Occurrence of the Indian black turtle Melanochelys trijuga in Simbalbara Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh

2 Pages·1995·1.3 MB·

by  Anand Pendharkar

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 461
InstituteofConservationand Ecology, UniversityofKent, March 21, 1994 MD. FARID AHSAN
MA. Gofur Khan, Department ofZoology, Chittagong MD. NURULHAQUE
University and Indraneil Das, Madras Crocodile Bank MD. ABU SAEED
Trust and an anonymous reviwer read the manuscript. DepartmentofZoology, UniversityofChittagong,
We are grateful to all of them. Chittagong4331, Bangladesh.
ReferENCES
Ahsan, M.F. & M.N.Haque (1987): Bostami kachim. Bangla Ahsan,M.F.&M.A.Saseed (1992): Someaspectsofthebreeding
AcademyBijjnanPotrica (inBangla). 13(2): 15-39. biology ofthe Bostami turtle, Aspideretes nigricans.
Ahsan,ME.,M.N.Haque&C.M.Fugler(1991):Observationson Hamadryad17.
Aspideretes nigricans (Anderson), a semi-domesticated Khan,M.A.R.(1980):A‘holy’turtleofBangladesh.Hombill4:7-11.
endemic species of eastern Bangladesh.Amphibia Reptilia Khan, M.A.R. (1982): Chelonians of Bangladesh and their
12: 131-136. conservation.J.Bombaynat.Hist.Soc 79(1): 110-116.
Ahsan, M.F. & M.A. Saeed (1989): The Bostami turtle, Trinonyx Meylan,PA.(1987):Thephylogeneticrelationshipsofsoft-shelled
nigricansAnderson: populationstatus, distribution, historical turtles(FamilyTrionychidae).Bull.AmericanMus.nat.Hist.
backgroundandlength-weightrelationship.J.Bombaynat.Hist. 186: 1-101.
Soc.86(1):1-6.
22. OCCURRENCE OFTHE INDIAN BLACK TURTLEMELANOCHELYS TRIJUGA IN SIMBALBARA
SANCTUARY, HIMACHAL PRADESH
— —
The Indian black turtle or pond terrapin Acacia catechu Boswellia serrata associates.
(Melanochelys trijuga) is one of the most common and On 18thApril1993,oneoftheauthors(A.P.)collected
widespread of the Indian freshwater turtles. Seven a specimen ofMelanochelys trijuga in the sal forest. This
m
subspecies have been described, of which four are specimen was found about 10 from aperennial stream
distributed within Indian limits, namelypeninsular black at around 14:15 hours (alt. 450 m.s.l.). The turtle, amale
turtle (M. t. trijuga). Cochin black turtle (M.l. coronata), was apparently feeding when first located in athick layer
Bangladesh black turtle (M.t. indopeninsularis) and Sri of sal leaves. It was photographed and released. The
Lankan black turtle (M.t. thermalis). The others, namely posterior marginals were broken indicating a possible
the Burmese black turtle (M.t. edeniana), Parker’s black attempt ofpredation on this individual. The turtle excreted
turtle (M.t. parkeri) and Thai black turtle (M.t. wiroti) on being handled, the faeces showing remains of leaves,
are distributed in Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand, ants and crustaceans. The turtle was active and moving
respectively. Daniel(1983) reportedMelanochelys trijuga although the temperature was 41° C.
to be apeninsular species (below 20° N latitudes), with a On 6th June 1993, the second author (TJ.) collected
possibility of it occurring further northwards. However, andphotographedanotherlivespecimenofthesamespecies.
more recent surveys have revealed that it is distributed This individual was also an adult male and was located
as far as north-west Bihar (Valmiki Nagar, West around 5 m from a stream, covered with sal leaves. The
Champaran; Moll and Vijaya 1986), Nepal (Royal specimenhadabrokenmarginalscaleandwasfoundc. one
Chitwan National Park; Dinerstein et al. 1987) and in kilometre upstream from where the former specimen was
north-eastern India (Assam and Meghalaya; Das 1990). located. Its morphometric measurements were as follows:
In this paper, we report the occurrence ofMelanochelys straight carapace length: 194 mm, straightcarapace width:
trijuga in Simbalbara Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh. 142mmandshellheight:68mm.Enquirieswithlocalsabout
Simbalbarais a 19 sq. km sanctuary which lies in the the frequency ofits sightings, revealed that this species is
Shiwalik region (Outer Himalaya) in Sirmaur District of common allalong the edge ofthe river and in the forested
Himachal Pradesh. The sanctuary is covered by moist regions with streams and pools, in Simbalbara Sanctuary.
salbearingforests (Type3C/C ofChampionandSeth 1968) The seven subspecies that are currently
2
and is the westernmost limit of sal (Shorea robusta) recognized, are differentiated predominantly on head
distributioninIndia. Thevalleysandlow-lyingreverineareas coloration. Although the head was blackish in colour,
have sal fore—sts dominated by Shorea robusta - Ougeinia no distinct characteristics for subspecific identification
ougeinensis Buchanania lanzanassociates, whereas, the were observed. Moll and Vijaya (1986) had indicated
hills have mixed forests dominated byAnogeissus latifolia that the subspecies M.t. indopeninsularis may be
462 JOURNAL,BOMBAYNATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Vol.91 (1994)
distributed further north-west in parts ofUttar Pradesh of India and the Forest Department of Himachal
and Nepal. Recently, Das (1991) has also recordedM.t. Pradesh for permissions and logistic support extended
indopeninsularis from Corbett National Park (Uttar to us during our research projects in Simbalbara
Pradesh). The specimens observed at Simbalbara Sanctuary. We thank Dr. S. Bhupathy for commenting
Sanctuary are thus suspected to be M.t. on an earlier draft of this paper.
indopeninsularis. Nonetheless, the presence of this
species in Himachal Pradesh, northwest of its May 24, 1994 ANAND PENDHARKAR
previously known range, is a record of considerable WildlifeInstituteofIndia, PostBox No.18,
importance. Wesuggest thatmore surveyandcollection Chandrabani,DehraDun248001.
of specimens be made for allocation of subspecies and
commenting further on their distribution. TOM JENNER
Acknowledgements InstituteofEcologyandResourceManagement,
UniversityofEdinburgh,WestMainsRoad,
We are grateful to the Director, Wildlife Institute Edinburgh,EH93JG, U.K.
References
Champion,HJ. &Seth, S.K. (1968): Arevisedsurvey offorest Das,I.(1991):ColourguidetotheturtlesandtortoisesoftheIndian
typesofIndia.ManagerofPublications,GovernmentofIndia, Subcontinent.R&APublishingLtd.,Portishead. 133pp.
Delhi.404pp. Dinerstein,E.,G.R.Zug&J.C.Mitchell(1987):Notesonthebiology
Daniel,J.C.(1983):ThebookofIndianReptiles.BombayNatural ofMelanochelys(Reptilia,Testudines,Emydidae).intheTerai
HistorySociety, Bombay. 141pp. ofNepal.J.Bombaynat.Hist.Soc.84(3):221-222.
Das, I. (1990): Distributional records for chelonians from Moll, E.O. &J. Vuaya (1986): Distributionalrecordsforsome
NortheasternIndia.J.Bombaynat.Hist.Soc. 87(1):91-97. IndianturtlesJ.Bombaynat.Hist.Soc. 83(1):57-62.
23. PRESENCE OF THE COMMON INDIAN BRONZEBACK SNAKE
(DENDRELAPHIS TRISTIS) IN RAJASTHAN
The common Indian bronzeback or Tree Snake Santalum album Saccopetalum tomentosa Sterculia
, ,
(Dendrelaphis tristis) is a highly arboreal snake, living urens, Lannea coromandelica, Alangium salvifolium,
almostentirelyon trees and shrubs. According to Daniel Anogeissus latifolia,A. sericea,Acacia catechu,Albizia
(1983 THE BOOK OF Indian reptiles), it is distributed in procera, Dalbergia paniculata, Syzygium heyneanum,
peninsular India, Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Mitragyna parvifolia, Aegle marmelosa, Limonia
foothills. It is worth noting that this snake is present in acidissima, Pongamia pinnata, etc. The density of
the southern part of Rajasthan State where it is locally vegetation is high inmanypockets, wherecrown contact
caked Udani, i.e., onewhich flies. This name is derived stage prevails round the year even in the summer. This
from the rapid movement of the snake. This snake has condition presumably facilitates movement of the tree
been seen by me many times in the dense forests of snake from one tree to another.
Jhadol and Ogana Forest Ranges of Udaipur (North)
Forest Division. These forests are rich in plant species. July 29, 1994 SAUSH KUMAR SHARMA
The major plant species are: Tectona grandis, Butea RangeForestOfficer,
monosperma, Wrightia tinctoria. W. tomentosa, AravalliAfforestationProgramme, Jhadol(F.),
Diospyros melanoxylon D. montana var. cordifolia, Distt. Udaipur(Raj.)313702.
,
24. UNUSUAL CAUDAL SCALES OF BUFF-STRIPED KEELBACKAMPHIESMA STOLATA (LINNAEUS)
On 18.7.1993,1captureda417mmlongbuff-striped arrangement of anal and caudal scales (from cloaca to
keelback snake, Amphiesma stolata (Linnaeus) from tail end) is given below:
Mahipal Reserve Forest Block in southern Aravallis. Its Anal Paired
caudal scales had an unusual arrangement pattern. The Caudals (1 to 4) Paired