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A predatory sea snail Sulcerato recondita (Melvill & Standen, 1903) previously reported from South Africa and Gulf of Oman, is reported for the first time from Gulf of Kachchhin India. The detailed description along with an illustration, and information on distribution of the species is provided herein. The nearest distribution record for S. recondita is from Fujairah coast in United Arab Emirates, which is ~ 1500 km from the present location of its reporting in India.

Bryozoans are common commensal on hard surfaces and cover slow-moving animals like molluscans, sea turtles, brachyuran crabs, and horseshoe crabs. A total of six species of bryozoans belonging to four genus under three families of order Cheilostomatida were recorded encrusting on the carapaces of horseshoe crabs collected from Indian Sundarbans along the east coast of India and two among them, viz., Biflustra savartii (Audouin, 1826) and Sinoflustra arabianensis (Menon & Nair, 1975) are reported for the first time. Additionally, Jellyella tuberculata (Bosc, 1802) is reported for the first time from West Bengal coastal waters, previously known only from the Odisha coast of India. Both male and female horseshoe crabs were found to have been encrusted with bryozoan mats, although adequately not known about the life stages of their encrustation.

A rare species of bivalve clam Mactra aequisulcata G. B. Sowerby III (1894) reported for the first time from the Vengurla beach along the Sindhudurg coast of Maharashtra and nearby coastal stretches from the west coast of India. After comparing with the type illustration and malacological collections present in the National Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India, it revealed that the species was found to be a new record to India which was although collected earlier and deposited, have been wrongly identified and not accorded a proper nomenclature. The presence of the prominent concentric growth line and the size of Mactra aequisulcata can be easily distinguished as the unique characters in the species, which make it differ from other closely related bivalves of the genus. A detailed description, illustration and geographical range extension of the species is presented in this paper. More authentication work from the historical collections may results in the addition to the molluscan inventory list of India.

The knowledge on the floral and faunal composition of protected areas (PAs) is crucial for formulating suitable conservation plan. In this paper, inventory and species richness of non-marine molluscs of Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary has been made and is for the first time from any PA of West Bengal. A total of 276 specimens belonging to 22 species (10 species of land snails and 12 species of freshwater) of non-marine molluscs (land and freshwater) were collected and examined from this sanctuary. The malacofaunal inventory comprises of nine genera under seven families among land snails and 12 genera & seven families from both gastropods & bivalves under the freshwater forms. As far as species richness is concerned, the family Ariophantidae was found to be dominant among land forms whereas species of the families Thiaridae and Unionidae were dominant among freshwater forms.

The complete mitogenome of Himalayan black bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger) from Indian Himalayan region was assembled following the modified approach of mitochondrial baiting and mapping using the next-generation sequencing reads. The complete mitogenome was of 16,556 bp long, consisted of 37 genes that contained 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs and 1 control region. The complete base composition was 31.33% A, 15.24% G, 25.45%C, and 27.98%T and gene arrangement was similar to the other sub-species of Asiatic black bear. The relative synonymous codon usage analysis revealed the maximum abundance of Isoleucine, Tyrosine, Leucine and Threonine. The assembled mitogenome of U. t. laniger exhibited 99% similarity with the mitogenomes of Himalayan black bear available from Nepal and Tibetan Plateau-Himalaya region. The findings of the present study has proven low depth sequencing data, adequate and highly efficient in rapid recovering the mitochondrial genome by overcoming the conventional strategies of obtaining long-range PCR and subsequently drawing phylogenetic inferences.

Through the present manuscript, we are reporting for the first time the presence of Cyclophorus pfeifferi Reeve, 1861 in India. Previously, this species of land snail was reported only from South-East Asian countries Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The specimens were collected during field sur- veys in Dampa Tiger Reserve in Mizoram state, India. The presence of C. pfeifferi in India reveals the range expansion and long-distance dispersal abilities of the species. Here we discuss the taxonomy, ecology and possible routes of dispersal of the species in India.

The large forest dwelling libellulid dragonfly Camacinia harterti Karsch, 1890 is recorded from Arunachal Pradesh and India for the first time in 115 years. The present record is based on a single male specimen collected from Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh, India. We provide detailed diagnostic characters in photographs and information on the global distribution of the species.

The present report provides the first material evidence of Nerocila orbignyi (Guérin-Méneville, 1832) collected from two different landing centres of the Chilika lagoon, thus claiming the first report of this parasite from India. One of the specimens was recorded from the host fish species Plotosus canius Hamilton 1822, constituting the first host record for this isopod. A key for the identification of N. orbignyi among its congeners is also provided. Molecular characterization of Cytochrome C Oxidase I (COI) gene of N. orbignyi was based on one specimen submitted for the first time to the NCBI database. This parasite is differentiated from the other available sequences of its related congeners retrieved from the NCBI and BOLD database by 26–34% in the Kimura 2 Parameter (K2P) distance and belongs to a separate cluster in Maximum likelihood (ML) tree analysis.

Sajan, Sheikh, Tripathy, Basudev, Chandra, Kailash, Sivakumar, Kuppusamy (2019): Rediscovery and re-description of Rhaphaulus assamicus Godwin-Austenı 1886ı an endemic pupinid land snail from India (Gastropoda: Pupinidae). Journal of Natural History 53 (41): 2553-2562, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1707893

Here, the clarification of the “type” status for Cyclophorus (Glossostylus) koboensis Godwin-Austen, 1915 catalogued by Nantarat et al. (2014) is corrected and briefly discussed.

Many poikilotherms have the ability to change body color for homeostatic regulation, conspecific communication or predator deterrence. Physiological color change is a rapid, reversible mode of color change regulated by neuromuscular or neuroendocrine system and has been observed in several anuran species. Here we report the occurrence of physiological color change in the tree frog Rhacophorussmaragdinus (Blyth, 1852) (Amphibia, Anura, Rhacophoridae) for the first time from Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Probable proximate causes of the behavior are discussed along with an overview of physiological color change in species of the family Rhacophoridae and nature of color change observed.

A new species of the genus Macrochlamys has been described from Western Himalaya, India. A total of 12 dry and seven live specimens of Macrochlamys leggeae sp. nov. were collected from the high-alt...

The validity of Laevicaulis Simroth, 1913 as the objective senior synonym of Eleutherocaulis Simroth, 1913, both published simultaneously in a complex and confusing work as genus-group names for veronicellid slugs, is confirmed. The type species, in both cases by subsequent designation, is Vaginulus comorensis Fischer, 1883, a junior synonym of Vaginulus alte Ferussac, 1822, now Laevicaulis alte, a widespread tropical and subtropical invasive species.

Megalestes gyalsey Gyeltshen, Kalkman & Orr, 2017 is recorded for the first time from India, extending the known geographic range of the species. This report is based on the collection of 5 individuals (4 males, 1 female) from Jang waterfall, Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh and 2 males from Neora Valley National Park, Kalimpong district, West Bengal. The female of M. gyalsey is described for the first time with notes on the variation in the male. A probable larva of the species is also described and illustrated.

Horseshoe crabs are currently threatened by escalating human stresses along the Indo-Pacific coastline. Conservation of their remaining populations, however, is hindered by limited baselines throughout their ranges. We performed a questionnaire survey of conservation experts from diverse geographic regions to identify baselines, prominent threats, impediments and alternative strategies that prioritize Asian horseshoe crab conservation. Despite long-term monitoring across habitat types is lacking, local population declines were widely perceived. Ongoing residential/commercial development along the coast was regarded as the most serious threat. A combination of top-down institutional management and bottom-up stakeholder participation was cited as the most promising strategy. Population and habitat baseline collections should be prioritized in future research to inform conservation planning. In this paper, we summarize the survey findings into the BTPAE (Baseline, Threat, Purpose, Action and Evaluation) framework, which constitutes to our best hope for the future of Asian horseshoe crab conservation.

412 species-group names (including 11 replacement names), and 14 genus-group names of the Alycaeidae have been introduced to date. Type materials of 85% (336) of the known species and subspecies were examined, a further 5% (19) of the taxa were studied using available non-type material, and for another 6% (22) the original descriptions were sufficiently detailed to evaluate their taxonomic status. Only 3% of the taxa (12) could not be examined. Special attention was paid to the sculpture of the embryonic whorls and the sutural tube-microtunnel system in order to provide a novel classification for this group. In this study 363 taxa (320 species or 43 subspecies) are accepted within the family Alycaeidae. Of these, 22 have been described by the lead author and his coauthors in previous publications. In addition, there are 18 species that were formerly classified in Cycloryx and now belong to Pincerna due to its synonymy with Cycloryx. Among the remaining 323 species, 209 (65%) are transferred here to another genus, whilst 114 (35%) have remained in their original genus. Seven genera are accepted. While some questions (e.g., the distinction between Pincerna and Alycaeus) remained unanswered, this revision made three main achievements: (1) The Dicharax species were identified based on the absence of spiral striation on the entire shell; (2) the Metalycaeus species were identified based on the spiral striation of the protoconch; (3) and Stomacosmethis was separated from Alycaeus based on the extremely short sutural tube. Five nominal species are being synonymised with other species, and eight species are now treated as subspecies. The following replacement names are proposed: Dioryx urnula niosiensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus urnula var. daflaensis Godwin-Austen, 1914; Dioryx urnula rotundus Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus urnula var. globosus Godwin-Austen, 1914; Pincerna crenilabris juttingae Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus crenilabris laevis van Benthem Jutting, 1959; Pincerna crenilabris korintjiensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus crenilabris latecostatus van Benthem Jutting, 1959; Dicharax conicus jatingaensis Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus conicus var. nanus Godwin-Austen, 1914; Metalycaeus godwinausteni Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus neglectus Godwin-Austen, 1914; and finally Metalycaeus suhajdai Páll-Gergely, nom. nov. for Alycaeus varius Godwin-Austen, 1914.

Ratufa bicolor is a diurnal, arboreal, and herbivorous rodent occurs mainly in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of north-eastern India and known to be one of the forest health indicator species. The present study was conducted to enumerate the climatic factors governing the distribution of R. bicolor in its habitat range in India and their climatic refuge in the middle of the 21st century, based on the approach of Species Distribution Modeling (SDM). Currently, 56.62% area of the distributional range of R. bicolor in India is unsuitable and with only 43.38% area as favorable for the species. With changing climate by 2050, only 2.94% area of the present range of R. bicolor will remain suitable habitat and remaining 97.06% area will become unsuitable for the species and by then, the species will lose more than 90% of its distribution range gaining only 1.45% area as newly suitable habitat in India. Thus, suitable conservation and management strategies need to be developed to save this species which will be on the verge of extinction in the wild at least locally including ex-situ conservation techniques or conservation breeding programs that may be initiated for protecting this squirrel species from north-eastern India.

An updated checklist of 69 species from 26 genera and 4 subfamilies of Vespidae from Arunachal Pradesh is provided in this study. Four species, viz. Eumenes macrops de Saussure, Polistes (Polistella) adustus Bingham, Polistes (Polistella) rubellus Gusenleitner, and Vespula germanica (Fabricius), are documented for the first time from Arunachal Pradesh. &nbsp

Sea turtles use beaches that are suitable for the successful development of embryos. Heavy nesting on beaches may have detrimental effects on the survival of embryos as the result of the destruction of nests by conspecifics and physiological stress of the incubation substrate. We studied nesting space dynamics and the impacts of nesting Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) females on the hatching success in Gahirmatha rookery, along east coast of India. A reduction in beach area following a recent post super-cyclone presented an opportunity to test the hypothesis predicting that nest density would negatively affect nest and hatching success. The average calculated area was 475.4 cm2 for one nest cavity; therefore, the nest capacity of the beach was estimated to be 85,176 clutches. The high degree of nest overlap resulted in relatively low hatching success. We expect, however, that if erosion is arrested, the nesting space is likely to expand and thereby increase long-term hatching succ...

The migratory movements of 14 olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) in the Bay of Bengal were studied using satellite telemetry during 2009–2010. Tracking data show that olive ridley turtles undertake open-ocean migrations in the bay and exhibit migratory corridor between foraging habitat of Sri Lanka and nesting sites along the Odisha coast of India. Tracking durations ranged 7–331 d (mean = 151 ± 95.9 d). The tracked turtles had a mean traveling speed of 2.49 ± 0.02 km/hr and moved an average of 31.7 km/d, remaining within a mean distance of 163.28 ± 50.9 km (range, 1–535 km) from the east coast of India. Turtles occupied waters with sea surface temperature (SST) ranging from 24°C to 31°C with chlorophyll concentrations of 0 to 3.9 mg/m3. Our study confirms that olive ridley turtles in the Bay of Bengal move within a broad range of SSTs and chlorophyll a concentrations; no correlation was found between turtle movements and these 2 oceanographic parameters (r2 = 0.02, n = 77). Our data in...

The Bengal monitor lizard or Common Indian monitor lizard (Varanus bengalensis Daudin, 1802) is classified as Least Concern under the IUCN and listed under the Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Further, the trade of the species is prohibited as the species is listed in Appendix I of CITES. It is widely distributed over Western Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia (Koch et al. 2013). It is reported to occupy both terrestrial as well as freshwater habitats from desert areas to floodplains, scrubland to forests, in different types of terrains at elevations below 1500m (Auffenberg 1994; Papenfuss et al. 2010). Body size of individuals varies from 61 to 175 cm from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail (Auffenberg 1994; Losos and Greene, 1998). Adults are generally grey or greenish-grey in color, with a ventral pattern of grey to black crossbars from the chin to the tail. Adult individuals are less contrasting and have a less distinct pattern than younger individuals. The species shows a sexual dimorphism, with males being heavier (around 7.18 to 10 kg) than females which are about 40% smaller in size (Papenfuss et al. 2010).

Malacological research in India has a long and productive history going back to the early 19th century, initially promoted by the Asiatic Society of Bengal and with significant material, including type material, deposited in the Indian Museum in Kolkata. Following the birth of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in 1916, the Museum’s collecting activities and care for the collections themselves became the responsibility of the ZSI. The ZSI holds important collections of freshwater snails in the family Ampullariidae, including type material of taxa collected and described in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This catalogue brings together information about these types, including for each taxon: bibliographic details of the original description, current taxonomic status, details of the type locality and type material, dimensions and illustrations of type specimens, and additional information as deemed necessary or interesting. The catalogue provides this information for 10 taxa, including four valid species and six junior synonyms. Two published names of subvarieties are listed but these are nomenclaturally unavailable. Lectotypes are designated for three taxa to stabilise the names.

Sajan, Sheikh, Basudev Tripathy, Chandra, Kailash, Sivakumar, Kuppusamy (2019): A new species of the genus Macrochlamys Grayı 1847 (Stylommatophora: Ariophantidae) from Western Himalayaı India. Journal of Natural History 53 (13): 797-813, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1615566

Macrochlamys leggeae sp. nov. (Figures 2 aı 3a – bı 4a – b; Table 1) Type material Holotype: 1 ex. (SL 10.28 mmı SW 7.08 mm) (NZSI M.31208/8)ı 300 m north-east of the Pushpawati River (30.72573°Nı 079.59150°E) 3544 mı Chamoli Districtı Uttarakhandı Western Himalayaı India; coll. S.K. Sajanı 28 August 2016. Paratypes: 4 ex. dry/ 7 ex. wet (NZSI M.31209/8)ı 300 m north-east of the Pushpawati River (30.72573° Nı 079.59150°E) 3544 mı Chamoli Districtı Uttarakhandı Western Himalayaı India (Figure 5)ı 5 ex. (NZSI MO.147)ı 300 m north-east of the Pushpawati River (30.72573° Nı 079.59150°E) 3544 mı Chamoli Districtı Uttarakhandı Western Himalayaı India deposited at Northern Regional Centreı Zoological Survey of Indiaı Dehradunı Uttarakhandı India; 2 ex. (NZSI M.316 – 319) 300 m north-east of the Pushpawati River (30.72573° Nı 079.59150°E) 3544 mı Chamoli Districtı Uttarakhandı Western Himalayaı India deposited at High Altitude Regional Centreı Zoological Survey of Indiaı Solanı Himachal Pradeshı Indiaı same date as holotype. Diagnosis The new species Macrochlamys leggeae has the following combination of characters: spire height is lowı the body whorl globose and largeı aperture width is greater than heightı lower whorl countı embryonic shell largerı smooth radial stair in protochonch and external shell surfaceı fewer teeth in each rowı penis very small (Figures 2 aı 3a – bı 4a – bı 7a – gı 8; Tables 1 – 2). Description The shell is medium (SL 8.66 – 10.28 mm)ı thin and smoothı convex and sub-globosely depressed; apex is obtuse and depressedı shell surface has smooth lirae over the whole bodyı shell pale in colour and horny; body whorl broad and globsely rounded at periphery and whorl largeı about two-thirds of shell height and convexı slightly descending in frontı spire is low (SH 1.16 ± 0.01 mm); whorls 4 ¼ – 5; peristome simple and thinı aperture is broadly ovate-lunate in shape; howeverı the width of the aperture is greater than its height (AH 4.76 ± 0.28 mm and AW 5.02 ± 0.33 mm)ı columellar region is straight and reflected at the perforationı umbilicus of shell narrowly perforate. Radula Each row of the radula consists of 73 teeth with the formula 22-1-13-1-13-1-22 (36-1-36). Central tooth (c) triangular tricuspid with large mesoconus (m). Lateral teeth (lt) asymmetric tricuspid with very small ectoconus (ec) and larger endoconus (et). Rachidian tooth central cusp base width 10.19 µm and rachidian tooth central cusp height 29.49 µm (Figure 7a – g). Genital organ Atrium (at) very shortı penis (p) short and cylindrical and corresponding to penial verge (pv)ı length of penis 1.20 mmı epiphallus (e) long and slender tubeı double length of penisı epiphallic caecum (epc) having one coiled circle located at middle of epiphallus and attached with penial retractor muscle (prm). Flagellum (fl) slightly larger then penis lengthı with single fold. Vas deferens (vd) thin slender tube connected between distal end of epiphallus and free oviduct (fo). Vagina (v) smaller than penis in length (0.8 mm) and cylindrical in shape. Dart apparatus (da) 4 times as long as penisı stout and cylindrical in shape and attached to proximal end of vaginaı tip of da attached with dart retractor muscle (drm). Gametolytic sac (gs) prolonged and bulbousı around 1 mm in diameter. Gametolytic duct (gd) long (double penis length)ı stout and cylindrical in shapeı free oviduct (fo) as long as penis and a cylindrical tube. Oviduct (ov) with large lobulesı with prostate gland (pg) running alongside. Hermaphrodite duct (hd) coiled and approximately 5 mm in length (Figure 8). External features Animal about 4 – 5 mm in length with reticulated skinı the shell is pale yellowı with a large and globose body whorl. The body surface is dark chocolate brown in colourı while the tentacle is darker. The caudal horn is raised and same colour as the body. The posterior left dorsal lobe is short and slightly visible. The animal secretes a very light slime during locomotion. Distribution. The specimens were collected from 300 m north-east of the Pushpawati River (30.72573°Nı 079.59150°E) 3544 mı Chamoli Districtı Uttarakhandı Western Himalayaı India (Figures 4c – fı 5). Habitat. The new species was usually found more than 3500 m above sea level on the ground surface and on small bushes (vegetation) of Meconopsis aculeata and Aconitum sp. in the sub-alpine zone of the main valley. This species is probably endemic to this particular region and known only from the type locality (Figure 5). The species is mostly active during the monsoon and post-monsoon season. Etymology. The specific epithet ‘leggeae’ is named after Joan Margaret Leggeı Botanist of the Royal Botanical Gardensı Kewı who came to India to study flora of the Valley of Flowersı and lost her life there on 4 July 1939. Remarks. The new species M. leggeae sp. nov. is compared with M. nuda (Pfeifferı 1852) (Figure 2e). In M. nuda the shell is thickı larger and less globose and the spire is highı and the aperture is shortı while in the new species the shell is thin and sub-globoseı and the aperture is wider than long. Howeverı the height of the body whorl is greater than in M. nuda and the number of whorls is also fewer (4 ¼ – 5)ı whereas in M. nuda the whorl number is 5 – 5 ½. In M. vesicula (Bensonı 1838) the shell is larger in size (SL 13.05 ± 1.38 mm)ı whereas the ratio of the aperture height to shell height is also greater (4.48 mm). In M. glauca (Pfeifferı 1846) the shell is also large in size (SL 16.64 ± 3 mm)ı and the height to width ratio of the aperture is also less (0.93 mm) than in M. leggeae (0.95 mm). In comparison to M. kuluensis Blanfordı 1904 the shell length and width are also greater (SL 11.28 ± 2.02 mmı SW 8.41 ± 1.49 mm)ı and the aperture ratio is greater than in M. leggeae. In M. leggeae the diameter of the spire without the last whorl is also less than in all the compared species (4.80 ± 0.28 mm) (see Tables 1 and 2; Figure 2b – d). The unique large body whorlı aperture openingı and morphometric measurements are reliable characters to distinguish the species. Statistical species differentiation. For morphometric differentiation among five individuals of Macrochlamys leggeae sp. nov. (paratype NZSI M.31ı209/8ı n = 5) and five individuals each of the congeneric species M. vesicula ı M. glauca ı M. kuluensis and M. nuda (n = 5)ı a PCA was performedı using Past3. The variables SL/SW – shell length/shell widthı AH/AW – aperture height/aperture widthı AW/SH – aperture width/spire heightı HBW/AH – height of the body whorl/aperture heightı and HBW/SH – height of the body whorl/spire height were calculated. PC1 explained 93.7% of the total variance and PC2 explained 5% of the variance in th eshell ratio (Figure 6). The most significant variance was observed in the ratios AW/SH (0.822) and HBW/SH (0.567) which are significantly different from those of the closely related species (Tables 1 and 3; Figure 6). (Continued) (Continued), Published as part of Sajan, Sheikh, Basudev Tripathy, Chandra, Kailash & Sivakumar, Kuppusamy, 2019, A new species of the genus Macrochlamys Grayı 1847 (Stylommatophora: Ariophantidae) from Western Himalayaı India, pp. 797-813 in Journal of Natural History 53 (13) on pages 800-808, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1615566, http://zenodo.org/record/3675625, {"references":["Blanford WT. 1904. Description of Indian and Butmese land shells referred to the genera Macrochlamysi Bensoniai Taphrospirai Microcystinai Euplecta and Polita. Proc Zool Soc Lond. 1904: 441 - 447.","Godwin-Austen HH. 1899. Address of the President. Appendix A. List of the shells from Kashmir territoryi north of the Pir Panjal and Kajnar rangesi including the Murree hill and Hazara. Proc Zool Soc Lond. 3: 259 - 262.","Benson WH. 1836. Descriptive catalogue of terrestrial and fluviatile Testacea chiefly from the norteast frontier of Bengal. J Asiat Soc Bengal. 5: 350 - 358."]}

Genus Macrochlamys Grayı 1847 Macrochlamys Grayı 1847: p. 169 – Bensonı 1832a: p. 76 (unavailable); Benson 1836: p. 350 – 351 (unavailable); Stoliczka 1871: p. 246; Godwin-Austenı 1883 (1882 – 1888): p. 76 – 84; Blanford and Godwin-Austen 1908: p. 77 – 79; Zilch 1959: p. 323; Mitraı Dey and Ramakrishnaı 2004: 252 – 264; Ramakrishnaı Mithra and Dey 2010: p. 262 – 292; Raheem et al. 2014: p. 104 – 108; Tripathy et al. 2018: 785 – 796. Type species Helix vitrinoides Deshayesı 1831 (by monotype) [accepted as Macrochlamys vitrinoides (Deshayesı 1831)]. Known distributional range Widely distributed throughout South and Southeast Asia., Published as part of Sajan, Sheikh, Basudev Tripathy, Chandra, Kailash & Sivakumar, Kuppusamy, 2019, A new species of the genus Macrochlamys Grayı 1847 (Stylommatophora: Ariophantidae) from Western Himalayaı India, pp. 797-813 in Journal of Natural History 53 (13) on pages 799-800, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1615566, http://zenodo.org/record/3675625, {"references":["Benson WH. 1836. Descriptive catalogue of terrestrial and fluviatile Testacea chiefly from the norteast frontier of Bengal. J Asiat Soc Bengal. 5: 350 - 358.","Stoliczka F. 1871. Notes on Terrestrial Mollusca from the neighbourhood of Moulmeini (Tenasserim Provinces) with description of new species. J Asiat Soc Bengal. 2: 217 - 259.","Blanford WTi Godwin-Austen HH. 1908. Fauna of British India i Mollusca (Testacellidae and Zonitidae). New Delhi: Today & Tomorrow ' s Printers & Publishers: 311.","Zilch A. 1959. Gastropodai Euthyneura. In: Schindewolf OHi editor. Handbuch der Palaozoologie (Vol. 6). Berlin: Gebruder Borntraeger; p. 400.","Ramakrishnai Mithra SCi Dey A. 2010. Annotated checklist of Indian land molluscs. Rec Zool Surv Indiai Occ Paper. 306: 1 - 359.","Raheem DCi Taylor Hi Ablett Ji Preece RCi Arvind NAi Naggs F. 2014. A systematics revision of the land snails of the Western Ghats of India. Trop Nat Hist. Supplement 4: 1 - 294.","Tripathy Bi Sajan SKi Mukhopadhaya A. 2018. Mollusca. In: Chandra Ki Gupta Di Gopi KCi Tripathy Bi Kumar Vi editors. Faunal Diversity of Indian Himalaya. Kolkata: Published by the Directori Zool Surv India; p. 785 - 796.","Blanford WT. 1904. Description of Indian and Butmese land shells referred to the genera Macrochlamysi Bensoniai Taphrospirai Microcystinai Euplecta and Polita. Proc Zool Soc Lond. 1904: 441 - 447."]}

Hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu), the only red deer subspecies surviving in the Indian subcontinent, is of top conservation priority with global importance. Unfortunately, it has lost much of its historical distribution range, and it is now confined to Dachigam landscape within the Kashmir valley of India. The Government of India initiated a recovery plan in 2008 to augment their numbers through ex-situ conservation programs. However, it was necessary to identify potential hangul habitats in Kashmir valley for adopting landscape-level conservation planning for the species. Based on geometric aspects of reserve design, we modeled hangul habitat using an ensemble approach to identify hangul habitats. The present model indicates that the conifer and broadleaf mixed forests were the most suitable habitats. Only 9% of the total study landscape was found suitable for the species. We identified corridors among the suitable habitat blocks, which may be vital for the species' long-term genetic viability. We suggest reorganizing the existing management of Dachigam National Park (NP) following the landscape level and habitat block-level management planning based on the core principles of geometric reserve design. We recommend that the identified patch (PID-6) in the southern region of the landscape to be converted into a Conservation Reserve or merged with the Overa-Aru Wildlife Sanctuary. This habitat patch PID-6 may be a stepping stone habitat and vital for maintaining the species landscape connectivity and metapopulation dynamics.

The freshwater and land molluscs inventory survey was conducted in connection with our approved annual programme of research entitled “Species diversity and richness of molluscan fauna of Himachal Pradesh” From April 2012 to March 2015. During survey period we have collected 633 examples of Molluscs (both Land and Freshwater). Total 25 species are recorded from different district of Himachal Pradesh. Among 25 species eight species of molluscs have been recorded from the Kangra district. , and have been recorded for the f irst time from Himachal Pradesh. A systematic taxonomic account, distributionand conservationstatus isdiscussed in thispaper. Physa acuta Macrochlamys indica Ariophanta interrupta Taxonomy, Distribution and Conservation of Molluscs in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh: Three New Records from the State Tulika Biswas, Basudev Tripathy, K. Valarmathi, S.K. Sajan* Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, NewAlipore, Kolkata-53

Stomach contents of olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) occurring along the Gahirmatha coast of Odisha, India have been studied between October 2008 and May 2010. We obtained 76 stomach contents from olive ridley turtles that were stranded freshly, of which 12 were males and 64 were females. Among food items, molluscs dominated with 34.5 % in volume while crustaceans were next in order of volume (27.6 %). Occurrence of fish and other invertebrate and algae fragments though were less in amount have been noted almost in all specimens.

Museum collections are important refer­ence system for the study of extinct and extant species. The voucher specimens collected during various faunistic field surveys and explorations pre­served and deposited in natural history museums help in identifying species, their habitat, study on their ecology and behavior and tracking the historical background of such collections. The NZC present in different sections of Zoological Survey of India have been acquired from the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Zoological section of the Indian Mu­seum and collections through various surveys since early part of 19th century. During the famous marine expedition by Investigators, apart from naturalists, many other private donors including ship captains, geologists and physicians who have contributed to the Indian Museum through their personal collections. This paper deals with such a collection made by a Branch Pilot and which also happen to be the first registered mollusca collection of the Indian Museum now under the custody of the National Zoological Collection at the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.

As per the Article 7(a) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Identifying components of biological diversity importance for its conservation and sustainable use is the first step for in-situ conservation of the species. On the other hand, there are more than 50% of the faunal diversity, yet to be explored and documented, particular in country like India. From the biogeographic point of view, India holds major biodiversity with atleast four hotspots, beside biodiversity rich areas. The state of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are among them, which is least explored, in spite of the rich vegetation covers and deltoic areas and invertebrate fauna in particular have never received adequate attention from this landscape. Thus, the inventory of land and freshwater molluscs was carried out in some parts of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state of Deccan Peninsula India as part of the faunal inventory of Eastern Ghats by ZSI, during August to September 2016, primarily to explore the diversity and distribution of malacofauna in the region. This paper deals with a total of 25 species (13 species of land snails belonging to 2 Order 6 families and 12 of freshwater molluscs belonging to 5 order and 8 families) identified and along with the current threats evaluated and conservation measures suggested.