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HTTPS://JOURNALS.KU.EDU/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSREPTILES • VOL15, & N AMPHIBIANSO 4 • DEC 2008 •189 28(1):73–76 • APR 2021 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS SomeFEATURE Snakes ARTICLES of the Arid and Semiarid Regions . Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: of Onthe the Road toThar Understanding the EcologyDesert and Conservation ofin the Midwest’s Rajasthan, Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M.India Kapfer 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198 Rakesh Kumawat1 and Ashok Purohit2 RESEARCH ARTICLES 1Department of Zoology, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, India, 342001 ([email protected] [corresponding author]) . The Texas2Department Horned Lizard of Zoology, in Central Jai and Narain Western Vyas Texas University, ....................... Jodhpur, Emily India, Henry, 342001 Jason Brewer, ([email protected]) Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida .............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212 CONSERVATION ALERT abitats in the .aridWorld’s terrain Mammals of inthe Crisis Thar ............................................................................................................................... Desert of Rajasthan Khajuwala, and Nokha; sites.............................. in Jaisalmer 220 District were Pokhran, Hrange from agriculturally. More Than Mammals productive ............................................................................................................................... areas to true des- Jaisalmer, Lathi, Desert....................................... National Park, and223 Mohangarh; and in ert (K.K. Sharma and. The “DowMehra Jones 2009). Index” of BiodiversityAlthough ............................................................................................................................... these condi- Jodhpur District, sites were Jodhpur,............ Balesar, 225 Dechu, Lohawat, tions provide suitableHUSBANDRY conditions for many species of snakes, Osian Bilara, and Bap. We characterized habitats as stabilized available information. Captive on distributionsCare of the Central Nettedand habitatDragon ....................................................................................................... selection is dune, barren dune, grassland, Shannon agricultural Plummer 226 fields, rocky terrain, sparse (R.C. Sharma 1996; Sinha and Sharma 2008; Solanki Indira Gandhi Canal area, and urban land (Fig. 2). All snakes PROFILE et al. 2015). were examined, identified using the available literature and diag- . Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234 Herein, we provide locality records and data on the habitat nostic keys (Smith 1943; Whitaker and Captain 2004; R.C. of seven species ofCOMMENTARY snakes encountered during time-constrained Sharma 2007), and released in suitable nearby habitat. searches conducted. byThe two Turtles or Have three Been personsWatching Me at ........................................................................................................................ 19 sites in three During the study period, Eric Gangloffwe recorded 238 219 snakes of districts (Fig. 1) BOOKevery three REVIEW months from September 2015 to seven species (four families) with principal areas of occurrence August 2019. Sites in. Threatened the Bikaner Amphibians District of the were World Bikaner, edited by S.N.Kolayat, Stuart, M. Hoffmann,in desert J.S. habitat. Chanson, RelativeN.A. Cox, abundance and habitat associations Shridungargarh, Poogal,R. Jorbeer-GadwalaBerridge, P. Ramani, and Conservation B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Reserve, are illustrated in a matrix plot Robert (Fig. Powell 3). 243 CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252 Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern Totat et velleseque audant mo Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia- ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as accullabo. Fig. 1. Map of three districts of Rajasthan, India (Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur) marking observations of seven species of snakes in arid and semiarid regions of the Thar Desert: ( ) Sindh Awl-headed Snake (Lytorhynchus paradoxus), ( ) Glossy-bellied Racer (Platyceps ventromaculatus), ( ) Red-spotted Royal Snake (Spalerosophis arenarius), ( ) Black-headed Royal Snake (Spalerosophis atriceps), ( ) Afro-Asian Sandsnake (Psammophis schokari), ( ) Sindh Saw-scaled Viper (Echis carinatus sochureki), and ( ) Sindh Krait (Bungarus sindanus). Created using QGIS desktop version 2.2.0 (Open Source Geospatial Foundation [OSGeo]). Copyright is held by the authors. Articles in R&A are made available under a 73 Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 2332-4961 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. KUMAWAT AND PUROHIT REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 28(1):73–76 • APR 2021 Fig. 2. Habitats occupied by snakes in Thar Desert of Rajasthan: (A) Stabilized dune with sparse vegetation at Mohangarh, (B) grassland of Desert National Park, (C) rocky terrain at Nabhdungar of Desert National Park, (D) Indira Gandhi Canal area of Poogal, (E) barren dune of Khurdi, Desert National Park, and (F) grassland of Jorbeer-Gadwala Conservation Reserve, Bikaner. Photographs by Rakesh Kumawat. and Jorbeer in Bikaner District, a few localities in Jaisalmer District, and Ramgarh in Sikar District farther to the east (Bhide et al. 2004; Agarwal and Srikanthan 2013; Kachhawa et al. 2016; Kumawat and Purohit 2019). Glossy-bellied Racer, Platyceps ventromaculatus (Gray 1834). Colubridae. (Fig. 4B). We recorded 49 individu- als in the Jorbeer-Gadwala Conservation Reserve, Bikaner, Poogal, Khajuwala, Nokha, and Shridungargarh (Bikaner District); Mohangarh, Desert National Park, Pokhran, and Lathi (Jaisalmer District); and Jodhpur, Dechu, Bap, Lohawat, Balesar, and Bilada (Jodhpur District). Of those 49 individuals, 21 were in urban land, 11 in grassland, seven in stabilized dunes, four in agricultural fields, and two in the Indira Gandhi Canal area. The Glossy Bellied Racer has been reported from Ajmer in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delhi National Capital Region (Whitaker Fig. 3. Matrix plot showing the relative abundance and habitat associa- tions of seven species of snakes in the study area. Abbreviations: Stabilized and Captain 2004; K.K. Sharma et al. 2010; Vyas et al. 2011; dune (SD), barren dune (BD), rocky terrain (RT), grassland (GL), urban Narayanan and Satyanarayan 2012). land (UL), agricultural field (AF), Indira Gandhi Canal area (IG); Sindh Awl-headed Snake (Lytorhynchus paradoxus) (SAHS), Glossy-bellied Red-spotted Royal Snake, Spalerosophis arenarius Racer (Platyceps ventromaculatus) (GBR), Black-headed Royal Snake (Spalerosophis atriceps) (BHRS), Red-spotted Royal Snake (Spalerosophis (Boulenger 1890). Colubridae. (Fig. 4C). We recorded arenarius) (RSRS), Afro-Asian Sandsnake (Psammophis schokari) (AASS), 22 individuals at Jorbeer, Khajuwala, Deshnok, Bajju, and Sindh Krait (Bungarus sindanus) (SK), and Sindh Saw-scaled Viper RD682 (Bikaner District); Desert National Park and Lathi (Echis carinatus sochureki) (SSSV). Created using PAST version 4.03 (Natural History Museum, Oslo, Norway). (Jaisalmer District); and Dechu, Lohawat, Balesar, Bilada, and Pokharan (Jodhpur District). Of the 22 individuals, ten were in stabilized dunes, seven in grassland, three in agricul- Sindh Awl-headed Snake, Lytorhynchus paradoxus tural fields, and two in the Indira Gandhi Canal area. (Günther 1875). Colubridae. (Fig. 4A). We recorded 58 individuals in the Jorbeer-Gadwala Conservation Reserve Black-headed Royal Snake, Spalerosophis atriceps (Fischer and Kolayat (Bikaner District); Desert National Park and 1885). Colubridae. (Fig. 4D). We recorded 34 individuals in Mohangarh (Jaisalmer District); and Balesar, Bap, Osian, the Jorbeer-Gadwala Conservation Reserve, Shirdungargarh, and Dechu (Jodhpur District). Of those 58 snakes, 51 were Kolayat, Poogal, and