MISCELLANEOUS NOTES REFERENCES ALI , S. & S.D. RIPLEY (1983): Handbook of the Birds of India and of Cotton. CAB International. Wallingford, U.K. Pakistan. Compact edn. Oxford University Press, Bombay. RASMUSSEN , P.C. & J.C. ANDERTON (2005): Birds of South Asia. The DEL HOYO , J., A. ELLIOTT & J. SARGATAL (1999): Handbook of the Birds Ripley Guide. Vols 1 and 2. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx of the World. Vol. 5. Barn-Owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions, Edicions, Washington, D.C. and Barcelona. Barcelona. WILLIAMS , S., L. WILSON & S. VOGEL (EDS ) (2011): Pests and Beneficials KING , A.B.S. (1994): Heliothis/Helicoverpa (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). in Australian Cotton Landscapes. A production of The Australian Pp. 39–106. In: Mathews, G.A. & J.P. Turnstall (Eds): Insect Pests Cotton Industry Development & Delivery Team. Pp. 98. 13. INDIAN SPINY-TAILED LIZARD SAARA HARDWICKII IN SARISKA TIGER RESERVE, NORTH-EASTERN RAJASTHAN, INDIA MANOJ PARASHAR 1, DIBYENDU MANDAL 2,3, POOJA CHOURASIA 2,4 AND K. SANKAR 2,5,* 1Sariska Tiger Reserve, P.O. Sariska, Alwar 301 022, Rajasthan, India. 2Wildlife Institute of India, P.O. Box 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248 001, Uttarakhand, India. 3Email: [email protected] 4Email: [email protected] 5Email: [email protected] *Corresponding author doi: 10.17087/jbnhs/2014/v111i2/72240 The Indian Spiny-tailed Lizard Saara hardwickii 31′ 57.5″ E) of Akbarpur Range in Sariska Tiger Reserve is endemic to the dry areas of north-western Indian (STR) (25° 5′–27° 33′ N; 74° 17′–76° 34′ E), which is the subcontinent (Daniel 2002; Das 2002), and has a patchy first record for this species in north-eastern Rajasthan. distribution throughout its range. While largely herbivorous, Five belt transects of 500 x 6 m were laid at Kalakhedi it occasionally feeds on insects during the summer (Dutta where lizard distribution was recorded and active burrows and Jhala 2007). It is solitary; adult lizards excavate burrows were counted by two observers during June 2013. Since, the generally 6–8 cm wide and 2 m long. Therefore, active population is confined to a small patch, more belt transects burrows surrogate the number of individuals, and can be could not be laid. used to estimate population density (Dutta and Jhala 2007). In all, 146 active burrows were recorded in the study In India, it is known to occur in small isolated patches in the area. The estimated density of active burrows in the study Thar Desert and surrounding semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, area was 98 ±42.92 SE/ha (13.86–182.13 burrows /ha, Gujarat, and western Uttar Pradesh. In Rajasthan, it is known 95% CI). The reported density of active burrows in dry to occur in the Thar Desert, which extends through the districts of Rajasthan is as follows: 1 burrow/ha in Barmer, westernmost districts of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, 28.85 burrows/ha in Jaisalmer, 51.59 burrows/ha in Thalar and Sri Ganganagar. Apart from Thar Desert, it was only substrate or gravel plains (Ramesh and Ishwar 2008) and known to occur in the Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary, which 324 burrows/ha in Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary (Das et al. is situated in Churu district, adjacent to Bikaner district (Das 2012). In Abdasa tehsil of Kachchh, Gujarat, the estimated et al. 2012), classified under biogeographic zone 3A-Thar burrow density was 90.83 ±58.14 SE/ha in 2007, but had declined Desert (Rodgers et al. 2002). to 30.95 ±19.99 SE burrows/ha in 2010 (Jhala et al. 2012). Perhaps the most serious threat to the Indian Spiny- The recorded population of Spiny-tailed Lizard in STR is tailed Lizard population is habitat loss, brought about by isolated and confined to peripheral rocky hillocks nterspersedi developmental activities, such as agriculture (expansion of in a matrix of human-dominated landscape subjected farmlands and irrigated areas), industries, and urbanization to livestock grazing. It is recommended that prevention (housing) in western Rajasthan (Ramesh and Ishwar 2008) of livestock grazing and not allowing any watershed and Kachchh, Gujarat (Patel 2011). These lizards are hunted management activities in this area is vital for the survival for their flesh as a protein substitute and oil extracted from of this species. their skin and tail is considered aphrodisiac. Due to limited data on its distribution, status, and ecology, Spiny-tailed ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lizard is considered as Data Deficient in India (Molur and Walker 1998). We thank Shri P.R. Sinha, Director, and Dr. V.B. Mathur, The presence of the species was recorded by the first Dean, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, for their author in May 2013, in Kalakhedi beat (27° 22′ 11.8″ N; 76° encouragement and support extended for the study, and 136 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 111(2), May-August 2014 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Rajasthan Forest Department for providing necessary comments on the draft manuscript, and Rajesh, Ratan, support and for permission to carry out field work. Mamraj, and Jairam for their assistance in field data We would also like to thank Sutirtha Dutta for his useful collection. REFERENCES DANIEL , J.C. (2002): The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians. Final Report. 2004–2011. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. Bombay Natural History Society & Oxford University Press, Pp. 591. Mumbai. Pp. 238. MOLUR , S. & S. WALKER (Eds) (1998): Report of the Workshop DAS , I. (2002): A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of ‘Conservation Assessment and Management Plan for Reptiles of India. New Holland (UK) Publishers Ltd., London, 144 pp. India’ (BCCP-Endangered Species Project). Conservation Breeding DAS , S.K., S. DOOKIA , K. DAS & S.K. DUTTA (2012): Ecological Specialist Group, Zoo Outreach Organisation, Coimbatore, India. observations on the Indian Spiny-tailed Lizard Saara hardwickii 156 pp. (Gray, 1827) (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in Tal Chhapar PATEL , P. (2011): Will development spare the spiny-tailed lizards in Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan, India. J. Threat. Taxa 5(1): Kachchh? Curr. Sci. 101(12): 1519–1520. 3516–3526. RAMESH , M. & N.M. ISHWAR (2008): Status and distribution of Indian DUTTA , S. & Y.V. JHALA (2007): Ecological aspects of Indian Spiny-tailed Spiny-tailed Lizard (Uromastyx hardwickii) in the Thar Desert, Lizard Uromastyx hardwickii in Kutch. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Western Rajasthan. GNAPE Technical Report No. T 02. Group for 104(3): 255–265. Nature Preservation and Education, Chennai, India. 48 pp. JHALA , Y.V., A.R. RAHMANI , R. SANKARAN , I.P. BOPANNA , K.K. MOURYA RODGERS , W.A., H.S. PANWAR & V.B. MATHUR (2002): Wildlife protected & S. DUTTA (2012): Research and Conservation of Endangered area network in India: a review (executive summary). Wildlife and Threatened Fauna of Kachchh: An Integrated Approach. Institute of India, Dehradun. Pp. 14–17. 14. PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD AND FIELD OBSERVATIONS OF A BROWN-SPOTTED PIT VIPER BHATTACHARJEE , K.1 140/1 Tangra Road, Block-D, Flat 4, Kolkata 700 015, West Bengal, India. Email: [email protected] doi: 10.17087/jbnhs/2014/v111i2/72242 On November 05, 2013, during a field survey of vertebrates of Namdapha National Park (27° 29′ 27.8′′ N; 96° 22′ 32.2′′ E; 516 m above msl), Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India, a team of biologists came across what appeared to be a Brown-spotted Pit Viper approaching a small rodent on the forest floor. They observed the snake for nearly 60 minutes. During this time, the snake initially hid itself beneath foliage and left the prey for a while. It approached the prey, which was already dead presumably due to an initial bite, finally after 7–10 minutes and began swallowing the prey. Observations were made and photographic records Fig. 1: The viper approaching its prey obtained (Figs 1–3). An imaginary line of the body from head to tail (depending on the position of the snake) was measured using a string, which was later measured using a scale to obtain the average length of the snake (Fitch 1987; Jesus et al. 2008). The taxonomic identification of the pit viper is unconfirmed as no scalation data was recorded. Visually, the species appeared similar to Protobothrops mucrosquamatus. The type locality of P. mucrosquamatus is Naga Hills, which has similar topography to the present recorded location of this viper (Boulenger 1890, 1896; Günther 1864; Levinton et al. 2003). Fig. 2: Full view of the viper J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 111(2), May-August 2014 137.