Search

The taxonomic status of Andersen's Roundleaf Bat Hipposideros pomona (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) and its relationship with the taxa assigned to it has been confusing. Knud Andersen described H. pomona (based on specimens from southern India) and H. gentilis (based on specimens from Myanmar) in 1918. Subsequently, the latter taxon was included under the former as a subspecies. Owing to disjunct distribution, it was speculated that these two taxa are distinct. Discovery of the type material and additional vouchers of both taxa in the National Collection of Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata allowed detailed comparison. Based on the morphological, craniodental and bacular characters, we establish the distinctness of these taxa. A redescription of H. pomona Andersen, 1918 is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nominate subspecies of the lesser woolly horseshoe bat Rhinolophus beddomei, Andersen, 1905 was known only from the Western Ghats and two localities in the Eastern Ghats in the peninsular India. In the past few years, we have observed this species from other locations spanning between these two hill ranges, and through this short note we report its presence from central peninsular region of India based on voucher specimens. We also provide the echolocation call characteristics of this species and suggest that the Thailand record of R. beddomei could possibly represent a separate species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of the genus Hersilia Audouin, 1826, Hersilia aadi sp. nov. is described from Andhra Pradesh, India with notes on the species known from India. The new species differs from its congeners based on having large palpal patella in males; and having two closely adjoining circular, small median genital openings and, long and curved copulatory duct in females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 164 bird species belonging to 53 families were recorded in the Manjeera Wildlife Sanctuary. Of these 107 species were resident, 55 species were winter migrants and 2 species were summer migrants. The population of the each species in different habitats was estimated. Species richness was observed to be more in agriculture habitat followed by scrubland, grassland and marshy areas, whereas species diversity was observed to be more in scrubland habitat followed by agriculture lands, grasslands and marshy areas. Similarity Index analysis showed that the habitats of agriculture landscrubland are more similar whereas, habitats of scrubland-marshy area show dissimilarity in the sanctuary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the sighting record of the Orvakal two-tailed spider Hersilia orvakalensis Javed, Foord and Tampal (Araneae, Hersiliidae) from Pastapur, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, India. This constitutes the first record of the recently described species from Telangana and extends its range 230 km northwards. Variations in characters in types and the new material are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cnemaspis heteropholis Bauer, 2002 was hitherto defined based only on its holotype, an adult female collected from Gund hill range, Western Ghats, India. Recently we observed adult male and juvenile specimens of this species at Agumbe, ca. 200km south of its type locality and consequently we recharacterize and expand the definition of this species by providing information about intraspecific variation based on the new specimens. Colouration in life and natural history data are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study involving recording of echolocation calls of four species of leaf-nosed bats of genus Hipposideros from central Peninsular India. It mentions that during the study parameters such as maximum frequency and mean frequency were measured. It informs that there is complete niche seperation in the call structure of four species and echolocation of all four species are of typical constant frequency-frequency modulated (CF-FM) type.

We report a new distribution record and review the earlier records of the Fulvous roundleaf bat, Hipposideros fulvus, from Andhra Pradesh, India, based on a female specimen collected from Hyderabad, India. This species has been hitherto reported from only two localities in Andhra Pradesh and has been missed out from most of the reports and publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on Lesser Yellow House Bat (Scotophilus Kuhlii) Leach in Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh, India. It states that pellets under the roosting site were collected and stored in plastic containers for dietary analysis from April 21, 2007 to January 31, 2008.It mentions that Scotophilus Kuhlii exists in rural and urban landscapes and it is know for roosting in crevices and holes in the walls of huts and old buildings.

The article presents the results of a study on writhing skink lygosoma vosmaerii in India. It discusses the material and methods used in the study, and details its results which revealed that lygosoma vosmaerii can be distinguished from lygosoma lineata by its five fingers instead of four. Several images of the species are also presented.

We report the first record of the three-banded skink Eutropis trivittata (Hardwicke and Gray, 1827) (Reptilia: Scincidae) for Andhra Pradesh, India, based on a specimen from Araku, Vishakapatnam district. This report also helps in understanding the distribution of this species in South East India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insularity provides ample opportunities for species diversification. Sri Lanka is home to a large diversity of species, many of which are endemic but morphologically similar to species found in southern India, due to recent speciation events, suggesting a complex evolutionary history. However, in some taxa although morphological diversity has been noted, the genetic level variations are minimal. Among the wide-ranging horseshoe bats such a phenomenon is noted. In this study, we used bioacoustics, morphometric and molecular data to evaluate the relationships between the taxa of lesser woolly horseshoe bats in the India and Sri Lanka. Our study reveals that the two taxa-Rhinolophus beddomei Andersen, 1905 and here we have validated the existing subspecies from peninsular India and R. sobrinus Andersen, 1918 from Sri Lanka are genetically very close to R. perniger Hodgson, 1843. Currently the taxa-beddomei and sobrinus are recognized as subspecies of Rhinolophus beddomei Andersen, 1905. We provide a detailed description of the taxa beddomei and sobrinus as the original descriptions are limited in nature.

The genus Miniopterus is highly diverse in cryptic species. Based on integrated approaches of morphometrics, echolocation call analysis, and molecular phylogenetics, we present evidence of a hitherto undescribed species, Srini's Bent-winged bat Miniopterus srinii sp. nov.. The new species, found in the Western Ghats of southern Karnataka, India, closely resembles the Small Bent-winged bat Miniopterus pusillus, found elsewhere in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, India. Although it shows external similarity with Miniopterus pusillus sensu stricto from the Nicobar Islands, the new species is relatively larger and distinct in craniodental measurements and echolocation call parameters, despite slight overlaps. Importantly, Miniopterus srinii exhibits morphological convergence with Miniopterus pusillus as despite similarities in morphologies, there is a significant genetic distance of 10.84 ± 0.22%. The new cryptic species shares distribution with Miniopterus phillipsi and Miniopterus pusillus in the Western Ghats, further highlighting the need to study both the genus' cryptic diversity, and the region's conservation importance.