Type Specimens of Mammals in the Collections of the Bombay Natural History Society

3 Pages·2000·1.8 MB·

by  Meghana Gavand

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
pointsforquantifyingvegetation,movedontothe Mundanthurai plateau, covering an area of
nextpoint. Justnearthe fourthpoint, the soundof c. 60 sq. km, retains mainly dry deciduous and
an animal running and at the same time one of open scrub forestwith grass patches. The altitude
our assistants shouting Khaleyaad (barking deer is 204 mabove msl. The animal was sighted near
mTamil)washeard. Whatoneofus(JR)sawwas Tambraparniriveradjacentto the DeerValley.
a reddish brown deer, smaller in size, and Inaddition, one ofus(JJ)sighted afemale
somewhatdifferentfromasambaroraspotteddeer. and J. Ronald sighted three, two adults (sex
Since it had antlers we knew it was a male. Our unidentified) and one yearling barking deer in
assistants showed us the place where it had been the Kadayam range in the northwestern part of
resting. It was under a Grewia hirsuta tree with the Reserve.
sparse grass. We went to that site, had a closer Our sighting is the first of this deer on
look and found some hairs, which we collected Mundanthurai plateau. We suspect that barking
and sent to the Wildlife Institute ofIndia, Dehra deer could have moved in from the Kodayam
Dun, for identification. rangewhichliesfurthernorthwestoftheReserve.
Back at the field station, we checked the More sightings of barking deer are needed to
bookofIndiananimals(Prater 1971,p.324). Our confirmthenewadditionofthisungulatespecies
opinion that it could be a barking deer was to the fauna ofthe Reserve.
confirmed. In addition, the hair sample also
identified it a barking deer. It was really July 27, 1999 JAYANTIRAY
surprising to have seen a barking deer at JUSTUSJOSHUA*
Mundanthurai, as there have been no earlier J. RONALD
recordsofitspresence.Dr. A.J.T.Johnsingh,who Wildlife Institute ofIndia
hasbeenworkinginthisareaforalmost30years P.O. Box # 18. Chandrabani,
hasnotseenorevenheardthisdeer(pers.comm). Dehra Dun 248 001,
In addition, Dr. S.F. Wesley Sunderraj and one Uttar Pradesh,
ofus (JJ) have been working in this area since India.
1984, and have never seen or heard this deer *PresentAddress
:
before. In the pasttwoyears inKMTR, we have Gujarat Institute ofDesert Ecology
not heard or seen this deer. Our assistants, local Patwadi Naka,
Kanm tribals, say that they have seen this deer Bhuj (Kachchh) 370 001,
thrice near Kodamadi, beyond Servalar dam, Gujarat,
while repairing the road in 1992. India.
6. TYPE SPECIMENS OF MAMMALS IN THE COLLECTIONS OF
THEBOMBAYNATURALHISTORY SOCIETY
The mammalian type specimens present in Chiroptera
the collections of the Bombay Natural History Pteropodidae
Society as on June ’99 are included. The Society Pteropodinae
has a collection of 18,500 mammal skins and Cynopterus sphinx gangeticus Andersen,
skulls.Mostofthespecimenswerecollectedduring 1910
the Mammal Survey ofIndia undertaken by the Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 6: 623
BNHM
Societyfrom 1911 to 1928.Thepresentnotedeals Type: 1651, cotype juvenile
,
with the type specimens in the collections. The female,from“Chanda”(inMaharashtra,western
collectiondatahasbeentranscribedfromthelabels. India) at about 500 ft.
140 JOURNAL. BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY. 97(1) APR. 2000
.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Date ofcollection: September 1908 Collector: Cox & R.E. Cheesman
Collector: MajorA. Begbie Current Status: Felissilvestris Schreber,
Measurements: HB-153 mm, HF-17 mm 1775. Wilson and Reeder (1993).
CurrentStatus: Cynopterussphinx(Vahl, Remarks: Revised by Ragm & Randi
1797). Wilson and Reeder (1993). (1986), who included libyca under silvestris
&
Snuthers(1983) Meesteretal. (1986)retained
Chiroptera libyca as separate from silvestris.
Pteropodidae
Pteropodinae Artiodactyla
Latidens salimalii Thonglongya 1972. Tragulidae
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 69: 153 Tragulus meminna Erxleben, 1777.
BNHM
Type: 1563, holotype from“High Moschus meminna Erxleben, 1777.
Wavy Mountains, Madura district. South India Syst. Regn. Anim., Mamm. 322.
BNHM
at about 2500ft. Type: 17180 topotype, female
Date of Collection: 2 May 1948 from “Kissaraing Island” (Mergui Arch.,
(Registration - 1 1 June 1948) Burma).
Collector: A. F. Hutton Date ofCollection: 29 September 1921
Current Status: Latidens salimalii Collector: C. Primrose
Thonglongya, 1972. Bates andHarrison(1997). Measurements: HB-370mm, Ear-32 mm,
Remarks: Latidens salimalii is endemic HF-115mm, Tail-57mm
to India. Current Status: Moschiola memina
(Erxleben, 1777). Wilson and Reeder (1993).
Chiroptera
Hipposideridae Artiodactyla
Hipposideros hypophyllus Kock & Bhat, Tragulidae
1994. Tragulus javanicus lampensis Miller,
,
Senckenbergiana biol. 73(1-2) 25-31 1903
:
BNHM
Type: 18363, paratype female, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 16:42
,
from“Hanumanhalli, KolarDistrict, Bangalore, Type:BNHM 17838, topotype male from
,
Karnataka, India”. “Sullivan Islands” (Mergui District, Burma).
Date ofCollection: 7 March 1985 Date ofcollection: 5 March 1922
Collector: H.R. Bhat Collector: C. Primrose
CurrentStatus:Hipposideroshypophyllus Measurements: HB-459mm, Ear-34mm,
Kock & Bhat, 1994. Bates andHarrison (1997). HF-116mm, Tail-62mm
Current Status: Tragulus javanicus
Carnivora (Osbeck, 1765). Wilson and Reeder (1993).
Felidae
Felinae June 4, 1999 MEGHANAGAVAND
Fells libyca Iraki Cheesman, 1921. NARESHCHATURVEDI
Felis ocreata Iraki Cheesman, 1921. Bombay Natural Histoiy Society,
J. Bombay, nat. Hist. Soc., 27: 331-332 Hornbill House, S.B. Singh Road,
Type: BNHM 5981.paratype, male, from Mumbai 400 023,
“Sheikh Saad” (Iraq). Maharashtra,
Date ofCollection: 08-12-1916 India.
JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY, 97(1), APR. 2000 141
. .
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
References
Andersen,K.(1910):NewFruit-bats.Ann.Mag.Nat.Hist. Meester,J.A.J.,I.L. Rautenbach,N.J. Dippenar&C.M.
6:623-624. Baker (1986): Classification ofsouthern African
Bates, Paul J.J. & D.L. Harrison (1997): Bats ofthe mammals. TransvaalMuseumMonograph27:1-14.
IndianSubcontinent,pp.258. Ragni, B. & E. Randi (1986): Multivariate analysis of
Blandford,W.T.(1888-91): TheFaunaofBritish India, carniometric characters in European wild cat,
Mammalia.TaylorandFrancis,London617pp. domestic cat and African wild cat (genus Felis).
Cheesman, R.E. (1921): Report on the Mammals of ZeitschriftfurSaugetierkunde51: 243-251
Mesopotamia: Collected by members of the Smithers, R.H.N. (1983): ThemammalsoftheSouthern
Mesopotamian expeditionary force, 1915-1919. AfricanSubregion. Universityof Pretoria,Republic
J. Bombaynat. Hist. Soc. 27\ 323-346. ofSouthAfrica,736pp.
Ellerman, J.R. & T.C.S. Morrison-scott (1951): Thonglongya,K.(1972):AnewgenusandspeciesofFruit
ChecklistofPalaearctic and Indian Mammals. 810 Bat from South India (Chiroptera Pteropodidae).
:
pp. J. Bombaynat. Hist. Soc. 69: 151-158.
Kock, D. & H.R. Bhat(1994): Mammalia : Chiroptera- Wilson, D.E. & D. M. Reeder(1993): Mammal species
HipposideridaeSenckenbergianabiol. 73:25-31 oftheWorld. 1207pp.
7. NIGHT HERONS AND LITTLE CORMORANTS IN THRISSUR, KERALA
Night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) and markets fortheir fish. Their cries and the stench
little cormorants (Phalacrocorax niger) are ofthe droppings have made them a nuisance to
communal nesting local migrants whichusually the local residents who are even contemplating
build nests in trees that adjoin, or are actually shooting them! The disturbance of their
standing in water bodies. These birds are seen traditional breeding grounds like Kumaragam
in Southern India from November to February, and adjoining areas could be the cause of this
their breeding season. When faced with water invasion. Aninquiry into the cause and a speedy
scarcity or disturbance of the nesting grounds, solution are necessary to ease the problems of
the birds are known to desert traditional nesting the residents and also ensure the safety of the
sites and move to other suitable places. But this birds.
year in Kerala, the birds were spotted in
hundreds, nesting in tall mango and jackfruit March 30, 1998 LEELAMADHAVAN
trees in the densely populated Keerankulangara Department ofZoology,
area of Thrissur town, Kerala. With no large Madras Christian College (Autonomous),
water body nearby, the birds had to depend on Chennai 600 059,
the nearby ponds, water tanks and even local Tamil Nadu, India.
GREY HERON WRESTING FISH FROM HERRING GULL
8.
OnFebruary 14, 1998, 1 sawsomething so was being harried, but it soon became apparent
unusual that it is worth reporting. Normally it is that it was the heron who was chasing the gull,
gulls that chivvy other birds and deprive them who was being further harried and prevented
oftheir prey. On this occasion, the tables were from making a getaway by the tern chivvying it
effectively turned. My attention was drawn to a from above. The gull was weighed down by a
greyheron (Ardeacinerea),aherringgull(Larus fish in its beak. The skirmish continued for
argentatus and a gullbilled tern Gelochelidon several minutes, the three birds in the air a few
) (
nilotica) in turmoil. At first I thought the heron feet above the tidal mud. Finally, the gull let go
142 JOURNAL, BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORYSOCIETY. 97(1) APR. 2000