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Home , Dendrelaphis, Dendrelaphis tristis, Shorea robusta

Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 305-308 (2019) (published online on 24 February 2019)

The northernmost record of the colubrid tristis (Daudin, 1803) (Reptilia: : Serpentes) in (Rajaji Tiger Reserve)

Ritesh Joshi1,*, Abhishek Singh2, and Kanchan Puri3

The Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890 () killed in collision with a vehicle while crossing the is widely distributed: from and India to Haridwar-Bijnor national highway, which cuts through southern and throughout Southeast Asia to the reserve. It was photographed and visually identified Papua, the northern and eastern coasts of , and based on descriptions given by various authors (Smith, the (Ziegler and Vogel, 1999; O’Shea 1943; Daniel, 2002; Whitaker and Captain, 2004; et al., 2015; van Rooijen et al. 2015). Members of this Van Rooijen and Vogel, 2008). Some characteristic genus are slender, diurnal that are predominantly morphological features of the species that were recorded arboreal and feed mainly on lizards and amphibians are: nine supralabials (fifth and sixth touching the eye); (Mertens, 1930; Auffenberg, 1980; Van Rooijen and 193 ventrals; presence of a dark blue tongue; whitish Vogel, 2008; O’Shea et al., 2015). The distribution of interparietal spot; indistinct black temporal stripe (Daudin, 1803) ranges from Sri behind eye; light vertebral stripe; and bronze-brown Lanka northwards through most of India to dorum with purple blotches. and (Van Rooijen and Vogel, 2008). As far as The RTR is one of the most diverse wildlife habitats in the northwest region of the species’ distribution is the north-western Shivalik landscape, which constitutes concerned, Boulenger (1894) has provided a record of an important repository for the regional reptilian fauna. D. tristis from the Sind Province of Pakistan. However, The area from where the specimen was recorded lies his record is considered doubtful, taking the provided within tropical moist deciduous forest, and a tributary ventral and subcaudal counts into account (see Van of the river (Siddh water stream) flows across Rooijen and Vogel, 2008). Masroor (2011) has recorded the area. The region is located within the Upper D. tristis from the hilly terrain of Islamabad, Pakistan. Gangetic Plains (Rodgers et al., 2002). species Shrestha (2000) and Chettri and Chhetry (2013) have in the area where the dead snake was found included: pointed out the presence of this species in Nepal. Shorea robusta (sal tree), Haldina cordifolia (haldu On 29 July 2018 (14:58), a dead individual of D. tristis tree), Mallotus philippensis (kamala tree), Terminalia of unknown sex was recorded from the Shyampur forest arjuna (arjun tree), Bridelia retusa (spinous kino tree), range of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR; 29°89ʹ49.0ʺN, Dalbergia sissoo (Indian rosewood), Syzygium cumini 78°17ʹ78.2ʺE, 267.4 m; Fig. 1, 2). The specimen was (Java plum), Helicteres isora (Indian screw tree), Tectona grandis (tropical hardwood), Ficus religiosa (sacred fig), Eucalyptus spp. (eucalyptus), Parthenium hysterophorus (congress grass), Lantana camara (lantana), and Colebrookea oppositifolia (Indian squirrel tail). 1 Conservation & Survey Division, Ministry of Environment, Of the 41 species of the genus Dendrelaphis recorded Forest & Climate Change, New Delhi - 110003, India. from Asia (Figueroa et al., 2016), ten species have been 2 Endangered Flora and Fauna on Earth Conservation Team, documented from India (Whitaker and Captain, 2004). Vasant Vihar, Dehradun - 248006, , India. 3 Environment Education Division, Ministry of Environment, In India, D. tristis has so far been reported from most Forest & Climate Change, New Delhi - 110003, India. of the Peninsular India (Gujarat State downwards) and * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] the States of and West in the northeast 306 Ritesh Joshi et al.

Figure 1. Location of the study area (red frame) in India, with the detailed map indicating the northernmost record of Dendrelaphis tristis in this country (yellow circle; record herein; map prepared using Google Earth).

(Smith, 1943; Daniel, 2002; Whitaker and Captain, Considering that records for the presence of D. tristis 2004; Sharma, 2007; Van Rooijen and Vogel, 2008). in Uttarakhand State were previously unconfirmed Recently Das et al. (2012) have recorded the presence (see above), our report confirms the occurrence of this of D. tristis in the Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, species in Uttarakhand. It is the northernmost record of Uttar Pradesh State, which is plausible considering D. tristis in India and an addition to the herpetofauna of the presence of this species in Nepal. Furthermore, Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Vasudevan and Sondhi (2010) have indicated the Dendrelaphis tristis has not yet been assessed for the presence of this species in the State of Uttarakhand (as IUCN Red List. However, it is listed in Schedule IV of uncommon in the foothills of the western ), the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (Anonymous, however, neither any description nor locality record is 2003). Considering the available literature and reliable provided in their checklist. Some ambiguous records records for D. tristis in , it appears that the on the presence of this species in Uttarakhand State (in species is distributed in parts of the Upper Gangetic Dehradun and Jim Corbett National Park) have also Plains, where it obviously is uncommon. Since this been provided by some other authors in the internet region constitutes an important herpetofaunal repository, (Mirajkar, 2013; Harikrishnan, 2015). However, no it is proposed that a baseline study be initiated to demark diagnostic data are provided. the geographical distribution and status of D. tristis in North India. The northernmost record of Dendrelaphis tristis in India 307

Figure 2. A & B) Close-up of head of the Dendrelaphis tristis recorded from Rajaji Tiger Reserve, showing a whitish interparietal spot and indistinct black temporal blotches behind the eyes, C) Dorsal view of the same specimen. Photos by Abhishek Singh.

Acknowledgements. We thank Gernot Vogel, a renowned Anonymous (2003): The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (as herpetologist & conservationist, for the identification of the amended by 2003). Wildlife Trust of India, New Delhi, India, Dendrelaphis species reported herein. He has also done critical Natraj Publishers. reading of the manuscript and provided constructive comments, Boulenger, G.A. (1894): Catalogue of the in the British which has helped improving the draft of this publication. We Museum (Natural History), Volume II, Containing the also thank Sudhakar Sharma and Ashish Verma for assistance in Conclusion of the Colubridae Aglyphae. British Museum, (Nat. collecting field data. Sven Mecke, herpetologist at the Hessisches Hist.), London, Great Britain, Taylor & Francis. Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Germany, reviewed and edited the Chettri, K., Chhetry, D.T. (2013): Diversity of snakes in Sarlahi manuscript. District, Nepal. Our Nature 11 (2): 201–207. Daniel, J.C. (2002): The Book of Indian and Amphibians. References Bombay, India, Bombay Natural History Society and Oxford University Press. Auffenberg, W. (1980): The herpetofauna of Komodo with notes Das, A., Basu, D., Converse, L., Choudhury, S.C. (2012): on adjacent areas. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural Herpetofauna of Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh, History, Biological Sciences 25 (2): 39–156. India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4 (5): 2553–2568. 308 Ritesh Joshi et al.

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Accepted by Sven Mecke