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Herpetofauna of W. Arunachal Pradeshchecklistby Ramana AthreyaPage content :Snake list Lizard list Amphibian list References Link to Herp image pages In the lists below : column 1 : lists the name, column 2 : Pakke record (P) column 3 : Eaglenest record (E) column 4 : recorded elsewhere in W. Arunachal (B : below Bomdila) column 5 : Eaglenest Biodiversity Project record (i.e. during Nov 2003 - Dec 2004) and column 6 : Remarks, including code for brief notes (notes listed below the table) and IUCN redlist status. Snakes
Remarks (col 6) 1 : identified from dead and incomplete specimens 2 : identified from description by local people - a rather distinctive snake 3 : This has features of both an Indian and a south-east Asian species; specific status unclear, owing largely to a yet-to-be resolved species complex 4 : It is not clear whether all of these are the same species or there are 2 or more species. If at least 2 then one of them may require the resuscitation of a long-subsumed taxon (Patrick David, pers comm) 5 : The scale counts match Boiga multifasciata but according to Franck Tillack who has studied these snakes in Nepal, the scale counts of this group are very variable but the colour is indicative! Lizards
AmphibiansMost of the amphibians encountered in the Eaglenest Biodiversity Project have not yet been satisfactorily identified (see the amphibian images) and so are not to be found in this table, yet.
Referencesidentificationa. Smith (1935) b. Smith (1943) c. Whitaker R. & Captain A.S. (2004) field records 1. Agarwal I., Mistry V. & Athreya R. M. (2005) - All Eaglenest records 2. Pawar S. & Birand A. (2001) - All Pakke records The major handicap in working on Arunachal snakes is the lack of reference material - the extant literature has large gaps and is often decades old! Many of the snakes we saw differed from the "nominal" pubished character-set; for this reason some of our identifications have had to remain, unavoidably, tentative, especially in the absence of collected specimens. It was much worse with amphibians. Any pointers to their identity will be gratefully welcomed. Much work needs to be done there and it is hoped these webpages will motivate some student to do so. Ironically, the frustration that this engenders is always balanced, and in fact outweighed, by the heady expectation that a new taxon is just around the corner, waiting to be discovered! (top)
13 March 2005
Kaati Trust, Pune |