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Cfreptiles & Amphibians WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & IRCFAMPHIBIANS REPTILES • VOL 15,& NAMPHIBIANSO 4 • DEC 2008 •189 25(2):153–154 • AUG 2018 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE ARTICLES New. Chasing BullsnakesLocality (Pituophis catenifer sayi) inRecord Wisconsin: for the Common On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 Cliff Racer,. The Shared History of Treeboas Platyceps (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans rhodorachis on Grenada: rhodorachis A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198 (Jan RESEARCH1863) ARTICLES (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae), . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida from Garhwal .............................................Brian Himalaya, J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M.Northwestern Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212 India CONSERVATION ALERTAbhishek Singh1, Kanchan Puri2, and Ritesh Joshi2 . World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 1 Endangered Flora. More and Than Fauna Mammals on Earth ............................................................................................................................... Conservation Team, Vasant Vihar, Dehradun, 248 006, Uttarakhand,....................................... India (effect.abhishek@gma 223 il.com) 2Conservation &. SurveyThe “Dow Division, Jones Index” Ministry of Biodiversity of Environment, ............................................................................................................................... Forest & Climate Change, New Delhi, 110 003, India (ritesh_joshi2325@y............ 225 ahoo.com) HUSBANDRY . Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226 he Common CliffPROFILE Racer (Platyceps rhodorachis rhodora- Tchis) has been recorded. Kraig Adler: fromA Lifetime the Promoting Kurdish Herpetology Region ................................................................................................ and Michael L. Treglia 234 the eastern Caspian Coast to Kyrgyzstan and from the Shatt COMMENTARY al-Arab area to at least the border area between Uttarakhand . The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238 in India and westernmost Nepal; in India, this species has so far been reportedBOOK from REVIEWthe states of Jammu and Kashmir, . Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, Himachal Pradesh (Kasauli,R. Berridge, P.Kullu, Ramani, and vic. B.E. YoungSubathu), .............................................................................................................. and Robert Powell 243 Uttarakhand (e.g., vic Almora, Mussoorie, and Pithoragarh Districts) (Schatti et CONSERVATIONal. 2014). Although RESEARCH only REPORTS: a few recordsSummaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 and voucher specimens NEWBRIEFS are available ............................................................................................................................... for the Indian Region, ....................................................... 248 several historical records EDITORIAL reveal INFORMATION that the species ............................................................................................................................... occurs in ...................... 251 Jammu and Kashmir FOCUS State ON CONSERVATION(Murthy and: SharmaA Project You 1976; Can Support ............................................................................................... 252 Murthy et al. 1979). Whitaker and Captain (2004), however, pointed out that those records were based on the presence of Platyceps r. ladacensis in the state. Further, Schatti et al. Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern (2014), based on their long-term systematicTotat et velleseque study audant and mo review Totat et velleseque audant mo of the genus Platyceps, revealed thatestibus the nominateinveliquo velique subspecies rerchil estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus lives above 1,000 m in Himachal Pradeshaut dolor apicto and invere Uttarakhand pe dolum aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum and at ca. 1,830 m or higher in the Pithoragarhfugiatis maionsequat District eumque in the fugiatis maionsequat eumque border region with Nepal. moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia- ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as Smith (1943) described the Indianaccullabo. range of the species as Baluchistan, Chitral, and Gilgit, all of which are now part of Pakistan. Husain and Ray (1995) noted the presence of Fig. 2. A Common Cliff Racer (Platyceps rhodorachis rhodorachis) from the Shastra Dhara Road in the Mussoorie Hills, Uttarakhand, India. species in the Pauri and Nainital Districts of Uttarakhand Photographs by Abhishek Singh. State, and Sharma (2007) stated that the species occurred in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir State. In Uttarakhand, Bahuguna (2008) indicated that the Common Cliff Racer (as Argyrogena rhodorachis) had been recorded from the Corbett Tiger Reserve in addition to some high-elevation areas. These checklists provided neither descriptions nor locality records. Most recently, Ramesh et al. (2015) recorded this species in Fig. 1. A juvenile Common Cliff Racer (Platyceps rhodorachis rhodorachis) in natural habitat in the Purola Forest Range in the Tons Valley, Garhwal the Luhri Area of Himachal Pradesh. The paucity of distri- Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Photographs by Abhishek Singh. butional data from northwestern India is evocative of the Copyright © 2018. Abhishek Singh. All rights reserved. 153 IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 1098-6324 SINGH AND JOSHI IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 25(2):153–154 • AUG 2018 situation outlined for Cliff Racers throughout mountainous (Parthenium hysterophorus); species in the Dehradun–Shastra northern Pakistan and India (Schatti et al. 2014). Dhara area included Charchara (Flemingia chappar), Curry At 1450 h on 21 October 2016, we encountered a Tree (Murraya koenigii), Lantana (Lantana camara), Karonda juvenile Common Cliff Racer (sex unknown; Fig. 1) in (Carissa carandas), Indian Squirrel Tail (Colebrookea oppositi- the Purola Forest Range in the Tons Valley, which lies in folia), Jimson Weed (Datura stramonium), and Congress the Tons Forest Division under the Yamuna Forest Circle Grass (Parthenium hysterophorus). (30°52ʹ38.9ʹN, 78°04ʹ41.0ʹE; 1,450 m). This snake was in The Common Cliff Racer has not yet been assessed for a residential campus of the forest department, about 1 km the IUCN Red List. Increasing development and anthropo- from the town of Purola. At 1245 h on 30 November 2016, genic activities affecting streams, shrinkage of natural water we observed an individual of unknown sex (Fig. 2) crossing sources inside protected areas, expansion of the road net- the Dehradun–Shastra Dhara Road in the Mussoorie Hills work across a long chain of protected habitats, and a lack of (30°22ʹ55.1ʹN, 78°06ʹ58.9ʹE; elev. 810.6 m). Both snakes awareness among the local people pose potential threats to were photographed and identified based on descriptions in this species. Because we know so little about its geographic Smith (1943), Schatti and Schmitz (2006), and Schatti et distribution in the high elevations of northwestern India, we al. (2014). These records confirm the occurrence of the spe- recommended that a base-line study be initiated to evaluate cies in the high elevations of the Garhwal Himalaya (Fig. 3) the habitats and status of the species. and extend the known distribution of Platyceps r. rhodora- chis from the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Acknowledgements Pradesh (Khan and Khan 2000; Schatti et al. 2014; Ramesh We thank Frank Tillack, Christoph Kucharzewski, Romulus et al. 2015) to the Tons Valley in Uttarakhand. Whitaker, and Ashok Captain for valuable input and help in Both sightings occurred during the onset of winter. confirming the identity of the species. We also thank Sudhakar Some of the plant species in the Purola Forest Range were Sharma and Raj Shekhar Singh for assistance in the field. Walnut (Juglans regia), Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii), China Berry (Melia azedarach), Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara), Literature Cited Spiny Pigweed (Amaranthus spinosus), and Congress Grass Bahuguna, A. 2008. Reptilia, pp. 143–157. In: Director, Zoological Survey of India (ed.), Fauna of Corbett Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand). Conservation Area Series 35, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India. Husain, A. and P. Ray. 1995. Reptilia, pp. 159–167. In: Director, Zoological Survey of India (ed.), Fauna of Western Himalaya. Part I, Uttar Pradesh.
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