Download Article (PDF)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
e Z OL C o OCCASIONAL PAPER NO. 285 RECORDS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA Studies of Lower Vertebrates of Nagaland NIBEDITA SEN ROSAMMA MATHEW Zoological Survey of India, Eastern Regional Station, Risa Colony, Shillong - 793 003 Edited by the Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata Zoological Survey of India Kolkata RECORDS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA OCCASIONAL PAPER NO. 285 2008 1-205 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 MAP OF NAGALAND SHOWING DISTRICTS ................................................................. 3 FIGURES 2-14 .......................................................................................................................... 4 PISCES ..................................................................................................................................... 11 SYSTEMATIC LIST .......................................................................................................... 11 SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT ................................................................................................ 17 FIGURES 15-113 ............................................................................................................... 79 AMPlllBIA ............................................................................................................................. 107 SYSTEMATIC LIST ....................................................................................................... 107 SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT ............................................................................................. 109 FIGURES 114-133 .......................................................................................................... 131 REYfILIA .... 0......................................................................................................................... 139 SYSTEMATIC LIST ....................................................................................................... 139 SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT ............................................................................................. 142 FIGURES 134-189 .......................................................................................................... 179 SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 177 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 177 INTRODUCTION Nagaland lies between 25°6'-27°4' N and between 93°20'-95°15' E. (Fig. 1). It is hilly and mountainous with deep gorges and steep slopes bordering narrow valleys (Fig. 2-14), and has a geographical area of 16,579,00 ha. The state consists of a narrow strip of hilly area running from the northeast to the southwest, which is located in the northern extension of the Arakan Yoma ranges of Myanmar. It comprises of the erstwhile Naga Hills district of Assam and Tuensang Frontier Division of the North East Frontier Agency. Nagaland got its statehood as the 16th state of India on pt December, 1963. For Administrative convenience, the state is divided into 11 districts (11 districts are offici~lly declared, but a map to this effect was not available) namely Peren, Dimapur, Kohima, Phek, Kiphire, Zunheboto, Wokha, Tuensang, Mokokchung, Longleng and Mon. Kohima, the capital, at 1495 m above mean sea level is historically a very important city. The war cemetery here stands as a monument of World Peace. N agaland is home to 16 major tribes. The state claims to have a literacy rate of 67 % and the population density is 120 persons per sq. km. With its exquisitely picturesque landscapes, vibrant colourful sunrise and sunsets, lush and verdant flora (Fig. 2-14), Nagaland is a land that represents unimaginable beauty molded perfectly for a breathtaking experience. It is sometimes referred to as the Switzerland of the East. Nagaland is bounded by Assam in the west, Myanmar on the east, Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam in the north and Manipur in the south. The forest types are Tropical Wet Evergreen, Tropical Moist Deciduous, Montane Wet Temperate and Subtropical Pine Forests. The recorded Forest Area in N agaland is 8,629,00 ha which is 52% of the geographical area of the state and 1.1 % of India's forest area. An area of 88.36% of the recorded forest area is under private control and the rest under state government. Tropical Wet Evergreen forest occurs in patches in the lower and middle elevations all over the state, except in the southwest where Tropical Moist Deciduous forests dominate. l\1any of the river valleys and gorges are covered with Evergreen forest. The tropical semi-evergreen forest also occurs in many of the once evergreen forests. In the higher hills Subtropical Broadleaf forest occurs with small areas of conifers in the eastern parts. There is no large Grassland in Nagaland, however, small patches occur in sheltered valleys and along the rivers. In the abandoned Jhum, grasses appear till they are replaced by shrubs and trees. As per the Forest Survey of India Report, 1999, there has been an overall increase in the dense forest cover in Nagaland because of improved land 2 Ree. zoo/. Surv. India, Oee. Paper No. 285 management. The state has one National Park and three Wildlife Sanctuaries. The climate is tropical 'monsoon' type with a hot wet summer and a cool dry winter. Altitude varies from 194 m to 3841 m and the temperature generally ranges from less than 0° to 35°C. Annual rainfall averages between 1800 to 2500 mm. Some of the rivers of the state wherein collections were made during the surveys are Chathe (also known as 'pagla nadi', because of the flash floods occurring in it), Dhansiri, Kaleiru, Munglai, Mutsure, Nhezu, Saprai, Sedzu, Tanghairoi, Taphi, Tiru, Tathan, Tening and Zingkhi (Fig. 2-14). Nagaland exhibits twin drainage systems. Its western and northern parts are drained by Brahmaputra drainage, while eastern and southern part by Chindwin drainage. Studies on the Fish fauna of the state have been undertaken by Hora (1921, 21a, 36); Hora and Mukherjee (1935); Malhotra and Suri (1969); Sen, (1985); Talwar and Jhingran (1991); Nath and Dey (1997); Kosygin and Viswanath (1998); Jayaram (1999); Menon (1999); Sen (2003) and Karmakar and Das (2005). As per literature 125 species of fish have so far been reported from the state. The present study has enhanced knowledge of this group and a total of 140 species, including 15 new records, have been reported herein. All the reported and recorded species have been incorporated to get an overall picture of the fish resources of the state. The systematic arrangement is as per J ayaram (1999) and the nomenclatural status as per online version of Eschmeyer (2007, www.fish~ase.org). Status of the species wherever applicable has been mentioned under remarks as per BCPP, C.A.M.P. (1999). For all the species only original references have been cited. The species marked with** denotes new record for the state. Apart from Chanda's (1994, 2002) comprehensive work on the amphibians, there is very little information on the amphibian fauna of Nagaland (Ao, et al., 2003; Kiyasetuo and Khare, 1986). The present paper deals with 43 species of amphibians. Status of the species has been mentioned under Remarks wherever applicable is as per BCPP, C.A.M.P. (1998). Located in the 'Biodiversity hot spot' region, Nagaland is very rich in herpetofauna. However, the state needs yet to be thoroughly explored to assess its herpetological resources. Ao et al. (2004) reported 41 species of reptiles from N agaland with 19 new records for the state. Subsequently, Mathew (2005) added two more species. Fauna of Nagaland (2006) reported 62 species of reptiles. The present study reports 74 species of reptiles. I MON r J: t o) . w ~ Q -' / : -... () WOKHA ZUNHEIBOTO ; - « / ) KIPHIRE . - ( J;- -.... /' - KOHIMA PEIREN · - -'".-' I MA N IPU IR I ~ ig. I : Map of ,agaland show'ng di t . t Rec. zoot. Sur\!. Inditl, Oec. Paper No . .285 4 Fig. 2: Ruins of l\ledie\'ul Kuchari Kingdon., Rdics of a bygHnc E r a~ Uhnapur Fig. 3 : Traditional Gate SE . ~uH I !\L\ IIII'. \\ • ,"i/Udic" 011 Lo,,'('/' \ ~('r[.(' /JI'(// . (' .\ (){ Ncig alaill/ 5 ig.4 : athe ri er Fig. 5 : Jhum cultivation on the hills Ref'. ... 001, Sun'. India, ()ee. Paper No, 285 6 Fig. 7 : A heron by the river sid~, Kiphire SEN and MATHEW: Studies on Lower Ver,tebrat,es of Nagaia,nd 7 .. 8: 'Iokokchunu tow 1 on a nlisty morni Fig. 9 : jhUUl cuHiv,ation across and O"~I' the hins Rec. zoot. Sur,,_ India, Occ. Paper NQ . 285 8 Fig. 11 : FiSh collection, Tuensang '9 tOIl'enti,al dv I hab'tat of the cascade frog Fig. 13 ,: Traditional way of fish collection, Tuensang 10 Rec :00.1. Sun', htdia. O ee Paper No , 2RS Fig. 14 : The survey party 8't Wokha SEN and MATHEW: Studies on Lower Vertebrates of Nagaland 11 PISCES SYSTEMATIC LIST phylum CHORDATA Class ACTINOPTERYGII Order OSTEOGLOSSIFORMES Family NOTOPTERIDAE 1. Notopterus notopterus (Pallas, 1769) Order CYPRINIFORMES Family CYPRINIDAE 2. Hypopthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844) 3. Salmostoma acinaces (Valenciennes, 1842) 4. Salmostoma bacaila (Hamilton, 1822) 5. Aspidoparia morar (Hamilton, 1822) 6. Barilius barila (Hamilton, 1822) 7. Barilius barna (Hamilton, 1822) 8. Barilius barnoides Vinciguerrae, 1890** 9. Barilius bendelisis (Hamilton, 1807) 10. Barilius dogarsinghi Hora, 1921 11. Barilius shacra (Hamilton, 1822) 12. Barilius tileD (Hamilton,