Submitted date: 21 March 2023 Accepted date: 29 April 2023 Published date: 12 May 2023 Pp. 29
Second report of striped grass skink (Eutropis trivittata) from Gujarat, India
H. Patel*, D. Chauhan & R. Vyas *Corresponding author. E-mail: harshilpatel121@gmail.com
The striped grass skink, Eutropis trivittata (Hardwicke & Gray, 1827) is a wide ranging skink, distributed in northern and eastern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepa. The nomen of the species had a murky taxonomic history and for a considerable time period it was known by a junior subjective synonym, E. dissimilis, which was rectified by Amarasinghe et al. (2022). The present communication is the first record of the species from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat state, India. In Gujarat, the species was previously reported from Central Gujarat, based on one specimen found three decades ago.
The Sri Lankan Hump-nosed Viper, Hypnale nepa (Laurenti, 1768) is an endemic species restricted to montane regions above 900 m in Sri Lanka. The Horton Plains is a national park and a montane forest (alt. 2,100–2,300 m a.s.l.) mostly covered by wet grasslands. Faunal surveys carried out in the Horton Plains have so far recorded only three species of snakes: Aspidura trachyprocta, A. copei, and Ptyas mucosa. Herein, we confirm a fourth snake species, and the first photographic evidence of the occurrence of H. nepa from the Horton Plains, based on two observations made during random visits.
Submitted date: 24 June 2022 Accepted date: 23 April 2023 Published date: 12 May 2023 Pp. 26–27, pls. 15–17
First record of the cobweb spider (Steatoda erigoniformis) from India
R. Tripathi*, A.K. Jangid, U. Bhagirathan & A.V. Sudhikumar *Corresponding author. E-mail: rishikeshtripathi14@gmail.com
There are three species of the Genus Steatoda Sundevall, 1833 (Family Theridiidae Sundevall, 1833) distributed on the Indian subcontinent. Here, we report the first record of S. erigoniformis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) from India, specifically from Maharashtra and Rajasthan states. Previously, this species was known from Central Asia and China, but now its range extends south to Central India.
The long-jawed orb-weavers of the family Tetragnathidae are a cosmopolitan spider clade, particularly diverse in humid tropical and subtropical areas of the world. The subfamily Leucauginae comprises six genera and the genus Tylorida Simon, 1894 includes eight species. Four of them are reported from India and a comprehensive revision of Indian species was published by Sankaran et al. (2017) with a description of T. flava as a new species but based only on a female specimen. Here, the male T. flava is described for the first time along with illustrations of the genitalia.
Submitted date: 6 Dec 2022 Accepted date: 10 May 2023 Published date: 12 May 2023 Pp. 23, pl. 12
A rock python (Python molurus) predates on a porcupine (Hystrix indica)
H. Aththanayaka, S.L. Prakash & S. Karunarathna* *Corresponding author. E-mail: suranjan.karu@gmail.com
The endemic Sri Lankan subspecies of rock python, Python molurus pimbura is the largest snake found in Sri Lanka. Though distributed island wide, it is listed as Near Threatened due to the rapid population decline. This is a common victim of illegal trade (as pets and for skin/meat). The prey items of the rock python are poorly documented, but it is not unusual for them to take difficult prey such as porcupines. In India, Bhupathy & Vijayan (1989) observed 14% of the python diet was porcupines, but this is a rare observation for Sri Lanka. The Indian crested porcupine, Hystrix indica is the largest and a most widely distributed rodent in Sri Lanka. They live in large burrows dug deep into the ground and give birth to 2–4 young at a time. Predations on porcupines are rare because of their sharp quills, so predators do not attack unless starving.