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Conservation Area Series, 42 Fauna of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctury Maharashtra CITATION Editor-Director. 2009. Fauna of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctury, Conservation Area Series, 42 : 1-284. (Published by the Director, Zool. Surv. India, Kolkata). Published : October, 2009 ISBN 978-81-8171-240-0 Cover Photo: Giant Squirrel 'State Animal of Maharashtra' (Vivek Kale, ELA Foundation, Pune) Co-ordinator Dr. AnU S. Mahabal Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Centre, Pune-411 044 © Govt. of India, 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED • No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. • This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of without the publisher's consent, in an form of binding or cover other than that in which, it is published. • The correct price of this publication is the price printed on this page. Any revised price indicated by a rubber stamp or by a sticker or by any other means is incorrect and should be unacceptable. PRICE Indian Rs. 600.00 Foreign : $ 45; £ 30 Published at the Publication Division by the Director, Zoological Survey of India, 234/4, AJe Bose Road, 2nd MSO Building, 13th floor, Nizam Palace, Kolkata 700020 and printed at MIs Alpha Printers, New Delhi 110 015. Fauna of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary (Maharashtra) Conservation Area Series, 42 2009 1-284 CONTENTS Anil Mahabal 2. MAMAI....LIA ........................................................................................................ 17-64 3. AVES .................................................................................................................. 65-182 Anil Mahabal and Sachin R. Patil 4. REP'faIA ........................................................................................................ 183-191 5. AMPJllBIA ...................................................................................................... 193-198 Satish S. Kamble 6. PISCES: Freshwater Fishes ........................................................................ 199-214 7. ARACHNIDA: SCORPIONES ..................................................................... 215-222 D.B. Bastawade 8. CHILOPODA: SCOLOPENDROMORPHA : SCOLOPENDRIDAE ........ 223-230 B.E. Yadav 9. INSECTA: ODONATA .................................................................................. 231-250 P.P. Kulkarni and S.S. Talmale INSECTA: MANTODEA ............................................................................. 11. INSECTA: LEPIDOPTERA: RHOPALOCERA ......................................... 257-262 12. CLADOCERA : CRUSTACEA ....................................................................... 263-272 P.D. Rane 13. MOLLUSCA .................................................................................................... 273-284 S.G. Patil Zool. Surv. India Fauna of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, Conservation Area Series, 42, 2009 : 1-12. AN OVERVIEW ANIL MAHABAL Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Centre, Vidyanagar, Rawet Road, Sector 29, PCNTDA Post, Pune-411 044 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Location and General Description Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on the crest line of the Northern Western Ghats (or Sahyadri) and was declared as sanctuary by the Government of Maharashtra on 16th September, 1985. It lies between 190 01' to 190 13' N latitude and 73 0 28' to 73 0 37' E longitude at an altitude ranging between 340 m and 1208 m above mean sea level. It covers 130.78 sq km of forested area in three districts of Maharashtra State i.e. Pune, Raigad and Thane covering few villages in its boundaries (see Map-I). The Sanctuary is one of the five wildlife sanctuaries of the Northern Western Ghats in Maharashtra. Practically unbroken high ridge of the Western Ghats passess north south through this sanctuary. It is composed of basaltic lava flows of the Deccan trap (Pande, 2005). The sanctuary includes spurs running towards eastern plains and steep slopes and valleys towards West in the Konkan region. The important physical features of this sanctuary are ridges, hill slopes, peaks, spurs, valleys, rocks, pools, plataeu, cliffs, gorges, ravines, rocky and sandy stream basins (Gole, 2000; Islam and Rahmani, 2004). The highest peak in the sanctuary is 'Nagphani' situated at 1208 m above mean sea level. Three rivers mainly Bhima, Goneri and Ghod originate from this sanctuary (see MAp-2). There are also number of streams, small ponds and lakes like Ahupe lake and Hanu'mari' ·~Tl1e. At the western edge of the sanctuary there is a famous temple of Bimashankar or Lord Shiva, which is regarded as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas (as sacred places of Lord Shiva temples) in the counrty. The temple is situated at a height of 900 m from mean sea level (Palande, 1954). This Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is about 130 kms from Pune and 235 kms from Nasik. Rainfall and Temperature Annual rainfall ranges between 4000 mm &~,d 6000 mm. The mean lowest and highest temperatures recorded during the year arl'- 70 C in winter and 360 C in summer respectively. There is high velocity of wind particularly from December to February and at higher elevations, heavy fog during monsoon months. 2 Fauna of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, Conservation Area Series, 42 Biogeography The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary falls within one of the ten Biogeographic Zones of India, i.e. code 5 Western Ghats Zone and under the biogeographic province-5B Western Ghats Mountains. FLORA Vegetal cover The forest subtype 2A1C2, i.e. West Coast semi-evergreen forests cover 99 % of the sanctuary area. However, based on existing physiognomy and floristics of this sanctuary vegetation is divided into evergreen, semi-evergreen and deciduous forests. Further, moist semi-evergreen forest is located near, the Deccan plataeu edge; tall evergreen forests in the catchment area. of Bhima, Gh<?d and Goneri rivers and their tributaries; whereas IT'oist deciduous forests is found on the western slopes and in the eastern valleys. G~ntl~ sloping areas between hill slopes and stream basin support scrub and herbaceous plants (Palande, 1954; and Pande, 2005). The forest surrounding the temple are the only representatives of the virgin evergreen type seen in the Western Ghats and differ markedly from the dwarf or elfin evergreen found along these ghats. Relics of virgin evergreen forests have managed to survive only in some pockets of this sanctuary area. These patches are highly sensitive to human interference (Pande, 2005). Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests Climax evergreen vegetation appears only at three localities at west and east of crest line (Guptabhima) and hill along the Forest Rest House. Beilschmiedia sp., Dimorphocalyx sp., Aryaetus sp., Mallotus sp. are some characteristic vegetion of this climax evergreen forest. The higher elevations of the sanctuary (900 m and above) hold the secondary evergreen forests with trees like Kindal Terminalia pariculata; Hirda Terminalia chebula; Anj~ni Memicylon edula; lambhul Eugenia jambolana; Pisa Actinodaphne hookeri; and Atlantia racemosa, Xantolis tomentosa, Carvie callosa, Mangifera indica, etc. that form complex type of vegetation. During monsoon, various species of mosses and epiphytes .including bioluminescent fungi can also be seen on the trees. Semi evergreen forests are noted between 700 m and 900 m on both the east and west crestline. Deciduous forests The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary at its lower elevationn (below 700 msl) mostly on the western ridge holds typical deciduous forest with trees like Babhul Acacia arabica, Neem Azadiracta indica,· Bor Zizyphus nijuba, Saundad Prosopis spicierd,· Ain Terminalia arjuna; Behada Terminalia belle rica; Apta Bauhinia racemosa; Hinganbet Balanites roxburghii; Dhavada Anogeissus latifolia: Pal as Butea monosperma, Ray-avla Cicca disticha; Tad Borassus flabellifer etc. representing those at the deccan area of MAHABAL : An Overview 3 Map-l : Location Map of Bhimash,ankar Wildlife Sanctuary, Pune district, Maharashtra. 4 Fauna of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, Conservation Area Series, 42 the State. Some of the major shrubs like Karvi Karvis spp. also found in this sanctuary which is unique in the character that it blooms only once in seven years (Palande, 1954). Botanical studies of this wildlife sanctuary have recorded 444 species (from 107 families) of which 355 species are dicotyledons, 89 monocotyledons and one species of gymnosperm. 26 rare and endangered species are found in this sanctuary, particularly 17 sp. in climax forests, 4 sp. in secondary evergreen forests, 1 sp. in semi-evergreen forests, and 4 in deciduous forests. A number of plants with medical value are also known from the area (Pande, 2005). Sacred Groves Sacred groves (or called as Deorais) is an old tradition of community forest conservation. These small biodiversity rich patches are protected through socio-religious rules and regulations; and due to this several of them retain in pristine composition. Bhimashankar Wildlif~ Sanctuary has 14 sacred groves within the vi liege boundaries such as Bhimashankar Rai, Bhaka Rai, Ahupe Rai, Vande v, Valarali Ban, Dhakoha, Koteshwar, Umbaryn Bhairavnath, Vaghoba, Kondhval, Thathavadidevi, Kalbhairovnath, etc. Among these Bhimashankar and Ahupe grove are the finest sacred groves in the Sahyadris. These Deorais are considered ecologicallly