Assessment of Te Reptiles of Wayanad WLS Final

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    KERALA FOREST AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT

    An Assessment of the

    Reptile Diversity ofWayanad Wildlife

    SanctuaryDec 2011

    Vivek Philip Cyriac

    Centre for Wildlife Studies,

    College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,

    Pookode

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    Introduction

    Wayanad district is nestled in the central Western Ghats forming a major part of

    the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The region has been recognized to be earmarked as

    a world heritage site by UNESCO. The unique terrain, vegetation and

    microhabitats make it a harbor for a great diversity of flora and fauna.

    Reptiles form a major component of this fauna and its diversity in the Wayanad

    region has not been completely explored. Most studies on the reptiles of Wayanad

    date back to the pre-independence period. The most recent studies on the reptiles

    of Wayanad are of Thomas et.al (1997) and Palot M.J.et.al (2011), who focused

    their study on the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary. However these studies raise

    questions on the distribution of few species of reptiles within the boundaries of the

    sanctuary. Also the taxonomic clarity of few species included in the list has only

    recently been resolved. Hence a detailed checklist of the reptiles of Wayanad WLS

    is still lacking. The main objective of this report is to provide a checklist of reptiles

    of the sanctuary to assist in the formation of a proper management plan.

    Study Area

    The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary includes a large stretch of forested land on the

    North-eastern part of Wayanad District. Being a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere

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    Reserve, it forms one of the major protected areas of the state. The sanctuary

    covers a large area of 344 sq. km and is continuous with Mudumalai WLS of

    Tamil Nadu and Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka, to its south and Rajiv

    Gandhi National Park of Karnataka to its north-east. The sanctuary is divided into

    four ranges- Tholpetty Range to the north, Kurichiyat Range and Sulthan Bathery

    Range to the east and Muthenga Range to the south. The forest is mainly of moist

    deciduous type with few semi-evergreen and evergreen patches towards the north.

    A major portion of the sanctuary is under monoculture plantations with teak and

    eucalyptus.

    Figure 1: Map of Wayanad WLS showing the four Ranges

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    Methodology

    A rapid assessment of the reptiles of the Sanctuary was done by organizing a

    reptile survey, under the guidance of Dr. Anil Zachariah, which lasted for four

    days and four nights from 21stto 25thof December 2011. Searches were conducted

    both during day and night in all the four forest ranges. Most of the available time

    was spent searching for reptiles in different habitats. Visual encounter technique

    was used. Specimens encountered were collected by hand, photographed and all

    morphometric details were recorded before releasing them back into the forest.

    Snakes were also identified and listed based on their slough obtained from

    different parts of the sanctuary.

    All the species were identified based on all available literature and listed under the

    forest range it was found in. A checklist of the reptiles of Wayanad WLS was

    prepared based on data collected during the survey, previous records and also

    based on observations made by the team members during previous visits in

    different parts of the sanctuary. Species raising doubts about its occurrence within

    the sanctuary, but which have been included in the earlier list have been omitted in

    the present checklist.

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    Result

    A total of 44 species, belonging to 30 genera and 14 families were listed in the

    checklist. This included one species of crocodile recorded from Nulpuzha, a

    tributary of the Kabini River in Bahthery range. 2 species of turtles belonging to

    two families were recorded. Geckos included 7 species, of which 3 belong to the

    genus Cnemaspisand are Western Ghat endemics. Cnemaspis nilagiricaand

    Cnemaspis heteropholisform the first records to the region. The other 4 species of

    geckos belonged to the genusHemidactylus, of whichH. BrookiandH. frenatus

    were the dominant species and were found from all human disturbed areas of the

    sanctuary. Agamids included 7 species of which 3 are endemic to the Western

    Ghats. Skinks were the most commonly encountered group and included 4 species

    of which 1 species viz Ristella beddomiiis a western ghat endemic. A total of 22

    species of snakes were recorded based on the data collected from the survey as

    well as from observations made from previous visits to the sanctuary. The list

    included 1 species of worm snake belonging to the family Typhlopidae, 1 species

    of shieldtail snake belonging to family Uropeltidae, 1 species of python belonging

    to family Pythonidae, a species of sand boa belonging to family Boidae, 14 species

    belonging to family Colubridae, 2 species belonging to family Elapidae and 2

    species of vipers belonging to family Viperidae.

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    Around 21 percent of the reptiles recorded from Wayanad WLS are found to be

    Western Ghat endemics. Of the 44 species of reptiles recorded from the sanctuary,

    12 species are endemic to the Western Ghats.

    Figure 2: Pie Chart showing the percentage of Endemism among the Reptiles reported from Wayanad WLS

    Maximum number of species was recorded from Tholpetty Range (34 species),

    owing to the greater abundance of evergreen and semi-evergreen patches compared

    to the other ranges. This is followed by Muthenga Range (26 species) and

    Kurichiyat Range (20 species). Least number of reptiles was recorded from

    Bathery Range (16 species).

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    0

    5

    10

    15

    20

    25

    30

    35

    Tholpetty Kurichiyat S.Bathery Muthenga

    No. of Species recorded

    Figure 3: Graph showing the number of species of reptiles recorded from the four ranges of Wayanad WLS

    Conclusion

    The present study provides a preliminary view of the reptile diversity of Wayanad

    Wildlife Sanctuary and lists a total of 44 species. However the result confirms the

    occurrence of several species such as Cnemaspis nilagirica, Cnemaspis

    heteropholis, Uropeltis ceylanica, Dendrelaphis ashoki, Boiga cylonensisand

    Boiga nuchaliswhich were previously not known from within the sanctuary. The

    occurance of Cnemaspis nilagiricaand Cnemaspis heteropholisalso forms the first

    reports from kerala state.

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    Acknowledgement

    I am thankful to the Kerala Forest Department for providing their support to

    conduct the survey. I give my sincere thanks to the Wildlife Warden, Shri Sunil

    Kumar and the Kurichiyat range RFO Shri Joshil for facilitating and providing all

    the necessary requirements during the survey. I also thank all the Foresters, Forest

    Guards and watchers who guided us throughout the survey. I also thank all the

    participants who took part in the survey

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    Smith, M. A. (1943). The fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, including the

    whole of the IndoChinese region. Vol. III. Serpentes. Taylor and Francis,

    London. xii + 583 pp. + 1 map

    Whitaker, R. & A. S. Captain (2004). Snakes of India, The field guide.Draco

    Books, Chennai, India. xiv + 481 pp.

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    Table 1: Checklist of the Reptiles recorded from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

    SL.

    NO

    Scientific Name English Name Tholpetty Kurichiyat Bathery Muthenga

    Fam: Crocodylidae01 Crocodylus palustris Mugger Crocodile +

    Family: Emydidae02 Melanochelys trijuga

    ssp. Coronate

    Black Turtle + +

    Family: Trionychidae03 Lissemys punctata Flap-shelled Turtle + + +

    Suborder: Sauria

    Family: Gekkonidae04 Cnemaspis heteropholis* Heteropholis gecko + +

    05 Cnemaspis wynadensis* Wayanad Day Gecko + +

    06 Cnemaspis nilagirica* Nilgiri Day Gecko + + + +

    07 Hemidactylus brooki Brooks House Gecko + +

    08 Hemidactylus frenatus Asiatic House Gecko + + +

    09 Hemidactylus leschnaulti Bark Gecko +

    10 Hemidactylus triedrus Termite Hill Gecko + +

    Family: Agamidae11 Calotes calotes Southern Green

    Calotes

    + +

    12 Calotes nemoricola* Nilgiri Forest Lizard + +

    13 Calotes rouxii Rouxs Forest Lizard + +

    14 Calotes ellioti* Elliots Forest Lizard + +

    15 Calotes versicolor Garden Lizard + + + +16 Psammophilus dorsalis Southern Rock Agama +

    17 Draco dussumieri* Flying Lizard + + + +

    Family: Scincidae18 Eutropis carinata Keeled Grass Skink + + + +

    19 Eutropis macularia Bronze Grass Skink + + + +

    20 Ristella beddomii* Beddomes Cat Skink + + +

    21 Lygosoma punctata Spotted Supple Skink + + +

    Family:Varanidae22 Varanus bengalensis Monitor Lizard + + + +

    Suborder: Serpentes

    Family: Typhlopidae23 Ramphotyphlops

    braminus

    Brahmini Worm Snake + + +

    Family: Uropeltidae24 Uropeltis ceylanica* Kerala Shieldtail +

    Family: Pythonidae25 Python molurus Indian Rock Python + +

    Family: Boidae26 Gongylophis conicus Common Sand Boa

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    Family Colubridae27 Coelognathus Helena Trinket Snake + +

    28 Ptyas mucosa Indian Rat Snake + + + +

    29 Oligodon taeniolatus Russells Kukri Snake +

    30 Dendrelaphis ashoki* Ashoks BronzebackTree Snake

    + +

    31 Chrysopelea ornate Ornate Flying Snake

    32 Lycodon travancoricus Travancore Wolf Snake + + +

    33 Lycodon aulicus Common Wolf Snake

    34 Amphiesma stolatum Buff Striped Keelback + +

    35 Amphiesma beddomei* Beddomes Keelback + +

    36 Amphiesma monticola* Hill Keelback + +

    37 Xenochrophis piscator Checkerd Keelback + + + +

    38 Boiga ceylonensis Ceylone Cat Snake +

    39 Boiga nuchalis Collared Cat Snake +

    40 Ahaetulla nasuta Common Vine Snake +

    Family Elapidae41 Bungarus caeruleus Common Krait

    42 Naja naja Spectacled Cobra + + +

    Family Viperidae43 Daboia russelii Russells Viper + +

    44 Trimeresurus

    malabaricus*

    Malabar Pit Viper + + +

    + Indicates the presence of a species in that particular range.

    * indicates the species is a Western Ghat Endemic.

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    Cnemaspis nilagirica Cnemaspis nilagirica

    Nilgiri Day Gecko Nilgiri Day Gecko

    Cnemaspis heteropholis Lygosoma punctata

    Spotted Supple Skink

    Ristella bedomii Calotes rouxii

    Beddomes Cat Skink Rouxs Forest Lizard

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    Calotes nemoricola Calotes ellioti

    Nilgiri Forest Lizard Elliots Forest Lizard

    Uropeltis cf ceylanica Amphiesma monticola

    Kerala Shieldtail Snake Hill Keelback

    Dendrelaphis ashoki Boiga nuchalisAshoks Bronzeback Collared Cat Snake

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