JoTT 3(12): 2229-2276 26 December 2011 by ZOO-WILD

December 2011 | Vol. 3 | No. 12 | Pages 2229–2276 Date of Publication 26 December 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

Three new species of Tigidia from the Western Ghats

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9A, Lal Bahadur Colony, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641004, India Phone: +91 422 2561087, 2561743; Fax: +91 422 2563269 Email: threatenedtaxa@gmail.com, articlesubmission@threatenedtaxa.org Website: www.theatenedtaxa.org EDITORS Founder & Chief Editor Dr. Sanjay Molur, Coimbatore, India Managing Editor Mr. B. Ravichandran, Coimbatore, India Associate Editors Dr. B.A. Daniel, Coimbatore, India Dr. Manju Siliwal, Dehra Dun, India Dr. Meena Venkataraman, Mumbai, India Editorial Advisors Ms. Sally Walker, Coimbatore, India Dr. Robert C. Lacy, Minnesota, USA Dr. Russel Mittermeier, Virginia, USA Dr. Thomas Husband, Rhode Island, USA Dr. Jacob V. Cheeran, Thrissur, India Prof. Dr. Mewa Singh, Mysuru, India Dr. Ulrich Streicher, Oudomsouk, Laos Mr. Stephen D. Nash, Stony Brook, USA Dr. Fred Pluthero, Toronto, Canada Dr. Martin Fisher, Cambridge, UK Dr. Ulf Gärdenfors, Uppsala, Sweden Dr. John Fellowes, Hong Kong Dr. Philip S. Miller, Minnesota, USA Prof. Dr. Mirco Solé, Brazil Editorial Board / Subject Editors Dr. M. Zornitza Aguilar, Ecuador Prof. Wasim Ahmad, Aligarh, India Dr. Giovanni Amori, Rome, Italy Mr. Deepak Apte, Mumbai, India Dr. M. Arunachalam, Alwarkurichi, India Dr. Aziz Aslan, Antalya, Turkey Prof. R.K. Avasthi, Rohtak, India Dr. N.P. Balakrishnan, Coimbatore, India Dr. Hari Balasubramanian, Arlington, USA Dr. Maan Barua, Oxford OX , UK Dr. Aaron M. Bauer, Villanova, USA Dr. Gopalakrishna K. Bhat, Udupi, India Dr. S. Bhupathy, Coimbatore, India Dr. Anwar L. Bilgrami, New Jersey, USA Dr. Renee M. Borges, Bengaluru, India Dr. Gill Braulik, Fife, UK Dr. Prem B. Budha, Kathmandu, Nepal Mr. Ashok Captain, Pune, India Dr. Cleofas R. Cervancia, Laguna , Philippines Dr. Apurba Chakraborty, Guwahati, India Dr. Kailash Chandra, Jabalpur, India

Dr. Anwaruddin Choudhury, Guwahati, India Dr. Richard Thomas Corlett, Singapore Dr. Gabor Csorba, Budapest, Hungary Dr. Paula E. Cushing, Denver, USA Dr. Neelesh Naresh Dahanukar, Pune, India Dr. R.J. Ranjit Daniels, Chennai, India Dr. A.K. Das, Kolkata, India Dr. Indraneil Das, Sarawak, Malaysia Dr. Rema Devi, Chennai, India Dr. Nishith Dharaiya, Patan, India Dr. Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman, Queenswood, South Africa Dr. William Dundon, Legnaro, Italy Dr. J.L. Ellis, Bengaluru, India Dr. Susie Ellis, Florida, USA Dr. Zdenek Faltynek Fric, Czech Republic Dr. Carl Ferraris, NE Couch St., Portland Dr. R. Ganesan, Bengaluru, India Dr. Hemant Ghate, Pune, India Dr. Dipankar Ghose, New Delhi, India Dr. Gary A.P. Gibson, Ontario, USA Dr. M. Gobi, Madurai, India Dr. Stephan Gollasch, Hamburg, Germany Dr. Michael J.B. Green, Norwich, UK Dr. K. Gunathilagaraj, Coimbatore, India Dr. K.V. Gururaja, Bengaluru, India Dr. Mark S. Harvey,Welshpool, Australia Dr. Mohammad Hayat, Aligarh, India Prof. Harold F. Heatwole, Raleigh, USA Dr. V.B. Hosagoudar, Thiruvananthapuram, India Prof. Fritz Huchermeyer, Onderstepoort, South Africa Dr. V. Irudayaraj, Tirunelveli, India Dr. Rajah Jayapal, Bengaluru, India Dr. Weihong Ji, Auckland, New Zealand Prof. R. Jindal, Chandigarh, India Dr. Pierre Jolivet, Bd Soult, France Dr. Rajiv S. Kalsi, Haryana, India Dr. Werner Kaumanns, Eschenweg, Germany Dr. Paul Pearce-Kelly, Regent’s Park, UK Dr. P.B. Khare, Lucknow, India Dr. Vinod Khanna, Dehra Dun, India Dr. Cecilia Kierulff, São Paulo, Brazil Dr. Ignacy Kitowski, Lublin, Poland Dr. Krushnamegh Kunte, Cambridge, USA Prof. Dr. Adriano Brilhante Kury, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Dr. P. Lakshminarasimhan, Howrah, India Dr. Carlos Alberto S de Lucena, Porto Alegre, Brazil Dr. Glauco Machado, São Paulo, Brazil Dr. Gowri Mallapur, Mamallapuram, India Dr. George Mathew, Peechi, India continued on the back inside cover

JoTT Paper

3(12): 2229–2241

Western Ghats Special Series

First record of the genus Tigidia Simon, 1892 (Araneae: Barychelidae) from India with description of three new species from the Western Ghats, India Manju Siliwal 1, Neha Gupta 2, Rajesh V. Sanap 3, Zeeshan A. Mirza 4 & Robert Raven 5 Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society, 9-A, Lal Bahadur Colony, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641004, India University School of Environment Management, Guru Gobind Indraprastha University, Sector 16-C, Dwarka, New Delhi 110075, India 3 D–5/2, Marol Police Camp, Andheri (East), Mumbai, Maharashtra 400059, India 4 Zoology Department, Bhavan’s College, Andheri (West), Mumbai, Maharashtra 400058, India 5 Queensland Museum, Grey Street, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, 4101, Queensland, Australia Email: 1 manjusiliwal@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 neha_11taurian@rediffmail.com, 3 rajeshvsanap@gmail.com, 4 snakeszeeshan@gmail.com, 5 robert.raven@qm.qld.gov.au 1 2

Date of publication (online): 26 December 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 December 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman Manuscript details: Ms # o2874 Received 13 July 2011 Final received 09 August 2011 Finally accepted 21 October 2011 Citation: Siliwal, M., N. Gupta, R.V. Sanap, Z.A. Mirza & R. Raven (2011). First record of the genus Tigidia Simon, 1892 �� (Araneae: Barychelidae) from India with description of three new species from the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(12): 2229–2241. Copyright: © Manju Siliwal, Neha Gupta, Rajesh V. Sanap, Zeeshan A. Mirza & Robert Raven 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. For Author Details, Author Contribution and Acknowledgements see end of this article.

Abstract: Prior to this study the genus Tigidia Simon, 1892 of the Brush-footed Spider family Barychelidae was represented by eight species endemic to Madagascar and Mauritius Islands. The first occurrence of Tigidia in India is reported here with the description of three new species from the Western Ghats, T. sahyadri sp. nov. from Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka; T. nilgiriensis sp. nov. from Kotagiri, Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu and T. rutilofronis sp. nov. from Maruthamalai, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu. This genus is probably a Gondwana relict. Natural history information is provided for all the species. Keywords: Araneae, Barychelidae, Gondwana relict, new species, Tigidia, Western Ghats.

INTRODUCTION The Brush-footed Spider family Barychelidae is represented worldwide by 44 genera and 303 species (Platnick 2011). Thirteen of these genera have only a single pair of spinnerets (Raven 1994; Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002). Another important generic character of the barychelids is the size of the paired claws, of the 13 two spinneret barychelid genera, there are only three genera having paired tarsal claws I and II very reduced compared

Abbreviations: ALE - anterior lateral eye; AME - anterior median eye; MOQ - median ocular quadrate; MS - Manju Siliwal; NG - Neha Gupta; PLE - posterior lateral eye; PME - posterior median eye; PLS - posterior lateral spinnerets; PMS - posterior median spinnerets; RR - Robert Raven; RS - Rajesh Sanap; STC - Superior or paired tarsal claws; WILD - Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society; ZM - Zeeshan Mirza. Abbreviations used for hairs and spines count are: d - dorsal; fe - femur; mt - metatarsus; p - prolateral; pa - patella; r - retrolateral; ta - tarsus; ti - tibia; v - ventral.

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This article forms part of a special series on the Western Ghats of India, disseminating the results of work supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. A fundamental goal of CEPF is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation. Implementation of the CEPF investment program in the Western Ghats is led and coordinated by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE).

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to claws on legs III and IV viz., Diplothele O. P.Cambridge 1890, Synothele Simon, 1908 and Tigidia Simon, 1892 (Raven 1985). Of these, only Diplothele represented by three species was previously known from India (Siliwal et al. 2009; Platnick 2011). The most closely related genus to Diplothele is considered to be Tigidia. The genus Tigidia was thought to be endemic to Madagascar and Mauritius Islands where it is represented by eight species (Platnick 2011). All the species of this genus were described a century ago and are known only from their type locality. The genus was established with the description of T. mauriciana by Simon (1892) from Mauritius. Tigidia remained monotypic until Benoit (1965) added two genera, Forsythula Pocock, 1903 and Tructicus Strand, 1907, to its synonymy. Further, Raven (1985) also synonymised three more genera (Acropholius Simon, 1902; Cestotrema Simon, 1902; Nossibea Strand, 1907) from Madagascar with Tigidia. The Western Ghats is known for its rich and endemic fauna being a biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al. 2000). However, the present knowledge of its invertebrate fauna is meager and the region likely supports a wealth of invertebrate fauna which is still unknown (Daniels 2003; Mirza & Sanap 2010). During surveys in the central Western Ghats of Karnataka, authors (NG and MS) collected a barychelid that had two spinnerets. Initially, it was considered to belong to the Indian genus Diplothele. Diplothele and Tigidia are very close allied genera but Raven (1985) listed two distinct characters to distinguish between them, namely, ocular area wider behind than in front and the presence of preening comb on metatarsi (Image 1). On examination of the specimen under the stereomicroscope it was found that the species had a preening comb and an ocular area wider at the back than in front, indicating the specimens collected from Uttara Kannada belong to the genus Tigidia. Later, two more species were collected from the southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu by RS and ZM, which were distinctly different from the specimens from Karnataka. It is possible that this genus occurs throughout the Western Ghats but remained unnoticed due to its vertical trapdoor burrows. Based on the new distribution pattern Tigidia is probably a Gondwanan relict. Morphologically, the closest genus to Tigidia is an African genus Pisenor, 2230

ÂŠ M. Siliwal

Image 1. Preening comb on metatarsi, a distinguishing character of the genus Tigidia.

which has a similar combination of characters than the Indian genera Diplothele and Tigidia but differs in that Pisenor retains the putatively plesiomorphic character that all paired claws of the legs are the same size; in Tigidia and Diplothele, the paired claws of legs I and II are very small, relatively about half the size of the claws on legs III, IV (Table 1). The 13 barychelid genera with two spinnerets are known from Australia, South Asia and the African subcontinent (Raven 1985; Platnick 2011) seem to be an ideal group to study evolutionary lineage and also to test the Gondwana theory (Datta-Roy & Karanth 2009; Kunte in press). Based on the present finding, the following hypotheses are proposed: (i) Pisenor is the sister genus of Diplothele and Tigidia; (ii) The genus Tigidia evolved after the Indo-Madagascar plate separated from Africa 160 million years ago; and (iii) Diplothele evolved between 50 to 80 million years ago after the Indian plate separated from Madagascar and collided with the Eurasian plate. Phylogenetic studies will be carried out on Tigidia and other closely allied genera to test and justify the aforesaid theories and hypothesis and those will be published separately. In the present paper, we report on the occurrence of the genus Tigidia in India, a new addition to the generic spider list for the Indian subcontinent and adding to the list of species, which are common between the African and Indian subcontinents (Gondwanan relicts). We describe three new species, based only on female specimens as no males were sampled during the study (September 2009 to May 2010) and provide notes on the natural history for all the new species.

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | December 2011 | 3(12): 2229â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2241

Three new Tigidia from India

M. Siliwal et al.

Table 1. List of characters distinguishing the three genera Pisenor, Tigidia and Diplothele. Characters

Pisenor

Tigidia

Diplothele

Ocular width front vs. behind

Wider behind than front

Behind as wide as in front

Fovea

Straight

Procurved

Rastellum

Absent

Present

Preening comb on metatarsi

Absent

Present

Absent

Paired claw sizes leg I-II vs. III-IV

Similar

Much smaller

Teeth on claws

Present

Absent

Abdomen pattern

Mottled

Spinnerets

Two

MethodS All specimens are deposited at the Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society (WILD) Museum, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Measurements of body parts except for the eyes were taken with a MitutoyoTM vernier caliper. Eye measurements were done with a calibrated ocular micrometer. All measurements are in millimeters. Spermathecae were dissected and cleared in concentrated lactic acid in a 1000C water bath for 15–20 minutes. Total length excludes chelicerae. All illustrations were prepared with the help of a camera lucida attached to a MOTICTM and LabomedTM CSM2 stereomicroscopes by MS & NG for T. sahyadri sp. nov. and RS for rest of the species. The taxonomic description style is after Siliwal et al. (2009).

TAXONOMY Tigidia Simon, 1892 Forsythula Pocock, 1903: 244; Benoit 1965: 28. Tructicus Strand, 1907: 550; Benoit 1965: 30. Cestotrema Simon, 1902: 551; Raven 1985: 112. Nossibea Strand, 1907: 550; Raven 1985: 113. Acropholius Simon, 1902: 598; Raven 1985: 112. Type species: Tigidia mauriciana Simon, 1892, based on a female specimen. The holotype is deposited at Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Type examined by RR. Diagnosis: The genus Tigidia resembles the genus Diplothele in having two spinnerets, STC of legs I and II clearly smaller than on legs III and IV (Simon 1892; Raven 1985) and bilobed spermathecae. Tigidia can be distinguished from Diplothele by ocular group clearly

wider behind than in front (in Diplothele, the ocular group is almost as wide in front as behind); rastellum on low mound consisting of long, thick spines (in Diplothele, the rastellum is on low mound consisting of long, thick curved spines); preening comb present on metatarsi III–IV (in Diplothele, preening comb absent) (Simon 1892; Raven 1985); cephalic and thoracic width almost same, cephalothorax almost as wide as long (difference between length and width is less than 1.0mm), whereas in Diplothele, the cephalothorax is clearly longer than wide; legs banded (in Diplothele, legs uniformly brown); main lobe of the spermathecae short (in Diplothele, main lobe of the spermathecae longer and filiform). Distribution: India, Madagascar and Mauritius Islands.

Tigidia sahyadri sp. nov. Siliwal, Gupta & Raven (Image 2; Figs. 1-7; Table 2) Type material: Holotype: female, 3.iv.2010, 15.12430N & 74.400220E, 587m, Kumbharwada, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India, coll. N. Gupta, S. Chauhan and Ramesh, WILD-10-ARA-876. Paratypes: One female, 24.iii.2010, 15.169380N & 74.633090E, 534m, Kulgi, Dandeli WLS, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India, coll. N. Gupta, S. Chauhan and Ramesh, WILD-10-ARA-785. Two females, 12.iv.2010, 15.1640N & 74.474970E, 616m, teak plantation, Joida, Uttara Kannda, Karnataka, India, coll. N. Gupta, S. Chauhan and Ramesh, WILD-10ARA-910, WILD-10-ARA-911, two female (WILD10-ARA-1010, WILD-10-ARA-1011), one juvenile (WILD-10-ARA-1012), 19.iv.2010, 15.163730N &

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Figures 1–7. Tigidia sahyadri sp. nov. female holotype (WILD-10-ARA-876) 1 - Cephalothorax and abdomen, dorsal view (scale=5.0mm); 2 - Eyes (scale=1.0mm); 3 - Sternum, labium, maxillae and chelicerae, (scale=5.0mm); 4 - Chelicerae, prolateral view (scale=1.0mm); 5 - Abdomen, ventral view (scale=5.0mm); 6 - Spinnerets, ventral view (scale=1.0mm); 7 - Spermathecae (scale=1.0mm)

74.474420E, 613m, mixed forest near forest guest house, Nagoda, near Joida, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India, coll. N. Gupta, M. Siliwal and S. Chauhan. Diagnosis (female): Female differs from other species by the presence of 2–3 cuspules on the maxillae (T. majori have ca. 10 cuspules), the rastellum consists of numerous spines (cf. T. majori with only a single spine, and T. mauritiana with two spines); main lobe of spermathecae, short and broader at the base, slightly narrowing down at the apex forming a curve; lateral lobe sickle-shaped, emerging almost near the apex 3/4th of the main lobe with a distinct constriction at 2232

the base. Etymology The species name is a noun in apposition from Sahyadri, another name for the Western Ghats. Description of holotype female Total length 16.44. Carapace 7.82 long, 6.77 wide. Abdomen 8.62 long, 5.92 wide. Spinnerets: PLS, total length 2.24 (1.31 basal, 0.67 middle, 0.26 apical; midwidths 0.86, 0.59, 0.32 respectively), 0.43 apart. Legs and palp morphometry is provided in Table 2.

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | December 2011 | 3(12): 2229–2241

Three new Tigidia from India

M. Siliwal et al.

Table 2. Morphometry of legs and palp of Tigidia sahyadri sp. nov., holotype female, WILD-10-ARA-785. Ranges and mean include all mature specimens (holotype and paratypes) collected from Uttara Kannada. Measurements in mm. (±0.02mm). Leg I WILD785

Leg II

Range Mean± (n = 5) SD

WILD785

Leg III

Range Mean± (n = 5) SD

WILD785

Leg IV

Range Mean± (n = 5) SD

WILD785

Palp

Range Mean± (n = 5) SD

WILD785

Range Mean± (n = 5) SD

Femur

4.64

3.094.64

3.94± 0.58

4.27

2.924.27

3.72± 0.56

3.74

2.583.74

3.29± 0.46

5.16

3.915.17

4.708± 0.55

3.43

2.423.49

3.09± 0.45

Patella

3.18

2.443.38

2.94± 0.39

3.27

2.13.27

2.78± 0.47

2.53

1.722.53

2.20± 0.33

3.36

2.213.36

2.89± 0.45

2.47

1.722.47

2.18± 0.32

Tibia

3.01

1.983.01

2.58± 0.39

2.76

1.752.76

2.43± 0.43

1.89

1.321.89

1.71± 0.23

3.89

2.813.89

3.44± 0.44

1.65

1.341.88

1.59± 0.24

Metatarsus

2.16

1.322.16

1.83± 0.35

2.01

1.22.05

1.77± 0.37

2.37

1.672.37

2.07± 0.29

4.0

3.264.22

3.82± 0.40

Tarsus

1.50

1.131.52

1.41± 0.16

1.47

1.131.68

1.45± 0.20

1.44

1.091.54

1.34± 0.19

1.73

1.411.83

1.66± 0.17

2.49

1.312.49

2.14± 0.48

Total

14.49

9.9614.49

12.68± 1.83

13.78

9.113.78

12.15± 1.99

11.97

8.3811.97

10.61± 1.45

18.14

13.7518.14

16.51± 1.91

10.04

6.790.21

8.99± 1.40

Femur

1.51

1.111.51

1.33± 0.17

1.68

1.061.68

1.46± 0.25

1.85

1.31.85

1.63± 0.23

1.7

1.261.7

1.42± 0.17

1.08

0.681.08

0.95± 0.18

Tibia

1.51

1.171.59

1.40± 0.16

1.46

1.111.46

1.30± 0.14

1.46

1.11.46

1.28± 0.16

1.36

1.11.36

1.24± 0.12

1.31

1.071.98

1.37± 0.36

Midwidth

Image 2. Tigidia sahyadri sp. nov.

Colour in life (Image 2): Carapace blackish-brown; legs and palp light brown with complete blackishbrown annulations/bands on proximal half of tibia and ¾ of femur, metatarsi and tarsi. Abdomen light brown with blackish-brown mottled marking on dorsal to lateral sides. Ventral side, light brown, mottled with small black spots between spinnerets and book lungs. Colour in alcohol paler than fresh specimen. Carapace covered with blackish-brown and short golden curved hairs; hairs more concentrated along interstrial ridges, intermixed with few black bristles

on caput. Bristles: nine long on caput in mid-dorsal line; four long, four short anteromedially; eight long, several short between PME; two long, one short on clypeus edge. Fovea deep, slightly procurved (Fig. 1). Two glabrous bands emerging from fovea and passing on either side of caput. Eyes (Fig. 2): Group occupies 0.27 of head-width; ocular group: front width, midwidth, back width, and total length, 0.71, 1.03, 1.23, 1.30 respectively. Anterior row strongly procurved, posterior row straight; posterior eyes opaque, rest transparent. MOQ square, width 0.75, length 0.70. Diameter of AME 0.25, ALE 0.29, PME 0.11, PLE 0.35. Eye interspaces: AME–AME 0.11, AME–ALE 0.09, ALE–ALE 0.07, PME–PLE adjacent, PME–PME 0.49, ALE–PLE 0.47. Chelicerae (Figs. 3–4): 4.34 long. Prolateral face glabrous, yellowish-orange with few short hairs; eight promarginal cheliceral teeth and 18 basomesal teeth in 2-3 parallel lines; rastellum on low mound, consists of ca. 50 short thick curved spines, with 37 on mound and 12 in anterior line, several normal pointed thin spines on dorsal, and vertical face and up; dorsally with two glabrous longitudinal bands. Labium (Fig. 3): 0.86 wide, 0.52 long; labiosternal groove broad with two sigilla joined medially. Cuspules absent. Maxillae (Fig. 3): 2.24 long in front, 2.95 long in

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back, 1.47 wide; 2–3 cuspules on inner angle. Posterior heel slightly produced, anterior lobe distinct. Sternum (Fig. 3): 3.76 long, 3.22 wide. Covered with hairs and bristles. Sigilla indistinct. Legs: Brown, moderately hairy; femora III and tibiae I thicker than rest; all legs of similar thickness; preening comb on ventrolateral metatarsi III and IV; coxae IV widest; two longitudinal glabrous bands on femora, patellae and tibiae (very prominent on patellae); leg formula 4123. Spines: Leg III: pa, p=2; ti, p=1; mt, p=2, d=1, v=8. Leg IV: mt, p=2, d=1, v=8. Scopula: Ta: I–II, full, thick, lateroventral, divided with thin long hairs for length, many normal hairs intermixed with scopulae at base; III–IV, full, lateroventrally divided with 6–7 rows of spines over length. Mt III: well developed scopulae on distal half; III-IV, few scopuliform hairs intermixed with bristles on distal ¼. Trichobothria: ta: I, 9–13 clavate, 10–12 long, six short filiform; II, 5–10 clavate, 8–9 long, six short filiform; III, eight clavate, six each long and short filiform; IV, 7 clavate, eight long and six short filiform; palp, 10–12 clavate, 9–11 long, six short filiform. Mt: I, eight long and short; II, 10 long and short; III, 14 long and short; IV, 18 long and short; palp, 11 long and short. Clavate trichobothria confined to proximal half of ta. Short filiform confined to mid-dorsal distal half in a single row, long filiform in V-shaped pattern confined to distal half on ta. Mt, only filiform in curved single row in 2/3 length. Claws: Claw tufts on all legs and palp. All claws edentate, claws of legs I and II clearly smaller than on legs III and IV. Abdomen (Figs. 1, 5): Yellowish-cream with heavily mottled (brown patches) on dorsal and lateral, uniformly covered with short brown hairs intermixed with a few black bristles; ventral side, yellowish-cream with brown spots scattered all over, uniformly covered with long and short brown hairs. Spinnerets (Fig. 6): PMS absent. PLS, apical segment dome-shaped. Covered with golden brown hairs. Spermathecae (Fig. 7): Paired, bilobed. Main lobe, short and broader at the base, slightly narrowing down at the curving apex; lateral lobe sickle-shaped, emerging almost near apex 3/4th of main lobe with a distinct constriction at base. 2234

Variations Total length: 10.64–16.44 (14.53 ± 2.49). Carapace: 5.57–7.82 (6.81 ± 0.89) long, 4.71–6.77 (5.94 ± 0.85) wide; Chelicerae: 2.66–4.34 (3.45 ± 0.77) long, 7–8 promarginal and 15–20 basomesal teeth in 2–3 lines, 16–38 rastellum spines on mound, 12–34 in anterior line total ca. 50. Bristles: 9–14 mid-dorsal and 4–6 anteromedial bristles on caput. 4–8 long, several short bristles between PME. Two long, 1–2 short bristles on clypeus edge. Eyes interspaces: AME diameter 0.18–0.27 (0.22 ± 0.04), ALE diameter 0.21–0.31 (0.27 ± 0.04), PME diameter 0.1–0.11 (0.11 ± 0.01), PLE diameter 0.3–0.45 (0.35 ± 0.06). AME–AME distance: 0.05–0.7 (0.22 ± 0.27), AME–ALE distance: 0.09–0.29 (0.17 ± 0.09), ALE–ALE distance: 0.06– 0.4 (0.17 ± 0.14), PME–PLE adjacent, PME–PME: 0.33–0.49 (0.44 ± 0.07), ALE–PLE: 0.24–0.47 (0.35 ± 0.09). Eyes: Head-width occupied 0.27–0.28 (0.27 ± 0.00). Eye width: 0.95–1.25 (1.14 ± 0.13), head–width 3.46–4.63 (4.18 ± 0.48). Ocular group: 1.05–1.3 (1.19 ± 0.10) long, front width 0.57–0.84 (0.72 ±0.11), midwidth 0.71–1.03 (0.89 ± 0.14), back width 0.95– 1.25 (1.14± 0.13). Difference between front width and back width: 0.38–0.52 (0.42 ± 0.06). MOQ: 0.51–0.7 (0.58± 0.08) long, front width 0.57–0.75 (0.70 ± 0.08), back width 0.57–0.75 (0.70± 0.08). Labium: 0.47–0.6 (0.54 ± 0.06) long, 0.85–1.01 (0.90 ± 0.07) wide. Sternum: 2.66–3.76 (3.30 ± 0.50) long, 2.31–3.22 (2.77 ± 0.41) wide. Maxillae: 1.65–2.24 (1.89 ± 0.27) long in front, 2.22–2.95 (2.61 ± 0.30) long in back, 1.03–1.56 (1.29 ± 0.22) wide; cuspules 2–4. Spines: mt IV p= 2–3, v= 4–8. Trichobothria: Leg I: 8–13 clavate, 6–8 short, 9–12 long in three rows on ta; leg II: 5–12 clavate, 6–8 short, 8–9 long in three rows on ta; leg III: 6–8 clavate, 5–7 short, 6–9 long in three rows on ta; leg IV: 7–8 clavate, 6–7 long, 6–9 long in three rows on ta; palp: 8–12 clavate, 5–7 short, 8–11long in 3 rows. Abdomen: 5.07–8.95 (7.73 ± 1.66) long, 3.68– 6.7 (5.35 ± 1.16) wide. Spinnerets: PLS, 0.87–1.78 (1.33 ± 0.32) basal, 0.45–0.67 (0.55 ± 0.11) middle, 0.16–0.4 (0.25 ± 0.09) apical; midwidths, 0.62–0.86 (0.73 ± 0.11), 0.48–0.62 (0.53 ± 0.07), 0.23–0.41 (0.30 ± 0.07) respectively; 1.59–2.85 (2.13 ± 0.47) total length. Distance between PLS–PLS, 0.17–0.43 (0.26 ± 0.10).

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Three new Tigidia from India

Natural History The burrows of Tigidia sahyadri sp. nov. were found in areas with open canopy (less than 40%) and fairly good amount of leaf litter (50–80%), in different habitats including teak plantations, semi-evergreen, mixed and deciduous forests. Most of the burrows found were in closed canopy/shaded area, covered with leaf litter and usually were near or at the base of tree trunk/shrubs, where the soil was a little soft because of the roots. All the burrows found occurred on vertical flat or gentle slopes (less than 150) of forest floors and were located only while clearing the leaf litter with the help of a broom. The distribution of burrows shows no pattern. Burrows were located in March and April, during which all females were found with 10–14 spiderlings. No males were found during this period. Burrows of T. sahyadri sp. nov. were simple, short, silken tube-like chambers, slightly wider at the base bulb-shaped. The entrance of the burrow was closed with a wafer-thin, circular, hinged trapdoor. The hinged door was lined with a thin layer of silk on the under surface; the outer surface was covered with dry leaf litter and soil particles, making it well camouflaged and unnoticeable when the door was closed. These trapdoors were continuous with the tube for nearly one-third of its circumference; it seems that the spider cuts the door from a silken tube rather than constructing it separately and attaching it to the entrance of the burrow. Most of the burrows found during the survey had only a single entrance, except for one. In that one, a Y-shaped or forked burrow was noticed, where two chambers with separate entrances led to a common chamber. Both the entrances of the burrow had a hinged door and these two doors were separated by a distance of almost double the door diameter. The mean diameter of the trapdoors of the burrows (n=6) excavated was 15mm (range: 8–22 mm). Like most of the barychelid burrows known (Raven 1994), burrows of Tigidia sahyadri sp. nov. were not very deep. The mean depth of burrows was 68 mm (range: 50–80 mm). The burrow with two entrances had each individual chamber 25mm long, which was nearly one-third of the total length of the burrow (75mm). When a burrow was disturbed, the spider hid deep inside the burrow and remained there until the burrow was fully excavated. This behaviour could be related

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to parental care as all the females were with spiderlings and probably remained in the burrow to guard their offspring. Moreover, this behavior is also reported in many species of barychelids and idiopids (Raven 1994) but it is not mentioned whether such behaviour is corelated with nesting of young spiders.

Tigidia nilgiriensis sp. nov. Sanap, Mirza & Siliwal (Image 3; Figs. 8–12; Table 3) Type specimens Holotype: female, 28.i.2011, 11027’1.56”N, & 0 76 56’34.38”E, 1737m, Kotagiri, Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu, India coll. Rajesh Sanap, WILD-11ARA-1110. Diagnosis (female) The female resembles those of T. sahyadri sp. nov. in the number of cuspules on the maxillae, and the rastellum consists of numerous spines but it differs from T. majori by having only two cuspules on the maxillae (T. majori have ca. 10 cuspules), a rastellum consists of numerous spines (cf. T. majori with a single spine and T. mauritiana with two spines); it differs from T. sahyadri sp. nov. by the lateral lobe of the spermathecae being balloon-like at 2/3 distal end with constriction at base (in T. sahyadri sp. nov., lateral lobe sickle-shape, emerging almost near the apex/ 3/4th of the main lobe with a distinct constriction at the base). Etymology The species name refers to the Nilgiri Hills within © Zeeshan Mirza

Image 3. Tigidia nilgiriensis sp. nov.

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12 9

Figures 8–12. Tigidia nilgiriensis sp. nov. female holotype (WILD-11-ARA-1110) 8 - Carapace and abdomen, dorsal view (scale=1.0mm); 9 - Sternum, labium, maxilla and abdomen, ventral view (scale=1.0mm); 10 - Eyes (scale=1.0mm); 11 - Chelicerae, prolateral view (scale=1.0mm); 12 - Spermathecae (scale=1.0mm)

Table 3. Morphometry of legs and palp of T. nilgiriensis sp. nov. holotype female (WILD–11–ARA–1110) and T. rutilofronis sp. nov. holotype female (WILD–11–ARA–1111) and paratype female (WILD–11–ARA–1112). Measurements in mm. (±0.02mm). Leg I

Femur

Leg II

Leg III

Leg IV

Palp

WILD1110

WILD1111

WILD1112

WILD1110

WILD1111

WILD1112

WILD1110

WILD1111

WILD1112

WILD1110

WILD1111

WILD1112

WILD1110

WILD1111

WILD1112

2.44

5.52

1.18

2.58

1.52

1.22

2.44

1.44

1.20

3.34

2.42

1.42

2.12

1.98

1.68

Patella

2.10

3.08

1.52

2.04

2.20

1.32

1.58

2.32

1.42

1.90

5.30

2.98

1.42

1.68

1.04

Tibia

1.72

3.40

2.06

1.68

2.84

1.72

1.30

2.38

1.18

2.30

4.20

2.86

1.14

2.34

1.34

Metatarsus

1.04

2.52

2.02

1.12

3.72

1.94

1.34

2.68

1.54

2.24

3.58

1.92

Tarsus

0.78

1.52

3.30

1.00

5.06

2.86

1.04

4.06

2.46

1.28

6.22

3.86

1.32

3.74

2.44

Total

8.08

16.04

10.08

8.42

15.34

9.06

7.7

12.88

7.8

11.06

21.72

13.04

9.74

6.5

Midwidth Femur

0.92

1.82

1.08

1.00

1.98

1.26

1.12

2.10

1.28

1.02

1.96

1.28

0.70

1.36

0.78

Tibia

0.92

1.62

1.00

0.94

1.38

0.90

0.92

1.52

0.86

0.98

1.42

0.92

0.80

1.40

0.92

which the type locality is located. Description Total length 9.86. Carapace 4.32 long, 3.46 wide. Abdomen 5.54 long, 3.82 wide. Spinnerets: PLS, total length 1.06 (0.62 basal, 0.30 middle, 0.14 apical; 2236

midwidths 0.38, 0.26, 0.18 respectively), 0.42 apart. Legs and palp morphometry is provided in Table 3. Colour in life (Image 3): Carapace dark brown. Abdomen dark brown with faint yellow spots on dorsal and lateral sides (Fig. 8); ventral side yellowish-brown with sparsely mottled (dark brown) on mid-ventral and

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Three new Tigidia from India

highly mottled towards posterior end near spinnerets (Fig. 9). Colour in alcohol paler and abdominal markings distinct and more visible on dorsal and lateral abdomen. Carapace covered with blackish-brown curved hairs; hairs more concentrated along interstrial ridges, intermixed with black short and long bristles on caput. Bristles: two foveal; 10 long on caput in mid-dorsal line, six between anterior eyes, five long and short on clypeus edge; 19 between posterior eyes. Fovea deep, procurved with curved ends. Several hairs between PME and ALE. Glabrous bands radiating from fovea, very prominent along sides of caput. Eyes (Fig. 10): Ocular group front width 0.54, midwidth 0.50, back width 0.70, length 0.70. Anterior row strongly procurved, posterior row straight, PME opaque, rest transparent. MOQ front width 0.28, back width 0.32, length 0.22. Diameter of AME 0.12, ALE 0.12, PME 0.04, PLE 0.14. Eye interspaces: AME– AME 0.08, AME–ALE 0.14, ALE–ALE 0.08, PME– PLE adjacent, PME–PME 0.18, ALE–PLE 0.16. Chelicerae (Fig. 11): 2.40 long. Prolateral face glabrous, yellowish-orange with few small hairs; seven promarginal teeth and 12 basomesal teeth in two curved lines; rastellum on low mound, consists of 28–30 short thick spines, several normal pointed thin spines on dorsal and vertical face and upward. Labium (Fig. 9): 0.34 wide, 0.20 long. Labiosternal groove shallow, broad with two indistinct sigilla on either side. Cuspules absent. Maxillae (Fig. 9): 0.98 long in front, 1.24 long in back, 0.72 wide; two equal-sized cuspules on inner angle. Posterior heel slightly produced, anterior lobe distinct, anterior angle curved, posterior edge clear. Sternum (Fig. 9): 2.02 long, 1.46 wide, covered with bristles and hairs. Sigilla, three pairs, all marginal. Legs: Uniformly reddish-brown, moderately covered with bristles and hairs; femora III thicker than rest; all legs of similar thickness; preening comb on retroventral metatarsi III and IV; coxae IV widest; two longitudinal glabrous bands on femora, patellae and tibiae (very prominent on patellae); leg formula 4123. Spines: Leg III: mt, p 2, v 6, r 2, d 1; pa, p 2; leg IV: ti, v 4; mt, p 2, r 2, v 5. Elsewhere absent. Scopula: mt I, 2/3 distal with few bristles dividing at base; ta I, full, division with two rows of hairs in distal half; mt II, 1/3, division with two rows of setae; ta II, full divided with two rows of hairs in distal

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half, basal half with hairless band; mt III, 2/3 distal, rudimentary, divided with 3–4 rows of spines; ta III, full, divided with 5–7 rows of small setae; mt IV, ¼ few scopuliform hairs distally, divided by 3–4 rows of setae; ta IV, full, divided with 5–8 rows of setae. Trichobothria: ta: I, six clavate, 9–10 long and short filiform in two rows in distal half; II, five clavate, 10 long and short filiform in two rows distal half; III, six clavate, 9–10 long filiform in distal half in two rows; IV, 5 clavate, 9–10 long filiform in distal half in two rows. Clavate trichobothria confined to basal ¼ of ta. Claws: Claw tufts present on all legs and palp. Paired edentate claws on all legs, claws of legs I, II clearly smaller than on legs III, IV. Abdomen (Figs. 8, 9): Dorsally dark brown with faint cream spots/blotches running from dorsal to lateral, uniformly covered with short brown hairs intermixed with few black bristles; ventral side, uniformly dull cream, covered with short and long brown hairs. Spermathecae (Fig. 12): Two stalks, each stalk with a pair of balloon-like structures of similar length at 2/3 distal end, outer lobe balloon-shaped with constriction at base (Fig. 5). Outer lobe extends well above stalk. Spinnerets: PMS absent. PLS, apical segment dome-shaped. Covered with golden brown hairs. Natural history Only a single female was found under a small shrub along a tarred road bordering a tea estate in Kotagiri, Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu. Another empty burrow was found about 5mm from the female holotype’s burrow. The soil was loose without rocks. The burrow had a single entrance with a diameter of 10.98mm at the entrance and was ca. 65mm deep. The diameter of the door was 10.14 and 1.14 mm thick. The base of the burrow was bulb-like. The female was found with an empty egg sac from which spiderlings had hatched and dispersed. Despite rigorous attempts, only two burrows and a single specimen were found.

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Tigidia rutilofronis sp. nov. Sanap, Mirza & Siliwal (Image 4; Figs. 13–17; Table 3) Type specimens Holotype: Female, 30.i.2011, 1101’6.24”N, & 76052’29.10”E, 420m, Marudhamalai, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India, coll. Rajesh Sanap and Zeeshan Mirza, WILD-11-ARA-1111. Paratype: One female (WILD-11-ARA-1112), same data as holotype. Diagnosis (female) Females resemble those of T. sahyadri sp. nov. and T. nilgiriensis sp. nov. in the number of cuspules on the maxillae and the rastellum consists of numerous spines but differs from T. majori by having only two cuspules on the maxillae (T. majori has ca. 10 cuspules), the rastellum consists of numerous spines (cf. T. majori with a single spine and T. mauritiana with only two spines); it differs from other T. sahyadri sp. nov. and T. nilgiriensis sp. nov. in having the balloon-like lateral lobe emerging at the base about ¼ on the main lobe (in T. sahyadri sp. nov. lateral lobe sickle shape, emerging almost near the apex 3/4th of the main lobe with a

Image 4. Tigidia rutilofronis sp. nov.

distinct constriction at the base; in T. nilgiriensis sp. nov. lateral lobe of spermathecae, balloon-shaped at 2/3 distal end with constriction at base). Etymology The species name is a combination of two latin words, ‘rutilus’ meaning golden and ‘frons’ meaning brown referring to the golden brown colouration of the spider in life.

Figures 13–17. Tigidia rutilofronis sp. nov. female holotype (WILD-11-ARA-1111) 1 - Carapace and abdomen, dorsal view (scale=5.0mm); 2 - Sternum, labium, maxilla and abdomen, ventral view (scale=5.0mm); 3 - Eyes (scale=1.0mm); 4 - Chelicerae, prolateral view (scale=1.0mm); 5 - Spermathecae (scale=1.0mm) 2238

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Three new Tigidia from India

Description of holotype female Total length 22.76. Carapace 8.44 long, 7.06 wide. Abdomen 14.32 long, 9.54 wide. Spinnerets: PLS, total length 2.60 (1.50 basal, 0.72 middle, 0.38 apical; midwidths 0.96, 0.70, 0.42 respectively), 0.40 apart. Legs and palp morphometry is provided in Table 3. Colour in life (Image 4): Carapace, legs and palp yellowish-brown. Abdomen yellowish-brown with faint brown chevron markings extending dorsally to laterally giving a lustrous golden sheen (Fig. 13). Venter uniformly yellowish-brown without any pattern (Fig. 14). Colour in alcohol paler than fresh specimen and chevron markings more distinct dorsally and laterally on abdomen. Carapace covered with golden-brown curved hairs; hairs more concentrated along interstrial ridges intermixed with black short and long bristles on caput. Bristles: two foveal; 17 on caput in mid-dorsal line; seven long, 12 short between posterior eyes; five long, nine short between anterior eyes; four long and short on clypeus edge. Fovea deep, procurved with curved ends. Eyes (Fig. 15): Ocular group front width 0.96, midwidth 0.94, back width 1.32, length1.32. Anterior row strongly procurved, posterior row straight, PME opaque, rest transparent. MOQ front width 0.66, back width 0.72, length 0.60. Diameter of AME 0.18, ALE 0.24, PME 0.08, PLE 0.24. Eye interspaces: AME– AME 0.18, AME–ALE 0.28, ALE–ALE 0.22, PME– PLE adjacent, PME–PME 0.46, ALE–PLE 0.36. Chelicerae (Fig. 16): 4.84 long. Retrolateral face glabrous, prolateral face yellowish-orange with few short hairs; nine promarginal teeth and 22 basomesal teeth in four curved lines; rastellum on low mound, consists of 27–29 short, thick spines, several normal pointed thin spines on dorsal and vertical face and upward. Labium (Fig. 14): 1.12 wide, 0.62 long. Labiosternal groove shallow, broad with two sternal sigilla on either side. Cuspules absent. Maxillae (Fig. 14): 2.02 long in front, 2.70 long in back, 1.38 wide; two cuspules on inner angle. Posterior heel slightly produced, anterior lobe distinct, posterior edge distinct, anterior edge straight. Sternum (Fig. 14): 4.08 long, 3.06 wide, covered with bristles. Sigilla, three marginal pairs. Legs: Uniformly yellowish-brown, moderately covered with bristles and hairs; femora III thicker

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than rest; all legs of similar thickness; preening comb spines on metatarsi III and IV; coxae IV widest; 2 longitudinal glabrous bands on femora, patellae and tibiae (very prominent on patellae); leg formula 4123. Spines: Leg III: mt, p 2 + 1 broken, v 2 + 1 broken, r 1, d 1; ti, p 2, r 1, v 3 + 1 broken pa, p 2; leg IV: ti, p 2 + 1 broken, r 2, v 4; mt, p 3 + 1 broken , r 1, v 5, d 1. Elsewhere absent. Scopula: Mt I, ¾ distal with few bristles dividing at base; ta I, full, division with 1 row of hairs in distal half; mt II, ¾, divided with bristles; ta II, full divided with one row of hairs in distal half, basal half with hairless band; mt III, 1/2 distal, divided with 6–7 rows of spines; ta III, full, divided with 6–7 rows of small setae; mt IV, ¼ distally, divided by 3–4 rows of setae; ta IV, full, divided with 6–7 rows of setae. Trichobothria: ta I: 10–11 clavate, 13–14 long and short filiform in two rows in distal half; II: 8–9 clavate, 15–16 long and short filiform in two rows distal half; III: six clavate, 12–13 long filiform in distal half in two rows; IV: eight clavate, 13–14 long filiform in distal half in two rows. Clavate trichobothria confined to basal ¼ of tarsi. Claws: Claw tufts on all legs and palp. Paired edentate claws on all legs, claws of legs I and II clearly smaller than on legs III and IV. Abdomen (Figs. 13, 14): Golden-yellow with brown chevron mark dorsolaterally, uniformly covered with short, brown hairs intermixed with few black bristles; venter yellowish-cream, uniformly covered with short and long brown hairs. Spermathecae (Fig. 17): Two lobes, main lobe short, slightly broader at base, with lateral balloon-like lobe emerging at base about ¼ on main lobe, lateral lobe with distinct constriction at base. Spinnerets: PMS absent. PLS, apical segment dome-shaped. Covered with golden brown hairs. Morphometry of female paratype Total length 11.36. Carapace 5.12 long, 4.12 wide, chelicerae 3.30 long. Sternum, 1.86 long, 1.78 wide. Labium 0.30 long, 0.62 wide. Maxillae 1.26 back length, 1.04 front length, 0.80 wide, 4 cuspules in anterior corner. Abdomen 6.24 long, 4.06 wide. Spinnerets: PMS, absent; PLS, 0.90 basal, 0.40 middle, 0.20 distal, 1.50 total length, midwidths 0.48, 0.42, 0.18, respectively, 0.44 apart.

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Natural history Tigidia rutilofronis sp. nov. was found along a dry rivulet on the sloping bunds bordering the water course near Marudhamalai hills, Coimbatore District in Tamil Nadu. Their distribution was patchy and they were sampled from under trees or in the tree’s root system. The diameter of the burrow entrance of the holotype female was 15mm and the burrow was ca. 200mm deep, as found in other species of this genus and other barychelids in general. The burrow had a single trapdoor entrance similar to trapdoors of the genus Idiops and the burrow end was bulb-like. The soil was sandy and soft at the collection site. The silklining of the burrow was not as thick as observed in other trapdoor families but was similar to that of the theraphosid spider Haploclastus validus Pocock, 1899 as seen at ZM and RS (personal observation). The spiders hid in the burrow until the entire burrow was excavated. The type locality is heavily disturbed and is under severe threat from sand mining.

Barychelina Pisenor

Barychelinae

Tigidia Diplothele Idioctidini

Sasoninae

Ammonius Trichopelmatinae

Figure 18. Cladogram showing relative position of the Pisenor, Tigidia and Diplothele in the family Barychelidae

the Western Ghats have been well studied as far as large-bodied spiders like theraphosids are concerned, there is a large scope for finding other new and interesting spiders from this area.

DISCUSSION

REFERENCES

The preening comb is considered an important generic character to distinguish Tigidia from Diplothele. However, Siliwal et al. (2009) reported a preening comb in Diplothele (D. gravelyi Siliwal et al., 2009; D. tenebrosus Siliwal et al., 2009 and D. walshi O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1890). After examining the preening comb on the Tigidia specimens from the present study, it was very clear that the report of preening combs in Diplothele spiders from Orissa by Siliwal et al. 2009 was erroneous. This also supports the generic character that the preening comb is absent in Diplothele (Raven 1985). The genus Tigidia presumably evolved in isolation after the breakup of the Indo-Madagascar plate from Africa and during the northward drift gained preening combs which were lost in Diplothele after the breakup of India from Madagascar during the Cretaceous era. Based on preliminary cladistic analysis with reference to characters discussed in Table 1, it is hypothesized that the genus Pisenor is ancestral to the genera Diplothele and Tigidia (Fig. 18). This report of the genus Tigidia in India adds another member to the list of Gondwanan relics. The present discovery also strongly indicates that though

Benoit, P.L.G. (1965). Les Barychelidae-Diplothelinae africains et malgaches (Araneae-Orthognatha). Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines 72: 25–40. Daniels, R. (2003). Biodiversity of the Western Ghats: An Overview, pp. 25–40. In: Gupta, A.K., A. Kumar & V. Ramakantha (ed.). ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas, Conservation of Rainforests in India. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. Datta-Roy, A. & P.K. Karanth (2009). The Out-of-India hypothesis: What do molecules suggest? Journal of Biosciences 34(5): 687–697. Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (2002). Baboon and Trapdoor Spiders of Southern Africa: An Introduction Manual. Plant Protection Research Institute Handbook No. 13. Kunte, K. (in press). Biogeographic origins and habitat use of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, south-western India. Invertebrates in the Western Ghats - Diversity and Conservation. D.R. Priyadarshan, K.A. Subramanian, M. S. Devy and N.A. Aravind. Bengaluru, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. Mirza, Z. & R. Sanap (2010). Description of a new species of scorpion of the genus Lychas CL Koch, 1845 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Maharashtra, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(4): 789–796. Myers, N., R.A. Mittermeier, C.G. Mittermeier, G.A.B. Da Fonseca & J. Kent (2000). Biodiversity hotspot for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853–858. Platnick, N.I. (2011). The World Spider Catalog, Version 12.0.

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American Museum of Natural History, online at http://research.amnh.org/iz/ spiders/catalog. Downloaded on 28 July 2011. Raven, R.J. (1985). The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (USA), 1–180pp. Raven, R.J. (1994). Mygalomorph spiders of the Barychelidae in Australia and the Western Pacific. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 35(2): 291–706. Siliwal, M., S. Molur & R. Raven (2009). Two new species of the genus Diplothele (Araneae, Barychelidae) from Orissa, India with notes on D. walshi. Journal of Arachnology 37(2): 178–187. Simon, E. (1892). Etudes arachnologiques. 24e Mémoire. XXXIX. Descriptions d’espèces et de genres nouveaux de la famille des Aviculariidae (suite). Annales de la Société entomologique de France 61: 271–284.

Acknowledgment: Authors (MS and NG) are grateful to the following personnel and institutions: PCCF, Karnataka Forest Department for giving permission and logistic help during the surveys; Mr. Sunil Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Dandeli WLS, and Mr. R. Gokul, Conservator of Forests, Karwar Division for the logistic support and help during the surveys; Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Suraj Chauhan for assisting in field during the surveys; CEPF (Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund) -ATREE (Ashoka Trust For Research In Ecology And The Environment) Western Ghats Small Grants Program for funding the tarantula project during which the first specimen of Tigidia was found; Dr. Peter Jäger, Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt, for providing valuable old reprints on this group of spider; Dr. Sanjay Molur and Ms. Sally Walker, Zoo Outreach Organization for their support and encouragement of the Indian tarantula project; Dr. Bilal Habib, Wildlife Institute of India for helping in scanning drawings. RR wishes to thank curators, Michel Hubert, the late Dr Jacqueline Heurtault and Dr Christine Rollard of Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris for loans, access to collections and wonderful cooperation. Some of the information used in this work was obtained by MS on a trip to Australia funded partially by Australian Biological Resources Study grant research funds. NG wishes to deeply thank Dr. Sanjay Keshari Das, Assistant Professor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi for all the encouragement and support he provided as a supervisor for the Masters dissertation during which this spider was found. RS and ZM wish to thank Mr. N.S. Achyuthan and Mr. Gavin Desouza for their continued support during the field and lab work. We pay our deepest gratitude to Achyuthan’s family for making our stay comfortable in Coimbatore and making our field visits possible. ZM and RS wish to thank Agarwal Jan Seva Charitable Trust for help with procuring equipment. ZM wishes to thank Bhavan’s College for constant encouragement and support.

M. Siliwal et al. Author Details and Contribution: Manju Siliwal has been working on spiders since 1997. She has specialized on taxonomy of primitive spiders (mygalomorphs including tarantulas) and has described many new species from India. Her main interest lies in taxonomy, ecology and conservation of Indian spiders. Her contribution to this paper is in identifying the species and preparing the manuscript including taxonomy of first species and refining descriptions of other two species. Neha Gupta is MSc in biodiversity and conservation and is very much interested in ecology and conservation of Indian spiders. For her M.Sc. dissertation, she worked on the ecology of trapdoor spiders of the family Idiopidae in Uttara Kannada, Karnataka. She found the first specimen of Tigidia from the Western Ghats. She also assisted in finalizing illustrations and text. Rajesh Sanap is a graduate student interested in the study of mygalomorphs spiders and scorpions. He has described new species of scorpions and trapdoor spiders. His contribution in this paper is in finding the two species of Tigidia from the Western Ghats. He also contributed to this paper in morphometry, preparing illustrations of the latter two species. Zeeshan Mirza is a student of Bhavan’s College, Mumbai currently persuing his Bachelors degree in Zoology. He is interested in the study of herpetofauna of the Western Ghats, scorpions and mygalomorph spiders. His contribution to this paper is in the description of latter two species and finalizing the text. Robert Raven is world renowned expert on primitive spiders (mygalomorphs) and has experience of about 40 years in spider taxonomy. He has described 42 genera and 351 species till date from different parts of the world, predominantly from Australia. His contribution to this paper was in finalizing the text, working on language of the paper, reviewing the taxonomy of the species and providing critical inputs on various genera of barychelids including Tigidia.

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JoTT Communication

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Habitat characteristics and odonate communities at selected sites used by Mortonagrion hirosei Asahina (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) in Hong Kong D.J. Stanton 1 & J.A. Allcock 2 Asia Ecological Consultants Ltd., 127 Commercial Centre, Palm Springs, Yuen Long, Hong Kong Email: 1 davidstanton@asiaecol.com.hk (corresponding author), 2 jallcock@asiaecol.com.hk 1,2

Date of publication (online): 26 December 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 December 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Albert Orr Manuscript details: Ms # o2891 Received 26 July 2011 Final received 08 November 2011 Finally accepted 17 November 2011 Citation: Stanton, D.J. & J.A. Allcock (2011). Habitat characteristics and odonate communities at selected sites used by Mortonagrion hirosei Asahina (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) in Hong Kong. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(12): 2242–2252. Copyright: © D.J. Stanton & J.A. Allcock 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Author Details: David J. Stanton and John A. Allcock are both professional ecologists and are both associates at Asia Ecological Consultants Ltd. based in Hong Kong. They conduct surveys and monitoring for a wide range of faunal groups mostly in Hong Kong and also overseas. Author Contribution: DJS and JAA both participated in the design of the study, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, and drafting of the manuscript. Both read and approved the final manuscript. Both the authors have contributed equally to this paper. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Paul Leader and Graham Reels for their extensive comments and constructive advice on early drafts of this report. We would like to also thank three (anonymous) reviewers for providing critical reviews and greatly improving this manuscript. We would also like to thank Tony Nip for providing the local language abstract.

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Abstract: Mortonagrion hirosei, a Near Threatened species, is a small damselfly recorded from several isolated sites across its entire range in eastern Asia. Previous research has indicated a strong affinity for brackish wetlands, including reedbeds and marshes, where potential predation or competition by other odonates is reduced. Results from surveys conducted in Hong Kong during 2009–2011 provide information on the habitat at a number of sites occupied by M. hirosei and report on the presence of populations in mangrove and mangrove-mosaic habitats as well as brackish marsh, often in association with a diversity of other odonates. Information is also provided on two previously unreported sites in Hong Kong. These new findings indicate that the species uses a greater diversity of habitats than the odonate-poor Phragmites reedbeds in which it has been well-studied in Japan, and consequently may be more widespread than previously supposed. Given that coastal habitats are threatened throughout its range, it is hoped this broader understanding of the species’ habitat requirements will encourage others to explore other coastal sites and to aid in its conservation. Keywords: Brackish wetlands, coastal habitat loss, Hong Kong, mangrove, Mortonagrion hirosei, odonates. Chinese Abstract: 廣瀨妹蟌是一近危小型豆娘，在其分佈範圍(東亞)，只能在數個獨立地區發現。據文獻記載，此蟌多在蜻蛉目多樣性較低的咸淡水濕地棲息(如蘆葦床及咸淡水沼澤)，而相信這樣的生境需求是要避免與其他蜻蛉目品種競爭或要減少被獵食的機會。本研究於2009-2011年間在香港進行，發現此蟌只在香港數個地方出現(有兩個是未記載過的新地點)，其生境包括紅樹林，紅樹林沼澤，及咸淡水沼澤，而在這些生境亦常發現其他蜻蛉目品種的蹤跡。在日本，廣瀨妹蟌通常只在蜻蛉目多樣性極低的蘆葦床出現；但本研究顯示此品種能利用多種生境，故其分佈有可能較以前估計的廣。在東亞，沿岸生境不停被破壞，我們希望本研究能增加對廣瀨妹蟌生境的認識，從而制定正確的調查與保育方案。

Introduction Mortonagrion hirosei is a small damselfly (Images 1 & 2) occurring in coastal areas of eastern Asia including Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea (Fig. 1). There is also an inland record from Guangdong, China. It is currently listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Wilson & Reels 2011) because it is known from only a very small number of sites and there has been a decline in habitat area at the known Japanese sites. There is an ongoing loss of coastal habitats within the species’ known and expected range in eastern Asia that presents the major threat to the species’ survival. Studies conducted in southern Japan found that M. hirosei is extremely site-specific, mature adults moving on average only 3.3m per day in the reedbed understorey; adults may not move more than 100m in their entire life-time (Watanabe & Mimura 2003, 2004; Mimura & Watanabe 2006). The species is a weak flyer; it adopts a sit-and-wait tactic when searching for prey or mates, and adults do not leave the site where they emerge,

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D.J. Stanton & J.A. Allcock

Image 2. Mortonagrion hirosei male

Image 1. Mortonagrion hirosei female - orange form

JP1 KO

JP2 JP3

Figure 1. Known global distribution of Mortonagrion hirosei. HK - Hong Kong; GD - Gutoushan, Guangdong, China; JP1 - Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan; JP2 - Sumida Ward, Tokyo, Japan; JP3 - Ise City, Mie Prefecture, Japan; KO - Korea (exact location unknown); TW - Wu Gu wetlands, Taipei, Taiwan

remaining in the reed community throughout their entire adult life (Watanabe & Mimura 2003, 2004). Given this low dispersive mobility, the species cannot easily disperse to new locations and the long-term protection of the species relies upon the protection of known locations and/or provision of suitable alternative habitat within this small dispersal range. Wilson & Reels (2011) recommend that a more comprehensive understanding of habitat requirements is important for conservation of the species. Preliminary

observations by the authors in Hong Kong suggested that this species actually uses a wider range of habitats than has been described at the well-studied sites in Japan. This study aims to document habitats present at a variety of sites in Hong Kong and investigate whether sites used by M. hirosei generally have a depauperate odonate community, as has previously been suggested. Such observations from Hong Kong may be applicable to potential sites elsewhere in eastern Asia.

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Distribution and habitat selection at known sites The species was described in 1972 based on specimens collected in brackish Phragmites reedbeds in Hinuma, Ibraraki in Japan. It was thought to be endemic to Japan until another population was discovered at Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve in Hong Kong in 1991 (Reels 1994; Wilson 1994; Wilson 1995). This discovery provided additional evidence that brackish reedbed is an important habitat for the species. Subsequently the species has since been found at other locations in Hong Kong, including Sai Sha, Double Island, Hong Kong Wetland Park (Tin Shui Wai), Luk Keng, Mai Po Marshes, Nam Chung, Sam A Tsuen and Sha Po (Wilson 1997; Wilson 2004; Tam et al. 2008). It was first recorded in Taiwan in 2005, at a coastal wetland in Wu Gu near Taipei (Lin & Chen 2006), and has also been reported from Korea in paddy fields between 1997 and 2006 (Bang et al. 2009). Other than Hong Kong and Korea, M. hirosei has not been recorded along the coast of mainland eastern Asia, but it is likely that other populations remain undiscovered in southern and eastern coastal China. There is also a single 2005 record from an inland site in Gutoushan, Guangdong, China (Wilson & Reels 2011). Phragmites reedbeds form an important component of the habitat at the known sites on the east coast of Honshu in Japan, and Watanabe et al. (2008) state that “Mortonagrion hirosei … inhabits the understory of dense reed communities”. Conservation of the species in Japan has therefore mainly involved the protection of brackish reedbeds as well as the creation of additional brackish reedbed habitat. Watanabe (2007), Watanabe et al. (2008), Iwata & Watanabe (2009) and Teramoto & Watanabe (2009) discuss the colonisation of these created reedbeds by M. hirosei. IUCN gives the main habitat association as brackish marsh, including mangrove (Wilson & Reels 2011); the specific addition of mangrove in the IUCN assessment was based upon our observations of M. hirosei in the Mai Po Marshes intertidal mangrove in 2008 (G.T. Reels pers. comm.). At Luk Keng in Hong Kong, M. hirosei was reported to occur in water chestnut Eleocharis dulcis and Phragmites reeds, but was three times more abundant in the latter habitat (Cheung 2008). The presence of an inland site in Guangdong, China has recently been reported in Wilson & Reels (2011) but details of the habitats have 2244

not been published at the time of writing. Association with other odonates Because of its small size, M. hirosei is at risk of predation from other odonate species in both adult and larval stages (Lin & Chen 2006; Matsu’ura & Watanabe 2006; Iwata & Watanabe 2009). This risk may be aggravated by the adults’ weak flight and bright coloration (Watanabe & Mimura 2003), thus the presence of certain other odonate species might be expected to influence the presence and relative abundance of M. hirosei at a given site. Indeed, Iwata & Watanabe (2009) have suggested that predation pressure, particularly from Ischnura senegalensis, may be partly responsible for the importance of brackish reedbeds as a habitat, as the reeds provide cover for adults and the brackish water is unsuitable breeding habitat for most potential predators.

Methods Observations of habitat characteristics and odonate communities at selected sites in Hong Kong The following paragraphs describe the habitat characteristics and odonate assemblages at some of these locations, including Mai Po Marshes, Sam A Tsuen and Sai Sha (Fig. 2). Similar details are also provided for four locations which were not identified by Tam et al. (2008). These observations are based upon site visits conducted between May 2009 and June 2011. The intention of these visits was to document the abundance of adult and teneral M. hirosei, the habitat present (including plant species present) and the odonate community at each location. All other odonates seen during survey were recorded. These species lists are not exhaustive and it should be noted that other species may also be present. Any of the species recorded may prey on or compete with M. hirosei, but to our knowledge predation has only been observed by I. senegalensis (Watanabe 2007; Watanabe et al. 2008; Iwata & Watanabe 2009) and Ceriagrion auranticum (G.T. Reels pers. comm.). No observations of larvae were made. Visits did not follow predetermined transects, and the frequency and duration of visits varied between locations according to accessibility and the area covered. Maximum counts in the text are not directly comparable between

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YSA NC MPIM HKWP

SAT

MPNR SP SS

Figure 2. Distribution of Mortonagrion hirosei in Hong Kong. SS - Sai Sha; MPNR - Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve; MPIM - Mai Po Marshes Intertidal Mangrove; SAT - Sam A Tsuen; TO - Tai O; YSA - Yung Shue Au; DI - Double Island; HKWP - Hong Kong Wetland Park; SP - Sha Po; LK - Luk Keng; NC - Nam Chung. Sites marked in red were surveyed as part of this study.

sites, but are included to give an impression of overall M. hirosei numbers at each site. Nomenclature for odonates follows Wilson (2004) and for vegetation, follows the arrangement used by the Hong Kong Herbarium (http://www.hkherbarium. net/herbarium/frame.html).

Results The following paragraphs describe the findings at the six locations surveyed between May 2009 and June 2011 and results are summarised in Table 1. Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve - Gei wai Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve (MPNR) (22029.7’N & 1140 2.5’E) comprises a series of brackish “gei wai”—ponds operated in a traditional manner for the culture of shrimps (usually Metapenaeus ensis). Commercial shrimp culture no longer occurs within these gei wai, and the pond operation is now managed by WWF-Hong Kong (WWF-HK) for the benefit of wildlife. Gei wai are connected to the sea and are periodically drained and flooded with sea water through

sluice gates, creating brackish water conditions. Most of the gei wai at MPNR contain Phragmites australis reedbeds and/or stands of mangroves. To the seaward side of the reserve is an area of intertidal mangroves, adjoining extensive intertidal mudflats in Deep Bay. MPNR is included in the core of the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site. The first Hong Kong records of M. hirosei came from the MPNR gei wai in 1991, when individuals were caught by Malaise traps set in one of the Phragmites reedbeds (Reels 1994). This study found M. hirosei to be one of the most numerous species trapped in these Malaise traps, suggesting a high density in this habitat. The reedbeds used for Malaise trapping were visited regularly during the 2009–10 visits, and no M. hirosei were recorded. Malaise trapping was also conducted by WWF-HK at the same site in 2009–10, but M. hirosei was not recorded (Katherine K.S. Leung in litt.). The nature of this reedbed has changed since 1991; notably substrate levels have been lowered in much of the reedbed to prevent colonisation of terrestrial vegetation. Other odonates observed in 2009–2010 at this brackish Phragmites reedbed included C. auranticum, Paracercion melanotum, I. senegalensis,

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Table 1. Summary of vegetation and Odonata at locations surveyed in 2009–2011

Location

Habitats

Dominant Vegetation

Max. count of flying M. hirosei (adults and teneral) 0

Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve (MPNR) (22029.7’N & 11402.5’E)

(single adult observed in brackish grasses in another gei wai)

Other Odonata recorded (known predators in bold)

Ceriagrion auranticum, Paracercion melanotum, Ischnura senegalensis, Anax parthenope, Brachythemis contaminata, Brachydiplax chalybea, Orthetrum sabina, Pantala flavescens and Tholymis tillarga.

Brackish gei wai (#8) with Phragmites Reedbed, Open Water

Phragmites australis

Mai Po Marshes Intertidal Mangrove (22029.7’N & 11401.9’E)

Intertidal Mangroves

Kandelia obovata, Acanthus ilicifolius, Aegiceras comiculatum, Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Excoecaria agallocha and Heritiera littoralis

I. senegalensis, P. flavescens, O. sabina, Rhyothemis variegata, Pseudothemis zonata and Trithemis aurora.

Sai Sha (22026.0’N & 114015.7’E)

Shallow, brackish pools established in the shingle of the supralittoral shore amongst the backshore vegetation.

K. obovata, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Zoysia matrella and Cynodon dactylon

C. auranticum, Acisoma panorpoides, Orthetrum luzonicum and Orthetrum poecilops.

Sam A Tsuen (22030.9’N & 114016.3’E)

Brackish marsh derived from abandoned paddies

Acrostichum aureum, Cyperus spp.

Agriocnemis femina, C. auranticum, I. senegalensis, A. panorpoides, Diplacodes trivialis, Neurothemis tullia, O. sabina and P. flavescens

Tai O (22015.4’N & 113051.9’E)

Mangrove, Brackish Marsh, deep brackish pools

A. ilicifolius, A. corniculatum, A. marina, K. obovata, Sporobolus virginicus

Agriocnemis femina, Cercion melanotum, C. auranticum, I. senegalensis, Onychargia atrocyana, Anax guttatus, A. panorpoides B. chalybea, B.contaminata, Crocothemis servilia, Diplacodes trivialis, Macrodiplax cora, Neurothemis tullia, Orthetrum chrysis, O. luzonicum, Orthetrum pruinosum O. sabina, P. flavescens and T. tillarga.

Yung Shue Au (22032.7’N & 114014.8’E)

Short grass and sedge

Short grass and sedge (unidentified)

C. auranticum, I. senegalensis, N. tullia and O. sabina.

Anax parthenope, Brachythemis contaminata, Brachydiplax chalybea, Orthetrum sabina, Pantala flavescens and Tholymis tillarga. Elsewhere in MPNR, the species has also been recorded from vegetated bunds of both freshwater and brackish ponds and intertidal mangroves (WWF-HK 2010). The only individual recorded in the gei wai of MPNR during the 2009–10 visits was a single male seen in May 2010, on emergent vegetation composed of individual Phragmites stems and mats of grasses on the edge of a deep water channel. This vegetation was not particularly tall or structurally dense and this individual was in the open, perched on semi-submerged vegetation. Much of the potentially suitable habitat in the gei wai cannot be easily accessed, though there is some limited boardwalk access through some sections. No M. hirosei were observed but it is possible that 2246

Image 3. Mai Po Intertidal Mangroves

populations remain in the gei wai that were not visited in 2009–10.

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Mai Po Marshes - Intertidal Mangrove (Image 3) A strip of mangroves (22029.7’N & 11401.9’E) varying between 500 and 1000 m wide along the northern boundary of the Reserve, separates the gei wai in MPNR from the open intertidal mudflats of Inner Deep Bay. Dominant mangrove species include Kandelia obovata, Acanthus ilicifolius, Aegiceras corniculatum, Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Excoecaria agallocha and Heritiera littoralis (WWF-HK 2006). This mangrove community continues around the landward side of the intertidal mudflats in the whole of Inner Deep Bay, but is difficult to access except through a network of floating and fixed boardwalks extending from MPNR. Although the intertidal mangroves are immediately adjacent to the gei wai at MPNR, these are treated here as a different location because the habitat characteristics differ significantly from those present in the gei wai. The low dispersive ability of M. hirosei means that individuals would not be able to disperse far into the intertidal mangrove from known populations in the gei wai. Ecological surveys in the intertidal mangroves during 2005–06 to assess the impacts of an extension to the existing boardwalk access did not record M. hirosei (WWF-HK 2006). The species was first observed in this location by the authors in 2008, and has also been recorded by WWF-HK (WWF-HK 2010). The maximum counts during the 2009-11 visits were 32 in July 2009 and 50 on 14 May 2011. Observations have been made on both rising and falling tides, when bare mud is revealed at the base of mangroves. The intertidal mangroves do not contain any significant-sized stands of Phragmites reedbeds, but small stands (up to approximately 2m2) of reeds are patchily located on the landward side of the mangroves. Most observations of M. hirosei in the intertidal mangroves are distant from any Phragmites reedbeds, with individuals observed up to 700m from the nearest reedbeds (located within the gei wai). This is seven times the estimated maximum dispersal distance of an individual M. hirosei, suggesting that individuals seen cannot have come from the Phragmites reedbeds. Within the intertidal mangrove, most individuals were observed either at the interface between taller mangrove and shrubbier A. ilicifolius, or where openings in the tall mangrove canopy create areas of dappled sunlight, often perching on mangrove pneumatophores (Image

D.J. Stanton & J.A. Allcock

Image 4. Mai Po intertidal mangroves- pneumatophores

4) or stems up to approximately 0.2m from the exposed substrate. Individuals are not evenly distributed across the habitat but seem to be rather patchily distributed, particularly in areas where uneven substrate ensures that shallow water remains during low tide and where there is a higher density of pneumatophores. Coupling has often been observed in this habitat, indicating that egg laying and larval development also take place in the intertidal mangrove system. Numbers of other odonates are generally low in these intertidal mangroves. Other odonate species recorded along these boardwalks on the same dates as observations of M. hirosei included I. senegalensis, P. flavescens, O. sabina, Rhyothemis variegata, Pseudothemis zonata and Trithemis aurora. Small numbers of I. senegalensis (no more than five on any visit) were recorded in similar habitats to M. hirosei, but the other odonate species were observed in open areas along creeks or at the edge of the taller mangrove stands. Sai Sha Small numbers of M. hirosei were recorded from a 200m section of boulder-strewn coastline of the Sai Sha Peninsula (22026.0’N & 114015.7’E) between May and October 2009 and subsequently in 2010 and 2011. These individuals were seen around shallow, brackish pools established in the shingle of the supralittoral shore amongst the backshore vegetation (Image 5). The pools, no more than 0.2m deep, are thought to have been created from a combination of exceptionally high tides, sea spray, wet season rainfall and run-off from adjacent abandoned paddies.

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Image 5. Sai Sha

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Vegetation surrounding the pools is composed of shrub mangroves (K. obovata), coastal trees (Hibiscus tiliaceus) and grasses such as Zoysia matrella and Cynodon dactylon. Long-abandoned paddies on the landward side have developed into marsh dominated by grassy vegetation but no M. hirosei were observed there. No Phragmites reeds are known to occur in the area. This location is situated approximately 9km from the closest known M. hirosei population (at Sam A Tsuen in the northeast New Territories). Adult and teneral individuals of M. hirosei were regularly recorded during 2009–11 visits perched up to 0.2m from the ground on bare branches of low shrubby mangroves or on the stems of grasses around the fringes of the brackish pools. The maximum number of individuals recorded was 27, including both adults and tenerals, during June 2011. Tandem pairs have also been observed at this location. Other odonates were also regularly observed in the coastal vegetation, including C. auranticum, Acisoma panorpoides, Orthetrum luzonicum and Orthetrum poecilops. Orthetrum poecilops is listed by IUCN as Vulnerable (Wilson 2009) and is associated with brackish water habitats, especially mangroves. Sam A Tsuen Observations of M. hirosei at Sam A Tsuen (22030.9’N & 114016.3’E) came from an area of brackish marsh derived from abandoned paddies. This location was visited less frequently than the others (three visits during 2009–11), and M. hirosei was observed only once in August 2009. Individuals of M. hirosei observed at the site were seen flying in an area of 2248

grasses up to 0.1m tall, with scattered small individuals of the mangrove-associated fern Acrostichum aureum. Other parts of the marsh contain extensive areas of grasses and sedges Cyperus spp. up to 0.3m high, but no M. hirosei were observed in this vegetation. Water within the marsh was mostly shallow (less than 0.05m) during visits, with a deeper channel (0.3m) draining through the marsh. The extent and frequency of flooding at high tide is not known. A fairly open stand of mangroves (including K. obovata, A. marina, E. agallocha and A. corniculatum) is present on the seaward side of the marsh, approximately 100m from the location of the observations, but no Phragmites reeds are known at the site. Other odonates recorded at the site were Agriocnemis femina, C. auranticum, I. senegalensis, A. panorpoides, Diplacodes trivialis, Neurothemis tullia, O. sabina and P. flavescens; these species were present generally in low numbers (up to five individuals of each species recorded), with the exception of P. flavescens, which has been was seen in large gatherings (up to 70 individuals) on the fringes of adjacent woodland during surveys. Tai O In May 2009, another population of M. hirosei was discovered in Tai O, Lantau (22015.4’N & 113051.9’E). This is the first known record for Lantau Island and is located 29km southwest of the nearest known population in Hong Kong. This is an area of former salt-pans which have been abandoned and are now subject to regular tidal inundations. Vegetative

Image 6. Tai O

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succession on these salt-pans has created a mosaic of microhabitats, including brackish marsh, deeper brackish pools and mangrove (Image 6). Low numbers of M. hirosei (up to two individuals) were recorded on visits in 2009–10. Most sightings were made in an area permanently under water of varying depths (0.1–0.5m), often in the shade of larger mangrove specimens (A. ilicifolius, A. corniculatum, A. marina and K. obovata). Individuals observed were perched either on mangrove pneumatophores or on grasses (e.g. Sporobolus virginicus), at about 0.2m from the water’s surface, usually in the shade of a mangrove shrub. Whilst Phragmites is present in the area, it does not form large stands or reedbeds, but is interspersed within the vegetation of the brackish marsh, approximately 50m from the area where M. hirosei was recorded. Nineteen other species of dragonfly were recorded near the perching locations of M. hirosei including high numbers of I. senegalensis (100+ during each visit), the most commonly occurring odonate at the site, along with moderate numbers of O. sabina and D. trivialis.

3.9km from the nearest known sites, at Sam A Tsuen and Luk Keng. Other odonate species present were C. auranticum, I. senegalensis, N. tullia and O. sabina.

Discussion and Conclusions

Yung Shue Au The most recently discovered population of M. hirosei is at Yung Shue Au (22032.7’N & 114014.8’E) on the northeastern coastline of Hong Kong SAR in July 2011. Seven individuals were found at this site, occupying habitat similar to that observed at Sam A Tsuen, with an area of short grass and sedge (up to 0.1m in height) which was inundated at high tide (Image 7). This population is located approximately

Image 7.Yung Shue Au

Habitat requirements of M. hirosei Until recently Phragmites reedbeds were considered to be the primary habitat for this species. While Phragmites reedbed is an important habitat at some Hong Kong sites, the observations on the 2009– 11 surveys indicate that at some locations in Hong Kong Phragmites is not an important component of the habitat, and may not even be present. Habitats at most locations visited for this study were dominated by grasses and/or mangroves, and the species was recorded in pure mangrove stands in Inner Deep Bay, several hundred metres from the nearest reedbed or marsh habitat. Considering the weak flight of the species, the distance of these observations from the nearest reedbed or marsh suggest that M. hirosei breeds in mangrove habitats in Hong Kong. This conclusion is strengthened by the observation of tandem pairs in the Mai Po Marshes intertidal mangroves. Wilson & Reels (2011) note that, despite the presence of adults, larvae have never been recorded in mangrove habitats. Surveys for larvae or exuviae were not conducted at the sites studied, however, and therefore successful breeding in mangrove habitats remains unproven. Larval studies of mangrove and other habitats would provide further understanding on the habitat requirements of this species. Hong Kong is at the southern end of the known global distribution of M. hirosei, and mangroves are to be found on much of the intertidal soft shore. Mangrove diversity and abundance is much reduced in more northern latitudes (Lee 2002) and in Japan mangroves are mostly limited to the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa (ISME 2010). The known sites for M. hirosei are situated on the east of Honshu, where mangrove does not occur. Reedbed may be the dominant vegetative community at these latitudes, explaining the apparent preference of M. hirosei for this habitat. Thus latitudinal and climatic differences may ultimately account for the difference in observed habitat preferences between Hong Kong and Japan. The most important factor influencing the

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distribution of M. hirosei in Hong Kong appears to be the hydrology of the site. All locations visited at which M. hirosei was recorded contain shallow brackish water, generally less than 0.2m deep. The site with deepest permanent water (at Tai O) contained water up to 0.5m deep. Deeper water may be experienced at high tide in some locations (for example in the Mai Po Marshes intertidal mangrove) but for most of the time the water does not reach this depth. No Hong Kong locations have yet been discovered at which only fresh water is present; M. hirosei has been reported at MPNR on the bunds of freshwater ponds (WWF-HK 2010), but the individuals involved may have strayed from nearby gei wai. Vegetation structure may also be important in determining the suitability of a habitat. The species is known to use a sit-and-wait strategy when searching for prey or mates, and Watanabe & Mimura (2003, 2004) report that M. hirosei are often recorded perching at an average height of about 20cm above the water or the ground surface within the reedbed site studied. Similar behaviour was observed in all habitats during visits in 2009â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11, with individuals observed perched on mangrove pneumatophores, grass stems or the lower branches of individual mangrove plants at a similar height. Relationships with other odonates In Japan, M. hirosei occurs in dense, brackish reedbeds where few other odonates occur (Watanabe & Mimura 2003) and is susceptible to predation in both adult and larval form by other odonates, particularly I. senegalensis (Lin & Chen 2006; Watanabe & Matsuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ura 2006; Watanabe et al. 2008, Iwata & Watanabe 2009). At the Hong Kong locations visited during this study, M. hirosei was sometimes present in habitats with a moderate diversity and abundance of other odonates, both Zygoptera and Anisoptera, which could be potential predators. These include I. senegalensis, which was observed at all locations in high numbers. The 1991 study of Phragmites reedbed at Mai Po, which resulted in the first records of M. hirosei in the territory, also recorded a total of 10 odonate species from Malaise trapping (Reels 1994), and the true abundance may have been underestimated in this study because Malaise trapping tends to favour smaller, weaker flying odonates such as damselflies (Zygoptera) and underrepresent larger dragonflies (Anisoptera) (Glotzhober 2250

& Riggs 1998). Whilst it is acknowledged that other faunal groups could potentially predate the various life stages of M. hirosei, this has not been investigated. Although M. hirosei populations in Hong Kong are apparently able to survive in the presence of potential predators, this predation may lead to lower population densities. High densities of this species have been reported in reedbeds in Japan, for example 22 adults per m2 as reported by Teramato & Watanabe (2009) and comparable numbers by Watanabe & Mimura (2003, 2004) and Watanabe et al. (2008). Although systematic studies of population densities were not part of this study, it was clear that overall numbers at some Hong Kong sites were significantly lower than those reported from Japan. Densities were lowest in habitats which also supported a higher abundance of other odonate species which may indicate that, while M. hirosei is tolerant of the presence of other species, these may limit the overall population, either by predation as suggested by Watanabe & Mimura (2003) or through competition for resources. Potential populations elsewhere in eastern Asia One of the recommendations from IUCN is that the coastal breeding sites of this damselfly should be protected (Wilson 2006; Wilson & Reels 2011). For this to occur, it is important that these sites are identified. With a known global distribution including Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and southern China, it can be assumed that this species is likely to be under-recorded along coastal areas of southern and eastern China. These known sites are separated by hundreds of kilometres of coastline or sea, and it would appear unlikely that such a weak-flying species would be able to readily colonise such widely-separated locations. When compared with Hong Kong and Japan, the Chinese coast has historically had relatively few observers recording odonates and the small size and biology of M. hirosei (including its weak flight and sit-and-wait foraging strategy) make the species easy to overlook. Misconceptions about its habitat requirements, especially the lack of awareness of mangrove as a potential habitat in the southern part of its range, may also have contributed to the species being overlooked at other sites in eastern Asia. Searches of coastal marsh and mangroves along the coastline of southern and eastern China may result in the discovery of more populations. The presence of other odonates which

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may be potential predators or competitors clearly does not preclude the survival of M. hirosei. Conservation and threats to global populations Throughout eastern Asia, coastal habitats are under extensive pressure for development and reclamation (Lin & Chen 2006; Wilson 2006; WWF-HK 2010). In Japan, the extent of reedbeds has been substantially reduced by river alterations and the destruction of wetlands (Watanabe & Mimura 2003). Coastal habitat in China is similarly being lost to city development, reclamation and dam construction (WWF-HK 2010), and the same is happening in Korea (Cho 2007). For example, in coastal Shenzhen, adjacent to the species’ Hong Kong stronghold at Mai Po, there has been significant coastal habitat loss in the past 20 years through development and reclamation (Ni & Qin 2003). Populations of M. hirosei throughout easterm Asia may be declining and becoming increasingly isolated as coastal habitat is lost. Habitat loss could also occur indirectly through natural processes such as sedimentation. Mudflat levels in Inner Deep Bay, where the species has its stronghold in Hong Kong, have risen by 0.3m since the 1980s (WWF-HK 2006). Continued sedimentation may eventually prevent land from flooding at high tide, resulting in loss of intertidal habitats. Local extinctions may result from highly localised events such as extreme high tides washing through a small area of suitable habitat (for example at Sai Sha, where apparently only a small population is present in a narrow strip of habitat along the coast) or through changes in predation pressure. The isolation of populations as a result of coastal development, combined with the weak flight ability of the species, may mean that suitable sites cannot be recolonised once the population has been lost by stochastic events. At a larger scale, populations of a whole region may be at risk from events such as the devastating tsunami that struck Japan during March 2011. Many of the Hong Kong sites are isolated by both developed areas and physical geography, and have few ecological linkages suitable for a weakflying species to exploit. Protection of known sites is therefore important, so that these can ensure the continued survival of the species. Currently only four of the known locations in Hong Kong are protected by legislation; at Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve

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(including the intertidal mangroves of Inner Deep Bay), Hong Kong Wetland Park, Double Island and Luk Keng. Other sites are on land that may be at risk from development and/or neglect. Suitable habitat management would also be beneficial in providing increased habitat area or providing corridors to link populations. In Japan, research projects are being conducted to look at reedbed re-establishment programmes and the maintainence of dense reedbed communities in order to preserve this species, by reducing habitat loss and fragmentation (Watanabe et al. 2008; Iwata & Watanabe 2009; Teramoto & Watanabe 2009). Research so far has shown that the species is able to readily colonise newly created habitat if this is within the small dispersal range (Watanabe et al. 2008; Iwata & Watanabe 2009; Teramoto & Watanabe 2009). Habitat management at Mai Po Marshes and Hong Kong Wetland Park may permit the enhancement of habitats in these locations, but at present no other known sites in Hong Kong receive active habitat management. References Bang, H.S, M.S. Han, Y.E. Na & K.K. Kang (2009). Biodiversity of Fauna and Flora in Korean Paddy Field. <http://www.niaes.affrc.go.jp/marco/marco2009/english/ program/WS4-02_Bang_Hea-son-KR.pdf> downloaded on 13 September 2010. Cheung, K.W. (2008). Spatial and seasonal variations of freshwater macroinvertebrates, Odonata and waterbirds in Luk Keng Marshland, Hong Kong. MPhil Thesis, Department of Zoology, University of Hong Kong. Cho, D.O. (2007). The evolution and resolution of conflicts on Saemangeum Reclamation Project. Ocean & Coastal Management 50(11–12): 930–944. Glotzhober, R.C. & D. Riggs (1998). Adapting the Townes Malaise trap for collecting live Odonata. Bulletin of American Odonatology 5(3): 43–48. ISME (International Society of Mangrove Ecology) (2010). What are Mangroves? <http://www.mangrove.or.jp/ mangrove/whats_mangrove.html> Downloaded on 13 September 2010. Iwata, S. & M. Watanabe (2009). Spatial distribution and species composition of larval odonata in the artificial reed community established as a habitat for Mortonagrion hirosei Ashina (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae). Odonatologica 38(4): 307–319. Lee, S.Y. (2002). Venturing Forest in the Water. Friends of the Country Parks. Hong Kong, 11–13pp. Lin, Y.F. & H. Chen (eds.) (2006). Conservationists amazed at

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endangered damselfly discovery. International Conservation Newsletter - Society for Wildlife and Nature 14(2): 5–6. Matsu’ura, S. & M. Watanabe (2006). The conservation ecology of the brackish water damselfly, Mortonagrion hirosei - Fecundity and oviposition in four coexisting damselfly species in estuarine habitat. The Seveenteenth International Symposium of Odonatology: 34. Mimura, Y. & M. Watanabe (2006). The conservation ecology of the brackish water damselfly, Mortonagrion hirosei - population dynamics of adults in the original habitat. Abstract of Papers. The Seventeenth International Symposium of Odonatology: 36. Ni, J. & H. Qin (2003). Assessment of reclamation impact on inter-tidal habitat loss. Acta Scientiae Circumstantiae 23(3): 345–349. Reels, G.T. (1994). Management strategies for the reed Phragmites australis (Cav.) Steud. at Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve, Hong Kong, with observations on the associated insect fauna. MPhil Thesis, Department of Zoology, University of Hong Kong. Tam, T.W., B.S.P., Kwan, K.K.Y. Wu, B.S.F. Wong, S.S.H. Tang, C.H.L. Fung, W.S.Y. Wong, J.K. Wong, S.W.L. Fong & A.H.C. Lei (2008). Current status of dragonflies (Odonata) and their representation in protected areas of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Biodiversity 16: 1–7. Teramoto, Y. & M. Watanabe (2009). Colonization process of the threatened damselfly Mortonagrion hirosei, in the artificially established reed community. The 6th Asia-Pacific Congress of Entomology (APCE2009), Beijing, China. Watanabe, M. (2007). Changes in spatial distribution and species composition of larval dragonflies in the artificial reed community established as a habitat for Mortonagrion hirosei, an endangered brackish water damselfly. 5th WDA International Symposium of Odonatology, Swakopmund, Namibia. Watanabe, M. & Y. Mimura (2003). Population dynamics of Mortonagrion hirosei (Odonata: Coenagrionidae). International Journal of Odonatology 6(1): 65–78.

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Watanabe, M. & Y. Mimura (2004). Diurnal changes in perching sites and low mobility of adult Mortonagrion hirosei Asahina inhabiting understorey of dense reed community (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae). Odonatologica 33(3): 303–313. Watanabe, M., S. Matsu’ura & M. Fukaya (2008). Changes in distribution and abundance of the endangered damselfly Mortonagrion hiroseiAsahina (Zygoptera: Coemagrionidae) in a reed community artificially established for its conservation. Journal of Insect Conservation 12: 663–670. Wilson, K. (1994). Hong Kong Dragonfly Update. Porcupine! 10: 4. Wilson, K.D.P. (1995). Hong Kong Dragonflies. Urban Council, Hong Kong, 58–59pp. Wilson, K.D.P. (1997). An annotated checklist of the Hong Kong dragonflies with recommendations for their conservation. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society 21: 1–68. Wilson, K.D.P. (2004). Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Hong Kong. Second Edition. Hong Kong, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, 142–143pp. Wilson, K. (2006). Mortonagrion hirosei. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 14 September 2010. Wilson, K.D.P. & G. Reels (2011). Mortonagrion hirosei. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 10 July 2011. WWF-HK (2006). An extension to the existing boardwalk and new floating Mudflat Bird-watching hide at Mai Po nature reserve for education and conservation purposes. Project Profile to HKSAR Government. WWF-HK (2010). Mai Po Wildlife Factsheet. Invertebrates – Species of Interest. Four-spot Midget Mortonagrion hirosei. Downloaded from [http://assets.wwf.org.hk/downloads/ four_spot_midget.pdf ] on 13 September 2010.

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JoTT Communication

3(12): 2253–2262

Human interference and avifaunal diversity of two wetlands of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India Tanmay Datta Department of Zoology, Ananda Chandra College, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal 735101, India Email: tdatta1963@gmail.com

Date of publication (online): 26 December 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 December 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Rajiv S. Kalsi Manuscript details: Ms # o2739 Received 28 March 2011 Final received 18 October 2011 Finally accepted 28 October 2011 Citation: Datta, T. (2011). Human interference and avifaunal diversity of two wetlands of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(12): 2253–2262. Copyright: © Tanmay Datta 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Author Details: Associate Professor in Zoology of Ananda Chandra College, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. Presently working on wetland ecology and biodiversity; specially on diversity of zooplanktons, fishes and water birds. Acknowledgements: This study was financially supported by the University Grants Commission, India. I am thankful to the Department of Zoology, Ananda Chandra College, for providing all sorts of infrastructural support. I also thank Dr. Amal Kumar Patra, Mr. Santanu Ghosh Dastidar and Mr. Suman Senupta who helped me in various ways during field studies and laboratory works.

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Abstract: Avifaunal diversity and abundance were studied in two wetlands of Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India, in relation to eight wetland characteristics supposedly directly or indirectly affected by human activities. Although the climatic and geophysical conditions of both the wetlands are almost similar, a total of 80 bird species were recorded from one wetland and the other supported only 42 species. The relationship between habitat characteristics and community structure varied throughout the year, suggesting that the birds respond differently to one or other habitat characteristic depending on the season. Larger wetland size supported higher bird diversity and abundance as far as resident and local migrants are concerned. Winter migrant density and diversity, however, reached higher values in structurally more heterogeneous wetlands having fewer submerged aquatic vegetation. All these habitat characteristics become highly influenced by intense agricultural practices in the wetland with fewer bird diversity and density. Keywords: Habitat heterogeneity, human interference, Jalpaiguri, submerged aquatic vegetation, waterbirds, wetlands.

Introduction Although wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems and most severely affected habitats next to tropical forests, they are being neglected in densely populated countries like India. In the last century, over 50% of wetlands in the world have been lost, and the remaining wetlands have been degraded to different degrees because of the adverse influence of human activities (Fraser & Keddy 2005). Wetlands harbour a large number of threatened birds, in addition to a variety of wildlife and are vital to their conservation. At least 20% of the threatened bird species inhabit wetlands in the Asiatic region which is far more than the 10% of the globally threatened brids (Kumar et al. 2005). Out of 310 Indian wetland birds, 107 species are winter migrants (Kumar et al. 2005). Migratory waterfowls are one of the most remarkable components of global biodiversity (Li & Mundkur 2004). Waterbirds are not only the most prominent groups which attract people to wetlands, but also are good bioindicators and useful models for studying a variety of environmental problems (Urfi et al. 2005). The wetlands of South Asia are facing tremendous anthropogenic pressure, which can greatly influence the structure of the bird community (BirdLife International 2003). The loss of waterbird habitats through direct and indirect human interferences has led to a decline in several waterbird populations. Therefore, it is vital to understand the underlying causes for the decline in populations and to control these trends in order to prevent the loss of key components of the biodiversity of wetland habitats. In this study, the diversity and richness of waterbirds of two almost similar

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wetlands were analyzed, to identify the consequences of direct and indirect human interferences.

Study Area Both the study sites (Gajoldoba Beel and Domohani Beel) are perennial cut-off meanders by the left side of Teesta River in Jalpaiguri District of West Bengal, India. Gajoldoba Beel (26.763897N & 88.597498E) with an area of about 148ha is situated by the side of the Gajoldoba barrage and about 26km upstream to Domohani Beel (26.569688N & 88.765644E) having an area of about 52ha. The Gajoldoba Beel is managed by the state-owned Teesta Barrage Division, Odlabari, while the Domohani Beel is privately owned. The average rainfall of this region is about 3160mm and the average temperature ranges from 32.80C (max) to 6.90C (min). The Gajoldoba Beel is connected with the river Teesta, therefore, its water level fluctuates in synchrony with the river. The region experiences about 78% rainfall during the monsoon (June to September) and only 0.98% rainfall during winter (December to February), however, Gajoldoba Beel experiences the highest water level during the winter season because during that period most of the gates of the barrage remain closed. Domohani Beel, on the other hand, becomes connected with the river Teesta only during the period of the monsoon and the water level in this wetland fluctuates with the normal hydrological cycle of the region. The flora of both the wetlands is typical of this region; but Domohani Beel is infested with more pollution tolerant aquatic plants. There is no floating vegetation in about 50% of the area of Gajoldoba Beel, however, all parts of Domohani Beel is infested with floating vegetation like Eichornia crassipes, Trapa natans, Wolffia arrhiza, Nymphea odorata, Nymphea pubescens, Nymphoides cristatum, Jussiaea repens, Neptunia natans, Hygrophila polysperma, etc. Prominent floating hydrophytes at Gajoldoba Beel are Nymphea odorata, Nymphoides cristatum, Spirodela polyrrhiza and few patches of Eichornia crassipes. Among suspended and submerged vegetation Ceratophyllum demersum, Utricularia flexuosa, and Hydrilla verticillata were found in both the wetlands but Vallisneria spiralis was found only at Gajoldoba. 2254

Emergent vegetations were predominant in many parts of Gajoldoba Beel, which were not so common in most parts of Domohani Beel. The most notable emergent hydrophytes were Ammania baccifera, Cyperus corymbosus, Cyperus cephalotes, Limnophila indica, Scirpus articulatus, Potamogeton nodosus, and Potamogeton pectinatus. Typha latifolia was found only in Gajoldoba Beel but not in Domohani; similarly wetland grasses like Phragmites were common in Domohani Beel but were totally absent in Gajoldoba.

Methods Both the wetlands were surveyed twice a month from March 2009 to August 2010. To estimate the number of individuals of each species and to record all sorts of birds and human activities more than 200 hours were spent in each wetland from dawn to dusk. Each wetland was divided into three zones (viz. G1, G2, G3 for Gajoldoba and D1, D2, D3 for Domohani) for convenience of study considering the physical boundaries (mainly spurs of embankment), vegetation characteristics, bird species and human activities. The presence of humans was documented separately in each zone by instantaneous sampling during the morning (at about 0730hr) and afternoon (at about 1630hr) when such activities touch the highest magnitude. Direct human interference was measured in terms of average number of persons present in a one-hour duration in a particular zone. Besides getting data about direct human interference from direct observations, on site queries were made to several people to learn about the types and magnitude of indirect human interference. Major impacts of human interference in wetlands were eutrophication and conversion of land. To measure these effects, six parameters, namely, water phosphate content, percentage of floating vegetation (mostly water hyacinth), relative abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (in terms of percentage of submerged aquatic vegetation present in a unit area of water), depth of water (average value of various records of depths measured about the center of the zone), total water covered area and heterogeneity of the zones (in terms of differential topographical and vegetation characteristics and human use; e.g. deep/ shallow/no water zones, with floating/submerged/ emergent vegetations, with cultivated/noncultivated

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areas, etc.) were recorded periodically. Also data regarding magnitude of grazing (in terms of the average number of cattle present) were collected to predict the impact of human interference. Bird counts were done between sunrise and 1000hr and between 1500hr and sunset, using binoculars (Olympus 10×50). On each day of observations, surveys began from vantage points, from where most of the surface area and edge were visible, and bird species were identified and counted (Bibby et al. 2000). Hidden and cryptic birds were flushed by walking around the perimeter and identified. Additionally, a walk was undertaken through the emergent vegetation zone and inaccessible parts of the wetlands were accessed by boat to count all the birds seen or heard within the wetlands. Species were identified using Grimmett et al. (1998), Kazmierczak & van Perlo (2000) and Kumar et al. (2005). For every zone of both wetlands, nesting status of each species was determined. A species was considered nesting if its nest, eggs or young were found; and a probable nester if it displayed behaviour consistent with nesting and there were suitable nesting sites available. Status of the migratory birds was ascertained as per the available literature (Ali & Ripley 1988; Grimmett et al. 1998; Kumar et al. 2005). The Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (rp) was used for the simple relationship analyses between the variables. Data, which departed from normal distribution were logarithmically transformed. Forward stepwise multiple regression analysis was done for each period, using premonsoon (April–May), Monsoon (July–August) and Winter (December– January), with the number of birds as dependent variable and the characteristics of the wetlands having simple significant relationship with the number of species in the wetlands as independent variables.

Results Bird assemblages In the two wetlands, a total of 86 bird species were recorded (Appendix 1). Eighty species were recorded at Gajoldoba Beel, and 42 species were recorded at Domohani Beel. Out of the 80 species recorded at Gajoldoba, 44 species were exclusive to this wetland. Of these 44 exclusive species, 32 species (Anatidae being dominant) were winter migrants or passage migrants, one summer migrant and 11 were residents or local migrants. Out of 42 species recorded from Domohani Beel, only six species were exclusive to this wetland. Of these six species, only one (Vanellus cinereus) was a winter migrant and the remaining five were residents or local migrants. Winter migrating duck avoided Domohani Beel. During this study period only twice, for very short periods, wintering ducks (total eight in number) were found to settle at Domohani Beel. Most of the winter migrants at the Domohani Beel were shorebirds (mainly wagtails, sandpipers and plovers). The density (number per unit area) of winter migrants at Gajlodoba Beel was significantly higher than at Domohani Beel (Table 1). However, population density of resident or local migrants (in premonsoon and winter season) and nesting bird density were significantly higher at Domohani Beel. Only the resident/local migratory birds used these wetlands for breeding and other purposes during the monsoon period and their density was not significantly different (Table 1) at the two wetlands. Types and magnitude of direct human interferences Local people used both the wetlands for various purposes (Table 2) for their livelihood, fishing being most common activity. At Gajoldoba Beel the type

Table 1. Density (number per hectare) of birds of different status and season Season

Gajoldoba

Domohani

Mean

10.8

1.14

9.16

<0.001

Winter migrants

Winter

28.2

3.61

Nesting birds

Monsoon

1.89

0.23

5.69

2.1

6.16

<0.001

Pre-monsoon

7.28

0.87

35.38

1.86

27.36

<0.001

Monsoon

8.03

0.56

8.97

1.31

1.3

>0.05

Winter

6.54

0.32

17.05

2.14

9.7

<0.001

Residents/local migrants

t - value of t-test; p - probability value to determine statistically significant result.

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Table 2. Types and magnitude (number of persons involved per hour) of human interferences. Gajoldoba PM

Fishing

14.7

16.8

Agricultural works

0.1

0.2

16.1

6.2

16.6

14.5

19.3

4.7

6.8

Collection of plants

0.2

0.3

1.8

0.2

Hunting of birds

0.1

Other activities

0.2

2.2

0.7

0.9

1.1

PM - Pre-monsoon, M - Monsoon, W - Winter

and magnitude of human use remained almost the same through all the seasons. At Domohani Beel also the fishing activity was high during monsoon and winter. However, during the drier parts of the year intense agricultural work (in almost 80% area) was observed. During winter, a considerable number of tourists and picnic parties visited Gajoldoba, however, the birds were indifferent to such disturbances. Hunting of birds (with indigenous weapons) was reported only twice during winter at Domohani. During January to March, most parts of the Domohani Beel are used for ‘Rabi’ (Boro) rice cultivation. For that purpose, the land was cleared and leveled, ridges and embankments were built up, cultivated land was flooded with the remaining wetland water, and insecticides were sprayed indiscriminately. As a result, the areas with intense agricultural activities seemed as having no vegetative or topographical heterogeneity (Fig. 1). Relationships between bird assemblages and human influenced wetland variables Out of eight parameters only five were significantly correlated with the number of waterbird species (Table 3). Direct human interference, grazing, and phosphorus content in the covered area and the percentage of submerged aquatic vegetation were significantly correlated with bird species numbers in all the seasons. Average depth of wetland and habitat heterogeneity were significant in the premonsoon and winter seasons but not during the monsoon period. Floating vegetation percentage was significantly correlated with waterbird species numbers only during the monsoon period. The five significantly correlated parameters were entered in forward stepwise multiple regression analysis separately for the resident / local migratory 2256

Pre-monsoon Monsoon

Domohani Habitat type

Activities

Winter

4 3 2 1 0

G3 D1 Habitat heterogeneity

Figure 1. Degrees of habitat heterogeneity at different zones of Gajoldoba (G1, G2, G3) and Domohani (D1, D2, D3) beels at different seasons. Scale on the Y axis signifies type of habitat within each zone.

birds (for all seasons), winter migrants (for winter period), and nesting birds (Table 4). In winter, the number of migratory birds was best predicted by habitat heterogeneity. Habitat heterogeneity was also the major characteristic that best predicted the wintering migratory duck assemblage. However, wintering migratory bird density was best predicted by the percentage of submerged aquatic vegetation. The number of resident or local migratory birds was best predicted by the total water covered area and also it was positively related to the presence of submerged vegetation. However, average depth of the water body and the presence of floating vegetation had a negative impact on the number of resident or local migrants through all the seasons (Table 4). The nesting bird population was best predicted by the percentage of floating vegetation covered area and the total water covered area.

Discussion Although the climatic and geophysical conditions of these two wetlands are almost identical, there is a considerable difference in waterbird diversity. Winter migrants, particularly the wintering ducks, are not attracted to Domohani Beel. However, residents and local migrants use both the wetlands with almost the same zest. As far as type and magnitude of human interferences are concerned, both the wetlands face almost similar problems during the monsoon and pre-monsoon periods. In winter, the boro cultivation, which is practised intensively only at Domohani Beel

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Table 3. Statistical relationships between wetland characteristics and number of waterbird species Variables

Premonsoon period

Monsoon period

1. Direct human interference (encounter rate)

-0.12

n.s.

0.4

2. Coverage of water surface by floating

-0.23

n.s.

0.88

<0.001

0.14

Winter period

n.s.

-0.11

n.s.

<0.001

-0.34

n.s.

0.82

<0.001

Vegetation (%) 3. Average depth (m)

0.9

4. Submerged aquatic vegetation (%)

-0.57

<0.05

0.74

<0.01

-0.91

<0.001

5. Water covered area (%)

0.96

<0.001

0.82

<0.001

0.88

<0.001

6. Habitat heterogeneity (number of types)

0.93

<0.001

-0.38

n.s.

0.96

<0.001

7. Total phosphorus in water (mg/l)

-0.4

n.s.

0.22

n.s.

-0.32

n.s.

8. Number of cattle per hectar

-0.38

n.s.

0.24

n.s.

-0.40

n.s

r - Pearson’s correlation coefficient; p - probability value to determine statistically significant result; n.s. - not significant.

Table 4. Results of the forward stepwise multiple regression test for the resident/local migrants, winter migrants and nesting birds, using the number of birds as dependent variables and the wetland characteristics significantly correlated with the number of species as independent variables. Analysis based on logarithmically transformed data of the variables 2, 3, 4, 5 in the Table 3. Level of significance: *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.001, ***p ≤ 0.0001. Variables included in the Model

r²

Adjusted r²

Winter migrants

0.802

6.296

F1,23 0.643

0.627

39.636

Habitat heterogeneity

*** ***

Migratory wintering ducks 0.612

0.594

34.659

Habitat heterogeneity

*** 0.782

5.887

***

Winter migrant density 0.642

0.626

39.52

Submerged aquatic vegetation (%)

*** -0.801

-6.286

Water covered area

1.765

9.484

***

Average depth

-0.959

-5.167

***

Submerged aquatic vegetation (%)

0.537

4.722

***

Floating vegetation covered area (%)

-0.328

-2.904

Residents/Local migrants

***

F4,53 0.788

0.77

Nesting birds

45.475

***

F2,23 0.88

0.869

77.155

***

Floating vegetation covered area (%)

0.9

11.913

***

Water covered area

0.27

3.578

r - coefficient of determination; F - value of F test 2

and not attracting any migratory duck species, opens up the scope of exploring a possible relationship between the absence of wintering ducks and ‘boro’ cultivation. As the results suggest, direct human interferences

do not impose any real threat to the birdlife of these two wetlands. Possibly general awareness of the people of this region and the surveillance of the Gajoldoba barrage authority have restricted people from doing

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any harm to the birds. However, intense agricultural activities have changed the wetland habitat variables at Domohani Beel and that in turn has influenced the bird life. There exists a strong positive correlation between habitat size and species diversity that consistently corresponds with results of other studies in a variety of environments (Sillen & Solbreck 1977; Brown & Dinsmore 1986; Opdam 1991; Andren 1994; Turner 1996; Babbitt 2000; Paracuellos & Telleria 2004; Gonzalez-Gajardo et al. 2009). The only other wetland characteristic, which is significantly correlated with waterbird species diversity during all the seasons, is submerged aquatic vegetation. Interestingly submerged aquatic vegetation percentage was positively correlated with avifauna diversity in the monsoon period but there exists significant negative correlation between these two parameters during winter and premonsoon periods. During the monsoon period, mostly nondiving wading and dabbling birds are found in this region and these birds prefer foraging for submerged vegetation in shallow water, even when food is in abundance in deeper water (Holm & Clausen 2006). Wintering birds, however, preferred to forage in water with less submerged vegetation. As expected, a number of variables were associated with the densities of waterbirds during the monsoon period. Water covered area is the most important criterion that dictates bird number positively but the average depth of the water body has a negative impact on bird numbers. Many studies have indicated that water depth affects waterbird diversity (Velasquez 1992; Elphick & Oring 1998; Colwell & Taft 2000; Isola et al. 2002; Darnell & Smith 2004). Non-diving waterbirds generally prefer to forage in shallow water. As the wading and dabbling birds are the dominant waterbird groups in most regions worldwide, the greatest waterbird diversity and density generally occur at a relatively shallow water depth (Elphick & Oring 1998, 2003; Colwell & Taft 2000; Isola et al. 2002; Taft et al. 2002). Foraging in shallow water is also beneficial in terms of higher net energy intake (Kushlan 1978; Guillemain & Fritz 2002; Nolet et al. 2002; Sustainable Ecosystems Institute 2007). During the monsoon, when submerged areas are abundant, the greatest concentration of waterbirds is expected in shallow wetlands like Domohani Beel. Only resident or local migratory birds nested 2258

in both the wetlands during the monsoon and the predominance of floating vegetation in the preferred nesting zone supports the views of many other studies that advocate the importance of floating vegetation in the breeding success of many waterbirds (Owen & Black 1990; Froneman et al. 2001; Sánchez-Zapata et al. 2005). Plenty of water hyacinth dominated floating vegetation at Domohani Beel possibly attributes to the higher nesting density in comparison to the Gajoldoba Beel. Lower nesting density at Gajoldoba Beel may also be due to higher water level fluctuation. During the monsoon (nesting season) periodically most of the gates of the barrage remain open resulting in huge fluctuations of water level. In fact the lowest water level at Gajoldoba Beel was recorded during the monsoon period. Water level fluctuations often create “ecological traps” and are detrimental for breeding birds (Kaminski et al. 2006). Many studies have shown that the brood densities of waterbirds are greater on wetlands with stable water levels than on seasonally flooded wetlands (e.g., Ogden 1991; Connor & Gabor 2006). In this study habitat heterogeneity was found to be the key component to attract winter migrants and more specifically the wintering ducks. Many studies have demonstrated the importance of habitat heterogeneity in wetland bird richness and abundance (Svingen & Anderson 1998; Edwards & Otis 1999; Fairbairn & Dinsmore 2001; Riffel et al. 2001; Zárate-Ovando et al. 2008; Gonzalez-Gajardo et al. 2009). At present Domohani Beel does not attract the wintering ducks possibly because of its loss of habitat heterogeneity. Intense agricultural practices during drier parts of the season make it impossible to maintain structural heterogeneity, both in terms of vegetative heterogeneity and topographical heterogeneity. Thick submerged aquatic vegetation also appeared as a deterrent factor for winter migrants. Predominance of such vegetation at Domohani Beel possibly came as an artifact of agricultural eutrophication. The runoff from agricultural land enters the wetland causing an increase in the nutrient concentrations of soil and water. The most evident results of the nutrient input are the replacement of the primary native species with hypertrophy tolerant species. This in turn alters the ecosystem considerably. Nutrient-enriched water bodies thus get choked with excessive growths of aquatic macrophytes (Roelofs 1983; Wright 2009).

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Avifauna of two wetlands of Jalpaiguri

In summary, species richness and bird abundance was fundamentally affected by attributes of the size of the water covered area, particularly in case of local migrants and resident birds. Diversity and abundance of wintering migratory birds appears to be affected more by habitat heterogeneity, and preponderance of submerged aquatic vegetation played a negative role in this regard. Loss of habitat heterogeneity and predominance of submerged aquatic vegetation in turn appears to be an artifact of agricultural practices. Thus agricultural practices at Domohani Beel are supposed to be the main cause of avoidance by wintering migratory birds. However, local migrants and resident birds are still thriving and breeding successfully in both the wetlands, which indicate that the level of alteration and eutrophication borne out of agricultural practices have not impaired the birdlife totally at Domohani Beel and also it advocates the adaptability of local birds.

REFERENCES Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1988). Compact Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan: together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka—2nd Edition. Oxford University Press, 890pp. Andren, H. (1994). Effects of habitat fragmentation on birds and mammals in landscapes with different proportions of suitable habitat: a review. Oikos 71(3): 355–366. Babbitt, K. (2000). Use of temporary wetlands by anurans in a hydrologically modified landscape. Wetlands 20(2): 313–322. Bibby, C., N. Burgess, D. Hill & S. Mustoe (2000). Bird Census Techniques. Academic Press, London, 302pp. BirdLife International (2003). Saving Asia’s Threatened Birds: A Guide for Government and Civil Society. BirdLife International, Cambridge, 246pp. Brown, M. & J.J. Dinsmore (1986). Implications of marsh size and isolation for marsh bird management. Journal of Wildlife Management 50(3): 392–397. Colwell, M.A. & O.W. Taft (2000). Waterbird communities in managed wetlands of varying water depth. Waterbirds 23(1): 45–55. Connor, K.J. & S. Gabor (2006). Breeding waterbird wetland habitat availability and response to water-level management in Saint John River floodplain wetlands, New Brunswick. Hydrobiologia 567: 169–181. Darnell, T. & E.H. Smith (2004). Avian use of natural and created salt marsh in Texas, USA. Waterbirds 27(3): 355– 361. Edwards, N. & D. Otis (1999). Avian communities and habitat relationships in South Carolina Piedmont beaver ponds.

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American Midland Naturalist 141(1): 158–171. Elphick, C.S. & L.W. Oring (1998). Winter management of Californian rice fields for waterbirds. Journal of Applied Ecology 35(1): 95–108. Elphick, C.S. & L.W. Oring (2003). Conservation implications of flooding rice fields on winter waterbird communities. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 94(1): 17–29. Fairbairn, S. & J. Dinsmore (2001). Local and landscapelevel influences of wetland bird communities of the praire pothole region of Iowa, USA. Wetlands 21(1): 41-47. Fraser, L.H. & P.A. Keddy (2005). The World’s Largest Wetlands: Ecology and Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 498pp. Froneman, A., M.J. Mangnall, R.M. Little & T.M. Crowe (2001). Waterbird assemblages and associated habitat characteristics of farm ponds in the Western Cape, South Africa. Biodiversity and Conservation 10(2): 251–270. Gonzalez-Gajardo, A, P.V. Sepulveda & R. Schlatter (2009). Waterbird Assemblages and Habitat Characteristics in Wetlands: Influence of Temporal Variability on SpeciesHabitat Relationships. Waterbirds 32(2): 225–233. Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (1998). Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 888pp. Guillemain, M. & H. Fritz (2002). Temporal variation in feeding tactics: exploring the role of competition and predators in wintering dabbling ducks. Wildlife Biology 8(2): 81–90. Holm, T.E. & P. Clausen (2006). Effects of water level management on autumn staging waterbird and macrophyte diversity in three Danish Coastal Lagoons. Biodiversity and Conservation 15(14): 4399–4423. Isola, C.R., M.A. Colwell, O.W. Taft & R.J. Safran (2002). Interspecific differences in habitat use of shorebirds and waterfowl foraging in managed wetlands of California’s San Joaquin Valley. Waterbirds 25(suppl. 2): 196–203. Kaminski, M.R., G.A. Baldassarre & A.T. Pearse (2006). Waterbird responses to hydrological management ofWetlands Reserve Program habitats in New York. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34(4): 921–926. Kazmierczak, K. & B. van Perlo (2000). A Field-Guide to the Birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Om Book Service, New Delhi, India, 352pp. Kumar, A., J.P. Sati, P.C. Tak & J.R.B. Alfred (2005). Handbook on Indian Wetland Birds and their Conservation. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India, xxvi+468pp. Kushlan, J.A. (1978). Feeding ecology of wading birds, pp. 249–298. In: Sprunt, A., J.C. Ogden & S. Winckler (eds.). Wading birds. National Audubon Society, New York. Li, Z.W.D. & T. Mundkur (2004). Numbers and distribution of waterbirds and wetlands in the Asia-Pacific region. Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1997–2001. Wetlands Internationals, Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia. Nolet, B.A., R.V. Bevan, M. Klaassen, O. Langevoord & Y.G.J.T. van der Heijden (2002). Habitat switching by

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Appendix 1. List and status of birds recorded at Gajoldoba and Domohani beels. Common name

Scientific name

Found at

Residential status

Conservation status

Abundance status

Waterbirds 1

Little Grebe

Tachybaptus ruficollis

R/LM

Com

Great Crested Grebe

Podiceps cristatus

Ucom

Little Cormorant

Phalacrocorax niger

R/LM

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

R/LM

Median Egret

Mesophoyx intermedia

R/LM

Com

Large Egret

Casmerodius albus

R/LM

Lcom

Grey Heron

Ardea cinerea

Lcom

Purple Heron

Ardea purpurea

R/LM

Lcom

Cattle Egret

Bubulcus ibis

R/AM

Com

Com Com Com

Indian Pond Heron

Ardeola grayii

R/LM

Com

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

R/LM

Lcom

Yellow Bittern

Ixobrychus sinensis

R/LM

Ucom

Chestnut Bittern

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus

R/LM

Lcom

Asian Openbill-Stork

Anastomus oscitans

R/LM

Lcom

Black Stork

Ciconia nigra

WM/PM

Ucom

Lesser Adjutant-Stork

Leptoptilos javanicus

R/LM

Black Ibis

Pseudibis papillosa

BRS(11)

Ucom

Lesser Whistling-Duck

Dendrocygna javanica

R/LM

Lcom

Brahminy Shelduck

Tadorna ferruginea

WM/PM

Lcom

Cotton Teal

Nettapus coromandelianus

R/LM

Lcom

Gadwall

Anas strepera

Com

Euresian Wigeon

Anas penelope

Com

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Ucom

Spot-billed Duck

Anas poecilorhyncha

R/LM

Lcom

Northern Shoveller

Anas clypeata

Com

Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

Com

Garganey

Anas querquedula

Com

Common Teal

Anas crecca

Com

Red-crested Pochard

Rhodonessa rufina

Lcom

Common Pochard

Aythya ferina

Lcom

Ferruginous Pochard

Aythya nyroca

Lcom

Baer's Pochard

Aythya baeri

Tufted Pochard

Aythya fuligula

Lcom

Smew

Mergellus albellus

Blue-breasted Rail

Gallirallus striatus

R/LM

Ucom

Brown Crake

Amaurornis akool

R/LM

Ucom

White-breasted Waterhen

Amaurornis phoenicurus

Com

Common Moorhen

Gallinula chloropus

R/WM

Com

Watercock

Gallicrex cinerea

R/LM

Lcom

Bronze-winged Jacana

Metopidius indicus

Lcom

Greater Painted Snipe

Rostratula benghalensis

R/LM

Lcom

European Golden Plover

Pluvialis aspricaria

Little Ringed Plover

Charadrius dubius

R/WM

Com

2260

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Found at

Residential status

Conservation status

Abundance status

Charadrius alexandrinus

R/WM

Lcom

Northern Lapwing

Vanellus vanellus

Lcom

Yellow-wattled Lapwing

Vanellus malabaricus

R/LM

BRS(11)

Lcom

River Lapwing

Vanellus duvaucelii

R/LM

Lcom

Grey-headed Lapwing

Vanellus cinereus

Ucom

Red-wattled Lapwing

Vanellus indicus

R/LM

Com

Common Snipe

Gallinago gallinago

R/WM

Com

Black-tailed Godwit

Limosa limosa

Lcom

Common Redshank

Tringa totanus

R/WM

Com

Spotted Greenshank

Tringa guttifer

Green Sandpiper

Tringa ochropus

WM/PM

Lcom

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareola

Lcom

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

R/WM

Lcom

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

R/LM

Com

Small Pratincole

Glareola lactea

R/LM

Lcom

Common Tern

Sterna hirundo

R/WM

Lcom

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias hybridus

R/WM/PM

Lcom

White-winged Black Tern

Chlidonias leucopterus

WM/PM

Ucom

Water Associated Birds

Brahminy Kite

Haliastur indus

R/LM

Lcom

Pallas's Fish-Eagle

Haliaeetus leucoryphus

R/WM

Greater Grey-headed Fish-Eagle

Ichthyohaga ichthyaetus

Ucom

Eastern Marsh Harrier

Circus spilonotus

Lcom

Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

Ucom

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Ucom

Small Blue Kingfisher

Alcedo atthis

R/WM/SM

Com

White-breasted Kingfisher

Halcyon smyrnensis

R/LM

Com

Lesser Pied Kingfisher

Ceryle rudis

Com

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Merops philippinus

R/WM

Lcom

Chestnut-headed Beeeater

Merops leschenaulti

Sand Martin

Riparia riparia

R/WM

Lcom

Pale Martin

Riparia diluta

R/WM

Lcom

Plain Martin

Riparia paludicola

R/LM

Com

Common Swallow

Hirundo rustica

R/WM

Lcom

Red-rumped Swallow

Hirundo dauria

R/SM/WM

Lcom

Streak-throated Swallow

Hirundo fluvicola

R/SM

Lcom

White Wagtail

Motacilla alba

R/WM/PM

Com

Large Pied Wagtail

Motacilla maderaspatensis

Lcom

Citrine Wagtail

Motacilla citreola

R/AM/WM

Lcom

Grey Wagtail

Motacilla cinerea

R/AM/WM

Lcom

Water Pipit

Anthus spinoletta

Lcom

White-tailed Stonechat

Saxicola leucura

R/LM

Lcom

Rufous-rumped Grass-Warbler

Graminicola bengalensis

Lcom

Common name

Scientific name

Kentish Plover

46 47

Lcom

B - Both wetlands; G - Gajoldoba beel; D - Domohani beel; R - Resident; LM - Local migrant; AM - Altitudinal migrant; PM - Passage migrant; SM - Summer migrant; WM - Winter migrant; EN - Endangered; VU - Vulnerable; NT - Near Threatened; BRS - Biome-Restricted Species; 11 - Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone; Com - Common (flocks of more than 50 birds recorded regularly/seasonally in this region); Ucom - UnCommon (flocks of 10–50 birds recorded regularly/seasonally); Lcom - Locally common (flocks of more than 50 birds recorded regularly/seasonally in these wetlands); Ra - Rare (flocks of 5–20 birds recorded on a few occasions); Va - Vagrant (a very rare or vagrant species encountered only once during this study period and also recorded from India on only a few occasions).

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Avifauna of two wetlands of Jalpaiguri

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Bewick’s swans: maximization of average long-term energy gain? Journal of Animal Ecology 71(6): 979–993. Ogden, J.C. (1991). Nesting by wood storks in natural, altered, and artificial wetlands in central and northern Florida. Colonial Waterbirds 14(1): 39–45. Opdam, P. (1991). Metapopulation theory and habitat fragmentation: a review of holarctic breeding bird studies. Landscape Ecology 5(2): 93–106. Owen, M. & J.M. Black (1990). Waterfowl ecology. Blackie and Son Ltd., Glasgow, UK. 194pp. Paracuellos, M. & J.L. Telleria (2004). Factors affecting the distribution of a waterbird community: the role of habitat configuration and bird abundance. Waterbirds 27(4): 446453. Riffel, S.K., B.E. Keas & T.M. Burton (2001). Area and habitat relationships of birds in great lakes coastal wet meadows. Wetlands 21(4): 492–507. Roelofs, J.G.M. (1983). Impact of acidification and eutrophication on macrophyte communities in soft waters in The Netherlands I. Field observations. Aquatic Botany 17(2): 139-155. Sánchez-Zapata, J.A., J.D. Anadón, M. Carrete, A.Giménez, J. Navarro, C. Villacorta & F. Botella (2005). Breeding waterbirds in relation to artificial pond attributes: implications for the design of irrigation facilities. Biodiversity and Conservation 14(7):1627–1639. Sillen, B. & B. Solbreck (1977). Effects of area and habitat diversity on bird species richness in lakes. Ornis Scandinaviea 8(3): 185–192.

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Sustainable Ecosystems Institute (2007). Everglades multispecies avian ecology and restoration review, Final Report, November 2007. Sustainable Ecosystems Institute, Portland, Oregon, 20pp. Svingen, D.N. & S.H. Anderson (1998). Waterfowl management on grass-sage stock ponds. Wetlands 18(1): 84–89. Taft, O.W., M.A. Colwell, C.R. Isola & R.J. Safran (2002). Waterbird responses to experimental drawdown: implications for multispecies management of wetland mosaics. Journal of Applied Ecology 39(6): 987–1001. Turner, I.M. (1996). Species loss in fragments of tropical rain forest: a review of the evidence. Journal of Applied Ecology 33(2): 200–209. Urfi, A.J., M. Sen & T. Megnathan (2005). Counting birds in India: methodologies and trend. Current Science 89(12): 1997–2003. Velasquez, C.R. (1992). Managing artificial saltpans as a waterbird habitat: species responses to water level manipulation. Colonial Waterbirds 15(1): 43–55. Wright, A.L. (2009). Wetland Eutrophication: Early Warning Biogeochemical Indicators. SL 304, one of a series of the Soil and Water Science Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 3pp. Zárate-Ovando, B., E. Palacios & H. Reyes-Bonilla (2008). Community structure and association of waterbirds with spatial heterogeneity in the Bahia Magdalena-Almejas wetland complex, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Revista de Biologia Tropical 56(1): 371–389.

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JoTT Short Communication

3(12): 2263–2267

Diurnal activity budgeting of Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot, 1816) (Anseriformes: Anatidae) in Deepor Beel wetlands, Assam, India Jyotismita Das 1, Hemen Deka 2 & P.K. Saikia 3 1 Research Scholar, 3 Associate Professor; Animal Ecology and Wildlife Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam 781014, India 2 Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam 781014, India Email: 1 deeporbeel@gmail.com, 2 dekahemen8@gmail.com, 3 saikiapk@rediffmail.com (corresponding author)

Abstract: Diurnal activity budgets of the Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor were quantified in Deepor Beel wetlands from March 2007 to January 2008. The study revealed that the Large Whistling Teal utilized 36.1% of time in resting, 37.1% in locomotion, 21.8% of diurnal time in feeding and 3.9% of diurnal time for preening activity. The teal spent <1% time in each, of alert and aggressive behaviours. Keywords: Activity, Deepor Beel wetland, Dendrocygna bicolor, diurnal, feeding, highest, locomotion, resting season.

The activity budgeting studies quantify the time allocation of animals in behavioural activities (Rave & Baldassarre 1989). The activity budgeting studies of any waterfowl and other migratory birds can provide an insight into the role of the seasonal use of habitats in relation to the annual cycles of birds. Activity

Date of publication (online): 26 December 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 December 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: Anwaruddin Choudhury Manuscript details: Ms # o2682 Received 26 January 2011 Final received 25 November 2011 Finally accepted 22 December 2011 Citation: Das, J., H. Deka & P.K. Saikia (2011). Diurnal activity budgeting of Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot, 1816) (Anseriformes: Anatidae) in Deepor Beel wetlands, Assam, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(12): 2263–2267. Copyright: © Jyotismita Das, Hemen Deka & P.K. Saikia 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Acknowledgements: Authors acknowledge the University Grant Commission, New Delhi for providing fund as a Research fellowship to conduct the PhD works. The authors also acknowledge the Chief Conservator of forest (Wildlife Division) to provide permission to conduct the work. Again, authors are grateful to Mr. Mazedul Islam, JRF for providing necessary help regarding field work. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

budgets coupled with habitat analysis have been useful in formulating suitable conservation strategies (Paulus 1984). Activity budgets reflect a combination of factors including an individual’s physical condition, social structure and environmental conditions (Paulus 1988). The amount of time allocated to various behaviours is therefore critical in understanding the species’ ecological needs and the pressures acting upon individuals. The family Anatidae has 39 species in Assam, of which, seven species are resident and 32 are migratory in nature (Ali & Ripley 1983). The Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor is a Least Concern species (BirdLife International 2009). This is a residential and local migrant duck often found in mixed colonies with the Lesser Whistling Teal Dendrocygna javanica. In recent years, many works regarding the ecology and behaviour of birds in Assam, such as, Barman & Talukdar (1994), Choudhury (1993), Das & Saikia (2010), Saikia (1995), Saikia & Bhattacharjee (1996 a,b), Saikia (1998, 2000), Devi & Saikia (2010), Saikia & Saikia (2011), Singh (1995), Singh et al. (1995), Upadhyaya & Saikia (2009), Upadhyaya & Saikia (2010 a,b) are worth mentioning. However, no attention has been given to studying the ecology and behaviour of the Large Whistling Teal in this region. In Deepor Beel wetlands, the population of the Large Whistling Teal is high (Saikia 2005) in relation to other such wetlands of Assam. During the study period, the population of both the Large (n=1160) and the Lesser Whistling Teals (n=8002) were found to be highest as compared to other avian species. Both the species of teals were found to form large groups viz., 50–500 individuals of mixed flocks. But no special attention has been made previously to study activity budgeting of this particular species. The objective of

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the present study was to quantify the activity budgets of the Large Whistling Teal in Deepor Beel wetlands, the lone Ramsar site of Assam. Study Area Deepor Beel is a large natural wetland having great biological and environmental importance (Saikia & Saikia 2010). This large water body is home to a variety of migratory birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, micro and macrophytes, terrestrial weeds, lianas and arborescent taxa of ecological and economic importance (Bera et al. 2008). The Deepor Beel Ramsar site has a total area of 40km2 of which 4.14km2 has been declared a bird sanctuary. At maximum flooding the beel increases to 4m in depth and during the dry season the depth drops to about 1–1.5 m. Deepor Beel (26003’26”–26009’26”N and 90036’39”–90041’25”E) is situated on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra River (Image 1). Climate Deepor Beel has a meso-thermal climate, characterized by high humidity and moderate temperature. The temperature ranges between 10.6– 300C. Most rainfall occurs during the monsoon period (May–September). The pre-monsoon season (March–May) has a maximum temperature of 270C and a minimum of 240C, and relative humidity between 50.5–76.8 % (Saikia & Saikia 2010). The monsoon season (May–September) has a maximum temperature of 320C and a minimum of 27.30C. The relative humidity is 82.5%. The retreating monsoon (September–October) has maximum and minimum temperatures of 270C and 250C respectively (Saikia & Saikia 2010). The relative humidity is 82%. The winter season begins in November and continues until January. The average field temperature during this period remains at 20±2 0C and the relative humidity measures about 77.5%. January is the coldest month, with the average minimum temperature at 70C, but the minimum temperature occasionally reduces to 60C. Methods Focal sampling method (Baldassarre et al. 1988) was generally used to study the activity of the Large Whistling Teal in the study area. The study was conducted from March 2008–January 2009 to analyze the different activity patterns of the Large Whistling 2264

Image 1.Shows the map of the study area

Teal. During the survey period the behavioural data (activity data) were collected at least twice in a month. The total time spent in collecting the data was 260 hours during the 10-month survey period. Diurnal observations were made using a Canon power shot 110 zoom camera and 10×50 Zenith binoculars. To test the differences in activities in an entire daylight period, each day was divided into different time blocks viz., early morning (0500–0800 hr), morning (0800–1100 hr), midday (1100–1400 hr), afternoon (1400–1600 hr) and dawn (1400–1800 hr) and activity data was collected from these pre-divided time blocks. Large Whistling Teal population data was monitored from a group of mixed colony of Lesser Whistling Teal Dendrocygna javanica. During the study period a flock (n=50 to 200 individuals) was selected randomly by pointing the binoculars towards the flock and by selecting birds closest to eye distance. Activities of each individual bird were monitored every 15 seconds up to 10 minutes. Activities were categorized as aggression (chasing, biting, threatening), alert (standing or sitting with head or neck protracted), resting (sleeping & loafing), feeding (searching & upending), preening (bathing, stretching), locomotion (flying, swimming). Results Resting (36.1%), locomotion (37.1%) and feeding (21.8%) were the most remarkable activities of the Large Whistling Teal during the study period (Table 1 & Fig. 1). Resting was found to be highest (55.7%) in January and lowest (18.5%) in May. In winter it was seen that most of the teal engaged themselves in resting by bending their neck in a peculiar way.

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Large Whistling Teal in Deepor Beel

J. Das et al.

However, during the day light hours some were seen to rest in a standing position also. Sleeping was mainly observed during the early morning, mid day and late evening hours. Locomotion was reported to be highest (47.8%) in September and lowest in July (28.1%). Locomotion generally could be seen in the form of flying, swimming and walking. Generally in low depth areas the teal prefers to walk, but in open water areas it generally swims to accomplish its purpose. In the case of feeding, the teal absorbed the highest amount of time (45.4%) in May and the lowest (0.52%) in January. The teal generally used feeding techniques like head dipping, searching and up-ending. Up-ending is the process where the teal first inserts one portion of the head and subsequently the whole body. The Large Whistling Teal spent 3.9% of diurnal time in preening (Fig. 1). Preening was reported to be highest during October and November (6.5–6 %) and lowest (0.6%) in June. The parts of the body which the teal generally preened were the head and the back of the neck. The Teal spent <1% time in each of the alert and aggression behaviours. The Time spent in aggression was the highest (0.8%) in March. Aggression was mostly in the form of chasing, biting and threatening. The time spent in alert was the highest (1.3%) in January 2008. The teal displays alert postures by standing or sitting with the head and neck protracted. Discussion High resting in January might reflect the tendency

of the teals to rest in warmer day light hours as January was reported to be the coldest month of the year. Tamisier (1976) had also reported that wintering waterfowl benefit thermodynamically by feeding at night and preening, resting and courting during the warmer day light hours. In fact, the teals were seen to rest over the large floating leaves of Makhana Euryale ferox or other free floating and emergent vegetations. Sometimes, the teals were seen in standing posture over the vegetation patches. Again, July–August is the main breeding season of of the teal, thus, after breeding, the teals have to move different parts for feeding so, this might be the reason of highest (47.8%) locomotion activity during September. Likewise, high feeding in May might be due to the fact that, in monsoon season (May–September) the beel becomes fully covered with different emergent, free floating and submerged vegetations. So, the Teals get sufficient feeding material to fulfill their dietary demands. Similar finding was reported by Pyke et al. (1977) in which they mentioned that birds were predicted to allocate the greatest time in habitats with high food abundance and less in areas with low abundance. High preening during October–November might reflect the fact that individuals completing prealternate moult are the first to form pairs. Rave & Baldassarre (1989) had also reported high preening in October and November while working on activity budget of the Green-Winged Teal wintering in the coastal wetlands of Louisiana. In waterfowl, as in

Table 1. Diurnal time activity budgets (%) in Large Whistling Teal in different months Month March, 2007

Aggression

Alert

Feeding

Resting

Locomotion

Preening

0.8

0.4

41.3

22.7

31.8

2.8

0.7

42.5

20.3

32.5

3.7

May

0.3

1.01

45.4

18.5

31.3

3.3

June

0.3

0.6

30.9

23.6

43.9

0.6

April

July

0.3

18.9

49.6

28.1

2.9

August

0.2

20.5

48.2

26.2

4.5

September

16.5

47.8

4.5

October

32.8

41.4

6.5

November

0.5

4.05

44.3

December

1.1

0.7

50.7

41.7

5.6

January, 2008

1.3

0.5

55.7

3.3

0.1

0.5

21.8

36.1

37.1

3.9

Average

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% of Activity

Aggression Alert

Feedind 20

Resting Locomotion

Preening

ar y

be Ja

em ec D

er N

ct ob

be pt em

Month

t us A

ne Ju

ay M

pr il A

ar ch

Figure 1. Diurnal activity budget (%) in Large Whistling Teal

many birds species, females prefer brightly adorned males (Andersson 1994), perhaps because males with the brightest plumages are in the best condition (Hill & Montgomerie 1994). Female ducks also prefer males that have all of their alternative (breeding) plumage characters fully developed (Klint 1980; Weidmann 1990; Omland 1996). Highest aggression in March might reflect the frequent encountering of both unpaired and paired teal. Paulas (1983) reported the same findings in case of Gadwalls. Likewise, Rave & Baldassarre (1989) had reported the high agonistic behaviour in March. High aggression in March might reflect the pair formation and the establishment of breeding territory between teals. Tomkins (1944) reported the same case while working on the Wilson’s Plover. The major factor affecting the high alertness during the winter seems to be due to regular hunting of teal when they form flocks. As winter advances the depth of water of the beel drops to 0.3–0.45 m. As the water level decreases the bird becomes highly alert due to hunting and other life threatening risk factors. Conclusions The study showed that the Large Whistling Teal’s activity patterns varied during different months in the Deepor Beel wetlands. The results indicate that the whistling teal exhibits great flexibility in adjusting 2266

time budget to maintain its daily requirements. The study documents that the Large Whistling Teal performs different activity patterns to utilize the valuable resources of the beel. The duck prefers mostly aquatic vegetation as a food item. The Beel is also the breeding ground for both the whistling teal species. But the present degradation processes in the form of soil digging, encroachment, agricultural activities, habitat fragmentation in the form of cutting of the beel bed, application of pesticides brings a great danger to the proper survival of this species. Proper management of the beel habitat is quite necessary for the proper survival of the wildlife inhabiting there.

REFERENCES Ali, S. & D. Ripley (1983). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 737pp. Andersson, M.B. (1994). Sexual Selection. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 599pp. Baldassarre, G.A., S.L. Paulus, A. Tamisier & R.D. Titman (1988). Workshop summary: techniques for timing activity of wintering waterfowl, pp. 181–188. In: Weller, M.W. (ed.).Waterfowl in Winter. Minneapolis University. Minnesota Press, USA, Barman, R. & B.K. Talukdar (1994). Nesting of Blacknecked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus in panidihing, Assam. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 36(5): 95. Bera, S.K, Dixit, Swati & R. Gogoi (2008). Evidence of bio-

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logical degradation in sediments of Deepor Beel Ramsar site, Assam as inferred by degraded palynomorphs and fungal remains. Current Science 95(2): 178–180. BirdLife International (2009). Dendrocygna bicolor. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 December 2011. Das, J. & P.K. Saikia (2010). Studies on the food habit and seasonality of Egrets (Ciconiformes: Ardeidae) in Deepor beel Ramsar site, Kamrup, Assam, pp. 93–100. In: Goswami, U.C., D.K. Sharma, J. Kalita & P.K. Saikia (eds.). Biodiversity and Human Welfare. Narendra Publishing House, Delhi, 478pp. Devi, O.S. & P.K. Saikia (2010). Diversity of frugivorous birds and their habitat use in Jeypore Reserve forest, Dibrugarh District, Assam., pp. 29–36. In: Goswami, U.C., D.K. Sharma, J. Kalita & P.K. Saikia (eds.). Biodiversity and Human Welfare. Narendra Publishing House, New Delhi, 478pp. Fredrickson, L.H. & R.D. Drobney (1979). Habitat utilization by post breeding waterfowl, pp 119–131. In: Bookhout, T.A. (eds.). Waterfowl and Wetlands - An Integrated Review. North-central section, The Wildlife Society Madison, Wisconsin. Hill, G.E. & R. Montgomerie (1994). Plumage colour signals nutritional condition in the house finch. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 258: 47–52. Klint, T. (1980). Influence of male nuptial plumage on mate selection in the female Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Animal Behaviour 28: 1230–1238. Omland, K.E. (1996). Female mallard mating preferences for multiple male ornaments. II. Experimental variation. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 39: 361–366. Paulus, S.L. (1983). Dominance relations, resource use and pairing chronology of Gadwalls in winter. Auk 100: 947– 952. Paulus, S.L (1984). Activity budgets of non breeding Gadwalls in Louisiana. Journal of Wildlife Management 48(2): 37l–380. Paulus, S.L. (1988). Time activity budgets of non breeding Anatidae: a review, pp. 135–152. In: Weller, M.W. (ed.). Waterfowl in Winter. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Pyke, G.H., H.R. Pulliam & E.L. Charnov (1977). Optimal foraging: a selective review of theory and tests. The Quarterly Review of Biology 52: 137–154. Quinland, E.E. & G.A. Baldassare (1984). Activity budget of non breeding green winged teal on Playa lakes in Pexas. Journal of Wildlife Management 43(3): 838–845. Rave, P. & A. Baldassarre (1989). Activity budget of GreenWinged Teal wintering in coastal wetlands of Louisiana. The Journal of Wildlife Management 53(3):753–759. Reinecke, K.J. (1981). Winter waterfowl research needs and effort in the Mississippi delta. International Waterfowl Symposium 4:231-236. Saikia, P.K. (1995). Ecobiology of Adjutant Storks with Special reference to Leptoptilos javanicus (Horsfield) in The

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Brahmaputra valley Assam. PhD Thesis. Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam India, 1–357pp. Saikia, P.K. & P.C. Bhattacharjee (1996a). Studies on some aspects of the breeding biology of Greater Adjutant Stork, Leptoptilos dubius from the Brahmaputra valley, Assam. Tropical Zoology 1:(1): 57–64. Saikia, P.K. & P.C. Bhattacharjee (1996b). Conservation of Greater Adjutant Stork in Assam. A Project Report, Sponsored by WWF, India, 89pp. Saikia, P.K. (1998). Ecobiology of Adjutant Storks in the Brahpmaputra Valley, Assam. The RF Newsletter 12(1): 18–19. Saikia, P.K. (2000). Study on the Feeding Behaviour and Dispersion types of Greater Adjutant Storks (Leptoptilos dubius), Brahmaputra Valley, Assam. India. Journal of Assam Science Society 41(2): 69–80. Saikia, P.K. (2005). Qualitative and quantitative study of lower and higher organisms and their functional role in the Deepor Beel ecosystem. Project report submitted to North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Department of Space, Government of India, Umium, Meghalaya, Shillong, 97pp. Saikia P.K. & M.K. Saikia (2010). Biodiversity in Deepor Beel Ramsar Site of Assam India: Faunal Diversity. Lambert Academic Publishing House, Germany, 100pp. Saikia, P.K. & M.K. Saikia (2011). Distribution Status and ecology of White-winged Duck and Hornbills in Nameri National Park, Sonitpur, Assam. Zoo’s Print 26(11): 1–11. Singh, H.J., R. Barman, B.K. Talukder, P.K. Saikia & P.C. Bhattacharjee (1995). Anatomical study of gular pouch in Greater Adjutant Stork. Zoos’ Print X(5): 27–28. Singha, H.J. (1995). Feather collection from a raptor’s nest and a note on the Adjutant Stork. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 35: 56. Tamisier, A. (1976). Diurnal activities of Green-winged Teal and pintail wintering in Louisiana. Wildfowl 27: 19–32. Tomkins, I.R. (1944). Wilson’s Plover in its summer home. Auk 61: 259–269. Upadhyaya, S. & P.K. Saikia (2009). Some aspects of breeding behaviour of Indian Cotton Teal (Nettapus coromendelianus coromendelianus Gmelin) in Assam. Journal of Assam Science Society 50(1,2): 164–170. Upadhyaya, S. & P.K. Saikia (2010a). Habitat use and activity budgets in Cotton Pygmy-goose in Kadamani wetland, Assam (India). NeBio 1(2): 46–50. Upadhyaya, S. & P.K. Saikia (2010b). Activity Budgeting of Cotton Pygmy-Goose in Kadamani Wetland, Assam (India). Proceedings: National Seminar on Biodiversity in North East India 1–9. Upadhyaya, S. & P.K. Saikia (2011). Study on display sequences in Cotton Pygmy-Goose Nettapus coromandelianus coromandelianus Gmelin. Journal of Research in Biology 5: 341–345. Weidmann, U. (1990). Plumage quality and mate choice in Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). Behaviour 115: 127–141.

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JoTT Note

3(12): 2268–2671

Schiffnerulaceous fungi of Kodagu, Karnataka, India V.B. Hosagoudar 1, C. Jagath Thimmaiah 2 & M. Jayashankara 3 Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695562, India 2,3 Department of Studies and Research in Microbiology, Mangalore University Post Graduate Centre, Cauvery Campus, Madikeri, Kodagu, Karnataka 571201, India Email: 1 vbhosagoudar@rediffmail.com (corresponding author), 2 jgtct@rediffmail.com, 3 jaishankara@yahoo.com 1

The genus Schiffnerula represents four synanamrophs: Mitteriella, Questieriella, Sarcinella, Digitosarcinella and their teleomorph, Schiffnerula. This genus has been revised for India (Hosagoudar 2011). During the study of foliicolous fungi of Kodagu, we could study several collections belonging to this genus and of which the following four taxa turned as new to science and are described and illustrated here. Questieriella ophiorrhizae sp. nov. (Image 1)

ramosae, laxe reticulatae, cellulae 12–19 x 5–7 µm. Conidiophorae producentes hyphis lateralis, simplices, micronematae, macronematae, 0–2-septatae, simplices, raro ramosae, 15–18 x 6–8 µm; cellulae conidiogenae terminalis, integratae, ovalis vel cylindraceae; conidia solitaris, simplices, sicca, ellipsoidea, fusiformes, falcata, sigmoidea, pallide brunnea, 3-septata, cellulae terminalis acutae ad apicem, 38–45 x 9–11 μm. Colonies epiphyllous, thin, velvety, up to 3mm in diameter, confluent. Hyphae straight to flexuous, branching alternate, opposite to irregular at acute to wide angles, loosely reticulate, cells 12–19 x 5–7 µm. Conidiophores produced lateral to the hyphae, simple, micronematous, macronematous, 0–2-septate, simple, rarely branched, 15–18 x 6–8 µm; conidiogenous cells terminal, integrated, oval to cylindrical; conidia solitary, simple, dry, ellipsoidal, fusiform, falcate, sigmoid, pale brown, 3-septate, terminal cells acute at the tip, 38–45 x 9–11 μm. Schiffnerula craterispermi (Hansf.) Hughes, S. hendrickxii (Hansf.) Hughes, S. psychotriae

Material examined: 21.xi.2009, on leaves of Ophiorrhiza sp. (Rubiaceae), in the campus of Bharatiya Vidyabhavan Kodagu Vidyalaya, Madikeri, Kodagu, Karnataka, C. Jagath Thimmaiah, TBGT 5706 (holotype), (MycoBank 564009). Coloniae epiphyllae, tenues, velutinae, ad 3mm diam., confluentes. Hyphae rectae vel flexuosae, alternatae, oppositae vel irregulariter acuteque vel laxe Date of publication (online): 26 December 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 December 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

Editor: R.K. Verma Manuscript details: Ms # o2988 Received 02 November 2011 Finally accepted 22 November 2011 Citation: Hosagoudar, V.B., C.J. Thimmaiah & M. Jayashankara (2011). Schiffnerulaceous fungi of Kodagu, Karnataka, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(12): 2268–2271. Copyright: © V.B. Hosagoudar, C. Jagath Thimmaiah & M. Jayashankara 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

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Image 1. Questieriella ophiorhizae sp. nov. a - Appressoriate mycelium; b-c - Conidiophore and conidia

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | December 2011 | 3(12): 2268–2271

Four new schiffnerulaceous fungi

V.B. Hosagoudar et al.

(Doidge) Hughes, S. palicoureae (Farr) Hughes, S. ugandensis (Hansf.) Hughes are known from other parts of the country (Hosagoudar 2003). From India, Schiffnerula canthii Hosag. & Archana on Canthium sp. and Schiffnerula braunii Hosag. & Sabeena on Morinda spp. are known on the members of the family Rubiaceae (Hosagoudar & Sabeena 2010). All these species are in their teleomorphs but the present fungus persists only in its Questieriella form. Hence, it has been accommodated in a new species. Etyomology: Based on the host genus Sarcinella caralliae sp. nov. (Image 2) Material examined: 01.xi.2009, on leaves of Carallia brachiata (Lour.) Merr. (Rhizophoraceae), Kaimada field, Hoddur, Kodagu, Karnataka, C. Jagath Thimmaiah TBGT 5708 (holotype), (MycoBank 564010). Coloniae amphigenae, plerumque epiphyllae, tenues vel densae, patentiae, ad 3mm diam. Hyphae rectae vel flexuosae, pallide brunnae, irregulariter acuteque vel laxe ramosae, laxe reticulatae, cellulae 12–20 × 4–6 μm. Appressoria dispersa, alternata, unilateralis, ovata vel plerumque globosa, integra, 8–10 × 6–8 μm. Conidiophorae producentes hyphis lateralis, simplices, micronematae, 6–8 μm longae; cellulae conidiogenae terminalis vel intercalaris, monoblasticae, integratae, determinatae, cylindraceae. Conidia solitaris, sicca, simplices, subspherica vel ovalis, 2–10-cellulae, brunnea vel nigra, muriformes,

Image 2. Sarcinella caralliae sp. nov. a - Appressoriate mycelium with sarciniform conidia

sarcinatim septatis, constrictus ad septatis, 21–30 μm diam., parietus glabrus. Colonies amphigenous, mostly epiphyllous, thin to dense, spreading, up to 3mm in diameter. Hyphae straight to flexuous, pale brown, branching irregular at acute to wide angles, loosely reticulate, cells 12–20 × 4–6 μm. Appressoria scattered, alternate, unilateral, ovate to mostly globose, entire, 8–10 × 6–8 μm. Conidiophores produced lateral to the hyphae, simple, micronematous, 6–8 μm long; conidiogenous cells terminal, intercalary, monoblastic, integrated, determinate, cylindrical. Conidia solitary, dry, simple, subspherical to oval, 2–10-celled, brown to charcoal black, muriform, sarcinately septate, constricted at the septa, 21–30 μm in diameter, wall smooth. This is the first species of schiffnerulaceous fungus infected the members of the family Rhizophoraceae (Hosagoudar 2003, 2011). Etyomology: Based on the host genus. Schiffnerula aristolochiae sp. nov. (Image 3) Material examined: 04.xii.2009, on leaves of Aristolochia tagala Cham. (Aristolochiaceae), Devara kadu, Hoddur, Kodagu, Karnataka, C. Jagath Thimmaiah TBGT 5703 (holotype), (MycoBank 564011). Coloniae epiphyllae, subdensae vel densae, ad 2 mm diam., confluentes. Hyphae rectae vel subrectae, alternatae vel oppositae acuteque vel laxe ramosae, laxe reticulatae, cellulae 16–20 x 5–8 µm. Appressoria unilateralis, alternata vel raro opposita, ovata, globosa, mammiformes, crassa posita, integra, 10–15 x 7–10 µm. Conidiophorae Questieriella producentes hyphis lateralis, simplices, rectae, micronematae, mononematae, 0–2-septatae, 20–25 x 4–6 µm; cellulae conidiogenae terminalis, monoblasticae, integratae, solitaris, ellipsoidaleae; conidia recta vel curvula, pallide brunnea, 3-septata, plerumque in coloniis dispersa, 20–25 x 4–6 µm. Thyriothecia numera, orbicularis, portionio ad centralis dissolutus, portionio marginalis intactus et radiatus, ad 50µm diam.; asci ovalis, globosi, octospori, ad 20µm diam.; ascosporae conglobatae, brunneae, uniseptatae, plus minus constrictus ad septatus, 25–30 x 12–15 µm. Colonies epiphyllous, subdense to dense, up to 2mm in diameter, confluent. Hyphae straight to

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Four new schiffnerulaceous fungi

V.B. Hosagoudar et al.

to 20µm in diameter; ascospores conglobate, brown, uniseptate, more or less constricted at the septum, 25– 30 x 12–15 µm. The conidia of Questieriella were scattered in the colonies, initially produced spores were intact and formed colonies. In case of subsequently produced spores, terminal cells were disintegrated; middle cells were deep brown, appressoria and mycelium produced from the central cells. This forms the first report of the genus Schiffnerula on the members of Aristolochiaceae (Hosagoudar, 2003, 2011). Etyomology: Based on the host genus.

Schiffnerula hoddurensis sp. nov. (Image 4)

Material examined: 16.xi.2009, on leaves of Vitex negundo L. (Vitaceae), Hoddur, Kodagu, Karnataka, C. Jagath Thimmaiah TBGT 5698 (holotype), (MycoBank 564012). Coloniae epiphyllae, densae, ad 7mm diam. Hyphae flexuosae, suboppositae vel alternatae acuteque vel subacuteque ramosae, arte vel laxe reticulatae, cellulae 23–28 x 4–6 µm. Appressoria dispersa,

Image 3. Schiffnerula aristolochiae sp. nov. a - Appressoriate mycelium; b - Questieriella conidia on conidiophores; c - Conidiophore; d - Thyriothecia; e - Ascospore

substraight, branching alternate to opposite at acute to wide angles, loosely reticulate, cells 16–20 x 5–8 µm. Appressoria unilateral, alternate to rarely opposite, ovate, globose, mammiform, broad based, entire, 10-15 x 7-10 µm. Conidiophores of Questieriella produced lateral to the hyphae, simple, straight, micronematous, mononematous, 0–2-septate, 20–25 x 4–6 µm; conidiogenous cells terminal, monoblastic, integrated, solitary, ellipsoidal; conidia straight to curved, pale brown, 3-septate, mostly scattered in the colonies, 20–25 x 4–6 µm. Thyriothecia numerous, orbicular, central portion dissolved by exposing asci but the marginal cells remain intact and radiating, up to 50µm in diameter; asci oval, globose, octosporous, up 2270

Image 4. Schiffnerula hoddurensis sp. nov. a - Appressoriate mycelium; b - Colony formed from the Questieriella conidia; c - Initial state of thyriothecium; d - Totally opened thyriothecium with the remnants of marginal cells; e - Germinating Questieriella conidia; f - Ascospore; g-h - Germinating ascospores

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Four new schiffnerulaceous fungi

unilateralis vel alternata, raro opposita, unicellularis, globosa, mammiformes, crassa posita, integra, raro angularis, 5–10 x 6–11 µm. Conidia Questieriella pauca, dispersa, 3-septata, leniter constrictus ad septata, recta vel curvula, attenuatae ad ambi apicem, cellulae terminalis acutae vel subacutae, 17–36 x 8–10 µm. Thyriothecia dispersa, orbicularis, nigra ad initio, portionio centralis dissolutus ad maturitatus; asci globosi vel ovati, 15–18 µm diam.; ascosporae brunneae, conglobatae, uniseptatae, 23–26 x 11–13 µm. Colonies epiphyllous, dense, up to 7mm in diameter. Hyphae flexuous, branching subopposite to alternate at acute to subacute angles, closely to loosely reticulate, cells 23–28 x 4–6 µm. Appressoria scattered, unilateral to alternate, rarely opposite, unicellular, globose, mammiform, broad based, entire, rarely angular, 5–10 x 6–11 µm. Questieriella conidia few, scattered, 3-septate, slightly constricted at the septa, straight to curved, taper towards both ends, end cells acute to subacute, 17–36 x 8–10 µm. Thyriothecia scattered, orbicular, initially charcoal black, central portion dissolved at the centre at maturity; asci globose to ovate, 15–18 µm in dia.; ascospores brown,

V.B. Hosagoudar et al.

conglobate, uniseptate, 23–26 x 11–13 µm. Sarcinella jabalpurensis R.C. Rajak & Soni is known on this host from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (Rajak & Soni 1981). Since the Sarcinella state is not known in the present collection, it is not worth to state that both the taxa are the same. Hence, the present collection has been placed under a new species of its teleomorph. This species was associated with Asteridiella depokensis. Etyomology: The species is named after its collection locality.

REFERENCES Hosagoudar, V.B. (2003). The genus Schiffnerula and its synanamorphs. Zoos´ Print Journal 18(4): 1071–1078. Hosagoudar, V.B. (2011). The genus Schiffnerula in India. Plant Pathology & Quarantine 1(2): 131–204. Hosagoudar, V.B. & A. Sabeena (2010). New and less known fungi from Kerala, India. Taiwania 55(3): 249–253. Rajak, R.C. & K.K. Soni (1981). Foliicolous ectoparasites from Jabalpur-I. Some Sarcinellae. Indian Journal of Mycology & Plant Pathology 11: 89–91.

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JoTT Note

3(12): 2272–2276

Additions to the known larval host plants of Indian Lepidoptera Peter Smetacek 1 & Rajni Smetacek 2 The Butterfly Research Centre, The Retreat, Jones Estate, P.O.Bhimtal, District Nainital, Uttarakhand 263136 India Email: 1 petersmetacek@rediffmail.com (corresponding author); 2 rajnismetacek@rediffmail.com 1,2

The larval host plants of some families of Indian Lepidoptera such as the Papilionidae, Saturniidae and Sphingidae are relatively well known (Bell & Scott 1937; Robinson et al. 2001). Information on most of the other families is quite incomplete. The present list consists largely of species bred by the authors at Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, India in the Kumaon Himalaya west of Nepal (29020’41”N & 79030’17”E). Most of the species recorded were obtained as wild

Date of publication (online): 26 December 2011 Date of publication (print): 26 December 2011 ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) Editor: George Mathew Manuscript details: Ms # o2745 Received 03 April 2011 Final received 15 November 2011 Finally accepted 22 November 2011 Citation: Smetacek, P. & R. Smetacek (2011). Additions to the known larval host plants of Indian Lepidoptera. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(12): 2272–2276. Copyright: © Peter Smetacek & Rajni Smetacek 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Acknowledgements: We are indebted to the following persons and institutions, without whose help this work would have been impossible: the Head and staff of the Dept. of Forest Entomology, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, India for permission to work on the collection in their care and to publish records; the Chief Conservator of Forests, Jammu and Kashmir, for kind permission to one of us (PS) to work on hawkmoths around Leh, Ladakh and the Wildlife Warden and personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department for their generous help there; Professor Emeritus Y.P.S. Pangtey of the Botany Department, D.S.B. College, Nainital, India for identifying plants and clearing several taxonomic problems of a botanic nature; Dr. Wolfgang Speidel of the Museum Witt, Munich, Germany for identifying some Noctuids.; Dr. Wolfgang Nässig, Forschingsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, for literature; Professor L.W.R. Kobes, Heterocera Sumatrana Society, Göttingen, Germany, for confirming the identity of Gabala roseoretis, Dr. I.J. Kitching, N.H.M., London, U.K. for identifying some species and advice on the placement and arrangement of the taxa; Manoj Chandran, I.F.S. for breeding Cleora reciprocaria, photographs of the early stages of Acytolepis puspa on Quercus and breeding notes on the Sesia sp.; and especially the Rufford Small Grant Foundation, U.K. for financing this work. OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD

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larvae in various instars from forests in Nainital District between 1200m and 2400m elevation. The places visited were mainly in the Bhimtal and Sattal valleys (1200–1500 m), the Bhowali Valley (1600m), the Gagar pass (2400m), Maheshkhan forest (2200m) and Rata forest (2200m) at all seasons, opportunistically over a period of 20 years but focussed on Maheshkhan, Gagar and Rata forests during 2008 to 2009. All the above mentioned locations are within a 50-km radius of Bhimtal. Since the same species was often encountered in different locations within the district, we have refrained from giving exact locations in the list. Voucher specimens of the material bred are in the authors’ personal collection at the above address. In addition, an invitation to the Forest Research Institute in Dehra Dun to the senior author resulted in the identification of a number of moths that had lain unidentified in the Indian National Forest Insect Collection since the 1930s. Several of these had been bred in different parts of India and Burma and the localities on their data labels are mentioned in this list. It should be noted that the names of several localities have changed during the intervening 80 years. The original names on the data labels have been noted so as to facilitate reference to these specimens, while the currently valid names have been mentioned in parenthesis. Similarly, names of plants on which the Lepidoptera were bred are, in many cases, not currently valid. Nevertheless, these have been mentioned as noted on the original data labels and the current botanical names included in parenthesis. In one case (Pseudomicronia coelata Moore), it was not possible to discover the author or family of the plant name mentioned on the data label, yet this name has been included in the hope that others are more fortuitous than the present authors. In another case, (Nephele hespera Fabricius) it was not possible to locate the authority for the species of plant (Carissa affinarium) mentioned on the moth’s data label, so this name has been listed as such. All specimens in the Forest Research Institute have been distinguished by an asterisk in the following list. The Sypnini (Erebidae) do not seem to have a subfamily placement yet (I.J. Kitching pers. comm.) so it has been placed as a Tribe in the Erebidae.

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Larval host plants of Lepidoptera

In addition, there are eight records, one each by Antram (1924), Bailey (1951) and Troup (1899), two by Mackinnon & de Nicéville (1897–1898) and three by Wynter-Blyth (1957) that appear to have been overlooked by subsequent authors, notably Robinson et al. (2001). These have been included in this list. Systematic section Psychiidae *Eumeta Walker sp.: seeds of Pinus wallichiana A.B. Jackson (= Pinus excelsa Walich ex D. Don) (Pinaceae), Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. Tortricidae Archips machlopis Meyrick: Neolitsea umbrosa (Nees) Gamble (Lauraceae). Sesiidae Sesia Fabricius sp.: bark of Phyllanthus emblica L. (Euphorbiaceae). Limacodidae *Parasa lepida Cramer: Strychnos nux-vomica L. (Moraceae), Dehra Dun. *Miresa albipuncta Herrich-Schäffer: “Dicopyros melanoxylum” = Diopyros exsculpta Buch.-Ham. (Ebenaceae), Hoshangabad, C.P. (=Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh). *Cania himalayana Holloway: Bombax ceiba L. (Bombacaceae), Dehra Dun. *Cheromettia apicata Moore: Terminalia belerica (Gaertn.) Roxb. (Combretaceae); Litchi chinensis Sonnerat (Sapindaceae), both Dehra Dun. *Aphendala cana Walker: Citrus L. (Rutaceae), Dehra Dun. *Narosa conspersa Walker: Desmodium triquetrum (L.) DC (Fabaceae), Coorg Titthimatti (=Titthimatti, Kodagu District, Karnataka). *Altha subnotata Swinhoe: “Terminalia tomentosa” = Terminalia alata Heyne ex Roth (Combretaceae); Citrus L. (Rutaceae); Shorea robusta Gaertn. (Dipterocarpaceae), all Dehra Dun. *Chalcoscelides castaneipars Moore: “Cinchona” = ? Cinchona officinalis L. (Rubiaceae) Darjeeling, West Bengal. *Scopelodes ursina Butler: “Aleurites montana” = Vernicia montana Lour. (Euphorbiaceae) Lashio, Burma.

P. Smetacek & R. Smetacek

Zygaeniidae *Gynautocera papilionaria GuérinMenéville:”Litsea polyantha” = Litsea monopetala (Roxb.) Pers. (Lauraceae) Dehra Dun. Soritia leptalina Kollar: Bridelia montana (Roxb.) Willd. (Euphorbiaceae); Rubus ellipticus Smith (Rosaceae). Pyralidae Heterocrasa expansalis Warren: leucotrichophora A Camus (Fagaceae).

Quercus

Drepanidae Drepaninae Callidrepana argenteola Moore: Rhus wallichi Hook. F. (Anacardiaceae). Deroca hyalina Walker: Benthamidia capitata (Wallich) Hara (Cornaceae). Deroca inconclusa Walker: Benthamidia capitata (Wallich) Hara (Cornaceae). Drepana near quinaria Moore: Alnus nepalensis D. Don (Betulaceae). Oreta extensa Walker: Swida oblonga (Wallich) Soják (Cornaceae). Bombycidae Penicillifera lactea Hutton: Ficus neriifolia var. nemoralis (Wall. Ex Miq.) Corner (Moraceae). Saturniidae Actias selene Hübner: Symplocos chinensis (Lour.) Druce (Symplocaceae). Samia canningii Hutton: Zanthoxylum armatum DC (Rutaceae). Sphingidae *Ambulyx liturata Butler: Shorea robusta Gaertn. (Dipterocarpaceae), Dehra Dun. *Clanis phalaris Cramer: Ficus benghalensis L. (Moraceae), Salem, Tamil Nadu. Polyptychus trilineatus Moore: Terminalia chebula Retz. (Combretaceae), Dehra Dun. (included in Robinson et al. (2001) with an interrogation mark.). *Nephele hespera Fabricius: “Carissa affinarium”?? Psilogramma menephron Cramer:Tecomaria capensis (Lindl.) Spach. (Bignoniaceae). Hyles gallii Rottemburg: Euphorbia stracheyi

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Boiss. (Euphorbiaceae), Leh, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir. Hyles nicaea lathyrus Walker: Euphorbia stracheyi Boiss. (Euphorbiaceae), Leh, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir. *Macroglossum bombylans Boisduval:”Terminalia tomentosa” = Terminalia alata Heyne ex Roth (Combretaceae), Dehra Dun. *Cephonodes hylas Linnaeus: Xeromphis spinosa (Thunb.) Keay (Rubiaceae), Paonta, Himachal Pradesh. Lasiocampidae Trabala vishnou Lef.: Coriaria nepalensis Wallich (Coriariaceae); Rubus ellipticus Smith (Rosaceae). Malacosoma indica Walker: Salix denticulata Andersson (Salicaceae). Epicopeidae Epicopeia polydorus Westwood: odoratissima (Nees) Kosterm. (Oleaceae).

Persea

Uraniidae Uraniinae *Pseudomicronia coelata Moore: “Congronema nepalensis” ??, Dehra Dun. Epipleminae *Orudiza protheclaria Walker: Oroxylum indicum (Link) Vent. (Bignoniaceae), Dehra Dun. *Dysaethria fulvilinea Hampson: Gmelina arborea Roxb. (Verbenaceae); Premna latifolia Roxb. (Verbenaceae), both Dehra Dun. *Dysaethria near ruptaria Moore: Premna berbata Wall. Ex Schauer (Verbenaceae), Dehra Dun. *Dirades adjutaria Walker: ”Randia uliginosa” = Catunaregam uliginosa (Retz.) Sivarajan (Rubiaceae), Coorg (=Kodagu District, Karnataka); ”Randia dumetorum” = Catunaregam spinosa (Thunb.) Tirven (Rubiaceae), Coorg (=Kodagu District, Karnataka); ”Adina cordifolia” - Haldina cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsdale (Rubiaceae), Wynaad (in Tamil Nadu); Cassia fistula L. (Leguminosae), Dehra Dun. *Gathynia miraria Walker: Randia L. sp. (Rubiaceae), Titthimatti, Coorg (=Kodagu District, Karnataka).

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Geometridae Ennominae: Orthostixini Naxa textilis form huegeli Felder: Osmanthus fragrans Lour. (Oleaceae) (vide Troup (1899)), Kausani, Uttarakhand. Ennominae Psyra spurcataria Walker: Rosa L. (Rosaceae). Cleora reciprocaria Walker: Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. (Sapidaceae). Cleora repulsaria Walker: Bauhinia vareigata L. (Caesalpinaceae). Ectropis crepuscularia Hübner: Glochidion heyneanum (Wight & Arn.) Wight (Euphorbiaceae), Tagetes L. (Asteraceae). Larentiinae Phthonoloba decussata Moore: Bridelia montana (Roxb.) Willd. (Euphorbiaceae). Notodontidae *Phalera raya Moore: Cassia fistula L. (Leguminosae), Dehra Dun. Dudusa sphingiformis Moore: Acer oblongum Wallich ex DC (Aceraceae). Somera viridifusca Walker: Syzygium cuminii (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae). Erebidae Lymantriinae *Caviria ochripes Moore: Grewia sp. (Tiliaceae), Dehra Dun. Artaxa guttata Walker: Citrus L. sp. (Rutaceae). Euproctis varia Walker: Coriaria nepalensis Wallich (Coriariaceae). Euproctis plagiata Walker: Syzygium cuminii (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae). “Euproctis” sp.: Carpinus viminea Lindley (Corylaceae). Arctornis subvitrea Walker: Carpinus viminea Lindley (Corylaceae). Ilema kosemponica Strand: Dioscorea bulbifera L. (Dioscoreaceae); Impatiens edgeworthii Hook. F. (Balsaminaceae). Olene inclusa Walker: Quisqualis indica L. (Combretaceae); Rosa L. (Rosaceae). Olene magnalia Swinhoe: Begonia picta Smith (Begoniaceae).

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P. Smetacek & R. Smetacek

Rhypotoses drepanioides Kishida: Quercus floribunda Lindley ex A. Camus (Fagaceae) Arctiinae Phissama transiens Walker: Crassocephalum crepidioides (Benth.) S. Moore (Asteraceae). Spilarctia casigneta Kollar: Cirsium verutum (D. Don) Sprengel (Asteraceae), Mirabilis jalapa L. (Nyctagenaceae); Dahlia Cav. (Asteraceae); Tagetes L. Asteraceae); Craniotome furcata (Link) O. Kuntze (Lamiaceae); Gynura bicolor (Roxb. Ex Willd.) DC (Asteraceae); Goldfussia dalhousiana Nees (Acanthaceae); Passiflora edulis Sims. (Passifloraceae); Girardinia diversifolia (Link) Friis (Urticaceae); Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae). *Mangina argus Kollar: ”Crotolaria sericea” = Crotolaria spectabilis Roth (Fabaceae), Dehra Dun. Nyctemera adversata Schaller: Debregeasa longifolia (Burm. f.) Wedd., Girardinia diversifolia (Link) Friis, Urtica dioica L. (all Urticaceae); Gynura bicolor (Roxb. Ex Willd.) DC (Asteraceae); Crassocephalum crepidioides (Benth.) S. Moore (Asteraceae). Calpinae Gonitis mesogona Walker: Rubus ellipticus Smith (Rosaceae). Gonitis near mesogona Walker: Grewia optiva J.R. Drumm ex Burrtt. (Tiliaceae). Erebinae Sypnini Sypna curvilinea Moore: Rubus ellipticus Smith (Rosaceae). Nolidae Chloephorinae Gabala roseoretis Kobes : Acer oblongum Wallich ex DC (Aceraceae). Noctuidae Thiacidinae Thiacidas ?indica Walker: Carpinus viminea Lindley (Corylaceae). Plusiinae Trichoplusia orichalcea Fabricius: verutum (D. Don) Sprengel (Asteraceae).

Cirsium

Arcteini (currently unplaced to subfamily) Arcte caerulea Guenee: Girardinia diversifolia (Link) Friis (Urticaceae) Nymphalidae Satyrinae Elymnias malelas Hewitson: “leaves of banana” = Musa balbisiana Colla (Musaceae) (vide Antram 1924) locality ?Assam; the butterfly is common in banana groves in the Kumaon Himalaya. Acraeinae Acraea vesta Fabricius: Pouzolzia zeylanica (Linn.) Bennet & Brown (Urticaceae). Charaxinae *Polyura athamas Drury: Helicteres isora L. (Sterculaceae), Coorg (=Kodagu District, Karnataka). Limenitidinae Neptis mahendra Moore: A female oviposited on several young leaves of a bush of Pyracantha crenulata (D. Don) M. Roemer (Rosaceae) in the field; larvae emerged but did not eat the leaves (Smetacek 2011)). Lycaenidae Talicada nyseus Guérin-Menéville: Kalanchoë spathulata DC (Crassulaceae). Celastrina gigas Hemming: Prinsepia utilis Royle (Rosaceae) (Wynter-Blyth 91957); mihi). Celastrina huegelii Moore: Prinsepia utilis Royle (Rosaceae) (Wynter-Blyth (1957); mihi). Celastrina argiolus kollari Westwood: Prinsepia utilis Royle (Rosaceae) (Wynter-Blyth (1957)). *Acytolepis puspa gisca Fruhstorfer: Shorea talura Roxb. (Dipterocarpaceae), Coorg (=Kodagu District, Karnataka); Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus (Fagaceae), Nainital, Uttarakhand (identity of latter record confirmed on the basis of photographs taken by Manoj Chandran, Government Silviculturist). Horaga albimacula viola Moore: Coriaria nepalensis Wallich (Coriariaceae) (vide Mackinnon & de Nicéville (1897–1898)). Dodona eugenes eugenes Bates: Myrsine semiserrata Wallich (Myrsinaceae). Dodona dipoea nostia Fruhstorfer: Myrsine semiserrata Wallich (Myrsinaceae).

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Papilionidae Troides aeacus C. & R. Felder: Aristolochia dilatata N.E. Brown (Aristolochiaceae). Atrophaneura aidoneus Doubleday: Aristolochia dilatata N.E. Brown (Aristolochiaceae). Byasa dasarada ravana Moore: Aristolochia dilatata N.E. Brown (Aristolochiaceae). Byasa polyeuctes Doubleday: Aristolochia dilatata N.E. Brown (Aristolochiaceae). Papilio arcturus Westwood: Skimmia Thunb. (Rutaceae), Kathmandu, Nepal (vide Bailey (1951). Papilio agestor govindra Moore: Persea duthiei (King ex Hook. f.) (Lauraceae). Graphium (Pazala) eurous cashmirensis Rothschild: Persea duthiei (King ex Hook. f.) Kosterm., Neolitsea umbrosa (Nees) Gamble (both Lauraceae). Pieridae Aporia agathon agathon Gray: Berberis chitra Edwards (Berberidaceae). Aporia soracta Moore: Berberis chitra Edwards (Berberidaceae). Pieris canidia Sparrman: Cardamine impatiens L. (Brassicaceae). Gonepteryx rhamni nepalensis Doubleday: Rhamnus triqueter (Wallich) Brandis (Rhamnaceae). Colias erate Esper: ovipositing on Vicia sativa Linnaeus. Colias fieldii Menétries: oviposited on Trifolium repens Linnaeus.

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Hesperiidae Bibasis oedipodea aegina Pl.: Hiptage madablota Gaertn. (Malphigiaceae) (vide Mackinnon & de Niceville (1897–1898)).

REFERENCES Antram, C.B. (1924). Butterflies of India. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta & Simla, 226pp. Bailey, F.M. (1951). Notes on butterflies from Nepal. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 50: 64–87; 281–298. Bell, T.R.D. & F.B. Scott (1937). Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Moths—Vol. 5. Sphingidae. Taylor and Francis, London, 14+537pp+15pls+1map. Mackinnon P.W. & L. De Nicéville (1897–98). A list of the butterflies of Mussoorie in the Western Himalayas and neighbouring regions. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 11: 205–221; 368–389; 585–623, 6 pls. Robinson, G.S., P.W. Ackery, I.J. Kitching, G.W. Beccaloni & L.M. Hernandez (2001). Hostplants of The Moth and Butterfly Caterpillars of the Oriental Region. The Natural History Museum, London & Southdene Sdn. Bht., Kuala Lumpur, 744pp. Smetacek, P. (2011). A review of West Himalayan Neptini (Nymphalidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 65(3): 153–161. Troup, N.F.T. (1899). A plague of web-making caterpillars on the “Silang” tree (Olea fragrans). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 12: 775–776. Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957). The Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay, 20+523pp+72pls.

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | December 2011 | 3(12): 2272–2276

Prof. Richard Kiprono Mibey, Eldoret, Kenya Dr. Shomen Mukherjee, Jamshedpur, India Dr. P.O. Nameer, Thrissur, India Dr. D. Narasimhan, Chennai, India Dr. T.C. Narendran, Kozhikode, India Stephen D. Nash, Stony Brook, USA Dr. K.S. Negi, Nainital, India Dr. K.A.I. Nekaris, Oxford, UK Dr. Heok Hee Ng, Singapore Dr. Boris P. Nikolov, Sofia, Bulgaria Dr. Shinsuki Okawara, Kanazawa, Japan Dr. Albert Orr, Nathan, Australia Dr. Geeta S. Padate, Vadodara, India Dr. Larry M. Page, Gainesville, USA Dr. Malcolm Pearch, Kent, UK Dr. Richard S. Peigler, San Antonio, USA Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda, Sydney, Australia Mr. J. Praveen, Bengaluru, India Dr. Robert Michael Pyle, Washington, USA Dr. Muhammad Ather Rafi, Islamabad, Pakistan Dr. H. Raghuram, Bengaluru, India Dr. Dwi Listyo Rahayu, Pemenang, Indonesia Dr. Sekar Raju, Suzhou, China Dr. Vatsavaya S. Raju, Warangal, India Dr. V.V. Ramamurthy, New Delhi, India Dr (Mrs). R. Ramanibai, Chennai, India Dr. M.K. Vasudeva Rao, Pune, India Dr. Robert Raven, Queensland, Australia Dr. K. Ravikumar, Bengaluru, India Dr. Luke Rendell, St. Andrews, UK Dr. Anjum N. Rizvi, Dehra Dun, India Dr. Leif Ryvarden, Oslo, Norway Prof. Michael Samways, Matieland, South Africa Dr. Yves Samyn, Brussels, Belgium Dr. K.R. Sasidharan, Coimbatore, India

Dr. Kumaran Sathasivam, India Dr. S. Sathyakumar, Dehradun, India Dr. M.M. Saxena, Bikaner, India Dr. Hendrik Segers, Vautierstraat, Belgium Dr. Subodh Sharma, Towson, USA Prof. B.K. Sharma, Shillong, India Prof. K.K. Sharma, Jammu, India Dr. R.M. Sharma, Jabalpur, India Dr. Tan Koh Siang, Kent Ridge Road, Singapore Dr. Arun P. Singh, Jorhat, India Dr. Lala A.K. Singh, Bhubaneswar, India Prof. Willem H. De Smet, Wilrijk, Belgium Mr. Peter Smetacek, Nainital, India Dr. Humphrey Smith, Coventry, UK Dr. Hema Somanathan, Trivandrum, India Dr. C. Srinivasulu, Hyderabad, India Dr. Ulrike Streicher, Danang, Vietnam Dr. K.A. Subramanian, Pune, India Mr. K.S. Gopi Sundar, New Delhi, India Dr. P.M. Sureshan, Patna, India Dr. Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Dehradun, India Dr. R.K. Verma, Jabalpur, India Dr. W. Vishwanath, Manipur, India Dr. Gernot Vogel, Heidelberg, Germany Dr. Ted J. Wassenberg, Cleveland, Australia Dr. Stephen C. Weeks, Akron, USA Prof. Yehudah L. Werner, Jerusalem, Israel Mr. Nikhil Whitaker, Mamallapuram, India Dr. Hui Xiao, Chaoyang, China Dr. April Yoder, Little Rock, USA English Editors Mrs. Mira Bhojwani, Pune, India Dr. Fred Pluthero, Toronto, Canada

Journal of Threatened Taxa is indexed/abstracted in Zoological Records, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Index Fungorum, Bibliography of Systematic Mycology, EBSCO and Google Scholar.

Journal of Threatened Taxa ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

December 2011 | Vol. 3 | No. 12 | Pages 2229–2276 Date of Publication 26 December 2011 (online & print) Paper CEPF Western Ghats Special Series First record of the genus Tigidia Simon, 1892 (Araneae: Barychelidae) from India with description of three new species from the Western Ghats, India -- Manju Siliwal, Neha Gupta, Rajesh V. Sanap, Zeeshan A. Mirza & Robert Raven, Pp. 2229–2241 Communications Habitat characteristics and odonate communities at selected sites used by Mortonagrion hirosei Asahina (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) in Hong Kong -- D.J. Stanton & J.A. Allcock, Pp. 2242–2252 Human interference and avifaunal diversity of two wetlands of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India -- Tanmay Datta, Pp. 2253–2262 Short Communication Diurnal activity budgeting of Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot, 1816) (Anseriformes: Anatidae) in Deepor Beel wetlands, Assam, India -- Jyotismita Das, Hemen Deka & P.K. Saikia, Pp. 2263–2267 Notes Schiffnerulaceous fungi of Kodagu, Karnataka, India -- V.B. Hosagoudar, C. Jagath Thimmaiah & M. Jayashankara, Pp. 2268–2271 Additions to the known larval host plants of Indian Lepidoptera -- Peter Smetacek & Rajni Smetacek, Pp. 2272–2276