Discovery of a deeply divergent new lineage of vine snake (Colubridae: Ahaetuliinae: Proahaetulla gen. nov.) from the southern Western Ghats of Peninsular India with a revised key for Ahaetuliinae

Dynamic gap crossing in Dendrelaphis, the sister taxon of flying snakes

Arboreal animals commonly use dynamic gap-crossing behaviors such as jumping. In snakes, however, most species studied to date only employ the quasi-static cantilever crawl, which involves a whole-body reach. One exception is the paradise tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi), which exhibits kinematic changes as gap distance increases, culminating in dynamic behaviors that are kinematically indistinguishable from those used to launch glides. Because Chrysopelea uses dynamic behaviors when bridging gaps without gliding, we hypothesized that such dynamic behaviors evolved ancestrally to Chrysopelea. To test this predicted occurrence of dynamic behaviors in closely related taxa, we studied gap bridging locomotion in the genus Dendrelaphis, which is the sister lineage of Chysopelea. We recorded 20 snakes from two species (D. punctulatus and D. calligastra) crossing gaps of increasing size, and analyzed their 3D kinematics. We found that, like C. paradisi, both species of Dendrelaphis modulate their use of dynamic behaviors in response to gap distance, but Dendrelaphis exhibit greater inter-individual variation. Although all three species displayed the use of looped movements, the highly stereotyped J-loop movement of Chrysopelea was not observed in Dendrelaphis. These results support the hypothesis that Chrysopelea may have co-opted and refined an ancestral behavior for crossing gaps for the novel function of launching a glide. Overall, these data demonstrate the importance of gap distance in governing behavior and kinematics during arboreal gap crossing.

Microhabitat preferences and guild structure of a tropical reptile community from the Western Ghats of India: implications for conservation

Microhabitat characteristics can be used as a proxy to predict the community structure of associated organisms and evaluate their vulnerability to habitat degradation. Microhabitat-specific and ectothermic taxa (like many reptiles) are among the best models to study responses to changing habitats and climate. We examined the niche breadth and guild structure of reptiles from Agasthyamalai Hills in the southern Western Ghats of India based on microhabitat use data. We recorded a total of 47 reptile species from 1,554 observations comprising two major orders and 11 families. Niche breadth analysis revealed that 45% of reptiles are microhabitat specialists, indicating the importance of protecting their habitats with all structural attributes. Cluster analysis grouped reptile species into four major guilds based on microhabitat preferences. The forest floor-dwelling guild was the largest group with 25 species, followed by the semi-arboreal guild with 12 species. The floor-dwelling guild also exhibited both the highest number of microhabitat specialists (n = 11) and globally threatened species (n = 3), highlighting the need for preserving ground cover characteristics such as leaf litter, boulders, and open ground for conserving reptiles in the region. Considering the microhabitat specializations within the community, we recommend a dynamic approach to monitor abundance, diversity, and habitat quality across the Agasthyamalai landscape to better conserve its rich reptile diversity.

Cryptic diversity and phylogeography of the Rhabdophis nuchalis group (Squamata: Colubridae)

Previous studies, have found that the rapid uplift of the Tibetan plateau accelerated the diversification of species. However, there are few relevant biogeographic data for the Colubridae in this region. We conducted a comprehensive study of the Rhabdophis nuchalis Group, which presently contains four nominal species, R. nuchalis, R. pentasupralabialis, R. leonardi, and R. chiwen. Building upon previous studies with specimens we have recently examined, greater interspecific and intraspecific diversity has been revealed. Here we address three questions: (1) Do the intraspecific differences represent only geographic variation within lineages, or are there cryptic species? (2) What are the interspecific relationships among members of the R. nuchalis Group? (3) What has been the biogeographic history of this species group? To resolve these questions we used four mitochondrial gene sequences and one nuclear sequence to investigate the molecular phylogenetic and geographic relationships among populations. Our molecular analysis reveals cryptic species diversity within the R. nuchalis Group, and seven clades were identified in the analysis. Ancestral area estimation suggests that the R. nuchalis Group originated in the Hengduan Mountains approximately 6.24 Mya and expanded its range northward to the Qinling-Daba Mountains. The Sichuan Basin appears to have been a barrier to migration. Species divergence seems to have been related to the rapid uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Herpetofauna assemblage in two watershed areas of Kumoan Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India

We surveyed herpetofauna along the poorly-explored region of two watersheds of Kumoan Himalaya, Dabka and Khulgarh.  Adaptive cluster method was used to collect forest floor reptiles, and stream transect was used for stream reptiles and amphibians.  In total, 18 species of reptiles were recorded in two watersheds, with 15 and nine species recorded in Dabka and Khulgarh, respectively.  Forest floor density of reptiles was 87.5/ha in Dabka and 77.7/ha in Khulgarh.  In terms of species, Asymblepharus ladacensis and Lygosoma punctatus density were highest in Dabka and Khulgarh, respectively.  Eight species of amphibians were recorded in Dabka with a density of 9.4/ha and four species in Khulgarh with density of 5.2/ha.  In both watersheds, density of Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis was highest.  Reptilian and amphibian diversity of Dabka was 1.52 and 1.23, respectively, and in Khulgarh 0.43 and 0.23, respectively.  In both watersheds reptile density, diversity and richness decreased with increasing elevation.  Reptile density showed a weak correlation with microhabitat features such as litter cover, litter depth, and soil moisture in both watersheds.  Amphibian density was positively correlated with soil moisture, litter cover, and litter depth.  Comparison showed that Dabka is richer and more diverse than Khulgarh, presumably because of the undisturbed habitat, broad and slow stream, and deeper forest litter of the former.

B, P. Karthik, Babu Rao, S. Babu. Catalogue of herpetological specimens from peninsular India at the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology & Natural History (SACON), India

We list the herpetological voucher specimens in the holdings of the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology & Natural History (SACON), a wildlife research institute in India.  Most of the collections are the fruition of fieldwork by SACON’s herpetologist and a coauthor of this work—late Dr. Subramanian Bhupathy (1963–2014).  Taxonomically, the collection represents 125 species, comprising 29 amphibian species belonging to eight families and 96 reptilian species belonging to 17 families.  Geographically, the material in this collection originates from the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats, the Deccan Plateau, and the Coromandel Coast, comprehensively covering all ecoregions of peninsular India.  A total of 15 taxa (three amphibians, 12 reptiles) remain to be fully identified and are provisionally referred to most-resembling taxa, with cf. prefix.  All the specimens in this collection are non-types as on date.