Volume 9-14 (2020-26)
v10i2.263ISSN: 1800-427X (printed)
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.263
Submitted date: 1 August 2021
Accepted date: 26 October 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 128–130
Copulatory behavior of Knuckles pygmy lizard (Cophotis dumbara)
H.D.C. Soysa*, U.S.B. Hettige, M.G. Cooray & D.R. Vidanapathirane
*E-mail: hdcsoysa@mail.com
Nearly one in every five species of reptiles in the world is threatened with extinction and thus is conservation dependent. In order to develop effective and targeted species conservation strategies, detailed information on their distribution, systematics and ecology are necessary. Information such as the natural history and in-situ reproductive behaviors would be crucial for highly threatened species that require ex-situ conservation measures. Agamid lizards are a major component of the global reptile diversity and a significant number are threatened due to habitat loss and other threats such as smuggling.
Section Editor: Thasun Amarasinghe
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.263
Submitted date: 1 August 2021
Accepted date: 26 October 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 128–130
Copulatory behavior of Knuckles pygmy lizard (Cophotis dumbara)
H.D.C. Soysa*, U.S.B. Hettige, M.G. Cooray & D.R. Vidanapathirane
*E-mail: hdcsoysa@mail.com
Nearly one in every five species of reptiles in the world is threatened with extinction and thus is conservation dependent. In order to develop effective and targeted species conservation strategies, detailed information on their distribution, systematics and ecology are necessary. Information such as the natural history and in-situ reproductive behaviors would be crucial for highly threatened species that require ex-situ conservation measures. Agamid lizards are a major component of the global reptile diversity and a significant number are threatened due to habitat loss and other threats such as smuggling.
Section Editor: Thasun Amarasinghe
v10i2.262ISSN: 1800-427X (printed)
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.262
Submitted date: 20 June 2021
Accepted date: 10 September 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 127, pl. 28.
Ophiophagy by banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus) exposed by a road kill
L. Biakzuala, Malsawmtluanga & H.T. Lalremsanga*
*E-mail: htlrsa@yahoo.co.in
Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider, 1801) is a nocturnal, large bodied krait species, widely distributed throughout South and Southeast Asia. It is found at a variety of habitats with relatively large home ranges. The ophiophagous diet of this venomous snake comprises a broad spectrum of prey items, even including its congener B. caeruleus. It also preys on skinks, fish, frogs, and eggs of snakes. On 16 June 2021, at 2105 h, a fresh road-kill of an adult male B. fasciatus (total length 1.46 m) was observed on a newly constructed tarmac road (width of road ~6 m) at New Khawlek (23°19'16.00"N, 92°38'36.95"E; alt. 715 m a.s.l.), Lunglei District, Mizoram, India. It seems the krait remained vulnerably exposed on the motorway while consuming a redtail pit-viper, Trimeresurus erythrurus (Cantor, 1839) (total length 48.8 cm), and was fatally run over while busy swallowing more than half of the length of its prey, most probably a few minutes prior to our arrival at the site.
Section Editor: Gernot Vogel
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.262
Submitted date: 20 June 2021
Accepted date: 10 September 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 127, pl. 28.
Ophiophagy by banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus) exposed by a road kill
L. Biakzuala, Malsawmtluanga & H.T. Lalremsanga*
*E-mail: htlrsa@yahoo.co.in
Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider, 1801) is a nocturnal, large bodied krait species, widely distributed throughout South and Southeast Asia. It is found at a variety of habitats with relatively large home ranges. The ophiophagous diet of this venomous snake comprises a broad spectrum of prey items, even including its congener B. caeruleus. It also preys on skinks, fish, frogs, and eggs of snakes. On 16 June 2021, at 2105 h, a fresh road-kill of an adult male B. fasciatus (total length 1.46 m) was observed on a newly constructed tarmac road (width of road ~6 m) at New Khawlek (23°19'16.00"N, 92°38'36.95"E; alt. 715 m a.s.l.), Lunglei District, Mizoram, India. It seems the krait remained vulnerably exposed on the motorway while consuming a redtail pit-viper, Trimeresurus erythrurus (Cantor, 1839) (total length 48.8 cm), and was fatally run over while busy swallowing more than half of the length of its prey, most probably a few minutes prior to our arrival at the site.
Section Editor: Gernot Vogel
v10i2.261ISSN: 1800-427X (printed)
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.261
Submitted date: 8 June 2021
Accepted date: 26 October 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 126
An unusual body colouration of Ceylon roughside snake (Aspidura ceylonensis)
D. Kandambi, N. Abeyrathna, D.S. De Silva & S. Karunarathna*
*E-mail: suranjan.karu@gmail.com
The small sized, non-venomous, and fossorial colubrid snake genus Aspidura Wagler, 1830 is endemic to Sri Lanka. Aspidura ceylonensis (Günther, 1858) is rare and restricted to mid-elevation to montane and sub-montane forests at elevation of 500–1300 m a.s.l. in the Central Highlands and the Knuckles massif. It is found in cool and well-shaded forest areas, with thick moist leaflitter, woody debris, and loose soil. The usual adult body coloration on dorsum is dark reddish or dark orange, rarely yellowish, with a continuous black vertebral line and two rows of dorsolateral black spots along the body.
Section Editor: Thasun Amarasinghe
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.261
Submitted date: 8 June 2021
Accepted date: 26 October 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 126
An unusual body colouration of Ceylon roughside snake (Aspidura ceylonensis)
D. Kandambi, N. Abeyrathna, D.S. De Silva & S. Karunarathna*
*E-mail: suranjan.karu@gmail.com
The small sized, non-venomous, and fossorial colubrid snake genus Aspidura Wagler, 1830 is endemic to Sri Lanka. Aspidura ceylonensis (Günther, 1858) is rare and restricted to mid-elevation to montane and sub-montane forests at elevation of 500–1300 m a.s.l. in the Central Highlands and the Knuckles massif. It is found in cool and well-shaded forest areas, with thick moist leaflitter, woody debris, and loose soil. The usual adult body coloration on dorsum is dark reddish or dark orange, rarely yellowish, with a continuous black vertebral line and two rows of dorsolateral black spots along the body.
Section Editor: Thasun Amarasinghe
v10i2.260ISSN: 1800-427X (printed)
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.260
Submitted date: 5 August 2021
Accepted date: 9 September 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 124–125, pl. 27.
First report of the cuckoo wasp Chrysidea falsa (Hymenoptera) from India
P.G. Aswathi & C. Bijoy*
*E-mail: drbijoyc@gmail.com
Only two species of Chrysidea Bischoff, 1913 have been reported from India: C. furiosa (Cameron, 1897) from West Bengal and C. pumila (Klug, 1845) from Maharashtra. Here, we report the first record of a third species, C. falsa Rosa & Xu, 2015 from India, previously recorded only from China, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and thereby extending the known range of this species. We randomly collected chrysidids from Kasaragod and Calicut Districts in Kerala, which lies in the south-western part of India. Six specimens of C. falsa were collected using sweep nets. Five of them were from two sacred groves in Kasaragod District, Edayilakkad Kavu and Koyithatta Sree Dharma Shastha Kavu. One specimen was collected at Vadakara, Calicut District. The specimens from Kasaragod and Vadakara were found in small rock crevices and on the brick walls of an old abandoned house respectively.
Section Editor: Michael S. Engel
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.260
Submitted date: 5 August 2021
Accepted date: 9 September 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 124–125, pl. 27.
First report of the cuckoo wasp Chrysidea falsa (Hymenoptera) from India
P.G. Aswathi & C. Bijoy*
*E-mail: drbijoyc@gmail.com
Only two species of Chrysidea Bischoff, 1913 have been reported from India: C. furiosa (Cameron, 1897) from West Bengal and C. pumila (Klug, 1845) from Maharashtra. Here, we report the first record of a third species, C. falsa Rosa & Xu, 2015 from India, previously recorded only from China, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and thereby extending the known range of this species. We randomly collected chrysidids from Kasaragod and Calicut Districts in Kerala, which lies in the south-western part of India. Six specimens of C. falsa were collected using sweep nets. Five of them were from two sacred groves in Kasaragod District, Edayilakkad Kavu and Koyithatta Sree Dharma Shastha Kavu. One specimen was collected at Vadakara, Calicut District. The specimens from Kasaragod and Vadakara were found in small rock crevices and on the brick walls of an old abandoned house respectively.
Section Editor: Michael S. Engel
v10i2.259ISSN: 1800-427X (printed)
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.259
Submitted date: 9 May 2021
Accepted date: 7 November 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 123, pl. 26.
Slate-red tarantula (Poecilotheria rufilata) in the Western Ghats, India
K. Sunil Jose*
*E-mail: sunil.jose@devamatha.ac.in
The Slate-red tree spider (or tarantula), Poecilotheria rufilata Pocock, 1899 is an extremely rare, endemic, little known tarantula described based on a female specimen from Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, India. This arboreal tree spider is mostly found in dead red pine, jack fruit, and white pine trees and recorded from Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, Peppara Dam, Kallar, and Ponmudi areas between 900–1200 m elevations in Kerala. It is morphologically similar to P. ornata Pocock, 1899, which is distributed in Sri Lanka.
Section Editor: Zeeshan A. Mirza
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v10i2.259
Submitted date: 9 May 2021
Accepted date: 7 November 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 123, pl. 26.
Slate-red tarantula (Poecilotheria rufilata) in the Western Ghats, India
K. Sunil Jose*
*E-mail: sunil.jose@devamatha.ac.in
The Slate-red tree spider (or tarantula), Poecilotheria rufilata Pocock, 1899 is an extremely rare, endemic, little known tarantula described based on a female specimen from Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, India. This arboreal tree spider is mostly found in dead red pine, jack fruit, and white pine trees and recorded from Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, Peppara Dam, Kallar, and Ponmudi areas between 900–1200 m elevations in Kerala. It is morphologically similar to P. ornata Pocock, 1899, which is distributed in Sri Lanka.
Section Editor: Zeeshan A. Mirza
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