. The landing of H. nehereus was higher

333

CATCH SN TONNES

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

in July, August and September (1031.8, 944.2
and 911.7 tonnes).

3. Palaemon tunuipes was caught in large
quantities in the months of May, July and
August the catch being 646.3, 54.0 and 66.4
tonnes respectively. The share of Hippolysmata

sp. was quite high in the months of May,
August and September (11.9, 16.4 and 10.4
tonnes, table No. 3).

The quarterwise catch composition of fish
caught in Dol net is given in Table 2. H.
nehereus and non-penaeid prawns together

334

JFMAMJ J ASOND

Fig. 2. Monthly fluctuations of fish caught in Dol (bag) net 1971.

OBSERVATIONS ON DOL NET FISHERY

Table 2

Quarterwise percentage

COMPOSITION

AND LIST OF

SPECIES CAUGHT

IN DOL NET IN

1971

SI.

Species

Jan.-Mar.

Apr. -June

July-Sept.

Oct.-Dec.

Yearly

No.

1st

Ilnd

IITrd.

IVth.

Compo-

Quarter

Quarter

Quarter

Quarter

sition

1.

Shark and Rays

0.52

0.37

0.36

0.30

0.39

2.

Coilia dussumieri
Other clupeids

10.19

6.30

3.32

4.81

5.47

3.

Chirocentrus

4.

Sardines, 5. Hilsa toll

6.

Thrissiocles

8.86

2.26

0.81

4.78

3.39

7.

Dussumieria acuta

8.

H. nehereus

0.79

9.26

74.19

15.85

34.67

9.

Small sciaenids

10.

P. sciaena

l 1.63

2.05

0.63

2.66

1.57

11.

O. brunneus

)

12.

P. hasta

—

—

0.79

0.18

13.

Trichiurus spp.

2.08

2.90

1.21

7.68

3.17

14.

Cybium spp.

0.54

0.36

0.11

0.19

0.27

15.

Stromateus spp.

2.91

2.89

0.50

2.41

1.85

16.

Bregmaceros sp.

9.59

0.18

0.04

1.55

2.04

17.

Arius sp.

18.

Lactarius lactarius

1

19.

Caranx sp. 1

L 0.38

1.25

0.37

0.65

0.53

20.

Cynoglossus sp.

f

21.

M. cordyla J

1

22.

A. indicus

56.01

32.05

10.79

51.26

32.09

23.

P. tunuipes

—

34.32

3.48

—

8.78

24.

Hippolysmata sp.

—

0.67

0.76

0.36

0.52

25.

Penaeid prawns

5.88

3.91

3.40

4.74

4.22

26.

Solenocera indica

0.23

0.26

0.02

0.23

0.16

27.

Cephalopods
Other fishes

0.10

0.06

—

1.26

0.31

28.

Eels

29.

Upeneus spp.

30.

Polynemus spp.

>. 0.29

0.91

0.01

0.48

0.39

31.

Lobster

32.

Trypauchen vagina

33.

Miscellaneous d

contributed to 62.91%, 80.47%, 92.64% and
72.44% for the four quarters respectively.

In the first quarter, A. indicus dominated
(56.01%) in the catch and penaeid prawn
including Solenocera indica (0.23%) formed

6.11%. H. nehereus was caught in very small
quantities (0.79%) which was compensated by
significant increase of Coilia dussumieri
(10.19%), other clupeids (8.86%) and Breg-
maceros sp. (9.59%). The important species

335

PERCENTAGE OF BOMBAY DUCK AND ACETES INDICUS

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

were Stromateus spp., Trichiurus spp. and
Sciaenids accounting for 2.91, 2.08 and 1.63%
respectively. The share of rest of the fishes is
1.83%.

In the second quarter, H. nehereus catch

increased from 0.79 to 9.26% and A. indicus
decreased from 56.01 to 32.05% and together
formed 41.31% of the total catch. P. tunuipes
showed an increase and ranked first 34.32%.
The non-penaeid prawns A. indicus, P. tunui-

336

Fig. 3. The monthly percentage composition of Bombay duck and Acetes indicus in
the Dol net catch at Sassoon dock, Bombay showing the inverse relationship.

OBSERVATIONS ON DOL NET FISHERY

CATCH COMPOSITION (Percentages)

Sfromateus 1.&5
Sciaemds is?

— Hippoiysmata , solenocera indical

Cyblurn , sharks & Rays J 1-34

Others i-4S

Acetes indicus 32.09

Harpodon nehereus 34.67

Palaemon tunuipes s.78
Cailid dussumieri 5-47
Other ciupesds 3.39
Penaeid prawns 4.22

Trfchiurus sp* 347
Bregmaceros 2.04

Fig. 4.

337

5

Table

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

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338

719587 343686 632620 495145 1381987 275347 1485006 1281349 1126085 855498 787750 569994 9954054 100

OBSERVATIONS ON DOL NET FISHERY

pes and Hippolysmata ensirostris together con-
tributed 67.04%. Penaeid prawns including the
Solenocera indica (0.26%) formed 4.17%.
C. dussuniieri and other clupeids together form-
ed 8.56%. Stromateus spp. constituted 2.89%,
Trichiurus spp. 2.90% Sciaenids 2.05% and
remaining fishes 3.13%.

In the third quarter H. nehereus formed
bulk of the catch 74.19% while A. indicus
(10.79%), the other non-penaeid prawns P.
tunuipes (3.48%) and H. ensirostris (0.76%)
constituted 15.03%. The share of penaeid
prawn including S. indica was 3.42%. C. dus-
sumieri and other clupeids formed 4.13% and
Trichiurus spp. 1.21%. The decline of C.
dussumieri and Bregmaceros sp. in the third
quarter may mainly due to the abundant of
H. nehereus while the former formed the im-
portant food items of Bombay duck next to
A. indicus (Bapat 1970). The share of the rest
of the fishes is 2.02%.

In the fourth quarter A. indicus dominated
(51.26%) in the catch. II. nehereus declined
to 15.85%. The penaeid prawns including the
Solenocera indica (0.23%) formed 4.97%. The
landings of C. dussumieri increased from 3.32%
to 4.81% and other clupeids from 0.81% to
4.78%. The share of Trichiurus spp. was very
high (7.68%). Catches of Bregmaceros sp. in-
creased from 0.04% to 1.55%. The contribu-
tions of sciaenids and Stromateus spp. formed
2.66 and 2.41% respectively. The cephalopods
improved to 1 . 26% and rest of the fishes con-
tributed 2.77%.

In the monthly ‘Dol’ net catch H. nehereus
fluctuated between 0.4 to 81% and A. indicus
between 5.0 to 75%. H. nehereus and A. in-
dicus showed an inverse relation in the catch
composition (Fig. 3). The possible explanation
for this inverse relation may be the grazing by
Bombay duck as A. indicus is one of the prin-
cipal components of its food (Bapat 1970).

Among the different species, H. nehereus
takes the first place in the ‘DoF net catch. The
annual average composition was 34.67% (Fig.
4). July showed the highest monthly catch
followed by August, September (Table 3) and
caught throughout the year in the Dol net. A.
indicus was next in importance (32.09%). It
dominated during October to May with a maxi-
mum catch in March (444.5 tonnes). P.
tunuipes was third in importance (8.78%)
and was noticed in the catch from April to
September. Among clupeids C. dussumieri
occupied the first place and formed 5.47%’ of
the Dol net catch. Other Clupeids like Chiro-
centrus spp., Hilsa toli, Dussumieria acuta and
sardines together contributed 3.39%. Penaeid
prawns occupied the fifth place forming 4 . 22%
of the total catch and consists of Metapenaeus
brevicornis, P. sculptiles, and P. stylifera. The
ribbon fish took the sixth place and consists
largely of juveniles of T. haumela and T. savala
forming 3 . 17%. Bregmaceros sp. occupied the
seventh place and formed 2.04% of the total
catch, occurring throughout the year. Among
the three species of Stromateus , S. cinereus was
caught in large quantities. They generally con-
sisted of juveniles forming 1.85%. Small sciae-
nids like Johnius carutta, Johnius sina, Otolithus
argenteus, O. ruber and large one like Pseudos-
ciaena diacanthus and Otolithodies brunneus
together formed 1.57%. Sharks and rays
(0.39%) and Cybium (0.27%) were caught
in small quantities in all the months of the
year. Hippolysmata and Solenocera indica to-
gether formed 0.68%. The rest of the fishes
formed 1.41% of the total catch. Trypauchen
vagina, Palaemon stylifera and Squilla species
occurred in small quantities in monsoon
months only.

The Dol net catch is categorised into the
following grades based on the consumer pre-
ference, of class I fish 8.32% consisting of

339

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

penaeid prawn, Stromateus spp. and Cybium;
class II fish 51.23% consisting of P. lunuipes,
H. nehereus, Hippolysmata, Solenocera, Coilia
etc. Class III fish 2.73% consisting of Sciae-
nids, Thrissocles etc. and class IV fish 37.68%
consisting of A. indicus and Trichiurus etc.
The non-edible fish Trypauchen vagina com-
prised 0.04%. The list of 33 species caught in
Dol net catch and their annual percentages
are given in the Table 3.

Remarks

The increase or decrease in the monthly
catch during the year has been mainly due to
fluctuation of H. nehereus and A. indicus.
These together with other prawns contributed

Refei

Bapat, S. V. (1970) : The Bombay Duck, Harpo-
don nehereus (Ham.). Bull. Cent. Mar. Fish. Res.
Inst., 21: 1-66.

Chowdhury, D. K. (1970): Estimation of fish
landing at Sassoon Dock, Bombay during October
1968, November and December 1969. C.I.F.E. Annual
Day Souvenir.

C.M.F.R.I. (1976) : Annual Report of the Central
Marine Fisheries Research Institute.

Gokhale, S. V. (1957) : Operation of the Dol net

to 80.44% of the total Dol net catch. The
inverse relationship observed in the landings
of H. nehereus and A. indicus is an interesting
feature and detailed studies are necessary to
determine the factors causing the same.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Dr. S. V. Bapat, Joint
Director, and Dr. S. Ramamoorthy, Officer-in-
Charge, B.R.C. of CMFRI., Bombay for criti-
cally going through the manuscript and offer-
ing valuable suggestions and also to Dr. Alaga-
raja, G. Venkataraman, Scientist S-3, Fishery
Resources Assessment Division, Cochin for
further improvement of the paper.

EN CES

off the Saurashtra Coast. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
54(3): 714-725.

Hornell, James (1950): Fishing in many waters.
Cambridge University Press, PP. 94-98.

Pillai, T. V. R. (1948) : Marine Fisheries of
Kodinar in Kathiawar. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc 48:
(1): 1-15.

Setna, S. B. (1954) : “In Quest of Bombay Duck”.
Illustrated weekly of India. Vol. IXXV 35 Aug. 29th
1954, pp. 24-25.

340

STUDIES ON THE INTRASPECIFIC VARIATIONS IN
BRACHYTHEMIS CONTAMINATA (FABRICIUS)
(ODONATA: LIBELLULID AE ) 1

M. Prasad and S. K. Ghosh2
(With thirteen text-figures)

Introduction

Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius) is
widely and most commonly available at tem-
porary and permanent waterbodies. Variations
within the species of Odonata have been
briefly studied and reported by Asahina (1952-
53); Singh and Baijal (1954); Baijal and
Agarwal (1955); Singh and Prasad (1976,
1977); Prasad and Singh (1976); Prasad
(1976a, 1976b); Raychaudhuri et al (1969);
Varshney and Guha (1972). A detailed study
on the intraspecific variations in Trithemis
f estiva (Rambur) has been made by Prasad
and Kumar (1981). Sahni (1970) while
studying the Odonata fauna of Kumaon Hills
has discussed in brief the intraspecific variations
in Brachythemis contaminata. The present
paper provides a detailed biometric analysis
on the intraspecific variations alongwith a brief
note on the field ecology, on the basis of mate-
rial collected from different localities from
India. All the measurements are in mm.

B. contaminata is distributed throughout the
plains of India, Sri Lanka, Buraia, China,
Formosa, Philippines, Java and Sumatra
(Fraser 1936); Lieftinck (1971); Kiauta (1975)
and Kumar and Prasad (in press).

1 Accepted August 1980.

2 Zoological Survey of India, 14, Madan Street,
Calcutta 700 072.

Observations

Male : Head small in size. Labium pale
yellow to brownish yellow; Labrum dark
yellow; face and vesicle pale greenish yellow;
frons yellow, sometimes reddish yellow; eyes
brown above; pale yellow laterally and be-
neath; occiput reddish brown. Prothorax
brownish yellow; anterior and posterior border
of middle lobe transverse by a dark brown
stripe. Thorax yellowish brown dorsally mark-
ed with reddish brown humeral stripes; mid
dorsal carina black. Legs pale yellow; femora
dark brown on extensor surface; tibio tarsus
yellowish brown; spines black. Wings short;
rounded at apices; hyaline; reticulation closed;
veins reddish in colour; a broad bright orange
fascia extending from base to within 2 to 3
cells of pterostigma present in fore and hind-
wings. Variations in the marking of orange
fascia in both fore and hindwings, only due
to age of specimens (Figs. 1-3 and 6). Ptero-
stigma rust red some times yellow in colour;
membrane blackish brown; sector of arc fused
at long origin. Arc situated in between 1st
and 2nd antenodal nervures but more nearer
to 1st antenodal nervures; discoidal cell in fore-
wing narrow; costal side about half of the
basal side or distal side; transversed only
once; discoidal cell of hind wing with base at
arc, entire; only one cubital nervure in both
fore and hindwings. Cuii arising from the pos-
terior angle of discoidal cell in hind wings;

341

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

Figs. 1-3. Fore and hindwings of Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius) (Male) show-
ing variations in the marking of orange fascia.

Figs. 4&5. Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius) (Female) showing variations in the

number of nodal index.

342

INTRASPECIFIC VARIATIONS IN BRACHYTHEMIS CONTAMINATA

343

Figs. 6&7. Yellow marking at the base of both fore and hindwings of B. contaminata :
6. basal sides of fore wing of male; 7. basal sides of hind wing of female.

Figs. 8-10. Showing rows of one to two alls in between IRiii & RSPL in both fore
and hindwings of B. contaminata. (Fig. 10 on p. 344)

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. SO

Figs. 11&12. Anal appendages of B. contaminata (male): 11. dorsal side; 12. lateral side.
Fig. 13. Anal appendages of B. contaminata (female) dorsal side.

I NT RASPEC1FIC VARIATIONS IN RRACHYTHEMIS CONTAMINATA

discoidal field beginning with 3 rows of cells;
subtrigone in forewing three celled; one or two
rows of cells in between IRiii & RSPL (Figure
8, 9 and 10), anal loop dilated at distal end
and angulated. Nodal index as in Table 4.
Abdomen reddish yellow marked with brown
strips dorsally and sub-dorsally; segments 7th
to 9th black on mid dorsum; tenerals or sub-
adult specimens, similar to the female. Anal
appendages brownish yellow, apices black
(figs. 11 & 12); a black spot also present at
the base of inferior anal appendages.

Genitalia : Lamina anterior small, arched and
hood shaped; Liguia small and triangular in
out line. Hamuli posterior small with obtusely
rounded base. Hook also small directed back-
wards and inwards with rounded apex; Genital
lobe long, highly curved with obtuse apex;
prophallus divided into stem body and glans;
stem long and cylindrical; body broad and
divided into triangular proximal lobe and dis-
tal rounded lobe; glans of prophallus rounded
and membranous, Vesicula spermalis flask
shaped with a shallow notch at the base.

Female : Similar to male but differs in the
following : Head-Labium light pale yellow to
brownish yellow; Labrum yellowish in colour.
Face, frons and vescicle pale yellow; eyes pale
brown above. Thorax greenish yellow; a narrow
brown marking parallel to mid-dorsal carina; a
dark brown stripe present near humeral suture;
narrow blackish stripe present on centres of
mesepimeron and metapimeron; mid dorsal
carina and lateral sutures black.

Wings: (figs. 4&5) hyaline; Hindwings very
palely tinted with yellow at base as shown in
fig. 7. In few specimens base of hindwings not
tinted with yellow; bright orange fascia ab-
sent; pterostigma bright yellow; nodal index
as shown in table 4. Abdomen yellowish brown
with a narrow black strip on mid dorsal carina
extending from 2nd segment to 9th segment; a

Table 1

Showing the frequency of specimens of
Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius) from
DIFFERENT LOCALITIES

SI. Locality
No.

District

Male Female

1. Changsari

Kamrup

(Assam)

5

3

2 . Shaikhoa

(Doom dooma)

Soekerating

(Assam)

2

3. Ranker

(Gobindapur)

Bastar (M.P.)

1

1

4. Jodhpur

Jodhpur

(Rajasthan)

3

3

5. Nischinda (Bally)

Howrah
(W. Bengal)

1

3

6. Raghunathpur

Nadia

(W. Bengal)

1

_

7. Amarawati

24-Parganas
(W. Bengal)

3

2

8. Bakkhali

,,

4

3

9. Fraserganj

„

9

2

10. Kakdwip

55

6

-

1 1 . Trilokchandpur

„

6

1

12. Sonadanga

”

4

—

broad brownish spot present on segments 8th,
9th and 10th; a subdorsal interrupted dark
brown stripe present on segment 2nd to 6th; all
sutures and ventral border black. Anal appen-
dages yellowish brown and apices black, long,
conical, acuminate at the apex (fig. 13) Vulvar
scales two, short, triangular plate like and
overlapping ninth segment.

Field ecology :

Adults of both sexes flew in large number
around the banks of temporary as well as
permanent ponds and marshy streams from
April to October. Oviposition occurs between
June to October. Larvae are sluggish in habit
and commonly found in shallow waters of the

345

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 2

Body measurements of Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius) (male)

SI.

Abdomen

Fore-

Hind-

Length

in between

Length in between

Maximum

Pteros-

No.

with anal

wing

wing

base to rede

node to pterostigma

width of

tigma

appendages

Fore wing

Hindwing

Forewing

Hindwing

Hindwing

1.

18.00

23.00

22.00

11.00

10.50

7.50

8.00

8.50

3.00

2.

18.50

22.00

21.50

11.00

10.50

7.00

7.50

8.00

3.00

3.

18.50

23.50

22.50

11.20

10.00

7.50

8.00

8.50

3.00

4.

18.50

24.00

23.50

11.50

10.30

7.50

8.00

8.00

3.00

5.

19.00

22.50

21.50

11.00

9.50

7.00

8.00

8.50

3.00

6.

19.00

23.00

22.50

11.00

10.00

7.50

8.00

8.00

3.00

7.

19.00

23.00

22.50

11.00

10.50

7.00

7.50

8.00

3.00

8.

19.00

23.50

22.50

11.50

9.40

7.00

7.50

8.40

3.00

9.

19.00

23.50

23.00

11.00

10.00

7.50

8.00

8.00

3.00

10.

19.00

23.50

23.00

11.00

10.00

7.50

8.00

8.40

3.00

11.

19.00

24.00

22.50

11.80

9.80

7.00

7.00

8.40

3.00

12.

19.00

24.00

23.00

11.50

10.00

8.00

8.00

8.50

3.00

13.

19.00

24.00

23.00

11.00

9.50

7.50

7.50

8.50

3.00

14.

19.50

23.50

23.00

11.00

10.00

7.50

7.50

8.00

3.00

15.

19.50

24.00

23.00

11.00

10.00

7.00

8.00

8.20

3.00

16.

19.50

24.00

22.50

11.50

9.50

7.00

7.50

9.00

3.00

17.

20.00

23.00

22.40

11.00

10.50

7.50

8.00

8.00

3.00

18.

20.50

24.00

23.00

11.50

9.80

7.50

7.50

8.50

3.00

19.

21.00

25.50

24.50

12.00

10.50

7.00

7.50

8.50

3.00

20.

21.00

25.00

24.00

12.00

11.00

8.50

9.00

9.00

3.00

21.

21.50

25.00

24.50

12.50

11.50

8.00

9.00

9.50

3.00

Body measurements

Table 3

of Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius) (female)

SL

No.

Abdomen
with anal

appendages

Fore-

wing

Hind-

wing

Length in between
base to node

Forewing Hindwing

Length in between
node to Pterostigma

Forewing Hindwing

Maximum
width of

Hindwing

Pteros-

tigma

1.

19.00

24.00

24.00

12.50

10.50

7.50

7.80

8.50

3.00

2.

19.00

25.00

24.00

12.80

10.50

7.50

8.00

8.50

3.00

3.

19.00

25.00

24.50

13.00

10.50

8.50

8.80

8.00

3.00

4.

19.00

25.00

23.00

12.00

10.00

8.00

8.00

9.00

3.00

5.

19.50

25.50

24.00

13.00

11.00

7.80

8.50

8.50

3.00

6.

19.50

26.00

25.00

13.80

11.00

8.00

8.50

9.00

3.00

7.

20.00

23.00

22.50

12.00

10.00

7.50

8.00

8.00

3.00

8.

20.00

25.00

24.00

12.50

11.00

8.50

8.50

9.00

3.00

9.

20.50

25.50

25.00

12.50

11.00

8.00

8.50

8.50

3.00

10.

21.00

25.00

24.00

12.00

10.50

8.50

9.00

9.00

3.00

346

INT RASPECIFIC VARIATIONS IN BRACHYTHEMIS CONTAM IN AT A

Table 4

Showing variations in nodal index within the male and female specimens of Brachythemis

contaminata (Fabricius)

Male

Female

5-7J | 7J-6

6-5 | 5-7

5-71 | 7J-7, 6-7J |

71-8,

6-7 J | 8J-7, 6-7J |

71-6

j f-

—

7-5 | 5-8 7-5 |

6-7

6-5 | 5-8 7-5 |

5-7

6-8J | 7J-6, 6-8J |

oo

1

T-feQ

CO

7-74 | 7J-7, 7-7J |

71-6, .

f +

j f

—

6-5 | 6-5 7-5 |

5-8

6-5 | 5-6 7-5 |

5-7

6-8J | 8*-7, 7-7£ |

"J

tOH

1

oo

7-81 1 81-6

1 f-

1

7-5 | 6-7 6-5 |

5-6

7-6 | 5-8

7-7J | 7J-7, 7-7 J |

7J-7

1 — 4-

—

7-5 | 5-8 7-5 |

5-7

7-7J | 7J-7, 8-7 J |

7J-7

— 1 — t-

8-5 | 5-8 7-5 |

5-7

Showing variations in

Table 5

BODY MARKING

! in male and female of Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius)

AND COMPARED WITH THE

PUBLISHED DESCRIPTION OF

the species

SI. Different parts
No. of body

Male

Female

Published description
of the species

1 . Labium

Pale yellow to brownish

Same as male

Pale ochreous

2. Lab rum

yellow

Dark yellow

Light pale yellow

Reddish ochreous

3. Nodal index

5-7J |

74-6

to

6-7 J | 8J-7 to

6-7 J | 7J-6

— H

— j —

6-5 |

5-7

6-5 | 5-8

5-6 | 6-5

7-71 |

i-n

and

7-8* 1 84-6

T

F-—

8-5 |

5-8

7-6 | 5-8

00

1

7\-7

7-5 |

5-7

4. Base of the Hind-

Base of hindwing may

Base of hindwings in

wings in female

be tinted with yellow

female palely tinted with

5 . Anal appendages

or hyaline

yellow

Brownish yellow

Yellowish brown

Ferruginous in male,

apices

black

apices black

yellow in female with
black apices.

347

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ponds, amidst standing reeds. For emergence
they climb on the reeds (Kumar 1973). A large
number of exuviae can easily be collected dur-
ing this period hanging on reeds about 4 inches
to a foot above the water.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Director, Zoological
Survey of India for various facilities and per-
mission to carry out this work. Thanks are
also due to Sri S. S. L. Verma, Photographer,
of Northern Regional Station for the prepara-
tion of photographs.

References

Asahina. S. (1952-1953): Fauna and flora of
Nepal Himalaya scientific results of the Japanese
expeditions to Nepal Himalaya 1952-1953, Edited by
H. Kihara. Fauna and flora Res. Soc. Kyoto, 291-
300 (in Japanese).

Baijal, H. N. & Agarwal, J. P. (1955) : Opuscula
Libellulogica. Agra Univ. J. Res. ( Sci .), 4(2): 453-
470.

Fraser, F. C. (1936): The Fauna of British India
including Ceylon and Burma. (Odonata), 5: XI —
461, Taylor and Francis Ltd., London.

Kiauta, B. (1975) : Cytotaxonomy of dragonflies
with special reference to the Nepalese fauna. Third
Khumbu Himal Expedition. Netherlands Centre
Alpine biological Research Utrecht, (July-Nov.,
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Lieftinck, M. A. (1971): Odonata from Ceylon.
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Kumar, A. & Prasad, M. (in press) : Field eco-
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Prasad, M. (1976a) : On the occurrence of Uro-
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(1976b) : Odonata of district Kangra

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Prasad, M. & Kumar, A. (1981): Studies on the
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Prasad, M. & Singh, A. (1976) : Odonata of Doon
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Raychaudhury, D. N., Lahiri, A. R. & Mitra,
T. R. (1969) : A note on the distal antenodal nervure
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codes trivialis (Rambur) (Insecta: Odonata: Libel-
lulidae) . Sci. Cult. 35 : 220.

Sahni, D. N. (1970): Studies on the Odonata of
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Libellulidae. Bull. Ent. 77(1): 37-54.

Singh, A. & Prasad, M. (1976) : Odonata of Doon
Valley 1. Anisoptera. Rec. zool. Surv. India, 70 ( 1-4) :
21-38.

(1977): Odonata (Insecta)

of Corbett National Park (Uttar Pradesh, India). J.
Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 73(2): 419-421.

Singh, S. & Baijal, H. N. (1954): Entomological
Survey of the Himalaya II — on a collection of
Odonata. Agra Univ. J. Res. (Sci.) 3(2) : 385-400.

Varshney, R. K. & Guha, M. (1972): A note
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348

J. Bombay nat. hist. Hist. Soc. so Plate

Abdulali: Catalogue of Birds

Colour changes in 1333 Leiothrix a . argentauris
1946 to 1968 1979 to 1981

1900 to 1917

{Photos: Asad Rafi Rehmani)

A CATALOGUE OF THE BIRDS IN THE COLLECTION
OF BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY — 28

Muscicapidae (Timaliinae) ( contd .)
Humayun Abdulali
(With a colour plate)
[Continued from Vol 80(1): 165]

667 specimens of 78 species and subspecies
(including one undetermined and 9 extralimi-
tals) are dealt with in this part. The last bird
registered and handled is No. 26343. Mr. Eric
D’Cunha, Research Assistant at BNHS has
continued to help on a whole time basis, and
the work now appears to proceed faster than
ever before.

1333 Leiothrix argenfauris argentauris
(Hodgson) (Nepal) Himalayan Silver-eared
Mesia 1:354

27 : 10 $ $ 9 9 $ 8 o?

1 Kurseong, 2 Longview Tea Estate, 1 Darjeeling;
1 Samchi, West, 1 Mangdechu, Central, 1 nr. Aie
River, 1 Bhutan; 2 Margherita, 1 Tezu, Lohit Valley,
1 Doyang, Sibsagar, Assam; 1 Rotung, 1 Mishing,
Abor Country, Mishmi Hills, 2 Deban, 1 Miao, 1
Hornbill Camp, Arunachal Pradesh; 2 Kohima, Naga
Hills; 2 Humgrum, 1 Gunjong, N. Cachar; 4 N'
Krang, Upper Burma.

The birds from the Mishmi Hills and east
and southwards were accepted as vernayi
(Mayr & Greenway) No. 1334 in Indian
handbook but in the second edition of synopsis
(1982) these are synonymised with nominate
argentauris. The three recent skins (Dec. 1981)
and a fourth from Miao (1979) show an extra-
ordinary amount of bright yellow on the chin
and upper breast contra chestnut in four others
from Lohit Valley (1946), Doyang (1952),
Mangdechu (1967) and Samchi (1968). This
is further reduced in two from Kohima, Naga

Hills (1917) and exists only in pale traces in
older skins (1900-1917). The underparts are
also yellowish olive-green which lessens with
the intensity of the chestnut, becoming a pale
grey, darkest in 1912 (2 Abor Hills) and 1917
(2 Naga Hills) and almost disappearing in the
older skins. The red on the wing and rump
similarly changes colour and I would only have
been able to separate the two races according
to their distribution. The accompanying colour
photograph will give an idea of the extraordi-
nary changes which have taken place in a rela-
tively short time.

Measurements on p. 362.

1334 Leiothrix argentauris aureigularis
(Koelz) (Turza ML, Garo Hills, Assam) Assam
Silver-eared Mesia

Synonymised with 1333 in synopsis 1982.

1335 Leiothrix lutea kumaiensis Whistler
(Dehra Dun, U.P.) Red billed Leiothrix 1:328

(part)

7: 4 8 $ 3 $ $

2 Koti, 2 Jabli, Bhagat State, 2 Simla, 1 Simla
Hills.

None have a gold wash on the head, while
all four with red on the primaries (less than
in calipyga) are males, including one juvenile
with both wings and tail in moult. There is no
red on the primaries of the three females as
is found in calipyga and on the upperparts both
sexes are greyer than that form.

[490]

349

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Measurements on p. 362.

1336/7 Leiothrix lutea calipyga (Hodgson)
(Nepal) Eastern Red billed Leiothrix 1:328

10: 4 $ $ (1?) 5 $ $ 1 o?

1 Dentam, West, 3 Sikkim; 1 Chimakothi, West,
1 Bhumtang, 1 Shamgong, Central, 1 Gomchii, East
Bhutan; 1 Kalaktang, Arunachal Pradesh; 1 Shillong,
Khasia Hills.

All have a slight golden wash on the head,
while red on the wings occurs in 5 specimens
(1 c? 3 $ $ 1 o?). The first character is

clearer in fresh specimens, but all show the
drastic change in the yellow of the throat and
breast referred to under 1333.

Measurements on p. 362.

1338 Myzornis pyrrhoura Blyth (Nepal)

Fire tailed Myzornis 1:345

7:4 8 $ (1 o?) 3 $ $

3 Gedu, West, 2 Rongtong, 2 Wamrong, East
Bhutan.

In the original description, reference was
made to the black-centered scale-like green
feathers of the head. This is correctly repeated
in both editions of the Fauna, but Indian hand-
book (7 p. 70) refers to the crown being scal-
loped with black, in error for green. In the
specimens available the males differ from the
females in having a reddish wash on the breast
and the undertail coverts more chestnut than
the yellow in the females. The upperparts of
the females are also greener than in the males
where they are slightly washed with rufous.

Measurements on p. 362.

1339 Cutia nipalensis nipalensis Hodgson

(Nepal) Nepal Cutia 1:329

12: 8 $ $ 4 $ 5

1 Bagora, 2 Darjeeling, Bengal; 1 Singhik, N.
Sikkim; 1 Shamgong, 2 Batase, Central, 1 Gomchu,

3 Wamrong, East Bhutan; 1 Abor Country, Mishmi
Hills, Assam.

Measurements on p. 362.

1340 Ptensthius nifiventer Blyth (Darjeeling)

Rufousbellied Shrike-Babbler 1 : 337

2 8 $

1 Shamgong, 1 Wamrong, East Bhutan.

The c? from Shamgong (No. 25014) marked
as with enlarged testes (5 April 1967) shows
traces of pale yellow patches on the sides of
the breast which are joined by a thin yellow
line across the breast.

Measurements on p. 362.

1341 Pterathius flaviscapis validirostris Koelz

(Kohima, Naga Hills, Assam) Red winged
Shrike-Babbler 1:331

38: 16 $ $ (1 juv.) 20 $ $ 2 o?

1 Baragali, Murree Hills; 1 Dalhousie, 1 Dharam-
sala, Kangra; 2 Mahasu, 2 Koti State, 1 Summer Hills,
9 Simla; 1 Dhanaulti, 1 Mogra, Mussoorie, 1 Almora,
Kumaon; 2 Kurseong, 1 Longview Tea Estate, Dar-
jeeling; 1 Martam, Rongni Valley, 1 Sikkim; 3 Tama,
2 Shamgong, Central, 3 Deothang, 1 Narphong, East
Bhutan; 1 Tezu, Lohit Valley, U. Assam; 1 Naga
Hills, 1 Cachar Hills; 1 Chindwin, Burma.

The fresher skins show a deeper chestnut on
the wings. The juvenile male (No. 16148) has
a grey head in which the feathers are broken
and with pale central streaks.

Measurements on p. 362.

EL Pferuthius flaviscapis aeralatus Blyth
(Mountainous interior of Tenasserim province.
Lower Burma) Tickell’s Shrike-Babbler 1:333

3: 13 2 9 9 (1 juv.)

2 N' Krang, U. Burma, 1 Loisong, N. Shan States,
Burma.

The male can be distinguished from validi-
rostris (1341) by the outer half of the
inner secondaries being golden yellow and the
rest chestnut, while in the adult females there
is only a small patch of chestnut on the inner-
most secondary. In the juvenile the head is
concolorous with the back and feathers of the
head are broken, with pale shaft streaks more

350

[491]

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION — 28

prominent than in the specimen referred to
under 1341.

Measurements on p. 362.

1342 Pteruthius xanihochlorus occidentalis

Harington (Dehra Dun) Western Green Shrike-
Babbler 1:336

5:233192o?

1 Kufri, 1 Koti State, 3 Simla, N. W. Himalayas.
Measurements on p. 363.

1343 Pteruthius xanthochlorus xanthochlo-

rus Gray (Nepal) Eastern Green Shrike-Bab-
bler 1:335

3: 23 3 1 9

1 Chapcha, 1 Chimakoti. West, 1 Wamrong, East
Bhutan.

Measurements on p. 363.

1344 Pteruthius xanthochlorus hybridus

Harington (Mt. Victoria, Chin Hills) Chin Hills
Green Shrike-Babbler
nil.

1345 Pteruthius melanotis melanotis Hodg-
son (Nepal) Chestnut-throated Shrike-Babbler

1:333

6: 4 3 3 2 9 9

2 Singhik 3500' North, 1 Martam, Rongni Valley
2000', Sikkim; 1 Wamrong, 8000'; 1 Narphong 5600',
1 Gomchu 7500' East Bhutan.

The two males from Singhik, North Sikkim
show the brightest yellow on the foreheads
which is preceded by a thin black line. These
differences may only be a phase in plumage.
Measurements on p. 363.

1346 Pteruthius aenobarbus aenobarbulus

Koelz (Nokrek, Garo Hills) Chestnutfronted
Shrike-Babbler 1:335

nil.

1347 Gampsorhynchus rufulus refill us Blyth
(Darjeeling) Whiteheaded Shrike-Babbler 1:231

20: 8 3 5 (3 imm) 7 9 9 (2 imm) 5 o? (2 imm)

2 Longview T. E., Darjeeling; 1 Dening, 1 Tezu,
Lohit Valley, U. Assam; 2 Margherita, Assam; 4 Miao,
Tirap div. Arunachal Pradesh; 2 Roopachena, 1
Bago Bahar, Cachar; 2 Taw maw, 1 Maymyo, 2
Mansun, 2 Loikaw, N. Shan States, Burma.

The immature birds have brown heads. The
four most recently collected at Miao, A.P.
(1979) are olivegreen on the upper parts contra
rufous in all the others (1946 and earlier).

Measurements on p. 363.

1348 Actinodura egertoni egertoni Gould

(Nepal) Himalayan Barwing 1:303

8:335 399 2 o?

1 Tongloo, Darjeeling, 1 Sikkim, 2 Gedu, 3 Honka,
west, 1 Shamgong, Central Bhutan.

In series the backs are a paler and more
rufous brown than in lewisi.

Measurements on p. 363.

1349 Actioodura egertoni lewisi Ripley
(Dreyi, Mishmi Hills) Mishmi Barwing

7: 2 3 3 4 9 9 1 o?

5 Dreyi, Lohit Valley, N. E. Assam, 1 Rotung,
Abor Country, Mishmi Hills, 1 Kohima, Nagaland.

The topotypes collected in 1947 are marked
egertoni by Salim Ali and later (1948) separat-
ed as lewisi. The backs are slightly darker
than in the nominate form, and the head shows
more rufous, but the species shows consider-
able individual variation in colour, and the
subspecific characters in current literature are
not very consistent. One old skin from Kohima
borrowed from the Zoological Survey of India
is marked khasiana, while the specimen listed
above agrees more closely with topotypes of
lewisi. An examination of more material from
that area, collected at about the same time,
may perhaps remove the present necessity of
grouping the subspecies to some extent on
geographical grounds.

Measurements on p. 363.

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351

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

1349a Actinodura egertoni subsp ?

3:1 $2$ $

3 from Miao, Tirap div., Arunachal Pradesh
collected in 1979 should, distributionally, as in
Indian handbook, be lewisi, but they have
almost pure grey heads and an olive wash on
the upperparts which renders then quite diffe-
rent.

Measurements on p. 363.

1350 Actinodura egertoni khasiana Godwin-
Austen (Khasia Hills) Assam Barwing 1:304

3:1^222

1 Shillong, 1 Cherrapunji, Khasia Hills, 1 Hun-
grum, N. Cachar.

These can be immediately separated by their
ashy brown heads, as in the original descrip-
tion. Two more from Kohima (ZSI No. 29581,
1936, Ptutse-Ru Tekhubama, c. 22 km SE of
Kohima) and N. Cachar borrowed from the Zoo-
logical Survey of India, do not agree, while a
fresher (Jan. 1952) specimen from Kohima has
been placed with lewisi ( q.v .).

Measurements on p. 363.

1351 Actinodura egertoni ripponi Ogilvie-

Grant (Mt. Victoria, Chin Hills, 6000-7000')
Mizo Barwing 1:305

5 o?: 3 Mt. Victoria, 2 N. Shan States, Burma.

These birds appear larger than the foregoing
specimens than is suggested by the measure-
ments, with the feathers on the head paler and
apparently broader.

Measurements on p. 364.

1352/3 Actinodura nlpaSensis nipaSensis

(Hodgson) (Nepal restricted to slopes of Khat-
mandu Valley, Central Nepal) Nepal Hoary
Barwing 1:307

9: 4 ^ 4 $2 lo?

2 Tongloo, Darjeeling, 1 Lachung, N. Sikkim; 1
Gedu, West, 5 Wamrong East Bhutan.

In 1950, Ripley described A. n. vinctura
from East Nepal, but later (1980 JB 76 pp.

21-23) said they were not separable on the
characters mentioned. Among the present speci-
mens the seven from Darjeeling (5 including
3 borrowed from Zoological Survey of India)
1 N. Sikkim & 1 Gedu, West Bhutan can be
separated from 5 from Wamrong, E. Bhutan,
by the streaks on the head being paler and
more prominent than in the latter in which the
head is duskier. In view of the drastic colour
changes incurred by birds from this area and
the fact that the western birds (except one
1968 from West Bhutan) are old specimens,
I am leaving them all under nominate
nipalensis.

Incidentally, the 2nd Edition of synopsis
(1982) erroneously accepts vinctura, overlook-
ing the correction made in 1980 (loc. cit.), by
the same author !

Measurements on p. 364.

1354 Actinodura nipalensis dafiaensis God-

win-Austen (Dafla Hills, NE. Bengal) NEFA
Barwing 1:309

2 $ $ Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh.

Measurements on p. 364.

1355 Actinodura nipalensis waldeni Godwin-

Austen (Japoo Peak, Naga Hills) Manipur
Barwing 1:308

1 $ topotype Mt. Japoo, Naga Hills.

Measurements on p. 364.

1356 Actinodura nipalensis poliotis (Rip-

pon) (Mt. Victoria, 7000-8000 ft.) Chin Hills
Barwing 1:309

nil.

1357 Minla ignotincta ignotincta Hodgson

(Central and Northern regions of the Hills,
Nepal) Redtailed Minla 1:355

24: 15 $ $ (2 by pi.) 9 2 $ (1 by pi.)

4 Kurseong, Darjeeling; 2 Rinchinpong, West, 1
Singhik, 1 Martam, Rongni Valley, 1 Tung, Sikkim;

[493]

352

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION — 28

1 Gedu, 1 Phuntsholing, West, 1 Batase, 2 Shamgong,
Central, 1 Rongtong, 4 Wamrong, East, 2 Bhutan;
1 Saroq Hills, Upper Assam; 1 Kohima, Naga Hills,
1 Kongpokpi, Manipur.

7 cf cf collected in 1944 or earlier, have
yellow edges to the tail while in 8 from 1952
onwards, the tails are red. The edging to the
wing has also faded in the same manner and
time.

Measurements on p. 364.

1358 Minla strigula simlaensis Meinertzha-
gen (Simla) Western Barthroated Siva 1:313

(part)

16: 7 $ $ 7 $ $ 2o?

2 Koti State, 1 Kufri, Patiala State, 9 Simla, 1
Dhanaulti, east of Mussooree, 2 Dakuri. Almora.
Uttar Pradesh, 1 Nepal Valley.

The last from Nepal is very badly damaged
and may be of the next form.

Measurements on p. 364.

1359 Minla strigula strigula (Hodgson)
(Nepal) Eastern Barthroated Siva 1:313 (part)

15: 9 $ $ 4 $ $ 2 o?

2 Tongloo, Darjeeling; 3 Rinchingpong; West 1
Lachung-Chungthong, N. Sikkim, 1 Chimakothi,
West, 1 Shamgong, 1 Tongsa, Central 2 Narphong, 4
Wamrong, East Bhutan.

In series these are more yellow below than
simlaensis and a richer rufous on the forehead.
The rufous on the tail is not less than half
the length of the tail as required in the key in
ind. handbook, but noticeably less than in
the next two races. The two from Tongloo,
Darjeeling (tf No. 1501) and Lachung-Chung-
thong, N. Sikkim (o? No. 21660) have their
foreheads yellower than in the others, with the
former having a yellower bill.

Measurements on p. 364.

1360 Minla strigula yunnanensis (Roths-

child) (Lichiang Range, NW. Yunnan) NEFA
Barthroated Siva 1:313-14 (part)

[494]

2 o?

1 Loi Lum, N. Shan States, 1 Burma? (Both col-
lected by H. Wood).

Their forehead is duller than in nominate
strigula and they also measure slightly larger.
The extent of rufous on the tail is more pro-
nounced.

Measurements on p. 364.

1361 Minla strigula cinereigenae (Ripley)

(Mt. Japoo, Western Naga Hills, Assam)
Assam Barthroated Siva 1:313 (part)

1 $ Mt. Japvo, Naga Hills, Assam.

The single specimen from the type locality
lacks the rufous forehead of nominate strigula
and the rufous in the tail is as prominent as
in yunnanensis above. Peters’ checklist 1964
(10 p. 396) refers to it as doubtfully distinct
from yunnanensis.

Measurements on p. 364.

1362 Minla cyanouroptera cyanouroptera

(Hodgson) (Nepal) Bluewinged Siva 1:314

31: 9 $ $ 15 $ $ 7 o?

1 W. Kumaon, 1 Mornaula, 2 Kumaon, Nainital
dist., U.P.; 1 Godaveri, Nepal; 2 Kurseong, 1 Long-
view, Darjeeling; 1 Rinchinpong, West, 2 Singhik, 2
Rongpo, 1 Singtam, Teesta Valley, 1 Sikkim; 1
Shamgong, Central, 3 Deothang, 1 Rongtong, East
Bhutan; 1 Dibrugarh, 1 Dening, Lohit Valley, 4 Mar-
gherita, Assam; 1 Namorah, Arunachal Pradesh; 1
Baraha Pani, 1 Shillong; 2 Kohima, Naga Hills.

There is some variation in the colour of the
head and of the underparts and the intensity
of brown above, but the material available does
not permit any definite divisions. McClelland’s
lepida from Assam was described for its light
bluish-grey underparts and the specimens from
Sikkim, Bhutan, Dening, Lohit Valley and
Namora, Arunachal Pradesh do have greyish
underparts and perhaps slightly larger bills. The
description of Deignan’s aglae (Mt. Victoria,
Western Burma, South east Assam) is not avail-
able, but except for faint white marking to the

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6

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. SO

inner primaries the specimens from the Naga
Hills do not appear separable. Ludlow & Kin-
near, Ibis 1937 p. 41 refer to the female in
fresh plumage being flushed with yellow on the
underparts, but this colour is not visible in
any specimen nor mentioned in ind. handbook.

Measurements on p. 364/5.

EL. Minla cyanouroptera wingatei (Ogilvie-
Grant) (W. Kumaing, Yunnan) 1:315

4 o?

1 N' Krang, 2 Sima, Upper Burma; 1 Loisong,
N. Shan States.

These lack the white tips to the inner
secondaries.

Measurements on p. 365.

1363 Yuhina casianiceps rufigenis (Hume)

(Himalayas = Darjeeling) Sikkim Whitebrowed
Yuhina 1:311 (part)

6: 3 33 2 $$ 1 o?

1 Martam, Rongni Valley, Sikkim; 2 Tama,
1 Mangdecha, C. Bhutan, 2 Beni Changs, 3500', Saroq
Hills, Upper Assam.

Measurements on p. 365.

1364 Yuhina castaniceps plumbeiceps (God-
win-Austen) Nr. Sadya and Brahmakhend,
Eastern Assam) Mishmi Whitebrowed Yuhina

1:311

2: 1 $ 1 $

1 Embiong, 1 40th. m. from Miao, Deban Div.
Arunachal Pradesh.

By distribution these should be plumbeiceps ,
but the rufous ear-coverts extend to about the
same level in both in this and rufigenis, while
both have a rufous patch at the posterior end
of the supercilium. The head is perhaps greyer,
but these are fresher, 1979, skins, contra 1967
and earlier. The two were synonymised by
Oates in fauna 1:206 and this was confirmed
by Baker (1:311). The revival of plumbeiceps
in Indian handbook and in synopsis (1982)

is not explained. Though ignored by later
workers, it may however be worth keeping in
mind that when Hume named this bird he
was referring to the Himalayan form of striatus
in which the underparts were said to be brown-
ish by both Blyth and Tickell, and in which
the latter said the central tail feathers and
the quills were reddish clay brown.

With the evidence available I would include
1364 with 1363, the latter appearing in the
June number of Stray Feathers, 1877, and the
former in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 20: 219 pub-
lished in December the same year.

Measurements on p. 365.

1365 Yuhina castaniceps castaniceps

(Moore) (Afghanistan, errore = Cachar) Chest-
nut-headed Yuhina 1:310

5: I $ 3 $ $ 1 o?

1 Shillong, 3 Cherrapunji, Cachar, 1 no data.

Measurements on p. 365.

EL. Yuhina castaniceps striata Blyth

(Tenasserim) Striated Yuhina (Tickell’s Staphi-
dia in Fauna) 1:311

2: 1 $ 1 o?

1 Than dung, Karen Hills, 1 North Shan States.

The distribution of this form is said to ex-
tend as far north as the South Shan States
(Peters, x. p. 422). The first is heavily streaked
on the upperparts while the other may almost
be included with rufigenis.

Measurements on p. 365.

1366 Yuhina bakeri Rothschild (Darjeeling)

Whitenaped Yuhina 1:321

8: 2 $ $ 5 $ 9 1 o?

1 Chungthang, N. Sikkim; 1 Batase, Central
Bhutan, 1 Joyhing Gorge, N. Lakhimpur, Upper
Assam, 1 Rotung, Abor country, 1 Dibang Valley,
Mishmi Hills, 2 Miao, Tirap Div., A. P., 1 Hungrum
N. Cachar.

Four of these were listed under Yuhina occi-

354

[495]

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION — 28

pitalis presumably because this name was once
used for bakeri but has been invalidated.
Measurements on p. 365.

1367 YiiMna flavicollis albicollis (Ticehurst

6 Whistler) (Dharmsala, 4000' Kangra) Western

Yellownaped Yuhina 1:322

18: 10 6' $ 7 $ $ 1 o?

2 Koti State, 1 Patiala State, 1 Kalka, 2 Pulbal,

7 Simla, 1 West, 1 Kumaon; 1 Rampur, Gharwal, 1
Dhanaulti, 1 Mussoorie U.P.

Measurements on p. 365.

1368/9 Yuhina flavicollis flavicollis Hodg-
son (Nepal, restricted to Central Nepal)
Eastern Yellownaped Yuhina 1:322

22: 8 $$ 12 $ $ 2 o?

1 Nepal, 4 Longview T.E., 2 Darjeeling, 1 Buxa
Duars, Bengal; 2 Singtam, 1 Chungthang, 1 Singhik.
1 Sikkim; 1 Gedu, West, 1 Shamgong, 1 Batase, 1
Tama, Central, 2 Deothang, 1 Gomchu. 1 Narphong,

1 Wamrong, East, Bhutan.

Measurements on p. 365.

1370 Yuhina flavicollis rouxi (Oustalet) (Ly-

Sien-Kiang or Black River, Yunnan) Assam
Yellownaped Yuhina 1:323

7: 1 $ 6 o?

1 Kalaktang, Amnachal Pradesh, 1 Hungrum, N.
Cachar; 1 N. Shan States, 3 Loi-Wong, S. Shan
States, 1 Mt. Victoria, Burma.

The two from Arunachal Pradesh and N.
Cachar appear intermediate between nominate
flavicollis and rouxi.

Measurements on p. 366.

1371 Yuhina gularis vivax Koelz (above
Luni, Tehri, United Provinces. 10000') West-
ern Stripethroated Yuhina

nil.

1372 Yuhina gularis gularis Hodgson
(Nepal) Eastern Stripethroated Yuhina 1:317

11 : 8 $ $ 3 o?

1 Kewzing, West, 1 Lachung, North, Sikkim, 1
Bhutan Duars, 1 Chapkha, West, 1 Shamgong, Cen-
tral, 1 Rongtong, 1 Gomchu, 2 Wamrong, East,
Bhutan; 1 Aka Hills, NE Assam; 1 N. Shan States,

Burma.

Measurements on p. 366.

EL. Yuhina diademata ampelina Rippon
(Waror Bum 30 miles, east of Bhamo, Kachin
State, U. Burma) 1:318

1 o? North Shan States, Burma.

The specimen is marked ampelina , Rippon,
but this race is accepted in Vaurie’s Palaearctic
Fauna (1959) and dropped in Peters’ checklist
(1964, x p. 424). Without any material for
comparison it is not possible to express any
opinion.

Measurements on p. 366.

1373 Yuhina occipitalis occipitalis Hodgson
(Nepal) Slatyheaded or Rufousvented Yuhina

1:319

10: 8 $ $ 2 9 $

(a) 1 Kurseong, Darjeeling, Bengal; 2 Bolandeny,
Sikkim; 1 nr. Dochu La, West Bhutan.

(b) 2 Gomchu. 2 Deothang, 1 Wamrong, East
Bhutan; 1 Kalaktang, Arunachal Pradesh.

The first four (a) from nearer the type loca-
lity show more rufous on the lower belly and
vent than the six more eastern birds (b). The
examination of a larger series may perhaps
warrant separation.

Measurements on p. 366.

1374 Yuhina nigrimenta nigrimenta Hodg-
son (Nepal) Blackchinned Yuhina 1:320

16: 6 $ $ 8 $2 2o?

4 Ranibagh, 1 Kumaon, U.P.; 2 Dikchu, North,
1 Singatam Teesta Valley, Sikkim, 1 Buxa Duars, 1
Lodrai, 1 Mangdechu 2 Tama, Central Bhutan; 2
Saraq Country, Upper Assam; 1 Dening, Lohit Valley.
NE. Assam.

Measurements on p. 366.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

1375 Yuhina xantholeuca xantholeuca

(Hodgson) (Central region of Nepal) White-
bellied Yuhina 1:325

24: 8 $ $ 12 $ $ 4 o?

1 Berrik, Sikkim; 1 Tama, 1 Lodrai, Central, 1
Bhutan; 6 Margherita, Lakhimpur; 2 Miao, 1 Tirap
Div., Arunachal Pradesh; 2 Laithensew, Khasia Hills;
1 Kangpokpi, Manipur; 1 N. Cachar, 3 Hai Bum,
Chindwin Exp.; 2 Nyannggyo, Prome Dist., 1 Thayet-
myo Dist., 1 Burma.

The older skins have lost the olivegreen on
the upper parts and show more yellow, while
the fresh material after April 1967 shows more
yellow on the vent and grey on the underparts.
Several specimens show dark feather shafts on
the head, presenting a streaked appearance
which cannot be linked with place or season.
This has not been referred to in the fauna or
INDIAN HANDBOOK.

Measurements on p. 366.

1376 Akippe dirysotis chrysotis (Blyth)

Himalaya = Nepal) Himalayan Goldenbreast-
ed Tit-Babbler 1:293

7: 4 $ $ 1 $ 2 o?

1 Tongloo, Darjeeling, 1 Gedu, West, 4 Sham-
gong, Central Bhutan; 1 Bomdila, Arunachal
Pradesh.

c? Sp. 19855 obtained by C. M. Inglis at
Darjeeling on 6th July 1904 is not included in
his Birds of Jalpaiguri Dist. ( JBNHS 26: 988-
999) and differs from the others in having no
yellow on the underparts, the white feathers
being tipped with pale brown, presumably the
effect of fading. The wing, bill and tarsus are
the smallest in the series but can no doubt be
included in the range.

Measurements on p. 366.

1377 Akippe chrysotis aibilineata (Koelz)

(Karong, Singtun, Manipur) Assam Golden-
breasted Tit-Babbler 1:293

nil.

1378 Akippe cinerea (Blyth) (Darjeeling)
Dusky Green or Yellowthroated Tit-Babbler

1:287

10: 5 $ $ 4 $ $ 1 o?

2 Gedu, West, 1 Shamgong, 1 Batase, Central
Bhutan; 2 Benichangs, 2 Dreyi, Lohit Valley, Upper
Assam; 1 Bomdila, 1 Kalaktang, Arunachal Prakesh.

The key in Indian handbook (7 p. 110) re-
quires a yellow supercilium for the species
and the name and description on p. 112 refer
to a yellow throat and underparts. Except for
a very slight trace of yellow on the lores and
underparts in two from Arunachal Pradesh
(1978), the others collected earlier show pure
white and no yellow — another example of the
rapid fading of colour in birds from the north-
east.

Measurements on p. 366.

1379 Alcippe castaneceps castaneceps

(Hodgson) (Chandragiri Pass, Central Nepal)
Chestnut-headed Tit-Babbler 1:288-9

16: 4 $ $ 10 $$ 2 o?

1 Sheopuri Ridge, Nepal Valley, 1 Kewzing Temi,
West Sikkim; 1 Chimakothi, West, 4 Shamgong, Cen-
tral, 3 Wamrong, 1 Gomchu, 1 Rongtong, East
Bhutan; 1 Tezu, Lohit Valley, U. Assam; 2 Miao,
Tirap Div., Arunachal Pradesh. 1 LoLPanghen, nr.
Mekong River, Burma.

Several races brunneicauda Khasi Hills,
Sharpe, garoensis, Garo Hills, Koelz and naga-
ensis, Naga Hills, Koelz, have been described
from eastern India, but though some variations
are visible there is insufficient material to up-
hold any of them. ind. handbook (7 p. 113)
refers to a rufous patch on the wing feathers
but in the western birds this is closer to yellow
or orange as stated in earlier literature. The
two from Arunachal Pradesh have darker
brown heads as well as wing feathers. The bird
from the Mekong River, presumably in Burma,
collected by H. N. Thomson in 1902 is in
tatters and badly faded.

Measurements on p. 367.

356

[497]

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION — 28

1380 Alcippe vinipectus kangrae (Ticehurst

& Whistler) Palumpur, 6000', Kangra) Western
Whitebrowed Tit-Babbler 1:290 (part)

7: 4 3 £ 3 $ $

6 Narkanda, Kumarsain, Simla, Himachal Pradesh,

1 Dakuri (Kumaon Hills), Nainital, U.P.

The chestnut on the head forms a very
distinct cap.

Measurements on p. 367.

1381 Akippe vinipectus vinipectus (Hodg-
son) (Nepal, except area occupied by chum-
biensis) Nepal Whitebrowed Tit-Babbler 1 : 290

(part)

nil.

1382 Alcippe vinipectus chumbiensis (Kin-

near) (Yatung, Chumbi Valley) Eastern White-
browed Tit-Babbler 1:290 (part)

19: 8 $ $ 8 $ $ 3 o?

1 Mangalbare, Nepal; 2 Sandakphaw, 1 Phalut.
Darjeeling, 1 Kewzing-Temi, West, 5 Lachung, 1
Chungthan, North Sikkim; 4 Bhumthang, 2 Chima-
kothi, 1 Chapcha, 1 nr. Dochu La, West Bhutan.

The streaking on the throat is indistinct in
some but it is not possible to place any with
nominate vinipectus. The dark brown coronal
stripes referred to in the key in Indian hand-
book (7 p. 114) also presumably include the
dark streaks behind the eyes converging on
the nape.

Measurements on p. 367.

1383 Alcippe vinipectus austeni (Ogilvie-

Grant) (Manipur and the Naga Hills) Assam
Whitebrowed Tit-Babbler 1:291

nil.

1384 Alcippe cinereiceps ludlowi (Kinnear)
(Sakden, Eastern Bhutan) Himalayan Brown-
headed Tit-Babbler

nil.

1385 Alcippe cinereiceps manipurensis
(Ogilvie-Grant) (Owenkulno Peak, Manipur
Hills) Manipur Brownheaded Tit-Babbler 1:292
nil.

1385a Alcippe striaticoISis (Verreaux)
(Muping) Streakthroated Tit-Babbler

nil.

1386 Alcippe rufogularis rufogularis (Man-

delli) (Bhutan Duars) Himalayan Redthroated
Tit-Babbler 1:286

nil.

1387 Alcippe rufogularis collaris Walden
(Sadiya, Upper Assam) Assam Redthroated
Tit-Babbler

13:5 $ $ 8 $ $

1 Sadiya, 8 Margherita; 2 Firm Base, 1 Miao,
Tirap Div., Arunachal Pradesh; 1 Lok-Kawhka,
Chindwin, Burma.

The two races are separated in ind. hand-
book (7 p. 119) by collaris being darker on
the crown and with the back rufescent brown
and distributionally divided by the Dihang
River in Arunachal Pradesh, north of the
Brahmaputra. The three most recent skins
(1979 & 1981) from Firm Base and Miao,
Tirap Div., A.P., differ from the others (all
1946 and earlier) in being less rufous on the
head and upperparts. However, without any
topotypes of nominate rufogularis (or any-
thing west of the Dihang) it is not possible
to say if the material is of one or more races.

Measurements on p. 367.

1388 Alcippe brunnea mandelli (Godwin-
Austen) (Naga Hills, Northeast Bengal) Rufous-
headed Tit-Babbler 1:284

3 o?

Measurements on p. 367.

[498]

357

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

1389 Alcippe poioicephala subsp ? Quaker
Babbler : Paler northern birds

38: 15 ^ $ 17 $ $ 6 o?

1 Waghai, 1 Malegaon, 1 Songadh, Navsari, 1
Surat Dangs, 1 Pimpri, Surat, Gujarat; 1 Paryat,
Jubbalpore, 2 Bori Forest, Hoshangabad, 1 Anta-
garh, 1 Darba. 1 Karnali, 2 Bailadila, 1 Chota
Dongar, 1 Amraoti, Bastar, C. P.; 1 Pili, 1 Chikalda,
Melghat, Berar, Maharashtra; 1 Kutri, Daspalla, 2
Badrama, Burma, Orissa; 3 Jeypur Agency, 1 near
K. V. Nagar, Vizagapatnam District, 6 Sankrametta,
3 Anantgiri; 3 Yercaud, Salem District, 2 Shevaroy
Hills, Tamil Nadu.

Alcippe poioicephala brucei currently accept-
ed as a good subspecies has a curious history.
Referring to some notes by Fairbank which
separated birds from Mahableshwar from those
from the Nilgiris [the type locality of poioice-
phala (Jerdon)] Hume, 1870, (. JASB 39: 129)
positively said that none of the characters
mentioned i.e. size, depth of colour of upper-
parts and ferruginosity of the underparts were
consistent and that the two were identical.

As Fairbank never published his report, the
authorship was attributed to Hume though he
had only denied its validity (Blanford’s Fauna,
1, footnote on p. 158, where it was synonymised
with the nominate race) but later accepted by
Stuart Baker (Fauna 1, p. 278) who was really
only quoting Harington as occurring at “Maha-
baleshwar. Western ghats from Rajkot in
Kathiawar to Belgaum, the Central Provinces;
Pachmari and the Parasnath Hill, Lower
Bengal”.*

Thereafter, Whistler & Kinnear in the Eastern
Ghats Survey Report (1932, JBNHS 35, p 745)
named all the birds from the Shevaroy and
Chitteri Hills north to the Vizagapatnam Hills
and the Jeypur Agency as brucei. They said
it could not be separated from those from the
Western Ghats “where this species occurs from
the Goa Frontier to West Khandesh and Raj-

* Dr. B. Biswas tells me the name is valid under
Article 19a of International Code of Zoological
Nomenclature.

kot in Kathiawar”.

Later (1935, JBNHS 38, p. 80) when re-
porting on Salim Ali’s collection from Travan-
core and Cochin, Whistler said “A. p. brucei
differs from this, the typical race, in being
altogether paler. The crown and nape are a
clearer colder grey, the rest of the upperparts
are greyer and colder with less brown in them;
the wings and tail are not so dark. The lower
parts are also much paler, washed with greyer
brown, as compared with rich fulvous. It is
also slightly larger.”

In Birds of Mysore (1942, JBNHS 43, p.
322) Whistler said the birds collected from this
area were brucei including 2 from the Biligiri-
rangan Hills, though he added that an earlier
series from the same place were “intermediates
between poioicephala and brucei being defi-
nitely more richly coloured than the Survey
series.”

In INDIAN handbook 1972 (7 p. 122) brucei
is said to be paler and greyer than poioicephala
and occurring in the hills of the Indian penin-
sula, except for the range of the nominate race
which is shown to be restricted to the Ghats
along the southwest but to intergrade with
brucei in southwestern Maharashtra, Goa and
the Biligirirangan Hills which statement is re-
peated in the second edition of synopsis (1982
p. 378). In the meantime however, Robert
Grubh and Sdlim Ali have identified 5 speci-
mens recently collected in Goa as of the nomi-
note form (1976, JBNHS 73, p. 48).

In the present study it was evident that birds
from the Bombay area, Khandala and Goa
showed much individual variation and some
were indeed impossible to separate from nomi-
nate birds from the Nilgiris. There can be little
doubt that the uncertainty and confusion was
revived by comparison of the southwestern
birds with the large series obtained in the
Eastern Ghats assuming that the latter were
brucei and failing to note that topotypes of

[499]

358

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION — 28

brucei were not different from the nominate
form.

Considering Hume’s remarks mentioned
above, together with further observations,
brucei becomes an intermediate form which is
really inseparable from nominate poioicephala
and therefore a synonym.*

The birds from further north however i.e.
Surat Dangs, and eastwards through Jabalpur,
Hoshangabad, Bastar and Orissa into Sankra-
metta and Anantgiri in the Eastern Ghats, and
southwards into the Shevaroy and Chitteri Hills
are definitely paler and merit separation from
the nominate form.

The material available in Bombay does not
include large enough series from any particular
place to permit determination if the differences
in colour are not individual variations and
remove the possibility that birds of a particular
plumage have not been picked out and retain-
ed at other museums when the collections were
studied by earlier workers.

Recently (March 1983) I put this problem
to Dr. B. Biswas when he was in Bombay and
on his recommendation was about to separate
the birds from the northwest end of the Eastern
Ghats as a paler form but a last look-over
showed one from near R. V. Nagar, Vizaga-
patnam District, almost as dark as the south-
west form ! I am leaving this matter alone
until there has been an opportunity of examin-
ing a really representative series from any one
place.

The name brucei is omitted but the paler
birds are listed separately above.

Measurements on p. 367.

1390 Alcippe poioicephala poioicephala
(Jerdon) (Coonoor Ghat, Nilgiris) Nilgiri
Quaker Babbler 1:277

29: 18 $ $ 10 9 $ 1 o?

* See footnote on p. 358.

5 Khandala, 1 near Koyna River, 1 Matheran, 1
Khaneri, Bombay, 1 Nagothna, Kolaba District, 1
Dhanapur, Ratnagiri; 3 Molem, 1 Valpoi, Goa; 1
Kadra, N. Kanara, 1 Honnametti, 1 Shenemenalla,

2 Bellaji, Biligirirangan Hills, Coorg, Karnataka; 1
Cooly Ghat, 1 Kattamalai, Gudalur, 1 Longwood
Estate, Kotagiri, 1 Avalanche, 1 Coonoor, Nilgiris;

2 Santhanpara, Cardamom Hills, 1 Shembagnur, Palni
Hills, 1 Palni Ghat, T.N.; 1 no data.

The male and female from Santhanpara,
Cardamom Hills, south of Nilgiris, have the
most rufous underparts and if this difference
is found to be consistent and not repeated in
the Nilgiri birds, they could also be separated.

Measurements on p. 367.

1391 Alcippe poioicephala fusca Godwin-
Austen (Naga Hills) 1:278 (part)

3: 1 '$ 1 9 1 o?

2 N. Cachar; 1 N' Krang, Upper Burma.

The adults were collected by Stuart Baker
in 1892 and 1893 and though the grey on the
head and nape has almost disappeared, the
upperparts are mainly rufous, with the under-
parts more strongly tinged with rufous than in
any of the others.

The unsexed bird, possibly immature, obtain-
ed by Harington at N’Krang, Upper Burma,
in July 1900 agrees very closely in colour, but
is perhaps less rufous below.

Measurements on p. 367.

EL Alcippe poioicephala karenni Robinson
& Kloss (Karenni, Upper Burma) Karenni
Quaker Babbler

1 o? Loi Kane, Karenni, Burma.

The original label is marked “S. Shan States
magnirostris ” i.e. (of Walden) which is now
synonymised with karenni.

Measurements on p. 368.

EL. Alcippe poioicephala phayrei Blyth
(Arakan) Arakan Quaker Babbler 1:278

5: 1 $ 3 $ $ 1 o?

2 Nyannggyo, 1 Prome Road, Prome District, 1

[500]

359

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

Kyilin, Henzada District, 1 Sandoway District, Burma.

Measurements on p. 368.

EL Alcippe poioicephala haringtoniae Har-
tert (Bhamo) Upper Burma Quaker Babbler

1:280

1 o? North Shan States, Burma.

Measurements on p. 368.

1392/3 Alcippe nipalensis nipalensis (Hodg-
son) (Nepal) Nepal Quaker Babbler 1:275

25: 14 H 8 $ $ 3 o?

1 Martam, Rongni Valley, 1 Singhik, Sikkim; 2
Tama, 1 Mongdechu, Central, 1 Deothang, 1 Wam-
rong, East Bhutan; 1 Dafla Hills, 1 Dibang Valley,
Mishmi Hills, 1 Dibrugarh, 2 Margherita, Assam; 2
Kolaktang, 1 Miao, 3 Hornbill Camp, Tirap Division,
Arunachal Pradesh; 1 Kongpokpi, Manipur; 1 Makok-
chung, Naga Hills; 2 North Cachar; 2 Hai Bum,
Chindwin ; 1 Mooktum, Upper Burma.

The last three from Hornbill Camp, Tirap,
A. P. collected in December 1981 show a dis-
tinct yellow wash on the underparts which is
missing in all the others including 3 taken at
Miao and Kolaktang(2) in 1978/9. The olive
green of the back also becomes tinged with
rufous and is in a few years of quite a diffe-
rent colour. The extent of rufous on the under-
parts also varies appreciably and the grey of
the head disappears almost completely.

Ripley’s commoda from Dening, Mishmi
Hills, N. E. Assam, is now synonymised with
the nominate race.

Measurements on p. 368.

1394 Alcippe nipalensis stanfordi Ticehurst
(Taungup-Prome Cart Road, Arakan Yoma,
2900') Chin Hills Quaker Babbler 1:275 (part)

4:1 ^ 3 o?

2 Mt. Victoria, Pakokku District; 2 Nyannggyo,
Prome District, Burma.

These birds have less grey on the head than
most specimens of nipalensis but are barely
separable. They are marked stanfordi by
Ticehurst.

Measurements on p. 368.

1395 Heterophasia annectens annectens
(Blyth) (Darjeeling) Chestnutbacked Sibia

1:300

3: 1 $ 2 o?

1 Mishing, Abor Country, Mishmi Hills; 1 Em*
biong, Tirap Division, A.P.; 1 Loison, N. Shan States.

The central tail feathers are missing in one
but not tipped with white as stated in ind.
handbook (7 p. 128) and also in Stuart Baker’s
FAUNA (1 p. 301).

The chestnut on the lower belly and flanks
varies appreciably being deepest in No. 2930
from Mishing, Abor Country.

Measurements on p. 368.

1396 Heterophasia capistrata cap! strata

(Vigors) (Himalayas, restricted to Simla by
Ripley) Western Blackcapped Sibia 1:296

30: 15 $ $ 9 $ $ 6 o?

These fall into two groups.

(a) 17:7 $ $ 7 $$ 3 o?

1 Dunga Gali, Pakistan; 1 Dalhousie, Gurdaspur;
8 Simla, 1 Koti State, H.P.; 2 Lambathach, 2 Dakuri,
1 Ghat Gharwal, 1 Gharwal.

These birds from Gharwal and westwards are
generally paler than (b), particularly at the
collar round the neck.

(b) 13: 8 $ $ 2 $ $ 3 o?

2 Dhanaulti, Mussoorie, 5 Dakuri, 1 Mornaula, 1
Chirra, Kumaon; 1 Yoshinath, 1 Ghat Gharwal, 2
Ranibag, U.P.

According to the accepted distribution of
races, these should be of the same race as (a)
but they are on an average appreciably darker,
though specimens from Ghat Gharwal fall into
both groups. There is no difference in the
measurements.

Considerable confusion has been caused by
the change of type localities.

Measurements on p. 368.

360

[501]

BIRDS IN BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOCIETY COLLECTION — 28

1397 Heterophasia capistrata nigriceps

(Hodgson) (Nepal, restricted to Central Nepal
by Ripley) Nepal Blackcapped Sibia 1:296

(part)

2:1 $ 1 9

1 Thurnsi, 1 Muktesar, Nepal.

The latter has almost no grey or brown on
the middle of the back and was collected by
Major H. J. Walton on 11 July 1899, who
has collected others listed under 1396(b) in
April, May and June 1899, in Ghat, Yoshinath
and Garhwal. The original label does not exist
and the place name may be in error for Mukte-
shwar near Naini Tal, the bird only showing
the variation visible under the nominate form.

Measurements on p. 368.

1398 Heterophasia capistrata bayleyi (Kin-
near) (Taktoo, near Sakdan, E. Bhutan)
Eastern Blackcapped Sibia

16: S $ $ 7 92 1 o?

3 Kurseong, 2 Longview, Darjeeling, 2 Kewsing,
Temi, West, 1 La chung, North, 1 Ranjit Valley,
Sikkim; 1 nr. Punthsholing, West, 1 Tama, 1 Tongsa,
1 Shamgong, 1 Batase, Central, 1 Wamrong, 1 Nar-
phong. 1 Bhutan.

This is a very distinct race, separated by
its smaller size and dark ashy back.

Measurements on p. 368.

1 399 Heterophasia gracilis (McClelland)
(Assam, restricted to Naga Hills) Grey Sibia

1:298

8: 3 $ $ 2 $ $ 3 o?

3 Kohima, Naga Hills, 1 Bishenpur, Manipur; 3
Mt. Victoria, Burma; 1 o? Place No. 3. 14.3.1907.
Collected by Nipagoo ?

Measurements on p. 369.

1400 Heterophasia pulchella (Godwin-

Austin) (Kunho Peak, Eastern Barail Range,
Naga Hills) Beautiful Sibia 1:302

4:3$$ 1 o?

1 Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh; 1 Etalin, 1 Endol-
ing, Mishmi Hills, 1 Naga Hills.

Measurements on p. 369.

1401 Heterophasia picaoides picaoides

(Hodgson) (Nepal) Longtailed Sibia 1:295

12: 7 $ $ 4 $ $ 1 o?

1 Balasum, 3 Kurseong, 1 Longview T. E., Darjee-
ling; 1 Bhutan Duars, 3 Deothang, E. Bhutan; 3
Mishing, Abor Country, Mishmi Hills.

Measurements on p. 369.

EL Heterophasia picaoides cana (Riley) Doi
Ang Ka Lat 18°35' N, Long 98°30' E Thai-
land)

3 o? : 1 Loi Len, 1 N. Shan States, 1 Upper Burma.

The tails are shorter than in the nominate
form but $ No. 1431 from Darjeeling has a
frayed tail measuring only 172 mm. The three
Burmese birds are brown above rather than
dark greyish brown, but the same colour is
displayed by a few under nominate picaoides.

Measurements on p. 369.

EL Heterophasia meianoleuca melanoleuca

(Blyth) (Mulayit Hill, Tenasserim) Tickell’s
Sibia 1:299

5: 1 $ 4 o?

1 Chatarshu, 1 N. Shan States; 2 Sintaung, Taung-
gyi, 1 S. Shan States.

The two from Sintaung, Taunggyi, collected
in 1921 and 1933 have noticeably darker upper-
parts and their tails tipped white contra grey
in the others. Ticehurst 1940 (JBNHS 41 p.
583) refers to the subspecies described from
Burma and decides that melanoleuca, and rad-
cliffei (Stuart Baker, N. E. Central Burma) are
not separable, melanoleuca being a faded form
of radcliffei — one obtained in 1923 and named
rad cliffei having become melanoleuca by 1940
(17 years). In the present series the pale birds
are about 80 years old, while two dark ones
though obtained 62 and 50 years ago are yet
appreciably darker than the others.

The wings are longer and the tails shorter
than indicated in Stuart Baker’s Fauna.

Measurements on p. 369.

[502]

361

JOURNAL . BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

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369

7

GRASSES OF UDAIPUR DISTRICT
(RAJASTHAN STATE)1

S. S. Katewa and Y. D. Tiagi2

During a survey of the district of Udaipur over the last five years, we collected a
total of 136 species of grasses. Out of these species 100 are new records for this district
and 13 for the State of Rajasthan. The total number of the grass genera occurring
in Udaipur district is 64. Of these 37 are panicoid and 27 pooid. The panicoid
genera belong mostly to the tribes Andropogoneae and the Paniceae but the pooid
genera are distributed among 13 tribes, 10 of which are monogeneric. Most of the
Paniceae are hygrophillous. On the contrary, most of the Andropogoneae and Pooideae
usually occur in dry places.

Introduction

The district of Udaipur, having an area of
about 17267 sq. km. which is about 5.04 per
cent of the total area of Rajasthan lies in the
south-west of this state and is situated between
23°49'and 25°28' N and 73°01# and 75°49' E.
The Aravalli system of mountains dominates
the tract which is characterized by unevenness.
The eastern and north-eastern portion of the
district is hilly containing long continuous
ridges, as well as many detached hills, the
whole physiography presenting a tangled
wilderness of shallow valleys with an immense
network of narrow ‘nallas’ (drains) and fairly
deep gorges. The dominant rocks of the area
belong to the Aravalli system, consisting of
gneiss and Pre-Cambrian sandstones of the
Vindhyan System. Here and there, especially
in the Bansi, Dhariyawad and Salumber ranges,
one can find isolated patches of Deccan trap.
The soils in the plains are medium clayey,
grey-brown, yellowish-red to red in colour

1 Accepted October 1981.

2 Department of Botany, School of Basic Sciences
and Humanities, University of Udaipur, Udaipur-
313 001, INDIA.

In the hilly tracts, the soils are shallow and
mostly consist of grit and coarse sand. On the
Deccan trap black, clayey soils are prevalent.
These also occur on other formations up to
some distance around the traps. Alluvial sand
occurs in the beds and on the banks of the
rivers.

The district is drained by a network of seve-
ral rivers and their tributaries. The main rivers
are Banas, Baiarch, Khari, Jakharn, Som,
Sarsi, Jawai, Vakul and Sabarmati. There are
several fresh water lakes in the district, promi-
nent among which are Jaisamand, Udaisagar,
Rajasamand, Peechola and Fatehsagar. The
district has a tropical monsoon continental type
of climate. The normal rainfall (1970-1979)
is 594.79 mm. Most of the rainfall is received
during the months of July, August and some
in September and June. Sometimes winter
showers, locally known as ‘Mavata’ are receiv-
ed during January and February. January is
the coldest month when the average maximum
temperature is only 27.5 °C and the average
minimum 3.1°C. The average maximum tem-
perature during the month of May is 41.7°C
which is the hottest month of the year whereas
the average minimum temperature for May
is 20.8°C. During the rainy season the average

370

GRASSES OF UDAIPUR DISTRICT

maximum temperature comes down to 36.1°C
in July which further decreases to 34.0°C in
August.

The flora of the different parts of the state
of Rajasthan has been studied by a number
of workers. A perusal of this literature reveals
that the work on the systematics of grasses
is meagre and sketchy. Only Ramchandran
(1950), Gandhi et al. (1961), Prakash and
Nanda (1961) and Kanodia and Rao (1965,
1966) have dealt exclusively with the grasses.
Jain (1972) recorded the occurrence of Arth-
raxon meeboldii from Mount Abu. Recently,
Bhandari (1978) described 90 species of gras-
ses under 52 genera from the Thar desert.
Sharma and Tiagi (1979) described 91 species
under 53 genera in their Flora of North-East
Rajasthan.

So far no systematic attempt has been made
to study the grasses of Udaipur district which
on account of its salubrious climate, floristi-
cally is perhaps the richest district of the
state. The present work is an outcome of the
geobotanical survey of the vegetation of the
district of Udaipur. Collections were made
during the period 1975 to 1980 in all the sea-
sons of the year and data on phenology record-
ed. A set of these specimens have been depo-
sited in the herbarium of Forest Re-
search Institute, Dehradun and another in the
Geobotany herbarium of Department of Bot-
any, School of Basic Sciences and Humani-
ties, University of Udaipur, Udaipur. The list
is arranged according to Bor (1960). No-
menclatural changes proposed by Jain and
Deshpande (1978) and Shukla and Jain (1978)
have also been incorporated in the present
work. The tribes of the Panicoideae and
Pooideae are arranged in alphabetical order.
Within each tribe the genera, within each
genus the species, are arranged similarly in
alphabetical succession. The number indicates

sheet number for the family in the Geobotany
Herbarium of this Department. Species with
an asterisk are new records for the State of
Rajasthan.

Enumeration of Grasses of Udaipur
District

Tribe: andropogoneae

1. Andropogon Linn.

Andropogon pumilus Roxb.

Common. FI. & Fr. : October-November.
Locality: Jhamarkotra, GBH 757.

2. Apluda Linn.

Apluda mutica Linn. var. aristata (Linn.) Pil-
ger.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality: University Campus. GBH 953.

3 . Art hr axon P. Beauv.

Arthraxon lancifolius (Trin.) Hochst.

Common grass on old walls of houses and
forts.

FI. & Fr. : August-October. Locality :

Kumbhalgarh fort. GBH 314.

Arthraxon meeboldii Stapf

Rare. FI. & Fr. : September-October. Loca-
lity : Baroi hill (Zawar Mines). GBH 743.
Arthraxon prionodes (Steud.) Dandy
Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 124.

4. Bothriochloa O. Ktze.

Bothriochloa pertusa (Linn.) A. Camus
Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 366.

371

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

5. Chrysopogon Trin.

Chrysopogon felvos (Spreng.) Chiov.

Common on stony soils with little water
retaining capacity. FI. & Fr. : September-
Movember. Locality : University Campus.
GBH 903.

6. Cymbopogon Spreng.

Cymbopogon jwaraneusa (Jones) Schult
Common. FI. & Fr. : September-November.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 1059.
Cymbopogon martini! (Roxb.) Wats.

Common. FI. & Fr. : September-November.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 190.
Cymbopogon parked Stapf

Common. FI. & Fr. : September-November.
Locality : Matoon Mines. GBH 252.

7. Dichanthium Willm.

Dichanthium annuiatum (Forssk.) Stapf

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity: M. B. College Campus. GBH 231.
Dichanthium aristatum (Poir.) C. E. Hubb.
Not common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 219.
^Dichanthium fillcelme (Hook.f.) Jain et Desh-
pande.

Rare. FI. & Fr. : August-September. Loca-
lity : Hiran Magri, GBH 942.
*Didianthium glabrum (Roxb.) Jain et Desh-
pande.

Rare. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Locality :
University Campus. GBH 634.
Dichanthium hisegelii (Hack.) Jain et Desh-
pande.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality: Balaria hill (Zawar Mines).
GBH 1040.

8 . Elyonurus Humb. et Bonpl. ex Wild.

ESyonuras royieanus Nees ex A. Rich.
Common on open rocks. FI. & Fr. : Septem-
ber-November.

Locality : Jhamarkotra. GBH 286.

9. Eremopogon (Hack.) Stapf

Eremopogon foveolafus (Del.) Stapf

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : University Campus. GBH 156.

10. Hackelochloa O. Ktze.

HackeiochSoa granulans (Linn.) O. Ktze.
Common. FI. & Fr. : September-November.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 487.

1 1 . Hemarthria R. Br.

*Hemarthria altisshna (Poir.) Stapf et C. E.
Hubb.

Rare. FI. & Fr. : August-September. Loca-
lity : Fatehsagar, GBH 776.

Hemarthria compressa (Linn.) R.Br.

Common grass restricted to marshy places.
FI. & Fr. : August-September. Locality :
Fatehsagar. GBH 41.

12. Heteropogon Pers.

Heteropogon eontortus (Linn.) P. Beauv.
Common. FI. & Fr. : September-November.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 26.

13. Impemta Cyr.

Imperata cylindnca (Linn.) P. Beauv.
Common grass restricted to marshy places.
FI. & Fr.: August-October. Locality: Gulab
Baugh, GBH 481.

14. Ischaemum Linn.

Ischaemum laxum R.Br.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : University Campus. GBH 464.

GRASSES OF UDAIPUR DISTRICT

Ischacmmii rugosum Salisb.

Common in wet marshy places especially
in rice fields. FI. & Fr. : September-Octo-
ber. Locality : Gorana Dam. GBH 966.

15. Iseilema Anderss

Iseilema laxran Hack.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Gorana Dam. GBH 934.
Iseilema prostratuin (Linn.) Anderss
Common near stagnant water. FI. & Fr. :
September-October. Locality : Gorana

Dam. GBH 598.

16. Rottboellia Linn.f.

Rottboellia exaltata Linn.f.

Common grass with stiff hairs on the leaves
and sheaths. FI. & Fr.: September-Octo-
ber. Locality: Balaria Hill (Zawar Mines).
GBH 328.

17. Saccharum Linn.

Sacchanim officinarum Linn.

Common. FI. & Fr. : February-March.

Locality : Agriculture College Campus.
GBH 1035.

Saccharum sponfaneum Linn.

Not common. FI. & Fr. : October-February.
Locality : Kewara^ke-nal. GBH 768.

18. Sorghum Moench

Sorghum conspicum Snowden

Common. FI. & Fr. : September-October.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 993.
*Sorghum deccaeense Stapf
Not common. FI. & Fr. : September-Octo-
ber. Locality : Railmagra. GBH 710.
Sorghum halepense (Linn.) Pers

Common. FI. & Fr. : September-October.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 706.

Sorghum millaceum (Roxb.) Snowden.

Common. FI. & Fr. : September-October.

Locality : University Compus. GBH 709.
Sorghum vulgar© Pers
Common. FI. & Fr. : September-October.

Locality : University Campus. GBH 989.

19. Themeda Forssk.

Themeda quadrivalvls (Linn.) O. Ktze.

Common. FI. & Fr. : September-October.

Locality : University Campus. GBH 338.

20. Vetiveria Lem. Lisanc.

Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash
Common on moist areas in thick tufts. FI.
& Fr. : November- January. Locality :

Kailashpuri. GBH 849.

Tribe: maydeae

21. Coix Linn.

Coix lacryma-joM Linn.

Rare in wet places along streams. FI. &
Fr.: September-October. Locality: Go-

rana Dam. GBH 978.

22. Zea Linn.

Zea mays Linn.

Common. FI. & Fr. September-October.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 439.

Tribe: paniceae

23. Allot eropsis J. S. Presl

Alloteropsis cimidna (Linn.) Stapf

Common, FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Balaria Hill (Zawar Mines).
GBPI 656.

24. Brachiaria Griseb.

Brachiaria eraciformis (J.E.Sm.) Griseb.
Common. FI. & Fr. : September-November.
Locality : Vallabh nagar. GBH 577.

373

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Brachiaria ramosa (Linn.) Stapf
Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
1045.

Brachiaria reptans (Linn.) Gard. et C. E.
Hubb.

Common. FI. & Fr. : July-September. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 691.
Pseudobrachiaria deflexa (Schum.) Launert.
Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Gorana Dam. GBH 1028.

25. Cenchrus Linn.

Cenchrus dliaris Linn.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 606.
Cenchrus setigerus Vahl
Common. FI. & Fr. : October-N ovem ber .
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
607.

26. Digitaria Heist, ex Fabricius

Digitaria dliaris (Retz.) Koel.

Common. FI. & Fr.: August-October. Loca-
lity: M. B. College Campus. GBH 765.
*D!gitaria bkornis (Lamk.) Roem.

Common. FI. & Fr.: August-September.

Locality: Gulab Bagh. GBH 772.

Digitaria adscendens (Roem. et Schult.) Veldk.
Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.

Locality: University Campus. GBH 43.
Digitaria setigera Roth
Rare. FI. & Fr.: August-September. Loca-
lity: Gulab Bagh. GBH 246.

Digitaria stricta Roth

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.

Locality: University Campus. GBH 44.

27. Echinochloa P. Beauv.

Ediinochloa colonum (Linn.) Link.

Common. FI. & Fr.: August-October. Loca-
lity: M. B. College Campus. GBH 1003.

Echinochloa crusgalli (Linn.) J. Beauv. var.
crusgalli

Rare emergent grass. FI. & Fr.: August-
September. Locality: Fatehsagar. GBH

502.

Echinochloa crusgalli (Linn.) P. Beauv. var.
submutica Neilr.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.

Locality: Zawar Mines. GBH 494.
Echinodiloa stagnina (Retz.) P. Beauv.
Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Zawar Mines. GBH 432.

28. Eriochloa Kunth

Eriochloa procera (Retz.) C. E. Hubb.

Common along river banks. FI. & Fr. :
September-October. Locality : Tidi river.
GBH 676.

29. Oplismenus P. Beauv.

Oplismenus bunnannii (Retz.) P. Beauv.
Common in shady places. FI. & Fr. :
August-September. Locality : Kumbhal

garh. GBH 568.

30. Panicum Linn.

*Panicum cambogiense Balansa

Rare. FI. & Fr. : September-October. Loca-
lity : Hiran Magri. GBH 854.

Panicum maximum Jacq.

Not common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Gorana Dam. GBH 998.
Panicum miliaceum Linn.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Gulab Bagh. GBH 922.
Panicum paludosum Roxb.

Common grass with spongy culms, found
on margins of slow flowing streams and
puddles. FI. & Fr. : August-October.

Locality : Gorana Dam. GBH 958.

374

GRASSES OF UDAIPUR DISTRICT

Paniaim trypheron Schult.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Gorana Dam. GBH 739.

31. Paspalidium Stapf

Paspalidium flavidum (Retz.) A. Camus

Common in moist places. FI. & Fr. :
August-October. Locality : M. B. College
Campus. GBH 530.

Paspalidium geminatem (Forssk.) Stapf

Common along the banks of rivers and
ponds. FI. & Fr. : July-October. Locality :
Fatehsagar. GBH 292.

32. Paspalum Linn.

Paspalum dilatatum Poir.

Common along the margins of sewage
channels. FI. & Fr. : July-October. Loca-
lity : Ayad nallah. GBH 683.

Paspalum paspaloides (Michx.) Scribn.

Common along the margins of sewage chan-
nels. FI. & Fr. : July-October. Locality :
Ayad nallah. GBH 1016.

Paspalum vaginatum Swartz.

Common. FI. & Fr. : July-October. Loca-
lity : Agriculture College Campus. GBH
1011.

33. Pennisetum Rich.

Peiuiisetem holienaekeri Hochst. ex Steud.

Commonly found in clumps on muddy
places. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : On way to Bari. GBH 785.

Pennisetum hordeoldes (Lamk.) Steud.

A very characteristic common grass grow-
ing along the road side with purplish in-
florescence. FI. & Fr.: September-October.
Locality : Kevera-ke-Nal. GBH 819.

♦Pennisetum orientate L.C. Rich.

Rare. FI. & Fr. July-October. Locality :
Jaisamand. GBH 590.

Pennisetum pedicellatum Trin.

A common grass of rocky ground conspicu-
ous from its pink inflorescence. FI. & Fr.:
September-October. Locality : Kavera-ke-
Nal. GBH 782.

Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.

Rare in this area, found growing in muddy
places. FI. & Fr. : September-October.
Locality : Behind T.S.V. Hostel. GBH 718.

Pennisetum typhoides (Burm.) Stapf et C. E.

Hubb.

Common, FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : Durga Nursery. GBH 981.

34. Pseudoraphis Griff.

Pseudoraphis spinescens (R. Br.) Vickery

Not common, found rooting in shallow
water and floating upon the surface of
inland slow-moving rivers and in lakes.
FI. & Fr.: August-September. Locality:
Gorana Dam. GBH 970.

35. Rhynchelytrum Nees

Rhynchelytrum repens (Willd.) C. E. Hubb.

Common on stony soils with pink feathery
panicles FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 714.

36. Set aria P. Beauv.

Setaria glauca (Linn.) P. Beauv.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 913.

Setaria itaMca (Linn.) P. Beauv.

Rare. FI. & Fr : September-October. Loca-
lity : Gulab Bagh. GBH 672.

Setaria palllde-fusca (Schumach.) Stapf et C

E. Hubb.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality: University Campus. GBH 824.

Setaria intermedia Roem. et Schult.

Common. FI. <& Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 795.

375

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Setaria verticillata (Linn.) P. Beauv.

Common with spikes readily sticking to ones
clothing. FI. & Fr. : August-October.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
474.

37. Urochloa P. Beauv.

Urochloa panicoides P. Beauv. var velutina
(Henr.) Bor

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
888.

Group : POOIDEAE

Tribe: agrostideae

38. Polypogon Desf.

Polypogon monspeliensis (Linn.) Desf.
Common. FI. & Fr. : January-March. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Garden. GBH 539.

Tribe: aristide ae

39. Aristida Linn.

Aristida adscensionis Linn. var. adscensionis
Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : University Campus. GBH 382.
Aristida depressa Retz.

Common. FI. & Fr. : September- October.
Locality : Zawar Mines. GBH 973.
Aristida funicuiata Trin. et Rupr. var. funicu-
Sata

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 418.
Aristida funiculata Trin. et Rupr. var. mailica
(Edgew.) Henr.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Zawar Mines, GBH 823.

Aristida setacea Retz.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-February.

Locality : Zawar Mines. GBH 832.

Tribe: arundineae

40. Arundo Linn.

Arundo donax Linn.

Not common. FI. & Fr. : August-October.
Locality: M. B. College Garden. GBH 277.

Tribe: aveneae

41. Avena Linn.

Avena fatua Linn. var. glabrata Peterm.

Common. FI. & Fr. : January-February.
Locality : Agriculture College Campus.
GBH 754.

Avena fatua Linn. var. pilosa Syme

Common. FI. & Fr. : January-February.
Locality : Agriculture College Campus.
GBH 948.

Tribe: chlorideae

42. Chloris Sw.

Chloris barbata Sw.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
cality : M. B. College Campus. GBH 633.
Chloris dolichostachya Lagasca.

Not common. FI. & Fr. : August-October.
Locality : Balaria hill (Zawar Mines).
GBH 308.

Chloris montana Roxb.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : Zawar Mines. GBH 616.
Chloris quinquesetica Bhide

Not common. FI. & Fr. : August-October.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
936.

Chloris virgata Sw.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 625.

43. Cynodon Rich
*Cynodon barberi Rang, et Tad.

Rare. FI. & Fr. : July-October. Locality :
Zawar Mines. GBH 812.

376

GRASSES OF UDAIPUR DISTRICT

Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers.

Common. FI. & Fr. : Almost throughout
the year. Locality : M. B. College Cam-
pus. GBH 791.

44. Melanocenchris Nees

Melanocencfarls jacquemontii Jaub. et Spach.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : University Campus. GBH 509.

♦Melanocenchris monoica (Rottl.) C.E.C.

Fisch.

Rare. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Locality :
Balaria hill (Zawar Mines). GBH 828.

45. Oropetium Trin.

Qropetium tfiomaeum (Linn, f.) Trin.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 123.

46. Schoenefeldia Kunth

Schoenefeldia gracilis Kunth.

Rare. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Locality :
Air Port. GBH 267.

47. Tetrapogon Desf.

Tetrapogoe tenelSes (Roxb.) Chiov.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : Balaria hill (Zawar Mines). GBH
468.

Tribe : eragrostae
48. Acrachne Wight et Arn.

Acrachne racemosa (Heyne) Ohwi

Common. FI. & Fr. : July-September. Loca-
lity: M. B. College Campus. GBH 301.

49. Dactyloctenium Willd.

Dactyloctenium aegyptium (Linn.) P. Beauv.

Common. FI. & Fr.: August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 931.

Dactyloctenium sindicum Boiss

Common. FI. & Fr. : September-November.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
927.

50. Desmostachia Stapf

Desmostachia hipinnata (Linn.) Stapf

Common. FI. & Fr. : October- January. Loca-
lity: University Campus. GBH 639.

51. Dinebra Jacq.

Dinehra retroilexa (Vahl) Panz.

Common in cultivated fields. FI. & Fr.:
September-October. Locality: Agriculture
College Campus. GBH 447.

52. Eleusine Gaertn.

Eleusine coracana (Linn.) Gaertn.

Common. FI. & Fr.: September-November.
Locality: On way to Kumbhal garh.
GBH 985.

Eleusine indica (Linn.) Gaertn.

Common. FI. & Fr.: July-October. Locality:
M. B. College Campus. GBH 175.

53. Eragrostiella Bor

Eragrostiella blfaria (Vahl) Bor

Common on stony soils. FI.: August-Sep-
tember. Locality: University Campus.

GBH 137.

Eragrostiella brachyphylla (Stapf) Bor
Common. FI. & Fr.: August-September.
Locality: University Campus. GBS 899.

54. Eragrostis P. Beauv.

Eragrostis cilianensis (All.) Vignolo-Lutati.
Not common. FI. & Fr. : October-December.
Locality : Airport. GBH 734.

Eragrostis ciliaris (Linn.) R. Br. var. ciliaris
Common. FI. & Fr. : October-February.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
1007.

377

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

Eragrostis ciliaris (Linn.) R. Br. var. brachy-
stacfaya Boiss.

Common. FI. & Fr. : October-February.
Locality : On way to Kailashpuri. GBH
405.

Eragrastis diarrhena (Schult.) Steud.

Common. FI. & Fr. : October-December.
Loality : Vallabh Nagar. GBH 411.
Eragrostis gangetica (Roxb.) Steud.

Common. FI. & Fr. : October-November.
Locality : On way to Bari. GBH 896.
Eragrostis nigra Nees ex Steud.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
1022.

Eragrostis minor Host.

Common. FI. & Fr. : October-November.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
862.

Eragrostis tenella (Linn.) P. Beauv.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 843.
Eragrostis tremula Hochst. ex Steud.

Common. FI. & Fr.: August-October. Loca-
lity: University Campus. GBH 761.
Eragrostis unioloides (Retz.) Nees ex Steud.
Not common. FI. & Fr. : November- Janu-
ary. Locality : Gorana Dam. GBH 962.
Eragrostis viscosa (Retz.) Trin.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 860.

55. Leptochloa P. Beauv.

♦Leptochloa chinensis (Linn.) Nees
Not common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
345.

♦Leptochloa panicea (Retz.) Ohwi
Not Common. FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : M. B. College Campus. GBH
516.

56. Tripogon Roem. et Schult.

♦Tripogon hookerianus Bor

Not common, FI. & Fr. : August-September.
Locality : University Campus. GBH 564.

Tripogon jacquemontii Stapf

Common on rocky soils. FI. & Fr. : August-
September. Locality : Bari. GBH 805.

Tripogon roxburghianus (Steud.) Bhide

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : University Campus. GBH 671.

Tribe: oryzeae

57. Oryza Linn.

Oryza saliva Linn.

Common. FI. & Fr. : September-November.
Locality : Zawar Mines. GBH 560.

Tribe: perotideae

58. Perotis Ait.

Perotis indica (Linn.) O. Ktze.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : On way to Jhameshwarji. GBH 548.

59. Phalaris Linn.

Phalaris minor Retz.

Common. FI. & Fr. : January-March. Loca-
lity : Agriculture College Campus. GBH
585.

Tribe: sporoboleae

60. Sporobolus R. Br.

Sporobolus coromandelianus (Retz.) Kunth.
Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity : M. B. College Campus. GBH 368.

Sporobolus diander (Retz.) P. Beauv.

Common. FI. & Fr. : August-October. Loca-
lity: M. B. College Campus. GBH 391.

378

GRASSES OF UDAIPUR DISTRICT

Sporobolus niargiiiatiis Hochst. ex A. Rich.
Common. FI. & Fr. : October- December.
Locality : Kailashpuri. GBH 375.

Tribe: triticeae

61. Hordeum Linn.

Hordeum vulgare Linn.

Common. FI. & Fr. : Decern ber-March.

Locality : Agriculture College Campus,
GBH 1052.

62. Triticum Linn.

Triticum aestivum Linn.

Common. FI. & Fr. : January-March. Loca-
lity : Agriculture College Campus. GBH
446.

Refe ]

Bhandari, M. M. (1978): Flora of the Indian
Desert. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur, pp. 471.

Bor, N. L. (1960): The Grasses of Burma, Cey-
lon, India and Pakistan. London.

Gandhi, et al. (1961): Grasses of Jaipur. Proc.
Nat. Acad. Sci. India Section B, Part I. 31: 183-
192.

Jain, S. K. (1972): The genus Arthraxon P.
Beauv. (Poaceae) in India. J. Indian bot. Soc. 51:
165-183.

Jain, S. K. & Deshpande, (1978): Transfer of
some Indian species of Bothriochloa and Capilli-
pedium to Dichanthium. Bull. Bot. Surv. India 20:
133-135.

Kanodia, K. C. & Rao, R. S. (1965) : Grasses

Tribe: zoysieae

63. Tragus Hall.

Tragus roxburghii Panigar.

Common. FI. & Fr. : October-December.
Locality : Ayad. GBH 454.

Tribe: bambuseae

64. Bambusa Schreb.

Baiubusa bambos (Linn.) Voss

Common. FI. & Fr. : Not seen. Locality :
Balaria hill (Zawar Mines). GBH 1054.

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the University Grants
Commission for massive financial support for
a major research project under which this
work was carried out.

ences

of Mt. Abu, Rajasthan state. Ann. Arid. Zone. 4:

110-119.

(1966) : Grasses

of Mt. Abu, Rajasthan. Ann. Arid. Zone. 6: 49-62.

Praicash, M. & Nanda, P. C. (1961) : Ecological
distribution of natural fodder grasses in western
Rajasthan. Indian For. 87: 10-19.

Ramachandran, K. R. (1950): Common grasses
found round about Pilani. Proc. Indian Sci. Congr.
Poona. 65-66.

Sharma, S. & Tiagi, B. (1979): Flora of North-
East Rajasthan, pp. 540.

Shukla, U. & Jain, S. K. (1978) : On the nomen-
clature of some Indian grasses. Bull. Bot. Surv.
India. 20: 64-68.

379

PEREGRINE FALCON1

S. M. Osman2

It has mainly been left to falconers to write
about the life of the peregrine falcon, and
make it known to the general public. Such
knowledge of the peregrine as exists, has most-
ly if not exclusively come from the pen of
falconers, because the best available informa-
tion about these birds was evident to them
long before modern ornithology got interested
in falcons. From falconry we learn a great many
things which could perhaps never have been
known through other sources.

Falconers have written about other kinds of
falcons also, yet the peregrine falcon and some
of its subspecies have always remained a favou-
rite with them, and in consequence more lite-
rature has been devoted to this group of noble
birds. Since falconry enthusiasts have been
able to study peregrine falcons very closely
they have rightly been able to assess its intel-
ligence and behaviour better than the modern
scientific bird watcher whose contact with these
falcons is generally through the medium of
high powered binoculars. Ornithologists are
likely to draw conclusions, by studying over a
period of time, a single peregrine falcon. I feel
it is incorrect to generalize from the observa-
tion of only a single or even just a few birds.

I have had first hand experience of quite a
number of passage peregrines consisting of (a)
Falco peregrinus peregrinus, (b) the Siberian
falcon F. p. calidus, and (c) F. p. brevirostris 3

1 Accepted December 1981.

2 ll-D/10 Circular Road, Dehra Dun, U.P.

3 This is one of the “forms” of F. p. peregrinus
recognised by Menzbier 1892 — Eds.

group of birds. In addition to this I have train-
ed and hunted with many other subspecies of
the peregrine. In all cases, their highly specific
predatory behaviour, including choice of prey,
manner of attacking and despatching the
victim, their habits and reactions to certain
types of stimuli while held under training, pro-
vide ample clues to their varying evolutionary
adaptations and consequent intriguing problems
relevant to the special sort of training and
hunting regimen demanded in each case. My
experiments with all the species /types, of the
peregrine tribe, and other hawks also, have
revealed and clearly demonstrated a common
decisive influence: the trainer’s first social
approach bearing heavily on the predator’s
emotional behaviour.

Distributed all over the earth, there are
twenty three kinds of peregrine falcons. This
is really surprising, since it has all along been
taken for granted that crowding instinct alone
is mainly responsible for the promotion of
interbreeding of species. Crowding as we can
see is a factor controlled entirely by the mobi-
lity of a group. In view of the free and unfetter-
ed mobility at the peregrine’s disposal, the very
idea of interbreeding and subsequent evolution
of subspecies, may appear to the casual obser-
ver, a bit far fetched. However the phenome-
non can be explained and understood if we
examine the problem carefully.

In all my experience with these birds, I have
known three kinds of passage peregrines that
breed near, or as in one case, inside the Arctic
circle, and all these three fly down south to
hunting grounds in the tropics every year in

380

PEREGRINE FALCON

the winter. Thus they freely migrate, from their
breeding grounds to their winter quarters, and
back, completing a double journey of almost
ten thousand miles yearly. The three different
types of passage peregrines that I have kept
and trained vary little in size. Their respective
colour schemes also vary but slightly. Their
markings are similar and other characteristics
more or less the same. Variation in size and
colour is almost entirely caused by food habits
and environmental factors and influences. Of
the three peregrines mentioned above, Falco
peregrinus calidus flies the longest distance every
year. It breeds well within the Arctic circle,
and flies down to and beyond the Persian Gulf
as far south as Aden, every winter. Compared
to the other two migratory peregrines I know,
it is easily the biggest killer falcon.

Because of its signal killing capacity, this
bird is highly prized by Arab falconers. There
is an unending demand for it in the hawk
markets of Kuwait and other Arab sheikdoms
skirting the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.
Rarely, I have seen stray birds turn up in the
Punjab and the Indogangetic plain. During the
past thirty years I have come across only
four such falcons ( calidus ) that were trapped
in the Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh.
Detailed attention has been paid to this falcon
elsewhere [See JBNHS Vol. 75 (3): 845-853].
Let us consider some of the factors responsible
for the distribution and evolution of subspecies
of the three distinct passage birds that have
been mentioned earlier.

From time to time it has all along been
observed' by many falconers, and on many
occasions I myself have also noticed it, that
in certain years some individual passage pere-
grines will not fly back to breeding grounds
from their wintering quarters. Twice I have
seen adult passage peregrines in Mussoorie (W.
Himalayas) during July; under normal condi-

tions these very birds ought to have flown back
to their northern breeding grounds early in
March. One of the peregrines was sighted in
the vicinity of Gun Hill on Camel’s Back road.

I saw it for the first time when I was taking a
stroll along Camel’s Back road one fine morn-
ing. I got interested, and just to make sure
that it indeed was a peregrine falcon I had
seen, I revisited the spot the next day in the
hope of getting a better look at my friend,
should it still be in the area. I could easily
find her on my second visit, and I spent almost
a full hour studying her through binoculars.
She was a large female peregrine in her third
moult, and from that I could make out she
probably was of the form brevirostris. The
falcon had chosen a rock perch towering high
up above Camel’s Back road, just above the
Christian cemetery.

There was hardly any traffic on this particu-
lar road then, though the hill season was in
full swing, so the bird was not disturbed by
the presence of human beings and remained
comparatively unafraid. I was thus able to climb
close to her perch, and to observe her in an
atmosphere of comparative calm for nearly an
hour each time on two successive days.

Kites and crows did not disturb her at all,
but a Shaheen tiercel appeared the first day I
was keeping watch. With grating screeches, in
mock attacks he stooped at the peregrine
several times. I suppose he was just trying, with
amorous intent, to get to know the lady from
the north a little better, or perhaps wished to
drive the interloper away from his territory.
Whatever it may be, he failed miserably for I
could see that the peregrine was not in the
least bothered by the attention that was thus /
being paid her.

Incidentally I have on several occasions
witnessed the ritual aerial ‘dance’ of some male
and female falcons. First, at a height of almost

381

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

five hundred feet above ground, the tiercel
makes a few passes at the female falcon; then
as both birds close in the female turns over
on her back in midair and grabs the outstretch-
ed claws of the attacking tiercel, and thus with
the claws locked together vehemently beating
their wings and gyrating vigorously, both float
down to eighty feet or so when they once again
break apart.

In my opinion this aerial display, vocal and
physical, serves to attract and appease both
partners till eventually the pair gradually gets
accustomed to each other and the bond is
established. I have watched lagger falcons
( Falco jugger) that have been together and
breeding for three or four successive seasons.
They rarely indulged in such noisy aerobatics,
and this may be due to the fact that the birds
were known to each other. Of course the occa-
sional bouts of display may have caused the
falcons to attain some sexual stimulation, as
this kind of behaviour could definitely cause
acceleration of sexual excitation and connected
reproductive processes.

Broadly speaking there are two groups of
falcons: one comprises of the peregrine and its
subspecies, the other group consists of the Saker
falcon ( Falco cherrug) and Gyr falcon ( Falco
rusticolus) type of birds. In my opinion, as a
falconer, the Gyr, the Saker, and the Merlin
falcon ( Falco columbarius) and F. chicquera
are close relatives. In the Saker and the Gyr
falcon a close similarity can be seen not only
in size and shape, but also in the fact that in
both these birds, after each successive moult,
the configuration of the streaks or elongated
spots on the underparts from crop to belly
does not change appreciably. On the other
hand in the case of true passage peregrine and
some of its subspecies as well, breast, crop,
belly and back markings undergo significant
changes with each succeeding moult. The elon-

gated breast spots become broad arrow heads,
which later turn to bars as the falcon grows
older. Feather edgings on wing-coverts and
back disappear, and colour of the peregrine’s
head, as well as that of peregrinator falcons
undergo perceptible changes.

For years I have off and on been keeping
Saker falcons. Comparing these birds with Gyr
falcon (I only mean pictures of the Gyr, since
I have not had the pleasure of actually handling
one of these singularly striking and noble
birds) there is for all the world to see, yet
another marked resemblance present. Toes in
both these falcons, in proportion to their body
size, are comparatively short and thick. The
tarsus is also similarly short. It appears as if
both these birds were intended by nature to
be better adapted for perching on rocky out-
crops and sand dunes in general. As for the
tiny Merlin falcon ( Falco columbarius) though
there is a great difference in size between it
and the Gyr or the Saker falcon, yet a signifi-
cant character is common to all the three,
namely, the tail pens or rectrices exceed the
primary wing quills in length. This character
is absent and lacking in the peregrine and all
its subspecies. Also like its bigger cousin the
Saker falcon, the Merlin does not change signi-
ficantly after each moult. In addition if we
compare the Merlin closely with the peregrines
we will see that for a dainty little falcon of its
size, its beak, like that of the Saker and the
Gyr, is more broad based and powerfully built
in proportion.

In places where the true passage Peregrine’s
wintering grounds overlap those of the Saker
falcon, it is conceivable to me that on rare
occasions when a Peregrine has not flown back
to its nesting area, at the onset of the mating
season, hybridisation of the two species may
take place. This could have led to the produc-
tion of the Lanner falcon which combines most

382

PEREGRINE FALCON

of the Peregrine’s attributes with some of the
Saker’s. Actually like the Saker the Lanner
Falcon is also not a migratory bird though
some modern scientists prefer to call it a Pere-
grine subspecies. Only a local shifting of the
Lanner falcon from one hunting ground to an-
other is in evidence. Again like the Saker, the
Lanner is always in its element in arid country
bordering on desert land. With the Lanner
falcon there is no appreciable change in back
and frontal markings after each moult.

I once had a trained Lanner falcon which
remained with me for four years. After three
moults I found no difference in its original
front and back markings and in those it acquir-
ed after three successive moults. However,
unlike its ‘ancestor’ the Saker, the Lanner
falcon’s method of hunting, its habit of soaring
aloft and waiting for game to break cover,
and finally to my mind, the way it runs down
its quarry, mostly striking it in midair, defi-
nitely betrays a peregrine ancestory. Its beak
also is not broad based like that of the Saker’s
but built more like a peregrine’s. It has long
toes totally unlike the short stubby toes of a
Saker.

When the Lanner ( Falco biarmicus) in turn
met the passage peregrine, the red-naped
Shaheen ( Falco pelegrinoides) was born. This
bird is more Peregrine than the Lanner, and
ranges in an intermediate zone — not quite as
far south as the Peregrine’s farthest wintering
limit, but in a belt that borders on the Lanner’s
northernmost range. In some places, like in
Baluchistan (Pakistan), I have found them
comfortably sharing a common territory. The
red-naped Shaheen is smaller than the Pere-
grine falcon in size, an adult female weighing
one and a half pounds. However it is very
solidly formed, broad breasted, and with short
secondary feathers. Its toes are long like those
of a Peregrine. After every moult, there is a

definite change noticeable in the markings on
its breast and back, and in the colour of its
head. In five or six year old birds this turns
to a beautiful red tone, not unlike a Merlin
falcon’s head. I may add, however, that in the
case of the Merlin falcon, the red extends down
to the shoulder in juvenile birds, gradually
recedes up the neck so that in five year old
Merlins (and I refer to the redheaded Merlin)
the head alone remains red in colour while the
nape and shoulders turn grey. In the red-naped
Shaheen falcon, the opposite is the case: as the
bird gets older, first a red tint forms on top
of its head which spreads progressively down
its neck after each moult. The red-capped
Shaheen is essentially a bird of scrublands and
bare mountains. Local migration does take
place when it flies to the nearest range of moun-
tains for nesting. For example these falcons
will be seen in winter in the Sindh valley,
Pakistan, but they fly to the Sulaiman range of
mountains to breed. This falcon seemingly
having moved east of its most easterly limit,
across the Indus river got to the Punjab area.
It then started frequenting the Himalayas for
nesting and breeding. In this part of the sub-
continent the hills and plains directly below
them are all luxuriantly wooded with pine and
oak forests as a result of ample irrigation by
snow fed streams and rivers from the Hima-
layas. Over a period of geological time, because
of the local ecological conditions of such envi-
ronment a dark phase of this falcon, the black
Shaheen ( F . p. peregrinator) has emerged. Its
hunting technique has altered to suit the chang-
ed climatic and topographical conditions. The
black Shaheen is quite similar in size to the
red-naped Shaheen but differs immensely in
its colour scheme. Every year upto the sixth
moult there is a conspicuous change in the
markings, and colouring in this bird. Age re-
cognition after this, as in the case of the passage

383

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

peregrines and the red-naped Shaheen, is extre-
mely difficult.

Between the far western form babylonicus,
and its eastern counterpart peregrinator there
exists yet an intermediate phase of the Shaheen
falcon. I suppose this falcon is perhaps the
first step in the evolution of the black Shaheen
from the red-naped form. It is not as dark as
the black Shaheen nor does it appear to be as
light coloured as its red-naped ‘ancestor’. With
the passage peregrines and the babylonicus and
peregrinator groups of falcons, it shares the
common character of changing colour and fea-
ther markings with every successive moult.

I have attempted to describe only those true
peregrine falcons and some of their subspecies
that it has been my good fortune to study, keep
and train for the practice of falconry. All my
knowledge is therefore empirical and based on
first hand experience. However in such matters
as taxonomy and migration of the true passage
peregrines, and other obscure phenomena, my
hypotheses may be taken for what they are
worth. Till better proof to the contrary emerge,
I believe my assertions and suppositions will
stand a good a chance of acceptance by the
cognoscenti.

384

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

A NEW SPECIES OF LONICERA L. (CAPRIFOLIACEAE) FROM
NORTH WEST HIMALAYA1

M. P. Nayar and G. S. Giri2
(With a text -figure)

During revisionary studies on the genus
Lonicera L. (Caprifoliaceae) specimens col-
lected from Chamba, Himachal Pradesh ( Lace
1316 & Lace 1715) were found to be different
from the species so far described. After criti-
cal study it is seen that this taxon belongs to
the subsection Alpigeneae Rehder (Rep. Miss.
Bot. Gard. 14: 102. 1903) of the genus Loni-
cera L. This new species is described and illus-
trated.

Lonicera laceana sp. nov.

Affinis L. heterophyllae Decaisne, sed foliis
oblongis vel elliptico-oblongis, baud lobatis,
apice apiculatis vel mucronatis, basi subrotun-
datis vel subcordatis, glabris, margine integeris,
coriaceis; corollis extus glabribus, lobis mar-
gine haud ciliatibus differt.

Typus : Kalatop forest, Chamba, North-western
Himalaya, 7000 ft. (2128 m.) 15th April
1896, J. H. Lace 1316 (Holotype CAL).
Shrubs or small trees, branches more or less
round, solid, glabrous, bark greyish, promi-
nently black-dotted. Winter bud with only one
pair of outer scales, scales ovate-oblong, 10.0-
12.0 x 2. 5-3. 5 mm, boat shaped, apex acute,
glabrous. Leaves opposite-decussate, exstipu-

1 Accepted July 1982.

2 Botanical Survey of India, P. O. Botanic Gar-
den, Howrah-711 103.

late, oblong or elliptic-oblong (4.0-) 6. 0-8.0
(-12.0) x (2.5-) 3. 0-4.0 (-6.5) cm, base
subrounded to subcordate, apex apiculate or
mucronate, margin entire, 6-8 pairs of lateral
nerves nearly obscure near the margin, reti-
culations usually prominent on the upper
surface, glabrous on both surface, coriaceous,
shiny; petioles 4. 0-7.0 mm long, glabrous,
canaliculate. Inflorescence axillary, 2-flowered,
peduncle 2. 5-5. 5 cm long, somewhat com-
pressed, glabrous; bracts free, linear 5. 0-7.0
mm long, as long as or slightly exceeding the
ovary, margin distantly glandular, glabrous;
bracteoles 2 pairs, free, subulate 0.5- 1.0 mm
long, inconspicuously glandular at the margin,
glabrous. Calyx small, cup like with 5 small
truncate limbs, persistent, margin entire or in-
conspicuously glandular, glabrous. Corolla
10.0-14.0 mm long, prominently gibbous near
the base, glabrous without; bilabiate, lower lip
oblong, 8.0-10.0 mm long, apex rounded,
reflexed, upper lip 4-lobed, lobes unequal, ovate
to oblong, apex rounded, margin not ciliated;
tube shorter than the lower lip, densely pilose
within. Stamens 5, attached near the throat of
the corolla tube, filaments short, unequal in
length, 3. 5-5.0 mm long, stout, pilose at base,
glabrous above, anthers large, nearly as long
as the filaments, narrowly oblong, dorsifixed.
Ovary free, cylindric, 3 -locular, glabrous, 3.0-
4.0 mm long; style deflexed, 10.0-12.0 mm
long, densely pilose. Berries fleshy, usually one

385

8

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 1. Lonicera laceana sp. nov.

A. Habit (natural size); B. Flowers with bracts and bracteoles; C. Corolla splited
open, showing attachment of stamens and pilose nature within the tube.

386

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Table

Lonicera heterophylla Deeaisne

Lonicera laceana sp. nov.

1.

Leaves elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, lobed, apex
acute or shortly acuminate, base cuneate.

1,

Leaves oblong or elliptic-oblong, not lobed, apex
apiculate or mucronate, base subrounded or sub-
cordate.

2.

Leaves membranous.

2.

Leaves coriaceous.

3.

Leaves pilose, at least on the nerves, margin
undulate, distinctly ciliated.

3.

Leaves glabrous, margin entire, not ciliated.

4.

Corolla hispid hairy outside, corolla lobes ciliat-
ed at margin.

4.

Corolla glabrous outside, corolla lobes not ciliat-
ed at margin.

smaller in the pair, oblong or ovoid, glabrous,
± 10 mm long, crowned with the persistent
calyx.

The species is closely related to Lonicera
heterophylla Dene, but can be easily distin-
guished by the following characters (Table).
Distribution : Himachal Pradesh: Kalatop

forest, Chamba, 2821 m. 15th April 1896
/. H. Lace 1316 (type); Kalatop forest,
Chamba, 2432 m, June 1896, /. H . Lace
1715.

The species is named after its collector J. H.
Lace who made extensive collections in the
Chamba state of Himachal Pradesh.

TWO NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS STORTHECORIS HORVATH
(HETEROPTERA : PENTATOMIDAE)1

M. Nayyar Azim

AND

S. Adam Shafee2
(With ten text-figures)

Storthecoris aligarhensis sp. nov. and Storthecoris obtusiceps sp. nov. are described
and illustrated. Types deposited in Zoological Collections, Aligarh Muslim University,

Aligarh, India.

Storthecoris aligarhensis sp. nov. (Figs. A-G)
FEMALE . (Fig. A)

Head : Dark brown with thick white hairs,
distinctly wider than long (1.5:0.99 mm);
juga dilated, as long as tylus; antenniferous
tubercles projecting outwardly into acute
spines; eyes dark brown, ocelli yellowish; ros-
trum extending upto mid coxae, segments I,
II, III and IV, 0.85, 0.72, 0.52 and 0.33 mm

1 Accepted October 1980.

2 Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

in length respectively; anteroventral angles of
bucculae rounded. Antennae (fig. B) dark
brown, segments I, II, III, IV and V, 0.25,
0.25, 0.55, 0.4 and 0.69 mm in length res-
pectively.

Thorax : Dark brown with white hairs,

minutely and sparsely punctate except venter
with irregular ridges; pronotum with anterior
margin deeply concave, near each anterior
angle with a long acute spine, extending be-
yond level of eyes, antero -lateral margins of
pronotum straight and smooth, humeral angles
subprominent and bidentate; maximum width

387

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

Figs.

(C)

Figs.

A-G. Storthecoris aligarhensis sp. nov., $ ; (A) Entire body; (B) Antenna;
Hemelytra; (D) External genitalia; (E) Spermatheca; (F) Spermathecal bulb;

(G) Last tergum.

H-J. Storthecoris obtusiceps sp. nov., $ ; (H) Pronotum in dorsal view; (I)
Antenna; (J) Spermathecal bulb.

388

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

of pronotum about twice its median length
(3. 5: 1.5 mm); scute! lum well developed,
twice as long as wide, reaching just before apex
of abdomen; evaporatoria tuberculated. Heme-
lytra (fig. C) with corium sparsely punctate,
more than one and a half times the length of
membrane. Legs dark brown.

Abdomen : Dark brown except venter

medially with a broad dark patch; distinctly
longer than wide (3. 9: 3. 3 mm); venter un-
sulcated and unarmed at base; last tergum
(fig. G) in female with anterior and posterior
margins slightly convex; external plates of
female genitalia (fig. D) with 1st gonocoxae
and 8th paratergites triangular, 9th paratergites
oblong, much longer than wide; spermathecal
bulb (fig. F) with a single protuberance.

Body length : 6.6 mm.

Holotype : $ , India, Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh,
University Campus, on grass, 18.3.1979 (M.
Nayyar Azim).

Paratypes: 2 $ (Same data as for holotype).

StortSiecoris obtusiceps sp. nov. (Figs. H-J)

FEMALE

Resembles S. aligarhensis sp. nov. except in

the following characters:

Antennae (fig. I) with third segment slight-
ly shorter than fourth (0.48:0.51 mm); pro-
notum (fig. H) with anterior margin slightly
concave, near each anterior angle with small
spine truncated apically, not extending beyond
the level of eyes; spermathecal bulb (fig. J)
with two protuberances.

Body length : 6.5 mm.

Holotype : 9 , India, Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh,
University Agricultural farm, 10.8.1979 (M.
Nayyar Azim).

Paratypes : 2 $ (Same data as for holotype).

Acknowledgements

We are deeply indebted to Prof. S. Mash-
hood Alam, Head, Department of Zoology,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh for pro-
viding research facilities. Thanks are also due
to Prof. Nawab H. Khan for encouragement.
One of us (M.N.A.) is thankful to U.G.C.
New Delhi for financial assistance during the
tenure of this work.

A NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS SYN1DOTEA HARGER FROM
WALTAIR COAST, INDIA (CRUSTACEA: ISOPOD A: VALVIFERA)1

C. Jalaja Kumari and K. Shyamasundari2
(With twelve text-figures)

A new species of the genus Synidotea Harger, belonging to family Idoteidae is des-
cribed. Synidotea hanumantharaoi sp. nov. is compared with S. harfordi Benedict,
1897, S. variegata Pillai, 1954, S. worliensis Joshi & Bal, 1959 and S. fluviatilis Pillai,
1963. Three male specimens were collected from the algal mass along the rocky in-
tertidal region of Gangavaram, Waltair.

1 Accepted July 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, Andhra University,
Waltair-530 003.

The isopods of the genus Synidotea are little
known in India. Collinge (1917), Chilton
(1924), Pillai (1954) and Joshi & Bal (1959)

389

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 1. Synidotea hanumantharaoi sp. nov.; Fig. 2. Antennule; Fig. 3. Antenna; Fig. 4.
Maxillule; Fig. 5. Maxilla; Fig. 6. Mandible; Fig. 7. Maxilliped; Fig. 8. Epignatb.

Abbreviations :

AE — Aesthetases; BS — Basis; EN — Endopod; END — Endite; EX — Exopod; FL —
Flagellum; IEX — Inner lobe of exopod; INP — Incisor process; LM — Lacinia mobilis;
MP — Molar process; MXP — Maxillipedal palp; OEX — Outer lobe of exopod;

PD — Peduncle.

390

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

reported Synidotea variegata from Gulf of
Mannar, Chilka Lake, Kerala and Bombay
coasts respectively. Pillai (1954) described
Synidotea fluviatilis from Quilon and Cochin.
Joshi & Bal (1959) reported Synidotea worli-
ensis from Bombay. This is the fourth species
of this genus from India.

Synidotea hamimantliaraoi sp. nov. (Figs. 1-12)

Male : Length 10 mm; Breadth 2 mm.

Colour: Dark greenish brown coloured body
with little yellow tinge on the pleon region.

Body elongate-oval, nearly three times lon-
ger than wide, moderately flattened, dorsal sur-
face smooth, lacking tubercles or rugae. Cepha-
lon thrice as wide as long; frontal margin
transverse, with a small median emargination
or notch. Mid- dorsal portion of cephalon
semi-circular. Eyes very large, oval and situat-
ed at extreme lateral edges of cephalon.

Antennule small, with three peduncular
articles. Peduncular article 1 stout, with round
base. Articles 2, 3 short and sub-equal. Anten-
nular flagellum uniart iculate, stout, elongate-
oblong, apically bears seven aesthetascs. Anten-
nule extends to fourth peduncular article of
antenna.

Antenna with 5 peduncular articles; article

I short, articles 2, 3 subequal, article 4 stout,
article 5 long and slender. Antennal flagellum
6-articulate, all articles bear simple setae. Ter-
minal flagellar article possesses a bunch of
setae.

Maxillule with 8 denticulate, stout, curved
spines on exopod; 2 long, plumose setae and
a small setule on endopod. Maxilla tri-lobate.
endopod heavily setose, with 13 comb setae;
inner lobe of exopod with 3 plumose setae
and 8 comb setae; outer lobe of exopod with

II plumose setae. Mandible with 3 -cuspate in-
cisor process; robust and serrated molar pro-
cess; lacinia mobilis of 2 cusps and three spines.
Maxillipedal palp of 3 articles; distal 2 articles

with simple setae; endite with 1 coupling hook
and 6 plumose setae along terminal margin.
Epignath as wide as long projecting over the
mandibles, posterior margin with median con-
cavity, covered with setae.

Pereon roughly 2-2\ times longer than
pleon; pereonite 1 dumbell shaped, with round-
ed lateral margins; border of pereonites 2-7
truncate. Pereonite 7 narrowest and shortest;
pereonites 2-5 subequal; pereonites 1 and 6
subequal. Mid-dorsal line of pereonites 1-4
possess crescentic arcuate depressions. Coxae
of pereonites 1-7 not formed on dorsal side.

Pereopods 1-7 gradually increase in length
posteriorly, ambulatory. Pereopod 1 stout, with
comb setae on inner surface of flat carpus, a
strong hook like dactylus and heavy setation
on ventral margin. Pereopods 2-7 subsimilar
without comb setae, with weak setation on
ventral margin.

Pleon composed of a single segment, with a
pair of partial antero -lateral setules. Pleotelson
about one third length of pereon, postero-
lateral margins angular. Apex of pleotelson
medially concave. Uropod uniramus, distally
truncate, medial margins covered by setae, inner
distal angle of peduncle with three, large, plu-
mose setae. Pleopods 1-5 elongate oval and
distally rounded. Endopod of pleopods 1-5 with
naked margins and exopod with plumose setae
on outer margin. Appendix masculina of pleo-
pod 2 arises from basis, extends beyond tip
of rami and terminally obtuse.

Material studied:

Three male specimens were collected from
algal mass along the rocky intertidal region
of Gangavaram, Waltair. Holotype male 1 and
paratypes male 2 are lodged in the Department
of Zoology, Andhra University, Waltair. They
will be deposited in the collections of the Zoo-
logical Survey of India, Calcutta.

391

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Discussion llule, maxilliped and uropods, but differs in

possessing short, stout antennule with 7 aesthe-
The present species resembles Synidotea tascs; short, stout antennae with 6 flagellar

variegata Pillai, 1954 in body form, arcuate articles and truncate distal margin of uropod.

depressions on pereonites, structure of maxi- It also resembles Synidotea harfordi Benedict,

Fig. 9. Pereopod 1; Fig. 10. Pleopod 1; Fig. 11. Pleopod 2; Fig. 12. Uropod.

Abbreviations :

AM — Aesthetascs; BS — Basis; QR — Carpus; DT — Ductylus; EN — Endopod;

EX — Exopod; PD — Peduncle.

392

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

1897 in general shape. In S. hanumantharaoi
the flagellum of antenna is composed of 6
articles; whereas in S. harfordi antennular
flagellum consists of 31 articles. The present
form shows some resemblances to S. fluvia-
tilis Pillai, 1963 in the structure of maxillule,
maxilla and distally truncated uropod, but can
be easily separated by its differently shaped
antennule, antenna and telson.

The present species also resembles S. worli-
ensis Joshi & Bal, 1959 in the shape of maxilla,
maxilliped and presence of arcuate depressions
on pereon, but differs from it in the structure
of antennular flagellum, uropods and telson,
and thereby differs from all other species.

References

Benedict, J. E. (1897) : A revision of the genus
Synidotea. Proc. U.S. nat. Mus. 49: 389-404.

Chilton, C. (1924) : Fauna of the Chilka Lake.

Tanaidacea and Isopoda. Mem. Indian Mus. 5:

875-895.

Collinge, W. E. (1917): Description of a new
species of Isopoda of the genus Synidotea Harger,
from the Gulf of Mannar. Rec. Indian Mus. 13: 1-3.

Joshi, U. N. & Bal, D. V. (1959): Some of the

DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SPECIES OF TETRASTICHUS
HALID AY (HYMENOPTERA: EULOPHIDAE) FROM INDIA1

S. Adam Shafee, Anis Fatma2
AND PREM KlSHORE3
( With five text-figures )

T etrastichus agarwali sp. nov. and Tetrastichus delhiensis sp. nov., parasites of Atheri-
gona soccata (Rondani) are described and illustrated. The new species are compared
with their closely allied species. Types are deposited in Zoological Museum, Aligarh
Muslim University. Aligarh, India.

1 Accepted May 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim Uni
versity, Aligarh, India.

3 Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Re
search Institute, New Delhi, India.

Tetrastichus agarwali sp. nov.

(Figs. 1-3)

FEMALE

Head dark except region below antennal in-

littoral species of Bombay isopods with detailed
description of two new species. J. Univ. Bombay 25
(5B) : 57-67.

Pillai, N. K. (1954) : A preliminary note on the
Tanaidacea and Isopoda of Travancore. Bull. Cent.
Res. Inst. Univ. Travancore 3: 1-21.

(1963): South Indian marine iso-
pods. /. Univ. Bombay 31: 110-112.

especially in the structure of antennule, antenna,
maxillule, maxilla and shape and size of the
cephalon, pereon and pleon.

The species is named in honour of Prof. K.
Hanumantha Rao, Department of Zoology,
Andhra University, Waltair, India.

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Prof. K. Hanumantha
Rao for critically going through the manus-
cript. One of us (CJK) is grateful to the Coun-
cil of Scientific and Industrial Research for
financial assistance. We are thankful to autho-
rities of the Andhra University for providing
facilities.

393

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. SO

sertion, orbital margins, and malar space
yellow: frontovertex about twice as wide as
long; ocelli red, arranged in obtuse triangle,
basal ocellus separated by two times its dia-
meter from orbital margin and its own dia-
meter from anterior occellus; antennae inserted

above lower level of eyes; inter antennal space
about one-fourth the width of frons at median
ocellus; malar space as long as eye width,
malar sutures distinct; maxillary and labial
palpi each 1 -segmented; mandibles as shown
in figure 2. Antennae (fig. 1) dark brown

Figs. 4, 5. T etrastichus delhiensis sp. nov., 9 :
(4) Antenna; (5) Fore wing.

394

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

except ventral margin of scape yellow; scape
four times as long as wide; pedicel two times
as long as wide, less than half the length of
first funicle segment; three ring segments dis-
tinct; funicle segments 1-3 gradually decreasing
in length distad, first segment longest, six times
as long as wide, third, three and a half times
as long as wide; club, four times as long as
wide, shorter than first and subequal to second
funicle segment; funicle and club segments each
with numerous sensoria.

Thorax dark with metallic bluish reflections;
pronotum slightly shorter than scutum; scutum
with 7 setae arranged in two rows near each
parapsidal furrow; scutellum about as long as
scutum, with two submedian grooves and two
pairs of setae; propodeum with longitudinal
carina medially. Fore wings hyaline, about
three times as long as wide; costal cell slightly
shorter than marginal vein and with 10 small
setae; submarginal and marginal veins with 7
and 20 setae respectively, postmarginal vein
rudimentary; stigmal vein short; marginal
fringe short, spaced by a distance equal to one-
fourth their length. Hind wings hyaline; margi-
nal fringe longer than wing width. Legs yellow
except hind coxae and all pretarsi dark brown.

Abdomen dark with metallic reflections, as
long as thorax; ovipositor hidden, arising from
basal one-third of abdominal venter.
Body length : 3.06 mm.

Comments: The new species is closely re-
lated to T. tritrichia Saraswat, 1975 from
which it can be separated by its having funicle
segment first as long as scape, second as long
as club; fore wings long and narrow with short
stigmal vein.

Holotype $ , Paratype 1 $ , India : Delhi,
I A R I farm, ex Atherigona soccata (Ron-
dani), on Sorghum bicolor (Linn.), 20.7.1978
(Prem Kishore),

This species is named after Dr. R. A. Agar-
wal. Head, Division of Entomology, I A R I,
New Delhi, in recognition of his contributions
to Applied Entomology.

Tetrastichus delhiensis sp. nov.

(Figs. 4,5)

FEMALE

Resembles T. agarwali sp. nov. except in
the following characters:

Head with ocelli white, basal ocellus sepa-
rated by three times its diameter from orbital
margin; malar space slightly shorter than eye
width. Antennae (fig. 4) with scape slightly
more than four times as long as wide; pedicel
two and a half times as long as wide, more
than half the length of first funicle segment;
funicle segment first three and a half times,
second three times, and third two times as long
as wide; club three times as long as wide, as
long as first and longer than second funicle
segment.

Thorax with mesoscutum bearing four small
setae near each parapsidal furrow. Fore wings
less than three times as long as wide; submar-
ginal and marginal veins with 7 and 16 setae
respectively.

Abdomen slightly longer than thorax; ovi-
positor slightly exserted, arising from base of
the abdominal venter.

Body length : 2.27 mm.

Comments : This species is closely related
to T. travancorensis Saraswat, 1975 but is dis-
tinguished by its having the first funicle seg-
ment three and a half times as long as wide,
as long as club; fore wings with short stigmal
vein.

Holotype 9, Paratype 1 $, India: Delhi,
I A R I farm, ex Atherigona soccata (Ron-
dani), on Sorghum bicolor (Linn.), 20.7.1978
(Prem Kishore).

395

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Acknowledgement Khan, Head, Department of Zoology, for pro-

We are deeply indebted to Prof. Nawab H. viding research facilities.

Referen ce

Saraswat, G. G. (1975) : On some Tetrastichus
(Hymenoptera : Chalcidoidea) from India. Mem.

School Ent. St. Johns Coll. Agra 4: 1-34.

ARUNDINELLA CANNANORICA : A NEW SPECIES OF POACEAE

FROM KERALA, INDIA1

V. J. Nair, P. V. Sreekumar and N. C. Nair2
(With eleven text-figures)

Arundinella cannanorica sp. nov.

Ab Arundinella laxiflora Hook, f., nodis
ramorum villosis; ramis panicularum ascenden-
tibus; carinis paleae infernae glabris, lemmate
supero lemmatis infemi 2/3 longo, crasso,
coriaceo, muricato; apice rotundato, non den-
tato; callo flosculi superi dense barbato differt.

Differs from Arundinella laxiflora Hook. f.
in: branches villous at nodes; panicle branches
ascending; keels of lower palea glabrous; upper
lemma 2/3 the length of lower lemma, thick,
coriaceous, muricate, tip rounded, not tooth-
ed; callus of upper floret densely bearded.

Annuals. Culms 20-50 cm tall, erect, slender;
nodes glabrous. Leaves 2-5 cm long and 2-5
mm broad, mostly basal, lanceolate, base
rounded or shallowly cordate, glabrous or
covered with sparse tubercle-based hairs, espe-
cially along the margins. Sheaths 1-8 cm, lower
ones shorter and upper ones much longer than
the internodes, striate, glabrous or ciliate along
one margin. Ligule, a row of hairs. Panicles 10-
40 cm long, lax, willowy; branches 1-12 cm
long, ascending, alternate or rarely whorled,

1 Accepted July 1982.

2 Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore-641 003.

slender, filiform, angular, bearded at the nodes
with long silky hairs, purple; rhachis flexuous,
angular and scaberulous; pedicels 2-15 mm
long, slender, angular, scaberulous. Spikelets
5-6 mm long, lanceolate, acuminate, turgid,
pale-green or purple, glabrous. Lower glumes
3.5-4.5x 1.0- 1.5 mm, ovate-lanceolate, strong-
ly 3 -nerved, purple, glabrous. Upper glumes
5 . 0-5 . 5 x 1.25-1.50 mm, ovate-lanceolate,
caudate or long- acuminate, strongly 5 -nerved,
greenish with purple tinge, glabrous. Lower
floret male; lemma 2.75-3.00 x 1.0- 1.5 mm,
ovate-oblong, obtuse, faintly 5-nerved, lateral
nerves very close, pale-green, membraneous
and glabrous; palea 2.0-2. 5 x 0.50-0.75 mm,
elliptic-lanceolate, 2-keeled and auriculate at
base, 2-nerved, hyaline, glabrous; stamens 3,
anthers 1.0- 1.5 mm long, filaments short.
Upper floret bisexual; callus bearded, hairs
0.25-0.50 mm long; lemma 1.75-2.00 x 0.50-
0.75 mm, ovate or elliptic, tip with a genicu-
late awn, dorsally covered with numerous
wart-like outgrowths, chest-nut brown when
fully matured, awn 8-10 mm long, geniculate,
column c. 4 mm long, chest-nut brown; palea
1.25-1.50 x 0.4-0. 5 mm, oblong, acute, 2-
nerved, with a few wart like outgrowths on

396

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Figs. 1-11: Arundinella cannanorica sp. nov.

1. Plant; 2. Spikelet; 3. Lower glume; 4. Upper glume; 5. Lower lemma; 6. Palea;
7. Upper lemma; 8. Palea; 9. Lodicule; 10. Stamen; 11. Pistil.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

the dorsal surface; lodicules 2, each c. 0.30
x 0.25 mm, obovate, denticulate at apex;
stamens 3, anthers 1-2 mm long, violet, fila-
ments short; ovary c. 0.25 x 0.15 mm, ovate,
glabrous; styles c. 0.5 mm long, stigmas c. 1
mm long, pink, feathery.

Holotype: Cannanore District, Bela (in bet-
ween Kumbla and Bedudka), ± 100 m, 23rd
November 1981, P. V. Sreekumar 71822 (CAL).
Isotypes in K, MH. Paratype: Cannanore Dis-
trict, Paramba (on way to Bendudka), 16th

October 1981, P. V. Sreekumar 71718 (MH).

Frequent in dry rocky areas and open grass-
lands, and other very dry localities along with
other grasses such as Arundinella mesophylla
Nees, Bhidea burnsiana Bor and a few Dimeria
spp.

We thank Dr. Thomas A. Cope, The Herba-
rium — Grasses, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
for kindly examining our specimens and for
his opinion.

FIRST RECORD OF PARACOCCUS EZZAT & MCCONNELL
(HOMOPTERA: PSEUDOCOCCIDAE) FROM INDIA
WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES1

Rajendra Kumar Avasthi and S. Adam Shafee2
( With two text-figures)

The genus Paracoccus Ezzat & McConnell [with P. bumerae (Brain) and P. nello-
rensis sp. nov.] is reported for the first time from India. The new species is described
and illustrated.

Genus Paracoccus Ezzat & McConnell
Paracoccus Ezzat & McConnell, 1956: 37.
Type-species: Pseudococcus bumerae Brain,
1915 (by original designation).

Ezzat & McConnell (1956) erected the genus
Paracoccus for seven species. They assigned to
their newly proposed tribe Planococcini on the
basis of the presence of sclerotized bar on the
ventral surface of the anal lobes. Later, De
Lotto (1964) recognized this character as of
specific significance. Further, he redefined the
genus Paracoccus as follows: “Occurrence of
a series of seventeen pairs of marginal cerarii,
all normally built up with two spines and de-
void of auxiliary setae, except on the anal lobe
cerarii in which one or more auxiliary setae
are always present”.

1 Accepted August 1981.

2 Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

The genus Paracoccus [with P. burnerae
(Brain) and P. nellorensis sp. nov.] is reported
for the first time from India. It is represented
by three species from Oriental region which
are separated by the following key.

Key to oriental species of Paracoccus Ezzat &
McConnell, based on adult females

1.

2.

Antennae 7-8-segmented; body with 17 pairs
of cerarii; oral-rim tubular ducts few on dor-

sum 2

Antennae 9-segmented; body with 5-6 pairs of

cerarii; oral-rim tubular ducts numerous on dor-
sum (Borchsenius, 1962: fig. 5)

P. pasaniae Borchsenius

Antennae 8-segmented; circulus and sclerotized
anal bar present; oral-rim tubular ducts 30-36
in number, single duct near most of the abdo-
minal cerarii and some ducts scattered on median
and submedian regions of the body (fig. 1;
Ezzat & McConnell, 1956: fig. 11; De Lotto,
1967: fig. 6) P. burnerae (Brain)

398

0.02 ram < , Q.Q5mm

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Fig. 1. (A-L) : Paracoccus burnerae (Brain).

399

0.05 mm

wui 90*0

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

400

Fig. 2. (A-K) : Paracoccus nellorensis sp. nov.

0.05 mm

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

— Antennae 7-segmented; circulus and sclerotized
anal bar absent; oral-rim tubular ducts 3-5 in
number, confined to mid thoracic region (fig. 2)
P. nellorensis sp. nov.

Paracoccus burnerae (Brain)

(Fig. 1 A-L)

Pseudococcus burnerae Brain, 1915: 111;
Hail, 1937: 126; De Lotto, 1958: 89. Pseudo-
coccus simulator James, 1933: 434; Ezzat &
McConnell, 1956: 106. Paracoccus burnerae
(Brain), Ezzat & McConnell, 1956: 39; De
Lotto, 1964: 359; 1967: 13.

Material examined : 6 9, India: Uttar Pra-
desh, Aligarh, University Campus, on Dalbergia
sissoo, i. xi. 1979 ( R . K. Avast hi). Material
deposited in Zoological Museum, Aligarh
Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

Paracoccus nellorensis sp. nov.

(Fig. 2 A-K)

ADULT FEMALE (fig. 2A) :

Mounted specimens broadly oval in shape,
less than one and a half times longer than
wide (1.72: 1.32 mm); anal lobes moderate-
ly developed. Dorsum with small and thin
setae (fig. 2D). Trilocular pores (fig. 2E)
numerous, evenly distributed on cephalic and
thoracic regions, segmentally arranged on ab-
dominal region. Oral-rim tubular ducts (fig.
2C) only 3-5 in number confined to mid thora-
cic region. Ostioles well developed with mem-
branous inner edges of anterior and posterior
lips, each with 4-8 trilocular pores and devoid
of setae. Body with 17 pairs of cerarii; anal
lobe cerarii (fig. 2F) with basal area slightly
sclerotized, each with a pair of stout conical
spines, 3 auxiliary setae and a group of about
15 trilocular pores; cerarii anterior to anal lobe
each with a pair of small spines; 4-7 trilocular
pores and devoid of auxiliary setae. Anal ring

with 6 setae which are about one and a half
times longer than the greatest diameter of ring.

Venter with numerous hair-like setae of
variable lengths; anal lobe without sclerotized
bar; anal lobe seta about twice the length of
anal ring setae. Trilocular pores (fig. 2H)
sparsely distributed. Multilocular pores (fig.
2K) arranged medially in transverse rows on
abdominal segments IV to IX. Oral-collar tubu-
lar ducts (fig. 21) small, arranged in groups
on margins of thoracic and abdominal regions
and sparsely distributed in submarginal and
median areas of the body. Oral-rim tubular
ducts absent. Eyes well developed. Antennae
(fig. 2G) 7-segmented, 0.29 mm in length.
Rostrum dimerous. Spiracles normal. Circulus
absent. Legs well developed; hind coxae and
tibia with translucent pores; claws (fig. 2J)
simple with digitules slightly longer than claw
and clubbed at apices; dimensions of fore, mid
and hind legs: trochanter + femur (0.17:0.19:
0.21 mm), tibia (0.11:0.12:0.15 mm) and
tarsus (0.05:0.06:0.07 mm) respectively.

Holotype 9 . India: Nellore, Andhra Pradesh,
on weed plant, 14. iv. 1979 (R. K. Avasthi).

Paratypes. 4 9, same data as holotype.

Types deposited in Zoological Museum,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

In the key to African species of Paracoccus
proposed by De Lotto (1964), P nellor-
ensis sp. nov. seems close to F. mural tiae
(Brain), but is distinguished by the presence
of 7-segmented antennae, translucent pores on
hind tibiae and oral-collar tubular ducts in
groups on ventral margin of thoracic region.

ACK NOWLEDGE M E NTS

We are deeply indebted to Prof. Nawab H.
Khan, Head, Department of Zoology, Aligarh
Muslim University, Aligarh, for providing re-
search facilities. Thanks are also due to Prof.

401

9

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 8G

S. Mashhood Alam, for encouragement. One sity Grants Commission, New Delhi, for finan-
of us (R. K. Avasthi) is grateful to Univer- cial assistance.

References

Borchsenius, N. S. (1962) : Notes on coccid
fauna of China. 10. Descriptions of some new species
of Pseudococcidae (Homoptera: Coccoidea). Ent.
Rev. 41: 358-367.

Brain, C. K. (1915) : The Coccidae of South
Africa — I. Trans. R. Soc. So. Africa, Cape Town
5: 1-130.

De Lotto, G. (1958) : The Pseudococcidae

(Homoptera: Coccoidea) described by C. K. Brain
from South Africa. Bull. Brit. Mus. nat. Hist. (Ent.)
7(3): 79-120.

- — (1964) : Observations on African

mealy bugs (Hemiptera: Coccoidea). Bull. Brit. Mus.
nat. Hist. (Ent.) 14: 343-397.

(1967): The mealy bugs of

South Africa (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae), I. Re-
pub. So. Africa, Dept. Agr. Tech. Serv. Ent. Mem.
12: 1-28.

Ezzat, Y. M. & McConnell, H. S. (1956) : The
mealy bug tribe Planococcini (Pseudococcidae:
Homoptera). Bull. Md. Agric. Exp. Sta. A-84: 108

pp.

Hall, W. J. (1937) : Observations on the Coccidae
of Southern Rhodesia — VIII. Trans. R. ent. Soc.
Lond. 86: 119-134.

James, H. C. (1933) : Taxonomic notes on the
coffee mealy bugs of Kenya colony. Bull. ent. Res.
24: 429-436.

HEDYOTIS SILENT -V ALLEY ENSIS (RUBIACEAE) — A NEW
SPECIES FROM SOUTH INDIA1

E. Vajravelu, N. C., Rathakrishnan and
P. Bhargavan2
(With five text-figures)

During the botanical exploration in the Silent Valley R.F., Pal ghat District, Kerala
in 1966 we collected a Hedyotis sp. on the grassy slopes of Kunthipuzha dam-site. On
scrutiny and in consultation with Central National Herbarium, Howrah and Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew, it is described as a new taxon.

Hedyotis silent- valley easts sp. nov.

Affinis H. purpurascens Hook. f. tamen dif-
fer! foliis elliptico-Ianceolatis, veinsque distinc-
tis; ramulis, pedunculis, pedicellis et calycibus
pubescentibus.

Hedyotis silent-valleyensis sp. nov. is allied
to H. purpurascens Hook. f. [ = Oldenlandia
purpurascens (Hook, f.) Kuntze] but differs in
having elliptic-lanceolate leaves with distinct

1 Accepted July 1982.

2 Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore-641 003.

veins; pubescence all over the branchlets,
peduncles, pedicels and calyx.

Woody shrubs 1-3 m high, branching pro-
fusely towards the end of branches. Leaves
opposite, decussate, shortly petioled, 2-9 x 0.6-
2.0 cm, elliptic-lanceolate, acute-acuminate;
nerves 3-4 pairs, distinct, puberulous beneath;
stipules 4-10 x 3-5 mm, ovate-triangular, pubes-
cent, 5-12 toothed; Inflorescence pubescent,
paniculate cymes, branching trichotomously,
7.5-18.0 cm long; middle flowers sessile, side
flowers pedicellate, rachis slender. Calyx pin-

402

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Figs. 1-5. Hedyotis silent-v alley ensis sp. nov.
la. Flowering branch, lb. Stipule. 2. Flower (Sessile). 3. Corolla split open showing
stamens. 4a & 4b. Capsules immature & mature) . 5. Seed.

403

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

kish, pubescent; tube 3.0 x 2.5 mm; lobes 4,
rarely 5, 0.75-1.5 x 0.5- 1.0 mm; corolla in-
fundibuliform, bluish purple, throat sparsely
hairy inside; tube 4-6 mm long, lobes 4, rarely
5, reflexed, 2. 5 -3. 5 x 1.0- 1.5 mm, oblong-
lanceolate, puberulous without. Stamens 4,
rarely 5, epipetalous, exserted; anthers blue,
dorsifixed, dehiscing with two slits; filaments
2 mm long. Ovary 2-locular; ovules numerous.
Style linear; stigmas 2, hairy. Capsules 5-9 x
2-3 mm, ellipsoid-obovoid, crowned by the
calyx-limbs, dehiscing septicidally into 2 cocci.
Seeds 1.0 x 0.5 mm, obscurely angled. (Fig. 1-5).

Holotype, Vajravelu 27674 (Kunthipuzha
dam-site. Silent Valley R.F., Kerala, 27-5-1966)
is deposited in CAL; isotypes, Vajravelu
27674 (three specimens) and paratypes Vajra-
velu 48857 (seven specimens) from the same
locality on 6-11-1976 are deposited in MH.

The species is named after the type locality
— Silent Valley, Palghat District, Kerala, in

whose conservation naturalists, ecologists and
environmentalists have focussed their attention.
The distribution of this species is confined to
the grassy slopes of the Kunthipuzha dam-site.

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Dr. D. B. Deb, Deputy
Director, Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah and
Dr. G. Panigrahi, Joint Director, Botanical
Survey of India, Howrah for their valuable
suggestions and confirming the identity of the
specimen from Central National Herbarium,
Howrah and Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
respectively. We are grateful to Dr. N. C. Nair,
Joint Director, Botanical Survey of India,
Coimbatore for facilities and encouragement.
We are also thankful to Rev. Fr. Dr. K. M.
Matthew, St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchchirapalli
for Latin translation and to Sri P. V. Sree-
kumar. Senior Research Fellow, Botanical
Survey of India, Coimbatore, for the drawing.

404

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1. STATUS AND ECOLOGY OF WILD BUFFALO ( BUBALUS
BUBALIS LINN.) IN CHANDRAPUR DISTRICT
OF MAHARASHTRA

Introduction

Dunbar Brander reported two small
herds of Wild Buffalo in Allapalli division of
South Chanda. He also reported a few
herds in the Ahiri blocks of North Chanda.
Since then, there has been no authentic report
on the status of Wild Buffalo in Chandrapur
District. In the last 75 years, most of the forest
in North Chanda and Ahiri have disappeared,
so also the natural habitat suitable for Wild
Buffalo. Mr. Rego, Chief Wild Life Warden
of Maharashtra in 1976 informed us that the
only area where Wild Buffalo could still occur
is the forest ranges of Tadgaon and Bhamra-
garh, of Allapalli division. These forest ranges
adjoin Bastar district of M.P. Daniel and
Grubh (1966), in their report on Indian Wild
Buffalo, had estimated a strength of 200 to
250 Wild Buffaloes in West Bastar Division
adjoining Allapalli division. H. K. Divekar
(1976) estimated a strength of about 50
animals in the same area. In order to establish
the present status of Wild Buffalo in Maha-
rashtra resident or migratory between Maha-
rashtra and Bastar, M.P. a survey was under-
taken by us.

Area surveyed

Chandrapur District borders Bastar district
of M.P. the boundaries being Indravati river
in the South and Kuvakodi hills in the west.
In Allapalli division, several perennial rivers

flow amidst mountainous terrain, the major
ones being Indravati, Parlakota, Bandia, Pa-
malgotam. There are a tangle of hills in this
division chiefly Lahir Bhamragarh hills, and
Surajgarh hills, the hill ranges rise on an aver-
age to elevation of about 700 metres, the
highest being 935 metres. The Bhamragarh
hills overlook the confluence of the Indravati
and two of its right bank tributaries, the Par-
lakot and Pamalgotam.

There are many small and big lakes in Alla-
palli division, the major ones being Mirkal
lake near Madepalli, two more near Manne
Rajaram and Echeli near Tadgaon, a minor
irrigation bund near Mallampattu and a large
tank near Pirimili.

Forests'. Allapalli holds some of the best
quality teak trees in Asia with heights ranging
up to 125 feet. The quality of the timber of
this forest are rated next to Burma teak. Be-
sides teak, sisam ( Dalbergia sissoo), Bija ( Pte -
rocorpus marsupium) , Simul ( Gossypium ar-
bor eum & Gossypium herbaceum) are also
common. The Ballarpur Paper & Strawboard
Mills is based on this forest wealth.

Due to ever increasing demand of timber
and in particular bamboo for paper pulp, the
quality of forest and density has been consi-
derably eroded. Virgin forest tracts in the
Kuvakodi hills on the eastern boundary have
now been taken up for bamboo extraction ( 1 40
kms east from Allapalli) since the time of this
survey. Thus beginning the destruction of the
last virgin bamboo forest in Chandrapur dis-

405

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

trict. The Allapalli division has the highest
percentage of forest area approximately 92%
of the total area. The list of the main flora
of Bhamragarh range is given in table 2.

Method of Survey : In absence of any au-
thentic record of occurrence of Wild Buffalo
in any particular part of the survey area, it
was decided to examine the entire Indravati
river bank falling with in the perview of the
survey area and also a major part of the tri-
butaries, village tanks and water bunds. All
forest areas where Wild Buffalo occurrence
was reported by tribals and forest officials was
also investigated. The Wild Buffalo occurring
in a particular forest block, would come down
to graze on the grass growing along the river
banks, to drink and wallow and thereby leave
sufficient evidence of possible pockets of occur-
rence and herd strength. The survey area was
divided into 3 blocks. Each block was ex-
haustively surveyed. The survey party was
divided into groups and each group was given
an independent specified area. Each group
was led by a competent field investigator. Each
area was planned to be visited twice to avoid
any ommission and also to record fresh indi-
cations or tracks of wild Buffaloes. The leader
of each group was also required to report on
birds, mammals and general floristic situation.

The survey was completed on foot. Assist-
ance of tribal guides and local forest guards
was sought for individual groups. The field
notes included location, identification, sketch,
of tracks, sightings, droppings, general descrip-
tion of the habitat, human interference, inter-
views with local people etc.

General Account of Survey : The survey
was planned to be conducted sometime bet-
ween December to May when the area be-
comes accessible. Block 1 was surveyed bet-
ween 7th May to 12th May, 1978.
The Block 2 Itapalli Surajgarh was surveyed

between 28th December, 78 to 4th January, 79.
Block 3 was surveyed between 9th to 13th
May, 79. The area surveyed, investigator
groups, observations are shown in table 1.

Habitat: The Allapalli forest division of
Chandrapur district is one of the more heavily
worked forests in Maharashtra. Several thou-
sand hectares of forests have been clear felled
and new teak plantations are coming up every
year. Excepting pockets in Kuvakodi hills,
there is no virgin forest left. One often sees
clearings in the forest made by the gonds for
purposes of their “Gata” cultivation. These are
plots chosen near Adivasi villages. Many of
them are left as waste lands. Over 100 com-
mercial forest department heavy vehicles ply
on the interior forest roads, right up to south-
ern and eastern boundaries of the district for
transporting bamboo, teak, charcoal and other
forest produce like bedi leaves and lac. Adi-
vasi Gond villages are set up all along the
perennial river banks of Allapalli division and
in Gatta range.

Other than the teak plantations, the forest
has been affected by human influence so much
so that natural forests are minimal. The area
is heavily over grazed and trampled by domes-
tic cattle and sheep. The effect of villages can
be seen for atleast 1 km radius around each
village and right upto Indravati river. Under
these conditions, it is very difficult for the wild
buffalo to inhabit the area.

All along the Indravati river, downstream
from Bhamragarh upto the confluence of its
right hand tributaries Bandia and Pirimili
rivers approximating to 28 Kms., there are
many heavy grass patches and thickets and
water pools which are ideal wild buffalo habi-
tat. However, many villages like Palli, Boria,
Jarewada, Manne Rajaram etc. are situated.
Also along the banks of the Indravati river
huge charcoal ovens are permanently set up a

406

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

few hundred yards from the river banks. It is
unlikely therefore, that the wild buffaloes cross
over and stray into forest coming under Tad-
gaon range of Allapalli division. The Indra-
vati river on its Maharashtra side banks up-
stream from Bhamragarh to Kundanallah con-
fluence has almost lost its natural habitat of
grass patches and thickets and are heavily
trampled by domestic cattle and over grazed.
The river basins of Pamalgotam and Parlakota
upstream the confluence of Indravati passes
through some grass patches. Though the forest
is almost plain, the habitat is devoid of virgin
grass forage grounds. All the tributaries of
Indravati river run dry in hot season and the
habitat is unsuitable as there is hardly any
undergrowth or water pools. The habitat in
Gatta and Itapalli range have no perennial
water source and neither suitable forage
grounds ideal for wild buffalo. Elephant grass
grows in patches upto 1.80-2.10 m and can be
seen in Bhamragarh and Itapalli range. These
are normally the grazing ground for the village
cattle. The forest block around Mirkal lake,
forest patches at Thalwada and interior of
Lahiri and Kuvakodi hills and valleys are the
potential habitats left over in the Allapalli
division. Some indications of existance of wild
life and virgin flora can be seen in the above
forest patches.

Human Interference : Bhamragarh and Tad-
gaon forest ranges have several revenue vil-
lages. A large net work of fair weather roads
connect these villages with main activity cen-
tres like Bhamragarh, Tadgaon, Itapalli, Alla-
palli etc. These villages are populated by tri-
bals like Gond, Pradhan, Halba, Kawar, Maria
& Murias etc. Maria & Muria tribes are the
ones who account for the maximum interfer-
ence and hunting of wild life, whereas Halbas,
Pradhans and Gonds chiefly account for des-

truction of the habitat and domestic cattle
rearing.

For the bulk of the Adivasi population, cul-
tivation is merely a secondary means of win-
ning a livelihood and serves only to supple-
ment the food supply from forest produce.
For the Muria tribals, hunting is the main
livelihood in the hot months from February
to May. No animal, bird, or reptile is spared
in these communal hunts.

Each and every event from ploughing to
reaping, birth of a child or death in a village,
marriage, and other communal festivities only
begin with hunting and drinking liquor. One
can see the effect when he passes from one
range of forest to another range without seeing
a single indication of existance of wild life for
several kilometres.

Often, the tribals have to be on the hunt
for several days or intrude into Bastar district
to procure a single animal to begin the festive
event.

Though nothing was reported or seen by the
survey party during the survey, illegal poach-
ing by traders, contractors and others cannot
be ruled out. During interviews with villagers,
and others, it was reported that almost all the
villagers own one or two fire arms like muzzle
loading guns. These are systematically used in
the hunting grounds by these tribals. It was also
reported that illegal ammunition traders and
suppliers have regular contact with the tribals.

All living animals and birds including spar-
rows, rats are eaten by the tribals. Similarly,
many varieties of wild fruits, bamboo shoots,
roots, green vegetable matter also form the
staple food of the tribals. Cattle is the main
pest of the forest. With non-availability of
veterinary knowledge or facility, there is no
prevention or cure for the cattle which may
contract and spread disease to whatever re-
mains of the wild life.

407

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Interviews : Taperecorded and oral inter-
views with various forest officers. Shikaris,
forest guards, plantation managers, tribals. In-
terviews with J, K. Sangode, Deputy Engineer,
Irrigations, Madhav Naik, R.F.O., Gagga
Papaya, Shikari guide and Gurmukh
Singh, Asst. Forest Manager, Ballarpur paper
Mills gave information about local flora and
fauna. Mr. Gagga Papaya informed that the
last Wild Buffalo hunt party was arranged
for Mr. Nanavati, an I.C.S. Officer about 20
years ago. He was uncertain of the facts
and the year of the hunt. However, he stated
that one wild buffalo was killed during the
hunt and he also mentioned that the party
had to cross over to Bastar district to kill
the Buffalo.

Katugagru Pongati tribal of Golaguda (Age
30) stated that there are no wild buffaloes
between Bhamragarh and Nilkonda. He has
neither seen one nor their tracks. He reported
that cattle lifting by tigers was very common.
All the survey parties of Block 3 reported fresh
tiger pug marks. Spotted deer were commonly
seen near plantations. One of us (HKD) saw
on all his four visits to the area, spotted deer
in herds of 3 to 8 on the road from Alla-
palli to Itapalli and also from Allapalii to
Mirkal. Sloth bear are very common in the
hilly terrain. Many accidents are reported
in encounters with bears. Mr. Sharad Kulkarni
stated that every year, 2 to 3 cases of bear
attack victims are brought to him for treat-
ment. Tribals reported that they are attacked
by bears while hunting for deer, monkeys etc.
Leopards are sighted often on forest roads
around Bhamragarh. Gaur are reported to
have been sighted near Mirkal lake and Lahiri
hills. Other than these, monkey, flying squir-
rels, sambar, blue bull, four horned antilope,
porcupine, jackal, jungle cat are reported
seen by many tribals. Dr. Prakash Amte at

Hemelkasa, 2 Km from Bhamragarh maintains
a private zoo to house the wounded, orphan or
trapped wild animals. The collection is an
evidence of the occurrence of wild life in the
area.

Discussion

Dunbar Brander mentioned 2 small herds
of cows and a few solitary bulls in the Allapalii
and Gatta ranges of South Chanda District in
1904. He also mentioned that south eastern
portion of Allapalii and in Ahiri state, they
were somewhat more common and observed
it was unlikely that these herds could have
increased since 1904. He predicted their dis-
appearance from these areas unless they are
migrating from the neighbouring forest of
Bastar. Dunbar Brander writing on the same
topic mentioned their earlier range from
records in Yewatmal and Bhandara districts
and also in north Chanda, and wrote they
had disappeared from the above tracks. Other
sportsmen and naturalists have not ventured
to assess the status or occurrence in Allapalii
division in South Chanda. Wanting authentic
records, the status of wild buffalo in Chandra-
pur District of Maharashtra has been a subject
of guess work. Chandrapur Dist. Gazetteer is
given as wild buffalo, “Jungli Bhainse”
( Bubalus bubalis) used to be noticed occas-
sionally in small herds around Mirkal
tank near Allapalii, where they migrat-
ed in small numbers from the adjoining forest
of Madhya Pradesh during spells of hot wea-
ther. The above report in gazetteer coincides
with the writings of Dunbar Brander. It can
be well argued that the statement in the Dist.
Gazetteer is derived from Dunbar Bran-
der’s report. Allapalii forest division of South
Chanda District is known for its valuable tim-
ber and bamboo. The habitat has lost all its
natural features possibly after the starting of

408

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

BaUarpur Paper Mills and Teak Plantations
by forest department. Our survey is the first
attempted status and ecology survey of wild
buffalo in Allapalli division of South Chanda
District. This area was the only possible habi-
tat left in Maharashtra suitable for wild buffalo.
The destruction of the habitat and disappear-
ance of grass patches and clearings due to
over grazing by domestic cattle, the ever in-
creasing net work of roads into inaccessible
areas, charcoal ovens along the river banks,
the continuous round the clock heavy commer-
cial vehicle traffic, the opening of new mining
complexes around Surajgarh etc., jeopardises
the occurrence of wild life and the wild buffalo
has become a legend.

Summary

It can be safely concluded that the wild
buffalo has disappeared from South Chanda
Division of Maharashtra for quite some time.
The forest has lost the suitable habitat

Bombay Natural History Society,

Hornbill House,

Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road,

Bombay 400 023,

November 23, 1979.

Refer

Daniel, J. C. & Grubh, R. B. (1966) : The Indian
Wild Buffalo, Bubalus bubalis (Linn.) in Peninsular
India. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 63(1) : 32-53.

which once supported a few localised herds.
One can see glimpses of their habitat in the
adjoining Bastar District where few herds
still survive near the perennial Indravati river.

Acknowledgements

Our thanks are due to Mr. Moon, Chief
Wildlife Warden for permission to undertake
the survey and also to use the facilities of
Forest Rest Houses; to Dr. Salim Ali and
Bombay Natural History Society for giving all
assistance and financial help in undertaking
the survey: to Dr. V. D. Divekar, Mr. Madhav
Naik, R.F.O., Bhamragarh, Mr. Oturkar, Mr.
Chopra and other investigators who helped us
in conducting the survey; to Shri S. N. Bande,
D.F.O., Bhamragarh Div. for providing the
help of forest personnel and forest Rest
Houses; and to tribal guides who gave valu-
able information and lastly, to Dr. Prakash
Amte and his friends who gave valuable
suggestions for conducting the survey.

H. K. DIVEKAR
R. B. GRUBH
P. B. SHEKAR

E N CE S

Divekar, H. K. (1976) : A Re-survey of the status
of Wild Buffaloes in West Bastar, Madhya Pradesh,
ibid. 73(2): 382-385.

2. COURTSHIP AND MATING IN
BAT, TAPHOZOUS LONGI MANUS

Courtship and mating of bats in natural
condition are little known. Khajuria (1972)
observed these activities in Rhinopoma h. hard-
wickei Gray. Gopalakrishna (1954, 1955),

THE INDIAN SHEATH-TAILED
LONGIMANUS (HARDWICKE)

Ramaswamy (1961) and Madhavan (1971,
1978) have studied the breeding habits of
several species of bats but have not covered
courtship and mating. We had the opportu-

409

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

nity of observing courtship and mating in
Taphozous l. longimanus which is reported
here.

The observation was made at Krishnanagar,
Nadia district. West Bengal, on 6 December
1981 at about 16.30 hours. There were four
specimens of this species, a male and three
females hanging in a deserted room of a hut.
While searching for the presence of other spe-
cies of bat in association with this species in-
side the room, we saw that suddenly the male
bat started flying and it reached near one of
the females. We thought that the bat was
disturbed by our presence. But it remained
quiet for about two minutes and then started
crawling towards the female. The male fondled
the back of the female with its muzzle. At first
the female tried to push him away by moving
its wings but ultimately surrendered and
allowed the male to keep the muzzle on its
back. Now the male placed the distal end of

Zoological Survey of India,

8, Lindsay Street,

Calcutta 700 087,

January 27, 1982.

its forearms between the legs and wings of the
female but kept the legs behind those of the
female. Thus the ventral side of the male came
in close contact with the back of the female.
After a minute the female turned its tail aside
to give way to the male to copulate. The male
lifted its tail up and bent its hind portion of
the body inwards to copulate. The copulation
lasted for 30 seconds. It was accompanied by
quick shivering movements of the body. There-
after they separated. The male relaxed expand-
ing its wings. The female flew away to another
side of the room and rested. After a few
minutes the male again started flying and ap-
proached another female of the group for
copulation. It repeated the same performance.
Thus the bat copulated with the two females
within half an hour. No further copulation
was seen in the roost up to 18.00 hours after
which the observation was discontinued.

J. P. LAL
D. K. BISWAS

References

Gopalakrishna, A. (1954): Breeding habits of
the Indian sheth-tailed bat, Taphozous longimanus
(Hardwicke). Curr. Sic., 23 : 60-61.

(1955): Observations on the

breeding habits and ovarian cycle in the Indian
sheath-tailed bat, Taphozous longimanus (Hard-
wicke). Proc. Natn. Inst. Sci. India, 21: 29-41.

Khajuria, H. (1972) : Courtship and mating in
Rhinopoma h. hardwickei Gray (Chiroptera: Rhino-
pomatidae). Mammalia, 36: 307-309.

Madhavan, A. (1971): Breeding habits in the

Indian vespertilionid bat, Pipistrellus ceylonicus
chrysothrix (Wroughton). Mammalia, 35(2): 283-
306.

(1978) : Breeding habits and asso-
ciated phenomena in some Indian bats. Part V.
Pipistrellus dormeri Dabson. Vespertilionidae. J.
Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 75(2) : 426-433.

Ramaswamy, K. R. (1961): Studies on the sex
cycle of Indian Vampire bat, Megaderma lyra, Part
I. Breeding habits. Proc. natn. Inst. Sci. India, B(27)
5: 287-307.

410

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

3. A NOTE ON THE STATUS OF THE FLYING SQUIRRELS OF
DARJEELING AND SIKKIM

Six species of flying squirrels, namely, the
Hairy-footed Flying Squirrel, Belomys pear-
soni (Gray), Lesser Giant Flying Squirrel,
Petaurista elegans (Muller), Hodgson’s Fly-
ing Squirrel, Petaurista magnificus (Hodgson),
Gray’s Flying Squirrel, Petaurista nobilis
(Gray) and Particoloured Flying Squirrel,
Hylopetes alboniger (Hodgson), are known to
occur in the Darjeeling District, West Bengal,
and Sikkim. A single example of the Woolly
Flying Squirrel, Eupetaurus cinereus Thomas,
which has until recently been known only from
Kashmir, has also been found in Sikkim (Agra-
wal and Chakraborty, 1970, J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc., 66(3): 615-616). These flying

squirrels occur from lower altitudes to approxi-
mately 2300 metres. Petaurista elegans has,
however, been reported at about 3600 metres
in Darjeeling district.

From records of the various species till
early this century, it would appear that these
flying squirrels were in abundance in one or
the other place of these hilly terrains. How-
ever, during the last few decades, these mont-
ane forests, the natural habitat of the flying
squirrels, have been denuded by man for ex-
tension of human settlements, plantations,
terrace cultivations, road construction,
ever-increasing pressure of forestry acti-
vities (such as large-scale felling of trees for
timber, charcoal manufacture, etc.) and collec-

Zoological Survey of India,

8, Lindsay Street,

Calcutta 700 087,

January 27, 1983.

tion of firewood by local people, have limit-
ed the forest zone there to its minimum.
Consequently, there has been a gradual dec-
line of tall, well-branched suitable trees for
their nesting purposes and safety from preda-
tions, as well as dearth of plants supplying
their natural food, such as fruits, nuts, cones,
etc.

In the course of studies on the flying squir-
rels in Sikkim and Darjeeling District of West
Bengal from June 1974 to April 1982, we have
noticed that the populations of the Lesser
Giant Flying Squirrel, Hodgson’s Flying
Squirrel, Particoloured Flying Squirrel, Hairy-
footed Flying Squirrel, etc. have been greatly
depleted. These flying squirrels are now rarely
seen, though the Gray’s Flying Squirrel is seen
in small numbers at altitudes between 1000
and 2300 metres. The main cause for their
disappearance from these areas is the wanton
destruction of their habitats, obviously affect-
ing their breeding. To some extent their popu-
lation is also partly affected by unauthorised
killing of these animals for their beautiful pelt
used in the preparation of jackets, caps,
gloves, etc.

It is suggested that immediate investigation
should be undertaken to study their exact
status and biology for formulating measures
for the conservation of these important ani-
mals.

R. K. GHOSE
T. K. CHAKRABORTY

411

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80
4. UNUSUAL FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF NILGAI

On May 1976 at Nawegaon Lake in Bhan-
dara District a large adult Nilgai ( Boselaphus
tragocamelus ) was seen near a moving ter-
rapin. The Nilgai placed its right fore foot
on the terrapin which froze. The Nilgai ap-
peared to have pressed the terrapin, whose
neck protruded out, the Nilgai grabbed the

Asstt. Manager,

Forest Development Corporation Ltd.,
Tilak Nagar, Nagpur 440 010,

November 5, 1982.

neck and pulled out the head, neck, part of
the body with the viscera and ate it.

I enquired with the local Gond tribals, and
Shri Madhav Patil of Paoni, a naturalist and
well known Shikari who confirmed that they
had observed Nilgai feeding on terrapin.

M. B. CHITAMPALLI

5. THE QUILLS THAT MAKE A RED PORCUPINE

While trekking in the Valliyur Reserve
Forest and looking for evidence of Wildlife
on 8-8-1979, a Porcupine quill, which had red
black bands, instead of the usual white and
black was found. Intensive search of the area
resulted in the collection of a few more red
and black banded quills at various places with-
in the Valliyur Forests upto the foot hills.
Freshly fallen quills were met with and collec-
ted throughout the year. Normal coloured, i.e.,
black and white banded quills were not noticed
in this area though they were found in ad-
joining areas.

From the distribution of these quills,
charactertistic cheroot shaped faecal droppings
and leading foot prints, a den of Red Porcu-
pine was located and watched. “Monolick”
and common salt were placed under a ledge
nearby, Red Porcupine occupying the den had
been using the salt licks. In August’80 (13-8-
1980) a partially decayed carcass of Red
porcupine was found. The quills were intact
and in position on to the dried skin. Their
measurements and weights are given below:

1. Quills on the crest, reddish orange or
blackish orange thin, hairlike in appearance
directed backward erectile,, not banded.

Maximum length
Minimum length
Average length
Total numbers
Total weight

= 30 cm.

= 15 cm.

= 25 cm.

= 672

= 12 grams.

2. Quills on the back, flexible to form C
and resilient when one end is released springs
back straight, about 6% of the quills of this
category are black and white banded,
a) Red and white banded b) Black and white

banded

Maximum length = 46 cm. 30 cm.

Minimum length = 12 cm. 17 cm.

Average length = 25 cm. 22 cm.

Total number =152 9

Weight = 67 grams. 2 grams.

3. Quills on the small the back (short,
stout, strong) sharp pointed some with long-
itudinal furrows.

a) Red and white banded
quills.

Maximum length = 22 cm.
Minimum length = 3 cm.
Average length =10 cm.
Weight

Total number

b) Black and white
banded.

19 cm.

5 cm.

10 cm.

21 grams.
69

412

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Short corrugated quills

= 168 Nos. 40 grams.

Long corrugated quills = 64 Nos. 71 grams.

4. Unbanded (one colour quills on the

back).

a) All Red b) All white

Maximum length = 14 cm. 26 cm.

Minimum length = 5 cm. 5 cm.

Average length = 9 cm. 15 cm.

Total number =110 50

Weight = 31 grams. 8 grams.

5. Quills under tail:

The petal like cupules are tubular some with
cups. These appears like “elongated stemless
wine glasses” produce a sort of clapping sound
like that of a rattel. Colour of all the nine
quills were orange or reddish orange. Short
spines of reddish or blackish red colour were
spread all over the body.

Maximum length = 9 cm.

Minimum length = 5 cm.

Average length = 6 cm.

Total number =11
Weight = 2 grams.

6. Quills all over the body above 3 cm.
Total 64 Nos. 71 gms.

Havilike spines — Weight 14 grams.

Total — 928.

Wildlife Warden,

Mudumalai Sanctuary,
Templeton Cottage, Vannarpet,
Udhagamandalam 643 001,
Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu,

October 25, 1982.

6. BIRDS FEEDING ON

These quills are kept in the museum of the
wildlife Warden, Kalakad Sanctuary, Tirunel-
veli-11.

From the present evidences of distribution
temporal frequency of fallen quills and the
following observations are made.

1 . The Red Porcupine occurs also in areas
which do not have a red or orange ground
colour.

2. The red colouring of quill is not a sea-
sonal factor.

3. A very small percentage of black and
white banded quills, all white and all red
quills were found on the back of the
animals.

4 . The all white and all red quills are
arranged in such a way so as to form red
and white bands on the body of the ani-
mal.

5 . Evidences of red Porcupine have not been
found in other parts of Kalakad Sanc-
tuary, Mundanthurai Sanctuary, Anamalai
Sanctuary and Mudumalai Sanctuary.

6 . The population of red Porcupine in
Kalakad Valliyur Forests is estimated to
be between 40 and 50.

J. MANGALRAJ JOHNSON

FIRE-DRIVEN INSECTS

In the Sauraha area of Nepal’s Chitwan
National Park, permitted burning and harvest-
ing of Elephant grass by local inhabitants took
place daily from 25th January to 3rd Febru-
ary 1981, when we were birdwatching in this
area.

On many occasions we came across groups
of Black Drongos ( Dicrurus macrocercus),
feeding on insects driven upwards by the
advancing flames. Aerial prey capture appeared
to be extremely easy, even amidst thick rising
smoke — the birds usually returning to grass-

413

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

stem perches before another foray above the
fire.

Ali and Ripley (1968-1974), mention this
behaviour in their account of Black Drongo
feeding habits. However, on 31st January we
observed 4 Ashy Drongos ( Dicrurus leuco-
phaeus ), and 30+ Ashy Wood-Swallows
( Artamus fuscus ), feeding in a similar man-
ner with c. 50 Black Drongos. The Wood-
Swallows usually fed at a greater height than

Calf of Man Bird Observatory,

Isle of Man, U.K.

Edward Grey Institute of Field
Ornithology, Dept, of Zoology,

South Parks Rd., Oxford., U.K.,

April 14, 1982.

the Drongos, and were never seen to land. In
addition, 3 Black-shouldered Kites ( Elanus
caeruleus ), fed low over the same area, also
in close association with the fire-front, and
were thought to be looking for fleeing small
terrestrial prey.

In view of the large number of insects driven
out of such an area it is perhaps surprising
that no more species were seen capitalizing on
this rich food supply.

ADRIAN DEL-NEVO
PETER J. EWINS

Reference

Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. (1968-1974) : Handbook of
the Birds of India and Pakistan. 10 Vols. Oxford
University Press. Bombay.

7. OCCURRENCE OF THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE, PODICEPS
CRISTATUS (LINNE) AT RANCHI, BIHAR

In November last Mrs. Marie Palit who
lives at Ranchi, Bihar, wrote to me about some
water birds which had over the last few years
started visiting the water-supply lakes nearby.
They occurred in large numbers over 300 at a
time. Mrs. Palit said that they resembled a
large grebe a picture of which she sent me
from an American magazine and I suggested
that it may be the Great Crested Grebe, Podi-
ceps crist at us (Linne) of which the nearest
record appeared to be one(?) seen by Mr. Hor-
ace Alexander (Indian Handbook 1 p. 3)
at Puri, Orissa.

In the meantime, my wife visited Ranchi
and Mrs. Palit took her down to one of the
lakes and they saw 40-50 birds in the distance.

The lake was clear of weeds. Later Mrs. Palit
sent in pieces of two specimens which are no
doubt of this species. I wrote to Mr. Alexander
for more information but though he remem-
bered that he saw it in December 1946 in
Orissa he did not recollect whether this was
on salt or fresh water but the fact that he
wrote to Salim Ali must mean, he said, that it
was a relatively exciting record. He wrote
again saying he had found his notebook which
referred to 40-50 birds at Puri Lake on 25
December 1946 and again an uncounted num-
ber seen on 1st January 1947.

This species is accepted as a winter visitor
entering from the north-west, extending as far
south as Gujarat in the west and eastwards

414

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

along the north into Assam and Manipur.
On the eastern side the southernmost record is
the one from Puri referred to above while Xn-
glis quotes a few records from much further
north in the Madhubani Sub-Division of
Darbhanga District in Tirhut (JBNHS 16 p.
342). The present records are from over 200
miles southwards, but Mrs. Palit was informed
that they have been seen here over the last
few years only. They are locally known as
Siberian duck and often caught at night in

75 Abdul Rehman Street,

Bombay 400 003,

March 25, 1982.

nets laid for fish.

In her last letter Mrs. Palit said one was
obtained on 13th March, “when only about
100 birds were left, and all had gone by 20th
March”.

In the absence of earlier records it would
appear that they have started visiting this area
in fairly recent years and it would be interest-
ing to try and determine to what factor this
change in migratory limits further southwards
can be attributed.

HUMAYUN ABDULALI

8. WINTER FOOD OF SPOTTED OWLET, ATHENE BRAMA INDICA

A group of six Spotted owlets, Athene brama
indica which roosted on a Eucalyptus earned-
dulensis very close to our laboratory, were
regularly observed to study their social be-
haviour. We also analysed their faecal pellets
during winter to study their food. The identi-
fiable contents were sorted from the faecal
pellets and analysed by gravimetric method
(Table 1) following Southern (1969).

It is observed that during the month of
December about 60 per cent of their food was
composed of various types of insects but dur-
ing January their food consisted pre-domin-
antly of rodents (60.2%). The mandibles
which were found intact in the faecal pellets
were identified to be mostly of the Field
mouse, Mus sp. Eucalyptus seeds, small peb-
bles and lime particles also occurred in the
faecal pellets. Apparently they are taken for
assisting in the grinding of food.

In the Central Research Farm of the Insti-
tute (about 400 hectares) the rodent popula-
tion is constituted mostly by Tat era indica
(43.8%), Meriones hurrianae (28.9%), Ger-

billus nanus indus (24.0%) but other rodents
also occur in low numbers: G. gleadowi

Table 1

Per cent occurrence of various undigested items
in the faecal pellets of Athene brama indica

Items

1st week
of

December

Last week
of

January

Ave.

winter

food

INSECTS

59.79

34.15

46.7

Hemiptera

4.68

2.43

3.5

Hymenoptera

0.85

1.62

1.2

Coleoptera

Carabidae

1.71

3.25

2.5

Scarabaeidae

23.50

0.81

12.0

Tenebrionidae

18.80

14.63

16.7

Misc. unid. insects

10.25

11.41

10.8

RODENTS

28.19

60.22

44.2

Jaws, bones of
Rodents

9.40

18.76

14.1

Fur

0.85

0.81

0.8

Semi-digested

material

17.94

40.65

29.3

PLANT MATTER

Eucalyptus seeds

1.28

0.81

1.0

PEBBLES

11.96

4.06

8.0

415

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

(0.82%), Funambulus pennanti (0.82%),
Rattus meltada pallidior (0.82%), Mus sp.
(0.82%) and Golunda ellioti (present) (Pra-
kash and Rana 1970). It is, therefore, surpris-
ing to observe that though the occurrence of
Mus sp. is minimum in the natural environ-
ment, yet the presence of this species in the
faecal pellets of owlets is maximum. This
observation suggests three points worthy of
consideration. 1. It is quite possible that the
Spotted owlet is unable to handle and capture
the larger nocturnal gerbil, Tatera indica (100
g body weight) and, therefore, it is not preyed
upon, 2. The Spotted owlet is a selective feeder
and picks up only Mus spp. though they are
not very common, 3. It’s in-efficiency to cap-
ture the typical desert rodents like Gerbillus
gleadowi and Gerbillus nanus which are noc-
turnal as well as of the 10 to 20 g. body
weight, is because of the specialised adaptation

All India Coordinated Research
Programme on Rodent Control,

Central Arid Zone Research Institute,
Jodhpur,

December 3, 1981.

Refe

Prakash, I. (1959) : Hypertrophy of bullae tym-
panicae in the desert mammals. Sci. & Cult. 24:
580-582.

Prakash, I. & Rana, B. D. (1970): A study of

9. OCCURRENCE OF NORTHERN
FUSCUS WAGLER IN THE

The nominate race of the Jungle Myna
Acridotheres fuscus has been accepted as
occurring over most of northern India, ex-
cluding the desertified areas. There do not
appear to be any specific records from the
Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana districts, and it is

possessed by these rodents pertaining to hyper-
trophy of tympanic bullae due to which these
small mammals can perceive and discriminate
between the wing beats of predatory as well
as non-predatory birds (Prakash 1959). As
such the typical desert rodents are able to
escape from owlets’ attacks, but Mus spp. fall
an easy prey to them.

There could be still another reason of Spot-
ted owlets shifting their food from insects to
rodents. Their breeding season at Jodhpur
starts in February and to prepare for repro-
duction they switch over to more nutritive and
high protein rodent food.

Ack nowledgement

We are grateful to Dr. H. S. Mann, Director,
Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodh-
pur for providing facilities and encouragement.

A. P. JAIN
RANJAN ADVANI

ENCES

field papulation of rodents in the Indian desert.
Zeit. angewandte Zoologie, 57: 129-136.

Southern, H. N. (1969): Prey taken by Tawny
owls during the breeding season. Ibis, 111: 293-299.

JUNGLE MYNA ACRIDOTHERES
PUNJAB AND HARYANA

also omitted from the Checklist of the Birds
of Delhi, Agra and Bharatpur.

It may, therefore, be worth recording that
since August 1979, we have seen this bird at
the following seven places:

(i) Bias Pind (district Jullundur); (ii)

416

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Tanda Urmur (district Hoshiarpur); (ii)
Ludhiana; (iv) Khanna (district Ludhiana);
(v) Kurukshetra; (vi) Bilaspur (district Am-
bala); (vii) Jagadhari (district Ambala).
the first four being in the Punjab and the last
three in Haryana.

They were usually in small parties of about

Dept, of Forestry & National Parks,
Punjab Agriculture University,

Ludhiana 141 004, Punjab,

April 13, 1982.

10 birds restricting themselves to the outskirts
of villages and often accompanied by the Com-
mon and Bank Mynas.

It is possible that there are some local move-
ments of this species which have prevented
its having been seen more often.

MANJIT S. DHINDSA
R. N. SINGHAL

Reference

Abdulali, Humayun & Panday, Jamshed D.
(1978) Checklist of the Birds of Delhi, Agra and
Bharatpur. Bombay.

10. RUSTIC BUNTING ( EMBERIZA RUSTIC A) — A NEW SPECIES

FOR NEPAL

{With a text-figure )

On 31st January 1981 we discovered a $
Rustic Bunting {Emberiza rustica) , feeding
with c. 15 Little Buntings {Emberiza pusiila),
near Sauraha in the north-eastern region of
Nepal’s Chitwan National Park.

Observations were made over 40 minutes as
the bird fed and called in very similar man-
ner to the Little Buntings. The birds were
watched at distances down to 20 metres in an
area of low, scattered bushes on the edge of
a dry heavily-grazed plain bordering Rapti
Dun. The most striking differences from the
marginally smaller Little Bunting are:

(i) A broad, rich chustnut pectoral band,
extending as chevrons down the flanks
and contrasting markedly with the other-
wise clean white underparts.

(ii) Head pattern essentially bold black /white

zones, lacking the chestnut ear-covert
patch.

(iii) Chestnut-tinged nape patch.

(iv) White median spot on the rear of the
crown.

(v) When alarmed, a conspicuous tufted crest
is visible.

Fig. 1. Rustic Bunting ( Emberiza rustica), male.

417

10

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

We are familiar with this species as a
migrant in Great Britain, and feel that this
bird was a $ in view of the distinct black
head-markings (more diffuse and browner in
a $), and general ‘smartness’ of the under-
parts.

Walters (1980) reports that this species
breeds in the north-taiga zone of Eurasia,

Calf of Man Bird Observatory,

Isle of Man, U. K.

Edward Grey Instite of Field
Ornithology, Dept, of Zoology,

South Parks Rd., Oxford., U.K..

April 14, 1982.

wintering south to Japan and East China;
King et al. (1978), give it migrant status in
Taiwan. To the best of our knowledge there
is no previous record of Rustic Bunting from
Nepal or India, (T. P. Inskipp informs us
that another individual was reported from
Nepal later in the spring of 1981).

ADRIAN DEL-NEVO
PETER J. EWINS

References

King, B. F., Dickinson, E. C. and Woodcock, Walters, M. (1980): The Complete Birds of
M. W. (1978): A field-guide to the Birds of South- the World. David & Charles.

East Asia. Collins.

11. OBSERVATIONS ON FOOD REQUIREMENT AND FOOD
CONVERSION IN THE MUGGER ( CROCODYLUS PALUSTRIS )
REARED IN CAPTIVITY

(With two text-figures)

The present paper is based on observations
made on 15 mugger crocodiles ( Crocodylus
p\alustris ) which were reared between 1975 and
1980 at the Gharial Research and Conservation
Unit (GRACU), Tikerpada, Orissa, a place
within the distributional range of the species.
Hatchlings were reared in pens of 4 x 4 m
area with a central pool of 2 x 2 x 0.3 m in
size. Older mugger were kept in yearling pens
of 6 x 6 m size with a pool of 4 x 4 x 1 m.
All mugger were reared under ideal husbandry
conditions described by Bustard et al (in
press) .

The initial number of 15 mugger was reduc-
ed to 13 at 6 months, 10 at 45 months and

6 at 53 months due to transfers from GRACU
to other rearing/ breeding centres. Out of a
total of 4,855 Kg of food given to these mug-
ger only about 60 Kg (1.2%) consisted of
‘undressed’ mammalian (wild boar, sambar,
cheetal, rat and civet) and reptilian (fresh-
water terrapins, snake and crocodilian), meat
and birds (crow, country fowl, pigeon and
owl), the rest consisted of a mixed variety of
fish species and prawn collected from the ad-
jacent Mahanadi river. The low composition
of non-fish items in the diet was a result of
non-availability of these. The ‘sport meat’ fed
were purchased by the project during auction
of ‘seized meat’ by the department.

418

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Food quantities have been calculated from
actual amounts the mugger had eaten till sati-
ation. The frequencies of feeding were every
other day during summer and autumn, and
2-3 days per week during the winter and
rains. Hatchlings up to 9 months old were
provided with live fish in their rearing pools.
Hence, they fed every day as per their require-
ment. Non-living food were provided in the
enclosures mostly between 9 and 11 a.m. and
occasionally in the evening. Day-time feedings
followed removal of uneaten food ofter an
hour. Left-overs from evenings were removed

on the following morning.

The food requirement of hatchlings was
proportionately high, over 3-5% of the body
weight. The requirement gradually lowered
down to below 1% when the mugger were 5
years old and about 45 Kg in weight (Figs.
1 and 2). Table 1 shows that food intake was
the lowest during winter and maximum during
summer, through rain and autumn.

The food conversion (Table 2) was 12.4%
during the first year, 22.9% during the second
and 16.8% during the third. The mean con-
version at the end of the third year 18.2%

Fig. 1. Relationship between the percentage of body weight eaten by mugger at
different months of age. Fluctuations off the curve are a result of seasonal impact.

419

a?.ui

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

and at the end of the fifth year 12.4%. There
was evidently a decrease in conversion in the
later years.

B. C. Choudhury (pers. comm.) comments
that his mugger at Nehru Zoological Park,
Hyderabad, fed with almost entirely meat diet
show a lower food consumption rate but
almost similar growth rates, therefore, a higher
conversion rate.

Only fragmentary information are available
on the growth of mugger in the wild (Achar-
jyo and Mohapatra 1978; Choudhury and
Bustard 1982), but there are none on their

food conversion in the wild. However, there
are a few publications providing evidence of
a mixed-diet habit for the mugger. Stomach
examination of shot-down mugger have shown
the presence of, other than fish, aquatic beet-
les and bugs (D’Abreu 1915; McCann 1935,
1940), mollusc and Rana tigrina (D’Abreu
1915), pig (Pitman 1913 a), goat (Simcox
1905), and humans (Shortt 1921, Krishna -
murthy 1951). Pitman (1913 b) had seen a
dead panther on a river bank whose nature
of injury suggested that it was attacked
by a crocodile. Evidence or information about

x IQ kg

Fig. 2. Relationship between the percentage of body weight eaten by mugger at
different body weight. Fluctuations off the curve are a result of seasonal impact.

420

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Table 1

Per day food requirement of the mugger
( Crocodylus palustris ) in captivity during the

FIRST FIVE YEARS

Month

Age in
months

TBL

(m)

W

(gm)

F

(gm)

F x 100
W

June

1

—

—

8

—

July

2

—

—

8

—

Aug

3

—

—

10

—

Sep

4

438

307

12

3.9

Oct

5

445

320

12

3.8

Nov

6

458

344

12.8

3.7

Dec

7

460

372

15.3

4.1

Jan

8

465

406

20.5

5.0

Feb

9

470

440

16.6

3.7

Mar

10

500

500

21.7

4.3

Apr

11

511

596

20.5

3.4

May

12

543

760

25.6

3.3

June

13

—

—

28.2

—

July

14

674

1305

43.5

3. 3

Aug

15

—

—

29.4

—

Sep

16

749

21 35

79.4

3.7

Oct

17

774

—

79.4

—

Nov

18

—

—

79.4

—

Dec

19

835

4505

83.8

1.8

Jan

20

849

4865

80.2

1.6

Feb

21

—

—

78.0

—

Mar

22

877

4985

102

2.0

Apr

23

888

5569

102

1.8

May

24

941

7000

120

1.7

June

25

981

7941

134

1.7

July

26

—

—

137

—

Aug

27

1084

9679

165

1.7

Sep

28

—

—

191

—

Oct

29

—

—

211

—

Nov

30

—

—

207

—

Dec

31

—

—

151

—

Jan

32

—

—

182

—

Feb

33

1290

15465

228

1.5

Mar

34

—

—

237

—

Apr

35

—

—

203

—

May

36

—

—

206

—

June

37

1483

19344

186

0.96

July

38

—

—

286

—

Aug

39

—

—

232

—

Sep

40

—

—

279

—

Oct

41

1654

27549

309

1.1

Nov

42

—

—

200

—

Dec

43

1696

30276

173

0.57

Jan

44

—

—

143

—

Feb

45

—

—

292

—

Mar

46

—

—

336

—

Apr

47

—

—

382

—

May

48

—

—

428

—

June

49

—

—

307

—

July

50

—

—

334

—

Aug

51

—

—

414

—

Sep

52

—

—

510

—

Oct

53

—

—

544

—

Nov

54

—

—

565

—

Dec

55

—

—

434

—

Jan

56

—

—

473

—

Feb

57

—

—

480

—

Mar

58

—

—

522

—

Apr

59

—

—

477

—

May

60

1968

45470

544

1.2

Table

2

Yearly food

CONVERSION IN THE MUGGER

Age in

Growth

Growth

Total

TBLG

WG

months

in length

in weight

food

X

X

(TBLG

(WG

(TF

100

100

cm)

Kg)

Kg)

TF

TF

Hatching

to

1 year

26.3

0.685

5.49

479.0

12.4

1-2

year

39.8

6.240

27.15

146.5

22.9

2-3

year

54,2

12.344

73.14

74.1

16.8

Total for

3 years

120.3

19.269

105.78

113.7

18.2

3-5

years

48.5

26.126

259.92

18.6

10.0

Total for

5 years

168.8

45.395

365.7

46.1

12.4

The length and weight at hatching have been
considered as 28 cm and 75 gm respectively.

421

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

vegetable matter in the stomach are given by
D’Abreu 1915 (14 paddy grains), Simcox
1905 (lilly stalks), and Abdulali 1938 (fallen
fruits of Ficus glomerata) . Faecal matters
were examined in the field by Whitaker
(1978) in the Gir and Vijaya (1981) at Satha-
nur. Whitaker saw remains of cattle egret
feathers, fish scale and water snake, and
Vijaya saw “feathers”. In the Satkoshia Gorge
I had seen the pug marks of a mugger, about
3 m long walking up and down the river bank
to a distance of about 50 m away from water
where remains of a giant squirrel were lying.
With B. C. Choudhury and trainees of Central
Crocodile Breeding and Management Train-
ing Institute, Hyderabad, I was in Manjira in
Andhra Pradesh during December 1981, when
in the evenings we had seen hatchling mugger
feeding on insects attracted to the beam of
light from our spot-lights.

As shown in Table 2, for every 100 Kg of
food (here predominantly fish and prawn) the
growth were 113.7 cm and 18.2 Kg during
the first 3 years, and 46.1 cm and 12.4 Kg
during the first 5 years. It will be extremely

Gharial Research and
Conservation Unit,

Tikerpada 759 122,

Orissa, India,

June 7, 1982.

interesting to watch for the results of current
studies done elsewhere on the species and
compare the above conversion rates obtained
for a predominantly fish-prawn diet with rates
for other diet. The experience in captive rear-
ing is that through a change from a monoton-
ous diet certain osteological problems can
be rectified at an early stage, the results of
current studies will also enable in selecting an
economic diet with high conversion rate and
no morphological or physiological complica-
tions. This is very important for a country like
India which through a rigorous conservation
phase is optimistically looking forward to a
commercial phase. Besides, the studies will be
of considerable academic significance when
information for different species are available.

Ack nowledge m en ts

I wish to record my gratitude to the Orissa
Forest Dept., Govt, of India, U.N.D.P. and
F.A.O. for provision of help and facilities of
different kinds. B. C. Choudhury provided
useful suggestions and information.

L. A. K. SINGH1

References

Abdulali, H. (1938): The food of the mugger
( Crocodylus palustris). J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,
40:336.

Acharjyo, L. N. & Mohapatra, S. (1978):
Return of the captive marsh crocodile ( Crocodylus
palustris ) into the wild. Indian Forester, 104(5):
385.

Indian mugger crocodile ( Crocodylus palustris

Lesson) from Tamilnadu. South India. British J.
Herpetol.

Choudhury, B. C. & Bustard, H. R. (1982) :
Restocking mugger crocodile Crocodylus palustris
Lesson in Andhra Pradesh: evaluation of a pilot
release. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 79(2) : 275-289.

D’Abreu, E. A. (1915): Note on the mugger,
Crocodylus palustris : contents of their stomachs,

Bustard, H. R., Singh, L. A. K. & Choudhury,
B. C. (in press) : Growth in three populations of

xPresent address: National Chambal Sanctuary.

P. O. Box 11, Morena 476 001. (M.P.),

422

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

folklore, etc. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 23(4) : 780.

Krishnamurthy, D. R. (1951) : Angling for
crocodiles with hook and line in Krishnarajasagar
Reservoir. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 50(1) : 181-182.

McCann, C. (1935): The mugger ( Crocodylus
palustris Lesson) feeding on large water beetles
(Cy bister sp.). J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 38(2) :
409.

— (1940) : A reptile and amphibian

miscellany. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 41(4): 742-
747.

Pitman, C. R. (1913a): The contents of a marsh
crocodile’s ( Crocodylus palustris) stomach. J. Bom-
bay nat. Hist. Soc., 22(3) : 641 .

Pitman, C. R. (1913b): Marsh crocodile (Croco-
dylus palustris) killing a panther (Felis pardus). J.
Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 22(3) : 641.

Shortt, W. H. O. (1921): A few hints on cro-
codile shooting. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 28:76-
84.

Sim cox, A. H. A. (1905) : The crocodile; its food
and muscular vitality. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,
16:375.

Vi jaya, J. (1981) : The crocodile rearing project
at Sathanur. Hamadryad 6(2): 3-4.

Whitaker, R. (1978): Notes on the status of
the Gir crocodiles. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,
75(1) : 224-227.

12. STUNTED GROWTH IN CAPTIVE-REARED GHARIAL

Capitive-reared crocodilians are often very
stunted as a result of inadequate husbandry
conditions with consequent delay in attain-
ment of sexual maturity (Bustard 1980). This
situation also obtained with many/most gha-
rial reared in Indian zoos prior to the initia-
tion of the Government of India/FAO/UNDF
Crocodile Breeding and Management Project
in 1975.

Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, pur-
chased two gharial from a dealer on 18
August 1966. Presumably they were freshly

Table 1

Growth of a pair of sub-adult gharial at
Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad (length in m)

Date

Length

Male Female

18-8-66

0.70i

1.0

12-8-79

1.95

2.28

8-1-80

1.97

2.28

20-9-80

1.97

2.28

7-4-81

1.98

2.28

1 The smaller (^younger) individual remained
smaller throughout (Gowhar Ali Khan, pers.
commn.)

caught. At this time they measured 1 m and
70 cm respectively and are known to have
originated from Patna, These invididuals were
measured by us on 12 August 1979 and there-
after at six monthly intervals. The growth data
are given in Table 1.

These individuals were shifted to the State
Crocodile Complex, located within the Nehru

Table 2

Feeding regime January 1980 — January 1981

INCLUSIVE (WEIGHTS IN KG)

Month/year

Food

provided

Dead

fish

removed

Food

consumed

January 1980

10

3

7

February

10

4.3

5.7

March

17

4

13

April

12.5

2.5

10

May

10.5

1.4

9.1

June

10

—

10

July

5.9

—

5.9

August

7.7

0.2

7.5

September

13.5

1.5

12

October

11

—

11

November

10.4

1

9.4

December

12

1

11

January 1981

4

0.5

3.5

423

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Zoological Park, on 8th January 1980 and
thereafter their food consumption is known.
The food fed, together with uneaten food
removed, is given in Table 2 from which
actual food consumption is calculated.

During the period August 1979 to April
1981, the female showed no recordable growth,
and the male increased by only 3 cm.

These data are important as they indicate
continuation of stunted growth even after re-
housing and provision of a good, regular, fish
diet.

The accommodation of these gharial prior
to the transfer to the complex was in an
enclosure with a 7 x 3 x 0.5 m deep pool with
a 2 m land surrounding where they were
housed together with three mugger crocodiles
of 2.7, 2.3 and 1.6 m. all males. When housed
in this enclosure the gharial used to enter the
pool only when the mugger were on land.
For the larger part of the day both gharial
were at one comer of the enclosure. During
the winter months, however, they started
moving in the pool as the mugger occupied a
burrow which they had dug under the wall.

The animals were fed once weekly with 2
kg of live fish and 5 kg of beef (which gharial
do not take). The gharial fed only on the live
fish not eaten by the mugger, as they were
victims of the more aggressive mugger parti-
cularly during feeding times.

Following transfer to the complex the gha-
rial were housed in a yearling pool measuring
5 x 4 x 1 m deep with a land area of 1.5 m
surrounding the pool. They seldom /never
basked.

Gharial hatch in June and at the time of
obtaining these (August) the 70 cm individual
was clearly a yearling being then 13-14 months
old, and the 1 m individual was most likely
to be 25-26 months old. Hence in 1979 these
animals were 14-15 years old. Bustard and

Singh (1980) provided growth data on young
gharial at the Gharial Research and Conser-
vation Unit, Tikerpada, Orissa, for their first
4\ years of life. At three years their length
averaged 218 cm with a range of 193-222 cm.
Hence the two Nehru Zoological Park gharial
at 14-15 years old were only the size of three
year-olds showing normal growth. In croco-
dilians attainment of sexual maturity is size-
related. The male, the sex of which was con-
firmed by cloacal probing and extrusion of the
penis, which measured 4 cm, showed no signs
of ghara development at a length of 1.98 m.

These data represent the most complete in-
stances of stunted growth in the gharial known
to us.

The male died on 8-4-1981 due to unknown
causes being in good health the previous day.
Dissection confirmed it to be completely sex-
ually immature.

We also have growth data for two gharial
reared at the Madras Snake Park between
1974-1976. Growth data for these two indi-
viduals, which also showed stunted growth are
shown in Table 3. An individual measured 82
cm in June 1974 and should have attained
about 110 cm in February 1976, (it was 96

Table 3

Growth of two gharial at Madras Snake Park,
Tamil Nadu (length in cm)

Date

Length

Individual 1 Individual 2

9-6-74

82.5 —

13-11-74

82.0 —

5-3-75

— 132*

9-5-75

92.5

132

22-2-76

96

135

* Obtained same day from Ahmedabad Zoo.
Note: Both individuals are thought to be females.

424

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

cm) and the individual which measured 132
in March 1975 after a year should have mea-
sured 180-190 cm instead of a virtually un-
changed length of 135 cm.

It is interesting to compare the growth rates
in Orissa, at Nandankanan Biological Park,
the only place to successfully breed gharial in
captivity (Bustard & Maharana 1980). The
male measured 135 cm in March 1963 (when
it was considered to be 33 months old (Singh
1978) after 10 years it measured 2.5 m. Juve-
nile growth data recorded on a large number
of gharial, at the Gharial Research and Con-
servation Unit, Tikerpada, also in Orissa, Bus-
tard & Singh (1980) indicated that this growth
was obtained on an average in two years at
the time the gharial were 4 years old. Whereas
the above male at Nandankanan showed an
annual growth rate of 11.5 cm/year, the Tiker-
pada individuals were growing over the same
size range at an average of 53 cm/year, or

Crocodile Project,

Nehru Zoological Park,

Hyderabad 500 264.

Central Crocodile Breeding &

Management,

Training Institute,

Raj ENDRAN AGAR ROAD,

Hyderabad 500 264,

July 19, 1981.

R E F E 1

Biswas, S., Acharjyo, L. N. & Mohapatra, S.
(1978) : A note on the proturbance or knob on the
snout of the male gharial ( Gavialis gangeticus
(Gmelin)). /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 74(3): 536-
539.

Bustard, H. R. (1980) : Captive breeding of
crocodiles pps. 1-20 In The care and breeding of
captive reptiles. S. Townson, N. J. Milichamp,
D.G.D. Lucas & A.J. Mellwood (Eds.). A collec-
tion of papers published by the British Herpetolo-
gical Society.

Bustard, H. R. & Maharana, S. (1980): First
captive breeding of the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).

more than 4\ times the growth achieved at
Nandankanan, where the climate is also simi-
lar to that of Tikerpada. Clearly, therefore,
this Nandankanan male was also stunted, as
were the two females reared with the male
which attained lengths of 2.5-2.65 m at an
age of 12 3:/4 years. In one year between
January 1973 and January 1974 the 2.5 m
male grew by only 6 cm, in two further years
by 14 cm, and then showed no growth at all
in the following year (Biswas, Acharjyo &
Mohapatra 1978). Bustard and Maharana
(1981) provide recent growth data for this
group of gharial now rehoused in the breeding
pool.

Acknowledgement

We thank Mr. R. Whitaker for allowing us
to present growth data for the two juvenile
gharial at the Madras Snake Park.

B. C. CHOUDHURY

H. R. BUSTARD

E N CE S

Brit. J. Herpetol. 6(3) : 106.

Bustard, H. R. & Singh, L. A. K. (1980) :
Growth in the Gharial. Brit. J. of Herpetol. 6(3) :
107.

Bustard, H. R. & Maharana, S. (1981): Fatal
male-male conflict in the gharial, Gavialis gangeticus
(Gmelin) (Reptilia, Crocodilia). J. Bombay nat.
Hist. Soc. 78(1): 171-173,

Singh, L. A. K. (1978) : Ecological studies on
the Indian gharial Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin)
(Reptilia, Crocodilia). Ph.D. Thesis submitted to
the Utkal University, Orissa.

425

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

13. A SPECIAL METHOD OF FISHING FOR JUVENILES
OF MAHSEER (TOR PUT IT ORA) IN THE STREAMS
OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

Besides the traditional methods of catching
the mahseers and other hill stream fishes, some
interesting fishing devices are also practised in
Himachal Pradesh, especially for ‘baiting’
mahseers. The method described in the pre-
sent communication is ingenious and specia-
lised for catching the juveniles of mahseer
(Tor putitora ) and is mainly operated in the
rapid and rocky streams of Western Hima-
layas. Though the method is based on luring
the fish to the bait as described by Motwani
& Srivastava (1961) for ‘garua5 fishing in the
Ganga river system, the operation is quite
different in the fast flowing mountain streams.

The method is quite prevalent in Kangra,
Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts of Himachal
Pradesh. It is effectively operated in the
shallow parts of the streams throughout the
year, except during the rains when the hill
streams are swollen with flood waters. It was
observed that one person, in a single opera-
tion on 3 l-viii-1980, collected 22 mahseer
juveniles from Sheerkhad near Jhanduta in
Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. The
operation was repeated again on the same day
at three spots within 2 km stretch of Sheer-
khad and the number of mahseer collected
ranged from 17 to 32 in two hours. The size
of fish collected by this method ranged bet-
ween 98 and 212 mm.

The success of the operation mainly depends
on the preparation of bait, allurement of fish
to the bait and netting operation. For one
single operation, about 250 gms of maize/
what flour is added to a handful of raw cow-
dung and is soaked thoroughly, so that the
entire mass can be used as bait in the shape
of a ball. The bait in the form of a ball is

then put between stones in knee-deep water
in the stream. To lure the maximum number
of fish, the bait should preferably be kept at
such a place where the gradient of the stream
ends in a deep pool and the stream floor con-
sists of pebbles and small stones.

The penetrating smell of the raw cowdung
used in the bait attracts the fish to the bait.
When a considerable number of fish have been
lured, the person watching the operation from
a distance slowly comes near the spot and quick-
ly covers the bait and its surroundings with a
cast net. The fish thus congregated around the
bait get trapped in the cast net and are
collected. The operation is then repeated at
the various places in the same stream till the
fisherman gets a catch of commercial value.

Though the ‘garua’ fishing in Ganga river
system is also practised by luring the fish, the
operation is quite different. For ‘garua’ fish-
ing the bait prepared from goat entrails, goat
fat, dried cowdung and crude dolphin oil is
quite expensive and is cast in small bits in the
shallow parts of the river, whereas in the
present operation, the bait consisting of raw
cowdung and wheat/maize flour is kept as a
whole in the shape of a ball in the shallow
part of the stream. The netting operation in
the present device is carried out by one per-
son with the help of a cast net (1/2" or 1"
mesh size), while in ‘garua’ fishing drag nets
are used, employing 4 to 6 fishermen in the
operation.

The fact, that only juvenile and young
mahseer, to the complete exclusion of other
hill stream fishes, are caught by this device is
very significant. The method thus assumes

426

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

greater importance when used with a view to lakes in the Indian uplands for the develop-

procure stocking material for the rivers and ment of sport fisheries.

Central Inland Fisheries C. B. JOSHI

Research Centre,

Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, 174 001,

December 19, 1982.

Reference

Motwani, M. P. & Srivastava, C. B. (1961): A (Hamilton) in the Ganga river system. J. Bombay

special method of fishing for Clupisoma garua nat. Hist. Soc. 58 ( 1) : 287-288.

14. OBSERVATIONS ON THE BATHYMETRIC DISTRIBUTION OF
HILSA LARVAE IN MIDDLE STRETCH OF RIVER. GANGA
NEAR ALLAHABAD

(With a text-figure )

Observations on the spawning of Hilsa ilisha
(Hamilton) made by earlier workers in diffe-
rent rivers more or less explain the availabi-
lity of eggs and larvae in surface and sub-
surface layers of water. Karamchandani (1961)
collected eggs and larvae of hilsa from Nar-
mada river with the help of spawn collection
net. Ravish Chandra (1962) used a surface
tow net for collecting hilsa larvae from
Hooghly Estuary. Pillay and Rosa (1963)
observed that hilsa eggs occur in sub-surface
zones, the juveniles inhabit the surface waters
and the later stages move in deeper zones.
But there is no information on bathymetric
distribution of hilsa larvae excepting that of
Ghosh & Nangpal (1968) who have deter-
mined the bathymetric preference of larvae
while making collections with organdie ring
net during winter breeding of hilsa in lower
stretch of River Ganga. According to Ghosh
& Nangpal (op. cit. ) , the larvae are available
in surface and sub-surface layers in a total

water column of 1.3 m but they have not
given further split-up of this range showing
depth limit. While collecting hilsa larvae from
middle stretch of Ganga river, we recorded
bathymetric distribution which has been given
in this communication.

The distribution of hilsa larvae with regard
to different depths was studied by operating
a special net made of mosquito netting (1/16"
mesh), comprising three portions viz., upper,
middle and lower. It was almost like a set of
three spawn collection nets stitched together
vertically. Each of the three cod-ends of the
net was tied to a cylindrical bucket of 12 cm
length and 10 cm diameter, open at both the
ends. The distal ends of buckets were blocked
by a piece of organdie cloth to check the
escape of larvae. Two bamboo poles were
put at the mouth end and the three
buckets, functioning at different depths,
were tied to one pole at the rear end (Fig. 1).
The net was 230 cm in length, 210 cm in width.

427

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 1.

with a height of 50 cm at the mouth end and
was operated in a depth of about 1.5 m.

The data collected on the availability of
hilsa larvae in relation to water depth, during
postmonsoon breeding of 1970 and 1971 at
three centres in the middle stretch of Ganga
river, are given in Table 1. The net was
operated at each centre for a period of 6
hours from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

It is evident from the Table 1 that the
larvae were more commonly encountered in

the collections of upper and middle buckets
thereby indicating their availability in surface
and sub-surface depth ranging from 10 to 50
cm approximately whereas the number of
larvae was insignificant in lower bucket i.e. in
sub-surface depth exceeding 50 cm approxi-
mately.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. V. G. Jhingran, for-

428

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Table 1

Availability of hilsa larvae in relation to water depth. (Bathymetric distribution

OF HILSA LARVAE)

SI.

No.

Date

Number of Larvae

Depth of operation (cm)

Upper

Middle

Lower

Upper

Middle

Lower

1.

23-10-70

12

6

Nil

18

32

58

2.

»

25

15

Nil

25

52

80

3.

99

31

14

3

22

42

68

4.

3-11-70

46

20

7

20

32

52

5.

19-11-70

17

9

Nil

24

48

75

6.

26-11-70

15

2

Nil

27

55

85

7.

26-10-71

1400

2250

25

20

40

65

8.

29-10-71

28

55

Nil

20

36

64

9.

30-10-71

1500

2700

20

25

50

83

10.

3-11-71

60

35

Nil

20

33

49

11.

4-11-71

75

95

Nil

10

30

48

12.

18-11-71

80

3

Nil

16

30

55

13.

29-9-71

18

10

Nil

20

40

60

14.

7-10-72

21

6

Nil

20

40

60

15.

15-10-72

32

16

3

20

40

60

mer Director, C.I.F.R.I., for his keen interest
in the studies and to Dr. A. G. Jhingran, Head,
R & L Division and Dr. A. V. Natarajan,
Director, C.I.F.R.I., Barrackpore for going

Central Inland Fisheries Research
Sub-station, 24, Pannalal Road,
Allaeiabad 211 002 (U.P.).

All India Coordinated Project on
Reservoir Fisheries, Rihand Dam,

Distt. Mirzapur (U.P.).

Ministry of Food and Agriculture,

Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi- 1,

December 21, 1981.

through the note critically and suggesting im-
provements. Thanks are also due to Shri J. C.
Malhotra, former Head of R & L Division for
his encouragement.

RAVISH CHANDRA

V. R. DESAI

S. K. DAS

429

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

References

Ghosh, A. N. & Nangpal, T. D. (1968) : On the
winter breeding of Hilsa ilisha (Ham.) in the Ganga
River System. Proc. lndo-Pacif. Fish. Court. 13(2) :
132-142.

Karamchandani, S. J. (1961): On the location
of spawning grounds of Indian shad, Hilsa ilisha
(Ham.) in freshwater regions of Narbada river. Curr.

Sci. 30(10): 373-375.

Pillay, S. R. & Rosa, H. jr. (1963) : Synopsis of
biological data on Hilsa ilisha (Ham.) 1822. FAO
Fisheries Biology Synopsis No. 25.

Ravish Chandra (1962) : Preliminary account of
the distribution and abundance of fish Larvae in the
Hooghly Estuary. Indian J. Fish. 9, A(l) : 48-70.

15. OCCURRENCE OF COMMON CARP (CYPRINUS CARPIO) IN

TROUT WATERS

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) was in-
troduced and retained in a tank at the Trout
farm, Mahili (Katrain), Kulu valley of Hima-
chal Pradesh, on the left bank of river Beas.
This was during the years 1958-1962. The fish
were disposed of and attempts to culture them
abandoned after finding poor prospects of
breeding and growth in the cold waters. Only
one breeding was managed in a spring-water
fed tank at a temperature of 17.5°C. There
was no trace of the fish or its progeny left
thereafter, as the farm tanks had been com-
pletely cleaned and dried several times and the
water supply cut off several times for long
periods during the gap of 17 years.

Another private farmer on the right bank
of the river Beas attempted the culture of
common carp in 1969 after converting a marsh
fed on spring water, in a temperature range
18°C-22°C which he has continued to pros-
pect.

A strange occurrence took place during
July- August this year. Three Common carps
were caught in the torrential Beas (temp.

District Fisheries Officer,

P. O. Katrain 175 129,

District Kulu,

Himachal Pradesh,

November 24, 1981.

range 6°C-14°C) which sometimes flows at
above 3 metres per second velocity
by a trout angler using dough and
turmeric bait. During the same month another
Common carp 24 cm long was collected from
a drying-down channel of the same trout farm
at Katrain from where the fish had been com-
pletely disposed of 17 years ago. The fish when
collected was in a melanic form. After collec-
tion, this was transferred to a spring water
source at 17.5°C temperature. Within a fort-
night the fish reverted to its natural colour.

It is certain that the fish had travelled at
least 3 kilometres in the torrential, cold Beas
and crossed to the other side to reach the site
where it was collected, besides the journey it
must have performed in the river course. The
Common carp is thought to be a fish of hill
impoundments, but its occurrence under such
torrential conditions has not been observed
earlier.

I shall be greatly obliged if readers kindly
write to me if any such occurrence of Common
carp has been observed or reported to them.

S. B. RAIZADA

430

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

16. NEW RECORDS OF APHIDS (HOMOPTERA: APHIDIDAE)
FROM SIKKIM, NORTH EAST INDIA

Raychaudhuri (1980) reported 404 aphid
species under 155 genera from northeast India.
Out of these Sikkim, the smallest state in the
region, had 134 species under 71 genera. Fur-
ther exploration of the state has revealed the
occurrence of another 27 species under 26
genera reported here as new records from
Sikkim.

As a result of this study the aphid fauna
of Sikkim is now known to be 161 species under
84 genera. These include 24 endemic species.
Specimens of the reported species are presently
in the collection of Entomology Laboratory,
Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta.

Subfamily Aphidinae
Tribe Aphidini

Aphis paraverbasci Chakrabarti

Aphis paraverbasci Chakrabarti, 1976. Ento-
mon 1(2): 171-174.

Material examined : 4 apterae and 1 alata
from an indet. plant, Lachung (c. 300 m),
6.vi. 1975.

Distribution : India: Himachal Pradesh,

Sikkim.

Schizaphis gramimsm (Rondani)

Aphis graminum Rondani, 1852. Nuova
Ann. Sci. Nat. Bolonga (Ser 3), 6: 10.

Material examined: 1 alata and 2 nymphs
from an indet. grass, Singtam (c. 541 m),
24.xii.1970.

Distribution : Cosmopolitan.

Schizaphis rotnncllventris (Signoret)

Schizaphis rotundiventris (Signoret) : East'op,
1966. A ust. J. Zool. 14: 498.

Material examined : 2 apterae and 2 nymphs
from Cyperus exhalt ans, Singtam (c. 541
m), 27. v. 1970.

Distribution : India: Meghalaya, Sikkim,

South India, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal;
and virtually cosmopolitan.

Tribe Macrosiphini

Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris)

Aphis pisum Harris, 1776. Exposit. English
Insects, London, 66.

Material examined : Many apterae and

nymphs from Pisum sativum, Namchi (c.
1666 m), 21. iv. 1978.

Distribution : Cosmopolitan.

Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus)

Aphis brassicae Linnaeus, 1758. Systema
Nature 1 (10th ed.): 452.

Material examined : 1 aptera, 2 alatae and 2
nymphs from Brassica sp., Tsungthang
(c. 1666 m), 9.vi.l975.

Distribution: India: Himachal Pradesh, Sik-
kim, South India, West Bengal; and vir-
tually cosmopolitan.

Cavariella nigra Basu

Cavariella nigra Basu, 1964. ./. Linn. Soc.
(Zool), 45: 240.

Material examined: 5 apterae, 21 alatae and
6 nymphs from an indet. plant, Lachung
(c. 3000 m), 6.vi. 1975.

Distribution: India: Sikkim, West Bengal.

Capitophoms polygon! Ghosh, Ghosh and
Raychaudhuri

Capitophorus polygoni Ghosh, Ghosh and
Raychaudhuri, 1971. Orient. Insects 5:
326.

Material examined: 1 aptera and 1 nymph
from Polygonum sp., Lachung ( c . 3000
m), lO.vii. 1977.

Distribution: india: Sikkim, West Bengal.

431

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Imdomegoura indica (van der Goot)

Rhopalosiphum indica van der Goot, 1916.
Rec. Indian Mus. 12(1): 1-4.

Material examined : 1 alata from an indet.
plant, Gangtok (c. 1675 m), 19. v. 1975.

Distribution : India: Sikkim, West Bengal.

Indumasonaphis inulae (Ghosh and Ray-
chaudhuri)

Masonaphis ( N eomasonaphis ) inulae Ghosh
and Raychaudhuri, 1972.

Orient. Insects 6: 377.

Material examined : 3 apterae and 22 nymphs
from an indet. plant of Ericaceae, Pho-
dang (c. 1900 m), 15. xi. 1974.

Distribution : India: Meghalaya, Sikkim.

Liosomaphis himalayensis Basu

Liosomaphis himalayensis Basu, 1964. J.
Linn. Soc. { Zool .) 45: 231.

Material examined : 4 apterae and 3 nymphs
from Berberis sp., Lachung ( c . 3000 m),
7.vi. 1976.

Distribution : India: Himachal Pradesh,

Meghalaya, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, West
Bengal.

Macromyzus (Anthracosiphoniella) maculatum
(Basu)

Anthracosiphoniella maculatum Basu, 1969.
Orient. Insects 3: 169.

Material examined : Many apterae and

nymphs from indet. ferns, Mangan (c.
1500 m), 23. v. 1975; Paksyak ( c . 1666
m), 1 .vi. 1975.

Distribution : India: Meghalaya, Sikkim and
West Bengal.

Myzus brevisiphon Basu

Myzus brevisiphon Basu, 1969. Orient. In-
sects 3: 180.

Material examined : 5 apterae and 10 nymphs
from Polygonum alatum, Tsungthang ( c .
1666 m), 14. xi. 1974.

Distribution: India: Meghalaya, Sikkim,

Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.

Oedisiphum soureni Basu

Oedisiphum soureni Basu, 1964. J. Linn. Soc.

{Zool.) 45: 238.

Material examined : 2 apterae and 3 nymphs
from Anaphalis sp., Esungthang (c. 1666
m), 14. xi. 1974.

Distribution: India: Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh,
West Bengal; Nepal.

Semiaphis beraclei (Takahashi)

Semiaphis heraclei (Takahashi) : Takahashi,
1965. Insecta matsum. 28:53.

Material examined: 4 apterae, 2 alatae and
5 nymphs from Schizium sp., Paksyak (c.
1666 m), 4.vi. 1975.

Distribution: India: Meghalaya, Sikkim,

West Bengal; China, Hawaii, Japan;
Korea; Sumatra; Taiwan.

Micromyzus kalimpongensis Basu

Micromyzus kalimpongensis Basu, 1967. Bull.
Ent. 8: 152.

Material examined: 21 apterae, 10 alatae
and 15 nymphs from Elettaria cardamo-
mum, Ringon (c. 1600 m), 9.xi.74.

Distribution: India: Meghalaya, Sikkim,

West Bengal.

Trichisiphonaphis gerberae Ghosh and Ray-
chaudhuri

Trichisiphonaphis gerberae Ghosh and Ray-
chaudhuri, 1972. Orient. Insects 6: 381.

Material examined: 4 apterae and 12

nymphs from Polygonum sp., Gangtok ( c .
1675 m), 15. xi. 1974.

Distribution: India: Meghalaya, Sikkim,

West Bengal.

Vesknlaphis pieridis Basu

V esiculaphis pieridis Basu, 1964. J. Linn. Soc.
{Zool.) 45: 237.

Material examined: 19 apterae and 8 nymphs
from Pieris ovalifolia, Lachung (c. 3000
m), 6.vi.l975.

Distribution: India: Meghalaya, Sikkim.

Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.

432

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Subfamily Greenideinae
Tribe cervaphidini

Sumatraphis celti Takahashi
Sumatraphis celti Takahashi, 1935. Misc.

Zool. Summatrana 97: 3.

Material examined'. 35 apterae and 15
nymphs from Quercus sp., Lingdong (c.
1666 m), 24. v. 1975.

Distribution : India: Meghalaya, Sikkim,

South India, West Bengal; Indonesia.

Tribe Greenideini

Eutrichosiphum arunachali Basu, Ghosh and
Raychaudhari

Eutrichisiphum arunachali Basu, Ghosh and
Raychaudhuri, 1972. Sci. Cult. 38: 494.
Material examined'. 35 apterae, 6 alatae and
4 nymphs from Quercus sp. Gangtok (c.
1666 m), 22. iv. 1975.

Distribution'. India: Arunachal Pradesh,

Sikkim.

Eutrichosiphum takahashii Basu, Ghosh and
Raychaudhuri

Eutrichosiphum takahashii Basu, Ghosh and
Raychaudhuri, 1973. Proc. zool. Soc., Cal-
cutta 26: 95.

Material examined : 13 apterae and many
nymphs from Quercus sp., Dongu Lik (c.
1166 m), 6.xi. 1974.

Distribution : India: Meghalaya, Sikkim.
Greenideoida (Pentatrichosiphum) luteum
(Basu)

Pentatrichosiphum luteum Basu. 1969. Orient.
Insects 3: 183.

Material examined: 3 apterae, 4 alatae and
2 nymphs from Quercus sp., Deorali (c.
1670 m), 16. xi. 1974.

Distribution: India: Meghalaya, Sikkim and
West Bengal.

Mollitrichosiphum shinjii Raychaudhuri,
Ghosh, Banerjee and Ghosh

Mollitrichosiphum shinji Raychaudhuri et al.
1973. Kontyu 41 : 70.

Material examined: 8 apterae and 11

nymphs from Quercus rubra , Sanklang (c.
1000 m), 3 .xi. 1974.

Distribution: India: Sikkim, West Bengal.

Subfamily: Hormaphidinae

Aleurodaphis blumeae van der Goot

Aleurodaphis blumeae van der Goot, 1917.
Contrib. Faune Ind. neerl. 1: 240.

Material examined: 14 apterae and many
nymphs from an indet. plant of Combre-
taceae, Sanklang (c. 1000 m), 3.xi.l974.

Distribution: India: Arunachal Pradesh,

Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal; China;
Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Taiwan.

Ceratovacuna indica Ghosh, Pal and
Raychaudhuri

Ceratovacuna indica Ghosh, Pal and Ray-
chaudhuri. 1974. Proc. zool. Soc., Calcutta
27: 96.

Material examined: 17 apterae and many
nymphs from an indet. bamboo plant, Rin-
gon (c. 1600 m), 26. v. 1975.

Distribution: India: Sikkim, West Bengal.

Subfamily Lachninae
Tribe cinarini

Cinara afrotibialis David and Rajasingh

Cinara afrotibialis David and Rajasingh,
1968. Orient. Insects 2: 103.

Material examined : 6 apterae and many
nymphs from Pinus sp., Namchi (c. 1666
m), 22.x. 1975.

Distribution: India: Himachal Pradesh,

Meghalaya, Sikkim; Thailand; Phillipines.

Tribe lachnini

NippoSachuus pin Matsumura

Nippolachnus piri Matsumura, 1917. T. Coll.
Agric. Taihoku Imp. 1: 382.

433

11

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Material examined : 4 apterae and 16

nymphs from Pyrus communis, Pelling (c.
2080 m)5 15.x. 1974.

Distribution : India: Meghalaya, Sikkim,

West Bengal; Bhutan; Japan; Korea;
Taiwan.

Subfamily Pemphiginae

Asiphoniella cynodositi (Das)

Pemphigus cynodonti Das, 1918. Mem. Ind.
Mus. 6: 153.

Material examined : 4 apterae and 16 nymphs
from Abies sp., Lachung (c. 3000 m),
14. v. 1978.

Department of Life Science,

Calcutta University Post Graduate
Centre,

Agartala, Tripura 799 004.

Distribution : India: Sikkim, West Bengal;

Pakistan.

ACK NO WLEDGE M E NTS

Thanks are due to I.C.A.R. and U.G.C.,
New Delhi for partly financing the work. Offi-
cials of the Dept, of Agriculture, Govt, of
Sikkim deserves thanks for help rendered in
the collection of some of the aphid species re-
ported here. Prof. Y. D. Pande, Head, depart-
ment of Life Science deserve thanks for the
Laboratory facilities extended to the senior
author.

BASANT K. AGARWALA

Department of Zoology, D. N. RAYCHAUDHURI*

University of Calcutta, Calcutta 700 019.

December 4, 1981. * Deceased 1st May, 1981.

Reference

Raychaudhuri, D. N. (1980): ( ed . by) Aphids
of Northeast India and Bhutan. The Zoological So-
ciety, Calcutta. 621 pp.

17. FIRST RECORD OF DIPLACODES LEFEBVREI (RAMBUR)
(ODONATA: LIBELLULIDAE : SYMPETRINAE) FROM NW. INDIA

While working on the un-named Odonata
collections of this Regional Station, I came
across some specimens which on examination
proved to be Diplacodes lefebvrei (Rambur).
These agree practically in all characters with
Fraser’s description (1936) of the species. In
India, the species has hitherto been known
only from the west coast (Fraserpet, Coorg) and
is now being recorded for the first time from
Rajasthan and Gujarat, thus extending its
range further westwards.

Material examined :

Gujarat: 2 cf cf Khari river, Bhuj,

22.10.1964, coll. B. C. Agrawal. Rajasthan:
3 cf Kailana, Jodhpur, 24.4.1962, coll. Survey
party. Desert Regional Station; 2 cT cf Akhai-
raj ji ka talab, Jodhpur, 17.9.1963, coll. Moti
Lai; 1 cf Kuri village, Jodhpur, 25.5.1964,
coll. V. C. Agarwal; 1 <$ Agolai, Jodhpur,

18.9.1964, coll. R. N. Bhargava, 1 cf Agolai,
Jodhpur, 19.8.1965, coll. V. C. Agarwal;
3 cf c? 3 $ Bada talab, Pali, 3.11.1964,

434

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

coll. T. G. Vazirani, 1 cf Hemawas Dam, Pali,
17.10.1978, coll. J. C. Tripathi.

Measurements :

Male: Abdomen 19.00 mm.. Forewing

23.00 mm.. Hindwing 22.00 mm.
Female: Abdomen 17.00 mm.. Forewing

20.00 mm.. Hindwing 20.00 mm.

Zoological Survey of India,

Desert Regional Station,

Jodhpur,

March 5, 1982.

Ack nowledgements

1 am thankful to Director, Zoological Survey
of India, Calcutta for facilities and to Dr. T.
D. Soota, Deputy Director, Desert Regional
Station, Zoological Survey of India, Jodhpur
for encouragement and going through the
manuscript.

R. K. THAKUR

Reference

Fraser, F. C. (1936) : Fauna of British India.

Odonata, 3: Taylor and Francis, London, xi + 461.

18. A NOTE ON THE ODONATA (INSECTA) FROM SIKKIM, INDIA

{With nine text-figures)

Sikkim in the Himalayas has elevations vary-
ing between c. 350 metres and c. 9000 metres.
Hill slopes are often covered with forests but
patches of agricultural fields are also quite
common. As a result of deforestation and other
human activities a vast area is devoid of any
vegetation, where only exposed rocks are visi-
ble. A total of 42 species of Odonata are re-
ported from Sikkim by earlier workers i.e.,
Asahina (1952-53), Fraser (1933, 1934a, 1934b.
1935a, 1935b, 1935c, 1936a, 1936b, 1940a and
1940b), Kennedy (1936), Kiauta (1972 and
1975), Lahiri (1979), Laidlaw (1915, 1917a
and 1971b) and St. Quentin (1970). This study
is based on a small collection of Odonata, of
these seven species and subspecies are reported
for the first time from the area. Intraspecific
variations of some species and subspecies studi-
ed are incorporated in the text.

Family: Euphaeidae

1. Bayadera indica Selys
Material: 1 9, Fatak near Mangan, 12.4.81;

2 cf cf , Khanikhola, 6.7.79 and 2 $ $ Rang-
po, 7.4.1981.

Distribution : Western Himalayas, Meghalaya
and Nepal.

Remarks'. A small minute spine also present
on the superior anal appendages, cubital ner-
vures 1-2 in number, 25 antenodal and 23
postnodal nervures present in forewings and
21 antenodal and 22 postnodal nervures in
hindwings.

Family: Gomphidae

2 Mesogomphus lineatus Selys

Material : 1 c? , 1 $ , Khanikhola, 6.7.79.

Distribution'. Western Himalayas, W. Bengal,
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Nepal
and Burma.

3. Nepogomphus modestus Selys

Material : 2 cf cf , Rangpo, 4.7. 1979.

Distribution'. Western Himalayas, W. Bengal,
Meghalaya. Nagaland, Burma, Malaysia and
Sumatra.

435

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. SO

436

Figs. 1-3. Female of Lyriathemis bivittata (Rambur). 1. Brown stripe markings in
forewing, 2. Brown stripe markings in hind wing, 3. Dorsal view of anal appendages.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Figs. 4-9. Variations in the markings of black stripe in both fore and hindwings of
the male specimens of Palpopleura s. sexmaculata (Fabricius) (4-6 showing variations
in the black stripe markings in forewings, (7-9 showing variations in the black stripe

markings in hindwing).

437

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Family: Aeshnidae

4. Anax immaculifrons Rambur
Material : 1 9, Rangpo, 6.4.1981.

Distribution : Western Himalayas, Pakistan,

British Isles across to Europe, Central Asia
and North Morocco.

Remarks : Specimen attracted towards electric
light. 6 cubital nervures present in forewings
and 4 in hindwings, nodal index —

11-18 | 20-10

h ~

12-12 | 13-11

Family: Libellulidae

5. Lyriathemis biyittata (Rambur)

(Figs. 1-3)

Material: 1 9, Khanikhola, 6.7.79.
Distribution'. Darjeeling, Assam, Burma, Indo-
China and Thailand.

Remarks'. Brown stripe in the forewings ex-
tends upto 6 nervures in subcosta, whole of
cubital nervure (Fig. 1); in hindwing it ex-
tends upto 3rd antenodal nervures in costa,
7 antenodals in subcosta, hypertrigone, 2
cells in cubital nervures; brown marking also
present on the base of hindwings (Fig. 2);

1 cubital nervure present in forewings and

2 in hindwings; discoidal cell traversed only
once in right forewings and hindwings; while
twice in left forewing. Nodal index —

9- | 17-10
— f- —

11-14 | 13-10

Zoological Survey of India,

Calcutta - 700 072,

July 1, 1982.

R E F E

Asahina, S. (1952-53): Dragonflies. In: H. Kihara
(Ed.), Fauna and flora of Nepal Himalayan 1:
291-300. Kyoto Univ.

Fraser, F. C. (1933): Fauna of British India-
Odonata. 1. Taylor & Francis, London, 423.

6. Palpopleura sexmaculata sexmaculata
(Fabr.)

(Figs. 4-9)

Material: 1 9, Martam, 16.7.79; 1 cf, Pagla-
khola, 19.7.79 and 2 cf cf, Rangay, 12.7.79.
Distribution : Western Himalayas, W. Bengal,
Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Malaysia, Indo-China and
China.

Remarks'. Black stripe present in both fore and
hindwings quite variable, even in the speci-
mens collected on same day from Rangay
(Figs. 4-9). Discoidal cells traversed only
once in right forewing while twice in left

5-1 1J | 10J-5

forewing, nodal index — — I

6-8 | 8-6

7. Diplacodes nebulosa (Fabricius)
Material’. 1 cf, Duga, 5.7.79.

Distribution'. Western Himalayas, Madhya
Pradesh, W. Bengal, Penang, Malaya,
Sumatra, Java and Australia.

Remarks’. Only one cubital nervure present in
both the wings, subtrigone entire, discoidal
field begins with two rows of cells, nodal

6-7J | 7J-5
Index — — | —

5-6 | 6-5

Ack nowledgement

We thank the Director Zoological Survey of
Tndia, Calcutta for various facilities.

M. PRASAD
S. K. GHOSH

ENCES

Fraser, F. C. (1934a): The dragonfly fauna of
the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts and Sikkim.
Pt. I. J. Darjeeling nat. Hist. Soc., 8: 161-177.

(1934b) : Fauna of British India-

Odonata. 2. Taylor & Francis, London,: 398.

438

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Fraser, F. C. (1935a): The dragonfly fauna of
the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts and Sikkim.
Pt. II. J. Darjeeling nat. Hist. Soc., 9: 18-31.

(1935b) : The dragonfly fauna of

the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts and Sikkim.
Pt. III. ibid. 9: 70-84.

(1935c): The dragonflies of the

Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts and Sikkim. Pt. IV.
ibid. 9: 111-115.

(1936a): The dragonflies of the

Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts and Sikkim. Pt. V.
ibid. 10: 92-100.

(1936b) : Fauna of British India

— Odonata. 9. Taylor & Francis, London,: 461.

(1940a) : The dragonflies of the

Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts and Sikkim. Pt. VI.
(a). J. Darjeeling nat. Hist. Soc., 14: 112-122.

(1940b) : The dragonflies of the

Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts and Sikkim. Pt.
VI (b): ibid. 14: 145-151.

Kennedy, H. C. (1936) : Protosticta fraseri, a new
species of dragonfly (Fltystictinae, Odonata) from
Assam, India. Proc. R. ent. Soc. Lord., 5: 67-71.

Kiauta, B. (1972) : Scientific results of the Yugos-
lav 1969 Himalaya expedition Odonata. Biol. Vest,
20: 109-119.

(1975): Cytotaxonomy of Dragonflies

with special reference to the Nepalese Fauna II.
Lectures delivered at the Tribhuvan University, Kath-
mandu, Nepal Research Centre, Kathmandu, x-77.

Lahiri, A. R. (1979): Odonata (Insecta) from
different states of North-Eastern India. Orient. In-
sects, 13(1-2): 119-132.

Laidlaw, F. F. (1915) : Notes on Orient dragon-
flies in the Indian Museum No. 3. Indian species of
the legion Protoneura. Rec. Indian Mus., 11: 387-391.

(1917a) : A list of the dragonflies

recorded from the Indian empire with special refer-
ence to the collection of the Indian Museum. Part. I.
Rec. Indian Mus., 13: 23-40.

(1917b): A list of the dragonflies

recorded from the Indian empire with special refer-
ence to the collection of the Indian Museum Part II.
ibid. 13: 321-348.

St. Quentin, D. (1970): Odonata aus Nepal
Khumbu Himal., 5(3): 389-411.

19. NIGER GRAIN FLY, DIOZINA SORORCULA (WIEDEMANN),
A SERIOUS PEST OF NIGER IN CENTRAL INDIA

Narayanan (1961) and Rai (1977) listed the
insect pests infesting niger [Guizotta ahyssinica
(Linn, f.) Cass] in India, important among
which are the safflower caterpillar, Prospalta
( Perigea ) capensis (Guen.); aphid, Uroleucon
compositae (Theobold), semilooper, Plusia
orichalcea (Fab.); surface grasshopper, Chro-
togonus sp. and curculionid beetle, Lixus
brachyrrhinus Boh.

During the survey of insect pests of niger
at Jabalpur, the grain fly, Diozina sororcula
(Wiedemann) (Diptera: Taphretidae) was ob-
served for the first time on niger, infesting
developing grains in the seed capsule. The
female fly lays eggs in the inflorescence in bet-
ween the disc florets. The eggs are creamy
white in colour tapering at one end and mea-
sure 0.81 mm in length and 0.16 mm in width.

The incubation period lasts for 24 to 72 hours.
The freshly hatched maggots bore into the
developing seeds and feed on its contents with-
out disturbing the testa and the seed coat of
the seed. The maggot completes its life-cycle
in a single seed and does not destroy the
neighbouring grains. The infested seed does
not show any external sign of infestation until
the fly emerges out from the seed. Hence,
though a high population of the fly exists
in the field, it becomes difficult to detect the
infestation.

The full grown larva measures 2.2 mm in
length and 1 . 0 mm in width. The larval
period lasts for 7 to 12 days. Pupation takes
place inside the seed coat. The pupal period
lasts for 8 to 15 days. The pupa measures 2.0
mm in length and 1 . 1 mm in width.

439

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. SO

The insect remains active from July to Dec-
ember if the niger crop is available in the
field. It remains most active from September
to November, when the crop of normal sowing
season remains in flowering stage and 15 to
20 per cent seeds were found to be damaged
by the fly. Being a direct pest infesting grains

Department of Entomology,

J. N. Agricultural University,

Jabalpur 482 004,

December 4, 1981.

which are ultimately utilized, it seems to be
more destructive than P. capensis and U. com-
positae which are indirect pests of niger.

I am thankful to the Director, Common-
wealth Institute of Entomology, London for
the identification of the pest.

S. S. JAKHMOLA

References

Narayanan, E, S. (1961) : Monograph of Niger Rai, B. K. (1977) : Pests of Oilseeds crops in India
and safflower. The Indian Central Oilseeds Commit- and their control. Indian council of Agricultural
tee, Hyderabad, pp. 150. Research, New Delhi, pp. 121.

20. OVIPOSITION OF TWO CHIRONOMIDS (DIPTERA) IN THE

LABORATORY

The oviposition of chironomid midges is
little known in comparison to the other aspects
of biology studied in the laboratory (Oliver
1971). There is no record on the oviposition
of chironomids in India and less attention
has been paid to the biological aspects and
oviposition in particular. The present study is
aimed at clarifying oviposition in two Indian
chironomids, Chironomus barbatitarsis Kieffer
and C. f Hit arsis Kieffer in the laboratory. This
study provides some information on the mecha-
nism of oviposition and its behaviour during
oviposition.

A stock colony of the insects was maintained
in the laboratory for study. The gravid females
were allowed to lay eggs in encaged culture
trays — Petridishes containing tap water having
2-3 floating paper strips. As soon as the larvae
emerged, they were transferred to another cage
of similar nature containing water on a bed of
sterilised mud and thin layer of fine sand. The
larvae were fed with ground rabbit chow, fila-

mentous algae. A little amount of Bakers’ yeast
was also used for food. This was repeated for
obtaining the stock culture.

The chironomids laid eggs in masses and
the number of egg masses was one to many.
The egg masses were cylindrical and the num-
ber of which was one but often a second,
though small, was found to be deposited by
the females of Chironomus barbatitarsis. How-
ever, in both the species the egg masses were
provided with suspensory stalk and anchoring
chord. The number of eggs within an egg mass
varied from 400 to 500 in C. barbatitarsis and
150 to 250 in C. filitarsis. The eggs in the
masses were oriented in a spiral fashion in the
former and in 5-6 longitudinal rows in the
latter species. The ovipostional behaviour was
studied in the following three phases and both
the species showed more or less similar pattern
of behaviour.

Preovipositional behaviour — As soon
as the females were released in the cages

440

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

in the laboratory, they were seen to perform
a very short flight after which some of them
took their position on the wall of the cage.
About 40% of the females rested on the floor
of the cage while others were seen to wander
inside the cages. The pet ridishes/ pots in the
culture were provided with water having some
floating paper strips. The insects remained as
such for 20-50 minutes after which most of
them approached the petridishes and the others
remained on the wall and floor of the cage
where some of them ultimately died. The chiro-
nomids near the culture pots were seen to
move a little for about 10-20 minutes and then
rested on the floating strips of paper or at the
edges of the dishes or over the water surface.
Some individuals were noticed to return to the
net or the floor of the cage without laying the
eggs. These females died after 2-3 days which
were recorded to be their life span.

Behaviour during oviposition : At the onset
of oviposition the genitalia was placed over
water and the hind legs were set apart. Imme-
diately before release of eggs the insects moved
a few steps forward so that the egg mass
remained attached to the floating papers. The
individuals remaining near or at the edges of
the pots also placed their genitalia just on the
upper water level and laid their egg masses
approximately 0.5 mm above the water sur-
face. A few females floating over the water
deposited the egg masses there in water and
little movements of legs and antennae were
observed.

Postovipositional behaviour : As soon as the
oviposition was completed most of the females
returned to the wall or floor of the cage within
2-3 minutes after oviposition. Some of them

Department of Zoology,

University of Burdwan,

Burdwan 713 104,

December 1, 1981.

remained quiet and a few were often seen to
perform little flight in captivity. As such the
chironomids lived for 2-3 days (C. barbatitar-
sis) and 1-2 days (C. filitarsis) after which the
insects died. Vigorous movements of the chiro-
nomids were noticed before death of the indi-
vidual. The remaining females which were still
on the paper strips even after egg deposition
also remained quiet or sometimes showed short
leaping movements over the sites. Finally, they
died on the water surface with the eggs carried
on the legs. These insects were found to last
for 2-10 hours only. The insects with the egg
masses stuck to the body were seen to sink in
the water.

As reported by Macan (1961) the selective
oviposition behaviour occurred in a number of
aquatic insects and the present Chironomus
spp. were not an exception. According to
Curry (1956), Dyson & Lloyd (1936) and
Fryer (1959) chironomids preferred floating
objects for egg deposition which did agree with
our observations made during this study. In
addition to those, it was noticed that the laying
of eggs also took place over the water without
any object and at the edge of the water. The
species of Chironomus oviposited in between
18-23 hours and they exhibited dial periodicity
in respect to egg laying. The time of oviposi-
tion was therefore marked from the evening
to midnight and sometimes also in the dawn
and at dusk.

Sincere thanks are due to Prof. Ole A.
Saether, University of Bergen (Norway) for
kindly going through the manuscript and to
the Head of the department of Zoology for
laboratory facilities.

P. K. CHAUDHURI
S. K. NANDI

441

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

References

Curry, L. L. (1956) : Notes on the ecology and
Taxonomy of the midge, Tendipes ( Tendipes ) stae-
geri (Lundback). Ent. News. 67: 225-236.

Dyson, J. E. B. & Lloyd, D. S. C. (1936): The
distribution of early stages of Metriocnemus longi-
tarsis Goet. (Chironomidae) in sewage bacteria beds.
Proc. Leeds phil. lit. Soc. 3: 174-176.

Fryer, G. (1959): Lunar rhythm of emergence,

differential behaviour of the sexes and other pheno-
mena in the african midge, Chironomus brevibucca
(Kief.). Bull. ent. Res. 50: 1-8.

Macan, T. T. (1961) : Factors that limit the range
of freshwater animals. Biol. Rev. 36: 151-198.

Oliver, D. R. (1971) : Life history of the Chiro-
nomidae. A. Rev. Ent. 16: 211-239.

21. LIFE HISTORY, EPHIPPIA DEVELOPMENT, CYCLOMORPHOSIS
AND TEMPERATURE EFFECT ON LIFE CYCLE IN DAPHNIA
LUMHOLTZI SARS (CLADOCERA: DAPHNIDAE)

(With two plates & a text-figure)

Introduction

Fish production in aquatic ecosystem de-
pends largely upon the secondary link in the
aquatic food chain, which constitutes impor-
tant fish food organisms. Cladocerans are the
main components of this phase of organic pro-
duction which have nutritional values for the
growth and production of fish. Although the
importance of Cladocera as fish food, both for
fry and adults, has been stressed by different
workers (Alikunhi 1952, Pennak 1953, Hutchin-
son 1967, Kanaujia 1979), only scanty infor-
mation is available on their seasonal abun-
dance, life-cycle, cyclomorphosis and sexual
reproduction in natural freshwater environment
in tropical regions. In India, Michael (1962),
Murugan (1973, 1975), Murugan & Sivarama-
krishnan (1975, 1976), Navaneethakrishnan &
Michael (1971), and Kanaujia (MS) have
studied the life cycle, biology and seasonal
abundance of various species of Cladocera.
Observations made on the life-cycle, including
effect of seasonal temperature, ephippial deve-
lopment and cyclomorphosis in Daphnia lum-
holtzi under laboratory and field conditions,
and results obtained are presented in this paper.

Material and method

Daphnia lumholtzi collected from a fish pond
at Cuttack, India (Long. 85°52'E, Lat. 20°
29 'N) was used for the study. An egg-bearing
female was reared separately in 1 -litre beaker
with the same pond water. Newly released
young ones were reared individually in 20
beakers of 100 ml capacity filled with pond
water filtered through No. 25 Nylobolt silk
cloth. The filtered pond water contained minute
nannoplankters. ( Chlorella sp., Scenedesmus
sp. and Tetraspora sp.) besides detritus, which
served as food for the reared specimens. Water
in the beakers was changed once every 24
hours. Observations were recorded on dura-
tion of each instar, length increment at each
instar, total number of instars, number of young
ones in each brood, total life span and water
temperature.

For the study of different stages of embryo-
nic development a hundred egg-bearing females
were reared in a 10-litre glass jar. The deve-
loping embryo was dissected out of the brood
sac and various stages were photomicrographed.

Another set of experiments was conducted

442

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

to study the influence of temperature on the
life cycle.

Some possible studies were made on Cyclo-
morphosis and ephippial development through
culturing the specimens in 10-litre glass jars
filled with tap water and fed with cowdung
solution (500 and 1000 ppm) and others with
pond water.

Observations

D. lumholtzi thrive well on fine organic de-
tritus as well as phytogroup of nannoplankton
( Scenedesmus sp., Chlorella sp. and Tetra-
spora sp.) available in the pond. Their multi-
plication continued with the availability of re-
quired food. After a few days the density de-
clined gradually and the pond water became

//VS7V4 r number

Fig. 1. (A) Instar number and eggs per brood, (B) Progressive growth increment at
each instar, and (C) Fluctuation in instar duration in Daphnia lumholtzi at 18°-26°C.

443

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

clear from its original greenish colour. The
same was observed in glass jars with tap water,
cowdung solution and also water media con-
taining Tetraspora.

Cyclomorphosis :

The specimens collected from the pond water
at 16°-20°C water temperature had
long anterior rostrum (0.73 mm) and poste-
rior tail spine (0.76 mm) during December -
February. When the same specimens were rear-
ed in jars, the rostral spine in most of the
specimens atrophied and disappeared. In
the newly hatched young reared in 100 ml
beaker for the study of life-cycle the rostrum
also got reduced after a few instars.

Life history :

The female laid eggs inside the brood pouch.
Just after the last pre-adult instar, the newly
released eggs assumed round shape. Subse-
quent development passed through eight em-
bryonic stages as described by Green (1965)
in the case of Daphnia magna. Liberation of
young apparently preceded every moulting.

Various stages in the embryonic develop-
ment of D. lumholtzi are as follows :

1. Early stage :

a) Early: The egg spherical with translucent

peripheral zone of green granu-
lated cells (Plate I- A).

b) Late : Central region of the egg shows

yellow fat cells. Both the outer
egg membrane as well as inner
naupliar membrane (Plate I-B).

2. Middle stage :

a) Early. Embryo well elongated antero-
posteriorly surrounded by egg
membrane (Plate I-C, D).

3. Late stage :

a) Early : Distinct dark eyes formed; the

cervical depression conspicuous
(Plate I-E, F).

b) Late : Embryos reach maximum length;

paired eyes overlapping each
other and finally fused; develop-
ment of alimentary canal com-

Table 1

Mean length, number of eggs /brood, duration

OF EACH INSTAR IN HOURS, CUMULATIVE DURATION
OF EACH INSTAR IN HOURS AND CUMULATIVE FRE-
QUENCY OF EGGS IN EACH INSTAR IN D. lumholtzi

AT 18°-26°C.

In-

star

num-

ber

Mean

length

mm

Number
of eggs
pro-
duced

Total
number
of eggs
pro-
duced

Duration
of each
instar
(h)

Cumu-
lative
duration
of each
instar
(h)

1

0.90

—

—

39

39

2

1.25

—

—

45

84

3

1.33

—

—

47

131

4

1.78

—

—

54

185

5

1.93

7

7

60

245

6

2.09

13

20

55

300

7

2.18

16

36

52

352

8

2.21

16

52

48

400

9

2.24

22

74

50

450

10

2.27

26

100

51

501

11

2.29

19

119

44

545

12

2.30

18

137

49

594

13

2.31

17

154

50

644

14

2.33

20

174

47

691

15

2.33

20

194

45

736

16

2.34

18

212

48

784

17

2.35

12

224

48

832

18

2.37

11

235

53

885

19

2.38

8

243

66

951

20

2.39

12

255

83

1034

21

2.40

13

268

65

1099

22

2.41

13

281

48

1147

23

2.41

12

293

50

1197

24

2.41

8

301

46

1243

444

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc 80 Plate I

Kanaujia: Daphnia lumholtzi

A. Spherical egg with granulated cells (0.19 mm).

B. Spherical egg with the central circular area surrounded by granular cells (0.19 mm).

C. Elongated embryo with head rudiment, cleaved cells extending into the cephalic
region (0.24 mm).

D. Embryo with head lobe and antennae (0.26 mm).

E. Elongated embryo with distinct head and limbs (0.76 mm).

F. &G. Late stage embryo with dark eyes and cervical depression (0.28 mm).

H. Newly hatched young one (0.76 mm).

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate II

Kanaujia: Daphnia lumholtzi

A. Parthenogenetic female with eggs inside brood chamber and long rostrum but
without tail spine — from pond water (2.61 mm).

B. Female with ephippia development, without rostrum from jar (0.94 mm).

C. Female with long rostrum and tail spine — from pond (2.28 mm).

D. Female with completely developed ephippia and long rostrum — from pond
(2.44 mm).

E. Ephippium after moulting (1.15 mm).

F. Ephippial eggs with secondary inner membrane (hand sketch) (0.71 mm).

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Table 2

Comparative data on life cycle of 6 species of Cladocera

Name of the species
Temperature range

Daphnia

lumholtzi

18°-26°C 24°-28°C

Cariodaphnia
cor nut a

16°-25°C 18°-31°C

Simoce-

phalus

acutiro-

stratus

28°-30°C

Daphnia

carinata

28°-31°C

Moina

micrura

28°-30°C

Scapho-

leberis

kingi

28°-30°C

Number of pre-adult
instars

4

3

2

2

4

5

2

2

Number of adult instars 20

18

17

25

18

8

11

17

Average eggs per
brood

15.05

10.44

10.1

6.2

13.7

17.8

5.6

14.8

Range of eggs
per brood

7-26

5-23

1-18

1-13

9-27

4-35

3-8

4-21

Total eggs produced

301

188

172.5

150.9

248

142.4

62.2

239.4

Average in star
duration (h)

51.79

48.47

53.75

27.55

48.63

44.3

24

26.47

Range of instar
duration (h)

39-83

24-76

37-71

20-34

27-72

_

24

24-38

Average duration of
embryonic develop-
ment (h)

52.51

50.38

53.75

29.83

46

40.8

24

24.0

Mean length (mm)

2,41

2.41

0.76

0.76

3.20

3.80

1.008

0.92

Cumulative duration of
total instar (h)

1243

1018

1109.4

746

1071

576

312

493.6

Total life span
(days)

54

44

46

31

44

24

13

20.5

pleted; appendages distinct;
elongated pointed rostrum clearly
seen (Plate I-F, G).

After complete development, the embryo
hatches out from brood chamber resembling
the adult in all respects (Plate I-H). The ante-
rior rostrum in the newly hatched young one
measured 0.19 mm and the characteristic tail
spine 0.57 mm. The young one measured 0.76
mm excluding the two spines and reached
adult stage after passing 3-4 pre-adult instar.

Ephippial development :

Ephippium in D. lumholtzi is observed in
crowded populations after parthenogenetic
breeding slows down. The postero-dorsal cara-

pace becomes modified into a specially thick
dark envelope in which the resting eggs lie and
these become distinct from the rest of the exu-
vium to form the ephippium (Plate II-B, D, E).
Its development starts with a small transparent
patch which — increases in size, forming a
honeycombed structure (Plate II-B). A pair
of dark green elongated eggs could be seen
clearly (Plate II-F).

After release of a pair of eggs by the female,
a male D. lumholtzi which is smaller in size,
was observed to get attached to the female,
with its posterior part of the body. The honey-
comb-shaped ephippium assumed white trans-
parency initially and then turned brown to
black (Plate II-E). It gets thickened and the

445

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

eggs were completely enclosed. The ephippium
had two coverings in which the resting ferti-
lized eggs lay — the outer one thick and black
and the inner a translucent and thin membrane
which could be taken out along with the paired
eggs by gently pressing the ephippium (Plate
II-F).

Effect of temperature :

Temperature was found to influence life cycle
of D. lumholtzi. The instar duration (51.79
hrs), total number of eggs produced (301),
average number of eggs per brood (15.05)
and total life span (54 days) were found to
be more at 18°-26°C as compared to the 24°-
28°C (Table 2).

Discussion

Present study of life cycle of D. lumholtzi
indicates that the animal passes through an
average of 3-4 pre-adult instars, 20 adult in-
stars and a total of 301 eggs are produced in
a life span of 54 days at a water temperature of
18°-26°C which has shown close similarity
with other daphnids (Table 2). Studies on pre-
adult instars have been made by Michael
(1962), Murugan (1975), and Murugan &
Sivaramakrishnan (1976) in species which have
two pre-adult instars and others with more
than two pre-adult instars (Murugan &
Sivaramakrishnan 1973, Navaneethakrishnan &
Michael 1971, Anderson 1932, Anderson et al.
1937 and Anderson & Jenkins 1942). D. lum-
holtzi falls under the second group. It may
appear that the smaller species which have
two pre-adult instars mature earlier than the
larger species, C. cornuta, M. micrura and S.
kingi (Table 2).

D. lumholtzi has close similarity with other
cladocerans — where the first adult instar has
longer instar duration (63 hours) during which

the females are premiparous, and duration of
this adult instar is distinctly longer than the
longest pre-adult instar (52 hours) (Table 1).
However, this phenomenon was found almost
to be different from the observations of Muru-
gan & Sivaramakrishnan (1976) and Murugan
(1975) where both the instars have similar
duration (Table 2).

The progressive increase in size of the indi-
viduals at each instar was found to be rapid
during pre-adult phase and gradual in the re-
productive phase, indicating similar growth be-
haviour as studied in other cladocerans. How-
ever, Green (1956) reported that in many
cladocerans the maximum growth was in early
pre-adult instars. The rate of growth per instar
is said to be correlated with the food supply
(Hutchinson 1967).

The ephippial eggs in D. lumholtzi appear
with crowding; specimens were observed with
ephippium along with the parthenogenetic
females with few eggs inside brood chamber.
Lack of food indicated by the clarity of water
appears to result in sexual reproduction. It is
interesting to note that when the ephippial
female was removed from a crowded population
and kept in a beaker with sufficient food the
ephippium was cast out along with the moult
and the same female started developing eggs
parthenogenetically. Pennak (1953), Banta &
Wood (1939), Berg (1931), Brandt & Fernan-
do (1971), Santharam et al (1977) and Michael
(1962) have reported that the ephippial deve-
lopment is influenced by the crowding of the
mothers in a small amount of culture medium
or by chilling the culture medium.

Cyclomorphosis is the seasonal polymorphism
exhibited by successive generations of plank-
tonic organisms throughout a year. D. lumholtzi
indicated its prominent seasonal variations
particularly in helmet. The long rostral spine
(Plate II- A, C.D) while present in pond water

446

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

conditions was absent in jars containing tap
water with cowdung solution, thereby indicating
the influence of environmental divergent con-
ditions on cyclomorphosis. Several investigators
have given different views on the particular
phenomena and the factors responsible for
cyclomorphosis in Daphnia sp. have been dis-
cussed in detail by Hutchinson (1967), accord-
ing to whom the change in environmental
conditions, such as temperature and food sup-
ply, are the main factors. However, no major
change is observed in the posterior tail spine
of D. lumholtzi.

Present study indicated that the seasonal
water temperature influence instar duration,
number of eggs per brood, egg production and
longevity of animal. Water temperature and
food availability are the main factors for in-
creasing the egg production, life span and in-
star duration as reported by MacArthur &
Baillie (1929), Hall (1962), and Kanaujia (MS)

Riverine Fisheries Research

Unit of C.I.F.R.I.,

1/644 SlDHNATHGHAT,

Buxar (Bihar) 802 101,

April 16, 1981.

Refer

Alikunhi, K. H. (1952) : On the food of young
carp fry. /. Zool. Soc. India, 4 : 77-84.

Anderson, B. G. (1932) : The number of pre-
adult instars, growth, relative growth and variation
in Daphnia magna. Biol. Bull. 63: 81-98.

Anderson, B. G. & Jenkins, J. C. (1942) : A time
study of events in the life span of Daphnia magna.
Biol. Bull. 83: 260-272.

Anderson, B. G., Lumera, H. & Zupaneic, L. J.
(1937): Growth and variability in Daphnia-pulex.
Biot. Bull. 73: 444-463.

Aung, Sann (1973) : Experimental studies on cul-
tural possibilities of Daphnia carinata King and
Moina macrocopa macrocopa (Straurs). Ph.D. Thesis,
University of Bombay.

Banta, A. M. & Wood, T. R. (1939) : Studies on

in D. magna, D. galeata mendotae and C.
cornuta.

It is well known that the food of cladoce-
rans consists mainly of algae, protozoa and
organic detritus suspended in water column
and even bacteria (Pennak 1953, Hutchinson
1967). The higher density of D. lumholtzi has
been recorded in ponds having the phyto-group
of nannoplankters such as Scenedesmus, Chlo-
rella, Tetraspora and organic detritus, indicat-
ing their suitability as food for the rapid
growth and multiplication.

Ack nowledgements

I am grateful to Dr. A. V. Natarajan,
Director, Central Inland Fisheries Research
Institute for his kind encouragement, to Shri
R. D. Chakravarty, Shri M. A. V. Lakshaman
and Shri N. G. S. Rao for their interest and
for critically going through the manuscript and
making valuable suggestions.

D. R. KANAUJIA

EN CES

the Physiology, genetics and evolution of some
Cladocera. Carnegie Institution of Washington,
Department of genetics, paper No. 39: 31-81.

Berg, K. (1931) : Studies on the genus Daphnia
O. F. Muller with — special reference to the mode
of reproduction. Vidensk. Medd. dansk. Naturh.
Foren. Kbh., 92: 1-222.

Branot, Z. & Fernando, C. H. (1971): Micro-
aggregation of the Cladoceran Ceriodaphnia affinis
Lilljeborg with a possible reason for microaggrega-
tion of zooplankton. Can. J. Zool. 49(5) : 775.

Green, J. (1956) : Growth size and reproduction
in Daphnia (Crustacea: Cladocera). Proc. zool. Soc.
Lond., 126: 173-204.

(1965): Chemical embryology of Cru-
stacea. Biol. Res. 40: 580-600.

447

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Hall, D. J. (1962) : An experimental approach
to the dynamics of a natural population of Daphnia
galeata mendotae. Ph.D. Thesis. Univ. Michigan
1962.

Hutchinson, G. E. (1967) : A treatise on limno-
logy. Vol. II, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York,
pp. 1115.

Kanaujia, D. R. (1979) : Preliminary observations
on culture and life history of Ceriodaphnia cornuta
Sars, (Cladocera: Daphnidae). Abstr. Symposium
on Inland Aquaculture : 109.

(MS) : Instar duration, Instar

number, egg production and longevity in Ceriodaph-
nia cornuta at two temperature ranges.

MacArthur, J. W. & Baillie, W. H. T. (1929):
Metabolic activity and duration of life I. Influence
of temperature on longevity in Daphnia magna. J.
Exp. zool., 53 : 221-242.

Michael, R. George (1962) : Seasonal events in
a natural population of the Cladocera Ceriodaphnia
cornuta Sars and observations on its life cycle. J.
zool. Soc. India, 14: 211-18.

Murugan, N. (1973): Egg production, develop-
ment and growth in Moina micrura Kurz (1874)

(Cladocera: Moinidae). Freshwat. Biol., 5: 245-250.

(1975): The biology of Ceriodaph-
nia cornuta Sars (Cladocera: Daphnidae). J. Inland.
Fish. Soc. India, 7 : 80-87.

Murugan, N. & Sivaramakrishnan, K. G. (1975) :
The biology of Simocephalus acutirostratus King
(Cladocera: Daphnidae), laboratory studies on life
span, instar duration, egg production, growth and
stages in embryonic development. Freshwat. Biol.,
7: 80-87.

0976):

Laboratory studies on the longevity, instar duration,
growth, reproduction and embryonic development in
Scapholeberis kingi (Sars) (1903) (Cladocera:
Daphnidae). Hydrobiologia, 50(1): 75-80.

Navaneethakrishnan, P. & Michael, George,
(1971): Egg production and growth in Daphnia
carinata King. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 73: 117-123.

Pennak, R. W. (1953): Freshwater Invertebrates
of the United States, Ronald Press, New York.

Santharam, K. R., Navaneethakrishnan, P. &
Krishnaswamy, S. (1977): Microaggregation of

Daphnia carinata King. Arch. Hydrobiol., 80: 398-
399.

22. A NOTE ON THE SETTLEMENT OF FOULING ORGANISMS ON

FIBRE-GLASS BOATS

Copper and aluminium alloy sheathing of
wooden boats below waterline are well known
conventional method for protecting it against
marine wood-borers and foulers, although it
has been reported (Santhakumaran and Pillai
1976) that fouling organisms are capable of
attachment to the toxic substratum provided
even by Copper. Of late, fibre-glass has been
used as a good constructional material for
boat-building, because of its special qualities
like toughness, rigidity, resistance to abrasion
and marine borers and imperviousness to
sea water. Although settling behaviour of foul-
ing organisms on wooden materials as well as
on various protective coatings has been studied
by several workers, experimental work on

the same on fibre-glass surface is very
scanty. It has been observed that ail
the wooden panels, sheathed with fibre-glass,
were free from the attack of marine borers,
even after one year of continuous immersion
at Cochin harbour, although they were covered
by fouling organisms in the same way as any
unsheathed controls (Balasubramanyan 1971).
The only other available literature in India on
the settlement of foulers on fibre-glass is that
of Dehadrai el al. (1975), who gave an ac-
count of the incidence of foulers on fibre-glass-
coated hull of a boat operated in an estuarine
environment. The present note deals with the
intense accumulation of barnacles on fibre-glass
boats, belonging to the Central Institute of

448

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Fisheries Education, Bombay, which were in
operation in the Versova creek.

Of the two boats from which data were re-
corded, one, an 18 footer, was entirely con-
structed of fibre-glass. The other one, of 14 ft.
size is a wooden boat, coated with ‘Torpedo’
marine antifouling paint and the bottom of
which was sheathed at two places with fibre-
glass mat, covering an area of about 4 sq. ft.
each, using a polyster resin. The area to be
covered was first scraped well till the wood
is exposed and this surface was wetted with
the activated resin over which a layer of fiber-
glass mat was fixed and pressed with a hand
brush. Over this, a second layer of mat was
laid, spreading again with more quantity of
resin. Finally, the area was covered with a
finishing mat so as to give a smooth surface.
The boats were in operation in the Versova
creek for a period of only 9 months from
September, 1974 to May, 1975. They were only
sparingly used, for ferrying the fish catch, crew
and other personnel from ‘M. F. V. Harpodon’,
both in the morning and evening, and rest of
the time they were anchored near main vessel.
During the monsoon, they were removed to
the C.I.F.E. Work-shop, offering a chance to
study the fouling settlement on the hull of
these boats.

The fouling intensity was very high. Surpris-
ingly, among the foulers, only barnacles were
noticed. Only Balanus amphitrite was observed
and Chthamalus withersi, which is a very com-
mon species found settling in large numbers to
the stems of living mangrove plants in this
area was conspicuously absent on the hulls.
Probably, the cementing mechanism of Bala-
nus, with its well-formed calcareous basal plate
is more efficient than that of Chthamalus,
where the shell base is membraneous render-
ing it difficult to attach to the smooth fibre-
glass surface. The intensity of the settlement

on the fibre-glass boat and the fibre-glass mat
surface is given in Table 1.

Table 1

Number of barnacles, per square inch, settled
on fibre-glass boat and fibre-glass mat sheathed

HULL.

Number of
observations

Number of barnacles per sq. inch on

Fibre-glass boat

Fibre-glass mat

1

25

33

2

24

28

3

19

27

4

18

26

5

18

26

6

16

25

From Table 1, it can be seen that the inten-
sity of settlement is as high as 25 per sq. in.
(average 20 per sq. in.) and 33 per sq. in.
(average 27.5 per sq. in.) on the fiber-glass
boat and fibre-glass sheathed part of the wooden
boat. The sheathing has also been found damag-
ed and peeled off at many places. The bottom
of the wooden boat coated with antifouling
paint harboured very few barnacles and only
7 to 12 could be counted per sq. ft. (average
10 per sq. ft.).

According to Crisp and Barnes (1954), bar-
nacles show a special preference to grooves and
concavities on a substratum — a behaviour
termed as “rugophilic”, and the cyprids ex-
plore the surface very extensively before
settling, and attachment to plane and smooth
surface occurs only when such grooves and
concavities are crowded. But the heavy settle-
ment on the smooth hull of fibre-glass boat
indicates that this predominant group among
the fouling communities is capable of firmly
attaching even to such a substratum. It is also
interesting to note that, while the settlement on
the fibre-glass sheathing on the wooden boat

449

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

is very high, the same on other parts of the
same boat, coated with antifouling paint is
extremely scanty. The reason is that sheathing
has invariably provided a non-toxic surface,
which has also become comparatively rough
as a result of damage and peeling, facilitating
settlement.

The above observation and the earlier re-
ports indicate that, in spite of its effectiveness
as a protective sustratum against marine wood-
borers, boats, constructed of fibre-glass or
wooden boats sheathed with fire-glass mat, are
prone to heavy fouling. Therefore, such pro-
tective surfaces should be coated with a suit-
able marine antifouling paint to effectively
check the fouling settlement. This is all the
more important, as on boats and ships marine
growth is a serious problem for their efficient
and economic operation. It may be mentioned
in this connection that from experiments it has
been observed that even the smoothest hull
of a ship with aluminium paint provided an

Wood Preservation Centre (Marine),
(Forest Research Laboratory, Bangalore),
C/o. National Institute of
Oceanography, Dona Paula,

Goa-403 004.

Forest Research Centre,

P. O. R. S. Puram,

Coimbatore-641 002,

August 30. 1982.

extra resistance of 6%, and after 24, 30 and
58 days operation, the same was increased to
12%, 24% and 48% respectively, even when
the fouling was light (B.S.R.A. experiment on
the “Lucy Ashton”, Trans. Inst. Naval Arch.,
London, Part I, 40 (1951); Part II, 350 (1950);
Part IV, 525 (1955). Compared to this, the
extra resistance offered by the extent of foul-
ing noticed in the present case will be tremen-
dous and warrants effective antifouling mea-
sures.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Shri Rajan Abraham of
Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Bom-
ay, for his help during the preparation of this
paper and to Shri J. C. Jain of Forest Re-
search Laboratory, Bangalore and to Dr. S. N.
Dwivedi, Director, C.I.F.E. Bombay, for their
keen interest and encouragement during the
course of this study.

L. N. SANTHAKUMARAN

S. R. MADHAVAN PILLAI

References

Balasubramanyan, R. (1971) : Experiments with
fibre-glass sheathing as a protection against marine
wood-boring organisms. Fish. Tech., 5(1) : 60-65.

Crisp, D. J. & Barnes, H. (1954) : The orienta-
tion and distribution of barnacles at settlement with
particular reference to surface contour. J. Anim.
Ecol. 23: 142-162.

Dehadrai, P. V., Parulekar, A. H. & Untawale,

A. G. (1975) : Fouling organisms on fibre-glass coat-
ed hull of a boat in an estuarine environment. J.
Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 72(2 ) : 580-584.

SANTHAKUMARAN, L. N. & PlLLAI, S, R. N. (1976) I
A note on the settlement of marine fouling orga-
nisms on Copper plates. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,
73(3): 550-553.

450

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Malhotra & Basu: Pulicaria petiolaris

Plate I

Pulicaria petiolaris Jaub. et Spach.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

23. PULICAR1A PETIOLARIS JAUB. ET SPACH (ASTERACEAE) —
A NEW RECORD FOR INDIA

( With a plate )

While revising the genus Pulicaria Gaertn.
we came across a few interesting specimens
collected by Duthie and Gamble (1884-1908)
from Kumaon, Tehri Garhwal and Jaunsar,
and lying un-noticed in the Herbaria of the
Botanical Survey of India, Howrah (CAL)
and the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun
(DD). After a critical study and examination
these specimens have been identified as P.
petiolaris Jaub. et Spach. As far as we are
aware, there is no report of its occurrence in
India, and hitherto this species is known to
occur from Arabia and Tropical Africa.

P. petiolaris Jaub. et Spach, 111. PI. Or. 69. t.

344. 1852; Oliver, FI. Trop. Afr. 3: 364.

1877.

Suffruticose, 12-30 cm tall, with herbaceous
branches; branches glandular with appressed
hairs, irregular, divaricate, leafless below, leafy
above. Leaves 1.25-5.0 cm long, 0.7-2 cm
broad, alternate, oval or lanceolate, acute or
subacute, cuneate, or truncate base, denticu-
late, petioles narrowly winged, more or less
dilated at base. Capitula sub-hemispherical,
many flowered, solitary on pedicels, loosely

Botanical Survey of India,

Northern Circle,

Dehra Dun-248 001,

December 1, 1981.

corymbose, radiate, involucral bracts unequal,
imbricate, thinly glandular — pubescent, linear,
acute or subulate, outer successively shorter.
Achenes subfusiform, contracted at apex below
the pappus, thinly pubescent; outer pappus
shorter, inner or deciduous setae, barbellate
above.

Rare on rocky slopes.

Flowers Sc Fruits : Mar.-Nov.

Specimens examined : Tons valley (Tehra
Garhwal), 30.5.1898, Duthie, 21049 (DD);
Khairna (Kumaon), 10.8.1884, Duthie, 3110
(DD); Jaunsar, Tuni, Nov. 1894, Gamble,
15067 (DD) & Jun. 1895. Gamble, 25561
(DD).

Distribution : Africa, Arabia & India.

Acknowledgements

We thank Shri B. P. Uniyal, Botanist, Cen-
tral National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of
India for providing details of specimens and to
the authorities of the Forest Research Institute,
Dehra Dun for permission to consult their her-
barium.

C. L. MALHOTRA
D. BASU

451

12

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

24. THE CORRECT NAME OF ‘MAROTTF PLANT IN VAN
RHEEDE’S HORTUS INDXCUS MALABARICUS

‘Marotti’ plant in van Rheede’s Hortus Indi-
cus Malabaricus (1: 65. pi. 36. 1678) is an
endemic species of Peninsular India, commonly
known in Indian Floras (Hook. f. et Thomas,
in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 1: 196. 1872; Dunn
in Gamble, FI. Presid. Madras 1: 52. 1915)
as Hydnocarpus wightiana Bl. Dennstedt (1818)
in his bibliography to Rheede’s Hortus Indi-
cus Malabaricus (1678-1703) identified
‘Marotti’ as Munnicksia laurifolia Dennst. and
this is the oldest name for the species. Based
on the binomial Munnicksia laurifolia, Sleumer
(Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 69: 33. 1939) proposed the
combination Hydnocarpus laurifolia (Dennst.)
Sleum. and considered it as the valid name for
the species in his revision of the genus Hydno-
carpus Gaertn. (Flacourtiaceae).

According to Rickett and Staffleu (Taxon
10: 80.1961), only those species names in
Dennstedt’s list are valid which are given under
already validly published generic names and
the new generic names coined there are all
‘nomen nuda’ because it is not allowed in the
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
(1976) to validate a combined new generic
and specific binomial by referring it to a pre-
vious publication. In this case both the gene-
ric name Munnicksia Dennst. and the specific
epithet ‘ laurifolia ’ were first coined by Denn-
stedt (1818) by referring the binomial to the
plate ‘Marotti’ in Hortus Malabaricus. Hence
the binomial Munnicksia laurifolia is a ‘nomen
nudum’ at the time of its publication and ac-
cordingly Munitz (Taxon 17: 501.1968) in-
cluded it in the ‘nomen nuda’ list of the names
in Dennstedt’s (1818) Schlussel zum Hortus
Xndicus Malabaricus. Thus Sleumer’s (loc. cit.)
combination Hydnocarpus laurifolia based on

the ‘nomen nudum’ M. Laurifolia is also not
valid.

Francis Hamilton (Trans. Linn. Soc. Lon-
don 13: 501. 1822) described the species
Chilmoria pentandra Ham. based on the plate
‘Marotti’ in Hortus Malabaricus. This bino-
mial is the oldest validly published name for
the plant and based on it, Oken (Allg. Natur-
gesch. 3(2): 1381. 1841) proposed the com-
bination H. pentandrus (Ham.) Oken. Accord-
ing to the International Code of Botanical
Nomenclature (1976), H. pentandrus is a valid-
ly published name and it is the correct one for
the ‘Marotti’ plant in Hortus Malabaricus.
However Oken (loc. cit) included ‘Pangium’
of Rumphius (Herb. Amb. 2: 182. pi. 59.
1741) also as a synonym of Hydnocarpus pen-
tandrus, which is not correct as ‘Pangium’ is
a different plant botanically known as Pangium
edule.

Wight and Arnott (Prodr. 30. 1834) identi-
fied Rheede’s plate ‘Marotti’ as Hydnocarpus
inebrians Vahl, and Dunn {loc. cit.) treated
H. inebrians as a synonym of H. wightiana.
But H. inebrians is an endemic species of Sri
Lanka and it is a different plant from H. pen-
tandra (H. wightiana Bl.) which is confined
to Peninsular India. Thus Hooker and Thom-
son (loc. cit.) were correct in treating H. in-
ebrians Vahl and H. wightiana Bl. as two dis-
tinct taxa. The correct nomenclature of
Rheede’s ‘Marotti’ plant is as given below.

Hydnocarpus pentandrus (Ham.) Oken, Allg.
Naturgesch. 3(2): 1381. 1841. — Chilmoria
pentandra Ham. Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13:
501. 1822. — Hydnocarpus wightiana Bl.

Rumph. 4: 22. 1848, Hook. f. et Thoms, in
Hook. f. FI. Birt. Ind. 1: 196. 1872; Brandis,

452

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Indian Trees 42. fig. 17. 1906; Dunn in Gam-
ble, FI. Presid. Madras 1(1): 52. 1915. — H.
laurifolia (Dennst.) Sleum. in Engl. Bot. Jahrb.
69: 33. 1939; Ramamurthy in FI. Hassan Distr.
164. 1976 — Munnicksia laurifolia Dennst.
Schluess. Hort. Ind. Malab. 13. 1818. c. f.
Hassk. Flora 45: 44. 1862. — H. inebrians
sensu non Vahl; Wt. et Arn. Prodr. 30. 1834;
Wt. Ulus. Ind. Bot. t. 16. 1840.

Botanical Survey of India,

Calcutta-700 016,

October 31, 1981.

Distribution : Western Peninsular India from
South of Maharashtra in evergreen, semi-ever-
green and wet deciduous forests.

Acknowledgement

I am thankful to the Deputy Director, Cen-
tral National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of
India, Howrah for all facilities.

K. K. N. NAIR1

1 Present address : Scientist-D, Kerala Forest

Research Institute, Peechi-680 653, Kerala, India.

25. IDENTITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF AGERATUM
HOUSTONIANUM MILLER (COMPOSITAE) IN INDIA

(With three text-figures)

Babu (1977) has recorded Ageratum hous-
tonianum Miller, so far known from tropical
America, from Dehra Dun, Uttar Pradesh,
and has stated that it is naturalised there. He
has remarked “This may be a cytotype of A.
conyzoides L.”

Bhandari (1978) recorded the species from
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, with citation of a few
specimens. He gave the distribution of the
species in Tamilnadu, Assam and Karnataka
without any reference to specimens. He has
also noted that he is doubtful about the iden-
tity of the species.

Johnson (1971), in his monograph, remarks
“an Ageratum species collected in India must
be A. conyzoides, as this is the only taxon
found beyond the limit of the Western hemi-
sphere.” It is probably due to this remark of
Johnson that the later Indian floristic workers

hesitated to accept A. houstonianum, with
confidence, as an Indian plant.

After a thorough study of the Indian speci-
mens labelled as A. conyzoides in the Calcutta
herbarium, we realised that it is in fact a mixed
lot containing A. conyzoides and A. houstoni-
anum.

The specimens of A. houstonianum have
been sorted out and after critical study with
reference to the American specimens in the
Central National Herbarium, it has been
observed that A. houstonianum is a widely
distributed and naturalised species in India.
It was collected in Assam as early as 1895
and in Punjab as early as 1896. From this it
may be presumed that the species was intro-
duced to India in the last part of the nine-
teenth century and then gradually naturalised
itself spreading all over the country. Being con-

453

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

A. Habit of Ageratum houstonianum Miller drawn from the specimen N. C. Majum-
dar 191.

B. Involucral Bract of A. houstonianum Miller.

C. Involucral Bract of A. conyzoides L.

454

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

fused with A. conyzoides, its occurrence in
India was not known. The species is found in
different states of India. None has so far
recorded the occurrence of the species from
Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, West
Bengal, Delhi and Punjab, which is done here
for the first time.

A. cordi folium Roxb. (1832) from Bengal
refers to the cordate nature of leaf-bases, but
it has involucral bracts exactly like those of
A. conyzoides. So it becomes a synonym of
A. conyzoides.

As mentioned by Johnson, A. houstonianum
is closely related to A. conyzoides as shown
by their similar habit, achenes, pappus, corol-
las and the malodorous nature when fresh,
due to which the two are often confused in
herbaria, botanical gardens and in the field.
However, the combination of ovate leaves with
cordate bases, and narrowly lanceolate, cons-
picuously pilose involucral bracts with stipi-
tate glandular pubescence on the gradually
acuminate apex distinguishes A. houstonianum
from similar species.

To avoid confusion, the contrasting charac-
ters of the two species are tabulated below:

Ageratum houstonianum miller, Gard. Diet.

A. conyzoides L.

Ed. 8, 1768. A. conyzoides Lam. III. Gen. PI.
Bot. 248, PI. 672. 1823. Holotype: Mexico,
Vera Cruz, William Houston s.n. (BM).

Distribution : Antigua, British Honduras,

Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico,
Peru, Sumatra, Java, Madeira, Nepal, India.

India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Delhi,
Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil-
nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.
Chromosome No.: n = 10 (Turner et al. 1962).

Specimens Examined : west Bengal: Dar-
jeeling, 1500 m., 28-4-1965, Santapau 225.
assam: Cinnamond, 26-4-1895, G. Watt

11322; Assam, without precise locality, S. N.
Bal 641; Sonaikushi R. F., south of Nakhola
town, Nowgong, 18-4-64, N. P. Balakrishnan
39231; Dharikati, Assam, 16-2-57, G. Pani-
grahi 5646; Tangla, 24-4-1958, B. K. Nath
13396; Upper Dihing Reserve, 8-7-1959,
G. Panigrahi 18713. Meghalaya: Upper Shil-
long, Khasi hills, 26-11-1956, G. Panigrahi
4727. mizoram : Mizo hills, R. M. Datta
33400. arunachal pradesh: Kameng foot-
hills, 240 m., 22-3-1957, G. Panigrahi 5844.
utter pradesh: Pilibhit 15-9-1972, C. L. Mal-
hotra 50841. Delhi: I.A.R.I., New Delhi,
March 1950, Sewa Singh 12; Punjab: Gagret,

A. houstonianum Mill.

1 . Stem pilose when young, older parts glabrate
or glabrous.

2. Leaves ovate, base obtuse or oblique or rarely
rounded but never cordate or truncate, sparsely
pilose, margin crenate, petiole sparsely pilose.

3. Peduncle sparsely puberulent-pilose.

4. Involucral bracts oblong to oblong-lanceolate,
greenish with hyaline margin, very sparsely
pilose, glabrate or glabrous, apex abruptly acu-
minate or acute, erose or fimbriate, margin
entire.

5. Corolla shorter, 1.5-2. 5 mm, glabrous or 5.
apically puberulent.

1 . Stem pilose throughout, the younger parts
densely pilose.

2. Leaves broadly ovate, base cordate or truncate,
more pilose on both surfaces, margin dentate,
serrate, biserrate or crenate.

3. Peduncle densely pilose.

4. Involucral bracts linear-lanceolate, green, grayish
or brownish, 2-ribbed, densely pilose, apex
gradually long-acuminate, glandular-ciliate,
especially above, margin entire.

Corolla longer, 2.5 — 3.5 mm, glabrous to
glandular.

455

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

18-4-1972, O. P. Misra 47090; Amritsar, 9-3-
1896, D. Prain s.n.; rajasthan: Hindoli, 23-
12-1963, D. M. Verma 1873; Jhalar Patan,
Jhalwar, 23-4-1964, D. M. Verma 3352; Man-
dore Garden, Nagadhari, G. P. Roy 1525;
Mandore Garden, 21-1-1974, G. L. Tiwari
1118; Ahu River, Jhalawar, 27-5-1965, B. M.
Wadhwa 9499; tamilnadu : Combai river bed,
14-6-1961, K. M. Sebastine 12579; Gedasal,
Coimbatore, 1215 m., without collector’s

name, 4224; Shembaganur, 1820 m., 1913,
Rev. Aug. Saulieres 903; Nilgiri, 1366 m.,
June 1883, J. S. Gamble 12154; Kotagiri, Ara-
venu, 2000 m., 4-1-1957, K. Subramanyam

Botanical Survey India,

Howrah 711 103,

October 12, 1981.

R E F E

Babu, C. R. (1977): Herbaceous Flora of Dehra
Dun: 239. New Delhi.

Bhandari, M. M. (1978) : Flora of the Indian De-
sert: 192. Jodhpur.

Johnson, M. F. (1971) : A monograph of the
genus Ageratum L. (Compositae — Eupatorieae) .

1886; Kotagiri, 22-10-1956, K. Subramanyam
1049; Kottabettu, Illithorai, 2067 m., 8-10-1956,
K. M. Sebastine 9 66; sikkim: Gangtok, 1670
m., 5-9-1968, N. C. Majumdar 191; Nepal:
Gokarna, Ramola & Prova s.n.; Hawaii: Hilo
suburb, March 1966; O. Degener & /. Degener
30793; U.S.A.: New York Botanical Garden,
760 m., (1898-1901) Herbert H. Smitt 623
(A. mexicanum Sims.); Venezuela: Prope
coloniam Tovar, 1854-55, A. Fendler 652; Ex
Hort. Bot. Petropol. . . .CAL Acc. No. 225010
& 225011 ( Ageratum mexicanum Sweet); Ex
Hort. Bot. Petropol. . . .CAL Acc. No. 225012
(A. conyzoides L. var. mexicanum DC.)

G. S. GIRI
N. C. MAJUMDAR

E N C E S

Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 58: 6-88.

Roxburgh, W. (1832) : Flora Indica 3 : 415 (Repr.
ed. 597). Serampore.

Turner, B. L., Powell, M. & King, R. M. (1962) :
In Rhodora 64: 251-270.

26. RARE OR NEW EXACUM L. (GENTIANACEAE) FROM
SOUTHERN INDIA

( With two text-figures)

During systematic studies on the flora of
Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli Districts of
Tamil Nadu, Southern India, several taxa of
Exacum L. (Gentianaceae) were collected
from the ghat forests. The rare and the new
among them are described in this paper; the
specimens cited are from MH.

Exacum atropurpureum Bedd. Ic. t. 119.
1868-1874; Clarke in Hook. f. FI. Brit. India
4: 97. 1883; Gamble, FI. Pres. Madras 2: 614.
1957 (repr. ed.).

Erect bushy herbs, glabrous. Leaves up to
7x5 cm, sessile and stem-clasping, ovate to
suborbicular, entire, thick, acute or shortly
acuminate at apex, rounded or subcordate at
base, 3-5-nerved. Flowers up to 4.5 cm long,
blue, solitary in upper leaf -axils, pedicelled.

Beddome l.c. t. 119 (and letter press t. 154)
described this species based on his collection
from Travancore Hills. Beddome’s collection
of “E. atropurpureum” from Palghat has since
been described as E. atropurpurem var. pal-

456

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Figs. 1-2. Exacum wightianum Arn var. uniflorum var. nov.
1. Portion of plant; 2. Flower.

457

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ghatense Gamble. The paucity of the material
of this species is revealed in Gamble’s remark
made on the herbarium sheQt-Bourdillon 23
(MH) : “Desideratum. No specimen at Kew”.
We have since re-located this plant in the
upper Kodayar area of the Kanniyakumari
Dt., Tamil Nadu, after a lapse of over six
decades.

Distribution : Endemic to India (S. W.

Ghats).

Specimens Examined : kerala. Trivandrum
Dt.: Trivandrum, October, 1884, Bourdillon
23; Travancore hills, 1869, Beddome s.n.
Tamil nadu. Kanniyakumari Dt.: Upper

Kodayar, 1400 m, 30-9-1980, Henry 68873;
Tirunelveli Dt.: Aghasteer hill, 4500 ft.. Bed-
dome s.n.; Agastiarmalai, 22-5-1901, Barber
2889; Kalivayalpil, 1-6-1901, Barber 3023;
Naterikal, 22-9-1916 & 23-9-1916, s.L, Travan-
core boundary near Naterikal, 4-3-1917, s.l.

E. courtaSlense Arn. var. laxiflorom Gam-
ble, FI. Press. Madras 873. 1923.

Stunted herbs, up to 40 cm tall. Leaves up
to 7 x 2 cm, lanceate, entire, glabrous, thick
margined, acuminate at apex, cuneate at base,
sessile, trinerved. Flowers up to 1 . 5 cm long,
blue, in lax leafy cymes; pedicels up to 2.5
cm long. Calyx lobes up to 1.5 cm long, nar-
rowly lanceate, many-nerved.

This distinct variety was described by Gam-
ble l.c. based on the collections of Beddome
from Travancore hills made around 1873. The
type specimens are deposited in MH and K.
We have recently collected this threatened
plant from the grassy slopes of Muthukuzhi-
vayal in Kanniyakumari Dt., Tamil Nadu.

Since Gamble l.c. failed to indicate the type
or holotype from among the specimens dis-
cussed in the protologue, the herbarium speci-
men — Travancore, 1873, R. H. Beddome
s.n. (MH, acc. no. 33198) is designated as the
lectotype of this variety.

Distribution : Endemic to India (S. W.

Ghats).

Specimens Examined : kerala. Travancore
Hills, Beddome s.n. (syntype); Travancore,
1873, Beddome s.n. (MH-acc. no. 33198-Lec-
totype); Trivandrum Dt.: Forest near Bonec-
cord Estate, 500 m, 1-10-1973, Joseph 44484.
Tamil nadu. Kanniyakumari Dt.: Muthuku-
zhivayal, 1000 m, 31-8-1976, Henry 48174;
Tirunelveli Dt. : Mahendragiri, 18-9-1916, s.l.

E. travancoricum Bedd. Ic. t. 118. 1868-1874;
Gamble, FI. Pres. Madras 2 : 614. 1957 (repr.
ed.). E. courtallense Arn. var. travancorica
(Bedd.) Clarke in Hook.f. FI. Brit. India 4:
97. 1883.

Low, bushy herbs; stems up to 20 cm tall,
erect, woody below, much branched, somewhat
4-winged. Leaves up to 2.5 x 1 cm, very
closely arranged, spathulate, incurved and
plicate, somewhat fleshy, glabrous, obtuse and
reflexed at apex, tapering at base. Flowers
blue, solitary near ends of leafy branches;
pedicels up to 3.5 cm long. Capsules 1-1.4 x
0.6-0. 8 cm, ovoid, pointed at apex, 2-valved.

Beddome l.c. letter press t. 154 states: “The
very caespitose fleshy leaved E. travancoricum
is a most distinct species, and one of the most
beautiful plants in this Presidency”. He col-
lected this species from “Attraymallay in
Travancore”. We have since relocated this
plant from Agastyamalai in Tirunelveli Dt., as
well as from Muthukuzhivayal in Kanniya-
kumari Dt. of Tamil Nadu. When in full
bloom this plant gives a beautiful appearance
and hence worth introducing in Horticulture.

Distribution: Endemic to India (S. W.
Ghats) .

Specimens Examined: kerala. Travancore
Hills, 4500 ft., Beddome s.n.; Trivandrum Dt. :
Western slopes of Agastyamalai, 1800 m, 6-10-
1973, Joseph 44586. Tamil nadu. Kanniya-
kumari Dt.: Muthukuzhivayal, 1400 m, 9-9-

458

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1976, Henry 48294; Tirunelveli Dt: Agastiar-
malai, 22-5-1901, Barber 2888; Agastyamalai,
1400 m, 26-8-1963, Henry 17336; Agastya-
malai peak, 1400 m, 1-7-1964, Henry &
Chandrabose 19189.

E. wightianein Arn. var. unifloram var. nov.

A typo differt, floribus paucioribus praeci-
pue solitaribus.

Holotypus ( Henry 16335, CAL) et isotypi
C Henry 16335, MH — acc. no. 109135-
109137) lecti ad collibus Agastyamalai dist.
Tirunelveli in provincia Tamil Nadu die 27-5-
1963; paratypi ( Henry & Chandrabose 19181,
MH — acc. no. 109138-109144) lecti eodem
in loco die 1-7-1964; paratypus (MH — acc.
no. 33194) lecti eodem in loco; et paratypus
(. Barber 3023 B, MH — acc. no. 331995) lecti
ad collibus Kalivayalpil dist. Tirunelveli in
provincia Tamil Nadu die 1-6-1901.

This new variety differs from E. wightianum
Arn. var. wightianum in having few, mostly
solitary flowers.

Subshrubby herbs up to 2 m tall; stem glab-
rous, much branched. Leaves up to 10 x 4 cm,
elliptic-lanceate to ovate-lanceate, membranous,

Botanical Survey of India,

Coimbatore 641 003,

September 18, 1981.

greenish above, somewhat glaucous beneath,
acuminate at apex, attenuate at base. Flowers
blue, few, mostly solitary. Capsules 8-12x7-8
mm, sub-globose or egg-shaped, glabrous, shin-
ing, septicidally 2-valved. (Figs. 1-2).

Holotype {Henry 16335, CAL) and isotypes
{Henry 16335, MH — acc. no. 109135-109137)
were collected in Agastyamalai hills in Tiru-
nelveli District, Tamil Nadu on 27-5-1963;
paratypes {Henry & Chandrabose 19181, MH
— acc. no. 109138-109144) were collected
from the same locality on 1-7-1964; paratype
(MH — acc. no. 33194) was collected from
the same locality, and paratype {Barber 3023 B,
MH — - acc. no. 33195) was collected in Kali-
vayalpil, near Agastyamalai hills in Tirunel-
veli district on 1-6-1901.

This variety was found fairly common along
exposed wet grassy slopes at the top of the
hill.

Acknowledgement

We are thankful to Dr. N. C. Nair, Joint
Director, Botanical Survey of India, Coim-
batore for facilities and encouragement.

A. N. HENRY
M. S. SWAMINATHAN

27. AVENA LUDOVICIANA DUR. (POACEAE) — NEW TO

WEST BENGAL

During the course of identification of mate-
rial of the family Poaceae we came across a
specimen of the genus A vena which on criti-
cal study proved to be Avena ludoviciana Dur.

Bor (1960) recorded its distribution in India
from North West India (Jammu & Kashmir
and Kumaon).

It has not been so far reported from the
eastern part of India. A specimen collected by

A. K. Naskar from Howrah district. West
Bengal is the first record of its distribution in
West Bengal.

A short description is presented here: (for
illustration See Hubbard’s Grasses 240. 1954.)

Annual, 10-30 cm high, culms 15 cm long,
slender. Leaves 12-20 mm long, 4-10 mm wide,
linear lanceolate, glabrous. Panicles nodding,
very loose. Spikelets 15-20 mm long, pendul-

459

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ous, 2-3 flowered. Glumes persistent, nearly
equal, 15-16 mm long, lanceolate, rounded on
the back, 7-nerved, finely papyraceous with a
hyaline tip. Lemmas 15-16 mm long and 3.3
mm wide, narrowly lanceolate, cartilaginous,
hairy in the lower half, 6-nerved, scabrid, two
cleft, awn dorsal below the cleft, 30-45 mm
long with twisted base. Paleas 12 mm long,
lanceolate, 2-keeled. Anthers 3. Ovary hairy.

Avena ludoviciana Dur. resembles A. steri -

Botanical Survey of India,

Central National Herbarium,

Sibpur, Howrah 711 103,

September 5, 1981.

lis but differs mainly in having (1) smaller
spikelets, (2) smaller lowest lemma.

Specimen examined : West Bengal, Howrah
district, Thanamakua, 22-2-1970, A. K. Naskar
38 (CAL).

Ack no wledge m e n ts

We thank Dr. K. Thothathri for encourage-
ment and Dr. C. R. Das for suggestions.

RATNA DUTTA
ANIL KUMAR NASKAR

28. ON OCCURRENCE OF JUNCUS MAR1T1MUS LAM.
IN SAURASHTRA

Many species of Juncus are known to yield
high quality of cellulose for paper production
(Zahran et al. 1979). /. maritimus is a salt
tolerant halophyte which has been reported
from Sind, Afghanistan, North and South
America and Australia (Hooker 1894). In
India Jain (1960) reported its occurrence for
the first time in Kutch region. Since then the
coastal flora has been extensively reported
on (Rao and Safai 1963; Rao and Aggar-
wal 1964 a, b, 1966; Rao et al. 1966; Rao
and Mukherjee 1967) but this species has not
been recorded so far from any other part of
India.

Department of Biology,

Sir P. P. Institute of Science,

Bhavnagar University,

Bhavnagar 364 001,

August 18, 1981.

J. maritimus was recently found on the
coastal region near Avania village, 9 Km away
from Bhavnagar (21° 45' N 72° 14' E)
alongwith Aeluropus lagopoides. It was also
noticed at Gogha, 15 km away from Bhav-
nagar alongwith Eriocaulon sp. and Cyperus
sp. (Vora, personal communication). The salt
tolerance of this species is being studied in
detail by me on account of its being a promis-
ing halophyte for reclamation of saline soils.

I thank Dr. E.R.R. Iyengar, Assistant
Director, CSMCRI, Bhavnagar for encourage-
ment and Dr. B. D. Sharma, Dy. Director,
BSI, Poona for confirming identification.

A. J. JOSHI

460

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

References

Hooker, J. D. (1894) : Flora of British India- VI.
London.

Jain, S. K. (1960) : A note on Juncus maritimus
Lam. from India. Bull. Bot. Surv. India 2: 307-308.

Rao, T. A. & Aggarwal, K. R. (1964a) : Ecological
studies of Saurashtra coast and neighbouring islands.
I. Diu Island, ibid. 6: 173-183.

(1964b): ibid. III.

Okhamandal to Diu coastal area. Arid Zone Symp.
31-42.

— (1966): ibid. II. Beyt

Island. Bull. Bot. Surv. India 8: 16-24.

& Mukherjee, A. K. (1967) : V. Jafra-

bad to Bhavnagar coastal area. ibid. 9: 79-87.

& Safai, B. (1963): Distribution of

some rare plants along Saurashtra coast and neigh-
bouring islands. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 58: 362-366.

. Aggarwal, K. A. & Mukherjee, A.

K. (1966) : Ecological studies of Saurashtra coast and
neighbouring islands. IV. Pirarn Island. Bull. Bot.
Surv. India 8: 60-68.

Zahran, M. A., Abdel Wahid, A. A. & El-Demer
Dash, M. A. (1979) : Economic potentials of Jun-
cus plants. In Arid Plant Resources (Goodin, J.R.
& Northington, A. K. edts.). Texas Tech. Univ.
Press.

29. CONTRIBUTION TO THE FERNS OF MIZORAM

Introduction

Mizoram (previously known as Lushai
Hills or Mizo -Hills district) situated in the
north-eastern corner of India, is flanked by
Bangladesh and Tripura on the west and
Burma (Chin Hills) on the east and south.
On the north, are Manipur and Cachar Dis-
tricts of Assam. It has remained practically
unexplored due to its difficult hilly terrain and
inaccessible disturbed forest areas. Gage
(1899) and Fischer (1938) listed the ferns of
Southern Lushai Hills. During 1963, we sur-
veyed Aizal area and made an extensive
collection of ferns along with the other groups
of plants between the altitudinal range of 600-
800 m. The present communication which
deals with the ferns only, is the first record of
the area.

The Mizo hill ranges extend from north to
south at an average height of c. 900 m, with
rather steep slopes separated by fast flowing
rivers which create deep gorges between the
hill ranges. The climate is generally cool in
summer (temperature ranges from 18°C to
29°C) and not very cold in the winter (tem-

perature varies from 11°C to 24°C); the aver-
age rainfall is 208 cm. The vegetation of the
area is dominated mainly by epiphytes, scita-
minous plants, aroids and ferns.

Enumeration of species

The arrangement of the families followed
here is after Ching (1978). Species under each
genus are arranged alphabetically, along with
a brief account of ecology. Voucher specimens
are deposited in the herbarium of the National
Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow (LWG).

Lygodiaceae Presl
Lygodium Swartz

L. flexuosum (L.) Sw. Schrad. Journ. Bot.,
106. 1801; Bedd., Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 457.
1883.

In scattered patches at lower altitude:

P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81165.

Lindsaeaceae Ching ex Pichi Sermolli
Lindsaea Dryander apud Smith

L. ensifolia Sw. Schrad. Journ. Bot., 77.
1801. Schizoloma ensifolia Sw., Bedd. Handb.
Ferns Brit. Ind. 80. 1883.

461

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Schizoloma ensifolia (Sw.) Alston in Bot.,
Soc. Broter. Ser. 2, 30:24. 1956.

Common on wet hill slopes in crevices of
rocks: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81184.

Pteridaceae Ching
Pteris L.

P. pellucida Presl, ReL Haenk., 1: 55. 1825;
Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 106. 1883.

In comparatively dry and exposed places at
lower altitude c. 800 m. Not common: P. & S.
Chandra, LWG 81169.

Sinopteridaceae Koidzumi

Aleuritopteris Fee

A. farinosa (Forsk.) Fee, Gen. Fil., 154, t
12 B. fl, 1852. Cheilanthes farinosa (Forsk.)
Kaulf., Enum. Fil., 212. 1824, Bedd. Handb.
Ferns Brit. Ind. 92. 1883.

In rock crevices at rather exposed places;
very common on road sides : P. & S. Chandra,
LWG 81162.

Onychium Kaulf.

O. siliculosum (Desv.) C. Chr., Index Fil.
20. 1905; 469. 1906; Onychium auratum
Kaulf., Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 96. 1883.

Common on road sides and exposed clayey
hill slopes at lower altitudes between 100-300
m: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 811930.

Adiantaceae (Presl) Ching
Adiantum L.

*A. assamicum (Nayar) Nayar, in Bull,
natn. bot. Gdns. no. 94: 1. 1964. A. caudatum
L. var. assamicum Nayar in Bull. natn. bot.
Gdns. no. 52: 10. 1961.

Very common in plains and foot hills, on
more or less exposed hill slopes and in moder-

ately dry localities: P. & S. Chandra, LWG
81183.

Hemionitidaceae Pichi-Sermolli
Pityrogramma Link

P. caSomelanos (L.) Link., Handb. Gewachs:
3: 20. 1883; Holtt., Fl. Malaya 2: The Ferns:
593. 1968; Schelpe, Fl. Zam., 170 (1970).

Common especially on earth cuttings and
forest clearings, forming isolated dense clumps
near water drains: P. & 5. Chandra, LWG
81161.

Athyriaceae Alston
Athyrium Roth

A. falcatum Bedd., Ferns S. Ind. 151. 1863;
Nayar and Kaur, Comp. Bedd. Ferns Brit.
Ind. 40. 1974.

Sparsely distributed on hill slopes and by
the sides of water channels and water falls:
P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81160.

Diplazium Swartz

D. umbrosnm (J. Smith under Athyrium)
Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 188. 1883;
Nayar and Kaur, Comp. Bedd. Ferns Brit.
Ind. 45. 1974.

Growing gregariously in shady and humid
dense forests: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81185.

Thelypteridaceae Ching ex Pichi Sermolli
Cyclosorus Link

C. crinipes (Hook.) Ching in Bull. Fan
Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. 8:179. 1938. Nephro -
dium crinipes Hook., Spec. Fil. 4:71. 1862;
Bedd. Handb. Ferns. Brit. Ind. 279. 1863.
Christ ella crinipes (Hook.) Holtt., Kew Bull.
31:326. 1976.

462

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Common near waterfalls and water chan-
nels: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81199.

C. evolutus (Bedd.) Ching in Bull. Fan
Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. 8:219. 1938. Nephro-
dium evolutum Bedd., Handb. Suppl. Ferns
Brit. Ind. 76. 1892. Christ ella evoluta (Bedd.)
Holtt., ICew Bull. 31:330. 1976.

Common in humus-rich forests: P. & S.
S. Chandra, LWG 81176, 81198.

Metathelypteris (H. Ito) Ching

M. gracilescens (Bl.) Ching in Acta Phyto-
tax. Sin. 8:305. 1963; Holttum, Philipp. J.
Biol. 5: 116. 1976. Lastrea gracilescns BL,
Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 234. 1883.

Common in humus-rich forests: P. & S.
Chandra, LWG 81195.

Pronephrium Presl

P. lakhimpurense (Rosenst.) Holtt., Blumea
20:110. 1972; in Nayar and Kaur, Comp.
Bedd. Ferns Brit. India, 95, 1974.

Common in moist shaded places: P. & S.
Chandra, LWG 81175.

P. nudatum (Roxb.) Holtt., Blumea, 20:111.
1972; in Nayar and Kaur, Comp. Bedd. Ferns
Brit. India, 66, 1974.

In somewhat exposed forest areas and by
the side of river beds: P. & S. Chandra, LWG
81187.

Pseudocyclosorus Ching

P. ciliatus (Wall, ex Benth.) Ching, Acta
phytotax. Sin 8:324. 1963. Trigonospora ciliata
(Benth.) Holtt., in Nayar and Kaur, Comp.
Bedd. Ferns Brit. India, 203, 1974.

Growing on rocks near and on beds of
streams where it is frequently sumberged in
the rainy season: P. & S. Chandra, LWG
81157.

Aspleniaceae Mett. ex Frank
Asplenium L.

A. crinicaule Hance, Ann. Sci. Nat. Ser,
5:254. 1866; Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind.
150. 1883.

Quite common on tree trunks and moss
covered rocks between 500-600 m: P. & S.
Chandra, LWG 81177.

A. excisum Pr., Epim, Bot. 74. 1851;
Nakaike, Enum. Jap. Pterid. Filicales:96.
1975. A. unilateral var. majus (C. Chr.)
Sledge, Bull. Brit. Mus. (N.H.) Bot. 3:246.
1965. A. unilaterale Bedd., Handb. Ferns Brit.
Ind.: 152. 1883 (p.p.)

On wet rocks by streams and on wet banks;
common in primary forest: P. & S. Chandra,
LWG 81181.

A. finlaysoniantim Wall, ex Hook., leones
PL, t. 937. 1854. Hemidictyum finlaysonianum
Hook., Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 195.
1883.

On wet soils in shade, occasionally occur-
ring on tree trunks: P. & S. Chandra, LWG
81169, 81191.

Blech naceae Ching ex Copel.
Blechnum Linn.

B. orientate Linn., Spec. Pl., 2 : 1077. 1753;
Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 132. 1883;
Ching, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 16:14. 1978.

In fully exposed areas, on roadsides and
river banks: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81192.

Dryopteridaceae Ching
Dryopteris Adanson

D. sparsa (Ham. ex D. Don) Kuntze, Rev.,
Gen. PL 2:813. 1891; Sledge, Bull. Brit. Mus.
(N. H.) 5:13. 1973. Lastrea sparsa Don. Bedd.
Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 252. 1883 excl. parte.

Common in low-altitude mountain forest:
P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81197.

463

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Polystichum Roth.

P. biaristatum (Bl.) Moore, Index Fil. : 86.
1858; Sledge, Bull. Brit. Mus. (N.H.) Bot.
5:35. 1973. Polystichum aculeatum Sw. var.
biaristatum Bl., Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind.
209. 1883;

On rather dry slopes in dense evergreen
forests: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81179.

P. lentum (D. Don) Moore, Index Fil., 86.
1858. Polystichum auriculatum Linn., Type
var. lentum Don, Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit.
Ind. 204. 1883.

Common in semi exposed places throughout
the valleys: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81180.

Aspidiaceae Mett. ex Frank
Tectaria Cavanilles

T. fuscipes (Wall, ex Bedd.) C. Chr., Contr.
U.S. Nat. Herb., 26:290. 1931. Pleocnemia
membranifolia Presl, Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit.
Ind. 225. 1883 (p.p.)

Common at low altitudes, occurring scattered
in dry, shady places: P & S. Chandra, LWG
81188.

T. polymorpha (Wall, ex Hook.) Copel.,
Philipp. J. Sci., 2 C: 413. 1907. Aspidium
poly morp hum Wall., Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit.
Ind. 218. 1883 (p.p.)

Low-land species, usually growing near
water: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81172, 81182.

Bolbitidaceae (Pichi-Sermolli) Ching
Bolbitis Schott

B. appendiculata (Willd.) K. Iwats. ssp.
appendiculata Hennip., Leiden Univ. Bot. Ser.
2: 190. 1977. Egenolfia appendiculata (Willd.)
J. Sm., Nayar and Kaur in Bull. natn. bot.
Gdns., no. 100:17. 1964.

Creeping on rocks and soil at moist
places in deciduous and evergreen forest: P.
& S. Chandra, LWG 81154.

B. scalpturata (Fee) Ching in C. Chr., Ind.
Fil., Suppl. 3:50. 1934; Hennip., Leiden Univ.
Bot. Ser. no. 2:163. 1977.

On slopes in the forest and on boulders
in stream beds: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81152.

B. sinensis (Baker) K. Iwats., Acta Phyto*-
tax. Geobot. 18:49. 1959; Hennip., Leiden
Bot. Ser. no. 2:202. 1977. Egenolfia sinensis
Maxon; Nayar and Kaur in Bull. natn. bot.
Gdns. Lucknow. 100:32. 1964.

Usually terrestrial, creeping either on soil or
on rocks, sometimes epiphytic in evergreen
forest: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81171.

Polypodiaceae Berchtold et J. S. Presl
Lepisorus (J. Sm.) Ching

L. thunbergianus (Kaulf.) Ching, Bull. Fan
Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. 4:88. 1933. Pleopeltis
linearis Thunb., Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit.
Ind. 346. 1883 (p.p.)

Common epiphyte, occasionally forming
dense patches on moist rocks : P. & S. Chandra,
LWG 81166.

Schellolepis J. Smith

S. subauriculata (Bl.) J. Sm., Ferns brit.
and For. 82. 1866. Goniophlebium subauri-
culatum (Bl.) Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind.
322. 1883.

Common epiphyte, in shaded humid places :
P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81190.

Pyrrosia Mirbel

P. flocculosa (D. Don) Ching, Bull. Chin.
Bot. Soc., 1:66. 1935; Nayar and Chandra in
Bull. natn. bot. Gdns., no. 117:51. 1965.

Epiphyte with drooping fronds in evergreen
forest: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81168.

P. mannii (Gies.) Ching, Bull. Chin. Bot.
Soc., 1:55. 1935; Nayar and Chandra in Bull,
natn. bot. Gdns., no. 117:63. 1965.

464

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

An epiphyte (sometimes also on shaded
rocks) in the primary forest: P. & S. Chandra,
LWG 81158, 81164.

P. mollis (Kze.) Ching, Bull. Chin. Bot.
Soc., 1:53. 1935; Nayar and Chandra in Bull,
natn. bot. Gdns., no. 117:67. 1965.

Commonly met with on shaded rocks and
seldom on trees as an epiphyte: P. & S.
Chandra, LWG 81175.

P. obovata (Bl.) Ching, Bull. Chin. Bot.
Soc., 1:47. 1935; Nayar and Chandra in Bull,
natn. bot. Gdns., no. 117:76. 1965.

Abundant at low altitudes up to 750 m :
P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81153.

P. suMurfuracea (Hook.) Ching, Bull. Chin.
Bot. Soc., 1:68. 1935; Nayar and Chandra in
Bull. natn. bot. Gdns., no. 117:83. 1965.

Epiphyte on tree trunks: P. & S. Chandra,
LWG 81158.

P. varia (Kaulf.) Farwell. Amer. Midland
Natur. 12:302. 1931; Nayar and Chandra in
Bull. natn. bot. Gdns., no. 117:87. 1965.

Occasional on rocks, walls etc. at 150 m:
P. & S . Chandra, LWG 81163.

Microsorium Link

M. memhranaceum (D. Don) Ching, Bull.
Fan Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. 4:309. 1933; Nayar
in Bull, natn bot. Gdns., no. 58:17. 1962.

A common epiphyte or lithophyte in moist
and damp places, forming dense patches
throughout the valley: P. & S. Chandra, LWG
81170.

M. pteropus (Bl.) Copel., Univ. Calif. Publ.
Bot. 16:112. 1929. Pleopeltis pteropus (Bl.)
var. minor Bedd., Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit.
Ind. 361. 1883.

National Botanical Research Institute,
Lucknow 226 001,

August 12, 1981.

Frequently seen on rocks on the bed and
sides of streams :P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81155.

M. punctatum (Linn.) Copel., Univ. Calif.
Publ. Bot., 16:111. 1929; Nayar in Bull. natn.
bot. Gdns., no. 58:19. 1961.

Exceedingly common, growing either as an
epiphyte or a lithophyte at 800 m: P. & S.
Chandra, LWG 81173.

Colysis Presl

C. elSiptica (Thunb.) Ching, Bull. Fan Mem.
Inst. Biol. Bot., 4:333. 1933. Selliguea elliptica
Thunb., Bedd. Handb. Ferns Brit. Ind. 392.
1883.

Terrestrial, quite rare: P. & S. Chandra,
LWG 81156.

Dendroglossa Presl

D. minutula (Fee) Copel., Gen. Fil. 199.
1947. Gymnopteris minus Mett., Bedd. Handb.
Ferns Brit. Ind. 430. 1883.

On sandy riverbeds, quite rare: P. & S.
Chandra, LWG 81159.

Drynaria (Bory) J. Sm.

D. propinqisa (Wall, ex Mett.) J. Sm.,
Hook., Jour. Bot., 4:61. 1842; Nayar in Bull,
natn. bot. Gdns. 56:9. 1961.

Profusely on tree trunks or on moss cover-
ed rocks: P. & S. Chandra, LWG 81167.

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to Dr. T. N. Khoshoo,
Director, National Botanical Research Insti-
tute, Lucknow for facilities and encouragment.

PRAKASH CHANDRA
SUBHASH CHANDRA

465

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

References

Ching, R. C. (1978): The Chinese Fern Families Rec. Bot. Surv. India 12: 152-161.

& Genera: Systematic arrangement and historical Gage, A. T. (1899): A botanical tour in the
origin. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 16(8): 1-19. South Lushai Hills. Rec. Bot. Surv. India. 7(12):

Fischer, C.E.C. (1938): Ferns of Lushai hills. 331-369.

30. A NEW TAXON OF THE RUBIACEAE FROM NORTH EAST

INDIA

{With two text-figures)

In course of studies on taxonomic revision
of Indian Psychotria L. (Rubiaceae) we
examined several specimens which could not
be placed under the known taxa and appeared
to be distinct. The present paper is based on
such a collection

Psychotria silhetensis Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind.
3:174. 1880 is based on a collection from
Sylhet by De Silva which is extant in Wall. Cat.
8336C (K — W, Photo in CAL!). A specimen
bearing the same number in CAL, however,
does not represent this taxon.

In course of Abor Expedition, I. H. Bur-
kill collected a specimen I. H. Bur kill 35726
(CAL) in fruiting condition from Makum,
Assam in Nov. 1911. He assigned it doubtfully
to P. silhetensis. G. Panigrahi collected a simi-
lar specimen (G. Panigrahi 11251) in Nov.
1957 from Dulong Reserve Forest, Assam.
This is also in similar fruiting condition and
collected from a locality near the former
one. These were provisionally considered to
form a new variety of P. silhetensis.

While these studies were going on, the late
K. M. Vaid of Forest Research Institute,
Dehra Dun, sent several specimens to the
senior author for determination, one of which
K. N. Vaid and H. B. Naithani 156 represented
this new taxon.

On further study of all the material of P.
silhetensis and those of the new taxon and in

consideration of their distribution we assign
these material to a new subspecies. Specimens
available bear leaves with stipules, fruits with
seeds and persistent calyx. This is described
below.

Psychotria silhetensis Hook. f. subsp. tomen-
tosa subsp. nov. (Fig. 1).

differt a P. silhetensis Hook. f. subsp. silhe-
tensis foliis infra ferrugineo tomentosis, stipulis
infra et secus marginem pubescentibus, fructi-
busque parvioribus ovoides.

This differs from P. silhetensis Hook. f.
subsp. silhetensis in having leaves ferruginous
tomentose beneath, stipules pubescent beneath
and along the margin and smaller broadly
ovoid fruit.

Shrubs 1.5 - 2 m high; branches stout, thick,
quadrangular when young, terete in age, fer-
ruginous tomentose. Leaves petiolate, 15 -
24 x 7 - 9 cm, elliptic or slightly elliptic-
obovate, shortly acuminate at the apex, entire,
cuneate or obtuse at the base, coriaceous,
glabrous above, densely ferruginous tomentose
beneath; midrib stout beneath, less so above,
lateral nerves 14 - 20 on each side, subparallel,
arcuate, close, conspicuous beneath, less so
above; axil of the midrib and lateral nerves
imperforate; nervules reticulate conspicuous
beneath, less so above; petioles 1 - 1.5 cm
long, thick, tomentose; stipules deciduous,
1.5 -2.5 x 0.6 -0.7 cm, ovate, caudate-acu-

466

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Fig. 1. Psychotria silhetensis Hook. f. subsp. tomentosa subsp. nov.

A. Habit; B. Fruit; C. Seed (dorsal view); D. Seed (ventral view); E. Embryo.

467

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

initiate, coriaceous, glabrous above, pubescent
beneath and along the margin. Inflorescence
terminal or axillary, long peduncled cymes,
5 - 8 x 2 - 8 cm (when fruiting), branches
irregular or dichotomous, short or spreading,
stout, tomentose; bracteoles minute. Flowers
not available. Fruits 0.5 - 0.6 x 0.3 - 0.45
cm, subglobose, crowned with calyx (lobes
triangular, about 0.05 cm long, ciliate at the
margin), glabrescent, shortly stalked; stalks
0.3 - 0.5 cm; pyrenes solitary, ovoid, plano-
convex, acute at the apex, retuse at the base,
smooth, thin walled. Seeds 0.4 - 0.5 x 0.3 -
0.4 cm, ovoid, acute at the apex, retuse at the
base, dorsally convex, smooth, with a longi-
tudinal shallow groove on the ventral side;
albumen uniform, thick; micropyle pointing
upwards; cotyledons fleshy, oblong.

Type : Assam, North Lakhimpur, Makurn,
21-11-1911, /. H. Burkill 35726 (Holotype in
CAL). North Lakhimpur, Dulong Reserve
Forest, 21-11-1957, G. Panigrahi 11251 (Para-
type in CAL); Arunachal, Deomali, K. N.
Vaid and H. B. Naithani 156 (Paratype in
DD).

Distribution : Makum and Dulong Reserve
Forest of North Lakhimpur district, Assam
to Deomali Reserve Forest of Tirap district,
Arunachal.

It is worthwhile to note the distribution of

Botanical Survey of India,

Howrah 711 103, (W.B.),

February 26, 1982.

the typical subspecies P. silhetensis Hook. f.
subsp. silhetensis which is as follows. Sylhet
(Bangladesh), Khasi Hills, North Cachar, Mizo-
ram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sibsagar district and
Dafla Hill of Arunachal Pradesh.

Distinct distribution of these two subspecies
is clearly evident from the accompanying map
(Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Distribution of Psychotria silhetensis Hook. f.
P. silhetensis Hook. f. subsp. silhetensis .

P. silhetensis Hook. f. subsp. tomentosa.

Acknowledgement

Grateful thanks are due to Dr S. K. Jain,
Director, Botanical Survey of India for grant-
ing a scholarship to the junior author.

D. B. DEB
M. GANGOPADHYAY

468

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Journal of the Bombay
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VOLUME 80 (3) : DECEMBER 1983

Date of Publication : 24-4-1984.

CONTENTS

Page

Ecological adaptation in Rhesus monkeys at the Kumaon Himalaya. By Kazuo

Wada. ( With a plate and nine text-figures) 469

The Indian mugger, Crocodylus palustris Lesson (Reptilia, Crocodilia) :
OBSERVATIONS ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF A FEMALE FROM NATURE. By Lala A. K.

Singh. (With six plates and a text- figure ) . . 499

Authors’ Catalogue of the Botanical articles published in the Journal of
the Bombay Natural History Society-II (Vol. 67-76; 1970-1979). Compiled

by A. R. Das . . 507

Ontogeny of teeth row structure in Rana tigerina tadpoles. By S. K. Dutta

and P. Mohanty-Hejmadi. (With twelve text-figures ) . . 517

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE WETLAND FLORA OF SlTAPUR DISTRICT, UTTAR PRADESH.

By J. K. Maheshwari and R. P. S. Tomar . . 529

Studies on the system atics and distribution of crabs in Assam.

By N. K. Dutta. (With six text- figures) . . 539

Sfasonal changes in the herd structure of Blackbuck. By N. L. N. S. Prasad.

(With a plate and a text- figure) . , 549

The former distribution of the Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in

India and Pakistan. By L. C. Roolonaaker . . 555

Some notes on the ecology and status of the Orangerumped Hcneyguide
Indicator xanthonotus in the Himalayas. By S. A, Hussain and Salim Ali.

(With a plate) . . 564

Birds of the Rajpipla Forests — South Gujarat. By S. G. Monga and Rishad

K. Naoroji . . 575

New Descriptions:

A new species of Lagenandra Dalzell (Araceae) from Kerala State, India. By

K. Ramamurthy and R. Rajan. (With eleven text-figures) . . 613

A new species of Dimeria R. Br. (Poaceae) from Kollimalai, South India.

By M. Mohanan and A. V. N. Rao. (With ten text-figures) . . 615

Two new species of Eulophidae (Hymenoptera : Chalcidoidea) from Andaman
Islands. By S. Adam Shafee, Anis Fatma, M. Younus Khan and Shujauddin.

(With four texttfgures) . . 618

A new species of Psychotria L. (Rubiaceae) from Kerala State, India. By

K. Ramamurthy and R. Rajan. (With six text-figures) .. 621

Descriptions of three new species of Gonatocerus Nees (Hymenoptera:
Mymaridae) from Aligarh (India). By S. M. Shamim and S. Adam Shafee.

(With ten text-figures) . . 623

Dimeria keralae (Poaceae) — A novelty from Kerala, India. By N. C. Nair,

P. V. Sreekumar and V. J. Nair . . 626

On the identity of Aspidium finlaysonianum Wall. By S. R. Ghosh. (With a plate) 629

Miscellaneous Notes:

Mammals: 1. Some observations on antler cycle of Hog-Deer (Axix porcinus ) in capti-

vity. By L. N. Acharjyo and S. K. Patnaik (p. 631); 2. A note on the longevity and
fertility of the Blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra (Linnaeus). By G. J. Rajasingh (p. 632);

3. Horn growth in Blackbuck. (With a text-figure). By N. L. N. S. Prasad (p. 634);

4. A note on the longevity of two species of Indian Otters in captivity. By L. N. Acharjyo
and Ch. G. Mishra (p. 636); 5. Sloth Bear’s ( Melursus ursinus ) method of hunting for
termite nests. By E. R. C. Davidar (p. 637).

Birds: 6. Additions “to the Birds of Goa by Robert B. Grubh & Salim Ali JBNHS —
Vol. 73, No. 1”. By Ulhas Rane (p. 638); 7. Occurrence of the Black Tern Chlidonias
niger (Linn.) in India. By Humayun Abdulali and V. C. Ambedkar (p. 640); 8. Occurrence
of Lesser Florican ( Sypheotides indica ) in Kanha National Park. By M. K. Ranjitsinh
(p. 641); 9. Unusual adoption by Tailor Birds (Orthotomus sutorius Pennant). By Ulhas
Rane (p. 641).

Reptiles: 10. Communal use of village ponds by the mugger crocodile ( Crocodylus
palustris), cattle and man. (With a plate). By L. A. K. Singh (p. 642); 11. On Sitana
lizard in Kalakad Sanctury. By J. Mangalraj Johnson (p. 646).

Fishes: 12. On a new record of the genus Gnatholepis Bleeker (Gobidae, Teleostei)
from south-west coast of India. (With three text-figures). By C. Geevarghese and P. A.
John (p. 646); 13. A new record of Epinephelus guaza (Linnaeus, 1758) (Serranidae: Pisces)
from Indian waters. By N. A. V. Prasad Reddy (p. 650); 14. On the extension of range
of a freshwater catfish — Glyptothorax lineatus (Day) (Siluriformes; Sisoridae) — to
Poonch Valley (Jammu and Kashmir State). By Surendra Nath (p. 651).

Insects: 15. First record of Odontotermes bcllahunisensis Holmg. & Holmg. feeding on

Cocos nucifera Linn. By Vikram Reddy (p. 653); 16. Notes on host-plants, feeding behavi-
our, infestation and ant attendances of cotton aphids Aphis gossypii Glov. By D. K. Roy
and B. K. Behura (p. 654); 17. First record of Mesocomys Cam. (Hym. : Chalcidoidea,
Lupelmidae) in India. (With ten text-figures). By M. A. Khan (p. 656); 18. Nesidiocoris
caesar (Ballard) (Heteroptera — Miridae) : a new pest of bottle gourd and tobacco plants.
By V. C. Chatterjee (p. 658); 19. A noctuid defoliator pest, Dichromia orosia Cramer
(Noctuidae; Lepidoptera) of Antamul, a medicinal plant. By M. C. Devaiah, R. Rajashekhar
Gouda, Y. K. Kotikal and Suhas Yelshetty (p. 659).

Other Invertebrates: 20. Occurrence of Kurzia latissima (Kurz), 1874 (Crustacea:

Cladocera: Chydoridae) in India. (With three text-figures). By Pramod Rane (p. 660).

Botany: 21. Additions to the Flora of Bengal. By B. Krishna and S. N. Das (p. 662);

22. Cultivation of Vernonia shevaroyensis Gamble (Asteraceae) — an endemic and en-
dangered plant in the southern experimental garden, Botanical Survey of India. By A. K.
Banerjee and A. V. N. Rao (p. 663); 23. Notes on rare plants from Madhya Pradesh.
By N. C. Rathakrishnan and Ram Saran (p. 665); 24. Eriocaulon echinulatum Mart.
(Eriocaulaceae) — a new record for India. (With eight text-figures). By S. Myrthong,
Y. Kumar and R. R. Rao (p. 667); 25. On the identity of Ophiorrhiza seshagiriana Sikdar
ei Maiti (Rubiaceae). By D. B. Deb and D. C. Mondal (p. 669).

Annual Report of the Bombay Natural History Society for the Year 1982-83 670

Statement of Accounts of the Bombay Natural History Society . . 678

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting . . 693

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY

SOCIETY

1983 DECEMBER Vol. 80 No. 3

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS
AT THE KUMAON HIMALAYA1

Kazuo Wada2

(With a plate and nine text-figures )

In the western Kumaon Himalayas, the distributional range of Rhesus monkeys
comprises two major habitat types coniferous forest dominated by Cedrus deodara,
Pinus roxburghii and Pinus wallichiana, and terrace fields with potatoes, wheat, maize
and peas. In the hill areas the troops always include fields as feeding places in their
home ranges. During winter, as food variety decreases, the monkeys take to the seeds of
pine tree as staple food. The monkey troops tend to travel to the lower part of the
home range to avoid heavy snowfall, and then exploit the terrace fields more frequently
than at other seasons. This is due to the scarcity of foods in the forests. It seems likely
that in winter the Rhesus monkeys live milder environmental conditions than the
Japanese monkeys. When some troops join and separate again at the lower elevation
home ranges, there was little antagonistic behaviour. Eight categories of grouping were
distinguished in the troop. Females with babies to 3-yr-olds are sociologically the basic
group males which occupy the rear of troop procession function as defenders.

Introduction

Ecological and Sociological studies on the
Rhesus monkey ( Macaca mulatta) have been
actively carried out in the Indian Subcontinent.
Two types of ecological studies can be distin-

1 Accepted July 1981.

2 Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University,
Inuyama City, Aichi, Japan.

guished. Southwick, Beg & Siddiqi (1961a &
b), Mukherjee & Mukherjee (1972), and
Siddiqi & Southwick (1977) concentrated on the
population ecology of the troop composition
and troop density at the roadside or in streets,
while Neville (1968), Lindburg (1971, 1976),
Makwana (1978), Teas et al. (1980), and
Koyama & Shekar (1981) studied the general
ecology, focussing on the troop composition,
distribution, home range and habits. Neville

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

and Lindburg dealt with changes in troop
movements and food habits related to the
seasonal variations in habits of the monkeys,
but little attention was given to the relation
between the vertical distribution of the forest
zones and that of the monkeys.

Within the genus Macaca, the Rhesus mon-
key and the Japanese monkey represent species
which are adapted to areas of heavy snowfall
and cold winters. The Rhesus monkey shows
the next most northerly distribution to the
Japanese monkey and, vertically, it reaches the
snowfall areas of the Himalayas. Its distribu-
tion which spreads over a large spectrum of
habitats, is the widest among macaques.

I believe it is possible to show that, in the
evolutionary process of expansion of Macaca,
this monkey successfully occupied new habi-
tats. Important in this respect, is the Rhesus
monkeys’ reaction to the habitat destruction
brought about by human influences, and to
man himself.

The present study represents the first attempt
to clarify the mode of life of the Rhesus mon-
key from the above viewpoints.

Methods

The survey areas included Simla, Narkanda
and Sungri in Himachal Pradesh, and the road
from Simla to Rampur. In the former case,
data were collected periodically by direct ob-
servation of the monkeys and supplementary
information was obtained from villagers. In the
latter case, the data were based on mobile
censuses from buses, short ground-surveys and
information from the local inhabitants. Both
study areas are situated in the lower Himalayas
of western Kumaon (Fig. 1). The survey period
covered 6 months from August, 1972. Eleven
specimens of Rhesus monkeys were collected
at Sungri with the cooperation of Mr. K. L.
Mehta, wildlife warden of Himachal Pradesh,

for research on their geographical variation.
General habitat of the rhesus monkeys

The lower Plimalayas, at 2,000-3,000 m above
sea level (a.s.l.), lie in the transitional zone to
the Great Himalayas, and are affected by mon-
soons. Based on a personal communication
from Mr. K. L. Mehta, the annual rainfall in
Simla is 2,168 mm. However, at the upper limit
of the monkey distribution, it decreases to
1,757 mm, with 50% of the precipitation occurr-
ing during July and September. Snowfalls in
the same areas begin in late November, but are
concentrated during December and February.
It appears that snowfalls in Khadrala which is
very near and at the same height as Sungri,
are more frequent than in Simla since the
amount of precipitation in Khadrala somewhat
exceeds that in Simla (Table 1).

Terrace fields occur up to 2,600 m a.s.l. in
the survey areas, forming the upper boundary
of cultivation. Below this boundary, terrace
fields occupied the greatest area except on the
steep slopes of valleys, and in the forest re-
serve covering water sheds for the drinking
water of Simla at Kufri, probably amounting
to 40% of the total survey area.

The survey areas were occupied by coni-
ferous forest. This was generally dominated
by Pinus, which extended continuously in its
vertical distribution, although in some forests
Cedrus deodara and Abies were dominant.
Picea, Juniperus, and Taxus were found spora-
dically in the forests.

The genus Pinus was represented by P. rox-
burghii and P. wallichiana. Their distribution
ranges were 500-2,200 m a.s.l. and 2,000-3,000
m a.s.l., respectively (Fig. 2). In the survey
areas, Pfims-dominated forests were especially
well developed on southern slopes, as indi-
cated previously by Stainton (1972).

Evergreen broad-leaved forests in which

470

Himachal Pradesh

ECOLOGICAL ADAPT AT ION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

471

Fig. 1. Map of survey areas.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 1

Monthly mean rainfall in Simla and Khadrala, 1951-1960

Khadrala (2,600 m a.s.l.)

Simla (2,000 m a.s.l.)

Rainfall amount

No. of days
rainfall

Rainfall amount

Mean air temperature
max. min.

Jan.

213.4 mm

6.6 days

66.3 mm

23.6°C

1.9°C

Feb.

93.2

4.8

74.2

9.3

2.3

Mar.

121.2

0.6

59.9

13.9

6.4

Apr.

70.9

0.4

46.0

18.4

10.3

May

88.4

—

64.3

22.9

13.9

Jun.

89.4

—

153.4

23.9

15.9

Jul.

384.6

—

414.0

21.6

15.1

Aug.

321.1

—

428.0

20.2

15.1

Sep.

166.9

—

423.7

20.2

13.5

Oct.

77.5

—

299.7

17.9

12.3

Nov.

13.0

0.6

132.3

14.6

6.8

Dec.

116.6

2.2

6.1

17.8

9.7

Total

1,756.7

2,168.0

Quercus were dominant, occurred as large
patches in the coniferous forest zone. The verti-
cal distribution of species was as follows:
Quercus glauca below 1,500 m a.s.l., Q. incana
at 1,500-2,000 m, and Q. semecarpifolia at
2,000-3,000 m.

Deciduous broad-leaved trees were found
sporadically as forest constituents in the above-
mentioned forests. The species included Betula
alnoides, Aesculus indica, Robinia pseudoa-
cacia, Pyrus pashia, Rosa sericea, etc.

All these forests were utilized as grazing
grounds for cattle, sheep and goats. The forest
undergrowth was severely reduced by grazing
and stamping, and the scrub layer was poorly
developed. Observation of the monkeys was
thus easy under the forest canopy, the visibility
and general working conditions being good.

(after K. L. Mehta)

Results

The Rhesus monkey distribution and
forest-cropland complex

In Simla, Kufri, Narkanda, Sungri and Ram-
pur, where direct observations and collecting
of encounter information were carried out, and
along the roadside between Simla and Rampur,
where rough observations were made from
buses, monkey troops are continuously dis-
tributed. Around Simla, Kufri, Narkanda and
Sungri, the home range of a troop includes
both types of habitats, i.e., cultivated terrace
and forest (Figs. 3, 4 and 5). Rhesus monkeys
were never found in large forest patches such
as the Gren Forest in Simla {Quercus- domi-
nated), the coniferous forest of the southern

472

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

(m)

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

<3

‘r*

O

a,

a

«

a

s

03

CO

CO

3

a

a

03

3

Q?

500

Fig. 2. Vertical distribution of pine and oak in the
survey area.

slope at Kufri, and the huge coniferous forest
of the northern slope at Sungri.

The upper limit of the monkey distribution
coincides with the upper border of crop culti-
vation. In both Narkanda and Sungri, the upper
border of crop fields reaches 2,600 m a.s.l., and
monkey troops ranged up to 2,600 m, appearing
in terrace fields at intervals and feeding on the

crops. The forest zone goes up to 3,300 m on
the southern slopes of Murali Danda, 3 km
north-east of Sungri. In this area of increasing
elevation, Quercus semecarpifolia is continued
and Abies and Picea are gradually mixed into
Pmws-dominated forest, but this change in com-
position does not affect the monkey distribu-
tion.

The population size in each village is at
the level of several hundreds; The villagers
never supply monkeys with food, and the mon-
keys do not approach village houses to search
the kitchen middens. Simla (population
200,000) is situated on a narrow ridge running
north-east to south-west at 1,550-2,000 m a.s.l.,
and is surrounded by Pinus roxburghii- domi-
nated and Quercus semecarpifolia-dominatQd
forests, which are favourable habitats for Rhesus
monkeys. The township of Simla is 4 km long
and 1 km wide. Ten monkey troops travel
around temple gardens, markets and hospitals
without utilizing the surrounding forest patches,
so their home ranges were confined to the
streets of Simla (Fig. 6).

Activity pattern of troops

Generally, Rhesus monkeys take many kinds
of crops in terrace fields and other cultivated
fields in India (Neville 1968, Mukherjee 1969).
The times spent in the two areas were 78% in
forests and 22% in fields (Table 2). However,
remarkable differences were noted in the num-
ber of hours that the troop stayed in the fields
among the survey areas. These differences de-
pend upon the farmers’ attitude.

To simplify the description of ecologically
important individual activities, I classified their
activities into 7 categories: Moving, feeding,
sitting, grooming, playing, mounting and quar-
relling.

In terrace fields : Almost all individuals of
each troop except in Simla and Kufri were

473

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

474

Fig. 3. Troop distribution at Simla.

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

Fig. 4. Troop distribution at Narkanda.

475

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 5. Troop distribution at Sungri.

Gre

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

All

Fig. 6. Troop distribution in and around Simla.

A: Bioleaugang troop; B: Cecil troop; C: Assembly troop; D: Kali Bali Temple
troop; E: Ripon Hospital troop; F: Ridge troop; G: Lower Bazar troop; H: View
troop; I: Jakoo Temple 1 troop; J: Jakoo Temple II troop.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 2

Utilization of the monkey troops in forests and terrace fields

Area

Period

observed

Observation time (hr)

Days observed

Total

In forests

In fields

Simla and Kufri

Sept, 1972 -

- Jan, 1973

20.3

20.3

0

22

Narkanda

Sept, 1972 —

- Dec, 1972

60.4

53.5

6.9

14

Sungri

Oct, 1972 -

- Jan, 1973

79.5

50.4

29.1

17

Oct, 1972 -

- Dec, 1972

39.6

33.0

6.6

Jan,

1973

39.9

17.4

22.5

Total

160.2

124.2

36.0

46

Table 3

Activity percentage of Rhesus monkeys

IN TERRACE

FIELDS

Sitting

Grooming

Mounting

Moving

Feeding

Playing

Quarrel-

Number

ling

of ind.
observed

Simla & Kufri

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0

Narkanda

2.1

4.5

0.8

15.7

76.4

0.4

0

242

Sungri

10.6

6.9

0.3

34.1

47.1

0.7

0.3

1371

Total

9.2

6.5

0.4

31.4

51.5

0.7

0.3

1613

counted in terrace fields. Monkey troops spent
most of the time feeding in the terrace fields.
Because the troops were not chased away from
the fields by farmers or dogs in Sungri, they
spent the remainder of the time moving, sitting
and grooming in the fields (Table 3).

The individuals of a troop did not spread
out in terrace fields where there were watch-
men. Adult animals picked up food, e.g., corn,
in the fields and usually returned immediately
to the forest fringe to eat slowly. In the fields
where there were no watchmen, the members
of the monkey troop spread out in the fields
without disturbance, keeping the original spac-
ing among individuals, so in some cases adult
females, babies and juveniles appeared in the

fields from the top group of a troop. They
gradually spread throughout the fields without
indications of tension or fear. When farmers
approached to within 20 m they ran into the
forest, but remained near the edge of the forest
canopy. When the farmers left, they usually
returned to the fields again.

There are differences in farmers’ attitudes to
chasing the monkeys, depending on the kind of
crop. Corn is rigorously protected, followed by
peas and buckwheat, but autumn sown wheat
and potatoes are almost neglected. Correspond-
ing to the farmers’ interest, the Rhesus mon-
keys behave in different ways in the fields
according to the nature of the crop. They are
tense when they forage for corn, but are at

478

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

ease when foraging for autumn sown wheat or members were recorded every observation time,
potatoes, etc. In Nhera village and Mulong Out of 124 hr observation in forests, feeding

village near Simla the corn harvest was little accounted for 26.9% of the total activities

damaged by the monkeys, being kept effective- (Table 4).

Table 4

Activity percentage of Rhesus monkeys in forests

Sitting

Grooming

Mounting

Moving

Feeding

Playing

Quarrel-

ling

Number
of ind.
observed

Simla & Kufri 16.4%

3.7%

0 %

48.3%

28.1%

1.7%

1.7%

402

Narkanda

10.5

7.6

1.4

43.5

33.4

2.3

1.4

740

Sungri

8.8

8.6

1.6

56.2

21.7

0.6

2.6

1025

Total

10.8

7.3

1.2

50.4

26.9

1.4

2.0

2167

Judging from these tables, the amount of
feeding was presumed to be greater in the fields
than in the forests. However, it is not yet known
whether differences exist between feeding abi-
lity in forests and feeding in fields.

Food list of Rhesus monkeys

The main food in the forests consisted of
fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves and stems of various
trees and grasses. Seeds of trees such as Pinus
roxhurghii, P. wallichiana, leaves of Berberis
aristata, leaves and stems of Trifolium repens
comprised the staple food during the survey
period, but fruits of Vitis himalayana are eaten
during October and November. Fruits and
leaves of Quercus incana and Q. semecarpifolia,
and fruits, leaves, stems and grains of plants
were substaple or temporary food. Table 5
shows the main food items and their utilization.
The trees and the grasses that comprise the
staple foods were the most common species in
the home ranges of the troops. Lindburg (1976)
described the foods of 92 species in the tropical
forest, and that the staple foods are composed
of common species in the forest.

ly under watch. In Dhalar village and in Nheri
village near Narkanda, waste potatoes after the
harvest and wheat were the main targets of
the monkeys’ foraging. Along the main paths of
movement of the troops throughout Dhalar
village and Nheri village (Narkanda) and Tikkri
village, Baiun village and Sunmarkot village
(Sungri), the troops probably caused little
harvest damage because they spread out and
rested in the fields, and picked young leaves
of autumn sown wheat.

The frequency of appearance in the terrace
fields increased remarkably in winter in rela-
tion to the snowfall. This point will be dis-
cussed later.

Although children at times threw stones to
the monkeys, people in Simla do not chase
Rhesus monkeys, because of religious senti-
ments. In the streets of Simla, people some-
times gave food to monkeys, but continuous
provisioning is practised only for the troops at
Jakoo Temple and Kali Bali Temple. Other
troops forage mostly at dumping grounds, in
grasslands or in small thickets in gardens.

In forests : More than 60% of all troop

479

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80
Table 5

Food list of Rhesus monkeys

Feeding Kind of food _ „ Frequency Period as

area Famlly Part eaten of eating staple food

Forest Pinus roxburghii
Pinus wallichiana
Cedrus deodara
Quercus incana
Quercus semecarpifolia
Prunus cornuta
Osyris arborea
Rosa moschatta
Cotoneaster affinis
var. basillaris
Reinwardtia trigyna
Berberis aristata
Syringa sp.

Tilia europaea
Tiliaceae

Ficus sarmentosa
Vitis himalayana
Trifolium repens
Rumex crispus
Rumex acetosa
Fragalia nubicola
Duchesnea indica
Stellaria media
Poa anna
Sarcococca saligna
Trichosanthes sp.
Pimpinella diver sifolia
Umbelliferae
Plantago lanceolata
Compositae
Vicia sativa
Jasminum humile
Bothriochloa glabra
Arundinella setosa
Pteridium aquilinum
Fields Buckwheat
Peas
Corn
Potatoes
Wheat
Apples
Pumpkins
Beans

Streets Leavings of inhabitants
Fruit and vegetables
Rice and chapati
Meat and egg

Pinaceae

Seed

Pinaceae

Seed, Leaf

Pinaceae

Leaf

Fagaceae

Fruit, Leaf

Fagaceae

Fruit

Rosaceae

Fruit

Cornaceae

Fruit

Rosaceae

Fruit

Rosaceae

Fruit

Linaceae

Leaf

Berberidaceae

Leaf

Oleaceae

Fruit

Tiliaceae

Fruit

Bark

Moraceae

Fruit

Vitaceae

Fruit

Leguminosae

Stem, Leaf

Polygonaceae

Leaf

Polygonaceae

Leaf

Rosaceae

Stem, Leaf

Rosaceae

Stem, Leaf

Caryophyllaceae

Leaf

Gramineae

Stem, Leaf

Buxaceae

Fruit

Cucurbitaceae

Leaf

Umbelliferae

Leaf

Leaf

Plantaginaceae

Leaf

Leaf

Vicieae

Leaf

Oleaceae

Leaf

Poaceae

Grain

Poaceae

Grain

Pteridaceae

Leaf

Grain

Pod

Grain

Root

Young leaf

Fruit

Fruit

Extremely often

Sept.- Jan.

Extremely often

Sept.- Jan.

Rarely

Frequently

Frequently

Frequently

Rarely

Frequently

Rarely

Frequently

Very often

Sept.-Jan.

Frequently

-•

Rarely

Rarely

Frequently

Extremely often

Oct.-Nov.

Extremely often

Sept.-Jan.

Frequently

Frequently

Frequently

Frequently

Frequently

Frequently

Frequently

Rarely

Rarely

Rarely

Rarely

Frequently

Frequently

Rarely

Frequently

Frequently

Rarely

Rarely

Rarely

Extremely often

Aug.-Sept.

Extremely often

Oct.-Nov.

Extremely often

Nov.-Jan.

Rarely

Rarely

Frequently

Extremely often

Sept.-Jan.

Frequently

Rarely

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

Rhesus monkeys in the fields ate fruits,
grains and roots of crops, and the leaves of
autumn sown wheat. All kinds of crops culti-
vated in the home ranges were eaten. Corn,
potato, and wheat, which were the most com-
monly cultivated crops were most utilized by
the monkeys.

In the streets. Rhesus monkeys picked up
fruits, vegetables, rice, and the remains of
chapatis. Many people visiting the Jakoo
Temple and the Kali Bali Temple offer dried
beans, biscuits and fruits haphazardly. The
amount of food given to monkeys in the tem-
ples is possibly less than that given to the
Japanese monkeys which are so provisioned.
Furthermore, only a few individuals can ob-
tain food. The monkeys living in the streets
eat mainly leaves and seeds of Pinus walli-
chiana, fruits of Quercus incana, leaves of
Rumex sp., Stellaria media, grains of the Grami-

neae, and certain kinds of vines.

The Lower Bazar troop, the Ripon Hospital
troop, and the Boileauganj troop live mainly
on remnants of human food, and the Jakoo
Temple troops and the Ridge troop are mainly
dependent on trees and grasses in groves and
gardens.

Troop size, distribution of Rhesus monkeys

The Tara Devi troop and the Nhera troop
(Fig. 3), like troops in Narkanda and Sungri,
contain more than 30 individuals, whereas the
troops in the Simla streets, except for the Jakoo
Temple I and II troops, contained less than
30 individuals (Table 6). Therefore, the sizes
of troops in natural habitats were bigger than
those of troops in the Simla streets, except for
the Jakoo Temple I and II troops. The Jakoo
troops occupy Cedrus deodara-dominsitQd
forests around this temple, so that environ-

Table 6

Troop size of Rhesus monkeys

Area

Troop

No. of individuals

Kinds of habitat

Tara Devi

33

Forests and fields

Nhera

20-25

99

Jakoo Temple I

49

Forests along streets

Jakoo Temple II

44

99

Ridge

30

Streets

Lower Bazar

c 20

„

Simla

Rippon Hospital

15

99

Assembly

26

99

Karivali Temple

c 30

99

Cecil

15

Boileauganj

8

„

View

4

”

Dosa

37

Forests and fields

Narkanda

Nheri

36

99

Seri

46

Forests and fields

Sungri

Baiun

50

99

Jakka

37

”

481

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. 80

mental conditions are different compared to
those of troops in the streets. Furthermore,
these two troops obtained diverse foods from
people visiting the temple. The other troops
living in the streets could not get food from
people, but foraged in domestic refuse and
other items around Simla.

The home range of the ten troops in the
Simla streets (4 km x 1 km) overlapped wide-
ly and avoided the Quercus mowa-dominated
and Pinus roxburghii- dominated forests near
the streets (Fig. 6). On the other hand, troops
having fields and forests as home ranges were

continuously distributed so that the home
ranges were in contact, and sometimes over-
lapped (Figs. 3, 4 and 5).

The size of the 7 troops occupying forest
and field averaged 37.4 individuals, ranging
from 23 to 50.

Forests and terrace fields in the home range

The boundary of the home range was de-
fined as the line connecting the outermost
travelling routes. The sizes of the home ranges
in Narkanda and Sungri were observed over
comparatively long periods, it was difficult to

Table 7

Size of the home range of troops

Area

Troop

Maximum

Home

range (km2)

diameter of
home range

Forest

Field

Total

per ind.

(km)

Tara Devi
Nhera

Jakoo Temple I

2.0

2.6

<0.5

Jakoo Temple II
View

55

Simla

Ridge

Lower Bazar
Rippon Hospital
Kalivali Temple
Mall

55

55

5?

55

55

Cecil

55

Boileauganj

55

Swaya

2.4

Kufri

Nara

Bagna

Vahila

2.3

Nheri

2.1

1.0

0.5

1.5

0.04

Narkanda

Doza

1.3

0.5

0.1

0.6

0.02

Deolidhar

2.6

Seri

3.0

1.7

0.7

2.4

0.05

Sungri

Baiun

3.4

3.4

1.3

2.6

0.05

Jakka

c3.0

482

Dec (Nheri t£„)

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

483

Fig. 7. Seasonal changes in utilization within the home range of the troops at Narkanda.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

trace both troops in Sungri separately in Janu-
ary, so their separate status could not help
declining. But it was possible to determine the
size in other areas. In the latter cases, the
maximum diameter of the home range was
measured instead of the area (Table 7). Home
ranges in Narkanda were smaller than at
Sungri, but more extended observations might
have reduced the difference.

Terrace fields accounted for 29%-50% of
the home range, and are important as feeding
areas.

In comparison, monkey troops in Simla
moved little, presumably because the troop
were dependent on kitchen midden, groves and
gardens.

Changes of home range of Rhesus monkeys,
and food and snowfall

In Narkanda : The troop movements chang-
ed depending on the presence of ripe fruits in
the forests in autumn. In coniferous forests
between Nheri village and Narkanda street
(2,200-2,500 m a.s.l.) there were three places
where clusters of Vitis himalayana grow toge-
ther with coniferous trees, i.e., opposite Rela
Nimla, near the cliff ridge, and in the upper
part of Kanar village (Fig. 7).

Fruits of Vitis himalayana ripen fully in

Narkanda from mid-September to the end of
October. I observed monkeys in mid-September
and in early October in that area. At this
season, the Nheri troop used the area above
the road lying beneath Nheri village and in-
tensively utilized the coniferous forest beyond
Nheri village. The above-mentioned clusters of
Vitis himalayana were included within their
daily travelling course. Although I was inform-
ed that the troops appeared in corn, potato,
and pea fields around Nheri village, the troops
chiefly utilized food in forests during this
period.

The leaves of trees gradually start to turn
yellow in early October, and broad-leaved trees
and most of the undergrowth are defoliated
at the end of October. At the same time,
fruits of Vitis himalayana fall. As a result,
food variability becomes low, and the kind of
food available decreases. Seeds of Pinus walli-
chiana, fruits of Quercus semecar pi folia, and
Rosa moschatta, and certain other trees, leaves
and stems of Trifolium repens, and leaves of
the Gramineae were eaten remarkably. All these
plants covered the whole home range of the
Nheri troop.

At the end of November and the end of
December, the Nheri troop travelled around
Nheri village and Dhalar village, situated down-

Table 8

Utilization rates of forests and terrace fields in the home range of the Nheri-Doza troops

Survey period

Utilized amount of home range (hr)

Forests

Fields

Total

Troop

Sept.-Oct., 1972

29.0

0

29.0

Nheri troop

Nov.-Dee., 1972

15.3

6.4

21.7

99

Dec., 1972

9.2

0.6

9.8

Dosa troop

Total

53.5

7.0

60.5

484

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

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stream from Nheri village. At this season, the
variety of food decreased as already mentioned,
and the duration of stay in the terrace fields in-
creased greatly (Table 8). Although the mon-
key troop partly utilized the fields as a home
range in September and October, it moved
chiefly in the forests. However, by the end of
November the troop spent most of its time in
the fields, and sometimes remained in the same
field without being chased by farmers or dogs,
as seen on 29th November. In this season,
potatoes were harvested, but considerable
amounts of left-overs remained in the fields,
while the autumn sown wheat was about 20
cm long in sporadic distribution between Nheri
village and Dhalar village.

The main food sources of the Rhesus mon-
keys in this season in the terrace fields were
potato remnants and leaves of autumn sown
wheat. All individuals of the troop spread over
all parts of the fields in seeking these food
items.

Snowfall was recorded 10 times from Nov-
ember to January, 1972-1973 (Table 9). There
was about 20 cm snowfall above 2,200 m a.s.l.
on 24th November, but it rained below that
altitude. This snowfall remained for 6 days,
and subsequently, unwithered Trifolium repens,
and seeds of Pinus wallichiana were again ex-
posed.

The Doza troop was observed at the end of
December. This troop usually moved along
the western ridge of Doza village utilizing the
Pinus wallichiana-domin&tQd forests without
entering the terrace fields (Figs. 4 and 7). The
home range of this troop lies between 2,000 m
a.s.l. and 2,400 m a.s.l., where snow falls.
Going straight down from the ridge, it touches
the home range of the Nheri troop around
Dhalar village. At the end of December, the
Doza troop was travelling only in the forests.

485

Oct-early Jan (Baiun & Seri trs

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

486

Fig. 8. Seasonal changes in utilization within the home range of the troops at Sungri.

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

indicating that the forests offer an adequate
supply of food for the troop, contrary to the
case of the Nheri troop. These findings reflect
differences between the forest types of the two
ranges: Deodar-dominated forests wiith little
Pinus wallichiana in the Nheri troop range,
and Pinus wallichiana-dominaXcd forests in the
Doza troop range.

In Sungri : There are differences in the utili-
zation of home ranges between October-Dec-
ember and January, judging from 4 periods of
observation of the Baiun troop and the Seri
troop during the end of October, mid-Nov-
ember, mid-December and mid- January. During
the period between October and December,
they travelled in the area between Baiun village
and Seri village; the lowest point reached was
Sunmarkot, and the highest was near the
Simla-Bhali road (Figs. 5 and 8).

The Baiun troop travelled in the area of Baiun
village and along the Nagadhar ridge at the
beginning of January and the Seri troop travel-
led in the area of Seri village at the same time.
Since the middle of January in the survey area
troops were not found. So it is sure that the
Baiun and Seri troops travelled near Tikkri
village and Dugsa village during the middle
of January, and the third troop (Jakka troop)
was found at 16th January near Tikkri village,
so that 3 troops utilized the area from around
Tikkri village to Dugsa village, having over-
lapping home ranges (Fig. 8).

During my observation period, the 2 troops
used the upper part of their home ranges in
October-December, and the lower part in Janu-
ary.

The numbers of snowy days and the dura-
tion and amount of snowfall in Sungri were
almost the same as those in Narkanda, which
is situated at the same altitude. In Sungri, it
snowed about 10 times during the period bet-
ween November and the end of January, and

the time during which snow remained on the
ground increased gradually. The remaining
snow on the southern slopes melted within 3
or 4 days in November or December, but in
January snow fell very often, so that the ground
was fully covered. The snowfall on 8th, 12th,
18th and 20th January resulted in persistent
snow cover above Baiun village and Seri village
during January. In this respect, the snowfall in
January is different from that in November
and December.

The Baiun troop and the Seri troop chiefly
travelled around Baiun village and Seri village
in November and December, and changed their
home ranges to the region of Tikkri village and
Dugsa village in January. This change in home
range appeared to be related to the snowfall
in these areas. They concentrated around Tikkri
village and Dugsa village, where there was no
snowfall in January, while higher regions were
covered with snow.

Snow cover on the ground affects the move-
ment pattern of the monkeys by changing food
availability. Food items during October-
December were the seeds of Pinus wallichiana,
both on the ground and in pine cones, as well
as nuts and fruits of other kinds of trees, the
leaves and stems of Trifolium repens, many
kinds of grasses in the forests, remaining
potatoes and young leaves of autumn sown
wheat in the terrace fields. After heavy snow,
only the seeds of Pinus wallichiana in the forest
canopy remained available. One or two days
after snowfall in October-December, exposed
areas in the forests and the ridges of fields
became clear of snow and the monkeys obtain-
ed food in such places. Since the amount and
frequency of snowfall increased in January,
finding food on the ground became difficult.
The monkeys therefore utilized the lower part
of the home range, where there were potatoes
and young leaves of autumn sown wheat in

487

Daily travel distance of troops

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

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ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

the fields, and the seeds of P. wallichiana,
leaves of Berberis aristata and stems and leaves
of Trifolium repens in the forests, avoiding the
snow-covered regions in the upper part of the
range.

Differences in the movement pattern of the
troop appear to be related to changes in the
utilization rate of the fields and the forests.
The time spent by the troops in the fields and
in the forests from October to December were
quite different from those in January. In the
period between October and December, 83.3%
of the total observation time was spent in the
forests and 16.7% in the fields. However, in
January, only 48.4% was spent in the forests
and the remaining 51.6% in the fields. There
was a marked increase in the utilization of
the terrace fields.

The daily travel distance of a troop was not
affected by snowfall (Table 10). Footprints of
monkeys in the snow immediately after snow-
fall were less than 20 cm deep, so the abdomen
did not touch the snow surface.

In Narkanda and Sungri, the troops changed
their utilization areas to below the lowest limit
of snowfall after frequent snowfalls. This in-
dicates that such a change in home range is
due to difficulty in obtaining food in the pre-
sence of snow cover rather than to the low
temperature or the difficulty of moving in the
snow.

Before snowfalls, the troop utilized the
upper part of the home range, where the mem-
bers usually foraged the fruits of Vitis himala-
yana, which is abundant near Narkanda, and
the seeds of Pinus wallichiana in Sungri.

After snowfall, the troops descended below
the lower limit of snowfall and foraged the
seeds of Pinus wallichiana on the ground, Tri-
folium re pens, potato remnants and young
leaves of wheat. Because of forest area was
relatively small in the lower part of the home

range compared to the upper part around
Narkanda or Sungri, the degree of dependence
on the terrace fields became much higher.

As mentioned above. Rhesus monkeys tra-
velled out of snow-covered areas, and so their
travel distance and feeding behaviour were not
influenced directly by snowfall. They avoided
the worst conditions of snowfall in their habi-
tat by changing the areas of utilization within
the home range.

Inter troop relationships

In the survey areas, troops of Rhesus mon-
keys are distributed almost continuously, but
each troop has its own home range. Here I
describe the contact between troops, and the
joining and parting of troops which travelled
together for several days.

Intertroop relations were observed in Sungri
on 12th December, 1972, and 16th, 17th and
19th January, 1973 (Fig. 9).

Observation 1 (12th December, 1972, at
Nagadhar ridge) :

Nagadhar ridge is in the home range of the
Baiun troop. On the 11th December the Baiun
troop was observed in the upper part of the
ridge where it roosted in two groups separated
by about 1 km. On the 12th, the troop was
found in the place where it has spent the pre-
vious night, and then it moved slowly to the
east, and appeared in the terrace fields beyond
the Nagadhar ridge. This troop was composed
of 96 individuals. Divided into 2 parts by the
attack of a dog, 46 individuals escaped to the
east, and 50 individuals to the west. The troop
split very quickly, without confusion. The 46
individuals which went to the east travelled
slowly for two days around Seri and Dugsa
villages. On the other hand, the remaining 50
individuals stayed in the upper part of the
forest around Baiun village. It is almost certain
that the group of 50 individuals is the Baiun

489

Dec. 11, 1972 1972

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

490

Fig. 9. Joining and dividing of troops at Sungri.

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

troop, which contained 68 individuals at maxi-
mum and that the other group of 46 indivi-
duals was the Seri troop.

Observation 2 (16th January, 1973 at Tikkri

village) :

Forty-five individuals (B troop) were found
in the terrace fields near Tikkri village on 15th
January, and they travelled to the vicinity of
Dugsa village. On the following day, 45 in-
dividuals were found in the forest directly
below Dugsa village, and 3 6+a individuals (A
troop) in the fields of Tikkri village. The B
troop began to travel to the fields of Tikkri
village, following the same course that it had
taken the previous day. The top group of the
travelling troop was composed of two adult
females, one 1 -yr-old and one 2-yr-old, and they
approached the central part of the A troop,
which was spread out in the fields. Hereupon,
8 adults in the central part of the A troop
moved about 5 m toward high ground. Follow-
ing them, the A troop started to move slowly
to the upper part of the ridge, and the B troop
followed the A troop. Both troops travelled
about 1 km in 5 hr after joining: for 1.5 hr
out of the 5 hr, the distance between the 2
troops was only 10 m.

Before the A troop met the B troop, the A
troop may have been foraging in the terrace
fields near Tikkri village with the C troop
(Jakka troop), because footprints in the snow
on the night of the 15th were traced along that
line, and the C troop was observed 500 m away
travelling slowly in the direction of Jakka
village immediately after the joining of the A
and B troops.

Thus, the movement of the 3 troops appear-
ed to have been as follows: on the night of
15th the A and Jakka troops joined in the
fields near Tikkri village and travelled together
until the morning of the 16th. Immediately
after parting from the Jakka troop, the A

troop joined the B troop. They travelled toge-
ther all day long and roosted in the same place.

Observation 3 (19th January, 1973 at Tikkri

village) :

On 17th January, 45 individuals were found
around Tikkri village, and 47 individuals
around Dugsa village. On the following day, it
was reported that both troops were around
Dugsa village and Tikkri village at the same
time.

On 19th January, 33+a individuals (E troop)
from Dugsa village crossed a brook and
approached 52 +a individuals (D troop) in
the fields near Tikkri village. This situation
was exactly the same as the relation between
the A and B troops on 16th January, i.e.,
moving to the terrace fields near Tikkri village
along the same route that was taken on the
16th from the wheat fields below Dugsa village,
the E troop approached the D troop, which
was foraging in the fields. Three juveniles of
the D troop (3- to 5-yr-old) attacked individuals
of the E troop which were climbing the slope at
a distance of 15 m with “Ga, Ga, Ga” calls.
The top group of the E troop was composed
of an adult female, 1 -yr-old, 3 -yr-old and an
adult male, and 33 +a individuals of the E
troop joined the D troop. There was no trouble
during the contact between the 2 troops, and
86 individuals were eating together in the fields
for about 3 hr.

When I observed the A.B.D.E. troops, no
other troops were found in the survey area
except the Jakka troop. It suggests that the 4
troops correspond to the Seri and Baiun troops.

From the above-mentioned observations, the
following conclusions can be drawn: 1) Some
troops travelled together during certain periods,
2) When joined troops moved together, the in-
dividuals from each troop were not mixed but
retained their identity as separate troops, 3) In
the coming together of troops, there was little

491

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

antagonistic behaviour and 4) Converging of
several troops occurred in early winter when
snow cover was present for short periods, and
occurred again more frequently when monkey
troops moved to lower utilization areas after
snowfall. As autumn sown wheat fields and
potato fields were only seen around the Tikkri-
Dugsa-Sunmarkot villages at low altitude, the
monkey troops gathered in these limited areas
and the chance of troop meetings increased.
Grouping through troop procession

Rhesus monkey troops are composed of in-
dividuals of both sexes and of all ages; the
composition is very similar to that of the Japa-
nese monkey troop. One small group of 3 adult
males was found at Sungri, but continuity of
the group was not observed.

The observation of individual groupings with-
in the troop was limited to count of individuals
crossing streamlets or spreading out in the
terrace fields.

A) The grouping of troop processions:
the number of individuals of a troop, its com-
position by sex and age, and its grouping
structure were observed 14 times (Table 11).
When troops were moving across forest slopes
with feeding, they usually moved slowly with
individuals scattering. However, when crossing
streamlets, as in case 9, 12-14 of Table 11, all
individuals of the troop usually moved simul-
taneously and rapidly for a short period along
the same route. Since there were pauses among
moving monkeys, it was possible to distinguish
groups roughly. In all these cases the mon-
keys moved in several compact groups.

The grouping combination which occurred
most frequently consisted of adult males and
adult females with babies up to 3-yr-olds,
accounting for 39% of all groupings. Juveniles
were estimated at 4- to 6-yr-olds, and adults
at 7-yr-old and over for both male and female.
Babies in troop procession followed their

mother closely, or clung to her back or abdo-
men, while 1- to 3-yr-olds walked further
away from their mothers. The position of adult
males during troop movement varied.

Some 23% of the groupings consisted of
adult females and babies to 3-yr-olds, and
mothers were located at the center of group-
ings. The remaining 39% were as follows: 1)
males only, 2) male and adult females, 3)
juveniles of both sexes, 4) adult females and
juveniles of both sexes, 5) adult females only,
and 6) adult males and juveniles of both
sexes.

Some features were noted in the order of
individuals within each troop procession.

During rapid movement without feeding, the
leading part of the procession was composed
of adult males, adult females and babies to
3-yr-olds or adult females and babies to 3-yr-
olds. In case 9, the top group consisted of a
adult male with erect tail, 2 adult females with
a baby, and 3-yr-olds. In case 13, adult females
and babies to 2-yr-olds formed the top group.
They crossed a rivulet and were the first to con-
tact the A troop. Second and third groups
without adult males crossed the rivulet, and then
the tail-erecting adult male appeared 18 min
after the top group had forded. At that time
the top group had already joined the A troop.
In case 12, the top group consisted of adult
females and babies to 3-yr-olds.

It was not clear at which moment troops
moved. However, when the troop had started
to move, a male with erect tail in case 9, and
a adult female in case 13 led troop orientation
and the change of movement behavior.

The individuals consisting the top group
during troop procession included two combi-
nations: adult males, adult females and babies
to 3-yr-olds, of adult females and babies to
3-yr-olds only. In the former case, the posi-
tion of adult males in the group was not fixed.

492

Table 11, Procession composition at troop movement

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

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O Observation example exactly traced till last ind. of troop Juveniles estimated at 4- to 6-yr-olds

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

There were many adult males at the rear of
troop processions. Among 8 examples observ-
ed in detail, a male with erect tail occupied
the last position in one case. In 4 cases, a
male and female pair occupied the rear posi-
tion, and this may be related to the breeding
season. Even if troop started to move, such
pairs were $low to move, and as a result they
remained in the last half of the troop proces-
sion.

In one example, 5 adult males occupied the
rear of the troop procession with 21 individual
groupings composed of adult males, adult fe-
males and babies to 3-yr-olds.

Therefore, the rear of troop processions con-
sisted mainly of adult males in 6 out of 8
examples.

Once, the Doza troop was pursued and
attacked by a medium-sized dog in the forests
of Rela Nimla village near Narkanda. All the
monkeys of the troop climbed into the canopy
of Pinus wallichiana and ascended about 1 5 m
from the dog. When the dog approached, a
roughly 10-yr-old male stood on guard on the
ground. He adopted a threatening posture with
open mouth, but made no sound. The dog
barked and approached within 10 m of the
adult male. The animals faced each other in
this way for several minutes. In the meantime,
the other monkeys retreated. The adult male
backed away slowly from the dog, in the direc-
tion of troop movement.

B) Groupings in a troop spread out in ter-
race fields: In all 18 cases, partial spacing of
a troop was observed during feeding times.
The most frequent groupings were adult fe-
males with babies to 2-yr-olds or adult males
and adult females. In many cases adult males
were solitary, but they did not quarrel even
when converging into terrace fields with dis-
tances of 1-2 m between individuals.

The distribution changed according to the

size of the fields or forests in which feeding
occurred. In the narrow sections of Pinus
wallichiana along the brook of Narkanda,
troops picked up seeds of Pinus wallichiana
in a 100 m line along the brook slope.

In small wheat fields, e.g., 20 m x 20 m in
area, individuals ate with parts of their bodies
in contact. When they were spreading out to
eat potato remnants on terrace fields, they ate
sporadically over an area of 20 m x 50 m
(Plate).

In spite of the variation of habitat sizes, the
feeding area of a troop was usually within
100 m in diameter, with individual distances
depending on the sizes of the terrace fields
or forests. Thus, individual spacing corresponds
to the feeding environment.

Grouping of adult females with babies to
3-yr-olds most frequently appeared during
troop procession or feeding (Table 11).

Discussion

Determining factors of the upper limit of the
Monkey distribution

As mentioned above. Rhesus monkeys in-
clude terrace fields in their home ranges as an
essential part. The upper border of terrace
fields and upper limit of the monkeys coincide
with at 2,600 m a.s.l., so it could be suggested
that the upper limit of the monkeys are closely
related with the existence of terrace fields.

The type of forest and Monkey distribution

Rhesus monkeys in Simla, Kufri and Sungri
inhabit Pmws-dominated forests developed on
southern slopes and terrace fields. Cedrus
deodara-dom\ndAQ& forests usually spread on
northern slopes. The northern slope of Nar-
kanda, above Nheri village consists of Cedrus
deodara- dominated forest where troops fre-
quently utilized thick growth of Vitis himala-

494

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Wada: Rhesus monkeys

Rhesus monkey feeding in terrace fields.
(Photo: K. Wada)

Ecological characters of Rhesus monkeys and Japanese monkeys in snowy areas

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

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>’«A7a as staple food. Huge forests, especially
of Cedrus deodar a, remain on the northern
slopes along the ridge through Simla to Sungri
via Narkanda, while the southern slopes are
less forested. Rhesus monkeys were never
found in these forests, and Cedrus deodara
forests bordering terrace fields were little uti-
lized (i.e., the Cedrus deodara- dominated
forests between Sungri and Rampur, and on
the northern slopes in Kufri and Narkanda).
Cedrus deodara-dominated forests are not suit-
able as monkey habitats, because seeds of C.
deodara are little utilized as food, and there is
only limited food even in the undergrowth. In
autumn, these forests did not supply feeding
materials except for Vitis himalayana. There-
fore, the preferred habitats for monkeys were
locations with intermixed Pfiitts-dominated
forests and terrace fields on southern-facing
slopes under cultivation. Thus, monkey troops
were more continuously distributed on southern
slopes than on northern slopes (Figs. 3, 4
and 5).

Ecological adaptation to snowfall

The characteristics of Rhesus monkeys and
Japanese monkeys in snowy areas are compar-
ed in Table 12. The differences of ecological
characteristics are clearly related to the feed-
ing environments. Snow cover in coniferous
forest in winter restricts Rhesus monkeys’ food
to seeds within the cones on branches of
Pinus wallichiana. When snowfall during the
end of November and mid-December melts
within a few days, forest undergrowth is ex-
posed, and the troops do not change their
areas of utilization. After the end of Decem-
ber, snow falls very often, and the troops change
their areas of utilization as acquisition of foods
becomes difficult. So changes in the area of
utilization should not be affected by the lower-

495

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ing of ambient temperature, but rather, by the
snow cover.

On snow-covered coniferous forests there are
fruits of Aesculus indica (deciduous broad-
leaved) and of Quercus incana or semecarpi-
folia (evergreen broad-leaved), but monkeys
tend to eat mainly from Pinus.

Japanese monkeys inhabiting snowy forests
through winter do not lower their areas of
utilization to areas free from snow cover. They
winter on buds and bark of deciduous broad-
leaved trees in conjunction with their subcuta-
neous fat accumulated in autumn (Wada 1964).
Although conifers distributed sporadically in
deciduous broad-leaved forests supply roosting
sites for Japanese monkeys, they do not offer
food resources for the monkeys. There is a
severe food deficiency in coniferous forests, so
the distributional expansion of Japanese mon-
keys into coniferous forests is prevented (Wada
& Ichiki 1980).

As discussed above. Rhesus monkeys are
able to spread into secondary coniferous forests
formed from mixed broad-leaved forests for
the following reasons: (1) There are many
seeds of Pinus wallichiana in coniferous forests
as staple food in winter; and 2) Below 3,000
m a.s.l. in winter, the snow melts within a few
days, and the ground surface is exposed, mak-
ing food available again. It is possible that
the food supply of Rhesus monkeys in winter
is more abundant than in the case of Japanese
monkeys in snowy districts, so in autumn
Rhesus monkeys do not need to build up
reserves of fat.

Rhesus monkey movements and terrace fields

In general, monkeys included in the genus
Macaca appear in cultivated fields to feed on
crops. Japanese monkeys displaced by exten-
sive destruction of huge forest areas approach
hills around fields, and then cause damage to
many kinds of crops. As farmers in Japan

practice intensive cultivation, there is always
a conflict of interests. Therefore it is difficult
to be sure that Japanese monkeys include fields
in their home ranges.

In China too. Rhesus monkeys. Red-faced
monkeys and Pigtailed monkeys are violently
ejected from fields (Shaw 1962). In India,
especially in the lower Himalayas, Rhesus mon-
keys certainly include terrace fields in their
home ranges. The monkeys find potato rem-
nants. grasses belonging to the Gramineae,
corn, peas and young leaves of wheat as food
in the fields. Indian farmers do not rigorously
exclude monkeys from fields because cultiva-
tion is less intensive, and the monkeys are
regarded as servants of Hindu gods. When
monkeys pick up potato remnants, the farmers
are indulgent. More valuable crops are pro-
tected rigorously with fire crackers. The Rhesus
monkeys’ menu includes nuts, seeds, fruits,
young leaves and stems of plants, so cultivated
crops in fields become a part of natural habit
of fruit and seed feeding. On the other hand,
the staple foods of Himalayan langurs are
fruits and leaves of trees (Sugiyama 1976),
crops in fields are eaten as substaple foods.
So the langurs appear less in fields than Rhesus
monkeys. In view of the different utilization
of fields between the two monkeys, it would
be interesting to compare their adaptability to
environmental changes.

Sociological function of groupings in troop
procession

As seen above, the grouping of adult females
with babies to 3-yr-olds most frequently
appeared during troop processions. It suggests
that this is very important grouping in the
troop structure.

As I described about the Doza troop, a fully
adult male faced against a dog on the ground.
If there is a dog near a troop, the monkeys move

496

ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

from branch to branch. As they usually move
on the ground, troop movement from branch
to branch is abnormal. The role of the adult
males in such cases is to defend the monkey
troop from the interference of the dog by
facing it directly. Thus the adult males predo-
minate in the rear of a troop procession and
act as defenders.

Troop size , home range and forest type

In 5 troops, Neville (1968) counted an
average of 17.2 individuals per troop living
in chir pine forest, and Southwick, Beg and
Siddiqi (1961a) counted a troop of 68 in the
vicinity of Bhowali in the same habitat in India.
Puget (1971) described 7 troops of sized rang-
ing from c. 90 to c. 150 in dry forest in Afgha-
nistan. The size of troops clearly varied in
different areas. So it is difficult to indicate
the relation between the forest types and troop
sizes.

The sizes of home ranges in the tropical and
subtropical forests varied from 1.04 to 3.11
km2 (Neville 1968), and from 1.3 to 13.4 km2
(Makwana 1978). These sizes per individual
in the former are from 0.05 to 0.21 km2, and
in the latter from 0.15 to 0.22 km2, so they
are consistent with each other.

Comparing with my data (Table 10), the
sizes of home ranges per individual in the
temperate forest are smaller than in the tropi-
cal and subtropical forests. But, as the utiliza-
tion rate of forest and field included in a home
range is not mentioned by Neville and Mak-
wana, it is difficult to draw a conclusion to
these relations.

Acknowledgements

This study was financed by Japanese Minis-
try of Education Grants for scientific research.
Mr. J. C. Daniel, curator of Bombay Natural

History Society, Mr. K. L. Mehta, warden of
the Wildlife Department, Himachal Pradesh,
Mr. R. P. Jaiswal, officer of that Department,
and officers of Plimalayan Zoological Park of
the state provided generous help and advice,
especially Mr. Kansi Ram Sharma and Mr.
Prem Lai Sharma, staff of the Park gave me
their hearty support on all trips. Identification
of the trees and grasses was kindly made by
Mr. G. Murata, Department of Botany,
Faculty of Science, Kyoto University. Dr. Y.
Sugiyama and Dr. N. Koyama, staffs of Primate
Research Institute, Kyoto University perform-
ed co-operative studies with me in the field.
Dr. Sugiyama, Mr. S. Azuma and Dr. J.
Tanaka, staff of the same Institute gave valu-
able comments. To all these people, I wish to
express my sincere thanks.

Summary

This observations were done in the tempe-
rate forest of Kumaon Himalaya.

1) The upper limit of Rhesus monkeys coin-
cided with the upper border of terrace fields
at 2,600 m a.s.l.

2) Home ranges of Rhesus monkeys in the
survey areas include both types of habitats:
cultivated terrace and forests which consist
of evergreen broad-leaved-dominated and
Pmw5-dominated. The times spent in both
areas were 78% in forests and 22% in fields.

3) Terrace fields are essential for the feed-
ing place of Rhesus monkeys who take many
kinds of crops.

4) Rhesus monkeys take many kinds of fruits,
nuts and leaves of trees and grasses. In winter,
when variety of food decreases, the monkeys
take seeds of Pinus wallichiana as staple food.

5) The size of forest and field-occupying 7
troops averaged 37 . 4 individuals, and were big-
ger than those of troops in the Simla streets.

497

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

The size of the home range ranged from 0.6
to 2.6 km2 by 4 troops.

6) With the snowfall, the monkeys lower
their own utilizing areas in the home ranges.

7) Joining and dividing of monkey troops
occurred to the relation with lowering part of
home range free from snowfall. In the joining

Refer

Koyama, N. & Shekar, P. B. (1981): Geographic
distribution of the Rhesus monkeys and the Bonnet
monkeys in west-central India. /. Bombay nat. Hist.
Soc. 78(2): 240-255.

Lindburg, D. G. (1971) : The Rhesus monkey in
North India: An ecological and behavioural study.
In : L. A. Rosenblum, ed., Primate Behavior 2, pp.
1-106. New York and London. Academic Press.

(1976) : Dietary habits of rhesus

monkeys (Macaca mulatta Zimmermann) in Indian
forests. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 73 : 261-269.

Makwana, S. C. (1978) : Field ecology and be-
haviour of the Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) :

I: Group composition, home range, roosting sites,
and foraging routes in the Asarori forest. Primates.
19(3): 483-492.

Mukherjee, R. P. (1969) : A field study on the
behavior of two road side groups of Rhesus macaque
[Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann)] in northern Uttar
Pradesh. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 66(1) : 47-56.

Mukherjee, R. P. & Mukherjee, G. D. (1972):
Group composition and population density of Rhesus
monkey [Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann)] in North-
ern India. Primates. 15(1) : 65-70.

Neville, M. K. (1968): Ecology and activity of
Himalayan foothill Rhesus monkeys (Macaca
mulatta). Ecology. 49(1): 110-123.

Puget, A. (1971) : Observations sur le macaque
rhesus, Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann, 1780), en
Afganistan. Mammalia. 35(2) : 199-203.

Shaw, T. H., ed. (1962): Chinese economical ani-
mal monograph, Mammals. Peking Science Publish-

ed troops, there was little antagonistic behavi-
our.

8) Although I distinguished 8 grouping cate-
gories in troop procession, the grouping of
adult females with babies to 3-yr-olds most
frequently appeared. This would be a socio-
logically basic grouping of Rhesus monkey
troops. Adult males act as defenders.

E n ce s
ing Press.

Siddiqi, M. F. & Southwick, C. H. (1977) : Popu-
lation trends and dynamics of Rhesus monkeys in
Aligarh district. In : M. R. N. Prasad & T. C. A.
Kumar, eds., Use of non-human primates in biomedi-
cal research, pp. 14-23 Delhi University Press, New
Delhi.

Southwick, C. H., Beg, M. A. & Siddiqi, M. R.
(1961a): A population survey of Rhesus monkeys
in villages, towns and temples of Northern India.
Ecology. 42(3): 538-547.

(1961b) : A population survey of Rhesus monkeys
in Northern India. II. Transportation routes and
forest areas. Ecology. 42(4): 698-710.

Sugiyama, Y. (1976) : Characteristics of the eco-
logy of the Himalayan langurs. J. Hum. Evol. 5 :
249-277.

Stainton, J. D. A. (1972): Forest of Nepal. John
Murray. London.

Teas, J., Richie, T., Taylor, H. & Southwick, C.
(1980) : Population patterns and behavioural eco-
logy of Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in Nepal.
In: D. G. Lindburg, ed., The macaques: Studies in
ecology, behavioural evolution. Van Nostrand Rein-
hold Company. New York. 384 pp.

Wada, K. (1964): Some observations on the life
of monkeys in a snowy district of Japan. Physiol.
& Ecol. 12(1-2): 151-174.

Wada, K. & Ichiki, Y. (1980): Seasonal home
range use by Japanese monkeys in the Snowy Shiga
Heights. Primates. 21(4) : 468-483.

498

THE INDIAN MUGGER, CROCODYLUS PALUSTRIS
LESSON (REPTILIA, CROCODILIA):
OBSERVATIONS ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF A FEMALE

FROM NATURE1

Lala A. K. Singh2
( With six plates and a text-figure)

A female Mugger of River Mahanadi entered captivity at Tikerpada on January
31, 1979 to mate with captive males. On August 4, 1980 she broke through the wire-
mesh wall of the enclosure facing the river and returned back to the river. During
captivity her behaviour developed to be like other captive muggers with respect to
accepting food and relationship with keepers. Feeding was below normal to that of other
muggers. Scaleless fishes were preferred. Since she did not lay any eggs during two
breeding seasons she spent in captivity it is suspected that she had developed tem-
porary sterility in the prolonged absence of a male in nature. A series of courtship
behaviour, twice ‘initiated’ by presence of a tresspassing recessive male, were
observed outside and in the water. Males were sexually active throughout the year
but the female appeared receptive only during the winter. Orientation towards river
was very strong during flood in the river flowing 50 m away; and this behavi-
our is believed to have caused the final return from captivity to nature.

Introduction

Earlier (Singh 1979) I reported that during
December, 1977 to mid-February, 1978, cor-
responding with the breeding season for the
species, a wild female mugger crocodile ( Cro -
codylus palustris) from the Satkoshia Gorge
Sanctuary (River Mahanadi, Orissa) showed
strong sexual attraction towards 2 years and
10 months old (1.3-1. 8 m length) male mug-
gers reared in captivity at the Gharial Research
and Conservation Unit, Tikerpada (GRACU).
She was believed to be directed by olfactory
clues to chemical secretions from the males,

1 Accepted December 1981.

2 Central Crocodile Breeding and Management
Training Institute, 19-4-319, Lake Dale, Hyderabad-
500264, India. Present address: Camp: National
Chambal Sanctuary, P. O. Box 11, Morena 476 001,
M.P.

and perhaps also by the night time activities
of the males, which included noisy fights.

The present paper records subsequent obser-
vations on the mugger, namely her capture,
behaviour related to social interactions, feed-
ing, sexual activities and water orientation,
and her voluntary return to the wild after
eighteen months in captivity at GRACU.

Pre-capture movement

During 1978-floods (13.72 m above summer
level in the Gorge) her appearance close to
the mugger enclosure was evident from her
faecal pellets. It is not known if she had come
close to the enclosure any other time between
April 1978 and December 1978 since there
were no visual indications to her presence.
Rut she was regularly sighted in the river
near GRACU during November and Decem-
ber, 1978 and January 1979.

499

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

On the night of January 18, 1979 she had
come near the mugger enclosure, as was evi-
dent from tracks in the following morning.
The night watcher remembered that the previ-
ous night (18 Jan.) he heard splashing sounds
but had not paid any particular attenton to
it since such instances do occur on many
nights.

On 29 Jan., 1979 she had again come near
the enclosure between 23.00 and 24.00 hours,
during which time there was a small shower
as was evident from temperature and humidity
fluctuation graphs from the 24-hour record-
ing therinohygrograph at GRACU. She had
left behind tracks of her return journey while
her incoming tracks were obliterated by the
rain. She had defecated on the ground near
the enclosure where the large male was housed.
This was probably out of excitement.

The capture

On the night of January 31, 1979 again
she came near the enclosure at about 22.30
hours. The sound of splashing was heard from
the pools, as before. This time the night
watcher came near the enclosure until he heard
hissing sounds from the wild mugger, only 2
metres away from him in a position where
her head was juxt-apposed to the head of the
large male behind the wire-mesh wall.

Then the entire area including the enclosure
was surrounded by straw-covered bamboo-mat
frames, for which arrangements were made
earlier. It took about one and a half hours
to assemble the staff, bring the frames and
cover the area. During this time the mugger
had not changed her position. A big carpet
(‘dari’) was put over her. As usual with cro-
codilians, she tried to free herself from the
carpet-cover by moving back, as the carpet
did not completely cover the tail. When she

had freed herself completely the carpet was
again thrown over her and she was made to
repeat her performance till she came close to
the door into the enclosure. For the final time
the carpet was so put that while freeing
herself from the cover she moved into the
enclosure. That was the eve of Basanta Pan-
chami, a festival to worship Goddess Saraswati,
the Goddess of knowledge and erudition. So
the mugger was named ‘Basanti’.

Behaviour in captivity
I. Behaviour towards captive muggers

The enclosure into which Basanti entered
had one large pool, LP (4 x 4 x 1 m) and two
small pools, SP1 and SP2 (2x2x0.3m) set
in a total area of 52 m2 (Fig. 1). SP2 had
the large male (Ml) with whom Basanti was
seen ‘sexually’ communicating from outside
before her capture. LP had the second male
M2 and three females. The body lengths of
Basanti, Ml, M2 and the three females were
2.35, 2.16, 2.10 and 1.5-1. 8 m respectively. All
pools were separated from each other by a
1.5 m high wiremesh partition standing over
a 45 cm high massonry wall. As expected, the
behaviour of Basanti and the resident muggers
of the enclosure were extremely interesting
during the first several days of Basanti’s cap-
ture.

Basanti had reached SP2 by climbing over
the wall. On the night of capture and the
following day (Feb. 1, 1979) Ml was seen
many a times in a mounted posture over Ba-
santi. During the day, when Ml basked for a
couple of hours outside water, Basanti re-
mained in water, only 30 cm deep. On the
second night she climbed over the partition
between SP2 and LP and reached the bigger
pool, 1 m deep, having M2 and the immature
females. On the mornings of the 3rd and 4th

500

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate I

Singh: Crocodylus palustris

Courting behaviour when water is low. M is male. Snout to snout touch.
(Photo : L. A. K. Singh)

Plate II

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Singh: Crocodylus palustris

Courting behaviour when water is low. M is male.
A bove : Touching the eye. Below : Press the back.
( Photos : L. A. K. Singh)

BEHAVIOUR OF THE INDIAN MUGGER

r -- -• " “ -• -• •• -• “• •• “ “ •• •• “ “ *• ““ “• •• *• *• *• *•

< ROAD >

Fig. 1. The mugger enclosure at GRACU, Tikerpada. Area within solid lines : original
enclosure into which Basanti entered through the door (D). SP1 and SP2: small pools;
LP: large pool. Dotted line show the area extended (with open roof) over the original
enclosure. Areas with circles show vegetations.

3

501

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

days M2 and Basanti were seen in mounted
postures. Because of the depth of the pool
only the head and nape, occasionally bobbing
in water, were visible from outside.

On the 4th day morning (3 Feb.) the large
pool was emptied for cleaning. When the
water level came down the male appeared
extremely sexually active and exhibited vari-
ous courting behaviour (see below). During
prolonged courting activities of M2, Basanti
had produced low nasal hissings and vocal
grunts — perhaps indications of mild objection.
The expression in the eyes of the other females
suggested that they were scared of M2. On
a few occasions M2 had chased these females,
and once he mounted one’s back when the
latter, with protruded eyes (an expression of
anxiety) raised her head upward into air at
an angle of about 45-60° — the crocodilian
posture of submission. During this, other
females remained alongside Basanti who did
not show any objection.

During noon when water was filled, Basanti
remained in water, M2 was basking outside
and other females were also basking but along
a different side of the pool.

The wiremesh partitions were removed on
the 4th morning. By the afternoon of the 6th
day (5 Feb.) the immature females had come
out of LP and remained in SP1. Later, these
females never changed their pools but Ml
had on a few occasions gone to LP but was
chased away soon by M2 (see below).

II. Reaction to people

Up to about one and a half months after
capture, Basanti was extremely shy and often
going under water when the entrance door
was opened or even when someone approached
the enclosure within 10-12 m. When she was
watched she would surface briefly and then
submerge.

During later periods she remained on the
surface even when watched. After three and
a half months, when basking outside water,
like other captive muggers she permitted us
to approach within 45 cm from her.

Haul-out and basking : Day-time hauling
out was not observed until March 10, i.e., 38
days after capture. During the period prior
to this tracks suggesting night-time hauling
out were noticed. This was perhaps because
of the disturbance caused during the day by
labourers working on the extension of the
enclosure. Later, when such work stopped she
basked for two to three hours every after-
noon. Later when the enclosure was closed to
visitors she basked during the mornings also.

III. Feeding

Live fish of suitable size were released into
the pool for Basanti and the male in the pool
was ‘hand-fed’ as usual. Until about the third
month after capture no sign of her feeding
was noticed. She appeared slimmer but her
eyes indicated no sign of sickness. However,
during the early part of the 3rd month at
times she was seen on the surface holding dead
fish between the jaws. She never swallowed
these when watched. On two occasions por-
tions of fish, which had been released alive,
were seen floating on the surface. Since cap-
tive males are greedy and eat whole fishes
larger than these (from which the parts were
seen), it was suspected that Basanti had been
extremely ‘choosy’.

Later she responded to our approach with
her feed, and even accepted the feed when
thrown close to her mouth, but did not
swallow the food on such occasions until she
had been six months in captivity. Assuming
that the male (Ml) in the pool with Basanti
was eating its normal quantity of food, Ba-
santi’s feeding rate was determined from the
quantity of food provided in the pool and/or

502

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80 Plate III

Singh: Crocodylus palustris

Courting behaviour when water is low. F is female (Basanti).

Above : Side to side touch of the head.

Below : Male keeping the everted neck glands over the nostril of the female.
( Photos : L. A. K. Singh)

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc 80
Singh: Crocodylus palustris

Plate IV

Mounting as an attempt to mate. (But prevented because of low water).
M — male; F — female.

Courting behaviour in water. F — female. Early postures during mounting.
( Photos : L. A. K. Singh)

BEHAVIOUR OF THE INDIAN MUGGER

direct observation on her feeding. Table 1
shows the feeding rates for Ml, M2, Basanti
and other three females. As will be seen,
Basanti had eaten less than 50% of what the
males ate and round 67% of what the females
ate over a period of 11 months.

Basanti was more interested in food only
when she was fed once a week, even during
the summer. Whereas, other captive muggers
were fed every alternate day during the sum-
mer, every third day during rains and autumn,
and every fifth day during winter — a schedule
observed according to the variation in their
appetite.

IV. Interactions with male

A series of action were noticed to be exe-
cuted by the male in response to Basanti.
These patterns of behaviour may be considered
as the various aspects of courting and these
included social contacts like, (i) touching and
poking the eyes, the region of the ear slit,
sides of the jaws and the nape of the female
with the tip of the snout; (ii) keeping the
neck with everted scent (musk) glands over
the nasal apertures of the female, and (iii)
clasping the female behind her forelimbs.
These behaviour were observed when the pool
was emptied on more than one occasion.

When in water, courting behaviour were
observed on many occasions during early
mornings and late afternoons. A generalised
sequence of courting observed and photo-
graphed for Basanti and M2 is as follows.

(i) Male approaches female.

(ii) Female stays where she is or moves to face
the male.

(iii) Male floats alongside the female.

(iv) Male moves over to the back of the female.
Bodies under water only heads visible.

(v) Head of the male rests over the back or
nape of the female.

(vi) Male clasps the female from behind.

(vii) Bobbing heads visible intermittently. During
this the head of the female points upwards
at an angle of about 60° to water surface.
Both male and female make nasal hissing
sounds, and may exhale air through mouth
producing bubbling sound in water mixed
with low grunts by female. Small amounts
of air may be exhaled under water through
the nostril which appear on the surface in
the form of a series of bubbles.

(viii) Both surface in mounting posture. Heads
visible.

(ix) Male slightly opens and closes mouth four
to five times. Perhaps drinking water.

(x) Male separates; surfaces at a distance.

For the accomplishment of phases from (i) to (x)
it takes from 40 to 50 minutes.

(xi) After 5 to 8 minutes male moves along the
periphery of the pool; comes close to female;
moves away for peripheral movement again.

(xii) After 3 to 4 such peripheral movements,
during which he may or may not have been
joined by the female, male stops alongside
the female; shifts body from the side to the
back of the female. Female goes under
water, followed by male. Both reappear in
mounted posture.

(xiii) Repetition of (vii) to (ix) and may or may
not of (xi) and (xii). The latter two phases
have been seen to be repeated to a maximum
of two times, each lasting from 40 to 70
minutes. Later they maintain a distance of
over a metre.

Since the above behaviour were watched
from a distance of only two metres away from
the pool, outside the enclosure, the eyes of
both were clearly visible during the entire
period. The eyes appeared normal for the
female but at the end of each (x) -phase the
eyes of the male were definitely appearing
small with drooping eyelids — perhaps a sign
of exhaustion.

It was not observed on any occasion if
actual intromission had occurred since the
bodies were below water. The behaviour how-
ever, suggested that since the female, when

503

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vo!. 80

receptive, raises her tail above the water sur-
face, provision of shallow water areas in addi-
tion to deep water is beneficial for the mating
pair — the female gets her fore limbs supported
on the ground.

Clicking effect : On only two occasions

courting was ‘clicked’ because of tresspassing
by Ml, who had approached close to Basanti
basking outside water. Both the times M2
fiercely chased away Ml and immediately
thereafter exhibited social contacts as describ-
ed above. When Basanti entered water the
phases from (i) onwards were displayed.

Season : Courting activities initiated by the
male were observed throughout the year, but
the female appeared to be highly responsive
only during the morning and afternoon hours
in winter.

During the first year Basanti appeared to
be less tolerant to M2 after the mating season
in March. During the night M2 remained out
of water or in a different pool, returning back
the following morning when we go to the
enclosure for our usual work. While returning,
he was received with mildly ‘objecting’ grunts
from Basanti. Because of this M2 was trans-
ferred from the enclosure and Ml was allowed
into Basanti’s pool, but he was also rejected
and therefore, was taken out of the enclosure.
During October M2 was brought back to the
enclosure. After a few objections, M2 was
accepted by Basanti and the courting behaviour
continued during the winter.

V. Water orientation behaviour

During the initial phases of Basanti’s cap-
tive life, checks during the night had revealed
about Basanti’s movement along the walls of
the enclosure. This was then regarded as ‘ex-
ploratory’. But during the monsoon, when all
males were out of the enclosure and the river

was in high flood, only fifty metres away from
the enclosure, she showed strong orientation
towards the river. During post monsoon
(Autumn) such behaviour was either absent
or not very suggestive of the urge to go into
the river.

Back to the wild

Although Basanti had spent two breeding
seasons (1979 and 1980) at GRACU, she did
not lay any eggs. During 1980 a small pit,
20 cm deep and 10 cm diameter was dug during
March, but it was not confirmed to be an act
by Basanti because three other females were
in the same enclosure.

On the morning of August 5, 1980, an
opening was noticed between the joining line
of two wiremesh sheets on the wall facing the
river, and Basanti was missing from the en-
closure. On the same day she was observed
in the river about 2 km downstream. The total
duration of her stay in captivity was over
eighteen months.

Discussion

From the above although no generalisation
can be made on the behavioural biology of
the Mugger, the observations do add to the
scant existing knowledge.

Feeding : Crocodiles caught from the wild
do cease feeding for some time when kept in
captivity. This has also been observed recently
for saltwater crocodile hatchlings (Kar, S.,
pers. comm.) and a sub-adult (Choudhury, B.
C, pers. comm.). In the latter instance the
crocodile had not eaten anything for nearly a
year. Non-feeding by Basanti during the first
three months supports further the above obser-
vation.

Consumption of low quantities of food may

504

Plate V

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Singh: Crocodylus palustris

Courting behaviour in water. M — male.
Above : Late postures during mounting.
Below: Separation begins after phase (x) (see text).
( Photos : L. A. K. Singh)

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Singh: Crocodylus palustris

Plate VI

Courting behaviour in water. M — male, F — female.

Above : Peripheral movement by male when female is stationary. (Phase xi: see text).
Below \ Approach by male after peripheral movement for recourting. (Phase xii: see text).

( Photos : L. A. K. Singh)

BEHAVIOUR OF THE INDIAN MUGGER

be a normal behaviour in nature in contrast
to captive crocodilians who become greedy
and are over-fed.

Changed reaction towards male'. It is diffi-
cult to explain why Basanti objected to the
presence of the males after the mating season.
The only possible reason appears to be the
frequent courting attempts made by the cap-
tive males. In captivity crocodilians and
other animals appear to be sexually more active
(For e.g., see Dagg and Foster 1976).

Courtship and mating : The courtship and
mating(?) season observed in the present
paper agrees to that observed by Dharma-
kumarsinhji (1974) (March), Whitaker and
Whitaker (1976) (January-March) and Yadav
(1979) (February /March), but is a little diffe-
rent from David (1970) (December- January).

The behaviour observed during courting is
in many respects similar to that observed by
Dharmakumarsinhji (1947) on wild muggers.
The swimming behaviour is very similar.
‘Ducking’ behaviour, mounting in water and
separation after matings for renunion are also
similar. Yadav (1979) recorded mating to last
for 30-50 minutes but noted that no sound
was produced during mating. In the present
observation, however, sounds like hissing and
grunts were made by the female.

Failure to lay eggs : It is not known what
was the exact age of Basanti. However, fea-
tures like a high skull, pierced premaxilla (by
the mandibular teeth) and a lustre-less skin
indicated an age of over fifteen years. Since
this age was not early for breeding, nor was
late enough to have stopped breeding, Ba-
santi’s failure to lay even infertile eggs may
have been due to her having developed a tem-
porary sterility, perhaps in the absence of a
suitable male in the Satkoshia Gorge. Acharjyo
and Mishra (1981) have reported that in the
absence of a male, a captive Saltwater Croco-

Table 1

Feeding (fish) rates of basanti mugger and
OTHER CAPTIVE MUGGERS (M1-M2: MALES; 3F : THREE
IMMATURE FEMALES) AT GRACU, TlKERPADA.
Quantities are in Kg.

Period J

Basanti

M2

Ml

3F;

total

(mean)

Ml, M2,
3F total
(mean)

June, 1979

4.4

12.0

13.9

22.2

(7.4)

48.1

12.0)

July

6.1

(incl. 1
bird :
0.5)

10.0

13.5

21.85

(7.28)

45.35

(11.3)

Aug.

8.8

15.0

20.0

36.3

(12.1)

71.3

(17.8)

Sep.

*

18.0

22.2

23.4

36.3

(12.1)

81.9

(20.4)

Oct.

(1.10-28.10)

13.0

20.0

30.9

34.3

(11.4)

85.2

(21.3)

Nov.

(29.10-1.12)

10.0

25.0

25.5

36.1

(12.0)

86.6

(21.6)

Dec.

(3.12-30.12)

6.3

18.0

20.4

27.8

(9.2)

66.2

(16.5)

Jan., 1980
(31.12-3.2)

10.0

20.8

21.7

41.1

(13.7)

83.6

(20.9)

Feb.

(4. 2-2. 3)

9.0

21.9

23.7

35.7

(11.9)

81.3

(20.3)

March

(3.3-30.3)

9.0

21.55

24.0

35.7

(11.9)

81.25

(20.3)

April

(31.3-4.5)

20.0

27.2

30.7

42.4

(14,1)

100.3

(25.0)

Total

(June 1979-
April 1980)

106.9

213.65

247.7 369.75
(123.25)

835.8

(208.9)

Mean

(monthly)

9.71

19.42

22.51 33.61

(11.20)

75.9

(18.9)

505

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

dile laid eggs from 1975 each year up to
1978. I ascertained later, that she stopped
laying thereafter, perhaps yet another case of
development of temporary sterility in the
absence of successful completion of the entire
sequence of behaviour in breeding.

Water orientation and return to the wild :
The behaviour of Basanti was for some time
exactly like that of other captive muggers,
particularly in allowing close approach during
feeding. She appeared normal to captivity
that she had volunteered in January 1979.
However, during the monsoon she show-
ed very strong attraction towards the river.
Such water orientation behaviour is similar to
that noticed for the Gharials at GRACU
(Singh 1978). During the post-breeding sea-
son this pull was strong enough for her to
break through the wiremesh wall and enter
the river, flowing only 50 m away.

(NOTE : While preparing the present ver-
sion of the paper from a draft prepared in
August 1980, I was informed that through a

Refer

Acharjyo, L. N. & Mishra, Ch. G. (1981) : Egg-
laying and nest-guarding behaviour of Estuarine
Crocodile ( Crocodylus porosus, Schneider) in
captivity. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 78(2): 387-
389.

Dagg, A. I. & Foster, B. (1976): The Giraffe:
Its biology, behaviour and ecology. Van Nostrand
Reinhold Company, New York, Cincinnati, Atlanta,
Dalla, San Francisco.

David, R, (1970) : Breeding the Mugger Croco-
dile and Water monitor Crocodylus palustris and
Varanus salvator at Ahmedabad Zoo. bit. Zoo
Yearbook, 10: 116-117.

Dharmakumarsinhji, K. S. (1947): Mating and
the parental instinct of the Marsh Crocodile (Cro-
codylus palustris Lesson). /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,

trap I had designed, Basanti entered captivity
again in February 1981, laid eggs in captivity
and now she has five hatchlings.)

ACK NO WLEDGEM E NTS

I wish to record my sincere gratitude to the
following for various kinds of assistance dur-
ing the study : Orissa Forest Department,
Government of India, Food and Agriculture
Organisation of the United Nations, United
Nations Development Programme, and staff
of the Gharial Research and Conservation
Unit (GRACU), in particular to Research
Assistants Sri D. K. Sahoo and Sri I. C. Sahoo,
and Gharial (Crocodile) Guards operating in
the Satkoshia Gorge Sanctuary. Sincere thanks
are due to Dr. H. R. Bustard who encouraged
and provided suggestions for the improve-
ment of the original manuscript, and to Sri
B. C. Choudhury (Andhra Pradesh Crocodile
Project) and Sri S. Kar (Saltwater Crocodile
Research and Conservation Unit, Dangmal,
Orissa) for information.

E n ce s
47(1) : 174-176.

Singh, L. A. K. (1978): Ecological Studies on
the Indian Gharial Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin)
(Reptilia, Crocodilia). Ph. D. thesis, Utkal Univer-
sity, Bhubaneswar, India.

(1979): Sexual attraction of a

wild mugger (Crocodylus palustris Lesson) toward
captive muggers. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 76(1) :
167-172.

Whitaker, R. & Whitaker, Z. (1976): Collection
and hatching of Marsh Crocodile (C. palustris)
eggs. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 73(2) : 403-407.

Yadav, R. N. (1979) : A further report on breed-
ing the Mugger Crocodile Crocodylus palustris at
laipur Zoo. Int. Zoo Yearbook, 19: 66-68.

506

AUTHORS’ CATALOGUE OF THE BOTANICAL
ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY-II
(VOL. 67-76; 1970-1979)1

Compiled by
A. R. Das2

The first catalogue of this series was pub-
lished in this journal [Vol. 73(1): 98-120,
1976] representing Vols. 1-66, 1886-1969. The
second series is presented here covering sub-
sequent ten years. For easy retrieval of bota-
nical informations, scattered in this journal,
such catalogues are expected to go a long way
as an important aid to scholars, engaged in re-
search of botany in India. Entries have been
done here alphabetically under single author,
followed by joint authors alphabetically and
then chronologically. Similar catalogues are ex-
pected to be compiled in future, after sufficient
number of volumes of this journal are
published.

Almeida, M. R. (1975): A new species of Poaceae
(Gramineae), from Karnataka. 72(3): 813-814.
Ansari, M. A. (1972) : A new Ceropegia Linn.
(Asclepiadaceae) from Sahyadri Range in Maha-
rashtra State. 69(1): 250-253.

Arora, C. M. & Prasad, R. (1978) : Geranium pusil-
lum L. — a new record from Garhwal Himalaya.
75(2): 523.

Arora, R. K. (1977): Occurrence of Strophiolate
seeds in Cajanus . 74(3): 568-569.

& Hardas, M. W. (1976): Occur-
rence of Solanum integrifolium and S. gilo in
North-Eastern Hills. 75(2): 423-424.

— — & — (1977) : Hodgso-

nia heteroclita an oil-rich cucurbit. 74(3) : 559-561.
Arora, R. K. & Prasad, R. (1978): Malva verti-

1 Accepted December 1981.

2 Librarian, Botanical Survey of India, P. O. Bota-
nic Garden, Howrah-711 103, West Bengal.

cillata — a little known plant of economic im-
portance. 75(1) : 251-252.

Ashtekar, P. V. & Kamat, N. D. (1979): Filamen-
tous myxophyceae of Aurangabad District, Maha-
rashtra. 76(1) : 215-217.

Azad, A. R. & Javeid, G. N. (1978) : Carduus tenui-
florus Curtis. (Asteraceae) : an addition to the
flora of India. 75(1): 249-251.

Babu, C. R. (1970) : The identity of Solanum khasia-
num Cl. var. chatterjeeanum Sen Gupta (Solana-
ceae). 67(3): 609-611.

(1972) : On the occurrence of Ludwigia

hyssopifolia (G. Don) Exell (Onagraceae) in West-
ern India. 69(1): 227.

— & Chandra, S. (1971): A new variety

of Selinum vaginatum (Edgw.) Cl. (Apiaceae)
from N. W. Himalaya. 68(2) : 497-498.

— & Majumdar, N. C. (1974): Taxono-

mical notes on Cleome aspera Koen. ex DC., C.
burmanni Wt. & Arn. and C. rutidosperma DC.
(Cleomaceae) . 77(3): 629-632.

Bahadur, K. N. et al. (1973) : New plant records
for Upper Gangetic Plain. 70(2) : 493-498.

Balakrishnan, N. P. (1970a): Nomenclatural notes
on some flowering plants — II. 67(1) : 57-66.

(1970b): Studies in Indian

Euphorbiaceae IV. 67(2) : 299-306.

(1974) : Hedy otis tavoyensis Balakr.

(Rubiaceae) — a new species from Burma. 77(1) :
168-169.

(1976) : A new species of Euphor-
bia (Euphorbiaceae) from Burma. 75(1): 189-190.

(1978) Notes on some orchids

from Bhutan. 75(1): 157-163.

& Nair, N. G. (1979) : The genus

Amomum Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) in Andaman and
Nicobar Islands. 76(1) : 196-199.

Balapure, K. M. (1971): Some additions to our

507

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

knowledge of the plants. Ramtek (Maharashtra).
68(2): 363-377.

(1976): Two new plant records

for Nagpur (Maharashtra). 73(1): 243-244.

, Banerjee, D. K. (1971) : Panicum elegcmtissimum
Hook. f. from India. 68(2) : 494-495.

Banerjee, M. L. & Thapa, B. B. (1970-1976) :
Orchids of Nepal —

Part 3 — 67(2) : 139-152, 1970; Part 4 — 68(1) :
29-36, 1971; Part 5 — 68(3): 660-665, 1971; Part
6 — 69(2) : 283-289, 1972; Part 7 — 70(1) : 25-35,
1973; Part 8 — 70(2) : 310-338, 1973; Part 9 —
72(1): 30-42, 1975; Part 10 — 73(1): 149-156,
1976.

Banerjee, R. N. (1975) : Pseudobrassaiopsis — a
new genus of Araliaceae with a note on the status
of Euaraliopsis Hutch. 72(1) : 71-73.

Bedi, S. J. & Thaker, D. N. (1973): The occurrence
of Chrysanthellum indicum DC. in Gujarat State.
70(3): 590-591.

Behera, B. N. et al. (1979): Grasses of Bhubanes-
war and neighbourhood. 74 (Suppl.) : 651-656.

Bennet, S. S. R. (1970a) : The taxonomic status of
the section Fissendocarpa (Haines) Raven of the
Onagraceous genus Ludwigia L. 67(1) : 125-126.

(1970b) : Nomenclature of two

Indian Plants. 67(2): 358-359.

(1971a): The taxonomic status of

the genus Pongamia Vent. (Papilionaceae) . 68(1) :

302-304.

(1971b) : On the occurrence of

Amaranthus lividus Linn. ssp. Polygonoides (Moq.)
Probst. and Fimbristylis alboviridis Clarke in W.
Bengal. 68(2) : 491-492.

Bhandari, M. M. (1971): Caralluma edulis Edgew.,
Benth. & Hook.: a new record for India. 68(1):
296-297.

(1975): Neoytpe of Farsetia

macrantha Blatt. & Hallb. (Cruciferae) . 72(2):
604-606.

& Mehta, M. R. (1979) : Datura

ferox Linn, a new record for India. 76(3) : 550.

Bharati, S. G. & Hegde, G. R. (1979): A systematic
account of Chlorococcales of Hassan District, Kar-
nataka State, India. 76(3) : 545-547.

Bhardwaja, T. N. & Sen, S. K. (1977): Occurrence
of water Fern Marsilea near Digha sea beach in
West Bengal (India). 74(2): 392-393.

et al. (1978) : New

localities for Leptosporangiate ferns in Rajasthan,

India. 75(2): 533-535.

Bhargava, A. K. (1978) : Pine forests in Nepal.
75(2): 535-536.

Bhaskar, V. & Gopinath, K. (1975) : Nocturnal
pollination in Antirrhinum majus Linnaeus by
Xylocopa rufescens Fabricius. 72(2) : 602-604.

Bhatt, D. D. (1971) : A coral tree from Nepal.
68(2): 490-491.

Bhatt, R. P. (1971) : Notes on Spergula fallax
(Lowe) E.H.L. Krause and S. vernalis Willd.
68(2): 492-494.

Bhattacharya, B. (1977): A note on the Lolium
duthiei (Hack, ex Hook, f.) Baruna Bhattacharya.
74(1): 207-208.

Bhattacharya, P. K. (1976) : A note on two species
of Ipomoea, namely 7. carnea Jacq. and I. fistulosa
Mart, ex Choisy in Eastern Asia. 75(2) : 317-320.

Bhide, A. V. (1978) : Kallstroemia pubescens (Don)
Dandy — a new record for Maharashtra State.
75(2): 529-531.

Bir, S. S. & Vasudeva, S. M. (1971): Pteridophytic
flora of Kodaikanal. 68(1): 169-195.

(1979) : Corrections

and additions to the pteridophytic flora of Kodai-
kanal (South India). 76(3) : 556-558.

Birari, S. P. (1973) : A new species of Themeda
Forsk. from India. 70(3): 346-347.

& D’Cruz, R. (1976): A new species

of Pseudanthistiria (Hack.) Hook. f. from India.
75(1): 192-194.

Biswas, S. N. & Prasad, R. (1970): On the occur-
rence of Buddleja davidii Franch. (Loganiaceae)
in India. 67(2) : 359-360.

Blasco, F. (1970) : Aspects of the flora and ecology
of Savannas of the South Indian Hills. 67(3):
522-534.

& Legris, P. (1973) : Dry evergreen

forest of Point Calimere and Marakanam. 70(2):
279-294.

Bole, P. V. & Almeida, M. R. (1977 & 1979) : List of
type specimens of some species, varieties and formas
deposited in Blatter Herbarium, Bombay. 74(2) :
220-232; 74 (Suppl.) : 610-626.

(1977) : Four new

species of Pteridophytes from Bombay Presidency.
74(2): 320-325.

& Fernandez, P. R. (1973): Notes on

Bombay plants. 70(2) : 409-412.

Ceiaghtai, S. A. & Garg, A. (1979): New records
of Euphorbiaceae from Madhya Pradesh. 76(2) :

508

CATALOGUE OF BOTANICAL ARTICLES

371-372.

Chakraborty, P. (1979) : New record of plants from
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 76(1): 212-215.

Chandra, D. (1978): Choerospondias auriculata

(Anacardiaceae) — a new species from India. 75

(2) : 457-460.

(1979a): A critical note on Rhus

javanica L. (Anacardiaceae). 76(3) : 554.

Chandra, P. (1979) : Ferns of Kedarnath, Madhya-
maheshwar and Tungnath. 74 (Suppl.) : 640-650.

& Devi, S. (1976) : Thelypteris auges-

cens (Link.) Munz. Johnston: a new record from
India. 75(1): 244-247.

Chandrabose, M. (1978) : A new species of lmpa-
tiens Linn. (Balsaminaceae) from South India. 75

(3) : 901-902.

Chauhan, U. S. & Dey, A. C. (1971): Aquatic and
marshy angiosperms of Roorkee Sub-Division.
68(3): 750-755.

Dabhade, G. T. (1974a) : Orchidaceae from Western
India. 7/(1) : 164-168.

(1974b): Axillary archegonia in

Splachnobryum indicum Hamp. et C. Muell. from
Bombay. 77(2): 342-343.

Dakshini, K. M. M. (1970 & 1974) : Flora of Moth-
ronwala Swamp Forest (District: Dehra Dun, U.P.,
India). 67(2): 176-186, 1970, ibid 77(2): 235-243,
1974.

Das, A. R. (1976): Authors’ catalogue of the bota-
nical articles published in the Journal of the
Bombay Natural History Society (Vol. 1-66, 1886-
1969). 75(1): 98-120.

Das, D. & Pramanik, B. (1970) : A note on Chrysan-
themum leucanthemum Linn. (Asteraceae). 67(3) :
613-614.

Datar, R. & Vartak, V. D. (1977) : Occurrence of
Ipomoea sindica Stapf in S. India. 74(2) : 390-392.

Davidar, P. (1978) : Dispersal in some Loranthaceae
of the Nilgiris. 75(3): 943-945.

(1980) : Notes on the host plants of the

Loranthaceae in the Nilgiris. 75 (Suppl.); 1246-1253.

Davis, T. A. (1970) : Prefoliation in Scindapsus offi-
cinalis Schott. 67(2) : 250-258.

— — & Bhattacharya, C. (1978): Bilateral

symmetry in the reproductive structures of some
palms. 75(3): 698-717.

et al. (1971): A symmetry in Palm

leaves. 68(1): 204-231.

Deb, D. B. & Das Gupta, S. (1975): New taxa of
the genus Dipcadi Medik (Liliaceae). 72(3): 822-

824.

& (1978): Revision of

the genus Dipcadi Medik (Liliaceae) in India and
adjoining regions. 75(1) : 50-70.

Deb, D. B. & Dutta, R .M. (1971-1974): Contri-
bution to the Flora of Tirap Frontier Division.
65(3) : 573-595. 1971; 69(3) : 547-573. 1972; 76(1) :
72-94. 1973; 17(2): 266-294. 1974.

Deori, N. C. & Malhotra, C. L. (1977) : Eria pudica
Ridl. (Orchidaceae) — a new find from Khasi and
Jaintia Hills. 74(1): 205-206.

Deshpande, U. R. (1979) : An interesting grass from
Maharashtra. 76(1) : 204-205.

Dhillon, K.B.S. & Bhandari, M. M. (1973): Some
plant records of Rajasthan. 70(3) : 577-582.

Dhir, K. K. & Dutta, K. S, (1977): Ferns of
Dharamsala Hills. Ophioglossaceous, Schizaeceous
and Hymenophyllaceous series. 74(3) : 459-480.

& Rani, K. (1979) : The genus Athy-

rium Roth, in Nainital Hills. 76(1): 49-58.

Diiyani, S. K. (1981): A new distributional record
for Distemon indicum Wedd. from Tehri Garh-
wal. 76(1): 200-202.

Ellis, J. L. and Karthikeyan, S. (1973): Notes on
some interesting plants from South India — II.
70(3): 594-599.

& Swam i nathan, M. S. (1975): Notes

on some interesting plants from South India — III.
72(1): 230-236.

Futehally, Z. (1970): 10th general assembly and
11th technical meeting of the International Union
for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resour-
ces. 67(1) : 30-39.

Gadgil, M. & Vartak, V. D. (1975) : Sacred groves
of India — a plea for continued conservation.
72(2): 314-320.

Gandhi, H. P. et al. (1975): Occurrence of Ophio-
glossum fibrosum Schum. at Junagadh in Sau-
rashtra. 72(3): 878.

Ganguly, P. & Pal, D. (1975): Some notes on the
distribution nature of hosts and symptoms of a
flowering parasite, Macrosolen cochinchinensis
(Lour.) Van Tiegh. in West Bengal. 72(3) : 883-
886.

Gena, C. B. et al. (1976): Isoetes in Rajasthan.
75(3): 559-562.

Ghosh, B. & Banerjee, R. N. (1979a) : Notes on the
distribution of a few Indian grasses. 76(2) : 376-377.

& (1979b): Notes on

Cleome rutidosperma DC. in India. 76(3) : 555.

509

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

& Maity, G. G. (1978) : Occurrence of

three taxa in West Bengal. 75(2) : 525-526.

Ghosh, R. B. (1970) : On a new recorded host species
of Dendrophthoe falcata (L.F.) Ettingsh. 67(2):
354.

& Banerjee, R. N. (1976): A note

on Enkianthus himalaicus Hook. f. et Thoms.
(Ericaceae). 75(2): 431.

& Biswas, M. C. (1977): A prelimi-
nary observation on the ferns of the Garo Hills
in Assam. 74(3): 571-575.

& Maity, G. G. (1979) : Primula glabra

Klatt — a new record for Assam. 76(3) : 559-560.

— & Prasad, R. (1970) : Celome rutido-

sperma DC. (Capparaceae) — A new record for
Assam. 67(1): 128-129.

Ghosh, R. B. et al. (1971): On the occurrence of
Atalantia missionis Oliv. in the District Burdwan
in West Bengal. 68(3): 851-852.

et al. (1976) : Eupatorium erythropap-

pum Robinson — a new record for India. 75(3):
554-556.

et. al. (1977): Two little known or

rare plants from Eastern India. 74(3): 564.

et al. (1978): A note on Kaempferia

angustifolia Roscoe. 75(1) : 248-249.

Goel, J. P. & Singh, H. (1976) : Acanthospermum
australe (Loefl.) Ktze. A new distributional record
for the plants of Punjab. 75(1): 240.

Govindarajalu, E. (1972a) : Studies in Cyperaceae
— V. Novelties in Fimbristylis (L.) Vahl. 69(1):
159-164.

(1972b): Studies in Cyperaceae

IV. Notes on Scleria rugosa R. Br. and its complex.
69(1): 246-249.

Gupta, B. K. (1978) : Studies on the genus Cymbo-
pogon Spreng. VIII. A contribution to the classi-
fication of Indian species of Cymbopogon. 75(2):
450-453.

Gupta, R. (1971) : Medicinal and aromatic plants
of Bhandal Range Church Forest Division, Chamba
District, Himachal Pradesh. 65(3) : 791-803.

Gupta, V. B. (1979): A contribution to the flora
of Bari-Bareli Range (Raisen Dist), M.P. 74
(Suppl.) : 657-682.

Hajra, P. K. (1978) : Notes on distribution of some
plants. 75(3) : 942-943.

Henry, A. N. (1978): Rare and threatened flowering
plants of South India. 75(3): 684-697.

& Subramanyam, K. (1976): A new

Marsdenia R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae) from South
India. 75(1): 186-187.

& Swam inathan, M. S. (1978): A new

Hoya R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae) from South India.
75(2): 462-464.

— (1979): Rare

or little known plants from South India. 76(2) :
373-376.

Husain, S. J. & Kapoor, S. L. (1970): Some inte-
resting plants from Lucknow and its neighbour-
hood. 67(3) : 618-620.

Hynniewta, T. M. (1979) : Record of Eria brac-
tescens Lindl. from Nagaland. 76(3) : 548.

Jain, S. K. (1970) : A rich, but little known collec-
tion of Indian plants in U.S.S.R. 67(3): 620-622.

(1971a) : Arthraxon deccanensis sp.

nov., a new grass from India. 65(1): 297-299.

& Hemadri, K. (1971b) : A new grass

from India: Arthraxon junnarensis sp. nov. 65(1):
300-301.

& Pal, D. C. (1975a): A new species

and notes on the genus Anthoxanthum L. (Poa-
ceae). 72(1) : 90-96.

et al. (1975b) : Grasses of Bihar,

Orissa and West Bengal. 72(3) : 758-773.

Janardhanan, K. P. (1973): On the occurrence of
Cuscuta santapaui Banerji & Das in Western Hima-
layas. 70(1): 230-231.

& Prasad, R. (1974): On the

occurrence of Zizyphus glaberrima Sant, in Nor-
thern India. 71(2) : 344.

Javeid, G. N. (1977) : Some new records of tropi-
cal plants from the temperate Kashmir Valley. 74
(3): 569-570.

Joseph, J. et al. (1979) : Burmannia championii Thw.
— an addition to the flora of South India. 76(3) :
553.

Kak, A. M. & Javeid, G. N. (1977): Galium
palustre L. and Eleocharis acicularis (L.) Roem.
et Schult. — two new plant records for India.
74(1): 208-209.

Kamat, N. D. (1973): Algae of Nainital. 76(3):
582-586.

(1975a): Algae of Vidarbh, Maha-
rashtra. 72(2): 450-476.

(1975b) : Desmids of Marathwada,

Maharashtra. 72(2): 616-618.

& Aggrawal, R. (1975c): Diatoms

of Nainital. 72(1): 240-241.

Kamat, N. D. & Tiwari, S. R. (1977): Desmids of

510

CATALOGUE OF BOTANICAL ARTICLES

Nagpur, Maharashtra. 74(3 ) : 577-579.

Kapahi, B. K. & Sarin, Y. K. (1979): Contribution
to the botany of Lahaul. 74 (Suppl.) : 627-639.

Kapoor, S. L. et al. (1976): A botanical trip to
Moralkanda (Himachal Pradesh). 73(2): 329-347.

Kaul, A. K. & Karihaloo, J. L. (1974) : Shepherd’s
purse — an edible plant of Kashmir. 71(3) : 628.

Kaul, M. K. (1972) : Two new plant records for
India from Kashmir. 69(1): 229-230.

(1975a): New plant record for India

from Kashmir — II. 72 ( 2): 609-615.

(1975b): Contribution to the Umbelli-

fers of Kashmir. 72(3) : 692-715.

Kaul, T. N. & Kachroo, J. L. (1971): A note on
the occurrence of Phallus hadrianii Vent, ex Pers.
in India. 68(2) : 498-499.

(1974) : Common

edible mushrooms of Jammu and Kashmir. 77(1) :
27-31.

Kelkar, S. S. & Lattoo, C. S. (1972) : On the ger-
mination of Cocoa seeds. 69(1) : 239-241.

& (1979): Further

notes on the identification of the genus Tephrosia
Pers. 76(3) : 560-562.

Khan, M. A. R. (1980):: A comparative account
of the avifauna of the sholas and the neighbour-
ing plantations in the Nilgiris. 75(Suppl.): 1028-
1050.

Kostermans, A. J. G.H. (1977): A new species
of Diospyros (Ebneaceae) from Western India.
74(2): 326.

Kulkarni, A. R. (1971): Notes on the distribution
of Sesamum mulayanum Nair in Maharashtra. 68

(2) : 495-496.

(1974): Nicotiana glauca Graham

— a tree tobacco in Maharashtra. 71(2) : 340^342.

& Desai M. H. (1970): Tubers

in Eriocaulon ritchieanum Ruhl. 67(1): 134-135.

& (1972): Family

Eriocaulaceae in Kolhapur and its environs. 69(1):
231-235.

& (1974): A new

species of Eriocaulon from Maharashtra. 77(1) :
81-84.

& Mudgal, P. V. (1970) : Family

Commelinaceae in Kolhapur and its environs. 67

(3) : 616-618.

& Thite, A. N. (1979) : Additions

to the flora of Kolhapur District. 74 (Suppl.);
592-609.

Kulkarni, B. G. & Wadhwa, B. M. (1973): Some
interesting and rare plants from Maharashtra
State. 79(1) : 234-238.

Kumari, G. R. & Rao, G. V. S. (1976) : A new
species of Caralluma (Asclepiadaceae) from
India. 73(1): 194-196.

Madhavadian, P. et al. (1974) : Hermaphroditism in
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz.). 77(3) : 635-
639.

Mahabale, T. S. & Kulkarni, K. M. (1975) : Studies
on Palms: fruits, seeds and their germination in
Livistona chinensis R. Br. 72(3) : 655-661.

Maheshwari, J. K. (1972) : Tagetes minuta Linn, in
Simla Hills. 69(2): 451.

& Paul, S. R. (1973): Occur-
rence of Lepidium virginicum Linn, in Netarhat
plateau (Bihar). 79(3): 575-576.

& Paul> S. R. (1975) : The exo-
tic flora of Ranchi. 72(1): 158-188.

& Singh, V. (1972): Parasitism

by three species of Loranthus on a single host
plant. 69(2): 452-453.

& (1973) : The aqua-
tic and marshland plants of Bundi District, Rajas-
than. 79(2): 438-446.

Majumdar, N. C. (1970) : Notes on Stellaria sexa-
tilis Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don, Stellaria vestita Kurz
and Stellaria sikkimensis Hook. f. 67(1) : 26-29.

(1977): On the nomenclature of

some Indian and Burmese species of Dy sophy ll a
Blume (Lamiaceae). 74(2): 384-386.

(1978): Morphological variations

in Silene indica Roxb. (Caryophyllaceae) due to
change in habit — a study with allied Wallichian
specimens. 75(2): 528-529.

Malhotra, S. K. (1974): Studies on the lime stone
vegetation of Sahasradhara near Dehra Dun (U.P.)
— 4 ‘Indicator value of Plants’. 77(2): 338-340.

& Moorthy, S. (1971): Plant re-
cords for Maharashtra. 65(3) : 856-857.

& (1973a): Plant

records for Maharashtra State from Chandrapur
District. 79(1) : 232-233.

& (1973b): A note

on the distribution of some plants in Chandrapur
District (Maharashtra State). 79(3): 599-601.

& (1976) : Plant re-
cords for Maharashtra State from Chandrapur
District. III. 73(2): 430-431.

& (1978) : New re-

511

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

cords of Fabaceae for Maharashtra State. 75(1):
247-248.

et al. (1979): On the occurrence

of Gymenema cuspidatum (Thunb.) K. Schum.
(Asclepiadaceae) in Maharashtra. 76(1) : 202.

Matthew, K. M. (1970) : The flowering of the
Strobilanth. (Acanthaceae) (Strobilanthinae sensu
Bremecamp.). 67(3) : 502-506.

(1975): A contribution to the

Flora of Pacchaimalais, Tiruchirapalli District,
Tamil Nadu. 72(2) : 327-356.

McCann, C. (1978) : A comparative field study of
the Indian and New Zealand representatives of the
genus Ruppia Linnaeus. 75(3) : 600-610.

Meher-Homji, V. M. (1970) : Notes on some pecu-
liar cases of phytogeographic distributions. 67(1):
81-86.

(1974): Buttress-like structures

on the upper part of the trunk of Ceiba pentandra
(L.) Gaertn. 77(2): 336-338.

Mitra, D. & Roy, B. (1977) : Ipomoea leari Paxt.
— a naturalised plant of India. 74(1): 211-212.

Mitra, R. L. (1971): Euphorbia serpens H. B. K.
(Euphorbiaceae): a hitherto unrecognised species
in India. 68(3) : 852-856.

Mitra, S. N. (1972): Observations on the vegeta-
tion of the Upper Damodar catchment area. 69(1) :
17-25.

Mukherjee, A. K. (1975): The Sundarban of India
and its biota. 72(1) : 1-20. (Pages 1-10, deal with
flora).

Mukherjee, I. & Khoshoo, T. N. (1970): Genetic-
evolutionary studies on cultivated Cannas VII:
Taxonomic treatment and horticultural classifica-
tion. 67(3) : 390-397.

Mukherjee, K. D. (1976): The climbing orchid —

‘ Vanilla ’. 73(2): 426-428.

Mukherjee, N. (1972): Six new taxa of Flacour-
tiaceae from India and Burma. 69(2): 390-394.

Mukherjee, P. K. & Gupta, R. (1970) : Field iden-
tification of Tephrosia Pers. 67(1): 135.

Munsi, A. M. (1977): An addition to Indian Poly-
gonums from Northern Himalayas. 74(2) : 388.

Murty, Y. S. & Nautiyal, K. N. (1976): Soliva
anthcmifolia (Juss.) R. Br. A new record from
Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh. 75(1): 239.

Nair, N. C. (1972) : Amaranthus polygonoides

Linn.: a new record for South India. 69(3): 687.

(1976): Identity of Amaranthus poly-

gamus of Hooker's Flora of British India and

related taxa. 75(1) : 59-62.

— & Ghosh, S. R. (1976a): Pteris tre-

mula R. Br. — a new record for India. 75(1):
240-241.

& (1976b) : Pteris roseo-

lilacina Hieron: a new record for peninsular India.
75(2): 424-425.

& (1976c) : Lycopodium

complanatum Linn.: a new record for Kerala
State. 75(2): 428-429.

& (1976d): Pteris qua-

driaurita Retz. and a few related taxa in Kerala
State. 75(3): 438-443.

& (1977) : On the iden-
tity of Adiantum lyratum Blanco. 74(1): 210-211.

& (1978a) : Does Adian-
tum aethiopicum Linn, exist in India? 75(1):
244-247.

& (1978b) : Taxonomical

notes on a few species of Adiantum. 75(3) : 939-
941.

& Nag, K. (1978c) : A new species of

Polystichum from Shillong (Meghalaya). 75(1):
153-156.

Naqshi, A. R. & Javeid, G. N. (1977): Two new
plant records for India. 74(2) : 393-394.

Nath, V. R. & Indira, S. (1975) : Cuscuta reflexa
Roxb. — a rival to Dendrophthoe falcata (L.F.)
Ettingsh in home gardens. 72(2) : 607-608.

Nautiyal, K. N. (1974) : Chenopodium ambrosioides
Linn. (Chenopodaceae) — a new record for Cha-
moli District in Western Himalayas. 7/(1): 178.

(1975) : Datura suaveolens H. B. ex

Willd. (Solanaceae) from district Chamoli in West-
ern Himalayas. 72(1): 229-230.

(1976a): A new distributional re-
cord for Physalis peruviana Linn, from North
Garhwal. 75(2): 421-422.

(1976b) : A new distributional re-
cord for Alternanthera pungens H. B. and K. from
North Garhwal. 75(2): 429.

(1978): Nicotiana plumb aginifolia

Viv (Solanaceae) — a new record of distribution
for N. W. Himalayas. 75(1) : 248.

Nayar, K. K. N. (1979) : Hydrophytic vegetation of
Courtallum from South India. 76(3) : 463-474.

Nayar, M. P. (1970): A synopsis of the genus
Eisocreochiton Quisumb. & Merr. (Melastomata-
ceae). 67(1): 87-90.

(1974a): A noteworthy Sarcopyramis

512

CATALOGUE OF BOTANICAL ARTICLES

from Eastern Himalayas. 77(1): 170-172.

(1974b) : A synopsis of the genus

Perilimnastes Ridley (Melastomataceae). 77(1):
172-175.

(1974c): A new species of Sonerila

(Melastomataceae) from Kerala, S. India. 77(3):
632-633.

(1975) : The status of genus Phau-

lanthus Ridley (Melastomataceae). 72(3) : 878-882.

& Giri, G. S. (1975a): A synopsis

of the genus Hymenandra A. DC. (Myrsinaceae)
and a new species from Burma. 72(3) : 818-821.

& (1975b) : A new species

of Ardisia (Myrsinaceae) from north-east India.
72(3): 825-826.

& (1978) : Lectotype of

Maesa castaneifolia Mez. (Myrsinaceae) and a new
addition to the Indian Flora. 75(1): 252-254.

Nayar, M. P. & Mallick, K. C. (1978): A new
variety of W endlandia scabra Kurz from Burma.
(Rubiaceae). 75(1) : 156-157.

Nayar, R. V. (1974) : Observations on the breeding
mechanism of Biophytum candolleanum Wt. 77(1) :
99-108.

(1975a): A new species of Rotate

from Palghat, Kerala. 72(1) : 56-60.

(1975b) : Heterostyly and breeding

mechanism of Nymphoides cristatum (Roxb.) O.
Kuntze. 72(3) : 677-682.

Neginhal, S. G. (1980): Ecological impact of affo-
restation at the Ranibennur Blackbuck Sanctuary.
75 (Suppl.) : 1254-1258.

Neogi, B. & Jain, S. K. (1978) : A note on distri-
bution of some grasses in Assam. 75(2): 531-533.

Oza, G. M. (1973a): 3-valid Endocarp of Jaglans
regia Linn. 70(2): 413-414.

(1973b) : Notes on the identity and

nomenclature of Ventitego bombaiensis Dalz. 70
(3): 591-592.

(1974a) : On the citation of Palaquium

ellipticum (Dalz.) Baillon. 77(1): 175-176.

(1974b) : Botanical identity of ‘Century

Plant’ in Western India. 77(1): 178-181.

(1974c) : Hemigraphis hirta (Vahl) T.

Anders. — a new record for Bombay. 77(3) : 634-

635.

Oza, G. M. (1975) : Nomenclatural notes on Mimu-
sops elengi Linn. 72(2) : 601-602.

(1976) : Canscora sessiliflora Roem. &

Sch. — extension of geographical range. 75(3) :
556-558.

Pallithanam, J. (1976) : Indigofera karuppiana

nom. nov. 75(1) : 239.

Pandey, A. (1978) : A scomycetes of Western India
— V. 75(2): 460-461.

Pandey, D. J. & Pandey, J. D. (1979): The broad-
casting of Karvi seeds. 76(1) : 195-196.

Pandey, Y. (1971) : Cassias commonly occurring or
cultivated in India. 68(2): 311-318.

Pandit, P. N. et al. (1977) : Datura innoxia — a
perennial herb. 74(3) : 561-563.

Pant, P. C. (1976): Plants of Corbett National
Park, Uttar Pradesh. 75(2) : 287-295.

Parabia, M. H. & Shah, G. L. (1975): Notes on
some interesting Cyperaceae of Gujarat. 72(3):
886-888.

Paradkar, S. A. & Munshi, S. K. (1979): Some
new plant records of Nagpur region. 76(1): 209-
210.

Pataskar, R. D. & Ahuja, K. K. (1970): Interest-
ing plants from Maharashtra State. 67(1) : 126-128.

Patel, R. J. (1970): On Chaetosphaeridium globo-
sum (Nordest) Klebahn from India. 67(1): 130-
132.

Patil, R. B. & D’Cruz, R. (1970) : A new species
of Ischaemum Linn, from India. 70(2) : 324-325.

& (1972) : On the abun-
dant occurrence of Ischaemum mangaluricum
(Hack.) Stapf ex C.E.C. Fischer in Maharashtra
State. 69(2): 449-450.

Pawar, I. S. & Kulkarni, U. K. (1972) : A new
species of Micropera from India. 69(2) : 457-459.

Percy-Lancaster, S. (1970): An abnormal Psidium
mutation. 67(1): 133-134.

Raghavan, R. S. et al. (1978): Additions to Poaceae
of Karnataka State, 75(3) : 935-937.

Rajbhandari, K. R. (1976) : History of botanical
explorations in Nepal. 75(3): 468-481.

Rajwar, G. S. (1979) : Acalypha indica Linn, a new
record for Garhwal. 76(2) : 372.

Ramanathan, K. R. & Ramachandran, K. (1973):
On the occurrence of Rut a chalepensis Linn, in
India. 76(1) : 238-240.

Rao, B. R. & Suryanarayana, K. (1979): Introduc-
ed weeds in the vegetation of Mysore District. 74
explorations in Nepal. 75(3) : 468-481.

Rao, G. V. S. & Kumari, G. R. (1972) : A new re-
cord of Chenopodium for India. 69(3) : 683.

& (1973): A new

513

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

variety of Arundinella setosa Trin. 75(3): 827-828.

Rao, P. S. (1972): Distribution of Gelidiella acerosa
(Forskal) Feldmann & Hamel. 69(1) : 235-237.

Rao, P. S. & Hemadri, K. (1970): Nomenclatural
notes on Indian plants. 67(2): 357-358.

Rao, R. R. & Kharkonggr, P. (1978): Floristic
composition and seasonal pattern of vegetation of
pine forests of Shillong in Meghalaya. 75(1) : 273-
285.

Rao, T. A. (1970) : A new locality record of Cordia
crenata Del. in Piram Island off South Saurashtra
coast. 67(1) : 128.

& Das, G. C. (1973) : Limnocharis flava

(L.) Buch. an aquatic plant on the move in
Kerala State. 76(3): 577.

& (1974) : On the occurrence

of vegetative shoots at the crown area in Cocos
nucifera L. 71(1): 181.

& Sastry, A. R. K. (1970) : New distri-
butional records of coastal plants from Andhra
Pradesh. 67(3): 614-615.

Ravi, N. (1970a) : A new record for Crotalaria in-
cana Linn, from South India. 67(1): 132-133.

(1970b) : Lindemia angustifolia (Benth.)

Wettst. (Scrophulariaceae) — A new record for
South India. 67(3): 611-613.

— (1976) : Indigofera benthamiana Hance

(Papilionaceae) — a new record from India. 73
(1): 242-243.

Reddy, N. P. & Bahadur, B. (1977): Occurrence of
alternative venation in spathe of Zantedeschia
aethiopica and other Araceae. 74(2) : 395-400.

Roy, G. P. & Singh, V. (1979) : Occurrence of
Myriophyllum spicatum Linn, in Rajasthan. 76(2) :
372-373.

Sabnis, S. D. & Bedi, S. J. (1971): The genus Fui-
rena (Cyperaceae) in Gujarat. 68(3) : 857-858.

& Josh i, J. V. (1979) : Notes on two

interesting sedges from Gujarat State, India. 76(1) :
210-211.

Saldanha, C. J. (1973) : Schoenorchis latifolia (Orchi-
daceae) newly transferred from Rhynchostylis.
76(2) : 414-416.

(1974) : Smithsonia (Orchidaceae) a

new genus from Western India. 77(1): 71-75.

Sam PATHAK UMAR, R. (1970a) : Further studies on the
host range in Loranthus longiflorus Desv. 67(2) :
360-361.

— ■ (1970b): On the production of

adventitious roots from the excised petioles of
some angiosperms. 67(2) : 361-363.

Sanjappa, M. & Bhatt, R. P. (1978) : Alysicarpus
ovalifolius (Schumach.) J. Leonard — a new re-
cord for India. 75(1): 254-255.

Sastry, T. C. S. & Gupta, P. S. (1977): Sesbania
sesban (Linn.) Merill var picta comb. nov. 74
(2) : 387.

& Kashyap, K. (1975): Syzygium

cuminii (Linn.) Skeels var. axillare comb. nov.
72(3): 882-883.

Saxena, H. O. (1971a): Record of Gnetum ula
Brogn. from Central India. 68(2) : 496.

(1971b): A parasite (Viscum orien-

tale) on another (Dendrophthoe falcata). 68(2):
502.

(1973a) : Utricularia stricticaulis Stapf

from Bhubaneswar — a new record for Orissa.
76(1): 233-234.

(1973b) : Mitracarpus verticillatus

Schum. & Thonn. Vatke — a new record for
Eastern India. 76(2) : 412-413.

(1973c) : Further contribution to the

flora of Bailadilla (Madhya Pradesh). 76(3) : 586-
590.

— (1976) : Additions to the Flora of

Bihar and Orissa. 73(3) : 553-554.

& Brahmam, M. (1978): Additions to

the Flora of Bihar and Orissa. II. 75(3): 941-942.

& Khotele, S. N. (1976): A con-
tribution to the Flora of Bastar (Madhya Pradesh).
75(1) : 21-34.

Saxena, S. K. & Gupta, R. K. (1973) : Vegetation
of Pachpadra Salt Basin in Western Rajasthan.
76(1): 104-127.

Sen, A. (1976) : A new species of Teramnus Sw.
(Fabaceae) from Manbhum (India). 75(1) : 187-
188.

— (1977) : A new variety Glycine wightii

subsp. wightii Verdcourt from S. India. 74(2) :
330-332.

Sen, D. N. & Bhandari, M. C. (1972) : Merremia
aegyptia (Linn.; Urban — a new host of Albugo
in the Indian arid zone and its ecological impli-
cations. 69(2): 453-455.

et al. (1971): Endogenous rhythm in

opening and closing of flowers in Portulaca species.
68(3): 859-861.

Shah, C. K. (1907): A note on the toad rush,
J uncus bufonius L. from India. 67(3): 608-609.

514

CATALOGUE OF BOTANICAL ARTICLES

Shah, G. L. & Yogi, D. V. (1972): Nomenclatural
changes in some Bombay plants. 69(2): 444-449.

& (1974) : Additions to

the Flora of North Gujarat (Ahmedabad — Meh-
sana — Sabarkantha Districts), 1 and 2. 77(1):
58-63.

et al. (1977): Nomenclatural notes on

some Bombay plants — V. 74(3) : 565-568.

Shah, J. D. (1970): Some observations on distri-
bution of Scoparia dulcis Linn, in India. 67(2):
222-226.

Shah, N. C. & Badola, D. P. (1978) : Records of
plants growing at high altitudes. 75(3) : 934-935.

Sharatchandra, H. C. & Gadgil, M. (1975) : A
year of Bandipur. 72(3) : 623-647.

Sharma, A. K. & Dhakre, J. S, (1978): Some note-
worthy plant species from Agra. 75(2) : 526-527.

Sharma, A. L. N. & Gopala Swamy, C. (1975):
On fresh water phytal fauna of Visakhapatnam.
72(1): 237-240.

Sharma, B. D. & Rathakrishnan, N. C. (1978):
New Orchid records from Kerala State. 75(2) :
524-525.

et al. (1978): Flora of Mudumalai

Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu. 75(1) : 13-42.

Sharma, G. K. (1979): A botanical survey of
Canabis in the Himalayas. 76(1) : 17-20.

Sharma, M. (1975) : On the occurrence of Urtica
urens Linn, in India. 72(2) : 618-620.

(1976): Hypecoum procumbens Linn.

a new record for India. 75(2): 422-423.

(1979) : Some plants new to the Flora

of Punjab Plains. 74(Suppl.) : 683-687.

Sharma, O. P. et at. (1978) : The genus Ophioglos-
sum in Rajasthan. 75(3): 938-939.

Shukla, U. & Baishya, A. K. (1979): A contribu-
tion to the Flora of Manipur. 76(2) : 224-230.

Siddiqi, M. P. & Dixit, S. N. (1975) : Some note-
worthy plant species from Gorakhpur. 72(2) :
620-621.

Singh, C. S. (1970) : Studies on bottom-living dia-
toms of a fresh water fish pond. 67(3): 443-452.

Singh, G. (1972) : Two new plant records for Kash-
mir Valley. 69(3): 680.

& Gohil, R. N. (1976): Some new re-
cords to the Flora of Ladakh. 75(3): 487-490.

Singh, N. P. (1972) : Cuscuta campestris Yuncker-
a new record for Western India. 69(2): 456.

Singh, N. P. & Deshpande, U. R. (1979): Type
material in the herbarium of the Botanical Survey

of India at Poona. 76(1) : 24-32.

Singh, V. (1970) : Occurrence of Ceratopteris thalic-
troides (Linn.) Brongn. in Rajasthan. 67(2): 354-
355.

— (1971): Additions to Duthie’s Flora of

the Upper Gangetic Plain. 68(2) 339-346.

(1972): Occurrence of Didymocarpus

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— (1973) : Solarium triquetrum Cav. — an

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(1977b): Occurrence of Peplidium mari-

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(1977c) : Phytogeographical reassessment

on the Flora of Rajasthan. 74(3) : 444-452.

(1977d) : The host range of the genus

Cistanche Hoffm. & Link, in India. 74(3) : 563-564.

— (1978a) : A study of aquatic and marsh-

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(1979): Some interesting plant records for

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garh District. 65(3): 773-790, 1971. 69(2): 352-
368, 1972.

Sivarajan, V. V. & Manilal, K. S. (1975): A new
record of Meineckia parvifolia (Wight) Webster
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Srivastava, G. S. & Shukla, D. S. (1972): A new
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Subhedar, A. W. & Rao, V. G. (1977): Two new
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Subramaniam, A. (1971): Studies on Stigonemata-
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192.

515

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Suryanarayana, B. (1972): The habit and distribu-
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351-354. [Some marine algae described.]

516

ONTOGENY OF TEETH ROW STRUCTURE IN
RAN A TIGERINA TADPOLES1

S. K. Dutta2 and P. Mohanty-Hejmadi3
(With twelve text-figures)

A study on the ontogeny of labial teeth structure of Indian bull frog Rana tigerina
was done by examining laboratory reared tadpoles. The teeth row formula was
determined for every stage of development beginning with external gill stage and
ending with both limb + tail stage. It is noted that the number of teeth rows on
both upper and lower jaw reached a maximum of 5(2-5) /OJ (1-3) at well developed
hindlimb stage, but only one tadpole out of five in limb paddle with five toes was
found with six rows in the lower jaw. It is interesting to note that there were variations
in the rows of teeth even in the same stage of development. There was a decrease
in the number of teeth rows from the beginning of the emergence of forelimb upto
complete tail resorption. A comparison of the present study with that of Agarwal
and Niazi (1977) has been made, and the variations in the teeth rows in different
stages of development have been pointed out. The reason for this variation has also
been discussed.

Introduction

The labial teeth are some of the most dis-
tinguishing features for identification of
amphibian larvae. Workers like Campbell
(1931), Taylor (1942), Wright and Wright
(1949), Stebbins (1951 and 1954), Orton
(1952), Zweifel (1955 and 1964), Bragg and
Bragg (1959), Starret (1960), Altig (1970),

Altig and Pace (1974), and Lee (1976)
have reported on the teeth structure
of the tadpoles of different species of frogs
from temperate climate. Orton (1953 and
1957) has proposed a classification of frog
families based upon the keratinized mouth
parts. A detailed report on the internal oral

1 Accepted December 1981.

2 Division of Herpetology, Museum of Natural
History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
66045, U.S.A.

3 P. G. Department of Zoology, Utkal University,

Bhubaneswar-751 004, Orissa, India.

517

features of larvae from eight anuran families
of U.S.A. has been described by Wassersug
(1980). In a study on ontogeny he (Wasser-
sug 1976) has also described the internal oral
features of Hyla regilla. Webb and Korky
(1977) while studying the variation in the
tadpoles of frogs of Rana tarahumarae group
in Western Mexico have described the teeth
row formula of that species and have given a
formula for teeth structure.

Our knowledge on the teeth structure of
Tropical species of anuran is limited. So in
the present study an attempt has been made to
focus on the ontogeny of teeth structure in the
Indian bull frog Rana tigerina. Workers like
Annandale (1917), McCann (1932), Kirti-
singhe (1957) and Agarwal and Niazi (1977)
have reported about the teeth row structure of
this species, but they have not described the
teeth structure in detail. Their description is
based on some specific stages. In the present
observation the teeth row structure of Rana

4

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 1

Labial teeth row formula of Rana tigerina

Stages Number
exa-
mined

Length of tadpole Labial teeth
in mm. with the row formula*
nos. examined
within brackets.

External

5

7. 5(3), 8(2)

Without teeth,

gills

but with beak.

One external

10.5(4), 10(2)9.5 1/072(1)

gill

15

10.5,9.5,11

1/0/2

11,10.5

1/0/2

9,9.5

l/0/2(l)

9

1/0/0

Operculum

11(3), 11.5(3)

l/0/2(l)

complete

10

11.5(2)

1/0/2

9,9.5

1/0/1

Feeding

5

10.5(3)

2(2) /0/2

11(2)

2(2) /0/ 3(1)

Pigmented

20(2), 19.5(2), 21 3(2-3) /0/3(l)

pearshaped

19.5(2)

3(2-3) /0/3(l-2)

tail

12

18(2)

3(2-3) /0/2

15(2)

2(2) /0/2

15

4(2-4) /0/3(l)

Limb bud

10

21.5(2), 21(2)

3(2-3) /0/4O-2)

22(2)

4(2-4) /0/4(l-2)

25(2)

4(2-4) /0/4(l-3)

24(2)

3(2-3) /0/4(l-3)

Limb

paddle

5

29.5(3)

4(2-4) /0/4(l-2)

30(2)

4(2-4) /0/5(l-3)

Limb paddle

31(4)

4(2-4) /0/4( 1-2)

with 5 toes

7

32(2)

4(2-4) /0/5( 1-4)

37

4(2-4) /0/6(l-5)

Hind limb

5

40(3), 39.5(2)

4(2-4) / 0 /4( 1-2)

Well Dev.

44(2)

4(2-4) /0/5(l-3)

hind limb

5

46(3)

5(2-5) /0/5(l-3)

One fore-

48(2)

3(1-3) /0/4(l-3)

limb

5

46(2)

3(1-3) /0/3(l-2)

47

3(1-3) /0/2(l)

Both limb

46.5 (2) .47 (2)

3(1-3) /0/2(l)

+ tail

10

40(2)

3(1-3) /0/3(l-3)

33(2)

2(1-2) /0/2(l-2)

30(2)

3(1-3) /0/ 2 (1-2)

* According to Webb and Korky (1977).

tigerina has been studied in different stages
of their development.

Materials and Methods

The tadpoles of different stages of develop-
ment were obtained in the laboratory by the
methods described earlier (Butta and
Mohanty-Hejmadi 1976 and Dutta 1979).
They were fixed in 10% formaldehyde for
observation of their teeth structure. The larval
stages described by Dutta (1979) were examin-
ed by binocular microscope, and the struc-
tures were sketched. Dental formula was
determined according to the methods recom-
mended by Webb and Korky (1977). A com-
parative statement of the present study with
the studies of Agarwal and Niazi (1977) has
been made.

Observations

A study on the ontogeny of labial teeth
structure of Indian bull frog R. tigerina indi-
cates that the number of teeth rows change with
the stage of the tadpole as expected. For each
stage even there is individual variation as re-
ported for other species. Therefore, the struc-
ture of labial teeth of several tadpoles for
each critical stage was examined (Table 1).
Agarwal and Niazi (1977) have also studied
the teeth structure of some developmental
stages of this species. Therefore, a comparison
of the present observations with those report-
ed by Agarwal and Niazi (1977) is also in-
cluded here (Table 2).

In general, the horny beaks are visible for
the first time when the external gills are well
developed. The first traces of labial teeth
appear at the stage when operculum is closed
on one side. By the time the tadpoles reach
metamorphic climax there is shedding of labial
teeth.

518

ONTOGENY OF TEETH ROW IN RANA TIGERINA TADPOLES

Table 2

Comparative account of teeth row structure of R. tigerina as observed by agarwal, niazi and the

PRESENT STUDY

AGARWAL AND NIAZI (1977)

PRESENT STUDY

1.

External gills :

White beak

Black beak

2.

Operculum fold: One side closed:

One row on upper jaw

One in upper jaw

One row on lower jaw

0 to 2 in the lower jaw

3.

Operculum fold complete:

One row on upper jaw

One in upper jaw

Two rows on lower jaw

One to two rows in lower jaw.

4.

Feeding stage:

Not observed

Two in upper jaw
Two to three in lower jaw

5.

Pigmented tail stage:

Not observed

Two to four in upper jaw
Two to three in lower jaw

6.

Limb bud:

Upper jaw 2(1) or

3(2-3) or 4(2-4)

3(2-3) or 4(2-4)

(None had two rows)

Lower jaw 2 or

Four rows with either

3(1) or 4(1-2)

4(1-2) or 4(1-3).

(Only 6 out of ten had the structure 4(1-2) observed
by Agarwal and Niazi)

7.

Limb paddle:

Upper jaw 4(2-4)

Upper jaw 4(2-4)

Lower jaw 4(1-2)

Lower jaw 4(1-2) or 5(1-3)

8.

Limb paddle with 5 toes:

Upper jaw 5(2-5)

Upper jaw 4(2-4)

Lower jaw 5(1-3)

Lower jaw 4(l-2)or 5(1-4) or 6(1-5)

(Last two rows uninterrupted)

(Only the last row uninterrupted)

9.

With both limbs:

Same as for previous stage

Number of teeth rows reduced due to shedding.

External gill stage :

At external gill stage, the mouth of the
tadpoles consisted of a pair of black horny
beaks, consisting of an upper mandible with a
median cusp and a lower mandible with a
corresponding notch for the cusp. There were
no horny teeth (Table 1, Fig. 1). By the time
gills on one side were covered by the oper-
culum horny teeth appeared and the teeth row

formula varied from tadpole to tadpole (Fig.
2A-E). The teeth row formula ranged from
1/0/2 to 1/0/0 in the 15 tadpoles examined.
In some of the tadpoles the teeth rows were
weakly developed (Fig. 2B, 2D, and 2E).

Operculum complete stage :

A total of ten tadpoles were examined for
this stage. Among these two had a teeth for-

519

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 1. External gill stage. Fig. 2A-E. One external gill covered stage.

ONTOGENY OF TEETH ROW IN RANA TIGERINA TADPOLES

Fig. 3A-C. Operculum fold complete. Fig. 4A and 4B. Feeding stage.
Fig. 5-A. Pigmented pear shaped tail.

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 5-B-E. Pigmented pear shaped tail. Fig. 6A-B. Limb bud stage.

ONTOGENY OF TEETH ROW IN RANA TIGERINA TADPOLES

mula of 1/0/1 (Fig. 3C), six had lj/0/2(l)
(Fig. 3 A) and two had 1/0/2 (Fig. 3B). From
this it is evident that the teeth row in the upper
jaw was constant but the rows on the lower
jaw varied. In some cases teeth in the two
jaws were weakly developed (Fig. 3C) like the
previous stage. This was perhaps due to the
smaller size of this particular tadpole.

Feeding stage :

At this stage a total of five tadpoles were
examined. From them three were with a teeth
row formula of 2(2) /0/2 and two with 2(2)/
0/3(1). The teeth row on the upper jaw were
constant, with the first one uninterrupted. In
three tadpoles the two rows in the lower jaw
were uninterrupted (Fig. 4A), but in other two
tadpoles the first row in the lower jaw was
interrupted and the second and the third rows
were uninterrupted (Fig. 4B).

Pigmented tail stage :

The teeth row formula varied from 2(2) /0/2
to 4(2-4) /0/3 ( 1 ) (Fig. 5A-E) in the twelve
tadpoles examined. The number of teeth rows
in the upper, jaw varied from 2 to 4 out of
which the first one was uninterrupted. Simi-
larly the number of teeth rows varied from
2 to 3 in the lower jaw out of which the last
row was uninterrupted.

Limb bud stage :

Out of ten tadpoles examined, four had a
teeth row formula of 3 (2-3)/0/4(l-2) two
with 4(2-4) /0/4( 1-2), two with 4(2-4) /0/4
(1-3) and two with 3 (2-3 ) /0/4 ( 1 -3 ) . This
showed that the rows on the lower jaw were
constant and the fourth row was uninterrupted
in all the tadpoles but the teeth row on the
upper jaw varied from 3 to 4 with the first one
uninterrupted (Fig. 6A-D).

Limb paddle stage :

In this stage, three out of five examined
had a teeth row formula of 4(2-4) /0/4( 1-2)
and other two with 4(2-4) /0/5( 1-3). This
showed that the teeth rows on the upper jaw
of all the tadpoles were constant with the first
one uninterrupted, while the rows in lower
jaw varied from 4 to 5 with the last two rows
uninterrupted (Fig. 7A and 7B).

Limb paddle with 5 toes:

At this stage of development four tadpoles
had a teeth row formula of 4(2-4) /0/4( 1-2),
2 with 4(2-4) /0/5(l-4) and one with 4(2-4/
0/6 (1-5). So the rows of teeth on the upper
jaw were constant with the first one uninter-
rupted but the number of rows on the lower
jaw varied from 4 to 6 (Fig. 8A-C).

Hind limb stage :

Though this stage continued from initiation
of limb paddle with five toes upto well deve-
loped hind limb stage yet the teeth structure
was constant, that is 4(2-4) /0/4( 1-2) in all
the five tadpoles examined (Fig. 9). The first
row on the upper jaw and the third and fourth
row on the lower jaw were uninterrupted ones.

Well developed hind limb stage :

The number of labial teeth rows reached
a maximum at this stage. Out of five tadpoles
examined two had a teeth row formula of
4(2-4) /0/5 (1-3) and other three with 5(2-5)/
0/5 (1-3), so the rows on the upper jaw varied
with the first one uninterrupted while the rows
in the lower jaw were constant (5) with the
fourth and the fifth one uninterrupted (Fig.
10A and 10B).

One fore limb stage :

In all the five tadpoles examined the upper
jaw had three interrupted rows of teeth, per-

523

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 6C-D. Limb bud stage. Fig. 7A and 7B. Limb paddle stage. Fig. 8A-B. Limb
paddle with five toes.

ONTOGENY OF TEETH ROW IN RANA TIGERINA TADPOLES

Fig. 8C. Limb paddle with five toes. Fig. 9. Hind limb stage. Fig. 10A and 10B. Well
developed hind limb stage. Fig. 11A-B. One fore limb emerged stage.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 11C. One fore limb emerged stage. Fig. 12A-D. Both limb + tail.

ONTOGENY OF TEETH ROW IN RANA T1GERINA TADPOLES

haps because shedding of labial teeth had
already started prior to metamorphosis. The
rows on the lower jaw varied from 2 to 4 with
the last one uninterrupted (Fig. 11A-C).

Both limb + tail :

At this stage more labial teeth were shed
which is reflected in the teeth row formula
3(1-3)/ 0/2/ (1), 3(1-3) /0/3(l-3), 3(1-3)|0|2
(1-2) or 2(1-2) /0/2(l-2) for this stage (Fig.
12A-D). In all the tadpoles the rows on the
upper jaw were interrupted. In six out of ten
tadpoles all the rows in the lower jaw were
also interrupted (Fig. 12 B-D).

Discussion

There is considerable difference between the
observation of this study and that of Agarwal
and Niazi(1977). They have mentioned that
during external gill stage there is a white beak.
In all the earlier literature and in our study
the beak was black. When the external gill be-
came covered by the opercular fold on one
side, one row of labial teeth in each jaw were
observed by Agarwal and Niazi, but we notic-
ed considerable individual variation as had
been described earlier. Similarly for the rest
of the stages there were individual variations.
They had not leported on the teeth structure
for feeding and pigmented tail stage. At limb
bud stage also there are differences between
their observations and the current study. Agar-
wal and Niazi (1977) reported that from their
staging 41-50, the teeth structure remains con-
stant. These stages range from the formation
of fourth interdigital indentation to the emer-
gence of fore limbs. However, in the current
study considerable variation was seen during
these stages. The number of rows reached a
maximum when the limbs were well develop-
ed. Only three out of five well developed hind

limb stages in this study had mouth parts iden-
tical to that reported by Agarwal and Niazi
(1977). By the time fore limbs appeared, none
of the tadpoles examined by us retained the
full compliment of teeth as reported by them.
The major differences between their study and
ours is presented in table 2.

The current study shows that as in the deve-
lopment of temperate anurans, there is onto-
genic variation in labial teeth structure. As
the number of teeth row structure change with
development and even for the same stage of
development, the stage of the larvae at which
the teeth row formula is determined has to be
clearly defined. We noticed that the last two
rows of teeth from feeding stage till the begin-
ning of metamorphosis remained uninterrupted.
This is in agreement with the diagrams given
by Annandale (1917) and McCann (1932).
In contrast Kirtisinghe (1957) observed that
only the lowermost row of teeth was uninter-
rupted. Since Kirtisinghe did not specify the
populations he examined or the number of
tadpoles, it is difficult to assess this difference.
Agarwal (1978) and Agarwal and Niazi (1978)
were the first to report the ontogeny of
labial teeth according to the stage of tadpoles
for R. tigerina. Since they did not mention the
number of tadpoles observed for each stage,
the differences could either be due to the lesser
number of tadpoles examined by them or due
to geographical variation. They examined
populations from north India, and this study
is based on the population of eastern India.
It is possible that environmental factors may
influence teeth structure of tadpoles.

Therefore, in this study systematic observa-
tion has been done on several individuals from
each stage and a range of teeth structure is
reported for each stage. This extends the work
of earlier workers and provides the first syste-
matic study on the ontogeny of teeth of

527

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

R. tigerina and for that matter on only one of
several Indian species.

Ack no wledge m e n ts

We wish to thank to Prof. B. K. Behura,

Refer

Agarwal, S. K. (1978) : Ph.D. thesis, University
of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.

Agarwal, S. K. & Niazi, I. A. (1977): Normal
table of developmental stages of the Indian bull frog
R. tigerina. Proceedings of the National Aca. Sci.,
India Sec. B, (2): 79-92.

(1978) : Develop-
ment of mouth parts in the tadpoles of R. tigerina
(Baud.). 4th All India Cong, of Zool., Magadh
Univ., Bodh Gaya, India. 78 (Abstract).

Altig, R. (1970) : A key to the tadpoles of the
Continental United States and Canada. Herpetologica,
26: 180-207.

Altig, R. & Pace, W. L. (1974): Scanning elec-
tron photomicrographs of tadpole labial teeth. J. of
Herpetology. 8: 247-251.

Annandale, N. (1917) : Zoological results of a
tour of the Far East Batrachia. Mem. Asiatic Soc.
Bengal. VI: 122-155.

Bragg, A. N. & Bragg, W. N. (1959): Variations
in the mouth parts in tadpoles of Scaphiopus bombi-
frons Cope. South west Nat. 3 : 55-69.

Campbell, B. (1931): Rana tarahumarae, a frog
new to the United States. Copeia. 4: 164.

Dutta, S. K. (1979): Biology and the effect of
fertilizers and chemicals on the eggs, developmental
stages and adults of Indian bull frog R. tigerina.
Ph.D. thesis, Utkal Univ., Bhubaneswar, India.

Dutta, S. K. & Mohanty-Hejmadi, P. (1976):
Breeding and life history of the Indian bull frog R.
tigerina. Prakruti-Utkal Univ. J. of Sci. 13 ( 1&2) :
51-59.

Kirtisinghe, P. (1957) : Amphibia of Ceylon, 2
Charles Circus Colombo 3, Ceylon.

Lee, J. C. (1976) : Rana maculata Brocchi, an
addition to the herpetofauna of Belize. Herpetolo-
gica. 32: 211-214.

McCann, C. (1932): Notes on Indian Batrachian.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 32: 152-180.

Head, P. G. Zoology Department, Utkal Uni-
versity for providing necessary laboratory faci-
lities. One of us (SKD) thanks CSIR for a
scholarship.

E n ce s

Orton, G. L. (1952) : Key to the genera of tad-
poles in the United States and Canada. Am. Midi.
Nat. 47: 382-395.

(1953): The systematics of verte-
brate larvae. Syst. Zool. 2(2) : 63-75.

(1957) : The bearing of larval evo-
lution on some problems in frog classification, ibid.
6: 79-86.

Starrett, P. (1960): Descriptions of tadpoles of
Middle American frogs. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool.
Univ. Michigan. 110: 1-37.

Stebbins, R. C. (1951) : Amphibians of Western
North America. Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley.

— (1954): Amphibians and reptiles of

Western North America. McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
New York.

Taylor, E. H. (1942) : Tadpoles of Mexican Anura.
Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 28: 37-55.

Wassersug, R. (1976): Internal oral features in
Hyla regilla (Anura: Hylidae) larvae: an ontogenic
study. Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. Misc. Pub. 49:
1-24.

(1980): Internal oral features of

larvae from eight anuran families: Functional, syste-
matic, evolutionary and ecological considerations,
ibid. 68: 1-146.

Webb, R. G. & Korky, J. K. (1977) : Variation
in tadpoles of frogs of the Rana tarahumarae group
in Western Mexico. Herpetologica. 33: 73-82.

Wright, A. H. & Wright, A. H. (1949) : Hand
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Zweifel, R. G. (1955) : Ecology, distribution and
systematics of the Rana boylei group. Univ. Calif.
Publ. Zool. 54 : 207-292.

(1964): Distribution and life

history of a Central American frog Rana vibicaria.
Copeia 2: 300-308.

528

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE WETLAND FLORA OF
SITAPUR DISTRICT, UTTAR PRADESH1

J. K. Maheshwari2 and R. P. S, Tom ar3

The paper presents an account of the wetland flora of Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh.
A thorough study of this habitat is of great scientific and economic importance as it
supports an appreciable number of endangered species of plants and animals. Further,
the wetlands of this district regularly support large number of migratory birds from
North European, Arctic and Siberian regions. The district maintains a rich wetland
flora and was thoroughly explored during the years 1979-1981. The present study
shows that 147 species of angiosperms belonging to 54 families inhabit the lakes,

ponds, pools and marshes in the district.

Introduction

In India the first comprehensive work on
the wetland flora was produced by Biswas and
Calder (1937). Since then, a number of work-
ers have presented useful and significant data
from different parts of the country. There is
no floristic record of the species found in the
district in Duthie’s Flora of Upper Gangetic
Plain (1903-1929). Therefore, a research pro-
ject entitled ‘Flora of Sitapur District, Uttar
Pradesh’ was taken up by us. A thorough
study of the present day wetlands is urgently
required as this habitat is of great scientific
and economic importance and supports an
appreciable number of endangered species of
plants and animals. The district was, there-
fore, thoroughly explored during the years
1979-1981 in different seasons. The present
study deals with a detailed floristic survey of
the wetland plants of the district. The her-
barium specimens of wetlands species collected

1 Accepted January 1982.

2 Sr. Asstt. Director, National Botanical Research
Institute, Lucknow.

3 Teacher Fellow, National Botanical Research In-
stitute, Lucknow.

during this study are lodged in the herbarium
of National Botanical Research Institute,
Lucknow (LWG).

The district forms part of the Lucknow
division of Uttar Pradesh and is situated in
Gomti-Ghaghra Doab, lying between 27° 6'
and 27° 54' N and 80° 18' and 81° 24' E. It
extends approximately 88 km from north to
south and 112 km from east to west. It is
bounded on the west and south by the river
Gomti which meanders from north-west to
south-east separating the district from the
district of Hardoi and on the east by the river
Ghaghra separating the district from the dis-
trict of Baharaich. The district is bounded on
the north by Kheri district and to the south
are the districts of Lucknow and Barabanki
which lie between rivers Gomti and Ghaghra.
The district forms a part of the Gangetic
alluvium. It may be roughly divided into
western uplands or the uparhar and the eastern
lowlands or the ganjar. The western up-
lands which cover two-third of the district
is a level tract dissected by a number of small
streams. The eastern lowlands consist of the
Kewani-Chauka and the Chauka-Ghaghra
Doab. The water table is high and the exist-

529

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ence of several rivulets and numerous streams
makes it a damp and moist region, requiring
no artificial irrigation for cultivation. During
the rainy season, the whole of the tract is
submerged with water, 15-250 cm deep. The
district is traversed by two big rivers, Gomti
and Ghaghra which are mostly perennial ex-
cept in some low-lying areas.

There are large number of Jhils (lakes),
tanks and ponds with larger stretches of
marshy land. The soil is usually an admixture
of clay and sand, known as dumat which
occurs in the major portion of the uplands
( uparhar ). The monsoon normally advances
into the district during the later half of June
and withdraws early in October. The average
annual rainfall for the district is 974.0 mm.
A large per cent of the annual rainfall is recei-
ved during the monsoon period. January is the
coldest month of the year with an average
minimum temperature of 8°C. The tempera-
ture rises rapidly from the month of March.
The months of May and early June constitute
the hottest period of the year when day tem-
perature may rise up to 46.0°C. During the
monsoon and early post-monsoon period, the
relative humidity occurs between 70 and 80
per cent. During the summer period air is
very dry, particularly in the afternoon when
the relative humidity is sometimes less than
30 per cent.

Observations :

The wetland flora of the district shows
various types of plant communities and asso-
ciations. At a number of places, the surface
of water is completely covered by plants like
Azolla pinnata R. Br., Lemna paucicostata
Hegelm., Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms,
Trapa natans Linn. var. bispinosa (Roxb.)
Makino and Pistia stratiotes Linn., etc. which
form a complete blanket on the surface of

water in ponds, pools and ditches at some
time during the year.

There are also a number of plant associa-
tions, of which the following are frequently
noticeable in the district: —

1 . Aquatic Habitat : Associations —

A. Nelumbo — Nymphaea — Nymphoides

B. Nymphaea — Ludwigia — Eleoeharis

C. Sagittaria — Ottelia — Potamogeton

D. Utricularia — Hydrilla — Nymphaea

2. Marshy Habitats: Associations —

A. Eriocaulon — Cyperus — Fimbristylis

B. Ipomoea — Hydrolea — Ammannia

C. Scirpus — Caesulia — Aeschynomene

D. Typha — Phragmites — Scirpus

E. Hygrophila — Eclipta — Alternant her a

F. Bacopa — Marsilea — Monochoria

ENUMERATION OF THE SPECIES

1 . Ranunculaceae

1. Ranunculus sceleratus Linn. — Occurs
commonly in marshy places of the dis-
trict. FI. & Fr. : March- June; Local
name : Jaldhania; RPST 1030.

2. Nymphaeaceae

2. Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f. — Occurs

commonly in jhils and ponds during the
rainy season. FI. & Fr. : Aug. — Oct.;
Local name : Kumodini, Kokaveli;

RPST 551, 666.

3 . N. sfellata Willd. — Occurs frequently in
jhils and ponds mixed with N. nouchali
Burm. f. FI. & Fr.: Aug. — Oct.; Local
name: Kumodini; RPST 828.

3 . Nelumbonaceae

4 . Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. — Occurs in
jhils and ponds during the rainy season.
FI. & Fr. : Aug. — Oct.; Local name :
Kamal; RPST 871.

530

WETLAND FLORA OF SIT A PUR

4. Brassicaceae

5. Coronopus didymus (Linn.) Sm. — Found
commonly in fields and open places on
moist soil during winter. FI. & Fr. : Jan.-
April; RPST 1026.

5 . Caryophyllaceae

6. Stellaria media (Linn.) Vill. — Found
commonly in cultivated fields and in
other moist waste lands. FI. & Fr.:
Dec.-March; RPST 1132.

6 . PORTULACACEAE

7. Portulaca oleracea Linn. — Found com-
monly as a weed in cultivated fields.
FI. & Fr. : Major part of the year; Local
name: Kulfa; RPST 1106.

8. P. quadrifida Linn. — Found commonly
on moist soil in cultivated fields. FI. &
Fr. : July-Sept.; RPST 1199.

7. Tamaricaceae

9. Tamarix dioica Roxb. — Found com-
monly in low-lying areas and along
sandy river banks. FI. & Fr. : July-Oct.;
Local name : Jhau; RPST 109.

8 . Elatinaceae

10. Bergia ammannioides Fleyne ex Roth —
Found commonly in moist waste places.
FI. & Fr. : Nov.-May; RPST 867.

9. Sterculiaceae

11. Melochia corchorifolia Linn. — Found
frequently in marshy places. FI. & Fr. :
July-Sept.; RPST 384, 530.

12. Pentapetes phoenicea Linn. — Found
commonly as a weed in rice fields and
marshy places. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Nov.;
Local name : Guldupahri; RPST 337.

10 . Tiliaceae

13. Corchonis aestuans Linn. — Occurs com-
monly in moist shady places. FI. & Fr. :
Aug.-Nov.; RPST 903.

14. C. capsularis Linn. — Found commonly
on moist ground. FI. & Fr. : July-Sept.;
Local name : Jute; RPST 989.

15. C. olitorius Linn. — Found commonly
in moist shady places in cultivated fields
and fallow grounds. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-
Qct.; Local name : Jute; RPST 502.

1 1 . Fabaceae

16. Aeschynomene aspera Linn. — Found
frequently in paddy fields and swampy
places. FI. & Fr. : July-Nov.; RPST 919.

17. A. indica Linn. — Occurs commonly in
paddy fields and water-logged areas. FI.
& Fr. : July-Nov.; RPST 111.

18. Derris indica (Lamlc.) Bennet syn. Pon-
gamia pinnata (L.) Pierre — Found
frequently near rivers, canals and in
moist localities. FI. & Fr. : Dec.- June;
RPST 833.

1 9 . Desmodium triflorum (Linn.) DC. — Oc-
curs along the banks of canals. FI.: July-
Sept., Fr.: Nov.-Jan.; RPST 107.

20. Sebania bispinosa (Jacq.) W.F. Wight —
Common along canal banks and also in
cultivated fields and swampy places. FI.
& Fr.: Sept.-Oct.; Local name: Dhain-
cha; RPST 506, 1060.

12. Caesalpiniaceae

21 . Cassia tora Linn. — A dominant weed
of rainy season; found commonly along

531

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

roadsides, railway tracks and in waste
grounds. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Nov.; Local
name : Panwar; RPST 314.

13. Rosaceae

22. Potentilla supina Linn. — Occurs com-
monly in marshy and muddy places. FI.
& Fr. : Jan-April; RPST 1952.

14 . Myrtaceae

23. Syzygium heyneanum (Duthie) Wall, ex

Gamble — A small tree, found frequent-
ly along nallahs, perennial ponds and
banks of rivers. FI. & Fr. : April-Sept.;
Local name : Kath-Jammuni; RPST

1140.

15. Lecythidaceae

24 . Barringf onia acutangula (Linn.) Gaertn.

— Found rarely in swampy areas and
near riverbanks and jhils. FI. & Fr. :
May-Nov.; Local name : Sindaroukh;
RPST 1248.

16. Lythraceae

25. Animannia baccifera Linn, — Found com-
monly in paddy fields and marshy de-
pressions. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Dee.; RPST
623.

26. A. multiflora Roxb. — Occurs frequent-
ly in marshy places and paddy fields.
FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Nov.; RPST 348, 543.

17. Onagraceae

27. Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) Raven ssp.
sessiliflora (Mich.) Raven — Found fre-
quently in marshy areas. FI. & Fr. :
Oct.-Dec.; RPST 687.

28. L. perennis Linn. — Occurs commonly
as a weed in damp and shady places.
FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Nov.; RPST 659.

18. Trapaceae

29. Trapa natans Linn. var. bispinosa

(Roxb.) Makino — Commonly cultivated
in jhils and ponds in the area. FI. & Fr. :
Aug-Nov.; Local Name : Singhara;

RPST 283, 553.

19. Molluginaceae

30. Glinus lotoides Linn. — Occurs com-
monly in dried up ponds, puddles and
in moist sandy places. FI. & Fr. : April
to Aug,; RPST 1083.

31. G. oppositifolius (Linn.) DC. — Found
commonly on moist soil of fallow and
cultivated fields. FI. & Fr. : July-Sept.;
RPST 432.

32. Mollugo pentaphylla Linn. — Found fre-
quently in the area, mostly in damp,
shady places; also found in agricultural
fields. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Oct.; RPST 514.

20 . Apiaceae

33. Centella asiatica (Linn.) Urban — Occurs
commonly in moist shady places and
along river banks. FI. & Fr. : April-
Aug.; Local name : Brahmi; RPST 1033.

21. Rubiaceae

34. Borreria articularis (Linn, f.) F.N. Wil-
liams — Occurs commonly in marshy
places. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Oct.; RPST 434.

35. B. hispida K. Schum. — Found com-
monly as a weed in cultivated and un-
used grounds on damp, sandy soil. FI.
& Fr.: Aug.-Oct.; RPST 412.

532

WETLAND FLORA OF S1TAPUR

36. Oldenlandia corymbosa Linn. — Occurs
frequently in fields and waste places on
moist ground. FI. & Fr. : Sept. -Oct,;
RPST 169, 658.

37. O. nudicaulis Roth — Found frequently
in moist waste grounds. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-
Oct.; RPST 735.

22. Asteraceae

38. Ageratum conyzoides Linn. — Common
along the banks of canals and irrigation
channels. FI. & Fr. : Nov.- June; RPST
103, 537.

39. Caesulia axillaris Roxb. — Found com-
monly in paddy fields and marshy places.
FI. & Fr. : Sept-April; RPST 119, 611.

40 . Eclipta prostrata (Linn.) Linn. — Occurs
commonly in marshes, swamps and river-
sides. FI. & Fr. : Major Part of the year;
Local name : Bhringraj; RPST 295, 738.

41. Gnaphafiium polycaulon Pers. — Found
frequently in moist, waste, shady places.
FI. & Fr. : Feb.-April; RPST 775.

42. G. pulvinatum Del. — Occurs commonly
in moist, shady, waste places. FI. & Fr. :
Jan. -March; RPST 581.

43. Grangea maderaspatana (Linn.) Poir. —
Found commonly in marshy places and
along irrigation channels, puddles etc.
FI. & Fr. : Oct.-March; RPST 210.

44. Xanthium strumarium Linn. — Found
commonly in the seasonal marshes of
temporary pools. FI. & Fr. : Sept.- June;
Local name : Gokharu; RPST 559.

23 . Sphenocleaceae

45. Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn. — Found
commonly in paddy fields and swampy
areas. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Nov.; RPST 912.

24 . Menyanthaceae

46. Nymphoides cristata (Roxb.) Kuntze —
Found commonly in jhils and ponds, etc.
FI. & Fr. : Rainy season and early win-
ter; RPST 663, 876.

47 . N. indica (Linn.) Kuntze — Occurs com-
monly in jhils, ponds, etc. FI. & Fr. :
Aprii-Oct.; RPST 872.

25 . Hydrophyllaceae

48 . Hydrolea zeylanica (Linn.) Vahl — Occurs
commonly as a weed in paddy fields and
marshy places. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Dee.;
RPST 918.

26 . Boraginaceae

49. Cynoglossum zeylanicum (Hornem.)
Thunb. ex Lehm. — Found occasionally
on moist soil in wastelands. FI. & Fr. :
Oct.-Jan.; RPST 37.

50. Heliotropium strigosum Willd. — Found
commonly on moist ground. FI. & Fr. :
July-March; RPST 436.

27. CONVOLVULACEAE

51 . Ipomoea aquatica Forsk. — Occurs com-
monly in ponds, pools, canals, ditches,
muddy grounds and agricultural fields.
FI. & Fr. : Sept. -Feb.; Local name :
Karamua, Nari ka saag; RPST 328.

52. Volvulopis nunimularia (Linn.) Roberty
— Found frequently in muddy and moist
places. FI. & Fr. : August-February;
Local name : Shankh-pushpi; RPST 527.

28 . SOLANACEAE

53. Physalis minima Linn. — Found com-
monly in moist shady places and waste-
lands. FI. & Fr. : July- Jan.; Local name :
Jangli Makoiya; RPST 982.

533

5

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

54. Solatium nigrum Linn. — Occurs fre-
quently in moist shady places. FI. & Fr. :
Most part of the year; Local name :
Makoiya; RPST 1117.

29. SCROP H U LARI ACE AE

55. Bacopa monnieri (Linn.) Wettst. —
Occurs commonly in marshy or wet
places near canals, ponds and jhils. FI.
& Fr. : Aug.-Nov.; RPST 272.

56. Limnophila indica (Linn.) Druce —
Found frequently in shallow ponds, pools
and ditches. FI. & Fr. : Sept. -Dec.; RPST
683.

57. Lindernia anagallis (Burm. f.) Penn. —
Occurs commonly in marshy and
swampy areas. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Dee.;
RPST 660.

58. L. ciliata (Colsm.) Penn. — Found com-
monly in paddy fields near canals and
irrigation channels. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-
Dec.; RPST 657, 979.

59. L. Crustacea (Linn.) F. Muell. — Occurs
commonly in paddy fields and moist
situations. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Dee.; RPST
395, 513.

60. Mazus delavayi Bonati — Found occa-
sionally in moist shady places, FI. & Fr. :
Sept. -Dec.; RPST 118.

61 . M. pumilus (Burm. f.) Steen. — Occurs
frequently in wet or damp, shady places
and along the banks of canals. FI. & Fr. :
Sept.-Feb.; RPST 980.

62. Striga angustifolia (D. Don) Said. —
Found commonly near the banks of
ponds and pools. FI. & Fr. : Sept. -Nov.;
RPST 538.

63. Verbascum chinense (Linn.) Sant. —
Occurs commonly in moist, shady places
along the banks of irrigation channels.
FI. & Fr. : Feb.-April; RPST 1012.

64. Veronica anagallis-aquatica Linn. —
Occurs commonly in marshy places. FI.
& Fr. : Feb.-April; RPST 1013, 1048.

30 . Lentibulariaceae

65. Utricularia stellaris Linn. — An insecti-
vorous, free floating plant; found com-
monly in ponds and pools. FI. & Fr. :
Sept.-Nov.; RPST 669, 890.

66. U. flexuosa Vahl — Found frequently
in jhils, ponds and pools. FI. & Fr. :
Sept.- Jan.; RPST 858.

31. Acanthaceae

67. Hygrophila auriculata (Schum.) Heine —
Found commonly in marshy places and
near ponds and roadside ditches. FI. &
Fr. : Oct.-Dec.; RPST 624, 641.

68. H. polysperma (Roxb.) T. Anders. —
Found commonly in marshy and swampy
areas. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-March; RPST
385.

69. Rostellularia quinqueangularis (Koenig
ex Roxb.) var. peploides Nees — Found
commonly in the ground vegetation of
fruit orchards, on moist soil. FI. & Fr. :
Sept.-Feb.; RPST 379.

32 . Verbenaceae

70 . Phyla nodiflora (Linn.) Greene — Occurs
commonly in marshy places and along
irrigation channels. FI. & Fr. : April-
Aug,; RPST 172, 375.

33 . Lamiaceae

71. Anisomeles indica (Linn.) Kuntze —
Found commonly on moist soil of
orchards or along canal banks. FI. &
Fr. : Sept.-Feb.; RPST 592, 674.

72. Salvia plebeia R. Br. — Occurs com-
monly in moist places. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-
April; RPST 774, 1069.

534

WETLAND FLORA OF SITAPUR

34 . Amaranthaceae

73. Alternanthera paronychioides St. Hill. —
Occurs commonly in marshy places. FI.
& Fr. : throughout the year; RPST 344.

74. A. sessilis (Linn.) R. Br. ex DC. —
Occurs commonly in moist situations.
FI. & Fr. : Throughout the year; RPST
110, 579.

35 . Chenopodiaceae

75. Chenopodium amhrosioides Linn. —
Found commonly in moist localities. FI.
& Fr. : March-Sept.; RPST 796.

36. Polygon ace ae

76. Polygonum barbatum Linn. ssp. gracile
Danser — Found commonly in marshes
and along canal banks. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-
March; RPST 133.

77. P. glabrum Willd. — Found commonly
in marshes and along canal banks. FI.
& Fr. : Sept.-March; RPST 116.

78. P. plebeium R. Br. — Occurs commonly
in moist shady places. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-
April; RPST 120, 737.

79. Rumex dentatus Linn. — Found con>
monly in marshy places and along river
banks. FI. & Fr. : Dec-June; RPST 112,
821.

37. Euphorriaceae

80. Euphorbia geniculata Orteg. — Found
commonly in moist shady places. FI. &
Fr. : Dec. -April; RPST 1141.

81. E. hypericifolia Linn. — Occurs com-
monly along river banks and in waste
lands in moist situations. FI. & Fr. :
May-Oct; RPST 365.

82. Kirganelia .reticulata (Poir.) Baill. —
Occurs commonly along irrigation chan-
nels and in marshy areas. FI. & Fr. :
April-July; RPST 515.

83 . Trewia polycarpa Benth. — Occurs com-
monly in marshy places along river beds.
FI. & Fr. : Feb.-April; RPST 191.

38 . Urticaceae

84. Fleurya interrupta (Linn.) Gaud. — Found
occasionally in damp, wet places near
orchards. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Nov.; RPST
997.

3 9 . Ceratop h yll ace ae

85. Ceratophyllum demersum Linn. — Occurs
commonly in rivers, jhils and ponds. FI.
& Fr. : Sept.-Nov.; RPST 664.

MONOCOTYLEDONS

40 . Hydrocharitaceae

86. Hydrilla verticillata (Linn, f.) Royle —
Found abundantly in ponds and ditches.
FI. & Fr. ; Sept.-Nov.; RPST 859.

87. Ottelia alismoides (Linn.) Pers. — Found
commonly in ponds, pools and roadside
ditches. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Dee.; RPST 661.

88. Nechamandra alternifolia (Roxb.) Thw.
— Occurs commonly in ponds, pools and
ditches. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Oct.; RPST
864.

89. Vallisneria spiralis Linn. — Found fre-
quently in ponds, pools and shallow-
river ditches. FI. & Fr. : Oct-Feb.; RPST
143.

41. Orchidaceae

90. Zeuxine strateumatica (Linn.) Schl. —
Occurs rarely in moist turfy banks of
canals. FI. & Fr. : Feb.-March; RPST
750.

42. Amaryllidaceae

91. Crinum defixum Ker-Gawler — Occurs
commonly in swamps, along streams and
ponds. FI. & Fr. : June-Oct.; Local
name : Kalakandera; RPST 1279.

535

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

43 . Liliaceae

92. Asparagus racemosus Willd. — Found
commonly in moist waste places. FI. &
Fr. : Nov.-Jan.; Local name : Satawar;
RPST 1039.

44 . PON TEDERIACEAE

93. Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms —
Found commonly in jhils, ponds and
pools forming dense patches. FI. & Fr. :
Aug.-Nov.; Local name : Jal Kumbhi;
RPST 550.

94. Monochoria vaginalis (Burm. f.) Presl —
Occurs commonly in marshes and road-
side ditches. FI. & Fr. : Sept. -Nov.;
PRST 851.

45. COMMELINACEAE

95. Amischophacelus axillaris (Linn.) R. &
K. — Found commonly in damp,
swampy soils of waste lands. FI. & Fr. ;
Aug.-Dee.; RPST 874.

96. Commelina benglialensis Linn. — Found
commonly in marshes and along canal
banks. FI. & Fr. ; Aug.-Nov.; RPST 552,
976.

97. Murdannia nudiflora (Linn.) Brenan —
Occurs frequently in moist soil of culti-
vated fields. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Nov.; RPST
345.

46 . Typhaceae

98. Typha angustafa Bory & Chaub. —
Found commonly in marshes and
swamps. FI. & Fr. : May-Nov.; Local
name : Gondi; RPST 665.

47. Araceae

99. Pistia stratiotes Linn. — Occurs rarely
in still water of pools and ditches. FI.
& Fr. : Aug-Nov.; RPST 327.

48 . Lemnaceae

100. Lenina paucicostafa Hegelm. — Occurs
frequently in ponds and ditches. RPST
843.

101. Spirodela polyrrhiza (Linn.) Schleid. —
Found commonly in still water of ponds
and ditches. RPST 842.

102. Wolffia arrhiza (Linn.) Horkel ex Wimm.
— Found occasionally in ponds and
ditches. RPST 836.

49 . Alismataceae

103. Sagittaria guayanmsis H. B. & K. ssp.
lappula (D. Don). Bogin — Found com-
monly in ponds, pools and roadside
ditches; also seen in flooded paddy fields.
FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Dee.; RPST 840, 877.

104. S. trifolia Linn. — Found occasionally
in marshy places. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Dee.;
RPST 988.

50 . Aponogetonaceae

105. Aponogeton natans (Linn.) Engl. &
Krause — Found rarely in still water
of roadside pools and ditches. FI. & Fr. :
Aug-Dec.; RPST 844.

5 1 . POTAMOGETONACEAE

106. Potaniogeton crispus Linn. — Found
frequently in shallow, temporary water
ponds and pools. FI. & Fr. : Dec.-April;
RPST 1034.

107. P. nodosus Poir. — Found commonly
in ponds and ditches. FI. & Fr. : Nov.-
Dee.; RPST 946.

108 . P. pectinatus Linn. — Occurs commonly
in ponds and pools etc. FI. & Fr. : Oct.-
April; RPST 1036.

536

WETLAND FLORA OF SITAPUR

52. Eriocaulaceae

109. Eriocaulon einereuin R. Br. — Found
commonly in marshy places and paddy
fields. FI. & Fr. : Sept-Dec.; RPST 999.

53 . Cyperaceae

110. Cyperus alopecuroides Rottb. — Found
commonly along the banks of streams
and other irrigation channels. FI. & Fr. ;
Aug.-Nov.; RPST 253.

111 . C. alulatus Kern — Found commonly in
paddy fields and other marshy places.
FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Nov.; RPST 362.

112. C. brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk. — Found
frequently in marshy and muddy places.
FI. & Fr. : July-Oct; RPST 339.

113. C. compactus Retz. — Found commonly
in marshy places. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Nov.;
RPST 616.

114. C. compressus Linn. — Occurs com-
monly in marshy places. FI. & Fr. :
Aug.-Nov.; RPST 464.

115. C. diffomiis Linn. — Occurs commonly
in swampy and marshy places. FI. & Fr. :
Aug.-Dee.; RPST 335, 625.

116. C digitatus Roxb. — Occurs commonly
in paddy fields and swampy areas. FI.
& Fr. : Aug.-Dee.; RPST 952.

117. C. exaltatus Retz. — Found frequently
in marshy places. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Dee.;
RPST 274.

118. C. iria Linn. — Found commonly in
paddy fields and other marshy places.
FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Nov; RPST 547.

119. C. kyllingia Endl. — Found commonly
in paddy fields and other marshy places.
FI. & Fr. : Aug.-March; RPST 354.

120. C. rotundas Linn. — Found commonly
in paddy fields and other swampy areas
in open grasslands. FI. & Fr. : July-
Dee.; RPST 361, 549.

C. triceps (Rottb.) Endl. — Occurs com-
monly in marshy places. FI. & Fr. : Aug.-
March; RPST 138.

Eleocharis atropurpurea (Retz.) Kunth —
Occurs commonly in paddy fields and
other marshy places. FI. & Fr. ; Sept.-
Dee.; RPST 122.

Fimbristylis bisumbellata (Forsk.) Bub.
— Found commonly as a weed in paddy
fields and swampy localities. FI. & Fr. :
Nov.-May; RPST 271, 626.

F. falcata (Vahl) Kunth — Occurs com-
monly in grasslands and river beds. FI.
& Fr. : Sept. -Dec.; RPST 423.

F. littoralis Gaud. — Found commonly
in paddy fields and marshy areas. FI. &
Fr. : Sept.-Dee.; RPST 545.

F. miliacea (Linn.) Vahl — Occurs com-
monly in paddy fields and marshy areas.
FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Nov.; RPST 376.

F. ovata (Burm.) Kern — Found com-
monly in cultivated fields. FI. & Fr. :
Aug.-Dee.; RPST 291, 354.

Scirpus articulatus Linn. — Found com-
monly in paddy fields and marshy areas.
FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Nov.; RPST 130, 898,
1082.

S. mucronatus Linn. — Found occasion-
ally in marshy areas. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-
Dec.; RPST 222.

S. squarrosus Linn. — Found commonly
in paddy fields after harvest. FI. & Fr. :
Oct. -Dec.; RPST 378.

S. tuberosus Desf. — Found commonly
in paddy fields and marshy areas. FI. &
Fr. : Sept.-Dee.; RPST 333.

54 . POACEAE

Anindo donax Linn. — Found frequent-
ly along ditches and streams. FI. & Fr. :
Sept.-Feb.; RPST 972.

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

537

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

133. Brachiaria reptans (Linn.) Gardn. &
Hubb. — Found frequently in marshy
places. FI. & Fr. : Sept.- Jan.; RPST 533.

134. Coix lacryma-jobi Linn. — Found com-
monly in moist soil near irrigation ca-
nals. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Feb.; RPST 273.

135. Echinochloa colontim (Linn.) Link —
Found commonly in paddy fields and
other marshy places. FI. & Fr. : July-
Nov.; RPST 304, 360.

136. E. crusgalli (Linn.) Beauv. — Occurs
commonly in paddy fields and swampy
areas near ponds and pools. FI. & Fr. :
Aug.-Nov.; RPST 338.

137. Eragrostis tenella (Linn.) P. Beauv. ex
Roem. & Schult. — Found commonly
on moist soil near ponds and pools.
FI. & Fr. : Aug.-Dee.; RPST 387, 531.

138. Imperata cylindrica (Linn.) Beauv. —
Found commonly in open fields on moist
ground. FI. & Fr. : June-Oct.; RPST
156, 252, 451.

139. Ischaemum rugosum Salisb. — Found
commonly in paddy fields and near
ponds and pools. FI. & Fr. : Sept-Dec.;
RPST 539.

140. Oryza rufipogon Griff. — Occurs com-
monly in marshy places. FI. & Fr. : Oct-
Nov.; Local name : Tinna, Pasai; RPST
38.

141. Paspalum distich uni Linn. — Occurs
commonly in marshy places and paddy
fields. FI. & Fr. : July-Sept.; RPST 341.

142. Perotis indica (Linn.) Kuntze — Found
commonly in damp, shady places near
ponds and pools. FI. & Fr. : July-Nov.;
RPST 981.

143. Phragmites maxima (Forrsk.) Blatt. &
McC. — Occurs commonly in marshy
places along streams. FI. & Fr. : Oct.-
Jan.; RPST 957.

144. Sacchanim bengalense Retz. — Found
frequently in marshy places and on the
bunds of fields. FI. & Fr. : Sept.-Nov.;
Local name : Munj; RPST 39.

145. S. spontaneum Linn. — Found fre-
quently along river banks in swampy
areas and on the bunds of fields. FI. &
Fr. : Sept.- Jan.; RPST 332.

146. Sorghum halepense (Linn.) Pers. —
Found commonly along the irrigation
channels. FI. & Fr. : Sept-Dec.; RPST
734.

147. Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash —
Occurs commonly in marshy places.
FI. & Fr. : July-Nov.; Local name :
Seenk, khas; RPST 366, 684.

Acknowledgements

One of us (R.P.S. Tomar) is thankful to
Dr. K. K. Singh, Scientist, National Botanical
Research Institute, Lucknow, for his invalu-
able help. He is also grateful to the University
Grants Commission, New Delhi for the award
of Teacher Fellowship.

References

Biswas, K. & Calder, C. (1937) : Handbook of Duthie, J. F. (Rep. ed. 1973) : Flora of the
common water and marshy plants of India and Upper Gangetic Plain and of the adjacent Siwalik
Burma. Government Press, Delhi. and Sub-Himalayan tracts. Vols. 1-3.

538

STUDIES ON THE SYSTEMATICS AND DISTRIBUTION
OF CRABS IN ASSAM1

N. K. Dutta2
(With six text-figures)

The family Potamonidae (Decapoda: Crustacea) of Assam has Potamon (Acantho-
telphusa ) woodmasoni Rathbun of the genus Potamon and five species of the genus
Paratelphusa namely Paratelphusa ( Barytelphusa ) edentula Alcock, P. ( Barytelphusa )
guerini var. planata A.M. Edw., P. (Barytelphusa) harpx Alcock, P. ( Paratelphusa )
sinensis Milne-Edw., P. (Paratelphusa) spinigera Woodmason of family Potamonidae
= T.(h.) eiphusidae are recorded from different districts of Assam.

Introduction

One of the most important aspects of fishery
biology is the fishery of edible crustaceans.
Among the crustacean fishery, crab fishery has
gained considerable attention particularly the
biology and fishery of crabs that are of eco-
nomic importance. Crabs are caught round the
year. However, the peak catch season shows a
definite seasonal trend in commercially import-
ant crab landing areas. On the North Eastern
region of India in general and Assam in parti-
cular, the peak season is generally from Octo-
ber to February.

There is little information on the freshwater
crabs of Assam. In view of the regional im-
portance of the fishery of these crabs the pre-
sent study was undertaken.

Material and Methods

The species of crabs belonging to family
Potamonidae (Telphusidae) of Assam were
collected regularly from different regions of
the districts of the state, and were obtained as

1 Accepted December 1981.

2 Zoology Department, Cotton College, Gauhati-
781 001 (Assam).

well from fishermen’s catch. These were
brought to the laboratory, cleaned and pre-
served in 8-10% formaldehyde solution.

Results

The collection comprises of six species:

Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) edentula Alcock.
(Fig. 1).

Collection localities’.

Goalpara district: Boko, 1 TL. 25 mm;
Kamrup district: Maligaon, 2 TL. 28 mm;
Sibsagar district: Panbesa near Sibsagar, 1 <$
2 $ , TL. 26-31 mm; Lakhimpur district:
Corella beel, 3 cf, TL. 15-25 mm; Dibrugarh
district: Dibrugarh, 4 cf, TL. 20-33 mm.

Diagnostic features :

The cervical groove is broad and deep run-
ning to the lateral epibranchial tooth. The epi-
gastric is broad and blunt. The outer half of
the post orbital portion of the epigastric crest
is sharp and inner portion is blunt. The legs
are strong and shorter than smaller cheliped.
In the chelate leg, one pair of blunt tooth like
projection in the antero-lateral portion of
ischium and merus and one large and two
blunt teeth on carpus.

539

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 1. Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) edentula Alcock.
A. Dorsal side; B. Ventral side.

Maximum size 29 mm.

In Assam, the species has been so far re-
corded from Sibsagar district. The present
collection extends its distribution to Goalpara,
Kamrup, Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh districts.

Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) guerini var.
planata A.M.-Edw.

(Fig. 2).

Collection localities : Kamrup district: Tihu,
3 d\ 1 9, TL. 68-79 mm; Darrang district:
Mora-Dhansiri, 1 cf, TL. 74 mm; Karbi Ang-
long district: R. Rabinala, 1 TL. 73 mm;
Garo Hills: Garo Hill, 2 TL. 25-65 mm.

Diagnostic features :

The cervical groove is broad and deep,
running towards, but not reaching the site of
the lateral-epibranchial tooth. The epigastric
and post orbital crests form a bold ridge on
either side of the mesogastric furrow. In the
chelate leg, the pits are linearly arranged on
the fingers and there are some squami-form
tubercles on the upper surface of the palm.

Maximum size 74 mm.

Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) harpax
Alcock (Fig. 3).

Collection localities : Sibsagar district: Puro-
nipukhuri beel near Gaurisagar, 2 <3, TL. 15-
35 mm; Lakhimpur district: North Lakhimpur,
2 cf, TL. 15-36 mm; Dibrugarh district: Pro-
per Dibrugarh near Assam Medical College,
2 9 , TL. 55 mm.

Diagnostic features:

The cervical groove is deep and so the region
appears more convex. In the orbital border
of the carapace, 3-4 distinct teeth are present
and the rest of the area in the form of a
serrated structure. The sixth segment of the
abdomen is longer and its sides are more
concave. The postero-lateral borders of the
carapace are also distinctly serrated.

Maximum size 55 mm.

Paratelphusa (Paratelphusa) sinensis
Edw. (Fig. 4).

Collection localities : Kamrup district: R.
Pagladia near Uttarkuchi, lcf, 1 9 , TL. 13-15
mm; Darrang district: Proper Tezpur, 2 <5\

540

CRABS FROM ASSAM

*

Fig.

2.

Paratelphusa

A.

( Barytelphusa ) guerini var. planata
Dorsal side; B. Ventral side.

A.M.-Edw.

541

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig.

3.

Paratelphusa ( Baryte! phusa) harpax Alcock.
A. Dorsal side; B. Ventral side.

542

CRABS FROM ASSAM

Fig. 4.

Paratelphusa ( Paratelphusa ) sinensis Edw.
A. Dorsal side; B. Ventral side.

543

N N \ \V

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Fig. 5. Paratelphusa ( Paratelphusa ) spinigera
Woodmason.

A. Dorsal side; B. Ventral side.

2 9 , TL. 1 6-20 mm; Karbi Anglong district :
Proper Diphu, 1 cf, TL. 14 mm.

Diagnostic features :

The cervical groove is just visible but is
very superficial and indistinctly represented by
a line of irregular pits. The post-frontal meso-
gastric groove is indistinct. The epigastric

crests are slightly overlapping. The post orbi-
tal crests distinct and sharp at their inner edge
and blunt behind the orbit.

Maximum size 15 mm.

Paratelphusa (Paratelphusa) spinigera,

Woodmason (Fig. 5).

Collection Localities: Goalpara district:

Dipo, 2 cf, 2 9 , TL. 51-52 mm; Kamrup dis-
trict: Kukurmara beel, Lankeswar dhum near
Jalukbari. Boko, Bebejapara near Bozali,
Bhulukmara beel near Nalbari, Sundubi beel,
Golah beel near Amingaon, Durmari beel near
Chetoli, Gogiakur near R. Saulkhua, Mongol-
doi, Kahi Kuchi, R. Kulsi, 25 cf , 6 9 , TL.
55-57 mm; Nowgong district: Hapakati beel,
Khetri near Jagiroad, R. Kolong, R. Kopili
near Morigaon, 5 cf, 2 9, TL. 45-50 mm;
Karbi-Anglong district: R. Jamuna, 2 cf, 1 9,
TL. 35-45 mm; Cachar district: R. Karimganj,
3 cf, 1 9, TL. 35-40 mm; Sibsagar district:
Nawpukhuri beel, R. Namdang near Joysagar,
Jorhat, Golaghat, Bokakhat, Gorisagar, Sunari,
5 cf , 8 9 , TL. 45-56 mm; Lakhimpur district:
Pohumara near Singar, North Lakhimpur, 4
cf, 4 9, TL. 35-42 mm; Dibrugarh district:
2 cf, 1 9, TL. 31-40 mm.

Diagnostic features :

The deep cervical groove runs towards the
outer end of the post-orbital crests, but be-
comes quite indistinct behind them. The epi-
gastric crest is prominent but becomes indis-
tinct beyond the point where the cervical groove
approaches them.

Maximum size 57 mm.

Potamon (Acanthotelphusa) woodmasoni

Rathbun (Fig. 6).

Collection Localities : Kamrup district: Bor-
peta and Bozali, 2 cf, TL. 32-33 mm. Sibsagar
district: R. Namdang near Bahbariting, 4 cf,
1 9, TL. 31-35 mm.

544

CRABS FROM ASSAM

Fig. 6. Potamon (Acanthotelphusa) woodmasoni
Rathbun.

A. Dorsal side; B. Ventral side.

Diagnostic features :

The cervical groove is deep, broad and super-
ficial. The epigastric crests are rugulose and
become indistinct beyond the points where
they are met by the cervical groove.

Maximum size 33 mm.

Conclusions

Previous records show that only Potamon
(Acanthotelphusa) woodmasoni Rathbun,
Paratelphusa ( Barytelphusa ) harpax Alcock
and P. (Barytelphusa) edentula Alcock were
recorded from Assam (Sibsagar Dt.). The pre-
sent records represent one species of the
genus Potamon and five species of the genus
Paratelphusa as the crab fauna of Assam. Out
of the six species collected in the present study,
Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) guerini var. plan -
at a A.M. Edw., Paratelphusa (Paratelphusa)
sinensis Edw., and Paratelphusa (Paratelphu-
sa) spinigera Woodmason are new records for
Assam. Besides, the distribution range of Pota-
mon (Acanthotelphusa) woodmasoni Rath-
bun, Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) harpax Al-
cock and Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) edentula
Alcock, which were known only from Sibsagar
district have been reported from other districts
of Assam. (Table 1).

The chelate leg of Potamon (Acanthotel-
phusa) woodmasoni, Rathbun, has been re-
corded as bearing 1 sub-terminal spine on the
upper border of the merus and 1 strong spine
at the inner angle of the carpus. In the pre-
sent study 3 blunt and 1 pointed spines just
above the merus-carpus joint were recorded.

In Paratelphusa (Paratelphusa) sinensis
Edw., the presence of a sub-terminal spine on
the upper border of the merus and a spine at
the inner angle of the carpus of the chelate
leg were known, but in the present record, it
has been found that a pointed spine with tuber-
cles and a blunt spine at the morus-carpus
joint are only present.

In the chelate leg of Paratelphusa (Par at eh
phusa) spinigera Woodmason, only 1 distinct
and acute spine on the merus was reported,
but in the present collection specimens with the
4-edges of the merus serrated and provided

545

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 1

Distribution of the decapod crustaceans studied belonging to the genera Potamon and

Paratelphusa in Assam

District Goalpara

Kamrup

Darrang

Nowgong

Karbi-

Anglong

Cachar

Sibsagar

Lakhim-

pur

Dibru-

garh

Species

Paratelphusa +

{Barytelphusa)
edentula Alcock

+

+

+

+

Paratelphusa —

( Barytelphusa )
guerini var.
planata A.M.-Edw.

+

+

+

Paratelphusa —

( Barytelphusa )
harpax Alcock

+

+

+

Paratelphusa —

{Paratelphusa)
sinensis Edw.

+

+

+

Paratelphusa +

{Paratelphusa)
spinigera
Woodmason

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

Potamon ( Acan - —
thotelphusa)
woodmasoni
Rathbun

+

+

with 3 small and 2 large spines were also pre-
sent.

In Paratelphusa ( Barytelphusa ) guerini var.
planata A. M. Edw. the previous records had
one epibranchial tooth on the antero-lateral
borders of the carapace, but in the present col-
lection the presence of 2 teeth with 11-12 small
tooth-like projections in a serrated manner, was
noted.

In Paratelphusa ( Barytelphusa ) harpax Al-

cock, the orbital border was known to contain
only 1 distal tooth, but in the present collection
the occurrence of 3-4 distinct teeth was noted
as well as additional serrated structures.

In Paratelphusa ( Barytelphusa ) edentula
Alcock, the antero-lateral borders of the cara-
pace are reported to be well arched, distinct,
but hardly crest-like, bluntly and feebly crenu-
late, but in the present collection the serra-
tions are moderately crenulate, with crest and
arched structures.

546

CRABS FROM ASSAM

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Acknowledgements

I thank Dr. S. C. Dey, Zoology department,
Gauhati University for suggesting this interest-
ing problem and for his encouragement
throughout the work. I am grateful to Dr. M.
Koshy and Mrs. M. Deb of the Zoological
Survey of India, Calcutta for assistance in the

confirmation of the identification of the species
of the genera Paratelphusa and Potamon. I am
also thankful to Dr. U. C. Goswami and Shri
A. Dutta of Zoology department, Gauhati Uni-
versity and Shri R. Majumdar, Government
Ayurvedic College, Gauhati for their encourage-
ment.

548

SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE HERD STRUCTURE
OF BLACKBUCK1

N. L. N. S. Prasad2
(With a plate and a text-figure )

Five herds of blackbuck, constituting a population of over 50 animals, were observed
during 1978-80 at Mudmal (16°24'N and 77°27'E) in Andhra Pradesh. The popu-
lation increased to over 100 animals at the end of the study. There were five
categories of social groupings most commonly met with namely: a) Mixed herds
consisting of loose aggregations of males and females of various age groups; b) Herds
consisting of only males — the bachelor herds; c) Herds formed solely of females;
d) A single male territorial in nature accompanying several females; e) Lone
territorial males.

The minimum and maximum herd size observed was 2 and 36 respectively. The mean
herd size was 11.05 (SD 6.22). There were seasonal fluctuations in the mean herd
size. During monsoon and winter seasons larger herds were more common compared
with summer season. The size of five social groupings also registered a considerable
change seasonally. The factors contributing to the changes in the herd structure are
discussed.

Introduction

The present paper is based on a long term
study carried out on blackbuck at Mudmal
and describes the trends in the herd structure
and the factors influencing it.

Study area and Methods

Mudmal village and its surroundings are
located between 16°22'-16°26'N and 77°25'-
77°27'E in Andhra Pradesh. The total study
area was approximately 80 km2. Over 80% of
the area was cultivated and the rest of the
area included patches of grasslands, rocky
elevations, tanks, and phoenix groves. Other

1 Accepted June 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, Osmania University,

Hyderabad-500 007.

Present address : Zoological Survey of India, 36/

802, Karakkamuri Cross Road, Cochin 682 011.

549

details of the study area were described else-
where (see Prasad & Ramana Rao 1984).

Free populations of over 50 blackbuck, dis-
tributed in five separate herds, were located in
the area and were followed for a period of
nearly two years. At the end of the study the
total population increased to over 100 animals.
All observations were made on foot with the
help of 8 x 40 binoculars. Each time a herd
was sighted, the number of individuals in the
herd, composition of sex and age classes such
as adult male, sub -adult male, adolescent male,
adult female, sub -adult female and fawn were
recorded. When an adult male was sighted
the details such as the intensity of black colour
on the coat, the shape of horns, whether terri-
torial or otherwise were noted. Based on this
data 11 males were individually identified dur-
ing the course of the study. Females however,
could not be identified individually.

In the case of males, the age classes were

6

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

distinguished by the horn structure. Males
with horns having less than two twists were
classified as adolescents, horns with 2-3 twists
and more than 3 twists were considered as
sub-adults and adults respectively (see Mungall
1978). A twist is a curve to the outside (Cary
1976). In the case of females, the body size
and coat colour were taken as criteria to
differentiate between the age classes.

During periods of continuous observations
which lasted between 1-lOh, the number of
animals that joined and left the herd under
observation were noted. When part of the herd
split up and moved far so that observations
could not be made on those animals, the num-
ber of animals that remained in the area was
considered for the purpose of calculating the
change in the herd size. Besides, the changes
in the vegetation, activity patterns of black-
buck in relation to vegetation, the disturbance
by cultivators, shepherds, carts, and other
vehicles and the response of blackbuck ob-
served were noted.

Results

The composition of the five herds most fre-
quently met with during September-December
1979 is shown in table 1. Changes in the herd

structure however occurred in different sea-
sons. The social organization of these herds
was basically of five types:

a) Herds formed by males and females of
all age groups which are generally known
as mixed herds

b) A single territorial male with a group of
females, termed pseudoharem (Mungall
1978)

c) Herds formed by males — the bachelor
herds

d) Herds consisting solely of females

e) Lone territorial males

Apart from these categories, lone females were
also sighted particularly either when they were
pregnant or when they had recently given
birth to fawns.

Over 1400 sightings of herds revealed a
mean herd size of 11.05 (SD 6.22) with mini-
mum and maximum being 2 and 36 respect-
ively. The mean herd size varied with seasons
(Tables 2 & 3). It increased from summer to
winter through monsoon. There was an in-
crease in the mean herd size from summer of
1978-79 to summer of 1979-80 which could
probably due to increase in the population of
the herds by the birth of fawns.

The frequency distribution of herd size
classes for the three seasons is shown in the

Table 1

The composition of five herds most frequently observed during
September-December 1979

Herd

Territ.

Male

Adult

Male

Sub-adult

Male

Adolescent

Male

Adult

Female

Sub-adult

Female

Fawn

Total

A

1

2

1

— '

7

2

2

15

B

1

2

2

5

10

5

1

26

C

1

2

1

3

12

2

2

23

D

1

2

1

—

11

—

1

16

E

1

1

—

2

9

—

2

15

Total

5

9

5

10

49

9

8

95

550

HERD STRUCTURE OF BLACKBUCK

Table 2

Mean herd size during 1978-1979

Season

Mean

S.D.

Coeff. of

Total

herd size

variation

Summer

6,82

3.77

55.24

71

Monsoon

11.35

6.40

56,39

264

Winter

12.29

7.29

59.37

177

Table 3

Mean herd size during

1979-1980

Season

Mean

S.D.

Coeff. of

Total

herd size

variation

Summer

10.51

6.13

58.30

232

Monsoon

11.64

6.21

53.37

466

Winter

13.66

7.04

51.53

196

Table 4

Distribution of herd size classes during 1978-79

Season

1

Herd size
2-7 8-13

classes

14-19

20-25 >. 26 Total

Summer

3

43

19

5

1

0

71

Monsoon

5

65

101

51

29

13

264

Winter

5

43

61

35

24

9

177

Total

13

151

181

91

54

22

512

Table 5

Distribution of herd size classes during 1979-80

Herd size classes

Season

1

2-7

8-13

14-19

20-25 > 26 Total

Summer

14

62

91

53

10

2

232

Monsoon

25

96

164

128

46

7

466

Winter

10

39

49

52

38

8

196

Totals

49

197

304

233

94

17

894

tables 4 and 5 for the years 1978-79 and 1979-
80 respectively. An anova test was conducted

with the null hypothesis that the frequency of
herd size is independent of seasons and that
there is no appreciable difference in the fre-
quency of herd size classes in a given season.
This hypothesis was rejected at 5% level of
significance for the three seasons (Tables 6
and 7).

From tables 4 and 5 it is clear that the herd
size classes 8T3 followed by 2-7 were more
frequently seen than the rest in all seasons.
There were, however, seasonal differences in
the proportion of sightings of the various herd
size classes. During summer season the pro-
portion of herd size classes 2-7 and 8-13 were
higher. It is also explicit that compared with
monsoon and winter seasons, during summer
season herd size of 14-19 and the classes below
it were more frequent while during winter and
more so during monsoon herd sizes larger than

i/j

£

£

cn

c

0

1

I

Sex and Age classes

Fig. 1. % Proportion of various sex and age classes.

551

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Table 6

Two WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE OF HERD SIZE CLASSES IN THREE SEASONS DURING 1978-79

Source of

Sum of Degrees of

Mean

Variance

Tabulated

variation

squares

freedom

square

Ratio (F)

F value at 5%

Between seasons
Between herd

3114.11

2

1557.06

7.08

4.10

size classes

7907.11

5

1581.42

7.19

3.33

Residual

2199.22

10

219.92

—

—

Total

13220.44

17

—

—

—

Table 7

Two WAY

ANALYSIS

OF VARIANCE OF

HERD SIZE CLASSES IN THREE SEASONS DURING

1979-80.

Source of

Sum of Degrees of

Mean

Variance

Tabulated

variation

squares

freedom

square

Ratio (F)

F value at 5%

Between seasons
Between herd

164

2

3582.0

6.06

4.10

size classes

21278

5

4255.6

7.20

3.33

Residual

5910

10

591.0

—

—

Total

27352

17

—

—

—

Table 8

% PROPORTION

OF SOCIAL GROUPINGS IN VARIOUS

SEASONS DURING

1978-1980

Season

Mixed

Pseudo-

All female

Single

Bachelors

Total

herds

harems

males

Summer

69.30

17.16

6.27

5.61

1.65

303

Monsoon

73.42

14.38

5.62

4.11

2.47

730

Winter

75.34

10.19

4.83

4.02

5.63

373

14 were more frequently met with as compar-
ed with summer.

The distribution of proportion of the sex
and age classes of the herds is shown in fig. 1.
Adult females constituted the highest with
57.24% followed by the adult males with
11.29%. The sub-adult males (9.08%) and
the territorial males (8.73%) were represent-
ed next. The rest of the classes formed only

13.66%. These sightings showed an adult male
to adult female ratio of 1:2.47 and one fawn
to every 8.76 adult females.

The seasonal changes in the social group-
ings of blackbuck is shown in the table 8.
The mixed herds were more frequent in all
seasons and ranged between 69-75%. Pseudo-
harems with 10-17% were next common social
groupings. The mixed herds were compara-

552

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80

Prasad: Antilope cervicapra

Plate

Above : Congregation of the members of herd B after a drive by cultivators.
Below: A bachelor herd.

( Photos : N. L. N. S. Prasad)

HERD STRUCTURE OF BLACKBUCK

tively less in summer season than in other
seasons while the pseudo-harems were more
frequent in summer compared with the rest
of the seasons.

Out of 195 sightings of pseudo-harems, 5%
constituted a lone territorial male with a single
adult female. The maximum size of the
pseudo-harems was 26 (1 territorial male with
25 females). A total of 64 sightings on single
animals contained 70.3% territorial males,
18.7% females, and 11% adult and sub-adult
males.

The bachelor groupings were sighted 44
times. 75% of these had 3-7 males. 18.2%
of these sightings showed only two males to-
gether. The maximum size of the bachelor
herd was 9 which was sighted 6.8% times.

Discussion

A tendency exists among animals to band
together in flocks, herds, schools, or loose
colonies. In all social systems in general, two
opposing forces operate simutaneously:
mutual attraction versus social intolerance to
establish social dominance, the former con-
tributing to herding while the latter against
crowding (Smith 1980). The combination of
terrain and vegetation profile have a pro-
nounced effect upon herd size and composi-
tion among blackbuck (Mungall et al. 1981),
Now, the question what contributes to the
changes in the herd structure finds three pos-
sible answers here. The first one is forage bas-
ed, the second based on the social aspects, and
the last the disturbance by cultivators. A small
herd will do well with less competition for for-
age while a large herd will have a heavy com-
petition amongst the members of the herd and
at the same time would deplete the resources in
the area by overgrazing. This could be the re-
ason for the maximum sightings in the category
of 8-13 herd size class in all seasons. The larger

proportion of smaller size herds during sum-
mer (Tables 4 & 5) also confirms this. During
summer as food becomes very scarce, the
herds would further split up into small herds
and would move about in search of fresh
grass. The occasional presence of larger herds
during summer, however, is explained by the
fact that blackbuck concentrate on groundnut
fields and near wells where sprouting of grasses
occurs due to continuous watering of the fields.

The occurrence of larger herd size in
greater proportion during monsoon was be-
cause of availability of large quantity of fresh
forage on grasslands. During winter black-
buck would concentrate in jowar cultivated
fields where some palatable grasses were still
present. At the time of appearance of the ear-
head till the harvest of jowar crop, the con-
centration of blackbuck in these fields was a
common sight.

Splitting of herds resulted when the herds
were subjected to heavy stress, particularly by
cultivators who chase blackbuck when they
locate them near their fields. This driving also
would result in a small group joining another
in an adjacent area thus forming a larger herd.
This was a common sight at all seasons.

Turning to the changes in the herd compo-
sition seasonally, it is clear that mixed herds
were the most common. A large proportion of
the pseudo-harems were observed during sum-
mer season compared with other seasons. This
could not, however, be assigned to the peak of
breeding activity as summer was just the start-
ing time of establishment of territory by the
territorial males, and hence this point is diffi-
cult to explain. The increase in the bachelor
herds from summer to winter through mon-
soon, however, resulted mostly due to driving
of bachelor males by the territorial males from
their territories to have more access to the
females.

553

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Prof. J. V. Ramana Rao
for the guidance for my Ph.D. dissertation and
his encouragement throughout the period of
study. Acknowledgements are due to the Head,
Department of Zoology, Osmania University,
Hyderabad for providing necessary field equip-
ment and for his keen interest in the present
work. I am thankful to the Andhra Pradesh

Refer

Cary, E. R. (1976): Territorial and reproductive
behaviour of blackbuck ( Antilope cervicaprd). Ph.D.
dissertation, Texas A & M University, College Sta-
tion, Tex. (Unpubl.) 220 p.

Mungall, E. C. (1978) : The Indian Blackbuck
Antelope: A Texas View. Kleberg Studies in Natu-
ral Resources. The Texas A & M Univ., System,
College Station, Texas. 184 p.

Mungall, E. Q, Patel, B. H., Prasad, N.L.N.S.,
AND Dogherty, S. E. (1981) : Conservation and

Forest Department for the cooperation ex-
tended during the course of field work. I have
greatly benefited from the discussions with
Prof. Madhav Gadgil, Dr. N. V. Joshi, Dr.
S. N. Prasad, and Mr. P.V.K. Nair of the
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. I grate-
fully acknowledge the financial assistance pro-
vided by the President, F.R.I. & Colleges,
Dehra Dun in the form of a Junior Research
Fellowship.

EN CES

Management of the Indian Blackbuck Antelope
( Antilope cervicapra ) — A Final Report. U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service Sept. 1981 (Unpubl.) Ill p.

Prasad, N. L. N. S. & Ramana Rao, J. V. (1984):
Evaluation of habitat structure of blackbuck ( Anti-
lope cervicaprd) in Andhra Pradesh with special
reference to Mudmal and its relevance to beha-
viour. Geobios 11: 17-21.

Smith, R. L. (1980): Ecology and Field Biology.
Harper and Row Publ. New York. 835 p.

554

THE FORMER DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDIAN
RHINOCEROS ( RHINOCEROS UNICORNIS) IN INDIA

AND PAKISTAN1

L. C. Rookmaaker2

The existence of the rhinoceros in prehistoric times is known from different sites in
the Indus valley of Pakistan, and in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and possibly Karnataka. There are written and pictorial records
testifying to the occurrence of the animal in those regions of India and Pakistan
at least until the 16th century. The species concerned is the Indian rhinoceros,
Rhinoceros unicornis Linnaeus, 1758.

Introduction

Three recent species of rhinoceros are known
to have occurred in parts of the Indian sub-
continent. The double-horned Sumatran rhino-
ceros {Dicer orhinus sumatrensis) was reported
from Assam and some regions bordering on
Burma before 1880. The Javan rhinoceros
( Rhinoceros sondaicus) was known definitive-
ly from the Sunderbans area of Bangladesh
and has been said to exist as far north-west
as Assam and Sikkim. The Indian rhinoceros
( Rhinoceros unicornis) has been recorded in
Assam, Nasirabad, Sylhet and Cachar (Rook-
maaker 1980). It is still present in various re-
serves in N. E. India and in Nepal. The
rhinoceros also once inhabited other parts of
India and Pakistan, as described by Shebbeare
(1953: 142): “[it] inhabited the sub-Himala-
yan tract during prehistoric times, the western
limits of its range retreating from Peshawar,
in the days of Babur (1505-1530), to Rohil-
khand (the Barelli district) in the mid-19th
century and the Nepal terai during the present

1 Accepted October 1982.

2 Dokter Guepinlaan 23, 4032 NH Ommeren
(Gld.), The Netherlands.

century.” The distribution of the rhinoceros
in Pakistan and India outside the N.E. pro-
vinces until the 16th century and its retreat —
the last record as far west as the Philibit dis-
trict near the Nepal border dated from 1876
— has been reviewed or mapped by Lydekker
(1907: 30), Guggisberg (1966: 135), Seshadri
(1969: 92) and Mukherjee (1963: 45-47,
1974:339-341). Usually, these records have
been assumed to pertain to R. unicornis, but
the animals rarely have been identified as R.
sondaicus. Recently, there have been proposals
to translocate Indian rhinoceroses from Assam
to other areas within their former range. The
first pair to be translocated arrived in the Lai
Sohanra National Park in Pakistan on 23
March 1982 (Nawaz 1982), while other ani-
mals are supposed to be sent to Dudwa
National Park in U.P. soon (Baidya 1982).

In view of these plans, it is evidently im-
portant to establish the former limits of the
range of the rhinoceros as accurately as pos-
sible. In this paper I shall review all available
data concerning the distribution of the rhino-
ceros in Pakistan and India (west of Assam).
These will be divided in the information on
the fossil specimens found in this region, and
the literary and iconographic sources dating

555

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

from the 14th to the 17th century. The specific
identity of this rhinoceros will also be discuss-
ed. Many sources have been quoted extensively,
because many are only available with great
difficulty to zoologists and because it is useful
to compare them all in one place.

Prehistoric Records

Rhinoceros remains have been discovered in
prehistoric sites in several Indian states. Picto-
rial representations possibly dating from the
same period add localities in Pakistan and in
Bihar. Few of the fragmentary remains have
been described in detail and their identification
as R. unicornis often has been taken for grant-
ed. Guerin (1980) presented extensive descrip-
tions with measurements of the post-cranial
skeletons of the five living species of rhino-
ceros. He observed that specific differences,
either qualitative or quantitative, could be
found in almost all bones. More specifically.
R. sondaicus resembled R. unicornis osteologi-
cally, but they could be distinguished by size,
proportions and other qualitative criteria
(Guerin 1980: 74). It may be insufficient to
compare specimens on paper only, and hazar-
dous to presuppose the same size in prehistoric
and recent specimens of the rhinoceros.
Nevertheless, I shall compare the published
descriptions of the fossil bones found in India
with the analyses by Guerin (1980). The loca-
tions and ages of the different sites were taken
from the publications describing the rhinoceros
fragments.

Pakistan

Harappa

(Sihawal district on Ravi river; 2500-1500 b.c.)

Prashad (1936: 31) described a fragment
of a right scapula. The stated measurements

(length c. 470 mm, maximum width c. 250
mm) are larger than those of R. sondaicus
(Guerin 1980: 77). This points at R. unicornis
(Prashad 1936, Roberts 1977: 159, Nath

1968: 18).

Mohenjo Daro

(Indus valley; c. 3000 b.c.)

Several seals and pottery objects represent-
ing a rhinoceros were found in Mohenjo Daro
(Marshall 1931, I: 72, 205, 348, 353, II: 387).
The animal is sometimes depicted “standing
over a manger-like object” possibly indicating
its keeping in captivity (Marshall 1931, I:
348), while to Conrad (1968: 253) this sug-
gested worship of the rhinoceros. Marshall
(1931, I: 348) thought that the species must
have been well-known to the people judging
“from the frequency with which it is repre-
sented, and it was, therefore, likely to have
been found in the close vicinity of Mohenjo
Daro.” Brentjes (1978: 159) identified the
animals on the seals as R. unicornis.

India

Rajasthan

Kalibangan

(Ganganagar district; 3500-400 b.c.)

Banerjee & Chakraborty (1973) reported
the discovery in 1965 of four bone fragments
referred to R. unicornis : a left tibia (distal
diameter 125 mm), a right humerus (distal
diameter 126 mm), a first phalanx of the 4th
metatarsal, and a 3rd metatarsal of the right
foot (length 190 mm). In all cases, the mea-
surements are larger than those of living R.
sondaicus and compare better with those of
R. unicornis (Guerin 1980: 126, 79, 147; see
Nath 1969: 107).

556

INDIAN RHINOCEROS IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN

Gujarat

Langhnaj

(23° 47'N, 72° 25 'E; pre-pottery phase)

Zeuner (1952:130-131) gave details about
a left scapula (length 430 mm) which showed
traces possibly indicating its use as an anvil
by a microlith-maker. To Zeuner, “its charac-
ters agree with the species Rhinoceros uni-
cornis, though the teeth found at Langhnaj
suggest the possibility that a sub-species occur-
red in Gujarat which is not identical with the
surviving Nepal and Bengal races.” There is
no evidence substantiating this suggestion (see
Sankalia & Karve 1949).

Clutton-Brock (1965: 9-10) mentioned more
remains from Langhnaj: a left scapula (width
of the neck 128, 6 mm), a right humerus, a
talus, and a fragment of a molar tooth. The
scapula and talus were referred to R. unicor-
nis, while the other fragments were too damag-
ed to allow proper identification.

Kaneval

(20 km N.W. of Cambay or Khambat;

8000-1200 B.c.)

Momin et al. (1973) reported some rhino-
ceros fragments found in different sites around
Lake Kaneval: 3 (partial) cervical vertebrae
and the proximal end of a tibia. The vertebrae
are illustrated (Momin et al 1973: figs. 2, 3),
but these bones do not present specific charac-
teristics (Guerin 1980: 74). Momin et al
(1973: fig. 1) figured the tibia, without des-
cription although suggesting its use as an anvil.

Siwalik Hills

During the last century, fossilized rhinoceros
remains were found in several deposits in the

Siwalik hills and others of similar age (rang-
ing from miocene to lower pleistocene). They
were assigned to several (new) taxa:

Rhinoceros indicus [ -unicornis ] fossilis
Baker & Durand, 1836: 493;

Rhinoceros platyrhinus Falconer & Cautley,
1847, pis. 73-75;

Rhinoceros palaeindicus Falconer & Cautley,
1847, pis. 73-75;

Rhinoceros sivalensis Falconer & Cautley,
1847, pis. 73-75;

Rhinoceros perimensis Falconer & Cautley,
1847, pis. 73-75;

Rhinoceros namadicus Falconer, 1868, I:
157ff., 513;

Rhinoceros namadicus Lydekker, 1876 (not
of Falconer).

Many of these forms were described in detail
by Lydekker (1881, 1884: 82-83, 1885: 61-65,
1886), who synonymized his own R. namadi-
cus from the Nerbudda valley with R. uni-
cornis in 1886. The relation of these taxa to
the recent species of Rhinoceros and to each
other, whether (near-) identical or not, whether
ancestral or not, has to my knowledge not been
clarified sufficiently. ITeissig (1972) recently
described some ancient fragments from the
lower and middle Siwalik-deposits as Rhino-
ceros ( Rhinoceros ) aff. sivalensis, R. (Gain-
datherium) browni, R. (G.) vidali, Didermo-
cerus aff. sumatrensis (one P2) and Eurhino-
ceros sondaicus (one P1 and one P2). Guerin
(1980: 168, 170) questioned the last two iden-
tifications as the material was very old and
very limited.

As a neontologist and taxonomist, I was
surprised at Heissig’s use of Eurhinoceros as a
full genus with the species sondaicus. R. uni-
cornis is said to be the type-species of
Rhinoceros Linnaeus, 1758 and R. sondaicus
that of Eurhinoceros Gray, 1867 [=1868]. Gray
(1868) divided the genus Rhinoceros into two

557

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol 80

subgenera: typical Rhinoceros with R. steno-
cephalus, and Eurhinoceros with R. javanicus
[-sondaicus], R. unicornis, R. nasalis and R.
floweri. This too is a rather curious classifica-
tion which, however, does not concern us at
present. It would seem that Heissig’s inter-
pretation of Eurhinoceros would need further
clarification.

Uttar pradesh

Mirzapur petroglyph

A rock drawing in the “Ghormangur rock-
shelter near the fortress of Bidyergurh in the
Mirzapur district” is described and illustrated
by Cockburn (1883). It shows a single-horned
rhinoceros surrounded by hunters, but its iden-
tity is not clear (Bhaduri et al. 1972: 404,
Rookmaaker 1980: 258).

Banda

Cockburn (1883) found some fragmentary
rhinoceros bones “in the ravines of the Ken
river, 2 miles due south of the town of Banda”
which he tentatively assigned to R. unicornis.

Bihar

Chirand

(Saran district; c. 1700 b.g, neolithic)

Nath (1976) reported 4 fragments: a left
humerus, upper molar tooth, left tibia and
ulna. The bones are not described, but referred
to R. unicornis.

Madhya pradesh

No material has been discovered in this
state. Sagreiya (1969: 718) concluded that if
the rhinoceros ever “did occur in parts of
Madhya Pradesh, [it] disappeared before the
Aryans arrived.”

South India

Lydekker (1880) described a single M3 from
the alluvium of Madras as R. unicornis (see
Hooijer 1946: 84). Another specimen found
3J miles N. E. of Gokak, Belgaum district
(Karnataka) was described as Rhinoceros
deccanensis by Foote (1874). It appears pre-
mature to state on the basis of this meagre
evidence, that R. unicornis used to occur in
this part of India, which would allow future
re-introduction (Krishne Gowda 1975-309).

Historical Records

Several medieval Muslim authors wrote
about encounters with the rhinoceros in Pakis-
tan or India (Ettinghausen 1950). The majority
seems to be based on second-hand information,
but those by al-Beruni and Ibn Battuta
deserve further consideration. Several Indian
authors of the 16th and 17th century claimed
to have observed these animals. This evidence
was partly reviewed by Yule & Burnell (1903:
363, 762), Ali (1927) and Rao (1957: 269).

al-Beruni, one of the Muslim authors who
wrote a book about India (c. 1030), gave the
following details:

“The ganda exists in large numbers in India,
more particularly about the Ganges. It is
of the build of a buffalo, has a black scaly
skin, and dewlaps hanging down under the
chin. It has three yellow hoofs on each foot,
the biggest one forward, the others on both
sides. The tail is not long, the eyes lie low,
further down the cheek than is the case
with all other animals. On the top of the
nose there is a single horn which is bent
upwards. The Brahmins have the privilege
of eating the flesh of the ganda. I have my-
self witnessed how an elephant coming
across a young ganda was attacked by it.

558

INDIAN RHINOCEROS IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN

The ganda wounded with its horn a fore-
foot of the elephant, and threw it down on
its face” (Sachau 1910: 203-204).

The author continued about his uncertainty
whether the ganda was in fact the rhinoceros.

Ibn Battuta, an Arab traveller, saw rhinoce-
roses near the Indus river in 1334 as follows:
“After crossing the river of Sind called Banj
Ab, we entered a forest of reeds, following
the tracks which led through the midst of
it, when we were confronted by a rhino-
ceros. In appearance it is a black animal
with a huge body and a disproportionately
large head. For this reason it has become
the subject of a proverb, as the saying goes
Al-karkaddan ras bila badan (rhinoceros,
head and no torso). It is smaller than an
elephant, but its head is many times larger
than an elephant’s. It has a single horn bet-
ween its eyes, about three cubits in length
and about a span in breadth. When it came
out against us one of the horsemen got in
its way; it struck the horse which he was
riding with its horn, pierced his thigh and
knocked him down, then went back into the
thicket and we could not get at it. I saw a
rhinoceros a second time on this road after
the hour of afternoon prayer. It was feeding
on plants but when we approached it, it ran
away. I saw a rhinoceros yet another time
when in the company of the king of India
we had entered a jungle of reeds. The sultan
was mounted on an elephant and we too
were mounted on elephants along with him.
The foot-soldiers and horsemen went in and
beat it up, killed it and conveyed its head to
the camp” (Gibb 1971: 596).

Babur, the Moghul emperor reigning from
1505 to 1530, hunted the rhinoceros several
times. His accounts are quite extensive and

unfortunately too long to reproduce in full.
In February 1519 he wrote:

“I went to hunt rhinoceros on the Sawati
side [Suabi, west of the Indus river] which
place people call also Karg-khana (Rhino-
home). A few were discovered but the jungle
was dense and they did not come out of it”
(Beveridge 1970: 378).

One calf came out and escaped, another died
when the jungle was set on lire. In December
1526, Babur had another encounter with the
animal :

“There was a rhino in a bit of jungle near
Bigram [Peshawar]. ... It took its way
across the plain. Humayun and those come
with him from that side (Tramontana), who
had never seen one before, were much enter-
tained. It was pursued for two miles; many
arrows were shot at it; it was brought down
without having made a good set at man or
horse. Two others were killed” (Beveridge
1970: 451).

When it came face to face with an elephant,
it did not attack but turned in another direc-
tion. A few years later, in March 1529, near
Benares no rhinoceros was discovered (Beve-
ridge 1970: 657). Babur gave a comprehensive
description of the rhinoceros in his list of the
animals of Hindustan:

“This also is a large animal, equal in bulk
to perhaps three buffaloes. ... It has a single
horn on its nose more than 9 inches (qarisch)

long; one of two qarisch is not seen

The rhinoceros’ hide is very thick; an arrow
shot from a stiff bow, drawn with full
strength right up to the arm-pit, if it pierces
at all, might penetrate 4 inches (ailik, hands).
From the sides (qash) of its fore and hind
legs, folds hang which from a distance look
like housings thrown upon it. ... There are
masses of it in the Parashawar and Hash-
nagar jungles, so too between the Sind river

559

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

and the jungles of the Bhira country. Masses
there are also on the banks of the Saru river
in Hindustan” (Beveridge 1970: 489-490).
Sidi Ali, a Turkish admiral of Suleiman the
Great, saw rhinoceroses in northern Pakistan
in 1556 (Yule & Burnell 1903: 762). The
passage is here translated from the French
published by Moris (1826: 201-202):

“We left the city of Pourschewer [Peshawar],
and having happily passed the Koutel
[Kotak], we came to the city of Djouschayeh.
At the Koutel, we saw rhinoceroses ap-
proaching in size the elephant. Those rhino-
ceroses had a horn of two hands length on
the forehead; but it is a fact that those living
in Abyssinia have longer horns.”

Akbar, the 3rd Moghul emperor (1542-1605),
had his memoirs written about 1590. The
rhinoceros was found in the “Sarkar of Sam-
bal”, near Sambhal in Utter Pradesh (Jarratt
1949, II: 285). It is described as follows:
“The rhinoceros is a stupendous creature.
He is twice the size of a buffalo and much
resembles a horse in armour. His feet and
hoofs are like those of an elephant, and his
tail similar to a buffalo’s, and he has a
pastern -joint like a horse. On the point of
his snout he carries a single horn and his
hide is so thick that an arrow will not pierce
it. Of this, breast-plates and shields and the
like are made, and he is bold enough to
charge a man on horse back” (Jarrett 1949,
III: 134).

Jehangir, another Moghul emperor who
wrote his memoirs. In the passage given here
translated by Beveridge, “wolf” is given in-
stead of “rhinoceros” because the latter was
unlikely to live in the region mentioned. This
is questioned by Ali (1927: 861) and Kuhnel
(1941).

“One day I was on an elephant, and was
hunting wolves in Aligarh in the Nuh forest.

A wolf appeared, and I struck it with a
bullet on its face (mana) near the lobe of
the ear. The bullet penetrated for about a
span. From that bullet it fell and gave up
its life. It has often happened in my pre-
sence that powerful (jawanan) men, good
shots with the bow, have shot twenty or
thirty arrows at them, and not killed” (Beve-
ridge 1968, II: 270).

A Portuguese embassy to Muzafar II, King of
Cambaia, was presented with a living rhino-
ceros in May 1514. Its place of capture is not
recorded. It had been kept in Champanel and
was transported to Lisbon via Goa by the
Portuguese. It lived in Lisbon from 20 May
1515 until December 1515, when it was sent
to Pope Leo X in Rome. It drowned on its
way at the Italian coast near Porto Venere in
February 1516 (Da Costa 1937, Rookmaaker
1973: 39-40).

Iconography

There are rather a large number of minia-
tures and other representations depicting
“naturalistic” rhinoceroses made in India bet-
ween 1500 and 1650. Some have recently been
figured, e.g. by Ettinghausen (1950: pis. 21,
30, 32, 33), Brentjes (1969), Lewis et al. (1966:
pi. 23) and Kuhnel (1941: fig. 2). These ani-
mals are undeniably rhinoceroses, but few
would appear to allow further identification.
One such miniature may be mentioned espe-
cially. It shows Jehangir hunting rhinoceroses
and it is dated c. 1600 (kept in O. Sohn-Rethel
collection, Diisseldorf — reproduced by Kuh-
nel 1941, Ettinghausen 1950: pi. 33 and
Brentjes 1969). The identity of this animal is
discussed below.

Discussion

The records of rhinoceroses in India and
Nepal were generally attributed to the Indian

560

INDIAN RHINOCEROS IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN

rhinoceros ( R . unicornis). Blyth (1872: 3107),
however, considered that the length of the horn
and the possibility to penetrate the hide with
arrows mentioned by Babur appeared “tolera-
bly sufficient” to indicate R. sondaicus rather
than R. unicornis. Brentjes (1969) identified
an animal in one of the miniatures showing
Jehangir’s hunt as R. sondaicus inermis. The
animals in this figure look enough like a single-
horned rhinoceros that the appearance of the
animal must have been known. These repre-
sentations, however, were not intended to show
characteristics which would allow us to sepa-
rate the two species of Rhinoceros. The minia-
ture discussed by Brentjes probably is one of
the few which shows the folds naturalistically,
at least at first sight. I believe that this is acci-
dental. There are important differences between
the two specimens in the picture and some

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563

SOME NOTES ON THE ECOLOGY AND STATUS OF
THE ORANGERUMPED HONEYGUIDE INDICATOR
XANTHONOTUS IN THE HIMALAYAS1

S. A. Hussain and Salim Ali2
(With a plate)

Introduction

The family Indicatoridae comprising of four
genera3 ( Indicator , Mdichneutes, Melignomon
and Prodotiscus ) and 11 species occurs in
Africa, India, Burma and Malay archipelago.
Of these, four species of three genera are
exclusive to Africa and a single genus is re-
presented by five species in Africa and one
each in the Indian subcontinent and Malay
archipelago. Of the total 11 species, five are
known to be brood parasites of other species
of birds, while two are suspected to be so in
Africa. Another peculiarity of the family is
the symbiotic relationship of some species with
other animals, and their habit of ‘guiding’ man
to bee hives in Africa.

In a comprehensive monograph based on
earlier literature, personal observations, and
an analysis of the data collected through vari-
ous sources Friedmann (1955) has discussed
the biological considerations of the family
Indicatoridae. His study was mainly prompted
by two aspects of behaviour, namely Symbiosis
and Brood-parasitism. Since these aspects of
behaviour are related to much wider and com-
plicated biological and evolutionary factors it
was imperative that all other aspects relating

1 Accepted August 1983.

2 Bombay Natural History Society, Horbill House,
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay-400 023.

3 There has been some difference of opinion
about the number of genera and species. Friedmann
(1974), now recognises 17 species.

to the complete life history of the family be
covered in order to gain a proper insight into
this very interesting and unique family of birds.
Friedmann’s monograph covers almost all
aspects of the biology, zoogeography and eco-
logy of the family and provides an excellent
comprehensive base line of information on
the current status of the family. However, the
monograph, as conceded by the author, is by
no means complete. Information about several
species is either meagre or virtually non
existent. Very little is known of the Himalayan
Orangerumped Honeyguide. Our information
about this bird has been based mainly on some
stray notes published by early naturalists and
casual observations by later ornithologists dur-
ing their surveys.

Background

In 1973 Salim Ali while surveying the avi-
fauna of the eastern Himalayas, discovered
about 20-25 honeyguides feeding on a cluster
of honey combs in central Bhutan. Consider-
ing the observation potential and accessibility
of the area, a trip during the putative breeding
season (April-May) was proposed to obtain
some data on the breeding biology and other
behaviour of the bird. The field trip, initiated
by the Bombay Natural History Society and
financed from the Salim Ali Nature Conser-
vation Fund (SANCF), was planned for
summer 1977. One of us (SAH) spent about
a month-and-a-half from mid May to end

564

ORANGERUMPED HONEYGUIDE IN THE HIMALAYAS

June and again during October the same year
we visited Central and Western Bhutan to
study the honeyguide and survey the area.
This paper is based on the information gather-
ed during the study period as well as on cor-
related data from earlier literature and our
own notes from other parts of the Himalayas.
An attempt is made to substantiate our know-
ledge of some aspects of behaviour and eco-
logy of this species. Considering the limited
scope and potential of the present study, this
paper is intended merely as a preliminary
assessment for a long term investigation which
may be undertaken in future.

Past Literature

The Orangerumped Honeyguide Indicator
xanthonotus was first described by Blyth in
1842 from a specimen obtained at Darjeeling.
Two sub-species have been described in the
subcontinent, apart from the nominate race.
Hume’s radcliffi, was described by him based
on a single specimen collected from Hazara
district in north-west Himalayas, and its vali-
dity has been questioned by later ornithologists
(Ali and Ripley 1970) due to the lack of
supporting material. Ripley (1951) separated
the easternmost population as fulvus based on
two specimens collected by him from Naga
Hills. Apart from these there are only occa-
sional notes published in various journals
(Hume 1873, Stoliczka 1873, Magrath 1909,
Smythies 1949).

No information about eggs, nestlings and
fledglings or authentic records of feeding,
mating, calls and other behaviour is available.
In 1973 we collected eight specimens Odd
and 5 $ $ ) from central Bhutan on 31st Octo-
ber, and recorded as follows: “A sandstone
cliff face c. 80 ft. high, c. 100 ft. square, sheer
above road, almost overhanging it, with c. 15-

20 large active combs of Apis dor sat a at diffe-
rent levels, some very close to one another
others more spaced. On approach to spot, on
turning a bend, 2 sparrow-like birds flew up
from a dry gutter along base of cliff and cros-
sed the path of our jeep showing orange
rump. Examination of cliff revealed 27 /. xan-
thonotus, some chasing one another across the
cliff face — reminiscent of Baya rivals at nest
colony”. Recently Cronin and Sherman (1977)
have reported on an excellent study carried
out by them “over several seasons” in eastern
Nepal.

Taxqnomical Notes

The Orangerumped Honeyguide is of the
size of a sparrow and has perhaps the most
striking colour pattern of all the species of
honeyguides. Another distinguishing feature is
the bill which is small, stout and finchlike.

Description :

Forehead and lores orange. Upper plumage
dark grey washed with a tinge of olive on
mantle and nape. The dark grey feathers of
the primaries and secondaries have pale olive
margins giving an overall streaked effect on
the dorsal side. Deep orange of the rump
extends up to upper back where it is almost
sulphur yellow. Primaries and tail feathers
dark grey. Chin and throat washed with yellow.
Lower plumage pale grey marked with dark
grey streaks.

Female : The yellow of the forehead, chin
and throat less extensive Rump more yellow
than orange, turning into sulphur yellow to
almost iridescent white on the upper back. Rest
like the male.

Subspecific notes :

Hume’s ‘species’ radcliffi was based on a

565

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

specimen collected from Hazara in the extreme
northwest Himalayas. The validity of this race
has not been fully confirmed due to lack of
more specimens. Ali & Ripley (1970) mention
Hugh Whistler seeing this bird on 24th April
1923 at Trinn, Dharmasala, c. 2900 m and
consider it as the last authentic record. How-
ever, Friedmann (1974) mentioned Walter
Koelz’s collection in 1940’s as containing
several specimens of Honeyguides from Garh-
wal (exact locality not specified). The nomi-
nate xanthonotus extends eastwards of the
range of radclifji along Himalayas upto eastern
Bhutan. Recently Ripley (1951) based on two
specimens collected by him from Naga Hills,
separated the population of north-east Hima-
layas and Burma as fulvus. The specimens
differed from nominate race by being smaller
and darker; streaking on the abdomen less
prominent and yellow wash on the forehead
restricted posteriorly. In the absence of com-
parative material the 3 males and five females
collected in 1973 in Central Bhutan may be
considered as nominate xanthonotus.

Ecological distribution :

The Himalayan distribution of the honey-
guide covers a variety of ecozones, from dry
deciduous, sparsely covered rugged mountain-
ous region of north-west through transient
belts of pine and oak to broadleaved tropical
wet evergreen forms of the north-east. The
birds have been observed at various altitudes
ranging from 1500 m to 3500 m. Ripley (1950)
considered them to be altitudinal and seasonal
migrants in Nepal. Elsewhere, discussing the
ecological aspect he suggested that the western-
most population occurs in the coniferous and
dry deciduous open forests while eastern popu-
lation inhabits the dense wet tropical forests
with the population in Nepal adapted to an
intermediate vegetational zone.

Indicator xanthonotus is perhaps distributed
exclusively over a mountainous region. All the
other species including the Malayan I. arc hi -
pelagicus occur from sea level up to about
2700 m. The distribution in Africa is charac-
terised by birds of a species occupying diverse
habitats with each of its subspecies isolated
in a different habitat.

Physiography and vegetation :

The Bhutan Himalayas, unlike Nepal and
Sikkim, have not been explored extensively.
The climatic and vegetational zones are more
or less similar to the Sikkim Himalayas des-
cribed by Salim Ali (1962). However, the
‘chequering’ effect of the overlapping vege-
tational zones is more pronounced here. The
foothills contain dense wet tropical forest and
form an evergreen zone to altitudes upto 2500
m. North of this, roughly between 2000 to
3000 m, lies the deciduous zone and above
3000 m begins the alpine zone. The abrupt
rise of the hills of central Bhutan reaches up
to the Black Mountain range, the main geo-
graphic feature of the area. The range provides
the major barrier to the onslaught of the S-
W monsoon. The ‘chequered’ character of the
vegetation is much in evidence on the rain
shadow area. As one crosses the Gulibrong
Saddle (c. 2300 m) a low pass over the range,
and descends to an altitude of about 840 m.
the dense evergreen forests give way to a dry-
deciduous coniferous zone. This coniferous
vegetation in its turn gives way to broadleaved
forest as one climbs northwards. This irregular
and overlapping vegetation is determined
mainly by the elevation, exposure and climatic
conditions like precipitation and temperature
(Fisher 1971).

Itinerary , Study area and Method :

First trip : May — June 1977

S. A. H. reached Bhutan on 11th May and

566

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80
Hussain & Ali: Indicator xanthonotus

Plate

Above : Rml sitting on “Perch A”.

Below : “Honey Rock” — a study area in Bhutan. Perches A, B and C (see text).

ORANGERUMPED HONEY GUIDE IN THE HIMALAYAS

immediately proceeded to Batase the Border
Roads camp at Samkhara about 8 km. from
“Honey Rock” — the study site. He stayed
there for about 27 days from 12th May to
8th June and threafter moved north to Mang-
dechu c. 840 m. (8th-9th June), Shamgong —
Khosela, c. 1400 m (10th- 14th) Tongsa-Gyetsa
c. 2500 m — 3400 m (14th- 16th), Bubja c. 2500
m (17th) and then on to Thimphu 2700 m
(20th-25th) over Pele La c. 3900 m and Wang-
diphodrang. From Thimphu short trips were
made to Wangdi over Dochu La c. 3400 m
and Chapcha along Thimphu Chu. A total
of about 600 km were covered in central and
western Bhutan by jeep and on foot.

Second trip : October 1977

We (SA, SAH and Shahid Ali) travelled
from Thimphu to Tongsa via Wandgiphodrang.
Some observations were made at Bubja, about
20 km on the Tongsa-Shamgong road, where
a smaller cluster of beehives above the road
hosted a single territorial male and several
visiting honeyguides. A single mist net was
put up about 50 ft. above the road on the
rock face and a female honeyguide (the first
to be trapped) was ringed. We then moved
on to Batase and carried on our studies from
21st October to 30th October at ‘Honey Rock’.

Study area:

“Honey Rock” c. 1900 m is situated on the
southern side of Gulibrong saddle between 54
and 55 km on the main and only motorable
road passing through central Bhutan, connect-
ing the border town of Gaylegphug with
Tongsa in the interior. There is a cluster of
honeycombs under the overhang of a 80-85
ft. high open cliff face. The rainfall in this area
is very heavy. The terrain is steep and rugged
and contains dense moist evergreen tropical
forest. Vegetation is predominantly Oak

( Quercus , Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus)
and other evergreens characteristic of warm
temperate forests, as well as epiphytes, ferns
and orchids. Along the roadsides shrubs of
Rubus sp. occur patchily. The forest is un-
touched except for a few patches above the
road where there has been some clear felling.
The nearest human habitation is about 4 km
south where Nepali settlers cultivate wheat,
barley and cardamom.

Observations: (May-June 1977)

Due to obvious reasons most of the obser-
vations were carried out at Honey Rock. Wea-
ther conditions greatly hampered observation
consistency and statistical analysis and inter-
pretation of the bionomics and behavioural
patterns is not feasible here due to the lack of
sufficient material. Some novel and exceedingly
interesting aspects of behaviour of /. xanthono-
tus have been reported by Cronin and Sher-
man (loc. cit.) An attempt will be made here
to fill in the gaps and also to comment upon
and discuss their study in the light of the
observations made by ourselves in Bhutan.

During the 1973 visit to this site about 27
birds had been seen in the course of a 2-hour
session. The highest number seen in a day dur-
ing the present study was three birds. One
bird constantly stayed at the rock and was
observed chasing/displaying/mating with birds
visiting Honey Rock. It was obvious from sub-
sequent observations that this bird was a male
holding all the combs at this site as his terri-
tory. Three other sites inspected elsewhere in
Bhutan also contained one resident male each.

The resident male (hereafter Rml) remained
constantly at the site except for brief periods
and when chasing away intruders. Saplings
growing out of the cliff face were used as
perches. Perch A (Plate I) was used most of

567

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

the time. The significance of the various per-
ches used is elaborated under territorial be-
haviour. The earliest activity of the day was
observed at 5.15 a.m. and the last at 7.50 p.m.
when the bird finally settled on the perch A
apparently to roost.

The following notes are mainly based on
the observations made on Rml at Honey Rock.

Call'. Call note chip chip continuously

uttered in flight and also when agitated. The
latter invariably preceded the arrival of an
alien honeyguide.

Flight : Flight is straight and direct. Some
time wheeling and manoevering like a sparrow
when flashes of orange rump are visible. The
flights reminded SA of ‘bayas chasing one
another at a nest colony’. Baker’s (1927)
statement that it has a ‘heavy and dipping flight
like a larger and more clumsy Barbet’ is not
true in the case of the birds studied. Moreover,
unlike most of the barbets and woodpeckers
which have rounded wings, the wings of
Orangerumped Honeyguide are narrow and
pointed and we noticed no undulations in its
flight.

Preening : Preening was observed in detail
on three occasions. The bird commenced pree-
ning soon after a feed at a honey comb. Initi-
ally it wiped its bill on the branch and pro-
ceeded to preen.

First the primaries by fanning out a wing.
Each primary is then nibbled and drawn out
from base to tip. Wing-coverts, upper back
and scapulars are dealt with next by stretch-
ing the head over the shoulder. The process
is repeated on the other wing. The bird then
proceeds to preen the tail feathers, first nibbl-
ing at the base and drawing out each feather.
Head scratching is done by the direct method,
that is, bringing the foot up from under the
wing. Simmons (1961) has suggested that
prior to preening the birds, obtain oil from

preen gland by rubbing the bill over the base
of the tail. In this case the birds did not ap-
pear to obtain any oil from the preen gland.
Since the bird had fed on the wax just before
could it be that it was using the waxy sub-
stance adhering to the bill instead. This aspect
needs investigating.

Characteristic postures :

Most of the time Rml sat on perch A mo-
tionless yet alert. Sometimes it fluffed its body
feathers and ‘squatted’ with wings dropping
at side like a brooding bird. It sat on smooth
branches and avoided damp moss and other
epiphytes. While feeding on the dry flaky
wax of deserted empty combs the bird clung
to the comb with its abdomen and tail pres-
sed against the structure. It pecked at the
comb by stretching the neck forward. After
each peck the bird nibbled the wax in its
beak, as if chewing, before taking the next
mouthful. It moved along the comb in a
series of hops, very much like a sparrow.

Food and feeding habits :

On the first day of observation (12 May)
feeding on the honey comb was not observed
though the bird alighted twice on one of the
combs. However, it was seen sallying up in
the air like a drongo hawking insects. On the
following day it was observed at a rock cre-
vice well above and away from the combs.
It appeared to peck at something by inserting
its head inside the crevice (vegetable matter?)
Feeding at the wax was observed on nine occa-
sions, each feed lasting from a minimum 3
minutes (15 pecks) to a maximum 22 minutes
(82 pecks). Visiting birds were seen on five
occasions (only one bird at a time). The visi-
tors’ feeding was always interrupted by the arri-
val of Rml. The longest time a visiting bird fed
was for about 20 minutes. This bird had

568

ORANGERUMPED HONEYGUIDE IN THE HIMALAYAS

arrived during the resident male’s absence,
(while it was chasing another intruder) and
was not seen feeding at a comb by Rml when
he returned.

The birds fed chiefly on the foundation wax
adhering to the rock. They were not observed
to disturb the bees or attempt to feed from
an active hive. The brown portion of one
particular comb measured about 75 cm long,
about 45 cm wide and about 5 cm thick. The
total estimated area of a fresh comb would
be 75 x 60 x 10 cm, of which 15 per cent
comprised of white foundation wax.

Territorial behaviour :

As mentioned earlier Rml seldom left the
rock site except when chasing off an alien
honeyguide. Every visiting honeyguide was
challenged by the resident male. At the ap-
proach of an intruder, Rml showed consider-
able agitation, by simultaneously flicking his
wings, jerking his body restlessly and calling
continuously. He then shuttled between per-
ches A & B (comb check) occasionally ‘dive
bombing’ the alien, and attempting to mount
(Female?) or chase it away (Male?). On one
occasion, after chasing an alien it flew in a
slow circle in front of the rock uttering a call
chaenp .... chaenp.

Apart from Rml at Honey Rock four other
territorial males were noted at Chablekhola
c. 2000 m (one), Bubja c. 2500 m (two) and
Tongsa c. 2500 m (one). At Chablekhola (6
km north of Honey Rock) the resident male
was observed for about 8 hours. During this
time two alien birds visited and were chased
away by the resident. At Bubja two males held
territories about 50 m apart on a curved rocky
hillside. The two territories were screened from
one another by the jutting curve of the rock.
One held six old combs and two active hives
and the other contained 15 old combs and

10 active hives. About 100 m down hill there
was another spot with 15 active hives but no
old combs. No bird was noticed there. The
birds were observed for about 6 hours and
though they did not leave their respective
territories, no visiting honeyguides were seen.

Display and mating :

It was not clear whether honeyguides have
a regular courtship but some display by Rml
was observed whenever a visiting honeyguide
arrived to feed at the comb. It alighted near
the visitor and started flicking its wings, head
held high with bill pointing upwards, feathers
fluffed and chest held low, the orange of the
rump exposed and conspicuous. The bird
swayed its body from side to side. The entire
procedure was reminiscent of the arrogant dis-
play of cock house sparrow. The resident Rml
then followed the alien all over the comb
continuing the display while the newcomer
either ignored it and continued to feed
(female) or flew away (male?) chased by Rml.

Mating was observed on two occasions. On
15th May Rml twice approached a visiting
bird and started displaying. On the first occa-
sion the visiting bird ignored him and disap-
peared behind comb and fed for about 8
minutes. In the meantime Rml went to perch
B. When the visitor came out to feed on the
upper portions of the comb Rml went up to
it and started the display once again. This
time the visitor (female) also started flicking
the tail, pressed its body and tail down, wings
dropping and neck stretched forward. Rml
attempted to mount but fell back. It mounted
a second time, and copulation lasted for about
\ second. Rml then flew back to perch B while
the female continued to feed and flew away
after 6 minutes.

A second mating was observed the same
day. Two birds arrived at the site. One was

569

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

chased away by Rml while the other sat on
perch B. Rml returned and spotting the alien
sitting on B went and sat alongside and at
once tried to mount by perching on its back
for about 15 seconds wings fluttering, repeated-
ly attempting to copulate. He made a second
attempt to mount but this time both the birds
fell from the perch and spiralled downwards
with their feet locked together. They broke
away about a meter from the ground and sat
on a nearby rock. The visitor then flew away
while Rml went back to perch A.

Other associations’.

Honey Bees : The association of the honey-
guides with the rock bees {Apis dor sat a)
appears to be indirect in so far as the bird
is only interested in the wax of the abandoned
honey combs. While bees tend to ignore the
presence of the honeyguides, the birds did not
appear to molest the active hives. There were
occasional large scale ‘dog fights’ among the
bees apparently belonging to different hives in
the vicinity, and the whole rock face would
be swarming with bees. When this happened
Rml remained motionless on its usual perch.
On several occasions it fed from comb hardly
six inches from an active bee hive without
causing any disturbance to the bees. An inter-
action of rockbees, wasps and the honeyguides
was recorded during the second trip (Hussain
and Ali 1979).

Other species of Birds : Some time was spent
observing the breeding activities of other birds
in the vicinity of Honey Rock. The following
species were noted: Verditer flycatcher

( Muscicapa thalassina ), Himalayan whistling
thrush {Myiophonus caeruleus) (below the
honey combs) : Bluebearded bee-eater {Nycty-
ornis athertoni), all feeding young at nest near
Honey Rock; Greyheaded flycatcher-warbler
{Seicercus xanthoschistos), Chestnutheaded

Flycatcher- warbler (M. castaniceps) , Barbets
Megalaima virens (family parties), M. frank -
lini (excavating nest hole), M. asiatica , Chest-
nutbellied Rock Thrush {Monticola rufivent-
ris), Sibia Heterophasia capistrata, Greywinged
Blackbird T urdus boulboul, the Woodpecker
( Picus flavinucha, Dendrocopos canicapillus
and Blythipicus pyrrhotis), Sipahi Finch
Haematospiza sipahi, Dipper Cinclus pallasi,
Forktail Enicurus maculatus and Grosbeak
Coccothraustes melanozanthos.

It was not possible to ascertain whether the
honeyguides were in any way directly associat-
ed with these birds. The resident male (Rml)
was occasionally chased by a pair of Drongos
{Dicrurus sp.) that visited the rock to hawk
small insects. When this happened Rml
abandoned its usual perches and sat on the
trees on the periphery of the rock. It generally
tolerated other small species of birds near its
perch. Once it chased a pair of Red winged
Shrike-babblers {Pteruthius flaviscapis) that
ventured too close to perch A.

Other Vertebrates :

A troop of Rhesus ( Macaca assamensis)
were observed among the trees above Honey
Rock in the evening at about 6.30 on 6th June.
They were preparing to roost on the trees
overhanging the rock and the resident male
honeyguide was very much alarmed by the
activities of the monkeys. It flew in front of
the rock calling repeatedly and avoiding its
usual perches, sat on trees on either side of
the rock, all the time flicking its wings agita-
tedly. It finally settled for the night on a
branch well away from the rock at about 7.15
p.m. The troop was still there when I (SAH)
reached the place next morning at 5.15. The
bird was not seen at the site till 7 a.m. three
years ago His Majesty’s government passed a
law banning extraction of honey. That most

570

ORANGERUMPED HONEY GUIDE IN THE HIMALAYAS

Table 1

Area

Habitat

Honey combs
old /active

Hrs/obs

Res. Male

1977 Batase
Bhutan
c. 1900m

Broadleaved tropical
evergreen forest

9/11

—

1

Chablekhola
Bhutan
c. 2000m

-do-

7/4

8 hrs

1

Shamgong

Bhutan

As above (but no
covering trees around

15+/ 8

10 hrs

not seen

c. 1400m
Bubja 1
Bhutan
c. 2500m

the spot)

Broadleaved tropical
evergreen forest

6/2

5 hrs

1

Bubja 11/
Bhutan
c. 2500m

59

15/10

5 hrs

1

Tongsa
Bhutan
c. 2600m

99

6+/4

2 hrs

1

Gyetsa
Bhutan
c. 3300m

Coniferous

4+/3

6 hrs

10 km from
Wangdi Podrang
Mixed forest
Bhutan
c. 1400m

Mixed forest

4+/ 3

2 hrs

Along

Thimphu riveri/
W. Bhutan
1 400-2000m

Open Coniferous

about 40/60
scattered along
the river course

24 hrs

1978 Gangharia 2570m.
Garhwal Hima-
layas

Coniferous

6+/10

3 hrs

1

1980 Namdapha
c. 1 366m
E. Aranachal

Evergreen

?

* the beehives were glassed from a distance of 1000 mts, and the birds were seen.

571

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

of the old honey combs at the rock stand
untouched could be explained by this fact.
However, a considerable area above and be-
side Honey Rock has been disturbed owing
to clear felling of the forests.

Survey

Efforts were made to locate as many honey
comb sites as possible. Enquiries made with
the Forest Department, Border Roads Organi-
sation and local people revealed several such
spots in central and western Bhutan. Some
of the areas were not accessible owing to the
adverse weather conditions. Those investigated,
together with further information gathered
elsewhere in the Himalayas, are listed in Table
1, also see Hussain 1978.

Observation October-November 1977
Mist netting and Marking :

During the second trip efforts were made to

capture and mark the birds. Cronin and Sher-
man (1977) had successfully colour-ringed
honeyguides in Nepal by luring them to pieces
of honey combs placed near a mist net. We
put up a single net at Bubja on a steep rock
cliff among the clumps of bushes, about 30 ft.
above the base of the rock. Though no bait
was offered a single 9 was trapped in the net
after an hour’s operation. Subsequently we
operated two nets at Batase, sometimes baited
with wax, and captured and ringed 12 honey-
guides (see Table 2).

Behaviour :

There appeared to be a marked increase in
the number of honeyguides observed during
this period than in May- June. On the first day
of our observations at Honey Rock, 20 honey-
guides were seen within a period of 8 minutes.
The territorial male Rml, (Was he the same
as in May- June?) seemed to be under con-
siderable stress from visiting alien birds. About

Table 2

Indicator xanthonotus ringed in Bhutan 1977

Ring No.

Sex

Age

Date

Place

Colouring

Recapture

A— 163820

9

Ad

18/10

Bubja

Orange RL

—

21

9

„

21/10

Batase

Red RL

27./10/72

22

.'8

„

21/10

55

Yellow RL

—

23

$

FG

21/10

5?

Green RL

—

24

9

AD

21/10

55

White RL

—

25

$

„

21/10

55

Red LL

28/10/77

26

9

55

21/10

55

Purple RL

28/10i/77

27

9

„

27/10

No colour

—

28

9

55

28/10

55

Rose RL

—

29

9

55

28/10

Green LL

—

30

9

29/10

„

White LL

—

31

9

55

29/10

55

Orange LL

—

32

RL = Right leg
LL = Left leg

o?

FG

29/10

Yellow LL

*

* Colour of feet greenish, general body moult.

572

ORANGERUMPED HONEYGUIDE IN THE HIMALAYAS

14 active hives were present and the number
of old combs appeared to have decreased
greatly. Considering the fact that 25 birds were
counted in 2 hours in October ’73 and about
the same number in October ’77 and only a
few were seen in May-June (though old combs
were a plenty) it was apparent that there may
be some kind of seasonal movement of the
honeyguide population. One of the factors that
perhaps contributed to the concentration of
birds in October-November may be scarcity
of food elsewhere. It is possible that the old
combs were washed away during the rainy
season (June-Sept.) Competition for a few
available old combs is intense in winter. This
fact was borne out by our observation in Oct.-
Nov. The resident male at Honey Rock was not
only under constant pressure but also appeared
to be unable to ward off the intruding birds
from his territory. Far too many birds challen-
ged his ‘ownership’ of the combs for the terri-
torial male to defend such a large area. Thus
not only the defended territory decreased but
the male was actually forced to tolerate more
aliens near his territory.

The intensity of activity around the rock
was maximum during early morning and late
evenings when the rock was in the shade. As
the day advanced and larger areas of the rock
became exposed to sunlight the honeyguide
activities slowed down. Activity patterns of
the honeyguide were studied from 7.45 a.m.
to 4.15 p.m. each day five days consecutively,
from 21st to 25th October. During this period,
movements of the Rml and his interactions
with other honeyguides were noted. A total of
45 hours observation was made. On several
occasions the honeyguides were seen hawking
flying insects. Feeding on the comb by Rml
was observed minutes 35 pecks to 4\ mt./
1045 pecks).

Summary

The study was mainly an explorative investi-
gation and its limited scope does not allow
for a comprehensive interpretation of the data
gathered.

Food Resources :

Bees wax appeared to be the main food
source for the honeyguide in Bhutan. The
birds fed on the white foundation of abandon-
ed honey combs. They also took insects, but
not honey bees or their larvae, or the honey
itself. They were also observed to feed on
some vegetable matter. Cronin and Sherman
(loc. cit.) mention about the wax eating habit
of /. xanthonotus in Nepal. They also report
honeyguides taking insects and vegetable mat-
ter. The digestibility and nutritional value of
bees wax has been discussed by Friedmann
(loc. cit.) Cerophagy or wax eating among
the honeyguides cannot essentially be a con-
genital trait of the family Indicatoridae, since
many species of African honeyguides are
brood parasitic on frugivorous birds like
barbets which raise thier own young mainly
on insects and fruits. There would be little
chance of the fosterling surviving if its main
food in the nestling stage was wax. At what
stage of their life history the birds acquire the
wax-eating habit? and how? needs to be
studied. The importance of honey combs on
the reproductive behaviour of the Himalayan
Honeyguide as noticed by us during this study,
tends to support the novel interpretation of
Cronin and Sherman who have termed their
mating system as “Resource-based non-harem
polygyny” (loc. cit.). The male holds a bees’
comb, or group of combs, as his territory
throughout the year and mates with all recep-
tive females that visit it to feed during the

573

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

breeding season. These may total up to 20 or
more. Males without a territory apparently
seldom get a chance to mate.

As mentioned earlier, there is heavy con-
centration of honeyguides during winter
months leading to intense competition for
limited food resources. This in a way con-
firms Ripley’s comments (loc. cit.) that there
is some altitudinal ‘migration’.

The present study indicates that the Orange-
rumped honeyguide is not so rare in the Hima-
layas as heretofore believed. However, some
thought has to be given to its preservation
because of its highly specialised feeding habits.

Refer

Ali, Salim (1962): Birds of Sikkim. Oxford
University Press.

Ali, Salim & Ripley, S. D. (1970) : Handbook
of the birds of India and Pakistan Vol. 4. Oxford
University Press.

Baker, E. C. Stuart (1927): The Fauna of Bri-
tish India including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. —
Vol. IV. Taylor & Francis, London, p. 132.

Cronin, Jr., E. N., & Sherman (1977); A resour-
ces based mating system. The Orangerumped honey-
guide. Living Bird, pp. 5-32.

Fisher, F. (1971) : Bhutan — The importance of
forest for a continuous development of human
ecology in the high mountainous region. Institute
of Sylviculture, Zurich, Switzerland. Translation into
English by Huber, 1976.

Friedmann, H. (1955): The Honeyguides. U.S.
Nat. Mus. Bulletin, p. 208.

(1974) : The Asian Honey-
guides. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 71 (3) : 426-432.

Hume, A. O. (1873) : Notes. Indicator xanlhono-
tus. Stray Feathers Vol. 1, pp. 313-315.

Hussain, S. A. (1978): Orangerumped Honey-

and steps taken to prevent overexploitation of
the wild honey potential with expanding “deve-
lopment” over most of its habitats.

Acknowledgements

The Royal Government of Bhutan very
kindly gave us permission for this study, and
extended all help during our stay in the coun-
try. The Forest Department of the Kingdom
extended transport facility for the survey
around Thimphu. The Border Roads Organi-
sation considerately provided transport, board-
ing and lodging throughout their network.

E n ce s

guide in the Himalayas. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
75:487.

Hussain, S. A. & Ali, S. (1979): Beehive pre-
dation by Wasps (Genus Vespa ) and its possible
benefit to honeyguides (Indicatoridae) in Bhutan,
ibid. 76:159.

Magrath, H. A. F. (1909) : Bird notes from
Murree and Galis. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 19:
142-145.

Ripley, S. D. (1950): Birds from Nepal 1947-49.
ibid. 49(3): 355-417.

(1951): Notes on Indian Birds

IV-Some recently collected birds from Assam.
Post ill a No. 6.

Simmons, K. E. L. (1961): Notes scratching in
Birds. Ibis, Vol. 103A, pp. 37-49.

Smythies, B. E. (1949) : A reconnaissance of
the N’Mai HKA drainage, Northern Burma, ibid.
Vol. 91, pp. 627-648.

Stoliczka, F. (1873) : Letter on anatomy of In-
dicator xanthonotus. Stray Feathers, Vol. 1, pp.
425-427.

574

BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS —
SOUTH GUJARAT1

With notes on nests found and Breeding Recorded

&

Some new observations
S. G. Monga and Rishad K. Naoroji

Introduction

The Rajpipla forests, once the hunting pre-
serve of the Maharaja of Rajpipla, lie in S.E.
Gujarat at the western extremity of the Satpura
range in Central India (21° 50'N, 73° 30'E),
and comprise the highland area of the Satpura
mountain range between the Tapti and the
Narmada rivers. These forests fall into the
tropical semi-evergreen and tropical moist
deciduous types. The town of Rajpipla, which
also was the capital of the former princely
state, lies just beyond the northern edge of
the Satpuras on the banks of the river Karjan
(a tributary of the Narmada), a few kilo-
metres before it meets the Narmada. This forest
range once abounded in game and was parti-
cularly famous for its tigers. Many a celebrat-
ed guest of the Maharaja has bagged his tiger
here. Today there are none or few tigers, which
sometimes stray in from the nearby MP border.
We saw a few barking deer, wild dogs, wild
boar and observed tracks of hyena, jackal,
leopard and sloth bear.

Though some areas of these forests have
been opened up due to logging operations,
they still support a large variety of birdlife.
It has been observed that the void created
by the clearing of forests and their subsequent

1 Accepted March 1983.

replacement by agricultural activities has creat-
ed habitat more suitable for openland and
grassland birds. There also are biotopes of
semi-evergreen moist deciduous forests and
ample forests of bamboo and it is in
such patches that we observed some species
of birds which have hitherto been unrecorded
in Gujarat. More about this later. However,
we noticed that in most areas, the forests are
being severely depleted due to logging and it
is only hoped that the planned sloth bear sanc-
tuary in the Piplod area will be implemented.
Our main idea of visiting these forests was to
investigate the possibility of photographing
various species of birds of prey and to record
their nesting habits and behaviour. But as our
observations and notes in the course of sub-
sequent visits have revealed in these forests,
the presence of several species of birds which
do not appear to have been previously record-
ed north of the Tapti river, and some of these
are additions to the Gujarat ornithology. Some
of these birds are: Hemicircus canente, Cop-
sychus malabaricus, Zoothera citrina, Nectari-
nia zeylonica, Cuculus micropterus, Acrido-
theres fuscus, Myiophonus horsfieldii, Motacilla
indica, Pycnonotus jocosus and possibly Nec-
tarinia minima.

The presence of some of these birds in the
Rajpipla forests at the western end of the
Satpura mountains, provides good evidence to

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

the Satpura hypothesis explained by Dr. S. L.
Hora. The Satpura hypothesis postulates that
the Satpura-Vindhya trend of mountains,
stretching across India, was once more elevat-
ed and moister than now, and with a more
temperate climate. It was continuous with the
Assam hills in the east and with the northern
end of W. Ghats in the west, and thus served as
a causeway for spread of specialized Hima-
layan flora and fauna to the S. Indian hills and
to Sri Lanka.

We actually found over 50 species of birds
breeding in the forests and in the surrounding
areas. Many of these are new breeding records
as several birds have not been previously
found breeding in Gujarat and in the con-
cerned area. SGM concentrated his efforts on
making the checklist while RKN concen-
trated on the nesting behaviour of Raptors
We visited the Rajpipla forests on seven
occasions during the last 21 months:

4th June to 14th June 1981 (RKN & SGM)

17th June to 5th July 1981 (RKN & SGM)

1st January to 6th January 1982 (RKN & SGM)
10th May to 12th June 1982 (RKN & Neil Soares)
19th July to 22nd July 1982 (Only SGM)

10th December to 13th December 1982

(SGM & Eric D’Cunha)
21st January to 24th January 1983 (RKN & SGM)

little cormorant ( Phalacrocorax niger)
Occasionally seen on the Mozda river. On
21st July 1982, a solitary bird was seen carry-
ing a twig and flying over the forest at Namgir
towards Mozda. There certainly should be a
breeding colony nearby. This cormorant is
quite common on the Narmada river and also
on the Karjan.

little green heron ( Ardeola striatus)

Only once seen behind the mission at Dedia-
pada on 21st July 1982. There was a solitary
bird and close-by were a few Pond Herons.

POND HERON (Ardeola grayii)

Sometimes seen along the Mozda river, at
times even inside the forest. On the evening
of 10th December 1982, one of us (SGM)
when walking along the Mozda river along
with Eric D’Cunha, observed a huge eagle fly
from the tamarisk vegetation on the river-
bed. The eagle was carrying a Pond Heron in
its talons and this it dropped in the water.
This heron was a fresh kill and there was
only a slit running from the throat downwards.

The Pond heron is common along the
Narmada, around Rajpipla town etc.

CATTLE EGRET (BubulcUS ibis)

A common bird. Seen sometimes even in deep
forest clearings and along forest streams. There
is probably a breeding colony near Rajpipla
town.

Large egret ( Egretta alba)

The only place we saw E. alba was in the
vicinity of Wadhwana tank near Dabhoi, about
25 kms. north of the Narmada river.

little egret ( Egretta garzetta)

Whenever we have gone to these forests we
have observed a solitary bird along the
Mozda river. Right from behind the Mozda
ashram to well past Piplod we have seen a
solitary Little egret on the riverbed (a distance
of about 6-7 kms.). This bird has a very pecu-
liar way of procuring its food as it jumps and
ballet-dances over the water and chases small
fish. At times, however, there would be 3-4
little egrets on the riverbed. Observed on Kar-
jan too.

night heron ( Nycticorax nycticorax)

On 21st July, 1982, three birds were seen a
few kilometres from Dediapada. This is the

576

BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS

SOUTH GUJARAT

only occasion we have come across this heron
here. However, we feel it should be more
common in the surrounding countryside. We
have seen it around Chandod near the Nar-
mada and also in the neighbourhood of Dabhoi.

white ibis ( Threskiornis aethiopicd)

Sometimes a few birds would be present at the
water’s edge on the bank of the Narmada
river, occasionally along with Black Ibises.
We did not come across this ibis elsewhere.

black ibis (Pseud ibis papillosa)

Seen in parties of 2-4 birds on the Narmada
river.

BRAHMINY DUCK/RUDDY SHELDUCK
(Tadorna ferruginea )

Two birds were seen on 7th January 1982 on
the Narmada river. Both were at the water’s
edge.

lesser whistling teal (Dendrocygna
javanica)

Over a hundred of these teals were seen on
the Rajpipla side of the Narmada river in
June 1981. Between 3rd-llth June 1981, we
saw these ducks almost everyday. They would
be on the riverbank throughout the after-
noons. Again on 5th July the same year, four
of these ducks were observed on the river.

blackwinged kite ( Elanus caeruleus)

During the years 1981-82, we observed this
kite breeding in the compound of the PWD
rest house (PWDRH) at Dediapada. The birds
were seen copulating on 30th June 1981 and
the following year we saw them mating
on 21st July. While in 1981 June the pair was
busy making its nest in two places on two

different trees (they were taking long thin
twigs and placing them in both the trees and
only in one of these trees was there any struc-
ture which appeared anything like a nest. It
was rather similar to the nest of a crow). In
1982 the first clutch (eggs) of this kite was
destroyed by human interference. During
March- August 1983, RKN frequently observed
this Kite in forests around Mozda and else-
where.

CRESTED HONEY BUZZARD ( Pemis

ptilorhynchus)

In June 1981, a pair of these buzzards were
observed making a nest (24th June) on a
‘timru’ ( Diospyros melanoxylon) tree. The fol-
lowing year, a nest of this bird, with two eggs
in it was found, again on a timru tree on 16th
May. Rather unfortunately, due to reasons yet
unknown to us, a few days later we found
the eggs smashed and the shells were collected
from the burnt ground below the nest-tree.
The eggs were pale creamish in ground colour
with blotches of dark brown.

common pariah kite (Milvus migrans)

Only on two occasions have we seen this bird
flying anywhere around or over forest. It is
hardly to be seen around Dediapada. Gets
commoner as one moves towards Rajpipla
town and is seen in good numbers around
Chandod.

BRAHMINY kite ( Hciliastur indus)

Seen on 22nd July 1982 on the Mozda
river. The bird flew towards the forest.
The only other occasion we ever saw this kite
was near Chandod, not very far from the
Narmada river.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Indian shikra ( Accipiter badius)

Common throughout the forests. In 1981, owing
to our reaching the forests late in the season
(17th June), most of the nests of this hawk
were empty, the nestlings having flown away.
Only one nest contained a full-fledged nestling
on 25th June.

In the following May (1982), several nests
of this hawk were seen and near one of these
nests a hide for photography was built. This
nest contained two downy nestlings and one
addled egg which did not hatch and infact
disappeared from the nest after a few days.
The birds are very common, though less noisy
during the cold season (December).

white-eyed buzzard ( Butastur teesa)

Twice seen around Dediapada in June 1982
and once around Chandod, north of the
Narmada river. Several seen during a drive
from Rajpipla town to Dediapada.

CRESTED HAWK EAGLE ( SpizaetUS
cirrhatus )

There are two huge nests of thick twigs
built on tall ‘haldu’ ( Adina cordifolia) trees
in forest. While at one of these nests we never
observed any bird, at the other and also often
in its vicinity we sometimes noticed S. cirrha-
tus. Our adivasi friend Banga informed us that
these eagles had bred earlier in the year (fini-
shed by about April). The nest at which we
had observed this eagle was found almost in
shambles and completely broken in mid-
December when one of us (SGM) had been
to these forests. This condition of the nest
was due to the cyclone in the first week of
November, according to the adivasis.

bonelli’s hawk eagle ( Hieraaetus
fasciatus)

We have seen this eagle flying over light

forest near Mozda, and settling on a dry
teak tree-top. The multibanded tail with
a dark subterminal broad band and the very
pale underparts streaked on the body and light-
ly banded on the wings coupled with the
absence of any crest were unmistakable.

eagle ( Aquila sp.)

Only once have we seen a large dark brown
eagle (unmistakably an Aquila ) flying over
forest.

INDIAN LONGBILLED VULTURE ( Gyps
indicus)

Seen in the Rajpipla town area once. However
in mid-December SGM and Eric D’Cunha
found this vulture fairly common around
Mozda. An adivasi informed that these big
birds (pointing towards the vultures) nest in
rocks in a big hill in the forest. We wonder
if some G. indicus also breed in the Rajpipla
town area where a large number of G. benga-
lensis were nesting in December- January.

WHITEBACKED VULTURE
(Gyps bengalensis)

Abundant in Rajpipla town and neighbourhood
where on almost every large roadside tree one,
two and even more occupied nests (with nest-
lings) were seen in December and January,
1981-82. Seen often around Dediapada, Mozda,
and also flying over forest. Common also north
of the Narmada river.

WHITE SCAVENGER VULTURE
(Neophron percnopterus)

Sometimes seen in Rajpipla town and in the
neighbourhood. Seen also at Dediapada and
once along the Samot road in forest behind
Mozda. One of us (RKN) saw it once at

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BIRDS OF THE RAJP1PLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

Namgir in forest. SGM found it breeding in
the first week of May near Baroda.

marsh harrier ( Circus aeruginosus)

A solitary bird seen near the PWDRH at
Dediapada and once near Netrang in Decem-
ber 1982. A winter visitor.

crested serpent eagle ( Spilornis cheela)

Undoubtedly the commonest raptor in these
forests. Its keeee .. .he. . . kee calls are fre-
quently and very commonly heard. As many
as five nests of this eagle were found and
checked in June- July 1981. Only two of these
nests were occupied though a third nest
located deep in the forest had an adult eagle
sitting in it. This nest was however, found to
be empty on checking. Out of the two occupi-
ed nests, one at Sankhdi contained a full-fledged
eaglet while the other nest had a week-old
eaglet when first checked on 18th June. This
particular nest was photographed till 4th July
and we presume the eaglet to have left its nest
sometimes in the first or second week of
August.

In 1982, a nest of this eagle was found in
forest around Namgir (where RKN was
camping) on 13th May. This nest was on a
‘sadada’ ( Terminalia foment osa) tree and it
contained one egg when first checked on 13th
May which hatched (presumably) on /around
17th May (Actually RKN first found a tiny
eaglet on 20th May and we only presume it
hatched around 17th May). A machan was built
near this nest which was photographed till
about mid- June. The eaglet at this nest left the
nest on 20th July (SGM).

On 1st June another nest of this eagle, with
a small eaglet in it, was found on a ‘shishum’
(Dal her gi a sisoo ) tree, in forest near Mozda
by Bhanga & RKN. We observed that, espe-
cially around Namgir, the nests of Spilornis

cheela are not located very far from each other
and that most of these nests were on Termi-
nalia tomenfosa trees. Further it was noticed
that this eagle breeds somewhat later here as
compared to other areas. Though in Vol. 4,
of nidification Stuart Baker writes of this
race as breeding from Dec. -March in Travan-
core, Feb-March in Konkan, he also distinctly
mentions that it breeds later (Feb-June)
Northwards, i.e., Maharashtra, Gujarat etc.,
however, we found that in the Rajpipla forests
the breeding season of S. cheela melanotis, in
several cases examined, had extended well past
July. In MP, this eagle breeds in March-May
(Birdlife in Madhya Pradesh, C. E. Hewetson,
JBNHS 53: 630). Thus we feel safe to state
that the breeding season of S. cheela melanotis
in the Rajpipla forests on the Satpura Range
in South Gujarat is around mid-April-May to
July- August.

kestrel (Falco tinnunculus )

Seen at Dediapada once on 10th Dec. 1982.

painted partridge ( Francolinus pictus)

SGM recalls having heard this partridge in
scrub around Dumkhal.

jungle bush quail (Perdicula

asiatica)

On more than two occasions a small flock of
quails flew off with a whirr from almost under
our feet. The birds flew off from thick grass
and landed on a forest path nearby and im-
mediately moved into the surrounding grass
cover. We also came across such small flocks
of quails in forest around Juna-Rajpipla and
around Piplod and Dumkhal. Except on one
occasion we never quite managed to get a
good glimpse of the quails inorder to correctly
identify them. Only once were P. a. asiatica
observed very clearly for a brief period on a

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

forest path. The small party consisted of two
males and five females.

red spurfowl ( Galloperdix spadicea)

Though we never saw these birds we recogniz-
ed their calls on a couple of occasions. Some
adivasis when shown pictures of this bird
recalled having hunted this spurfowl occa-
sionally.

RED JUNGLEFOWL ( Gallus gallus)

On the morning of 22nd June, 1982, SGM
saw this Junglefowl in deep forest a few kilo-
metres behind Namgir. It was raining lightly.
There were two females alongwith one male
and they were observed from hardly about
60-75 feet away with binoculars. It was actual-
ly when some drab coloured ground birds
crossed SGM’s path that his attention was
first drawn towards them. The birds moved
into a somewhat open clearing and were im-
mediately followed by a male Red Junglefowl.
When SGM first saw the two females it was
clearly noticed that they were appreciably
different from the females of Grey junglefowl
which SGM has often come across in the
Borivli National Park in the neighbourhood of
Bombay. These two females lacked the black
and white markings of the G. sonneratii female.
Hardly had the females been observed for a
few seconds when a male Red junglefowl
appeared into the open. Both the females and
the solitary male disappeared into the forest
soon. For some time the birds were preening
and the drab females and the colourful male
were close to each other. It is quite unlikely
that these were domestic fowls, because the
nearest adivasi hamlet was only Namgir (our
camp -site) and the few domestic fowls that
the adivasis keep would certainly not venture

so many kilometres deep into the forest for
they normally keep to the adivasi huts. More-
ever, SGM on later having a look at all the
fowls of the advasis was convinced that it was
not any of the domestic fowls that had strayed
so far in the forest.

Incidentally, when SGM returned back to
Bombay and checked Vol. 2 of handbook of
THE BIRDS OF INDIA AND PAKISTANS by Salim
Ali & S. D. Ripley, he was surprised to note
that almost a hundred years ago the Red Jun-
glefowl had been observed in the Rajpipla hills
(exact area not mentioned) by Jerdon.
Ripley in ‘synopsis’ mentions the occurrence
of G. g. murghi in the Gujarat Satpuras.

grey junglefowl ( Gallus sonneratii)

This bird is much persecuted by the local
adivasis and it is only rarely that one can pos-
sibly see this junglefowl in the forest. In the
course of six visits by us, we have managed to
see this bird only twice. Even its calls are
rather uncommonly heard. No evidence of
breeding.

common peafowl (Pavo cristatus )

North of the Narmada river in the dry ravine
countryside around the Narmada at Chandod
the Peafowl is extremely common, and very
tame too.

South of the Narmada it is for less common.
In the forests it is less common still. Here we
have more often heard it, particularly on rainy
nights when the calls of this bird and those
of Cuculus mlcropterus are frequently heard.
We have only three actual sightings of the
Peafowl in forest. An adivasi informed us of
having found eggs of P. cristatus in heavy
undergrowth in August.

Strangely, we noticed that the peahen is
hunted by the adivasis while the cock is spar-
ed owing to religious sentiment.

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

WHITEBREASTED WATERHEN

( Amaurornis phoenicurus)

Common on the Mozda river, seen sometimes
even along deep forest streams. Occasionally
seen along the river on Samot road. Often
around Dediapada, particularly in the neigh-
bourhood of the PWDRH compound. Breeds
during the rains. A nest found in July (21st)
in a dense bush on the Mozda riverbed con-
tained two eggs. Calls of this bird heard ad
nauseum.

RED-WATTLED LAPWING ( V atiellus itldicUS )

An adivasi reported a nest of this bird con-
taining two eggs in May 1982. This was on
the stony bed of a forest stream and when
checked later both the eggs had been taken
by someone. A few pairs of this lapwing are
always to be seen on the stony bed of the
Mozda river and of the other forest streams
which are dry for most part of the year except
during the rains. Occasionally this plover is
seen on paths in thick forest too and it is
one of the few openland birds that has settled
in good numbers in forest clearings and in
croplands right in the middle of deep forest.
It is often seen around Dediapada and all
around in the open wastelands and cultivated
countryside.

It is however, around the Narmada river
and north of this river that V. indicus happens
to be a very common bird and here we found
several nests in June. Most of these nests had
clutches of four eggs each while one contained
only three eggs.

grey plover ( Pluvialis squat arola)

A bird of the seashore and marshes, naturally
SGM was surprised when he saw this bird
on the Mozda river (at Mozda) on 10th Dec-
ember 1982 when birding alongwith Eric

D’Cunha. The white upper tail and rump and
a whitish wing bar, in flight the black axillaries
on the wing underside, the greyish plumage
and the typical plover beak were unmistak-
able.

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER ( ChamdrillS

dubius)

The two races, C. d. jerdoni and C. d. curo-
nicus are difficult to be distinguished in the
field. A small flock of 11 birds was seen on
a rainy morning (21st July 1982) on the
Mozda riverbank. We found this plover com-
mon on the Narmada banks, on the sandy and
stony shore of this river where the birds were
breeding in May- June. A nest was found on
5th June. It contained one egg and two just
hatched young birds. It was very hot in the
afternoon when SGM found the nest and the
adult birds were frequently going towards the
water where they would wet their underside
and come and sit over the egg and the young
birds, certainly because of the intense heat
(it was around 43 °C.). The birds would wet
their undersides every few minutes, by wading
into shallow water and bobbing up and down
to wet their lower body. We put up the machan
about 2 feet from the nest and RKN photo-
graphed the birds for over two hours in the
afternoon. The remaining egg did not hatch.
The eggs and the young of this plover are
almost impossible to locate among the stones
from even as close as one foot distance even
when the nest has been previously spotted.
The young birds on leaving the nest sit tight
in some depression or among stones, lying
flat with their wings spread and are absolutely
impossible to locate.

GREEN SANDPIPER ( Tringa ochropus )

In December 1982, SGM found this sand-
piper common in the area. Almost every stream

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

in forest had one or more of this sandpiper
in its vicinity. This dark sandpiper with
its almost squarecut white upper tail is
a lovely sight on a forest stream as it flies
rapidly from somewhere nearby on approach,
with a sharp tin . .tiueet . .tiueet . . .call. The
bird is a winter visitor and we have come
across it on the Narmada too.

WOOD or SPOTTED SANDPIPER

( Tringa glareola)

This sandpiper can be readily distinguished
from the preceding species by its paler upper-
parts and much paler underwing, and the white
on upper tail, squarely cut from the brownish
body. This sandpiper appears to be a less
common winter visitor to the area. We have
seen it only twice around Mozda river. Also
seen on the Karjan, Narmada and also around
Rajpipla town and behind the PWDRIT at
Dediapada.

COMMON SANDPIPER

( Tringa hypoleucos)

Seen near Dediapada in January 1982 and
also on the Narmada river where we once
came across a solitary bird in mid- June.
Appears to be an uncommon winter visitor to
the area. Seen also on Karjan in January 82.

little stint ( Calidris minutus )

A pair of these stints were seen on the Nar-
mada in Jan. 1982. Not observed elsewhere.

blackwinged stilt ( Himantopus

himantopus )

In June and July we have often come across
small scattered parties of this bird on and
around the Narmada river where we have
observed the birds feeding on marshy ground
around the river and at the water’s edge. Dur-
ing these two months we noticed that there
were quite a few immature birds too, thus

suggesting that the birds had finished breeding.
They probably breed on the banks of the
Narmada nearby. Seen also in December-
January.

GREAT STONE PLOVER

( Esacus magnir ostris )

In June 1981, we always saw a pair of these
plovers on the banks of the Narmada river
on its south (Rajpipla) side. The adult birds
were always accompanied by two smaller and
paler birds which were immatures, thus indi-
cating that the plovers breed early in the year,
probably from mid- April to June. The adult
birds, and also the immature birds spend most
of the hot hours of the afternoons sitting tight
among the stones on the riverbank. The birds
hardly move and are very difficult to spot.

SMALL INDIAN PRATINCOLE

( Glareola lactea)

Surprisingly there is no mention of this bird
for Gujarat by Salim Ali in ‘Birds of Gujarat’,
( JBNHS 52; 2, 3 & 4).

On the banks of the Narmada river we found
this pratincole abundant in June 1981. The
birds were always very active, frequently drag-
ging themselves on the sand and many a time
they fooled SGM into believing that they were
breeding. But the breeding season was cer-
tainly well past as was clear by the presence
of so many immature birds which could be
readily recognized by their dark spotted throat
and breast and their upper body which had a
kind of scaly appearance. But what were the
adult birds doing by dragging themselves along
and pushing one another, frequently uttering
a very faint chuk . . . chuk calls or a chirrr . . rit
. . chrr . . rrtt as they would fly above for a
short while ? The birds always seemed to keep
to the broad sandbanks of the Narmada river
and it was clear that they quite disliked the

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BIRDS OF THE RAJP1PLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

stony areas. We failed to come across any of
these birds in winter when, however, we did
not look very carefully on the several miles
stretch of the river on either side as we had
done previously.

whiskered tern ( Chlidonias hybrida)

Occasionally seen on the Narmada river. Seen
also on the Karjan. Appears to be a winter
visitor only.

Indian river tern ( Sterna aurantia)

Comon on the Narmada river in June when
the birds had evidently finished breeding.
There were many immature birds too. The
adult birds were still in their breeding plumage
with their pitch black crown, forehead and
nape. This along with their bright yellow long
pointed beaks, the red legs and the deeply
forked tail makes these terns a sheer treat for
the eyes. The birds evidently breed on the
banks of the Narmada river, on the sandbanks.

green pigeon ( Treron phoenicoptera)

Though none of us actually saw this bird,
Neil Soares who had come to the forests for
a few weeks in May 1982, found a nest of
this pigeon in the compound of the PWDRH
at Dediapada. According to Neil the nest con-
tained two full fledged nestlings on 23 rd May.
He showed the unoccupied and empty nest to
SGM who did not find it to be the characte-
ristically flimsy platform of a few twigs as
has been described. This particular nest was
quite a well constructed affair of thin, dry
twigs and it was surprisingly well concealed
in a thickly foliaged tree, about 8 feet high.
It had a diameter of 10 cm.

blue rock pigeon ( Columba livia)

A few were seen at Piplod and also at Dumkhal
in forest (about 20 and 27 kms. respectively

from Dediapada). At both these places there
are grain storages. A few pairs of these pigeons
were also seen on the bridge along Samot
road where they were apparently nesting on
the underside of the bridge along with a pair
of Hirundo concolor in June and July 1982.
Columba livia gets progressively common to-
wards Dediapada and are present in appre-
ciable numbers in Rajpipla town.

rufous-turtle dove ( Streptopelia
orient alis)

In January 1983 a small party of these doves
seen in forest along Karjan river. A pair was
also seen near Namgir.

Indian ring dove ( Streptopelia
decaocto )

A few scattered flocks alongwith other doves
seen between Rajpipla town and Dediapada
in January 1983. Occasionally, seen around
Chandod north of the river. The nearest that
we found this bird breeding was at Dabhoi in
July 1981. SGM has found it breeding in
good numbers around Baroda in May, June
and January.

red turtle dove ( Streptopelia
tranquebarica)

Seen about 5km from Dediapada on a walk
in dry and open countryside in June (exact
date not recorded) 1982. This is the only
occasion we have come across this dove south
of Narmada. We also saw it north of the
Narmada river and it appears that this dove
distinctly prefers drier and thorny scrub cover-
ed country than other doves. Commoner north
of Narmada.

spotted dove ( Streptopelia chinensis)

This happens to be the common dove of the
area. Often seen along roads in open coun-

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

tryside as well as in forest. It also happens to
be the only dove we found breeding in the
forest. Nests with eggs were found near the
ashram at Mozda and also in the neighbour-
hood of the PWDRH at Dediapada in June.
The birds were probably breeding in Decem-
ber too, though no nest could be found.

LITTLE BROWN DOVE

(Streptopelia senegalensis)

South of the Narmada we have come across
this dove in the dry and open country between
the river and Rajpipla town and also around
Karjan. North of the Narmada, SGM remem-
bers finding a nest with one egg at Chandod
which he feels belonged to this species one
of which was calling nearby. The next day
there was still one egg and it seems that the
nest was deserted. We failed to come across
this dove around Dediapada or around the
forest.

LARGE INDIAN /ALEXANDRINE PARAKEET

( Psittacula eupatrio )

Dumkhal, a small adivasi village in the forest
(about 27km from Dediapada) is known for
its large parakeets which breed in the sur-
rounding forests early in the year. The birds
may, however, be seen all along the forests in
small noisy parties, at times even at Dediapada
and even in Rajpipla town. Reportedly caught
and sold for bird markets.

ROSERINGED PARAKEET ( Psittacula
krameri)

Often seen at Dediapada, Rajpipla town and
elsewhere. Seen also in the forest at Mozda,
Namgir, Piplod, and in the surrounding forests.
At Chandod the birds were apparently breed-
ing in June.

BLOSSOM HEADED PARAKEET
{Psittacula cyanocephala )

Often seen and heard in the forests as well as
in the open outskirts of forest. A small flock
was seen in the garden of a hotel in Rajpipla
town. A fairly common bird.

PIED CRESTED CUCKOO
{Clamator jacobinus )

On 21st July 1982, SGM heard these cuckoos
calling incessantly in the forest when walking
along Samot road. The birds were then seen
chasing each other and they were very active,
apparently ready for breeding. The principal
recorded host of this cuckoo and of C. varius,
is the jungle Babbler {Turdoides striatus),
which SGM observed making a nest in the
forest on the very same day.

COMMON HAWK-CUCKOO
{Cuculus varius)

Heard during the rains in forest. Not common.

INDIAN CUCKOO
{Cuculus micropterus)

There is no mention of this cuckoo for Gujarat
in ‘Birds of Gujarat’ {JBNHS 52: 2, 3 & 4),
by Salim Ali. However on going through notes
in the BNHS we found that there is one record
of C. m. micropterus for Gujarat. This is a
specimen collected by Ernest Shull in the Dangs
forests, south of the Tapti river {JBNHS 59:
659). This bird was collected on 14th July
1954, and its ovaries were found enlarged,
thus suggesting that the bird was in breeding
condition and as such breeds in Gujarat for
which there appears to be no further evidence
of the breeding status of this cuckoo.

We found C. m. micropterus fairly common
in the Rajpipla forests north of the Tapti river
where we frequently heard them in June and

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

July. The earliest that we heard the bo-ko-ta-ko
call of this bird is sometime in the first week
of June. This is also the period during which
SGM found nests (with eggs or nestlings) of
Terpsiphone paradisi, Dicrurus paradiseus,
Dicrurus adsimilis and D. caerulescens, and also
of Oriolus xanthornus. These are reported to
be the chief birds in whose nests putative eggs
of C. micropterus are claimed to have been
found (handbook, Vol. 3, Salim Ali & Ripley
S. D.) It thus appears that C. micropterus is
a rains (breeding?) visitor to the area, though
it may occur during the other times of the
year as well when it remains silent and is
thus difficult to see. Here it may be stated
that in the Borivli National Park in the neigh-
bourhood of Bombay SGM when birding along
with Kiran Srivastav saw a solitary C. microp-
terus on 24th October 1982. Little is known as
regards the breeding of this cuckoo. In nidi-
fication. vol. 3, Stuart Baker writes, “no in-
formation has been recorded as regards breed-
ing of C. micropterus, except a possible
connection with drongos and with T. paradisi.
Rev. F. S. Briggs found this bird fairly nume-
rous in the neighbourhood of Mhow, about
200 kms. NE of Rajpipla, in the Vindhya hills
where he recorded them only in June and
July ( JBNHS 35:395).

C. E. Hewetson (JBNHS 53: 627) in ‘Bird-
life in MP’ presumes C. micropterus to be a
migrant in MP, present from March in south
MP and from May in north MP, upto July
or August. But he also considers that since
this cuckoo is silent for the rest of the year,
one fails to spot it. Osmaston found C. micro-
pterus rare at Pachmarhi on the Satpuras in
MP where he occasionally heard it in April
and May ( JBNHS 28: 457).

INDIAN BANDED BAY CUCKOO

(Cue ulus sonneratii)

Suspected seeing this species around Piplod in
June.

koel (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Often seen and heard, though uncommonly,
in forest, and also at Dediapada and in Rajpipla
town.

SMALL GREENBILLED MALKOHA

(Rhopodytes viridirostris)

On 11th June 1982, SGM while bathing in
the rivulet behind Namgir was attracted by a
harsh call. On locating the call, a greyish
longtailed bird the size of a sirkeer cuckoo,
was seen on the branch of a nearby tree. On
focussing the binoculars it was observed that
the bird had a very prominent green beak
and was promptly identified as R. viridirostris.
The lower body was somewhat paler coloured
and the region of the breast was lightly streak-
ed with much paler. Morever the long loose-
looking tail was white-tipped and soon when
the bird Hew almost over SGM across into
the forest, the white in the tail tips was very
easy to see and very prominent too. S. D.
Ripley in synopsis gives the range of this bird
as peninsular India from Baroda (Gujarat),
Maharashtra, Orissa and southwards to
Kanyakumari.

In ‘Birds of Gujarat’ (Salim Ali JBNHS
52: 435), there is mention of a sight record
of R. viridirostris from Ajwa in Gujarat.

SIRKEER CUCKOO (Taccocua leschenaultii )

Seen along the road leading from Mozda to-
wards Namgir and also behind Namgir in
forest. The bird prefers to remain in dense
scrub and low bushes. It was also seen in
bamboo forest along the Samot road. Near

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JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Rajpipla town a solitary bird was seen once,
while we also came across a solitary bird near
river Karjan a few miles from Rajpipla town.

SGM found this cuckoo breeding near
Channi, Baroda in June, 1979. The nest was
a somewhat weak looking flat construction of
dry twigs and it was lined with a sufficient
amount of leaves, both dry as well as fresh.
The nest contained two very pale creamish-
white eggs on 10th June when it was first
found. The Sirkeer cuckoo can be easily re-
cognized by its long graduated white tipped
tail, its more brownish plumage and a very
prominent slightly yellowtipped bright red
beak.

CROW PHEASANT Or COUCAL

( Centropus sinensis)

A common bird in the forests. Banga had
found an occupied (with nestlings) nest in
June. A bird was once seen carrying a lizard
in its beak in late June. Seen also near Dedia-
pada (near PWDRH compound and in the
neighbourhood of the mission) and also in
Rajpipla town. Seen also in the Juna-Rajpipla
forests in January 1982. The birds are ex-
ceptionally noisy during the rains though they
may also be heard throughout the year.

barn owl (Tyto alba)

The only occasion when we saw T. alba was
on the afternoon of 10th June 1982. We were
sitting in the PWD office at Dediapada when
from almost overhead flew a very noisy pro-
cession of crows. They were mobbing and
chasing a solitary Barn owl which settled in
a large tree behind the ashram at Dediapada.
Dediapada is teeming with several thousand
Fruit Bats ( Pteropus giganteus) and this parti-
cular tree was one of the many daytime roosts
of these bats. Obviously the bats were greatly
disturbed when the crows followed the owl

into the tree. The next few minutes were fasci-
nating, the crows, fruit bats (also known as
flying foxes) and the culprit of the drama
the owl settled somewhere in the tree. After
sometime the crows began to disperse and even
the bats quietened down but we do not
think if we saw the owl fly away. We were
informed that T. alba is occasionally seen in
Rajpipla town. The only other time we saw
a barn owl was in June 1981 at Chandod,
just north of the Narmada river.

GREAT HORNED OWL

{Bubo bubo)

We often saw three large owls (with ear tufts)
in the forest along a stream where the birds
would remain hidden in a densely foliaged
tree. Often due to our observing them during
the day, these owls would fly away and then
for the next few minutes they would be heavily
mobbed by a great many avain denizens of
the forest. While two of these large owls were
identified as B. b. bengalensis (orange-yellow
eyes and also the deep huu..hooo calls), the
third owl appeared pale to us and we feel
it was B. c. coromandus which SGM feels sure
of having once heard during the night.

BROWN FISH OWL {Bubo zeylonensis)

Banga had informed us in the course of our
first visit in June 1981 of a large owl which
nested on the rock face along a forest rivulet.
We saw this rather shabby nesting place where
the owl had reportedly bred earlier in the
year. The nest site was littered with crab shells
and fish bones, evidently exposed from dried
and old pellets. It was not until the 12th June
1982, that B. zeylonensis was first seen not far
from this nest-site. According to Banga there
existed another pair of these same owls up-
stream and which had another nest on a rock
face.

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

BARRED JUNGLE OWLET

( Glaucidium radiatum)

Certainly the commonest owl in the forests.
Its koukuk . . . kookok . . kukkuk . . calls can fre-
quently be heard during the daytime too and
they happen to be one of the most familiar
bird calls in these forests. The calls extend for
several seconds and at times end abruptly.

On 20th July 1982, an adult Barred Owlet
was noticed feeding (probably a large insect)
to a young owlet outside what appeared to
be the nesthole. The young owlet was uttering
a mewing call.

brown hawk -owl ( Ninox scutulata)

RKN says that he saw, on quite a few occa-
sions a pair of these owls in the huge trees
along the path leading to Namgir. We failed to
come across this owl elsewhere and we never
heard its uw . . . ook . . . calls anywhere either.

spotted owlet ( Athene brama )

Though not common in the forest, this owl
is abundant just north of the Narmada, at
Chandod. Here we saw almost 4-8 at times
even more of these owlets on almost every
tree in the area. Chandod is one of the most
fascinating places for observing this owlet in
great numbers.

We frequently heard this owlet in Rajpipla
town, often in crowded localities. In the forests
Banga informed us that a pair of these owlets
had bred earlier in the year in a hollow of
the same tree on which, though in another
hollow, a pair of Coracias benghalensis had
also finished breeding in May. There was yet
another pair of these owlets which, SGM feels
were breeding in a tree in the compound of
the PWDRH at Dediapada.

mottled wood owl (Strix ocellata )
First recorded when we heard these wierd

chuu . . huwha calls on successive nights at
Namgir at around dusk and again during the
night. It was only on 12th June that we first
encountered S. ocellata deep in the forest, a
few kilometers from Namgir. The dark eyes
and the large head without the tufts was un-
mistakable. The owls were vocal in the late
evening when we were observing them and
these calls were identical to the ones we had
heard the nights before. For atleast twenty
minutes we watched the owls till it got quite
dark and we had to return to Namgir.

NIGHTJAR

In a small scrub and dry grass covered
hillock just on the southern banks (i.e. Rajpipla
side) of the Narmada river, SGM often flushed
a solitary Nightjar in the first two weeks of
June 1981. The bird on flying from almost
under his feet would settle further in the grass
or on a flat rock from where it would crawl
and remain in the fallen leaves. We never
heard it call and could not identify it.

We failed to come across any nightjar in
or around the forests. This is surprising since
we never heard any either. But according to
adivasis these birds are often flushed by them.

alpine swift ( Apus melba )

SGM has seen this bird around Daman
Mahal, flying about around the cliffs. Not
seen anywhere else.

house swift ( Apus affinis)

Seen at Netrang, Rajpipla town (sometimes
large gatherings near the red clock-tower and
often around the old houses) and also near
Dediapada. Evidently breeding in May- June
in Rajpipla town. Observed also at Chandod.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

CRESTED TREE SWIFT
( Hemiprocne Jongipennis)

RKN first saw this bird when photographing
S. cheela from the hide in June 1982. On a
later day SGM too saw this swift in more or
less the same position as described by RKN.
The solitary swift was perched as though it
was incubating its single egg. But it was not
there on any later day and there was certainly
no nest.

lesser pied kingfisher ( Ceryle rudis)

In January 1982, we saw a pair of these king-
fishers on the Karjan river in the Juna-Rajpipla
area. On the Narmada river this bird is not
uncommon and on some days we saw as many
as five of these kingfishers together, uttering
their pleasant twittering calls as they fly. They
are spectacular birds to watch, especially when
they hover about twenty odd feet above water
and dive into the water at an astonishing speed.

In July 1982 a solitary bird was seen near
Dediapada near the mission.

SMALL or COMMON KINGFISHER
( Alcedo atthis )

A pair of these kingfishers were evidently
breeding in a mudwall along the Mozda river
as they were observed to leave a tunnel hole
on several occasions. This kingfisher is often
seen on forest streams but it is uncommon in
the area. Seen also on the Karjan in the Juna-
Rajpipla forests and in the vicinity of Rajpipla
town and on the Narmada.

STORKBILLED KINGFISHER
( Pelargopsis capensis)

Surprisingly we never saw this kingfisher
which is supposed to be not uncommon in the
forests here. But SGM feels that the loud
ke . . kekeke . . call that can be sometimes
heard in the forest could be of this bird.

WHITEBREASTED KINGFISHER
( Halcyon smyrnensis)

Common. A nest with one egg was found in
mid-May 1982 in a mudwall in forest, quite
some distance from any forest stream. There
was yet another nest-tunnel in a mudwall deep
in the forest and this apparently contained
nestlings since the adult birds were observed
taking insects into the tunnel which on check-
ing was found to be atleast three feet deep.
This bird is seen almost along every stream in
forest. Also seen in Dediapada and Rajpipla
towns.

Found breeding at Chandod, just north of
the Narmada where we found one nest which
was a very open affair. It was almost a depres-
sion in a natural cavity on the ground, almost
like a lark’s nest and it contained four glossy
white eggs. The incubating bird could be seen
right in the open. Unfortunately this nest and
the eggs in it were found destroyed just a few
days later (mid- June 1981).

CHESTNUTHEADED BEE-EATER
{Merops leschenaulti)

This bee-eater is found only from Ratnagiri
southwards, and also from Dehra-Dun east to
Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and in the
Eastern Ghats. We came across a pair on the
southern side of the Narmada river on 5th June
1981. A note regarding this sighting, the nor-
thernmost in Western India is in JBNHS 79:
669-70.

This bird is not included in Salim Ali’s
notes on ‘Birds of Gujarat’.

green bee-eater ( Merops orientalis)

Sometimes seen in the outskirts of forest. Not
common. However, it is abundant north of
the Narmada, at Chandod and elsewhere
where large numbers of this bee-eater were

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

breeding in June 1981. Seen also near and in
Rajpipla town (where breeding in June) and
on the Karjan river.

Indian roller ( Coracicis benghalensis)

This bird is not mentioned for the area by
Salim Ali in ‘Birds of Gujarat’ JBNHS 52:
447), or, rather, no specimen has been collect-
ed in this area.

We found this bird not at all uncommon
in the forest. Infact the noisy nature of this
bird makes its calls one of the very familiar
bird calls of these forests. There is always a
bird or two nearby, if not calling harshly,
then quietly perched on some dry branch from
where it suddenly flies with a flash of its
bright colours.

At one nesthole, the adult bird was obser-
ved feeding a young just outside on the branch
in mid- June. A pair had finished breeding,
according to Banga, in a cavity in the very
same tree on the path leading to Namgir in
forest which had also housed a pair of Athene
brama. The nesting season of this bird appears
to range between mid-March to June, July. We
also saw C. benghalensis at Dediapada, and
also near Rajpipla town where a pair was
evidently breeding on a tree in the palace
grounds in June 1981.

hoopoe ( Upupa epops)

We saw the Hoopoe only in January around
the mission and the PWDRH at Dediapada. In
June however, we have once seen a pair a
few kilometres from Chandod. No informa-
tion as regards breeding.

GREY HORNBILL ( Tockus birostris)

The only time we have come across this bird
is a pair seen by SGM and Neil Soares on 12th
June 1982, several kilometres from Namgir
inside the forest. We doubt if we ever heard

the shrill squeals of this hornbill in these forests
where it appears to be a uncommon bird.

large green barbet ( Megalaima

zeylanica)

Though not so common, nevertheless the calls
of this bird can be heard throughout the day.
The pukruk , pukruk calls can never be mis-
taken if once heard and they are one of the
most familiar bird calls in our forests. A bird
was flushed from within a nesthole in June
1982. It returned into the hole soon after. S. D.
Ripley in synopsis gives the range of M. viri-
dis (785) as the Western Ghats, from the Nar-
mada river south through Kerala. This bird
can be distinguished from M. zeylanica only
by its white cheek stripe. But since these birds
are rather difficult to locate in the forest we
never quite managed to get a good look at the
head of one.

Salim Ali failed to come across M. viridis
anywhere else in Gujarat except in the Surat
Dangs forests south of the Tapti river. In
handbook vol. 4, by Salim Ali & S. D. Ripley
the range of M. viridis is given as Kerala north
to Narmada river.

CRIMSON BREASTED BARBET /COPPERSMITH

( Megalaima haemacephala )

This bird may be sometimes heard and seen
in forest. It seems to have penetrated into the
forest and we found it at Mozda, Namgir, Pip-
lod and elsewhere too. Seen only occasionally
around Dediapada where it is not common.
We also found it in Rajpipla town at Chandod,
north of the Narmada river we found young
birds just out of the nesthole in the first week
of June. The young birds lack the crimson.
They have more greenish upperparts and head
and pale yellowish belly region and throat, the
former lightly streaked. We saw them being
fed outside the nest.

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GOLDENBACKED WOODPECKER ( Dinopium
benghalense)

Often seen, at times along the road from Dedi-
apada to Mozda. Quite common and vocal in
the forest. At Namgir a bird was flushed from
its nesthole on 10th June. It was twice again
flushed from the same hole and it appears that
it was breeding. Neil Soares found a pair
breeding in mid-May at Dediapada.

YELLOWFRONTED PIED/MAHRATTA
woodpecker ( Picoides mahrattensis)

A pair of these woodpeckers was seen often
entering their nesthole in a ‘Haldu’ ( Adina
cordi folia) tree on 10th June 1982.

Seen also at Dediapada in the compound of
the PWDRH. Found breeding north of
the Narmada at Chandod, where we found
three nestlings just out of the nest in mid-
June 1981.

pygmy woodpecker ( Picoides nanus)

This tiny woodpecker, because of its small
size and its somewhat secretive habits is a
rather difficult bird to encounter in the forest.
It certainly is one of the most hard-to-see
birds. We have seen solitary birds only thrice.
The birds keep to thin branches where they
move about around the branch, not very high
up. We saw this woodpecker at Piplod, along
the Samot road and once on the eagle-nest
tree near Namgir.

HEARTSPOTTED WOODPECKER

( Hemicircus canente)

Our sighting of this bird north of the Tapti
river in the Rajpipla forests on the Gujarat
Satpuras extends the range of this woodpecker
northwards by about 60 km, the previous
northernmost point of this bird’s distribution
being Sonagadh in Navsari district, in the

Dangs forests. In forest behind Namgir, we
saw a pair of H. canente for three consecutive
days after which they disappeared and we
never came across them anywhere else.

Ripley, S. D. in synopsis mentions about
a probable extension of H. c. canente into the
Gujarat Satpuras.

BLACK BACKED WOODPECKER

( Chrysocolaptes fesdvus)

We first saw this bird when Banga showed us
a nesthole and not far was this woodpecker.
There was a pair in the neighbourhood. We
saw this woodpecker again near the ashram at
Mozda. No signs of breeding.

Indian pitta {Pitta bmchyura)

We have occasionally seen this bird in forest,
the last sighting being on 10th December 1982
when we saw a solitary bird. Neil Soares saw
this bird several times in May 1982. At Chan-
dod, just north of the Narmada, we found this
bird building a nest in July.

Ernest Shull considers P. b. brachyura as
breeding in the Dangs forests south of the Tapti
(. JBNHS 59:659).

We saw a solitary bird on 10th Dec., 1982
(SGM & Eric D’Cunha). However, Salim Ali
( JBNHS 52: 454) failed to come across P. b.
brachyura during his Gujarat survey between
August and mid-April. There distinctly ap-
pears to be some seasonal and local move-
ments of P. brachyura.

BLACKBELLIED FINCH LARK

( Eremopterix grisea)

Sometimes seen in small flocks around Dedia-
pada and also on the outskirts of Rajpipla
town where we also saw a small party in the
palace grounds.

In the first two weeks of June 1981, there
were hundreds and hundreds of this bird on

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

the stony banks of the Narmada river, a few
kilometres from Chandod. This was just be-
fore the commencement of the monsoon and
it appears that there are local movements of
E. grisea, resulting in the sudden appearance
of large numbers of this lark in certain areas
on some days and almost a complete absence
a few days later. Here, on the banks of the
Narmada we observed that the larks would
always prefer to remain in the shade of stones
and would fly only when almost trampled upon.
There was no signs of their breeding either in
June (when they were abundant) nor in De-
cember-January. SGM found this lark breeding
in mid- June in the neighbourhood of Baroda
and in October, December, March and April
in and around Bombay. Even around Bombay
SGM feels that there are great local move-
ments of this lark and that normally very few
of these larks are observed when they have
been found breeding.

RUFOUSTAILED FINCH LARK

(Ammo manes phoenicurus)

Occasionally seen around Dediapada and rare-
ly on the Mozda riverbed. Common on the
banks of the Narmada river though a small
flock was noticed on the Karjan banks in the
vicinity of Rajpipla town. The birds were
breeding on the Narmada, as was apparent by
their carrying food in their beaks. However,
no actual nest was found.

EASTERN SKYLARK (Alauda gulgula )
Around Chandod, a few pairs of this lark were
in song and it is possible that breeding was in
progress in the neighbourhood. Not seen or
heard elsewhere though it should occur in the
vast open areas around Rajpipla town.

MALABAR CRESTED LARK (Galcrida

malabarica)

Around Chandod SGM has sometimes seen

a solitary crested lark. It appears to be an un-
common bird in this area while around Raj-
pipla we altogether failed to come across any.

PLAIN SAND MARTIN ( Riparia

paludicola )

We feel (unfortunately we failed to confirm)
that the good numbers of Martins flying
about a huge mudwall immediately on the
banks of the Narmada were Sand martins.
The birds were evidently nesting on this mud-
wall on the Narmada, at Chandod.

dusky crag martin ( Hirundo concolor)

In June 1982, a pair of these martins were
observed collecting wet mud from a road-
side puddle near Mozda. On 22nd July a
pair was busy in the construction of their
nest on the underside of the bridge on
the river along Samot road (about 1 Ion from
Mozda). The pair were bringing in wet mud
once every 10-15 minutes and the nest ap-
peared to be almost fully built on that day.
The nest is a lovely half-cup of mud and it
was stuck to the perpendicular surface of the
bridge wall, in an inaccessible position. The
row of white spots at the tip of the tail of the
martins was clearly visible as SGM was ob-
serving the martins from above as they would
go to their nest under the bride. We also came
across this martin at Chandod.

eastern swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Seen in December and January around Dedia-
pada, Netrang, Rajpipla town environs and
also around the Narmada.

WIRETAILED SWALLOW

(Hirundo smithii )

In June 1982 we noticed a small flock of about
8-10 birds flying along a small stream at De-
diapada. Not seen elsewhere.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

STRIATED (REDRUMPED) SWALLOW

( Hirundo daurica nipalensis)

This, the migratory race of H. daurica is seen
in very large flocks in winter. It also has a
much paler rump than H. d. erythropygia
which is the resident race here.

An enormous flock of swallows seen on the
telegraph wires between Dediapada and Net-
rang in December 1982 was of this species.
This particular flock occupied atleast a
hundred metres of wire length and the birds
would frequently launch aerial sallies.

STRIATED (REDRUMPED) SWALLOW

( Hirundo daurica erythropygia)

Seen normally in small flocks or in twos and
threes. We came across it near rock-faces up-
on Daman-mahal mountain (supposed to be
the highest mountain in the area, being over
3000 ft. above m.s.l.) and once around a rocky
riverbed near Namgir in forest.

Seen also near Dediapada, Rajpipla town
and at Chandod where breeding was in pro-
gress in June.

baybacked shrike ( Lanius vittatus)

Seen a few kilometres north of Chandod
(North of Narmada river) in June when SGM
feels that the birds (there was a pair) were
breeding in the neighbourhood.

rufousbacked shrike ( Lanius schach)

Just norrth of the Narmada river we found
atleast six nests of L. schach. The nests
were found in July 1981. The nest of this bird
is a massive looking cup, built of a great many
materials and at times it even contains wool,
rags and feathers. It is normally very well
concealed in the fork of a thickly foliaged
branch of a mango or a tamarind tree. Two
of the nests we found were on thorny trees.

All these nests were between 8-15 feet from
the ground though one of them was much
higher on a Magnifera indica. Only one of the
nests had three eggs while the remaining con-
tained five eggs each. The eggs are whitish or
very pale pink, spotted with reddish brown
and purple.

We feel that the birds which we found
breeding north of the Narmada, at Chandod
and Dabhoi should be L. s. erythronotus (i.e..
The Rufousbacked Shrike). Atleast at three
of these nests, the adult birds had much more
rufous, distinctly somewhat brighter and also
extending to the back, though not very easily
observable. Salim Ali in ‘Birds of Gujarat’

( JBNHS 52:781-82) has considered the Grey-
backed shrike (L. s. caniceps) in which he
states, the rufous is more or less confined to
the rump, though he also mentions that there*
is a regular cline and in a great many cases
(especially in winter), it is exceedingly difficult
to assure oneself of the correct racial identity
of individual specimens. Salim Ali regards
L. s. erythronotus as a winter visitor to Guja-
rat, and the breeding birds, though clearly in-
termediate, are closer to and would readily
pass for caniceps. This intermediate popula-
tion was named by Koelz as L. s. kathiawaren-
sis (now considered as caniceps, by S. D. Rip-
ley in synopsis). We ourselves went through
all the specimens in the BNHS collection, and
we feel that there is not much to suffi-
ciently differentiate erythronotus and cani-
ceps in the field. Moreover, Capt. Butler
Stray Feathers, iii: 463 — 1875) has considered
erythronotus as the breeding (resident) race.

We occasionally came across this shrike
south of the Narmada but we did not look for
any nests here. In December and January we
saw these shrikes around Rajpipla town and
also in the vicinity of Dediapada, near the
PWDRH and elsewhere.

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

golden oriole ( Oriolus oriolus kundoo)

Presumed to be a winter visitor to the area by
Salim Ali ( JBNHS 52: 797). We however
found this bird to be common and resident in
Gujarat. SGM has found this oriole breeding
in appreciable numbers around Baroda.

Just north of the Narmada river, at Chand-
dod, we found good numbers of nests of
O. o. kundoo. In June-July 1981, we found
several occupied nests of this bird. All of these
had eggs and incubation was in progress. One
of these nests was exceptionally low down,
it being only about 8 feet from the ground on
a tamarind tree, and SGM could touch the
eggs (there were two) even when standing on
the ground.

We saw this oriole occasionally south of the
Narmada, at Dediapada and in and around
Rajpipla town where this bird was certainly
breeding in May- June. Noted also in the Juna-
Rajpipla forests in January. We however, fail-
ed to come across the Golden oriole around
Mozda or elsewhere in the forests.

BLACK HEADED ORIOLE
( Oriolus xanthornus )

Common in the forests. We never saw this
bird anywhere around Dediapada though in
January we observed it in Rajpipla town. Good
numbers of this oriole were seen in the Juna-
Rajpipla forests in January 1982. Breeding was
in progress in June-July. We found two nests.
One of these, found on 13th June 1982 con-
tained two eggs while another containing three
tiny nestlings was found in July 1982. Both
these nests were well concealed in large leafy
trees and while the former was only about 14-
15 feet from the ground, the other was much
higher.

black drongo ( Dlcvurus adsimilis)
Very common around Rajpipla town, parti-

cularly in the open countryside and along the
highways, where large numbers are always
seen on overhead telegraph wires. Becomes
progressively less common as one moves to-
wards Dediapada and lesser still towards
Mozda and the forests. Seen however in forest
at Piplod (about 23 km from Dediapada)
where a pair had a nest (evidently with eggs)
in mid-June.

Nests were found in the vicinity of Rajpipla
town in June, at Chandod where nest con-
struction was in progress in July, and also near
the PWDRH at Dediapada (with 3 eggs in
last week of June), and one on way to Mozda
on a teak ( Tectona grandis) tree. All these
nests contained two or three eggs while the
nest in the PWDRPI compound at Dediapada
contained three tiny nestlings when next che-
cked on 30th June 1981.

ASHY or GREY DRONGO

( Dicrurus leucophaeus)

SGM and Eric D’Cunha saw this bird on 11th
December, 1982. We found this bird present
in good numbers in mid-Jan. 1983.

WHITEBELLIED DRONGO

(. Dicrurus caerulescens)

Not uncommon in the forests. We saw it at
Mozda, along Samot road, at Namgir, Piplod,
Dumkhal, Juna-Rajpipla and elsewhere. A
pair was calling incessantly in the compounds
of the PWDRH at Dediapada on 13th June,
1982. Nests with eggs were found at Piplod
and Namgir. In all we located four nests of
D. caerulescens, three of them at Namgir and
one at Piplod. Three eggs seems to be the nor-
mal clutch and the eggs are not much different
from those of D. adsimilis. The nests of D.
caerulescens do not appear to be so well con-
cealed and all the nests found by us were bet-
ween 12-25 feet from the ground, in the fork

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

of an outhanging branch, almost all of these
along a forest path.

GREATER RACKET-TAILED DRONGO

(Dicrurus paradiseus)

A common and familiar bird of these forests,
sometimes a few birds wander outside the
forests and may be seen on roadside trees at
Mozda, though we came across a small party
of four birds at Moti-Singloti, several kilo-
metres from Mozda towards Dediapada.
Very common in the forest around Namgir
where we were camping and seen almost every-
where in forest almost all the way upto Da-
man-mahal. One can never miss the much-
varied and often confusing calls of this bird.
Breeding was well under progress in June- July
when we located five occupied nests, contain-
ing either eggs or nestlings. All these nests
were very high on trees and two of them were
on teak ( Tectona grandis) trees. At two of the
nests we observed that one of the incubating
birds lacked both the tail streamers and ap-
peared almost like a Black Drongo. At ano-
ther nest both the adult birds had only one
streamer each while at a fourth nest only one
of the adult birds lacked a streamer. Only at
one of the nests did the adult birds have both
their streamers intact.

greyheaded myna ( Sturnus malabari-

cus )

Salim Ali altogether failed to come across this
bird in Gujarat and this bird is not included
in ‘Birds of Gujarat’ ( JBNHS 52, Nos. 2, 3 &
4). We ourselves never saw this bird any-
where around Rajpipla but in December 1981
we noticed a flock of about thirty of these
mynas near Timba, about 75 km north of
Baroda. SGM has also seen this bird in the
neighbourhood of Baroda where he feels a

pair was breeding in a hole in a Jambool
(i Syzygium cumini) tree in June.

Himmatsinhji saw this bird in Kutch
(Mandvi) in December 1969 and he also
noticed a pair of these mynas busy carrying
nesting materials in a hole in a casuarina tree
at Wankaner in July 1967 ( JBNHS 67:332-
33). Capt. Butler found this bird common at
Mt. Abu in the hot weather when he saw it in
considerable flocks. He failed to observe this
myna in the plains ( Stray Feathers iii: 494-
95).

BLACKHEADED Or BRAHMINY MYNA

(< Sturnus pagodarum)

Breeding in good enough numbers just north
of the Narmada at Chandod where we found
nests with eggs in June and July. Observed
also in Rajpipla town (probably breeding) and
also around Dediapada. We found this myna
to be less common south of the Narmada to-
wards Rajpipla.

rosy pastor ( Sturnus roseus)

Observed in January in Rajpipla town and
also near Juna-Rajpipla. Seen in considerable
flocks at Timba in December 1981. In De-
cember 1982, a few pastors were noticed near
Mozda. Appears to be a rather common win-
ter visitor.

pied myna ( Sturnus contra)

This bird does not deserve mention in this
list. But since SGM has noticed a pair of these
mynas at Valsad in November 1981, and since
this bird has never previously been recorded
in Gujarat we therefore include it. The Pied
Myna is basically a bird of northern and east-
ern India, not ordinarily found west of Hyder-
abad in Deccan or south of Masulipatam. It
is possible that this bird may have been an
escaped cage-bird.

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

common myna (Acridotheres tristis)

Though a common in the towns, we often saw
this bird in the forests too. The birds were
evidently breeding during May- July when they
were very noisy and were seen entering holes
in walls and trees. We however, never checked
any nest either in the forests or around Raj-
pipla town but found nests with eggs in July
at Chandod and SGM obtained eggs in May
near Baroda. Four or five glossy pale blue eggs
form the normal clutch. On the underside of
a road bridge in Rajpipla town, large numbers
of A. ginginianus along with A. tristis were
certainly breeding in the many holes in the
bridge walls in June.

bank myna ( Acridotheres gingini-
anus)

Breeding in abundance in the mudwalls of the
many ravine-like formations in the immediate
vicinity of Narmada river, around Chandod.
Dozens and dozens of these mynas would fly
from these mudwalls which appeared almost
lifeless at first sight. But in these often inacces-
sible mudwalls there are countless holes (tun-
nels) of varying length, each of them having
a haphazardly constructed cuplike mass of
grasses and feathers inside and these contain-
ed eggs in mid- June. SGM on checking these
nesting colonies found that some of these
nests which had separate entrance holes were
actually continuous inside. We are still surpris-
ed as to how, on somebody’s approach, do all
the birds from a widespread colony leave their
nests together? How do these birds communi-
cate at some approaching disturbance which
pulls them all out of their nest holes at the
same time? SGM similarly checked a large
crowded colony of Little Green Bee-eaters
breeding just a few kilometres north of Baroda
and even here he observed that if he as much

as approached the nesting colony very close,
all the bee-eaters would immediately leave their
nest holes and while some of them would circle
overhead uttering their twittering notes, most
of them would perch silently on the wires over-
head and return back to their nest-tunnels as
soon as the disturbance had ceased. At the
nesting colonies of the Bank Mynas we how-
ever noticed that on our approach a few birds
which would be outside would utter a harsh
note and we feel that perhaps this harsh note
of these outside birds is some kind of a warn-
ing call for the other birds inside their tunnels
which at times are over four to five feet long.
Probably at such nesting colonies where a large
numbers of birds breed in close proximity,
there are a few watch-birds whose harsh calls
apparently serve as a warning signal for the
other birds inside their nests.

jungle myna ( Acridotheres fuscus)
When observing Spilornis cheela at its nest
from the hide, SGM noticed a Common-Myna
like bird settle on the very tree, about ten feet
from the hide. This bird lacked the yellow
around its eyes and moreover it had a darker
(somewhat greyish-black) and not yellow iris.
Also, the ill-formed tuft of feathers on the head
was very prominent. RKN too says that he
noticed this myna from the hide when photo-
graphing S. cheela. There is no mention of this
bird in ‘Birds of Gujarat’ ( JBNHS 52), Salim
Ali having failed to find this myna in Gujarat.

S. D. Ripley in synopsis gives the range of
this race as Peninsular India, chiefly on the
western side, from Gujarat, including the
Kathiawar peninsula, southwards through
western Maharashtra to Kerala and Tamil
Nadu.

Indian tree pie ( Dendrocitta vagab -

undo)

Common in the forests. Breeding evidently

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

over earlier in the year, probably by mid-May,
though near one nest the parents were obser-
ved feeding two fledglings on 10th June. One
of the common birds here, the tree-pie was
never seen outside the forests and only once
have we noticed a pair of these birds along
the road at Bal, about a kilometre from Mozda.

house crow ( Corvus splendent)

Common in Rajpipla town and at Dediapada
and in all the nearby towns. Almost absent
around Mozda and further into the forests
where C. macrorhynchos is more common.
Some C. splendens may be however, seen at
Mozda and even around Piplod and Dumkhal,
and also once around Juna-Rajpipla. Nest-
building observed in Rajpipla town in June-
July when at a few roadside nests incubation
was in progress.

jungle crow ( Corvus macrorhynchos)

From Dediapada onwards towards Mozda and
in the forests this is the crow that one is more
likely to encounter. The House Crow is almost
absent in the forests except for an occasional
bird. At only one nest did we observe C.
macrorhynchos in Dediapada town in June,
1981. It appears that this nest contained nest-
lings in June which is well past the recorded
breeding season of this crow which normally
nests early in the year.

common wood shrike ( Tephrodornis

pondicerianus )

Sometimes seen and heard in the light forest
and scrub around Mozda. We also saw this
bird in several other areas in the forests and
also in bamboo forest along Samot road. This
small shrike distinctly appears to prefer light
open forest than thick forest. We also obser-
ved this bird around the PWDRH and the
mission at Dediapada and on the outskirts of

Rajpipla town we once saw three birds. No
signs of any breeding activity in May or
June, the birds probably having nested ear-
lier in the year. However, SGM found this
shrike breeding in the first week of June on
the outskirts of Baroda when he found a nest
with two almost full-fledged young birds in it.

large cuckoo shrike ( Coracina

novae hollandiae)

Sometimes seen in the forests. In June and
July we noticed that over half dozen of these
birds would roost every night in a large ‘Haldu’
(Adina cordifolia) tree hardly 200 metres from
our camp-hut in Namgir. Every evening at
around 6-30 p.m. the birds would arrive and
for the next half an hour or so till it was quite
dark, the birds would be chasing one another,
frequently uttering their pleasant musical notes.
SGM is sure that he saw this bird several
times passing some food (an insect) to another
bird, probably its mate. He feels that what
he saw was some pair-formation activity and
that the breeding season of this bird was ap-
proaching.

LITTLE minivet ( Pericrocotus

cinnamomeus)

A well distributed bird in these forests. It is
also the only minivet we came across in the
Rajpipla area. Seen almost throughout the
forests and also around the PWDRH at Dedi-
apada and in the neighbourhood of Rajpipla
town. We also saw unusually large congre-
gations of this bird in January in the forest
around Juna-Rajpipla.

In mid- June 1982, when walking along the
road leading towards Namgir, SGM often ob-
served this bird fly from a particular tree
whenever he would pass under it. Careful sear-
ching for the next couple of days resulted in
his locating the tiny nest, remarkably conceal-

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BIRDS OF THE RAJP1PLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

ed on the upper surface of a tiny fork, just
jutting out of the main stem, about 25 feet
from the ground. In fact, had it not been for
the apparent uneasiness of the birds on being
observed from below, it would have been rat-
ther difficult to spot the nest. When the female
settled in the nest, her tail could be seen just
protruding enough to be quite clearly noticed.
There were certainly eggs in the nest and in-
cubation was in progress, but since it had been
raining for the past few days and the tree-
trunk being wet and slippery, we could not
risk anyone climbing up to have a look at the
nest.

common iora ( Aegithina tiphia )

A common bird throughout the forests, seen
also at Dediapada and in Rajpipla town and
also often around Chandod where it was ob-
served breeding in July.

In the forests we found two nests of this
bird. From one of these the young had appar-
ently flown away in mid- June while the other
contained two nestlings on 13th June. North
of the Narmada A. tiphia was noticed build-
ing a nest in July. Around Bombay SGM has
found nests with eggs in May, August and also
in the third week of September. Probably A.
tiphia breeds twice in a year.

GOLDMANTLED CHLOROPSIS

( Chloropsis cochinchinensis)

Quite common in the forests. This bird
is a fantastic mimic and we heard it re-
produce to perfection the calls of D. adsimilis,
D. caerulescens, O. sutorius, and to a lesser
extent the calls of P. jocosus, A. badius, Poma-
torhinus horsfieldii and also the harsh chew
call of T. paradisi. We first observed this bird’s
amazing proficiency at mimickry at Piplod on
our very first day in these forests on 18th June
1981. A pair of these chloropsis were mimi-

cking and frequently chasing drongos (D. ad-
simiiis and D. caerulescens ), tree-pies, com-
mon mynas and also parakeets from a large
tree where the pair was almost always present.
On observing this highly demonstrative be-
haviour of the pair, we strongly suspected the
presence of a nest there and surely enough
there was one in the fork of a very thin out-
hanging branch, almost 25-30 feet up in the
tree. On 19th June, a bird was sitting inside
the nest (probably incubating). The nest is a
cup of grasses, fibres etc., and is quite like
the nest of P. cafer, though we feel not quite
as deep as that of the latter.

On 1st July morning a chloropsis was seen
carrying food in its beak in forest near Nam-
gir.

REDWHISKERED BULBUL

( Pycnonotus jocosus ssp?)

In synopsis .... by S. D. Ripley, there is no
mention of the presence of any race of this
bulbul in the Rajpipla area between the Tapti
and Narmada rivers. Salim Ali during his Gu-
jarat Ornithological survey (Birds of Gujarat
— JBNHS 52:744) observed only a single pair
at Waghai south of the Tapti in the Surat
Dangs. He failed to meet this bulbul elsewhere
in Gujarat, Saurashtra or Kutch.

We found P. jocosus present in appreciably
good numbers north of the Tapti river in the
Rajpipla area. Infact we once saw this bird at
Dediapada too. In the forests SGM found a
nest of this bird in a small bush on 10th June
when it contained two nestlings. This was
quite close to the nest of S. cheela which was
photographed.

The occurrence of P. jocosus is discontinu-
ous in Central India (C. E. Hewetson, in ‘Bird
Life in MP JBNHS 53: 606). Also, there is
no mention of this bulbul for Mhow (Rev.
F. S. Briggs JBNHS 35). However, at Pach-

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marhi in the MP Satpuras, B. B. Osmaston
found this bulbul common in the ravines
around Pachmarhi where he found them breed-
ing in April- July (JBNHS 28:454).

redvented bulbul ( Pycnonotus cafer)

Common everywhere. Several nests with eggs
were found in May- July. Only one nest at
Mozda contained full fledged nestlings on 13th
June.

WHITEBROWED BULBUL

{Pycnonotus luteolus)

Though the rambling calls suddenly burst
from dense undergrowth almost anywhere in
forest, the birds themselves are only rarely
seen. We saw this bulbul only at Mozda and
twice along the Samot road, and once in Raj-
pipla town.

At Chandod, just north of the Narmada
this bulbul was found breeding in June
and July when we found two nests. One
of these had two eggs while the other
contained two nestlings which, after a few
days, had come out of the nest and we could
often see the parents feeding these young birds
on nearby trees. Though the nest of P. luteolus
is rather similar to that of the other bulbuls,
it certainly is somewhat untidier and weak-
looking and is normally placed in open dry
bushes or around a bush which is surrounded
by some dry vegetation. The nest is generally
situated under three feet from the ground and
the adult birds get very restless when their nest
is approached.

spotted babbler {Pellorneum ruficeps)

This is one of the many forest-birds which are
extremely difficult to spot but are not infre-
quently heard. The lovely whistling calls of

this babbler are a quite common bird-call in
these forests during the rains when they are
breeding.

On 21st 1982, SGM found a nest of
this babbler in heavy bamboo forest in the
neighbourhood of Namgir. The frequent call-
ing of the birds and their very peculiar
behaviour was an asset to locate the nest. The
nest itself was a roundish structure, atleast 6-7
inches in diameter and it was built of thin, and
also, thick grasses, bamboo leaves and dry
leaves. It was placed on the forest floor in
damp bamboo forest and it appeared like a
small heap of rubbish, superbly hidden on the
ground. It may be mentioned here, that just a
few days ago SGM had found a nest of this
bird in the Borivli park, near Bombay. This
nest was equally untidy and shabby, though
somewhat smaller.

SLATYHEADED SCIMITAR BABBLER

( Pomatorhinus horsfieldii)

On 23rd January 1983, when walking on the
Daman Mahal mountain we heard these love-
ly musical two note whistles which were being
replied to by another bird. These ‘reply’
whistles were followed by a harsh kharrrrr of
a somewhat extended duration. The calls con-
tinued for a rather long time and we decided
to check the producers of these calls. This was
in a luxuriant bamboo forest and we slowly
approached the flute-like notes. We decided
to wait on a fallen tree-trunk from where we
could obtain glimpses of two or three birds
which were chasing one another and frequen-
tly diving into the bamboo growth. After a few
minutes the calls increased to four notes and
these SGM readily recognized as the calls of
Pomatorhinus horsfieldii which he has so often
heard around Bombay. It was but only after
a considerable period of time that we managed
to get a good view of the birds. There were

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

three of them and it appears they were getting
ready to breed. SGM similarly noticed great
activity of this babbler around Bombay in the
second week of January and he feels that
P. horsfieldii breeds in the neighbourhood of
Bombay (where, by virtue of its calls it hap-
pens to be a relatively common bird) during
February-April. In the Dangs forests, south of
the Tapti river juvenile birds were collected
on 14th March (Salim Ali, JBNHS 52:751).
This happens to be the only occasion that we
ever saw the Scimitar Babbler in the Rajpipla
forests, though it may be heard more often.

WHITETHROATED BABBLER

(Dumetia hyperythra)

On 21st July 1982, SGM found a nest of this
babbler in close proximity to that of Pellor-
neum ruficeps also located on the same day.
There are some amazing similarities in the
nests of D. hyperythra and P. ruficeps. Both
the nests were more or less ball shaped
structures placed on the ground in damp bam-
boo forest. Both nests were on gently sloping
hills with their entrance holes facing down-
wards so that when the birds would fly from
their nest, they would fly straight downhill
and then perch on some small bush. Both
nests were less than ten feet distance from
much used forest paths. However, it may be
stated that the nest of D. hyperythra was much
more difficult to spot. This nest was a small
ball of thick, coarse bamboo leaves with an
inside cup of thin fibrous grasses and also a
few hair. There was an oval entrance hole on
one side, facing downhill. The entire ball-nest
was about four inches in diameter and it was
sort of anchored between two small stones at
the base of a bamboo clump, an inch or so
above the ground. But the most interesting
part of this nest was a fallen large leaf of
Tectona grandis which had been actually fix-

ed into the sides of the nest in a most artistic
manner. Many such large leaves of Teak
were scattered on the forest floor and the use
of one such leaf into the nest was undoubted-
ly a remarkable attempt at both camouflage
as well as shelter. This leaf formed an effi-
cient umbrella over the nest. While the leaf
covering the nest was wet due to rain, the nest
proper and the inside cup were completely
dry. Moreover, the leaf covering the nest made
it all the more difficult to locate the nest. There
were three eggs in the nest on 21st July. The
eggs had a very pale pinkish white ground
colour and were rather thickly spotted and
blotched with pale purple and reddish-brown.
They were smaller in size than eggs of the
House Sparrow.

YELLOWEYED BABBLER

( Chrysomma sinense)

Sometimes seen around the PWDRH at Dedi-
apada and also around Rajpipla town and near
the Karjan river. Occasionally seen in forest
along Samot road and once in July a party
of three birds was seen on the Mozda river-
bed, flitting in and out of the vegetation. Fre-
quently the birds would utter a pleasant warb-
ling song from some exposed position. A
search for nests did not yield any and it ap-
pears that the birds were evidently commen-
cing to breed.

However, north of the Narmada river, at
Chandod and also around Wadhwana tank at
Dabhoi we located several nests in July 1981.
Most of these nests were under construction
though one of them contained two eggs in the
second week of July. The egg is thickly spot-
ted and blotched with pale brownish-red and
also some purplish shade. The ground colour
of the eggs was pale pinkish-cream. Some of
these nests were in thorny bushes and trees.

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common babbler ( Turdoides cauda-
tus)

Found breeding at Chandod where we locat-
ed two nests in June- July 1981. Both the nests
were in dense thorny scrub and while one of
them was being built on 8th June (but later
destroyed by a village boy), the other con-
tained three eggs on 11th July. The nests can
be likened to nests of Pycnonotus cafer though
somewhat more deep and more loosely made
and lacking any cobweb. The eggs are a lovely
shade of glossy blue and are more or less the
same size as eggs of P. cafer. The birds dis-
tinctly prefer scrub covered areas where they
are normally seen in small parties of 4-6 birds.
At Channi, on the outskirts of Baroda, SGM
noticed in July 1979, a pair of Clamator jaco-
binus not far from the nest of T. caudatus. In
the first week of July when the nest contained
two eggs, a solitary cuckoo was seen to enter
the bush which contained the nest. It was
driven away by the babblers but it continued
to go there after about twenty minutes. SGM
feels that the cuckoo had probably laid its
egg in the babbler’s nest.

LARGE GREY BABBLER ( Turdoides
malcolmi)

This babbler is a common bird in the open
and scrub countryside here. The bird is always
seen in small parties which it appears do not
break up even during the breeding season.
We observed this babbler carrying nesting
material in July. Though no actually occupied
nest of this babbler was found, it appears that
they breed sometime between May- August.
This babbler is one of the few which is select-
ed as a foster parent by the Pied Crested Cuc-
koo ( Clamator jacobinus) of which we saw
a few examples only in mid- July in the forests.

About T. malcolmi we may add that it hap-

pens to be one of the most gregarious species
of birds. On 12th June 1982, three birds were
seen in open country a few kilometres from
Dediapada towards Mozda and found breeding
at Chandod.

jungle babbler ( Turdoides

striatus)

We did not come across any rufous-tailed race
(T. s. somervillei) in the Rajpipla area.

In its habits we would like to state that
it is not appreciably different in any respect
from T. malcolmi. However T. striatus is cer-
tainly a more common bird in the forest area.
A few of these birds can be seen on almost
every outing in the forests. A nest containing
two nestlings was found at Chandod, just north
of the Narmada river in mid- June 1981. The
nest is a rather loosely put together cup of
grass stems, small bent sticks including a few
thorny sticks. It is normally built in some
thorny bush or tree, generally under eight feet
from the ground in a fork, preferably one just
jutting out of the main stem. Little, if any
atempt is made at concealing the nest and
infact the noisy nature of the birds makes it
all the more easier to locate the nest. Even
around a nest containing nestlings, small par-
ties of this babbler move about and it would
not be surprising if other babblers, besides the
parents, feed the nestlings too. Infact on the
very tree which contained a nest of T. striatus,
SGM saw on two occasions T. malcolmi and
the former did not seem to mind this intrusion
at all.

On 21st July 1982, Jungle Babblers were ob-
served making nests in the forests along Samot
road where SGM saw them carrying grass and
thin sticks. On this very day he also noticed
great activity among Clamator jacobinus, of
which the Jungle Babbler is a much sought
after foster parent.

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BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

BROWN FLYCATCHER ( MuSCWapa
latirostris)

SGM and Eric D’Cunha saw this bird in De-
cember 1982. There was a solitary bird. Pro-
bably this flycatcher should be more common
here but because of its silent nature and its
dull coloration coupled with its small size,
it is a difficult bird to be seen in the forest.
Salim Ali came across this bird only in the
Dangs area south of the Tapti where he pre-
sumes the birds to be resident ( JBNHS 52:
746).

REDBREASTED FLYCATCHER
{Muscicapa parva)

This flycatcher is a common cold weather
migrant to these forests. It can be seen every-
where in the forests and we saw one almost
at the top of Daman-mahal mountain. Seen
at Dediapada and in Rajpipla town and around
Juna-Rajpipla forests in December- January.
The birds prefer the shaded patches of forests
and their faint clikrrr . . . and tttrrrr .... notes
are commonly heard in the forests. Often one
may come across this bird in a small mixed
group of forest birds.

tickell’s blue flycatcher
( Muscicapa tickelliae)

Certainly the commonest resident flycatcher in
these forests. Seen in almost every kind of
forest, the bird having a marked preference for
dense bamboo growths. Seen throughout the
forests at Piplod, Dumkhal, Sankhdi, Namgir,
Samot road, Mozda, Juna-Rajpipla and else-
where. Observed also in the neighbourhood
of Rajpipla town and a pair was frequently
seen in the vicinity of dense undergrowth of
the garden of the hotel we were staying in at
Chadod, north of the Narmada. Here the pair
was busy constructing its nest in a hole in a
mud-wall around a bamboo bush in mid- June.

On 12th June 1982, a nest of this flycatcher
was found in a small hollow of a tree in forest
near Namgir. The nest was a well-made pad of
fine grasses and a few scattered feathers.
It contained a single brownish white egg,
spotted lightly with reddish-brown. This bird
frequently utters a pleasant short song, some-
what metallic in tone and this we heard even
in December. Besides this song, the bird also
has a harsher clicking and churring note which
SGM heard while he was inspecting the nest
of this flycatcher.

GREYHEADED FLYCATCHER

( Culicicapa ceylonensis)

Salim Ali during his Gujarat Ornithological
survey came across this bird only in Cambay
and at Hathidhara (Palanpur) and he pre-
sumed this bird to be a not common winter
visitor ( JBNHS 52:747-48).

In January 1982, we observed a few ex-
amples of Culicicapa ceylonensis in the forests
around Juna-Rajpipla. In June 1982, a solitary
bird was seen around the forest stream at
Namgir for several consecutive days. This
particular bird seen in June had a peculiar
habit of fly-catching over the stagnant water
that had collected on the otherwise almost dry
bed of the stream. The bird would remain
motionless on a fallen log just over the accu-
mulated stagnant puddle around and over
which there was always to be seen a fantastic
number and array of mosquitoes and various
small insects and beetles. Every few minutes
the bird would swoop down almost touching
the water on every such swoop and always
there could be heard a sharp snap of its man-
dibles as the countless insects would be dis-
turbed. For several days we observed this fly-
catcher at this puddle but we never saw it
again after 11th June. Often the bird allowed
our very close approach.

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It was however in December 1982 that we
found C. ceylonensis extremely common in
the forests around Namgir and elsewhere. In
three days SGM and Eric D’Cunha had 27
sightings of this flycatcher. Sometimes the bird
would utter shrill, musical calls of 4-7 notes.
Again in January 1983, we found this bird
fairly common here.

We never obtained any signs of this fly-
catcher breeding in the Rajpipla forests. This
bird is a common resident species in the cen-
tral Satpuras (S. D. Ripley in synopsis).
In ‘Bird Life in MP’ (JBNHS 53:609), C. E.
Hewetson considers this flycatcher as one of
the commonest and most widely spread small
resident birds. B. B. Osmaston found this bird
common in the ravines in and around Pach-
marhi in the central Satpuras where he states
they breed in June-July ( JBNHS 28:455).

Our observing this flycatcher in such good
numbers in December- January would proba-
bly support Salim Ali’s presumptions that
C. ceylonensis is a winter visitor to Gujarat
(Satpuras), but we feel that a few birds pre-
sumably breed in the Rajpipla area at the
western extremity of the Satpuras.

WHITEBROWED FANTAIL FLYCATCHER

( Rhipidura aureola)

First seen in January 1983 in open forest in
the neighbourhood of the Karjan Dam (under
construction). We then saw this flycatcher on
three occasions in forest around Namgir.

WHITETHROATED FANTAIL FLYCATCHER

( Rhipidura albicollis)

Seen in forest around Namgir and once also
along the Samot road. In December we saw it
in the Juna-Rajpipla area and in the neighbour-
hood of Rajpipla town. Nowhere, a common
bird. No indication of its breeding.

PARADISE FLYCATCHER
( T erpsi phone paradisi )

On 19th June 1981, SGM found a nest of this
flycatcher in a small creeper-bound tree along
the Mozda river near Sankhdi. About ten feet
from the ground, the nest was in such a posi-
tion that if the creeper was pulled then there
was every possibility of the nest being dam-
aged. This fear almost compelled SGM to
collect the nest and its contents. Only half an
hour later when SGM again went to check the
nest there was no sign of the nest on the tree.
It was not long before the cause of this mis-
hap was brought to light and the nest and its
contents (surprisingly an intact egg alongwith
smashed eggshells) were found and collected
from the ground nearby. It so appears that
some adivasi kids who had been playing a-
around when the nest had been first located
had pulled the branch with a jerk so that it
had almost broken off and the nest thrown
out. From the condition of the yolk of the
smashed eggs in the nest it seemed as though
the eggs were almost on the verge of hatch-
ing. The solitary egg was collected by SGM
and is presently in his collection in Bombay.
It is pale creamish-pink in ground colour,
lightly spotted and blotched with reddish-
brown. It is almost an exact, though miniature,
replica of the eggs of Dicrurus adsimilis. The
nest was not collected as its inside had been
spoilt by the spilled contents of the smashed
eggs.

Not far from this spot (almost opposite
Sankhdi) a male Paradise flycatcher in white
adult plumage was seen. Nearby were two
females. In January we came across this bird
around Juna-Rajpipla while in December 1982
and in January 1983, we found this bird rather
common in the forests. In May- June we com-
pletely failed to come across this bird any-

602

BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

where in the forests, but in July SGM noticed
a female in the forest not far from Namgir.

Salim Ali (JBNHS 52:750) hazards a guess
that T. p. paradisi breeds in Rajpipla and in
the Dangs. Further, he states that T. p. leucog-
aster is purely a winter visitor and a passage
migrant in this area. As such, it cannot be
completely ruled out that the good numbers
of T. paradisi that we saw in Dec. -Jan. in
these forests probably consist of both T. p.
paradisi and also T. p. leucogaster , a few T.
p. paradisi remaining here to breed. This bird
has also been reported to breed in the Gir
Forest of Junagadh by K. S. Dharmakumar-
sinhji ( JBNHS 48:188).

The status of T. paradisi appears to vary
from one locality to another (Salim Ali:
‘Birds of Gujarat’ JBNHS 52:750).

B. B. Osmaston (JBNHS 28:455) stated that
some birds breed around Pachmarhi in the
central Satpuras while Rev. F. S. Briggs pre-
sumed this flycatcher to be resident around
Mhow (JBNHS 35:386). C. E. Hewetson
(JBNHS 53:609) in ‘Bird Life in MP’ regard-
ed T. paradisi as a summer migrant in MP,
arriving in the last week of March and com-
mon till the rains break when many birds
move on and a few nesting birds probably
staying throughout the rains. Fie also writes
that the number of birds vary from year to
year.

BLACK N APED FLYCATCHER

(Hypothymis azurea)

Writing of this flycatcher, Salim Ali found it
one of the commonest birds in the bamboo,
teak and mixed deciduous forests here. He
probably found it so in the Surat Dangs
(JBNHS 52:749-50). In the Rajpipla area,
north of the Tapti and the Dangs, we would
hesitate to regard this as one of the five com-
monest birds in these forests.

We saw this bird only on a few occasions in
the bamboo forest around Namgir and in
forest along the Mozda-Namgir and Mozda-
Samot roads. Along the Namgir road a pair
was apparently breeding in the second week
of June, though we did not find the nest. A
male in very bright plumage was also once
seen near Piplod. It remained around a bam-
boo clump for a few minutes and then with
a sharp call it vanished like a gem into the
dark and deep of the forest. The breeding
season here should range between June-
August.

STREAKED FAN TAIL WARBLER

(Cisticola juncidis)

In July, 1982, when good rains had encourag-
ed a growth of grass and vegetation around
the Mozda river and also around Dediapada,
the chik . .chik . . . calls of C. juncidis could
often be heard. We observed a few of these
warblers displaying in the air and calling in-
cessantly, their shap chik . . chik . . calls carry-
ing for a good distance. Undoubtedly, the birds
were either breeding or were getting ready to
do so. Also in the same month, a pair of these
warblers were noticed to be very active and
noisy in a grass covered forest clearing, near
Namgir. In January 1983, we noticed this war-
bler on the Karjan river, about 10 km from
Rajpipla town.

FRANKLIN’S WREN WARBLER

(Prinia hodgsonii)

A solitary bird in breeding plumage, with the
dark breast band, was observed in July 1982
in cultivation around Mozda. The bird was
noisy and was probably breeding. Near Baro-
da SGM noticed this bird commence nest-
building in the second week of June while he
has found several nests with eggs and/or

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nestlings in July and August in and around
Bombay.

PLAIN OR TAWNYFLANKED WREN WARB-
LER ( Prinia subflava)

Seen around Dediapada (PWDRH) in July
and near Chandod, north of the Narmada. Not
a common bird. The birds were certainly
breeding around the PWDRH at Dediapada,
in the long grass and scrub in July. A couple
of pairs were engaged in a series of sharp tril-
ling notes and when the bird flies it some-
times produces a sharp snapping noise.

ASHY WREN WARBLER
{Prinia socialis)

This is basically a bird of open country but
it has also penetrated the forests in small
numbers. We found two nests in the forests,
one of them around Namgir and the other not
far from Mozda in June when it was under
construction. The nest found near Namgir
contained two eggs on 10th June 1982. Both
these nests were under four feet from the
ground and while one of them was conduct-
ed in one large leaf, three leaves were utilised
in the nest near Namgir. This nest was a
rather deep cup among the three leaves which
had been sewn together.

We also saw this warbler elsewhere between
Mozda and Dediapada, at Juna-Rajpipla,
along the Karjan river, around Rajpipla town
and also at Chandod, north of the Narmada
where a pair was building its nest about eight
feet high among the leaves of a tree.

JUNGLE WREN WARBLER
{Prinia sylvatica)

Occasionally seen in the outskirts of forest,
particularly around grass-covered stony locali-
ties in the vicinity of some stream. In July
a solitary bird was seen near Namgir in forest.

Seen also around the PWDRH at Dediapada.

tailor bird {Orthotomus sutorius)

Certainly the commonest warbler here. Good
numbers of this bird have reached into the
forest and it was not at all surprising to hear
a couple of these warblers almost at 3000 feet
on Daman mahal mountain, quite a distance
from any human habitation. This bird may
be seen and heard in many other places in
the forest, its loud towit, towit. . . . call being
a rather commonly heard birdcall here. Several
nests were found in the forest in June and
July. Banga found one with four eggs in a
small bush in July. Nests in various stages of
construction were also located along the
Mozda-Namgir road. Also seen around the
PWDRH at Dediapada and at Rajpipla town
where it is more of a common garden bird.
Construction was under way at Chandod in
the second week of July.

ORPHEAN WARBLER

{Sylvia hortensis )

A winter visitor. Not common. Infact we
have seen this largish warbler only twice
in January, in light scrub forest around Juna-
Rajpipla, and once in the vicinity of Rajpipla
town near the Karjan.

LESSER WHITETHROAT

{Sylvia curruca)

Seen very clearly only once near the PWDRH
at Dediapada in December. (The Leaf-warb-
blers are not at all common in the Rajpipla
area. Atleast we did not find them so. We ob-
served only three different kinds of them, two
of them around Rajpipla and Dediapada, and
only one in the forest. Due to uncertainty in
their field identification, we do not wish to
comment any more on the genus Phyllosco-
pus).

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BIRDS OF THE RAJF1PLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

bluethroat ( Erithacus svecicus)

We first saw the Bluethroat (a solitary red-
spotted male) along the river, hopping
amongst the stones and scant vegetation at
Juna-Rajpipla. A few days later, we again
saw the bird nearby.

In December 1982, Eric D’Cunha and SGM
saw a male E. svecicus twice along a forest
stream at Namgir. One of these males was in
very bright plumage, the red spot being bright
and prominent.

This bird happens to be an uncommon win-
ter visitor to this area.

MAGPIE ROBIN OR DHYAL

( Copsychus saularis)

Often seen in the forests at Mozda, Namgir,
Piplod, Dumkhal etc., and we also saw it in
January in the Juna-Rajpipla forests. This
graceful bird can also be sometimes seen in
gardens in Rajpipla town. We also saw it
around Dediapada, where a nest with three
eggs was found near the PWDRH. At Namgir
we located two nests of this robin. One of
these had three nestlings on 24th June, while
the other contained two full fledged nesTir gs
on 21st July. On 19th June a nest containing
two eggs was found in the hollow of a very
big tree at Piplod. We also found this bird
breeding north of the Narmada river, at Chan-
dod, where we had a nest containing five eggs
destroyed by a village kid. Birds are in song
at this time of the year, though the sweeee. . . .
sweeee .... call can often be heard during the
winter months too.

sham A ( Copsychus malabaricus)

On 11th June 1982, a solitary C. malabaricus
was noticed in a semi-evergreen patch of forest,
several kilometres from the Mozda road. This
happens to be our only sighting of this bird

in the Rajpipla area, north of the Tapti river.
The previous northernmost recorded distri-
bution of this bird is from the Surat Dangs
forests, about 100 kms south of the present
sighting (JBNHS 52:769). As such there
seems to have been a northward extension of
this bird.

S. D. Ripley in synopsis gives the range
of C. m. malabaricus as “The western Indian
peninsula from Surat Dangs south along the
Western Ghats.” The range of C. m. indicus
is given as “Himalayan foothills and plains
from Kumaon through Bhutan, eastern India
and Bangladesh south to Chittagong, and again
from Bihar (Rajmahal Hills) south through
eastern MP (Chanda, Balaghat, Raipur, Bas-
tar) and the Eastern Ghats to the Cauvery
river.”

black redstart ( Phoenicurus

ochruros)

A winter visitor. Not common. In December
and January this bird was seen at Juna-Raj-
pipla, Dediapada, Rajpipla town and in seve-
ral other places.

stone chat ( Saxicola torquata)

A common winter visitor to the area. The bird
prefers open country and in December- Janu-
ary we often came across this bird around the
PWDRH at Dediapada and also around Raj-
pipla town.

pied bush chat ( Saxicola caprata )

We found this bird breeding in the vicinty of
Narmada river at Chandod. In the second
week of June 1981, SGM found a nest of this
bird containing two eggs. The nest was in a
hole in a mudwall flanking a much used path
leading to the Narmada river. The nest was
a roughly built pad of fine grasses and a good

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amount of hair. Unfortunately this nest was
destroyed by some village boys.

desert wheatear ( Oenanthe desert i)

An uncommon winter visitor. We saw this
bird only twice in December and in January
several miles from Dediapada and once near
the Karjan river. Not seen anywhere else.

Indian robin ( Saxicoloides fulicata)
A common bird in the dry open countryside
around Dediapada and around Rajpipla town.
We found a good number of nests of this bird.
On 12th June, a nest with two nestlings was
located along the road in a mudwall, a couple
of kilometres near Mozda at Bal.

It is however north of the Narmada river,
in the broken ravinous countryside around the
river, that S. fulicata is a very common bird.
We found atleast fourteen nests of this bird
here in the first two weeks of June.

MALABAR WHISTLING THRUSH

( Myiophonus horsfieldii)

In ‘Birds of Gujarat’ (JBNHS 52:775), Salim
Ali records M. horsfieldii only from the Surat
Dangs forests, south of the Tapti river.

S. D. Ripley in synopsis gives the range of
M. horsfieldii as, Abu, hills of western Guja-
rat, the Dangs and the Satpuras (Pachmarhi,
Melghat).

We first came across the Malabar Whistling
Thrush in the Rajpipla forests in June 1981
when it was seen along a flowing forest stream
and then again in a more or less similarly
forested country around a forest stream not
far from Piplod. This was quite on the base
of Daman-mahal mountain. We never saw this
bird elsewhere in these forests. The second
time when we saw this thrush, the bird was in
song.

WHITETHROATED GROUND THRUSH

( Zoothera citrina)

The only example of this species met by Salim
Ali during his Gujarat State Ornithological
survey was in Navsari district, south of the
Tapti river ( JBNHS 52:770). Besides this
specimen, the only other evidence of the pre-
sence of the bird in Gujarat is a specimen col-
lected by E. M. Shull on 17th August 1954,
with enlarged ovaries, thus indicating that the
breeding season of Z. citrina in the Dangs is
July-August ( JBNHS 69:659).

In Rajpipla we found this thrush quite com-
mon in the better wooded parts. Our sightings
of this bird in the Rajpipla area thus happen
to be the northernmost in Gujarat. The birds
were noticeably more often seen around Nam-
gir in forest, where we were staying. In the
first week of July 1981, this thrush was ob-
served building its nest. Breeding was evident-
ly in progress in July the next year too. SGM
was baffled by the good variety of rich notes
of this thrush in mid- July 1982, when a pair
certainly had a nest but which could not be
located. The breeding season of Z. citrina in
Rajpipla forests should range between July-
September. Around Betul in the MP Satpuras,
this bird has been heard in song in April, but
presumably breeding is later. B. B. Osmaston
found this bird not uncommon around Pach-
marhi in the central Satpuras in MP ( JBNHS
28:456).

blackbird (T urdus merula )

The only occasion that we saw T. merula in
the Rajpipla forests was on 4th January 1982
when trekking towards Upla-Juna-Rajpipla. A
solitary male flew away along a forest stream
into the bamboo forest nearby. We failed to
locate this bird elsewhere on any of our fur-
ther visits.

606

BIRDS OF THE RAJPIPLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

grey tit ( Varus major)

A common bird in the forests where we ob-
served it almost all the way from Bal towards
Dumkhal and once also more than half way
up Daman-mahal hill. A pair was also once
seen in the vicinity of the PWDRH at Dedia-
pada and in light forest along the Karjan river,
a few kilometres from Rajpipla town. In the
forests the Grey tits were apparently breeding
in good numbers as could be understood by
their very noisy and demonstrative nature and
by their frequent entering of cavities and holes
in trees and at times driving away other in-
truding birds from the vicinity of these poten-
tial nest sites.

YELLOW-CHEEKED TIT

{Par us xanthogenys)

Often seen in the forests, though certainly not
as common as Pams major. Seen at Namgir,
Piplod, Daman-mahal hill, Mozda and once
along the Karjan river in light forest. Some-
times we noticed a few of these birds entering
into natural small cavities in trees and it ap-
pears that the birds were breeding in the first
two weeks of June. We failed to check any of
these cavities for eggs or nestlings.

SPOTTED GREY CREEPER

{Salpornis spilonotus)

This bird is considered to be quite common
in the dry deciduous forest here. However, we
saw this bird for the first and only time here
on 11th December when SGM and Eric
D’Cunha were birdwatching in the forest a
few kilometres from Namgir. There was only
one bird and it was moving up a thin stem.
We feel that this bird is one of the very dif-
ficult birds to be seen in forests here and we
possibly overlooked it.

(Pipits on the lawns of the palace at Rajpipla,
SGM observed some Tree-pipits ( Anthus ) in
the first week of January 1982. There were
atleast 15-20 birds in that small flock which
was initially on the ground but on being ap-
proached took off and settled into the nearby
trees. This is the only occasion that we saw
these pipits in the Rajpipla area).

PADDYFIELD PIPIT

{Anthus novaeseelandiae)

Nowhere common. Infact we saw this bird
only around the Narmada river, around the
Karjan river and once near the PWDRH at
Dediapada in a field. No indication of its
breeding.

forest wagtail {Motacilla indica)

SGM and D’Cunha saw this bird on 10th Dec.
1982 in forest near Namgir. The bird was on
a forest stream on the ground. In ‘Birds of
Gujarat’ {JBNHS 52:779), Salim Ali came
across this wagtail only in the Dangs forests
south of the Tapti river and nowhere else
though he also presumes that it may occur in
the Gir forests of Junagadh in Saurashtra. In
synopsis S. D. Ripley gives the winter range
of M. indica as the Western Ghats complex
from Mahableshwar southwards. M. indica has
also straggled to Kutch in Gujarat. Also, M.
indica is an irregular winter visitor to the
Bombay area.

greyheaded yellow wagtail

{Motacilla flava thunbergi)

Seen in small numbers in December- January
in the palace lawns in Rajpipla, around the
PWDRH at Dediapada and occasionally even
along the forest streams. SGM has once seen
this bird till as late as the first week of May
in the neighbourhood of Baroda city.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

BLUEHEADED YELLOW WAGTAIL
{Motacilla flava beema)

This race of M. flava can be distinguished
from M. f. thunbergi by the presence of a dis-
tinct white superciliary stripe over the eyes.
We saw this wagtail and confirmed its identity
on atleast five occasions. It happens to be a
somewhat less common winter migrant than
M. f. thunbergi. We saw it around Dediapada,
at Juna-Rajpipla (on river-bed) and along the
Mozda river.

BLACKHEADED YELLOW WAGTAIL
( Motacilla flava melanogrisea)

In January 1982, we came across a solitary bird
on the Karjan riverbed which was of this race.
We never saw this bird again in the area on
any of our subsequent visits.

GREY WAGTAIL
( Motacilla cinerea)

A common winter visitor to the area. Seen in
good numbers on the Karjan river. Seen in
association with other wagtails around Dedia-
pada. Also seen in the neighbourhood of Raj-
pipla town, and occasionally even in the forest
along streams. Near Raroda, SGM once saw
this wagtail in bright breeding plumage, with
black chin and throat and foreneck (with a
prominent white moustachial streak) on 11th
May.

WHITE WAGTAIL
( Motacilla alba)

A winter visitor. Quite common. Seen on seve-
ral streams and rivulets along the road between
Dediapada and Rajpipla, near the PWDRH at
Dediapada, on the Karjan and Narmada rivers
and also along forest streams occasionally.
This wagtail normally prefers to remain in
pairs and does not seem to like associating
with other wagtails.

LARGE PIED WAGTAIL
( Motacilla maderaspatemis)

A common bird on the Narmada river and
we also saw it on the Karjan, around Dedia-
pada and also along the Mozda river. On the
banks of the Narmada river, a few kilometres
on either side of Chandod, we found this bird
breeding in good numbers, both on the north-
ern as well as on the southern banks of the
river. In the first two weeks of June ’81, SGM
located five nests of this wagtail. While two of
these nests were actually built in holes on flat
and stony ground, the remaining three nests
were in cavities in rocks and one in the mud-
wall along the river. The two nests in rock
cavities were big and thickly built cups of
grasses, fibres, hair and a lot of moss. The
nests in the holes on flat ground were more
like lark-nests, though somewhat deeper and
thicker. Only two of these nests actually con-
tained nestlings in them while in two others,
the nestlings could be seen around the nest.
Just a day after SGM found the two nests
with nestlings in them, the young birds had
come just out of the nest and the parents
could be seen going to different places with
food in their beak because the nestlings had
all scattered around the nest. Infact from one
of these nests, the nestlings flew out only when
SGM put his hand inside the hole to check.
Hardly had he done so when four young
wagtails, lacking the long tails which are so
characteristic of them, barged out of the nest,
uttering sharp squeaky calls and one of them
actually settled on SGM’s shoulder. This sud-
den coming out of the nest of the nestlings
at intrusion, greatly agitated the adult wag-
tails who ventured extremely close to SGM
with some large worms in their beaks. The
parents made a number of visits to feed their
nestlings. It was observed that they were

608

BIRDS OF THE RAJP1PLA FORESTS — SOUTH GUJARAT

collecting the food for the nestlings from a
small moss covered puddle, some fifty odd
feet from the river.

THICKBILLED FLOWERPECKER

( Dicaeum agile)

Occasionally seen in forest. A rather uncom-
mon bird.

TICKELL’S FLOWERPECKER

(Dicaeum erythrorhynchos)

Often seen. A noisy bird, also met with in
Rajpipla town environments, around the Kar-
jan river and even at Dediapada. No signs
of breeding.

PURPLERUMPED SUNBIRD

(Nectarinia zeylonica )

Ripley in Synopsis gives the range of this
bird as “Peninsular India, south of a line from
Nasik (NW. Maharashtra), Jabalpur (central
MP), Lohardaga (Bihar), southern Bengal and
Bangladesh southwards into India.

Salim Ali in ‘Birds of Gujarat’ (7. Bombay
nat . His. Soc., 52:787) states as having only
a single unconfirmed sight record of N. zeylo-
nica from Pavagadh in Panchmahals district of
Gujarat.

We have two sightings of this sunbird. While
one of these was in an orchard several kilo-
metres from Netrang, the other was seen in
light forest along the Karjan river. As such,
we would state that N. zeylonica is present,
certainly in very small numbers, in the Raj-
pipla area north of the Tapti river, and pro-
bably also elsewhere in south-eastern Gujarat.

SMALL SUNBIRD

(Nectarinia minima)

We first saw some tiny sunbirds with deep
crimson on their throat and breasts just be-
hind the residence of the forest guard at Pip-

lod on our very first day in these forests in
the third week of June ’81. There were about
six to eight birds and though we had not pro-
perly identified them we were definitely sure
that they were not N. zeylonica or A. sipa
raja. The upper plumage of these sunbirds we
had seen in Rajpipla forests was also a lovely
shade of deep crimson (somewhat less bright
than the breast), in no way similar to the red-
scarlet of A. siparaja. The head and crown
were metallic greenish. There was a darkish
band below the deep crimson on the breast.
Also, the underparts below the breast were
very yellow and not half as bright yellow as
in N. zeylonica. The crimson on the breast of
these birds was also much deeper than on that
of N. zeylonica, also, in which, the crimson
does not extend so deep down the breast.

When back in Bombay in late July ’81, we
checked all the references and all the Necta-
rinia species in the BNHS collection. On exa-
mination of all these specimens we noticed that
the tiny sunbirds we had observed from so
close in the forest guard’s compound at Pip-
lod in the Rajpipla forests completely matched
the description and the specimens of Nectarinia
minima.

In May ’82, when we again went to these
forests we came across this sunbird in forest
around Namgir. RKN now saw this bird from
the hide while photographing Serpent Eagle
from very close, and he noted down all the
details of the birds he had seen. We once
again reviewed the specimens in the BNHS
collection and we feel that Nectarinia minima
has probably extended its range northwards
into South-eastern Gujarat, in the area between
the Tapti and Narmada rivers, and presumably
also in the Dangs forest, south of the Tapti
and at the northern extremity of the Western
Ghats.

Presently the northernmost sighting of

609

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

N. minima are from Suriamal, north of Bom-
bay.

PURPLE SUNBIRD
( Nectarinia asiatica )

A common bird in the area, both in the forests
as well as in the towns here. A nest with two
eggs was found in the compound of the
PWDRH at Dediapada. Males in bright
plumage were very noisy and demonstrative
in January and it appears that this bird cer-
tainly breeds twice in a year. In the vicinity
of Bombay, SGM has found nests with eggs
andj/or nestlings in January, March, June,
July, September and also in November. This
certainly indicates that N. asiatica breeds irre-
gularly, atleast around Bombay.

YELLOWBACKED SUNBIRD
( Aethopyga siparaja )

Present in appreciably good numbers in these
forests. We also saw this bird from the hide
when photographing the Serpent Eagle. No
signs of breeding during any of our visits to
the area. Presumably breeds after the onset
of the rains.

Salim Ali (/. Bombay nat. His. Soc. 52:788)
records the northward extension of A. siparaja
to the Rajpipla area and further towards the
Narmada river.

white-eye ( Zosterops palpebrosa)

Quite a common bird in the area, particularly
in light open and scrub forest where this bird
is always seen in small parties, often along
with some other small avian denizens of the
forests and scrubs. In December and January
this bird was noticeably more common around
Dediapada.

HOUSE SPARROW
{Passer domesticus)

Common till Dediapada, but after that it be-
comes noticeably less common towards Piplod
and Dumkhal. Breeding almost everytime we
went. At Mozda, one of the best sites of this
bird’s breeding is the ashram.

YELLOWTHROATED SPARROW
{Petronia xanthocollis)

There are definitely some local seasonal move-
ments of this species in this area, as is also
probably in the neighbourhood of Bombay.
This is a common bird in the forests here and
the birds were certainly nesting in May- June.
However, in July SGM came across very few
(almost negligible) of these sparrows here. In
December- January we saw small flocks of a
dozen to as many as seventy or so of P. xan-
thocollis in the forest here, particularly around
the Karjan river. SGM noticed similar, infact
once a flock of atleast 150-200, of this sparrow
in the Borivli park — Bombay in December-
January. In the third week of February there
were none or very small flocks of 6-10 birds
here, most of the flock having split into pairs
some of which had infact commenced breed-
ing by this time.

BAYA WEAVER
{Ploceus philippinus)

A noticeably uncommon bird at and around
Dediapada, though, in the open countryside
south and north of the Narmada, small scat-
tered breeding colonies of the baya may be
observed almost anywhere. In Dediapada
town, a small breeding colony of six completed
and one partly built nests was noticed on a
date palm in July ’82. There was however
only one male to be seen there.

610

BIRDS OF THE RAJP1PLA FORESTS ~ SOUTH GUJARAT

GREEN MUNIA
(Estrilda formosa )

Thrice we saw this bird in small groups. The
birds keep to the low vegetation. Seen along
the Mozda river, Samot road and once near
Moti-Singloti, several kilometres from Mozda
towards Dediapada. No signs of breeding.

SPOTTED MUNIA
( Lonchura punctulata)

In July this bird was seen near Dediapada and
then in January in the vicinity of Rajpipla
town. No signs of breeding.

BLACKHEADED MUNIA
( Lonchura malacca)

Since we saw only a single example of this
bird in the reedbeds around the Wadhwana
tank at Dabhd, about 20 kms. north of the
Narmada river, this bird certainly does not
deserve mention in this list. But since this
bird has not been included in Salim Ali’s list
on ‘Birds of Gujarat’ ( JBNHS 52, Nos. 2, 3
& 4) and probably also because this sighting
may be the first for Gujarat state, this bird
is mentioned here. In synopsis, S. D. Ripley
gives the range of (L. m. malacca) as
“Indian peninsula from Raipur (MP), Pach-
marhi and Bombay (JBNHS 62:559-60)
south into South India.” The sighting of this
munia at Dabhoi, north of the Narmada, is
thus considerably north of the line of distri-
bution as given by Ripley. Since this munia
is also such a widely kept cage-bird every-
where, it is also probable that the bird we
saw at Dabhoi was an escaped one. There
was a solitary bird and no other was in sight
anywhere around.

Conclusion

It must be stated here that Rajpipla forests
contain an astonishing variety of birds,
migrants and the local breeders. This area also
has a good density of raptors, especially
the Crested Serpent Eagles and many species
of nocturnal owls. Logging as of two years
ago is being carried out on a vast scale.
The newly designated Piplod Bird Sanctuary
is in shambles and about 40 per cent of its
existing tree cover has been decimated. A net-
work of roads to facilitate carting away lorry
loads of timber has accelerated considerably
the extensive deforestation of the area.

Acknowledgements

We, especially (RKN). are grateful to Mr.
Kekoo Naoroji and Mr. Naval Godrej, for
sponsoring all trips to the forests and taking
a continuous interest in our efforts.

Mr. K. S. Dharmakumarsinhji, whom we
would particularly like to mention, first infor-
med us of the forests and advised us from
time to time about the behaviour of raptors.
RKN is specially indebted to him for taking
personal interest in the study and photography
of raptors. Mr. Chawla and Mr. Bhatia, DFO’s
Rajpipla, helped us in every way possible. Mr.
Sanat Chavan and Mr. Rashid, Ex-chief Wild-
life Warden of Gujarat, helped by giving us
permission and facilities that we required.

Mr. Gavid RFO, Dediapada, helped by sup-
plying planks for machans and in various other
ways.

We thank Mr. Narendrasinhji Mahida, cur-
rently Chairman of SCI, Mr. Dharmendras-
inhji Mahida and Mr. Dosu Modi of Rajpipla
for the assistance and hospitality they freely
offered us.

We thank Mr. Usman and Kasim Khan for

611

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

giving us information about the area. They
were the Maharajas’ ace shikar organisers.

We are grateful to Mr. Humayun Abdulali
for his many valid and useful suggestions.

Refer

Ali, Salim (1939) : The Birds of Central India.
Part I. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 41: 82-106.

(1954-55) : The Birds of Gujarat,

Parts I and II J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 52 : 374-458
and 735-802.

Ali, Salim and Ripley, S. D. (1968-74) : Hand-
book of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Vols. 1-10.,
Oxford University Press, Bombay.

Baker, E. C. Stuart (1922-31) : Fauna of British
India: Birds. 8 Vols., Taylor & Francis, London.

Baker, E, C. Stuart (1932-35): The Nidification

Lastly, we acknowledge the helpfulness of
Banga, the local adivasi, whose assistance for
building machans and locating nests were in-
valuable.

e n c e s

of Birds of the Indian Empire. 4 Vols., Taylor &
Francis, London.

Bates, R. S. P. (1927): Impressions of Pachmarhi
Birds. /. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 31: 918-931.

Briggs, F. S. (1931) : A note on the Birds in
the neighbourhood of Mhow. ibid. 35 : 382-404.

Hewetson, C. E. (1939): The Birds year in
Betul (Central Provinces), ibid. 41 : 286-310.

(1956): Observations on the

Bird life of Madhya Pradesh, ibid. 53 : 595-645.

Osm aston, B. B. (1922) : Birds of Pachmarhi.
ibid. 28: 453-459.

612

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

A NEW SPECIES OF LAGENANDRA DALZELL (ARACEAE)
FROM KERALA STATE, INDIA1

K. Ramamurthy and R. Rajan2
(With eleven text-figures)

Lagenandra nairii sp. nov.

L. undulata Sastri affinis sed praecipue
differt: vagina stipulari longa elongato-triangu-
lata, petiolo lamina longiore dense tomentoso,
lamina ampliore elliptico-oblonga ad ovata
plerumque integro subeter dense tomentosa in-
super punctata coriacescens quum siccatis, apice
acuto, basi auriculata, lobis distinctis, nervis
multis, nervillis parallelis, pedunculo crasso
paginis uterque convexis piloso non striato,
spatha ampliore, limbo longe acuminato ob-
tuse serrato, serraturis basi pluribus, appendice
sterili supra inflorescentiam masculam ovata,
baccis ovoidis tetrangulis distincte verrucosis,
verucis spinulosis, seminibus oblique ovatis.

Lagenandra nairii sp. nov.

Allied to L. undulata Sastry, but differs
chiefly in: stipular sheath longer, elongate-
triangular; petiole longer than the lamina, dense
tomentose; lamina larger, elliptic-oblong to
ovate, mostly entire, acute at apex, auricled
at base, punctate above, dense tomentose be-
low, becoming leathery on drying, nerves
numerous, nervules parallel; peduncle thick,
convex on both sides, pilose, not striated;
spathe larger, limb blunt serrated, more near

1 Accepted July 1982.

2 Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore 641 003.

the base, long-acuminate at apex; sterile ap-
pendage above male inflorescence ovate;
berries ovoid, 4-angled, distinctly warted, warts
spinulose; seeds obliquely ovate.

Submerged herbs; rhizomes 1.5-2 cm across,
creeping, annulate; roots thick, fibrous; stipu-
lar sheath 5-10 cm long, elongate-triangular,
leathery, thick, transparent, shiny, glabrous,
deciduous, acuminate at apex, 2.5-3 cm wide
at base. Leaves 25-40 cm long, alternate,
sheathed, arising from the rootstock; leaf blades
12-18 x 4.5-9 cm. elliptic-oblong to ovate,
entire or undulate, dark green and punctate
above, dense tomentose and pale green be-
neath, leathery when dry, acute at apex, auri-
cled at base; nerves numerous, distinctly arising
from the broad midrib, ascending widely arch-
ed upwards to the tip, nervules parallel, link-
ing the ascending nerves; petiole 20-30 cm
long, sheathed at base, adaxially grooved,
tomentose throughout; sheath thin, transparent,
membranous at base. Peduncles 4-5 cm long,
thick, convex on both sides up to 5 mm wide,
axillary, partly enclosed in the leaf-sheaths.
Spathe 4-5 cm long, about 1 cm across, tubu-
lar below, constricted in the middle, hairy
without; limb ovate, acuminate, slightly twist-
ed clockwise, blunt serrated, more near the
base, pinkish; obliquely septate near the con-
striction within. Male flowers numerous, sub-
terminal, about 5 mm long, oblong near the
top of the spadix, crowned with an ovate,

613

10

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Lagenandra nairii sp. nov.

1. Habit sketch; 2. Stipular sheath; 3. Typical flower; 4. Spathe split open exposing
the spadix; 5. Spadix showing arrangement of male and female flowers with neutral
appendage; 6. Arrangement of male flower (a portion); 7. Typical male flower; 8.
Syncarpium enclosed in the basal part of spathe; 9. Typical berry; 10. L. S. of berry;

11. Seed.

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

fleshy, sterile appendage; anthers sessile, crowd-
ed, cupular with one or two small tubular
appendages inside. Female flowers 1-2 mm
long, separated from the male by a naked por-
tion 6-8 mm long; ovaries sessile, one loculed,
many in whorls, warted, punctate; stigma
small, globose; ovules 4, basal, elliptic-oblong,
striated. Syncarpium enclosed in the persistent,
cupular basal part of the spathe; berries 5-8
mm long, ovoid, 4-angled, distinctly warted,
warts spinulose; seeds about 5 mm long, obli-
quely ovate, elongate, striated, longitudinal
ridges distinct, punctate.

Holotype Rajan 73052 and paratype Rama-
murthy 66279 (CAL) and Isotypes Rajan
73052 (Acc. nos. 112271-112275, MH) and
paratype Ramamurthy 66279 (Acc. nos.
112276 & 112277, MH) were collected near
the base of the Adirappally waterfalls as fully
submerged patches in fresh, running water on
the bank of the Chalakudi river, Trichur Dis-
trict, Kerala State, India at an altitude of about

300 m on 17-3-1982 (Holotype and Isotypes)
and from the same locality on 22-3-1981 (Para-
types).

The specific name is given in honour of
Dr. N. Chandrasekharan Nair, D.Sc., Joint
Director, Botanical Survey of India, Southern
Circle, Coimbatore for his valuable contribu-
tions to Indian Botany.

Acknowledgements

We wish to express our thanks to Dr. Dan
H. Nicolson, Department of Botany, Smith-
sonian Institution, Washington, U.S.A. for his
valuable comments on this taxon during his
recent visit to MH. Our thanks are also due
to Dr. V. J. Nair for latin diagnosis. Dr. A. N.
Henry, Regional Botanist for his valuable
suggestions and to the Director, Botanical Sur-
vey of India, Howrah and Joint Director,
Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle,
Coimbatore for their constant encouragement
during this investigation.

A NEW SPECIES OF DIMERIA R. BR. (POACEAE) FROM
KOLLIMALAI, SOUTH INDIA1

M. Mohanan and A. V. N. Rao2
(With ten text-figures)

The Genus Dimeria R. Br. consists of 40
species all over the world of which 20 species
are so far reported from India (Willis 1973,
Santapau & Henry 1973). Fischer (1957) re-
corded only 10 species from the former Presi-
dency of Madras. Bor (1969) described 25
species and 4 varieties of which only 18 species
are from India, others being from Burma and
Sri Lanka. Almeida (1970), Sreekumar et al.

1 Accepted July 1982.

2 National Orchidarium and Experimental Garden,
Botanical Survey of India, Yercaud.

(1981 & 1982) made three new additions mak-
ing the total 21. During a recent plant explo-
ration tour to Kollimalai, Salem District, South
India, a species of Dimeria R. Br. was collect-
ed. A critical study of the specimens and a
careful comparison with allied species of the
genus, recently identified from Kew, England,
proved that it is quite distinct from all other
species and is described here as a new species.
The species is closely allied to Dimeria decca -
nensis Bor but differs from the latter in the
following characters :

615

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

2>mn

2mvn

Zynrn

Figs. 1-10. Dimeria kollimalayana sp. nov.

1. Habit; 2. Spikelet; 3. Lower glume (Lateral view); 4. Upper glume (Lateral
view); 5. Upper lemma; 6. Stamen; 7. Lower lemma; 8. Pistil; 9. Grain; 10. Part

of leaf showing ligule.

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Characters

‘Dimeria deccanensis Bor’

M. Mohanan 56208

Culms

Up to 70 cm tall

up to 20 cm tall

Ligule

a ciliate membrane

not ciliate

Racemes

4-7 cm long

up to 3 cm long

Rhachis

margins ciliate

margins glabrous

Callus

Up to c. 0.5 mm long

Up to c. 1cm long

Spikelets

2. 5-3.5 mm long

4-4.5 mm long

Glumes

acute at apex

shortly acuminate at apex

Lower glumes

villous

glabrous

Anthers

c. 1.5 mm long

up to 0.75 mm long

Dinieria kollimalayana sp. nov.

Dimeria deccanensis Bor affinis, sed ligulis
non cliliatis, marginibus rhachis glabris, pilis
calli longioribus, glumis infernis glabris, anthe-
ris parvioribus (usque ad 0.75 mm differt).

Holotypus M. Mohanan 56208 et isotypi in
Kollimalai in Salem District ditione Tamil Nadu
ad altit. ± 1200 m, die 19-2-1982. Holotypus
positus ad CAL; isotypi ad MH.

Annuals. Culms 10-20 cm tall; nodes sparse-
ly bearded. Leaves 2-6 x 0.3-0. 4 cm, lanceo-
late, rounded at base, villous with tubercle
based hairs, midrib prominent. Sheaths 1-5
cm, basal ones longer than the internodes,
upper ones shorter, keeled, covered with sparse
tubercle based hairs in the upper half. Race-
mes 2, each 2-3 cm long, divergent. Rhachis
c. 0.75 mm wide, flattened, keeled in a zig-zag
manner, margins glabrous, Callus hairs 0.5-
1 mm long. Spikelets 4-4.5 mm long oblong-
lanceolate, acuminate, villous. Lower glumes
3.5-4 x 0.3-0. 5 mm. linear-lanceolate, acumi-
nate, scabrid. Upper glumes 4-4.5 x 1-1.25
mm, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, winged at
apex, densely villous with a few long hairs
at tip, margin hyaline. Lower floret empty;
lemma 1 .5-2 x 0.3-0. 5 mm, oblanceolate, deli-

cate, hyaline, faintly 1 -nerved, margin ciliate
in the upper half. Upper floret bisexual; lemma
2.5-3 x 0.75-1 mm, 2 lobed at apex, awned in
between, lobes acuminate, delicate, faintly 1-
nerved; awns 8-10 mm long, geniculate, column
c. 3 mm long, brownish, twisted, bristle pale,
scabrid; stamens 2, anthers 0.5-0.75 mm, long;
filaments short; ovary c. 0.25 mm long, ellip-
tic, styles c. 0.25 mm long, slender, stigmas
c. 0.75 mm long feathery; grains c. 2 x 0.4
mm, oblong.

Holotype M. Mohanan 56208 and isotypes
were collected from Kollimalai in Salem Dis-
trict, Tamil Nadu, at an altitude of 1200 m
on 19-2-1982. The Holotype is deposited in
CAL. The Isotypes are deposited in MH.

Dimeria kollimalayana grows on the expos-
ed slopes of hills in Sothuparai, Kollimalai.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Shri P. V. Sreekumar,
Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore for help
and to Dr. V. J. Nair, B.S.I., Coimbatore for
help in identification and the latin diagnosis.
Thanks are also due to Dr. N. C. Nair, and
Dr. A. N. Henry, Botanical Survey of India,
Coimbatore for encouragement.

617

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Referen ces

Almeida, M. R. (1970) : There new grasses for
the former Bombay Presidency. J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 66(3): 510-517.

Bor, N. L. (1969) : Grasses of Burma, Ceylon,

India & Pakistan (excluding Bambosaceae) . pp. 136-
154, Oxford.

Fischer, C. E. C. (1934, 1936) : Graminae in
J. S. Gamble, Flora of the Presidency of Madras.

London, Part X & Part XI.

TWO NEW SPECIES OF EULOPHIDAE (HYMENOPTERA:

CH ALCIDOIDE A ) FROM ANDAMAN ISLANDS1

S. Adam Shafee, Anis Fatma,

M. Younus Khan and Shujauddin2
(With four text-figures)

Euplectrus latifrons sp. nov. and Pediobius infuscatipennis sp. nov. are described
and illustrated. The new species are compared from their closely allied species. Types
deposited in Zoological Museum, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

Santapau, H. & Henry, A. N. (1973) : A Dic-
tionary of the Flowering Plants in India, New Delhi.

Sreekumar, P. V., Nair, V. J., & Nair, N. C.
(1981) : Dimeria copeana, a new grass from Kerala.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 78(3) : 577.

(1982): Dimeria borii (Poaceae) a new species from
Kerala, India. J. Econ. Tax. Bot 3: 657.

Euplectrus latifrons sp. nov.

(Figs. 1 & 2)

FEMALE

Head dark, with coarse setae, wider than
long in facial view; frontovertex slightly more
than twice as wide as long, width slightly more
than half the total head width; ocelli white,
arranged in obtuse triangle, lateral ocelli about
twice their own diameters from orbital margins
and near to occipital margin; eyes red; antennae
inserted at lower level of eyes, inter-antennal
space about one-third the width of frons at
median ocellus; malar space as long as eye
width. Antennae (fig. 1) yellowish brown;
scape four times as long as wide; pedicel one

1 Accepted August 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim Uni-
versity, Aligarh, India.

and a half times as long as wide, distinctly
shorter than first funicle segment; one ring
segment present; funicle segment first longest,
slightly less than twice as long as wide; seg-
ments second, third and fourth subequal, each
one and a half times as long as wide; club
2- segmented, slightly more than two times
as long as wide, shorter than preceding two
funicle segments together.

Thorax dark with coarse setae; pronotum
much narrower than mesoscutum, strongly
arched; mesoscutum with well developed para-
psidal furrows; scutum and scutellum with
three and two pairs of setae respectively; pro-
podeum with raised median and two low sub-
lateral carinae. Fore wings (fig. 2) hyaline,
slightly less than two and a half times as long
as wide; costal cell broad with coarse setae;
submarginal vein slightly shorter than margi-
nal vein; postmarginal vein about twice the

618

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

(1) Antenna; (2) Fore wing.

Figs. 3 & 4. Pediobius infuscatipennis sp. nov., $ :
(3) Antenna; (4) Fore wing.

619

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

length of stigmal vein; marginal and postmar-
ginal veins with 10 and 6 long setae respective-
ly; a row of 9 setae beneath the marginal vein;
marginal fringe short, spaced by a distance
equal to one-fifth their length. Hind wings
hyaline, four times as long as wide; Legs
yellow; tarsi four segmented; hind legs with
two long tibial spurs, longest spur as long as
basal two tarsal segments together.

Abdomen yellow except petiole, lateral mar-
gins of basal two-thirds and apical one-third
of dorsum dark; petiole slightly longer than
wide; abdomen slightly longer than thorax;
ovipositor concealed, arising from basal one-
third of abdominal venter.

Body length: 1.9 mm.

Comments : The new species is closely allied
to Euplectrus gopimohani Mani (Khan and
Shafee 1979: 324-326) from which it can be
separated by its having antennae with pedicel
shorter than first funicle segment, funicle seg-
ments 2-4 each one and a half times as long
as wide; stigmal vein one-fourth the length of
marginal vein; longest tibial spur of hind legs
as long as basal two tarsal segments together;
abdomen yellow except lateral margin of two-
thirds and apical one-third of dorsum dark.

Holotype $, INDIA: Andaman Island,

Port Blair, 8,3.1982 ( Shujauddin ).

Pediobius infuscatipennis sp. nov.

(Figs. 3 & 4)

FEMALE

Head dark with metallic bluish reflections;
frontovertex slightly wider than long; ocelli
white, arranged in obtuse triangle, lateral ocelli
separated by twice their own diameters from
occipital margin; eyes silvery white, with small
sparse hairs; antennae inserted above lower
level of eyes, inter-antennal space about one-
third the width of frons at median ocellus;

malar space much shorter than eye width.
Antennae (fig. 3) dark with metallic reflec-
tions; radicle small; scape slightly more than
four times as long as wide; pedicel twice as
long as wide, slightly shorter than first funicle
segment; one ring segment distinct; funicle
segments first and second subequal in length,
each about twice as long as wide, third slightly
more than one and a half times as long as
wide; club 2-segmented, apical segment with
a long style; funicle and club segments with
short sensoria.

Thorax dark with metallic bluish-green re-
flections; pronotum narrower than mesoscu-
tum; mesoscutum coarsely reticulated; parap-
sidal furrows complete; axillae and parapside
smooth; propodeum with distinct median and
sublateral carinae. Fore wings (fig. 4) with
basal one-half infuscated, apical half hyaline;
slightly more than two times as long as wide,
apical margin broadly rounded; costal cell
narrow, about one-half the length of marginal
and 4 setae respectively; marginal fringe short,
less than one-half the length of postmarginal
vein; marginal and post-marginal veins with 17
and 4 setae respectively; marginal fringe short,
spaced by a distance equal to one-fourth their
length. Hind wings slightly infumate, four times
as long as wide; marginal fringe one-fifth of
wing width. Legs dark with metallic bluish
green reflection except basal three tarsal seg-
ments of all legs white.

Abdomen dark with metallic bluish green
reflection, as long as thorax; petiole slightly
wider than long; ovipositor hidden, arising
from base of abdominal venter.

Body length: 1.42 mm.

Comments : The new species differs from
all the known species of Pediobius in having
fore wings infuscated at basal half.

Holotype $, India: Andaman Island, Port
Blair, 8.3.1982 ( Shujauddin ).

620

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Acknowledgement Khan, Chairman, Department of Zoology, for

providing research facilities.

We are deeply indebted to Prof. Nawab H.

Reference

Khan, M. Y. & Shafee, S. A. (1979): Taxonomic noptera: Chalcidoidea) , J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,
studies on some Indian Eulophid Parasites (Hyme- 76: 324-334.

A NEW SPECIES OF PSYCHOTRIA L. (RUBIACEAE)

FROM KERALA STATE, INDIA1

K. Ramamurthy and R. Rajan2
(With six text-figures)

Psychotria sekharana sp. nov.

Psychotria nudiflora Wight & Arn. affinis sed
praecipue differt: Foliis lanceolatis ad oblan-
ceolatis, apice acuto; inflorescentia dichotome
corymbosa; pedunculis curtis; bracteolis minu-
tis, deciduis; tubo corollae calyce 4-5 plo lon-
gioribus, parte oris annulo uno pilorum; corolla
5-lobata, apicibus lobis incrassatis; staminibus
5, prope orem corollae exorientibus.

Psychotria sekharana sp. nov.

Allied to P. nudiflora Wight & Arn. but
differs chiefly in: Leaves lanceolate to oblan-
ceolate, acute at apex; inflorescence dichoto-
mously corymbose; peduncles short; bracteoles
minute, deciduous; corolla tube 4 to 5 times
longer than the calyx; a ring of hairs at the
mouth inside; corolla 5-lobed, lobes thickened
at tips; stamens 5, arising near the mouth of
corolla.

Shrubs; branchlets terete, scars of fallen in-
ter-petiolar stipules and leaves distinct; tender

1 Accepted September 1982.

2 Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore 641 003.

parts compressed. Leaves 12-18 x 2-4 cm, lan-
ceolate to oblanceolate, entire, glabrous, thick,
leathery, acute at apex, tapering at base; nerves
2 to 10 pairs arising from the main nerve;
nervules distinctly reticulated; main nerve dor-
sally grooved, shallow; stipules interpetiolar,
deltoid, acute or bifid at apex, thick, glabrous,
distinct, deciduous; petioles 1-2 cm long. In-
florescence dichotomously corymbose, terminal,
dense; peduncles short; bracteoles minute, deci-
duous. Calyx 1 mm long, campanulate, trun-
cate, sometimes minutely toothed, glabrous.
Petals 4 mm long, tubular, white, straight, glab-
rous without, with a ring of hairs at the mouth
within, 5-lobed, lobed halfway, lobes thickened
at tip, valvate in bud. Stamens 5, inserted on
the mouth of corolla; filaments upto 1 mm
long; anthers oblong, dehiscing longitudinally.
Ovary 2-loculed; style short; stigma bilobed,
thick, distinct. Fruits not seen.

Holotype Ramamurthy 66275 (CAL) and
isotypes Ramamurthy 66275 (Acc. nos. 116341
to 116343 MH) were collected on the banks
of Kannankuzhi riverside, Trichur District,
Kerala at an altitude of 250 m on 22-3-1980.

The specific name is given in honour of Dr.
N. Chandrasekharan Nair, D.Sc., Joint Direc-

621

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Figs. 1-6. Psychotria sekharana sp. nov.

1. Habit sketch; 2. Typical flower; 3. Corolla tube opened showing the arrangement
of stamens; Fig. 4. Stamens; 5. Calyx; 6. Gynaecium.

622

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

tor. Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle,

Coimbatore, India for his valuable contribu-
tion, to Indian Botany.

ACK NO WLEDGE M ENTS

We wish to express our thanks to the De-
puty Director, Botanical Survey of India,

Central National Herbarium, Howrah for his

DESCRIPTIONS OF THREE NEW SPECIES OF GONATOCERUS
NEES (HYMENOPTERA: M YM ARID AE ) FROM ALIGARH

(INDIA)1

S. M. Shamim2 and S. Adam Shafee3
(With ten text-figures)

Three new species of Gonatocerus Nees (G. alami sp. nov., G. aligarhensis sp. nov.,
and G. terebrator sp. nov.,) are described and illustrated. Types deposited in Zoolo-
gical Museum, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

valuable comments on this taxon. Our thanks
are also due to Dr. V. J. Nair for latin diag-
nosis, Dr. A. N. Henry, Regional Botanist for
his valuable suggestions, to the Director, Bota-
nical Survey of India, Howrah and Joint
Director, Botanical Survey of India, Southern
Circle, Coimbatore for their constant encour-
agement during this investigation.

Gonatocerus alami sp. nov.
(Figs. 1-3)

FEMALE

Head brownish; antennae inserted much
above lower level of eyes; malar sutures dis-
tinct; malar space about one-half the eye width;
mandibles tridentate; eyes dark and sparsely
setose. Antennae (fig. 1) yellowish; radicle
cylindrical, slightly more than one-half the
length of scape; scape slightly dilated, slightly
less than three times as long as wide, distinctly
shorter than following three segments together;
pedicel less than twice as long as wide, dis-
tinctly longer than first funicle segment; funicle
segment first longest, twice as long as wide,
segments second and third subequal, each

1 Accepted June 1982.

2 Department of Zoology, Ranchi University,
Ranchi, India.

3 Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim Uni-
versity, Aligarh, India.

slightly more than twice as long as wide, seg-
ments fourth, seventh and eighth subequal in
length, each one and a half times as long as
wide; club entire, slightly more than three times
as long as wide, as long as preceding four
funicle segments together.

Thorax dark brown. Fore wings (fig. 2)
hyaline, long and narrow, about four times as
long as wide; marginal vein shorter than sub-
marginal vein, postmarginal vein absent, stig-
mal vein developed; marginal fringe about one
half of wing width. Hind wings hyaline, very
long and narrow; marginal fringe seven times
the wing width. Legs orange yellow; fore tibial
spur curved; tarsi 5 -segmented.

Abdomen (fig. 3) brownish, slightly longer
than thorax; ovipositor unexserted, arising
from base of abdominal venter.

Body length: 0.88 mm.

Comments'. This new species is closely allied
to G. uttarodeccanus Mani & Saraswat, 1973
but differs from it in having body mostly
yellow, unexserted condition of ovipositor and

623

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Figs. 1-3. Gonatocerus alami sp. nov., $ :

(1) antenna; (2) Fore wing; (3) Abdomen, in lateral view.

funicle segments 2-4 less than three times as
long as wide.

Holotype $, India: Uttar Pradesh. Aligarh,
on grass, 15.8.1980 ( S . M. Shamim).

This species is named after Prof. S. Mash-
hood Alam, in recognition of his contributions
to our knowledge of insect morphology and
taxonomy.

Gonatocerus aligarhensis sp. nov.

(Figs. 4-7)

FEMALE

G. aligarhensis sp. nov., resembles G. alami
sp. nov., except in the following characters:

Antennae (fig. 4) Brownish; scape longer
than following three segments together; pedicel
as long as following two funicle segments to-
gether; funicle segments 1-4 subequal in length,
each one and a half times as long as wide,
fifth twice as long as wide; club slightly shorter

than preceding four segments together.

Fore wings (fig. 5) with marginal fringe
slightly more than one-half of wing width; legs
brownish, basitarsi of fore legs (fig. 6) curved.

Abdomen (fig. 7) with ovipositor arising
from basal one-third of abdominal venter.

Body length: 0.68 mm.

Comments : This new species is closely re-
lated to G. alami sp. nov., but differs by the
characters given above.

Holotype $, India: Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh,
15.8.1980 (S. M. Shamim ).

Gonatocerus terebrator sp. nov.

(Figs. 8-10)

FEMALE

G. terebrator sp. nov. resembles G. alami
sp. nov. except in the following characters:

Antennae (fig. 8) brownish except radicle,
scape and pedicel yellowish; first, fourth, fifth

624

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Figs. 4-7. Gonatocerus aligarhensis sp. nov., $ :

(4) Antenna; (5) Fore wing; (6) Basitarsus of fore leg; (7) Abdomen, in lateral view.
Figs. 8-10. Gonatocerus terebrator sp. nov., $ :

(8) Antenna; (9) Fore wing; (10) Abdomen, in lateral view.

625

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

and sixth funicle segments subequal in length,
each about twice as long as wide, segments
second, third and seventh subequal in length;
club four and a half times as long as wide,
shorter than preceding four segments together.

Fore wings (fig. 9) with marginal fringe
distinctly shorter than one-half the wing width.

Abdomen (fig. 10) brownish; distinctly lon-
ger than thorax; ovipositor exserted, exserted
part of ovipositor one-fourth the length of
abdomen.

Body length: 0.94 mm.

Comments : The new species is closely allied
to G. munnarus Mani & Saraswat, 1973 but
differs from it in having the scape shorter than

pedicel and following two segments together,
funicle segment first shorter than second, and
sixth shorter than seventh.

Holotype $ , India : Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh,
on grass, 15.8.1980 ( S . M. Shamim).

Paratype $ (same data as for holotype).

Acknowledgements

We are deeply indebted to Prof. S. Mash-
hood Alam, the then Head, Department of
Zoology, for providing necessary facilities.
Thanks are also due to Prof. N. H. Khan,
Chairman, Department of Zoology, Aligarh
Muslim University, Aligarh for encouragement.

Reference

Mani, M. S. & Saraswat, G. G. (1973) : On some
chalcidoidea from India, family Gonatoceridae. Mem.

School. Ent. St. John’s College, Agra, 2: 78-125.

DIMERIA KERALAE (POACEAE) — A NOVELTY FROM
KERALA, INDIA1

N. C. Nair, P. V. Sreekumar and V. J. Nair2
( With sixteen text-figures)

Dimeria keralae sp. nov.

Dimeria santapaui Almeida affinis, sed vagi-
nis carinatis; racemis 2, inequalibus, intervolu-
bilibus; spiculis parvioribus (c. 4.5 mm); callo
longo, acute cuneato, indumento aureo; glumis
parvioribus; gluma inferna apice alato; gluma
supera non nisi apice alato; flosculo supero
paleato, differt.

Annuals. Culms 10-30 cm tall, erect, slender,
purplish; nodes bearded. Leaves 2-5 cm long

1 Accepted September 1982.

2 Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore-641 003,
India.

and 1-2 mm broad, linear-lanceolate, glabrous
or covered with a few tubercle-based hairs
along the margins; mid rib prominent. Sheaths
2-6 cm, shorter than the internodes, keeled,
loose, glabrous. Ligule a thin ovate membrane.
Racemes 2, each 2-5 cm long, usually un-
equal and inter-wined. Rhachis c. 0.25 mm
wide, flat on one side, angular on the other
side, glabrous. Spikelets 4-5 mm long, oblan-
ceolate, cuneate at base, distant and pedicelled.
Pedicels 1-1.5 mm, joints extremely oblique.
Callus 1-2 mm long, extremely acute at base,
covered with golden — yellow hairs 1-1.5 mm
long. Lower glumes 3.5-4 x 0.75-1 mm, oblong
— linear, slightly emarginate and hyaline

626

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

Figs. 1-16. Dimeria keralae sp. nov.

1. Plant; 2. Spikelet; 3. Lower glume — inner view; 4. Same — side view; 5. Upper
glume — inner view; 6. Same — side view; 7. Rhachis — outer view; 8. Same —
inner view; 9. Pedicel; 10. Upper lemma; 11. Lower lemma; 12. Upper palea;
13. Lodicule; 14. Stamen; 15. Pistil; 16. Grain with basally attached palea.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

winged at apex, coriaceous, glabrous. Upper
glumes 4-5 x 0.75-1 mm, oblong-lanceolate,
minutely winged at apex, with hyaline wings
along the margins which are hairy, and also
with a few long hairs at the tip, coriaceous
and glabrous elsewhere. Lower floret empty;
lemma 3-4 x 0.3 -0.5 mm, oblanceolate, 1-
nerved, delicate, hyaline and ciliate along the
upper margins; upper floret bisexual; lemma
3-4 x 0.75-1 mm, notched at apex, with a very
long, stout awn in between, delicate and 1-
nerved in the lower half, sub -coriaceous in the
upper, glabrous; awn 20-30 mm long, stout,
geniculate, column 10-15 mm long, twisted,
chestnut brown, bristles pale and scabrid;
palea very minute, 0.5-0.75 x 0.15-0.25 mm,
ovate-lanceolate, nerveless, delicate, hyaline.

mm, linear-oblong, with basally attached palea.

Holotype : kerala. Cannanore District,

Paramba, on way to Bandudka, ± 150 m, 16th
October, 1981, P. V. Sreekumar 71717 (CAL).
Isotypes in K, MH. Paratypes : Cannanore Dis-
trict, Paramba, on way to Bandudka, db 150
m, 17th October, 1981, P. V. Sreekumar 71727;
Periye, near the cashew project, ± 50 m, 18th
October, 1981, P. V. Sreekumar 71755 (MH).

Fairly common in open, dry rocky grass-
lands along with other grasses like Bhidea
burnsiana Bor, Danthonidium gammiei (Bhide)
C. E. Hubb., and Dimeria bialata C. E. C.
Fischer.

This species is allied to Dimeria santapaui
Almeida but markedly differs from it in the
characters as shown in the table.

TABLE

Dimeria santapaui Almeida Dimeria keralae sp. nov.

1. Sheaths not keeled

2. Raceme solitary, straight up to 2 cm long

3. Spikelets 2-7 in each raceme

4. Spikelets c. 7 mm long

5. Lower glumes 4-4.5 mm long, elliptic-acute,
not winged at apex

6. Upper glumes c. 7 mm long, keels winged all
along

7. Lower lemmas linear-acute

8. Upper floret epaleate

Sheaths keeled

Racemes 2, unequal in length, inter-twined, 3-5 cm
long

Spikelets 8-10 in each raceme
Spikelets c. 4.5 mm long

Lower glumes 3-3.5 mm long, oblong-obtuse, with a
hyaline wing at apex

Upper glumes c. 4.5 mm long, keels minutely winged
at apex only and with a hyaline wing at the tip
Lower lemmas oblanceolate
Upper floret paleate

shortly ciliate along the margins; lodicules 2,
each c. 0.5 x 0.3 mm, obovate, 3 lobed at
apex; stamens 2, anthers 1-1.5 mm long, pale-
yellow with violet margins, filaments short;
ovary c. 0.5 x 0.25 mm, elliptic, styles c. 0.5
mm long, slender, stigmas c. 1 mm long, nar-
row, pink, plumose; grain 2-2.5 x 0.4-0. 5

Further, the species is quite distinct from all
other species of the genus previously described
from India, in the following characters:

1. Racemes are unequal in length and inter-
twined with each other.

2. Both the lower and upper glumes possess
hyaline wings at their tips.

628

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 80

Ghosh: Identity of Aspidium finlaysonianum

Plate

Oleandra malasianum sp. nov.

NEW DESCRIPTIONS

3. Callus is sharply acute, long and with
golden yellow hairs.

4. Awns are long and stout, with a very long
column.

5. Upper floret is paleate.

6. Grain is closely adpressed with the basal
part of the palea, and it is very difficult
to separate them.

Acknowledgement

We are thankful to Dr. Thomas A. Cope
of Herbarium — grasses. Royal Botanic Gar-
den, Kew for kindly examining our specimens
and for his opinion.

ON THE IDENTITY OF ASP1D1UM FIN LA YSONIANUM

WALL.1

S. R. Ghosh2
{With a plate)

Aspidium finlaysonianwn Wall. Cat. 2235,
1829 is a nomen nudum. This passed off un-
noticed till Christensen in his index (1906)
pointed out with a note of interrogation that
this taxon is identical with Lastrea falcifera
Moore. Moore (1858) in his index has shown
that this taxon is conspecific either with Las-
trea immersa or with Lastrea falcifera.

During the course of a revisionary study on
the genus Oleandra in Indian sub-continent, I
came across Wallichian specimen bearing
Accession No. 19857 housed in CAL herba-
rium with an annoted label on which Wallich
himself had written in ink.

48. Oleandra spec. ?

Prope Aspidio nereiforme, Swartz.

Asp. finlaysonianum. Wall. List. n. 2235

On the right hand corner there is another
notation.

O. nerriforme Cav. Penang. Dr. Cantor.

Christensen (1934, 1937) raised a doubt

1 Accepted September 1982.

2 Cryptogamic Section, Botanical Survey of India,
P. O. Botanic Garden, Howrah.

about the occurrence of Oleandra nerriformis
in Malaysia and established that instead of this
taxon, O. pistillaris (Sw.) C. Chr. occurred in
Malaysia. From my study it is evident that
O. pistillaris (Sw.) C. Chr. occurs in India
instead of O. nerriformis. It may be assumed
therefore that Wallichian taxon is synonymous
with O. pistillaris (Sw.) C. Chr. Holttum
(1954), while providing a description of O .
pistillaris (Sw.) C. Chr., mentions two forms:
Form I : “Fronds hairless, sori usually very
close to the midrib, stipes very
stout”.

Form II : “Fronds usually more or less hairy,
sori in an uneven rows not close to
midrib, stipe 1 cm long but often
much shorter”.

Close examination of the Wallichian speci-
men showed that the Wallichian material
exactly corresponds to form II mentioned
above. I am of the opinion that it is a distinct
species which has some other distinctive
characters mentioned under key given below:
In view of above observation and as the
Wallichian taxon is nomen nudum, a new name
is proposed with detailed description including
latin diagnosis. A key to differentiate it from

629

11

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Oleandra pistiilaris (Sw.) C. Chr. is also pro-
vided in this paper.

Key to taxa

Lamina oblong, profusely hairy on lower surface,
margin of rhizome scale profusely hairy, sori in

irregular row Oleandra malasianum

Lamina linear-lanceolate, glabrous on lower sur-
face, margin of rhizome scale nearly entire and
glabrous, sori in regular row Oleandra pistiilaris

Oleandra malasianum sp. nov.

Synonym: Aspidium finlaysonianum Wall,
list. n. 2235

Rhizoma rigidum, cylindricum, 3-5 mm,
crassum, erectum, scandens, ramosum, squamis
adpressis imbricatis dense tectum, squama caule
peltifixa, in superficie rhizomatis sulcum for-
mans, fuscata, lanceolata, 4-6 mm longa, 1-1.5
mm lata ad partem basalem, ad marginem
profuse pilosa. Frondes in verticillis, 5-7 cm
distantibus; Phyllopodia 2-3 mm longa, stipes
phyllopodia articulatus, 2-5 mm longus, brun-
neus, dorsaliter sulcatus rotundatus. Lamina
coriacea simplex, integra, oblonga, apices cor-
dato acuminata, costa prominense superficie
abaxiali sulcata superficie adaxiali, profuse
pilosa infra. Venae liberae, bis vel ter furcatae,
parallae, terminatae in hydathodis in serie
dispositis prope marginem. Sorus solitarius in-
dusiatus, positus in venas laterales, seriem

Refer

Christensen, C. (1906): Index Filicum.
(1934): Index Filicum, supple-
ment III.

(1937) : Taxonomic Fern studies

III : Revision of the genera and species of ferns

irregularem in castae utrumque latera formans.
Indusium ad margineum integrum. Sporae
monoletae.

Rhizome stiff, cylindrical, 3-5 mm thick,
erect, scandent, branched, densely covered with
imbricate adpressed scale, scale peltifixed with
the stem leaving a groove in rhizome surface,
dark, lanceolate 4-6 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide
at basal portion, scale margin profusely hairy.
Fronds are in whorl, each whorl is separated
by 5-7 cm. Phyllopodia 2-3 mm long, stipe
articulated to phyllopodium, 2-5 mm long,
brown, dorsally grooved, rounded; lamina
simple, entire, oblong, apex cordato-acuminate;
midrib raised on abaxial surface, grooved in
adaxial side; texture coriaceous, profusely
hairy on lower surface. Veins free, twice or
thrice forked, parallel, ends in hydathodes
which are arranged in a row near margin. Sori
solitary, indusiate, situated on the lateral veins
forming a irregular row on either side of the
midrib, margin of indusium entire; spores
monolete.

Type: Penang, Malayasia, Wall. Cat. n. 2235
(Acc. no. 19857 — CAL).

Acknowledgement

I am very grateful to Dr. N. C. Mazumdar,
Systematic Botanist, Central National Herba-
rium, Botanical Survey of India for the latin
translations of the description.

EN CES

described by A. J. Cavanilles. Danks. Bot. Ark.
9(3): 3-32. f. 1. t. 1-4.

Holtrum, R. E. (1954) : Flora of Malaya, Vol. 2.
Ferns of Malaya.

Moore, T. (1858): Index Filicum.

630

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1 . SOME OBSERVATIONS ON ANTLER CYCLE OF HOG-DEER
(AXIS PORCINUS ) IN CAPTIVITY

This communication presents data on antler
cycle of Hog-Deer observed at Nandankanan
Biological Park, Orissa during the period
October, 1970 to March, 1983. The number
of Hog-Deer stags under observation varied
from one to four.

Period of antler casting

During the observation period twenty antler
castings (single spike as well as branched)
were recorded during a six month period from
October to March as follows: October, 2;
November, 1; December, 1; January, 9; Febru-
ary, 6; and March, 1. Peak antler casting
(85%) was recorded during winter months
(November-February) .

Both antlers were cast either in one day or
within five days. Casting of antlers of both
sides was completed on one day in eight in-
stances (40%), on two consecutive days in
six instances (30%), within three days in three
instances (15%), within four days in two in-
stances (10%) and within five days in one
instance (5%).

According to Asdell (1964) the antlers of
this species are shed in April in India but in
the Philadelphia Zoo there is a record of a
February shedding and in the Washington Zoo
there is a record of July shedding. The majo-
rity of Hog-Deer of Dhikala, Corbett National
Park cast their antlers from February to May
(Tak and Lamba 1981). Acharjyo (1971)
reports three instances of a stag shedding its
antlers in December. He further states that

both the right and left antlers were always
shed the same day.

Period of velvet rubbing

As usual with the other species of Indian
deer, the Hog-Deer stags rub off the velvet
of antlers soon after their growth is completed.
The nineteen observations on velvet rubbing
were recorded as follows: February, 3; March,
1; April, 6; May, 4; June, 1; July, 1; Novem-
ber, 1; and December, 2. The majority of
stags (63.16%) cleared their velvet during
summer months (March- June).

The Hog-Deer stags remove velvet during
May-August and hard antlers were retained
from August- January at Dhikala, Corbett
National park (Tak and Lamba, loc. cit.).

Time taken for antler growth

Observations on the period required from
the time of casting of antlers to the time when
the stag starts rubbing off the velvet is taken
as the span of antler growth. This period
observed in twelve instances varies from 3 to
4 months (3 months in 4 occasions, 3\ months
in 5 occasions and 4 months in 3 occasions).

Age at first antler casting

Two male Hog-Deer born in the Park in
December, 1981 (7.12.1981 and 17.12.1981),
started showing knob like pedicels by the end
of July, 1982 and rubbed off the velvet in

631

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

the second fortnight of December, 1982. Cast-
ing of single spike antlers in these two speci-
mens were recorded in the last week of Febru-
ary, 1983. As expected the coronet or burr
was absent in single spike antlers.

These observations suggest that the knob
like pedicels appear at the age of approxi-
mately seven months, rubbing off the velvet
starts at the age of about one year and casting
of the first set of single spike antlers occurs
at the age of about 1 year and 2\ months.

Casting interval

The casting interval observed in seven in-
stances among four specimens varies from 338

Veterinary Asst. Surgeon,

Nandankanan Biological Park,

P. O.: Barang, Dist: Cuttack,

Orissa 754 005.

Wild Life Conservation Officer,

Orissa, 145 — Saheed Nagar,

Bhubaneswar 751007,

April 11, 1983.

to 375 days. The stags cast their antlers an-
nually.

The casting interval reported twice in a
stag was 347 and 383 days (Acharjyo, loc. cit.).

Size and weight of cast antlers

Three of the cast single spike antlers mea-
sured (weighed) as follows: 6 cm (13.250 gm);
7.5 cm (16.500 gm) and 9 cm (23.200 gm).
Maximum length of cast antlers on the out-
side curve recorded twice was 43 cm each.
The maximum weight of two cast antlers of
a stag recorded once was 271 gm (right) and
260 gm (left).

The average horns of Indian Hog-Deer
measure 30 to 38 cm but the Burmese stags
carry antlers upto 61 cm (Prater 1971).

L. N. ACHARJYO

S. K. PATNAIK

References

Acharjyo, L. N. (1971) : Notes on Time of
Shedding of Antlers of Deer in Captivity. Indian
Forester, 97(3) : 150-151.

Asdell, S. A. (1964) : Patterns of Mammalian
Reproduction, Second Edition, Cornell University
press, Ithaca, New York, pp. 561.

Prater, S. IT. (1971) : The Book of Indian Ani-

mals. Third (Revised) Edition. Bombay Natural
History Society, Bombay, pp. 291-292.

Tak, P. C. & Lamba, B. S. (1981): Some obser-
vations on Hog-Deer, Axis porcinus (Artiodactyla :
Cervidae) at Dhikala, Corbett National Park.
Indian Journal of Forestry, 4{ 4): 295-305.

2. A NOTE ON THE LONGEVITY AND FERTILITY OF THE
BLACKBUCK, ANTILOPE CERVICAPRA (LINNAEUS)

During my tenure as District Forest Officer tions about animals, birds, ancient temple
of Vellore Division in North Arcot District of ruins, forts etc; inside reserved forests, a Forest
Tamil Nadu, in response to my usual ques- Watcher replied that in his jurisdiction there

632

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

were three deer like animals without horns
and without spots in the Alliyalamangalam
Reserved Forest. He also added that they
were there for nearly 20 years and that there
were no signs of young ones. He had not seen
them himself but that was what he had heard
from a villager in that locality. This happened
in mid 1967.

The next day being curious to see the ani-
mals I took with me this watcher, the forest
guard and a man of that locality who had
seen these three animals and was familiar with
the isolated forest block. The Alliyalaman-
galam Reserved Forest lies 145 km south west
of Madras and 25 km south east of Polur in
North Arcot district. Its total area is 3043.27
ha, of which, 1970 ha remains even today
planted up with hybrid Eucalyptus and the
rest holds a natural scrub forest of thorny
bushes and short trees thriving under an an-
nual rainfall of about 500 mm. The reserve
is practically a level country of red soil, the
unplanted portion being hard stony soil with
a small rounded hillock at one end. Close to
the foot of the hillock runs the reserve boun-
dary, beyond which is a vast stretch of dry
cultivated lands, except for civets, mongoose,
jungle cat and jackal there were no other car-
nivores; deer were also absent in that reserve.

As we approached the hillock by jeep
through the reserve forest, we were cautioned
that the three animals normally rested at the
foot of the hillock and would run to the culti-
vated open lands at the sight of jeep or man.
That is what happened when our jeep was 200
metres from the foot of the hillock, when out
dashed three blackbuck adult females racing
across the vast expanse of cultivated lands
which had no crops at that time. The following
day also the same thing happened and the three
blackbuck adult females alone were to be
seen. The nearest village and habitation from

that spot was about two kilometres away
where I learnt that in the nineteen thirties and
forties, when the whole reserve was a natural
thorn forest, the population of blackbuck was
about 150 to 200 and that during world war
II both Indian and foreign army personnel
used to come in jeeps for shikar, shoot and
take away even upto three at a time and that
the present three blackbuck females were the
only animals left over from the original stock.
The three blackbuck still associated jeep and
man with war time killings, a memory that
enabled them to survive all these years. As-
suming that, even though war ended in 1946,
the same poaching would have continued till
1950, it would be reasonable to deduce that
these three blackbuck females went without a
male from 1950. I came into the scene in mid
1967.

With a view to rebuilding the blackbuck
population in that reserve I got an adult male
and female from Guindy Park Reserved Forest
in Madras during November-December 1967
and released them near the hillock; the female
died in a couple of days due most probably
to injury sustained during capture and trans-
port; the male being unafraid of man strayed
a few days later into another nearby village
where it was promptly killed and shared. Later,
in 1968 November-December I got another
adult male and female from Guindy Park
Reserved Forest and released them near the
hillock. I also took pains to visit the nearby
villages and do propaganda about the intro-
duction of the pair to the company of the
remnant three and mustered their support to
protect the blackbuck. The villagers got en-
thusiastic and assured me that they would see
that no poacher was allowed to shoot, which
promise they have kept up even today. 1
understand. Soon after that I left Vellore on
transfer.

633

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

In 1973 when I was touring in Vellore divi-
sion as Conservator of Forests I had the black-
buck population counted by the Rangers and
Foresters as news came that they had multi-
plied. The count came to 11 animals. After
that I lost track of the population there till
June 1982 when the present Chief Wildlife
Warden (Mr. K. Shanmuganathan) took the
trouble to have the blackbuck counted and
informed me in particular that there were 92
animals in Alliyalamangalam Reserved Forest.

When I mentioned this interesting experience
to Dr. Rauf Ali, formerly of the Bombay
Natural History Society and Indian Institute
of Science, Bangalore, he suggested that I re-
port this to you for record and publication as

it is a useful information on the longevity and
fertility of blackbuck under natural conditions.
It was nearly 14 years since an adult male was
added to the original three females. Of course
another female was also introduced with the
male as already mentioned. Now two points
come up for consideration. Firstly, from 1950
to 1968, over a period of atleast 15 years the
three females had gone without a male and
in 1968 when I introduced the male I had
doubted if they would be fertile. But contrary
to my misgivings they had remained fertile and
readily multiplied. Secondly, this seems to be
the only authentic record of three blackbuck
females living for at least 15 years under
natural conditions.

4, Lamech Avenue, G. J. RAJASINGH

Chetpet,

Madras 600 031,

March 29, 1983.

3. HORN GROWTH IN BLACKBUCK
(With a text-figure)

While techniques such as tooth-eruption,
replacement, and wear help estimation of age
of mammals to the accuracy of months, for
their age determination in the field, a biologist
too often will be content with age categories
such as fawn, adolescent, sub-adult, adult, and
old. The growth of antlers in deer such as
barasingha (Martin 1977) and horn growth in
sheep (Taber 1971) and blackbuck (Mungall
1978) were used as criteria for age estimation
in the field. The horn growth of a blackbuck
fawn, Kiran , which was observed for a period
of 2 years and 3 months since its birth is pre-
sented in this paper.

A fawn of 3-4 days old was captured by a
cultivator of Kolpur village in Mahabubnagar
District of Andhra Pradesh from jowar fields
on 19-2-1978. This fawn, Kiran , after being

tamed for over 3 months by him, was brought
to the well fenced Mahavir Harin Vanasthali
Blackbuck Sanctuary in Hyderabad by the
D.F.O. (Wildlife) of Achampet on 2-6-1978.
From then onwards its horn growth was
observed through 4-4-1980. The horn length
was measured straight from the base to its tip.
The number of rings added in the horn since
the previous observation was also recorded.
Further records could not be made as the
animal died.

Results

The addition of rings in the horns over a
period of time is shown in fig. 1. Till it was 5
months old there was no sign of horn growth.
Later bumps appeared on the head which were

634

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

the first indications of horn development. When
it completed 8 months, it had the first ring
and the horns measured 3 cm. From then on-
wards, an average of 0.75 ring/month was
added till the age of 15 months. At this stage
the first spiral was complete with 6 rings and

Fig. 1 : Horn development in KIRAN
as an index of age.

the horns were 15 cm long, the left horn being
slightly longer than the right. The average
of horn length till that time was 1.5 cm/month.
For the next six rings it took only 5 months —

Dept, of Zoology,

Osman ia University,

Hyderabad 500007,

February 14, 1983.

Martin, C. (1977) : Status and Ecology of the
Barasingha ( Cervus duvauceli branded ) in Kanha
National Park (India). J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.
74(1) : 61-1 32.

Mungall, E. C. (1978): The Indian Blackbuck
Antelope: A Texas View. The Caesar Kleberg Re-

an average of 1.2 rings/ month and the average
horn growth rate 2.0 cm/ month. During the
next 5 months on an average 1.60 rings were
added per month. The growth rate during this
period showed an increase of 1.8 cm /month.
By this time the age was 25 months and the
second spiral was complete which earned 14
rings. The total horn length was 34 cm, the
left horn 0.5 cm longer than the right.

The horn growth pattern is comparable to
that of the horn growth of blackbuck des-
cribed by Mungall (1978) for the Texas popu-
lation, which also showed two complete spirals
at the age of 2 years. The present study,
though there is lack of sufficient data, suggests
that the number of rings in the horns would
probably help better in the estimation of age
as against the number of spirals.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the Andhra Pradesh State
Forest Department, particularly Shri D. S.
Ganga Khedkar, DFO (Wildlife), for the co-
operation and interest shown, and to Prof.
J. V. Ramana Rao, Osmania University, for
his encouragement in this study. Thanks are
due to President, FRI & Colleges, Dehra Dun,
for providing a Junior Research Fellowship.

N.L.N.S. PRASAD

E N CES

search Program in Wildlife Ecology. The Texas
Agr. Expt. Station, Texas A and M Univ. System,
College Station, Texas, p. 184.

Taber, R. (1971): Criteria of Sex and Age. In
Wildlife Management Techniques. The Wildlife
Society, Washington D. C. pp. 325-402.

635

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

4. A NOTE ON THE LONGEVITY OF TWO SPECIES OF INDIAN
OTTERS IN CAPTIVITY

An adult female Common Otter ( Lutra
lutrd) and one adult male Smooth Indian
Otter ( Lutra perspicillata) were received at
the Nandankanan Biological Park, Orissa on
6. iii. 1965 and were exhibited together in a
somewhat circular enclosure having a floor
space of approximately 71 square metres. Half
of this enclosure is occupied by a 60 cm deep
water pool. Each Otter was fed with one
kilogram of fresh water fish daily but once a
week on Mondays only 500 grams of fish was
fed.

The female Common Otter ( Lutra lutra )
died accidentally on 5-X-1979 after remaining
for 14 years and 7 months in captivity. The
estimated age at the time of death was about
17 years.

Veterinary Asst. Surgeon,

Nandankanan Biological Park,

P. O. Barang, Dist. Cuttack,

Orissa 754 005.

Wild Life Conservation Officer,

Orissa, 145 — Sahid Nagar,

Bhubaneswar 751007,

February 2, 1983.

Refer

Crandall, Lee S. (1965): The Management of
Wild Mammals in captivity, The University of
Chicago Press, Chicago and London, pp. 337-413.

Flower, S. S. (1931) : Cited by Crandall, Lee
S. (1965).

The male Smooth Indian Otter ( Lutra pers-
picillata) died on 18-ii-1982 after remaining
for 17 years 9 months and 13 days in captivity.
The estimated age at the time of death was
about 20 years.

River Otters (Lutra sp.) have lived for 19
years in captivity (Walker et al. 1964). The
greatest longevity of the Eurasian Otter ( Lutra
lutra) recorded in the Zoological Gardens of
Basel was 11 years, 2 months and 23 days
(Flower 1931). A specimen of Lutra vulgaris
(= lutra) was still living on January 12, 1943
in the Trivandrum Zoological Gardens, after
22 years in the collection (Simon 1943). The
longevity of Smooth Indian Otter has not been
given by Crandall (1965).

L. N. ACHARJYO

CH. G. MISHRA

, N C E S

Simon, E. S. (1943): Cited by Crandall, Lee
S. (1965).

Walker, Ernest P. et al. (1964): Mammals of
the World. Volume II. pp. 1215-1216.

636

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

5. SLOTH BEAR’S ( MELURSUS URS1NUS) METHOD OF
HUNTING FOR TERMITE NESTS

I have been acquainted with a female sloth
bear ( Melursus ursinus) and its cub — now
a sub-adult, off and on, for about a year now.
The area where these animals have been ope-
rating is the North Eastern Section of the
lower plateau of the Nilgiris; the Sigur Forest
Range. This is a dry belt where the rain fall
is scanty and the type of forest is scrub. Pre-
cipitation comes from the N.E. as well as the
S.W. monsoons, but the area is at the tail
end of both; and summer showers. The bears
are seen most often in winter when the Zizy-
phus is in fruit and during the rains.

The pre-monsoon showers were late in
coming this year (1983). When the first show-
ers fell in the middle of May the bears started
coming out regularly hunting for termites.
During the first diggings they seldom got to
the termite nests except along the banks of
the Sigur River where it was comparatively
moist. The mother bear did most of the seri-
ous digging. In spite of the poor ratio of suc-
cess the bear continued to open up the ground,
wherever it suspected termite nests lying be-
low — including about a dozen holes in our
property all within a radius of one km. At
first this seemed to be a random digging spree.
Most of the termite nests had no mounds over
them but were in the pre-mound stage flush
with the ground, only a small hole showing.
Only a bear would know that these were ter-
mite holes. These were mostly in the open
where the ground was hard and rain water
drained quickly. These diggings were not deep
but extended just as far as the moist earth
would allow without much effort. Many of

“Cheetal Walk”,

Masinigudi,

Nilgiri Hills 643 223,

June 15, 1983.

these holes were deepened and enlarged
as and when it rained. The bears did not spend
much time at these holes even when there was
a prospect of finding a termite nest, say, 20
cms away. They were in a hurry, literally on
the run, all the time they were abroad. They
were usually out by 1600 hours and some
times did not retire until 0700 or 0730 hours.
As rain continued to fall the bears were more
successful. They were able to dig out termite
nests whole, usually at depths ranging from
25 to 40 cms. Their droppings during this
period were composed almost entirely of ter-
mite remains and earth. Being the honey sea-
son, they probably robbed a few bee hives
as well.

It may be mentioned that sightings as well
as tracks showed that these were the, only
bears in the area, occasionally joined by a
large aggressive male bear. The observation
extended over a 4 week period from the mid-
dle of May. During this period fairly heavy
rain fell on 4 days, moderate showers on 6
days and light showers and drizzle on 6 days.

It began to dawn on me that what initially
seemed to be a mad act had a method to it.
The adult bear was deliberately employing the
strategy of making the rain aid its digging
efforts, just as a gardener when trying to dig
a pit in hard ground would make a small
trial pit, pour water to soak the ground; dig
a little deeper and pour more water and re-
peat the process until the desired depth is
reached. Or am I crediting the bear with hu-
man intelligence — of distinguishing cause and
effect? Quite possibly bears have the ability
to reason.

E.R.C. DAVIDAR

637

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

6. ADDITIONS “TO THE BIRDS OF GOA BY ROBERT B.
GRUBH & SALIM ALI
JBNHS — VOL. 73, NO. 1”

I had the opportunity to visit the forests of
Goa, thrice during the last year, with a few
members of the Bombay Natural History
Society and World Wildlife Fund — India. A
brief survey of the flora and fauna of the
region was made during these visits which
covered the periods from 1) 18th to 24th May
1981, 2) 6th to 10th April 1982, 3) 16th to
22nd June 1982. All these three visits were
confined to the localities of Castlerock —
Dudhsagar, Molem, Bondla and Mayem lake.
Though the Castlerock — Anmod region is
on the border of Goa, my notes here strictly
adhere to the geographical Goa region. A total
of 162 species of birds were recorded. The
following list consists of the species not re-
corded in the BNHS ornithological survey in
November-December 1972.

Wildlife

Contrary to the report of the BNHS survey
of 1972, we recorded the following:

1) Giant squirrel — Ratufa indica (Erxleben)
Noted : Dudhsagar, Molem, Bondla.

2) Five-triped palm squirrel — Funambulus
pennanti Wroughton.

Noted: Molem.

3) Common Indian langur — Presbytis entel-
lus (Dufresne)

Noted: Dudhsagar, Molem.

4) Bonnet monkey — Macaca radial a (Geof-
froy)

Noted: Molem, Bondla.

5) Striped hyena — Hyaena hyaena (Lin-
naeus)

Noted: Molem.

6) Barking deer — Muntiacus muntjak (Zim-
mermann)

Noted : Molem, Bondla.

7) Jackal — Canis aureus Linnaeus
Noted: Molem.

8) Wild boar — Sus scrofa Linnaeus
Noted: Molem.

In addition to these, flying lizards ( Draco
dussumieri) at Molem, a checkered keelback
( Xenochropliis piscator) and a common wolf
snake ( Ly codon aulicus ) were observed at
Bondla.

Whitebreasted laughing thrushes were re-
corded at Dudhsagar during the second visit.
These birds were also found in large parties
of 30 to 40 at Castlerock. This is being noted
here because in the BNHS survey report, the
absence of this bird is specifically mentioned.

Rosy minivets were seen at Molem during
the first and second visits. It would be interest-
ing to determine whether these birds regularly
overwinter in Goa or if there is any record
of breeding.

Systematic list

1 . Ardeola striatus (Linne). Little Green
Heron

Noted : Panaji.

2. Ciconia episcopus (Boddaert). Whiteneck-
ed Stork

Noted: Molem.

3. Accipiter virgatus (Temminck). Besra
Sparrow-hawk

Noted: Molem.

4. Perdicula asiatica (Latham). Jungle Bush
Quail

Noted: Mayem.

5. Pavo cristatus Linne. Common Peafowl
Noted: Molem, Bondla.

6. Treron phoenicoptera (Latham). Green
Pigeon

Noted: Bondla.

638

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

7. Ducula badia (Jerdon). Jerdon’s or
Southern Maroonbacked Imperial Pigeon
Noted: Bondla.

8. Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky) . In-
dian Ring Dove

Noted : Bondla.

9. Streptopelia chinensis (Scopoli). Spotted
Dove

Noted: Molem, Bondla.

10. Cuculus varius Vahl. Common Hawk-
cuckoo

Noted: Molem, Bondla, Mayem.

11. Cacomantis sonneratii (Latham). Indian
Bay banded Cuckoo

Noted: Molem.

12. Cacomantis passerinus (Vahl). Indian
Plaintive Cuckoo

Noted: Molem.

13. Surniculus lugubris (Horsfield). Drongo-
cuckoo

Noted : Bondla, Molem.

14. Apus affinis (J. E. Gray). House Swift
Noted: Molem, Panaji.

15. Ceyx erithacus (Linne). Threetoed King-
fisher

Noted: Colem, Molem.

16. Picus chlorolophus Vieillot. Small Yellow-
naped Woodpecker

Noted : Dudhsagar.

17. Picoides mahrattensis (Latham). Yellow-
fronted Pied Woodpecker

Noted: Molem, Bondla.

18. Pitta brachyura (Linne). Indian Pitta
Noted: Bondla, Mayem.

19. Hirundo concolor Sykes. Dusky Crag
Martin

Noted : Panaji.

20 . Hirundo smithii Leach. Wiretailed Swallow
Noted: Panaji, Mayem.

21 . Artamus fuscus Vieillot. Ashy Swallo-
shrike

Noted : Molem.

22. Sturnus erythropygius (Blyth). White-
headed Myna

Noted: Molem.

23. Gracula religiosa Linne. Hill Myna
Noted: Dudhsagar, Colem.

24 . Garrulax jerdoni Blyth. Whitebreasted
Laughing Thrush

Noted : Dudhsagar.

25. Rhipidura albicollis (Vieillot). White-
throated Fantail Flycatcher

Noted : Bondla, Mayem.

26. Sylvia curruca (Linne). Lesser White-
throat

Noted: Bondla.

27. Saxicola caprata (Linne). Pied Bushchat
Noted: Panaji, Mayem.

28. Parus major Linne. Grey tit
Noted : Bondla.

29. Parus xanthogenys Vigors. Yellowcheeked
Tit

Noted : Molem, Bondla.

30. Sitta castanea Lesson. Chestnutbellied
Nuthatch

Noted : Molem.

31. Nectarinia lotenia (Linne). Loten’s Sun-
bird

Noted : Bondla.

32. Aethopyga si para j a (Raffles). Yellow-
backed Sunbird

Noted: Bondla, Mayem.

33. Zosterops palpebrosa (Temminck). White-
eye

Noted : Bondla.

Ack nowledgements

I am thankful to Mr. Nosherwan Sethna
and Miss Renee Borges who accompanied me
on these treks and helped in identification of
birds.

639

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

Laxmi Narayan Bhuvan, ULHAS RANE

G. D. Ambekar Marg,

Bhoiwada, Parel,

Bombay 400 012.

August 14 1982.

7. OCCURRENCE OF THE BLACK TERN CHLIDONIAS NIGER

(LINN.) IN INDIA

In 1950 Horace Alexander ( JBNHS 49, pp.
120/121) published the first record of a Black
Tern Chlidonias niger (Linn.) from India
being one seen at Delhi. In subsequent literature
(Ripley’s synopsis 1961 and 1982, Indian
Handbook 1969 and 1981), this sighting has
been considered the only record from our
limits and as such to be treated with caution.

Accordingly, Humayun Abdulali in Check-
list of the Birds of Delhi, Agra and Bharatpur
(1978) marked it for Delhi only and was sur-
prised to see it included in a list of birds of
Bharatpur published by the Chief Wildlife
Warden for Rajasthan at Jaipur, and now be-
ing sold at Bharatpur.

As the only possibility appeared to be its
inclusion in the BNHS Bird ringing records
for this area, these were examined but with
no positive result. VCA however drew atten-
tion to correspondence wherein on 7th Decem-
ber 1970, P. B. Shekar, the Society’s Field
Assistant, telegraphed from Point Calimere,

75 Abdul Rehman Street,

Bombay 400 003.

Dist. Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, 10°18'N; 79°51'
E, that a tern bearing Moscow ring marked
Moskwa F-140.956 had been obtained. The
U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences by their letter
No. 3450 dated 19th January 1972 said it had
been placed on a juvenile Chlidonias niger at
Artek, Krasnovodkii, Turkmen S.S.R., 37.21
N, 53.56 E, on 18th July 1970, definitely
establishing the occurrence of the species in
India.

As no information is available in Indian
literature regarding this species it may be men-
tioned that the bird had its wing measured as
221 mm. and weighed 72 gms. The weight is
slightly over that noted in Birds of the Soviet
Union (1969, Vol. 3:627), i.e. gms contra 52.8
to 67.8 gm.

This is an important record permitting
acceptance of the earlier sight record and we
are writing this note for it appears to have
escaped attention and has remained unpubli-
shed.

HUMAYUN ABDULALI

Bombay Natural History Society, V. C. AMBEDKAR

Horn bill House,

Shahid Bhagat Singh Road,

Bombay 400023.

April 20, 1982.

640

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

8. OCCURRENCE OF LESSER FLORICAN ( SYPHEOTIDES
IN DIC A) IN KANHA NATIONAL PARK

Lesser florican is found during the monsoon
months in the drier parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan
and western M.P. where suitable grasslands
exist. The Bengal florican ( Eupoditis bengalen-
sis) occurs in the riverine grasslands from
Assam westwards to the terai areas of U.P.
Salim Ali and Ripley mention their having
been reported as far east as the Teesta River
in Bengal, but all such occurrences have been
in the Gangetic valley. I have not come across
any report of the lesser florican in Madhya
Pradesh east of Bhopal.

In June 1969 I saw a female lesser florican
on the Kanheri Maidan in the Kanha National
Park. The grass was short and turning green
with the pre-monsoon showers.

On 21-5-71 I saw another female lesser flori-
can practically on the same spot. It was dis-
turbed by some blackbuck moving away from

Secretary to Government,

Madhya Pradesh,

Forest Department,

Bhopal, M. P.

August 6, 1982.

my jeep. I had very clear views of it and took
a movie of it, putting it up altogether six times.
As male lesser florican change to their nuptial
plumage about this time, I was very keen to
ascertain whether it was a male that was under-
going transformation, or was indeed a female.
It did not have the tell-tale head plumes and
was obviously a female. It was also clear that
it was not a female of the Bengal florican. The
bird was not sulking and was in fact fairly
confiding, as these birds often are when they
first appear at the onset of the monsoon.

The purpose of writing this note is to eluci-
date information from the editors and readers
whether there has been any record of the
lesser florican in Central India as far east as
the Kanha National Park in the Mandla dis-
trict of Madhya Pradesh.

M. IC. RANJITSINH

9. UNUSUAL ADOPTION BY TAILOR BIRDS ( ORTHOTOMUS
SUTORIUS PENNANT)

A pair of tailor birds resident in my friend
Dr. Salvi’s garden at Parel has been under our
observation for the last two years.

In August 1980, a peculiar nest was seen in
this garden on a Gardenia tree. The fibre cup
nest was not completely covered with leaves
but though apparently not complete, the
female laid three eggs and started incubating.
After a few days, the nest was abandoned
probably because the birds were disturbed by
some children.

The pair was always seen moving around
the same garden, hopping amongst Thunber-
gia creepers, feeding on the nectar of Lantana
flowers and insects. Dr. Salvi got quite in-
terested in this pair and everyday in the early
morning, while watering the garden, he kept
a watch on the pair still roosting. It was found
that the pair had become permanent residents
of the garden and every night the birds roosted
in the same Gardenia tree, almost on the same
branch.

641

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

On the 2nd of November 1981, some boys
pulled down a tailor bird’s nest with two
chicks from a Tagar ( Ervatamia coronaria,
Stapf) bush near a building about 500 metres
away from Dr. Salvi’s garden. There are three
lanes and eight buildings in between these two
places. The boys brought this nest with the
chicks which looked about a week old, to us.
Not knowing what to do, we tied this nest
with the chicks in it, at the same place in the
Gardenia tree, where the tailor birds had been
found nesting last year.

We kept watch on the nest and to our

Laxmi Narayan Bhuvan,

G. D. Ambekar Marg,

Rhoiwada, Parel,

Bombay 400 012,

April 15, 1982.

surprise and pleasure, found that the birds
took interest in these chicks. Initially they
watched the chicks from close quarters. Next
day we found that the pair had adopted these
orphaned chicks and both male and female
were feeding them with insects.

Unfortunately the next day, one of the
chicks was found dead due to an unknown
cause. The pair however continued to look
after the remaining chick successfully. On the
11th day both the foster parents were seen
teaching it to fly and after two days the bird
embarked on its first solo flight.

ULHAS RANE

10. COMMUNAL USE OF VILLAGE PONDS BY THE MUGGER
CROCODILE ( CROCODYLUS PALUSTRIS ), CATTLE AND MAN

{With a plate)

Introduction

In contradiction to the common and un-
authenticated belief, there are several instances
in record indicating that the mugger (C. palu-
stris) is a docile crocodile, leading, when allow-
ed to do so, a friendly and peaceful coexist-
ence with both cattle and man.

Bustard (1974) and Whitaker (1974) men-
tioned about the mugger’s coexistence at the
Killikudu reservoir in Tamilnadu. Acharjyo
and Mohapatra (1978) have recorded that a
mugger which escaped from the Nandankanan
Biological Park, Orissa stayed in the zoo’s
lake which, at its periphery, is used by villagers
and their cattle.

Further evidence of the innocuous nature

of the species is provided by the various
accounts of crocodile worship (B. C. Chou-
dhury, pers comm., Guggisberg 1972, Singh,
L.A.K., in lit.) where mugger worship is often
symbolised as a sign of veneration to Goddess
Ganga or God Vishnu. The most remarkable
were the mugger of ‘Mugger Pir’ in Pakistan.
Andrew Leith Adams (1860), giving an ac-
count of the Mugger Pir wrote, The

largest crocodile lives in a long, narrow tank
separated from the others. The Fakirs and
natives who worship in the neighbouring tem-
ples had painted his forehead red — they
venerate the monster, making a salamn to
his majesty whenever he shows himself above
water. . It should be noted that the mug-

642

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. so Plate

Singh : Crocodylus palustris

Above : The village pond at Beherasahi during April (Case I)

Below: One of the two connections of the above pond with the River Mahanadi.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

ger had allowed the people to paint his fore-
head red with vermillion.

The following account records three instan-
ces where since 1975 mugger crocodiles have
lived in peaceful coexistence in village ponds
after entering these during floods from the
River Mahanadi, and another instance where
the mugger took refuge in cow-sheds during
the flood.

Case Histories

Case I.

On 13 October 1977 I confirmed the pre-
sence of a mugger, about 1.5 m long, in a
tank near village Beherasahi on the eastern
bank of the Satkoshia Gorge of River Maha-
nadi, about 19 Ion upstream from the foot of
the gorge.

During the dry season the tank is about
130 m in length and 22 m in width with maxi-
mum water depth of about 1.5 m. In the rainy
season the size of the tank is almost doubled
and the depth increases to 2.5 m. The tank
is separated from the river by a 16 m wide
river bank plus a low lying valley, about 100
m wide, and then the bank of the tank, a
further 10 m wide. During the flood, water
flows from the river through the valley and
the tank. Following the flood, however, the
valley becomes dry although a slow stream
may still be connecting the tank with the
river at the lower end even until May.

Following complaints from the villagers to
remove the mugger from the tank as the tank
was used by cattle and the mugger was “eat-
ing away” all the fish in the tank, several un-
successful attempts were made to catch the
mugger. The tank was also used by the vil-
lagers to take bath during the monsoon and
the immediate post-monsoon periods. They
noticed that the mugger remained away from

the bathing ghat, did’t do any harm to goats
and other small cattle, and was rather shy,
always entering the water when people came
to the bathing ghat. Thus the mugger was
allowed to remain in the tank. Later it be-
came fun for the cowherds to watch it from
a distance and report to us when we went
there. In the beginning people were afraid of
entering the tank to fish, but later they did
not mind the presence of the mugger and
freely netted. Everytime, of course, they ex-
pected to catch the mugger too and present
it to us to return to the river. In the first week
of May 1978 the mugger left the tank, pro-
bably during the night, to be later seen in the
river.

During its seven months stay in the tank
the mugger was never a threat to any of the
animals using the tank, or bathing children.
On one occasion the mugger permitted me to
approach slowly to within two metres to
take a photograph. Once it was reported that
the mugger had attempted to attack a small
monkey when the latter had lowered its head
to drink.

Case II.

During the same year another juvenile mug-
ger, also of about 1.5 m in length, had entered
a swamp in village Chhamundia, about 15 km
downstream from the foot of the Satkoshia
Gorge, along the western bank. This swamp
is by the side of a stream connecting the river
to the catchment area of a range of distant
hills. During dry season the swamp is about
50 m from the stream and 100 m from the
river. Then it is about 200 m in length and
150 m in width holding water of about 2 m
deep. The swamp is greatly disturbed by cattle
and man, there being much fishing activity.
During rains the swamp is connected to a
small village pond, 60 x 50 x 2 m, situated

643

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

about 200 m away on the far side of a motor-
able road.

The mugger often used to walk out of the
swamp and go to the pond, return back the
next morning or after a few days. People had
on some occasions seen the mugger on the
road. Either in the swamp or in the pond the
mugger remained in the area for a total of
about twentyone months, from 1977-rains to
May 1979. After that the mugger returned to
the river. Although there was the usual com-
plaint that the mugger was “eating away” all
the fish from the swamp and the pond, the
mugger was never a threat to the children and
cattle using the two places.

Case III.

Similar to the above two instances, a 2 m
mugger from the river used to come to a pond
in village Titigaon, along the western bank of
the river, about 37 km upstream from the foot
of the Gorge, during the flood in the years
1975 to 1978. People used to see it in the pond
after the floods for the next three to four
months, but never knew exactly when the mug-
ger returned back to the river. The tank
is used by the villagers and their cattle. In
none of the years had the mugger attacked
any man or animal.

Case IV.

During high floods mugger have been re-
ported to have taken refuge in cow-sheds in
Boudh area beside the River Mahanadi. People
believe that the crocodiles were trying to
escape the current in the river, and others felt
that the mugger had come to attack the cattle,
although no actual attacks were reported. In
every case, however, the mugger used to be
beaten to death. Such conduct of stealthily
entering into cow-sheds has earned for the
mugger a local name, ‘ Chora Kumbhira ’
(Oriya, = ‘thief crocodile’).

Discussion

In all the cases mentioned above, the croco-
diles left the main river during high floods. A
reason for this behaviour is to avoid the
strong currents in the river, and secondly,
where they enter village ponds, they follow
the movement of fish. Gharial are known to
enter into the side streams during the flood
(Bustard and Singh, in press) in accordance
with the movement of their prey fish. Mugger
entering into cow-sheds is something perplex-
ing and inexplicable. However, it could be
that, taking advantage of their capability to
perform long-distance terrestrial movements,
the mugger prefers warmth during the cool
rainy weather.

The reason for the return of the mugger,
which had entered the ponds during the flood,
into the river may be due to cumulative or
singular factors like low water, shortage of
food and disturbance by people and cattle.
However, everywhere they lived peacefully
with people and their cattle.

Cott (1961) wrote of the Nile Crocodile
( Crocodylus niloticus) that during the rains
crocodiles often follow fish or to find warm

water Eventually as the pool dries up,

they attempt to regain the valley and are some-
times found moving over land far from water.
Parallel observations have also been made of
the gharial ( Gavialis gangeticus) , where releas-
ed juveniles have entered village ponds along
with flood water (Unpubl. info.).

The above discussion brings us at a situation
in crocodile management which is particularly
significant for the current ‘grow and release’
practice adopted as a conservation-rehabilita-
tion measure for the Indian crocodilians.
Young crocodiles after release into a main
river should be expected to move into adjacent
ponds or streams during the flood (pers. obs.)

644

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

for the gharial, and S. Kar (pers. comm.) for
the saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus) ,
and the ‘manager’ should be in a position to
trace these and bring confidence to the people
by demonstrating that he is there to tackle the
problem if a crocodile proves a nuisance.

Adult mugger and saltwater crocodiles over
2.5 m may attack or attempt to attack a goat
or dog on the bank. During 1978-flood a 10-
12 ft. (3. 0-3. 6 m) mugger had pulled into
water a small goat grazing on the banks of
River Chitrotpala near Bhagawanpur village,
Orissa.

However, it is at the same time important
to note that in the Satkoshia Gorge of the
River Mahanadi, where mugger formerly
occurred in hundreds and a few still survive
to this date, no attack on any human life or
cattle have been reported at least during the
last twentyfive to thirty years. Furthermore,

Gharial Research and
Conservation Unit,

Tikerpada 759 122,

Orissa, India,

June 11, 1982.

the people of village Kujanga and other near-
by villages besides the bank of lower Maha-
nadi were well accustomed to the habits and
behaviour of all three species of Indian cro-
codilians, namely, the gharial, the mugger and
the saltwater crocodile. While they are speci-
fically afraid of the saltwater crocodile’s un-
predictability, they do not fear the mugger and
say it is a shy crocodile, scared of man
and thus not a threat to people or cattle.

Acknowledgements

I wish to record my gratitude to the Orissa
Forest Department staff at the Gharial Re-
search and Conservation Unit, people beside
the river Mahanadi, Sri B. C. Choudhury, Sri
S. Kar and my friends from Kujanga Sri Pra-
mod Mahapatra and Sri Kshirod Mishra for
help and information. Dr. H. R. Bustard read
through the manuscript.

L.A.K. SINGH1

References

Acharjyo, L. N. & Mohapatra, S. (1978) : Re-
turn of the captive marsh crocodile ( Crocodylus
palustris) into the wild. Indian Forester, 104(5) :
385.

Adams, A. L. (1960) : Quoted in Guggisberg,
C.A.W., 1972.

Bustard, H. R. (1974): India: A preliminary
survey of the prospects for crocodile farming. FO :
1ND /71 /033: 1-66.

Bustard, H. R. & Singh, L. A. K. (in press):

Movement of wild gharial Gavialis gangeticus
(Gmelin) in River Mahanadi, Orissa (India).
British Journal of Herpetology.

Guggisberg, C. A. W. (1972): Crocodiles: Their
natural history, folklore and conservation. Stack-
poles, Harrisburg.

Whitaker, R. (1974) : Notes on behaviour, eco-
logy and present status of the marsh crocodile ( Cro-
codylus paiustris ) in South India. A Madras Snake
Park Trust Publication.

1 Present address: National Chambal Sanctuary,
P.O. Box 11, Morena-476 001, (M.P.).

645

12

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

11. ON SIT ANA LIZARD IN KALAKAD SANCTUARY

In Kannupulisaragam of Valliyur section of
Kalakad Sanctuary on the road and boundary
between the Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli
Districts, the Sitana lizard or Fanthroated
lizard Sitana ponticeriana is very common.
The area is generally rocky all over with
thorny bushes of Acacia planifrons. Euphorbia
randia etc. Only about 30% of the ground
is covered with vegetation. Here there is a
large concentration of the lizards. In May
1980 I did a count of the lizards on 2 days
in an area of 1000 m x 100 m using pocket

Wildlife Warden,

Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctury,

Templeton Cottage, Vannapet,
Udhagamandalam 643 001,

Tamil Nadu,

November 12, 1982.

compass and tape and dividing the area in
100 m2. There were in all 82 lizards 35 pairs
and 12 individuals. Each pair moved within
small area of about 30 m2. When chased out
of this area they returned back. The bluish
red dewlap was exhibited by the male from
small rocks. They were not seen on rocks
higher than about lm. Dr. Rajendran says
that they climb trees and bushes though I
have not seen any climbing trees. This lizard
is not common in other parts of the Sanctuary.
I have not seen it in Mundanthurai Sanctuary.

J. MANGALRAJ JOHNSON

12. ON A NEW RECORD OF THE GENUS GNATHOLEPIS
BLEEKER (GOBIIDAE, TELEOSTEI) FROM SOUTH-WEST COAST

OF INDIA

(With three text -figures)

Introdction

Neither Day (1889) nor Koumans (1941)
recorded any member of the genus Gnathole-
pis from Indian waters. Herre (1927) in his
account of the gobies of the Philippines and
the China sea described 7 species of the genus
of which 5 were later synonymised with Acen-
trogobius spp. by Koumans (1953). Koumans
(op. cit.) described three species of the genus
from the Indo -Australian Archipelago namely
G. balliurus (C. & V.), G. calliurus (J. & S.)
and G. anjerensis (Blkr.). All the above spe-
cies were recorded east of Singapore. How-

ever Smith (1959) recorded G. balliurus (C. &
V.) from the Western Indian ocean. In an
extensive collection to study the taxonomy of
gobiid fishes from the South-west coast of
India an apparently strange specimen was
collected which on detailed studies, in its
characters with G. calliurus , a species not so
far recorded from Indian waters.

Methods

Measurements to the nearest millimetre,
were made following the criteria of Hubbs &
Lagler (1964). The body measurements were
then converted into percentages of standard

646

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

length while those of head region into per-
centages of head length. The meristic data
were collected following Koumans (1953).
The last ray of second dorsal and anal,
though double, was counted as one. The cep-
halic sensory canals and open pores were
studied blowing air or injecting water-soluble

ink into them. The terminology for the sen-
sory canals and pores are those of Akihito
& Meguro (1975) and Macdonald (1972) res-
pectively. The pit organs (sensory papillae)
were examined under low power binocular
microscope after light staining with alizarin

Fig. 1 . Gnatholepis calliurus (Jordan & Seale) (Male)

Fig. 2. Dorsal view of the head of G. calliurus showing the pattern of arrangement
of the sensory canals and open pores.

Abbreviations

AN, Anterior nostril; AOS, Anterior oculoscapular canal; PN, posterior nostril;
PO, Preopercular canal; POP, posterior oculoscapular canal.

Fig. 3. Lateral view of the head of G. calliurus showing the sensory pores

and pit organs.

647

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

red. The description of the pit organs is main-
ly restricted to illustrations.

Gnatholepis calliurus Jordan & Seale (Fig. 1)
Gnatholepis calliurus Jordan & Seale, 1905,
p. 796; Chabanaud, 1923, p. 559; Herre, 1927,
p. 130; Koumans, 1941, p. 123; 1953, p. 171.

Material : Single specimen (m) of 5.40 cm.
Standard length (sl) (6.80 cm Total length).

1) General description :

Body elongate and compressed. Dorsal and
ventral profiles convex. Depth of body 16.67%,
caudal peduncle length 25.93% and depth
12.96% of sl. Body length from snout tip
to first dorsal 37.04%, to second dorsal,
51.85%, to pelvic base, 31.48% and to anal
opening, 55.56% of sl.

Head compressed, dorsal profile convex,
length 31.48%, width 16.67% and depth,
18.52% of sl. Snout obtuse, length, 23.53%
and height at the anterior margin of the orbit,
32.35% of head length. Eyes dorso-lateral,
diameter, 23.53% and interorbital, 5.88% of
head length, the latter about 1/4 the former.
Head without tentacles or spines. Anterior
pair of nostrils mounted on very short tubes.

Mouth oblique, lower jaw prominent, lips
thin, cheeks not conspicuously inflated. Maxil-
lary extends to below the anterior margin of
eye. Gill opening continued anteriorly; isthmus
narrow.

2) Teeth :

Teeth in several rows on both jaws. Outer
row of teeth on both jaws enlarged and inner
rows smaller. Outer row of teeth on upper
jaw widely spaced, about 18 on each side,
many caninoid. Innermost row also slightly
enlarged. On lower jaw outer row of about
13 teeth on each side does not extend the
whole length of the jaw laterally, but stops
short by a small distance. The last pair of

teeth, not canines. The inner rows extend the
whole length of the jaw. Tongue truncate.

3) Fins :

First dorsal longer than body, made of 6
flexible spines. Middle rays longer, second the
longest, 19.44% of sl. Length of fin at base
13.89% sl. Interspace between dorsals very
small, 2.78% of sl., with two median scales.
Second dorsal and anal similar, both poster-
iorly pointed, posterior rays longer and as
high as body. Second dorsal composed of one
spine and 10 branched rays. Length of the
fin at base 22.22% and the longest ray,
18.52% of sl. Anal with one spine and 9
branched rays. Length of anal at base 19.44%
and the longest ray, 18.52% of sl. Pelvic
single, obtuse, 24.07% of sl, with one spine
and 5 branched rays on each side. Pectoral
obtusely pointed, 31.48% of sl composed of
17 rays. Caudal obtusely rounded, 25.93% of
sl, formed of 17 segmented rays.

4) Scales :

Head with large cycloid scales dorsally, be-
hind the eyes, on opercle (3 rows), cheek and
pectoral base. Scales on anterior part of body,
breast and belly cycloid, thin and shed easily
and the rest ctenoid. Scales on body large and
arranged in definite rows.

L.l. 25; Ltr. 8; Pr. S (Predorsal scales).
10; Po. S (Postdorsal median scales).

5 ) Branchiostegals : 5

6) Cephalic-lateralis system : (Figs. 2 and 3)
All the three usual canals are present. The

anterior oculo-scapular canals on either side
join together in the inter- orbital region and the
single median canal opens anteriorly and
posteriorly by the respective inter-orbital pores.
From the anterior inter-orbital pore the canals

648

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

separate and run anteriorly, one on either side
to open by the single nasal pore situated
slightly mesially in between the two nostrils.
There is no post-orbital pore and the canal
from the posterior inter-orbital pore opens
laterally to the post-infraorbital pore, which
in turn continues posteriorly and opens by the
two lateral pores on each side. The posterior
oculo-scapular canal, which is short, has the
anterior and posterior pores and the pre-oper-
cular canal has the dorsal, middle and ventral
pores as is typical in gobiid fishes.

The pit organs are not distinct as the cheek
and opercle are scaled. In between the rows
of scales a few longitudinal lines are however
evident over the cheek and there are no trans-
verse lines.

7) Colour Pattern : (Freshly preserved
specimens)

Body greyish yellow with uniformly distri-
buted spots and greyish markings on the dor-
sal part and yellowish white ventrally. Inter-
orbital and snout dark. A roughly triangular,
black blotch over opercle. A black mark on
the caudal base, anterior to which, and on the
midlateral line, there are one or two indistinct
black patches.

Dorsal and anal greyish yellow, with irre-
gular small black spots all over. Pelvic yellow-
ish, with dark spots in the central region. Pec-
toral slightly greyish yellow, with irregular
grey spots. Caudal darker without bands.

8) Habitat:

Specimens studied were collected from the
estuary at Neendakara near Quilon on the
Kerala coast.

Dept, of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries,
University of Kerala, Beach P.O.,
Trivandrum 695007, Kerala,

November 9, 1982.

9) Distribution :

According to Koumans (1953), the fish is
known from Singapore, Indonesia and East
Indian Archipelago.

Remarks

The genus Gnatholepis Bleeker is recorded
for the first time from Indian waters. The
characters of the present specimen of G. colli -
urus agree closely with those given by Herre
(1927) and Koumans (1953). The more im-
portant differences are the following.

Herre

(1927)

Koumans

(1953)

Specimen

described

Height of the

4.50—4.83

4.50—5.00

6.00

body in SL
Eye in head

3.50—4.00

3.50—4.00

4.30

length

Interorbital

5.00

_

4.00

in eye
Maxillary

extends to

extends to

extends to

below the

below the

below the

anterior

middle of

anterior

part of eye

eye

margin of

Tongue

rounded

rounded

eye

truncate

L.l.

28—30

28—30

25

L. tr.

10

10

8

The senior author (C.G.) is thankful to the
from that given by the above authors.

Acknowledgement

The senior author (C.G.) is thankful to the
U.G.C. for financial assistance during the
present work.

C. GEEVARGHESE
P. A. JOHN

649

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

References

Akihito, Prince & Meguro, K. (1975) : Des-
cription of a new Gobiid Fish, Glossogobius aureus,
with notes on Related species of the genus. Jap.
J. lchthyol. 22:127-142.

Day, F. (1889) : Fauna of British India includ-
ing Ceylon and Burma. Fishes. Vol. I. Taylor &
Francis, London.

Hubbs, C. L. & Lagler, K. F. (1964): Fishes
of the great Lakes Region. University of Michigan
Press, Ann Arbor, pp. 213.

Koumans, F. F. (1941): Gobioid fishes of India.
Mem. Indian Mus. 23: 205-329.

(1953): Gobioidea. In: The fishes

of Indo-Australian Archipelago X. Ed. by Weber,
M. & De Boufort, L.F. E.J. Brill, Leiden, pp. 423.

Macdonald, C. K. (1972): Aspects of the life
history of Arrow goby, Clevelandia ios (Jordan &
Gilbert) in Anaheim Bay, California, with com-
ments on the cephalic-lateralis system in the fish
family Gobiidae. M. A. Thesis, California State
Univ. Long Beach, pp. 71-145.

Smith, J. L. B. (1959) : Gobioid fishes of the
families Gobiidae, Periophthalmidae, Trypauchenidae,
Taenioididae and Kraemeriidae of the Western
Indian Ocean, lchthyol. Bull. 13. Dept. lchthyol.,
Rhodes University, South Africa.

13. A NEW RECORD OF EPINEPHELUS GUAZA (LINNAEUS,
1758) (SERRANIDAE: PISCES) FROM INDIAN WATERS

I N TROD U CTION

While carrying out a survey on the biota
represented in the rockpools off Visakhapat-
nam coast, an interesting species of serranid
fish belonging to the genus Epinephelus was
collected. E. quaza was described earlier by
Smith (1961) and Smith, C. L. (1971) from
South Africa and America. The species is
being recorded for the first time from Indian
waters and hence a short description is given.

Material and Methods

Collection of fishes was done using a hand
net of 0.6 m diameter. In taking the mor-
phometric data, a measuring board, a dial as
well as a Vernier Callipers were used and the
methodology of Hubbs & Lagler (1958) was
followed.

The data is based on a female specimen
measuring 200 mm in standard length, collec-
ted on 6-2-1980.

Description

Counts: D XI, 16; A III, 8; p. 18; V I, 5;

C 13; gillrakers 8+1+15; lateral line scales 60;
1. tr. 14/1/29.

As percentage of standard length: total
length 125.00; body depth 75.00; head length
42.00; snout 9.00; eye diameter 6.00; in-
ter-orbital 4.50; pectoral length 23.50; ventral
length 18.00; caudal peduncle length 12.00;
distance to dorsal 33.0, to anal 75.0, to pecto-
ral 35.0, to ventral 39.0.

As percentage of head length: snout 21.43;
eye diameter 14.29; inter-orbital 10.71.

Body oblong, slightly compressed, deepest
under the origin of dorsal. Cycloid scales on
anterior half of body and upper and lower
parts of flanks, rest of the body with ctenoid
scales; mouth oblique, gape large, lower jaw
slightly projecting; maxilla large reaching
below the hind margin of eye; nostrils round,
posterior one larger. Eyes large. Teeth point-
ed and small, in 3-4 rows on upper jaw, outer-
most row of teeth slightly bigger, one tooth
on either side of symphysis enlarged, two rows
of teeth on lower jaw, two on each side of
symphysis enlarged; arrow-head shaped patch
of teeth on vomer, 3-4 rows of teeth on pala-

650

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

tines, patches of teeth on roof and floor of
pharynx. Vertical edge of pre-opercle serrated
with a broad shallow concavity just above
the rounded and serrated angle, horizontal
edge smooth. Three spines on opercle, middle
one being larger. Fourth dorsal spine longest,
longest ray longer than longest spine, rays
reach caudal base when folded back. Third
anal spine longest and stoutest, longest ray
longer than longest spine; rays reach latter
half of caudal peduncle. Pectorals rounded
and do not reach vent, ventrals do not reach
vent. Caudal rounded.

Colour : Chocolate brown body with large
and irregular pale blotches all over the body.
Ventral side up to anal pale yellow. Edges of
all fins black. Pectoral base brown, orange
in the middle with black edge.

Department of Marine Sciences,

Andhra University,

Waltair 530 003,

August 6, 1982.

Remarks

This grouper was collected from a crevice
adjoining a rockpool at low tide. The above
description conforms to that of Epinephelus
quaza by Smith (1961) and also by Smith,
C. L. (1971). The recorded maximum length
of this species is 900 mm (Barnard 1927).
The collection of a lone specimen over a
collection period of three years indicates the
rarity of this species.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Dr. C. Subba Reddy,
Head of the Department of Environmental
Sciences for encouragement and to U.G.C.
and C.S.I.R. for financial assistance.

N.A.V. PRASAD REDDY

References

Hu bbs, C. & Lagler, K. F. (1958): Anatomical
features and terms and methods of counting and
measuring in Fishes of the Great lake region. Craw-
book Inst. Sci., Bull. (26) : i-xi + 1 - 213.

Smith, C. L. (1971): A revision of the American

groupers: Epinephelus and allied genera. Bull. Amer.
Mus. nat. Hist. 146(2) : 67-242.

Smith, J. L. B. (1961) : The Sea Fishes of South-
ern Africa. 4th Ed. Central News Agency Ltd.,
South Africa, pp. 573.

14. ON THE EXTENSION OF RANGE OF A FRESHWATER
CATFISH — GLYPTOTHORAX LINEATUS (DAY)
(SILURIFORMES; SISORIDAE) — TO POONCH VALLEY (JAMMU
AND KASHMIR STATE)

Sisorid catfishes of the genus Glyptothorax
Blyth are typical torrential- stream teleosts
which prefer fast-flowing mountain streams
and possess a thoracic adhesive apparatus
composed of longitudinal plaits of skin by
which they can hold on to stones, roots and
other firm objects. The rays of the paired fins

also bear adhesive skin on their under surface.
The range of distribution of Glyptothorax
Blyth is Syria, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Burma,
Malaya, Thailand, Laos, Sumatra, Java,
Borneo and China (Hora 1923).

Glyptothorax lineatus (Day) is a freshwater
sisorid of India which has been previously

651

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

recorded from the Yamuna, the rivers of the
Terai region and Duars of northern Bengal.
Outside India it also abounds in the Kosi
River in Nepal and the Sankha River in
Burma (Misra 1976). There is, thus, no previ-
ous record of the occurrence of this sisorid
in northern India upto date and the present
report of this species is a new record for

depression, the fish manages to stay stuck to
the submerged stones and boulders and thus
escapes being washed away by the turbulent
waters of the river.

Following species of sisorid cat-fishes be-
longing to the genus Glyptothorax Blyth have
been reported from Jammu and Kashmir State
upto date :

Species

Locality

Authors

1.

Glyptothorax kashmirensis

Kashmir Valley

Hora (1923); Silas (1960);

Hora

Poonch Valley

Das (1965).

Das & Nath (1971)

2.

G. pectinopterus (McCl.)

Poonch Valley

Das & Nath (1971)

Bhaderwah (Jammu)

Malhotra et al. (1975)

3.

G. botium (Ham.)

Salahar area (Jammu)

Malhotra et al. (1975)

4.

G. conirostre (Steind.)

Poonch and Sooran valleys

Nath (1981)

5.

G. lineatus (Day)

Poonch Valley

New Record

Jammu and Kashmir State.

Specimens of G. lineatus (Day) were collec-
ted from Poonch River and Betarh Nallah
of Poonch Valley by me during 1979-1980,
where it common in the rock-pools as well as
the rocky-streams flanking the course of the
main river. The thoracic adhesive apparatus
being well-developed with a central pit-like

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the Director, Zoological
Survey of India, Calcutta, for confirming the
identification of the specimens under report.
Thanks are also due to Dr. K. C. Jayaram,
Dy. Director, Zoological Survey of India, Cal-
cutta, for his valuable opinion.

Department of Zoology, SURENDRA NATH

Islamia College of Science & Commerce,

Srinagar 190 002,

Kashmir (India),

March 29, 1982.

References

Das, S. M. (1965): A revision of fish species
inhabiting Kashmir Province. Kashmir Sci., 2(1-2) :
13-19.

Das, S. M. & Nath, Surendra (1971) : A revision
of fishes from Jammu Province, India, ibid., 8(1-2) :
1-22.

Hora, S. L. (1923) : Notes on fishes in the Indian
Museum, V : On the composite genus Glyptosternon
McClelland. Rec. Indian Mus., 25(1): 1-44.

Malhotra, Y. R., Jyoti, M. K. & Dutta, S. P.
Singh (1975) : An aid to the identification of fishes
found in Jammu Division of J. & K. State. Jammu

Univ. Rev., 5(8) : 50-66.

Misra, K. S. (1976) : The Fauna of India and
the adjacent countries, Pisces, Vol. III. Controller
of Publications, Govt, of India, New Delhi.

Nath, Surendra (1981): On the extension of
range of two freshwater catfishes, Glyptothorax
conirostre (Steind.) (Sisoridae) and Clupisoma garua
(Ham.) (Schilbeidae) to Poonch Valley (Jammu
and Kashmir), India. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.,
78(1): 178-179.

Silas, E. G. (1960): Fishes from the Kashmir
Valley, ibid., 57(1) : 66-77.

652

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

15. FIRST RECORD OF ODONTOTERMES BELLAHUNISENSIS

HOLMG. & HOLMG. FEEDING

The coconut palm. Cocos nucifera is a tropi-
cal plantation crop seen particularly in coastal
areas. It is liable to be attacked by more than
thirty species of termites in various parts of
the world. In India, only two species of the
genus Odontotermes have been reported as
pests of coconut palm. The damage caused by
O. obesus on young plants and mature palms
is considerable, particularly on the west coast
(Nirula et al 1953). O. malabaricus has been
recorded as pest of coconut palm in Tamil
Nadu (cf. Roonwal 1979). In other countries
such as Sri Lanka, O. redemanni and O. horni,
and Somalia, O. classicus have been recorded
as culprit species of coconut palm (Harris
1971). However, no information is available
on any other species of Odontotermes as pest
of coconut palm. During a survey of termite
damages to coconut palms of some parts of
the east coast, particularly Gan jam district
(Orissa), O. obesus was recorded as a serious
pest attacking both saplings and mature palms.
Besides, O. bellahunisensis was also recorded
feeding on both young and mature coconut
palms in plantations between Gopalpur-on-sea
and Chatrapur, Ganjam (Orissa). Interest-
North Eastern Hill University,

College of Agriculture,

Medziphema-797 106,

Nagaland, India,

June 24, 1982.

Refei

Harris, W. B. (1971) : Termites, their recogni-
tion and control. Longman Group. Ltd., London.

Nirula, K. K., Anthony, J. & Menon, K. P. V.
(1953): Some investigations on the control of ter-
mites. Indian Coconut J. 7(1) : 26-34.

Roonwal, M. L. (1979) : Termite life and ter-
mite control in Tropical South Asia. Scientific Pub-
lishers. Jodhpur.

ON COCOS NUCIFERA LINN.

ingly, it is not only the first record of O.
bellahunisensis feeding on coconut palm, but
also its first recorded appearance in the eastern
zone including Bangladesh (Sen-Sarma 1974).
However, it has been reported as a polypha-
gous feeder damaging a number of plants (Sen-
Sarma et al. 1975).

O. bellahunisensis was recorded in coconut
plantations on laterite soils, infesting the roots
and lower portions of the trunk adjacent to
the soil surface. Its mud-sheet covering over
the trunk, was measured to an height of about
12 to 15 cm. It was recorded feeding on the
outer most dried tissue of the trunk. In addi-
tion, it was recorded infesting the fallen
petioles, rachises (mid-ribs) and leaflets of the
leaves, and spathes of the palm. It was esti-
mated that the attack on coconut palm by O.
bellahunisensis was only about ten per cent
which was comparatively less than that of O.
obesus.

Acknowledgement

I am thankful to Dr. P. K. Sen-Sarma,
Forest Research Institute & Colleges, Dehra
Dun (U.P.) for kindly identifying the termites.

M. VIKRAM REDDY

E N CES

Sen-Sarma, P. K. (1974): Ecology and biogeo-
graphy of termites of India. In : Ecology and bio-
geography in India (Ed. M. S. Mani). Dr. W. Junk
Publ. The Hague, pp. 421-472.

Sen-Sarma, P. K., Thakur, M. L., Mishra, S.
C. & Gupta, B. K. (1975) :Wood destroying termites
of India. Forest Research Institute and Colleges,
Dehra Dun.

653

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

16. NOTES ON HOST-PLANTS, FEEDING BEHAVIOUR,
INFESTATION AND ANT ATTENDANCES OF COTTON APHIDS
APHIS GOSSYPII GLOV.

Behura (1963, 1965) reported the occur-
rence of A. gossypii in India on as many as
142-plants belonging to different families.
Since then 20 more have been added to the
list (Behura and Roy 1980).

The principal crops which are usually attack-
ed by these cosmopolitan polyphagous aphid
species are cotton, brinjal, chilli, melon and
bhendi. Eastop (1961) reported as many
as 60 host-plants of A. gossypii in Africa.
According to our survey the total number of
host-plants throughout the world comes to not
less than 220 belonging to 46 families. The
distribution of aphid on plant species in all
the families are enlisted in Table 1. Families

Table 1

Number of plant species of different families
infested by Aphis gossypii Glover

SI. Name of the
Nos. families

1 . Araliaceae

2. Apocynaceae

3. Violaceae

4 . Fabaceae

5. Vitaceae

6. Verbenaceae

7 . Asteraceae

8 . Solanaceae

9. Araceae

10. Cucurbitaceae

1 1 . Acanthaceae

12. Chenopodiaceae

13. D ipterocarpaceae

14. Rosaceae

15. Euphorbiaceae

16. Annonaceae

17. Apiaceae

1 8 . Myrtaceae

Number of species
of plants infested
by A. gosspyii

1

2

1

10

9

22

30

3

19

3
1
1

4

5
1
2
2

SI.

Nos.

Name of the
families

Number of species
of plants infested
by A. gosspyii

19.

Oxalidaceae

1

20.

Lamiaceae

5

21.

Malvaceae

17

22.

Lythraceae

3

23.

Rubiaceae

3

24.

Balsammaceae

1

25.

Convolvulaceae

2

26.

Ulmaceae

1

27.

Capparidaceae

3

28..

Iridiaceae

1

29.

Moraceae

5

30.

Commelinaceae

2

31.

Tiliaceae

2

32.

Boraginaceae

1

33.

Amaranthaceae

2

34.

Bersaraceae

1

35.

Cannabinaceae

1

36.

Nyctaginaceae

2

37.

Polygonaceae

2

38.

Cannaceae

1

39.

Punicaceae

1

40.

Urticaceae

1

41.

Brassicaceae

1

42.

Bignoniaceae

1

43.

Rutaceae

6

44.

Caesalpiniaceae

2

45.

Zingiberaceae

1

46.

Asclepiadaceae

2

with the largest number of plants infested by
the aphids are in the following order: - Solana-
ceae (30 species), Asteraceae (22 species),
Cucurbitaceae (19 species), Malvaceae (17
species) and Fabaceae (10 species).

Feeding in the aphid species has been obser-
ved althrough day and night on brinjal plants
{Solarium melongena). They anchor themselves
by inserting the beak (rostrum) into the plant
tissue and occur on different parts of the plant

654

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

although the greatest concentration is noticed
on the foliage. At the time of feeding plant
sap a sort of rhythmic jerk is exhibited by
them. Mostly feeding is observed on the under-
surface of leaf indicating thereby their avoid-
ance of direct sunlight.

All aerial parts of the brinjal or egg plant
are prone to the attack of A. gossypii. The
upper side of the leaf is more hairy and re-
mains exposed to sunlight while the lower side
is less hairy and dark. Aphids invariably are
marked on lower surface. In case of acute in-
festation the aphids are found on the petioles,
flowers, buds or base of fruit. In severe in-
festation a single leaf (average surface area
of 187 sq. cm.) was observed to hold as
many as 400 aphids (including adult and
immature ones). Infestation on very young
brinjal plant is noticed when the plant
has 2-3 leaves on its axis. The aphids are
noticed in very negligible numbers on old or
senescing leaves. At Bhubaneswar (Orissa)
these aphid species are found almost through-
out the year, heaviest infestation occurring
during either September-November or March-

Department of Zoology,

College of Basic Science & Humanities,
Orissa University of Agriculture and

Technology,

Bhubaneswar-751 003 (Orissa).

Department of Zoology,

Utkal University: Vani Vihar,
Bhubaneswar-751 004 (Orissa),

April 3, 1982.

Refe:

Behura, B. K. (1963) : Aphids of India; Survey
cf published information, Proc. 1st Summer School
Zool. (Simla, 1961), Govt, of India Publn. : 25-78.

(1965) : Supplement to “Aphids

of India” — a survey of published information.
I. J. (Sci.), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar- 3 : 40-65

April depending on early or late sown crops.
Aphids usually prefer the plant at their flower-
ing and fruiting stages.

A. gossypii is a myrmecophilous type of
aphid species attended by ant species i.e. Cam-
ponotus ( Tanaemyrmex ) compressus Fabr. re-
ported by Behura, 1965. But later on 3 more
have been added to the list all belonging to
subfamily Myrmecinae (Roy and Behura
1980).

They are (1) Bothriomyrmex dalyi Fabr. (2)
Meranoplus bicolor Guer. (3) Solenopsis gemi-
nata Fabr.

ACK N O WLEDGE M E NTS

We express a deep sense of gratitude to the
Director, College of Basic Science and Huma-
nities and Dean, Research Wing, Orissa Uni-
versity of Agriculture and Technology,
Bhubaneswar for providing us all facilities for
conducting field studies. Our thanks are also
due to the Director, Zoological Survey of India,
Calcutta for kindly identifying aphid and ant
species.

D. K. ROY

B. K. BEHURA

E N CES

(1963).

& Roy, D. K. (1980): Supple-
ment to host-plants of Cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii
Glover, News Letter, The Aphidological Society of
India, 1(2), Dec., 1980:3-4.

Eastop, V. F. (1961): A study of the Aphididae

655

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

(Homoptera) of West Africa, Trustees, British
museum, London 1-93 + vi.

Roy, D. K. (1981): Studies on the population
and biometry of Aphis gossypii Glower (Aphidae;
Homoptera; Insecta) on Brinjal ( Solarium melon-

gena Linn.). Ph. D. Thesis of Utkal University : 1-
216 + V, 1981.

& Behura, B. K. (1980) : Ants attend-
ing Aphis gossypii Glover, News Letter, the Aphi-
dological Society of India, 1(2), Dec., 1980:4-5.

17. FIRST RECORD OF MESOCOMYS CAM. (HYM.:
CHALCXDOIDEA, EUPELM1DAE) IN INDIA1

( With ten text-figures)

Genus Mesocomys Cam.
Mesocomys Cameron, 1905, Proc. S. Afr.
Philos. Soc., XV, P. 210
Type species, Mesocomys pulchriceps
Cameron.

The genus Mesocomys Cam. is a poorly
known member of the family Eupelmidae,
closely related to Anastatus Motsch. from
which it can be very easily separated by the
characteristic antennae (Fig. 4) (Antennae
with transverse or subquadrate funicle seg-
ments, pedicel very long, as long as preceding
four funicle segments combined, including
annelus); scutellum in the female with two
grooves at the base, forewings (Fig. 5) in the
female entirely infuscated except the base
hyaline and two hyaline spots, one close to
the marginal vein and second opposite near
the hind margin of wing. The wings of male
are completely hyaline.

Mesocomys orientalis Ferr. (Figs. 1-10)
Mesocomys orientalis Ferriere 1935. Stylops
4: 145-153.

Material examined : India: U.P., Pantnagar,
10.5.1981, 200 $ 9, 80 $ $, reared from eggs
of Trabala vishnov Lefebvre, Castor hairy
caterpillar (Lepidoptera : Lasiocampidae) on
castor plant (M. A. Khan). Material will be
deposited in Z.S.I., Calcutta, India.

1 Research paper No. 2625 through the Experiment
Station, G. B.P.U A. & T.. Pantnagar, Nainital, U.P.,
India.

A detailed description of the species was
given by Ferriere (1935). The following charac-
ters may be added to the species based on
above material.

Female 2. 3-2. 6 mm. Body dark brown with
cuperous reflections on frons, vertex and tho-
rax; malar space shining bluish green, face
yellowish; mandibles yellowish with apical
margin brownish; abdomen dark brown with
shining bluish green reflections on dorsum;
antennal scape yellow with a brown spot at
base below, rest of the antennae light brown
with yellowish reflections.

Mandible bidentate (Fig. 1) with two blunt
teeth, maxillary (Fig. 2) and labial palp (Fig.
3) 4 and 3 segmented respectively, apical seg-
ment of maxillary palp gradually expanding,
distinctly longer than preceding two segments
combined; pedicel (Fig. 4) two and a half
times as long as wide, club with blunt apex,
distinctly much shorter than preceding five
funicle segments combined; propodael spira-
cle almost touching the anterior margin of pro-
podaeum; forewings (Fig. 5) extended much
beyond the tip of abdomen, three times longer
than wide, marginal vein distinctly longer than
postmarginal vein, stigmal vein distinctly shor-
ter than postmarginal; hind wings almost three
and a half times longer than wide, apex of
marginal vein with three curved hooklets; mid
tibial spur (Fig. 6) distinctly shorter than basi-
tarsus, apex of tibiae and tarsal segments 1-4

656

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Figs. 1-8. Mesocomys orientalis Ferr., $

1. Mandible; 2. Maxillary palp; 3. Labial palp; 4. Antenna; 5. Forewing; 6. Part
of middle leg; 7. Subgenital plate; 8. Ovipositor; 9. Antenna, $; 10. Part of middle

leg, $.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY Vol. 80

with 10, 25, 8, 4 & 2 pegs respectively; sub-
genital plate (Fig. 7) extending a little beyond
the middle of abdomen, posterior margin of
subgenital plate rounded with an inverted U
shaped notch in the middle, anterior margin
deeply concave in the middle; first valvifer
(Fig. 8) semicircular with articular knobs pro-
minent, second valvifer long (Fig. 8), third
valvulae (Fig. 8) lanceolate, outer plates of
ovipositor (Fig. 8) narrow at base gradually
expanding at apex with a ridge along outer
margin.

Male : 1 . 9-2 . 2 mm. antennae yellow with
some infuscation on flagellum, pedicel (Fig. 9)

Department of Entomology,

G. B. Pant University of

Agriculture & Technology,
Pantnagar-263 145,

Distt. Nainital (U.P.), India,

May 31, 1982.

almost three times as long as wide, club un-
segmented, shorter than preceding three funicle
segments; apex of tibiae (Fig. 10) and tarsal
segments 1 -3 with 2, 2, 2 and 1 peg respectively.

Distribution : South and Central Africa, Asia,
Burma, Rangoon; India, U.P., Pantnagar (New
record).

ACK NOWLEDGE ME NTS

I am thankful to Prof. K. C. Sharma, Dean,
College of Agriculture, Prof. B. P. Khare,
Head, Department of Entomology, for all the
necessary facilities.

M. A. KHAN

Reference

Ferriere, Ch. (1935) : Notes on some bred exotic
Eupelmidae (Hym., Chalc.). Stylops 4: 145-153.

18. NESIDIOCORIS CAESAR (BALLARD) (HETEROPTERA —
MIRIDAE) : A NEW PEST OF BOTTLE GOURD AND TOBACCO

PLANTS

Nesidiocoris caesar (Ballard) is a sap suck-
ing bug first reported by E. Ballard (1927)
from Godavari District in South India on to-
bacco. It was described as a new species named
Cyrtopeltis {G allot elicus) caesar.

During the survey of the fields growing
bottle gourd in Western U.P., from 1977-1981,
it was found that the entire crop was infested
by this bug and consequently leaves had be-
came yellow, mottled and fruit setting was
minimum and the crop was abandoned. No

information was then available on the species
but later it was identified by the Commonwealth
Institute of Entomology, London.

The species infests Virginia variety of
tobacco plants during winter, though the
damaged mottled leaves remain commercially
viable as they are utilized for processing as
tobacco.

I thank Dr. G. D. Garg and Dr. S. C.
Dhiman for assistance.

658

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Department of Zoology, V. C. CHATTERJEE

M. S. College,

Saharanpur 247 001,

May 11, 1982.

Reference

Ballard, E. (1927): Some new Indian Miridae
(Capsidae). Mem. Dept. Agric. Ind. Ent., Pusa, 10:

61-68.

19. A NOCTUID DEFOLIATOR PEST, DICHROM1A OROS1A
CRAMER (NOCTUIDAE : LEPIDOPTERA) OF ANTAMUL,

A MEDICINAL PLANT

Antamul, Tylophora asthmatica (Asclepiada-
ceae) a medicinal plant whose leaves and roots
are used as emetic, expectorant, diaphoretic,
alterative, blood purifier and stimulant and
is the best indigenous substitute for ipecacu-
anha (Dastur 1977). The leaves and roots
contain the alkalid tylophorine which is similar
in action to ipecacuanha.

During the second week of December, 1981
Antamul, grown at the Regional Research Sta-
tion, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dhar-
wad Campus, Karnataka was found heavily
infested by this pest. The caterpillars damaged
the leaves eating them from the margin.

The females laid eggs singly on the under-
surface of the leaves. The eggs were smooth.

Department of Entomology,

College of Agriculture,

Dharwad-580 005,

May , 31, 1982.

green in colour and dorsoventrally flat. On
hatching, the grubs restricted themselves to the
undersurface of the leaf and defoliated. The
larvae orange, the head and somites provided
with series of small black tubercles. The full
grown grub pupated in silken cocoons in soil
below the plant or in leaf folds.

The head and thorax of newly emerged adult
moths were clothed with grey black mottled
scales, abdomen orange, forewing grey. A large
sub-triangular black patch with pale edges
occupying the medial area but not reaching the
inner margin hind wings orange, the apical
area black, undersurface of the forewing fus-
cous. This is the first record of the pest on
the medicinal plant.

M. C. DEVAIAH
R. RAJSHEKHAR GOUDA
Y. K. KOTIKAL
SUHAS YELSHETTY

Reference

Dastur, J. F. (1977) : Medicinal plants of India
and Pakistan. D. B. Taraporevala Sons and Co.

p. 212.

659

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

20. OCCURRENCE OF KURZIA LAT1SS1MA (KURZ), 1874
(CRUSTACEA: CLADOCERA: CHYDORIDAE) IN INDIA

{With three text-figures)

During the course of Survey of Cladocera
from Madhya Pradesh, I collected one female
specimen of Kurzia latissima (Kurz) from
Bharma tank, Jabalpur district, Madhya Pra-
desh on 27 September 1982, which constitutes
a new record from Indian fresh waters. The
presence of this species in India is rather sur-
prising as it is a Holarctic and Neotropical
species, recorded only from European U.S.S.R.
to the mouth of Syrdar’ya River in the East
and from United States. Thus the present
finding extends its known distribution to
Madhya Pradesh, India.

Kurzia latissima (Kurz), 1875
Family: Chydoridae, Subfamily: Aloninae
Genus: Kurzia Dybowski & Grochowski,
1894.

Hellich, 1874: 219 ( Alona tenuirostris) ;

Kurz, 1875: 46-47, Plate II, Figures 13, 14, 15,
( Alonopsis ); Hudendroff, 1876: 5-56, Plate II,
Figures 7a, 7b {Alona angusticandata)\ Birge,
1879: 32, Plate I, Figures 14,15 {Alonopsis
media) ; Lilljeborg, 1900: 442-445, Plate LXVI,
Figures 1-7; Sars, 1901: 85-87, Plate XII,
Figures 2, 29, 2b {Pseudolona)\ Frey, 1959:
35, Figures 12, 13, 14; 1962a: Figures 12, 13,
14; Herbst, 1962: 84, Figure 59.

female: Head and valves forming semicir-
cular dorsal njargin, Posterodorsal corner of

Zoological Survey of India,

Central Regional Station,

Jabalpur (M.P.),

February 28, 1982.

valves rounded, situated slightly below the
maximum height of the valve; posteroventral
corner rounded without denticles. Dorsal keel
present; head keel absent, eyes situated on the
margin. Ventral margin of head S -shaped;
Rostrum large, directed ventrally. Valves with
lines. Antennules almost reaching apex of the
rostrum. Esthetascs situated on distal of anten-
nules. Setae on antennae 0-0-1/ 1-1-3. Post-
abdomen narrowing distally. Preanal corner not
projecting but evenly round. Ocellus situated
nearer to eye than to apex of rostrum. Inte-
stine forming loops. Keel of labrum with
pointed apex. Post-abdomen with 24-26 small
and large marginal denticles. Length of female
about 0.7 mm.

The species is very distinct in its characters
and can be easily separated from the closely
related Kurzia longirostris (Daday, 1898) by
its large antennules which are almost equal to
the length of rostrum, and as the preanal cor-
ner of the post abdomen does not project. The
central setae on the ventral margin of the valve
are rather tough and larger in size than others
and the keel of the labrum has pointed apex,
these characters are unique being found only
in the specimens of Madhya Pradesh, and were
not present in previously described specimens
(Smirnov 1974).

PRAMOD RANE

Reference

Smirnov, N. N. (1974) : Fauna of U.S.S.R. ,
Crustacea, Chydoridae: NTIS, U. S. Department of
commerce. Spring Field. 487-488, fig. 476.

660

Figs. 1-3. Kurzia latissima (Kurz)

1. Parthenogenetic female; 2. Anterior side of the head showing antennule and keel
of labrum; 3. Post-abdomen in lateral view.

13

661

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

21. ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF BENGAL

While making intensive plant exploration in
northern parts of West Bengal viz. Jalpaiguri
and Darjeeling Districts during March-April
1973 and October-November 1976 several in-
teresting species were collected which on criti-
cal study proved not to have been reported
earlier from West Bengal. Examination of the
specimens deposited in Central National Her-
barium (CAL) confirmed their earlier collec-
tions but these have not been reported so far.
Hence the 5 taxa are now being reported as
new records for West Bengal and additions
to the Flora of Bengal. These are supplemented
with relevant notes. The specimens are depo-
sited in CAL & BSIS.

Asteraceae

Erigeron bonariensis Linn. Sp. PI. 863. 1753;

Erigeron linifolius Willd. Sp. pi. 3. 1955,

1803; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 3: 254. 1882.

An erect hirsute herb. Stem branched. Leaves
upper ones sessile, linear lower ones often
stalked, broad & toothed. Heads small in
corymbose panicle, white or pale purple.

Specimens examined : Rangpoo forest, Dar-
jeeling, B. Krishna 404, (BSIS); Sevoke forest,
Darjeeling, D. Das 43; 21st Mile road from
Rajabhatkhawa, Jalpaiguri, V. Narayanswami
2315 (CAL).

Gesneriaceae

Aeschyn&nthns grandiflora Spreng. Syst. 4. 238.

1827; Clarke in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4:338.

1885.

An epiphytic herb. Stem terete, branched,
rooting at nodes. Leaves coriaceous, alternate.
Flowers with red tube and orange lobes suffus-
ed with black purple dots.

Specimens examined : Chapramari forest,

Jalpaiguri, B. Krishna 268 (BSIS).

Orchidaceae

Dendrobium crepsdatum Lindl. Paxt. FI. Gard.
1: 63. t. 45. 1850-51 et nov. ed. 1:53. t. 40.
1852; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 5: 740. 1890;
Prain, Bengal Plants 2: 758. 1963 (repr.).
Epiphyte. Stem terete greenish-yellow narrow
at base, thickening upwards. Leaves membra-
nous, sheathing, oblong-lanceolate. Flowers in
pairs from the nodes, white tipped with pink,
lip light yellow.

Specimens examined : Kundong block, Kali-
jhora, Darjeeling, B. Krishna 380 (BSIS).

Prain (1903) recorded it from Chotanagpur
in Bihar.

Phalaenopsis maimii Reichb. f. Gard. Chron.
902. 1871; 503. 1876; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind.
6: 30. 1890.

Epiphyte. Pseudobulb O. Leaves oblong-
lanceolate, coriaceous. Scape equalling leaves,
many flowered. Flowers yellowish-brown, lip
yellow with pink blotches.

Specimens examined : Kalijhora, Darjeeling,
B. Krishna 351 (BSIS).

Liliaceae

Smiiax laneeaefolia Roxb. FI. Ind. 3 . 792.
1832; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 6: 308. 1892.
Prickly climber, branches subterete, slender.
Leaves membranous, ovate-lanceolate, opposite.
Male and female flowers in umbels. Fruit a
berry, tip pink.

Specimens examined : Andherijhora, Darjee-
ling, B. Krishna 325 (BSIS); Buxa-Santrawari
road, Jalpaiguri, V. Narayanswami 2857 (CAL).
Cowan & Cowan (1929) stated in a foot note

662

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

that the species was found at an altitude of
5-7,000 feet but no specimen could be located
at CAL and BSIS except the above cited two
specimens which were collected from places
of much lower altitude.

Botanical Survey of India,

Gangtok, Sikkim.

Botanical Survey of India,

Calcutta.

January 19, 1982.

Acknowledgement

We wish to express our gratitude to the
Director, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah
for all the facilities.

B. KRISHNA

S, N. DAS

Reference

Cowan, A. M. & Cowan, J. M. (1929) : The trees sion of the list by Gamble,
of Northern Bengal including shrubs, woody dim- Prain, D. (1903) : Bengal plants. Calcutta,
bers, bamboos, palms and tree ferns being a revi-

22. CULTIVATION OF VERNOMA SHEVARO YENSIS GAMBLE
(ASTERACEAE) — AN ENDEMIC AND ENDANGERED PLANT
IN THE SOUTHERN EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN, BOTANICAL

SURVEY OF INDIA

This note relates to a tree namely Vernonia
shevaroyensis Gamble which is endemic to
Shevaroy hills of Tamilnadu and is en-
dangered. Collections of the species from its
type locality were made by different collectors
and deposited in the different herbaria of the
Botanical Survey of India viz . Madras Herba-
rium (MH) and BSA. The details of collections
are furnished in Table 1. Narayana (1979) has
also collected the plant material from its type
locality for his studies on trichomes of 15
species. V. shevaroyensis Gamble is a tall tree
of c. 15 m in height, and grows near a peren-
nial stream flowing through a private Coffee
estate of Marapalam area (i.e. Kakasholey
stream), on the way to Nagalur of Shevaroy
hills at an altitude of approx. 1350 m. The
species is considered a threatened species
(Henry et al 1978) as it has never been col-
lected away from its type locality, and even
there only a single well grown plant occurs.

The restricted distribution of the plant in its
type locality may be due to ecological prefer-
ence and self-sterility of its seeds, which is
common in Asteraceae (Walters 1979).

To save the plant from extinction it was
decided by the Southern Circle of Botanical
Survey of India to increase the plant popula-
tion either by seed or vegetative propagation
in the Experimental Garden at Yercaud, Sheva-
roy hills, and to conserve the tree in its natural
habitat.

Fresh seeds were collected and sown for
germination trials on different occasions but
failed to germinate.

Thirty-five cuttings of soft and hard wood
were brought in the month of August, 1979
and treated with ‘Seradix’ a commercial for-
mulation of May & Baker for trial. Similarly,
a second attempt was made by bringing fifty
cuttings in the month of November, 1979. All
the cuttings were watered regularly on the

663

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. SO

Table 1

Detail of herbarium sheets of Vernonia shevaroyensis Gamble

Place of
collection

Altitude

Date of
collections

Collected by

Name of the
Herbarium where
deposited

Remarks

Kakasholey area,
Marapalam,
Nagalur Road,
Yercaud,

Salem Dt.

1350 m.

15.4.1966

A. V. N. Rao

B. S. I. (MH),
Coimbatore- 3.
Fid. No. 27460.

Tree,
flowers
pale blue.

— do —

— do —

29.8.1979

A. K. Banerjee

B. S. I. (BSA),
Allahabad-2.
Fid. No. 31404.

non-rainy days as the Experimental Garden
gets two monsoon in a year. There is no rain
in the month of October.

It was observed that only four cuttings from
the first trial showed new growth after a lapse
of forty-five days, and none of the cuttings
showed any rooting response in the second trial
group. Out of the four cuttings one did not
establish due to damage caused by some patho-
gens while the others are growing luxuriantly

under better care and have established this
rare species in the Experimental Garden.

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Dr. N. C. Nair, Jt. Direc-
tor (S. Circle) and Dr. R. K. Chakraverty, Dy.
Director (C. Circle) of the Botanical Survey
of India respectively for their interest and
encouragement.

Botanical Survey of India, A. K. BANERJEE1

Exp. Garden, Yercaud, A. V. N. RAO

Salem Dt., Tamilnadu-636 601,

January 7, 1982.

Referen ces

Henry, A. N., Vivekananthan, K. & Nair, N. C.
(1978): Rare and threatened flowering plants of
South-India. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 75(3) : 684-
697.

Narayana, B. M. (1979) : Taxonomic value of
Trichomes in Vernonia Schreb. ( Asteraceae) . Proc.
Indian Acad. Sci., &#B(5) : 347-357.

Walters, S. M. (1979) : The Eastern England
rare plant project in the University Botanic Garden,
Cambridge, Proc. of the Practical role of Botanic
Gardens in the conservation of rare and threatened
plants, Bentham Moxon Trust, Royal Botanic Gar-
den, Kew.

1 Present address: Botanical Survey of India In-
dian Botanic Garden, Howrah-711 103, (W.B.).

664

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

23. NOTES ON RARE PLANTS FROM MADHYA PRADESH

During the floristic studies made recently in
Raigarh District, Eastern Madhya Pradesh,
many rare plants hitherto not reported in lite-
rature on this area were recorded. The present
paper deals with nine taxa of flowering plants,
and each is provided with a short description
and other relevant data. All the specimens cited
are deposited in the Herbarium of the Central
Circle, Botanical Survey of India, Allahabad
(BSA).

Acanthaceae

Aechmanthera gossypina (Nees) Nees in Wall.
PL As. Rar. 3: 87. 1832. Ruellia gossypina
Nees in Wall. PI. As. Rar. 1: 38. t. 42. 1829.
Aechmanthera foment osa Nees in Wall. PI.
As. Rar. 3: 87. 1832; C. B. Clarke in Hook,
f. FI. Brit. India 4: 428. 1884 (incl. var.
wallichii) .

Erect undershrubs; stems villous or tomen-
tose. Leaves 8-10 x 3-4 cm, elliptic-lanceolate,
acute, rounded at base, crenate, tomentose.
Panicles to 30 cm long. Bracts and bracteoles
linear. Calyx 8-12 mm long, glandular-hairy.
Corolla 2. 0-2. 5 cm long. Capsules 8 mm long,
8-seeded.

Distribution-. Western and Eastern Hima-
layas.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh: Rai-
garh Dist., Champa, 950 m.. Sen Gupta 16516.

Lamiaceae

Ajega macrosperma Wall, ex Benth. var. bre-
viflora Hook. f. Brit. India 4: 704. 1885;
Mukherjee in Rec. bot. Surv. India 14: 226.
1940.

Erect or procumbent herbs; stems grooved,
glabrous at base, hairy towards the apex.
Leaves 4-10 x 2-5 cm, elliptic-oblong or ovate.

base decurrent to the petiole, serrate; petioles
1.5 -3.0 cm long. Spikes to 8 cm long. Corolla
blue, often hairy; tube as long as or longer
than the calyx, inflated at the base; upper lip
2-lobed. Stamens exserted. Nutlets pitted.

Distribution : Eastern Himalayas, Bihar.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh:

Raigarh Dist., Jashpur, 625 m, Arora 3827.

Rubiaceae

Argostemma courtallense Arn. in Ann. Nat.

Hist. 3: 22. 1839; Wight, Ic. t. 1160. 1846;

Hook. f. FI. Brit. India 3: 42. 1880.

Slender, erect, sparsely pubescent herbs;
roots tuberous. Leaves opposite or in whorls
of four, subsessile, 4-7 x 2-5 cm, orbicular or
ovate-elliptic, subacute, membranous. Flowers
in terminal umbels, 4-merous. Bracts foliace-
ous. Calyx campanulate; corolla white, rotate.
Stamens inserted at the base of corolla-tube,
exserted; anthers dehiscing by terminal pores.
Capsules crowned by the limb of calyx.

Distribution : South India.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh:

Raigarh Dist.. Kharra, 200 m, Rathakrishnan
21058.

Rhxzophoraceae

Camilla hmchiata (Lour.) Merr. in Philip. J.

Sci. Bot. 15: 249. 1919. Diatoma brachiata

Lour. FI. Cochinch. 296. 1790. Carallia in-

tegerrima DC. Prodr. 3: 33. 1828; Bedd. FI.

Sylv. t. 193. 1872; Henslow in Hook. f. FI.

Brit. India 2: 439. p.p. 1878.

Trees 3-5 m high. Leaves 5-10 x 2. 5-5.0 cm,
obovate or ovate-elliptic, shortly acute, mar-
gins revolute, coriaceous, shining. Flowers
sessile in axillary, trichotomous cymes. Calyx

665

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

— tube campanulate; lobes 7. Petals white,
orbicular, lacerate. Stamens 14. Stigma 4-5 —
lobed. Berries globose, unilocular, one-seeded.

Distribution : Eastern Himalayas, West Ben-
gal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, South India.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh:

Raigarh Dist, Bhubdeopur, 250 m, Ratha-
krishnan 19713.

Urticaceae

Elatostema cuneatum Wight, Ic. t. 2091, f. 3.

1853; Hook. f. FI. Brit. India 5: 568. 1888;

Mitra in Bull. bot. Surv. India 9: 279-280

1967 (1968).

Slender, erect annuals, monoecious. Leaves
subsessile, 2-4 x 0.8- 1.5 cm, falcately cuneate,
crenate-serrate in the upper part, sparsely
setose above with linear cystoliths on both
sides; lower leaves smaller than the upper ones,
nearly entire. Stipules ovate. Flowers minute,
regular on axillary capitate receptacles. Invo-
lucral bracts 2-4, ovate-oblong, cucullate. Male
flowers: perianth-lobes 4, broadly ovate; sta-
mens 4. Female flowers: perianth lobes 3,
shorter than the ovary. Achenes ellipsoid, red.

Distribution : Sikkim, West Bengal, South
India.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh:

Raigarh Dist., Bhubdeopur, 250 m, Ratha-
krishnan 21228.

Moraceae

Flees feenjamlna L. var. comosa (Roxz.) Kurz,

For. FI. Burma 2: 446. 1877; Hook. f. FI.

Brit. India 5: 508. 1888. F. comosa Roxb.

PI. Cor. 2: 14. t. 125. 1798: Wight, Ic. t.

658. 1843.

Large trees with drooping branches. Leaves
5-10 x 2-4 cm, ovate-elliptic, abruptly acumi-
nate, subcordate at base, obscurely 3 -ribbed.

Figs sessile in axillary pairs, 1 .2-1 .6 cm across,
subglobose or ovoid, red. Basal bracts 2-3,
minute or one enlarged.

Distribution : Assam, Bihar, South India.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh:

Raigarh Dist., Kailasnatheswar gufa, 1200 m,
Rathakrishnan 24504.

Loganiaceae

Mitrasacme pygmaea R. Br. var. malaccensis

(Wight) Hara in J. Jap. Bot. 30: 204. 1955;

Back. & Bakh. f. FI. Java 2: 208. 1965. M.

malaccensis Wight, Ic. t. 1601. 1850. M. poly -

morpha sensu C. B. Clarke in Hook. f. FI.

Brit. India 4: 80. 1883, p.p., non R. Br.

1810.

Slender hispid annuals. Leaves 7-10 mm long,
ovate-lanceolate, serrulate. Flowers in terminal
pseudo-umbels, 4-merous. Corolla campanu-
late, white; lobes rounded, hairy within. Sta-
mens 4, exserted. Styles 2, free at the base,
connate above the middle. Capsules globose,
crowned by the styles. Seeds ellipsoid, punctate.

Distribution : South India.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh :

Raigarh Dist., Sarainadi, 275 m, Rathakrishnan
21049.

Lytfiraceae

Rotala oceultiflora Koehne in Engl. Bot. Jahrb.

1: 152. 1881.

Small herbs 4-10 cm high. Leaves verticillate,
5-12 mm long, linear-lanceolate, rounded at
base. Flowers in axillary cymes. Bracteoles 2-4
mm long, lanceolate, longer than the calyx.
Calyx-lobes 5, ovate. Petals 0. Stamens 2-4.

Capsules 2-3 valved.

Distribution : South India.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh:

Raigarh Dist., Senna, 750 m. Sen Gupta 16481.

666

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Campanulaceae

Wahlenbergia erecta (Roth ex Roem. &
Schult.) Tuyn in Steenis, FI. Males, (ser. 1)
6: 113. 1960. Dentella erecta Roth ex Roem.
& Schult. Syst. Veg. 5: 25. 1819. Cephalo-
stigma schimperi Hochst. ex A. Rich. Tent.
FI. Abyss. 2: 2. 1851; C. B. Clarke in Hook,
f. FI. Brit. India 3: 428. 1881.

Erect annuals. Leaves subsessile, spirally
arranged, 5-20 x 1. 5-6.0 mm, oblong-elliptic.

Botanical Survey of India,

Coimbatore-641 003.

Botanical Survey of India,

Allahabad-21 1 002,

December 31, 1981.

dentate-crenate. Flowers usually solitary or in
lax cymes. Calyx-lobes linear-triangular, sparse-
ly hairy. Corolla campanulate, bluish. Capsules
2-3 mm long, obconic, hispid. Seeds ellipsoid,
compressed.

Distribution : Eastern Himalayas, Bihar,

South India.

Specimens examined : madhya pradesh :

Raigarh Dist., Bagicha, 600 m. Sen Gupta
16451.

N. C. RATHAKRISHNAN
RAM SARAN

24. ERIOCAULON ECHINULATUM MART. ( ERIOC AUL ACE AE )
— A NEW RECORD FOR INDIA

(With eight text-figures)

This note records the occurrence of Erio-
caulon echinulatum Mart, in Balphakram Wild
Life Sanctuary in Garo Hills, Meghalaya.
Hooker (FI. Brit. India 6: 579. 1893) reported
this species based on a collection of Wallich
(Wall. Cat. No. 6082) from Kalaben in Burma.
There are no collections of this either in the
Herbarium of Botanical Survey of India at
Shillong (assam) or at the Central National
Herbarium (CAL) from the Indian region.
Therefore, the present collection from Megha-
laya forms the first report of its occurrence
from India, and is described here.

EriocauSon echinulatum Mart, in Wall. PI.

As. Rar. 3: 29. 1832; Flook. f. FI. Brit. Ind.

6: 579. 1893; Fyson in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc.

2: 317. t. 47. 1921.

Roots fibrous, tufted. Scapes 5-10 cm high,
stout, striate, twisted, glabrous, hairy only be-

low the head. Leaves radical, 2-3 x 0.2-0. 4
cm, subulate, acute, with distinct cross ner-
vules. Sheaths as long as leaves. Heads 4-6 mm
across, straw-coloured, with distinct, stel-
lately radiating bracts. Receptacle villous. In-
volucral bracts lanceolate, ending in long ari-
state, glistening apex; floral bract longer than
flowers, narrowed at base, abruptly narrowed
to an elongate apex. Male flower: sepal 1,
rounded or crenate; petals reduced to hairs or
deformed; staminal column as long as sepals,
slightly narrower towards villous base; stamens
6, at the top of the staminal column; anthers

2- celled, elliptic, black. Female flowers: sepals
2, falcately lanceolate, clawed, winged at the
back, with serrate margin; petals 0 or reduced
to hairs, partly concealing the ovary; ovary

3- celled, straw-coloured; style stout, 3-fid.
Capsule triangular, truncate, membranous; seed

667

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

0 mm 6

Figs. 1-8. Eriocaulon echinulatum Mart. 1. Habit
sketch; 2. Head (enlarged) ; 3. Male flower;
4. Female flower; 5. Involucral bract; 6.
Floral bract; 7. Capsule; 8. Seed.

elongate, with 5, pectinate, longitudinal ribs,
and a black apical gland (Figs. 1-8).

FIs. & Frts. : August to October.

Notes'. This is quite distinct from other
species of the genus in having long, stellately
aristate, glistening bracts, giving the head, a
spiny appearance. Rare, in marshy, open grass-
land associated with Eriocaulon alpestre, E.

Department of Botany,

School of Life Sciences,

North-Eastern Hill University,
Shillong-793 014,

December 9, 1981.

nepalense, Utricularia spp., and grasses.

Distribution : Burma, Southern China and
Thailand: presently recorded from Garo Hills,
Meghalaya at 150-200 m elevations.

Specimens examined: Y. Kumar, 5737 Bal-
phakram (Garo Hills). Specimens deposited in
Herbarium of North-Eastern Hill University.
Shillong (NEHU).

S. MYRTHONG
Y. KUMAR
R. R. RAO

668

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

25. ON THE IDENTITY OF OPHIORRHIZA SESHAGIRIANA
SIKDAR ET MAITI (RUBIACEAE)

The taxonomy of the genus Ophiorrhiza L.
(Rubiaceae) in the Indian subcontinent has
been under investigation by us for the last four
years. Our attention was drawn to the recent
publication of O. seshagiriana Sikdar et Maiti
in J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 78(1): 143,
1981. The new species was collected from Jal-
paiguri District in May 1976 and described on
the basis of a single gathering /. K. Sikdar
4681A-E. We distinguished this species from
O. heterophylla Dunn in Kew Bull. 1920
(4): 133. 1920, collected in December-March
1911-1912, from Kameng District (Abor Hill),
Arunachal Pradesh /. H. Bur kill 36116, 36616,
37334, 38158, 38171 in consideration of erect
habit, cymes with short raceme like branches,
shorter pedicel, triangular-ovate glabrous calyx
lobes, cylindrical non bulbous corolla tube and
shorter anther lobes. They further observed that
the species is clearly recognizable by the pre-
sence of reflexed corolla lobes at blooming as
seen in O. heterophylla where heterostyly is of
common occurrence, while in this taxon this
is not visible.

We rightly compared the material with
O. heterostyla having reflexed corolla lobes.
But the differences observed are not tenable
as they resulted from superficial study and mis-
interpretation of morphological characters. It
is evident from the specimens that the plant is
not erect. Inflorescence is in dichotomous or
trichotomous panicle of cymes, sometimes heli-
coid above. Pedicel varies from 1.25 to 3.5
mm in O. heterostyla. In O. seshagiriana the
pedicels are generally shorter, but in Sikdar
468 ID it is 2.25 mm long. Shorter pedicels

Botanical Survey of India,

Indian Botanic Garden,

Howrah-71 1-103,

December 2, 1981.

and triangular-ovate glabrous calyx lobes are
present in type material of O. heterostyla.
Anther lobes are of the same size in both the
species. Corolla tube is not generally distinctly
bulbed at base in O. seshagiriana, but it shows
a bulbous tendency or is slightly bulbous
sometimes as in Sikdar 4681 A. We failed
to observe heterostyly in O. seshagiriana even
though it is evident in the presence of short
styled flower in Sikdar 468 IB along with long
styled ones. In view of all these variations ob-
served on detailed scrutiny of the type speci-
mens it is evident that O. seshagiriana does
not differ specifically from O. heterostyla and
it is reduced to synonymy as follows.

O. hererostyla Dunn in Kew Bull. 1920 (4) :
133. 1920 (Syntype: Arunachal, Kament Dis-
trict (Abor Hill), Burkill 36116! CAL, 37334!
CAL, 38158! CAL, K).

Syn. O. seshagiriana Sikdar et Maiti in J.
Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 78(1) : 142. 1981 (Type:
West Bengal, Jalpaiguri District, Buxaduar,
1800 m (?), J. K. Sikdar 4681A Holotype:
B-E lsotype! all in (CAL) synon. nov.

This, however, extends the range of distri-
bution of O. heterostyla from Kameng District
(Arunachal) to Jalpaiguri District (West Ben-
gal), 540 m-1020 m. This is also collected from
Kachin State, Burma at a higher altitude 1500-
2100 m as extent in herb. K.

Flowering time : December-May.

Distribution : North Bengal (Jalpaiguri) to
Burma (Kachin State).

Probably this occurs all over the sub -Hima-
layan Ranges from Nepal to Burma at 540-
2100 m.

D. B. DEB
D. C. MONDAL

669

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY
SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR 1982-83

Executive Committee
President

Dr. Salim Ali, d.sc., f.n.a.

Vice-Presidents
Mr. R. E. Hawkins

Mr. G. V. Bedekar, i.e.s. (Retd.) r Ex-Officio
Mr. D. J. Panday

Member

Director, Dept, of Science &

Technology, Government of India, j

Elected Members

Advisory Committee

Mr. Humayun Abdulali

Mr. H. G. Acharya

Ahmedabad

Dr. S. R. Amladi, m.d.

Mr. F. C. Badhwar o.b.e. . .

New Delhi

Prof. P. V. Bole

Dr. B. Biswas

Calcutta

Mr. Divyabhanusinh Chawda

Mr. S. Chaudhuri

New Delhi

Dr. B. Dasgupta

Dr. Madhav Gadgil

Bangalore

Mr. H. K. Divekar

Mr. N. D. Jayal

New Delhi

{Honorary Treasurer)

Mr. Shivarajkumar

Mr. David Fernandes

Khachar

Jasdan

Dr. C. V. Kulkarni, m.sc., ph.d.

Mr. Lavkumar Khacher

Rajkot

Mr. Bansi Mehta

Mr. M. Krishnan

Madras

Mrs. Phillippa H. Mukherjee
Dr. A.N.D. Nanavati, m.d.

Mr. Duleep Matthai

New Delhi

{Honorary Secretary)
Mrs. Dilnavaz Variava

670

HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1982
99TH ANNUAL REPORT

Membership

in last year’s report we drew attention to
the fact that the number of ordinary mem-
bers had crossed the 1000 mark after many
years. The progress has been maintained but
the increase during the year has not been
satisfactory. The annual increase being only

employed or involved in management or own-
ing progressive companies will enroll them as
members and provide the Society with a sound
financial base.

Details of membership for the past quin-
quennium, showing members fully paid up on
31st December of each year are given in the
statement below:

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

Ordinary members

640

660

764

1044

1137

Corporate members

184

180

168

176

162

Life members

274

305

327

349

407

Compound Corporate members

9

9

20

37

52

Student members

96

83

94

165

126

Honorary members

4

4

3

3

3

Vice-patrons

—

—

—

3

4

1207

1241

1376

1777

1891

Members elected in 1982, but not paid 14
Members paid for 1981, but not paid
for 1982 129

93 as against 280 the previous year. Our re-
cruitment of Compound Corporate members
which is planned to be the mainstay of our
corpus funding was rather disappointing.

We repeat our appeal to members to re-
cruit more members, particularly Compound
Corporate members, a field of recruitment in
which we have done poorly indeed. The Com-
pound Corporate Membership fee of Rs. 2500
offers the Society’s facilities to company mem-
bers for a period of 25 years. I hope members

Publications

Journal :

The publication of the Journal failed to keep
the momentum it had achieved the previous
year and only one issue for the year namely
the April issue for 1982 volume 79(1) was
published.

Hornbill :

The Hornbill now in its 6th volume con-
tinued to retain its popular appeal and to at-

671

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

tract new members. We again request mem-
bers to remember that the Hornbill is largely
a reflection of member talent. If you have
good material in the form of articles and pho-
tographs, remember to send it over.

the book of Indian birds remains the So-
ciety’s most popular publication. Publications
are the one endeavour of the Society which
has consistently realised funds for its activities.
In the year under review three more books
were added to our prestigious publications list
namely grasses of western India by Toby
Hodd, a synopsis of the birds of INDIA and
Pakistan 2nd edition by S. D. Ripley, and

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN CLIMBERS & SHRUBS
by Bor & Raizada.

The Book of Indian Birds
The Book of Indian Animals
Some Beautiful Indian Trees
Glimpses of Nature in India Booklet
Snake Chart

Checklist of the Birds of Maharashtra
(2nd edition)

Checklist of the Birds of Delhi, Agra,
and Bharatpur

A Synopsis of the Birds of India & Pakistan
Some Beautiful Indian Climbers & Shrubs
Grasses of Western India

CHECKLIST OF THE BIRDS OF BORIVLI
national park by Humayun Abdulali pub-
lished by the Society is on sale at the Sanjay
Gandhi National Park, Borivli, Bombay. It
is also available at the Society’s Office.

Books under Publication :

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INDIAN NATURAL
HISTORY

Centenary Publications, 1883 - 1983

Work continues on the Encyclopedia which
when ready will provide a ready reference
volume for students in schools and colleges
and to the general reader on the natural hist-
ory of the Indian region.

A CENTURY OF NATURAL HISTORY
Centenary Publication 1883 - 1983

An anthology of the best natural history
articles from the Society’s Journal volumes
covering general natural history, expeditions
and explorations, hunting, fishing, conserva-
tion. wildlife photography, mammals, birds, re-
ptiles, fishes, insects, other invertebrates and

Sales

in

Balance stock

1981

1982

21-12-1982

2389

2019

3563

1392

613

1897

234

188

1800

192

393

1215

22

27

346

81

107

1783

89

30

155

386

1586

— r

335

2558

—

55

419

botany published during the hundred years of
the Society’s existence.

THE BOOK OF INDIAN REPTILES
By J. C. Daniel

One in the continuing series of the Society’s
publications on Indian Natural History, the
Reptile Book describes the common reptiles
of the Indian Sub-continent. The snake section

672

A.G.M. 1982-83— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS

will be illustrated with the paintings which ori-
ginally illustrated Wall’s A popular treatise on
the common Indian Snakes.

Conservation

The Society is recognised by the Central and
State Governments in India and by Interna-
tional Organisations abroad as an authoritative
source for information on conservation of wild-
life and natural resources. This recognition is
expressed in the form of association of its offi-
cials with State and Central Wildlife Advisory
Boards and representation on the Specialist
Groups of the Species Survival Commission of
the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources.

As the Western Regional Representative of
the Indian Board for Wildlife the Curator is a
member of the State Wildlife Boards of Rajas-
than, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh
and Goa.

Moroccan Houbara Survey:

Dr Asad Rah Rahmani, Senior Field Biolo-
gist in the Endangered Species programme
participated, as a member of the ICBP team,
in the survey of Moroccan Bustard habitats.

Bustard Conservation Consultation:

Dr Salim Ali and Dr A R Rahmani visited
UAE at the invitation of the UAE Govt, to
advise on captive breeding of bustards.

Seminars & Conferences

Primate Symposium, Baltimore, USA:

Dr. V. S. Vijayan, Project Scientist, Hydro-
biology Project presented a paper on the Lion-
tailed Macaque.

Eastern Ghats Seminar 23-27 March:

Dr. Salim Ali, Mr. Humayun Abdulali, Prof.
P. V. Bole, Mr. IT. K. Divekar & Dr. R. B.
Grubh participated in the seminar on the
Eastern Ghats Environmental Situation.

Dr. V. S. Vijayan, Project Scientist, Hydro-
biology Project, visited U.S. establishment con-
cerned with wetland conservation at the invi-
tation of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Bird Hazard Conference:

Dr. R. B. Grubh attended the 16th Bird
Strike Committee Europe, held between 18 and
21 of August at Moscow.

International Ornithological Congress:

Dr. R. B. Grubh, Mr. S. A. Hussain, Pro-
ject Scientists, participated in the Congress at
Moscow.

International Council for Bird Preservation:
Dr. R. B. Grubh and Mr. S. A. Hussain
attended the Council Meeting at Cambridge,
U.K.

Members’ Activities

Bird Count:

The monthly roadside count of birds at the
Borivli National Park on the third Sunday of
each month was continued. The data collected
during the last three years was analysed. Re-
port is available at the office for reference.

Nature Walks:

Nature walks were held in various areas of
natural history interest around Bombay for
bird watching, vegetation, butterflies study. The
programme helped in recruiting new members
and fostering interest in natural history among
members.

673

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

Nature Camps :

A nature camp was arranged at Bandhavgarh
National Park, Madhya Pradesh from 17th to
29th and 75 members participated. List of birds
and butterflies, vegetation seen were prepared.
Another nature camp was arranged at Keol-
adeo National Park during October-November.
50 members participated. The committee re-
corded appreciation of the work done by Mr.
P. B. Shekar and Mr. N. Chaturvedi for ar-
ranging these camps.

Research and other activities funded

FROM FIELD WORK FUNDS

The Field Work Funds available at the So-
ciety supported the following activities:

Salim Ali Nature Conservation Fund :

(1) Ecological Studies on the Gir Lion : Mr.
S. P. Sinha, Saurashtra University, moni-
tored the possible progressive changes in
the food and feeding habits of the Lion
in relation to environmental changes. A
preliminary report has been received.

(2) Catchment Area Conservation : Prof. Mad-
hav Gadgil organised a study for the con-
servation of catchment areas of River
Valley Projects in the Western Ghats. The
report is awaited.

(3) Cane Turtle Survey : Mr. P. Kannan made
a brief survey of Thattakkad and Param-
bilkulam sanctuaries in Kerala to study
the status of the turtles. A report is avail-
able at the office.

(4) Survey of Frogmouth : Mr. Antony

Powell a member from U.K. surveyed
habitats likely to hold the rare frogmouth
in the Kerala Forests. A report is avail-
able at the office.

(5) Wildlife & Tourism : Mr. Ullas Karanth,
a member in Karnataka studied the im-

pact of tourist traffic on Nagarhole San-
tuary. A report is awaited.

Salim Ali-Loke Wan Tho Ornithological

Research Fund:

(1) Mrs. K. R. Lalitha continued the study
of the Comparative Ecology of Drongos
with special reference to Ecological Isol-
ation among them.

(2) Mr. Shahid Ali began observations on the
ecology of Grey Partridge at Point Cali-
mere.

(3) Mr. Anwarul Islam from Bangladesh be-
gan observations on the ecology of the
Laughing Thrushes in the Himalayas and
the Western Ghats.

(4) Miss Madeline Holloway studied the
Breeding Biology of the Little Tern at
Point Calimere.

5) Dr. J. V. Ramana Rao was assisted for
a study of Grey Pelican at Nelapattu.

(6) Mr. S. A. Hussain was assisted for attend-
ing the International Ornithological Con-
gress at Moscow.

(7) Financial assistance was extended to Mr.
Koneri Rao, a member of the Society, to
study Yellow-headed Bulbul in the Car-
natic area of Tamil Nadu.

Pirojsha Godrej Fund :

Financial assistance was provided to:

(a) to Mr. Aloysius G. Sekar for the study
of breeding Amphibians.

(b) Mr. S. M. Ketkar for the study of Pre-
monsoon activities of crabs.

(c) Mr. M. Selvaraj for learning field identi-
fication of birds and bird banding.

Research funded by government and

GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES

Studies on the movement and population stru-
cture of Indian avifauna:

674

A.G.M. 1982-83— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS

The main research stations at Point Cali-
mere and Bharatpur operated throughout the
year, for both bird ringing as well as ecologi-
cal monitoring.

Subsidiary bird ringing stations were also
operated at Harike Lake and Shivaliks range
in Punjab with financial assistance from the
Punjab State Government. Apart from these
a Western Ghats monitoring programme for
bird population studies was also launched after
extensive survey carried out by project staff.
Ringing camps at Kodaikanal, Mundanthurai,
Kannikkatti, Ponmudi, Peermedu, and Periyar
were operated briefly. The cooperation and as-
sistance rendered by the Forest Departments
of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, as well
as the volunteers from Madras Naturalists So-
ciety, Kerala Naturalists Society and Wildlife
Association of Ramnad is greatly appreciated.

Mr. S. A. Hussain, Project Scientist, visited
TJ.K. to attend the ICBP International Con-
ference and to attend the XVIII Internatioanl
Ornithological Congress U.S.S.R. He also
visited Wildlife Research Stations in U.S.A.
and Canada at the invitation of the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service. A meeting of the Wader
Study group at Durham, U.K. was also atten-
ded. The Project Scientist appraised the re-
searchers in these areas of the work done by
the BNHS with slides, talks, etc.

An ecological study of bird hazards at Indian
aerodromes :

Work on 3 major airfields including Bom-
bay and Delhi was taken up and completed.
Field studies covered identification of hazard-
ous birds at these airfields, study of their eco-
logical requirements, habits and movements
at different seasons of the year and causes of
their proliferation, and evolving procedures to
reduce bird strike problems at these airports.

Revised bird strike data forms were pre-

pared. A booklet on ‘Potential Problem Birds’
approved by the ARDB is nearing completion.

Dr. Robert B. Grubh attended a conference
on Bird Hazards in Moscow, and the 16th
bird strike committee in Europe, both in Au-
gust 1982. He also attended a meeting of the
operational problems panel of the R & D or-
ganisation, Bangalore to report on progress of
work on Bird Hazard Project and undertook
a study tour to the U.S.

Annual report for 1982 is under prepara-
tion.

Hydrobiological ( Ecological ) Research Station
at Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary :

Data collection and detailed studies of Lim-
nology, Comparative abundance of aquatic
birds and fish fauna, were undertaken.

5 research assistants and 1 research biolo-
gist were recruited during the year.

Dr. Krishnamurthy, Director of Indian Toxi-
cological Research Centre visited Bharatpur
for consultation. An agreement also was made
with the I.T.R.C. for analysis of water sam-
ples and to study air pollution.

Work programme as planned by the Project
Scientist was reviewed by a Committee con-
sisting of Dr. Salim Ali, Dr. A. N. D. Nana-
vati. Dr. Madhav Gadgil, Dr. Anil Gore, Dr.
Prasad, Dr. Gopalan, Dr. Robert B. Grubh
and Messrs J. C. Daniel and S. A. Hussain.

Project Scientist visited U.S.A. on a study
tour.

Mr. David Ferguson of U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service visited Bharatpur to study the progress
of work.

Ecology of Certain Endangered Species of
Wildlife and their Habitats :

Field surveys were carried out in Maharash-
tra, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Karnataka and M.P.
for Great Indian Bustard. Study of breed-

675

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

ing of Great Indian Bustard was done both
at Karera (M.P.) and Solapur (Maharashtra),
Entomological, Phenological work was also
carried out. Study of succession dominance
and population dynamics and distribution of
different plant species was completed.

During field surveys eight bustards were
sighted in Karmala, — Kameri areas in Maha-
rashtra, fifteen in Karera (M.P.) with four
chicks and six bustards were seen in Ranee-
bennur (Karnataka).

Surveys were conducted for Lesser Florican
in Saurashtra and Sailana (M.P.). All the
nests of Floricans were either destroyed or the
chicks and the hens killed by the tribals. This
indicated very poor breeding success.

During the year Principal Investigator, Dr.
Salim Ali with Senior Field Biologist, Dr. A. R.
Rahmani, visited U.A.E. at the invitation of
the U.A.E. Government.

Dr. Rahmani also joined a survey party for
Houbara bustard in Morocco.

Donations

For Salim Ali Nature Conservation Fund:
Dr. Salim Ali Rs. 25000.00

For Salim Ali Nature Conservation Fund for
Silent Valley Expenses :

Secretary, Science Centre, KSSP Rs. 3400.00
World Wildlife Fund — India Rs. 3000.00

Rs. 6400.00

For Charles McCann Vertebrate Zoology
Field Work Fund:

Mr. S. Chaudhuri Rs. 600.00

Life Membership Fund:

Mr. D. J. Panday Rs. 500.00

For General Fund:

Rs.

1 . M/s Tata Engineering &

Locomotive Co. Ltd.

10,000.00

2. Dr. M. D. Gadgil

2,975.00

3. Dr. C. V. Kulkarni

2,510.00

4. M/s Bharat Tiles & Marble
Pvt. Ltd.

2,500.00

5. Mr. Bill Harvey

1,340.00

6. Mr. Ben King, King Bird Tours

973.15

7. Rev. E. D. Shaw

802.02

8. Mr. Richard M. Leonard

193.43

9. Mr. Achilles Olympus
Morrokordatos

150.00

10. Mr. M. A. Rau

101.00

1 1 . Miss Sadhana Nagendra

50.00

12. Mr. M. j. Dastur

40.00

Total Rs.

21,634.60

Reference collection

During the year under reference 159 speci-
mens were registered into the collection.

Birds

109

Reptiles

7

Amphibians

23

Spiders

20

159

Nature Education Scheme

More than 6000 students from 88 schools
participated in our various activities. Besides
school students 100 trainee teachers and about
330 college students took advantage of our
programmes, in the form of field trips, visits to
the Natural History Section of the Museum,
the Zoo and the Aquarium, exhibitions and
workshops.

A Nature Orientation course was arranged

676

A.G.M. 1982-83— PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS

on 20th, 21st and 22nd September 1982 for
primary and secondary biology teachers. 20
primary teachers from 13 schools and 33 se-
condary teachers from 26 schools attended the
camp.

As part of the Maharashtra State Wildlife
Week Celebrations for 1982 an exhibition on
CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE was ar-
ranged in the Society’s premises for school
children. 3108 students from 31 schools in-
cluding 18 students from the Spastic Society’s
School visited.

Meetings

January: Nature walk: Kalina campus 10th
January

Slide show : (a) Butterflies of Sikkim by
Mr. N. D. Mulla
(b) Pachmarhi 20th January

Nature walk : Kanheri Caves to Mulund
24th January.

February : Nature walk : Tungareshwar 14th
February

Nandumadhmeshwar on 20-22 February.

Talk! slide show : Ecological crisis in the
Himalayas by Sunderlal Bahuguna.

March: Nature walk : Lion safari Park to
Kokabi Hills 14th March.

Talk & slide show: High altitude flora of
Western Himalayas by Dr. M. A. Rau 18th
March.

April '.Nature Camp: Bandhavgadh Nation-
al Park, Madhya Pradesh from 17th to 29th
April.

Nature walk: Evening nature walk from
Kanheri Caves to Aarey Market ll.th April.

June: Slide show: Bandhavgadh National
Park ll.th June.

Nature walk: Karnala Bird Sanctuary 13th
June.

Film Show: Victor of the dryland. Lord of
the air 13th June. The rise of the mammals
19th June.

The hunter and hunted Life in the trees
20th June.

Nature camp: Matheran 26 & 27 June.

lxx\y '.Nature walk: IIT Campus, Powai, 4th
July. Rajmachi Fort 24 & 25 July.

August: Nature walk: Borivli National

Park 8th August, Chinchoti falls 22nd August.

September: Talk: Problems of introduced
species in Island ecosystem by Dick Veitch
8th Sept.

Film Show: Earth A Dying Planet. In
search of a Green Planet? Are Lions Harm-
ful? 16th Sept.

Nature walk: Monsoon flora from Kanheri
to Tulsi Lake 19th September.

Talk /Slide show: Common Plants of Sahya-
dri by Mr. Almeida 23rd September.

Nature camp: Amboli 25th to 27th Septem-
ber.

October: Film show: Wild wings. Japanese
Monkey 13th October.

Nature walk: Borivli National Park 17th
October.

Talk: Naturalist experience in western

Himalayas by Dr. Gaston.

Nature walk: At Dusk from Kanheri to
Aarey Market 31st October.

Nature Camp: Keoladeo National Park 27th
October to 5th November.

November: Talk: Sempach Bird Institute
and its activities by Dr Edward Fuch 5th
November.

Nature walk: Nagla Trail 28th November.

Revenue & Accounts

The financial situation of the Society has
improved, and the year’s working showed a
small surplus after provisions for staff Gratuity
Fund & Centenary Celebrations Expenses.

Staff

The Committee wishes to record its appre-
ciation of the willing cooperation of the staff
in the activities of the Society.

677

14

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80

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HISTORY SOCIETY

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

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692

Bombay, 23 rd September, 1983.

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE
SOCIETY WAS HELD ON MONDAY, THE 28TH NOVEMBER 1983
AT HORNBILL HOUSE AT 6.30 P.M. WHEN THE FOLLOWING

WERE PRESENT:

1 . Dr. Salim Ali

2. Mr. D. J. Panday (in the Chair)

3. Mr. V. K. Paralkar

4. Mr. Oswald Thayil

5. Mr. S. D. N. Gandhi

6. Mr. M. R. Almeida

7. Mr. S. S. Mayekar

8. Mr. Shaman Udani

9. Mr. D. P. Bannerjee

10. Mr. J. P. Irani

1 1 . Mr. M. D. Agharkar

12. Mr. Dilip G. Patil

13. Ms. Arati Kaikini

14. Commander GVK Unnithan, I.N.

15. Mr. Debi Goenka

16. Mr. Sunil R. Zaveri

17. Mr. S. D. Kowshik

18. Dr. P. J. Deoras

19. Mr. G. W. Taylor

20. Mr. K. N. Naoroji

21 . Mr. R. E. Hawkins

22. Prof. P. V. Bole

23. Mr. J. C. Daniel

24. Mr. Bansi Mehta

25. Mr. Bibhas Amonkar

26. Mrs. D. S. Variava

27. Mr. Bittu Sahgal

28 . Sanctuary Magazine

29. Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati

30. Mr. H. K. Divekar

31. Ms Heta Pandit

32. Mr. Shiraz Balsara

33. Mr. Kailash Gupta

34. Mr. S. D. Bhaumik

35. Mr. N. D. Mulla

36.

Mr.

K. Bhasker Rao

37.

Mr. Ulhas Rane

38.

Mr.

Robert D’Souza

39.

Mr.

R. S. Moral

40.

Mr.

Sunil Joshi

41.

Ms.

A. S. Driver

42.

Mr.

Suresh Bhatkal

43.

Mr. Ashok G. Puranik

44.

Mr.

S. Pereira

45.

Mr.

D. S. Manchekar

46.

Mr.

K. K. Vajifdar

47.

Mr.

N. K. Upadhyaya

48.

One

name is illegible.

At the request of the President, the Vice-
President Mr. D. J. Panday took the Chair
and conducted the proceedings.

The Honorary Secretary’s Report for 1982-
83 having been previously circulated, was
taken as read. He drew attention to the
salient features in his supplementary remarks,
the Honorary Secretary stated that:

1 . The total membership of the Society to
date was 2162, of which 155 were Com-
pound Corporate Members.

2. Two of the Centenary publications,
namely

(a) A PICTORIAL GUIDE TO THE
BIRDS OF THE INDIAN SUB-
CONTINENT, by Drs. S. Dillon
Ripley and Salim Ali.

(b) A CENTURY OF NATURAL
HISTORY, edited by J. C. Daniel
had been released.

693

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

Dr. P. J. Deoras inquired whether the
the Project field work was carried on for the
Society, or some other organizations. He was
informed that studies made were for the
Society. He was assured that either typed or
cyclostyled copies of reports on field activities
will be available to members for perusal as
and when they are ready.

The Honorary Secretary’s report was put to
vote and accepted.

The Audited Balance Sheet of profit and
loss account were next taken up for consider-
ation. The Honorary Treasurer, Mr. H. K.
Divekar asked whether members had any
questions on the various heads mentioned in
the accounts.

Dr. P. J. Deoras asked the Balance Sheet be
explained, and the Honorary Treasurer after
giving a resume of the various income and
expenditure items, informed that there was a
small profit of Rs. 2,418.72 during the year
1981-82.

As regards Dr. Deoras’ query regarding
provisions indicated at p. 688 of the Accounts
the Honorary Treasurer explained that the
Society had been able to set aside Rs. 15,000/-
for Staff Gratuity Fund, Rs. 100,000/- for
Centenary Celebration Expenses, and Rs.
5,000/- for staff Welfare amenities. The Hono-
rary Treasurer further explained that we have
been able to do the repair works to the build-
ing as indicated at p. 683 of the Accounts
under the “14. Grant, Government of Maha-
rashtra”, acquire furniture and add most
needed books to the Library.

Dr. Deoras asked for an explanation of the
item “Silent Valley Campaign expenses” of
Rs. 6,400/- detailed on p. 682. He was inform-
ed by the Honorary Treasurer that funds were
raised by Mrs. D. S. Variava for propaganda
to save the Silent Valley. Mrs. Variava thought
it is useful to route these funds through the

Society for utilizing them in making films and
preparing other material.

Mr. Debi Goenka desired information on
how the funds received from the Government
were spent. He was told by the Honorary Trea-
surer that income received from government
was matched by corresponding expenses.

Mr. Debi Goenka suggested that monies
received for actual field camp expenses from
members should be passed through the Soci-
ety’s books. The suggestion was accepted.

His suggestion that items of sundry credit
balances (i.e. Rs. 234,892.38 on p. 680 of the
account for example) be kept in short depo-
sit accounts so as to give whatever interest
that accrues thereon rather than in the current
account was accepted.

After a few other questions had been ans-
wered, the accounts as presented were passed.

3 . The Honorary Treasurer proposed
Messrs Habib & Company as the Society’s
auditors for the ensuing year. The proposal
was seconded. Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati and
Messrs Flabib & Company were unanimously
appointed for 1983.

4. The Honorary Secretary explained that
six candidates in addition to the panel pro-
posed by the out-going Executive Committee
have been nominated. Two of them, Mr. S.
V. Pikale and D. S. Gaitonde, were Compound
Corporate Members and as such are not eligi-
ble to be elected on the Executive Committee.
Various opinions for and against such eligibility
were expressed by members.

Finally Mr. M. D. Agharkar suggested that
the issue of Compound Corporate Member’s
nominees contesting elections be settled by the
General Body gathered for the Annual Gene-
ral Meeting. The proposal was seconded by
Mr. Debi Goenka. The matter was put to vote
the eligibility of Compound Corporate Mem-
bers’ nominees to contest Executive Commi-

694

MINUTES OF THE A.G.M. OF THE B.N.H.S.

ttee elections was rejected by 10 voting for
and 13 against it.

Mr. Debi Goenka suggested that biodata
of the candidates contesting the Executive
Committee elections be given with the voting
paper. Dr. S. R. Amladi supported this sug-
gestion. The Honorary Secretary suggested
that not more than 50 word biodata be asked
from the candidates to be published with the
voting paper, and that the same should reach
the Society within two weeks from the day
of the Annual General Meeting — in this
particular instance not later than 15.xii.1983.
Put to vote 33 present voted for and 11
against the proposition.

In this connection Mr. H. K. Divekar, the
Honorary Treasurer, suggested that candidates
supplying false information be disqualified
from contesting elections.

Mr. Debi Goenka suggested that there
should not be perpetuating of the once elected
Executive Committee and the outgoing Com-
mittee should not nominate themselves.

The Honorary Secretary mentioned two
resolutions proposed by Mr. A. G. Nawalkar
and read out the first resolution which was
as follows:

Amendments to Rule 29 and 30

RESOLVED THAT rules 29 and 30 of the
Memorandum and Rules of Registration be
amended by substituting the word 10% of the
members as it stood on the date of the meet-
ing held on 22nd November 1982, in place of
10 members for calling Extraordinary Gene-
ral Meeting.

The Resolution was supported by Mr. A.
G. Puranik.

In the discussion following, it was pointed
out by Mr. Dutta Manchekar that a percent-
age would be difficult to assess as the total
membership depended on how many had paid
up on that date. Mr. G. W. Taylor suggested

that a fixed number should be mentioned and
suggested that 50 signatures would be a good
number. Mr. Dutta Manchekar supported the
proposal. After some discussion the figure of
50 signatories for requisitioning an Extraor-
dinary General Meeting was accepted, by 25
voting for it and 18 against.

The proposal raised by Mr. G. W. Taylor
to decide upon a quorum for conducting such
a meeting was not discussed by the Meeting.

The amended Rule 29 now reads thus:

“The Committee may, whenever they think
fit, convene an Extraordinary General Meet-
ing and they shall on the requisition of at least
50 (fifty) of the members forthwith proceed
to convene an Extraordinary General Meet-
ing of the Society”.

Mr. A. G. Nawalkar’s second Resolution
was then read out as follows:

“RESOLVED THAT the following words
be and are hereby inserted at the end of Rule
32 A of the Society’s Rules.

“A member of the Executive Committee
who has served for a period of 6 years (i.e.
has been nominated or elected for three suc-
cessive terms) shall not be eligible to serve on
the Executive Committee against without a
break of at least one term of two years”.

Mr. Debi Goenka expressed himself in fav-
our of the Resolution. Mr. Ulhas Rane sug-
gested that Committee members needed some
time to understand the working of the Society
and were not in a position to make a positive
contribution until they had served on the Com-
mittee for some time. He felt that a resolution
debarring experienced members from continu-
ing to serve on the Committee was not in the
Society’s best interests. After some further
discussion on the matter, the resolution was
put to vote and was defeated with three pre-
sent voting for it and 10 against.

The meeting terminated with a vote of
thanks to the Chair.

695

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol. 80

In the ballot held in February 1984, the following were elected to the Executive
Committee :

Mr. Humayun Abdulali
Mr. M. D. Agharkar
Mr. M. R. Almeida
Dr. S. R. Amladi
Mr. H. K. Divekar
Mr. R. E. Hawkins

Dr. Ashok Kothari
Mrs. Phillippa Mukherji
Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati
Mr. Ulhas Rane
Mr. Bittu Sahgal
Mrs. Dilnavaz Variava

ERRATUM

VOLUME 80, NO. 1: APRIL 1983

A Catalogue of the Birds in the Collection of Bombay Natural History Society-27.
On page 157,

For 1330 Garrulax erythrocephalus erythrocephalus (Hume)

Read 1330 Grarrulax erythrocephalus erythrolaema (Hume)

696

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( Price to members Rs. 55)

A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, by Salim Ali & S.

Dillon Ripley (available to members @ Rs. 90.00)

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{Price to members Rs. 80)

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CONTENTS

i Page

Ecological adaptation in Rhesus monkeys at the Kumaon Himalaya. By Kazuo

Wada 469

The Indian mugger, Crocodylus palustris Lesson (Reptilia, Crocodilia) : observa-
tions on the behaviour of a female from nature. By Lala A. K. Singh 499

Authors’ Catalogue of the Botanical articles published in the Journal of
the Bombay Natural History Society— H (Vol. 67-76; 1970-1979). Compiled
by A. R. Das . . 507

Ontogeny of teeth row structure in Rana tigerina tadpoles. By S. K. Dutta

and P. Mohanty-Hejmadi 517

A contribution to the wetland flora of Sitapur District, Uttar Pradesh.

By J. K. Maheshwari and R. ?. S. Tomar . . 529

Studies on the systematics and distribution of crabs in Assam. By N. K. Dutta 539

Seasonal changes in the herd structure of Blackbuck. By N. L. N. S. Prasad 549

The former distribution of the Indian Rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis ) in

India and Pakistan. By L. C. Rookmaaker . . 555

Some notes on the ecology and status of the Orangerumped Honeyguide

Indicator xanthonotus in the Himalayas. By S. A. Hussain and Salim Ali 564

Birds of the Rajpipla Forests — south .Gujarat. By S. G. Monga and Rishad

K. Naoroji .. 575

New Descriptions * ..613

Miscellaneous Notes 631

Annual Report of the Bombay Natural History Society for the Year 1982-83 670

Statement of Accounts of the Bombay Natural History Society . . 678

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting . . 693

Printed by Bro. Leo at St. Francis Industrial Training Institute, Borivli, Bombay 400 103
and published by Editors: J. C. Daniel, P. V. Bole and A. N. D. Nanavati for Bombay
Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023.

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