WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSIRCF REPTILES • VOL15, &NO AMPHIBIANS 4 • DEC 2008 189 • 27(1):10–17 • APR 2020 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE ARTICLES Snakes. Chasing Bullsnakes of (PituophisBhandara catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: District, Maharashtra, On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 Central. The Shared India History of Treeboas (Coralluswith grenadensis ) Notesand Humans on Grenada: on Natural History A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198 1 2 3 4 RESEARCHRahul V. Deshmukh ARTICLES, Sagar A. Deshmukh , Swapnil A. Badhekar , and Roshan Y. Naitame . The1 H.N.Texas Horned 26, Teacher Lizard inColony, Central andKalmeshwar, Western Texas Nagpur, ....................... Maharashtra-441501, Emily Henry, Jason Brewer,India ([email protected]) Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The2Behind Knight Potdar Anole (NursingAnolis equestris Home) in FloridaKalmeshwar, Nagpur, Maharashtra-441501, India ([email protected]) 3TiwaskarWadi ............................................. near BoudhaVihar,Brian Hingana J. Camposano, Raipur, Kenneth Nagpur, L. Krysko, Maharashtra-441110, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. India Donlan, ([email protected]) and Michael Granatosky 212 4 CONSERVATIONAdyal, ALERT Pavani, Bhandara, Maharashtra-441903, India ([email protected]) . World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 Photographs by Sagar A. Deshmukh. More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 . The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225 HUSBANDRY esearch on reptiles. Captive in CareIndia of the dates Central Nettedback Dragon more ....................................................................................................... than 200 from Bhandara District). Shannon Data Plummer are summarized226 in Tables 1 Ryears, coincidingPROFILE with the formation of the erstwhile and 2, and 32 of the 33 species are illustrated in Figs. 2–12. British East India Company.. Kraig Adler: A LifetimeHowever, Promoting central Herpetology India ................................................................................................ has Miscellaneous natural Michael history L. Treglia observations 234 included: (1) largely been neglectedCOMMENTARY as regards herpetological surveys. The A Barred Wolfsnake (Lycodon striatus) feeding on a Common District of Bhandara is. Thein theTurtles northeastern Have Been Watching part Me ........................................................................................................................of Maharashtra Eric Gangloff 238 State and lies entirely within the Wainganga Basin. The first BOOK REVIEW appreciable study was. Threatenedcarried Amphibiansout by D’Abreuof the World edited (1928), by S.N. whoStuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, conducted a systematic R.collection Berridge, P. Ramani, of reptiles and B.E. Young for the.............................................................................................................. Central Robert Powell 243 Museum in Nagpur, which provided information on the rep- tiles of Vidharbha RegionCONSERVATION in general RESEARCH and Bhandara REPORTS: District Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 in particular. Deshmukh NEWBRIEFS et al. (2015)............................................................................................................................... recorded 30 species of ....................................................... 248 snakes from the adjacent EDITORIAL Nagpur INFORMATION District. Based............................................................................................................................... on animal ...................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252 rescues and road surveys, we herein document 33 species of snakes in ten families from Bhandara District, Maharashtra (20°40'00"–21°35'00"N, 79°30'00"–80°06'00"E; Fig. 1). A team of four persons on two-wheelersFront Cover. Shannon at Plummer.speeds of Back Cover. Michael Kern about 20 km/h surveyed seven tehsilsTotat et velleseque(Tumsar, audant Mohadi, mo Totat et velleseque audant mo Sakoli, Bhandara, Lakhani, Lakhandur,estibus and inveliquo Pauni), velique tworerchil each estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus week, and the adjacent Nagazira Wildlifeaut dolor apicto Sanctuary invere pe dolum during aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum morning and evening hours on everyfugiatis Saturday maionsequat and eumque Sunday fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia- from May 2013 to July 2016. We alsoma derrovitae searched voluptam, roadside as quos leaf tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as litter, cover objects (i.e., logs, bark, accullabo.rocks), agricultural fields, and along streams and ponds. In addition, we documented snakes rescued from residential areas of Bhandara District. All snakes were captured, identified, photographed, and released. For identification, we relied on criteria listed in Smith (1943), Daniel (2002), and Whitaker and Captain (2004) and com- parisons with specimens in the collections of the Central Zone Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and the Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, Maharashtra. We also recorded secondary informa- tion from reliable sources (observations and previous snake- rescue records from a conservationist, NGOs from Adyal [Ashik Naitame] and Bhandara [Raju Baghele], and others Fig. 1. Location of the study area in Bhandara District, Maharashtra, India. Copyright © 2020. Rahul V. Deshmukh. All rights reserved. 10 IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 1098-6324 DESHMUKH ET AL. IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 27(1):10–17 • APR 2020 House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) in Jawaharnagar, that had ingested three Checkered Keelbacks (Xenochrophis Bhandara City (21°09'11.29"N, 79°32'28.70"E) on 26 piscator) on 3 July 2014 along a seasonal stream near Oxygen December 2013; (2) an Oriental Ratsnake (Ptyas mucosa) Park, Samarth Nagar, Lakhani Tehsil (21°04'00.38"N, Table 1. Snakes encountered during surveys of seven tehsils in Bhandara District, Maharashtra, India. Tehsil Dates Rescued Roadkilled Live Total Tumsar May 2013–May 2014 74 22 15 111 June 2014–June 2015 126 55 20 201 July 2015–July 2016 70 19 6 95 Mohadi May 2013–May 2014 85 15 3 103 June 2014–June 2015 103 69 16 188 July 2015–July 2016 47 64 13 124 Sakoli May 2013–May 2014 40 17 11 68 June 2014–June 2015 100 37 8 145 July 2015–July 2016 64 36 12 112 Bhandara May 2013–May 2014 59 13 18 90 June 2014–June 2015 173 76 24 273 July 2015–July 2016 35 42 9 86 Lakhani May 2013–May 2014 53 57 23 133 June 2014–June 2015 99 31 18 148 July 2015–July 2016 87 37 4 128 Lakhandur May 2013–May 2014 66 19 11 96 June 2014–June 2015 88 42 9 139 July 2015–July 2016 129 61 13 203 Pauni May 2013–May 2014 125 38 19 182 June 2014–June 2015 82 43 17 142 July 2015–July 2016 66 46 9 121 Fig. 2. Brahminy Blindsnake (Indotyphlops braminus) from Mahalgaon Village, Mohadi Tehsil (left). Slender Wormsnake (Indotyphlops porrectus) from Lakhandur Tehsil (center). Beaked Wormsnake (Grypotyphlops acutus) from Hardoli, Mohadi Tehsil (right). 11 DESHMUKH ET AL. IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 27(1):10–17 • APR 2020 79°49'30.16"E); (3) 22 hatchling Oriental Ratsnakes emerg- 79°51'23.14"E) at Manegaon in Lakhani Tehsil on 21 July ing from eggs on 30 August 2015 in rocky debris at Nirgudi 2014; (8) two adult Green Keelbacks (Rhabdophis plumbicolor) Village in Pavni Tehsil (20°52'29.85"N, 79°41'01.15"E); (4) attempting to swallow one another near Belgota Village in a partial albino Common Trinket Snake (Coelognathus helena) Pauni Tehsil (20°46'39.95"N, 79°38'21.38"E) on 5 October roadkilled on the Kosamtondi-Sakoli Road near Ashoka Toll 2013; (9) a live Olive Keelback (Atretium schistosum) trapped Plaza on 4 September 2015 in Sakoli Tehsil (21°05'17.45"N, in a fishing net in a pond at Sawargaon in Lakhandur Tehsil 80°01'36.68"E); (5) a young Common Catsnake (Boiga trigo- (20°43'35.72"N, 79°52'20.99"E) on 28 February 2015; (10) nata) feeding on a Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus fre- a Saw-scaled Viper (Echis carinatus) feeding on a frog on 13 natus) in a garden near Gandhi Sagar Lake, Rajendra Nagar, September 2014 in Teak leaf litter in the Davezari Village Tumsar Tehsil (21°23'02.09"N, 79°45'10.12"E); (6) a road- area in Tumsar Tehsil (21°27'02.51"N, 79°47'19.20"E); (11) killed female Common Catsnake with two incompletely a Slender Coralsnake (Calliophis malanurus) regurgitating a developed eggs