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Journal of the

Bombay Natural History Society

Vol. 63, No. 1

Editors

H. SANTAPAU, s.j., D. E. REUBEN,

ZAFAR FUTEHALLY, & J. C. DANIEL

APRIL 1966

Rs. 15

‘NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Castsbator of scientific articles are requested to assist the

editors by observing the following instructions :

1. Papers which have at the same time been offered for pablice-

tion to other journals or periodicals, or have already been published

elsewhere, should not be submitted.

2. The MS. should be typed (double spacing) on one side of a

sheet only, and the sheets properly numbered.

3.~ All scientific names to be printed in italics should Se.

lined. Both in zoological and in botanical references only the initial

letter of the genus is capitalized. The specific and subspecific names

always begin with a small letter even if they refer to a person or a

place, e.g. Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni or Streptopelia chinensis suratensis

or Dimeria blatteri.

4. Trinomials referring to ieeaee should only be used where

identification has been authentically established by comparison of

specimens actually collected. In all other cases, or where identification

is based merely on sight, binomials should be used.

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preferably on Bristol board.

7. References to literature should be placed at the end of the

paper, alphabetically arranged under author’s name, with the abridged

titles of journals or periodicals underlined (italics) and titles of books

not underlined (roman type), thus :

Banerji, M. L. (1958): Botanical Exploration in East Nepal.

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 55 (2) : 243-268.

Prater, S. H. (1948): The Book of Indian Animals. Bombay.

Titles of papers should not be underlined.

8. Reference to literature in the text should be made by quoting

the author’s name and year of publication, thus : (Banerji 1958).

9. Synopsis: Each scientific paper should be accompanied by

a concise, clearly written synopsis, normally not exceeding 200 words.

10. Reprints: Authors are supplied 25 reprints of their articles

free of charge. In the case of joint authorship, 50 copies will be

given gratis to be distributed among the two or more authors. Orders

for additional reprints should be in multiples of 25 and should be

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of the manuscript. They will be charged for at cost plus postage and

packing. ene eee

Sty? EDITORS, = =—_—

Hornbill House, ae Journal of the Bombay Natural

Opp. Lion Gate, PS 2 eden | igs _ History Society

Apollo Street, Fort,

Bombay 1-BR.

VOLUME 63, NO. 1 — APRIL 1966

Date of publication : eee or

Are | = Maal Lam AT ey

CONTENTS

Amphiesma platyceps (BLYTH) AND Amphiesma sieboldii (GUENTHER) : SIBLING

SPECIES SREPTILIA : SERPENTES). By Edmond V. Malnate. (With 3

figures) meee ~ ag

RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL. By M.L. Banerji

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO, Bubalus bubalis (LINN.) IN PENINSULAR INDIA :

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY. By J. C. Daniel and B. R. Grubh. (With

«four maps and two plates)

Oberonia sulcata Jos. EY CHOwp.: A NEw ORCHID FROM KAMENG FRON-

TIER DistRIct, NEFA, Assam. By J. Joseph and S. Chowdhury. (With

a plate) on A : oF:

Halictus latisignatus CAMERON : A POLYMORPHIC INDIAN HALICTINE BEE WITH

CASTE DIFFERENTIATION (HYMENOPTERA, HALICTIDAE). By Sh. F. Sakagami

and'\F..L. Wain, S.8.J.£. (With twenty-two text-figures)

A LIST, OF PLANKTONIC GREEN ALGAE FROM AMRITSAR, PANJAB. By

Manmohan Singh

ContRIBUTION TO THE BIOLOGY OF THE INDIAN STARRED TORTOISE Testudo

elegans SCHOEPFF—I. ed S.D. Jayakar and H. Spurway. (With fourteen

Rees) ee i races OH $6 ae

LIFE ForMs, AND BIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF LOLAB VALLEY, Kasumi, IN

RELATION TO CLIMATE. By M. K. Wali. (With a text-figure)

HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK (BIHAR) RE-VISITED. ay Jamal Ara. (With | a

map) ; Nees ie af ae ays Ne

Fv hs vbit j

THE SESSILE BARNACLES (CIRRIPEDIA) OF THE BOMBAY Coast. By Ashok:

A. Karande-and V. C. Palekar. (With a map, four plates, and BW Ue

two text-figures)

LITTORAL AND PARASITIC ISOPODS FROM KERALA: _Famity ANTHURIDAE—1.

By N. Krishna Pillai. (With four text-figures)

A NOoTE ON THE-CONFERENCE ON CONSERVATION OF NATURE AND cee

RESOURCES IN TROPICAL SOUTH-EAST ASIA’ HELD AT’ BANGKOK, THAILAND.

NOVEMBER 29 a) ‘DECEMBER 4, 1965. By E. P. Gee. Mea a platé)

\e k 2 vi i

THREE ., NEW. . GENERA OF Grallatotermes COMPLEX , (ISOPTERA : TERMITIDAE :

NASUTITERMITINAE). By P. K. Sen-Sarma. (With eight, ‘text-figures)

he BA 1s We Tate yas 4

REvIEWs : al a esi

i; TEhe Mariials of Arabia. (H. A

. 2. Israel Nature Notes. (R.R.)

3. Ecology of Plant Galls. (K. Subramanyam)

4. Seashores. (E.V.) |

115

123

139

152

162

167

185

186

- + £86

188

5. Contributions to the Insect Fauna of FormosalI. Results of the

Lepidopterological Society of Japan Expedition to Formosa in 1961.

Special Bulletin of the Lepidopterological Society of Japan No. 1.

(R. R.) x — oy 53

6. The Flora of Delhi. (P. V. Bole) A aa

Understanding Animals. (H.A.)

pa |

8. An Introduction to the study of Tropical Plankton. (T.S.S. Rao).

9. Ethiopian Episode. (H.A.)

10. Botanical Latin. History, Grammar, Syntax, Terminology and

Vocabulary. (H. Santapau)

OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED ni ae

MIsCELLANEOUS NOTES :

1. The Indian Gerbille, Tatera indica (Hardwicke), in West Bengal. By

Dwain W. Parrack (p. 197). 2. Extension of range of Ixobrychus minutus

minutus (Linnaeus)—an addition to the Avifauna of the Bombay area. By

Humayun Abdulali and B. R. Grubh (p. 198). 3. Notes on Indian Birds 9—

Anser caerulescens caerulescens (Linnaeus) and Anser fabalis brachyrhynchus

Baillon to be removed from the Indian Avifauna. By Humayun Abdulali

(p. 198). 4. Whistling Teal [Dendrocygna javanica (Horsfield)] and other

memories of Alipore Zoo, Calcutta. By H.A. Fooks (p. 200). 5. The Baikal Teal,

Anas formosa Georgi : First record from Kutch. By Maharao of Kutch (p. 202).

6. Another bird record from Kutch. By M. K. Himmatsinhji (p. 202). 7. Notes

on some birds seen in Kashmir. By E. C. Dickinson (p. 203). 8. Need in

Ornithology for more appropriate term than ‘ soft parts’. By Editors (p. 204).

9. Visit by IUCN delegation to the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary, Bharatpur,

Rajasthan, India. (With two plates). By Peter Scott (p. 206). 10. Occurrence of

the Bat-fish, Pegasus volitans Linnaeus (Pegasiformes : Pegasidae), from the

coastal waters of India. By S. Jayadev Babu (p. 210). 11. The webs of the

spider, Cyrtophora citricola (Forskal). (With a plate). By Humayun Abdulali

(p.211). 12. The Hooded Grasshopper, Teratodes monticollis Gray : A correc-

tion. (Witha text-figure). By Editors (p. 212). 13. Note on how position on

host-plant affects. parasitism on eggs of Pyrilla perpusilla Wik. By M. K.

Zutshi (p. 213). 14. Wing coupling apparatus in certain Heteroptera. (With a

plate containing four figures). By S. C. Goel (p. 214). 15. Biology of Chrysopa

lacciperda Kimmins. (With two text-figures). By B. P. Mehra (p.215). 16.

Parthenogenetic reproduction in Anastatus colemani Crawford (Hymenoptera :

Eupelmidae). By B. P. Mehra (p. 218). 17. Instinctive behaviour in a wasp,

Odynerus sf. By F. L. Wain, S.S.J.£. (p. 220). 18. Potentilla recta Linn. :

A new record for India. (With a plate). ByN.C, Nair (p. 220). 19. Coleo-

chaete pulvinata A. Br. from Gujarat, India: A new record. (With three text-

figures). By R. J. Patel (p. 222). 20. Occurrence of the alga Oedogonium

itzigsohnii var. minus from Mahabaleshwar, India. (With six text-figures). By

R. J. Patel (p. 224). 21. New plant records for South India—lIII. By D.

Daniel Sundararaj and M, Nagarajan (p. 226).

NOTES AND NEws

GLEANINGS

188

189

_ 190

191

192

195

229 %7-

Z32

SOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL

HISTORY SOCIETY

1966 APRIL Vol. 63 No. 1

Amphiesma platyceps (Blyth) and

Amphiesma sieboldii (Guenther):

sibling species (Reptilia : Serpentes)

- EDMOND V. MALNATE

Department of Ichthyology and Herpetology,

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

(With 3 figures)

The Himalayan natricine snake Amphiesma platyceps (Blyth) has

long been believed to be an extremely variable species. Ninety-six

years ago Stoliczka (1870: 191) suggested that variation in the

degree of carination of the dorsal scales and in colour pattern were

correlated with sexual dimorphism. Boulenger (1890: 344) made

a similar suggestion but, perhaps significantly, made no further

reference to the possibility in his CATALOGUE OF SNAKES (1893 : 248).

Later authors apparently could find no constancy in such a correlation

and were content to describe the variations they found in the

species. A study of 55 specimens of Amphiesma platyceps from

stations throughout the known range of the species has provided data

which show that Amphiesma platyceps (auct.) is a composite of two

very similar, but distinct, sympatric species: Tropidonotus platyceps

Blyth 1854, and Tropidonotus sieboldii Guenther 1860.

DISCUSSION

Amphiesma platyceps and A. sieboldii are distinguishable on the basis

of two primary characters: (1) the extent and degree of the carination of

2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (i)

the dorsal scales; and (2) the number of ventrals. Differences of lesser

degree have been observed in several other characters: (3) number

of subcaudals; (4) number of infralabials; and, (5) colour pattern; and

are suggested in (6) dimensions and proportions; and, (7) distribution.

1. Carination of the dorsal scales. The extent and degree of keeling

present on the dorsal scales is a strong dichotomous character.

Keels are present but weakly developed (sometimes extremely faint)

only on five to seven mid-dorsal scale rows in A. platyceps. The

scales of all dorsal rows are keeled in A. sieboldii; the keels are not

strongly developed and the first scale row may be smooth (43°8%

of the specimens examined). No intermediate condition has been

observed; all specimens examined showed either one type of keeling

or the other. The characteristic carination of each species is

similarly produced in both males and females [ruling out Stoliczka’s

(loc. cit.) suggestion] and in specimens of varying ages. Geographic

variation either in the extent or the degree of carination cannot be

demonstrated.

2. Number of ventrals. The observed variation in the number

of ventrals in A. platyceps and A. sieboldii is shown in Table I. Among

TABLE I

VARIATION IN THE NUMBER OF VENTRALS IN Amphiesma platyceps

AND Amphiesma sieboldii

Sex N Range of variation Mean —

: 8 205-234 220°8

latyceps

Pe ak 13 191-216 202°1

13 191-207 199°2

sieboldii

2 13 168-190 182°7

eT CS

the specimens studied only 7% (4 specimens) could not be assigned to

either species on the basis of ventral counts alone; examination of

additional specimens very probably will alter this figure. Of special

interest is that the sexes of both species are strongly differentiated in

the number of ventrals, and that it is the males of each which show the

higher counts, a condition contrary to a general tendency among

colubrid snakes to produce a greater number of venirals in females.

The geographical distribution of ventral counts, by sex, is shown in

‘AMPHIESMA PLATYCEPS AND A. SIEBOLDII: SIBLING SPECIES 3

230

220

210

200

VENTRALS

190

180

170

160

W. PAKISTAN

KASHMIR

PUNJAB

UTTAR PRADESH

Fic. 1. Geographical distribution of ventral counts of Amphiesma

platyceps (squares) and A. sieboldii (circles). Open symbols represent

female counts, solid symbols are male. Specimens from Himachal

Pradesh and Punjab are recorded over “Punjab”’.

4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Fig. 1. Limited data prevent analysis but variation through the ranges

of both species appears, broadly, to be parallel.

The character of the keeling of the dorsal scales and the number of

ventrals appear to be correlated and strongly differentiate platyceps

and sieboldii. The characters next noted are not diagnostic but

they contribute to the differences between the species. re

3. Number of subcaudals. Variation in this character in platyceps

and sieboldii is summarized in Table II. Differentiation between the

TABLE If

VARIATION IN THE NUMBER OF SUBCAUDALS IN Amphiesma platyceps

AND Amphiesma sieboldii

Sex N Range of variation Mean

6 88-98 922

platyceps

S) 11 78-96 86:1

9 97-111 103-7

sieboldii

14 81-110 95°9

two species in the number of subcaudals, especially in females, is

not strong (42% of the specimens with whole tails could not be

separated on the basis of this characier); the difference is most

clearly indicated by the means. Whereas the higher number of

ventrals occurs in platyceps, itis sieboldii which produces the higher

number of subcaudals. Male snakes tend to possess a greater number

of subcaudals than do females in both species (the anticipated

condition). The geographical distribution of subcaudal counts is

shown in Fig. 2; analysis is not possible but parallel trends appear

in both species. It may be noted that, whereas there is indicated a

general east to west increase in the number of ventrals, the number of

subcaudals tends to decrease east to west.

The fact that platycepS possesses a greater number of ventrals

but fewer subcaudals and the reverse condiiion in sieboldii suggest the

possibility that a simple shift in the position of the anus is responsible.

This may well be true, at least in part, but the data presented in Table

III show that platyceps, especially the males, tends to develop a

greater total number of veniral scutes (ventrals plus subcaudals) than

does sieboldii.

a eS ee ne

’ AMPHIESMA PLATYCEPS AND A. SIEBOLDII: SIBLING SPECIES 5

4. Number of infralabials. Analysis. of the variation in these

scales is presented in Table IV. Because the number of infralabials

N10

SUBCAUDALS

ro)

NEPAL

KASHMIR

PUNJAB

Qa.

UTTAR PRADESH

Fic. 2. Geographical distribution of subcaudal counts

of Amphiesma platyceps and A. sieboldii. Symbols as in

Fig. 1. Specimens from Himachal Pradesh and Punjab are

recorded over “‘Punjab ”’.

TABLE III

VARIATION IN THE SUM OF VENTRALS PLUS SUBCAUDALS IN Amphiesma

platyceps AND Amphiesma sieboldii

Sex N Range of variation Mean

J 6 308-326 316°7

platyceps

2 11 271-302 287°3

roi 9 299-313 305°0

sieboldii

2 14 266-300 © 278°3

IRE OS BO EES SEE

6 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

may differ on each side of the head, counts of each individual series are

used (normally two per specimen). A tendency to develop a higher

TABLE IV

VARIATION IN THE NUMBER OF INFRALABIALS IN Amphiesma

platyceps AND Amphiesma sieboldii

platyceps sieboldii

No. of % of % of

infralabials No. of counts total counts No. of counts total counts

8 5 12°8 (mean = 9°8)

9 22 56°4 12 21°4

10 12 30°8 43 76°8

11 (mean = 9:2) 1 1°8

number of infralabials is evident in platyceps, 30°8% of the counts

being 10. In sieboldii, however, 10 or more infralabials are common,

occurring in 78°6% of the counts. Geographic variation in this

character is not evident in the data at hand.

5. Colour pattern.

HEAD. The nuchal crescent (a pattern element produced

from the last supralabial and extending upwards and backwards

over the nape) of platyceps commonly is a simple, dorsoposterior

extension of the dark postocular streak which borders the upper edge of

the supralabials; the light colour of the supralabials and the dark of the

lip edge are rarely included. The nuchal pattern of sieboldii, on the

other hand, may be fully developed as a light, dark-bordered crescent

extending from the last supralabial up and back over the nape and,

sometimes, produced posteriorly on the neck for a short distance as

parallel stripes. Occasionally, the crescent is broken into 3 or 4 light,

dark-edged spots.

DorsuM. The dorsum of both species is more or less uniform .

platyceps, however, is more frequently marked with small dark spots

than is sieboldii. A dorsolateral series of small light spots is rarely

evident on platyceps, and when present the spots are weakly defined.

These spots are commonly present on sieboldii, obscure posteriorly

on the body but more prominent anteriorly.

VENTRUM. It is on the ventrum that the major pattern difference

between the species appears. The ventral surface of platyceps usually is

AMPHIESMA PLATYCEPS AND A. SIEBOLDII: SIBLING SPECIES — 7

immaculate; a lateral series of dark streaks may be present, these either

obscure or sharply defined. The subcaudal surface, usually immaculate,

occasionally is darkened with grey or, rarely, shows dark stippling along

the common, median sutures of the plates.

In sieboldii the ventrum rarely is immaculate; often it is darkened

posteriorly with a greyish suffusion of variable intensity, and occasional,

discrete, dark spotting also may be present. A lateral series of dark

streaks usually is present, more prominent posteriorly on the belly.

The subcaudal surface is rarely light or immaculate. Commonly, a

lateral series of dark spots (a continuation of the ventral series) is

present and the median, common sutures of the subcaudals are darkened.

Occasionally the entire subcaudal surface is dark. Among the specimens

of sieboldii examined 50% have the chin and throat darkened with a tone

which varies from grey to dark brown or black. The darkened area may

be confined to the scales of the chin or extend posteriorly to the level of

the 20th ventral.

6. Dimensions and proportions. The tail of sieboldii is proportion-

ately somewhat longer than that of platyceps, perhaps in association with

the greater number of subcaudals in that species; this is shown

in Table V.

TABLE V

TAIL/TOTAL LENGTH RATIO IN Amphiesma platyceps AND

Amphiesma sieboldii

Sex N Range of variation Mean

5 0°243-0°267 0°2520

platyceps

10 0°232-0°273 0°2478

8 0°261-0°295 0:2769

sieboldii

14 0°242-0°300 0°2759

Reduction in the number of dorsal scale rows from 19 to 17 is, in

both species, accomplished by the loss of the fourth scale row. This

scale row is present for a greater percentage of the head and body

length in sieboldii (Table VI). 3

7. Distribution. Amphiesma platyceps is known, on the basis of the

specimens examined, to be distributed from Darjeeling, Bengal, west to

Kashmir, at altitudes ranging from 6000 to 10,000 feet (Fig. 3).

A.\ sieboldii is known from Taung-gyi, Burma (see p. 15 below), to

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 63 (1)

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AMPHIESMA PLATYCEPS AND A. SIEBOLDII: SIBLING SPECIES 9

Ghora Galli, West Pakistan ; thus, it is sympatric with platyceps through

most of its range but shows an eastward extension. The known altitu-

dinal distribution of sieboldii, 4000 to 12,000 feet, is broader than that

TABLE VI

LENGTH OF 4TH SCALE ROW, AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE HEAD AND BODY

LENGTH IN Amphiesma platyceps AND Amphiesma sieboldii

Sex N Range of variation Mean

4 56°5%-59°5% 57°83%

platyceps

2 a 55°3%-64°8% 58°87%

6 56°5%-61°2% 59°07%

sieboldii

9 52°8%-64'0% 60°18%

of platyceps. Both species have been taken at three stations: Darjeeling,

Bengal, Simla, Himachal Pradesh, and Thundiani, Punjab.

The differentiation of Amphiesma platyceps and A. sieboldii, as

observed in the present study, may be summarized thus: (1) in platyceps

only the scales of the mid-dorsal rows are keeled, and these faintly so;

in sieboldii all scale rows except, occasionally, the outer row are keeled ;

(2) platyceps has a greater number of ventrals ; but, (3) fewer subcaudals ;

(4) the number of infralabials is most frequently 9 in platyceps, 10 in

sieboldii; (5) slight pattern differences between the species appear on the

head and dorsum; the ventral pattern, of the two species, however, is more

strongly differentiated, that of platyceps normally being immaculate

whereas the ventrum of sieboldii is rarely so; (6) platyceps appears to

have a proportionately shorter tail, and a reduction in the length of the

fourth scale row; (7) platyceps is not known further east than Sikkim,

sieboldii ranges into Assam and eastern Burma.

The two species are notably similar or identical in the following

variable characters:

a. Oculars (1 pre-, and 3, often 2, postoculars) °

b. Temporals (usually a single anterior temporal, sometimes 2;

posterior temporals commonly single, frequently 2, very

rarely increased to 3 in platyceps)

c. Supralabials (8, the 3rd to 5th border the orbit)

d. Apical scale pits (not observed on most specimens examined;

they may be faintly evident, however, on the scales of the neck)

e, Head length/width ratio (1°7 to 2°6, mean 2:0, 43 specimens)

10 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

f- Length of snout (28% to 35% of the head length, mean 31°8%,

; 18 males; 26% to 35%, mean 28°2%, 25 females)

g. Eye diameter (14% to 21% of the head length, mean 18:2%,

18 males; 14% to 21%, mean 16°1%, 26 females)

h. Maxillary dentition (teeth usually in continuous series in

platyceps, the posterior two, enlarged teeth sometimes sepa-

rated from the anterior series; posterior enlarged teeth com-

monly separated from anterior series in sieboldii)

i. Hemipenes (organ simple in both species but usually is bilobate

at the tip in sieboldii; the single, enlarged basal spine present

in both species is, in sieboldii, commonly followed distally by a

cluster of stout spines; both characteristics are rarely present

in platyceps)

j. Secondary sexual characters [among males of both species

greater than 528 mm. in total length, the scales of the cloacal

region are more strongly keeled and the keels are knobbed

(tuberculate); females of both species, 490 mm. and larger in

total length, may possess tubercles on the dorsal head shields].

It is evident that two forms have, indeed, been confused under the

name Amphiesma platyceps (auct.). In spite of the great similarity of the

two forms the correlation of carination of the dorsal scales and the number

of ventrals readily separate them. The differentiation in these characters

plus the lesser differences observed are believed to indicate the presence

of two distinct species and not a single, dimorphic species in which one

form possesses keels on all scale rows, the other having the keeling

confined to the vertebral rows. Both forms are sympatric over most of

their ranges and are not presently known to have ecological separation

(future field work may show ecological divergence), yet none of the

specimens examined could be determined to be intermediate; reproductive

isolation is, therefore, assumed.

Mayr (1963 : 34) defines sibling species as ‘morphologically similar

or identical natural populations that are reproductively isolated’. Such

a definition applies to Amphiesma platyceps and sieboldii. Mayr further

states (op. cit. : 57) that ‘ geographic speciation is the normal process by

which sibling species originate’. It is impossible, within the present

limits of our knowledge, to determine previous geographic isolation for

platyceps and sieboldii. Three factors observed in the study, however,

may have some relevance: (1) the eastward extension of sieboldii into

Assam and Upper Burma to the exclusion of platyceps; (2) the broader

altitudinal range of sieboldii (4000 to 12,000 feet; 6000 to 10,000 feet for

platyceps); and, (3) the apparently parallel clinal trends in the numbers

of ventrals and subcaudals in both species. Differentiation in geographic

isolation is noi necessarily supported by these data but they may be

AMPHIESMA PLATYCEPS AND A. SIEBOLDII: SIBLING SPECIES 11

interpreted as indicating the possibility of two, separate, dispersals from

an eastern centre. Both species appear to be related to a complex of

species of Amphiesma (modesta, et al.), centred in the region at the

eastern end of the Himalayas. The inierrelationships of the species of

this complex are, unfortunately, confused and confusing. A discussion

of the possible derivation of platyceps and sieboldii from one or more

of the species associated with modesta must be deferred until such time

as the group is more clearly understood.

REDESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES

It is believed pertinent here to briefly redescribe Amphiesma platyceps

and A. sieboldii; data presented in Tables I-VI are not repeated in the

descriptions. The disposition of the specimens examined in the course

of the study is included under each species.

Amphiesma platyceps (Blyth)

Tropidonotus platyceps Blyth, 1854, Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 23 (3): 297 [type:

Indian Museum (Calcutta), ZSI Reg. No. 7482; type locality: Darjeeling,

Bengal ]

Zamenis himalayanus Steindachner, 1867, Verh. Zool.-bot. Gesell. Wien 17:

513, pl. 13 (types Natur. Mus. Wien, Nos. 18569, 18570: 1-2; type locality:

Simla and Kulu, Himachal Pradesh, India)

It is impossible to give a complete synonymy inasmuch as both

platyceps and sieboldii are included in the comments of most authors.

For the same reason distribution records in the literature are not

considered.

Blyth’s original description (loc. cit.) mentions five specimens. Two

from Assam, one with ‘155 scutae only’ and a ‘ small young example’,

appear to be representative of Amphiesma parallela. A third specimen

‘remarkable for having the chin and throat quite black’ evidently

represents sieboldii. Thus, Blyth’s description is a complex characteri-

zation of three species. Dr. B. Biswas, Superintending Zoologist,

Zoological Survey of India, informs me (in /itt.) that only one specimen

of the original series, ZSI 7482, remains. This individual agrees best

with the largest example Blyth had before him and upon which his

description is essentially based. To this specimen may be applied Blyth’s

name platyceps. The specimen is described as having only the 3 or 4

vertebral rows weakly keeled, the lateral rows being smooth; the

ventrals number 183 (a lower count than any personally observed), the

subcaudals 93 (?), the tip of the tail being broken ; the total length is

692+ mm., the tail 195+ mm.; the belly is white and no pattern is

12 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

visible on the chin (Dr. Biswas, in Jitt.). Blyth describes traces of

greenish-dusky on the throat ; these marks evidently have faded.

Steindachner’s (loc. cit.) nominal form himalayanus almost certainly

belongs here. Through the courtesy of J. Eiselt, Natur. Mus., Wien,

I have been permitted to examine Stoliczka’s specimens, upon which

Steindachner based his name. The three specimens (NMW 18569,

18570:1-2) are all females with faint keels present on the vertebral 5 to

7 scale rows only. Ventral and subcaudal counts are 200+63,

201-+83, and 205+92, respectively. These data leave no doubt that

himalayanus is a synonym of platyceps.

Description of the species. Rostral wider than high, narrowly visible

from above. Internasals as wide as long, internasorostral contact 1 or

slightly less than 1. Prefrontals wider than long, longer than the inter-

nasals. Frontal longer than its distance from the tip of the snout, equal

in length to the inierparietal suture. Parietals shorter than their

combined width. Nasal divided completely or below the nostril only.

Loreal longer than high. Preoculars single; postoculars 3, often 2.

Anterior temporals single, occasionally paired; posterior temporals

usually single, very often 2 (one count of 3). Supralabials 8 (one count

of 7), 3rd to 5th border the orbit. Posterior chin-shields the longer

pair, separated 4 to their entire lengih by small scales.

Dorsal scales in 19-19-17 rows, the 3 to 7 vertebral rows only are

faintly keeled, all other rows being smooth ; apical scale pits not usually

evident but they may be present, obscurely, on the neck.

Head light brown above, sometimes mottled or marbled with dark

brown, especially on the parietals; paired, light occipital spots and a

postparietal light streak may be present. Supralabials light, bordered

above with a dark brown or black stripe from the rostral to the eye

(sometimes lacking) and from the eye to the commissure of the mouth

(may be greatly reduced but usually is present). Nuchal crescent often

reduced to a single dark streak from the angle of the jaw up and back

across the nape; rarely includes a light stripe or light spots. Dorsum

brown or olive-brown (olive-green in life, auct.); small, dark brown

spots commonly present, these most prominent and regularly arranged in

a vertebral series with a dorsolateral series less evident and irregular ;

both series usually are more prominent anteriorly on the body; a

dorsolateral series of light spots is rarely evident. Ventrum usually

immaculate, a lateral series of dark streaks may be present, especially

posteriorly but are weakly defined ; a speckling of tiny dark spots may

occur posteriorly (over the entire ventral surface, except the anal plate,

on one specimen) ; lateral edges of the ventrals are red in life (auct.) ;

subcaudal surface usually immaculate, sometimes more or less peppered

with dark spots, rarely the median sutures of the subcaudals are

5 ea see ,

AMPHIESMA PLATYCEPS AND A. SIEBOLDII: SIBLING SPECIES 13

darkened ; chin greyish on one specimen, the gular scales finally edged

dark on another. |

Maximum observed total length: male, 676+ mm. ; female, 927 mm.

Head length/width ratio: 1:7 to 2°4, mean 2:1, 18 specimens. Snout

(as a percentage of the head length) : 29% to 33%, mean 31°3°%, 7 males ;

29% to 35%, mean 31.0%, 9 females. Diameter of eye (as a percentage

of the head length): 15-% to 21%, mean 18.8%, 7 males; 14% to 19%,

mean 16°0%, 11 females.

Maxillary teeth 18 to 22; the anterior series of 16 to 20 gradually

increase in size posteriorly and are followed by two strongly and abruptly

enlarged teeth which sometimes are separated from the anterior series by

a slight interspace (15 maxilla examined).

Hemipenes exiend to the level of the 8th to 10th subcaudals; the

organs are simple, rarely bilobate, spinous throughout, the spines small ;

one enlarged basal spine present, rarely followed by a cluster of stout

spines. Sulcus spermaticus single, extending to the organ tip. (Desctip-

tion based on ihe hemipenes of 6 males.)

Distribution. Darjeeling, Bengal, in the east, io Gulmarg, Kashmir,

in the west, at recorded altitudes of 6000 feet (Dalhousie, Himachal

Pradesh) to 10,000 feet (unspecified locality in Kashmir).

Natural history. The stomachs of specimens examined contained

only Leiolepisma himalayanum. Curiously, three of the four snakes

having fed on this lizard had swallowed their prey tail first! One A. platy-

ceps contained eight adult and four juvenile specimens of L. himalayanum.

An ingested L. himalayanum contained three well-developed embryos.

A female A. platyceps, 717 mm. in total length, contained two large

(25x 8 mm.) eggs.

Specimens examined: (Numerals in parentheses following each

locality cefer to locations on map.) NEPAL: Jumla (14), 7600 feet (BM

1953. 1. 1. 63), no specific locality (BM 45. 1. 12. 570); INDIA : Sikkim,

Mangpu (3), (CNHM 15827), no specific locality (BM 60.3.19.1354);

Bengal, Turjun tea esiate, Darjeeling (6), (BNHS 80-11); Uttar

Pradesh, Almora (16), (BNHS 80-3), Binsar (24), (BM 1911.9.8.2);

Punjab, Thundiani (25), (BNHS 580); Himachal Pradesh, Dalhousie (21),

6000 feet (BNHS 80-2), Simla (19), (BNHS 80-5 (b), 80-7), Upper Sutlej

Valley (18), 7000 feet (BM 1911.5.9.1); Kashmir, Gulmarg (22),

(BM 96.11.20.5-6), no specific locality (BM 70.11.30.36A-D, 10,000

feet; BM 1903.6.22.23; USNM 48469-70).

14. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Amphiesma sieboldii (Guenther)

Herpetoreas sieboldii Guenther, 1860, Proc. Zool. Soc. London: 156 (type: British

Museum, 1946.1.13.16; type locality: Sikkim, 7500 feet); 1864, Reptiles British

India: 257)

Tropidonotus chrysargus Wall, 1907, Rec. Ind. Mus. 1 (2): 156 (non Schlegel; this

is Wall’s first recording of the two specimens later described as /firthi).

Tropidonotus firthi Wall, 1914, Journ. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 23 (1): 166 (types:

Indian Museum (Calcutta), ZSI Reg. No. 15817-18; type locality: Chitlang,

Nepal).

re = et al., 1939, Journ. Darjeeling nat. Hist. Soc. 13 (4): 150.

Guenther’s original description of sieboldii (loc. cit.), upon which

species Guenther based the monotypic genus MHerpetoreas, was

prepared from a single specimen. Guenther variously describes the

dorsal scales as ‘keeled’, or ‘those of the back slightly keeled’. Miss

Alice G. C. Grandison, after examination of the type, informs me

(in litt.) that all but the outer row of scales bear faint but distinct

keels. Miss Grandison further describes the type as .a male, with

211 ventrals (a slightly higher number than any personally observed)

and 89 subcaudals. There seems to be little doubt that Guenther

had before him a specimen of the species here reported as distinct

from platyceps and that the name proposed by Guenther, sieboldii,

must be assigned to it.

Wall’s original description of firthi (loc. cit.) clearly associates

his species with that of Guenther. Dr. Biswas (in Jitt.) has verified the

salient characieristics upon examination of the cotypes in the

Indian Museum. Dr. Biswas also informs me that the disposition

of a third specimen (from Takdah, Darjeeling District, Bengal),

included by Wall in his original description, is unknown.

Description of the species. Rostral wider than high, narrowly

visible from above. Internasals longer than wide, internasorostral

contact 1 or slightly less than 1. Prefrontals wider than long, longer

than the iniernasals. Frontal slightly longer than its distance

from the tip of the snout, equal to the length of the interparietal suture.

Parietals shorter than their combined width. Nasal completely divided

(sometimes below the nostril only). Loreal longer than high.

Preoculars single, rarely divided; postoculars 3, occasionally 2. Anterior

temporals most commonly single, often paired; posterior temporals

usually single, often 2. Supralabials invariably 8; 3rd to 5th border

the orbit. Posterior chin-shields the longer pair, separated from 3

to their entire length by small scales.

Dorsal scales in 19-19-17 cows, lightly keeled, outer row often

smooth; apical scale pits not usually evident but may be present,

obscurely, on the neck; to approximately mid-body on the type (A.G.C.

Grandison, in /itt.).

—

AMPHIESMA PLATYCEPS AND A. SIEBOLDII: SIBLING SPECIES 15

Head brown above, lighter laterally; paired, light occipital spots

and a postparietal light streak usually present. Supralabials light,

bordered above with a dark brown or black stripe, from the rostral

to the eye, and from the eye to the commissure of the mouth; lid

edge also may be dark, especially posterior to the eye. The pattern

of the supralabials continues up and back over the nape as a nuchal

crescent, and, in an occasional specimen, continues posteriorly on

the neck for a short distance; the nuchal crescent may be reduced

(or absent) or broken into a series of 3 or 4 light, dark-edged spots.

Dorsum more or less uniform (olive-green in life, auct.), lighter

laterally; scales frequently dark-edged; a vertebral series of irregular,

transverse, blackish crossbars sometimes is present; a dorsolateral

series of small, light spots may be present, these generally obscure but

sometimes are more prominent posteriorly on the body. Ventrum

light, a lateral series of dark, elongate spois is usually present; rarely

an overall suffusion of grey appears; area lateral to the series of black

spots is reddish in life (auct.); scattered black stippling sometimes present

or the stippling is concentrated medially on the posterior portion

of the venter; chin and throat often darkened with a greyish to black

pigmentation which may extend posteriorly as far as the 20th ventral;

subcaudal surface with lateral dark spots and a dark edging to the

“common, median sutures of the plates, or sometimes the undertail is

totally suffused with dark grey.

Maximum observed total length: male, 729 mm.; female, 943 mm.

Head length/width ratio: 1:7 to 2°6, mean 2:0, 25 specimens. Snout

as a percentage of the head length): 28% to 35%, mean 32°1%, 11 males;

26% to 33%, mean 30°5%, 14 females. Diameter of eye (as a percentage

of the head length): 14% to 21%, mean 17°9%, 11 males; 14% to 21%,

mean 16°2%, 15 females.

Maxillary teeth 17 to 21 +2; the teeth of the anterior series gradually

increase in size posteriorly, and are separated by a slight diastema from

the two, strongly enlarged posierior teeth (17 maxilla examined).

Hemipenes extend to the level of the 7th to 10th subcaudals; the

organs are simple, usually bilobate at the tip, spinous throughout, the

spines small; a single enlarged basal hook is followed immediately distad

by a group of 3 or 4 stout spines (these rarely absent). Sulcus sperma-

ticus single, extending to the tip of the organs. (Description based on

the hemipenes of 9 males.)

Distribution. Taung-gyi, Upper Burma, in the east, to Ghora Galli,

West Pakistan, in the west, at known altitudes varying from 4000 feet

(Amp pipal, Gorkha district, Nepal) to 12,000 feet (Balangra Pass,

Nepal). Wall (1923:604), without comment, states that the record from

Taung-gyi is ‘untrustworthy’. The specimen (BNHS 80.4) is unques-

16. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (i)

tionably sieboldii. Taung-gyi, approximately 500 miles south-east of the

Garo Hills, Assam, is on the Shan Plateau of eastern Burma; surrounding

altitudes vary from 5000 to 8000 feet. The Shan Plateau is associated

with the complex of low mountains radiating from the eastern-end of the

Himalayas (including the Garo and Khasi hills). The penetration of

the Shan Plateau by sieboldii may have some association with the broader

altitudinal range recorded for the species. Although the appearance of

A. sieboldii on the Shan Plateau is believed valid it seems best to retain

Wall’s question until the record is verified.

Natural history. Stomach contents of specimens examined included

unidentified frogs, tadpoles, frog eggs, and partially digested Lygosoma

indicum indicum. A female A. sieboldii, 435 mm. in total length,

contained five, small, undeveloped eggs.

Specimens examined. (Numerals in parentheses following each

locality refer to locations on map.) BURMA: Shan States, Taung-gyi (1),

(BNHS 80.4); NEPAL: Amp pipal (27), 4000 feet (CNHM 109762),

Balangra Pass (26), 12,000 feet (BM 1953.1.1.64), Hatia (10), Arun

River, 6500 feet (BM 1962.1047), Lumsum (13), 22 m. NW. Beni,

6500 feet (BM 1955. 1. 13. 71), Maikola Valley (8), 7000-10,000 feet

(BM 1913. 5. 22. 1), Maewa khola, Sangwe (9), 6500 feet (BM 1962.1048),

Taglung (12), $m. S. Tukucha, 9500 feet (BM 1955. 1. 13. 69-70),

Thangjet (11), 5000 feet (BM 1950. 1. 5. 59-60), no specific locality

(BM 45. 1. 12. 572); SrkKIM: Gangtok (4), (BNHS 80-10); INDIA: Assam,

Garo Hills, Tura (2), (BNHS 80-8); Bengal, Darjeeling (6), (BM

70.11.30.37M-N), Lebong (5), (BNHS_ 1835), no specific locality

(BNHS 80-15, BM 53. 8. 12. 30K-L, BM 60. 3. 19. 1352); Takdah (7),

(MCZ 58238-40); Uttar Pradesh, Gonda (15), (BNHS 80-9), Mussoorie

(17), 6000-7000 feet (BM 1905. 10. 27.1, UMMZ 77237); Punjab,

Thundiani (25), (BNHS 581); Himachal Pradesh, Simla (19), (BNHS 582,

80-5a), Taradevi hill (20), near Simla (BNHS 80-6); West PAKISTAN:

Rawalpindi, Ghora Galli (23), (BNHS 80-14).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A number of people have assisted in various ways in the course of

this study. Humayun Abdulali, then Honorary Secretary, Bombay

Natural History Society, and Miss Alice G. C. Grandison, British

Museum (Naiural History), graciously arranged the loan of the speci-

mens which formed the basis of the study. The opportunity to examine

additional specimens has been afforded by: Robert F. Inger, Chicago

Natural History Museum; J. Eiselt, Naturhistorisches Museum,

Wien; Ernest E. Williams, Museum of Comparative Zoology,

AMPHIESMA PLATYCEPS AND A. SIEBOLDII: SIBLING SPECIES 17

Harvard University; the late Norman MHartweg, .Museum of

Zoology, University of Michigan; and Doris M. Cochran, United States

National Museum. B. Biswas, Zoological Survey of India, Indian

Museum, Calcutta, and Miss Grandison have been most generous

in supplying data concerning the types of platyceps and firthi, and

sieboldii, respectively. James Bohlke, Academy of Natural Sciences,

Philadelphia, reviewed the manuscript and offered valued criticisms.

Miss Katherine Fisler, Franklin College, aided in translation from the

German. Mrs. Judith Silver, Academy of Natural Sciences, has been an

invaluable secretary and library assistant. To all these friends and

colleagues I extend my sincere appreciation for their aid.

REFERENCES

The snakes of

BLYTH, Epwarp (1854): Notices and

descriptions of various reptiles, new or

little known. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal

23 (3) : 287-302.

BOULENGER, G.A. (1890): The Fauna

of British India, including Ceylon and

Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London,

Xvilit+ 541 pp., 142 figs.

————— (1893) : Catalogue of the

snakes in the British Museum (Natural

History) 1. London, xiii + 448 pp.,

26 figs., 28 pls.

GUENTHER, A. (1860): Contributions

to a knowledge of the reptiles of the

Himalaya mountains. Proc. Zool. Soc.

London: 148-175, pls. 25-28.

—— (1864): The reptiles of

British India. London, xxvii+452 pp.,

26 pls.

Mayr, ERNST (1963): Animal species

and evolution. Cambridge (Mass.) xiv+

797 pp., 65 figs.

SHAW, G. E., SHEBBEARE, E. O., &

BARKER, P. E. (1939):

northern Bengal and Sikkim. V. J.

Darjeeling nat. Hist. Soc. 13 (4): 150-159.

STEINDACHNER, FRANZ (1867) : Ueber

dreineue Schlangen arten. Verh. Zool.-

bot. Gesell, in Wien 17: 513-516, pl. 13.

STOLICZKA, F. (1870): Observations

on some Indian and Malayan Amphibia

and Reptilia. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal

39 (2): 134-223, pls. 9-12.

WALL, F. (1907): Ophidia, in Reports

ofa collection of Batrachia, reptiles and

fish from Nepal and the western

Himalayas. Rec. Ind. Mus. 1(2): 149-

158, pl. 6.

———— (1914): A new snake of the

genus Tropidonotus from the eastern

Himalayas. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.

23 (1): 166-167.

———— (1923): A hand-list of snakes

of the Indian Empire. Pt.2. J. Bombay

nat. Hist. Soc. 29 (3): 598-632.

Rhododendrons in Nepal

M. L. BANERIT

Superintendent, Botanical Survey, Nepal

The genus Rhododendron, also known as Rose Bay, gets its name from

the Greek words ‘rhodos’ and ‘ dendron’, which mean a rose and a tree

respectively ; and truly the flowers are like roses. This enormous genus

belongs to the family Ericaceae, a name conseved over Rhodoraceae,

and includes some 700-725 species which are concentrated in the moun-

tains of east and south-east Asia, and are found in many other paris of

the world, mostly in temperate climates.

The rhododendrons possess but few economic properties. The wood

of the arborescent species which is hard and close-grained is used for

fuel, for construction, and also for turnery work. The leaves of some

species are used medicinally and as incense ; and the flowers of various

species are sometimes made into a subacid jelly, but the honey obtained

from the flowers is poisonous.

It was about 1850 that a large dumber of Sikkim rhododendrons

were introduced into England. The beautiful species are cultivated in

gardens of Europe and many hybrids have been raised which are now

more extensively cultivated than the original parent species. In the

Himalayas, the largest number of species are to be found in Bhutan and

Sikkim, and the number gradually declines towards the west. In the

Nepal Himalayas there are on record some 29 species, most of which are

in the eastern part of the country. In this context, Stainton (1963)

writes: ‘We had hoped to see at least one or two species such as

Rh. falconeri, thomsonii, cinnabarinum var. roylei, campylocarpum, or

others which are common in the couniry at the head of the Arun, but if

any of them grow on Ganesh Himal, they successfully eluded our search.

It would be interesting to know whether these rhododendrons and various

other ericaceous plants which are so prominent a feature in the forests of

east Nepal are to be found in the intervening Jugal and Rolwaling

Himalaya.’ Banerji (1954) observed a gradual reduction in the number

of species as one moves from the easternmost parts of east Nepal to the

west. So also has been Siainton’s (loc. citi.) observation when he

writes : ‘ and in particular I was struck by the absence of so many of the

species of rhododendrons which grow in eastern Nepal’. It may be

- RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL 19

added that out of 29, the total number of species so far on record, some

have been collected and are known from the central part of the country

only.

The purpose of this paper is to provide useful information, gathered

from different sources, about rhododendrons in Nepal. Stainton (loc.

cit.) writes : ‘if anyone asked me where to go in Nepal in the spring to

see the country at its best, I would without hesitation recommend the

rhododendron-conifer woods which lie between 10,000 ft. and the tree-

line. Later in the year they are rather sombre places, but in late April

-and early May they are superb.’ This raises the question about the

flowering season of the different species. There are some species that

begin to flower in March and continue up to May, while other species

begin late, say in May, and continue up to June. I am inclined to hold

that from late April to early May one may reasonably expect to find most

of the species in flower. One may even find flowers of some species as

late as October, or as early as mid-January. I have found Rh. arboreum in

flower in mid-January, and Rh. lepidotum and setosum bearing flowers in

October. The fruiting season for the different species varies accordingly.

The characters deemed important in the identification of the species -

are: the habit of the plant, shape of the leaf, presence or absence of

‘lepidote’ scales, occurrence of hairs which form the indumentum,

presence of the glands and their shape, the number of parts in the calyx

and the corolla, shape and colour of the corolla, number of the stamens

and their position, shape of the ovary, and appearance of the fruit. It

may be added that there are some species having different colour forms,

which are often treated as varieties, e.g. Rh. arboreum and cinnabarinum.

Before enumerating the different species so far reported to occur in

Nepal, I would very much like to add that the national flower of Nepal

is the Rhododendron and for the botanists it works out as Rh. arboreum

Sm.; also that the rhododendron has featured prominently in Indian

poetry as well as in modern Nepali poetry. The largest number of

species that I have found in one area is between Dongen and Tapkegola

(27°37' N., 87°35’ E.), and the biggest area under one particular species

is at Deine (27°35' N., 86°30’ E.), where the belt is some 150 metres

broad and about 2°5 km. fre

In the following enumeration, the species have been arranged

alphabetically.

Rh. anthopogon D.Don in Mem. Wern. Soc. 3: 409, 1821; Hook, f.

Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 472,1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 4, 1947; Kitamura

in Fauna & FI. Nep. Himal. 192, 1955; Stainton, Notes, 1964 -

- (mimeograph). Nepali name—dhupi

‘Small shrub, 30 cm. high; branchlets short, scaly when young;

winter bud-scales deciduous; leaves obovate-elliptic, sub-obtuse at both

20 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

ends, mucronate apex, 2°5-4:0 cm. long, 1°3-2°5 cm. broad, upper

surface slightly scaly, lower surface densely scaly; petiole 7 mm. long.

Inflorescence several-flowered, subumbellate, and terminal; flowers

pink; calyx deeply lobed, lobes elliptic-obtuse, 7 mm. long, ciliate

along the margin; corolla narrowly tubular, throat hairy, 2 cm.

long, lobes 5, obtuse, entire; stamens 6-8, included; ovary 4- to

S-celled, scaly, style very short and thick, glabrous; capsule

4 mm. long, ovoid, enclosed by the persistent calyx.

Common in the Himalayas and southern Tibet at 3700-5300 m.

Flowering in June; fruiting in October and November both in

the eastern and the western Himalayas.

Rh. arboreum Sm. Exot. Bot. 1:9 1804; Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind.

3: 465, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 4, 1947; Kitamura in Fauna

& Fl. Nep. Himal. 192, 1955; Bonner in Candollea, 17: 63, 1959;

Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph). Nepali name—gurans

Tree, 7-14 m. high, branched from the base; leaves oblong-lanceolate

to oblong-oblanceolate, leathery, 10-20 cm. long, 3-6 cm. broad,

lamina base cuneate, apex acute, upper surface green, glabrous;

mid-rib grooved, veins deeply impressed, under surface indumentum

varying in consistency from thin film to a thicker, woolly felt

(a character used for the varietal differences). Inflorescence of

about 20 flowers crowded on a compaci head-like corymb, 10-15

cm. across; pedicel 6-8 mm. long, hairy; bracts densely hairy. Calyx

small,3 mm. long, forming arim with 5 lobes; corolla campanulate,

4-5 cm. across, deep scarlet typically, tube fleshy, 5 prominent black

nectar pouches at the base, tube marked all over with deep-coloured

dots; lobes 5, 1:-5cm. long, 2-3 cm. broad, apex noiched, margin some-

what wavy; stamens 10, unequal, 4-5 cm. long, filaments glabrous;

ovary conoid, 4:5 cm. long, tomeniose, tomentum white, 7- to 10-

chambered, style slightly curved at the tip; capsule ribbed and roughened

due to the vestiges of the hairs.

Common in the temperate Himalaya—Kashmir to Bhutan at

1700-3300 m. Flowering from March to June; fruiting October to

December in eastern Himalaya; in western Himalaya flowering in May.

var. arboreum. Indumentum on the lower surface of the leaf white;

corolla pink, 4 cm. long, 35-4 cm. diameter.

var. album (Hamilt. ex Don) Wall. Pl. Asiat. Rar. 2:23, 1832.

Rh. album Hamilt. ex D.Don, Prodr. FJ. Nep. 154, 1825. Leaf indum-

entum white or cinnamon to pale brown; corolla white with purple

spots, 4 cm. long, 4 cm. diameier.

RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL aI

var. limbatum Hook. f. in Bot. Mag. t. 5311, 1862; Bonner in

Candollea 17: 64, 1959. Corolla rose, 6 cm. long, 5 cm. diameter.

var. cCinnamomeum (Wall.) Hook. f. in Bot. Mag. t. 3825, 1840;

Bonner in Candollea 17:64, 1959.

Leaf indumentum loose tomentum, leaves relatively small. Flowers

campanulate, white or pale rose with purple spots, 6 cm. long.

Rh. barbatum Wall. ex G.Don, Gen. Syst. 3: 844, 1834; Hook. f. Fl. Brit.

Ind. 3: 468, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 129, 1947; Kitamura in Fauna

& Fl. Nep. Himal. 192, 1955; Bonner in Candollea 17: 65, 1959;

Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph). Nepali name—lal chimal

Tree, 10-15 m., bark purple-red, smooth, peeling off in large flakes.

Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, 10-20 cm. long, 4-7 cm. broad, lamina base

obtuse to semi-rounded, apex acute, margins reflexed and roughened,

upper surface glabrous, under surface at first tomentose, tomentum loose

woolly but mature leaves with under surface glabrous, petiole 1-1'5 cm.

covered with bristles. Inflorescence compact, rounded, many-flowered;

bud-scales and bracts persistent, sticky; pedicels 1-1‘5 cm. long; calyx

1-15 cm. long, thickened at the base, calyx-lobes irregular, crenulate:

corolla campanulate, fleshy, deep crimson or deep red, 3 cm. long, lobes

broad, rounded; stamens 10, clustered around the style, anthers purple-

black; ovary conoid, 5- to 9-celled, covered with stalked glands, style

white, stigma slightly broader than style, pink; capsule oblong-cylindric.

Kumaon to Bhutan, common in Nepal and Sikkim Himalaya at

3000-4000 m. Flowering from March to June and fruiting in October

in eastern Himalaya. In western Himalaya flowering in May.

Rh. camelliaeflorum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t. 28, 1851, et FI.

Brit. Ind. 3: 470, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 173, 1947; Stainton, Notes,

1964 (mimeograph).

A shrub growing up to 2 m., often epiphytic, branches densely scaly;

leaves oblong or elliptic or even narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 5-8 cm.

long, 2-3 cm. broad, apex obtusely mucronate, base obtuse, under surface

densely scaly, petiole 8 mm. long, densely scaly. Inflorescence terminal,

usually two-flowered (sometimes four-), pedicel 4-6 mm. long, densely

scaly; calyx deeply 5-lobed, glabrous with a few scales at the base;

corolla fleshy, broadly tubular, limbs wide-spreading, throat villous,

outside scaly, white tinged with pink; stamens 12 to 16, exserted, filaments

pubescent at the base; ovary 10-celled, densely scaly, style stout, stigma

rounded; capsule about 1°5 cm. long, ovoid or ellipsoid, densely

scaly.

Eastern Nepal to Bhutan at 3000-3700 m.

22 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Rh. campanulatum D. Don in Mem. Wern. Soc. 3:410, 1821; Hook.

f. “FL °Brit.adnd. «3: 466, .1882; Stev.: Spec: “Rhod. 177;@1947:

Kitamura in Fauna & Fl. Nep. Himal. 193, 1955;-Bonner in Candollea

17: 65, 1959; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

Nepali name—xilo chimal

A large shrub, 4-6 m.; leaves elliptic or oval, 7-15 cm. long, 3-6 cm.

broad, apex obtuse often mucronate, lamina base rounded or semi-

cordate, upper surface glabrous, bark green, mid-rib grooved, under

surface with rusty brown tomentum. Inflorescence of about 8 flowers

in a racemose corymb; rachis 2-275 cm. long, pedicel 2-25 cm. long:

calyx small, 1-2 cm.; 5 minute lobes, broadly triangular; corolla

campanulate, 4 cm. long, lobes 5, rounded and notched, white,

various shades of rosy purple to purple, spotted within; stamens 10,

unequal, filaments glabrous but puberulous at the base; ovary 5- to 8-

chambered, conoid, glabrous; capsule cylindric more or less curved.

Common in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan at 3300-4500 m.,

abundant at about 3700 m. Flowering from May to June, and fruiting

in November. This is a very variable species.

var. wallichii Hook. f. Leaves elliptic or oblong, tomentum

beneath lax, petiole densely woolly.

Rh. campylocarpum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. 30, 1851, et Fl. Brit.

Ind. 3: 467, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 702, 1947; Bonner in Candollea

17: 65, 1959; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

_ Asmall rounded shrub, 1:5-3 m. tall, young branches covered with

stalked glands; leaves ovate io shortly elliptic, 5-8 cm. long, 3-5 cm.

broad, apex rounded, base cordate to truncate, under surface minutely

punctate, leathery. Inflorescence of lax racemose umbels of 6-8 flowers,

pedicels 2-3cm. long, glandular, glands stalked; calyx cupulate, lobes 5,

unequal, glandular; corolla campanulate, 4 cm. long, lobes 5, 1:5-2 cm.

long, 2-2°5 cm. broad, rounded or emarginate, yellow or bright yellow

with faint crimson blotches; stamens 10, unequal, filaments glabrous,

puberulous at the base, anther-lobes reddish; ovary 5-celled, conoid,

5 mm. long, densely glandular, style curved, also glandular at the base,

stigma broad and lobulate. (Fruit not studied.)

Eastern Nepal and Sikkim at 3250-4500 m. in usually open situations.

Flowering in May and fruiting in October. |

Rh. ciliatum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t. 24, 1851, et Fl. Brit. Ind.

3: 470, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 455, 1947;.Bonner in Candollea 17: 65,

1959; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

Shrub, 2-3 m. high, procumbent on rocks; leaves elliptic, lamina-

base rounded, 4-7 cm. long, 2-3°5 cm. broad, upper surface setose,

under surface laxly scaly, mid-rib with scattered bristles; petiole

RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL 23

7mm. long with long hairs. Inflorescence shortly racemose with

2-4 flowers, pedicels densely bristly and scaly; flowers white to rose

tinge; calyx. 5-lobed, lobes deep, broadly ovate, densely fringed with

stiff hairs; corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 3°7-5 cm. long, lobes 5,

emarginate; stamens 10, equalling the corolla-lobes, densely pubescent

towards the base; ovary 5-celled, scaly, style as long as the corolla,

not scaly; capsule about 2 cm. long with persistent calyx.

Eastern Nepal and Sikkim at 3000-4000 m. Flowering in June.

No record of fruiting time, probably in October. This species is of

rare occurrence in eastern Nepal.

Rh. cinnabarinum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t. 8, 1849, et Fl. Brit.

Ind. 3: 474, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 222, 1947; Stainton, Notes,

1964 (mimeograph). Nepali name—sanu chimal

Shrub 2 m. high, branches purple; leaves ovate-elliptic to broadly

oblanceolate, apex rounded or mucronate, 7°5 cm. long, 4 cm.

broad, under surface densely scaly, scales small, petiole about

1:5cm. long, scaly. Inflorescence 5-flowered, terminal, sub-umbellate,

pedicels scaly, flowers cinnabar-red or brick-red; calyx 5-lobed,

one lobe often longer than the rest; corolla tubular, 5-lobed, 3°5-

5 cm. long; stamens 10, slightly exserted, filaments pubescent towards

the base; ovary 5-celled, scaly, style slightly longer than the stamens;

capsule densely scaly, about 1:5 cm. long.

Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan, at 3300-4000 m. flowering from

April to June; fruiting in August to November.

var. blandfordiaeflorum (Hook. f.) Millais. Flowers red outside, yellow

or greenish yellow within; calyx rim-like. This variety has not been so far

reported from Nepal.

var. roylei Hook. f. Flowers intense red; corolla more or less open

than the other, about 3 cm. long; calyx lobes distinct and nearly equal.

This variety occurs widely in East mepat.

Rh. cowanianum Dav. in Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edin. 21: 99, 1952;

Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

Shrub, 1:5 m. high with twigs either sparsely bristled or smooth;

leaves obovate or oblong-obovate, apex rounded and pointed, base

obtuse or cuneate, 2°3-5°2 cm. long, 1°2-2°4 cm. broad, upper surface

densely covered with scales, smooth or with sparse hairs, under

surface covered with yellowish green scales, margin with long hairs,

petioles 3-4 mm. long with scales and bristles. Inflorescence an umbel

or short raceme, 2- to 4-flowered, rachis up to 4 mm. in length,

pedicels 1-1°6 cm. long, flowers reddish purple; calyx 5-8 mm. long,

lobes rounded or oblong-ovate, scaly on the outside; corolla bell-

shaped, about 1°5-1°8 cm. long, lobes 5, smooth or with sparse

24 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

scales on the outside; stamens 10, filaments 1-1-4 cm. long, unequal,

hairy at the base; ovary 4mm. long, densely covered with scales,

style short; capsule 6-8 mm. Jong, scaly with persistent calyx.

This species is of very limited distribution and is regarded as

an endemic element in Nepal, for so far it is known from Khumbu

and Langtang in eastern Nepal at 3150 m. Flowering in March or

April?

Rh. dalhousiae Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t. 2, 1849, et FI. Brit.

Ind. 3: 469, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 492, 1947; Bonner in Candollea

17: 66, 1959; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

Nepali name—Jahara chimal

Epiphytic, laxly branched or a shrub, 2-3 m. high; leaves obovate

to oblanceolate, apex obtuse, base cuneate, 6-15 cm. long, 2°5-6 cm.

broad, under surface rather densely scaly. Inflorescence about 5-

flowered, pedicels softly pubescent, flowers white tinged with rose

outside, fragrant; calyx deeply 5-lobed, lobes oblong not ciliate

along the margin; corolla funnel-shaped, about 8°5 cm. long, lobes 5,

broad, tube glabrous on the outside except for a few scales; stamens

10, filaments pubescent, anthers large and massive, about 1°5 cm.

long; ovary 5-celled, densely scaly, style scaly for its lower. two-thirds;

capsule 3:5 cm. long with persistent calyx.

Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan, at 2000-2700 m. Flowering in

May and June; fruiting in October and November.

Rh. faleoneri Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t. 10, 1849, et Fl. Brit.

Ind. 3: 465, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 244, 1947. Nepali name—korlinga

A large shrub or tree, 14-16 m. high, old branches with flaking bark,

young shoots with grey tomentum, leaves oblong-oval to elliptic or

broadly obovate, 20-30 cm. long, 5-15 cm. broad, apex obtuse-rounded,

base subcordate, upper surfacesrugulose, under surface with dense rusty

tomentum, petioles 4-6 cm. long, slightly grooved, covered with thin grey

tomentum. Inflorescence a compact corymb of 20 or more flowers,

pedicels 4-5 cm. long, tomentose, flowers creamy white, yellow with

purple spots on the throat ; calyx small, 8-lobed, lobes small, tomentose ;

corolla oblique-campanulate, lower surface ventricose, lobes 8-10,

usually 8; stamens 12-16, about 45 cm. long, filaments slightly

puberulous at the base; ovary 16- to 18-celled, 8-10 mm. long, covered

with glands and branched hairs, style stout, glabrous, exserted in fully

open flower, stigma discoid ; capsule large, woody, obliquely set, 4-6 cm.,

ridged and warted.

From eastern Nepal to Bhutan, at 3300-4300 m. Flowering from

April to June, fruiting in October to December.

no lal

RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL 25

Rh. fulgens Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t.27, 1851, et FJ. Brit. Ind.

3:466, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 178, 1947; Stainton, Notes, 1964

(mimeograph). Nepali name—chimal

A rounded shrub, 2-3 m. high, branched, leaves oblong-oval to

broadly obovate, 6-11 cm. long, 5-7 cm. broad, apex rounded, base

rounded or slightly cordate, upper surface glossy, under surface covered

with dense tawny woolly tomentum, petiole 1°5-2°5 cm. long, bright

green. Inflorescence of 10-12 flowers in a compact rounded truss,

pedicels 1 cm. long; flowers deep red or scarlet; calyx small with 5

broadly rounded lobes; corolla tubular-campanulate, fleshy, about 3 cm.

long, 4°5 cm. across, 5 black-red nectaries in basal pouches, lobes 5,

slightly notched ; stamens 10, unequal, turned at the tips, filament white,

anther chocolate-brown ; ovary 8-celled, 5 mm. long, g'abrous, stigma

black, truncate ; capsule slightly curved, 3 cm. long, 1 cm. broad at base.

Eastern Nepal and Sikkim, at 4000-470Q m. Flowering in May.

Rh. glaucophyllum Rehderin Journ. Arn. Arb. 26:73, 1945; Stainton,

Notes, 1964 (mimeograph). Rh. glaucum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim

Himal. t. 17, 1851, et Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 471, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod.

300, 1947.

Small shrub with scaly branchlets, leaves lanceolate to oblanceolate,

3:7-8'5 cm. long, 1-2°5 cm. broad, apex pointed and mucronate, upper

surface dull, lower surface glaucous and scaly, petioles 6-10 mm. long,

scaly. Inflorescence 5- to 6-flowered, flowers pink ; calyx large, 5 ovate-

lanceolate lobes, apex pointed ; corolla 5-lobed, 1-1-4 cm. long; stamens

10, exserted ; ovary 5-celled, scaly, becoming gradually thicker towards the

apex, stigma large and lobule; capsule short, ovoid, 8 mm. long, covered

with persistent calyx.

Previously known from Sikkim only at 3045-3650 m. Stainton’s

report is the first record from Nepal.

Rh. grande Wight in Calcut. Journ. nat. Hist. 8: 176, 1847; Hook. f. FI.

Brit. Ind. 3: 464, 1882 ; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 310, 1947.

A tree, 10 m. tall, branched and spreading, bark reddish brown,

peeling off in small scales, leaves oblong-lanceolate to oblanceolate or

oblong-elliptic, 14-30 cm. long, 8-13 cm. broad, apex obtuse to

acuminate, base narrowed, obtuse to cuneate, primary veins deeply

impressed, under surface silvery white, with a thin indumentum, petiole

4-5 cm. long, slightly grooved above, with a thin whitish indumentum.

Inflorescence a large rounded corymb of 20-25 flowers, rachis 4-5 cm.

long, becoming lengthened in fruit, pedicels 2-3 cm. long ; calyx short, 8

undulate lobes, 1-2 mm. long; corolla ventricose-campanulate, pale rose

in bud but later white or creamy white with basal purple blotches,

9- to 8-lobed, 5-7 cm. long; stamens 16, unequal, 3°5-5 cm. long,

26 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

filaments white, pilose or glabrous; ovary oblong, densely glandular,

16-chambered, style stout, stigma large and discoid ; capsule 3 cm. long,

curved. |

Temperate regions of east Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan, at 2700-

3300 m., forming forests. Flowering from February to May ; fruiting

in December and January.

Rh. hodgsonii Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. 16, t. 15, 1851, et FI. Brit.

Ind.-3 : 464, 1882 ; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 247, 1947 ; Bonner in Candollea

17: 66, 1959; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

c ' Nepali name—korlinga

A small tree, 4-6 m. tall, branches arising from the base, leaves

oblong-elliptic to broadly oblong-oblanceolate, 18-30 cm. long, 7-12 cm.

broad, apex obiuse to rounded, base obtuse to rounded, under surface

clothed with grey indumentum ; petiole 5 cm. long, covered with thin

indumentum. Inflorescence of 15 to 20 flowers in a compact rounded

umbel; flowers dark magenta-purple fading to magenta-lilac; pedicels

3-4 cm. long, densely tomentose; calyx a short cup with 7 teeth;

corolla tubular campanulate fleshy, 3-4 cm. long, lobes 7-8 ; stamens 16

(15-18); ovary 9- to 12-celled, oblong-conoid, 7 mm. long, tomentose,

style glabrous; capsule4cm. long.

Eastern Nepal to Bhutan, at 3300-4000 m. altitude. Flowering May

to June, fruiting in October to January. |

Rh. hypenanthum Balf. f. in Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edin. 9: 291, 1916;

Stev. Spec. Rhod. 8, 1947; Bonner in Candollea 17:66, 1959.

Shrub, branchlets short and twiggy, leaves narrowly obovaie-elliptic,

2°5-4 cm. long, 1°3-2°5 cm. broad, apex obtusely mucronate, base

rounded io slightly cuneate, under surface densely scaly. Inflorescence

terminal as in Rh. anthopogon, flowers yellow ; calyx as in Rh. anthopogon

but lobes more densely hairy ; other characters as of Rh. anthopogon.

Along the Himalayas from 3700 to 5300 m. altitude. Flowering

June, fruiting in October to November.

Rh. lepidotum Wall. ex Royle, Ill. Bot. Himal. 260, t. 64, 1835; Hook. f,

Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 471, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 442, 1947; Kitamura

in Fauna & Fl. Nep. Himal. 193, 1955; Bonner in Candollea 17: 66,

1959; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

Nepali name—bahle sunpati or saluma

Small shrub, 1-1°5 m. tall, branches warty, leaves narrowly oblanceo-

late, 2°5-4 cm. long, under surface densely covered with more or less

fleshy scales. Inflorescence terminal, 3- to 4-flowered, pedicels slender

about 2 cm. long, densely glandular, flowers pale or greenish

yellow or pink or purple; calyx deeply 5-lobed, lobes scaly on

RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL bag

the outside; corolla shortly tubular, broad, about 2°5 cm. in diam.,

5-lobed, densely scaly-glandular outside; stamens 8 rarely 10, exserted,

filaments hairy below; ovary 5-celled, scaly, style short and_ thick;

capsule 1 cm. long, densely scaly, covered by the persistent calyx.

Along the Himalayas—Kashmir to Bhutan, at 3100-5000 m. Flower-

ing in June, fruiting in October and November.

Rh. lindleyi T. Moore in Gard. Chron. 364, 1864; Stev. Spec. Rhod.

494, 1947; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

Nepali name—/ahara chimal

Epiphytic, leaves elliptic to elongate-oblong, 6-15 cm. long, 18-3 cm.

broad, rounded at both~the ends, under surface glaucous and laxly

lepidote, petioles 8-12 mm. long. Inflorescence of 4 to 6 flowers, flowers

white to pale yellow and slightly scented, very large; calyx 5-lobed,

16cm. long, lobes broadly oblong-elliptic, densely fringed with soft

hairs; corolla 7°5 cm. long, widely tubular, lobes 5, rounded; stamens 10;

ovary 5-celled, densely scaly; capsule 5 cm. long, lepidote and covered

by the persistent calyx.

Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan, at 1825 to 3045 m. Flowering

from April to June, fruiting in December and January. This species is

often confused with Rh. dalhousiae.

Rh. lowndesii Dav. in Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edin. 21:99, 1952;

Kitamura in Fauna. & Fl. Nep. Himal. 193, 1955.

Nepali name—barjhum mendo

A low creeping shrub, 10 cm. high, twigs slender, hairy, sparsely or

moderately covered with scales, leaves obovate or oblanceolate, 1°3-2 cm.

long, 5-11 mm. broad, apex rounded and pointed, base obtuse or

cuneate, upper surface with or without scales, under surface sparsely

covered with hairs and yellowish-green scales, margin hairy. Inflore-

scence 1- to 2-flowered, flowers pale yellow or yellow, pedicel slender,

2:5-4:3 cm. long with hairs and scales; calyx 5-lobed, 2-5 mm. long, lobes

rounded, ovate or oblong-ovate, scaly on the outside, hairy along the

margins, dark red; corolla 1:4-1°7 cm. long, rounded and bell-shaped,

red-spotted towards the base, scaly on the outside; stamens 10-11,

unequal, 7-10 mm. long, exserted, filaments downy; ovary cone-shaped,

2-3 mm. long, densely scaly, style short and much curved.

This also is an endemic species in Nepal and is known from central

Nepal at 2500-3650 m., growing under the shade of boulders. Flowering

in June.

Rh. nivale Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. 29, t. 26B, 1851, et Fl. Brit.

- Ind. 3: 472, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 416, 1947; Bonner in Candollea

17: 66, 1959; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

Low prostrate shrub, forming cushions, branchlets densely scaly,

28 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

leaves elliptic, very small, less than 6 mm. long, both surfaces densely

scaly. Inflorescence 1-flowered, terminal; pedicels very short, scaly,

flowers bright magenta; calyx 3 mm. long, lobes slightly unequal; corolla

open, tube very short, deeply lobed, lobes slightly scaly on the outside,

tube villous within; stamens 10, exserted, filaments pubescent towards

the base; ovary 5-celled, scaly, style curved, exceeding the stamens;

capsule ovoid, 4 mm. long, scaly.

Eastern Nepal, extending westwards as far as Langtang; also Sikkim

and southern Tibet, at 4700-5400 m.

Rh. pendulum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t. 13, 1849, et Fl. Brit.

Ind. 3: 469, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 232, 1947; Stainton, Notes, 1964

(mimeograph).

Epiphytic shrub with pendulous branches, young branches densely

woolly, leaves elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 3-5 cm. long, 2-3 cm. broad,

apex mucronate, base obtuse, under surface woolly tomentose and

glandular-punctate. Inflorescence 2- to 3-flowered, terminal, flowers

white, slightly yellow inside, pedicels densely woolly; calyx deeply lobed,

lobes reddish, densely fringed with hairs; corolla shorily tubular, lobes 5,

spreading, loosely scaly on the outside; stamens 10, slightly exserted;

ovary 5-celled, bristly hairy, style reddish; capsule 1°5 cm. long, scaly.

Eastern Nepal and Sikkim, at 3300-4000 m. Flowering in May,

fruiting in November?

Rh. pumilum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t. 14, 1849, et Fl. Brit. Ind.

34 li S862: Stev. SPF, Rhod. 444, 1947; Stainton, Notes, 1964

(mimeograph).

A small shrub, 8-20 cm. high, branchlets semi-prostrate, leaves sub-

sessile, small, obovate-elliptic, 1-1°8 cm. long, 4-8 mm. broad, apex

mucronaie, base rhomboid, upper surface glabrous, under surface with

scattered scales. Inflorescence usually 3-flowered, flowers rose-coloured

or pink, pedicels 2°5-3 cm. long; calyx deeply lobed, lobes 5, ovate-

oblong, obtuse, purplish, sometimes. scaly, persistent; corolla widely

funnel-shaped, 1°2-1°8 cm. long, shortly 5-lobed, pink or rose-coloured;

stamens 10, filaments hairy below; ovary 5-celled, densely scaly

abruptly contracted into the style; capsule ovate-oblong, erect, 1 cm.

long.

Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and southern Tibet, at 3600-2470 m.

Stainton’s report of the species is the first from Nepal. No data

available on flowering and fruiting times.

Rh. setosum D. Don in Mem. Wern. Soc. 3: 408, 1821, et

Prodr. Fl. Nep. 152, 1825; Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 472, 1882; Stev.

Spec. Rhod. 428, 1947; Kitamura in Fau. & FI. Nep. Himal. 194,1955;

RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL 39

Bonner in Candollea 17: 67, 1959; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeo-

graph).

A small shrub 30 cm. high, branches densely setose, leaves oblong-

elliptic, 8-15 mm. long, 6mm. broad, glandular-scaly on the upper

surface, under surface densely scaly and setose, petioles brisily. Inflores-

ence 3-flowered, terminal, flower bud-scales deciduous, flowers bright

purple or pink; calyx 6 mm., lobes scaly, reddish; corolla funnel-shaped,

lobes not scaly; stamens 10, exseried, filaments pubescent towards the

base; ovary 5-celled, densely scaly, style reddish; capsule ovord, hardly

exceeding the persistent calyx.

Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and southern Tibet at 3700-5300 m.

Flowering in April to June, fruiting October to November.

Rh. thomsonii Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. 13,t.12,1851, et Fl. Brit.

Ind. 3: 468, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod, 745, 1947; Stainton, Notes, 1964

(mimeography.

A large shrub, 3-5 m. tall, usually bushy, leaves broadly elliptic

(orbicular), 4-8 cm. long, 3-6°5 cm. broad, apex rounded or bluntly

mucronaie, base round, mid-rib slighily grooved, upper surface

glaucous but later glabrous, under surface with prominent mid-rib,

whitish to pale green, petiole 1-2 cm. long. Inflorescence a loose

corymb of 6 to 8 flowers, flowers deep blood-red; calyx 1-2

cm. long, cupulate, lobes rounded or truncaie, obscurely unequal;

corolla campanulate, 5-6 cm. long, fleshy, spotted on the posterior

side, lobes 5, broad, emarginate; stamens 10, filaments unequal,

glabrous; ovary 6- to 10-celled, conoid-cylindric, furrowed, 7 mm.

long, style glabrous; capsule truncate, encased in the enlarged

and persistent calyx.

Eastern Nepal and Sikkim, at 3700-4400 m. In FI. Brit. Ind.

two varieties are mentioned, but the differentiating characters are

not very clearly marked out. No reliable data on flowering and

fruiting times, but it is presumed that flowers appear in April to

June and accordingly fruiting in November to January.

Rh. trichocladum Franch in Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 33: 234, 1886; Stev.

Spec. Rhod. 757, 1947; Stainton, Notes, 1964 (mimeograph).

A shrub, | m. high, branches: covered with long hairs, leaves

oblong, 3°5-4 cm. long, 8-10 mm. broad, apex mucronate, upper

surface pubescent, under surface minutely scaly, margin hairy, petiole

4mm. long. Inflorescence terminal, 3-to 5-flowered, flowers greenish

yellow, spotted with dark green, pedicels 8 mm. long, densely scaly;

calyx lobes 5, oblong-lanceolate, densely fringed with long hairs;

corolla funnel-shaped, 2°5 cm. long, lobes 5; stamens 10, shortly

exserted; ovary conoid, scaly, style bent; capsule 6 mm. long, scaly,

30. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

This species is present in western Yunnan at 2300-3045 m. but

Stainton reports the occurrence of this species-in Nepal—upper Arun

(27° 45’ N., 87° 15' E.); thus its occurrence in Nepal is of great interest.

Rh. triflorum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. 20, t. 19, 1851, et Fl. Brit.

Ind. 3: 474, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 791, 1947; Bonner in Candollea

17: 67, 1959; Stainton, Noies, 1964 (mimeograph).

Nepali name—phenla chimal

Shrub, 2.5m. high, branches with black glands, leaves lanceolate

or oblong-lanceolate, 3-8 cm. long, 1°5-3 ¢m. broad, apex acute, base

obtuse or rounded, upper surface glabrous, under surface densely

scaly-glandular, petioles 6 mm. long, scaly. Inflorescence 3-flowered,

terminal, flowers light yellow, green spotted, fragrant, pedicels 8-10

mm. long, scaly; calyx small, 5-lobed, lobes scaly outside, fringed

with a few short hairs; corolla short, campanulate, corolla tube

densely scaly on the outside; stamens 10, exserted, filaments densely

woolly towards the base; ovary 5-celled, densely scaly; capsule 1°8 cm.

long, covered wiih scales.

Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan, at 2700-3100 m. Flowering

May to July and fruiting in November to January.

Rh. vaccinioides Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. 3, 1851, et Fl. Brit. Ind.

3: 464, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 825, 1947; Stainton, Notes, 1964

(mimeograph).

A shrub, 0°3-1m. high, epiphytic and on rocks, branches densely

rugose with wart-like glands, leaves small, scattered, spathulate-

oblanceolate, 1°6 cm. long, 6mm. broad, apex emarginate and

mucronate, base attenuated, under surface glandular-scaly, petiole,

very short. Inflorescence 1- to 2-flowered, pedicels 1.2 cm. long,

glandular, flowers lilac-pink; calyx lobes ovate-oblong, 3 mm. long;

corolla 5-lobed, 8 mm. long, lobes wide-spreading, round or obovate,

white or lilac-pink; stamens 10, filaments densely hairy; ovary 5-celled,

~ ovoid, scaly not hairy, gradually passing into the thick style, stigma

clavate; capsule 2°'5cm. long, valves recurved to their bases, seed

with a tail at each end. Hie

Previously known from Sikkim at 1830-2200 m. and south-east

Tibet at 2435-3650 m. Stainton’s report from east Nepal is the

first for the area. Flowering in June and July, fruiting in November

and December.

Rh. virgatum Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Hima!. t. 26,1851, et Fl. Brit. Ind,.

3: 474, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 831, 1947; Stainton, Notes, 1964

(mimeograph). 3

aA. shrub, 1-1°3 m. high, branchlets scaly, leaves scatiered, natrowly

oblong or broadly lanceolate, 5°5 cm. long 1:5 cm. broad, apex acute,

RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL 31

base broadly obtuse, upper surface glabrous or glandular-punctate,

under surface glandular-scaly, petioles 6 mm. long. Inflorescence

of solitary axillary flowers, pedicels 6-8 mm. long, several large caducous

bracts, flowers purple or pale purple;« calyx 5S-lobed, small,- ovate;

corolla lobes 5, spreading, 8 mm. long, purple or pale purple; stamens

10-8, exserted; ovary 5-celled, densely scaly; capsule oblong, 1-1:2

cm. long.

Known from Sikkim and Bhutan, at about 2750 m., but Stainton’: S

report from upper Arun is the first for Nepal. ieee flowering and

fruiting time not known.

Rh. wightii Hook. f. Rhod. Sikkim Himal. t. 27, 1851, et Fl. Brit. Ind.

3: 467, 1882; Stev. Spec. Rhod. 386, 1947; Kitamura in Fauna & FI.

Nep. Himal. 194, 1955. Nepali name—radu

A small tree, 2-3°5 m. tall, young branches grey-floccose, older

branches glabrous, leaves leathery, oblong-elliptic to oblong-obovate

or oblanceolate, 12-18 cm. long, 5-7 cm. broad, apex obiuse or

acute, base rhomboid or semi-rounded, upper surface bright green,

under surface cinnamon or rufous or even greyish, petioles 1°5-2°5

cm. long. Inflorescence a rounded umbel of 12-18 flowers, flowers

paie-yellow, heavily blotched crimson, bud-scales hard and _ viscid,

persistent, pedicels 3-4 cm. long; calyx very small, 5-lobed; corolla

campanulate, broad at the base, lobes 5, 1°5 cm. long, 2 cm. broad,

deeply notched; stamens 10, filaments 2-3 cm. long; ovary 10-celled,

conoid, densely tomentose, style glabrous, stigma discoid; capsule

cylindric and slightly curved.

Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan, at 3100-4700 m. Flowering in May

and June, fruiting time presumed to be in October and November.

REFERENCES

BANERJI, M.L. (1954) : Notes on the STAINTON, J.D.A.(1963) : A spring and

distribution of Rhododendrons in Nepal. summer in Central Nepal. Journ. LOD?

Sci. and Culture 20: 92-93. Hort. Soc. 88: 110-115,

Bonner, C. E. B. (1959) : Resultats des ————— (1964): Notes on journey

Expeditions Scientifiques au Nepal en to East Nepal. (mimeograph).

1952 et 1953 (partie Botanique) 15— STEVENSON, J.B. (1947) : The Species

Ericaceae. Candollea 17: 61-67. of Rhododendron. ed. 2. Edinburgh.

KITAMURA, S. (1955): in Fauna and

Flora Nepal Himalayas Kyoto.

The Indian Wild Buffalo, Bubalus

bubalis (Linn.), in peninsular India:

a preliminary survey

J. C. DANIEL

Curator

AND

B. R. GRUBH

Research Assistant

Bombay Natural History Society

(With four maps and two plates) .

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 32

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE SURVEY ah ae se S235

THE WILD BUFFALO IN BASTAR AND ORISSA... = a wee

FUTURE OF THE WILD BUFFALO IN PENINSULAR INDIA a he $585 48

RECOMMENDATIONS... en as eS. ni See 5,

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .. ne 2 ny ae ee

REFERENCES se A phe ae a Ht eiS3

INTRODUCTION

The former princely State of Bastar in eastern peninsular India (now

a district of Madhya Pradesh State) and the adjoining areas of Orissa

and Maharashtra, by their remoteness and inaccessibility, form the last

stronghold of the Indian Wild Buffalo in peninsular India. However,

conditions are deteriorating even in these remote regions and the Govern-

ment of Madhya Pradesh concerned at the yearly decline in the number

of the Buffaloes through disease and poaching consulted the Bombay

Natural History Society about the possibility of shifting, for better pro-

tection, the remaining herds in Bastar to the Kanha National Park in

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO 33

Mandla District to which area Buffaloes were monsoon migrants in earlier

days.

The Society, after consulting its knowledgeable members and

Dr. George Schaller, the American Ecologist, who was working on

a project in the Kanha Sanctuary, advised that moving the population

would not be practicable considering the difficulties involved in capture

and transport and the fact that the animals in their new environ-

ment would not be free from the causes of their decline in the present

habitat. It was suggested to the State Government that what was re-

quired immediately was an assessment of the ecological factors of the |

present environment which permit continued existence in the area and

the measures required to preserve these environmental conditions.

On the State Government’s approval of this suggestion and offer of

financial and other assistance, it was decided to survey the area in April-

May 1965 when the Wild Buffalo would be restricted to areas with

perennial sources of water in its habitat. Dr. Schaller, who had very

kindly offered to accompany the party, was able to join us in the first

fortnight of April, and the Survey was conducted in the first three weeks

of April in Bastar, and in adjoining tracts of Orissa in the last week of

April.

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE SURVEY

The Secretary to the Government of Madhya Pradesh in the Depart-

ment of Agriculture and Forests had sent to the Society a list of localities

in Bastar where Buffaloes are known to occur and it was arranged by the

Forest Department to have us commence the survey in the Bhairamgarh

Range of West Bastar Forest Division, the area believed to hold

the largest concentration.

Bastar is one of the few areas in India where the railway has not

penetrated, and Jagdalpur, the district headquarters and former state

capital, is 1?0 miles by road from Raipur, the most convenient rail-head.

We reached Raipur on the evening of 1 April 1965 and after staying

overnight left by road for Jagdalpur the next morning, reaching Jagdalpur

in the evening of 2 April. After discussions with Dr. Schaller we met

Mr. Bhil, Divisional Forest Officer, West Bastar Forest Division, where

the first camp was scheduled. We left early on 3rd April for Kutru our

camp for the next eight days.

Camp Kutru, April 3-11

Kutru, the headquarters of

34 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

the characteristic habitat of the species in peninsular India which though

river-orientated is quite different from the purely riverain and grass land

habitat of the animal in eastern India (Assam), being Sal or Deciduous

Forest of mixed species (in Kutru, it is only the latter) with grass under-

growth interspersed with nullahs and fairly open grounds—the maidans—

with tall grass.

The main geographical feature is the beautiful Indravati River which

flows through these Ranges from east to west and forms, at the western

limits of Toinar Range, the north boundary of the Range before looping

to the south to form the western boundary of the Range and the district.

The river is perennial and is studded with forest-covered islands and

occasional patches of sparkling white sand. The Bhairamgarh Range

is divided into nearly equal halves by the river. The northern half is a

part of the Abujhmar Hills, the home of the hill Marias and is not a

normally suitable habitat for Buffalo except along-the banks of the

‘-Indravati and perhaps along the banks of the numerous tributaries which

drain the hills ; similarly the part of the Toinar Range on the north bank

of the river. South of the river, the tract is comparatively flat with occa-

sional hill formations and numerous nullahs and is covered with good

quality mixed forests. The main road from Jagdalpur to Bhopalpatnam,

the easternmost town of some importance in the district, runs parallel

to the river up to Matwada in Bhairamgarh Range before turning south.

From Matwada a forest road continues parallel to the river to the border

of Toinar Range and, turning south at Pasewada, continues parallel to the

river before turning east to rejoin the west road at Kutru. The west

road from Matwada to Pasewada forms the south boundary of

the summer range of the buffalo. The distance between the road and

the river varies from approximately four to ten miles.

The camp at Kutru was located in an ancient grove of mango trees

facing a large pond covered with water lilies, among which Bronzewinged

Jacanas (Metopidius indicus) and a large flock of Lesser Whistling Teal

(Dendrocygna javanica) scrambled for food during the day. The location

of the camp in the middle of the summer range, a survey area of

approximately 400 square miles of forest between the river and the road,

was advantageous. From discussions with the Forest staff we gathered

that the Buffaloes, though now confined to the river, would not be as

easy to locate as they are when they occupy less remote localities in the

monsoon and in the winter. In view of the short time available to us it

was decided to transect areas which, according to local information,

Buffaloes frequent and where they had been seen recently. Seven such

_»_transects were made between 4 to 11 April covering the whole strip of

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO 35

Comments on the Transects

During the seven transects that we made in the area (see Table I) we

were able to sample a substantial portion of the Buffalo habitat (Map I)

and could form an opinion on the status of the Buffalo in the area. It

was evident that very little was known of the distribution of the animal

in summer?. Some of the areas visited by us were selected on the

TABLE I

TRANSECT DATA OF THE THREE WILD BUFFALO AREAS SURVEYED

: #6 Buffalo tracks seen: Pa

-) Jd es oy

Z, o & ste a

ee Rout 25 2% g

Q 8 oute eg > Se ¥ 8

= ar 8 or 8 3

Of = Su ) =

ol a0 9 lhe ne faa}

ae ao

ts oc

WEST BASTAR

I 4 April Pathakutru-Berabasti-Kutru 10-12 p = 2 10

Il 5 April Jegur-Indwada-Dodum- ;

: Jegur 12-14 2 12 14 ==

Iil 6 April Matwada-Ider-Matwada 12-14 3 16 19 —

(10, 6)

IV 7 April Gudma Reserve Forest 5-6 1 — fag

Vv 8 April Museli-Bitre-Karkeli-Karpe--

: Madhpur-Dudapalli P2514. 12 12 NES ees

(4, 8)

VI 9 April Karkewada-Nelkakler-Pen-

gonda-Pasewada 10-12 = 5) 10 =

Vil 10 April Tekametta-Jarguda-Teka-

metta 45 — — a 16

15 45 60 26

SOUTH BASTAR ;

I 15 April Pamed-Koragatta border 10-12 1 10 11 —

I 16 April Rampuram-Pusgupa-

Dharamvaram-Rampuram 12-14 — == St. ie

ORISSA

I 26 April Chitrakonta-Kondakamberu-

Bandamamidi-Chitrakonta 5-6 — 3 3h ar 3

Nore. Tracks probably did not exceed 24 hrs. in age.

2 The seasons as described in this report are Summer—(March to May) ; Mon-

soon—(June to October) ; Winter—(November to February).

36 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

strength of local information based on sightings during the rains and in

winter when the animals are found in a large area as water and food are

easily available. In summer the Buffalo is restricted to the narrow strip

between the river and the road from Matwada to Pasewada, frequenting

areas undisturbed by man, with good cover and water, out of which it

ventures at night to feed on the tender new grass and bamboo shoots

growing in burnt areas. During the seven days we walked through the

forest we saw only two herds. In the same period we saw 30 Chital, 2

Nilgai, and 7 Fourhorned Antelopes and, from our observations of the

herds we saw, it did not appear to us that Buffalo is in any way shyer than

these species. However large mammals are scarce in West Bastar, and

apart from those listed above we twice saw fresh tracks of gaur and tiger.

April 11 to April 14

After breaking camp at Kutru on April 11 we reached Pujarikaker in

Awapalli Range in the south of West Bastar Forest Division on the

evening of 14 April.

Awapalli Range, West Bastar Forest Division, April 14-17

The Pamed and Koragatta Reserve Forests of Awapalli Range and

the adjoining Konta and Kistaram Range Forests of South Bastar Forest

Division hold the southern population of the Buffalo in Bastar. The

Awapalli Range lies in the riverain tract of South Bastar, separated in

the east from the Warangal District of Andhra Pradesh by the Albaka

Hills. ‘The main river is the Talperu, a perennial stream arising at nearly

4000 ft. on the Bailadila Ridge and draining the west face wf Bailadila

Hills, the east face of Albaka Hills, and Golapalli Hills in the south-east

by its tributaries before joining the Godavari River near Cherla in

Andhra. The Talperu forms the south and west boundaries of Pamed

and its tributaries Dharavagu and Kongavagu a part of its east and west

boundaries. The larger Koragatta Reserve has the Talperu as its east

and north boundaries and a main tributary, the Chintavagu, as a part

of its south boundary. In the west the Reserve has a common boundary

with the Konta and Kistaram Ranges of South Bastar Forest Division.

The Koragatta Reserve is uninhabited except along its borders and is not

usually visited by Forest personnel as | the forest is not worked. The

forests in both reserves are drier than the habitat in the west and the

whole area is deficient in water. The Talperu River remains the main

source of water in summer and the Buffaloes remain mainly in Koragatta

during the season.

We made two transects (Table I and Map IN) i in the area, one covering.

Pamed and the Pamed-Koragatta border and the second the south border

of Koragatta Reserve. We were unable to penetrate Koragatta Reserve

owing to lack of roads and persons with knowledge of trails in the area,

Ieyseg 1SOM Ul SjOasUeIT, “T defy

RE Ee

7 CUYNIOY, ss S1IISUDA] ajDIIPUl sjodauNU 21GQDLY

PAS

4 e

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See a "W_ywwang 3 YOM] [ADD ---mneninene is

~ Wed pood jsal10fJ —-—-—

pool -qd 7, oe

AADPUNOG ABUDY 2 0 10 wes

ed ty

SS Gan

\ —s

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a OAT VY

se ees TN Sages

cues a — \ : 72 :

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SEE SF

vanouve

qajNnVY aeons ‘

: pasipjua \

pain papoys

LORIISIA \ 3

UVLISVE

ee : paces it 5 esa ans eae a —_ OTPTIINGA DIMTAA_ Wem : TATUIPrT _

——— ee

FT. o

yoynu pup saary ee.

poo. jsasoq

“ates~~ —- ~r~~----u

—_—e———

dappunoqg uoisisiq

Sidasud4}) ajDIIpul Sjo4auinu oiqo4y

: pasanjua ;

‘TIIvaviO3L 4 : paid papoys \ a ; Cr

: yanosnd ve oa LOTELSIG

; UVISVE |

ae ; co ee |

IT1yavVLip/ i

qumovex

1a Vilvovuoy \;

)

aim

oregng PIM ueIpUyY : [otueEd

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO ay

Comments on Transects

The two transects we made gave us an indication of the conditions in

the habitat in the south. In the Pamed Reserve the grass undergrowth

was either burnt or grazed to the roots by large itinerant herds of

Banjara’ cattle, several herds of which were passing through the Pamed ©

area at the time of our visit and in the disturbance from their movement wild

life had shifted to the west bank of the Talperu into the Koragatta Reserve.

The local villagers believed that there were only a herd of 10 to 11 animals

and 2 to 3 solitaries in their area, an opinion which agrees more or less

with the track counts we made (see Table I). The Koragatta Reserve,

particularly to its north, appears to be the summer sanctuary of the herds

but no one appears to have personal information. South of Koragatta

and Pamed, the country towards Andhra Pradesh is more populous and

dry and is overgrazed so that it is most unlikely that Buffaloes now occur

in Andhra Pradesh.

South Bastar, April 17-22

On completing the survey of the Awapalli Range we had planned to

shift camp by the shortest route through Cherla and Dumagudem in

Andhra Pradesh to Golapalli in South Bastar Division. Unfortunately

the car developed engine trouble and it was not considered wise to take it

over the road to Cherla which was in poor condition. Another two days

were lost in the return to Jagdalpur, in arranging for another vehicle, and

in the journey to Konta in south Bastar on 19 April. The road to the south

runs through beautiful sal forests at the beginning but turns to dry deci-

duous further south, becoming very dry near Konta. We saw two large

parties of Gonds on Parad, their communal hunt, during the journey.

We stayed overnight at Konta and a pleasant hour’s drive the next

morning over low forest-covered hills brought ‘is to the village of.

Golapalli, the headquarters of the Golapalli and Kistaram Ranges of the

South Bastar Forest Division. In discussions with the Range Officers

of Kistaram and Golapalli we learnt that Buffaloes are not seen in their

Ranges in summer, when there is considerable difficulty for water and large

herds of cattle from Andhra are permitted to graze in the forests. In

their opinion Buffaloes do not occur south of Potakpalli village 15 miles

north of Kistaram village even in the rains but frequent the extreme north

of Kistaram Range in the vicinity of Elmagonda and Kolaiguda villages

adjoining Koragatta Reserve of Awapalli Range, W. Bastar. The

Range Officer, Kistaram, had seen a herd of 15 to 17 animals between

Elmagonda and Kolaiguda villages in 1963, and in March 1965 a solitary

bull was seen on the road from Elmagonda to Potakpalli. A visit to

1 Banjaras, once indispensable as carriers and used as such by all the armies which

campaigned in the Deccan and central India, are now mainly cattle traders.

38 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Elmagonda area 25 miles north of Golapalli proved fruitless. We

started back for Jagdalpur from Golapalli on 22 April, reaching

Jagdalpur the same evening. Transport was not available to visit the

Paralkote and Makdi areas in north Bastar which had been listed by

the State Government as holding Buffaloes. It was a great disappoint-

ment to us that we were unable to survey these areas.

Orissa, April 24-27

On 23 April, while we were still uncertain whether transport would

be available to us to visit north Bastar, we received a letter from

Mr. Ahmedulla, Conservator, Jeypore Circle, inviting us to visit Buffalo

habitats in his Circle. ,

We reached Jeypore on the 24th morning and arrived the same evening

at Chitrakonta in the valley of Kondakamberu, the main habitat of the

Buffalo.

Kondakamberu used to be a forsaken little Police Outpost with a few

attendant huts in a high and narrow valley of the Jeypore Hills in the

Koraput District of Orissa. Through the valley, surrounded on all sides

by hills covered with dense forest, flows River Sileru towards its junc-

tion with Sabri River below Konta. A remote, wild, and inaccessible

valley, scantily populated by tribal people related to the Gonds of Bastar,

it is the last sanctuary of the remnants of herds of Buffalo which once

inhabited the riverain tracts of the Sileru and the Sabri. Where the

- Buffaloes once roamed freely giant machines rip up the earth shattering

the silence and hordes of people roam the jungles. Across the valley

an earthen dam is rising in all its raw-earth ugliness to hold the waters

of the Sileru to feed the turbines of a hydro-electric project being con-

structed jointly by the Governments of Orissa and Andhra with Russian

technical assistance.@ Once the dam is completed the present Buffalo

habitat in the valley will be under hundreds of feet of water and the

Buffaloes driven to the hill slopes or to the few smaller valleys protected

by dykes.

In the very short time available to us it was possible to obtain some

information (Table I) on Buffaloes and to visit Buffalo habitats. The

whole area was considerably disturbed and according to local infor- ©

mation most of the Buffaloes had moved to the secluded and undisturbed

areas of the valley. We returned to Jagdalpur on 27 April and after

assuring ourselves that no transport was available for north Bastar ter-

minated the survey.

THE WILD BUFFALO IN BASTAR AND ORISSA

The literature on the Buffalo is limited to occasional observations on

habits published by hunters in the records of their hunts and notes on

the species, mainly based on these observations, published in standard

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (1) PLATE I

Daniel : Indian Wild Buffalo

Above ; Indravati River, West Bastar. Below : Wild Buffalo wallow in

mixed forest, West Bastar

(Photos : George Schaller)

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (1) PLATE ITI

Daniel : Indian Wild Buffalo

Above : Wild Buffalo in Kaziranga Sanctuary, Assam. Below : Solitary

Wild Buffalo bull in Kaziranga Sanctuary, Assam |

Note difference between the habitats—Bastar (Plate I) and Assam (Plate II)

(Photos. i. Po Gee}

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO Se)

works on Indian fauna. Where relevant these have been correlated with

our observations. We have also included information on the distri-

bution and status of the Buffalo in eastern India to present as complete

an account as possible of the present position of the animal.

The Animal

The Wild Buffalo is a magnificent large and streamlined version of

the domestic animal, attaining a height of 5 ft. 4 in. at the shoulder and a

weight of over 2000 Ib. The horns are massive and average over 3 ft.

in length. None of the domestic breeds equals the wild animal in size

and weight except perhaps the Hissar, but there is no comparison with

the lithe alertness that freedom has bred into the wild animal.

Distribution and Status

HISTORICAL

The distribution of the Wild Buffalo was associated with the large

rivers and their tributaries in the Gangetic Plain and eastern and eastern-

peninsular India, extending from the riverain grass jungles of the

Rohilkhand Terai to Assam in the east and the Godavari in the south-

east, within historic times (Map III).

In the first and second quarters of the nineteenth century, the Wild

Buffalo was abundant and reportedly seen in hundreds along the great

rivers of eastern India, particularly in the marshes, jheels, and extensive

riverain coverts which occurred at that period in the districts of Purnea

(Bihar), Malda, Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Dacca, Fareedpur, Noakhali, and

the maritime tracts of Midnapore of undivided Bengal, and the churs of

the Brahmaputra and the plains of Assam.

In peninsular India they were equally abundant in the maritime

tracts of Balasore and Cuttack in Orissa and the plains of south-eastern

Madhya Pradesh in the districts of Mandla, Raipur, Sambalpur, and

Bastar with a west boundary approximately coinciding with the 80°

longitude and the Pranhitta River and as the south boundary the north

bank of the Godavari River.

The settlement of these areas and consequent clearing of the habitat

for cultivation, combined with large sCale hunting and loss through

disease, have wiped out the population over a large area of its general

distribution and restricted the animal to the protection of sanctuaries or

the inaccessibility of the habitat.

Present Distribution

EASTERN INDIA AND NEPAL

The Wild Buffalo is now extinct in the Terai of U.P., Bihar and Bengal,

and the maritime tracts of Midnapore (Bengal) and Balasore and Cuttack

40 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

(Orissa). In Assam it is seen only in the sanctuaries of Manas,

Kaziranga, Pabha, Laokhowa ; in the Sankos-Manas riverain tract, and

in Lakhimpur. A few herds are also found in the Kosi River area of

Nepal, in the most inaccessible portions of the flood plains east and west

of the river some 20 to 30 miles upstream from the Kosi River Barrage

near the International border (Willan : pers. communication),

PENINSULAR INDIA

In the range of the species in eastern peninsular India, mentioned

earlier, we have personal knowledge of their occurrence only in west and

south Bastar and the Koraput District of Orissa. They are reported to

occur also in north Bastar and south Raipur districts in Madhya Pradesh,

and east Chanda in Chanda District, Maharashtra. There are possibly

a few animals in the upper reaches of the Jonk River in Orissa, where

they used to be abundant in earlier days. As suggested by Mooney

(1930), these animals are perhaps shared with south Raipur. We are

also informed that a few buffalo may still persist on Gamdhamardhan

Hill between Patnagarh and Nawapata in Orissa.

One of the specific questions that we planned to study during

the survey was the distributional limits of the different populations. We

were able to obtain a fairly comprehensive idea of the distribution in

west and south Bastar.

Bastar (Map IV)

The range of the species is so dependent on the availability of water

at different times of the year that it is not difficult to define the larger

monsoon and winter range, associated with easy availability of water,

and the restricted summer range, limited to areas with perennial water.

West Bastar

We refer here only to the Toinar and Bhairamgarh Ranges of West

Bastar Forest Division. The Awapalli Range of the same Division ad-

joins Buffalo areas in south Bastar and is considered along with them in

the distribution of the Buffalo.in south Bastar.

Monsoon and Winter. In the Toinar Range, from the south bank

of the Indravati River to Toinar Forest in the south-east and Mingachel

(Berudi River) in the west. It is likely that they are seen throughout

the Bhairamgarh Reserve Forest south of the Indravati in these seasons.

The marginal limits are tentative and perhaps animals wander further

south in forest areas. Solitary animals have a larger range.

Summer. In summer the Buffalo is restricted to the banks of

the Indravati River and to the forests on its south bank bounded on the

Daniel: Indian Wild Buffalo

Past distribution of buffalo .f0%.%:

Present distribution of buffaloqy

Occurrence doubtful

} Kost River, NEPAL 6 Kaziranca

2. SANKOS-MANAS 7 LaoKHOwa

3 Manas 8 Inpravati R., W. BASTAR

4 PaBHa 9 Tatreru R., S. BASTAR

5 East LakHIMPUR 10 Konpakamperu, Koraput Dt.

Map 3. Past and present distribution of the Wild Buffalo in the Indian Region

Daniel: Indian Wild Buffalo

\-B-H Atl era \

ash R AN GE

Y U N’G- iuesics

'°| S| 4 YS . N

AMPA WS

—\PaLt Ko :

Divisional boundary

P. W. D. road

Forest road

| River and nullah

Monsoon and Winter

Distribution of buffalo

Summer distribution of

| buffalo

Occurrence unconfirmed

Proposed forest gates

or SaAKARAICY i

K ISTARAM,

GIOLAPA

Map 4. Distribution of the Wild Buffalo in west and south Bastar

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO 41

south by the forest road running from Matwada in the east to Pasewada

in the west. Along the river they occur up to Tekametta and perhaps

further south where suitable cover is available. Solitaries may wander to

areas south of the road.

South Bastar

Monsoon and Winter. Inthe Awapalli Range of West Bastar

Forest Division, they range from the Koragatta Reserve Forest in the

south to Usur Reserve Forest and Semaldodi in the north moving north

along the Dharavagu River from their summer range. In the Kistaram

Range of South Bastar Forest Division they occur up to Kolaiguda in

the east and Potakpalli in the south. Solitaries are said to reach up to

Bijji village in Konta Range, South Bastar Forest Division.

Summer. Koragatta Reserve Forest in Awapalli Range,

solitaries occasionally in Pamed Reserve and north Kistaram.

The two populations in west and south Bastar are now isolated,

though there is the possibility of intermingling through solitaries during

the maximum distribution in the monsoon and early winter. This is

perhaps uncommon in view of the extensive cultivated areas between the

ranges of the two populations.

Orissa |

Buffalo occur in only a very restricted area in the Koraput District

in the upper reaches of Sileru River. Our stay in the area was too

short for us to get an idea of the range. The valley they inhabit will be

submerged. We were informed of some herds in the Maheswarpur area

near Balimela at the foot of the hills adjoining the Kondakamberu valley.

Buffaloes are said to have been found near Orkel on the Potteru River

west of the Sileru.

Habitat

Bastar

We have information only on the habitat in west and south Bastar.

The Sal forest in the north, where also they are said to occur, was not

Visited. Inthe west and south they inhabit tropical dry deciduous forests

associated with the two major rivers of the region, the Indravati in the

west and the Talperu in the south. The forests, classified as mixed

forests, have several species of trees of almost equal importance. The

forest canopy is 40 to 60 ft. high and the growth is spaced and not so

dense, the canopy being 40-50% when in leaf. Most of the dominant

species are deciduous, some of the important constituents being Diospyros

melanoxylon, Terminalia tomentosa, Anogeissus latifolia, Lagerstroemia

42 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

parviflora, Buchanania latifolia, Madhuca indica, Stereospermum suaveolens,

Tectona grandis, Pterocarpus sp., Gmelina arborea, and Butea monosperma,

near villages. Bamboo (Dendrocalamus ‘strictus) occurs on hill slopes

and river banks. Grass is the dominant undergrowth and grows

luxuriantly in forests ungrazed by domestic stock, and in clear-felled

areas the sites of abandoned cultivation, which are a common feature in

the forests near the Indravati River. Dominant species of grass are

Imperata cylindrica, Eulaliopsis binata, Heteropogon contortus. Almost

pure stands of the Chind palm Phoenix acaulis form the undergrowth in

rocky areas. Saplings and shrubs are found as undergrowth only in

hill features. |

The grass cover is a good 3 feet in height in areas not grazed by

domestic stock, but progressively deteriorates in quantity and quality

in settled areas with large domestic stock. Around villages it is close-

cropped and lawn-like with only Mohwa trees (Madhuca indica) left of the

original forest cover, giving an indication of how the country will appear

with increased human population, and the clearing of forests.

A similar type of forest occurs in the south but it is drier, particularly

‘south of Talperu. It is heavily grazed by cattle and is subject to other

human interference.

In the summer when we visited the area almost all the deciduous trees

were leafless and the undergrowth of grass had been fired by the villagers

to facilitate the collection of mohwa flowers. If some of the forest fires

we saw are an indication, uncontrolled forest fires must be doing

considerable damage. [In April summer showers were commencing and

new grass had started to grow on burnt areas. The river in its

shallow sections had a good growth of sedge and a grass-like tuberous

plant said to be favoured by Buffalo. Most of the nullahs were dry or

had water only near their junction with the river. Wallows within the

forest had dried. Food and water resources were thus at a minimum.

Orissa

The only habitat seen in Orissa was the Kondakamberu valley. The

forest here also is of mixed species but growth is denser and the canopy

higher than in Bastar. The river bed held sedges similar to those in

Bastar and the undergrowth was predominantly grass.

Population

Very large herds, estimated at 75 to 100 animals, were noted formerly

throughout the then distributional range of the Buffalo. It seems un-

likely that these estimates are based on actual counts but it is evident that

the Buffalo was extremely abundant.

The present population, in keeping with the reduced distribution, is

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO 43

but a fraction of its earlier abundance. During the surveys we had track

counts and actual sightings as listed below :

SOLITARY HERD TOTAL

West Bastar i i 71 86

South Bastar be 1 10 11

Orissa ae — 8 8

105

West Bastar —

Considering the fact that in west Bastar we have the largest and best

Buffalo habitat now available in peninsular India, an area of about 400

sq. miles, the population is astonishingly low. We do not believe that

there are more than 200 to 250 animals in the area, and some among these

are shared with the adjoining Chanda District of Maharashtra. The

actual count is about half the lower estimate but we are taking

‘into account herds we were told of and did not see and areas which we

did not have the opportunity or the time to visit. Information gathered

from Forest Department personnel and villagers independently more or

less tallies with our figure. The population was estimated at 75 to 100

and 50 to 100 respectively in South Bhairamgarh Range which area is

said to have the largest concentration.

We often heard in Bastar of the numbers seen during the rains and in

winter, but it must be noted that at these seasons the Buffalo wanders

considerably and there is every possibility that a herd may be reported

from two or three places.

South Bastar

We hesitate to give an estimate of the population as the Koragatta

Reserve was not surveyed but, from the evidence we have, an estimate of

50 may be excessive.

Orissa

Our period of stay was not of sufficient length to make an assessment

of the population, but Mr. Ahmedulla, the Conservator of Forests,

Jeypore Circle, thinks there are about 100 animals in his Circle mainly

concentrated in the Kondakamberu valley and Maheswarpur near

Balimela.

General

We do not think that the total population throughout the present dis-

tributional range in peninsular India would exceed 400 to 500 animals.

Mr. E. P. Gee very kindly gave us the figures of his estimate of the

population in eastern India and Nepal and these are quoted below to

give an idea of the total population of the species :

44. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

ASSAM

Manas Sanctuary ~ .. 400

Kaziranga Sanctuary =. 100

Pabha Sanctuary .. 100

Laokhowa aes,

Sankos-Manas ~ ean ec:

East Lakhimpur ie LOO

Total .. 1425

NEPAL

Kosi River as ~15-20*

*A pproximately 100 (Willan : pers. comm.).

Dr. Schaller who spent six days in the first week of May in Kaziranga

Sanctuary has sent us data gathered during his stay. In his visits to a

major portion of the Sanctuary he counted herds of 3, 7, 8, 18, 18, 17,

and 20 and 4 solitary bulls. He received the impression that Mr. Gee’s

estimate of the population in Kaziranga Sanctuary is rather high.

It should be noted that the total population of the species throughout

its range does not exceed 2000. This fact needs the serious consideration

of conservationists.

Breeding

The 15 calves of less than six months of age seen in Bastar and at

Kaziranga (see Table II on Herd Composition) suggest that the main

TABLE II

HERD COMPOSITION

SAS Young

a a = cs

=a) S os ao)

2 Merete eprops

3 Location - 2 Ng a eg Od Be es oe Source

Q =) > Ss Som Oo). 46 bs

ue) uo) (5 ops & &

< < a5 Ss 3 =

Pee A iy) SO ane

Sere

10 April Indravati River, — 16 Daniel and

west Bastar 5 Schaller

—

26 April Kondakamberu,

Koraput Dt.,

Orissa — 3 —- 2 —- — 5 Daniel

May Kaziranga Sanc-

tuary, Assam = 1 4 1 — 1 1 8 Schaller

do. Ree i PN a eS eee do.

do. — 8 De aed 2. = 16 do.

do — 10 2 94 2 — 18 do.

Saag

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO 45

period of rut is apparently not confined to the autumn as stated in litera-

ture but is spread over a period of at least five months, and per-

haps longer, with a peak of conceptions occurring during the first half of

_ the year.

Solitary Bulls

Several opinions have been expressed in literature regarding the

reasons which make many bulls lead a solitary existence.- It has been

suggested that solitary bulls are dispossessed master bulls of herds andalso

that solitary animals become so of their own accord. In the opinion of

Dr. Schaller, based on his observations on the Gaur (Bos gaurus) in

Kanha and the Buffalo in Bastar and Kaziranga, it is apparent that

mature bulls are solitary and associate with a herd only periodically.

Fights may occur when two bulls happen on a herd holding a cow in

season, the stronger bull keeping with the herd and driving off later

arrivals. It is significant that of the six herds of which we have com.

position data only one had an adult bull. In summer at least bulls are

seldom seen with herds. Bulls wander considerably and at times remain

in summer in areas in which herds are now seldom or never seen.

_ Daily activity and food

We could obtain very little information on the daily activity of the

animal and there is little published information. In undisturbed areas

they are said to feed in the open at dusk and dawn, retreating into cover

or to their wallows during the intervening period. In Bastar they are

said to frequent forests near cultivation where crops, particularly rice,

are grown. In the herd we.saw in the early morning at Bastar some were

feeding on the sedge Cyperus corymbosus growing on the river bed and

some lying in the water. Some of the animals were rather thin.

The Buffalo is considered a selective feeder, wandering long distances

in the course of grazing. The only grass that has been so far identified

as a food of the species is the Dub, Cynodon dactylon, a perennial creep-

ing grass found throughout India—one of the commonest and most useful

species and about the only species that remains green in hot weather.

Among the grasses collected by us the following species Themeda quadri-

valvis and Coix sp. were identified by local villagers as eaten by Buffalo-

Predators

Other than man the tiger is the only predator capable of killing adult

animals and instances of kills relate mainly to calves and sub-adults.

Inverarity (1895) records seeing the remains of a calf of about 18 months

and also seeing an old bull with teeth and claw marks on the rump.

46 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

The only evidence we had in Bastar of death through natural

predators was the remains we saw of a calf during the fifth transect in West

Bastar. The kill, probably a tiger’s, was some 3 to 4 months old and

bones, teeth, and hair were collected. In Orissa we had reliable infor-

mation on the killing of a sub-adult female by a tiger near Kondakamberu.

This animal had an infection on its head and was living in the forest near

a village. Schaller was informed that tigers occasionally kill adults in

Kaziranga. ;

Relation to Man

In its relation to man lie the reasons for the decline of the Buffalo,

as the ideal Buffalo habitats in the riverain regions of the Gangetic Plain

and eastern and peninsular India have been mostly reclaimed for culti-

vation. Curiously enough, in Bastar, though man’s activities have been

in the main inimical, his methods of cultivation have partly contributed

to the utilization of its habitat by the Buffalo. Bastar has remained as

one of the few regions in Madhya Pradesh where the original Gond in-

habitants have retained their tribal organization and practices. In the

Indravati area of Bhairamgarhand Toinar Ranges settled by Hill and Dorla

Marias respectively shifting cultivation is still practised. Flat land

covered with forest is clear-felled and fired for cultivation and after two

to three years of use is abandoned for twelve to fourteen years. There

are several such abandoned clearings and their adjoining villages in the

two Ranges in various stages of forest regeneration. These sites, because

of the forage available, are much frequented by buffaloes.

These indirect benefits are offset by other human activities, parti-

cularly the killing of animals in the large scale communal hunts (Parads)

and in the protection of crops.

Domestic Stock and the Buffalo

In west Bastar the forest villages in the summer range of the species

in the Bhairamgarh and Toinar Forest Ranges have very few cattle and

the forest, except in the vicinity of the villages, shows little effect of graz-

ing. The village of Karkewada had the largest number of rate, approxi-

mately 200 to 300 head.

In south Bastar very large herds are grazed in the monsoon and winter

range, and in part of the summer range in the summer months when the

availability of food is at a minimum. Most of these cattle are brought

into Bastar from Andhra Pradesh. In addition, large herds of Banjara

cattle move through the area. The conditions within the Koragatta

Reserve are not known to us, but outside this fresh grass is hard to come

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO Ay

by. There is, thus considerable pressure on food resources which would

affect the chances of survival of the few animals still existing in the south.

Domestic buffaloes are uncommon in the forest villages of the Indravati .

tract, though seen quite often in the settled area to the east and south.

The horns of the domestic buffalo in Bastar often showed a distinctive

resemblance in shape to those of the wild animal. In the more populated

south, domestic buffaloes are kept by villagers living near the Buffalo

habitat.

The wild and tame animals being so little differentiated, interbreeding

occurs through solitary wild bulls appropriating domestic herds. The

result of a crossing with a wild bull is not usually successful. The wild

cross calf being large often causes the death of the mother at delivery

and 75% of the calves also die at birth or within 8 days, Owing, it is

‘believed, to insufficiency of milk. Chances of survival however increase

with the second generation (Gee 1953, Lall 1953). These reports refer

to the situation in Assam, where owners of domestic stock strongly dis-

like for these reasons the mating of their animals with wild stock.

We did not receive similar reports in Bastar where apparently crossing

with wild bulls is not disliked. According to Noronha (1954) the

buffaloes of the village of Bijji in Konta Range, south Bastar, are

three-quarters wild and mating with wild bulls is encouraged. In the one

case investigated by us in Dharamvaram village in south Bastar, we were

informed that a solitary bull had visited the village from August to

December for three consecutive years, spending the night with the herd

and leaving in the morning. Three cow buffaloes had conceived but all

had aborted after four months. The suggestion that the animals had

been deliberately aborted in view of the belief that cows mated to wild

bulls die at delivery was vigorously denied.

Disease

Contagious diseases spread by domestic animals have been one of

the main reasons for the disappearance of the Wild Buffalo in peninsular

India. In the 1920’s, Stewart (1927) and Stockley (1928) noted that

Rinderpest had almost wiped out the Buffalo in the Central Provinces

(Madhya Pradesh). |

We were informed by the Range Officer, Kistaram Range, that there

was a severe attack of Rinderpest in the Golapalli Reserve Forest in the

cold weather of 1963-64, when several sambar and chital were found

dead. He had no information on the situation among the Buffaloes

which occur further north in areas rarely visited by Forest personnel.

Sporadic attacks of Rinderpest are not uncommon in Bastar, a main

cause being the large herds of Banjara cattle driven through the district

48 @&JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (A)

from the end of the rainy season. These cattle use roads which run close

to or through buffalo habitats in west Bastar and are grazed in Buffalo

habitats in South Bastar. Contagious diseases thus remain a constant

danger. 3

Hunting and Poaching

The Buffalo has been statutorily protected in Bastar since 1908 and

shooting was prohibited up to 1955, when shooting of bulls-was allowed

on permits issued by the Government at a fee of Rs. 200.00 to Indians

and Rs. 500.00 to foreigners. Shooting was again completey prohibited

for a period of five years from 1957. Since 1955, 7 bulls have been shot

under licence, 3 in 1955 (Toinar and Bhairamgarh Ranges), 2 in 1956

(Bhairamgarh Range), | in 1962 and 1 in 1965 (Toinar Range). Except

one animal in 1955, all the others were shot by American tourists

on shoots arranged by a shikar firm of Nagpur. :

It is possible that a number of animals of both sexes and of different

age groups are destroyed by poachers every year. The remoteness of

the tract and the difficulty of policing the whole area with the few

local Forest staff makes it almost impossible to check poaching when it is

done by villagers, as is evident from the number of poacher’s pits and

machans that we saw in our transects in west Bastar.

Conservation

A sanctuary is to be shortly established in Bhairamgarh Range, in

the portion of the Bhairamgarh Reserve Forest bounded on the north by

Indravati River and in the south by the Forest Road from Matwada to

Pasewada. All working of the forest except for removal of teak and

valuable miscellaneous species, shooting, and grazing are to be prohi-

bited, fire protection strictly enforced, and tanks constructed within the

sanctuary. Fair weather roads are to be laid for use by visitors and two

bungalows are to be built for their accommodation.

FUTURE OF THE WILD BUFFALO IN PENINSULAR INDIA

The restricted range of the species and the small population has now

made the Buffalo extremely vulnerable and we doubt whether Buffalo will

continue to exist in peninsular India unless immediate and effective

measures are undertaken for their conservation.

Some of the points which need careful consideration are Habitat

Destruction and its corollaries, Predation, and Disease.

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO 49

Habitat Destruction

_ The remoteness and inaccessibility of the Buffalo habitats in Bastar

and Orissa protected the animals to the present day. The tribal inhabi-

tants, comparatively few in number, were sufficient in their tribal economy

and had little interest in money or inclination to work for it. Communi-

cations were so poor in these areas that development of the resources and

colonization were inhibited and the region retained its wildness. All

this is going to be changed shortly. In Bastar, with the commencement

of the Bailadila Iron Ore Project, a railway line is being laid from the port

of Vishakapatnam to the Project Area c ose to the habitat in west Bastar

and another connecting the area to Bhidrachalam, Andhra Pradesh, in

the south is being surveyed. When these lines go into operation the area

is going to lose its isolation, and there will be severe pressure on arable

land not only from new settlers but also the original Gond inhabitants,

who are now losing their tribal fidelities and communal life and set more

value on permanent private ownership of land. The cry is already heard

in Bastar that the Buffalo population should be thinned as they damage

standing crops.

The forests which are classified as good quality mixed forests have

not been commercially exploited on a large scale in west Bastar by the

Forest Department as extraction of timber is not economical. This

position will change with the advent of the railway. More Forest plan-

tations of commercially valuable species will appear and grazing by

Buffaloes in them may lead to herds in particular areas being proscribed.

One of the recent developments we noticed in the area is the establishment

of the ecologically useless eucalyptus plantations.

While it may be possible to protect the summer range of the species,

it seems very likely that the extensive monsoon and winter range now

available will be severely reduced and there will be more pressure from

domestic stock on the available grazing. The Buffaio does cause damage

to standing crops, and conflict with human interests will increase and

political pressure in all its short-sightedness will presently assert itself

in an area which has so far shown little signs of this blight.

Hunting and Poaching

The hunting of bulls under licence should be stopped, as it will give

the impression to the villagers that Government extends protection to

the animal only to have them killed by people who can pay for the privilege.

Information is also required on the effect the removal of bulls would have

on the population.

Increase in the area under cultivation will mean an increase in crop-

protection guns and increased poaching which cannot be controlled under

existing rules, not due to defects in the rules but owing to the impossibi-

lity of enforcing them with the Forest personnel available for the purpose.

50 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

The Parads or communal hunts which are organized by the tribal —

people during the summer completely clear large areas of their animal

life and are one of the reasons for the scarcity of wild life of all types in

remote areas of Bastar which cannot be policed.

Disease -

The occurrence of disease in virulent form would be disastrous to

the small population now existing in Bastar. This is always a possibility

and its probability will increase as more and more domestic stock is

brought into the area with the increasing population.

RECOMMENDATIONS

I. Itis very necessary that a complete field study of the Wild Buffalo

should be made to collect detailed information on its ecology. However,

this will have to wait till the State or Central Government or some other

agency has trained personnel who can undertake such a study. |

The immediate requirement is a biannual or annual census by the

Forest Department which would at least give a rough indication of the

animal’s status and would also draw the attention of the forest villagers

to Government’s interest in the protection of the animal. The census

should be under the personal field supervision of the Divisional Forest

Officer concerned.

II. The protected forest in the area of the Bhairamgarh and Toinar

Ranges between Matwada and Pasewada, bounded on the north by the

Indravati and on the south by Matwada-Pasewada Road (Map IV)

should be converted into Reserve Forest and closed completely for shoot-

ing and further colonization by man. This area is the summer range in

west Bastar, and protection of the forest is essential as denial of access

to the river, in the absence of necessary cover and water outside the area,

will lead to the extinction of the species.

The summer range in the south is within Reserved Forests but grazing

should be prohibited in Pamed Reserve Forest. .

Ill. It is evident that the Forest Department does not have enough

personnel for simultaneous Forest and Game management. This is a

point which has often been stressed in similar contexts elsewhere, and

when protection of a species threatened with extinction is considered

full time staff are a necessity. We feel that for the enforcement of pro-

tective measures Game Guards should be appointed from local men who

have knowledge of the area and the animal. They should not be liable

to transfer unless for misdemeanour. Headmen of the forest villages

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO 51

_ should be held responsible for any poaching near their villages and in the

forests visited by their people for collection of forest produce. It is most

unlikely that any poaching can be done in an area without the knowledge,

if not the active co-operation, of the local villagers.

It appears that poaching by outsiders can be easily controlled if gates

are erected at the following points or. the forest roads of W. Bastar, namely

Matwada, Pilur, Toinar, Gudma, and in south Bastar at Basaguda, Usur,

and Kotapalli, (Map IV). This is not likely to cause hardship as the

gates will cover roads lying in an area in which only Forest Officers will

have any legitimate business at night. Licence numbers of cars passing

through the gates during day shoulc be recorded.

Deterrent punishment should be meted out to poachers, particularly

to officials who have this unsavoury habit. More co-operation between

the Forest and Police Departments is necessary if Parads are to be effec-

tively suppressed.

IV. There is every likelihood of infections reaching the Buffalo

unless domestic stock belonging to villages in the Buffalo habitat is

inoculated and new additions similarly protected. This ideal answer

is most unlikely and also cattle cannot be inoculated against all transmit-

table diseases. The number of cattle should be limited. Movement of

cattle through the Buffalo habitat can be prevented if the Banjara herds

are allowed to use only the main road from Jagdalpur to Konta.

V. INDRAVATI WILD LIFE SANCTUARY. The proposal to start this

sanctuary reflects the serious concern of the Madhya Pradesh Govern-

ment for the protection of the Buffalo. However, we feel that the area

proposed to be set apart for the sanctuary is not sufficiently large to en-

sure the preservation of the Buffalo. It should be extended westwards

as much as possible to protect most of the summer range.

We feel that the recreational facilities offered by the beautiful

-Indravati River should be fully utilized to enhance the value of the

sanctuary. Visitors’ Bungalows should be situated on the bank of the

river; several sites are available which overlook magnificent stretches of

the river. The river has many sandy ‘ beaches’ and pools and rapids

well stocked with fish, and angling could be an added attraction to visi-

tors. We emphasize these points, for it may not be sufficiently attractive

if the sanctuary is to be advertised to the public as a Buffalo Sanctuary

only. The Buffalo can be more easily and conveniently seen in estab-

lished sanctuaries like the Kaziranga and Manas in Assam. With the

opening of the railways the area will be easily accessible to visitors and

if adequate publicity is given the sanctuary should become popular.

There is a proposal to construct tanks within the sanctuary. This

is unnecessary in view of the access to the Indravati. It would be useful

if existing wallows are not permitted to run dry in the hot weather ;

32 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

they would be points at which Buffaloes can be shown to visitors without

difficulty. The existing salt-lick can also be developed. It may be

necessary to have controlled burning of the grass in cleared areas to

ensure fresh growth, the burning to be limited to clear-felled areas and

done after adequate protection of adjoining forests. The Game Warden

should be required to supervise the firings personally.

Separate staff should be appointed for the sanctuary, and des of

and above the rank of Forester trained to at least identify the

animal life of the area. A permanent Game Warden of the rank of

Assistant Conservator of Forests should be required to stay in the sanc-

tuary and promotion should be as far as possible from personnel of the

sanctuary to ensure continuity of management.

The sanctuary, if maintained with due care to the preservation of

the habitat and strict enforcement of the rules, should be of value in

the conservation of the Buffalo in Bastar.

VI. Orissa. We visited only one Buffalo habitat in Orissa, the

Kondakamberu Valley and the areas in the valley frequented by Buffaloes

will be under water when the Balimela Dam is completed. However,

this destruction of the present habitat can itself be used with advantage

for the conservation of the Buffalo. The gradual rise of water behind

the dam will move the Buffaloes up the several creeks flowing into the

valley and to the slopes of the surrounding hills. We presume that the

forests on these hills will be kept inviolate to protect the slopes from

erosion and the silting of the reservoir. If the valley is declared a com-

pletely protected area, a fine sanctuary can be developed as the area

contains most of the larger game animals, and, if clear-felled areas two

to three acres in extent are made above high water mark at suitable sites

on secluded portions of the shore, it should be possible to see Buffaloes

and other animals from the lake. We strongly recommend that a

sanctuary be immediately established for the conservation of the Buffalo.

The organization should be on the lines suggested for the Indravati

Game Sanctuary.

We draw the attention of the Government of Orissa to Resolution

2(c) of the Indian Board for Wild Life passed at the 2nd Session held

at Calcutta in January 1955, which recommended declaring River Valley

Project areas as Protected Areas for Wild Life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are very grateful to the Secretary, Forest Department, Govern-

ment of Madhya Pradesh, for extending financial and other assistance

which made the survey possible ; the Chief Conservator of Forests,

M.P., and Mr. T. C. Sur, Conservator of Forests, Bastar Circle, who took

an active interest in our programme of work; Mr. N. S. Bhil, D.f.0.,

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO 53

West Bastar, whose personal interest assisted us greatly in our survey of

W. Bastar ; Mr. A. A. Ansari, D.F.o., South Bastar, who looked after our

tour arrangements in the absence of the Conservator ; Mr. Kalia, D.F.o.,

‘West Bastar, for allowing us the use of his Division’s Land Rover ; Mr.

S. V. Rao, Range Officer, Bhairamgarh and Mr. Sharma, Range Officer,

Awapalli, for help in many ways ; Mr. Okhade, A.c.F., who was deputed

to accompany us and whose assistance during his stay with us was in-

valuable. Finally, we would like to express our appreciation of our

driver Mattia, who was helpful at all times and kept alive his good humour

under the most trying conditions.

We are grateful to the Chief Conservator of Forests, Orissa, for

arranging for our visit to Orissa; to Mr. Ahmedulla, Conservator of

Forests, Jeypore Circle, for giving us transport and other assistance ;

Mr. Ahmed, Divisional Manager, Orissa Forest Corporation, and his

officers, who made possible our work in the Kondakamberu Valley.

We record our thanks to Mr. E. P. Gee for giving us information

on sanctuaries in Assam and Mr. R. C. N. Willan, Chief Conservator

of Forests, Nepal, for information regarding Nepal. Thanks are due

to Mr. P. B. Shekar of the Bombay Natural History Society who accom-

panied the party and assisted in the survey.

Finally we would record our indebtedness to Dr. G. B. Schaller, whose

interest, personal participation in the field, and advice in the preparation

of this report were invaluable.

REFERENCES

Gee, E. P. (1953) : Wild Buffaloes and Noronua, R. P. (1954): The Indian

Tame. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 51: Wild Buffalo. op. cit. 54: 202-204.

727-30. STEWART, Con. A. Es (1927) > Tiger

INVERARITY, J. D. (1895): The Indian and other Game. Longmans, Green

Wild Buffalo. op. cit. 10: 41-52. Ltd., London.

LALL, SURENDR (1953): Wild Buffa- SEOCKLEY, er: Con. -G.. H.(1928):;

loes and Tame. op. cit.51: 726-27. Big Game Shooting in the Indian Empire.

Mooney, H. F. (1930): The distri- Constable and Company Ltd., London.

bution of Wild Buffalo in Orissa. op. cit. .

34; 242-244.

Oberonia sulcata Jos. et Chowd.:

A New Orchid frora Kameng Frontier

District, NEFA, Assam

J. JOSEPH AND S. CHOWDHURY

Botanical Survey of India, Eastern Circle, Shillong

(With a plate)

This paper describes a new species of orchid, Oberonia sulcata Jos.

et Chowd., collected during a botanical exploration from Selari Forest,

9 km. north-east of Bomdi La, Kameng Frontier District, NEFA, in the

month of September 1964.

Oberonia sulcata Joseph et Chowdhury, sp. nov.

Pertinet ad Orchidaceas, affinisque est Oberoniae roseae Hook. f., a qua

tamen differt foliis distincte ad basin articulatis, marginibus adaxialibus

canaliculatis ; inflorescentia multo longiore foliis, bracteis heteromorphis;

petalis aeque latis ac sepalis, marginibus breviter dentatis vel serratis ;

lobulo medio labelli alte obcordato.

Erecta, caespitosa, epiphytica vulgo in Quercu, inflorescentia tenui,

longa, arcuata florum parvorum lutzolo-brunneorum. Folia 1°5-12 cm.

<x 07 cm., circa 6 numero, basalia quidem multo minora, equitantia,

disticha, carnosa, anguste ensiformia, distincte articulata ad basin,

marginibus adaxialibus paulum canaliculatis per totam longitudinem,

marginibus integris, apice acuto. Inflorescentia 15-17 cm. longa, subspi-

cata, folio longissimo rmulto longioy; axis teres, ad basin nudus, supra

vero bracteis sterilibus longe aristatis, floribus verticillatis densius ad

medium quam alibi in apicem nudum desinens ; bracteae heteromorphae,

amplexicaules, marginibus subintegris, longiores ovario ; basales quidem

singulae +51 mm. apice longo rigido geniculato subulato ornatae ;

superiores vero gradatim breviores 3°5-2 mm. apicibus acuminatis vel

acutis. Flores circa 3°5 mm. longi ex stipite ad apicem petalorum

lateralium, luteo-brunnei, non-resupinati, subsessiles; sepala —1:25~x

1:25 mm., »sub-aequalia, anterius paulo longius ovatum obtusum

reflexum hyalinum marginibus integris ; /ateralia petala aeque lata et paulo

longiora sepalis, parallele patentia, luteolo-brunnea, crassa, minute

J. BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOC.

Joseph: Oberonia sulcata

It 57.

Oberonia sulcata Jos. et Chowd., sp. nov.

1. Habit; la. Leaf partly in cross section; ib. Bracts: top, middle, and basal ;

2. Flower in side view, 2a. flower in front view; 3. Outer 3 sepals, inner 2 petals, and

the lip spread out; 4. Fruit. (Drawn from Joseph 403538)

ORCHID OBERONIA SULCATA SP. NOV. 55

papillata, ovato-lanceolata, paulum concava, anguste fissa ad apicem,

marginibus irregulariter serratis vel dentatis ; Jabellum --2 mm. longum,

distincte trilobatum, --2 mm. latum ad basin loborum lateralium, erectum

leniter 3-nervium; lobi laterales multo minores medio, incurvi et

includentes columnam, irregulariter dentati; lobo medio -—-1:25 mm.

longo erecto alte obcordato marginibus subintegris. Capsula 4x

2 mm. ellipsoidea breviter stipitata 6-rugata coronata perianthio

marcescente.

Holotypus Joseph 40358 lectus in silva Selari ad Bomdi La in Kameng

Frontier District, NEFA, ad 2700 m. die 28 septembris anni 1964 et

positus in Herbario Nationali Centrali (CAL.); isotypi, Joseph 40358

A-D, positi in herbario Assamico ad Shillong (ASSAM).

Oberonia sulcata Joseph et Chowdhury, sp. nov.

Oberonia sulcata Joseph et Chowdhury, Orchidaceae, is allied fo

O. rosea Hk. f. but differs in its leaves distinctly jointed at the base,

channelled adaxial margins; inflorescence much longer than the leaves,

bracts heteromorphous ; petals as broad as the sepals and margins shortly

dentate or serrate ; mid-lobe of lip deeply obcordate.

Erect, caespitose, epiphyte on trunks and branches generally of

Quércus, with slender, long, arched, inflorescence of small, yellowish

brown flowers. Leaves 1°5-12 cm. x 0°7 cm., about 6 in number,

basal ones much smaller, equitant, distichous, fleshy, ensiform, distinctly

articulate at the base, with adaxial margins shallowly grooved all along

and edges entire; apex acute. Inflorescences 15-17 cm. long, subspicate,

much longer than the longest leaf; axis terete, bare at base but with

long-awned sterile bracts higher up, with flowers in whorls more dense

at the middle than in other parts, and ending in a naked tip; bracts

heteromorphous, clasping, margins subentire, longer than the ovary;

basal ones each +51 mm. with long, stiff, geniculate subulate apex ;

upper ones progressively shorter ranging from 3°5 to 2 mm. and with

apices acuminate to acute. Flowers —3°5 mm. long from stalk to the

tip of the lateral petals, yellowish brown, non-resupinate, subsessile :

sepals +-1:25 x +1:25 mm., subequal, anterior sepal slightly longer, ovate,

obtuse, reflexed, hyaline, margins entire ; /ateral petals as broad as and

slightly longer than the sepals, parallelly outstretched, yellowish brown,

thick, minutely papillose, ovate-lanceolate, slightly concave, narrowly

Cleft at the apex, margins irregularly serrate or dentate; /ip +2 mm.

long, distinctly trilobed, 2 mm. broad across the lateral lobes at the

base, erect, faintly three-nerved ; side-lobes much smaller than the mid-

lobe, bent over enclosing the column, irregularly toothed; mid-lobe

1:25 mm. long, erect, deeply obcordate, margins subentire. Capsule

4x 2mm., ellipsoid, very shortly stalked, 6-tidged, crowned with the

marcescent perianth. (See Plate)

56 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Joseph 40358 collected in Selari forest 9 km. NE. of Bomdi La, »

Kameng Frontier District, NEFA, at an altitude of +2700 m. (about

Lat. N. 27° 19’ and Long. E. 92° 25’) on 28th September 1964 is the

holotype and is deposited at the Central National Herbarium, Calcutta

(CAL.). The isotypes, Joseph 40358 A-D, are in the Herbarium of the

Botanical Survey of India, Eastern Circle, Shillong, Assam.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Rev. Fr. Dr. H. San-

tapau, Director, Botanical Survey of India, for the Latin diagnosis and

encouragement, and to Dr. A. S. Rao, Regional Botanist, for guidance

and critical suggestions.

Halictus latisignatus Cameron: a

polymorphic Indian halictine bee

with caste differentiation

(Hymenoptera, Halictidae)’

SH. F, SAKAGAMI

Zoological Institute, Hokkaido. University, Sapporo, Japan

AND

F, L. WAIN, S.S.J.E.

Panch Howd, Poona 2

(With twenty-two text-figures)

Recently we discovered an interesting cephalic polymorphism in the

females of an Indian halictine bee, Halictus latisignatus Cameron,

apparently linked with an incipient differentiation between queen and

worker. The original description of this species being poorly given,

Bluthgen (1931) made additional comments ; both sexes are re-described

in the present paper. The biological data are still meagre. This paper

gives the first biological data from the Oriental Region about halictine

bees, which are remarkable for the occurrence of diverse types of social

organization.

DESCRIPTION

Halictus (Halictus) latisignatus Cameron

Cameron, 1908, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 18:310; Bltithgen, 1931, Zool. Jb.

Syst. 61 : 320, 324; Cockerell, 1937, Amer. Mus. Nov. No. 950: 9.

SMALL FEMALE. Similar to Apis florea in size and blac-red

colour pattern (Fig. 1). Metasomal marginal pubescence conspicuous.

Head partly appears greyish because of dense appressed pubescence.

Head swollen behind and above eyes. Body length 7-8°5 mm., length of

forewing 5°5-6°5 mm.

: Contribution No. 686 from the Zoological Institute, Faculty of Science,

Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. In particular, the authors thank Dr. Ch.D.

Michener, University of Kansas, for his kind suggestions.

58 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Coloration. Black. Tergum I, T II basally, and sterna I-IV reddish

brown, T III basally also reddish brown but often invisible. Antennal

flagella tending to blackish brown, frontally often paler. Mandibles

apically, tegulae, articulations of legs, coxae to femora below, and tarsal

segments more or less brownish. Wings hyaline, veins pale brown to

brown, veins C and Rs 3+4 darker, Sc and pterostigma dark brown.

Figs. 1-5. Halictus latisignatus Cameron: Females (All scales given, 0°5 mm.).

1 & 2. Small and Large Females; 3. Inner spur of left hind tibia; 4. Left fore

tarsus; 5. Right forewing partly

~ Pilosity. Hairs white, those on sterna V-VI and hypopygium, tibiae,

and tarsi mostly golden brown, those on black areas of terga darker,

HALICTUS LATISIGNATUS: A POLYMORPHIC HALICTINE BEE 59

Tempora, genae, and paraocular areas below with short appressed hairs,

so dense and, especially on genae, tomentum-like that they completely

cover surface. Supraclypeus, and face laterally, with similar but sparse

and less appressed hairs. Vertex and face above medially rather sparsely

haired, with sparse erect hairs intermixed on vertex. Clypeus with sparse

but long stouter, downward-directed hairs. Eyes naked.

Pronotum above including posterior lobes, mesoscutum anteriorly,

and metanotum anteriorly with dense tomentum-like hairs covering

surface. Mesoscutum with sparse, rather erect hairs, slightly denser

anteriorly, and with finer but denser, rather appressed hairs, denser

laterally, both types sparser medially. Mesoscutellum and metanotum

with erect hairs, longer than on mesonotum, especially posteriorly. Pleura

with dense tomentum-like hairs, denser above and on metepisternum, and

also with moderately dense longer hairs. Propodeum naked on horizon-

tal area, with long erect hairs and relatively sparse, somewhat tomentum-

like hairs on sides and on median area of declivity, on the former longer

laterally. Posterior margin of forebasitarsi with differentiated, short but

stout, dense hairs forming comb (Fig. 4). Legs otherwise normally

haired.

Tergum I on anterior vertical area with sparse tomentum-like hairs

and moderately dense, long, erect hairs, as on all terga laterally. TV

with similar but denser and more appressed hairs. Marginal pubescence

limited on T I to lateral corners, consisting of rather short and incons-

picuous hairs; on T II fascia more conspicuous but still broadly

interrupted medially ; wider and complete on TIII-IV. T II-IV basally

with similar hair bands, though often concealed. Other areas of terga

silky with dense, appressed hairs, so fine that T I-II appear nude medially

seen from some directions, mixed with scattered stouter, longer, mode-

rately appressed hairs of darker tint on TIII-[V. Plumose hairs on

sterna I-III medially fine but long.

Sculpture. Head (Fig. 20) with very dense, uniform, and small

- punctures, interspaces smooth and shining but seldom exceeding diameter

of punctures even on vertex, so that surface appears as if dull coriaceous,

especially on paraocular areas above, where punctation is densest. Area

sutrounding ocelli narrowly smooth and shining. Supraclypeus above

_ similarly but more sparsely punctured, with interspaces irregularly

sculptured, below more sparsely punctured, interspaces, larger than

diameter of punctures. Clypeus above like supraclypeus, or punctures

Slightly sparser, below very sparsely and rather coarsely punctured,

interspaces 2-3 times as large as diameter of punctures and smooth and

shining. Hypostomata inconspicuously reticulate and shining, not

striated, with scattered coarse and ill-defined punctures.

Mesoscutum uniformly punctured like head, more sparsely posteriorly

where smooth shining interspaces are as large as diameter of punctures.

50 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Mesoscutellum like mesoscutum but punctures sparser and interspaces

larger than diameter of punctures. Metanotum finely and densely

punctured, interspaces irregular, giving reticulo-coriaceous appearance.

Pleura striated ; interspaces coriaceous and dully shining. Propodeal

enclosure with distinct transverse or oblique striation, varying in indivi-

duals, interspaces coriaceous and dully shining ; medially striation a little

irregular. Other parts of propodeum very finely punctured, appearing

coriaceous except Jatero-anterior parts, which are striated like pleura.

Terga with very fine but distinct punctures, dense and uniform, as fine,

but not so dense, as on face; though interspaces less than diameters of

punctures.

Structure. Head (Figs. 1, 20, 21) about as wide as, or slightly wider

than, distance between outer margins of tegulae. Seen dorsally,

distinctly extending behind eyes, with roundly and gently convergent

lateral contour; distinctly curved post-marginally ; occiput not carinate.

Seen oblique-dorsally, ocellocular distance slightly less than ocelloccipital

distance, than twice the interocellar distance, and than four times the

diameter of anterior ocellus (80:90:55: 22). Seen frontally, approxi-

mately as long as wide, with round-cubic contour, upper margin gently

convex. Supraorbital line passing through middle of anterior ocellus.

Upper third of inner orbits slightly divergent below, remainder nearly

parallel. Ratios of eye length to upper, middle, and lower interorbital

distances about as 22:23:25: 24°5. Vertex and frons medially

gently raised, frontal line not keeled. Supraclypeus gently convex

above, lateral margins slightly convex. Clypeus transverse and

flat; upper margin laterally gently concave, without specific emargi-

nation ; lower interorbital line passing at or slightly above middle of

clypeus ; lower margin of clypeus transverse, slightly pointed at lateral

angles, medially with blunt rounded process. Seen laterally, genae

distinctly enlarged, about 1:5 times as wide as maximum eye width seen

laterally, not angulate below. Hypostoma flat and simple. Labrum

normally bituberculate. Mandibles stout, bidentate. Scape a trifle

longer than ocellalveolar distance (14: 12), apex not exceeding posterior

ocelli, about half as long as pedicel and flagellum combined. Pedicel

knot-like, distinctly longer than wide (25: 20). Seen frontally, flagellum

I distinctly longer than F II, slightly longer than F ITI, slightly shorter

than F IV, and longer than apical width (25 : 20: 23: 27: 23).

Pronotum laterally not strongly projected anteriorly : anterior margin

approximately straight, ending in distinct lateral angulation ; lateral

margin gently concave. Mesoscutum anteromedially slightly bilobed,

with differentiated shining vertical area separated from rest by distinct

carina. Mesoscutellum gently convex, without median furrow, distinctly

longer than metanotum and nearly as long as horizontal area of

propodeum. Horizontal area of propodeum posteriorly not carinate ;

HALICTUS LATISIGNATUS: A POLYMORPHIC HALICTINE BEE 61

separated from vertical declivity by rounded angle; posterior margin of

horizontal area gently curved, not triangular nor squared; enclosure

demarcated by fine suture. Posterior declivity with lateral carinae only

in lower half. 3

Legs normal, inner hind tibial spur (Fig. 3) with four (occasionally

five) spines. Three basal spines slender, round-headed ; apical one knot-

like. Hind basitibial plate normal. Ratios of hind tibia to hind

basitarsus and to other tarsal segments combined 26:18:14. Radial

cell about 4 times as long as wide (22: 5°5), apex rounded, not on wing

margin. Pterostigma slightly shorter than three times its width (12 : 3°5).

Submarginal cell I slightly shorter than II+1Ii (1:4°5:8), Cell I

receiving 1 m-cu subapically, and III receiving 2 m-cu at apical 3. Veins

1 and 2 r-m not weakened. Hamuli usually 8, occasionally 9 (Fig. 5).

Metasoma elongate oval. Tergum I not elongate. T II and Ul

basally distinctly depressed. Submarginal lateral convexities mild,

marginal areas only slightly depressed, not particularly depigmented.

LARGE FEMALE (Figs. 2, 18, 19). Like small female but distinctly

larger (body length 11 to 15 mm., length of forewing 7°5-9 mm.), and

conspicuously macrocephalic. Seen dorsally, head distinctly wider than

distance between outer margins of tegulae, behind eyes distinctly projec-

‘ting posteriorly, posterior margin semicircular. Seen oblique-dorsally,

ocelloccipital distance distinctly longer. Seen frontally, head distinctly

cubic, greatly enlarged above eyes. Upper margin straight or occasionally

even gently concave. Inner orbits distinctly divergent below. Clypeus

distinctly wider. Scape distinctly surpassing postocellar line. Seen

laterally, genae enormously developed. Hypostoma with strong triangu-

lar process. Mandibles stouter. Punctation on head distinctly sparser,

— especially on paraocular areas and vertex, where interspaces are often 2 or

even 3 times as large as diameter of punctures, correspondingly smoother

and more shining in general appearance. Smooth area surrounding ocelli

very conspicuous. Punctation of mesoscutum and mesoscutellum also

slightly sparser, though not so conspicuously so as on head. Hamuli

9-10.

MALE. Similar to female in general appearance. No pale markings

on legs and head. Antennae reaching middle of mesosoma. Metasoma

not particularly slender nor curved. Terga weakly convex. Body length

75-9 mm., length of forewing 6-7 mm.

Pilosity. Differing from female: (1) White hairs often having slight

tint of yellow ochre, particularly on lower paraocular areas along inner

orbits ; (2) Tomental hairs far less developed on paraocular areas below,

genae, pronotum above, and mesoscutellum changing to mere slightly

dense undergrowth, not completely covering surface except on limited

parts of lower paraocular areas and pronotum: mesoscutum and tergum

62 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

I practically without appressed hairs ; (3) Clypeus more sparsely haired :

hairs on paraocular areas above dense but sparser than in female, rather

erect ; (4) tergal marginal pubescence less developed, reduced to incons-.

picuous side patches on TTI, still uninterrupted but narrower on

T IL-IV, often not completely covering surface.

Legs as in males of Halictus s. str., but foretarsi with long poSterior

hairs, nearly 3 times as long as width of segment (Fig. 7), postmarginal

hairs of forefemora moderately developed, as long as width of segment,

but not so long as in many species of Lasioglossum. Sterna J-III with

fine, dense golden-tinted hairs, postmarginally denser and more whitish,

forming inconspicuous bands. Sterna IV-VI with stouter, darker, and

denser hairs, showing differentiation as described below.

Sculpture. Asin female but generally coarser, especially on meso-

scutum, mesoscutellum, and T I anteriorly. Striation on propodeal

enclosure also a little coarser.

Structure. General structure as in female. Head (Fig. 6) slightly

narrower than distance between outer margins of tegulae (35: 37),

slightly longer than wide (40: 38), not so conspicuously swollen as in

female. Ratios of ocellocular, ocelloccipital, interocellar distances, and

diameter of anterior ocellus, 8:9:6:3. Outer orbits more convex, inner

orbits more convergent below. Ratios of eye length to upper, middle,

and lower interorbital distances 24: 24°5: 26:23. Clypeus projecting

below, lower orbital line distinctly above its middle, lower margin

straight and simple. Scape about $th as long as pedicel and flagellum

combined. Pedicel slightly longer than double the width. Ratios of

lengths of flagellum I-IV and width of FI and IV, 35: 50:54: 55: 36: 28.

Flagellum I distinctly convex below basally, apical flagellamere slightly

over twice as long as broad, gently concave above and convex below.

Basal depressions and submarginal convexities of terga mild, corres-

ponding to those in Halictus tumulorum. Marginal areas very weakly

depressed, without anterior demarcation. Tergum VII apically rounded,

medially narrowly smooth and shining; ventral flexion narrow, not

separated by ridge from dorsal part, Sterna II-III (Figs. 8-9) posteriorly

gently concave. S IV posteriorly more concave, medially with dense,

stout hairs radiately arranged (Fig. 10). S V (Fig. 11) posteriorly with

deep semicircular emargination, marginal hairs simpler than on S IV,

longer medially. S VI (Fig. 12) posteriorly irregularly lobed, marginal

hairs simple but anterior half of postgradular area with dense paired

longitudinal hair tufts, consisting of stout hairs directed oblique-

posteriorly. S VII (Fig. 13) slender, median projection narrow ‘but

conspicuous, truncate apically. S VIII (Fig. 14) posteriorly straight with

distinct round-headed triangular projection medially, with conspicuous

hair tuft. }

Genitalia (Fig. 15) resemble those of A. tumulorum. Gonobase

HALICTUS LATISIGNATUS: A POLYMORPHIC HALICTINE BEE _ G3

between 4 and 4 as long as gonocoxite, anterior dorsal margin rather

straight, ventrapical dechitinized window elongate and conspicuous,

’

yry UF

BA al yy),

oa Opiutey

im)

\\ Ad!

Veet

\ iM

foal

ih My.

Y) 1,

Kiy/ lh Mi}

X // ‘ye

BO ih,

hy A id

WW ify

Willy)

Figs. 6-17. Halictus latisignatus Cameron: Males (All scales given, 0°5 mm.).

6. Head seen frontally; 7. Left foretarsus; 8. Ventral side of metasoma ;

9-14. Metasomal sterna IfI-VIII; 15. Genitalia (left ventral, right dorsal view) ;

16. Lateral inner view of left gonostylus; 17. Lateral outer view of right gonostylus

Gonostyli (Fig. 15, 16) issuing from inner sides of apices of gonocoxites,

not petiolate; dorsally projection with round apex ; ventral lobe broad

and quadrate, inner hair tufts conspicuous, consisting of curled plumose

hairs, basodorsally with conspicuous flagellar process, apex of which

does not exceed apical margin of ventral lobe, apical margin of ventral

lobe truncate and broad, with very fine setae ; basal external projection

64 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

simple and small. Penis valves not extending much beyond gonocoxites,

dorsally simple with conspicuous, dense, bristle-like hairs.

DISTRIBUTION. Previous records : Deesa and Matheran, India.

Specimens examined, Lonavla, Western Ghats, India (650 m.):

many specimens as given later; Sinhagad, W. Ghats, India (1320 m.):

2 small females, 7 Jan. 1964. All collected by F. L. Wain.

VARIABILITY. The coloration of female tergum IT is variable. In

the most melanic individuals (Fig. 2), only the basal third is reddish at

the middle and the black area reaches to the base laterally. In the

opposite extreme (Fig. 1), only apical third or fourth is black, with or

without lateral extension, and the tint becomes very pale. In more than

half of specimens examined (18/30), however, the black area occupies

the apical § of the sclerite and extends forward laterally but not to the

base. The male shows similar but wider variation, but only six speci-

mens were examined. Inthe melanic extreme, T II is completely black,

leaving a dim transverse trace of reddish at the base medially. In the

opposite case, the whole sclerite is reddish with a similar dim, slightly

darker band apico-medially.

The antennae are nearly black with a slight brownish tint anteriorly in

the melanic extreme ; dark brown, anteriorly paler, the apical segments

anteriorly yellowish brown in paler specimens. The mandibles vary from

only apically reddish brown to cases in which the apical and basal

articulations are reddish brown, and tegulae from nearly yellowish to

dark brownish. Similar variation is also seen in the legs.

Striation of the propodeal enclosure varies among individuals. In

some individuals several transverse striae run parallel to the anterior

margin of the sclerite before the oblique striation (Fig. 1). In an

extreme case the latter was nearly absent. In other individuals, such

transverse striation is reduced and the oblique striations start directly

from the anterior margin (Fig. 2). The median portion of the enclosure

also varies as to degree of irregularity in sculpture.

AFFINITY. The specimens examined agree with the original descrip-

tion by Cameron, including wing venation and the presence of metasomal

anal rima. The specimens also agree with the comments of Bluthgen

(1931). This clearly shows that they belong to H. tetrazonius group

(=Halictus s. str. in the sense of Michener 1944), though the male

apical sterna have a peculiar arrangement of hairs.

Compared with typical species of Halictus s. str. (and also of the

subgenus Seladonia), this species is peculiar in the possession of long

hairs on male foretarsi. The anteriorly carinate mesoscutum and

differentiated comb-like hairs on the female foretarsi are also remarkable,

but both are found in lesser degrees in some other species of Halictus

s, str. For instance, H. quadricinctus (Fabricius) approaches Jatisignatus

HALICTUS LATISIGNATUS: A POLYMORPHIC HALICTINE BEE 65

in both, especially in the latter character. The differentiation of male

sterna V and VI, especially the latter, gives good distinctive characters.

As to the male genitalia, the relatively large gonobase with straight

dorsal anterior margin, and the non-petiolate gonostyli rather resemble

those of H. (Seladonia) tumulorum than those of some species of Halictus ©

s. str. At any rate, there is no reason to consider this species other than

an Oriental offshoot of Halictus s. str., a primarily Holarctic group.

This species further resembles Halictus acrocephalus Blathgen (1926)

from Pusa (Bihar), India. He did not discuss this similarity in his

paper in 1931, but the species runs straight to H. acrocephalus in his key

of ‘more or less reddish coloured (Oriental) species’ (1926, p. 604) by

TABLE 1

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN © Halictus acrocephalus AND H. latisignatus

acrocephalus | latisignatus (small female)

1. Body size 5-5'5 mm. 7-8°5 mm.

2. Dark metasomal Schwarzbraun _[Blackish Black

area brown]

3. Coloration on Gewolbte Mittelpartie und Totally reddish

tergum I Beulengegend gesch-

warzt [Convex centre

and lateral elevation

olack]

4, Tergal marginal area | Durchsichtig horngelb Not particularly

[Transparent horny- depigmented

yellow,

5. Supraclypeus and Wie Stirn, aber viel flacher Distinctly and rather

clypeus und deshalb ganz obsolet coarsely punctured

punktiert, Kopfschild

unten etwas starker (aber

auch noch _ 4usserst

feiner) punktiert [As the

vertex, but much smoo-

ther, and therefore with :

the punctures quite

obsolescent, clypeus

below somewhat strongly

(but extremely finely) |

punctured]

6. Sculpture of Mikroskopisch feiner, aus- With distinct trans-

propodeal serst dichter welliger verse or oblique

enclosure Langsrunzelung [Micro- striation

scopically fine, extremely

close, wavy, longitudinal

—_—___

lines |

7. Tergal sculpture Mit netzartiger Chagrin- Finely but distinctly

lerung, ... ohne Pun- punctured

ktierung [With reticulate

sculpture, . . . without |

punctation] |

a a a eR SS ASG SD 7B IPT IP SISO SDSS 1 ES EE

ar:

66 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (i)

the possession of tergal pubescence and enlarged head. Further, the two

species agree in the colour pattern and presence and distribution of

white tomentum-like hairs on the head and mesosoma. But they may

easily be distinguished by the characters shown in Table 1.

FEMALE POLYMORPHISM. As indicated in the description, the

females show a conspicuous polymorphism due to cephalic allometry

Figs. 18-21. Halictus latisignatus Cameron: Cephalic polymorphism in

females (Scale given, 0°5 mm.). 18-19. Large female; 20-21. Small female.

Both, from front and in profile

(Figs. 18-21). To show this clearly, the measurements of various head

parts of one small and one large female were converted into ratios to

mesosomal width (=distance between outer margins of tegulae, 2°06 mm.

in the small female and 2°75 mm. in the large one) and the relative values

of the larger female were divided by the corresponding values of the

small female. The results are shown in Table 2. i

HALICTUS LATISIGNATUS: A POLYMORPHIC HALICTINE BEE 67

TABLE 2

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF MEASUREMENTS OF FEMALES

OF Halictus latisignatus ae

Ratio of part measured to

mesosomal width Ratio

Part measured itt

small 2 large 2 Seal aes

Eye length aan 0°62 0°60 0:96

Eye width (seen laterally) We 0°24 0°23 0°96

Head length x 1:04 1°06 1:02

Scape length ; Speen 0:41 0°49 1:02

Upper interorbital distance af, 0°68 0:77 ~ 1:07

Interocellar distance ee 0°15 0°16 1:07

Middle interorbital distance i 0°78 0°84 112

Head width v 1:02 1°14 1°12

Ocellocular distance sl 0°24 0°27 1°12

Ocellalveolar distance Ieee ate 0°34 0°42 1.323

Alveorbital distance ah 0°25 0°31 1:24

Lower interorbital distance a 0°72 0°91 1°26

Genal width a 0°38 0°56 1°48

Ocelloccipital distance ne 0°26 0°44 1:69

Obviously, the values may vary a little when a large number of

individuals are measured. But the increase of the ratios shows the

relative increase in measurements of the large female from the frons

‘upward, posteriorly, and downward. ‘The same tendency is more or less

‘seen in other species with similar macrocephaly (Quénu 1957 ; Sakagami

& Fukushima 1961 ; Sakagami & Moure, in press, a).

To show the relation between the macrocephalic tendency and

absolute body size, two ratios were chosen: head width/mesosomal

width and genal width/eye width. In Fig. 22, these ratios were plotted

‘against the absolute values of head width and lateral eye width respec-

tively. The results clearly show that both head and genal widths

allometrically increase with the increase in absolute size, as is known in

other species. But the macrocephalic tendency in this species is stronger

than in most other cases so far known. Here, one of us (S.F.S.) would

68 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 63 (1)

like to repeat a warning against the uncritical application of craniometry

to distinguish species in halictine bees.

& GENA/EYE (@)

HE AD / MESOSOMA(O)

WIDTHS

RATIO OF

WIDTH OF EYE (SEEN LATERALLY-A)& HEAD (B)

Fig. 22. Aalictus latisignatus Cameron: Relation between body size and

ratios Genal width/Lateral eye width and Head width/Mesosomal width in females.

Regression lines are made by eye. Dotted lines indicate approximate division

between queen and worker.

As indicated in the description, at least three non-metric characteris-

tics vary in a fashion parallel with the macrocephaly : increased number

of hamuli, appearance of the genal process, and decreased density of

punctures on the head. The increase of hamuli parallel to the increased

body size is known in many other social Hymenoptera (bumble bees,

stingless bees, cf. Schwarz 1948) both intra- and interspecifically, and even

in cases of isometric body increase. Hence this tendency may be

regarded as a general trend in the bees, not specially linked with the

HALICTUS LATISIGNATUS: A POLYMORPHIC HALICTINE BEE 69

cephalic polymorphism. The appearance of genal processes in large

females is known in Megalopta genalis Meade-Waldo, a Neotropical

nocturnal halictine bee. Michener (1954) regarded M. fornix var.

panamensis Cockerell, a smaller form with normal head and without

genal processes, as conspecific with M. genalis, the type of which is

unusually macrocephalic with strong genal processes (cf. also Sakagami &

Moure, unpub.). Apparently H. Jatisignatus shows a parallel variation.

It is possible that such genal processes may become fixed specifically, as

seen in H. (H.) ligatus Say. In such instances this character may be used

as a diagnostic one. Yet it is better not to over-emphasise its value.

Recently one of us (S.F.S.) found in a nest of Megalopta sp., one female

with a normal head while another, a slightly macrocephalic one, had a

genal process on one side but not on the opposite side (Sakagami &

Moure in press, b).

Decreased density of punctures parallel to increased head size has so

far been ignored. One of us (S.F.S.) examined three halictine species,

all showing conspicuous cephalic polymorphism: H. (H.) scabiosae

(Rossi), Augochlora semiramis Schrottky, and H. (Seladonia) hesperus

(Smith). This tendency was not found in the first two species, but was

in the last, though not so conspicuously as in H. /atisignatus.

CASTE DIFFERENTIATION. It is known at least in two species

with cephalic polymorphism, H. scabiosae in Europe (Quénu 1957) and

H. (Seladonia) aerarius (Smith) in Japan (Sakagami & Fukushima 1961),

that this phenomenon relates to caste differentiation: the large macroce-

phalic females are queens, the small, microcephalic ones, workers.

Considering this fact, some specimens of H. Jatisignatus (all collected on

flowers in Lonavla during October 1964 by F.L.W.) were preserved in

fixative and the internal features were examined. The results are shown

in Table 3.

The relative age was determined by the wear of mandibles and wing

margins. Parentheses in the last column indicate a degenerated state.

The specimens examined are few in number, and we have not yet had a

chance to discover the nest of this species. Nevertheless, the results

clearly indicate the occurrence of queen-worker differentiation. A glance

at the table shows that all females with head width less than 2°50 mm.

(Nos. 1-11) are unfertilized. They are all fully laden with pollen,

suggesting active foraging on flowers. Based upon the recent advance in

halictine biology, it is impossible to regard them as caring solitarily for

their own broods. Their ovaries are mostly undeveloped. Besides the

specimens in the table, six small females taken on flowers were examined

by F.L.W. as to ovaries but not spermathecae; four of them had

undeveloped ovaries, two slightly developed ones. The occasional

development of ovaries in workers of queen-right nests of some social

70 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

halictine bees is not rare. Therefore, it is certain that these small

females were acting as workers. |

TABLE 3

INTERNAL FEATURES OF FEMALES (QUEENS AND WORKERS) OF

Halictus latisignatus

Sonal Date of | Head width Age Pollen | Fertilized Ovary

oO. | collection (in mm.) loads or not development

1. |, ‘et, 20 Dey | old | + = (+)

2 18 do. mid. + = a se

3 do. do. do. + = =

4 20 2°30 do. + — a:

5 do. do. old 4 = =

6 do. do. do + _ +

a 26 do. young + _ —

8 18 do. do. + = =

9 | 20 2°36 old + —_ ==

10 26 2:38 mid. + - ~

11 | 20 do. do. + = =

fi 26 2°58 young - + =

13 20 2°60 old? & + (+)

14 | do. 273 young — u +

15 <4) 26 | 2°85 do. ~ + —

16 | 20 2:90 mid. +: + ++

17 : do. do. old? B 3 =

18 | do. 3-09 do. - + (+)

19 | do. _ do. do. —_ + (+)

On the other hand, all large females except one, the examination of

whose spermatheca was unsuccessful, are fertilized. They carry either

poor pollen loads or none. The ovaries are mostly still rudimentary or

poorly developed or already degenerated. Probably this indicates that

these large females collected on flowers were either young individuals

before or immediately after starting nests, or those which were quite old

and had abandoned the nests. It seems likely that the large females or

queens at the peak of reproductive activity usually remain in their nests,

so that they are rarely collected on flowers. It is interesting, however,

HALICTUS LATISIGNATUS: A POLYMORPHIC HALICTINE BEE 71

that one large female with very well-developed ovaries was collected

(No. 16 in the table). This may have been from a solitary nest of

relatively advanced stage before the production of workers, or may have

been taken on the occasional flight of the queen at the peak of reproduc-

tive activity (this is occasionally found in the summer matrifilial nest of

Lasioglossum duplex Dalla Torre, Sakagami, unpub.). Only this indivi-

dual was middle aged among the large females, and her ovaries were

enormously developed, not comparable with the slightly developed ovaries

of some small bees (Nos. 1,4,6 in the table). This difference is compara-

ble to that found between queens and workers with developed ovaries in

some social species, for instance Lasioglossum (Chloralictus) inconspicuum

(Smith) (Michener & Wille 1961).

Therefore, it is clear that the differentiation between\ queen and

worker does exist in this species, though the type of social organization

is still not well known.

PHENOLOGY AND FLOWER VISITS. Specimens examined were

mostly collected in Lonavla, in the Western Ghats, situated on the

Deccan side, 650 m. in altitude, about 65 km. from Poona. It is

situated on the edge of the thick monsoon forest which covers the

Ghats, and small patches of forest remain here and there at Lonavla.

The whole area is basalt with scattered beds of clay. Three seasons can

be distinguished in the district : Cold (approximately November-Febru-

ary, air temperature averaging 14-25°C.) ; Hot (March-May, 23-34°C.),

and Rains (June-October, 20-26°C.). The specimens collected in

Lonavla are arranged in Table 3 according to this seasonal cycle as

follows, each month being divided into three 10-day periods. The

relative age was determined by the wear of mandibles and wing margins.

The results are shown in Table 4. The collecting was not done

quantitatively and the number of specimens is still scanty. But except

for the rainy season and December, the collecting covers all months and

the distribution shown in the table surely reflects a seasonal shift. The

absence of any activities during the rains is definite. During this season

the rain is very heavy and almost incessant; almost the whole of the

annual rainfall, averaging 4000 mm. or more, occurs during this time.

There are few flowers and practically no activity of bees of any kind was

seen on occasional visits there. Except for this season, the activities of

H. latisignatus appear to be continuous (no collecting was done in

December), but the peaks of abundance are apparently in May and

October, that is the periods before and after the rainy season, and males

and large females seem to appear only in these periods. At these times,

weather conditions are most favourable, flowers are abundant, and many

other species of bees flourish. In contrast to the species in temperate

regions, there is no definite seasonal shift in age or caste. Both young

Ja JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

and old workers are captured side by side. Probably nests of diverse

stages may occur at the same time, this being characteristic of many

tropical species.

TABLE 4

SEASON OF COLLECTION AND AGE OF SPECIMENS OF

Halictus latisignatus COLLECTED AT LONAVLA

Season | COLD | HOT | RAINS | COLD

Month | I Il | Ill IV V | VI VII-IX X ‘xt XII

Males ON Mae hen Gok ba SAD 2 ea Ne ve Bone (pasa A fee

Small females

young Mice S. wig be ee | STN Oa ee dO es Lo) etl eee eae

middle feed aD ies (ab ed Sale AA Shese 222\)1.4

old SED ee als Shee 1 4|2

Large females

young Acie tee ie) kil ty ee bod SE hae Satay pay en aioe 2D es in

middle Rg Sea lng it te Ua eatine Pp mene eee ema Far A RES cna aie es

old Se rea we cha mi a ita" yare ie aed a oF lay eee ie

Flower visits have not been systematically observed. There are

the following records: Erioloena candollei (Sterculiaceae), Zizyphus

sp. (Rhacmneae), Leea sambucina (Ampelidaceae), Terminalia sp.

(Combretaceae), Cyathocline lutea, Senecio grahami (Compositae),

Pogostemon purpurascens, Dysophyla stellata (Labiatae), Celosia argentea

(Amaranthaceae).

SUMMARY -

Both sexes of Halictus (Halictus) latisignatus Cameron are re-descri-

bed. The females of this species have conspicuous cephalic poly-

morphism. Large females are decidedly macrocephalic, with some

associated morphological differentiation. Anatomical examination con-

firmed that this polymorphism relates to caste differentiation: large

females are queens and small females are workers. The phenology and

flower associations are briefly treated.

SS ST Pe

HALICTUS LATISIGNATUS: 4 POLYMORPHIC HALICTINE BEE 73

REFERENCES

BLUTHGEN, P. (1926): Beitrage zur

Kenntnis der indo-malayischen Halictus

und Thrincostoma-Arten (Hym., Apidae,

Halictini), Zool. Jb. Syst. 51: 376-698 ;

1931, op. cit. 61: 285-346.

CAMERON, P. (1908): A contribution

to the aculeate Hymenoptera of the

Bombay Presidency. J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 18: 300-311.

COcKERELL, T. D. A. (1937): Bees of

the genera Halictus and Ceratina from

Siam. Amer. Mus. Noy. No. 950, 12 pp.

MICHENER, Ch. D. (1944): Compara-

tive external morphology, phylogeny,

and a classification of the bees (Hymeno-

ptera). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 82:

151-326.

op. cit. 104:

— = TT es

(1954): Bees of Panama.

1-176

& Witte, A. (1961):

The bionomics of a primitively social

bee, Lasioglossum inconspicuum. Univ.

Kansas Sci. Bull. 42:

QuéNnu, C. (1957): Sur les femelles

dété de Halictus scabiosae (Rossi).

(Insecta, Hymenoptera). C. R. Acad.

Sci., Paris 244 : 1073-1076.

SAKAGAMI, Sh. F., & Moure, J. S.

(in press, a) : Cephalic polymorphism in

some Neotropical halictine bees (Hym.,

1123-1202.

Apoidea). Anais Acad. Brasil. Ciénc.

ae a el ress, Db),

Additional observations on _ nesting

habits of some Brazilian halictine bees

(Hym. Apoidea). Mushi (Fukuoka).

—————., & FUKusHIMA, K. (1961) :

Female eee in a social halictine

bee, Halictus (Seladonia) aerarius (ee

(Hymenoptera, Apoidea). Jap. J. Ecol.

113 118-124.

SCHWARZ, H. R. (1948): Stingless

bees (Meliponidae) of the Western

Hemisphere. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.

90: 1-546.

A list of Planktonic Green Algae

from Amritsar, Panjab

MANMOHAN SINGH, M.Sc.

S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, New Delhi

The present communication deals with some planktonic green algae

collected by the author during January 1949 to March 1950 from some

ponds, pools, and ditches in Amritsar and its environs. Although forms

such as Chlamydomonas, Pandorina, and Eudorina were met with through-

out the year, forms like Micractinium pusillum Fres. and Pteromonas

angulosa Lemm. were encountered only during the latter part of July.

The seasonal distribution of some of the forms is shownin the table

at pp. 80-82. In all 53 forms are listed in this paper.

1. Chlamydomonas globosa Snow. Pascher, Siisswasserflora 4: 192,

f, 130a, 1927.

Cells 13-14 x 10-11“. Insmall ponds. Rarely found.

This is a more robust form than the type.

2. C. intermedia Chodat. Pascher 4: 203, f. 141, 1927.

Cells 8-10 x 12-14 . In pools and ditches.

This form is slightly smaller than the type.

3. C. reinhardi Dangeard. Pascher 4: 201-202, f. 140, 1927.

Cells 7-8 x 9-11 «. In pools and ditches.

4. C. gelatinosa Korsch. Pascher 4: 210, f. 154, 1927.

Cells 14-16 x 17-19 «. In pools and ditches.

5. C. umbonata Pascher 4: 211, f. 156, 1927.

Cells 10-12 x 11-14 4. In stagnant water. Rare.

6. C. proboscigera Korsch. Pascher 4: 216, f. 161a, b, 1927.

Cells 10-11 x 10-12 . In pools and ditches. Rare.

This form is smaller than the type.

7. C. gloeocystiformis Dill. Pascher 4: 224, f. 168,1927.

Cells 9-1b x 13-15 ». In pools and ditches.

8. C. gigantea Dill. Pascher 4: 283, f. 245, 1927.

Cells 12-16 <x 16-25 uw. In ponds and ditches.

PLANKTONIC GREEN ALGAE FROM AMRITSAR Tip)

9. Gonium pectorale Miller. Pascher 4: 418, ff. 376-379, 1927.

Colony 35-37 j long; cells 7-9 x 6-7 4s. In ditches,

10. Pandorina morum (Miller) Bory. Pascher 4: 427, ff. 387-389,

1927.

Colony 70-80 x 80-90 ; cells 20-24 ju broad. In ponds and

ditches.

11. Eudorina elegans Ehr. Pascher 4: 440, ff. 394-401, 1927.

Colony 100-115 x 100-115 4; cells 12-14 « broad. In ponds and

ditches.

12. KE. illinoiensis Pascher (= Pleodorina illinoiensis Kofoid) 4: 443,

ff. 404-405, 1927.

Colony 44-48 x 50-55 jy; cells 4-6 x 7-9 « broad. In ponds and

ditches. |

13. Chlorogonium elongatum Dangeard. Pascher 4: 316, ff, 283-284,

284a, 1927.

Cells 4-5 x 40-45 «. In ponds, forming a greenish scum on the

surface along with Chlamydomonas sp.

14. Volvox globator (L.) Ehr. Pascher 4: 465, ff. 413-415, 420b,

421, 422, 1927.

Common in small ponds and ditches.

15. Pteromonas angulosa Lemm. Pascher 4: 365, f. 322, 1927.

Cells 16-18 x 20-22 ». In ponds, forming scum.

16. Tetraspora gelatinosa (Vauch) Desvaux. Observ. Pl. Angers 18,

1818 ; Prescott, Algae West. Great Lake Area 88, t. 5, ff. 3-4, 1951.

Cells 9-10 ,« in diameter. In pools and ditches.

17. Pediastrum simplex (Meyen) Lemm. Zeit. Fisch 1897 : 180,

1897 ; Prescott 227, t. 50, f. 2, 1951.

Coenobium 20-22 x 30-34 1; cells 24-28 ,. long. In pools.

18. P. tetras var. tetraedron (Corda) Rabenh. Flor. Eur. Alg. 3: 78,

1868 ; Prescott 227, t. 50, f. 7, 1951.

Cells 7-8 x 14-16 «. In ponds and ditches.

19. P. clathratum Lemm. Lemmermann, Brunnthaler & Pascher

in Sisswasserflora 5: 94, 1915.

Cells 15-18 x 25-28 u. In pools and ditches.

20. Micractinium pusillum Fres. Abh. Sanck. Nat. Ges. Frankfurt

a. M. 2: 236, 1858 ; Prescott 287, t. 56, f. 8, 1951.

Cells 4-6 « broad ; setae 20-30 » long. In pools along with Pando-

rina and Chlamydomonas,

76 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

21. Tetraedron trigonum var. gracile (Reinch) De Toni, Syll. Alg.

1 : 598, 1889; Prescott 270, t. 61, ff. 14-16, 1951.

Cells 20-24 « long. In pools and ditches.

22. T. minimum (A. Br.) Hanzg. in Hedwigia 27: 131, 1888;

Prescott 267, 1. 60, ff, 12-15, 1951. :

Cells 6-14 « long. In pools and ditches.

23. Ankistrodesmus falcatus var. mirabilis (W. & G. S. West) G. S.

West, Treat. Brit. Fresh Wat. Algae 224, 1904.

Cells 1-2 x 30-34 p. In pools and ditches.

This form is smaller than the type.

24. <A. spiralis (Turner) Lemm. Arch. Hydrobiol. Planktonk. 4:

176, 1908 Prescott 254, t. 58; ff: Tl=k2;1951;

Cells 7-9 x 35-40 4. In pools and ditches.

25. Actinastrum hantzschii var. fluviatile Schroder. Forsch. Biol.

Stat. Plon. 7: 20, 1890; Prescott 284, t. 65, f. 1, 1951.

Cells 1-2 x 14-16 ». In pools and ditches.

26. Kirchneriella lunaris (Kirchner) Moebius, Abh. Sanck. Natur.

Ges. Frankfort a.M. 18: 331, 1894 ; Prescott 258, 1: 58,48..27 1951.

Cells 3-5 < 4-7 j«. In pools and ditches.

27. Crucigenia rectangularis (A.Br.) Gay. Recherches Devel,

Classif. Alg. Vert.” 100, 1891; Prescott 285; 1. 65, £..9.1. G6.

1951. |

Cells 2-3 x 5-6 . In pools and ditches.

This form is smaller than the type.

28. Scenedesmus obliquus(Turpin) Kitz. in Linnaea 8: 609, 1833;

Prescott 279; 1.63.1. 171951. ,

Cells 2-3 x 10-11 . In pools and ditches.

29. S. dimorphus (Turpin) Kitz. in Flora 16: 608, 1833, Prescott

217s t05, lt-o-9, 195i:

Cells 3-5 x 16-20 «. In pools and ditches, along with Coelastrum,

Pediastrum and Ankistrodesmus spp.

30. S. bijuga (Turpin) Lagerheim in Nuova Notarisia 4: 158, 1893;

Lemmermann, Brunnthaler & Pascher, Sitisswasserflora 5: 167, 1915.

Cells 4-6 x 14-16 . In pools and ditches.

31. S. arcuatus Lemm. in Forsch. Biol. Stat. Plon 7: 112, 1899a;

Prescott 275, t. 62, ff. 6-7, 1951.

Cells 5-6 x 8-10 «. In pools and ditches. Rarely found.

PLANKTONIC GREEN ALGAE FROM AMRITSAR 7?

32. S. abundans var. brevicauda G.M. Smith in Trans. Wis. Acad.

Sci. Arts Letters 18: 468, 1916.

Cells 3-4 x 6-7 ». In ponds and puddles. Rarely found.

This form has sometimes two spines between two poles instead of

four as in the type.

_33. SS. quadricauda var. bicaudatus Chodat. Lemmermann, Brunn-

thaler & Pascher, Stisswasserflora 5: 165, 1915.

Cells 3-4 xX 10-11 ». In pools and ditches.

34. S. quadricauda var. longispina G.M. Smith in Trans. Wis. Acad.

Sci. Arts and Letters 18: 480, 1916.

Cells 4-6 « 11-15 4. In pools and ditches.

35. S. opoliensis Richter in Zeit. Angw. Mikro. 1: 7, 1896.

Cells 3-4 x 4-12 «. In pools and ditches. Rarely found.

36. Coelastrum microporum Naeg. Lemmermann, Brunnthaler &

Pascher, Stisswasserflora 5: 194, 1915.

Colony 35-37 yu, broad ; cells 10-12 » broad. In pools and ditches.

37. C. cambricum Archer. Lemmermann, Brunnthaler & Pascher,

Susswasserflora 5: 196, f. 311, 1915.

Colony 35-45 « broad ; cells 7-12 ». In small ponds.

38. Closterium acerosum (Schrank) Ehr. West & West, Brit.

Desmid. 1: 146, t. 18, ff. 2-5, 1904.

Cells 30-35 x 230-250 «4; apices 8-10 , broad. In pools and

ditches. ;

39. C. acerosum var. elongatum Bréb. West & West, 148, t.

18, f. 1, 1904.

Cells 35-45 350-400 .; apices 10-12 «. In pools and ditches.

40. C. strigosum Bréb. West & West 165, t. 21, ff. 6-7, 1904.

Cells 10-14 x 150-200 ». In pools and ditches.

This is much smaller than the type.

41. C. ehrenbergii Meneg. West & West 143, t. 17, ff. 1-4, 1904.

Cells 85-90 x 380 1, apices 7-8 «. In small pools and ditches.

This form is much smaller than the type.

42. C. stellenboschense Hodgetts in Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Africa

13: 74, f. A, B.F., 1925.

Cells 10-41 x 90-100 je. In pools and ditches.

78. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

43. CC. pseudodianae Roy. West & West 132, t. 15, ff. 7-8, 1904.

Cells 10-12 « 150-200 p, apices 2-3 « broad. In pools and ditches.

Rarely found.

This form differs from the type in not being straight in the centre.

44. C. cornu Ehr. West & West 157, t. 20, ff. 1-5, 1904.

Cells 1-10 x 110-120 ; apices 2-3 x. In pools and ditches.

45. C. tumidum Johnson. West & West 156, t. 19, ff. 15-18, 1904.

Cells 10-14 x 92 4; apices 2-4 . In ponds and ditches. Rarely

found.

46. C. costatum Corda. West & West 120, t. 13, ff. 1-3, 1904.

Cells 40-46 x 200-230 »; apices 10-15 «. In pools and ditches.

Rarely found.

This form differs from the type in having smaller cells and lesser

number of pyrenoids.

47. Pleurotaenium ehrenbergii var. crenulatum (Ehr.) Krieger.

Kryptogamenflora 13 (3): 413, t. 43, f. 6, 1937.

Cells 525-575 long ; breadth at isthmus 30-33 4; apices 21-23 u.

In ponds, pools and ditches.

48. Cosmarium granatum Bréb. West & West, 186, t. 63, ff. 1-3,

1905.

Cells 16-18 x 20-23 w; isthmus 3-6 ». In pools and ditches.

49. C. granatum var. subgranatum Nordst. West & West 188, t.

63, ff. 5-8, 1905.

Cells 15-17 x 20-24 ; isthmus 5-7 . In pools and ditches.

50. C. ocellatum Eicheler & Gutw. West & West 144, t. 58, f.

6, 1905.

Cells 16-19 x 20-25 j.; isthmus 5-7 ». In pools and ditches.

51. C. subtumidum Nordst. West & West 192, t.63, ff. 18-20, 1905.

~ Cells 16-20 x 20-25 «3 isthmus 8-9 4. In pools and ditches.

This form is slightly smaller than the type.

52. C. phaseolus var. minor Boldt. West & West 159, t. 60, f.

15, 1905. |

Cells 15-20 x 20-25 j.; isthmus 5-6 «. In pools and ditches. Rarely

found. |

PLANKTONIC GREEN ALGAE FROM AMRITSAR

a0:

HOO. f. 10, 1911.

C. sub-broomei Schmidle. West & West, Brit. Desmid. 4: 23, t.

Cells 35-40 x 50-53 ; isthmus 12-15 «. In pools and ditches.

a S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is grateful to Professor M. R. Handa for guidance, to

Dr. P. N. Mehra, Head of the Department of Botany, Panjab

University, for encouragement and valuable suggestions, and to Rev.

Fr. H. Santapau for useful suggestions.

Desvaux, A. N. (1818) : Observations

sur les Plantes des environs d’ Angers,

Paris.

De Ton, G. B. (1889) : Sylloge Alga-

rum omnium hucusque cognitarum I.

Padua.

FRESENIUS, G. (1858): Beitrage zur

Kenntnis mikoskopischer Organismen.

Abh. Senck. Nat. Ges. Frankfurt a.M.

2 : 211-242.

Gay, F. (1891): Recherches sur le

development et la classification de quel-

ques algues vertes. 116 pp.

HAnsairG, A. (1888a): Uber die Stiss-

wasser-gattungen Trochisia Kitz. (Asteri-

‘cium Corda, Polyedrium Nag., Cerasterias

Reinsch), Hedwigia 27: 126-132.

Hopcetts, W. J. (1925): Some fresh

water algae from Stellenbosch. Trans.

Roy. Soc. S. Africa 13: 74.

KRIEGER, W. (1937): Die Desmidia-

ceae. In Rabenhorsts Kryptogamen-

flora 13. Leipzig.

KUTZING, F. T. (1833): Algologisches

Mittleilungen. I. Uber Gloionema Ag. IL

Uber eine neue Gattung der Conferva-

ceen. Flora 16: 513-528.

—————— (1833b) : Synopsis Dia-

tomacearum oder Versuch einer syste-

matischen Zusamnenstellung der Diato-

meen. Linnaea 8: 529-620.

LAGERHEIM, G. (1893) : Chlorophyceen

aus Abessinien und Kordafan. Nuova

Notorisia 4 : 153-160.

LEMMERMANN, E. (1897): Die plank-

tonalgen des Muggelsees bei Berlin. II.

Zeit. Fisch. 1897 : 177-188,

(1889): Das Phyto-

—_————

REFERENCES

plankton sachsischer Teiche. Forsch.

Biol. Stat. Plén. 7: 96-140.

——_—____—_—-— (1908) : Algologische

Beitrage. Arch. f. Hydrobiol. a. Plank-

tonk. 4: 165-192.

LEMMERMANN, E , BRUNNTHALER, J.,

& PascuHer, A. (1915): Die Siisswas-

serfora Deuschlands, Osterreichs und

der Schweiz 5. Jena.

Moesius, M. (1894): Australische

Susswasser Algen. JI Abh. Senck. Nat.

Ges. Frankfurt a.M. 18 : 309-350.

PascHer, A., & PRINTz, H. (1914):

Die Susswasserflora Deutschlands, Oster-

reichs und der Schweiz 4. Jena.

PrEscoTT, G. W. (1951): Algae of the

Western Great Lake Area. Cranbrook

Inst. Sci. Publ. No. 31.

RABENHORST, LL. (1868) : Flora

Europaea Algarum Aquae Dulcis et Sub-

marinae 3. Leipzig.

RICHTER, P. (1896): Scenedesmus opoli-

ensis P. Richt. nov. sp. Zeit. f. Angw.

Mikro 1: 3-7.

SCHRODER, B. (1899) : Das Plankton

Oderstromes. B. Das pflanzliche Plank-

ron der Oder. Forsch. Biol. Stat. Ploén 7:

5-24.

SmiTH, G. M. (1916): A monograph

of the algal genus Scenedesmus based

On pure culture studies. Vrans. Wis.

pee Sci. Arts and Letters 18: 422-

D537.

WEST, G. S. (1904): A treatise on the

British fresh water Algae. Cambridge.

WEsT, W., & WEST, G. S. (1904, 1905,

1911): A monograph of the British

Desmidiaceae 1, 2, 4. Roy. Soc., London.

( ae

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (i)

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SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF SOME PLANKTONIC GREEN ALGAE IN AMRITSAR AND ITS ENVIRONS S

Minimum Maximum Average Condition of the =

Month and i » Algae collected <

Temperature Temperature Rainfall

Season ety oF. (in metres) ponds and ditches &

7. 7 s

SUMMER =

H 04-1 0-014 Nearly all ponds Pandorina morum

ne eM : and ditches dry up Eudorina elegans =

Scenedesmus quadricauda yar. bicaudatus Ny

Chlamydomonas globosa $

A SS

y " i do. Scenedesmus bijuga iS

dune oe i oor Crucigenia rectangularis ie

Kirchneriella lunaris S

Chlamydomonas reinhardii i)

Chlamydomonas gloeocystiformis _

RAINY SEASON g

i i &

. i 97:3 0°164 Ponds, pools, and ditches Chlamydomonas gelatinosa g

Peto ag half full - water turbid Micractinium pusillum we

Pteromonas angulosa

Cosmarium granatum >

Closterium stellenboschense =

! S 0-154 do. Pandorina morum o

ue pe Lae Eudorina illinoiensis S

eee

1-15 September

AUTUMN

16-30 September and

October

1-15 November

WINTER

16-30 November ¢

December

January

74:8

63:2

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do.

44-2

43-7

94°9

814

do,

70°8

66'9

0:054

0:008

0:002

do.

All ponds full;

water clears up

Water present in deep

ponds

Shallow ponds dry

Only big ponds contain

water

do.

Ponds fairly full

Volvox globator r

Scenedesmus abundans var. brevicauda

Chlamydomonas gigantea

Pandorina morum

Scenedesmus dimorphus

Closterium tumidum

Closterium cornu

Volvox globator

Chlamydomonas intermedia

Eudorina illinoiensis

Pandorina morum

Chlamydomonas proboscigera

Actinastrum hantzchii var. fluviatile

Ankistrodesmus falcatus var. mirabilis

Eudorina illinoiensis

Cosmarium subtumidum

Scenedesmus opoliensis

Scenedesmus obliquus

Ankistrodesmus falcatus

Gonium pectorale

Volvox globator

Pediastrum simplex

Pediastrum tetras yar. tetraedron

Eudorina elegans

Pandorina morum

Closterium pseudodianae

Cosmarium granatum yar. subgranatum

Chlamydomonas umbonata

Coelastrum microporum

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Contribution to the Biology of the

Indian Starred Tortoise Testudo

elegans Schoepfi—l

S. D. JAYAKAR AND H. SPURWAY

Genetics and Biometry Laboratory, Government of Orissa, Bhubaneswar

(With fourteen figures)

INTRODUCTION

As we expect Testudo elegans Schoepff*, like its close relatives, to

be long lived, and as we also possess conditions where some individuals

breed freely, we are planning this paper as the first of a series.

Smith (1931) gives the range of elegans as * Central and Southern

India, extending west as far as Sind and south to Ceylon’. Boulenger

(1890) had already given ‘ India (except Lower Bengal) extending west

to Sind; and Ceylon’. Our colleague Ajit Kisor Ray saw individuals

during December 1942 and 1943 in Dacca district, now in East Pakistan,

on the dry stubble of rice fields after harvest. In Mewar, now part of

Rajasthan, from where Hutton (1837, calling the species 7. geometrica)

and Ceylon, from where Deraniyagzla (1939) described wild individuals,

these lived on dry stony ground on which grass grew in tussocks.

STOCK, AND EARLY OBSERVATIONS IN CALCUTTA

All individuals not laid in the menagerie were purchased from dealers

in Calcutta. The original female, M, was given to us in mid-June 1960.

She had been a small child’s pet and had been isolated from other mem-

bers of her species for about one year. We kept her on a concrete-

floored roofed verandah in north Calcutta. She ate little and was very

- passive, being considerably more shy of humans than the individuals

of T. graeca which are similarly kept in Europe. Unlike the latter and

Hutton’s animals, she refused to eat leaf vegetables (cabbages or sag)

and was fed on various legumes and lady’s-fingers or bhindi (the fruits

* If it is considered desirable to split the genus Testudo L. the species elegans would

be placed in the genus Geochelone Fitzinger (Loveridge & Williams 1957). We have

used these authors’ terms for the scutes and bones of the shell.

[1]

84 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

of Hibiscus esculentus). However, she resembled Hutton’s animals both

in frequently entering the dish of water, with which she was provided,

and in defecating in it. Also like his animals, when handled she voided

a colourless urine containing little white solid matter.

During the late autumn and winter of 1961-62, M performed an

action which we have not yet seen performed by another tortoise. She

walked briskly towards human feet from several metres away and bit

the toes whether these were naked, in socks, or leather shoes. Less

often she walked repeatedly over the instep. During this time, even

though it was winter, her appetite improved and she became in every

way a more interesting pet who seemed to enjoy being with humans

in the house.

We purchased a male who did not react to her, but whom she cir-

cumambulated repeatedly before losing interest. Before 17/11/62 we

purchased another two tortoises, one of whom (W) had a broken shell

and was considered the smallest female the dealer had to offer. M

and W were kept together and separate from the other two, both males,

except when under continuous observation. No sexual behaviour was

seen, perhaps because of the weather, though all four animals were

active and fed well. The new three did not urinate when handled.

No attempts were made to mate the animals after 6/111 /62 owing to

pressure of other work.

On the morning of 11/viii/62 a pool of mucilaginous blood, not

unlike menstrual blood, was found on the verandah which was only

2°76 sq. m. in area and contained only the animals M and W and a

water dish. The plastron of M was clean, while that of W was bloody,

but no more so than if it had walked through the blood. It was not

clearly bleeding from any orifice or wound. However, during this

examination it was realized that W had developed so as to have become

recognizable as a male. His penis was examined, bathing the animal

stimulating an erection, and this organ was in no way raw or injured.

Next morning there was a smaller pool of blood, and on 13/viii/62 a

table-spoonful only. No such blood has been seen since, and the plas-

tron of W, which measured 9:3 cm. on 17/11/62, was 10.6 cm. long

on 14/viii/62. Therefore, it is when they reach this range of size that

we may expect to be able to sex the animals hatched in the menagerie.

HABITS IN THE BHUBANESWAR ENVIRONMENT

On 23/viii/62 these four animals were liberated in a walled garden in

Bhubaneswar (Unit 5, Type VIII, No. 2). In this they can walk freely

over virtually all the unroofed area, i.e. a pavement of 122 sq. m. and

two unpaved areas—a western of 51 sq. m. and a north-eastern of

21 sq. m. On these areas of soil various trees and woody shrubs are

[2]

ee eee

—_—--

THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I 85

cultivated, but the herbs are self-sown and are cleared at intervals. Only

two species of plants have been observed to have any valence for the

tortoises; they shelter under the dense rows of a white double variety

of Jasminum sambac and they eat the leaves and the flowers of Hibiscus

rosasinensis, especially the flowers which have fallen and are partly

decayed. They are still offered bhindi and beans and these seem to form

their major source of food. It is possible that M approaches the kitchen

door to ask for food, but her movements are neither regular enough

nor brisk enough to make this certain. M swallows the thin facial

bones of goat and also nibbles leached cuttlefish ‘ bone’, both of which

are sources of calcium which tortoises are known to seek. She will

not however eat crustacean cuticle or avian egg-shell, cooked or raw?.

Neither the adults nor the baby tortoises will eat any flesh so far offered

to them, though the occasional nips they give to one another’s shells

seem to be a feeding not an aggressive movement. Deraniyagala reports

that in Ceylon they eat young snails, and Loveridge & Williams (1957)

that African species eat carnivore faeces, both sources of calcium.

However, M has been seen eating fowl faeces, moving deliberately across

the pavement from stool to stool, being chased by a male who attempted

to mount whenever she paused to feed. Loveridge & Williams (1957)

quote a report of the emydine Clemmys caspica habitually eating human

faeces. Therefore, faeces seem to be used by tortoises as sources of

other food requirements besides calcium.

Until 25/xii/64 the animals were collected and vegetables were offered

them, and all four usually ate at least once a day. It was then realized

that this was a constant disturbance to some individuals, which the

branches of the Hibiscus trailing on the ground made unnecessary.

Since 26/xii/64 kitchen vegetables have been offered only when an animal

was seen walking actively. This practice has revealed that while M has

eaten freely every few days since then, the three males are still (30/iv/65)

not moving about freely. For example, W: he was discovered on a

heap of stones on 13/i where, as he was covered with whitewash, he must

have been for over a week during which time the wall above him had

been painted. He remained on these stones until, on 21/1i, he was found

on the pavement and ate bhindi as soon as he was offered some. He

had returned to his stone heap within 1°5 hours. He has been found

feeding, or active enough to be fed, only twelve times since (including

twice on one day) though he has not been seen on the stones since 12/iii.

The other two males have been seen even less. Qn one of the

appearances of W (the second, on 3/iv), he was walking closely behind M.

There was no attempt at copulation. Judging from previous years we

do not expect sexual behaviour to begin until the monsoon in June

——

1 The hens eat tortoise egg-shell greedily.

[3]

86 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

when these animals, like Hutton’s, spend much time marching briskly

on the pavement during rain. M has been the individual most frequently

seen doing this, but she may be followed by one or more males. Thus

the annual cycle of behaviour is similar to that in Mewar, and our

animals, especially the babies to be described below, also show least

activity during the hottest part of the day during the dry season.

Deraniyagala wrote: ‘ The animal emerges from its shelter. . . at about

5 p.m., and continues to be active until about 7 a.m.’ Our individuals,

both young and old, out of doors and in artificial light, resemble the

Mewar population and appear to sleep during the night.

INTRA-SPECIFIC BEHAVIOUR

After liberation in the walled garden, all the animals grew quickly.

Partly because of this and partly because they rubbed off the various

nail varnishes with which they were marked, the identities of the two

original males were lost. They were not subsequently distinguished

until 25/viii/63 when they were named R and §S, the latter having lost

part of his 3rd vertebral epidermal scute exposing parts of the 3rd and

4th neural bones and the 3rd and 4th left pleurals. No new growth of

horn has been seen at the site of this wound.

The only social behaviour observed was sexual, and of low intensity

or at least inconclusive. It has been performed by all three males.

The male placed his forelegs on the carapace of M so that these embraced

the dome. - M, if walking, immediately withdrew her legs partially so

she rested on her plastron. In this position copulation is impossible.

The male remained supported by the female’s carapace with only his

hind feet on the ground. He swung his tail round under the female’s

supracaudal, but with only tentative movements. We have not seen

an extrusion of a penis in this context, let alone an attempt at intro-

mission. During this activity the males produced intermittent throaty

grunts at intervals of about five seconds. If only heard, this grunting

would be interpreted as accompanying copulatory thrusting. -This Z|

behaviour is usually first discovered by this noise. We have never seen

any preliminary recognition movements, which may be because all our

individuals have long been familiar with one another; nor any courtship,

for example the male knocking with his plastron on the carapace of the

female, such as Auffenberg (1964) describes in the related 7.

travancorica.

Frequently, during an attempted copulation another male was close

by, usually touching with his carapace the carapace of one or both of

the pair. Often all four adults were touching, and two or more males

mounted in turns, as Hutton also observed. Similarly, two or three ©

males would follow the female at the same time, usually in single file

[4]

THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I 87

remarkably evenly spaced. During this marching in tandem, one male

sometimes performed exactly similar mounting on the one in front. As

would be expected the lower male walked away, whereas M usually

_- sat passively and apparently indefinitely. These homosexual mountings

were often asymmetrical and on a region of carapace which precluded

any possibility of intromission. Similar clumsiness was seen also in a

few heterosexual attempts.

We have never seen any reaction of one male to anothér that could

be interpreted as territorial or agonistic behaviour, and their association

during sexual behaviour would make this unexpected. Hutton described

mutual frontal shovings in which one animal, apparently deliberately,

sometimes turned the other off its feet onto its carapace. This behaviour

has been interpreted by later authors as agonistic (‘ the males fight for

the females’). That this action is also performed by females, as Hutton

emphasizes, does not necessarily contradict this interpretation.

EGGS AND OVIPOSITION

M has laid at least 16 eggs while under observation (Table 1). These,

like those observed by Hutton and Deraniyagala, were ellipsoidal, with

- white, matt, hard, brittle shells. Though we have not seen an

attempted copulation consummated, at least 13 eggs were fertile. As

tortoises of several species have laid fertile eggs four years after separa-

tion from a male (Goin & Goin 1962) it is possible that these fertile

eggs were sired before M’s capture in 1959. However, the observation

that the first egg found was the only one that seems to have been unfer-

tilized, and that this was followed by a period during which every egg

found has been fertile, suggests that these eggs were sired by one or more

of the males R, S, and W.

The egg 62I was found lying on the ground in an exposed position

where it could not have been missed. When it was candled on 28/x/62,

it appeared clear like an infertile hen’s egg. Since a reptile egg, as a

rule, begins development in the oviduct (Goin & Goin 1962), the pre-

sumption of its sterility is probably correct. It was not buried but

Kept for many weeks, and only discarded when it began to smell

unpleasantly. ,

The second egg, 631, was similarly found in a conspicuous place

and similarly presumed new laid. 64XIII was found under foliage.

It had a hole in its shell plausibly pecked by a domestic fowl, and was

filled with soil.

M was seen laying the clutch 641-64VII. This oviposition had begun

by 17.58 during dusk on 18/iv, was continuing at 20.00, and completely

finished by half an hour after midnight. As the beam of an electric

torch caused her to stop digging and withdraw her foreparts, she was

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[6]

THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I 89

not watched. She dug with her hind feet until her hind quarters were

partially buried and in no way appeared to behave differently from the

females described by Hutton and Deraniyagala. Next morning, the site

of her pit did not differ from the surrounding earth. When excavated,

the pit was swarming with ants, and the site had perhaps been chosen

to exploit this. The eggs were found touching one another in a clutch,

the top of which was about 5-6 cm. and the bottom about 15 cm. below

the soil surface. Though the excavation was extended for about 10 cm.

in all directions no more eggs were found. The next day, M had mud

on her supracaudal and adjacent left marginal and trivial smudges on

adjacent scutes. She was washed, and was not found similarly muddy

until 21/xii/64. Therefore the five young animals found between 26/vi

and 3/vii must have been laid earlier. However we have evidence that

two of these, and most probably four, were laid in a hole about 40 cm.

from the hole excavated on 19/iv. As the latter was by then completely

obliterated, this distance is only an estimate. This hole, which descended

vertically and was about the diameter of a young tortoise, contained

fragments of egg shell and a putrid embryo very near term (64XII).

Three young (641X, 64X, and 64XI) were all a few metres from this

hole, walking briskly away from it in various directions. Heavy rain

was falling, so the sharp crisp edge of the hole was evidence that it had

been opened minutes before it and the young tortoises were discovered.

The first seen (641X) was being followed by S in the manner in which

he follows adult tortoises.

- How much earlier than 18/iv these four eggs were laid is conjectural.

We will argue below that the time between the two clutches was very

short. It is not impossible that these 11 eggs were all laid on 18/iv/64

before midnight. In support of this interpretation are the observations

by Deraniyagala that the Ceylonese specimens lay several clutches only

a few days apart. Hutton obtained a clutch in 1834 (or 1835) and,

presumably, 1836. Both were of four eggs, and this number is often

quoted as typical of the species. Deraniyagala gives four as the

maximum laid in one pit, while stating: ‘ Three to six eggs are laid at

a time and two or three batches appear to be laid annually, for specimens

dissected after oviposition contain half developed eggs’. M thus seems

to be more fecund than the animals previously described.

Whether the last egg found (651), which has not yet hatched (30/iv/65)1,.

was buried or laid on the surface is uncertain. It appeared in a place

where it had not been visible two hours previously. It was embedded

in a slight depression of the soil surface. No mud had been seen on

the carapace of M suggesting she had buried eggs since 21/xii/64; how-

ever, as heavy rain had just fallen on 29/iii, this could have either washed

1 Since, discovered to be addleds—S, D. J.

[7]

50 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

M clean or uncovered an egg that had been buried earlier. Shadows

were visible on candling the egg but were not certainly an embryo.

HATCHING

All undamaged eggs, except 62I, were buried individually c. 5 cm.

deep in damp soil in small open glass jars, immediately after measuring

if this was done. These jars were kept, unwatered, indoors in a cup-

board. The times taken to hatch are given in Table 1. These are

measured to the first appearance of the baby tortoise, whether it was

first discovered free of both the soil and the egg-shell or just visible

through cracks in the soil surface while still buried. Some of these

babies took almost twenty-four hours to finish dragging themselves out

of the soil, but this could be hurried by putting them in a strong light.

However, no question about the definition of the day of hatching obscures

the observation that the periods from laying to hatching of the best

documented group 64I-64VII, all of which were kept in apparently

identical conditions, form two groups; i.e. the tortoises can be classified

into the quick developers, and the s/ow developers, hereafter referred to

as the ‘ quicks’ and the ‘slows’. The great range and the bimodality

associated with very little variation within each group suggest that there

may be a genetic difference between the two groups. Table 1 shows

that all the slows were lighter at birth than all the quicks. Judging from

the duration of its laying-hatching period, and confirmed by its hatching

weight, 63I is judged to be a slow and will be considered with them.

Tortoises 64VIII-64XI could have been laid at any time prior to the

washing of M’s shell on 19/iv/64. We have given evidence that three

of them were found almost immediately after emerging from the earth;

by their weights when found these are judged to be quicks, as is 64VIII,

though this animal may have fed, perhaps for some days, before it was

discovered. |

The egg-shell was found in two main pieces each including a narrow

end always filled with earth, and mafy small crumbs. This confirms

that these tortoises, like the animals observed by Vallee (quoted by

Wright, n.d.), emerged through the side of the egg, not through an end,

like the Pseudemys scripta troostii babies described by Cagle (1950).

One of these halves of the shell was always found at the depth where

the egg had been buried, and contained a discrete lump of soil. This

suggests that before the animal attempts to struggle upwards and while

it is still in the shell, it releases some fluid from either the bladder or

the amnion. No organic structure was discovered in these lumps, which

had apparently anchored the half shells, facilitating the animals’ climbing

out of them. The other main piece of shell was pulled off by the passage

through the soil.

[8]

THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I 1

All the animals had a caruncle, or egg tooth, a small chisel-shaped

blade about 1:5 mm. long just ventral to the nostrils on the dorsal end

of the narrow anterior edge of the beak on the upper jaw. These were

- not shed but wore away, so that there has often been doubt as to whether

they were still present or not. The extremes among the fully docu-

mented tortoises were 64VI who is recorded as keeping its egg tooth

40 days, and 64III who lost it when between 202 and 209 days of age.

All the slows kept their caruncles longer than the quicks. 64VIII had

lost its caruncle 4 days, and 641X between 28 and 35 days, after discovery.

The others kept them for over forty days.

The tortoises seen to hatch had a median transverse fold in their

plastra showing how they were packed inside the shell. This fold

approximated to the sutures between the pectoral and abdominal scutes,

and thus was anterior to the comparable fold in the Pseudemys scripta

(Cagle 1950) which crossed the abdominals. The plastra straightened

out gradually. |

All tortoises were hatched, or found, with a vestige of the yolk sac

protruding ventrally in the mid-line between the two abdominal scutes

of the plastron and usually also separating the anterior parts of the

femoral scutes (see Fig. 3). At hatching this yolk sac was sometimes

a spherical pulsating bladder 10-40 mm. in diameter preventing the

animal walking, and sometimes already a flat pad. It was in the latter

condition in 631 though this animal was helped from its shell and the

soil within an hour of being discovered. Though these yolk sacs were

covered with mucus and therefore collected dust and grit, in all animals

they were withdrawn into the plastron within a few days, usually within

48 hours, but in 641V it remained thus vulnerable for 6 days and was

once noted as bleeding from a scratch. The yolk sacs of 64VIII and

641X were more withdrawn when found than we have seen in animals

hatched in the collection, but those of 64X and 64XI were not so. The

median suture and the paired sutures between the abdominals and the

femorals did not resemble the other sutures of the plastron until after

a period ranging from 13 to 27 days, during which period irregular

wisps of epidermis were attached to them. The scute surface was

scarred in the region where the yolk sac had protruded.

Tortoise 6411 took a half-hearted bite at a fragment of its own egg-

shell and 631 behaved similarly to the uncooked shell of a hen’s egg.

No others paid any attention to egg-shell. Eating has appeared as

functionally ineffective intention movements, first observed on the second

day of independent life. The movements have grown gradually in

intensity and effectiveness. Undoubted mouthfuls have been taken

-when the animals were four days old. The increase in weight during

the first week shows that they had ceased to depend on their yolk sacs

for nourishment. Within a week of birth they ate greedily.

[9]

9? JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

CARE OF THE YOUNG

From 2/ix/63 to 31/vii/64 the baby tortoises were kept in an exposed

place out of doors in a wooden vivarium (1). This was a wooden box

50 cm. X 40cm. x 40 cm. high standing on legs, with holes in the floor

and containing potsherds, gravel, and sloping soil so that it drained like

a window-box. The lid was 2 wood and 2 rabbit wire. Various pots

and potsherds for shade have been provided on the highest ground

which is under the wooden part of the lid. Invariably during the middle

of dry days and, except during the first week of life, during the night,

the animals have been found under these shelters. A flat dish of water

3 cm. deep with vertical sides has been provided. The animals, especially

during the dry season, have been found bathing in this; 631, during its

first few weeks of life, was kept in various improvisations of the final

design used. As these did not possess adequate protection from crows

and squirrels, they were kept indoors during the night, and much of

the day. The later babies were put out of doors in this vivarium as soon

as their yolk sacs had been withdrawn sufficiently to permit them to

walk. On 31/vii/64 a second vivarium (2) of identical design was put

into service and the animals divided equally between them, and on

21/viii/64 a third (3). These vivaria have been cleaned out only when

the drainage system has been blocked, or some servicing has seemed

necessary to the structure. This has been done twice for vivarium 1,

and vivarium 2 has been replaced by a new structure, vivarium 4. Food

debris has been removed and the soil has been flooded at least once

a week. Surprisingly few faeces have been seen, and there has been

no sign of the soil becoming fouled. The soil has impacted, and no

plants have established themselves.

The distribution of the animals between the vivaria is important,

and is a consequence of the discipline with which they have been weighed

and measured. Since 5/vi/64, the first Friday on which there has been

more than one baby, the weight and four linear measurements have

been taken every Friday. The animals have been weighed in random —

order after being washed. When all tortoises have been weighed, the

four measurements are taken on the first weighed, then on the second

and so on. Ever since more than one vivarium has been in use, when

four tortoises have been both weighed and completely measured, these

four have been given a few moments swimming and then placed in

vivarium 1, the second four are measured, allowed to swim, placed in

vivarium 2 (or 4), and the last four similarly in vivarium 3. Thus

the whole group of young tortoises are considered to have been kept

in one environment, being equally exposed both to any features peculiar.

to one vivarium, and to any pathogens and parasites. The development

of any peck order must also have been complicated.

[10] ,

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THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I 93

During this weekly handling, the animals have produced considerable

quantities of greenish brown faeces, invariably preceded by a colourless,

or rarely orange, transparent urine, and erratically by a white flocculent

urine also. The consequent soiling of themselves is the reason for the

double washing. As faeces and uric acid deposits are both inconspicuous

in the vivaria there is a suggestion that the weekly weighing and measuring

may have imposed an unnatural periodicity on evacuation.

The baby tortoises have been fed from the beginning on the same

food as the adults, but the beans and bhindi are, perhaps unnecessarily,

split lengthways in order to make it easy for them to obtain purchase.

The brownish green faeces have been seen only after eating became

normal. Most urine has been transparent, liquid, and colourless. The

youngest age at which white solid uric acid has been recognized in the

urine was 49 days (64VII). Two of the older 1964 animals also first

produced this form of urine on the same day. The production of solid

urine is intermittent. Its absence is not evidence that uric acid is not

the main nitrogenous end product (Moyle 1949).

. THE SHELL PATTERNS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT

As we know of few pictures of the young of this species we publish

drawings of the carapaces (Figs. 1 and 2) and plastra (Figs. 3 and 4)

of these animals when approximately newly hatched (those of 631 drawn

from photographs) and during their second six months of life. These

drawings are diagrammatic, firstly because they exaggerate the widths

of the marginal and caudal scutes and secondly because they do not

show variation in pigmentation, the light parts having been ivory or

cream sometimes with milky details, and the dark parts a sepia-horn

colour of varying intensities. Therefore they should not be considered

seriously except for the purpose for which they were drawn, to record

the pattern .of pigmentation at various ages. Considering the carapaces

of the newly hatched tortoises (Fig. 1), the contrast between the two

colours was always extreme. In the centre of each vertebral and costal

scute but not coinciding even approximately with the granular central

region, there was a light area more or less oblong in all vertebrals and

the 2nd and 3rd costals, the long axis being parallel to the long axis of

the scute and at right angles to the head-tail axis of the tortoise. From

each corner of this area, a broad band extended towards the two upper

and two lower corners of the scute crossing the smooth area round the

granular portion. The patterns in the Ist and 4th costals were similar,

but in the former always, and in the latter usually, triradiate. These

are in contrast to the quadriradiate patterns of the Ist and 4th costals

in the young individual pictured by Loveridge & Williams (1957,

Plate 8A) of the similarly pigmented Psammobates geometricus, the

[il]

04 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

African species with which Hutton confused e/egans. The outer, caudal,

and sometimes some of inner margins of the marginals, and the hind

margin of the supracaudal were pale, and the rest of these scutes dark.

In the drawings can be seen how much an incompleteness of various

bands and the presence of extra cusps complicated what we have suggested

to be the basic pattern. In the carapaces of four tortoises small dis-

crete pale areas near the margins of the scutes are shown. These had

a milkier, more transparent, colour than the central parts of the other

pale areas, as did some of the tips of the latter where they touched the

margins of the scutes. These were areas left unpigmented as the scute

had increased in area by deposition of material round its margin. That

this secondary pattern was the most developed in 64VHI confirms the

evidence provided by its yolk sac and egg tooth that it was not found

the day it hatched.

Both Deraniyagala and Smith (1931) describe other infantile colours

and patterns which we have not seen.

The limbs, head, and trunk of the hatchlings were ivory-coloured with

a few dark blotches. The scales were clearly defined.

A scute increases in size by the deposition of material including

pigment round its margins increasing the area of the smooth border.

Therefore gaps in this pigmentation, which we see positively as the

development of the rays of the stars which give this species its name

in English, must also originate at the margin., Comparing Figs. 1 and 2,

we see that if a pale ray extended to the margin of the scute at hatching ©

this ray has usually continued unbroken. Those rays which did not

reach their appropriate margin have usually remained separated by a

pigmented area from any unpigmented area originating at the nearest

point on that margin. Therefore though pale areas have appeared in

the angles to which such primary rays were pointing, thus confirming

our interpretation of the specific pattern, the imperfections in this pattern

at hatching are as a rule still visible at 8 months at least. However

there are exceptions (e.g. vertebral 2 of 64VIII and right costal 3 of

641X) in which pigment has been removed from the scute so that a ray

broken at hatching has become continuous with age. Therefore some

reorganization of tissue is revealed to be taking place other than at the

edge of the scute. This would be expected, as scutes injured in the

centre are reported to be able to heal and regrow (Gadow 1901).

Secondary unpigmented areas have tended to arise from the angles of

the scutes but later from the sides also. Their points of origin tend to —

be evenly spaced. The boundaries between pigmented and unpigmented

areas have remained smooth as long as growth continued smoothly, i.e.

the rays are remarkably even in width. However after a slowing, or

cessation of growth, the resumption of the band may have been slightly

shifted (e.g., in vertebral 3 of both 64VI and 64VIII). In Fig. 2 the

[12]

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Jayakar : Starred Tortoise

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nd six months of life. The age in days as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4. Plastrons,

THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—i 95

carapace of 63], considered to be a slow, was drawn during the eleventh

mouth of life, being ten weeks more than the age of the next oldest

animal at drawing. It will be noticed that this carapace is neither the

largest nor has the most developed secondary pattern.

As the variations in colour of the pigmented areas of the plastra were

considerable at birth, the black and white drawings of these (Fig. 3)

have to be more diagrammatic than those of the carapaces. However

the shapes of the plastra shown in these drawings are not diagrammatic.

As Cagle (1950) has described, young tortoises change their shapes dur-

ing the first week of life, straightening out after having been folded within

the shell. Therefore there was variation in how visible, in a ventral

view, were the submarginal scutes in the axillary and inguinal notches

(Fig. 3). In all tortoises, adult and young, 2 axillaries and one inguinal

are now visible. In one infant, on one side only, by forcing back the

tissue of the foreleg, a third axillary anterior to the others can be seen.

This suggests that not only this third axillary, but the two additional

inguinals, described by Deraniyagala, may be hidden by the limbs in

living tortoises, at least of our population.

’ The greater part of the plastral area is pale, on which were various

pigmented areas, all in contact with the margin of a scute, with the

exception of three lateral spots in 64II. All tortoises had transverse

pigmented areas along the cephalad margins of the humerals, the abdo-

minals, the femorals, and the anals, and along the caudal margins of the

humerals, the abdominals, and the femorals. Other markings were

variable. Considering only the eleven 1964 babies, 18 out of 22 gulars

had some black along the posterior margin, two animals being asymme-

trical. All but one (641V) had some pigmentation along the anterior

margins of both pectorals, and in six tortoises bands of pigment extended

on at least one side from the anterior to the posterior edges of the scutes

near the median sutures. All tortoises except 64VII and 64VIII had

similar longitudinal bands crossing the femoral scutes. These were

completely absent in 64VII, and only the left was present in 64VIII. A

few tortoises had isolated patches both median and lateral, symmetrical

or asymmetrical, on the abdominals. 64I and 641X had some pigment

on both of the more lateral axillaries, and 64VII had it on the right only.

631, the drawing of which is from a photograph, would seem to have had

several unique features. These patterns cannot be ranked in a sequence

according to area of pigmentation ; we cannot infer that one animal

has a generally more developed pattern than another.

When we compare Fig. 3 with Fig. 4, we find both that the postnatal

pigment deposition on the plastron differs more from the prenatal de- -

position than it does on the carapace, and that more components in the

pattern (e.g. on the right abdominal of 64III, the left gular of 64VIII,

and all pigment in the axillaries) have disappeared completely. Con-

[13]

96 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

sidering the transverse black bands edging most of the plastral scutes,

and comparing Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that some growth has taken

place in the centre of the scutes, but that this is small in amount com-

pared with the increase in area due to deposition at the margins. On

both the transverse and longitudinal margins of the posterior plastral

scutes, new tissue is laid down so that it is banded light and dark at right

angles to its direction of growth. In the period considered, most growth

took place round the edges of the abdominals which have consequently

changed most in appearance. The gulars have grown but have altered

little in pigmentation. Pigment has begun to appear in the ventral sur-

faces of the marginals.

GROWTH RATES

631 was first weighed and measured on 19/vii/63 (i.e. 4 days after

hatching), again on 16/viii/63, and subsequently at roughly weekly inter-

vals except for a gap from 25/xi/63 to 17/xii/63. 64II and V, and 64VI

were first weighed and measured the day after they hatched, i.e. on 5/vi

and 12/vi/64 respectively. All other tortoises were weighed and

measured the day they hatched or were found. On and after 5/vi/64

all tortoises already hatched have also been weighed and measured every

Friday, in the randomized order which has already been described.

The tortoises have been weighed by difference in a triple beam

balance. During their first few weeks they were weighed in a petri dish

or watch glass, but later they had to be wrapped tightly in a polythene

bag held with paper clips to minimise movement.

. The four linear measurements were made with vernier calipers.

These were: (1) the median length of the carapace, made with one jaw

of the calipers in the anterior groove ; (2) the median length of the plas-

tron on which there is both an anterior and posterior groove for the jaws

of the calipers ; (3) the maximum width ; and (4) the maximum height.

Measurements 3 and 4 were made by moving the jaws of the calipers to

and fro until they just touched the animal. Measurement has become

progressively easier as the shells have hardened, both because the animals

have reduced power to change their shape, and also because there is

less danger of the shell being deformed by pressure of the calipers. The

presence of the yolk sac together with the convexity of the plastron often

made the first measurement of the height (4) bizarre. Measurement 3

is the carapace width of other authors. In this species the lateral margins

of the two rows of main plastral plates curve up to join the lower edges

of the marginals smoothly in an unbroken steep curve making any

separate measurement of their width difficult or impossible.

The individual growth curves for all measurements for all tortoises

up to and including 12/11/65 are shown in Figs. 5-9, and Table 2

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THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I 103

summarizes some environmental data for the relevant period. The scale

for the linear measurements and that for the weights (labelled in italics)

were chosen for their convenience in Fig. 5. That the height curve and

the weight curve for some of these tortoises are often parallel, and even

overlap for long periods (in particular 64111), was surprising, considering

that weight would be expected to be roughly a cubic function of a linear

measurement.

The graph for 631 (Fig. 5), which is the only tortoise which has lived

through two summers, shows that its growth was much reduced during

the winter and the drier part of the hot season. It may not be a coin-

cidence that growth was resumed after 5/vi/64, i.e. immediately after the

hatching of the next season’s eggs. At hatching, the length of the plas-

tron was less than the width, but the graphs crossed on 1/xi/65, i.e.

109 days after hatching.

The 1964 babies have already been divided into the quicks, heavier

at hatching, and the slows. The flattening out of the curves in the cold

season is evident, growth being only slight after about the first week of

~ November. At hatching, the length of the plastron was always less than

the. width (except for 64VII immediately after hatching) but, as would be

expected from the adult shape, this difference narrowed steadily after

birth for all tortoises, and for some of the young tortoises the length has

overtaken the width. If one considers the period between hatching and

the crossing of the two curves, i.e. from hatching to that date on which

the plastron was at least as long as wide and after which date remained

so, the tortoises fall into three groups (Fig. 10). The period for 64II

is 29 days, for 64111 and 64VII-X it is between 119 and 146 days and for

the other five is not yet known. We have already-stated that for 63I

this period is 109 days, which makes it plausible that 631 belongs to the

‘narrows’ as we will refer to tortoises 641I1 and 64VII-X, 64II being

called ‘ very narrow’ and the rest * broad’.

We have, therefore, according to the two criteria, six possible groups

of which only 5 groups are represented.

BROAD NARROW V. NARROW

Slow 641, 641V 64III, 64VII, 631

Quick 64V, 64VI, 64XI —- 64VIII, 641X, 64X 6411

Initially, the growth rate of each of these groups was considered

separately, but it became obvious that, at least until we have more indi-

viduals, the growth increments for all the slows could legitimately be

averaged, and similarly for all the quicks. Table 3 shows the means of

the different measurements at hatching for the various groups excluding

63I and 64VIII. The results are not unequivocal, but the difference

between the broads and narrows is that the broads were already wider

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THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I 105

at birth than the narrows. However, it appears also that among the

slows, the broads have longer carapaces and are heavier than the narrows.

TABLE 3 4

MEAN OF MEASUREMENTS AT BIRTH FOR THE DIFFERENT GROUPS (EXCLUDING

631 AND 64VIITI)

WEIGHT

broads ~ narrows Vv. narrow

. slows 14.8 12.8

(14.4-15.2) (11.9-13.8)

quicks 19.4 19a 18.9

(16.1-21.5) (19.1)

CARAPACE

broads narrows vy. narrow

slows 3.40 3222

(3.28-3.52) (3.14-3.30)

quicks 3.79 3.79 3:78

(3.64-3.91) (3.70-3.88)

PLASTRON

broads narrows Vv. narrow

slows 2.92. 2.94

(2.83-3.02) (2.86-3.03)

quicks 3.28 S32 3.30

(3.13-3.39) (3.29-3.36)

; WIDTH

broads narrows v. narrow

slows - 3.20 2.96

(3.18-3.23) (2.93-2.98)

quicks 3.66 3.58 3.37

G57/-3.81) (3.47-3.68)

The carapace length/height ratio was calculated for each tortoise at

intervals of 4 weeks. The ratios did not show any trend, nor were they

different for different tortoises. The values thus obtained varied from

1:56 to 1°70 with a mode at 1°65. The carapace length/width ratio of

course showed a steady increase with age, being between 1:02 and 1°12

at birth and 1°27 for 631 at the age of 80 weeks.

Fig. 11 shows the average increase in plastron length for all the quicks

and slows, in one week from hatching (rounded off to the nearest Friday),

- in the second week, and so on. The births of the two groups occurred

in different seasons of the year, and were, on the average, 21 June and 28

[ 23 ]

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

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[27]

i110 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

August for the 1964 young. As the growth rates of poikilotherms would

be expected to depend to a large extent on the weather, we cannot expect —

the two curves in Fig. 11 to be similar. However, the growth rates for

the two groups do appear to be similar from the second to the ninth week

of life, as are the equivalent curves for the width (Fig. 12) and the height

(Fig. 13). The curves for carapace length are similar to those for the

plastron, but those for weight show too many fluctuations to be infor-

mative. From the tenth week onwards, the slows show consistently

lower growth rates in all linear measurements. This may be due to the

fact that for them this represents the period from about November ‘1

onwards when growth in all tortoises started slowing down with the on-

set of winter (see Figs. 5-9). The gradual decline in growth rate, re-

flecting the onset of the cold weather, is more clearly shown by Fig. 14,

which graphs the increases in plastron lengths averaged for a calendar

week separately for the three age groups, i.e. 631, 64 quicks, and 64 slows.

The curves for the other linear measurements are again similar, and the

weight curve again shows too violent fluctuations to be useful.

Table 4 shows the means for all tortoises of the correlation co-

efficients between weekly increments in the different measurements, and

of each with weight. These correlation coefficients were greatly

influenced by the high growth rates immediately after hatching. The

highest value, as one would expect a priori, is that between the

two lengths, and is very high indeed. As far as linear measurements for

this species are concerned, we confirm Cagle (1950) that the length of

the plastron is the most satisfactory, being not only the most objective

to make, but possessing the highest correlation with other measure-

ments. It is followed by the length of the carapace, and then the width. -

The height is unsatisfactory. These comments hold only for measuring

with a pair of calipers. |

TABLE 4

MEAN CORRELATIONS BETWEEN WEEKLY GROWTHS

Wt. Cale iP ae: W. H.

Weight — — — _ — |

Carapace length + 0.4786 — ~ — —

Plastron length + 0.4175 + 0.8550 _ ~ —

Width + 0.3124 + 0.7622 + 0.8432 — — i

Height + 0.3858 + 0.5168 + 0.4872 0.3728 _ |

DISCUSSION ’

We have discussed previously (Jayakar & Spurway 1964) the bimo-

dality in the times observed between laying and hatching. We have not

yet discovered any comparable record concerning either tortoises or any |

ey }

THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I 111

other species with a comparable life span. We compared it with the

variation in age at puberty, which seems characteristic of long-lived groups

with low reproductive rates. However, in a species which takes over two

years to reach sexual maturity it is not easy to see in detail how a delay

of three months between the hatching of sibs would appreciably decrease

the danger of inbreeding.

Slow developers have so far been consistently smaller at birth than

quick developers. This initial lag has not been made up so far because

the seasonal fall in temperature slowed the growth of the slows a shorter

time after their hatching, thus reinforcing their initial handicap. A

second grouping can be made according to the length compared with the

width of the plastron. As in adults males are relatively narrower than

females, the puberty of our young is eagerly awaited to see whether this

difference reveals that they can be sexed within a few weeks of hatching.

To us it seems a coincidence? that while we have been collecting these

data on tortoises we have also been making observations on individuals

of the lapwing Vanellus malabaricus that nest in another part of our

garden. We have therefore attended both to the considerations that

made avian genera extremely small (in e.g. Baker 1922-1930) and to the

reconsiderations (e.g. Bock 1958) that have resulted in the recent reduc-

tion of so many of these genera to synonymy (Ripley 1961). This study

of another group makes us for the moment unconvinced by the evidence

on which Loveridge & Williams (1957) argue that the genus Testudo

should be split.

The palaeontological approach to bones may have left an impression

that they are conservative in evolution in more ways than is correct.

Because the phylogeny of many major groups can be induced

convincingly from mutual relations between bones, it does not follow that

their form, including degree of development, and ossification, should be

conservative during the ecological divergence of speciation, especially

as bones are known to be relatively easily altered by use during develop-

ment. The skeletons of animals may perhaps be particularly changeable

because so many of the selection pressures acting on them are imposed

by the physical properties of the non-living, including non-organic,

world. To put it another way the skeleton, to a large extent because of

its own rigidity, may be exposed relatively more than other systems to’

- One-way or only weakly reciprocal selection pressures (Spurway 1955).

Given the involved nature of ecological interactions it is impossible to

say that our tortoises’ preferences for putrid hibiscus flowers or fowl

faeces do not, or could never, exert a selection pressure on the plant or

avian species concerned (as the various movements used in drinking can

——_..

* What is noPa coincidence is how much of the literature here discussed we have

seen through the kindness of Dr. Ernst Mayr.

[29 ]

412. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

have no influence on the physical properties of water). However any

such selection pressure would seem to be slight when compared with the

selections imposed on the tortoises’ feeding mechanism by the action of

ingesting material with such textures. This malleability of the skeleton

is in contrast to the observed conservatism of courtship movements in

evolution. These latter are not only preferentially under reciprocal

selection pressures, but these pressures act coincidently on the same

mendelian population. This capacity for mutual adjustment seems to

provide a buffering action against change. Therefore the selection

pressure for reproductive isolation during a speciation process seems to

influence communicatory behaviour by altering only morphological

adjuncts and the rate and frequency of movements, which movements

differ very little, if at all, in their form at the level of specific differences.

Auffenberg (1964) is working on the comparative ethology of tortoise

courtships. When more of his results are published we may consider

that they justify relatively small generic divisions. But until we have as

shrewd a suspicion of the details of what tortoises do with their skulls as

Bock (1958) has of what plovers do with theirs, we do not want to accept

phylogenetic lines based on inductions from differences between these

skulls, and from similar skeletal details.

For example, we have mentioned that our tortoises are coprophagous

and eat other offal, and we have found references to similar food habits.

We have not seen this generalized as a capacity of the group, though

there are several suggestions that such food preferences may be wide-

spread among them. Among these are: (1) the doubt concerning many

species as to whether they are carnivorous or herbivorous; (2) the

acceptance with which meat, i.e. already dead prey, is accepted by species

judged to be carnivorous; (3) the acceptance, or even seeking out, of

nutritive substances for which they can have had no previous learnt or

unlearnt experience, e.g. bread-and-milk and the bands of lime-wash

used to mark out tennis courts on grass. Among animal species there is

a correlation between the capacity to survive in captivity, which tortoises

notoriously possess, and scavenging feeding habits. An increase or

decrease in the proportion of putrid food in a diet are examples of the

minor variations in behaviour which we would expect to exercise selec-

tion pressures, changing, for example, triturating surfaces on the bones

of a jaw.

SUMMARY

Three male and one female Testudo elegans have been observed for

several years. Their environments and some of their habits are des-

cribed. Sixteen eggs have been found. Two of these were certainly

laid singly on the surface of the soil and one certain clutch of seven was

[30] :

THE BIOLOGY OF TESTUDO ELEGANS SCHOEPFF—I itt)

buried. Twelve eggs have hatched. Laying-hatching time has ranged

between 47 and 147 days. It has so far been bi-modal. There has been

no post-natal mortality. The shell patterns at hatching, and after six

months of life, are pictured. The pattern alters mainly, but not

exclusively, by additions at the growing margins of the individual scutes.

Growth curves through 12/ii/65, when the animals’ ages ranged from

578 to 153 days have been constructed. The s/ow developers were

smaller at hatching than the quick developers, and have remained so

because they have postnatal growth rates similar to the quicks, including

the responses of these to climatic conditions. It is possible to classify

the animals as narrow and broad individuals. Both shapes are found

among both the quicks and the slows. One exceptionally narrow indi-

vidual may represent a discrete third group.

REFERENCES

AUFFENBERG, W. (1964): Notes on

the courtship of the land tortoise Geo-

chelone travancorica (Boulenger). J.

Tortoises ‘Testudo geometrica’. J.

Asiat. Soc. Bengal 6: 689-96.

JAYAKAR, S. D., & SpurRway, H.

ieee .

Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 61 : 247-253.

BAKER, E. C. S. (1922-30): Fauna of

British India. Birds. 8 volumes.

London.

Bock, W. J. (1958): A generic review

of the Plovers (Charadriinae, Aves).

Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard 118

No. 2.

BOULENGER, G. A. (1890): Fauna of

British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.

London, Calcutta, Bombay, Berlin.

CAGLE, F. R. (1950): The life history

of the slider turtle Pseudemys scripta

troostii (Holbrook). Ecological Mono-

graphs 29 : 32-54.

DERANIYAGALA, P. (1939) : The Tetra-

pod Reptiles of Ceylon 1. Testudinates

and Crocodilians. Colombo.

Gapbow, H. (1901): The Cambridge

Natural History 8. Amphibia and

Reptiles. London.

GoIN, C. J., & Gorn, O. B. (1962):

Introduction to Herpetology. San

Francisco and London.

BUTTON, T. (1837): Geometric

(1964) : Bi-modality of laying-hatching

times in Testudo elegans Schoepff

(Chelonia). Nature 204 (4958): 603.

LOVERIDGE, A., & WILLIAMS, E. E.

(1957): Revision of the African Tor-

toises and Turtles of the suborder

Cryptodira. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,

Harvard. 116, No. 6.

Moy_Le, V. (1949): Nitrogenous ex-

cretion in chelonian reptiles. Biochem.

J. 44: 581-584.

Riptey, S. D. (1961): A Synopsis of

the Birds of India and Pakistan.

Bombay.

SMITH, M. A. (1931): The Fauna of

British India. Reptilia and Amphibia.

1 Loricata, Testudines. London.

SPURWAY, H. (1955): The causes of

domestication: an attempt to integrate

soine ideas of Konrad Lorenz with evolu-

tion theory. J. Genet. 53: 325-362.

WRIGHT, L. (n.d., probably 1873):

The Illustrated Book of Poultry.

London, Paris, New York.

(Continued, p. 114)

[31]

114 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Note added in proof

Dimond [Nature 208 (5008): 401-402] suggests that our 64I-VII

hatched at the same time but the four which we call slows remained

in the soil, being nourished by their yolk sacs; as they were still

enclosed in their shells when they rose to the surface this suggested

subterranean hatching did not involve freeing from the shell. We

consider it unlikely that a baby tortoise even so enclosed could remain

buried in only 1 litre of soil in a small glass jar less than 6 cm. below

the surface for between 75 and 100 days without any visible disturbance —

of this surface. When the animals did reach the surface, the protruding

yolk sacs of 3 out of the 4 slows were larger, i.e. still contained more

yolk, than the yolk sacs of 2 of the 3 quicks. The delay in hatching of —

the slows may be due to some hiatus in development rather than to _

uniformly slower rate of development throughout the pre-hatching

period, but we do not think this hiatus occurs after pipping.

S. D; J.

H.S.

[32]

Life Forms and Biological Spectrum of

Lolab Valley, Kashmir, in

relation to Climate

| BY

M. K. Watt

Department of Botany, S.P. College, Srinagar

(With a text-figure)

Raunkiaer (1934) lays great stress on climate as a factor governing

the vegetation of a place. He believes that temperature is a factor of

the greatest importance in determining plant distribution. He coined

the term ‘ Life Form’ which he defined ‘as the sum of the adaptations

of the plant to climate’. Commenting on the usefulness of Raunkiaer’s

‘Life Forms’, Braun-Blanquet (1932) says: ‘ Each plant community

consists of a definite group of life forms. Each habitat favours certain

groups of life forms and almost exciudes others. The more extreme

the habitat conditions the sharper the selection and the more pro-

nounced are the ecological characteristics of the life forms. For this

reason biological spectra for decidedly pioneer associations best reflect

- the ecological relations of the habitat.’ The life forms of Raunkiaer

have proved of outstanding value from the ecological standpoint. The

system has been modified to suit new demands by Braun-Blanquet

(1932), Oosting (1956), and Dansereau (1957).

The present study deals with the application of Raunkiaer’s Life

Form system as modified by Braun-Blanquet (1932) to the forests of

a beautiful side valley of Kashmir, Lolab. Lolab Valley is situated

between 74° 15’ and 74° 32' E. longitude and 34° 25’ and 34° 42’

N. latitude. The area covers about 200 sq. km. with an altitudinal

range of 1687 m. to 3846 m. 3 3

_ The.climate of Kashmir as exemplified by the station Srinagar pre-

sents some peculiarities. It is cool during winter, the mean temperature

of the coldest month January being 0°3° C. The mean of the minima

of the same month is —4:2° C. The absolute minimum recorded is

—74° C. July is the hottest month with its mean temperature 24°4° C.

and the mean of the maxima 30°8° C.

1 Present address: Botanical Laboratories, Ecology Division, University of

‘Copenhagen, Denmark. ; |

J16 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

The precipitation is more or less well distributed throughout the

year though the maximum is during the short days of the year (winter

and spring) and most of it in the form of snow. There is a small dry

season during the summer month June ; this coupled with not very low

winter temperatures gives the climate a mediterranean rhythm. The

recent works on phytogeography (Emberger, Gaussen, et al. 1962,

Bagnouls & Meher-Homji 1959) classify Srinagar under sub-mediter-

ranean climate with one month dry. =

The data on the climate of Srinagar are presented in the text-figure,

since there is no meteorological observatory at Lolab proper.

SRINAGAR

Long. : 74°50 E. Data for the period : 1891-1940

Lat.: 34°05 N.

(cf. Meteorological Tables of observatories)

Alt 1587 m: in India. ;

Ombrothermic diagram of Srinagar

“——+ Precipitation (mm.)

~~. Mean temperature (°C.)

Lr aoe

~» Mean maximum temperature (°C.)

Mean minimum temperature (°C.)

The area abounds in rich coniferous forests. The principal species |

are Abies pindrow, Cedrus deodara, Picea smithiana, and Pinus wallichiana. — I

Following the system as adapted by Braun-Blanquet (1932), the life

forms of the area are as under :

I. ‘THEROPHYTES (Th). Annuals, that complete their life cycle (from

germination to ripe seed) within a single vegetative period : Amaranthus |

paniculatus L., Apium graveolens L., Asperula brachyantha Boiss., Atropa

LIFE FORMS AND BIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF LOLAB VALLEY 117

acuminata Royle, A. belladona L., Chenopodium album L., Dianthus jacque-

montii Edgew., Hyoscyamus niger L., Origanum vulgare L., Papaver dubium

L., Pleurogyne spathulata Kern, Scrophularia himalensis Royle, Silene

conoidea L., Solanum nigrum L., Stachys floccosa Benth., Stellaria media

L., Swertia petiolata Royle, Trichodesma indicum R. Br.

Ul. Hypropuytes (HH). Water plants, with perennating organs

submerged under water during the unfavourable season :

Ranunculus trichophyllus Chaix.

Ili. Gropuytes (G). Earth plants, with perennating organs buried

in the substratum and little exposed to the unfavourable season: Adonis

aestivalis L., Actaea spicata L., Allium atropurpureum Wald. & Kit.,

Anemone biflora DC., A. obtusiloba D. Don, A. rivularis Buch.-Ham.,

Androsace sarmentosa Wall., Aquilegia vulgaris Wall., Arisaema helle-

borifolium Schott., A. tortuosum Schott., A. wallichianum Hook. f.,

Chrysopogon gryllus Trin., Colchicum luteum Baker, Corydalis cornuta

Royle, Cynodon dactylon Pers., Delphinium denudatum Wall., D. incanum—

Royle, Epimedium elatum Morr. & Dene., Euphorbia wallichii Hook. f.,

Fumaria parviflora Lam., Fritillaria roylei Hook., Gagea kashmiriensis

Tur., Geranium pusillum L., Geum urbanum L., Iris enseta Thunb.,

I. nepalensis Don, I. spuria L., Lagotis glauca Gaertn., Lychnis coronaria

Lam., Malva parviflora L., M. sylvestris L., Nepeta cataria L., N. elliptica

Royle, N. linearis Royle, Oryzopsis aquiglumis Duth., O. munroi Stapf,

Oxalis acetosella L., O. corniculata L., Paeonia emodii Wall., Pennisetum

flaccidum Griseb., Podophyllum emodi Wall., Polygonatum multiflorum

All., P. verticillatum All., Potentilla nepalensis Hook., Ranunculus arvensis

L., R. laetus Wall., R. hirtellus Royle, R. muricatus L., Sedum adenotrichum

Wall., Silene inflata Sw., Stipa sibirica Lam., Thalictrum cultratum Wall.,

Trillium govanianum Wall., Tulipa stellata Hook.

ITV. HEMICRYPTOPHYTES (H). Plants with vegetative buds at the

level of the ground and substratum :

Androsace rotundifolia Hardw., Arctium lappa L., Astragalus leuco-

cephalus Grah., Caltha palustris L., Capsella bursa-pastoris Moen.,

Carduus natans L., Caucalis latifolia L. , Chrysanthemum Bev riaceoniuin

Vis., Cnicus Poieraris DC., es hastatus Lam., Cynanchum

jacquemontianum Dene., Cynoglossum_ glochidiatum Wall. .» C. micro-

glochin Benth., Echinops niveus Wall., Epilobium hirsutum L., Erysimum

altaicum Mey., E. hierciifolium L., E. repandum L., Fragaria vesca L.,

Galium aparine L., G. rotundifolium L., Gentiana argentea Royle, G.

moorcroftiana Wall., Impatiens balfourii Hook. f., I. thomsonii Hook. f.,

Lathyrus altaicus Led., Lycopsis arvensis L., Macrotomia benthami DC.

Medicago minima L., Myosotis caespitosa Sch., M. sylvatica Hoffm.,

Potentilla clarkei Hook. f., P. reptans L., Primula denticulata Sm., P,

118 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

rosea Royle, Senecio chrysenthemoides DC., Sisymbrium irio L., Taraxacum

officinale Wigg., Tragopogon pratense L., Viola serpens Wall.

V. CHAMAEPHYTES (Ch). Plants with vegetative organs from. 20-30

cm. above soil :

Angelica archangelica L., Artemisia maritima L., Cannabis sativa L.,

Carex muricata L., Chenopodium botrys L., Codonopsis ovata Benth.,

Cyperus pilosus Vahl, Geranium nepalense Sw., Girardinia heterophylla

Dene., Heracleum candicans Wall:, Herniaria hirsuta L., Hibiscus trionum

L., Hypericum perforatum L., Leontopodium alpinum Cass., Morina

longifolia Wall., M. persica L., Pedicularis siphonantha Don, Phytolacca —

acinosa Roxb., Polygonum affine Don, P. alpinum All., P. amplexicaule

Don, Rumex acetosella Don, R: hastatus Don, Salvia lanata Roxb., S.

moorcroftiana Wall., Sassurea lappa Clarke, Scrophularia variegata Beib.,

Scutellaria linearis Benth., Strobilanthes atropurpureus Nees, Swertia

petiolata Royle, Thymus serphyilum ., Urtica dioicia L., Verbascum |

thapsus L., Veronica agrestis L., V. ananaie L., V. arvensis ie V. biloba

Lev. persica Poir. :

VI. NANOPHANEROPHYTES (N). Plants with vegetative organs less

than 2 metres above soil : |

Aralia cachemirica Dene., Asparagus filicinus Ham., Berberis lycium

Royle, B. pseudoumbellata Par., Bergenia ligulata Engl., B. ciliata Blatter,

Cassiope fastigata Don, Cotoneaster baccilaris Wall., C. microphylla

Wall., Daphne oleoides Schr., Desmodium podocarpum DC., D. tiliae-

folium Don, Deutzia corymbosa R. Br., Eldeagnus umbellata Thunb.,

Indigofera atropurpurea Buch.-Ham., I. gerardiana Wall., I. hebepetala

Benth., Jasminum humile L., Juaniverus communis L., J. recurva Ham.,

Lespedeza eriocarpa DC., L. gerardiana Grah,, L. sericea Miq., Lonicera

angustifolia L., L. quinquelocularis Hardw., Rhododendron anthopogon

Don, R. campanulatum Don, Ribes rubrum L., Rosa macrophylla Lindl.,

Rubus ellipticus Sm., Salix elegans Wall., Sambucus ebulus L., Skimmia —

laureola Seib. & Zucc., Spiraea bella Sinis og a gle saad Wall., S. vestita

Wall., Staphylea Ghote Wall., Viburnum foetens Dene.

VII. PHANEROPHYTES (PH). Plants with vegetative organs more

than 2 metres above soil :

Abies pindrow Spach., Acer caesium Wall., A. pictum Thunb. "Ao : |

indica Hiern, Betula utilis Don, Cedrus ee, Loud., Cs australis

L.,. Corylus colurna L., Fraxinus ficribunda Wall., Juglans regia L., Morus

alba L., Parottia jacquemontiana Dene., Picea smithiana Wall., Pinus

wallichiana A. B. Jack., Prunus armeniaca L., P. cerasus L., P. communis

Huds., P. cornuta Wall., Pyrocaniha crenulata (Roxb.) Roem., Pyrus

lanes Don, P. pashia Buch.-Ham., Rhus succedanea L., Salix che

Roxb., Taxus bacata L., Ulmus valiicians Planch,

fete Po ae

LIFE FORMS AND BIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF LOLAB VALLEY 119

VIII. LiANAs(L). Plants that are climbers :

Clematis montana Buch.-Ham., Dioscorea deltoidea Wall., Hedera

nepalensis K. Koch, Rosa moschata Mill., Rubus paniculatus Sm., Vitis

lanata Roxb., V. vinifera L.

IX. EpimpHyTes(E). Plants that are epiphytes: nil.

X. PARASITES (P). Plants that are parasites :

Hypopithys lanuginosa Nutt., Cuscuta europea L., C. reflexa Roxb.

The plant-climate of the region according to Raunkiaer (1934) is

characterized by the life-form (or the life-forms) which in the biological

spectrum of the region exceed the percentage of the same life-form in the

normal spectrum. The normal spectrum is defined as the spectrum given

by the entire phanerogamic flora of the world.

Raunkiaer grouped the phytoclimates of the earth into four main

types :

1. representing high percentage of Phanerophytes as in the wetter

parts of the tropics ;

2. the Chamaephytes with a fair proportion of Geophytes in cool

climates ;

3. the Hemicryptophytic type in the cold temperate climate ; and

4, the Therophytic type in the arid zones.

In Table IJ, the biological spectrum of Lolab Valley is compared with

the normal spectrum of Raunkiaer (1934). This comparison reveals a

Geo-Chamaephytic plant-climate for the Lolab area. Geophytes are

almost '6 times higher in Lolab (23°8 % against 4% ia the normal spectrum)

and Chamaephytes twice as much (172% against 9°%% of the normal

spectrum). It may be mentioned that the percentage of Nenopnancro.

phytes slightly exceeds that of the normal spectrum (17% and i,

_ respectively).

As the climate of the region may be best described as moderately cool,

the assigning of the spectrum of Lolab Valley to Geo-Chamaephytic

type seems to be in fair consonance with the classical concept of

Raunkiaer’s system : the prevalence of Chamaephytes with a high pro-

portion of Geophytes in cool climates. The substratum, a loose fertile

upper-soil horizon, also appears to favour the development of rhizoma-

tous geophytes.

It would be interesting to compare the spectrum of Kashmir, which

climatically is classified as sub-mediterranean, with those of the medi-

_ terranean region, the cold temperate, and the arctic zones.

The first obvious difference as may be made out from Table II is the

gradual decrease of Phanerophytes (PH-++N) from the sub-mediterranean

Kashmir area through the mediterranean and temperate regions to the

arctic zone. Inversely proportional to this is the gradual rise of Hemi-

cryptophytes from the comparatively warmer Kashmir climate to the

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

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LIFE FORMS AND BIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF LOLAB VALLEY 121

arctic type. Another feature that needs mention is the high proportion

of Therophytes (42 °%) in the mediterranean climate of Italy. This is due

to the long summer drought (3 to 6 months) prevailing in the country.

All this is in agreement with Raunkiaer’s system.

In India, a number of workers have worked out’ biological spectra of

various regions. Bharucha & Ferreira (1941) worked out the biological

spectra of Matheran and Mahableshwar. Pandeya (1954) utilized the

system for determining the extent of overgrazing in grasslands of Saugor.

Shah (1956), Jindal (1956), Ansari (1956), and Lakshamanan (1962) while

working in different regions of Bombay applied the method to various

plant communities.

Their studies were chiefly concerned with the association-environ-

ment relationship and, as only fragments of the total vegetation of the

region were considered, naturally they did not expect the spectrum of a

biotically disturbed community to be in accordance with the phanero-

phytic phyto-climate to be expected for a tropical country like Bombay

covered with a moist deciduous forest. Further, in a grassy community,

even a tree species in its younger stage would behave as a chamaephyte

rather than a phanerophyte, thus tending to shift the spectrum of

the grazed grassy association away from the forest type (Meher-Homji

1962).

The present investigation relates to a fairly large area that is disturbed

biotically to a very small extent, and that may be the reason for this region

giving results in agreement with Raunkiaer’s hypothesis. However,

some objections may be raised to his system. The present area abounds

in rich coniferous forests, and it seems paradoxical to assign to such a

tree-covered area a Geo-Chamaephytic spectrum. The tree species

though much fewer in number than the herbs and shrubs are

physiognomically dominating.

There would be very little change in the spectrum of the forest stands

if the few trees that compose it are counted or not, for numerically the

herbaceous, bulbous, and shrubby species are many more in the under-

storeys and undergrowth and give a Geo-Chamaephytic phyto-climate.

However, if those very trees were to be cut down, this would totally

change the landscape and the physiognomy of the country without effect-

ing any change in the biological spectrum (Meher-Homji 1960).

A defect in Raunkiaer’s system is that it does not give importance to

the frequency-dominance of the species. A very common species or a

very rare one both count just as one. In this connection, Carles (1948)

has proposed to calculate the ‘ real’ biological spectrum by consideration

of the percentage cover of each life form in an association and not only

by that of the number of species of a life form.

In view of the dominance of the conifers in this area it may be

suggested that, after all, the adaptations of plants to the climate may

appear by more than one morphological criterion : firstly, through the

122

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

numerical prevalence of geophytic-chamaephytic mode of life; secondly,

the conifers, though few in number of species, through their physiognomic

dominance point to their ability to conquer the area.

Finally, it may be pointed out that Raunkiaer’s system does not con-

sider the geological history of the country and that at leasta we of the

flora could be the remnant of the climate of the past.

SUMMARY

Raunkiaer’s Life Form system, as applied to the forests of Lolab

Valley in Kashmir, is presented in the paper.

The area shows a numeric

prevalence of geophytes and chamaephytes and is in consonance with

Raunkiaer’s system. The merits and demerits of the Life Form system,

as proposed by Raunkiaer, are discussed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is deeply indebted to Dr. V. M. Meher-Homji, Institut

Franeais,

Grateful thanks are due to Dr.

Pondicherry, for very valuable suggestions and criticism.

Y. Satyanarayan, Jodhpur, Dr.

K. C. Misra, Banaras, and Dr. V. Kaul, Srinagar, for suggestions,

and to Dr. S. Kedharnath, F.R.1.,

plants.

Dehra Dun, for identifying some

REFERENCES

ANSARI, M. Y. (1956) : Ecological and

phytosociological studies of the plant

associations of mountain screes. M.Sc.

Thesis, Bombay University.

BAGNOULS, F., & MEHER-Homgr, V. M.

(1959) : Bioclimatic types of South-east

Asia. “Travi. Sects. (Sci.2Teens — Inst.

Frangais, Pondicherry 1+ 227-246.

BHARUCHA, F. R., & FERREIRA, D. B.

(1941): The biological spectra ‘of the

Matheran and Mahabaleshwar flora.

J. Indian Bot. Soc. 20: 195-211.

BRAUN-BLANQUET, J. (1932): Plant

Sociology. MacGraw Hill Book Co.,

N.Y. Translated from the French.

Cartes, J. (1948): Le spectre bio-

logique réel. Exir.. Bull. . Soc: Bot.

France 95 : 340-342.

-- DANSEREAU, P. (1957) : Biogeography :

An ecological perspective. The Ronald

Press Go., N-Y.

EMBERGER, L., & GAUSSEN, H., ef al.

(1962) :. Bioclimatic map of the mediter-

ranean region. Recherches sur la zone

aride 22. Etude écologique de la region

méditerranéenne. UNESCO-FAO.

JINDAL, K. B. (1956): Phytosocio-

logical and ecological studies of ruderal

vegetation of Bombay. M.Sc. Thesis,

Bombay University.

LAKSHAMANAN, N. K. (1962): The

application of Raunkiaer’s Life Forms.

J. Indian Bot. Soc. 41 : 585-589.

MEHER-Homsl, V. M. (1960): Les

bioclimats du sub-continent Indien et

leurs types analogues dans le monde.

Thése Sci., Toulouse.

(1962): Phytogeograpical

studies of the semi-arid regions of India.

Ph. D. Thesis, Bombay University.

OosTING, H. J. (1956) : Study of Plant

communities. Freeman &. Coy, San

Francisco.

PANDEYA, S. C. (1954) : Grassland

ecology. Ph. D. Thesis, Saugar Uni-

versity.

RAUNKIAER, ‘C. (1934) : The life- forms

of plants and statistical plant geography.

Oxford University Press. Translated

from the Danish.

SHAH, K. (1956): Phytosociological

and ecological studies of the weeds of

rice fields. M. Sc. Thesis, Bombay -

University. .

WALTER, H. (1960)

in die Phytologie. Bande III. Grund-

lagen der Pflanzenverbreitung. I Teil

Standortslehre. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart,

Einfuhrung

Hazaribagh National Park (Bihar)

re-visited |

JAMAL ARA

(With a map)

SYNOPSIS

On a suggestion made by the Secretary of the Bombay Natural

History Society, an Ecological re-survey of the Hazaribagh National

Park was carried out after five years, in two visits during 1965. The first

visit was from March 7 to March 11, when a halt was made at the Tourist

Lodge, and an intensive sampling of the areas sampled in 1959, as also

some new areas, was carried out. The second was from March 22 to

March 31. On this occasion the halt was outside the National Park, and

by daily visits the fringes and border areas were investigated, particularly

to determine the extent of poaching and the routes used for it.

The sampling method was the same as described in my earlier paper.

The results show that birds, both in numbers and species, as well as

Sambar (Cervus unicolor) and Spotted Deer (Axis axis) have increased.

The other animals have either diminished or remained static. Floristi-

cally, there are signs of seral retrogression, and gully erosion was on the

increase, :

1. GENERAL

The factor that finally led to the Park being located here in preference

to other sites was accessibility to visitors and tourists, so as to attract

them in increasing numbers. This expectation has been more than ful-

filled, and between January and December 1964 over 30,000 people

visited the Park. Unfortunately the majority of those who come have

no interest either in wild life or forest scenery or Nature Conservation.

The normal sequence is to arrive in the Park with transistors or amplified

gramophones, stay at the Tourist Lodge, make a lot of noise, leave the

| area ‘in an insanitary eae and depart. During my stay at the

—=—= =

“2 For the first npoe on the car eat te National Park, see the Journal Vol. 57,

pp. 325-338; ° >: ;

124 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Tourist Lodge, a batch of students and teachers from the Ranchi College

went through this routine, and not one word did I hear about animals,

the impressive landscape, or the flora and allied subjects. Rather, a

visit to the National Park is one of the things that must be done in order

to qualify for the small talk of sophisticated society.

On the other hand, the attitude of the Forest Department also appears

to be to convert the Park into a picnic spot, and all activity is directed to-

wards that end by increasing amenities and accessibility. Their aim is

to attract the maximum number of people, and from the trends shown up

to March it is clear that the 1965 figure for visitors will be much higher

than the 1964 one.

There has been a change in the set-up and numbers of staff. The Game

Warden is now a Forest Ranger, but posted at Hazaribagh and assisted

by an Assistant Game Warden, who is a Deputy Ranger, and 20 Game

Guards. None of the staff has received any special training ; their back-

ground is just the normal Forestry training given to staff of this rank, of

which wild life forms a very small part. At the same time staff amenities

inside the Park are poor. There are no means of communicating with

Headquarters in an emergency nor is any transport available. There are

no medical facilities nor any arrangements for the education of children.

The staff is consequently dissatisfied and regards posting to the Park

as a form of punishment.

(ii) The legal status is as woolly as ever. In spite of the lapse of ten

years it is still a Sanctuary created by executive order, and no action

has been taken for enacting legislation on the lines of the Model Act

circulated by the Indian Wild Life Board. This reinforces the plea for

the creation of a separate department under the Central Government

for looking after Sanctuaries and National Parks, for obviously

the Forest Department have no time for it. Lack of legislation gives

rise to some curious situations. Officially the use of transistors and loud-

speakers is forbidden, but nobody bothers because there is no section of

the Forest Act under which action can be taken for a breach of this

regulation.

(iii) The boundaries are still unfenced, and there does not appear to

be any scheme for doing so.

2. AMENITIES

Construction work on a large scale is still going on. The length of

roads has been doubled from 65 to 130 km. and, in addition to the Rest

House and Tourist Lodge, a small cottage to provide family accommoda-

tion was under construction at the time of my visit. There are plans to

build more of them, as also another 4-roomed Tourist Lodge. On the

artificial lake near the Tourist Lodge, an Island Canteen has been set up,

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HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK RE-VISITED 125

reasonably well stocked with food-stuffs and a great attraction to poten-

tial visitors, who are assured of the availability of food. The tariff is

reasonable.

Some curious innovations have been made. Some Governor

suggested that ‘ready-made’ animals should be available in the Park

so that even the most casual visitor, who came only for an hour or so,

could see something. This suggestion has been carried out. In an

enclosure near the Rest House, enclosed in deer-proof fencing, is kept

a solitary Spotted Deer.

In the garage are a number of large bird cages containing a few Laqqua

pigeons and mynas. And if, while taking tea in the canteen, you find a

Sarus Crane begging for titbits, do not assume that a wild one from the

Park has become so familiar due to protection. No, a pair was

purchased from a Calcutta dealer and introduced in the Park. It seems

a true pair was not obtained, as one of them flew away, but the other

stayed behind as it had a damaged wing and spends its time tramping

round the Canteen and Tourist Lodge.

3. ECOLOGY

Despite protection for ten years, there has been no improvement in

the flora, rather there are distinct signs of seral retrogression. At the

time of my visit, the Park presented an extremely bleak appearance,

as early burning operations were in full swing. Every day a number

of workers would set out to carry out the burn, causing great disturbance

to the animals, both by the noise and the fire throughout the day. The

annual fire tracing of the view strip and the roadsides has now become

so extensive as to cover the bulk of the area, and there was evidence that

at some places the burn had been a very fierce one. Smouldering logs

and smoking stumps, several days after the burn had been carried out,

proved that in those areas at any rate the departmental operations had

got out of hand. Bark scorching of thin barked trees like Gardenia sp.

was seen at a number of places, and many young trees of Boswellia

_ serrata (Hindi : salai) had their lower branches completely burnt.

The objective of these burning operations is two-fold: (1) to prevent

fires in the hot weather, and (2) the hope that, since the fire will have

reduced the undergrowth, even a casual visitor motoring along the

roads will be able to see wild animals through lack of cover. How

far the Department has succeeded in the first, I cannot say, though they

claim that there has been no fire in the National Park for the last five

years. As for the second, the effect is just the opposite. Animals

have been driven more and more into the deeper recesses of the forest,

and are more difficult to see today than they were five years ago. Even

then they were scared.

126 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

The results of this annual burning have been disastrous in other

directions as well. The proportion of Spear Grass (Heteropogon con-

tortus) iS increasing everywhere, and is slowly forming a dense impene-

trable mat, at the expense of the other herbaceous flora. I could find

no natural regeneration anywhere of either Sal or the other main tree

species.

There has been no improvement in the canopy density of the main

crop, Shorea robusta (Hindi: sal), and the average is about 0°5 to 0°6.

At the same time the absence of any regeneration means that, as these

trees die, no others will come up to replace them, and over a period

of time the entire floristic composition of the forest will change, probably

for the worse. The evidence provided by the very large view strip cut

on both sides of the road leading from the Tourist Lodge to the National

Highway, a kilometre away from the latter, is unmistakable. An area

of 40-50 hectares has been clear-felled, with just a few seed bearers of

Sal and other species randomly distributed. The strip had been burnt

a few days before I reached the Park, and presented a scene of

unbelievable desolation. There were no signs of any shrubby under-

growth, whereas the H. contortus was already springing back to life.

It was easy to visualize what the area would look like after it had

recovered from the effects of the burn: a veritable sea of knee-high

spear grass with the odd tree sticking out, stark and grotesque. No

animal will come out in-this large blank traversed by a road with i

heavy traffic upon it. Le

The intensity of grazing has increased considerably within this period

of five years, and takes place much more openly and boldly now.

Formerly much of the grazing was on the sly; now cattle are met all

over the place. The village located in the heart ‘of the Park, within a

few kilometres of the Tourist Lodge, has a fairly large number of buffaloes

and enjoys prescriptive rights of grazing. Consequently, for quite some

distance around that village the forest is honeycombed with tracks.

Along with grazing, lopping, felling of young trees, and removal of

Bauhinia vahlii (Hindi: mahul) bark for rope-making also goes on.

In the interests of the Park, this village must be acquired and the

inhabitants re-settled somewhere outside.

On the periphery of the Park are a number of villages, and cattle from

all of them graze in the Park itself. As such, a large number of footpaths

lead in from the boundary and penetrate several kilometres inside. The

density of the tracks is thickest on either side of the new road built from

the main approach road to the Bahimar Gate, a road which is very little

used by visitors so far. The total area of the forest commanded by the

tracks is surprisingly large, and all along them are signs of illicit fellings

and rope making. One of the worst villages is Garu, which has a mixed ©

Santhal and Birhor population. The Santhals kill animals for selling

HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK RE-VISITED 127

meat and skins ; the Birhor’s sole means of livelihood is rope making

either from Sabai grass (Ischaemum angustifolium) or the bark of Bauhinia

vahlii. Both the tribes find the National Park very convenient for their

activities. °

Considering each of the forest sub-types differentiated in my previous

paper, the following changes were noticed :

Type A. There is distinct evidence of retrogression. Nyctanthes

arbortristis (Hindi : harsinghar) is spreading, and the Flacourtia ramontchi

(Hindi : katahi) has larger and more persistent spines, at places it looks

almost like a strange variety of cactus.

SUB-TYPE Al. There has been little change in this sub-type, pro-

bably on account of its xerophilous nature. The bamboo clumps, how-

ever, are beginning to get congested and the culms themselves are thin

and willowy. In spite of total protection for nearly 10 years now, I

could not find a single bamboo culm 50 mm. in diameter,

Type B. This has been the worst sufferer of all the types due to

the annual burning. There are no traces left of fire-tender shrubs like

Indigofera pulchella (Hindi : jirut) and Flemingia chappar (Hindi : galphuli)

indicating that the site quality has undergone a deterioration.

One looks in vain for the dense bushes of Bauhinia vahlii seen on the first

visit ; fire and rope-makers between them have played havoc with it.

Even in this type, which looks like a climax formation, there is no natural

regeneration of either Sal or of any of the Terminalias.

Type C. There has been no change in this type. The lake behind

the dam near the Tourist Lodge is silting up badly, and also getting

choked with weeds, particularly Aponogeton (Hindi: ghechu). This

stream, the Rajederwa Nalla, is the only large one throughout the area,

and any degradation init will make the water supply position more acute.

Gully erosion everywhere was much more noticeable on this occasion

than on the previous one, and the heads of some of them are advancing

very fast indeed. Several gullies are already 8-10 metres wide and 2-3

metres deep. The rate of advance is anything up to 3 metres annually,

as eStimated from the manner in which the plant roots had become ex-

posed. Soil conservation is not taboo in any National Park, and it is

not quite clear why measures to control gully erosion have not been taken

so far. As a matter of fact, I could find little purpose or direction in

the management of the National Park. The entire concentration is on

building more buildings and constructing more roads. Of scientific

Steps to improve the forest and increase the proportion of wild life, I

could not find a single sign. I had a feeling that the Forest Department

have little interest in these matters, and are content with having

established something which is attracting an increasing number of visitors

every year. | 7

(28 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

4. SAMPLING METHODS

The sampling method was the same as on the previous occasion, but

the area was gone over more intensively. The new road from the 9th

kilometre of the approach road to the Tourist Lodge leading to

the Bahimar Gate and many tracks in that area had not been visited on

the last occasion. Observations were carried out throughout the day

and late into the night as well. The days were neither hot nor the nights

cold.

5. DISTRIBUTION OF FAUNA BY FOREST TYPES

The maximum concentration of fauna continues to be in Ecological

Type B wherever it occurs, particularly in the valley bottoms. The

centre of gravity stays in the valley between the Bahimar Road and the

opposite hills, on either side of a road leading past the staff quarters, and

another one has developed in the valleys on either side of the new road

taking off from the 9th kilometre of the main approach road. Running

these two a close second is a large, deep valley near Watch Tower No. 5,

which has a perennial stream running through it, and a journey along

the by-pass road leading to it from the Tiger Trap is a rewarding ex-

perience. At all these places, however, the main increase has been in

the number of Sambar (Cervus unicolor) and Spotted Deer (Axis axis).

On the other hand Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) and Gaur or Indian

Bison (Bos gaurus) appear to have been driven out of the area. The

Assistant Game Warden claims that he and some of his Game Guards

have seen a White Tiger in the vicinity of Watch Tower No. 5 but, before

accepting it, I would await independent confirmation by some naturalist.

I did not see it myself. The bird fauna is no longer distributed by Eco-

logical Sub-types, is much more scattered and mixed up, and this sub-type

does not present any special features now.

The valley on either side of the road leading past the Staff Quarters

to the Bahimar Road, which contains forests belonging to Sub-type B,

can have its animal population increased considerably by improving the

water supply and closing down burning operations. A stream runs

through, but at the time of my visit was already drying up, though it was

only early March. Several very convenient spots exist where a small

weir can be built, which will store water throughout the hot weather, and

lead to a concentration of fauna.

Type A. Does not provide the richest bird life now. The Spotted

Deer (Axis axis) too are no longer concentrated in this type. On the last

+A white tiger was shot in Hazaribagh District by one Mr. Wakefield about the

year 1934. The shooting of another white tiger in that area in 1958 is referred to by

Mr. E. P. Gee in Vol. 56 of the Journal at p. 583.—Eps.

HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK RE-VISITED 129

occasion, the bulk of the Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) were found in

this sub-type, but this time neither did I see a single one nor found any

hoof prints. Indian Hares (Lepus n. ruficaudatus) and pigs (Sus

scrofa cristatus) have been reduced in numbers. The frequent signs of

digging by pigs, so common on the last visit, are much less frequent now.

Type C. The Redwattled Lapwings (Vanellus indicus) are no longer

confined to the artificial lake. They have spread out as well as increased

in numbers.

Two resting places of Sambar (Cervus unicolor) and Spotted Deer

(Axis axis) were seen, but the places are not mentioned here because

people will go and disturb their peace. The Sambar herd was about a

dozen strong and the herd of Spotted Deer had about six animals.

6. RESULTS

A change has been made in the table. The numbers seen in the

sampling area (20% of the total area of the Park) are given in columns

2 and 3, so that a ready comparison of the results of the two surveys

is possible.

Number seen in Sample

Species Remarks

Area

1965 1959/60

1. Common Langur not seen not seen Reported by staff to be

(Presbytis entellus) present in large num-

bers near the villages.

2. Tiger nil 2

Staff claim an increase to

(Panthera tigris) 0.

3. Leopard 2 2 Staff agree that numbers

(Panthera pardus) have remained more or

less constant.

4. Mongoose 4 4 —__—

(Herpestes edwardsii)

5. Jackal not seen not seen According to staff num-

(Canis aureus) ber increasing specially

around villages.

6. Fox 10 frequent | eae Sea

(Vulpes bengalensis)

7. Wild Dog 8 not seen Staff report that on the —

(Cuon alpinus) periphery numbers have

increased. 5

8. Sloth Bear 4 6 ———

(Melursus ursinus)

9. Palm Squirrel 6 2

(Funambulus pennanti)

130 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Number seen in Sample

Species Area Remarks

1965 1959/60

10. Indian Hare common very common Seem to have diminished

(Lepus nigricollis ruficau- in numbers.

datus)

11. Gaur or Indian Bison nil 4 Was an over-estimate last

time. Staff claim that

a single herd comes in

for 3-4 months every

year, following a well-

defined route for both

inward and outward

(Bos gaurus)

journeys.

12. Nilgai nil 3 Appear to have definitely

(Boselaphus tragocamelus) gone away.

13. Sambar 30 6 ———

‘. (Cervus unicolor)

12. Spotted Deer 50 ~ 30 —_———

ce Gxisaxis) aay | :

13. Muntjac 4 4 Pia es

(Muntiacus muntjak)

16. Wild Boar common common Though still common, the

(Sus scrofa cristatus) numbers have defini-

tely gone down.

The Assistant Game Warden claimed that Fourhorned Antelope

(Tetracerus quadricornis) were to be found in sufficient numbers in the Park,

and one had been shot by an employee of a Public Sector Corporation,

who had been caught and suitably punished. A visiting naturalist,

however, was of the opinion that they might be Chinkara (Gazella g.

bennetti). The latter is more probable, because Chinkara do occur in

the Hazaribagh district. Not having seen either, I have not included any

of them in my list.

From the Table it is obvious that except for the Sambar (Cervus

unicolor) and the Spotted Deer (Axis axis), none of the other animals

have increased during this interval of five years. And all of them, despite

protection for ten years now, continue to be extremely shy and afraid of

man. The slightest movement makes them dive for cover. As they

retreat, their cautious backward glances reveal terror in their eyes. To

see any animal in daylight is a near impossibility. I am of the firm

opinion that animals in the Singhbhum Sanctuaries are far bolder than

in the National Park. Visitors who have gone round other National

Parks in India are rather surprised to find animals so few in numbers

and so difficult-to see, in spite of the area being better watered and less

heavily grazed. Staff attribute this state of affairs to the presence of -

HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK RE-VISITED | 131

Wild Dogs. I differ. It is well known that Wild Dog packs are always

on the move and never stay long in any one place. Their presence can

have a temporary effect only, and in any case the sufferers should have

been the Ungulates which are increasing. .

I feel that annual burning and the heavy construction programme,

both of which involve large bodies of men tramping noisily over the

forests all the time, as also a certain amount of poaching, are responsible.

Instead of the animals responding to protection and coming out into the

open, they keep well hidden. Formerly, deer used to come quite close

to the Staff Quarters, right into the open, but now they never break cover.

The Tiger has been affected the most. In spite of the nights being moon-

lit ones in March and water holes few, neither did I see Tiger, nor did I

hear the roar of any or come across pug marks. Yet, the Singhbhum

Reserves resound with the roar of tigers during March and April, parti-

cularly when the moon is up.

At the same time, there are neither the resources nor the effort to

effectively control poaching, particularly aiong the periphery. Though

I spent long hours in the field surveying extensively, I never met a single

Game Guard or any other member of the Staff out patrolling. Again,

though most poachers use motor vehicles, the Staff have only bicycles

to cope with them. Mention must be made of the activities of a

Shikar Agency. It guarantees tigers for Rs. 10,000 to foreign tourists,

and carries out the guarantee by arranging a shoot just outside the

boundary of the National Park. There are reports that on occasions

tigers have been beaten out or lured outside the Park by baits being tied

up just clear of the demarcation line. This is little different from

organized poaching.

In the Island Canteen there is a book in which visitors record the

animals they have seen. I do not feel very happy about many of the

entries. During my entire stay, I noticed that the set programme for

visitors was to arrive at the Canteen by the main approach road leading

in from the National Highway, partake of refreshments, and leave by the

by-pass road via Watch Tower No. 5, the departure from the Canteen

being usually around 7.30-8 p.m. Identification of animals from the

recorded that the only animal he saw was a chicken in the Canteen, which

was very tasty !

fleeting glimpses obtained with a spot-light from a fast moving vehicle

at night is a job from which even experts will shrink ; yet the entries in

the book have been’made on just this kind of evidence. The most honest

entry was by a member of the Staff of the U.K. High Commissioner, who

~ Birps. Compared with the mammals, birds have definitely in-

_ creased and are really bold. Leaf warblers (Phylloscopus sp.) were so

many that it appeared as if they had assembled for migration. They

132. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

spent the whole day on the lawn near the Canteen, restlessly flickering

their wings and tails. It was really fascinating to watch them from

such close quarters—now on the lawn, the next minute atop a bush,

then on to a tree and back again to the lawn. The Redbreasted Fly-

catchers (Muscicapa parva) were also quite plentiful, and the breasts of

the males were a beautiful red. It is possible to approach quite close to

all the birds, terrestrial and arboreal. Given below is a list of the birds

seen on this survey. Variations in the status of individual species com-

pared with the last survey are indicated against each. The arrangement

and nomenclature are according to the SyNopsis by Dillon Ripley.

1. Pond Heron, Ardeola grayii: Infrequent, mostly around the

lake.

2. Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis: About 3-4 near villages in field.

3. Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax: Once heard after dusk, ©

notseen. The Heronry near Watch Tower No. 5 has dis-

appeared. 7

4. Whitenecked Stork, Ciconia episcopus: Not seen this time. .

5. White-eyed Buzzard Eagle, Butastur teesa: 2 near Watch Tower —

No. 5. Loud mewing call. Shy, shunned observation.

6. Whitebacked Vulture, Gyps bengalensis: Large flocks circling —

the Park.

7. Crested Serpent Eagle, Spilornis cheela: Seen quite often.

8. Redheaded Merlin, Falco chicquera: 1-2 seen often.

9. Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus: A single bird.

10. Black Partridge, Francolinus francolinus: Not seen on this visit.

11. Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus: Many seen around the new road

from km. 9 of main approach road to Tourist Lodge, going to —

the Bahimar Gate. I think they are confined to that area.

12. Peafowl, Pavo cristatus: Not seen, but once heard. Staff say

very common.

13. Sarus Crane, Grus antigone: Tamed specimen. |

14. Indian Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus: WLarge numbers on the |

artificial lake. : |

15. Redwattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus: Quite numerous.

16. Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus malabaricus: Less than the |

Redwattled Lapwing. |

17. Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus: About 4. I think they |

gathered en route to breeding ground.

18. Wood- or Spotted Sandpiper, Tringa glareola: 2 seen near

stream.

19. Common Sandpiper, Tringa hypoleucos: Not seen. i

20.. Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola: Only 1 seen. Rich marbled

7 plumage was difficult to separate from the wood. A slight

movement betrayed it. The bird left the next day.

a a ie an, ae i ee

ai.

22.

24.

ZS.

26.

28.

29:

30.

31.

a2.

B33.

34,

36.

aT:

38.

39.

40.

41.

HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK RE-VISITED (133

Little Stint, Calidris minutus: More in number than the

sandpipers.

Blue Rock Pigeon, Columba livia: Not seen.

Rufous Turtle Dove, Streptopelia orientalis: One or two seen

feeding here and there.

Ring Dove, Streptopelia decaocto: Very common.

Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis: Common. Number de-

finitely increased.

Large Indian Parakeet, Psittacula eupatria: Not many.

Roseringed Parakeet, Psittacula krameri: Common. One nest

with young in hollow of Madhuca latifolia (Hindi : mahua)

tree.

Papiha, Cuculus varius: Heard and seen near Watch Towér No.

5. E

Indian Cuckoo, Cuculus micropterus : Not seen, but its familiar

call utho-dekho once heard in the jungle on the path leading

to the village.

Dusky Horned Owl, Bubo coromandus : Only 2 seen on the road

to.the Bahimar Gate.

Mottled Wood Owl, Strix ocellata: Not observed.

Jungle Nightjar, Caprimulgus indicus: Loud wak-kukroo.

Common. |

Longtailed Nightjar, Caprimulgus macrurus: Seen as soon as

evening falls. The place resounds with chounk-chounk-chounk

repeated up to 40-50 times, at intervals of a second. Common.

Common Indian Nightjar, Caprimulgus asiaticus : took-took-took-

tukru. Common.

Franklin’s Nightjar, Caprimulgus affinis: chwees-chwees.

Common.

Note. As soon as dusk fell, all the Nightjars would start calling

from all sides, as if in competition. They would wheel and fly,

almost at head height. They were most frequent in the burnt

areas. : |

Whiterumped Spinetail, Chaetura sylvatica: Not seen.

House Swift, Apus affinis: Large flock which used to fly over

the artificial lake. ,

Palm Swift, Cypsiurus parvus: In small numbers with the House

Swifts at the same place.

Pied Kingfisher, Ceryle lugubris: Only 2 birds seen near the.

Tourist Lodge.

Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis: No increase in numbers.

Only 1-2 seen occasionally near the Tourist Lodge.

Whitebreasted Kingfisher, Halcyon smyrnensis: More fre-

quently seen. Number has increased.

134 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

42.

43.

44,

45.

46.

47.

48.

- 49.

50.

a1;

a2.

D3.

54.

55.

56.

Sil

oar 58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis: About 6, which used to

gather about the stream near the canteen. Seen captu.ng

insects on the edge.

Roller, Coracias benghalensis : Has increased in numbers from

the last time. 3 pairs seen.

Green Barbet, Megalaima zeylanica: Commonly met with

wherever the simul (Salmalia malabarica) tree was in bloom.

Very fond of sipping the nectar.

Crimsonbreasted Barbet, Megalaima haemacephala: Common.

Preparing for nesting.

Goldenbacked Woodpecker, Dinopium benghalense: Only 2

chasing each other among the highest trees near the stream on

the Main Road.

Mahratta or Yellowfronted Pied Woodpecker, Dendrocopos

mahrattensis : Common, specially near the burnt areas.

Pigmy Woodpecker, Dendrocopos nanus: Frequent.

Skylark, Alauda gulgula: Large flock near burnt up area, feed-

ing with the Paddyfield Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).

Common Swallow; Hirundo rustica: A large flock near Tourist

Lodge. Used to fly all day on Rajaderwa Nalla. Included

this year’s young, distinguishable from adults by smaller size,

absence of steel-blue gloss, shorter less deeply forked tail, and

dull buff tinted face. Suddenly departed on March 10, 1965.

Place then taken by House and Palm Swifts.

Grey Shrike, Lanius excubitor: Frequent.

Rufousbacked Shrike, Lanius schach: Seen in display.

Golden Oriole, Oriolus oriolus: Not seen.

Blackheaded Oriole, Oriolus xanthornus: Quite common.

Musical call.

Black Drongo, Dicrurus adsimilis: Have increased in numbers

from last time.

Whitebellied Drongo, Dicrurus caerulescens: Not many this

time. A few here and there specially on Simul trees in flower.

Greyheaded Myna, Sturnus malabaricus: A few small flocks

on Simul flowers. |

Common Myna, Acridotheres tristis: Has increased from last

time. Now 2-3 pairs can be seen around the Tourist Lodge,

staff quarters, and in the burnt up areas.

Treepie, Dendrocitta vagabunda: Frequent.

Jungle Crow, Corvus macrorhynchos : Common.

Pied Shrike, Hemipus picatus: Frequent. More near burnt up

area.

Large Cuckoo Shrike, Coracina novaehollandiae : Only two near

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

10.

72,

73.

74,

15.

76,

eT.

78.

79.

80.

81.

82,

+83,

84.

85.

HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK RE-VISITED 135

the village forest above stream. Very noisy, attracting atten-

tion.

Scarlet Minivet, Pericrocotus flammeus: One or two, mostly on

Simul flowers. i

Small Mi£inivet, Pericrocotus cinnamomeus: Large flocks.

- Common.

Iora, Aegithina tiphia: Increased from last time.

Goldfronted Chloropsis, Chloropsis aurifrons: Not seen.

Jerdon’s Chloropsis or Leaf Bird, Chloropsis cochinchinensis :

Quite common.

Redwhiskered Bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus: Not seen.

Redvented Bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer: Increased very much over

last time. :

Rufousbellied Babbler, Dumetia hyperythra: Flock near Watch

Tower No. 5. | :

-Yelloweyed Babbler, Chrysomma sinensis: 4-6 in tall grass near

canteen. ©

Jungle Babbler, Turdoides striatus: Increased.

Brown Flycatcher, Muscicapa latirostris : Mouse-brown Soars:

dull white below ; some whitish bars in wings and tail; a flock

of 6 near stream.

Redbreasted Flycatcher, Mitceuea parva: Plentiful. a

Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Muscicapa tickelliae: Not seen this

time. )

Verditer Flycatcher, Muscicapa thalassina: Only one on foot-

path to village. : 2G)

Greyheaded Flycatcher, Culicicapa ceylonensis: Near Watch

Tower No. 5, in Salai (Boswellia serrata) patch. !

Whitebrowed Fantail Flycatcher, Rhipidura aureola: On village

footpath. Very bold.

‘Rufousfronted Longtail Warbler, Prinia buchanani: Seen on

Rajaderwa Stream in tall grass. A shrill call chirup- chirup

betrays the bird. Small flock of 4-5. :

Plain Longtail Warbler, Prinia subflava: 4-5 on Bahimar Road

near a ravine covered with grass. Sharp note like weep-weep

uttered when one or two birds swing on grass.

Jungle Longtail Warbler, Prinia sylvatica: Not observed.

Tailor Bird, Orthotomus sutorius: Common. A half nest in a

Holarrhena bush. |

Eastern Orphean Warbler, Sylvia hortensis: Not seen this time.

Brightgreen Leaf Warbler, Phylloscopus nitidus: Very common.

and bold.

Largecrowned Leaf Warbler, Phylloscopus spa ante Not seen

this time,

136 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

86. Magpie Robin, Copsychus saularis: Not seen.

87. Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros: A flock of 7-8 near burnt

up area. Gathered there to depart. |

88. Pied Bush Chat, Saxicola caprata: Near burnt up area.

89. Jerdon’s Bush Chat, Saxicola jerdoni: Near burnt up area.

Flight direct and strong, but flies only short distances.

90. Indian Robin, Saxicoloides fulicata: Very common all over.

In full song.

91. Paddyfield Pipit, Anthus novaeseelandiae: Large flock near

burnt up area feeding with Skylarks (Alauda gulgula).

92. Yellowheaded Wagtail, Motacilla citreola: A few on the stream

near the main road.

93. Grey Wagtail, Motacilla caspica: More than the White

Wagtail. Breast turning golden.

94. White Wagtail, Motacilla alba: 1-2 only. |

95. Tickell’s Flowerpecker, Dicaeum erythrorhynchos: Frequently

seen on Simul flowers.

96. Purple Sunbird, Nectarinia asiatica: Plentiful. ;

97. White-eye, Zosterops palpebrosa: Small flock of 4 near stream

on Main Road. 2

Three mixed hunting parties invariably used to gather in the morning

and around 3 p.m. in the afternoon, so punctually that it seemed as if the

members had a watch apiece. The parties were:

I. On Footpath to Village. Small Minivets, Ioras, Indian Robins,

Jerdon’s Chloropsis, Large Cuckoo Shrikes, and Purple Sunbirds.

II. Near Watch Tower No. 5. Rufousbellied Babblers, Brightgreen

Leaf Warblers, Whitebellied and Black Drongos, Jungle Babblers,

Treepies, Jerdon’s Chloropsis, Northern Green Barbets, Green Bee-

eaters, Mahratta Woodpeckers, Scarlet Minivets, Ioras, Blackheaded

Orioles, Pigmy Woodpeckers, Sunbirds, and Greyheaded Flycatchers ;

all on Simul tree.

III. Near Canteen. Blackheaded Orioles, Redvented Bulbuls,

Spotted Doves, Purple Sunbirds, Green Bee-eaters, Black Drongos,

Jungle -Babblers, Jerdon’s Chloropsis, Redbreasted Flycatchers,

Crimsonbreasted Barbets, Grey and White Wagtails, Ioras, White-

breasted and Common Kingfishers, Common Mynas, Plain Longtail

Warblers, Small Minivets, Grey Shrikes, Brightgreen Leaf Warblers,

Treepies, and Goldenbacked Woodpeckers. But the Red- and Yellow-

wattled Lapwings, Pond Herons, and Indian Moorhens keep to them-

selves.

Taking both the visits, the total number of species observed in the

National Park now stands at 97, which is still short of the 108 observed

HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK RE-VISITED 137)

_ in the Kodarma Sanctuary, only 55 km. to the north. The game birds,

particularly Grey Partridge, Spurfowl, and Quail continue to be absent,

as well as kites and Hornbills.

The Black Drongos have increased considerably within these

five years, whereas the Whitebellied Drongos appear to have been reduced.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

If the Bihar Forest Department are at all serious about this area being

a real National Park, the steps indicated below must be taken without any

delay. If, however, the sole intention is to create a picnic spot then the

present /aissez faire policy can continue. The measures I have in mind

are :

1. Immediate legislation to put the Park on a firm legal basis.

Unless the Forest Department take the initiative and press strongly for it,

such a Bill will never be placed before the Assembly.

2. A proper plan of management, something on the lines of a

Forest Working Plan, should be drawn up, so that there isa properly

_ defined policy in respect of the Park.

3. The entire boundary of the Park must be fenced.

4. All burning operations must cease and construction activity

be cut down to a minimum. Selected blank areas can be given over to

the cultivation of pulses for attracting deer. At least this will serve the

purpose of making it a Deer Park.

5. The Watch Towers, which contrast with the landscape and

drive away animals, should have their outlines softened by a liberal]

planting of foliaceous creepers. If any more Watch Towers are con-

templated, they should be of rough hewn timber, and so constructed as

to merge in the background. They should not offend aesthetically.

6. Staff for the Park must have specialized training in Animal

Ecology and Management. Dehra Dun can consider having special

Classes for training Officers, Forest Rangers, and Deputy Rangers.

Game Guards can be trained in the States themselves, provided the higher

echelons have the correct background. Further, for creating better

interest, the Staff should be given Special Pay, and arrangements made for

proper medical attention to them and their families, as well as special

provision for the education of their children.

7. A Jeep is a sine qua non for efficient patrolling and the elimi-

nation of poaching.

138 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

8. MACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank the Bombay Natural History Society for the contribution

which made this re-survey possible. I also thank Mr. S. Muhammud,

Conservator of Forests, Hazaribagh Circle, and Mr. D. P. Sinha,

Divisional Forest Officer, for help and co-operation. Special mention

must be made of the Assistant Game Warden, Mr. Razzaque, whose

constant attention and genuine desire to make my work a success was

one of the pleasantest experiences I had during my stay in the Park.

Special thanks are also due to Mr. Sami Ahmad, who in spite of ill health

was my constant companion throughout the Survey.

The Sessile Barnacles (Cirripedia) of the

Bombay Coast

ASHOK A. KARANDE AND V. C. PALEKAR

Naval Chemical & Metallurgical Laboratory, Naval Dockyard,

Bombay —

(With a map, four plates, and twenty-two text-figures)

INTRODUCTION

Amongst the very varied forms belonging to the fouling community,

the barnacles constitute an important group. They are commonly found

on underwater structures such as hulls of ships, buoys, floating rafts and

wharfs, jetties, chains, sea-water conduits, etc. On account of their great

productivity, gregarious habit, and nature of settlement they are of

greater importance than other fouling groups, and have attracted the

attention of the biologist and the paint technologist.

Information on the Indian cirripedes is rather scattered and only

during recent years have efforts been made towards a systematic survey of

the barnacles of the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian

Sea. Noteworthy contributions on this subject are those from

Annandale (Daniel 1956) whose collections included specimens from

Ceylon and the Andaman sea also. Nilsson-Cantell’s (1938) study of

collections made by Annandale covers 73 species and subspecies of sessile

barnacles. Sundara Raj (1927) recorded five species of cirripedes from

Krusadi Islands. The recent account of the cirripedia of Madras by

Daniel (1956) has added to current knowledge of this group arene the

Indian coast.

In the course of studies on the incidence and nature of fouling at

different places on the Bombay coast a large collection of barnacles has

been made and it has been possible to add eleven more species, subspecies,

varieties, and forms to the four already recorded along the Bombay shores

(Bhatt & Bal 1960 ; Nilsson-Cantell 1938 ; Karande & Palekar 1963a).

- The majority of the barnacles reported in this paper were collected from

intertidal rocks and sea-walls, as well as from submerged structures such

as buoys, fenders, piers, and frequently chains, anchors, and underwater

hulls of ships of the Indian Navy. The intertidal collections were

generally made from different localities around Bombay, viz. Naval

140 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

VERSOVA

BANDRA

WORLI

‘

_—

2 MILES

MALABAR

HILL

APOLLO

COLABA

Map of Bombay and its surroundings

Courtesy : Bombay Natural History Society and B.F. Chhapgar & S.R. Sane

THE SESSILE BARNACLES (CIRRIPEDIA) OF THE BOMBAY COAST -141

Dockyard, Apollo Pier, Colaba (Cuffe Parade), Mazagaon, Mahim,

Bandra, Versova, and Manori Island (see Map on p. 140). The barnacles

at Trombay were collected from panels suspended from Burmah-Shell

Refineries Pier and those at Apollo Pier from this Laboratory’s experi-

mental raft moored at Middle Ground.

The usual method was employed of cleaning the valves, mouth-parts,

and other appendages of the specimens with caustic potash. The

‘diagrams were made with the help of the camera lucida.

CIRRIPEDES FROM BOMBAY

Suborder .. BALANOMORPHA Pilsbry, 1916

Family .. BALANIDAE Gray, 1825

Sub-family .. BALANINAE Darwin, 1854

Genus .. Balanus Da Costa, 1778

Subgenus Megabalanus Hoek, 1913 ~

la. Balanus tintinnabulum var. tintinnabulum Linne, 1758

lb. Balanus tintinnabulum var. zebra Darwin, 1854

Subgenus Balanus Da Costa, 1778

2a. Balanus amphitrite var. variegatus Darwin, 1854

2b. Balanus amphitrite var. communis Darwin, 1854

2c. Balanus amphitrite var. hawaiiensis Broch, 1922

2d. Balanus amphitrite var. cochinensis Nilsson-Cantell, 1938

2e. Balanus amphitrite var. denticulata Broch, 1927

2f. Balanus amphitrite var. insignis Nilsson-Cantell, 1938

2g. Balanus amphitrite var. venustus Darwin, 1854

3. Balanus calidus Pilsbry, 1916

Subgenus Chirona Gray, 1835

4a. Balanus amaryllis forma euamaryllis Broch, 1922

4b. Balanus amaryllis forma nivea Gruvel, 1905

Subfamily TETRACLITINAE Nilsson-Cantell, 1921

“Genus Tetraclita Schumacher, 1817

5. Tetraclita purpurascens Wood, 1818

142 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Family CHTHAMALIDAE Darwin, 1854

Genus Chthamalus Ranzani, 1817

6. Chthamalus malayensis Pilsbry, 1916

7. Chthamalus withersi Pilsbry, 1916

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES

la. Balanus tintinnabulum var. tintinnabulum Linne, 1758

(Text-figs. 1 and 2 ; Plate I, Fig. 1 ; Plate III, Row 1)

Occurrence. Frequently occurring along Versova and Manori shores.

Also found on hulls of ships.

Poaemn (AD

y 0.25mm. (B)

Text-figures 1-12

1. Balanus tintinnabulum vat. tintinnabulum: Labrum; 2. ditto: Maxilla I;

3. Balanus amphitrite var. variegatus: Labrum; 4. ditto: Maxilla I; 5. Balanus

amphitrite var. communis: Labrum; 6. ditto: Mandible; 7. Balanus amphitrite

var. denticulata: Labrum; 8. Balanus amphitrite var. hawaiiensis: Labrum;

9. ditto: Maxilla I; 10. Balanus amphitrite var. insignis: Labrum; 11. ditto:

Mandible; 12. ditto : Maxilla

NoTE: Figs. 1 and 2 drawn to scale (A); Fig. 3 to 12 to scale (B).

Remarks. This large-sized barnacle (Plate I, Fig. 1) measures up

to 55 mm. in carino-rostral diameter. Tergum (Plate III, Row 1) with

distinct articular ridge ; articular ridge of scutum (Plate III, Row 1)

half as long as tergal margin and ending in a free point. Hairy labrum

Text-fig. 1) with three teeth on each half, one or two of them being some-

—

THE SESSILE BARNACLES (CIRRIPEDIA) OF THE BOMBAY COAST 143

times reduced or absent. Specimens from Madras described by Daniel

(1956) do not show any teeth on the labrum. Mandible with five teeth,

the second and third being bifid ; maxilla I (Text-fig. 2) with pair of

long spines at apex, another at base, and ten smaller spines in between.

1b. Balanus tintinnabulum var. zebra Darwin, 1854

Balanus tintinnabulum var. zebra Darwin, 1854; Weltner, 1897; Gruvel, 1905 ;

Stubbings, 1961.

(Plate I, Fig. 2)

Occurrence. Found on underwater hull of ship. This is the first

record of this variety in Indian waters.

Remarks. On account of close resemblance, likely to be mistaken

for B. ¢. tintinnabulum. However, Hiro (1939) has distinguished

this variety from the others by the wide transversely striated radii with

rose-tinted margins adjoining the parietes (Plate I, Fig. 2). Spur and

articular groove of tergum narrow.

2a. Balanus amphitrite var. variegatus Darwin, 1854

(Text-figs. 3 and 4 ; Plate I, Fig. 3 ; Plate IV, Row 1)

Occurrence. Very common form. Occurs predominantly on sub-

merged structures like piles, buoys, and test panels at Trombay and in ©

Bombay Harbour. Also, invariably present on underwater hulls of

ships.

Remarks. The specimens measure 20 mm. or more in carino-rostral .

diameter (Plate I, Fig. 3). Short articular ridge of tergum (Plate IV,

- Row 1) rounded at free end. Articular and adductor ridges of scutum

(Plate IV, Row 1) fairly well developed.

| Labrum hairy (Text-fig. 3), with four teeth on either side of notch.

- Mandible with five teeth, fourth and fifth of which are reduced. Maxilla

I (Text-fig. 4) has broad step at basal end, a pair of long spines at apex,

_and another at base, and ten small spines in between.

2b. Balanus amphitrite var. communis Darwin, 1854

(Text-figs. 5 and 6 ; Plate I, Fig. 4 ; Plate IV, Row 2)

Occurrence. A widely occurring variety along Bombay shores.

Generally found on rocks, piles, fenders, chains, etc. Also on shells of

living or dead crabs and molluscs. Specimens are found to crowd in

) patches on underwater hulls of ships along with B. a. variegatus. Hiro

144. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

(1939) points out that in Japanese waters specimens do not settle on

intertidal rocks whereas this is most common in Bombay waters.

Remarks, Carino-rostral diameter about 13-14 mm. (Plate I, Fig.

4). Scutum reddish brown (Plate IV, Row 2), with conspicuous white

stripe along tergal margin (see Plate I, Fig. 4). Opercular valves smaller

than in other varieties. Short articular ridge and short spur of tergum

also distinguish this variety from others in amphitrite series. Articular

ridge of scutum (Plate IV, Row 2) extends half way along tergal margin.

A small ridge along the adductor ridge marks an important distinguishing

feature of this variety. As characteristic of the amphitrite series, each

segment of the third cirrus has six recurved spines and six long spines.

Deeply notched labrum (Text-fig. 5) with 12-13 spines on each half of

hairy margin. Mandible (Text-fig. 6) has five teeth and one or two

tooth-like spines at lower end.

2c. Balanus amphitrite var. hawaiiensis Broch, 1922

Balanus amphitrite Pilsbry, 1928.

(Text-figs. 8 and 9 ; Plate I, Fig. 5 ; Plate IV, Row 3)

Occurrence. Intertidal variety abundantly found on rocks along

Chaupati Sea Face with B. a. cochinensis and B. a. communis. First —

recorded in Bombay by Bhatt & Bal (1960).

Remarks. The specimens measure 13-15 mm. in diameter. Parietes

dirty white with violet vertical stripes (Plate I, Fig. 5). Easily distin-

guished from other varieties by sinuous suture between its opercular valves.

A second distinctive external feature is horizontal disposition of oper-

cular valves in contrast to inclined position in other varieties. Tergum

of characteristic shape (Plate IV, Row 3), its pointed articular ridge

slightly projecting out of scutal margin of tergum. Broad rounded spur

short, crests for carino depressor muscles distinct, articular furrow broad.

Scutum (Plate IV, Row 3) has well developed articular and adductor

ridges. Labrum (Text-fig. 8) has about 18 teeth on either side of notch.

Lower angle of mandible bears 2-3 spines. Maxilla I (Text-fig. 9) has

11-12 spines.

2d. Balanus amphitrite var. cochinensis Nilsson-Cantell, 1938

(Plate I, Fig. 6 ; Plate IV, Row 4)

Occurrence. Abundantly located on intertidal rocks at Chaupati. |

First described by Nilsson-Cantell (1938) from Cochin backwaters.

Remarks. The specimens measure 12-13 mm. in carino-rostral dia- |

meter (Plate I, Fig. 6). Distinguishable from B. a. communis by absence

of white stripe along tergal margin of scutum. Opercular valves (Plate '

J. BOMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc.

Karande : Sessile Barnacles

PLATE [

i ele _Balanus tintinnabulum var. tintinnabulum: 2. Balanus tintinnabulum var. zebra ; '3. Balanus

"mphitrite var. variegatus ; 4. Balanus amphitrite var. communis; 5. Balanus amphitrite var. hawaii-

‘Msis 36. Balanus amphitrite var. cochinensis ; 7. Balanus amphitrite var. denticulata |

PLATE II

J. BOMBAY NAT. HIST. Soc.

Karande : Sessile Barnacles

8. Balanus amphitrite var. insignis; 9. Balanus amphitrite var. venustus; 10. Balanus calidus ‘|

11. Balanus amaryllis forma euamaryllis; 12. Balanus amaryllis forma nivea; 13. Tetraclita

purpurascens ; 14. Chthamalus malayensis : 15. Chthamalus withersi |

THE SESSiLE BARNACLES (CIRRIPEDIA) OF THE BOMBAY COAST 145

IV, Row 4) closely conform to description given by Nilsson-Cantell

(1938). Labrum has about 15 teeth extending within notch. Typical

amphitrite mandible, with one or two spines on lower angle.

2e. Balanus amphitrite var. denticulata Broch, 1927

(Text-fig. 7 ; Plate I, Fig. 7 ; Plate IV, Row 5)

Occurrence. Found at Trombay and in Bombay Harbour.

Remarks. Carino-rostral diameter c. 8-10 mm. (Plate I, Fig. 7).

Parietes dull white with very faint thin violet lines (Stubbings 1961), un-

like var. communis where they are broader and darker. Opercular valves

(Plate IV, Row 5) similar to those of West African specimens described

by Stubbings (1961). Spur of tergum slightly longer than in var. com-

munis. Valves generally weak. Drawn-out carinal margin at apex of

the tergum in Bombay specimens is also seen in West African forms.

Labrum (Text-fig. 7) has four teeth on each half, as noted by Stubbings

(1961) in his specimens. As pointed out by him the separation of this

variety from var. communis is virtually impossible without examination

of the labrum. Mandible with five teeth.

2f. Balanus amphitrite var. insignis Nilsson-Cantell, 1938

(Text-figs. 10-12 ; Plate II, Fig. 8 ; Plate IV, Row 6)

Occurrence. Generally found on test panels at Trombay. Earlier

reported from Cochin by Nilsson-Cantell (1938).

Remarks. Cylindrical in form. Specimens measure about 15 mm.

in carino-rostral diameter (Plate II, Fig. 8). Dull white parietes with

indistinct pinkish vertical lines. Shell base is strong and porous. The

opercular valves, typical of this variety, are covered by yellow epidermis.

Narrow tergum, with long curved spur (Plate IV, Row 6). Carino-basal

margin curved inside and crests for depressor muscles distinct. Occlu-

dent margin of scutum (Plate IV, Row 6) thick. Labrum has four teeth

on each half of hairy margin (Text-fig. 10), sometimes one or two being

reduced. Mandible has five teeth (Text-fig. 11), the second bifid, the

fourth and fifth spinose. Lower angle bears one or two spines. Maxilla

I (Text-fig. 12) has 12 spines.

2g. Balanus amphitrite var. venustus Darwin, 1854

(Text-fig. 13 ; Plate II, Fig. 9 ; Plate IV, Row 7)

Occurrence. Occasionally found on test panels on experimental raft

in Bombay Harbour.

i46 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Remarks. The specimens measure 20 mm. in carino-rostral diameter

(Plate II, Fig. 9). Pale pink parietes have rosy vertical cut lines. Basi-

carinal margin of tergum larger than that found in other varieties and

Text-figures 13-22

13. Balanus amphitrite var. venustus: Labrum; 14. Balanus calidus : Maxilla I;

15. Balanus amaryllis forma euamaryllis: Labrum; 16. ditto: Méaxilla I;

17. Tetraclita purpurascens: Mandible; 18. ditto: MaxillaI; 19. Chthamalus

malayensis: Labrum; 20. ditto: Mandible; 21. ditto: Toothed spine;

22. Chthamalus withersi : Mandible

Nore. Figs. 15 and 16 drawn to scale (A); Fig. 13, 14, 17-19, and 22 to scale

(B); Fig. 20 and 21 to scales (C) and (D) respectively

hollowed out (Plate IV, Row 7). Spur uniformly broad, and slightly |

larger than basi-scutal margin. Spur-fasciole broad. Scutum has dis-

tinct growth lines (Plate IV, Row 7). Articular ridge of scutum extends

slightly more than half the length of tergal margin. Adductor ridge

distinct. Pit for lateral depressor muscles deep. Labrum has four teeth

on either side of notch (Text-fig. 13). Mandible has five teeth, fourth and

fifth being reduced.

3. Balanus calidus Pilsbry, 1916

Balanus spongicola var. with the walls slightly folded longitudinally Darwin, 1854.

(Text-fig. 14; Plate II, Fig. 10)

Occurrence. Only two specimens, encountered on test panels on

experimental raft moored in Bombay Harbour. Daniel (1956) recorded

this species from Madras for the first time in India.

J. BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOc. PLATE III

Karande: Sessile Barnacles

| Opercular valves of Barnacles

Row 1. Balanus tintinnabulum var. tintinnabulum; Row 2. Balanus amaryllis forma

euamaryllis ; Row 3. Balanus amaryllis forma nivea

| NotE. From left to right in each row : tergum outer view, tergum inner view,

Scutum inner view, and scutum outer view

J. BOMBAY NAT. HIST. Soc. PLATE IV

Karande : Sessile Barnacles

Opercular valves of Barnacles

Row 1. Balanus amphitrite var. variegatus ; Row 2. Balanus amphitrite var.

communis; Row 3. Balanis amphitrite var. hawaiiensis; Row 4. Balanus

amphitrite var. cochinensis ; Row 5. Balanus amphitrite var. denticulata; Row

6. Balanus amphitrite var. insignis; Row 7. Balanus amphitrite var. venustus

Note. From left to right in each row: tergum outer view, tergum inner

view, scutum inner view, and scutum outer view

THE SESSILE BARNACLES (CIRRIPEDIA) OF THE BOMBAY COAST 147

Remarks. Tubulo-conical in shape. Carino-rostral diameter of

specimens 20 mm. (Plate IJ, Fig. 10). Radii narrow and oblique, with

crenated edges. Spur of tergum slightly curved. Scutum has distinct

growth lines, and articular ridge half as long as tergal margin. Labrum

has four teeth on either side of median notch. Mandible has five teeth.

Maxilla I with poorly developed lower step, and bears pair of long spines

similar to those on upper angle ; between the two pairs of spines about

7-8 short spines (Text-fig. 14).

4a. Balanus amaryllis forma euamaryllis Broch, 1922

(Text-figs. 15 and 16 ; Plate II, Fig. 11 ; Plate III, Row 2)

Occurrence. Very common in Bombay Harbour, Trombay, Versova,

and on hulls of ships. .

Remarks. Carino-rostral diameter of specimens from 30 to 50 mm.

(Plate II, Fig. 11). Articular and adductor ridges of tergum (Plate III,

Row 2) very poorly developed ; broad spur crenated along free end.

Articular and adductor ridges of scutum also weakly developed (Plate III,

Row 2). Labrum deeply notched, and bears three teeth on each half of

hairy margin (Text-fig. 15). Mandible has five teeth. Maxilla I (Text-

fig. 16) has distinct upper and lower steps with two long spines on each,

and 9-10 sub-equal spines in between the steps ; a notch at the base of the

upper step has three to four smaller spines.

4b. Balanus amaryllis forma nivea Gruve!l, 1905

(Plate II, Fig. 12 ; Plate III, Row 3)

Occurrence. Common at Manori. Also noted on hulls of ships.

Remarks. Carino-rostral diameter of specimens 25 mm. (Plate II,

Fig. 12). Radii crenulated and narrower than in forma euamaryllis.

This form is distinguishable externally from forma euamaryllis by its

smooth shell and uniformly disposed, distinct, longitudinal lines on parie-

tes. As noted by Daniel (1956) sculpture on opercular valves (Plate III,

Row 3) of this species less developed than in forma euamaryllis. Mouth

parts similar to those of forma euamaryllis.

5. Tetraclita purpurascens Wood, 1818

(Text-figs. 17.and 18 ; Plate II, Fig. 13)

Occurrence. First reported from Madras by Daniel (1956),

and subsequently by Bhatt & Bal (1960) from Bombay, Found in

abundance on intertidal rocks at Cuffe Parade.

148 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Remarks. The carino-rostral diameter measures 14-15 mm. (Plate II,

Fig. 13). Shell dorso-ventrally flattened. Labrum devoid of teeth.

Mandible (Text-fig. 17) has 5-6 teeth, with a pecten between last two teeth.

Third and fourth teeth have one or two short spines. Maxilla I (Text-

fig. 18) has slight notch, and bears about 19-20 spines.

6. Chthamalus malayensis Pilsbry, 1916

Chthamalus challengeri f. krackatanensis Broch, 1931.

Chthamalus moro Pilsbry, 1916 ; Broch, 1931 ; Hiro, 1937, 1939 ; Nilsson-Cantell,

1934,

(Text-figs. 19-21 ; Plate II, Fig. 14)

Occurrence. Karande & Palekar (1963a) have reported many speci-

mens of this species in and around Bombay. Occurs on intertidal rocks,

concrete structures, and sometimes on stems of plants.

_ Remarks. Carino-rostral diameter generally 9-10 mm., maximum 14

mm. (Plate II, Fig. 14). Conically depressed, ridged shell, almost

rounded. Opercular valves show variations similar to those noted by

Utinomi (1954). Spurless tergum, with 4-5 short crests for carinal de-

pressor muscles. Hairy labrum, with 15-16 teeth (Text-fig. 19).

Mandible and Maxilla I similar to those of specimens from Formosa

(Hiro, 1939). Mandible has pecten of 8-15 teeth below the fourth tooth,

and lower angle has 3-5 teeth (Text-fig. 20). Cirrus II with both toothed

and serrated spines (Text-fig. 21), the former varying from 3-10 in number.

Chthamalus moro has been found to be synonym of Chthamalus malayen-

sis by Hiro (1937) and this has been confirmed by the present authors

(Karande & Palekar 1963b).

7. Chthamalus withersi Pilsbry, 1916

(Text-fig. 22 ; Plate II, Fig. 15)

Occurrence. Abundant on intertidal rocks and concrete structures

at several places in Bombay. Recorded earlier from Thana near Bombay

by Nilsson-Cantell (1938). | |

Remarks. Carino-rostral diameter 8-9 mm. (Plate II, Fig. 15).

Parietes dirty brown with a broadly ribbed surface. Shell base mem-

braneous. Alae broad. Opercular valves similar to those described

by Nilsson-Cantell (1938). Sutures between valves simple. Labrum

has numerous minute teeth along hairy margin. Mandible has three

large teeth and a pecten with 7-8 spines (Text-fig. 22). Maxilla I has

two distinct notches. Cirrus II has no pectinated spine.

THE SESSILE BARNACLES (CIRRIPEDIA) OF THE BOMBAY COAST 149

GENERAL REMARKS

Of the fairly rich cirripede fauna around Bombay fifteen forms are

described here. Of these, Balanus amphitrite var. communis, B. a. var.

hawaiiensis, B. a. var. cochinensis, Chthamalus malayensis, Ch. withersi,

and Tetraclita purpurascens are most commonly noted in the intertidal

zone, on rocks and structural materials. B. a. var. communis, however,

frequently occurred on the underwater hulls of ships. Reference may be

made here to the observation of Hiro (1939), who states that in Japanese

waters B. a. communis and B. a. hawaiiensis are exclusively found on

the underwater hulls of ships and on submerged structures.

Amongst the barnacles reported in this paper, B. a. communis, B. a.

variegatus, B. amaryllis euamaryllis, B. a. nivea, and B. tintinnabulum

tintinnabulum largely contribute to the fouling community on ships of the

Indian Navy. Our observations at various localities in Bombay also

reveal that the first three barnacles noted above occur in large abundance

on test panels over a major part of the year. At Manori, however, B.

amaryllis euamaryllis and B. a. nivea are common on intertidal rocks.

Inlike manner, B. t. tintinnabulum is also plentiful, forming beds on surf-

washed rocky shores at Marine Drive and Manori and at Middle Ground

(off Apollo Pier). The specimens on the hulls of ships are generally

smaller in size than those on rocks. /

Review of the systematic positions of the various species described

has revealed some points of taxonomic interest. As regards B. a. denti-

culata, Utinomi (1960) has reported that this variety is a synonym of

B. a. hawaiiensis. Wis observations are supported by Costlow &

Bookhout (1958) while comparing larval developments of B. a. denti-

culata and B.a. hawaiiensis. Also, Stubbings (1961) in his description of

West African forms has stated that the separation of variety communis

from var. denticulata is virtually impossible without examination of the

labrums, and he prefers to separate these two varieties ‘ solely (as) a

matter of convenience’ without giving final views on the communis-

denticulata problem. The present observations on B. a. var. denticulata

at Bombay conform to the description of the West African specimens of

Stubbings. Our study indicates that var. communis and var. hawaiiensis

are clearly distinguishable from one another, but the separation of var.

communis from var. denticulata is virtually impossible without exami-

nation of the labrum. In view of the uncertainty in the taxonomic

positions of the three varieties under reference, it was felt reasonable to

place them separately pending detailed clarification as suggested by

Stubbings (1961).

Amongst the Chthamalidae of Bombay, the species recorded earlier

are Ch. withersi (Nilsson-Cantell 1938) and Ch. challengeri (Bhatt & Bal

1960). Of these Ch. withersi has been noted in abundance at various

places, while Ch. challengeri is absent from the collections made during

150 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

the present work. In addition to these two species, Ch. malayensis

occurred plentifully in and around Bombay. Pilsbry (1916) observes

that ‘the differences between Ch. malayensis and Ch. challengeri are

not very important’, and this has been supported by Nilsson-Cantell

(1938). Hiro (1939) adds that ‘ externally the young specimen (of Ch.

malayensis) is hardly distinguishable from Ch. challengeri owing to conic

shape but the larger ones are quite different’. The specimen of Ch.

malayensis from Bombay, however, could be easily identified by the

presence of three spines on the lower angle of the mandible and

the number of crests for carinal depressor muscles on the tergum. A

close scrutiny of the specimens of Ch. malayensis from Bombay ~

has further exhibited an interesting taxonomic feature as a result of the

disparity in their opercular valves. Pilsbry (1916) and Nilsson-Cantell

(1938) distinguished those with the sinuous suture between the opercular

valves as Ch. malayensis and others with the straight suture as Ch. moro.

From a detailed study of both these types, Utinomi (1954) considered

them as synonymous. From critical observations on characters like

opercular valves, cirrus II, mandible, and maxilla I in these specimens,

the present authors confirm the synonymy suggested by Hiro (Karande &

Palekar 1963b).

From a general literature survey of the cirripedian fauna, it is observed

that the cirripede barnacles from Bombay chiefly comprise the Indo-

Pacific forms with Malayan elements. Of the fifteen barnacles reported ©

from Bombay, two viz. B.a. cochinensis and B. a. insignis, both originally

described by Nilsson-Cantell (1938), exclusively belong to the Indian

Ocean. The former is recorded from Cochin (W. India) and the latter

from Sumatra. The Chthamalid barnacles described here have been

_earlier reported from Malay Archipelago, Formosa, and Japan.

Amongst others B. a. hawaiiensis, B. a. variegatus, B. amaryllis euamaryllis,

B. a. nivea, and Tetraclita purpurascens have been recorded from the Indian

Ocean. In view of the synonymy between B. a. hawaiiensis and B. a,

denticulata, Utinomi (1960) records a world-wide distribution of the

former species. Three other barnacles described in the present account,

viz. B.a. communis, B.a. venustus, and B. t. tintinnabulum, are also widely

distributed and have been reported from the Malay Archipelago, the

Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian

Ocean.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our grateful thanks are due to Shri S. K. Ranganathan, Officer-in-

Charge, Naval Chemical and Metallurgical Laboratory, for encourage-

ment and valuable guidance in the preparation of the manuscript of this

paper. Thanks are also due to Shri R. Shiragaonkar, Institute

of Science, Bombay, for his help in the preparation of the illustrations,

THE SESSILE BARNACLES (CIRRIPEDIA) OF THE BOMBAY COAST 151

REFERENCES

BHATT, Y. M., & BAL, D. V. (1960) :

New records of barnacles from Bombay

shores. Current Science 29 : 439-40.

Brocu, H. J. (1922): Papers from Dr.

Th. Mortensen’s Pacific Expedition 1914-

16. X. Studies on Pacific Cirripedes.

Vidensk. Medd. fra. Dansk. Naturh.

Foren. 73 Odensee.

—— (1927): Cambridge Expedi-

tion to the Suez Canal 1924. VII. Report

on the Crustacea Cirripedia. Trans. Zool.

Soc. Lond. 22 : 133-38.

(1931): Papers from Dr.

Th. Mortensen’s Pacific Expedition 1914-

1916. LVI. Indo Malayan Cirripedia.

Vidensk. Medd. fra. Dansk. Naturh.

Foren. 91 : 1-146.

CostLow, J. D., & BOOKHOUT, C. G.

(1958): Larval development of Balanus

amphitrite var. denticulata Broch reared

in the Laboratory. Biol. Bull. 114(3):

284-95.

DANIEL, A. (1956): The Cirripedia of

the Madras Coast. Bull. Madras Govt.

Mus. 6(2) : 1-40.

Darwin, C. (1854): A Monograph of

the Sub-class Cirripedia If. The Balani-

dae. The Verrucidae. London. The

Ray Society.

GRUVEL, A. (1905) : Monographie des

Cirrihipedes ou Thecostraces. Paris.

Hiro, Fuso (1937) : Cirripedes of the

Palao Islands. Palao Trop. Biol. Stat.

Studies No.1 ; 37-72.

——— (1939): Studies on Cirri-

pedian Fauna of Japan, IV. Cirripedes

of Formosa (Taiwan) with some geo-

graphical and ecological remarks on the

littoral forms. Mem. Coll. Sci. Kyoto,

Ser. B., 15(2) : 245-84.

KARANDE, A. A., & PALEKAR, V. C.

(1963a) : Observations on the breeding

activity of the shore barnacle Chthamalus

_malayensis Pils. in Bombay harbour.

Def. Sci. J. 13 : 130-37.

———— (1963b): On a shore bar-

nacle Chthamalus malayensis Pils. from

Bombay, India. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.

(13), 6 : 231-34.

NILSSON-CANTELL, C. A. (1921):

Cirripeden-Studien. Zool. Bidr. Uppsala

[IBMT ce

— (1934) : Indo Malayan Cirri-

pedes in the Raffles Museum, Singapore.

Bull. Raffles. Mus. Singapore. No. 9.

———— (1938): Cirripedes from the

Indian Ocean in the collection of the

Indian Museum, Calcutta. Mem. Indian

Mus. 13.

Pitsspry, H. A. (1916): The sessile

Barnacles (Cirripedia) contained in the

collections of the U.S. National Museum,

including a monograph of the American

species. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. Washing-

ton 93: 1-366.

— (1928): Littoral Barnacles

of the Hawaiian Islands and Japan.

Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 79 : 305-17.

STUBBINGS, H. G. (1961): Cirripedia

Thoracica from Tropical West Africa.

Atlantide Report No.6. Danish Science

Press, Copenhagen. pp. 7-41.

SUNDARA RAJ, B. (1927) : The Littoral

Fauna of Krusadai Island in the Gulf of

Mannar. ‘Cirripedia’. Bull. Madras

Govt. Mus. (n.s.) 11) : 111-115.

UtTINoMI, Huzio (1954): Invertebrate

fauna of the intertidal zone of the Tokara

Islands. IX. Cirripedia. Publ. Seto Mar.

Biol. Lab. 4.

— (1960): On the World-wide

dispersal of Hawaiian barnacle, Balanus

amphitrite hawaiiensis Broch. Pacific

Science 14(1) : 43-50.

WELTNER, W. (1897): Verzeichnis der

bisher beschriebenen rec Cirripedien.

sen Arch. Naturg. Jahrg. 63(1) : 227-

28.

Littoral and Parasitic Isopods from

Kerala: Family Anthuridae—1

N. KRISHNA PILLAI

Marine Biological Laboratory, Trivandrum, Kerala State

(With four text-figures)

For our knowledge of the isopod fauna of the Indian waters we are

indebted to Stebbing (1904a, 1905), Barnard (1935, 1936), and Chopra

(1923, 1930). The present study, conducted during the period 1951-54,

showed that our fauna is comparable to that of any other region with

respect to abundance and variety. Hoping to stimulate further work on.

the subject I present the results of my study in a series of short papers,

and begin with the family Anthuridae.

This work was done during the tenure of a scholarship, for which I

take this opportunity to thank the Government of India and the

University of Kerala. My sincere thanks are due to Dr. C. C. John,

former Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries, under whose

supervision this work was done.

Family ANTHURIDAE

So far nine species belonging to six genera have been recorded from

the Indian waters. Of these four were collected from Kerala, three

from Ceylon, and one each from Chilka Lake and the Arakan coast.

The present collection includes six genera which can be distinguished by — |

the following key : j

1. Carpus of peraeopods four to seven underriding propodus, mouth |

parts normal...) 36 2 ee ek eee 2

Carpus of peraeopods four to seven not underriding propodus,

mouth parts modified..o..:c.52 ou... Seas ene eee 5

2... Maxilliped three- to four-segmented.... = ss... 3-0 eee 3

Maxilliped: five-sepmented =... 20. 50. 22s eee eee 4

3. Second segments of maxillipeds fused.............. Xenanthura

Second segments of maxillipeds not fused............ Cyathura

[1]

ISOPODS FROM KERALA: ANTHURIDAE—I1 ; 153

4. Pleon segments distinct, third segment of maxilliped as broad as

the adjacent segments, body pigmentation simple. .. Apanthura

Pleon segments indistinct, third segment of maxilliped narrower

than the adjacent ones, body pigmentation conspicuous......

eR, yi Maa RR, Ch Aen! hat wi dees HOE Kay “ak Mesanthura

5. Statocyst present, maxilliped four-segmented, second segment

ROMNC CC ae wey hehe Coc aired Pee ine a Pfe ds Accalathura

Statocyst absent, maxilliped three- or four-segmented, second

Sconce MOtePLOGUCcd sis (2.8 ig Na ge We o's Paranthura

Xenanthura Barnard, 1925

This genus includes only three species, two of which appear in my

collection. A revised definition of the genus, key to the species, and

detailed descriptions of X. orientalis and X. linearis have been published

(Pillai 1963).

Xenanthura orientalis Barnard

Xenanthura orientalis Barnard, 1935, p. 307, figs. 17a-h; Pillai, 1963, p. 265,

fig. 1.

Distribution. This species has so far been recorded only from

brackish water localities in Kerala, south India.

Xenanthura linearis Pillai

Xenanthura linearis Pillai, 1963, p. 268, figs. 2-3.

Distribution. Like X. orientalis,.this species has been recorded

only from brackish water localities in Kerala, south India. It can

tolerate nearly fresh water. -

Cyathura Norman & Stebbing, 1886

According to Barnard (1925) Cyathura includes a few species without

_eyes and others with brush-like first antennae. He expressed the opinion

that these species might have to be removed from Cyathura. In the

present collection I have observed variation in the presence or absence

of the eyes. Specific identification of the following three species is,

therefore, made with some reservation. The three species differ thus: .

1. Inner border of palm of first peraeopod with a tooth near the

ase Mee UIS Omit We cr Pa te Le -

Inner border of palm of first peraeopod without a tooth, unguis

SHOFE isi. eases. Se Uy by EE ice nee tr Pe ae A a pusilla

2. Fifth segment of first peraeopod projecting............ carinata

Fifth segment of first peraeopod not projecting.......... indica

[2]

154. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Cyathura carinata (Kroyer)

Cyathura carinata Norman & Stebbing, 1886, p. 124; Barnard, 1925, p. 140.

Cyathura estuarius Barnard, 1914, p.334a, pl. 27D.

Length 7:0 mm.

Distribution. This species is common in the estuarine region

at Quilon, Kerala. It has been previously recorded from China, East

London, Algoa Bay, North Atlantic, Mediterranean, and the Baltic Sea.

Cyathura pusilla Stebbing

Cyathura pusilla Stebbing, 1904a, p. 9, pl. 6B; 1910, p.91; Barnard, 1925, p. 140.

Length 5°6 mm.

Distribution. This species has been recorded only from

Ceylon and British East Africa.

Cyathura indica Barnard

Cyathura indica Barnard, 1925, p. 140, pl.4, fig. 7; 1935, p. 306.

Length 5°7 mm.

Distribution. This species has been previously recorded from

Singapore, Thailand, Ceylon, Pamban, and Kerala.

Apanthura Stebbing, 1900

Apanthura sandalensis Stebbing (Fig. 1)

Apanthura sandalensis Stebbing, 1900, p. 621, pl. 65a; Barnard, 1925, p. 141.

Apanthura dubia Barnard, 1914, p. 342a, pl. 28D.

Body is rather slender and of uniform width. Head is nearly half

the length of the first peraeon segment. Eyes are present. Peraeon

segments one to three are subequal, four to seven are longer. ~ Pleon is

fully segmented. First peduncular segment of first antenna is setose,

flagellum is three- to four-segmented, flagellum of second antenna is

four-segmented. Third segment of the palp of the mandible is very

short and carries two apical setae. Maxilliped is four-segmented.

Carpus of first peraeopod is triangular and slightly projecting at its apex,

propodus has a small projection in the middle of its inner border, ©

dactylus when closed overreaches the apex of the fifth segment. Second

peraeopod is gnathopodal in character, carpus is considerably immersed

in the merus, propodus is ovate. Seventh peraeopod has its carpus

slightly underriding the propodus and carries two inner spines. Telson

is linguiform, with a narrowly rounded apex, its dorsal surface is

minutely spiny. Exopod of uropod is elongated and very slightly

overreaches the telson,

[5]

ISOPODS FROM KERALA: ANTHURIDAE—1 155

Length 7-0 mm. :

A single specimen was obtained in the plankton collected at

Trivandrum,

Fig. 1. Apanthura sandalensis Stebbing. Female

A. Lateral view; B. Posterior part of body, dorsal view; C. First

antenna; D. Second antenna; EE. Mandible; F. Same, cutting edge

enlarged; G. First maxilla; H. Maxilliped; I. First peraeopod; J.

Second peraeopod

Distribution. This species has been previously recorded from

Loyalty Islands, South Africa, Chilka Lake, and Kerala. ‘

Remarks. The presence of a tooth on the palmar border of the

first peraecopod is an important character of this species. Barnard

(1925, p. 141) says that this tooth may or may not be present. But in

the illustrations published by him (1914, pl. 28D) and in the cotype in

the British Museum (vide Barnard 1925, p. 141) a tooth is present

at the base of the propodus. In my specimen there is a conical tooth-like

projection in the middle of the inner border and the border of the palm

distal to the tooth is straight. The inner surface of the carpus and the

propodus is setose. The first peraeopod of my specimen is very much

like that of A. africana Barnard (1914).

[4]

156 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Mesanthura Barnard, 1914

Mesanthura maculata (Haswell) (Fig. 2)

Mesanthura maculata Barnard, 1925, p. 144; Kirtisinghe, 1931, p. 129.

Head is slightly longer than broad, with a prominent blunt rostrum.

Eyes are large and well developed. Peraeon segments one to six are

Fig. 2. Mesanthura maculata (Haswell). Female

A. Dorsal view ; B. Cephalon and antennae, dorsal view ; C. Mandible ;

D. Maxilliped; E. First maxilla; FF. Second maxilla; G. First per-

aeopod; H. Second peraeopod; I. Seventh peraeopod

subequal in length, seventh is smaller. Pleon is as long as the seventh |

peraeon segment and its first two septa are laterally visible, Flagellum

[3]

ISOPODS FROM KERALA: ANTHURIDAE—i 157

of first antenna is three-segmented and slightly brush-like. Flagellum

of second antenna is four- to five-segmented. Mandibular palp is stout,

second segment is swollen, with a long inner spine, third segment is

triangular and small with a row of setae, its outer border is hairy, cutting

edge of the mandible is feebly serrate. First maxilla is apically quadriden-

tate, its inner lobe is small and is tipped with a small spine. Second

maxilla is a simple conical lobe tipped with two long spine setae. Carpus

of first peraeopod is apically blunt and projecting, propodus is swollen,

dactylus is short. Propodus of posterior legsis serrate on the inner border.

Length 10°0 mm. | .

Several specimens were collected from the inter-tidal region at

Cape Comorin.

Body is whitish with black chromatophores distributed in a very

characteristic manner. The cephalon, peraeon segments, and the pleon

have a prominent dorsal patch, the telson and the two segments of the

endopod of the uropod are also similarly coloured.

Distribution. Port Jackson, Victoria, South Australia, New

Zealand, and Ceylon.

Accalathura Barnard, 1925

Accalathura borradalei (Stebbing) (Fig. 3)

Calathura borradalei Stebbing, 1904a, p. 700, pl.49A; Chilton, 1924, p. 881.

Accalathura borradalei Barnard, 1925, p.149.

Length 10°0 mm.

Body white with branched chromatophores forming distinct patterns.

Several specimens were collected from the inter-tidal region at

Quilon. |

Distribution. Maldive Islands, Thailand and India.

Remarks. This species can be recognized by the following

characters. First antenna is slender and the second is very stout. Third

segment of the palp of the mandible carries a row of prominent spines.

Distal part of the first maxilla has about eleven backwardly directed

teeth. Second segment of the maxilliped is produced forwards into a

large apically rounded lobe reaching the middle of the fourth segment.

_ Propodus of the first peraeopod is produced at its inner proximal part,

its inner border is prominently setose, dactylus is strong and spiny along

the inner border. Propodus of second peraeopod is ovate and armed

along the inner border with five strong spines. Seventh peraeopod

is very long, carpus has four and the propodus six spines arming

[6]

158 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1) ,

the inner border. Telson is perfectly linguiform, with broadly rounded

apex. There is a prominent median statocyst.

* Fig. 3. Accalathura borradalei (Stebbing)

A. First and second antennae; B. Maxilliped; C. Mandible; D.

First maxilla; E. First peraeopod; FF. Second peraeopod; G. Seventh

peraeopod; 4H. Posterior part of body, dorsal view

Paranthura Bate & Westwood, 1868

Paranthura plumosa sp. nov. (Fig. 4)

Body gradually broadens to the fifth peraeon segment. Head is

slightly longer than broad and about two-thirds the length of the first

peracon segment. Rostrum is small and the antero-lateral corners of

the head are produced. Eyes are well developed. First peraeon 4

segment is the narrowest and the seventh is the shortest. Pleon is short

and longer than the seventh peraeon segment, segmentation is visible, last

pleon segment is produced atits postero-median part.

First antenna is shorter than second, peduncle is three-segmented,

first segment is large and almost twice as long as broad, the rest of the

appendage is sharply bent outwards. Flagellum is five-segmented. First

antenna of the male is longer than second, peduncle is three-segmented.

[7]

Ce ? a ao

iSOPODS FROM KERALA: ANTHURIDAE—1i 159

and the flagellum is eight-segmented and stouter than the peduncle, each

flagellar segment carries a bunch of long hairs very much similar to that

of Leptanthura tenuis G.O. Sars. Second antenna is similar in both

Fig. 4. Paranthura plumosa sp. nov.

A-I. FEMALE: A. dorsal view ; B. First antenna; C. Second antenna;

D. Maxilliped; E. First maxilla ; F. First peraeopod; G.Second peraeopod ;

H. Seventh peraeopod; I. Posterior part of body, dorsal view

J-N. Mate: J. Lateral view; K. First and second antennae; L. First

peraeopod; M. Second peraeopod ; N. Posterior part of body, dorsal view

sexes, second segment of the peduncle is large and the rest of the

appendage is bent outwards, in the female the flagellum is composed of a

large basal segment and a series of small segments, in the male it is

clearly four-segmented. Incisor process of the mandible is long, first

: [8]

160 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

and third segments of the palp are subequal, third segment carries

a comb of setae. First maxilla is long, with backwardly directed teeth

at the distal part. Maxilliped is four-segmented but the fourth segment

is very small and apically setose.

Basis and ischium of first peraeopod are almost of the same length,

merus is dorsally produced, propodus is roughly oval, with a proximal

basal expansion overlapping the tip of the carpus, dactylus is long and

reaches the carpus when closed. Inthe male the palmar surface of the

propodus is more densely setose. Second and third peraeopods are

subsimilar, with the basis and ischium elongated, propodus is elongate

ovate with the palmar border armed with eight spines, dactylus is short.

Posterior peraeopods are slender and long, propodus is elongate cylin-

drical, with two basal and one apical spine on the lower border.

Endopod of uropod is as long as the telson, its free segment is

slightly broader than long and its dorsal surface is setose, exopod

is ovate and slightly shorter than the endopod, its margin is crenulate.

Telson is somewhat linguiform and slightly bulged in the middle, distal

border is subtruncate and the dorsal surface is setose. In the male the

telson is perfectly linguiform, with rounded distal border. Free segment

of the endopod of the uropod is slightly different in shape from that of

the female.

Length 10:0 mm.

Body is white, with branched chromatophores on the dorsal side of

the head and peraeon segments.

Several specimens were collected from empty tubes of sabellid worms

at Quilon. Holotype female and allotype male are deposited in the

Indian Museum, Calcutta.

Remarks. The female of P. plumosa closely resembles P. belli-

cauda Miller & Menzies (1952) in the general shape of the body and in

the nature of the caudal fan. But the shape of the pleon is totally

different in these two species. The male of P. bellicauda is unknown.

P. plumosa also resembles P. ostergaardi Miller & Menzies (1952) in the

nature of the pleon, in the structure of the first antenna, and in the

segmentation of the maxilliped. But the shape of the body is different.

Miller & Menzies do not say anything of the sexual as in these

species; it is very pronounced in P. plumosa.

According to Barnard (1925) the flagellum of the second antenna in

both sexes is formed of a single flattened segment and this is very

characteristic of the genus Paranthura. In P. plumosa the flagellum

in the female is composed of a large basal segment followed by a series

of small segments and in the male clearly four-segmented. This is

almost like the flagellum of P. bellicauda and P. ostergaardi. In his

definition of the genus Barnard also stated that the maxilliped is

three-segmented. But as observed by Miller & Menzies in P. bellicauda

[9]

ISOPODS FROM KERALA: ANTHURIDAE—1

161

and P. ostergaardi, the maxilliped in P. plumosa is four-segmented.

Miller & Menzies suggested that this might be a useful subgeneric

character.

all the other species.

But before coming to a conclusion it is necessary to examine

As observed by Miller & Menzies this segment

can be easily overlooked and might actually be present in many other

species.

As the genus Paranthura includes a large number of species a

division is desirable, provided it is based on firm grounds. —

REFERENCES

BARNARD, K. H. (1914) : Contributions

to the crustacean fauna of South Africa.

Ill. Additions to the Marine Isopoda

with notes on some previously incom-.

pletely known species. Ann. S. Afric.

Mus. 10: 325a-358a, 359-442, pls. 27-38.

———— (1925): A revision of the

family Anthuridae with remarks on some

morphological peculiarities.

Soc. Zool. 36: 109-160, pl. 4.

———— (1935): Report on the Amphi-

poda, Isopoda and Tanaidacea in the

collections of the Indian Museum. Rec.

Indian Mus. 37: 279-319,

———— (1936): Isopoda collected by

a Investigator. op. cit. 38: 147-

191,

CHILTON, CH. (1924): Fauna of the

Chilka Lake. Tanaidacea and Isopoda.

Mem. Indian Mus..5: 875-895, 1 pl.

CHopRA, B. (1923): Bopyrid isopods

‘parasitic on Indian Decapoda Macrura.

Rec. Indian Mus. 25: 411-450, 11 pls.

———— (1930): Further notes on

bopyrid Isopods parasitic on Indian

eared Macrura. op. cit. 32: 113-147.

pls.

KIRTISINGHE, P. (1931): Note on an

Isopod, Mesanthura maculata, new to the

oa of Ceylon. Spol. Zeylan. 16: 129-

MiLLterR, M. A., & Menzies, R. J.

(1952): The isopod crustacea of the

Hawaiian Islands. III. Superfamily Fla-

| bellifera, family Anthuridae. Occa. Pap.

J. Linn.

HeLee P. Bishop Mus. Honolulu 21:

1-15. :

Norman, A. M., & STEBBING, T.R.R.

(1886): On the crustacea Isopoda of the

Lightning, Porcupine and Valorus expedi-

tions. TJrans. Linn. Soc. London 12:

77-141, pls. 16-27.

PILLAI, N. K. (1954): A preliminary

note on the Tanaidacea and Isopoda of

Travancore. Bull. Res. Inst. Univ. Tra-

vancore 3: 1-21.

———— (1963) : Observations on the

genus Xenanthura (Isopoda, Anthuridae).

Crustaceana 5: 263-270.

Sars, G. O. (1899) : Crustacea of Nor-

way. 2. Isopoda. 270 pp. Bergen. _

STEBBING, T. R. R. (1900): On the

crustacea brought by Dr. Willey from the

South Seas. Willey’s Zool. Res. 5: 618-

625, pls. 65-66. *

———— (1904a): Gregarious crustacea

of Ceylon. Spol. Zeylan. 2: 1-26.

———— (1904b): Marine Crustaceans.

12. Isopoda with ‘description of a new

genus. Fauna Geog. Mald. Laccad.

Archip. 2: 699-721, pls. 49-53.

———— (1905) : Report on the Isopoda

collected by Prof. Herdmann at Ceylon.

Ceylon Pearl Oyst. Fish. Rep. 4: 1-64,

pls. 1-12.

———— (1910): Isopoda from the

Indian Ocean and British East Africa.

Percy Sladen Trust Expedition. Trans.

Linn, Soc. London 14: 90-95, pl.7.

[ 10]

A Note on the Conference on

Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources in Tropical South-east Asia

held at Bangkok, Thailand

November 29 to December 4, 1965

E. P. GEE

(With a plate)

A conference on Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in

Tropical South-east Asia was held at Bangkok in Thailand from Novem-

ber 29th to December 4th, 1965, followed by several days of field trips

to areas of conservation interest in Thailand. The conference was

sponsored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and

Natural Resources in association with the National Research Council of

Thailand (the host organization), and co-sponsored by the Food and

Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The purpose of this international scientific and technical conference —

was to focus attention on the conservation of nature and natural

resources in South-east Asia. The chief objectives were to bring together

those concerned with and knowledgeable about the various aspects of

conservation in the region, to provide the opportunity for and to facilitate

exchange of information, ideas and experience between those present ; and -

to collect, compile and make available for consideration at the

conference and for later reference a body of authoritative background

information on the subject.

Until recently most attention from the developed countries of the

world to conservation has been focussed on Africa. The theme of this |

conference, ‘ Conservation Spotlight on Tropical South-east Asia’, was |

intended to express the growing national and international concern with

conservation in this region. The emphasis in the programme was on the |

ecological aspects of conservation and the ecological approach to it in

South-east Asia, on education and training, and on the exchange of

information and techniques. There had been a growing interest and —

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (1)

Gee : Nature Conservation Conference

Above: The Thailand subspecies of Browantlered Deer Cervus eldi stamensis

in the Bangkok Zoo. November 1965. Below: Asiatic Twohorned Rhinoceros

Didermocerus sumatrensis in the Copenhagen Zoo. It is a female, and is the

only one of its kind in captivity in the world.

(Phoios: £.. Ps Gee)

NATURE CONSERV ATION: CONFERENCE AT BANGKOK, 1965 163

concern with increasingly urgent conservation problems in the countries

of South-east Asia; and the Eighth General Assembly of the I.U.C.N.

held in 1963 at Nairobi approved of a South-east Asia Project. Stage

I of this project was an ecological survey and assessment within many of

the countries of the region. Stage II was theconference. In addition to

the Plenary Sessions, there were five main technical sessions, and these

were: International Biological Programme, Ecology, Education and

Training, Threatened Species and National Parks. The subjects were

presented by selected speakers and discussants, and open floor discussions

followed. The panel papers and background papers were made available

to all participants.

The conference was attended by over 150 participants from about 30

countries in South-east Asia and elsewhere. No representative came from

Burma, Cambodia, North Vietnam and North Korea; but all the other

countries were represented—even Indonesia, Laos and South Vietnam.

In fact one of the outstanding features of the conference was the interest

shown in conservation by countries in the grip of unsettled political

Conditions, and their determination to carry through their conservation

programmes in spite of difficulties.

The compiler of this note attended the ponforenee by invitation and

in his personal capacity, and ‘unofficially’ represented India as an

observer. He read a paper, at the request of the Programme Organizer

on ‘ Threatened Species of large Mammals in Tropical South-east Asia,

and the Importance of Sanctuaries (including National Parks and

Reserves) in their Conservation’. He was also invited to be an honorary

vice-chairman at one of the technical sessions.

The official definition of conservation in India is ‘ Planned manage-

ment and wise use of natural resources’. Some much fuller and more

illuminating definitions were voiced at the conference. Among these were

‘Conservation is a positive, constructive, commonsense approach to use

and management of all the basic natural resources on which our survival

and development are based’ by Dr. Lee Talbot. And by the same

eminent biologist : ‘ Conservation is not just the concern of a small band

of singleminded enthusiasts ; it affects all of us; it is the business of all

of us; it is a subject that we and our organizations and our governments

must take seriously.’ ss

_ Of natural resources the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand in his

inaugural address said : ‘ Natural resources are essential to any nation’s

survival; they are a necessary foundation to economic and social

development ; and they are a heritage beyond value for the future.’

One of the most obvious opinions that emanated from the discussions

at the conference was that (South-east) Asia has its own peculiar set of

ecological, social and other problems that affect conservation; and that

conservation in (South-east) Asia must be considered in the context of

164. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 63 (1)

that continent, and that standards and procedures from other parts of the

world cannot be directly applied to conservation in this region.

Some of the thirty-six resolutions approved by the concluding session

a es conference are of special interest to India, and are reproduced

elow.

2. Resource inventories, research and land use programmes.

Considering that information on natural resources requires to be

based on comprehensive resource inventories, drawn up on established

principles and including reference to socio-economic factors such as land

tenure and agricultural methods—

and recognizing that in planning the management and utilization of

natural resources, it is essential that these resources be treated as a whole

and that the research services supporting them should be inter-

disciplinary—

The IUCN Conference on Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources in Tropical South-east Asia, meeting at Bangkok on 4

December 1965—

RECOMMENDS the organization in all countries of national resource

inventories, the establishment of research services on an inter-disciplinary

basis, the setting aside of adequate samples of the main types of environ-

ment for research purposes, and the framing and application of land use

policies on the basis so provided.

15. Action programmes for threatened species.

Considering that the Red Data Book of the Survival Service Commis-

sion of IUCN lists 14 species of. mammal and 24 species of birds

in South-east Asia, which there is good reason to believe are ein

extinction—

and recalling the economic, scientific, ethical, and aesthetic reasons

for safeguarding and rehabilitation of such species, while it is still possible — |

to do so, and the urgency involved—

The IUCN Conference on Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources in Tropical South-east Asia, meeting at Bangkok on 4

December 1965—

RECOMMENDS that the Governments of the countries of the Region

be invited to set up programmes, in Consultation with their scientistsand

with the assistance of international organizations concerned, especially

[UCN’s Survival Service Commission and the International Council for

Bird Preservation, to ensure that essential measures to safeguard and

rehabilitate species threatened with extinction are instituted and

implemented urgently. y

23. Controlled breeding of threatened species in captivity.

Bearing in mind that the decline and extinction of species is often due

NATURE CONSERVATION CONFERENCE AT BANGKOK, 1965 — 165

to alteration or destruction of their habitat, and that sometimes it is

impossible to halt such processes in time to ensure recovery of the species

conserved— )

The IUCN Conference on Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources in Tropical South-east Asia, meeting at Bangkok on 4

December 1965—

RECOMMENDS the establishment under controlled conditions by

responsible institutions and approved individuals, of breeding stocks of

such threatened species, and further recommends that, on the advice

of scientists and organisations concerned with this problem, Governments

should be asked to enact legislation to permit and encourage, but under

strict control, such emergency measures for the rehabilitation of these

species.

24. Use of explosives and toxic vegetable substances in fishing.

Convinced that the wholesale and unselective disturbance and

destruction of fish stocks and their habitat by the use of explosives and

toxic vegetable substances, can too easily lead to a catastrophic decline

and perhaps total elimination of economically valuable fish resources—

The IUCN Conference on Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources in Tropical South-east Asia, meeting at Bangkok on 4

December 1965— ~

RECOMMENDS that Governments should be asked to examine the use

of these methods with the greatest care and to place them under the

strictest control or prohibit them entirely.

25. Strengthening and consolidating the National Parks system.

Recalling the recommendations of the First World Conference on

National Parks (Seattle, July 1962) and of Resolution No. 12 C./2.213

of the General Conference of UNESCO (12 December 1962) as endorsed

by the U.N. General Assembly (16 December 1962), in favour of con-

servation of natural resources, fauna and flora—

being aware of the importance of National Parks, and equivalent

reserves not only for the enjoyment of the people, but also for scientific

study, watershed protection, wild life sanctuary and protection of natural

monuments and phenomena—

and considering that areas set aside for such purposes are only

asmall fraction of the total area of most countries, seldom exceeding

2 or 3 per cent.—

The IUCN Conference on Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources in Tropical South-east Asia, meeting at Bangkok on 4

December 1965—

RECOMMENDS that pressures on duly constituted Park areas for use for

purposes contrary to the principles on which Parks are set up, should be

166 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

discouraged, diverted or totally barred, and that all Governments of the

Region should be asked not only to establish an adequate system of

National Parks, but ensure that it is placed on a firm permanent

legal basis. :

31. Siting of Highways, Railways, and Power Lines in relation to

_ National Parks.

Bearing in mind the possibility of adverse consequences to National

Parks and equivalent Reserves, arising from the construction of major

lines of communication through them —

The IUCN Conference on Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources in Tropical South-east Asia, meeting at Bangkok on 4

December 1965—

RECOMMENDS that when routes for such communication are being

planned, experts on conservation should be consulted at an early stage,

with a view to reducing disturbance to a minimum.

Three new genera of Grallatotermes

complex (Isoptera: Termitidae: |

Nasutitermitinae)

P. K. SEN-SARMA

Branch of Forest Entomology, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun

(With eight text-figures)

INTRODUCTION

The generic status of the group of termites formerly included

by various authors in the genus Grallatotermes was not definite from the

time Holmgren (1912) proposed the name Grallatotermes as a monotypic

subgenus of the now defunct genus Eutermes Hagen with Termes grallator

Desneux as the type species. Desneux (1905) described the species

grallator on the basis of a collection of soldiers and workers made by

Biro in 1901 at Graget Island, New Guinea. Oshima (1914, 1917, 1920)

described three species from the Philippine Islands, viz. Eutermes

(Grallatotermes) luzonicus Oshima, E. (G.) brevirostris Oshima, and

E.(G.) panayensis Oshima, under the subgenus Grallatotermes. These

species have been subsequently found to belong to the genus Nasutitermes

Banks (vide Light & Wilson 1936). In 1917, K. & N. Holmgren described

from south India a new species, Eutermes (Grallatotermes) grallatori-

formis K. & N. Holmgren. Snyder (1925) described from the Papuan

region (Santa Cruz Archipelago) another new species of the subgenus

Grallatotermes, namely Nasutitermes (Grallatotermes) oceanicus Snyder.

Subsequent examination proved that it isa synonym of Masutitermes

novarum-hebridarum (K. & N. Holmg.) (vide Snyder 1949, p. 290). In

1930, Light raised the subgenus Grallatotermes to generic rank and

added a new species, G. admirabilis, to it from the Philippines. Kemner

(1931) described Grallatotermes weyeri from Amboina. In 1936,

Light & Wilson described a second species of .Grallatotermes, namely

G. splendidus, from the Philippines. Snyder (1949) catalogued the

following five species under the genus Grallatotermes: admirabilis Light,

grallator (Desneux), grallatoriformis (K. & N. Holmgren), splendidus

Light & Wilson, and weyeri Kemner. In 1954, Harris added another

new species, Grallatotermes africanus, from East Africa. Recently

168 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Chatterjee & Thapa (1964) described a new species, Grallatotermes niger,

from south India. On the basis of the structure of imago-worker

mandibles and a constellation of other characters in soldiers and

workers, it has been observed that in this complex more than one genus

is involved. Unfortunately, no specimen of G. splendidus Light & Wilson

and G. weyeri Kemner was available to me.. The three new genera

described here are based on the following species: G. admirabilis

Light, G. grallatoriformis (K. & N. nove .), G. niger Chatterjee & T hapa,

and G. africanus Harris.

This study shows that the genus Grallatotermes and its three allied

new genera correctly belong to the Paracornitermes branch of the

diphyletic tree of the subfamily Nasutitermitinae and not to the Procorni-

termes branch as mentioned by Ahmad (1950) and Sands (1957). It is

worth mentioning that the imago-worker mandibles of G. splendidus Light

& Wilson as illustrated by Ahmad (1950) indicate that splendidus

correctly belongs to Procornitermes branch. This explains the erroneous

conclusion of Ahmad.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

This study is based primarily on the termite collection present at the

Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun. The species G. africanus was,.

however, obtained through the courtesy of Dr. W. V. Harris, British

Museum (Nat. Hist.), London, to whom my grateful thanks are due.

Details of the material studied have been given under the respective

genus. |

The specimens were studied in alcohol under a binocular dissecting

microscope. Mandibles were, however, studied after dissection. The

drawings were made with the help of a camera lucida. if

SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTIONS

1. Genus Grallatotermes Holmgren

= subgenus Grallatotermes of Eutermes, Holmgren, 1912, K. Sven. Vet. Akad

Handl., 48, pp. 59-62, 65.

= subgenus Gratiatenes of Eutermes, Oshima, 1914, Annok: Zool. Japonensis,

8, p. 581.

= subgenus Grallatotermes of Eutermes, Oshima, 1917, Annot. Zool. Japonensis,

9, p. 198.

=< subgenus Grallatotermes of Eutermes, ae & N. Holmgren, 1917, Mem. Dept.

Agr. India, 5, p. 163.

subgenus Grallatotermes of Eutermes, Oshima, 1920, Philippine J. Sci., 17, p. 505.

subgenus Grallatotermes of Nasutitermes, Snyder, 1925, J. Washington Acad. Sci.,

15, pp. 439-440.

<=. genus Grallatotermes, Light, 1930, Philippine J. Sci., 42, pp. 16-17, 19, 40. -

THREE NEW GENERA OF GRALLATOTERMES COMPLEX 169

genus Grallatotermes, Kemner, 1931, Fysiogr. Sallsk. Handl., N. F. 42, p. 46-50.

genus Grallatotermes, Light & Wilson, 1936, Philippine J. Sci., 60, pp. 476-479.

genus Grallatotermes, Snyder, 1949, Smith. misc. Coll., 112, p. 314.

genus Grallatotermes, Harris, 1954, Proc. roy. ent. Soc. Lond. (B), 23, pp. 135-137.

genus Grallatotermes, Ahmad, 1958, Biologia, 4, p. 127.

ANNA A

Type species. Grallatotermes grallator (Desneux)(= Termes grallator

Desneux, 1905). 2

Holmgren (1912) proposed the name Grallatotermes as a monotypic

subgenus of the now obsolete genus Eutermes Hagen for Termes

grallator Desneux which became the type species by monotype and

absolute tautonymy (vide Article 30, International Rules of Nomencla-

ture). Subsequently several species were included in it as mentioned

earlier. In 1930, Light raised the subgenus to generic rank.

On the basis of this study the present author cannot refer any

other species to the genus Grallatotermes as restricted by him.

Holmgren (1912) characterized the subgenus Grallatotermes as

follows: ‘Nase Kurz, sehr breit kegelformig. Antennen 13-gliedrig,

3. Glied mehr als zweimal so lang wie 2., 4. Kurzer als 3., Kopf

hinter den Antennen nicht hantelfoérmig eingeschnirt’. [‘‘ Nasus short,

rather broadly conical. Antennae 13-segmented, segment 3 more than

twice as long as 2, 4 shorter than 3. Head behind the antennae is not

_constricted.’’] As the above. description is meagre and as no other

description is available, the genus has now been redefined.

Material

One vial containing one soldier and one worker collected from

New Guinea by Dr. Burger on 20-vii-1912. Det. by N. Holmgren

a ‘Eutermes (Grallatotermes) grallator’.

Description

1. IMAGO. Not known so far.

2. SOLDIER (Fig. 1). Head-capsule and antennae somewhat dark

teddish brown, thoracic tergites brown, abdominal tergites pale brown

with darker margins.

Head pear-shaped from above, with short hairs, length to base of

rostrum a little more than maximum width, with a shallow cons-

triction behind base of antennae. Rostrum markedly conical with

broad base, apex slightly up-lifted in profile. Antennae with 13

_ Segments, 3rd segment longer than 2nd. Mandibles vestigial, each

With a short mandibular blade vestige (‘points’ and ‘lateral spinous

170 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

process’), left mandible with a distinct tooth on apex of blade

vestige, right mandible without a tooth.

C a) | . d

Fig. 1. Grallatotermes grallator (Desneux). Soldier caste.

a. Head, dorsal view; 5. Head, side view ; c, d. Left and right mandible

: respectively

Pronotum saddle-shaped. Legs long in relation to body-length,

hind femora reaching beyond tip of abdomen, tibial spurs 2:2:2.

Abdomen with no hairs on tergites, with many short and long

hairs on sternites.

3. WorKER (Fig. 2). Head brown, antennae, labrum, and

pronotum paler than head, postclypeus similar to frons in colour.

Head suboval, nearly as broad as long, epicranial suture distinct,

fontanelle plate suboval, almost medially situated. Antennae with

14 segments. Postclypeus weakly inflated, length about one-third of

maximum width. Anteclypeus subtrapezoid. Mandibles: Left mandible —

THREE NEW GENERA OF GRALLATOTERMES COMPLEX 17]

with an apical and two marginal teeth, apical distinctly shorter than

first marginal (distance 0°02 mm.), left mandibular index (linear

distance between the tips of apical and first marginal tooth divided

by the linear distance between the pointed tips of the first marginal

and second marginal) 0°25, angle between apical and first marginal

a \ 05mm. '

Fig. 2. Grallatotermes grallator (Desneux). Worker caste.

a, b. Left and right mandible respectively

about 45°, first marginal large, its posterior edge undulating and

not straight, with a rounded notch in front of second marginal (3rd

marginal of other) which is small and separated from the molar

area by a deep concavity. Right mandible also with an apical and

two marginal teeth; apical shorter than first marginal, right mandibular

index 0°83; first marginal large, its anterior edge somewhat convex,

posterior edge weakly concave; second marginal tooth smaller than

first marginal, its posterior edge almost five times longer than its

anterior edge; molar area large, almost equal to rest of mandibles

(index 0:95), surface convex and serrated.

Comparison

The structure of imago-worker mandibles clearly shows that the

genus Grallatotermes Holmgren belongs to the Paracornitermes branch

of the subfamily Nasutitermitinae and not Procornitermes branch as

suggested by Ahmad (1950) and Sands (1957). The imago-worker

mandibles of the Paracornitermes branch are characterized by the

posterior edge of the first marginal tooth of the left mandible being

Sinuate and by the presence of a distinct notch in front of the first

marginal. On the other hand, in the Procornitermes branch the

posterior edge of the first marginal tooth of the left mandible of

imago-worker is straight and there is no notch in front of the first

marginal. Ahmad’s erroneous conclusion is apparently due to the

172 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SQCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

fact that he examined the imago-worker mandibles of G. splendidus

which is very different from the type species in the structure of

imago-worker mandibles. :

The genus Grallatotermes possesses several primitive characters in

both soldier and worker castes. They are as follows: |

Soldier : Mandibular blade vestige of left mandible has a small but

distinct marginal tooth at the apex; rostrum is short and markedly

conical; head-capsule is short and somewhat pragmatic.

Worker : Postclypeus is weakly inflated, its length is about one-third

of the maximum width; mandibles are more or less generalised,

without enlargement of apical tooth, and with distinct undulation

on the posterior edge of Ist marginal; the left mandibular index

~ is very low (0°25). |

The closest relative of Grallatotermes appears to be the Australian

genus Occasitermes as is evidenced by the size of the blade vestige

of the soldier mandibles, and the general structural pattern of imago-

worker mandibles. But Occasitermes does not possess any marginal

tooth on the mandibular blade vestige in the soldier caste, and the left

imago-worker mandible has a higher tooth index (0°50). Among the

nasute soldiers, the genus Grallatotermes is unique in having an

extremely short and markedly conical rostrum accompanied by rather

long antennae. It appears that the genus Grallatotermes is a primitive

genus which has become endemic in New Guinea after its origin from

a primitive extinct ancestor.

2. Genus Philippinitermes gen. nov.

= Genus Grallatotermes, Light, 1930, Philippine J. Sci., 42 (1), pp. 40-41.

= Genus Grallatotermes, Light & Wilson, 1936, Philippine J. Sci., 60 (4), p.476.

= Genus Grallatotermes, Snyder, Smith. misc. Coll., 112, p.314.

Type species. Philippinitermes admirabilis (Light), new combination —

(=Grallatotermes admirabilis Light 1930).

The single species P. admirabilis (Light) now constitutes this new

monotypic genus. The species has been adequately described by

Light (1930). The generic diagnoses and comparison are given below.

Material

One vial containing 1 imago, 16 soldiers, and 16 workers in spirit,

all Cotypes, collected at Negros, the Philippines (2000 ft.) by S.F.

Light (No. 571) on 11-v-1921, det. S.F. Light as Grallatotermes

admirabilis. | |

THREE NEW GENERA OF GRALLATOTERMES COMPLEX 173

Description

1. IMAGO. Head black, postclypeus paler than frons; wings

somewhat opaque, pale brown; pilose with numerous short hairs.

Head suboval ; longer than wide (without eyes); posterior margin

semi-circular behind. Eyes large and projecting. Ocelli large, elongated,

and very close to eyes, from which they are separated by less than half

their short diameter. Fontanelle plate conspicuous, white, translucent,

triangular, and medially situated. Postclypeus moderately swollen, length

almost one-fourth of maximum width. Antennae with 15 segments,

segment 3 either as long as 2 or slightly shorter. Mandibles: as in

worker.

Pronotum flat, with a very weak notch in the centre. Wings covered

with minute stellate papillae, with numerous short hairs distally.

2. SOLDIER (Fig. 3). Head black, thorax and legs bright yellow,

abdominal terga black-brown.

Head broadly pear-shaped ; dorsal profile with a well-marked

concavity near the middle of head, much elevated at vertex, moderately

projecting behind, with a weak constriction behind the base of antennae.

Rostrum short, conical, with a broad base, moderately up-lifted in

profile. Antennae long, considerably longer than head, with 13

segments, segment 3 almost twice as long as 2. Mandibles with long non-

dentate, thin blade vestige without any sensory chitinous patch.

Pronotum saddle-shaped, with a median groove on the surface, no

- notch on margins. Legs long, hind femur distinctly shorter than

abdomen.

Abdominal tergites with a few short hairs at posterior edge.

3. WORKER (Fig. 4). Head and abdominal tergites black.

Head broadly oval, epicranial suture prominent, two shining translu-

cent, white oval bodies, one on either side, situated on the arms of

epicranial suture. Fontanelle plate large, triangular, white. Antennae

with 14 segments, segment 3 as long as or a little longer than 2, 4

shortest. Postclypeus swollen, length about a third of maximum width.

Mandibles : Left mandible with its outer margin having a broad concavity

at the distal third ; with an apical and two marginal teeth, apical as long

as first marginal, left mandibular tooth index 0°33, angle between the

apical and first marginal c. 45°, first marginal long, its posterior edge

undulating posteriorly, with a rounded notch in front of the 2nd

marginal which is separated from the molar area by a concavity. Right

mandible also with an apical and 2 marginal teeth ; apical only a little

shorter than first marginal, apical tooth distance 0°025 mm. Right

mandibular tooth index 0°83, first marginal almost triangular, 2nd

marginal low, its posterior edge less than 5 times the anterior edge, molar

174. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

4mm.

, a R. Kumar del. —

Fig. 3. Philippinitermes admirabilis (Light). Soldier caste.

a. Head, dorsal view ; b. Head, side view ; c. Right antenna _

THREE NEW GENERA OF GRALLATOTERMES COMPLEX 175

RV yy Vs

ty Vien

| R. Kumar del.

Fig. 4. Philippinitermes admirabilis (Light). Worker caste.

a. Head, dorsal view; b. Head, side view; c. Left antenna; d, e. Left and

Tight mandible respectively ; f. Pronotum, dorsal view ; g. Pronotum, side

view

acl., anteclypeus ; ant., antenna ; ap., apical tooth: at., anterior ; ft. pl.,

fontanelle plate; /r., labrum; Z/t., left ; md., mandible; m,-mz, first and

second marginal tooth respectively; m. pi., molar plate ; pc/., postclypeus ;

pt., posterior :

i76 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

area almost equal to rest of mandibles, highly rugose. Pronotum

strongly saddle-shaped, densely pilose.

Comparison

Philippinitermes admirabilis UHEDY) differs from Grallatotermes gralla-

tor (Desneux) as follows :

Soldier. Blade vestige of mandibles are much longer than in grallator,

non-dentate and thin. Antennae of Philippinitermes are not unusually

long. Hind femur distinctly shorter than abdomen in admirabilis.

Worker. InP. admirabilis, apical in left mandible as long as first marginal

but distinctly shorter in grallator, left mandibular index is 0°33 in

admirabilis as against 0°25 in grallator, posterior edge of first marginal is

comparatively less elevated than in grallator. In admirabilis, posterior

edge of 2nd marginal of right mandible is straight (not concave) and is

much less than 5 times the anterior edge.

From Afrograllatotermes africanus, Philippinitermes admirabilis can be

distinguished on the basis of the following important characters :

(i) Length of postclypeus in imago caste of admirabilis is one-fourth of

maximum width whereas it is only a little smaller than half the maximum

width in africanus.

(ii) Unlike africanus, the soldier mandibles in admirabilis have a “much |

longer blade vestige and are devoid of any thin chitinous pales at the

apices of the molar area.

(iii) The notch in front of the 2nd marginal in the imago-worker

mandibles is rounded and broad in admirabilis, while it is very sharp and ~

acute in africanus.

For comparison with Indograllatotermes, see under that genus.

3. Genus Indograllatotermes gen. nov.

= subgenus Grallatotermes of Eutermes, K.& N. Holmgren, 1917, Mem. Dept. Agr.

India, 5, p. 163.

< genus Grallatotermes, Snyder, 1949, Smith. misc. Coll., 112, p. 314.

< genus Grallatotermes, Ahmad, 1958, Biologia, 4, p. 127.

genus Grallatotermes, Chatterjee & Thapa, 1963, Indian Forester, 90, pp. 210-214.

Type species. Indograllatotermes grallatoriformis (K. & N. Holmgren),

new combination [ = Eutermes (Grallatotermes) grallatoriformis K. & N.

Holmgren 1917]. |

Other species: Indograllatotermes niger (Chatterjee & Thapa), new

combination (= Grallatotermes niger Chatterjee & Thapa).

THREE NEW GENERA OF GRALLATOTERMES COMPLEX 177%

Material

(i) One vial containing one soldier and one worker, in spirit, collec-

ted at South Kanara, south India, by T. B. Fletcher (No. AAB), det.

N. Holmgren as ‘ Eutermes (Grallatotermes) grallatoriformis ’.

(ii)One vial containing two workers, in spirit, collected at Jell-Kab,

Anamalais, south India, by V.S. Iyer on January 1914, det. N. Holmgren

as ‘ Eutermes (Grallatotermes) grallatoriformis,’

(iii) One vial containing several soldiers and workers, all from

Holotype colony, in spirit, collected at Mt. Stuart Block, Tunacadur

Range, Top Slip, Madras, ex Alstonia scholaris green standing tree,

by R. M. Misra (No. 1455) on 20-ix-1962, det. P. N. Chatterjee & R. S.

Thapa as ‘ Grallatotermes niger ’.

Description

1. ImMAGo. Not known so far.

2. SOLDIER (Fig. 5). Head brown to dark brown, body yellowish.

Head-capsule pear-shaped from above, with a few short hairs, with a

shallow constriction at base of antennae. Rostrum cone-shaped with

broad base, apex slightly up-lifted in profile. Antennae with 13

segments, 3rd two-and-a-half times longer than 2nd. Mandibles vestigial,

each with a short non-dentate blade vestige, without any, hyaline

cuticular patch on the molar area.

Pronotum saddle-shaped. Legs long, hairy, hind femur reaching

beyond the tip of abdomen.

Abdominal tergites with a few short hairs.

3. WorKER (Fig. 6). Head brown to black, abdominal tergites pale

brown to smoky brown.

Head broadly oval, epicranial suture prominent, two shining translu-

cent oval bodies, one on either side, situated on the arms of epicranial

suture. Fontanelle plate large, triangular. Antennae with 12 to 14

segments. Postclypeus swollen, length distinctly less than half the

width. Labrum dome-shaped. Mandibles: Left mandible with its

Outer margin uniformly convex, with an apical and two marginal teeth,

apical distinctly shorter than first marginal (distance 0:025 to 0:038 mm.),

jeft mandibular index 0°33; first marginal prominent, its posterior

margin undulating, with a rounded notch in front of second marginal.

Right mandible also with an apical and two marginal teeth, apical only

a little shorter than first marginal, distances between apical and first

marginal and first marginal and second marginal equal (index 1:0);

178 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (A) ©

first marginal almost triangular; second marginal shorter than first

marginal, its posterior edge nearly twice the anterior edge; molar area

large, equal in length to rest of mandible (index 1:0).

Pronotum strongly saddle-shaped, densely pilose.

a __O°'5mm._, EF

Fig. 5. Indograllatotermes grallatoriformis (K. & N. Holmgren).

Soldier caste.

a. Head, dorsal view; 5b. Head, side view; c. Left mandible

b. v., blade vestige

THREE NEW GENERA OF GRALLATOTERMES COMPLEX 179

Comparison

Indograllatotermes gen. nov. differs from Grallatotermes in having non-

dentate mandibular blade vestige in the soldier caste. With regard to

imago-worker mandibles, /ndograllatotermes differs from Grallatotermes

as follows: Left mandibular index 0°33 as against 0°25 in Grallatotermes,

right mandibular index 1:0 as against 0°83 in Grallatotermes, molar area

of right mandible equal in length to rest of mandible (index 1:0) (shorter

in Grallatotermes, index 0:95); posterior margin of second marginal

tooth of right mandible almost twice the anterior margin (five times in

Grallatotermes).

a ‘ O:-Smm.-_,

Fig. 6. Indograllatotermes grallatoriformis (K. & N. Holmgren).

Worker caste.

a. Head, dorsal view; 5. Head, side view ; c., d. Right and left mandible

respectively

180 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

From Philippinitermes, Indograllatotermes differs as follows :

Soldier. Mandibular blade vestige shorter than in Philippinitermes, hind

femora reaching beyond the tip of abdomen (falling short in

Philippinitermes).

Imago-worker. Left mandible with its apical tooth closer to first

marginal in Philippinitermes than in Indograllatotermes; right mandi-

bular index 1:0 in Indograllatotermes as against 0°83 in Philippiniter-

mes; and posterior margin of second marginal of right mandible

almost twice the anterior margin in Indograllatotermes (five times in

‘ Philippinitermes).

4. Genus Afrograllatotermes gen. nov.

= genus Grallatotermes, Harris, 1954, Proc. roy. Ent. Soc. Lond. (B), 23,

pp. 135-137. ‘

Type species. Afrograllatotermes africanus (Harris), new combination

(=Grallatotermes africanus Harris, 1954).

The genus is at present represented only by the type species.

Material

One vial with 1 imago, 5 soldiers, and 4 workers, Paratypes and

Paramorphotypes from the type colony, collected from ‘arboreal

nest in wood land’ at Ngameni, NE. Tanganyika, by P. B. Kemp on

21-xii-1950, det. W. V. Harris as ‘ Grallatotermes africanus ’.

Description

1. ImMAGo. Head-capsule dark brown, postclypeus similar to head in

colour. Head-width across eyes more than head-length up to hind

margin of postclypeus; frontal area depressed ; eyes large; ocelli large,

oval, almost touching the eyes; postclypeus with its length a little lesser

than half its width ; mandibles as in worker.

Pronotum as wide as head across the eyes; wings densely covered

with minute stellate papillae and with numerous short hairs.

Abdomen uniformly covered with short pale hairs.

2. SOLDIER (Fig. 7). -Head broadly pear-shaped from above, dorsal

profile with a well-marked concavity near the middle of head; with —

a weak constriction behind the base of antennae; rostrum weakly

cone-shaped, slightly up-lifted in profile; antennae with 14 segments, 3rd __|

segment only a little longer than 2nd; mandibles vestigial, each with a

short non-dentate blade vestige ; with a pale, hyaline cuticular patch at —

the distal part of molar area of each mandible. -

Pronotum saddle-shaped.

THREE NEW GENERA OF GRALLATOTERMES COMPLEX 131

3. WorKER (Fig. 8). Head broadly oval, epicranial suture prominent.

Fontanelle plate triangular, white, and almost medially situated. Anten-

Fig. 7. Afrograllatotermes africanus (Harris). Soldier caste.

a. Head, dorsal view ; b. Head, side view ; c. Right antenna

nae with 15 segments, segment 3 as longas 2. Postclypeus swollen,

length a little shorter than half its width. Mandibles: Left mandible

with an apical and two marginal teeth, apical equal in length to and not

shorter than first marginal, left mandibular index 0°35, angle between

apical and first marginal c. 45°, first marginal large, its posterior margin

weakly undulating posteriorly, with a sharp notch in front of second

182

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

/ .

0.5mm. __,

Fig. 8. Afrograllatotermes africanus (Harris). Worker caste.

a, Head, dorsal view ; b. Head, side view; c. Right antenna; d,e. Left

and right mandible respectively

THREE NEW GENERA OF GRALLATOTERMES COMPLEX 183

marginal which is small but prominent. Right mandible also with

an apical and two marginal teeth, apical tooth as long as first marginal ;

right mandibular index 0°81; first marginal large, anterior margin some-

what straight, posterior margin weakly undulating; second marginal

short, its posterior edge almost thrice of anterior edge, molar area large,

equal in length to rest of mandibles (index 1°0), greatly serrated.

Comparison

The genus Afrograllatotermes is unique among the genera of

Grallatotermes complex in having a pale hyaline cuticular patch at the

distal part of the molar area of mandibles of the soldier caste. It shares

this character with two highly evolved genera, viz. Trinervitermes in

Procornitermes branch and Convexitermes in Paracornitermes branch.

It is not possible to explain the exact significance of this structure but it

certainly indicates a phylogenetic advance. It is, therefore, certain that

the genus Afrograllatotermes is the highest evolved in the Grallatotermes

line of evolution.

From the genus Grallatotermes, Afrograllatotermes differs as follows:

Soldier. Shape of rostrum is different in these two genera, rostrum

in Afrograllatotermes is much less conical than in Grallatotermes ;

mandibular blade vestige without any tooth in Afrograllatotermes (a

tooth is present on the left mandible in Grallatotermes), and the pale

hyaline cuticular patch is totally absent in Grallatotermes.

Worker. Left mandible with the apical tooth equal in length to the first

marginal tooth and with a sharp notch in front of the second marginal

tooth in Afrograllatotermes (apical shorter than first marginal and

with a shallow notch in front of second marginal tooth in

Grallatotermes). Right mandible with the posterior edge of the

second marginal teeth almost thrice the length of anterior margin

in Afrograllatotermes (five times in Grallatotermes).

SYNOPSIS

The genus Grallatotermes Holmgren has been redefined. A detailed

description of the genus and its comparison with related genera have

been given. It is now certain that Grallatotermes is a monotypical

genus which is endemic in New Guinea. Three new genera related to

the genus Grallatotermes have been described on the basis of the species

which were earlier included in the genus Grallatotermes Holmgren. The

three new genera are: Philippinitermes, Indograllatotermes, and

Afrograllatotermes.

184 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Inter-relationships of these genera have also been discussed. It is

pointed out that all these genera correctly belong to Paracornitermes

branch of the subfamily Nasutitermitinae and not to Procornitermes

branch as mentioned by earlier authors.

REFERENCES

AHMAD, M. (1950): The phylogeny

of termite genera based on imago-worker

mandibles. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.

95 : 43-86. |

CHATTERJEE, P. N., & THAPA, R. S.

(1964): A new species of the genus

Grallatotermes from India (Isoptera :

Termitidae : Nasutitermitinae). Indian

Forester 90: 210-214.

DESNEUX, J. (1905): Isoptera of New

Guinea collected by L. Biro. Ann. (Hist.

Nat.) Mus. Nat. Hungarici 3 : 367-377.

Harris, W. V. (1954) : Further records

of East African Termites—II Proc. roy.

ent. Soc. Lond. (B) 23 : 127-137.

HOLMGREN, K., & HOLMGREN, N.

(1917): Report on acollection of termites

from India. Mem. Dept. Agric. India 5:

138-171 (Translated, with notes on

synonymy, by T. B. Fletcher).

HoL”MGREN, N. (1912): Termiten-

studien. 3. Systematik der Termiten.

Die Familie Metatermitidae. K. Sven.

Vet. Akad. Handl. 48 : 1-166.

KeEMNER, N. A. (1931) : Die Termiten-

fauna von Amboina. Fysiogr. Sallsk.

Handl. (N. F.) 42: 1-53.

LiGuT, S. F.(1930): Notes on Philip-

i eae Philippine J. Sci. 42:

Licut, S. F., & WILSON, F. J. (1936) :

The nasute termites of the Philippines.

op. cit. 60: 461-520.

OsHimA, M. (1914): Notes on a collec-

tion of termites from the East Indian

Archipelago. Annot. Zool. Japonensis 8:

553-585.

——— —— (1917): Three new species

of termites from Caroline Islands. op.

cit. 9: 195-198.

1920) : Philippine termites

collected by R. C. McGregor, with

descriptions of one new genus and nine

se species. Philippine J. Sci.17: 489-

Sanps, W. A. (1957): The soldier

mandibles of the Nasutitermitinae. (Isop-

ae ; Termitidae). Insectes sociaux 4:

SNYDER, T. E. (1925): New Termites

from the Solomon Islands and Santa

Cruz Archipelago. II. J. Washington

Acad. Sci. 15 : 438-444.

———~—— (1949): Catalog of the

termites (Isoptera) of the world. Smith.

misc. Coll. 112 : 2-490.

Reviews

1. THE MAMMALS OF ARABIA. Volume I. Introduction,

Insectivora, Chiroptera, Primates. By David L. Harrison. pp. xx+192

(30°8 x 21°8cm.). With 60 plates and 47 text-figures. London, 1964.

Ernest Benn Limited. Price 7 guineas net.

This volume deals with 53 of the 142 mammals found in the Arabian

Peninsula, which for the purpose of this work includes Iraq, Syria, and

Sinai. The introduction, dealing with the country and its climate,

mammalian fauna and its geography, special adaptations like hairy feet,

desert coloration, feeding and drinking habits, makes interesting reading.

The rest of the work deals with the different species one by one and

covers 4 hedgehogs, 6 shrews, 42 bats, and 1 baboon. Though such

field notes as are available are included, most of it is of a technical

nature and of interest mainly to the systematist. From this point of

view, however, it is very thorough and covers most of the known ground

together With an appreciable amount of research carried out by the

author. It is interesting to note that several species were described in

the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, recalling the fact that

during the First World War members of the Expeditionary Forces in

that area collected many items of natural history interest which were

routed to specialists through the Society.

The book is photo-reproduced and printed offset, resulting in some

of the photographs being extremely dark. The text is printed in two

columns with the attendant disadvantages. The tables are not very well

separated from the text and the names of the species dealt with do not

stand out as they should.

Incidentally, R. W. Hayman of the British Museum in his Foreword

_ draws attention to the fact that ‘ one of the peculiarly distinctive features

_ of the zoological scene in Britain, both today and in the past, is the

frequent appearance of the dedicated amateur (using that word in its

best sense to indicate one who is whole-heartedly devoted to his chosen

subject but earns his living in other fields). From the days of Gilbert

‘White onwards there has never been any lack in this country of keen and

| €nergetic persons willing and able to devote all their leisure time to the

pursuit of the natural sciences, to the great and lasting gain thereof.’

The author has a name well known in natural history circles, both his

father and brother having achieved considerable prominence in the

ornithological world.

186 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

As in India and other ‘ developing’ countries, all wild life is threa-

tened with extinction, the lion and the onager having already gone.

This is an indispensable work of reference for any study of the

- mammals of the Middle East and we await the second volume with

interest.

lals

2. ISRAEL NATURE NOTES. By Paula Arnold. pp. 148

(24:5 x 17cm.). With many illustrations. Haifa, Israel, 1965. Shalit

Publishers Ltd.

These charming little sketches were originally written for the Nature

column of The Jerusalem Post. The pieces which have been brought to-

gether in this book are arranged by months, so that plants, animals, and

birds are described at the time of year when they are seen. Mrs. Arnold

has a very pleasant style, and writes mainly from her own experience.

Spring comes early to Israel, and in January the hills are ablaze with

scarlet anemones, cyclamen, hyacinth, and crocus. By July these have

been replaced by tough flowering plants and thistles. Against this back-

ground a great variety of animal life flourishes. Sunbirds, bulbuls,

mongooses, and bee-eaters are found in Israel. The species are different

from the species we have in India, but their ways are very similar.

There was a time when sunbirds were rare in Israel, but since irrigation

has transformed the Coastal Plain they have rapidly extended their

range, and from 1948 have stayed in winter thus becoming residents.

There is a great deal of interesting information here. For example,

baby hedgehogs are born snow-white, and with soft hair (fortunately for

mother hedgehogs) which falls and is replaced by prickles. There are,

also, some inaccuracies—the hyrax is the closest living relative of the

elephant and not of the rhinoceros, and cockroaches do not have grubs

but emerge from their egg-cases as small cockroach-shaped nymphs. ‘|

The amusing illustrations by Meir Ronnen add to the attractiveness

of the book.

RR.

3. ECOLOGY OF PLANT GALLS. By M.S. Mani. Monogra-

phiae Biologicae, Volume XII. pp. xii+434 (15x24 cm.), 164 figs. and

9 plates. The Hague, 1964. Dr. W. Junk, Publishers. Price Cloth;

Dutch guilders 40; U.S. $ 11.25

REVIEWS 187

The close interdependence between plants and animals is an extremely

interesting biological phenomenon and its importance in the cross

pollination of plants and the commercial utilization of honey are

features of significant value to plant, animal, and human life. An

equally important biological aspect related to this is the production of

plant galls of various shapes. These galls are pathologically developed

cells, tissues, or organs which arise as a result of hypertrophied growth

due to the influence or activity of parasitic organisms like bacteria, fungi,

nematodes, and insects. Further, they serve as unique examples of

interaction and adaptation between the plant and the gall-inducing

organism. Though galls have been observed and known from quite a

long time, there is no comprehensive work so far covering all their

aspects. From this point, it is most opportune that a thorough account

on galls has been ably presented in this treatise by Dr. M.S. Mani, who

is well known for his valuable and extensive collections of galls from the

Himalayas and other parts of India and for his authoritative SOE

on their structure and ecology.

In the first chapter, an account is given of the current ideas of galls,

followed by gall-bearing and gall-inducing plants in the next. The third

chapter deals with the general morphology and structure of galls. The

developmental structure of the galls on different parts of plants are

treated in the next five chapters. In chapters nine, ten, and eleven, all

aspects of the ecology of zoocecidia are described in a very interesting

manner. Features of galls caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses are

dealt with in chapters twelve and thirteen. In the penultimate chapter,

dealing with the development and growth of galls, problems like

etiology, histology, general characters of cecidogenesis, and the broad

principles of morphogenesis of galls are pointed out in all their aspects.

The last chapter is a particularly able and carefully written review on

plant galls and cancerous growths in animals. The author concludes in

the last paragraph of this chapter that any cell of any tissue of an animal

can turn neoplastic. Both in plant and animal neoplasia, the continuing

cause of malignancy is not in the carcinogenic factors, but in the cell

itself. In a way, plant tumor cells are considered as cancerous in the

wide sense of the term. The bibliography cited at the end of the book

is extensive and well selected and consists of 1300 references, thus

providing ample material for further study.

There are 164 text-figures, most of which are original; the sources

for the others are properly mentioned in each case. The black-and-

white photographs printed on 9 plates are excellent and are so vivid that

a person interested in the study of galls can easily identify them without

any difficulty.

The author should be warmly congratulated on writing this thought-

provoking book on the ecology of plant galls. The printing is neat and

188 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

the get-up excellent. A valuable and well written work of this nature

should stimulate an interest in students of biology and nature lovers for

more intensive studies on these galls. A book of this nature must find

a place in the libraries of all scientific institutions.

K. SUBRAMANYAM

4. SEASHORES. By S. M. Marshall and A. P. Orr. pp. 58 (2117

cm.). Illustrated in colour and line drawings by Glenn Steward.

Edinburgh/London, 1965. Oliver & Boyd. The Open Air Library 1.

Price 10s. 6d. net.

SEASHORES which, with OUR FRIENDS THE SPIDERS published some-

what earlier, begins a new series of nature study books for young

people gives the series a good start. In the few pages available

to them the authors and the artist manage between them to cover

a wide area, telling their readers in simple terms enough about

numerous forms of animal and vegetable life to make them want

to find out more for themselves, which after all is the essence of

good teaching. The book is written for English readers but, as

most of the forms dealt with are to be found on Indian ‘shores,

the book will make a good present for our young people.

The reviewer hopes that in the next edition a minor inaccuracy

at page 18 will be corrected: the list, in the first paragraph, of animals

with backbones is not wide enough to include all the animals dealt with

in Chapter 10.

E. WV:

5. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE INSECT FAUNA OF FOR-

MOSA I. Results of the Lepidopterological Society of Japan Expedi-

tion to Formosa in 1961. Special Bulletin of the Lepidopterological

Society of Japan No. 1. pp. v + 252 (26 x 18 cm.). With 9 mono-

chrome plates and many line drawings. Osaka, Japan, 1965. Lepidop-

terological Society of Japan. Price $ 7.

In 1961 the Lepidopterological Society of Japan sent a 7-man

expedition to Taiwan for a month. Besides butterflies and moths the

expedition collected Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera,

Odonata, Mecoptera, Psocoptera, and Thysanoptera. This special

volume brings together the reports of the various specialists. Apart

from a ceratopogonoid midge (Forcipomyia latipes) recorded for the first

time from the island, on a species of dragonfly not previously on its.

REVIEWS 189

host-list, no midges and mosquitoes were collected ; these groups are

being studied as part of a NAMRU project on Taiwan.

There is a paper on the chromosome numbers of Formosan butter-

flies, and notes on abundance and host-plants have been made for

several species. There are also some excellent photographs of various

stages of some species. The other papers are taxonomic, The Society

is to be congratulated on an impressive number of new records and new

species. Six specimens of the beetle Acontosceles hydroporoides were

collected, a species which has not been seen since the original descrip-

tion from Kumaon in 1924. This is surely a comment on our lack of

knowledge of this and other groups. One looks forward to seeing the

results of the other expeditions planned to follow this one.

I would like to see many more photographs and to know how the

biology of the various lepidopteran species compares with that in other

parts of their range.

R. R.

6. THE FLORA OF DELHI. By J. K. Maheshwari. pp viii+ 447

(24x16 cm.). New Delhi, 1963. Council of Scientific & Industrial

Research. Price Rs 28/- or 56s. or $ 8°00.

This is undoubtedly a welcome contribution to our knowledge

of the flora of a very important region—the capital of India.

Its value is enhanced by the comprehensive way in which it is made

useful for laymen and students of Botany.

This volume contains information on the main geographical

and geological features, a short history of previous published work,

and the method of study by the author. He has also given, for

‘the benefit of students, his observations on the vegetation of Delhi,

including the seasonal occurrence of plant communities and the

vegetation of various habitats in the neighbourhood of Delhi.

- Plants under cultivation are enumerated, and also the weeds. A few

pages are devoted to the listing of introduced plants.

Three tables, containing the number and percentage of families,

genera, and species; a comparison of the dominant families in

India, Rajputana, the Gangetic Plain, and Delhi State; and the

areas of origin of plants of Delhi, are included in a ‘Statistical

Synopsis of the Indigenous Flora’. ;

Great pains have been taken by the author to bring the

nomenclature in line with the International Code. Very useful keys

are provided for the families, genera, and species. The notes and

references are very carefully made and will be found very valuable

by those who use this work.

190 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

The volume contains information about 942 species of flower-

ing plants under 549 genera and 120 families. Of these, 411 species

are found exclusively under cultivation and 531 are considered to be

growing wild or naturalised.

The work is based mainly on the collections of the author

himself. |

There is no doubt that this publication will become very

popular and it is expected that the next edition will include a

companion volume with diagrams and photographs of the plants

described.

It is to be fervently hoped that many similar floristic and

monographic works carried out by other botanists will see the

light of the day with the help of the Council of Scientific & Industrial

Research and other similar institutions.

P. V. BOLE

7. UNDERSTANDING ANIMALS. By Gerhard Gronefeld.

Translated from the German by Gwynne Vevers and Winwood Reade.

pp. 320 (2618 cm.). With 24 coloured and many monochrome plates.

London, 1965. William Heinemann Ltd. Price 45s. net.

This is certainly an exceptional book. The 320 pages consist

of almost equal numbers of pages of text and of full-page photographs

of birds and animals, mostly taken in zoos or in some other form

of captivity or domestication.

The author is a professional photographer and the pictures are

consistently good. The captions to the photographs, which are

often in series, to some extent repeat or are repeated in the text.

The text consists mainly of anecdotes of the author’s experiences

at circuses and at the highly specialized institutions with whith

names like Konrad Lorenz and H. Hediger are associated. The circus

and zoo stories can be passed on to the layman but, when he deals

with the more technical matters which have to be told in simple

language, the accounts sometimes appear too simple. In addition

to the pictures, however, the book gives us an inkling of aspects

of behaviour studies which are far ahead of what has been attempted

in India—Chapter 4, for instance, deals with Mr. Walther of the

Kronberg Reserve of Animal Research, who on all fours ‘grazed’ with a

herd of Dorcas gazelles and, entering their paddock in the right order

of priority, spent the night with them.

The translation of the title is perhaps unfortunate, but the

book will certainly help to arouse interest in the right direction.

H. A.

REVIEWS 19}

8. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF TROPICAL

PLANKTON. By John H. Wickstead. pp. 160 (24°6x18°3 cm.).

With 4 black-and-white plates, 11 text-figures, and 181 classification

figures. London, 1965. Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.

Price 25s.. net.

This is a simple but excellently written book on the plankton

of the tropical waters. The book is divided into two parts. The

first part deals with methods of collection and analysis of plankton,

supported by clear labelled drawings of the equipment used.

The second part contains useful descriptions in general terms

of the important groups of planktonic forms, their size, important

common forms, and general features of distribution. The groups

are Phytoplankton and Protozoa, Coelenterate; and worms, smaller

Crustaceans, larger Crustaceans, Molluscs, smaller groups, Echinoderms

and Chordates, and, finally, some less frequently taken animals.

The most important part of the book consists of the lucidly drawn

simple figures 1-181 of typical planktonic forms commonly encountered

in tropical waters. The figures are grouped on the basis of affinities

and systematics of the forms concerned. 4

Particularly for teaching plankton sorting to new students in

Marine Biology and Oceanography, the figures of the planktonic

forms are very useful. This is in fact the first book to deal exclusively

with tropical plankton and will therefore meet the long-standing

requirements for teaching plankton in our higher secondary schools

and colleges. Dr. Wickstead deserves congratulations for filling up

an important gap in the available books on plankton.

T. S. S. RAO

9. ETHIOPIAN EPISODE. By Leslie Brown. pp. 160 (24x 16

em.). With 10 coloured and 26 black-and-white illustrations. London,

1965. Country Life Limited. Price 42s. net.

This is an account of a trip, sponsored by the International

Union for the Conservation of Nature and the World Wildlife

Fund, to the highlands of Ethiopia to enquire into the present status

of the Walia Ibex, Capra walie, and the Mountain Nyala, Tragelaphus

buxtoni.

While Addis Ababa and a few other airports are well known,

Ethiopia is still isolated from the rest of the world for want of

Suitable roads and means of transport. It is also a large country

and distances are often two or three days of hard driving between

One large town and another.

192. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (i)

Both the species were found but, as the author states in the

preface, these are not tales of danger and blood-thirsty bandits,

and the only anxious moment was when he himself ‘was mistaken

for a bandit and was in slight danger of elimination by the forces —

of law and order’. As compared to Kenya and other parts of Africa,

the total amount of wild life seen was relatively small but the

author notes various little-known species seen in the course of his

travels, by Landrover and on foot.

The pictures representing scenery are excellent and are reminiscent

of portions of the Ghats near Bombay, though on a much larger

scale—some of his camps Were over 11,000 feet above sea-level.

As in India, the main menace to all wild life is the local shikari

who, in the absence of suitable administration, is not at all concerned

with edicts or legislation. The habitats of both these animals however

are high in the hills and not densely populated, so it is hoped

that it will be possible to take satisfactory steps for their preservation —

before it is too late.

10. BOTANICAL LATIN. History, Grammar, Syntax, Termino-

logy and Vocabulary. By William T. Stearn. pp. xiv+566, (22 x 14:5

cm.), ff. 41. London, 1966. Nelson, Price 105s.

Let me begin with the price of this book; one hundred and five

shillings is a stiff price for a book of this size, a price that is going to

restrict its widespread use very seriously, at least in India; the price in

India at present will be about Rs. 110. I consider this a great pity, for

the book is one that ought to be in the hands of every systematic

- botanist in the country, especially of those doing research in any branch —

of systematics. The book fills a great need; with its help it will be

possible for botanists to translate from Latin into English, and, if the

book is fully mastered, it may also help in translating from English into —

Latin, I mean correct and intelligible Latin. 4

The book opens with an ‘apologia pro libro meo’; the author

need make no apology for such a book; we do not have any other

book giving the information of the present one. The author explainsin |

this introduction his aims in writing the book and gives some interesting —

details of the very hard work of preparation ; suffice it to say that the |

author read through the more important botanical books published after _

Linne in Latin and made or prepared slips for the various words or |

terms used in such books. Whilst reading this book I have been }

reminded more than once of the famous expression ‘ tantae molis erat |

romanam condere gentem” ! e |

_ REVIEWS 193

Part One is introductory; the author explains the development of

botanical Latin terminology, in which we find words that may also be

found in the classics, but with quite a different meaning. However, I

must confess for myself that knowing classical Latin and botany I have

generally found it easy to read through such botanical classics as De

Candolle, Saccardo, and the like. In this part there is a chapter on the

pronunciation of Latin; I found this chapter of great interest. I

may be wrong, but my impression after teaching botany to Indian

students for many years is that some of the difficulties experienced by

Indian students in the spelling of Latin plant names is due to the

confused pronunciation inherited from Britain. This difficulty is

enhanced by the fact that in India we do not seem to have either the

Traditional English or the Reformed Academic methods, but some sort

of half-way mixture of the two. At any rate I for one am very strongly

for the Reformed Academic method, or even for the Church method,

rather than the Traditional English or the adaptations we find in India.

Part Two deals with Grammar, and covers pages 59 to 139, the

respective chapters being on Nouns, Adjectives and Participles, Adverbs,

Numerals and Measurements, Pronouns, Prepositions, Conjunctions,

‘Verbs. The reader will find a mine of information under these various

chapters, and, what | find highly commendable, the examples are usually

taken from botanical terms. The rules about genders, a very trouble-

some business for students of Latin, are here reduced to the minimum,

but generally every substantive mentioned in the book bears an indicat-

ion of its gender.

Part Three deals with Diagnoses and Deseriptions. The original

Linnaean diagnoses consisted of few words, such words being in the

ablative; the meaning of such phrases was perfectly clear. But when

the number of species under a genus increased beyond certain limits, as

happened in the nineteenth century, it became necessary to give much

longer descriptions. Let me quote from the author: ‘ The publication

of such comparatively long diagnoses by nineteenth-century authors,

who understood very well the distinction between a diagnosis in the

ablative dependent upon the generic name and a true description with

the organs independently described in the nominative, has misled later

authors apparently unaware of this distinction into publishing very long

descriptions in the ablative. For this there is no justification in history

or convenience.’ Personally I feel that descriptions (I mean true long

descriptions, not short diagnoses) in the ablative are not so clear as

those in the nominative, or perhaps such ablative descriptions require

much greater attention on the part of the reader. I shall give two

examples from pages 169-170. ‘Hygrophorus speciosus Peck. Pileo ex

ovato vel subconico expanso, margine tenui recurvo, glabro, glutinoso,

sadepe minute umbonato, nitide rubro vel coccineo, demum lutescente .. .’

194. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

As the description stands, the words which I have italicized might

grammatically go with pileo or with margine ; the reader has to make an

effort and guess. This description was published by Saccardo in SYLLOGE

FUNGORUM in 1887; the same was given by Bresadole in ICONOGR.

Mycot. in 1928: ‘ Hygrophorus speciosus Peck. Pileus carnosus,

tenuis, e campanulato expansus et umbonatus, laete flavus, umbone

aurantio-fulvus, glaber, glutinosus, glutine hyalino, 2-6 cm. latus .. .”

In this second description the reader needs make no special effort to

understand all the details. To help botanists the author gives in this

part examples taken from the great masters in Algae, Fungi, Lichenes,

Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Spermatophyta, which every botartist ought to

follow faithfully, I mean, as to the method of making a description.

There is a chapter on punctuation, and I found it more than usually

interesting ; my interest came from the fact that punctuation, or the

want of it, in English descriptions to be translated into Latin has often

been very trying for me in the past. Some of my correspondents seem

to think that their description is a particularly good one when it consists

of a full page of text with one final stop at the end of the page and no

other sign of punctuation in the rest. My job then becomes not one of

translation but one of interpretation, of a text that possibly is not quite |

clear in the mind of the writer. On more than one occasion I have had

to return original papers to their authors with a request to cut page-long

paragraphs into short sentences with appropriate punctuation. Dr.

Stearn remarks: ‘ Within limits there are no hard and fast rules about

punctuation ; its functions are to make for clarity and ease in comparing

one description with another and to prevent ambiguity ; provided these

ends are achieved, a little variation from customary usage does no

harm,’

There is a chapter, pp. 236-259, on the important subject of colour

terms; in Latin such terms were both reduced in number and vague in

meaning ; this deficiency in colour terms has induced some writers to say

that the ancient Greek and Latin authors were weak in colour percep-

tion ; they were particularly short in terms for indicating blue, green,

grey, and brown colours. The author gives a summary of Latin colour

terms taken from Lindley and Jackson for common plants, and from

Elias Fries for fungi.

Another set of chapters deals with Greek words in botanical Latin,

with descriptive terminology, with chemical reactions and tests, etc.

Part Four contains the longest chapter of the book, Ch. XXV,

Vocabulary, covering pages 377 to 548. I find this one of the best parts

of the book. Words, English or Latin or at times even Greek, are given

in alphabetical order, usually with cross references; they are given

with indication of their declension, and of the more important cases,

usually genitive and ablative, gender of the names, meaning or meanings

REVIEWS 195

of the same, etc. I have gone through each one ef these pages, and

think that I have learnt much from their perusal.

The Synopsis Polyglotta on pages 552-555 seems to me somewhat

out of place in this book; if the reader can understand English

sufficiently well, this Synopsis is not needed ; if he cannot understand

English, then the value of the whole book becomes rather questionable.

Another point on which I am not able to make up my mind is the

matter of the illustrations in the text. In a book of plant morphology

or systematics, they would be excellent ; but in the present book I fail

to see their special utility, and they do certainly help to enhance the

final cost of the publication.

To sum up, then, I consider the book deserving of the highest

commendation for systematic botanists that may wish to read the

classics in this line of science as well as for those who attempt

translations from English into botanical Latin. I only wish that the

price had made it more accessible to the general botanical student in

India.

H. SANTAPAU

Other Books Received

OUR FRIENDS THE SPIDERS. By T. H. Gillespie. pp. 58

(21 x 17 cm.). Illustrated in colour and black-and-white by David

Pratt. Edinburgh/London, 1964. Oliver & Boyd. The Open Air

Library 2. Price 10s. 6d. net.

THE BEHAVIOUR OF ARTHROPODS. By J. D. Carthy. pp.

148 (54 x 84 inches). 41 black-and-white figures (drawings and graphs).

Edinburgh/London, 1965. Oliver & Boyd. University Reviews in

Biology 1. Price 12s. 6d. net.

THE METABOLISM OF INSECTS. By Darcy Gilmour. pp. 195

(51 x 81 inches). 32 black-and-white figures (diagrams). Edinburgh/

London, 1965. Oliver & Boyd. University Reviews in Biology 4.

Price 15s. net.

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF GENERAL AND EXPERI-

MENTAL ZOOLOGY. Volume 1. Edited by William J. L. Felts

and Richard J. Harrison. pp. xi + 445 (23°5 x 15:5 cm.). With many

figures and graphs. New York/London, 1964. Academic Press.

| Price $ 14-50.

196 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

METHODS OF ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION. Volume 1.

Edited by William I. Gay. pp. xv + 382 (23°5 x 15°5 cm.). With

many illustrations. New York/London, 1965. Academic Press,

Price $ 13°50.

THE ORCHIDS OF BOMBAY. By H. Santapau, s.. and

Z. Kapadia. pp. 239 + vi(25 x 16:5 cm.). With 54 line-drawing and

monochrome plates. Delhi, 1966. The Manager of Publications,

Government of India. Price: Inland Rs 15°50; Foreign 36s. 2d.; _

$ 5.58.

THE FLORA OF PAVAGADH. Botanical Memoirs No. I. By

A. R. Chavan and G. M. Oza. pp. vi + 296 (25 x 16°5 cm.).

With 2 plates. Baroda, 1966. Department of Botany, M. S. Univer-

sity of Baroda. Price Rs 12. , 3

‘Miscellaneous Notes

1. THE INDIAN GERBILLE, TATERA INDICA

(HARDWICKE), IN WEST BENGAL

Between 27 and 31 January 1966, six Indian Gerbilles [Tatera indica

(Hardwicke)] were captured in live-traps in Nasibpur, District Hooghly,

West Bengal, about 30 miles north-west of Calcutta. All six individuals,

probably a family group, were trapped in a small area (c. 10X20 metres)

covered by low shrubs. The trapping site is about 75 metres from. the

Tarakeshwar-Calcutta highway and separated from it by a bridged

irrigation canal.

The group of animals consisted of the following: an adie male

(203'2 gm.), an adult female (176°7 gm.), a young adult male (119°1 gm.),

and three juvenile males (44°8, 42°8, 32°5 gm.). The animals were

brought to the Johns Hopkins Field Station in Singur, District Hooghly,

where they were kept in a pen and fed a diet of rice, moong dal, and

occasional bits of meat (which they readily accept). On about 28

February, the older adult male began showing aggressive behaviour

toward the younger adult male. Several fights ensued and on 2 March

the younger male was killed. The older adult male showed no aggres-

siveness toward the juveniles.

The adult female was removed to a separate pen on 3 March a few

hours before she gave birth to a litter of four young. |

Ellerman (1961, THE FAUNA OF INDIA, edited by M. L. Roonwal,

Zoological Survey of India) lists four subspecies of T. indica, of

which only one, T. i. indica, is reported from eastern India. He gives the

location as ‘ Midnipur, Bihar’ by which I think he probably meant

Midnapore, West Bengal, a city about 55 miles to the west of Nasibpur.

So far as I know, there are no records of Tatera east of Midnapore.

The rats were shown to several farmers of the vicinity and most

said that they had never noticed this species before. Two farmers said

that they had seen them but only during the last two years. I had for 14

months been doing monthly trapping in fields adjacent to the site and

in fields about a quarter of a mile away, but had never taken this

animal. Further trapping in fields and banana groves of the neighbour-

hood has failed to produce any more gerbilles. It would seem probable,

then, that T. indica has either entered the vicinity only recently or has

existed in numbers too small to attract attention. There isa great deal of

lorry traffic on the Tarakeshwar-Calcutta highway and it seems possible

198 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

that these rodents might have been accidentally introduced in shipments

of grain.

I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to the Zoological Survey of

India for their taxonomic aid.

JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR MEDICAL

RESEARCH AND TRAINING,

C/o ALL-INDIA INSTITUTE OF HYGIENE DWAIN W. PARRACK

AND PUBLIC HEALTH,

CALCUTTA,

March 14, 1966.

2. EXTENSION OF RANGE OF /XOBRYCHUS MINUTUS

MINUTUS (LINNAEUS)—AN ADDITION TO THE

AVIFAUNA OF THE BOMBAY AREA

On 21 October 1956, while snipe-shooting at Belapur, Thana,

Maharashtra, H.A. put up and collected a, bittern which was

noted as ‘pied-looking’. A Chestnut Bittern [Jxobrychus cinnamo-

meus (Gmelin)] had been flushed about 50 yards away and, upon being

told later by the skinner that the collected specimen was of this species,

H. A. did not re-examine it and left it to be so registered in the Bombay

Natural History Society collections. |

While cataloguing the collections, we find that this is a young male

of the Little Bittern, Ixobrychus minutus minutus (Linnaeus), the blackish

primaries and the 152 mm. wing being unmistakable. This species does

not appear to have been recorded south of Sind.

75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET,

BOMBAY 3-BR, HUMAYUN ABDULALI

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, B. R. GRUBH

HORNBILL- HOUSE,

BOMBAY 1-BR,

September 25, 1965.

3. NOTES ON INDIAN BIRDS 9—ANSER CAERULESCENS

CAERULESCENS (LINNAEUS) AND ANSER FABALIS

BRACHYRHYNCHUS BAILLON TO BE REMOVED FROM

THE INDIAN AVIFAUNA

Anser caerulescens caerulescens (Linnaeus) : Snow Goose

A white goose (B.N.H.S. Reg. No. 15297) shot at Haigham Jheel,

Srinagar, Kashmir, on 26 February 1950, while associated with Grey

Lags (Anser anser), is recorded (Editors, J. Bombay nat, Hist. Soc., 1950) —

as the first instance of the Snow Goose (Anser hyperboreus Pallas)

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 199

occurring within Indian limits. Another white goose (No. 15289,

Kashmir, 24 May 1914), similar in appearance to the former (except for

a pale light brown wash on the upper parts, palest on the head, and the

primaries marked with brown rather than grey), is registered as Anser

anser. Y have therefore examined the specimens in detail and find that

they are both Anser anser. My reasons are set out below.

According to the HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS (3: 200), the Snow

Goose can be differentiated in the field by two characters: firstly, the

intense black tips to the primaries; secondly, the black cutting

edges to the bill. Neither character is found in the specimens. In No.

15289 the primaries, including the tips, are pale brownish ; in No. 15297

they are irregularly marked with grey and black, the first two having

their tips and outer webs largely white. As for the bills, now yellowish

in both the specimens, neither of them shows any trace of black cutting

edges.

In the absence of both these characters and because the measure-

ments, wings 440 and 445, bills from feathers 64 and 60 (slightly chipped),

and the number of teeth on the upper mandible, 22 and 24, fall within

the known range of both A. anser and A. hyperboreus, 1 think that a

mistake in identification has been made, both being partial albinos of

Anser anser. My identification of Sp. No. 15297 has been confirmed by

Dr. S. Dillon Ripley IT.

Anser hyperboreus Pallas [Anser caerulescens caerulescens (Linnaeus)

in the SYNOPSIS] must therefore be removed from the Indian list.

Anser fabalis brachyrhynchus Baillon: Pinkfooted Goose

A small goose now bearing B.N.H.S. Reg. No. 15293 was shot at

Bikaner, Rajasthan, on 1 December 1948, and noted (Editors, J. Bombay

nat. Hist. Soc., 1946) as the first authentic record of the Pinkfooted

Goose Anser fabalis brachyrhynchus Baillon from India.

As this bird appeared very different from a specimen from Europe,

recently acquired by exchange with the Universitetets Zoologiske

Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark, I have measured and examined it with

care. Itis smaller : wing 385 (395-454 in 2 brachyrhynchus in HANDBOOK

OF BRITISH BIRDS 3: 200), tarsus 65 (69-83 for # only), and culmen 44

(37-48). The underparts are uniformly coloured and the wing coverts

do not have the pale edges so prominent in brachyrhynchus.

The bill was originally noted as ‘ pinkish’ with a black nail. The

nail is certainly dark, but a comparison with the black-tipped bills of the

recently received specimens of Anser f. fabalis and A. f. brachyrhynchus

from Europe shows that the Bikaner bird has only a brownish tip and

not a black one, while the tip of the lower mandible is still paler and not

of the same density as in the others. The black patches at the base of

the bill, which are so prominent in both forms of fabalis, are also absent.

200 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

The shape of the head and bill, and the teeth on the edges, agree

with those of the White-fronted Goose [Anser albifrons albifrons

(Scopoli)]. THE HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS (3: 189) states -that in

this species the nail is dark in juveniles and first winter birds, though

the bill is then said to be greyish yellow.

this is a juvenile of this species without the white front.

I cannot help concluding that

This identifi-

cation has been confirmed by Dr. S. Dillon Ripley IT.

This leaves us with Ticehurst 1930, who said :

‘Is there any specimen

of this goose (A. brachyrhynchus) from India in existence? If not, it

should be deleted from the Indian fauna.’

piss ABDUL REHMAN STREET,

BOMBAY 3,

April 5, 1966.

HUMAYUN ABDULALT

REFERENCES

Epitors (1946):

_ Pink-footed Goose (Anser fabalis brachy-

rhynchus Baillon) in India: An authentic

record. Editorial Note. J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 46: 185.

———— (1950): The Snow Goose

(Anser hyperboreus Pallas) in Kashmir—

An addition to the avifauna of India.

op. cit. 49 : 311-2.

Occurrence of the

Synopsis of the Birds of India and Pakis-

tan. Bombay Natural History Society.

TICEHURST, CLAUD B. (1930) : Notes on

the fauna of British India: Birds. Vols.

IV, V and VI (New edition). J. Bombay

nat. Hist. Soc. 34:: 468-490.

WITHERBY, H. F., et al. (1945): The

Handbook of British Birds 3. H. F. & G.

Witherby Ltd., London.

RieLey II, SYDNEY DILLON (1960): A Ai

4. WHISTLING TEAL [DENDROCYGNA JAVANICA

(HORSFIELD)] AND OTHER MEMORIES OF

ALIPORE ZOO, CALCUTTA

In Vol. 62(2) of the Journal, at pp. 300-301, Mr. Humayun Abdulali

writes of the Whistling Teal (Dendrocygna javanica) in the Calcutta Zoo.

I was Honorary Secretary of the Zoo for many years, and on.the Com-

mittee of Management, and am still a Life Member. - The teal spring

from a pair we had in the rhino enclosure for a number of years. These

eventually nested and managed to rear a brood in spite of the wallowings

of the rhinos. The ducklings were left full-winged and used to fly onto

the big tank on the racecourse and generally flighted around. We used

to see them at odd intervals and I took several photographs of them.

One day, I think during the hot weather, about twenty put in an appea-

rance and settled on the big tank where they stayed for several days.

When they left they were seen again shortly after, until a flock of about

forty were regularly going in and out.

I left, some eighty to a hundred roosted in the Gardens, I am very

Up to the time of the war, when —

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 201

pleased that the numbers mre built up now to what may be called

almost excessive.

It was my aim and that of the well-known Mr. W. K. Dods to build

up a collection of wild birds and as a nucleus various egrets, rails, etc.

were released. This must have been around the 1930s. Mr. Dods used

to bring in wild-caught birds throughout the cold weather, most of them

trapped at Chandpara Camp which was his property, and I used to buy

them off the duck-catchers when I was out snipe-shooting around 1928.

Those put on the tank were clipped and those released in the duck house

left full-winged. Most of the clipped birds left when their primaries

grew again. Mr. Dods and I brought back cattle egrets, night herons,

darters, various herons, rails, and duck, which we wing-clipped

and released unless they were rare in the district when we enclosed them.

The kingfishers rarely stayed long after release. Many outsiders of

similar species were attracted and took up their roosts in the Zoo, until

we sometimes had clearance shoots. The preponderance was of night

herons, followed by egrets and darters, and I would say that of these

there were several thousands. The Whistlers and the night herons went

out at night and came back in the morning, but the reverse was the case

with the other birds. It was my intention to have the finest collection

of free-flying birds in the world and this I think we achieved even in my

time. I released numbers of Java Sparrows but these mostly found their

way to the canals round and in Calcutta where the paddy boats came in

_ from upcountry.

Had it not been for the war, I was eventually going to do away with

_ most of the cages. <A start had already been made on one side of the

Gardens, with excellent results I think. There is also no doubt that

it could have been made into one of the finest zoos in the world, with its

beauty and magnificent trees many of which -were donated by ex-

Governors of Bengal in the seventies and eighties.

I think that there was, and still may be, a Galapagos Tortoise which

arrived about 1875 and was large even at that time. Its dimensions are

written down somewhere in the Garden history. I have long since lost

my list of wild birds observed by me in the Gardens. It was quite

remarkable if I remember, and showed birds five and six hundred miles

out of their range according to Stuart Baker. During my Indian sojourn

I unfortunately did not correspond much with the Bombay Natural

History Society, and compiled my own notes which were oe all

lost when I was in the army during the war.

En passant it may interest you to know that during a period of

twenty years we shot about 60,000 snipe in the usual eee acas of

fantail to pintail but only 5 Swinhoe.

The large numbers of Teal now visiting the Gardens would be a good

202 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

subject for ringing and it would not be difficult to build a pipe to trap

them at intervals. Where do these duck moult? In the Gardens ?

HiGH HAy BRIDGE,

BOUTH-By- ULVERSTON, H. A. FOOKS

LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND,

April 6, 1966.

[W. K. Dods, referred to in this note, was a well-known bird shot of

those days and is mentioned at p. 68 of Vol. II of Stuart Baker’s THE

GAME-BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON as holding the record bag for

one day’s shooting, 262 snipe and one quail.—EDs. |

5, THE BAIKAL TEAL, ANAS FORMOSA GEORGI:

FIRST RECORD FROM KUTCH

‘ ®

We had an interesting duck shoot at Bhimasar, about 36 miles east

of Bhuj, on 16 March 1966. The majority of the duck were Common

and Garganey Teal and Shoveller, with a sprinkling of Pintail, White-

eyed Pochard, Dun-Bird, Spotbill, and Wigeon. In the bag was the

rather uncommon Baikal or Clucking Teal (Anas formosa Georgi). The —

skin is in the collection of the Bombay Natural History Society, to

whom I am grateful for identifying the bird.

Migration of duck in Kutch was better this year than we have noticed-

during the past 5 or 6 years. May be it was due to the drought in

northern India, or was it owing to the disturbances during the

time of migration ?

THE PALACE,

BHUJ, KUTCH, MAHARAO OF KUTCH

April 3, 1966.

6. ANOTHER BIRD RECORD FROM KUTCH

On January 1 this year I saw the White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa”

Temminck) in the Vijaya Vilas Palace grounds at Mandvi; this |

is the first sight record of the bird within the limits of Kutch.

In the early morning in the plantation, while watching the

Haircrested Drongo (which incidentally has become a _ regular

visitor since 1959—this year there are in all four birds) and the |

Blacknaped Blue Flycatcher, I was suddenly attracted by the familiar

call notes of the White-eye. I did not have my field glasses with

me, but I followed their peculiar notes until the birds flew out and |

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 203

settled down at some distance; thereafter I was not able to spot

them. There were about 8 to 10 birds in the flock. As I left for

Bhuj on the 2nd, I was away from Mandvi from the 2nd to the

9th. On my return I again heard the White-eyes and was able to

have a good look at them. While [I was busy watching them,

I suddenly became aware of a new sound about 15 yards away,

and was pleasantly surprised to see the second new bird for

Kutch, a male Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher (Muscicapa _tickelliae

Blyth) perched on a bare twig only about three feet from the ground.

After this I saw the bird on two consecutive days during my stay

at Vijaya Vilas. It was completely silent except for the sharp tick tick,

which it repeated every now and then.

BHUJ, KUTCH, M. K. HIMMATSINHJI

January 17, 1966.

IK. S. Dharmakumarsinhji (1955, BIRDS OF SAURASHTRA:77) and

Salim Ali (1955, Birds of Gujarat. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 52: 789)

both indicate that Zosterops palpebrosa is widespread in Saurashtra

and the latter has obtained specimens at Amreli and in the Mehsana

District. Ticehurst in ‘Birds of Sind’ (Jbis 1923:23) refers to its

Occurrence in mangrove swamps around Karachi and to its apparent

absence from other parts of Sind. The nearest earlier record from

Kutch appears to be Humayun Abdulali’s (1964, Ornithological

Notes of a second trip to the Gulf of Kutch. J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 60:705), who saw it in Salvadora persica on Ajar Island in the

Gulf of Kutch. 3

Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher (Muscicapa tickelliae) is common in

Gujarat and Saurashtra, but not yet recorded in Kutch or

Sind.—EDs.]

7. NOTES ON SOME BIRDS SEEN IN KASHMIR

My wife and I spent a week’s holiday in Kashmir between the 6th

and the 13th June 1965. During the course of this visit we made trips

from the Nagin Lake to Gulmarg, to Anchar Lake, and to Sonamarg.

In this time about 90 species of birds were seen and identified, of which

the following have seemed worthy of comment:

913. Hirundo rupestris Scopoli: Crag Martin

Bates & Lowther (1952) confess to not having seen this bird within

the area of Kashmir that they cover. We saw 2 or 3 birds in the Sind

Valley close to the mouth of Nichnai Nullah on the 11th June. This is

a species with which I have had experience in Switzerland,

204 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

1341. Pteruthius flaviscapis (Temminck): Red-winged Shrike-Babbler

This species is not mentioned by Bates & Lowther, and Dillon

Ripley (1961) does not specifically mention Kashmir in the range given. »

I saw one male in pine forest at about 8000 ft. on the ascent to

Gulmarg on the 8th June. This is a species I have met several times

in northern Thailand. |

1614. Seicercus burkii (Burton): Yellow-eyed Flycatcher-Warbler

Although Bates & Lowther do not record this species from the part

of Kashmir that they cover, Dillon Ripley lists it from Kashmir, possibly

not the same part. On the 10th June I found one at close to 10,000 ft.

near Sonamarg, moving through pine forest with willow warblers of

various species and a Goldcrest. The warblers could not be definitely

identified’ as to species, but with this flycatcher-warbler I have had

field experience and a bird in the hand in Thailand, and I am quite

satisfied with the field identification. i

C/O PRONESIAM INC., i

P.O. ox 326; . E. C. DICKINSON

BANGKOK, THAILAND, 1:

November 29, 1965.

REFERENCES ©

Bates, R. S. P., & LowrHer, E.H. N. Synopsis of the Birds of India and

(1952): Breeding Birds of Kashmir, Pakistan, together with those of Nepal, —

Oxford University Press, London. Sikkim, Bhutan & Ceylon. Bombay

Rrecey II, S. Ditton (1961): A Natural History Society.

8. NEED IN ORNITHOLOGY FOR MORE APPROPRIATE |

TERM THAN ‘SOFT PARTS’

In a letter to British Birds (1965, 58: 101) I. F. Keymer & D. K.

Blackmore suggest that instead of the inappropriate term ‘ soft parts’

ornithologists should use ‘ appendages’, an expression already in use in >

medicinal and veterinary literature. Our ornithological readers will be

interested in the comments of Sir A. Landsborough Thomson.

‘T have recently described the term as being ‘“‘ somewhat absurd”’

(1964, A New Dictionary of Birds, under TOPOGRAPHY) ; and where I have

occasionally used it myself it has been within deprecatory quotation |

marks or preceded by ‘‘so-called’’. Several text-books, other than

Witherby’s, that I have - particularly examined. ‘all dispense with it,

including Ralph S. Palmer’s Handbook of North American Birds (Vol. I,

1962). Most systematic -works- nevertheless deal with.these characters |

. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 305

in a separate paragraph, unheaded, in a standard location in each

description ; this is clearly good practice. J. D. Macdonald tells me

that those currently working in the Bird Room of the British Museum

(Natural History) tend to avoid using the term in print, although

otherwise it has convenience for certain limited purposes. Dr. Dean

Amadon writes that in the American Museum of Natural History they

have all been “bothered by the ambiguity of this term”; but he

considers its retention necessary, failing the successful establishment of a

better one. :

‘Professor J. Berlioz tells me that the French equivalent, which

he does not regard as wholly satisfactory, is “‘ parties nues”’. Professor

E. Stresemann knows of no corresponding term in German; and no

such heading is used in the text-books of Dr. Ernst Hartert, Professor

G. Niethammer and others. __ 3

‘My conclusion is that no collective term is required for use in

publications ; and that it is in fact undesirable to have a formal term

embracing such diverse elements as the horny bill, a flabby comb and

the irides. Ifa short term is wanted for colloquial use, I suggest that

“bare parts ” (in line with the French usage) is as convenient as “ soft

parts”, more readily understandable and less ambiguous. “ Unfeathered

parts’? has been suggested, but it is longer and less free from the

ambiguity that it might be taken to include the concealed apteria. ,

. ‘Your correspondents’ suggestion of ‘appendages of the skin ”

seems unlikely to gain acceptance. The word. “appendages ’’ already

has. various applications, and it is not appropriate to relatively flat

structures such as rhamphotheca or podotheca, and still less to the ‘iris

or the buccal cavity. In any event, as your correspondents say,

‘‘appendages of the skin’’ would include the feathers; so the term

would not serve the differentiating purpose that is the raison d’étre of

the one to be replaced.’

We may note that in the HANDBOOK OF INDIAN BIRDS, the first volume

of which is now in the press, the authors are using the term ‘bare

parts °.

BomMBAY NATURAL HISTORY OCE TY:

HoRNBILL HOUusE, | : EDITORS

BOMBAY 1-BR,

April 15, 1966.

206 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

9. VISIT BY IUCN DELEGATION TO THE KEOLADEO

GHANA SANCTUARY, BHARATPUR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA

(With two plates)

A party of some twenty people visited the Ghana, arriving by bus at —

2.30 p.m. on Thursday 25th November and leaving again at 10.15 a.m.

on the following morning. Conditions at the Sanctuary were said to

be unusually good, in that migrant birds from the north were already

present in some strength, while due to a late monsoon the breeding

colonies of storks, herons, ibises, and cormorants were still occupied,

many of the nests containing quite small young. During the very short

period spent at the Sanctuary (and including the journeys to and from

Delhi), some 130 species of birds were identified. Also seen in the

Sanctuary were Blackbuck (c. 40), Nilgai (c. 10), Chital (c. 50), Sambar

(3), and Wild Boar (2). A panther was seen as it crossed the

road.

H. H. the Maharaja of Bharatpur was kind enough to_take my wife

and me round the Sanctuary on the afternoon of the 25th when we saw

most of the waterfowl species recorded from the area, and a splendid

concentration of from 3-4000 Greylag Geese, as well as 150 Barheaded

Geese and large flocks of ducks of 15 species, including Cotton Teal.

During the afternoon other members of the party had no difficulty in

finding and photographing blackbuck and other antelope, or went by

boat to see the colonies of breeding birds in sniall trees standing in

shallow water. These included Painted and Openbilled Storks, Spoon-

bill, White Ibis, Grey Heron, 3 species of White Egrets, Darters, and

two species of Cormorants.

In the evening His Highness entertained the whole party at dinner

at the Palace. Accommodation was provided most generously by the

Government of Rajasthan at the Rest House in the Sanctuary and at the

Hotel near the entrance. ,

Unfortunately on the morning of Friday 26th the wildfowl near the

Rest House, and in the area where the geese had been concentrated the

night before, were considerably disturbed by a shooting party. It is a

matter of regret that those IUCN representatives who had been out in

the boats on the previous evening thus missed the magnificent spectacle

provided by the wildfowl concentration. Per

The Ghana Sanctuary consists of some 7000 acres (c. 11 sq. miles) of

which about one-third is artificially flooded plain. Banks or bunds

provide a number of shallow pans, some of them a square mile or so in

extent, which fill at the time of the monsoon in late summer and

gradually dry up during the rest of the year. These man-made lakes

are surrounded by a forest of low trees and shrubs—mostly Acacia,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 207

Zizyphus, etc. The pans are grown up with many species of water

plants so that, at the time we were there, little clear open water was to be

seen, though over large areas the vegetation did not rise above the sur-

face. Some trees grew along the bunds, on small islands, and in stand-

ing water.

After so short a visit it is difficult to draw valid conclusions or

make positive recommendations, but certain impressions seem worth

recording.

First, the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary can provide as fine a

spectacle of large water birds as is to be seen anywhere in the world,

enhanced by the presence in the vicinity of some of India’s most

beautiful mammals, of which three at least can be seen without difficulty

by any visitor. Secondly, the Sanctuary is not yet a true sanctuary

among other reasons because of the considerable amount of shooting

which takes place and because of serious overgrazing by domestic

animals. Thirdly, the potential use of the wild life in this area as a

tourist attraction, for the purposes of education and as a basis for

scientific research, is capable of very substantial development at no very

great capital cost. It is assumed that such development would have

the approval of both the Indian Government and the Government of

’ Rajasthan.

The following suggestions are therefore put forward :

(1) That the sanctuary should be zoned to providea demarcated

area of not less than 3 sq. miles as a strict reserve or true sanctuary,

in which no shooting or other disturbance should ever take place, and

into which no domestic livestock may enter. It is particularly important

that this area should ot be disturbed by beaters (with or without fire-

crackers) on shooting days.

(2) That in the zone or zones set aside for wildfowl shooting and in

order to ensure that the quality of such shooting is properly maintain-

ed, shooting should take place on a small number of days to be

agreed with H. H. the Maharaja, preferably not more often than once

~ every 2 weeks (and never on other days) during the open seasons permit-

ted by the law.

(3) That the privilege of grazing domestic animals in the Sanctuary

should be strictly controlled in accordance with sound range manage-

ment principles, which would certainly involve a drastic reduction in

present numbers. The factors involved should be carefully studied :

for example, although dung deposited on dry land is carefully collected

by the graziers for fuel and other purposes, it is possible that the

domestic ungulates fertilize the water to the advantage of many water-

bird species, and that this fertilization is a significant factor in the

-witdfowl concentrations. Nevertheless it is likely that something of the

order of 1500 domestic livestock feeding in the area would be far

208 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

better land use practice from every point of view—Sanctuary, shooting,

and the interests of the livestock and their owners—than the present

5600. The recent reduction of domestic grazing by excluding buffalo

and cattle during the night is commended as a wise ane practical limita-

tion and should be continued. :

(4) That at least 12 observation points should be constructed at very

carefully selected points where numbers of birds or mammals may con-

centrate (or be persuaded to concentrate). It is vital that these huts be

so placed, and the approaches so screened with reed walls, that observers

and photographers can get into and out of the observation points with-

out disturbing the birds or mammals which may be close by. (Plates —

I and IT)

(5) That disturbance to the breeding colonies of birds should be

reduced by not allowing boats to go amongst the trees in the main

breeding area (where observation towers would provide better facilities

for photography). During our visit the boats went so close to the trees

that some young birds fell into the water and were drowned. It is ©

essential that boatmen employed in the Sanctuary should, like all other

staff, be given a short training course and properly supervised.

(6) That facilities for the accommodation of tourists at the Rest

House in the Sanctuary be improved and extended so as to be able to.

accommodate at least one bus-load of tourists (c. 30-35)—preferably two. —

Standards of comfort must conform to those expected by the majority

of travellers visiting India, but this does not rule out the necessity for a

proportion of simple, well-designed accommodation within the reach of

lower income brackets.

(7) That the Rest House extension should include a Abs room

and lounge overlooking a substantial expanse of open water so that birds

can be observed from these rooms (as well as some of the bedrooms).

Mammals should also be accustomed to visiting the area immediately in

front of the building by the judicious siting of a salt-lick and by

providing an open grass area (periodically cut if necessary) to attract

ungulate species to the fresh grass. Needless to say the domestic

animals would have to be totally excluded from the Rest House

vicinity. -

(8) That the area in front of the Rest House should be regularly

floodlit during the evening. A device to allow the lights to fade

gradually at 11.0 p.m. or midnight, rather than being kept on all night,

as is the practice at the very successful Tree Tops reserve in Kenya,

would probably be best suited to local circumstances and to the 2-to 3- |

night stay in the Sanctuary which could be expected to interest the

ordinary tourist.

(9) That a charge of Rs. 10 per person be made for all foreign tourists.

visiting the Sanctuary, a contribution to the cost of its proper manage-

II 98[q 99S ‘WOTSNIYSUOD Jo sTIejep 107

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J. BOMBAY NAT. HIST. SOC. PLATE II

Scott: Keoladeo Ghana

I> Fr.

Note. ‘tn contain

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Bird Observation Hut: Details

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 209

ment which would certainly be willingly paid and indeed normally

expected. Consideration could be given to introducing a token entry

charge, say one rupee, for Indian nationals, if only to emphasize the

value of the Sanctuary, but children under 16 should be allowed

in free.

(10) That there should be no introduction whatever of exotic species

into the Sanctuary. As emphasized in our general report such introduc-

tions are always to be avoided and even re-introductions or artificial

amplification of stocks of existing species needs very careful study if it is

not to have adverse effects on the habitat and general balance of

the fauna.

(11) That facilities be provided for School Parties to visit the

Sanctuary and to be shown round by guides capable of explaining its

objects and describing the fauna and flora in some detail. Such

visits should include access to the special observation points from which

the wild life will be seen at especially close quarters.

(12) That facilities be provided for student field study in certain

specified parts of the Sanctuary.

(13) That a small research station should be established to form a

focal point for all scientific studies taking place in the Sanctuary. For

this purpose funds might be sought from international sources such as

the World Wildlife Fund.

(14) That very complete check lists be drawn up for the Sanctuary,

available in printed form for the tourist, and that ‘ field guides’ on the

Indian fauna and flora should also be available for purchase. It is of

the highest importance that these should be scientifically impeccable.

This need not make them in any way less attractive to the casual visitor,

and the standards of the Sanctuary will be judged by the care with which

this sort of literature is prepared.

(15) That as soon as the improved facilities exist (but on no account

_ before), the Sanctuary and its unique interest should be publicized, both

nationally and internationally, but especially the latter, on as wide a

scale as possible. |

For such publicity the assistance of many organizations is available

and might well be sought, e.g. The Fauna Preservation Society, the

_ Audubon Society (U.S.A.), the Royal Society for the Protection of

}

(

———- ~~

Birds (U.K.), the Frankfurt Zoological Society (West German Republic),

the Wildfowl Trust (U.K.), and the World Wildlife Fund (Switzerland).

_SLIMBRIDGE WILDFOWL TRUST,

| SEVERN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ; PETER SCOTT

ENGLAND,

| May 25, 1966.

210 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

10. OCCURRENCE OF THE BAT-FISH, PEGASUS

VOLITANS LINNAEUS (PEGASIFORMES : PEGASIDAE),

FROM THE COASTAL WATERS OF INDIA

Day (1889) recorded Pegasus draconis Linnaeus from the Andamans ;

Johnstone (1904) and Munro (1955) recorded Pegasus (Parapegasus)

natans (Linnaeus) from ihe Pearl Banks of Ceylon; and Munro (1955)

recorded Pegasus (Parapegasus) volans (Linnaeus) and Pegasus draconis

Linnaeus from Ceylon. According to Herre (1953) Pegasus (Parapegasus)

natans (Linnaeus) and Pegasus (Parapegasus) volans (Linnaeus) are

synonymous with Pegasus volitans Linnaeus. The family Pegasidae

With one genus, Pegasus Linnaeus, with probably two degenerate species,

P. volitans and P. draconis, is Indo-Pacific in its distribution, extending.

from East Africa to Japan and Australia.

Since Munro’s record from the Gulf of Manaar, adults of Pegasus

volitans Linnaeus have been unknown from the coastal waters of India.

Jones & Pantulu (1958) reported a few post-larval stages of Pegasus

(Parapegasus) volitans (natans) from the Orissa Coast and Krishnamurthy

(1961) reported a single larval stage of the same species from the

plankton collections off Porto-Novo, considered to be the earliest

known stage for this species.

A single adult specimen of Pegasus volitans Linnaeus was obtained

on 16 March 1965 from amongst the catches of kondavalai dragged from :

within a distance of about half-a-mile from the shore at Kovalam,

30 miles south of Madras. Subsequent catches from the same locality

on the 22nd and 23rd March by kondavalai yielded no more specimens

of this fish, indicating the comparative rarity of its occurrence. This

fish is believed to inhabit rocky zones of the shallow in-shore waters,

and one of the local fishermen identified it as nara ulupathi in Tamil—

nara refers to foul smell, and this fish is known to emit a foul smell

while alive. There are two other local Tamil names for this fish

popular among the fisherfolk at Kovalam, vettu udupathi and paravai

udupathi, of which the latter refers to the resemblance of this fish to a

bird. From the several local vernacular names in vogue, one can guess

that this fish, though not reported from India earlier, is not so very rare.

The present specimen measures 57 mm. in total length. The colour

in the preservative is dark brown above and paler below. The pectoral —

fin rays are brown-spotied and there are two dark bands across the

caudal fin.

The present specimen of Pegasus volitans Linnaeus is deposited in’

the National Collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta,

with the Registered number F. so

J. BOMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (1)

Abdulali : Cyrtophora citricola

A large agave hedge covered by a complete mass of webs

of the spider, Cyrtophora citricola, in the neighbourhood of

Gonda Station in Madhya Pradesh (Two views)

(Photos : Humayun Abdulali)

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 211

I would like to thank Mr. S. Shanker for collecting the specimen. I

am grateful to Dr. P. J. Sanjeeva Raj for guidance and encouragement

and to Dr. A. G. K. Menon for helpful suggestions.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, S. JAYADEV BABU

TAMBARAM, S. INDIA,

October 26, 1965.

REFERENCES

Day, F. (1889): Fishes: Fauna of the Bengal and Orissa coasts. Indian J.

British India, 2 Vols. London. Fish.5 : 118-143.

Herre, A. W. (1953): Checklist of KRISHNAMURTHY, K. (1961) : Occurr-

Philippine Fishes. Washington. (U. S. ence ofa very early stage of Parapegasus

Govt. Printing Office). natans (Linnaeus), from the near-shore

JOHNSTONE, J. (1904): Ceylon Pearl waters of Porto Novo, South India. J.

Oyster Fisheries and Marine Biology2: Mar. Bio. Assoc. India 3: 271-272.

201-203. Munro, IAN S. R. (1955): The Marine

Jones, S., & PANTULU, V. R. (1958): and Freshwater Fishes of Ceylon.

On some larval and juvenile fishes from Canberra.

11. THE WEBS OF THE SPIDER, CYRTOPHORA

CITRICOLA (FORSKAL)

(With a plate)

A new book on British Spiders reminded me of the paucity

of information in India on the subject of spiders, and of a small

observation by me made some years ago. While waiting for a

train at Gonda Station in Madhya Pradesh (15 March 1959), I

pottered about the neighbourhood and noticed a large agave hedge

covered by a complete mass of spider webs. The hedge, at the

end of a sewage field, was about 20 yards long and 10 feet wide.

Every 12 or 18 inches apart was a spider and the whole mass was

interspersed with egg cases. Bushes and shrubs near by were

similarly covered. The specimens which I obtained were identified

at the Zoological Survey of India as Cyrtophora citricola (Forskal).

75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET,

Bompay 3, HUMAYUN ABDULALI

December 16, 1965.

[Mr. Hari Narayan Acharya, to whom a draft of this note was

shown writes :

‘Cyrtophora citricola is one of our commonest spiders. Its webs

are found on low shrubs, practically every cactus hedge, prickly

212 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (i)

pear bushes, Capparis aphylla, and on Acacia and other thorny

trees. Though they are usually found at low level, I have found

them at about a height of 8-10 feet. Sometimes they use telephone

wires for their home. Though they are found in large colonies,

they are neither gregarious nor social: they are individuals in the

same web-mass. : |

‘An exhaustive description of this spider with particular

reference to its web-building work will be found in Hingston’s

A NATURALIST IN HINDUSTAN: Ch. X. The Dome-building Spider

(With one plate). W. M. Wheeler in THE SOCIAL INSECTS at page 9

gives an interesting note on the expanse of the web of these

spiders and the peculiar way in which they suspend their egg-sacs

in the form of a rosary above their domes. The number of egg-

sacs in a single strand varies: the maximum observed by me is up

to 8.’—EDs.]

12. THE HOODED GRASSHOPPER, TERATODES

MONTICOLLIS GRAY: A CORRECTION

(With a text-figure)

In the Society’s Nature Calendar for the year 1965 the Hooded

Grasshopper, Teratodes monticollis Gray, is described as being found

in western and southern India. With reference to this description

Father Richard E. Lane-Smith, s.J., to whom we are grateful, has

brought to our notice its occurrence in District Hazaribagh (Bihar -

State). Enquiry from the Zoological Survey of India reveals that .—

they have in their collection specimens from the following, among |

other, districts: Darjeeling and Midnapur in West Bengal; Hazaribagh |

and Singhbum in Bihar; Ganjam in Orissa; Bangalore and Mysore in +

Mysore; and Mandla in Madhya Pradesh. We publish this fact to dispel |

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 213. °

any impression that might have been created by the description

in the Nature Calendar that this important pest of Teak (Tectona

grandis Linn. f.) is of restricted distribution.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

HORNBILL HOUusE, | EDITORS

BOMBAY 1-BR,

April 15, 1966.

13. NOTE ON HOW POSITION ON HOST-PLANT AFFECTS

PARASITISM ON EGGS OF PYRILLA PERPUSILLA WLK.}?

In autumn 1960 an interesting and unusual example of migration and

breeding of the sugarcane leafhopper, Pyrilla perpusilla W\k., on jowar,

Sorghum sp., was observed at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh. Many grasses

and weeds, wheat, and even stones and lumps of soil near by harboured

ege-masses. This provided an opportunity for the comparative study of

parasitism on the eggs in different parts of the plant. Muliyil & Laksh-

manan (1942) found the percentage of egg-parasitism in leaf-sheaths to

be 59°8 and on leaves 73°4. Murthy (1952) reported the ratio between

the parasitism of eggs laid in the leaf-sheaths and those laid on the leaves

as 1:4. Lal (1958) mentioned that parasitism of egg-masses laid in leaf-

sheaths from October is not so high as of egg-masses laid on leaves from

July to September.

The present studies were conducted on jowar in a field at the

Institute. Thirty egg-masses were observed at random for each part of

the plant, the white fluffy covering over the egg-masses being removed

_ very carefully with a soft camel hair brush. Eggs were counted with the

help of a hand lens (10 x ). The data were analysed statistically.

TABLE

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF EGG-PARASITISM*; AT DIFFERENT PARTS OF HOST PLANT

Lower surface Upper surface Outer, surface Inner surface Stem

of leaf of leaf of leaf- of leaf-

| sheath y sheath

64:90 60°30 50°26 39°23 21°69

C.D. at 5% = 18°09

* Figures based on combined parasitism by Tetrastidus pyrillae Craw. and

Cheilone pyrillae Mani

1 Formed part of thesis submitted to Vikram University i in 1962 in partial fulfil-

ment of M.Sc. (Agri.) degree.

214. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Parasitism per egg-mass varied between 0 and 100%. The average

percentage of egg-parasitism is apparently more on the lower leaf-surface,

followed in descending order by upper leaf-surface, outer surface of leaf-

sheath, inner surface of leaf-sheath, and stem. Parasitism is significantly

greater on the lower and upper leaf-surfaces than on the inner surface of

leaf-sheath and the stem. Difference in parasitism between outer surface

of leaf-sheath and the stem is also significant.

These results suggest that parasitism is more on the egg-masses which

are exposed and easily approachable by the parasites. Least parasitism

of egg-masses on the stem, which also are exposed, appears to be

contradictory. The best answer seems to be that parasitism is also

influenced by the proportion of the host population exposed to attack.

As the number of egg-masses on the stem is appreciably low the percen-

tage of parasitism of the eggs situated on it is correspondingly low. And

as the number of egg-masses on the upper leaf-surface is less than on

the lower leaf-surface the percentage of parasitism is lower in the eggs

laid on the former.

Thanks are due to Dr. P. R. Rawat, the then Head of the Entomology

Department of the Institute.

RAFI AHMED KIDWAI AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE,

SEHORE, MADHYA PRADESH, M. K. ZUTSHI?

March 5, 1966.

REFERENCES

Lat, K.B. (1958): What Plant Pro- Murthy, D. V. (1952) : The effect of

tection is. Indian Farming 8 (6): 24. conserving healthy and parasitised eggs of

MutiyiL, J. A., & LAKSHMANAN, K. Pyrilla spp. in wire gauze cages. Proc.

(1942): The effects of conserving healthy 21st. Ann. Conf. Sug. Tech. Assoc. India

and parasitised eggs of Pyrilla spp., in 1: 102.

wire gauze cages on the population of the

pest and its parasites. Indian J. Ent. 4

(2): 221-223.

14. WING COUPLING APPARATUS IN

CERTAIN HETEROPTERA

(With a plate containing four figures)

The wing-coupling apparatus has been examined in a few heter-_

opteran families, namely Pentatomidae, Cydnidae, Dinidoridae, and

Scutelleridae. In Coridius janus Fabr. (Dinidoridae) this coupling

apparatus (Plate, figs. 1 and 4) is situated ventrally at the posterior end

2 Present address: Scientists’ Pool Officer, Directorate of Plant Protection,

Quarantine & Storage, New Delhi

J. BoMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (1)

Goel : Wing coupling

“ws Se'O

EB aa me

Fabr.; 2. Wing

coupling apparatus of Chrysocoris stockerus Linn.; 3 and 4. Forewing

and hindwing of Chrysocoris stockerus and Coridius janus respectively

before coupling. Arrow in 4 shows actual point of coupling.

AF: analfurrow ; AM: analmargin; CA: coupling apparatus ; CF: cubital

furrow; CL: clavus; CO: corium; Cu: cubitus; EB: embolium ; M: medius;

MB: membrane; R: radius; Sc: subcosta ; Sv, , SVz: secondary veins

1. Wing coupling apparatus of Coridius janus

a <a =

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 215

of the clavus (CL) region of the hemelytra. The apparatus consists of

well-developed setae firmly fixed in the form of a bundle to the inner

margin of the anal furrow (AF), and just below it a pad attached to the

anal margin (AM) of the hemelytra. The setae and the pad together

form a sort of clutch inside which the caesura, the thickened margin

of the hindwing, gets firmly fixed at the time of flying. The hemelytra

form the main organ of flight (Weber 1930) while the hindwings

passively adhere to the forewings. This wing-coupling device is uniform

in the species Dalpada versicolor, Dorpius indicus, Bagrada picta, Nezara

antennata, Macroscytus expansus, and Aethus indicus.

In Chrysocoris stockerus Linn. (Scutelleridae) the coupling ap earatus

consists of a single large-knobbed structure (Plate, fig. 2) hanging

ventrally from the base of the anal margin of the clavus region. During

flight this knob-like structure fits into the depression of the hindwing

formed by the thickened marginal subcosta (Plate, fig. 3).

With more information about the wing-coupling apparatus in the

different families it should be possible to ascertain the taxonomic value

of these structures. Besides, such studies are likely to throw light upon

the interrelationship of the different families. |

Thanks are due to Professor A. K. Datta Gupta for supervising the

work and to the Director, Birla Institute of Technology and. Science,

Pilani, for providing necessary facilities.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

B.I.T.S., PILANI (RAJASTHAN),

October 20, 1965.

S. C. GOEL

REFERENCES

Davis, N.T. (1961): Morphology and

phylogeny of the Reduvioidea (Hemip-

theca of Podops inuncta (F.), with a note

on the Diagnosis of subfamily Podo-

tera : Heteroptera). Part III. Wing- pinae Dallas (Hemi., Pentatomidae).

venation. Ann. ent. Soc. Amer. 54: Jour. Soc. Bri. Ento. 4(7): 130-135.

340-54. | WEBER, H. (1930): Biologie der He-

Leston, D. (1953): On the wing- mipteran. Eine Naturgeschichte der

venation, Male Genitalia and Sperma-

Schnabelkerfe. Berlin, 543.

15. BIOLOGY OF CHRYSOPA LACCIPERDA KIMMINS

(With two text-figures)

The material for the study of Chrysopa lacciperda Kimmins

(Neuroptera : Chrysopidae) was collected on Kusmi crops on kusum,

Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Merr.,

from the experimental plantations

at Namkum and Hesal (about nine miles apart) in Ranchi District

216 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

and from Rangeeni crops on palas, Butea monosperma (Lamk.) Taub.,

at Namkum during July-September 1951, while studying the

bionomics of Chrysopa madestes Banks. ‘This is a new species and has

been described by Kimmins (1955).

Egg. Stalked, laid singly. Bigger than most chrysopid eggs,

light green to bluish green. Length of eggs 1:04 mm.; width

0°50 mm.; length of stalk 7:0 to 11°25 mm. Average incubation

period 2:3 days (variation 2-4 days for 96 eggs).

Larva (Fig. 1). Passes through three instars. Two pairs of

narrow bands on dorsum of head, which are faint in the first

ar :

pecercetct ee eine a ee emit ee

1 mm,

Fig. 1. Head and prothorax of third instar larva of

Chrysopa lacciperda

ener ae =

baz e sped “ Nic! ae

ae ,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 217

instar but black and prominent in the second \and third instars;

the inner pair arising as faint bands from the inner margin of

the base of antennae, converging at mid-line and becoming distinctly

black, running posteriorly and ending a little beyond half way;

the outer pair arising as distinct black bands from the outer

margin of the base of antennae, converging towards the posterior

ends of the inner bands and continuing as faint patches till

the posterior margin-of the head; a faint broad patch between

each eye and the posterior margin of the head. A black patch

towards each of the outer margins and a black triangular patch

touching the posterior margin on the mid-line on the prothorax.

Average durations of first, second, and third instars 3°8, 3-2, and

73 days (variation 3-7, 3-4, and 6-9 days for 10 larvae) respec-

tively.

Pupa. Cocoon slightly elongate spherical, of dense, pure white

silk. Length of cocoon 3-4 mm.; width 2°8-3°7 mm. Changes

during the development can be faintly followed through the cocoon.

The average duration 7°5 days (variation 4-11 days for 10).

Adult. The adult has been described in detail by Kimmins

(loc. cit.). The expanse of the forewings, hindwings, and the length

of the body of female 34-40 mm., 30-36 mm., and 13-16 mm.

respectively, and of male 30-36 mm., 26-32 mm., and 9-11 mm.

respectively. Average longevity of the laboratory-bred females

8:0 days (variation 3-15 days for 6) and of males 6°0 days

(variation 1-11 days for 6) and of field-collected females 20°3 days

(variation 7-48 days for 6) and of males 12°5 days (variation 2-36

days for 6). Ratio of males to females of the laboratory-bred

adults 1:1 (total 26 adults: males 13 and females 13) and of the

field-collected adults 3:4 (total 43 adults: males 19 and females 24).

Abnormality in egg-laying (Fig. 2). An egg with 0°62 mm. stalk

was found attached to another egg-bearing stalk (7°75 mm. long)

at a distance of 2°5 mm. from the lower end.

Natura] enemies. Telenomus sp. (Chalcidoidea: Scelionidae) was the

only egg-parasite reared during this study. Cheiloneurus sp.(Chalcidoidea:

Encyrtidae), Perilampus sp. near hedychroides Walk. (Chalcidoidea :

Perilampidae), and Brachycurtus sp. (2? eublemmae Rao; Gupta 1964)

(Ichneumonidae) were reared from the cocoon.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to thank Dr. G.S. Misra, Director of the Institute,

| and Dr. A. Bhattacharya, Entomologist, for encouragement, Messrs,

218 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

R. D. Eady, G. J. Kerrich, and G. E. J. Nixon of the Commonwealth

Institute of Entomology for the identification of the parasites, and

bat. pare +y-/

SLi ae

Fig. 2, Abnormality in oviposition of Chrysopa lacciperda

Mr. R. L. Singh, Artist and Photographer, for the figures appearing |

in this note.

DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY,

INDIAN LAC RESEARCH INSTITUTE, B. P. MEHRA

NAMKUM, RANCHI, Scientific Officer

November 18, 1965.

REFERENCES

Gupta, V. K. (1964): Taxonomic Kimmins, D.E. (1955): A new Indian —

assessment of types of Ichneumonidae in species of the genus Chrysopa (Neurop-

Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, tera). Indian J. Ent. 17: 217-218.

India. Pacific Insects 6 (2): 231-232.

16. PARTHENOGENETIC REPRODUCTION IN

ANASTATUS COLEMANI CRAWFORD

(HYMENOPTERA : EUPELMIDAE)

Observations on parthenogenetic reproduction in Anastatus colemani — |

Crawford (Hymenoptera : Eupelmidae) were made during studies on

the egg-parasites of Tessaratoma javanica Thunberg (Hemiptera:

Pentatomidae). a

Eleven unmated female A. colemani were confined, each in a muslin

sleeve, on tender branches of Kusum [Schleichera oleosa (Lout.) Merr.] —

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Za bY

together with a pair of T. javanica. The bug provided eggs for parasiti-

sation, which were examined daily and parasitised ones removed. If

required, fresh host-eggs were provided from cages specially maintained

for the purpose, care being taken that no parasite was trapped inside or

could enter these cages. |

The average pre-oviposition period for an unmated female parasite

was found to be 6:4 days (variation 1-13 days for 10 females), which is

more than half of that for a mated female (average 9:4 days, variation

4-15 days for 5 females); the oviposition period was 10°4 days (variation

1-24 days for 10 females), which is nearly double that for a mated

female (average 5:4 days, variation 2-12 days for 5 females). The

average number of eggs laid by one unmated female in a day was 29-9

eggs (variation 3-55 eggs for 10 females), and the maximum number laid

by one unmated female in a day 14. Both these figures are higher than

those for the mated females (average 17°1 eggs, variation 7-46 eggs for

7 females ; maximum 9 eggs). The average longevity of the unmated

female was found to be 18-9 days (variation 9-44 days for 11 females),

which is nearly double that for a mated female (average 8°8 days,

variation 1-44 days for 362 females).

Of a total of 264 parthenogenetic parasites bred from eleven unmated

females, only two were females from two different mothers and the rest

males. This type of reproduction has not been recorded in Eupelmidae

so far. The life cycle of the two parthenogenetic females extended over

13 and 16 days and longevity to 17 and 3 days respectively. The life

cycle of the parthenogenetic males extended to an average of 17°2 days

(variation 11-142 days for 262 males). The variation of life cycle during

the different parts of the year was on the average 17:1 days (variation

11-21 days for 162 males) during September to October 1955, 139-3 days

(variation 138-142 days for 3 males) during October 1955 to March 1956,

and 13°4 days (variation 11-17 days for 97 males) during March to April

1956. The longevity of the males was found to average 2:2 days (variation

1-10 days for 213 males). The variation of longevity during the different

3 parts of the year was: average 2°2 days (variation 1-7 days for 162

males) during October 1955, average 8-0 days (variation 4-10 days for 3

males) during March 1956, and average 2:0 days (variation 1-5 days for

48 males) during April 1956.

The author is thankful to Dr. G. S. Misra, Director, and

Dr. A. Bhattacharya, Entomologist, for their keen interest.

DIvISION OF ENTOMOLOGY,

INDIAN LAC RESEARCH INSTITUTE, B. P. MEHRA

NAMKUM, RANCHI,

December 11, 1965.

220 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

17. INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR IN A WASP, ODYNERUS SP.

A little solitary wasp, Odynerus sp., dark reddish brown with yellow

markings, frequently makes its nest in houses, stuck on to the wall in

any convenient place. The nest is a thin-walled mud tube, about

17 mm. long, with a kind of ‘spout’ at one end. It is divided bya

partition in the middle into two cells, where the two eggs are laid, and is

provisioned with small caterpillars. The young wasp cuts a round hole

in the nest wall to escape. !

Some time ago I took a nest from the wall, removing it carefully

without breaking it. On examination I found that the tube had not been

fashioned where it was adjoining the wall, the wall itself forming that

side of the nest. Thus when it was removed, on one side was an open

jagged hole, and a wasp could be clearly seen. It had just emerged from

the pupa skin and was engaged in gnawing its way out through the mud

wall on the opposite side. This it continued to do, though it could at

any moment have walked out of the gaping open side. After about 15

minutes it had cut a hole large enough, through which it crawled to

escape. |

It seems necessary for the wasp to complete the instinctive chain of

actions designed for its escape in normal circumstances. When the

circumstances are altered and the whole chain of actions is no longer

necessary, it is unable to change its behaviour or omit any part.

Pancu Howp,

POONA 2, F. L. WAIN, S.S.J.E.

March 28, 1966.

18. POTENTILLA RECTA LINN. : A NEW RECORD FOR INDIA

(With a plate)

During a floristic exploration of Pangi Valley, Chamba District,

Himachal Pradesh, in July 1964, the author collected a few specimens

from a natural population of a species of Potentilla from Kilar at an

altitude of 2625 m. This plant could not be compared with any of the

Indian species of Potentilla and on scrutiny turned out to be P. recta

Linn. which is a European and N. Asiatic taxon. It appears that there

is no previous report on this taxon from India and therefore it is

described and illustrated here. The specimens are deposited in the

Central National Herbarium, Sibpur, Calcutta, and the Herbarium of |

the Botanical Survey of India, Northern Circle, Dehra Dun, under the |

collection No. N. C. Nair 32556,

J. BOMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (1)

Nair: Potentilla recta

' PD

Y ie

4 LD)

+ At

Yy,

#43

‘s

WY SY éLW Ayys

4) “ S

a Zap in

oo ne,

\ I ‘4

Potentilla recta Linn. |

Fig. A. Rootstock. Fig. B. Flowering branch. Fig. C. Longitudinal section

of flower. Fig. D. Stipule.

=—..

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 22)

Potentilla recta Linn. Sp. Pl. 499, 1753.

Stout erect herbs. Branches many from a thick woody base. Stem

30-70 cm. high, leafy, dichotomously branched above, villous with long

white hairs, pubescent, more or less glandular. Basal leaves palmately

5- to 7-foliate, long-petioled; petiole 3-7 cm. long, sheathing. Upper

leaves gradually becoming almost sessile, 3- to 5-foliate or simple and

tripartite. Leaflets of lower leaves oblong, obovate, oblanceolate or

lanceolate, variable in length and breadth, 4-9 x 0°6-2 cm., terminal

leaflet largest ;- leaflets of upper leaves linear; all sessile and with 7-17

deltoid teeth on either side, villous, veins prominent beneath. Stipules

adnate to the petiole, trifid, up to 2 cm. long, hairy. Cymes many

flowered with strongly ascending branches. Bracts trifid, 8-10 mm.

long, pilose. Flowers shortly stalked, 1°5-2 cm. across, yellow; pedicel

of the central flower of each dichasium longest, up to 1:5 cm., others

shorter, all pilose or pubescent or both. Epicalyx of 5 episepals equal-

ling and alternating with the sepals, all linear, 6 mm. long, pilose or

hispid with white hairs, more so towards the base. Petals obcordate,

deeply emarginate, slightly exceeding or equalling the sepals. Stamens’

30-35, shorter than petals. Carpels many, glabrous with short styles

thick at the base. Stigmas dilated. Achenes half ovoid, vertically

wrinkled, glabrous. )

The taxon can be easily distinguished from other species of Indian

Potentilla having digitately compound leaves with 5-7 leaflets as follows:

miogvers crimson of bright pink... 3,5... ese: ener ces P. nepalensis

Flowers yellow |

lowers. cOlltary, axillary: <. ©.ia ee, ead. vO ee P. reptans

Flowers in branched cymes

Receptacle hairy, concealing the achenes

Flowers less than 1 cm. in

diameter, 2chenes Smooth.” faves eo... eres P. argentea

Flowers more than 1 cm. in

diameter, achenes wrinkled

Piowers in capitate leafy heads... ..<.... P. desertorum

Flowers in spreading cymes... 220..0.....: P. kashmirica

Receptacle hairy, not concealing the achenes

Flowers less than 1 cm. in diameter,

siupules lincarilanceolate,).- 3,666. et. P. kleiniana

Flowers more than | cm. in diameter,

SipWlese the an eee eke ee ee Psrecta

222. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In conclusion I am thankful to the authorities of the Forest Research

Institute, Dehra Dun, for herbarium facilities and to Dr. M. A. Rau for

encouragement.

BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,

63 RAJPUR ROAD, N. C. NAIR

DEHRA DUN,

February 3, 1966.

19. COLEOCHAETE PULVINATA A. BR. FROM GUJARAT,

INDIA : A NEW RECORD

(With three text-figures)

Four species of Coleochaete have been recorded from India,

namely C. scutata Breb., C.soluta Pringsh., C. orbicularis Pringsh.,

and C. nitellarum Jost. (Biswas 1949, Prasad & Srivastava 1965).

The growth is prostrate in all species of Coleochaete described so far,

except in C. pulvinata A. Br. which is heterotrichous in habit

(Fritsch 1956, Smith 1950). The present record of C. pulvinata from

Gujarat is an addition to the Indian algal flora.

The present material was collected in October 1964, from Gangda

Pond at Valavao, Baroda District (Gujarat), Two species of

Coleochaete, C. orbicularis Pringsh. and C. pulvinata A. Br., occurred

together as epiphytes on Najas. C. pulvinata A. Br. was attached

to the leaves of Najas, as a hemispherical heterotrichous mass of

loosely-arranged branched filaments, surrounded by a mucilaginous

envelope and easily detachable.

The plant is irregularly branched. Each cell is generally

rectangular and is uninucleate with a single laminate chloroplast and

a single pyrenoid within it. The cells are 11:0-15:0n broad and

22:0-34'0n long. Some terminal cells bearing antheridia have the

diameter up to 19°Ou. In general the cells are 2-25 times as longas ~

broad. Some cells show a long unbranched seta with a basal gelatinous

sheath c. 39°6u long (Fig. 1). |

No zoospores or other spores of asexual type were observed

in the material. The plant showed different stages. of sexual

reproduction. It is homothallic. The antheridia and oogonia are

borne by different branches of the same plant.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 223

The antheridia are borne in clusters and are laterally placed on

first two or three terminal cells of the branches. They are bluntly

Figs. 1-3. Coleochaete pulvinata A.Br.

1. Portion of plant, showing branches, setae, oogonia, and antheridia ;

2. Empty antheridia on first three terminal cells; 3. Spermocarp

conical in shape and areup to 11°0u long and 3:82 broad near

the base. The antherozoids are liberated by the terminal pores

(Figs. 1 and 2).

Oogonia are borne singly at the apices of the branches. In the

224 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

majority of cases, fertilized oogonia were observed. The long-

necked trichogyne of the oogonium is 45°7-47:0u long and 5-6 broad.

The egg after fertilization becomes enlarged and fills the whole

oogonium. Hence, the walls of the oogonia and oospores are

not distinctly marked. The oospore is spherical, a recently-formed

oospore being 260% in diameter. The oospore becomes enormously

enlarged. At the same time, the cells below the oogonium and those of

the neighbouring filaments give rise to branches which envelop

the whole oogonium leaving the long trichogyne protruding. Finally,

the fructification (spermocarp) is developed. The spermocarp is

spherical and 90:5 in diameter. The central fertile region, about

5654 in diameter, is surrounded by a sterile jacket layer of ten

cells (Fig. 3).

The general description of the species agrees with that of C. pulvinata .

A. Br. as given by earlier authors (Fritsch 1956, Smith 1950).

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY,

SARDAR VALLABHBHAI- VIDYAPEETH, R. J. PATEL

VALLABH VIDYANAGAR, GUJARAT,

January 7, 1966.

REFERENCES

Biswas, K. (1949) : Common fresh and FritscuH, F. E. (1956):. The structure

brackish water algal flora of India and and reproduction of algae 1:281-288.

Burma. Rec. Bot. Surv. India 15 (2): 35. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

PRASAD, B.N., & SRIVASTAVA, P.N. SmitH, G. M. (1950): Fresh-water

(1965S): Coleochaete nitellum Jost.—A new algae of the United States: 168-170.

addition a the Indian Flora. Curr. Sci. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New

34 (19): York.

20. OCCURRENCE OF THE ALGA OEDOGONIUM

ITZIGSOHNII VAR. MINUS FROM

MAHABALESHWAR, INDIA

(With six text-figures)

The occurrence of Oedogonium itzigsohnii var. minus from India is

reported here for the first time. Probably it is a new record for Asia.

The material was collected in the third week of October 1954 from

roadside ditches in the vicinity of Old Mahabaleshwar. The material is

deposited in the Botany Department, Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyapeeth,

Vallabh Vidyanagar.

It is free floating, and is fouled mixed with other members of the

Chlorophyceae and Cyanophyceae. The filaments are 4:3-5°7 in

diameter. The cells are six to seven times as long as broad (Fig. 1).

Zoospore formation was not seen but the content, converted into a

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 229

cylindrical structure, was found liberated through a transverse opening

near the cap-cells (Fig. 3). |

0 49K FIG.6

FIG.5 tee

Oedogonium itzigsohnii var. minus

Fig. 1. Nature of filament; Fig. 2. Development of an oogonium

(oG) in a filament; Fig. 3. Liberation of zoospore; Fig. 4. Oogonium

(oG) and two antheridia (AN); Fig.5. Mature oospore (os) with processes

on the wall of the oogonium; Fig. 6. Obtusely conical processes on the

wall of oogonium

The plant is monoecious. The antheridia are epigynous (Fig. 4, AN).

They are paired in a majority of cases. Development of oogonium

is similar to that of other species of Oedogonium (Fig. 2). Oogonia

occur singly in the filament. Occasionally two oogonia, side by side,

were observed. Length of the oogonium 17°7-22°8 4, diameter 22°8 ju

(Fig. 4, oG). Before fertilization 8-10 obtusely conical processes are

developed on the oogonial wall (Figs. 5 and 6). The opening of the

oogonium is poriferous. The oospore within the oogonium is spherical

226 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

with. a smooth thick wall, measuring 11.4-14.3. ~ in diameter

(Fig. 5, Os). 7

The presént plant agrees with the description of Oedogonium

itzigsohnii var. minus given by Hirn (1900) and Tiffany (1930), but its

dimensions are smaller. Plants of this species with smaller dimen-

sions are reported by West & West (1903)! and Margalef! from Angola

and Spain respectively.

The writer is grateful to Prof. E. Gonzalves 2 her valuable sugges-

tions and for going through the manuscript. Thanks are also due to

Principal J. G. Chohan for his interest in the work.

BOTANY DEPARTMENT,

SARDAR VALLABHBHAI VIDYAPEETH, | oR, J. PATER

VALLABH VIDYANAGAR, GUJARAT,

February 18, 1966.

REFERENCES

Hirn, K. E. (1900) : Oedogoniaceae. _TreFany, L. H. (1930): The Ocedogo-

Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae, niaceae. Columbus.

Tom 27, No. 1.

21. NEW PLANT RECORDS FOR SOUTH INDIA—III

The occurrence of three more species of plants so far not recorded

in south India is reported in this paper, in continuation of new records

I&Il (J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 53: 523-26 and 54: 925-27).

All the three species, viz. Tournefortia argentea Linn. f. (Boragi-

naceae), Syzygium aqueum (Burm. f.) Alston (Myrtaceae), and Dichros-

tachys muelleri Benth. (Mimosoideae), reported herein have been

recorded by ‘ Trimen ’ (1894) in A HANDBOOK TO THE FLORA OF CEYLON

while their occurrence has not been recorded by Gamble (1924) in

THE FLORA OF THE PRESIDENCY OF MADRAS.

1. Tournefortia argentea Linn. f. Suppl. 133. 1781.

A small tree, 3-3°5 m. tall, trunk short, bark deeply furrowed, pale,

branchlets thick, marked with scars of the fallen leaves, twigs densely

silky-pubescent ; leaves large, simple, entire, closely placed at the ends

of branches, leaves 11-14 4-6 cm., oval or obovate, much tapering to

base with rounded or obtuse apex, fleshy covered with close silky-white

adpressed hairs; petiole short 0-6-0°8 mm. and stout, venation promi-

nent with a strong midrib and 4-6 lateral veins. Flowers, numerous,

sessile in peduncled cymes, spreading. Sepals 5, ovate densely silky

1 Information communicated by Prof. E. Gonzalves, St. Xavier’s College,

Bombay.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 227

hairy ; corolla rotate, over 1 cm. in diameter, 5-lobed; stamens 5 includ-

ed in the tube, filaments short, anthers sessile, large at the throat of the

corolla; stigma subsessile obscurely two-lobed. Fruit subglobose,

minutely operculate brown pyrenes.

This species was found to occur in the Krusadi Island, Ramanath-

puram District, and was collected by S. V. Parthasarathy and S. R. Raju

_ in February, 1947 (Madras Agricultural College Herbarium, No. 4409).

2. Syzygium aqueum (Burm. f.) Alston in Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard.

Peradeniya 11: 204. 1929. (Syn. Eugenia aquea Burm. f.).

An evergreen tree, all parts glabrous; leaves variable, those of the

young shoots often elongate, oblong-linear, thin, the older ones oblong

to ovate-oblong, 20-25 cm. long; petiole very short almost obscure or

absent. Flowers large, whitish ona short 2-3 cm. long pedicel, solitary

or in threes, forming short or compact cymes at the ends of branches,

calyx 1-1°5 cm. long, clavate, smooth, 4-lobed, the lobes being persistent,

twice as broad as long; petals 4, broader than long, rounded, free ;

stamens numerous, in many rows, filaments long, slender, anthers small;

style filiform, stigma small with many ovules in each cell. Fruit berry

crowned by inflexed calyx lobes, 1-4 seeded with many abortive seeds,

seeds compressed.

This species has been collected from Manjolai in Singampatti forests

of Tirunelveli District by D. Daniel Sundararaj in July, 1958 (Madras

Agricultural College Herbarium, No. 4408).

3. Dichrostachys muelleri Benth. Fl. Aus. 2 : 299, 1864. (Syn. Neptunia

spicata F, Muell.)

Much branched thorny rigid shrubs or small trees, 3-5 m. tall, bark

grey coloured, furrowed, branchlets glabrous or slightly pubescent and

ending in spines. Leaves bipinnate, primary rachis 1-2 cm. long,

glabrous with a small gland ~between each pair of pinnae, pinnae pari-

pinnate, 1-2 pairs, rather distant, 1:5-2.cm. long; leaflets sessile, 6-8

pairs, close to one another, 6-7 2-3 mm., oblong-linear, somewhat

obtuse at the apex, glabrous on both sides, stipules 1-2 mm. long,

subulate from a triangular base. Flowers dense in axillary long

pedunculate spikes, 3-4 cm. long, the upper part of the spike not so

crowded as the rest and arranged in a lax manner with long pale

whitish purple staminodes. Calyx membranous, companulate, shortly

five-toothed, 0°2-0°3 mm., petals 5, united to one-third their lengths,

1:5-1°8 mm. long, stamens 10, free, exserted, 2°5 mm. long; ovary

subsessile, style filiform, stigma terminal, truncate. Pods linear, com-

pressed, glabrous, 8-10 x 0-9-1°3 cm., twisted up when ripe. Seeds 6-10,

each 5x4 mm., obovate, compressed, brownish.

D. muelleri Benth. differs from D. cinerea W. & A. commonly found

in India in having only 1 or 2 pairs of pinnae each with 6-8 pairs of

228 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (A)

slightly bigger leaflets compared to D. cinerea which has 8-10 pairs of

pinnae and 12-20 pairs of leaflets in each pinna. In addition, the

flowers in D. muelleri are arranged in long (3-4 cm.) pedunculate spikes

with the neuter flowers in the lower part of the spike set in a lax manner

while the spike in D. cinerea is shortly (1°5-2 cm.) pedunculate with the

hermaphrodite and neuter flowers arranged evenly.

This species has been collected from the following four places

in south India, viz. Kudiraimalai theri, Nazereth, Tirunelveli District,

by D. Daniel Sundararaj in December, 1944 (Madras Agricultural

College Herbarium, No. 4411); Krusadi Islands, Ramanathapuram

District, by D. Daniel Sundararaj in May, 1946 (Madras Agricultural

College Herbarium, No. 4410) ; Rameswaram Island, Ramanathapuram

District, by M. Nagarajan in May, 1962 (Madras Agricultural College

Herbarium, No. 4412); Puli Island, Ramanathapuram District, by

D. Daniel Sundararaj and S. R. Raju in September, 1944 (Madras

Agricultural College Herbarium, No. 4413).

The first mentioned place is in the sandy tract in Tirunelveli District

about twelve miles from the east Coast and the region is in the southern-

most part of the Indian peninsula. The three other habitats are islands

n the Gulf of Mannar in Ramanathapuram District.

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE | |

_. & RESEARCH INSTITUTE, 3 D. DANIEL SUNDARARAJ

Compatore, S. INDIA, M. NAGARAJAN

April 22, 1964. es 7

Notes and News

An old member, on William the Hornbill

We are glad to publish a letter received from one of our oldest

members Lieut.-Colonel M. L. Ferrar, after whom Ferrargunj mention-

ed by Mr. Humayun Abdulali in his recent paper on the birds of the

‘Andamans and Nicobars is named. He writes: - ‘It gave me very great

pleasure to find in your new issue of the B.N.H.S. Journal so full an

account of the opening of Hornbill House, surprise too for I had

not been aware of the intention to name the house after old William,

the acquaintance, indeed the friend, of so many members of the

Society and their friends. How well I remember introducing him to

my bride when I brought her out to Bombay in January 1913 and

how fitting it is that his memory should have been preserved in this

manner.’ \

Donation of Equipment

Our resources for conducting research in field ornithology have

been enriched through the generosity of the executors of the late Dato

Loke Wan Tho, who have presented to the Society through Dr. Salim

Ali a Nagra III Bird Call Tape Recorder.

Bird Photograph Negatives of Loke Wan Tho and Lt.-Col. R. S. P. Bates

We are indebted to the executors of the late Dato Loke Wan Tho

who have presented to the Society through Dr. Salim Ali the testator’s

collection of negatives of bird photographs taken by him and by the late

Lt.-Col. R. S. P. Bates.

Recognition of the Society for Ph.D. guidance in Field Ornithology

The University of Bombay has recognized the Society, with Dr.

Salim Ali as guide, for research studies leading to the Ph.D. Degree in

Field Ornithology.

International Union for Conservation of Nature

At the 8th General Assembly of the International Union for

Conservation of Nature recently held at Lucerne Mr. Zafar Futehally,

who attended as the Society’s representative and non-official delegate

from India, was elected a member of the Executive Board of the IUCN

for a period of six years from July 1967,

230 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

Bhutan Bird Survey

As reported in the last issue of the Journal Dr. Salim Ali assisted

by Mr. J. D. Panday and Mr. M. J. Pereira spent the months of

February and March in Bhutan, collecting and studying the avifauna

of mainly eastern Bhutan. Among others, noteworthy additions to

the Society’s Collections are Ward’s Trogon (Harpactes wardii) and

the Slenderbilled Babbler (Turdoides longirostris).

Nicobar Bird Survey

Mr. Humayun Abdulali assisted by Mr. B. R. G. Grubh and Mr.

P. B. Shekar of the Society’s staff spent the period 25th February to

12th April in various islands of the Nicobar group collecting and

studying the bird and other fauna of the islands. A report on these

collections will be published in a future issue of the Journal.

UNESCO-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR) Training Programme

in Oceanography

Twenty-five candidates from various institutions and universities in

India and SE. Asia were given a four-weeks course in General

Oceanography at Hornbill House in February 1966 and, later, two

weeks of specialized training at other centres in India.

Indian Association of Biological Sciences (IABS)

We are glad to announce the foundation in January 1965 of the

Indian Association of Biological Sciences. The IABS has the follow-

ing aims: to unite the various biological societies in India and to

promote the advancement of biological knowledge; to participate in

the activities of governmental and non-governmental agencies in which

biologists need representation ; to hold meetings of biologists annually

or biennially on a nation-wide basis; and to organize symposia on

important biological topics. The Association hopes to start a bimonthly

bulletin somewhat on the lines of Bioscience to popularize the

study of biology. The members will be of two categories:

(a) Adhering Societies: Open to biological societies in India.

Annual fee, 2% of their total annual membership fee and subscriptions ;

(b) Individual Members: Annual fee, Rs. 10

Persons interested may write to the Secretary, IABS, Department —

of Botany, University of Delhi, Delhi-7. -

Services of UNESCO Archives, Paris

UNESCO intimates for general information the setting up, at its —

headquarters in Paris, of the UNESCO Archives, intended for

affording service to research workers, students, and other persons who

may be interested. The Archives have a collection of about 217,000

pieces of documentation, with inventories, indexes, and lists of various

NOTES AND NEWS 231

kinds of materials to facilitate consultation. The Staff regularly compiles

a quarterly list of UNESCO documents and publications in English

and French, and indexes the records of the UNESCO General Con-

ference and of the UNESCO Executive Board meetings. Enquiries for

information may be addressed to: Services of UNESCO Archives,

UNESCO, Place de Fentency, Paris 7e.

Lepidopterological Society of Japan Expedition to the Nepal Himalayas

~ and the Malayan Peninsula |

While forwarding to us its first Special Bulletin (see book review,

at page 188 above) the Lepidopterological Society of Japan, c/o

Ogata Hospital, 3-18 Imabashi, Higashi-ku, Osaka, Japan, intimates

that it intends to publish in succession the results of its expedition

to the Nepal Himalayas and the Malayan Peninsula.

Wild Life Bulletin

We welcome the publication as from June 1965 of Wild Life

Bulletin, issued by the Indian Board for Wild Life ‘with a view to

publicize the activities of the Board, its standing Committee and its

Bird and Zoo Wings as well as to disseminate useful and up-to-date

knowledge on wild life’. For the present the Bulletin is to be published

half yearly. The Editorial Board has issued an appeal to those who

have interesting information on wild life to write either to the Regional

Secretaries of the Board or to the Honorary Editor, Wild Life Bulletin,

Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Department of Agriculture), Krishi

Bhavan, New Delhi-1.

Increase in Society Membership Fees

Commencing from 1 January 1967 there will be an increase in

Society membership fees as follows :

Ordinary Members. Annual Subscription: Inland Rs. 36 instead

of Rs. 30. Foreign £ 3 or its equivalent in US $ 8°50.

Life Members, Contribution: For members of not less than 20

years’ standing, Rs. 180 (£ 14) instead of Rs. 150 (£ 11-6-0) ;

for others, Rs. 600 (£ 45-10-0) instead of Rs. 500 (£ 38).

Corporate Bodies. Compounded .subscription for 25 years:

Rs. 600 (£ 45-10-0) instead of Rs. 500 (£ 38).

Entrance Fee. Rs. 5 (£0-7-10) as at present.

The attention of intending life members and of corporate bodies

Wishing to compound their subscriptions is drawn to the coming

increase.

Gleanings

Eighty Years Ago

In May 1888 the Society in its monthly meeting unanimously decided

that, as the condition of the animals in the Victoria Gardens was not

satisfactory as the Municipality could not reasonably be expected to ~

form a zoological collection at the ratepayers’ expense and was prevent-

ed by the Government’s ruling from charging an entrance fee, the Society

would establish and run a zoo. In pursuance of this resolution two

letters were issued. One asked the Collector of Bombay for a grant

from Government of ‘ the Chowpatty cliff, extending from the footpath

leading up the hill, on the right (formed by the main water pipe) to the

Siri Road on the left, including the vacant land at the foot of the hill’—

in view of the condition of the land, which was then vacant, the letter

described it as of little value for building purposes! The other letter,

addressed to the Municipality, offered to take over the animals then in —

the Municipal Zoo together with the cages, building materials, etc. and,

in exchange for an annual grant equal to what the Municipality was

then spending on the Zoo, to bind the Society not to charge on ‘< all

- recognized native public holidays ’ an entrance fee exceeding 1 anna per

adult and $ anna per child. The project was energetically pursued and

by the 6th of September about Rs. 54,000 had been raised, but the

scheme fell through as Government refused the Society the use of the

proposed site. The efforts of the Society were not wasted however, as

they stirred up the Municipality to take up the improvement and enlarge-

ment of its collection in consultation with a Sub-committee appointed

by the Society.

1888-9, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. Vols. 3 and 4

Discarded Bottles collect distribution records of small mammals

In 1961 a milk bottle lying in a hedge was found to contain the

remains of eight small mammals. In a deliberate search made in 1963-64

a considerable proportion of discarded bottles were found to contain

the bones of small mammals. Now this method of trapping is being

extensively used to collect distribution records of such mammals, for

example in the London area and Dungeness in Kent.

1965, P. A. Morris and J. F. Harper, in Proc. zool. Soc. London, Vol.

145 : 148-153

Bullfrogs as members of an orchestra

‘In 1951 the Blue Ridge Mountain Festival was held at Washington,

Virginia. When the site of the concert was surveyed by the musical

GLEANINGS 233

director, he feared, at first, that Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) in a nearby

river would be a distraction and would therefore have to be cleared out.

However, he was pleased to find that their musical quality was just

right. for the festival. He said, ‘“‘I noticed that every time their leader,

or leaders, croaked, he or they hit C-sharp right on the nose. The

result was so pleasing, we’re going to make it part of the programme.”’ ’

1958, James A. Oliver: THE NATURAL HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES, p. 29

Goldsmith, on the Joys of the Naturalist

‘Some practice, therefore, much instruction, and diligent reading,

are requisite to make a ready and expert naturalist, who shall be able

even by the help of a system, to find out the name of every object he

meets with. But when this tedious, though requisite part of study is

attained, nothing but delight and variety attend the rest of his journey.

Wherever he travels, like a man in a country where he has many friends,

he meets with nothing but acquaintances and allurements in all the stages

of his way. The mere uninformed spectator passes on in gloomy solitude;

but the naturalist in every plant, in every insect, and every pebble, finds

something to entertain his curiosity and excite his speculation.’

1840, Oliver Goldsmith, in the preface to his HISTORY OF THE EARTH

AND ANIMATED NATURE

At an Australian Waterhole in a Drought

In an article illustrated with several colour photographs, Vincent

Serventy describes a visit paid by him to Queen Victoria Spring in

Western Australia, a famous waterhole on the edge of the Nullarbor

Plain. There had been no rain for four months and no accessible water

was visible. A little spade work repaired this defect. Early next

morning small flocks of budgerigars were circling round. As the sun

arose they were there in their thousands, undeterred by a falcon plung-

ing down upon them. Frantically they gulped, even as an unfortunate

companion was being devoured by a brown hawk. Flock by flock they

took off after their drink, leaving tired members of the flock to the

mercy of the crows that crowded round the pool. ‘ Dozens died, but

thousands were saved.’

1963, Vincent Serventy, in Animals Vol. 2, pp. 470-1

Leopard and Buffaloes

A story comes from Ceylon of a leopard that caught a buffalo calf,

about a day or two old, out of a stampeding herd of buffalo. The

mother immediately charged and brought calf and leopard to the ground.

The latter recovered, however, and carried the calf another 50 feet or

so. In the meantime a bull from the herd joined in the fray and between

234 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (1)

them the buffaloes succeeded in rescuing the calf, apparently not

seriously hurt as it toddled away and was seen alive the next day.

1964, Loris Vol. 10 (1): 27

[Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley (1936) at page 182 of STALKING IN’ THE

HIMALAYAS AND NORTHERN INDIA mentions that according to the

Kashmiris a leopard will lie on a fawn without killing it till its bleatings

draw the mother within attacking distance, and adds: ‘ Two reliable

observers have told me of coming on a scene which would bear out this

Kashmiri story, and in each case the interruption sent off the leopard

and the calf (sic) was quite unhurt, although the leopard had been lying

on it.’°—EDs. |

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY V. M. PHILIP AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS

10 CHURCH ROAD, VEPERY, MADRAS—12-10-1966. (C4918

EDITORS: H. SANTAPAU, D. E. REUBEN, ZAFAR FUTEHALLY, & J. C. DANIEL

= ee

a a

te ‘aentification of Biibaond Snakes. Wall chart in English, Gujarati, and Marathi.

THE SOCIETY’S PUBLICATIONS

Mammals

The Book of Indian Animals, by S. H. Prater. 2nd (revised) edition. 28 platesin

colour by Paul Barruel and many. other, dinette: Rs. 30

; ; (Price to members Rs. 25)

Birds

The Book of Indian Birds, by Salim Ali. 7th (revised) edition. 64 coloured and

eee monochrome plates. Rs 25

: - (Price to members: Rs. 20) -

A Sonopale of the Birds of India sud Pakistan, Be S. Dillon Ripley TI. An up-to-date

checklist of all the birds sue and fubrant, including those of Nepal, eo

Bhutan, and Ceylon. ef . s. 25

_ (Price to ihembers bo 2).

Snakes

vee ae Rs. 10

ae (Price to members Rs. 8) ;

Miscellaneous BLS Ni Sat de ek :

Butterflies of the Indian Region, by M. A. Wynter-Blyth. With 27 coloured and 45

monochrome plates. . 28

(Price to members Re 22: ae

‘Indian Molluscs, by James Hornell. With a coloured and many monochrome plates,

and Peel amaress. : Rs. 6

) (Price to members Rs. 4, .50)

Picture postcards of 12 representative Indian Birds in colour) per set Rs. 2.50

; Glimpses of Nature Series Booklets :

1. Our Birps I (with 8 coloured plates) in Hindi, and Marathi. Rs. 0.80

Kannada Rs. 0.62

2. Our Birps It (with 8 Scolotred platesye in Hindi. - Rs. 0.62

3. Our BEAUTIFUL TREES (with 8 coloured plates) in Gujarati, Hindi, and

Marathi. Rs. 0.62

4. Our MONSOON ‘PLANTS (with 8 coloured plates) in English, Gujarati, Hindi,

and Marathi. Rs. 0.

5. Our ANIMALS (with 8 coloured plates) in English, Gujarati, Hindi, eae

: ‘Back numbers of the Society’s Journal. Rates 6 on 1 application.

Correspond with: as +

The Honorary Secretary,

Bombay.Natural History Society, .

Hornbill House, opp. Lion Gate, Apollo Street, Fort, Bombay 1-BR.

Agents i in England:

Messrs. Wheldon & Wesley Ltd.,

Eyann ae Codicote, Near Hitchin,

Herts., England. 1

The Society. will eratefully accept back numbers of the Journal, paviculitly

pumbers prior to Vol. 45, from members who may not wish to preserve ‘them.

TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP

Life Members pay an entrance fee of Rs. 5 and a life membership fee of Rs. 500.

_ Ordinary Members pay an entrance fee of Rs. 5 and an annual subscription of Rs. 30.

The subscription of members elected in October, November, and December covers

| the period from the date of their election to the end of the following year.

es “MEMBERS RESIDING OUTSIDE INDIA &=.

The terms are the same for members living outside India. Such members should

pay their subscriptions by means of orders on their Bankers to pay the amount of the

Ae : subscription, plus postal registration (Rs. 2.50) if required—in all Rs. 32.50—to

the Society in Bombay on the Ist January in each year. If this cannot be done,

then the sum of £2-10-0 should be paid annually to the Society’s London Bankers—

The National & Grindlays Bank Ltd., 26 Bishopsgate Street, London, E.C. 2.

CONTENTS

Amphiesma platyceps (BLYTH) AND Amphiesma sieboldii (GUENTHER) : SIBLING

SPECIES (REPTILIA: SERPENTES). By Edmond V. Malnate .

ee ee oa

RHODODENDRONS IN NEPAL. By M. L. Banerji

THE INDIAN WILD BUuFFALO, Bubalus bubalis (LINN.) IN PENINSULAR INDIA :

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY. By J. C. Daniel and B. R. Grubh sa

Oberonia sulcata Jos. EY CHowp.: A New ORCHID FROM KAMENG FRONTIER

District, NEFA, Assam. By J. Joseph and S. Chowdhury 1%

Halictus latisignatus CAMERON: A POLYMORPHIC INDIAN HALICTINE BEE WITH

CASTE DIFFERENTIATION (HYMENOPTERA, HALICTIDAE). By Sh. F. Sakagami

and F. L. Wain, 8.S.J.E. ie es a Be a

A LIST OF PLANKTONIC GREEN ALGAE“FROM AMRITSAR, PANJAB. By Man-

mohan Singh .. we ey ie ae .. 174

CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIOLOGY OF THE INDIAN STARRED TorTOISE Testudo 7

elegans SCHOEPFF—I. By S. D. Jayakar and H.Spurway .. -. Sara

LirE FORMS AND BIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF LOLAB VALLEY, KASHMIR, IN

RELATION TO CLIMATE. By M. K. Wali ‘i ae, -. Ib

HAZARIBAGH NATIONAL PARK (BIHAR) RE-VISITED. By Jamal Ara Yi 123

A. Karande and V. C. Palekar ki ae

THe SESSILE BARNACLES (CIRRIPEDIA) OF THE PomMBay Coast. By Ashok e

LirroraL AND Parasiric Isopops FROM KERALA: FAMILY ANTHURIDAE—I. _ o

_ By N. Krishna Pillai a oe ee .s . .. D2

A NOTE ON THE CONFERENCE ON CONSERVATION OF NATURE "AND NATURAL

RESOURCES IN TROPICAL SouTH-EAST AsiA HELD AT BANGKOK, THAILAND. a

NOVEMBER 29 TO DECEMBER 4, 1965. By E. P. Gee ae .. 162 4)

THREB NEW GENERA OF Grallatotermes COMPLEX (ISOPTERA : ‘Tenvaripake: : é

NASUTITERMITINAE). By P. K. Sen-Sarma. mn aoa -. 167° @

REVa&WS ne a a ee yA 185 4

OTHER Books RECEIVED a ae x " 195 4

MiscELLANzous Norss Aang , ss Mee sie -- 197 4

Noras AND News . i we en 229

GLAANINGS ee ee ; ee Ow.

ee ee 232 Bf,

i. a

Journal of thee

Bombay Natural History Society

Vol. 63, No. 2

Editors

H. SANTAPAYU, S.J.,

ZAFAR FUTEHALLY, & J. C. DANIEL

AUGUST 1966

Rs. 15

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Contributors of scientific articles are requested to assist the

editors by observing the following instructions :

_ 1. Papers which have at the same time been offered for publics:

tion to other journals or periodicals, or have already been published

elsewhere, should not be submitted.

2. The MS. should be typed (double spacing) on one side of a

sheet only, and the sheets properly numbered.

3. All scientific names to be printed in italics should be wade

lined. Both in zoological and in botanical references only the initial

letter of the genus is capitalized. The specific and subspecific names

always begin with a small letter even if they refer to a person or a

place, e.g. Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni or Streptopelia chinensis suratensis

or Dimeria blatteri.

4. Trinomials referring to subspecies should only be used where

identification has been authentically established by comparison of

specimens actually collected. In all other cases, or where identification

is based merely on sight, binomials should be used.

5. Photographs for reproduction must be clear and show good

contrast. Prints must be of a size not smaller than 8°205°60 cm.

(No. 2 Brownie) and on glossy glazed paper.

6. Text-figures, line drawings, and maps should be in Indian ink,

preferably on Bristol board.

7. References to literature should be placed at the end of the

paper, alphabetically arranged under author’s name, with the abridged

soa Ai iO i a ot Ag Mn

pea Sask oe eee

titles of journals or periodicals underlined (italics) and titles of books —

not underlined ea type), thus:

Banerji, M. L. (1958): Botanical Exploration in East Nepal.

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 55 (2): 243-268.

Prater, S. H. (1948): The book of Indian Animals. Bombay.

Titles of papers should not be underlined.

8. Reference to literature in the text should be made by quoting :

the author’s name and year of publication, thus: (Banerji 1958).

9. Synopsis: Each scientific paper should be accompanied by 4

a concise, clearly written synopsis, normally not exceeding 200 words.

10. Reprints: Authors are supplied 25 reprints of their articles :

free of charge. In the case of joint authorship, 50 copies will be

given gratis to be distributed among the two or more authors. Orders —

for additional reprints should be in multiples of 25 and should be

received within two weeks after the author is informed of the acceptance

of the manuscript. They will be charged for at cost plus postage and —

packing.

EDITORS,

Hornbill House, Journal of the Bombay Noturdlll

Opp. Lion Gate, History Society. —

Apollo Street, Fort, :

Bombay 1-BR.

‘. ‘ze L

? aa 5a ee Bhai

pe ee eee ao

x Ge ess.

VOLUME 63, NO. 2—AUGUST 1966

Date of publication ; 27-3-1967

CONTENTS

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI, INDIA. By Julian P. Donahue.

(With two maps, a text-figure and three plates)

AESTIVATION OF PERIANTHS OF Areca catechu LINN. Fruits. By T. A. Davis and

Abantika Kundu. (With three figures)

A REPORT ON TICKS COLLECTED FROM BIRDS AND SMALL MAMMALS IN NORTH

ARCOT AND CHITTOOR Districts, SOUTH INDIA. By M. J. Rebello and

Rachel Reuben

CHILKA LAKE: A PiLoT SURVEY FOR BANDING POSSIBILITIES. By K. S.

Lavkumar ae! ae aes

TRANSPORT OF THE FRY AND FINGERLINGS OF THE MILK FisH Chanos chanos

(FORSKAL). By T. A. Mammen

STUDIES ON THE INSECT POLLINATORS OF olitorius ‘AND capsularis JuTE. By

S.K. Ghose. (With two figures)

NOMENCLATURAL NOTES ON SOME FLOWERING PLANTS. By N. P. Balakrishnan

STUDIES ON INDIAN COPEPODS—8. OBSERVATIONS ON THE DIURNAL VERTICAL

MOVEMENTS OF PLANKTONIC COPEPODS IN THE GULF OF MANNAR. By A. N. P.

Ummerkutty. (With a map and seven text-figures)

AN ACCOUNT OF THE WEEDS OF CENTRAL RESEARCH FARM, JODHPUR, RAJASTHAN.

By Y. Satyanarayan and S. K. Saxena ..

INDIAN WOOD-DESTROYING TERMITES. By M. L. Roonwal, sc.p. (Cantab.)

F.N.I. and O.B. Chhotani, M.sc. (Hons.). (With two plates and an Appendix)

THE BIRDS OF NEPAL, Part 12. By Biswamoy Biswas. (With three plates and

five figures)

RE-USE OF CELLS AND BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN THE INDIAN SPECIES Stenody-

nerus miniatus (SAUSS.) (VESPIDAE : EUMENINAE). By S. D. Jayakar and

H. Spurway. (With a plate)

Lire HIsTORY OF THE INDIAN CUCKOO, Cuculus micropterus micropterus GOULD,

IN THE SoviET UNION. By I. Neufeldt. (With four plates)

MorE NEW RACES OF BIRDS FROM THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS. By

Humayun Abdulali :

REVIEWS :

1. The Behaviour of Arthropods. (R.R.)

2. The Company of Animals. (J.C.D.)

3. The Physical Geography of the Oceans. (T.S.S.R.)

4. Budongo. (J.C.D.)

5. Handbook of Waterfowl Behaviour. (J.C.H.)

235

270

283

290

298

327

382

344

354

365

378

399

420

423

424

425

426

427

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :

1. Calcium Deprivation and Osteomalacia in a Slender Loris, Loris tardi-

gradus (Linnaeus). By Donald E. Carey and Edward E. Carey (With a plate)

(p. 428). 2. Authorship of the name Presbytis geei (Mammalia : Primates). By

Biswamoy Biswas (p. 429). 3. Some observations on the MHairyfooted

Gerbille Gerbillus gleadowi Murray, in the Rajasthan desert. By Ishwar

Prakash and K. G. Purohit (With a_ textfigure and a_ photograph)

(p. 431). 4. An out-size Elephant (With a note on measuring elephants).

By Duncan Hay (p.- 434). 5. The Short-tailed or Red-billed Tropic-

Bird (Phaethon aethereus indicus Hume) at Kihim on the Maharashtra coast. By

Rauf Ali (p. 437). 6. Notes on Indian birds 10—Occurrence of the Chinese Grey

Duck Spotbill (Anas poecilorhyncha zonorhyncha Swinhoe) in India. By

Humayun Abdulali (p. 438). 7. The Pinkheaded Duck [Rhodonessa_ caryo-

phyllacea (Latham)] again. By Laliteshwar Prasad Singh (With a _ plate)

(p. 440). 8. Aggressive behaviour of a Spotted Owlet [Athene brahma (Tem-

minck)]. By K. K. Gupta (p. 441). 9. Occurrence of the Wire-tailed Swallow

(Hirundo smithii Leach) in Northern Ceylon: A first record. By Mrs.

E. M. Wynell-Mayow (p. 442). 10. Behaviour mimicry by the Large Racket-

tailed Drongo [Dicrurus paradiseus (Linnaeus)]. By J. C. Daniel (p. 443).

11. Recovery of ringed birds. By Editors (p. 444). 12. Occurrence of the

toad Bufo fergusonii Boulenger, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India (Anura :

Bufonidae). By Julian P. Donahue and J. C. Daniel (p. 447). 13. An insect’s

persistent vitality. By Thomas Gay (p. 447). 14. Record of Paraclepsis

praedatrix Harding, 1924 (Annelida : Hirudinea), from a new host, Natrix pis-

cator (Schneider), the Checkered Keelback (Reptilia : Serpentes). By Mahesh

Chandra and S. S. Saha (p. 448). 15. Intertidal Entoprocta and Ectoprocta

(Bryozoa) of Bombay. By B. F. Chhapgar and S. R. Sane (With one plate)

(p. 449). 16. Correct name for Ventilago calyculata Tulasne. By G. M. Oza

(p. 455). 17. A new Synonymy in Umbelliferae. By D. B. Deb (p. 455). 18.

Floral variations in three species of Cestrum Linn., viz. C. diurnum Linn., C.—

elegans Schlecht., and C. nocturnum Linn. By.G.L.Shah and B. Suryanarayana

(p. 456). 19. Utricularia minutissima Vahl: A new record for North India.

By V. C. Abraham (p. 459). 20. Two interesting orchids from N. W.

Himalayas. By N. C. Nair (p. 461). 21. Eleocharis fistulosa Schult : A new

record for the Upper Gangetic Plain. By V. Singh & Y. S. Murty (p. 462).

22. Distribution of Spinifex littoreus (Burm. F.) Merr. along Indian coasts. By

T. Ananda Rao and P. G. Shanware (p. 463). 23. A new species of Hydro-

gonium from the Western Himalayas. By J. N. Vohra (With a plate) (p. 464).

24. Occurrence of Streptonema trilobatum Wall. at Raipur, Madhya Pradesh.

By K. Sankaran Unni (p. 465).

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR

1965-66

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL History SOCIETY

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

GLEANINGS

466

473

. 484

486

a. a ae

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL

HISTORY SOCIETY

1966 AUGUST Vol. 63 No. 2

An annotated list of the Butterflies

of Delhi, India’

JULIAN P. DONAHUE?

(With two maps, a text-figure and three plates)

ABSTRACT

A collection of over 5600 butterflies from Delhi, India, obtained from

1961 to 1965, contained 72 species. An additional five species have

been reported in the literature or_are represented by specimens in the

Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

For each species the following information is given: habitat pre-

ference, flying time (Seasonal), total number of specimens, number of

specimens of each sex, the sex ratio, maximum and minimum sizes

observed in the material examined (given as the length of one

forewing), variation, and the distribution of the speciesin India.

Two diverse habitats were heavily collected : the xerophytic Reserved

Forest on the Ridge, a low prolongation of the Aravalli Hills ; and the

mesophytic Sundar Nagar Nursery. The Nursery, and other parts of

the cities of Delhi and New Delhi, have been so heavily irrigated that

_ they differ radically from arid native habitats, such as the Ridge.

The development of the mesophytic urban habitat perhaps accounts

for the presence of 14 species found in mesic areas east of Delhi, but

not found in the arid land west of Delhi. Conversely, three species of

Colotis plus the hesperiid Pelopidas thrax thrax, which are charac-

teristic of arid land west of Delhi, occur on the Ridge but do not occur

1 The major part of a thesis submitted to Michigan State University in partial

‘fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Publication

approved by the Department of Entomology.

Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing,

Michigan 48823, U.S.A.

[1]

236 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

east of Delhi. Finally, Pieris canidia indica, Colias electo fieldi, and

possibly Argynnis hyperbius, appear to be visitors from the Himalaya.

The greatest numbers and variety of butterflies are found during the

monsoon season, from July through September, and afterwards through

early November. The wet season form, in those species which have

seasonal forms, usually occurs during the monsoon. But in at least

six species (Anapheis aurota, Cepora nerissa, Eurema hecabe, Colotis

etrida, Ypthima inica, Precis almana, and possibly Precis orithya) the

colour pattern characteristic of the wet season appears as early as

mid-April or May, two of the warmest, driest months of the year.

This indicates that environmental factors other than humidity may be

influencing the seasonal forms of these species.

The two female colour forms of Colotis fausta faustina are seasonal :

the white form occurs during the monsoon ; the salmon-coloured form

- occurs at other times of the year.

Gongylus gongylodes (Orthoptera : Mantidae) is reported as a_pre-

dator of Colotis fausta, and Telenomus (Aholcus) talaus (Hymenoptera :

Scelionidae) is recorded as an egg-parasite of Papilio demoleus demoleus

or P. polytes romulus.

The ‘cyrus’ female form of Papilio polytes, usually considered

rare, is relatively common in Delhi.

The subspecies minuta Evans, originally ascribed to Euchrysops

pandava, is merely the dry season form of E. parrhasius parrhasius,

and is therefore a new synonym.

A list of 32 species which may occur im Delhi is included.

It is indeed surprising that no one has published a list of the butter-

flies of India’s capital city, but the hot, arid climate of the north Indian

plains has never been famous for inspiring the pursuit of Lepidoptera.

Consequently, the only list of Delhi butterflies is a partial list of 21

species that Longstaff (1912) collected there in November 1903. Other-

wise, no complete list is available for any locality nearer to Delhi than

250 miles.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA /

Delhi is a Chief Commissioner’s State of 574 square miles, wedged

between the States of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, on the Indo-Gangetic

Plain at lat. 28° 40’N., long. 77° 10’E. (Maps 1 & 2).

Although it was not possible to survey the entire State, large

collections were made in two diverse habitats: the Sundar Nagar

Nursery (Map 2, Plate I, figs. 1 & 2), a lush area between the Zoologi-

cal Park and Humayun’s Tomb, on the south-east side of the State;

and the ‘Ridge’ (Map 2, and Plate II, figs. 3 & 4, Plate III, figs. 5&

6), a low (200-300 feet) prolongation of the Aravalli Hill Range that

gradually disappears as it extends north-east to the Jumna River, which

flows from north to south on the east side of Delhi. Unless otherwise

stated, specimens collected on the Ridge were obtained in a Reserved

[2]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 237

Forest west of the Ashoka Hotel, on either side of Link Road between

2 Les ae and Fer Road aoe ae

75°

30° HARANPUR

- JAIPUR @

25°

20°

Map 1 Outline map of nlovth-western India and West Pakistan,

_ showing major collecting sites referred to in text. Approximate extent

«of Indo-Gangetic Plain is shaded.

The Nursery approaches a mesophytic habitat because of extensive

irrigation throughout the year. Although flowers and shrubs are culti-

vated in much of the area, native grasses, shrubs, and trees occur in

many parts of the Nursery (Plate I, figs. 1 and 2). Some Delhi butter-

flies, such as Leptosia nina, Euploea core, and, to a great extent,

Ypthima inica, have been found only in restricted parts of this area.

[3]

238 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Mukherjee (1953) has classified the essentially native and little-

disturbed vegetation of the Ridge (Plate II, figs. 3 & 4, and Plate III,

RESERVED

FOREST

A. NAJAFGARH

Map 2. Outline map of Delhi, India

figs. 5 & 6) into two categories: (1) the permanent vegetation, which —

occurs throughout the year; and (2) the ephemeral vegetation, which

consists of annuals growing chiefly during the rainy season. He states: — 4

‘The permanent vegetation is xerophytic in ecological peculiarities due

to the rigorous climatic and edaphic conditions and gives an appearance

somewhat like a thorn scrub or bush jungle. But the number of plants

is somewhat fewer than in other scrub jungles of India.’ According to

Mukherjee (1953), the most characteristic trees on the Ridge include |

Azadirachta indica, Salvadora persica, S. oleoides, Prosopis spicigera, |

Acacia modesta, A. senegal, A. leucophloea, Cassia fistula, Ehretia laevis, — |

Tecomella undulata, Balanites roxburghii, and Butea monosperma. The a

py]

a |

8 a

gh t

=. |

ieee

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 2n9

more numerous thorny shrubs on the Ridge include Zizyphus nummularia,

Grewia betulaefolia, Capparis aphylla, C. sepiaria, Celastrus senegalensis,

Calotropis procera, and Carissa spinarum. Mukherjee (1953) lists 178

species of plants, representing 44 families, that occur on the Ridge.

Reference should be made to Maheshwari (1963) for a complete

analysis of the flora of Delhi.

In addition to the two major collecting sites above, small collections

have been made in xerophytic situations at Tughlakabad Fort, eight

miles SSE. of New Delhi, and at Okhla, the origin of the Agra Canal

on the Jumna River, five miles south-east of New Delhi. A few speci-

mens have also been collected near the Najafgarh Jheel, a large,

shallow-water lake surrounded by open cultivated land 18 miles WSW.

of New Delhi. With the few exceptions noted later, these localities

have produced nothing unusual. |

CLIMATE AND SEASONAL ABUNDANCE

The climate of Delhi can be characterized as semi-arid, but there are

_ marked seasonal changes. It is cool and dry from October to February,

hot and dry from March to early June, and hot and humid during the

monsoon from mid-June through September. The precipitation and

temperature data are given for each month in Table 1, along with the

number of species that have been collected in each month.

TABLE |

MONTHLY RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURES IN DELHI, INDIA (SOURCE : SOHONI 1953),

WITH THE NUMBER OF SPECIES OF BUTTERFLIES RECORDED FOR EACH MONTH

48 t aE

a Rainfall emperature (°F.) No. Spy.

(inches) mean mean Collected

daily max. daily min.

January 0°99 70°5 43°3 26

® February 0°83 74:7 49:2 32

. March 0°51 85:0 Dy 38

April 0°33 96'6 67°7 31

May 0°52 104°8 78'8 26

' June 3°03 102°4 82°5 13*

July 7:03 95°3 80:1 41

August p23 93:0 78°4 53

September 4°84 93°5 755 47

October 0°40 92°5 64:3 eo1

November 0°10 83:2 51°8 55

December 0°43 73°F 45:0 38

* June and October were relatively poorly collected. A fairly low number of

Species is expected in June, but over 50 species should be expected in October.

Of the mean annual rainfall of 26°24 inches, 84% occurs during the

- monsoon from June through September. The dry conditions prevailing

[5]

240 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

from October to May dictate the arid nature of the native vegetation.

During the monsoon, however, the vegetation flourishes. Most plants

produce lush new growth at a rapid pace, and almost overnight the land

is green where leafless trees and hard bare ground had been but a few

weeks earlier (see Plate II, figs. 3 & 4, and Plate III, figs. 5 & 6 for

examples of the changes). The pronounced change in the vegetation

during the monsoon has been studied in Gujarat by Saxton (1924).

The activity and abundance of the butterflies are strongly correlated

with the climatic events in Delhi. Most species occur only during the

monsoon, or are most common at that time (Table 1, and text-fig.).

Butterfly numbers then decrease from mid-November to February, when

specimens are scarce. Some species become extremely abundant during

the hot season (Anapheis aurota and Colotis fausta, for example), but

the variety of species on the wing gradually declines to a low point in

June. About two weeks after the monsoon breaks (the onset is variable,

but is usually in late June) the air is once again filled with butterflies.

The graph of monthly precipitation and the number of species

occurring in a given month (text-fig.) demonstrates the time lag

between a change in the pattern of rainfall and a change in the number

(S8Y9U!) TTV4NIVY ATHLNOW Nvaw

NUMBER OF SPECIES FLYING

Jon Feb. Mar. Apr May Jun. Jul. Aug Sep. Oct, Nov. Dec,

_ Text-figure. Number of species of butterflies recorded aelt

month in Delhi, correlated with mean monthly rainfall.

of species flying. No attempt has been made to estimate relative

numbers of butterflies during the different months, although the number

of species collected was usually directly related to the number of indi-

viduals flying. — inate ee ia |

J. BomsBay Nat. Hist. Soc. 63(2) PLATE I

Donahue: Butterflies of Delhi

1. Uncultivated lowland area on north side of Nursery (Zoo in background).

Ypthima inica most abundant in tall grass in centre of photograph. | July 1962.

2. Native grasses and thorn shrubs and trees in Nursery, looking south from the

area in 1, towards Humayun’s Tomb (right centre background). | July 1962.

(Photos: Julian P. Donahue )

J. Bompay nat. Hist. Soc. 63(2) PLATE II

Donahue: Butterflies of Delhi

5. Dry season aspect of vegetation in Reserved Forest on

the Ridge. 9 May 1962. 4. Wet season aspect of same area

as 3, on 14 Aug. 1962. Note change in the ground cover, in

foliage of trees, and in vine in foreground.

(Photos: Julian P. Donahue )

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 241

SEASONAL VARIATION

Many species of Delhi butterflies have two well-marked seasonal

forms, associated with the wet and dry seasons. Wet season specimens

are usually larger and more conspicuously patterned than dry season

specimens, while the seasonal forms of some species even have different

wing shapes. Eurema hecabe is an exception, in that the dry season

form is heavily marked on the underside, while the wet season form is

almost immaculate on the underside.

Previous authors have implied that the wet season form occurs only

during the monsoon, but this certainly is not true in Delhi. In at least

six Species (Anapheis aurota, Cepora nerissa, Eurema hecabe, Colotis

etrida, Ypthima inica, Precis almana, and possibly Precis orithya), the

colour pattern characteristic of the wet season appears in all specimens

as early as mid-April or May—two of the hottest, driest months of the

year—and lasts until sometime after the monsoon, depending on the

species. ‘These pre-wet-season forms may be smaller than wet season

specimens, but in their facies (and wing shape, in P. almana) they are

identical to wet season individuals.

The factors responsible for the appearance of the seasonal forms have

been the subject of some experimentation and much speculation. Mar-

shall (1901) and Dixey (1902) concluded, after aseries of experiments,

‘that the seasonal forms were influenced by both temperature and

humidity. Apparently no modern, more sophisticated, research has

been conducted into the problem, but Sevastopulo (1944) believes that

three factors operate, either separately or in conjunction, to influence

the form of a butterfly: (1) condition of the food ; (2) effect of

atmospheric humidity on the larva; and (3) effect of atmospheric

humidity on the pupa. He further believes that the nature of the

food or relative humidity alone are not the complete explanation of

the phenomenon.

The appearance of the ‘ wet-season’ form of some Delhi species in

the dry season, mentioned earlier, indicates that some factor other than

humidity may affect those species, although the majority of the Delhi

wet-season specimens appear to be restricted to the monsoon season.

It is quite possible that the factors affecting the form of a butterfly are

different for different species.

METHODS OF COLL UNG

The butterfly police in Delhi has poor success s with special collect-

ing methods—such as baits, models, or locating butterflies swarming on

stream-banks—which are often successful in a moist forest habitat.

Collecting butterflies at flowers, stalking them (especially Precis), or

[7]

242 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

chasing the fast-flying species are the only methods which have pro-

duced results in Delhi. Some species, such as Leptosia nina and —

Mycalesis perseus, must be beaten from the grass, while low-flying

species (Eurema, Zizeeria, etc.) can be obtained by gentle sweeping.

During warm weather it is advisable to do the bulk of the collecting

before 10 a.m., while the butterflies are attracted to flowers and before

they begin flying more rapidly. A warm day on the Ridge can be

most exhausting, since the butterflies seldom pause in their headlong —

flight through the scrub, and many were the times when both collector

and net became snagged and torn on the thorns.

No. mass movements (‘ migrations’) of butterflies have been

observed in Delhi, although this phenomenon has been reported

elsewhere in India for species which occur in Delhi. But some species,

such as Colias electo and Pieris canidia probably emigrate to Delhi from

the Himalaya, although so few specimens reach Delhi that it monies be

difficult to wo the movement. |

METHOD OF STUDY

The list Which follows is the result of the examination of 5611

mounted specimens, representing 72 species, collected by the author

from May 1961 to August 1962, and by Roy L.’Donahue and Reed —

C. Finfrock from 1962 to 1965. A few additional specimens were

purchased from Miss Nirmala of Delhi, who provided specimens —

collected by ‘Venu’, Leela R. Menon, and herself. All these speci- —

mens form a part of the collection of Indian butterflies deposited in the

Entomology Museum at Michigan State University (MSU). Five addi- —

tional species that were not examined have either been reported from

Delhi in the literature or are represented by single specimens in the

collection of the Indian peal Research Institute (LA.R.I.), New —

Delhi. 7

The total number of specimens examined is given for each species, —

followed by the number of specimens of each sex and the sex ratio

(given as the percentage of males). With only a few exceptions (suchas

Hypolimnas misippus, Ixias pyrene, Papilio polytes, and Colotis fausta), e |

males could not be distinguished from females in the field, so the sex

ratio as given should reflect the relative abundance of the two sexes

under field conditions at the time of collecting, although it is well |

known that behaviour and other ecological factors generally make the |

females of some species very difficult to find. The relationship between |

the sex ratio observed in. the field and the actual sex ratio of a |

species can only be derived from rearing experiments and studies of |

predation, parasitism, and behaviour. The sex was determined by

[8]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 243

examining the abdomen of all specimens, even of those species which

are sexually dichromic.

To simplify the presentation of data on seasonal occurrence, each

month has been divided into quarters, designated by Roman numerals

as follows: IT=1-7; IT=8-14; W=15-21; and IV =

22-end of the month. Because of the probability that a given species

was not collected during every week it was flying, and~because most

Delhi butterflies appear to be continuously brooded in all except the

winter months, the flying time is assumed to be continuous if the

interval between collection records is four quarters or less.

For example, if a given species was collected in the first and fourth weeks

of October, and again in the third week of November, the flying time

will be presented as October I to November IIJ. June, October, and, to

some extent, September have been poorly collected, and it is to be

expected that additional records from these months may alter the

known flying time of a species. The precise date of each capture is

given if twelve or fewer specimens of a species have been collected.

__ The size of specimens, given in millimetres, is the length of one

forewing from base to apex. 3

The species included in this paper were identified according to the

following references: Evans (1949)—Hesperiidae; Talbot (1939)—

Papilionidae, Pieridae; Cantlie (1962)—Lycaenidae; Evans (1932)—

Nymphalidae ; and Talbot (1947)—Danaidae, Satyridae. Monographs

of certain groups have been referred to whenever possible. The names

used in this paper follow the above authors, unless subsequent investi-

gations have shown other names to be more appropriate. The

arrangement of species follows the above authors, while the arrangement

of families follows dos Passos (1964). The figures in Wynter-Blyth

(1957), Seitz (1927), and in various volumes of LEPIDOPTERA INDICA

(Moore, 1890-1900 ; Swinhoe, 1905-1913 : volumes V and VI were not

consulted) were occasionally consulted for the clarification of a des-

cription. Terminology of the genitalia follows Klots (1956).

-* Form’. names are avoided whenever possible, especially for seasonal

forms, since these names have no taxonomic validity. Some species,

however, have distinct forms which, for the sake of recognition, are

occasionally referred to by name.

_ Frequent reference is made in this paper to lists of butterflies: pub-

lished for other localities in north-western India and West Pakistan.

The nearest localities and their distances from Delhi are as follows

(see Map 1): Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 250 miles SE. of Delhi (de

Rhé-Philipe 1902, 1905); Kanpur, U.P., 240 miles SE. of Delhi

(partial list, Sevastopulo 1948); Lahore, West Pakistan, 250 miles NW.

of Delhi (de Rhé-Philipe 1917) ; Amritsar, Punjab, 250 miles NW. of

Delhi (partial list, Sevastopulo 1948); Fatehgarh, Punjab, 140 miles

[9]

244. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

NNW. of Delhi (partial list, Peile 1911); Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 300

miles WSW. of Delhi (MacPherson 1927) ; and Lyallpur, West Pakistan,

300 miles NW. of Delhi (partial list, Sevastopulo 1948).

Other, more distant localities (Map 1) whose lists have been

consulted include Sind (the southern portion of the Indus Valley), West

Pakistan, about 400 miles west to about 600 miles WSW. of Delhi

(Swinhoe 1887; Menesse 1950); Kutch (region), Gujarat, about 600

miles SW. of Delhi (Nurse 1899); Kathiawar (region), Gujarat, about

600 miles SW. of Delhi (Mosse 1929); Mount Abu, Rajasthan, 380

miles SW. of Delhi (MacPherson 1927); Kaira District, Gujarat (near

Ahmedabad), 580 miles SSW. of Delhi (Aldrich 1946); and Mhow,

Madhya Pradesh, 420 miles SSW. of Delhi (Swinhoe 1886).

The terms used in this paper for the relative abundance (‘ common ’,

‘rare’, etc.) are the terms used by the above authors to indicate the

status of species in their respective areas.

To clarify the range of certain species, occasional reference is made

to specimens in the Michigan State University collection from the

following localities (Map 1): Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 90 miles

NNE. of Delhi; Aligarh, U. P., 70 miles SE. of Delhi; Agra, U. P.,

110 miles SSE. of Delhi; Ludhiana, Punjab, 170 miles NNW. of Delhi;

Siliserh, Rajasthan (5 miles south of Alwar), 90 miles SSW. of Delhi;

Jaipur, Rajasthan, 140 miles SW. of Delhi; and Sumerpur, Rajasthan

(45 miles SSW. of Pali), 340 miles SW. of Delhi.

The following abbreviations are used in the text :

Wing surfaces

UPF—upperside (dorsal surface) of the forewing.

UPH— do. do. hindwing.

UNF—underside (ventral surface) of the forewing.

UNH— do. do. hindwing.

- Seasonal forms Collectors

WSF—wet-season form JPD—Julian P. Donahue.

DSF—dry-season form RLD—Roy L. Donahue.

RCF—Reed C. Finfrock.

AFFINITIES OF THE DELHI BUTTERFLY FAUNA

The butterfly fauna of Delhi is poor compared to that of the mon-

tane, mesophyiic habitats of the Western Ghats or the Himalaya.

With the exception of Colias electo, Pieris canidia, and possibly Arg ynnis

hyperbius, which are presumably immigrants from the Himalaya, all

Delhi butterflies. are characteristic of the populations of pn

India, rather than of the adjacent Himalaya.

- On the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a deep alluvial tertiary deposit between

the Himalaya and peninsular India, the number of species decreases as

[10%

J. Bompay nat. Hist. Soc. 63(2) Pirate III

Donahue: Butterflies of Delhi

9. Dry season aspect of vegetation in another portion of

Reserved Forest on the Ridge. 9 May 1962. 6. Wet season

aspect of same area as 5, on 14 Aug. 1962. Note the

marked increase in grasses. Large tree on right is Azadi-

rachta indica.

(Photos: Julian P, Donahue )

. . r

A 1 ase

Feces i :

i) a 7 r

a -

es : 7

a a ;

. i

‘

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 245

one goes west. The annual precipitation also decreases as one goes

west to the Great Indian Desert where, in some years, there is no pre-

cipitation at all. Conversely, the hill ranges of India generally receive a

great amount of precipitation and have a rich butterfly fauna,

The 77 species of Delhi butterflies represent seven families (Table 2).

For comparison with other localities on the Indo-Gangetic Plain,

84 species have been recorded south-east of Delhi in Lucknow District,

U.P. (de Rhé-Philipe 1902, 1905); 54 species north-west of Delhi in

Lahore, West Pakistan (de Rhé-Philipe 1917); and 51 species WSW. of

Delhi in Jodhpur, Rajasthan (MacPherson 1927).

TABLE 2

FAMILY REPRESENTATION IN DELHI

FAMILY NUMBER OF SPECIES

Hesperiidae Pape als

Papilionidae Ce alepys

Pieridae i a ADO

Lycaenidae seareR le,

Nymphalidae Psoie 4)

Danaidae Oe etine|

Satyridae igh ee,

Total ay OTT

Extensive irrigation and the introduction of a multitude of exotic trees

and shrubs have apparently altered the environment of the cities of

Delhi and New Delhi to the point where the shaded residential areas

have a lower temperature and a higher humidity. The cities are

verdant oases set in a parched land, and several species of butterflies

are virtually restricted to the irrigated city. Were it not for the creation

of this mesophytic habitat, there is little doubt that fewer species would

occur in Delhi. ;

The diversity of the two major habitats in Delhi perhaps explains

the occurrence in Delhi of 20 species of butterflies which appear to be

on the periphery of their known ranges (Table 3). The majority of

these are more or less restricted to the mesophytic city habitat and have

not been reported west of Delhi, where the climate becomes even more

arid. Some of these species may occur in. the Great Indian Desert,

but collections have apparently not been made there. »

Four of the remaining peripheral species are characteristic of the

arid land west and south-west of Delhi, but have not been recorded east

of Delhi, while two ape appear to be bs ee or. uae from the

- Himalaya.

In the Delhi area, as is true sflerever: man goes, “fie native Vesela:

tion must have been considerably altered when land was cleared, crops

[11]

246. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

were planted, and livestock were turned loose to overgraze the land

(see Donahue 1962c). The vegetation on the Ridge probably Tepressheg

only a portion of once-extensive thorn forests. ;

Beirne (1947a, 1947b) has noted that, at least in the British Isles,

the net result of the activity of man and his animals is the decline or

disappearance of populations of many species of Lepidoptera, while ~

relatively few species become more numerous. Apparently no studies of

the population ecology of Indian butterflies have been undertaken, but :

this list of species could well form the foundation for such an investi- P

gation in Delhi itself. oa —

TABLE 3

DELHI BUTTERFLIES THAT APPEAR TO BE ON THE PERIPHERY. OF THEIR

KNOWN RANGES

Species Periphery

Spialia galba galba .. Western

Suastus gremius 92s ees

Parnara naso bada es do.

Borbo cinnara A do.

Graphium nomius nomius si do.

Leptosia nina nina aa do.

Delias eucharis 33 do.

Ixias marianne marianne = do.

Ixias pyrene sesia ; Le do.

Rapala iarbus ssp. Sek =) do.

Charaxes fabius fabius ooh, do. :

Euthalia nais f Pi do. ;

_ Mycalesis perseus tabitha . AS do.

Ypthima inica , ins $5. O-

Pieris canidia indica .. south-western

Colias electo fieldi i do.

_Pelopidas thrax thrax — Be SS SAStErn

Colotis calais amata .. north-eastern

Colotis vestalis vestalis Hs do.

Colotis fausta faustina aes, ei ao:

- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS :

Were it not for the munificence of The Ford Foundation, which

financed the transportation of the author and his gear to India, this study

would not have been possible. My primary debt of gratitude is therelon 2 |

tendered to this great organization. _ |

To my father Dr. Roy L. Donahue ot to my. good friend Reed |

C. Finfrock Iam deeply indebted for the several thousand specimens of e |

butterflies they collected in Delhi. after my departure. My strict ins- —

tructions to collect every lycaenid and hesperiid they encountered, to the

[12]

a ee ae

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 247

neglect of larger species, bore fruit: not only was I swamped with

tremendous series of common species, but they found several species

which I myself had failed to-collect in Delhi. To Mrs. Evelyn Jackson,

who had the hideous task of mounting all that exiguous Cae I am

grateful fora job well done.

I further wish to thank Mr. T. G. Howarth and Mr. c Ei Tite, of

the British Museum (Natural History), for assistance with taxonomic

problems and for examining some Delhi specimens in their care; and

Dr. M. G. Ramdas Menon of the Indian Agricultural Institute, New

Delhi, for allowing me to examine some of his Delhi butterflies in that

institution’s collection.

Sir Keith Cantlie was most generous in allowing me to borrow his

copy of the rare first edition of THE IDENTIFICATION OF INDIAN BUTTER-

FLIES by W. H. Evans, without which it would have been more difficult

to properly assign names to the nymphalids.

To Dr. Irving J. Cantrall, of the University of Michigan, and C.F.W.

Muesebeck, of the U.S. National Museum, go my thanks for identifying

a mantid predator and hymenopterous parasites, respectively, of Delhi

butterflies.

This study was partially supported by a National Science Foundation

Cooperative Graduate Fellowship, and a grant-in-aid from The Society

of the Sigma Xi and RESA Research Fund.

ACCOUNT OF SPECIES

HESPERIIDAE

Several of the 11 known species of skippers from Delhi are very

similar in appearance. Although there are many characters to separate

__ the groups, such as tibial spines, genitalia, and antennae, only the salient

_ features of the facies of each species are listed here. Complete keys

and figures of male genitalia will be found in Evans (1949).

Gangara thyrsis, Hasord chromus, and Badamia exclamationis are

large species, all of which are figured by Wynter-Blyth (1957). Spialia

_ galba, a small species with many white spots, is also figured by Wynter-

Blyth. Telicota colon is the only orange skipper so far recorded from

Delhi (figured in Wynter-Blyth as Astychus augias). Gegenes nostro-

_ damus is a very pale brown species, whose male has no spots on the

__ upperside, while Suastus gremius is the only Delhi species with black

spots UNH. Both these latter species | are also figured by Wynter-

Blyth.

The remaining four species have spotted UPF and are very similar in

appearance. Parnara naso has no spot in space Ib UPF and no male

Stigma ; Borbo cinnara has no spot in the cell UNH, has no male stigma

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248 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

UPF, and usually does not have two spots in the cell UPF. The two

species of Pelopidas which can be identified only after genitalic exami-

nation, have male stigmas, two spots in the cell UPF, and one spot in

the cell UNH. The combinations of these characters will separate the

species that have been recorded from Delhi, but additional skippers un-

doubtedly occur and should be looked for.

Because of recent taxonomic changes and the recognition of new

species in this family, published records of the distribution of some

species cannot be considered totally reliable.

Hasora chromus chromus (Cramer)

The Common Banded Awl is, as the name implies, the most common

and widespread Hasora in India, although only five specimens have been

collected in Delhi. I collected two males on Lantana flowers in the

Nursery (26 Aug. and 21 Sept. 1961), while Leela R. Menon collected

two males and a female in Delhi (Oct. 1962). These last records indi-

cate that the species may be locally common in suitable habitats. A

large skipper, probably this species, was observed on Lantana in the

Nursery, 4 Nov. 1961, but was not collected.

SIZE: The specimens range in size from 17 mm. to 22 mm.

DISTRIBUTION : This subspecies occurs throughout India (Evans 1949 ;

Wynter-Blyth 1957), and has been recorded as far west as Karachi

(Menesse 1950), where it is very rare.

Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius)

Only two males have been examined, both of which were collected

by JPD in the Nursery. The first (23 mm.) was taken on 20 July 1962

as it fed on a white-flowered Lantana at midday. A second specimen

(26 mm.) was collected the following day on Lantana, and another was

seen but not secured. A few days later RCF obtained three specimens,

which remain in his personal collection.

DISTRIBUTION: The Brown Awl occurs rather locally throughout

India (Wynter-Blyth 1957), but the British Museum (N.H.) has no

specimens west of ‘ North India’ (Evans 1949). It has been recorded

from Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902), where the eggs and larvae were

found on Bignonia gracilis (de Rhé-Philipe 1905). It has also been

recorded from Mount Abu, but not in Jodhpur, by MacPherson (1927) ;

Kutch (Nurse 1899); and Kathiawar (Mosse 1929). It is very rare in |

Karachi (Swinhoe 1887; Menesse 1950), which is apparently the western- | |

most record for the species.

[14]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 249

Spialia galba galba (Fabricius)

The Indian Skipper, a small but distinctive species, has been collect-

ed only sporadically in Delhi. In the Nursery, a female was taken on

15 July 1961 (JPD), and another was collected on 18 November 1962

(RLD). On the Ridge, a male was obtained on 26 Feb. 1963 (RCF),

while a female was collected on 9 August 1962 (JPD). In addition,

two males and a female were collected in Delhi by Venu, Dec. 1962.

SIZE: Males and females range from 8 mm. to 11 mm.

DISTRIBUTION: This subspecies occurs throughout India, west to

Kutch and Sind, east to Assam (Evans 1949). It has not been report-

ed from Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927), is apparently rare in Lahore (de

Rhé-Philipe 1917), but is fairly common to common in Lucknow

(de Rhé-Philipe 1902), Kutch (Nurse 1899), Kathiawar (Mosse 1929),

and Sind (Swinhoe 1887 ; Menesse 1950). This species may be near

the western limits of its range at the latitude of Delhi.

Suastus gremius gremius (Fabricius)

Only five males of the Indian Palm Bob have been collected in

Delhi. Two came from the Nursery (25 Sept. 1961, JPD; 17 Nov.

1962, RCF), while Leela R. Menon collected three in Delhi in Nov.

1962. These last records would imply that this species may be more

common on the north side of Delhi where the food plants, various

species of palm, are more common.

SIZE: The forewings are from 11 mm. to 12 mm. long.

DISTRIBUTION: This distinctive subspecies occurs in south and

central India, the north-west Himalaya, and Bengal, Sikkim, and Assam

(Evans 1949 ; Wynter-Blyth 1957). It is the most common hespetiid in

Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902), though it is uncommon in Lahore (de

Rhe-Philipe 1917), rare in Kutch (Nurse 1899) and Kathiawar (Mosse

1929), very rare in Karachi (Menesse 1950), and apparently absent

_ from Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927). This species appears to be near the

western limit of its range at the latitude of Delhi.

Gangara thyrsis thyrsis (Fabricius)

The only Delhi record of this species is a single specimen in the

British Museum (N.H.) from the Godman-Salvin collection [B.M.

No. 1913-2] (T.G. Howarth, pers. comm.: specimen cited in Evans

1949, p. 325).

_ This subspecies of the Giant Redeye occurs from south India to

Bombay and Calcutta, and again from Kangra (Punjab Himalaya) to

_ Sikkim, Assam, and farther east. The specimen from Delhi, assuming

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250 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

no labelling error, is apparently the only record from the Indo-Gan-

getic Plain, and should be substantiated with additional material.

This huge skipper is crepuscular, and should be looked for near

various species of palms, the food plant. Beating the bushes during

the day-time may dislodge a resting specimen.

Telicota colon colon (Fabricius)

The Pale Palm Dart, the only orange skipper so far recorded from

Delhi, has been collected from Sept. [V to Nov. IV, a period during

which most of the Delhi hesperiids make their appearance. This

species reportedly feeds on sugarcane, so it may be locally common in

the parts of Delhi where this crop is grown. Miss Nirmala collected

three males in Delhi in Nov. 1962, but all the rest of the specimens

examined were taken in the Nursery : one male on 25 Sept. 1961 (JPD),

one male on 3 Nov. 1962 (RCF), two males on 4 Nov. 1961 (JPD),

a male and a female on 17 Nov. 1962 (RCF), and one male on 25

Nov. 1962 (RCF).

The only hesperiid collected in Delhi by Longstaff (1912), 7-12 Nov.

1903, was probably this species.

SIZE: The specimens range in size from 14 mm. to 16 mm.

DISTRIBUTION: Evans (1949) records specimens in the British

Museum (N.H.) from south and central India, Kathiawar, Kumaon,

and from the U.P. to Sikkim. Two other subspecies occur in Ceylon,

the Andaman Islands, and Assam.

Distributional lists published prior to the appearance of Evans’s

CATALOGUE (1949) are unreliable, since there appears to have been a

considerable amount of confusion and misapplication of names in the :

two similar genera of Potanthus and Telicota. Specimens on which

earlier lists were based should be re-examined in the light of the recent —

taxonomic changes before they can be included in our present know- 4

ledge of the distribution of the species. An examination of the genitalia, :

which are figured in Evans (1949), is virtually essential for the proper 4

identification of most species. |

This species is described and figured as Aste augias (Linnaeus)

in Wynter-Blyth (1957), who omits reference to two other species of

Indian Telicota. 4

Gegenes nostrodamus (Fabricius)

Only nine males of this arid-land skipper have been collected in |

Delhi, all from the Nursery: 26 June 1961, 20 July 1962 (3 specimens), |

21 and 31 July 1962 (JPD); 3 and 9 Sept. 1962 (RLD); and 4 Nov. _

1962 (RCF). Darker specimens occur from late July (when light speci-

[16]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 251

mens also occur) to November. The genitalia of all specimens were

examined, but G. pumilio (Hoffmansegg) was not found, although it has

been recorded as far east as the Punjab and Kulu (Evans 1949). This

latter species was omitted by Wynter-Blyth (1957).

SIZE: The specimens range from -13 mm. to 14 mm.

. DISTRIBUTION The Dingy Swift has been recorded east to Sind;

Kutch ; Deesa, Gujarat ; NW. Frontier Province ; and the Punjab, then

becomes rare through the U.P. to Bengal (Evans 1949). Longstaff (1912)

_ took it in Lahore, although de Rhé-Philipe (1917) failed to find it there;

_ Aldrich (1946) records it from Kaira District; Menesse (1950) and

Swinhoe (1887) have collected it in Sind; and Nurse (1899) took it in

Kutch. There are two additional specimens in the Michigan Staie

University collection from Ludhiana, Punjab (12 Sept. 1961).

Parnara naso bada (Moore)

This is the only white-spotted brown skipper so far recorded from

_ Delhi which does not have a spot in space 1b UPF or UNF. Only six

specimens have been collected in Delhi, all of which came from the

- Nursery, Aug. IV to Nov. IV: one male on 26 Aug. 1961 (JPD) ; one

_ female on 21 Sept. 1961 (JPD); one female on 4 Nov. 1961 (JPD); a

~ male and.a female on 4 Nov. 1962 (RCF), and a male on 22 Nov. 1962

p (RCP).

SIZE: The forewing is from 14 mm. to 15 mm. long.

; DISTRIBUTION : This butterfly occurs in India from Ceylon north to

Kashmir and east to Sikkim and Assam (Evans 1949). Wynter-Blyth

(1957) apparently included this species with P. guttatus mangala (Moore),

which is only known to occur in the Himalaya from Chitral to Sikkim

and Assam (Evans 1949). Parnara naso bada has been recorded from

Mount Abu (MacPherson 1927), but other authors have failed to report

its occurrence in localities nearer Delhi. There is an additional specimen

in the MSU collection from Aligarh, U.P., 17 Nov. 1962 (RLD). Delhi

appears to be the westernmost locality recorded for this species at this

latitude.

Borbo cinnara (Wallace)

. This species is similar to Pelopidas females, but can be separated

‘with the characters listed in the introduction to the family. It has been

~ collected only in the Nursery from July III to Nov. IV. 41 Specimens :

20 males (49%), 21 females.

: sizzE: The forewing length of males and females varies from 14 mm.

to 17 mm.

- VARIATION: In one female (28 Aug. 1961, JPD) the subapical spots

2 [17]

252 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

UPF are almost indiscernible, and the spot in space 1b UPF is absent.

The other spots UPF are smaller than usual.

DISTRIBUTION: Although the British Museum (N.H.) has many

specimens from India, there appear to be none from west of ‘ Central

India’ (Evans 1949). B. cinnara has also been recorded from Mount

Abu (MacPherson 1927) and Kathiawar (Mosse 1929) as Baoris colaca

(Moore), a synonym. Previous authors may have confused this species

with Borbo bevani (Moore) which, though not yet collected in Delhi,

has been reported from Lahore (de Rhe-Philipe 1917) and Karachi

(Swinhoe 1887). All these records should be re-examined in the light

of the revisional work by Evans (1949).

Pelopidas thrax thrax (Hibner)

This species is very similar to P. mathias, but it is less common.

The males can be distinguished by the position of the stigma UPF: in

P. thrax the posterior end of the stigma is under the origin of Cu,,

while in P. mathias the posterior end of the stigma is well proximal to

the origin of Cu,. The male and female genitalia of all Delhi Pelopidas

have been examined.

The females of these two species are very similar, and only an

examination of the genitalia can separate them.

Among the Delhi Pelopidas, two types of female genitalia were

found : (a) the less common type of female has a lateral, linear, well-

defined sclerotized signum on both the right and left sides of the bursa

copulatrix ; (b) the more common type of female has only a diffuse,

indistinct signum on the left side of the bursa copulatrix.

Since no copulating pairs of Pelopidas have come into my

possession, there is still some doubt as to which type of female to asso-

ciate with which species. I have arbitrarily assumed that the more

common female, type (b), is associated with the more common male,

P. mathias. Conversely, the type (a) female has been associated with

P. thrax. !

Pelopidas thrax is usually encountered in the Nursery, where it flies

with P. mathias, but five specimens have been collected on the Ridge.

It is probably more frequent on the Ridge than the records indicate,

but the dearth of attractive flowers makes this fast-flying species

difficult to collect. It has been collected in February IV and March II

(Ridge), from July II to November IV (Nursery), and in December IV

(Ridge). 35 specimens: 23 males (66%), 12 females.

size: Males and females range from 15 mm. to 17 mm.

DISTRIBUTION : The only Indian record of this western subspecies in

the British Museum (N.H.) is a single male from Kutch (Evans 1949), a

although Evans (1949) and Menesse (1950) report that this species is

[18] |

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 253

common in Sind. Evans (1949) also records two males of a second sub-

species, P. t. masta Evans from Sikkim. There appear to be no other

published records of this species from India, but earlier authors may

have confused it with other species. Wynter-Blyth (1957) has omitted

it from his book, on which many collectors rely. The author has also

collected two males 15 miles south of Saharanpur, U.P., 8 May 1961.

Pelopidas mathias mathias (Fabricius)

The most common Delhi skipper, numerous on Lantana during and

after the monsoon. It has been collected in most habitats, March I and

IV, and from July III to December I, although it is most frequently

collected in the Nursery. 100 specimens : 69 males (69%), 31 females.

Although the males can be distinguished from the preceding species

by the position of the stigma and by examining the genitalia, the only

sure way to separate the females is by examining their genitalia.

SIZE: The males and females range in size from 14 mm. to 16 mm.,

averaging only about 1 mm. smaller than P. thrax thrax from Delhi. —

DISTRIBUTION: Evans (1949) records specimens in the British

Museum (N.H.) from virtually throughout India, including Puzsjab,

Sind, and U.P. It has also been recorded from Lucknow (de Rhé-

Philipe 1902), Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927), Lahore (de Rhé-Philipe

1917), and Sind (Menesse 1950). There is a male in the MSU collec-

tion from Aligarh, U.P. (17 Nov. 1962, RLD).

PAPILIONIDAE

Polydorus aristolochiae aristolochiae (Fabricius)

Although the specific name of this species was upheld by Opinion

265 in 1954 (rather than supplanting it with ascanius or diphilus, see

Talbot 1947, p. 491), the generic name is still being debated. Munroe

(1961) has placed this species in the genus Pachlioptera Reakirt, but

Kent H. Wilson (pers. comm.) believes that it will come to rest in

Parides Hibner. For the time being the arrangement of Talbot (1939)

will be followed.

Only four Delhi specimens have been examined: a male collected

by JPD in the Nursery on 27 Sept. 1961 (46 mm.), two males collected

in Delhi in Oct. 1962 by Leela R. Menon (both 48 mm.), and a

male collected in Delhi in Noy. 1962 by Miss Nirmala (48 mm.).

- The fact that three specimens were collected on the north side of

Delhi in a two-month period may indicate that the species is more

common there.

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254 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Longstaff (1912) reported that he saw ‘many’ in Delhi, 7-12

Nov. 1903. :

DISTRIBUTION : The Common Rose is widespread throughout India

(Talbot 1939 ; Wynter-Blyth 1957), and has been recorded as far west

as West Pakistan (Menesse 1950).

Papilio polytes romulus Cramer

This swallowtail, the subject of a great deal of study because of

the mimetic colour patterns of the females, is not very common in

Delhi. It has been collected on the Ridge only once (Feb. IV), and

at scattered times in the Nursery : March I and IV ; May I; and July II

to Nov. I. 31 specimens: 13 males (42%), 18 females, of which two (11%)

are form ‘ romulus’ Cramer, a mimic of. Polydorus hector (Linnaeus),

which has not been recorded in Delhi; seven (39%) are form ‘cyrus’

' Fabricius, which has the same facies as the male ; and nine (50%) are

form ‘ stichius’ (Hibner), whose model is Polydorus aristolochiae; a

species which appears to be less common in Delhi than its mimic.

The ‘cyrus’ form of the female has been observed ovipositing on

lime bushes (Citrus) on two occasions: on 21 Aug. 1962; and on 6 Sept.

1961, when one laid nine eggs (one egg to a leaf) on a single lime bush

before the specimen was collected.

The larvae of both P. polytes and P. demoleus may be found on the

Citrus bushes in the Nursery, but only one male was reared: the larvae

pupated on 5 Sept. 1961, and the adult emerged 14 Sept. 1961.

On 27 July 1961 an egg of either P. polytes or P. demoleus was

collected from a lime bush inthe Nursery (the egg was about 3 mm.

from the edge, on the underside of the leaf). On the evening of 28 July

- 1961 a hymenopierous parasite was observed emerging from the egg, and

by the next day three parasites had emerged. They have been identi-

fied as Telenomus (Aholcus) talaus Nixon (Scelionidae) by C.F.W.

Muesebeck of the U.S. National Museum, where all three specimens —

are deposited. The type series of this parasite was described from

the eggs of Graphium agamemnon (Linnaeus) in Malaya.

SIZE: d'd'\ 38 mm. (7 March 1964, RLD) to 50 mm. (several); @

form ‘ stichius’’ 46 mm. (15 July 1961, JPD) to 53 mm. (28 Aug. 1961,

JPD); 2 form ‘cyrus’ 44 mm. (26 Aug. 1961, JPD) to 52 mm. -

(22 July 1961, JPD); 2 form ‘romulus’ 51 mm. (2 May 1963,

RLD) and 52 mm. (13 Aug. 1962, JPD). 3

VARIATION: Papilio polytes is one of the classic examples of —

polychromic mimicry. Goldschmidt (1945) proposes hypothetical

genotypes for all forms of this species, and includes a good bibliogra- —

phy on the subject.

[20]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 255

Annandale & Dover (1921) have summarized the relative abundance

of the three female forms in India. In general, the most common is

‘ stichius, followed by ‘ romulus’ and ‘cyrus. The ‘cyrus’ form is

considered to be absent or rare in many localities. In north India, in-

Cluding Delhi, the ‘ romulus’ form becomes less common, where its

model, Polydorus hector, apparently does not occur.

Sevastopulo (1947, 1956) reared 175 P. polytes from eggs in Calcutta.

Of the 95 females he obtained, 68% were ‘ stichius,’ 19% were ‘ cyrus’

and 13% were ‘ romulus.’ Sanders (1955), however, found that the

‘cyrus’ form was only very rarely collected in Calcutta.-

The most important point concerning the Delhi female forms is that

the male-like ‘ cyrus’ form is relatively common, perhaps because there

is little natural selection for the two mimetic forms when the models are

uncommon (P. aristolochiae) or absent (P. hector) in Delhi.

DISTRIBUTION : The Common Mormon is found throughout India

(Talbot 1939 ; Wynter-Blyth 1957). In Lucknow the ‘ stichius’ female

is most common, ‘ romulus’ isvrare, and ‘ cyrus’ has not been found

(de Rhé-Philipe 1902). In Jodhpur the ‘cyrus’ female has not been

_ recorded (MacPherson 1927). It is interesting to note that MacPherson

(1927) found Polydorus hector, the model for the ‘romulus’ form of

P. polytes, in Jodhpur in 1924, which is apparently the northernmost

record for the species.

Papilio demoleus demoieus Linnaeus

The Lime Butterfly is the most common Delhi swallowtail, and is

usually found in the Nursery where its foodplant, Citrus, is cultivated,

although specimens are occasionally encountered on the Ridge. It has

been recorded in March II (Ridge) and May IV, from July I to Sept. IV,

and Nov. I. The poor representation of some months may be because

the species is so common and easily recognized that it is not collected.

48 specimens : 28 males (58%), 20 females. Females have only been

collected from July I to Sept. IV.

A copulating pair was collected on 13 July 1961 (JPD), and a female

was observed ovipositing on young basal leaves of Citrus on 15 July 1961.

Several larvae, which are very similar to the larvae of P. polytes, were

collected from Citrus, and four were reared through to adults. The

_ pupation dates were 1 Aug., 2 Sept., 2 Sept., and 3 Sept. 1961. The

emergence dates were 16 Aug. (?), 13 Sept., 14 Sept., and 14 Sept. 1961,

respectively.

See the comments under P. polytes for notes on egg parasites of

P. demoleus or P. polytes.

SIZE: dicot 33 mm. (4 Aug. 1962, JPD) to 47 mm. (15 July 1961, JPD).

- 99 vary only slightly, from 44 to 50 mm. Assuming that * expanse ys

[21 ]

256 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

twice the length of one forewing, the small male cited here is about the

same size as the smallest P. demoleus (? sex) cited by Crawford (1930).

DISTRIBUTION: This species is common throughout India (Talbot

1939: Wynter-Blyth 1957).

Graphium nomius nomius (Esper)

The only known Delhi specimen of the Spot Swordtail was collected

at midday in the Nursery on 20 July 1962 as it fed on a white-flowered

Lantana. The specimen, a female, is virtually perfect (the left tail is

missing), and the forewing is 40 mm. long.

DISTRIBUTION: The distribution given by Talbot (1939), ‘ Ceylon,

Southern India to the Sikkim lowlands,’ leaves much to be desired. Ac-

cording to Wynter-Blyth (1957) this species occurs in the Himalaya

from Simla east, and in peninsular India north to Madhya Pradesh and

southern Bihar, west to Saurashtra and Lucknow. At first de Rhé-Phi-

lipe (1902) considered it rare in Lucknow, but later he (1905) reported

that it was regular in July and August. It was observed at Mahuva, on

the west coast of the Gulf of Cambay, Gujarat, by Mosse (1929), and

has been taken on Mount Abu (MacPherson 1927). Delhi appears to -

be the westernmost record of this species in the Indo-Gangetic plain

north of Gujarat.

PIERIDAE

Leptosia nina nina (Fabricius)

The Psyche is rare in Delhi: it has been found only in moist, shaded

portions of the Nursery, where it may be flushed by beating the grass.

Its habitat is essentially the same as that of Euploea core. The three

specimens were collected on 26 Aug. G, 17 mm.), 25 Sept. (2, 14 mm.),

and 4 Nov. 1961 (3, 18 mm.).

Longstaff (1912) found this species in Delhi, 7-12 Nov. 1903.

DISTRIBUTION : This fragile butterfly occurs more or less throughout

India, but the western limits of its range are not well defined (Wynter-

Blyth 1957 ; Talbot 1939). It is very local in Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe

1905), but it has not been reported south-west or west of Delhi.

Despite Wynter-Blyth’s (1957) statement that it occurs in Sind, Menesse

(1950) and Swinhoe (1887) have failed to record it from that region.

Delhi, therefore, appears to be the westernmost record of this species in

India. :

[ 22 ]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 257

Delias eucharis (Drury)

This species was first observed feeding on Lantana in the Nursery on

5 Nov. 1961, and another specimen was observed flying over the Nursery

the next day, but the first specimen was not collected until 23 Nov. 1961,

when a worn female was caught on Lantana in the Nursery. The only

other Delhi specimen examined was another worn female collected by

RLD in the Nursery on 21 March 1965.

SIZE: The forewing of both specimens is 38 mm. long.

DISTRIBUTION : The Common Jezebel occurs from the lower slopes of

the Himalaya south to Ceylon (Talbot 1939), although it is less common

in the north-western part of its range. It is seasonally common in

_ Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902) and Fatehgarh (Peile 1911), but is

apparently rare in Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927), Lahore (de Rhé-Philipe

1917), and Kanpur, U.P. (Sevastopulo 1948). Delhi appears to be near

the western periphery of the range of this species, since there are no

records from West Pakistan.

Cepora nerissa phryne (Fabricius)

The Common Gull occurs from July II to May I in all habitats,

although it is more frequently collected in the Nursery. It is uncommon

from December through May, a period in which the females are more

frequent than males. Longstaff (1912) found only males of this species

in Delhi, 7-12 Nov. 1903. 126 specimens: 65 males (52°), 61 females.

SIZE: do’ 20 mm. (25 Dec. 1962, RCF) to 29 mm; (31 July 1962,

JPD). 92° 18 mm. (26 Feb. 1963, RCF) to 29 mm. (17 Aug. 1962, JPD).

VARIATION: Males and females from mid-April to mid-November

are larger and darker, with the veins UNH prominently blackened,

while dry-season specimens are smaller, with the UNH ground colour a

paler yellow, with the veins blackened faintly or not at all.

DISTRIBUTION: Throughout peninsular India (Talbot 1939), at least

as far west as Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927) and Lahore (de Rhé-Philipe

1917). It has not been recorded from Sind (Menesse 1950).

Anapheis aurota aurota (Fabricius)

The Pioneer is one of the most common Delhi butterflies, occurring

in all habitats throughout the year: abundant from March to May, then

becoming less frequent until November, when it becomes common again.

Uncommon in January. 362 specimens: 205 males (57%), 157 females.

Longstaff (1912) says this species was ‘abundant at flowers’

7-12 Nov. 1903, and saw ‘countless crowds’ at Mahrauli (8 miles

_ SSW. of New Delhi).

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258 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

The sex ratio of field-collected specimens varies markedly: 46%

males April II (20 specimens); 53% males for the month of March

(166 specimens) ; 73°94 males in a series of 41 specimens collected at

Tughlakabad, 10 Nov. 1962 (RCF); and 84% males May I (25 speci-

mens).

Four copulating pairs have been collected: 24 March 1963 (2 pairs,

RLD); 10 April 1962 (JPD); and 13 April 1962 (JPD, male very worn).

On 2 May 1962 a cluster of four pupae and nine pupal cases was found

on a thorny twig on the Ridge. Adults emerged from three of the pupae

the next day (the fourth was preserved before emergence). Nurse (1899)

has also observed over a dozen pupae ona single twig, in Kutch. Two

larvae were also collected on 2 May. One was lost, but the second

pupated on 4 May and emerged (<’) on 10 May 1962.

Adults were observed on Neem flowers (Azadirachta indica) on

2 May 1962. This species has also been observed attracted to light in

Delhi (Donahue, MS. in preparation).

SIZE: jf 18 mm. (2 May 1962, JPD; 16 June 1964, RCF) to

27 mm. (many specimens throughout the year). 99 18 mm. (14 Nov.

1963, RLD) to 29 mm. (11 March 1963, RLD; 10 Nov. 1962, RCF).

VARIATION: The seasonal forms are difficult to characterize, but

specimens collected from May to August generally have less black

suffusion on the veins and a paler ground colour UNH than dry season

specimens. Three males collected in March (RCF) and May (JPD)

have the spot at the end of the cell UPF detached from the costa, as

opposed to most specimens, which have the spot connected to the costa

with a dark band.

DISTRIBUTION : The Pioneer is common in India, extending west to

Palestine and Africa (Talbot 1939).

Appias libythea libythea (Fabricius)

The Striped Albatross is the least common of the large Delhi

‘whites’. It occurs on both the Ridge and in the Nursery, August IV —

(Nursery only), Nov. I to Dec. HI, and Feb. IV (Ridge, one male)

The females have only been collected in Aug. IV and again in December.

This butterfly may be more frequent in Delhi, but it is possibly over-

looked because of its general resemblance to several other pierids

(Cepora nerissa, Catopsilia spp., Anapheis aurota). A copulating pair

was collected on 28 Aug. 1961 (JPD). 20 specimens: 15 males (75%),

5 females.

SIZE: did’ 22 mm. (1 Dec. 1962, RLD) to 29 mm. (29 Aug. 1961,

JPD). 92 21mm. (25 Dec. 1962, RCF) to 24 mm. (28 Aug. 1961,

JPD).

[24]

eae ”

pe ON te, ee eee

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 259

VARIATION: The August specimens are largest. The four August

males have darker markings on the apex and margin UPF than dry

season specimens; the only August female is darker on the upperside

than the December females, e.g. UPH with large marginal spots, a

discal band, and streaks connecting the spots with the band.

DISTRIBUTION : Peninsular India to the Punjab (Talbot 1939). It is

rare in Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902, 1905, who identified it as A.

paulina, which does not occur in north India) and on Mount Abu

(MacPherson 1927). It has also been recorded from Lahore (de Rhé-

Philipe 1917), and southward in peninsular India. There is also a

female in the MSU collection from Siliserh, Rajasthan, 19 Nov. 1963

(RLD). This species is apparently uncommon but widely distributed

in India. :

Pieris canidia indica Evans

_ The Indian Cabbage White is one of the butterflies whose occurrence

in Delhi came as a surprise. Only five specimens have been collected:

a male from the Nursery on 28 March 1963 (RLD), 26 mm.; and four

specimens from the Ridge—a female on 21 Feb. 1963 (RCF), 25 mm.:;

two females on 12 April 1963 (RCF), 22 and 23 mm.; and a male on

13 April 1963 (RCF) 23mm. There is also a single specimen in the

I.A.R.I. collection, obtained in Delhi by M. G. Ramdas Menon, 6

_ March 1958. |

DISTRIBUTION : This subspecies is normally confined to the Hima-

jaya, where it is very common (Wynter-Blyth 1957; Talbot 1939), but

it has been reported south of the hills several times. Sanders (1930)

_ found it 15 miles NE. of Amritsar, Punjab, on 23 Feb., and again in

late March, when it was present in ‘considerable quantities.’ Sevas-

topulo (1948) also reports that it is ‘common at Amritsar before the

_ weather gets hot,’ and de Rhé-Philipe (1902) captured a single faded

female in Lucknow in April. Although de Rhé-Philtpe (1917) failed to

record it from Lahore, he did observe P. brassicae there in Nov., Jan.,

and Feb. Pieris brassicae is also reportedly common in Fatehgarh in the

early spring (Peile 1911).

Delhi is apparently the south-western most record of |his subspecies.

Ixias marianne marianne (Cramer)

The White Orange Tip, like many other Delhi butterflies, is rare im

the cold months of January and February, and again in the hot dry

months from April to early July. It is common during the monsoon,

but the population tapers off again in December. Although more

frequently collected in the Nursery, it also occurs on the Ridge where

[25 ]

260 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

it is occasionally numerous. It has been recorded in Delhi from July I

to Jan. I, and Feb. II to May II. 210 specimens: 118 males (56%), 92

females. The sex ratio of field-collected specimens appears to remain

fairly constant.

Longstaff (1912) collected this species at Maheati (10 Noy. 1903)

and in Delhi (7-12 Nov. 1903).

SIZE: diof' 19 mm. (23 March 1963, RCF; 21 Feb. 1963, RCF) to

28 mm. (28 Aug. 1961, JPD). 99 21 mm. (several August specimens)

to 27 mm. (29 Aug. 1961, JPD).

VARIATION : Wet season specimens of this variable species tend to

be more heavily marked. Three of the females examined had none of

the usual black spots in the orange subapical band UPF (13 April 1963,

RCF; 25 Sept. +1961, JPD; and 24 Nov. 1962, RCF): In. the dm

season form of the female, which occurs from early November through

May, the dark band bordering the proximal edge of the orange sub-

apical band UPF is absent.

DISTRIBUTION : This handsome species is endemic to India, and

occurs from the Punjab, U.P., and Nepal southto Ceylon (Talbot 1939;

Gabriel 1943). Wynier-Blyth (1957) adds Saurashtra and Bengal to this

range. It iscommon in Lucknow (de Rhe-Philipe 1902); apparently

absent from Jodhpur, although it is common on Mount Abu (MacPher-

son 1927); and very rare in Lahore (de Rhé-Philipe 1917). It appears

to be absent from Kutch, but it is common in adjacent Kathiawar

(Mosse 1929). The MSU collection contains specimens from 15 miles

south of Saharanpur, U.P. (8-9 May 1961); Aligarh, U.P. (17 Nov.

1962, RLD); and Amber, Rajasthan (7 miles north of Jaipur, 15 Nov,

1963, RLD). Delhi may be near the western periphery of the range of

this species, since the specimen from Amber is the only record from

northern or central Rajasthan known to the author.

Ixias pyrene sesia (Fabricius)

There is still some doubt surrounding the subspecies to which the

Delhi population should belong. According to Talbot (1939), Delhi

specimens would belong to /.p. kausala Moore, since the female is often

white. But Gabriel, who revised the genus in 1943, ascribes white

female formsto both /. p. sesia and I. p. kausala, and only gives Hima- __

layan localities for the distribution of the latter. A careful examination

of the descriptions in Talbot (1939) and Gabriel (1943), an examination |

of the figures in Swinhoe (1905-1910), and a comparison of Delhi |

specimens with I. p. sesia from south India led to the conclusion that

the Deihi population is probably referable to Ixias pyrene sesia (Fabri-

clus).

[ 26 ]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 261

The Yellow Orange Tip is less common in Delhi than /. marianne,

and occurs from Aug. III to Sept. [V, and again from Nov. I to May II.

There are no records from June, July, or October, although this may be

due to incomplete sampling. This species is common in March, and

apparently common from the wet season through December. 86 speci-

mens: 62 males (72%), 24 females.

Longstaff (1912) found the Yellow Orange Tip in Mahrauli (10 Nov.

1903) and in Delhi (7-12 Nov. 1903), when he saw only two specimens.

SIZE: o'o’ 19 mm. (29 March 1964, RCF) to 27 mm. (3 Sept. 1962,

RLD). 29 19 mm. (26 Feb. 1963, RCF) to 27 mm. (17 Aug. 1962,

JPD). !

VARIATION : Both seasonal and sexual dichromism are conspicuous

in this species. The wet-season, form, characterized by its larger size

and wide marginal band UPH, occurs in August and September. Wet-

season females are further characterized by the wide discal band UPF,

which is more or less uniform in width to the tornus. Transitional forms

with a macular margin UPH occur in early November, but the dry-

season form appears in late November and flies until May. Most dry-

season specimens have no trace of the marginal band UPH, and the

females have only a narrow line connecting the bar at the end of the cell

UPF with the tornus.

Two colour phases of the female occur: ground colour white or

greenish white, with a slightly darker subapica] band UPF ; and ground

colour pale yellow or greenish yellow, with the subapical band UPF of

the same colour or pale orange. Both forms are about equal in fre-

quency, fly together, and are apparently not associated with a particular

season as are the female forms of Colotis fausta.

DISTRIBUTION : The Yellow Orange Tip appears to be uncommon in

the arid plains of north-western India. The male is common in Luck-

now, but the female has not been taken there (de Rhé-Philipe 1902); it is

absent from Jodhpur but common on Mount Abu (MacPherson 1927) ;

and apparently rare in Fatehgarh (Peile 1911). Menesse (1950) never

observed this species in Sind, so it would appear that Delhi is near the

western edge of the range at this latitude.

Colotis calais amata (Fabricius) :

This is a small version of C. fausta but, unlike that species, it is

found almost exclusively in the Nursery—there are only two records,

Feb. IV and March II, from the Ridge. It occurs from July IIT to May

IV (no June records), 175 specimens: 113 males (65%), 60 females, 2

unsexed. Infrequent from January to March, and in September and

October (insufficient collecting ?).

[27]

262 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Longstaff (1912) found this ed ‘abundant alike in the Kudsia

gardens and close to the hotel . ’,in Delhi, 7-12 Nov. 1903. He

also noted that one specimen was ‘ ae small’. ;

SIZE: did\ 13-5 mm. (22 Nov. 1962, RCF) to 20 mm. (26 Mie 1962,

RLD). 99 15 mm. (29 May 1962, JPD) to 21 mm. (29 Aug. 1961,

JPD). |

VARIATION : Specimens collected from July III through March are

generally larger and darker than specimens collected in April and May.

This is an unusual distribution of seasonal forms, since the forms do

not correlate well with precipitation patterns. But Apriland May are

two of the warmest months of the year, so temperature or insolation

may be the dominant environmental factors affecting the appearance

of the forms. There are no records from June, which is- another of

the warmest months.

DISTRIBUTION : This subspecies of the small Sainien Arab occurs

from Bombay north to Sind, Baluchistan, and U.P., west to Iran and

Syria (Talbot 1939). It has not been reported Roo Lucknow (de Rhé-

Philipe 1902), but it is fairly common in Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927),

common in Lahore (de Rhé-Philipe 1917), and common in Sind (Fraser

1911 ; Menesse 1950). Two additional specimens are in the MSU

collection from Agra, U.P. (21 Nov. 1957). Delhi appears to be near

the north-eastern edge of the range of this species.

Colotis vestalis vestalis (Butler)

The White Arab, like its relative C. calais, is found exclusively in

the Nursery, where itis very. common during the monsoon, although it

has been collected there every month of the year. 167 specimens :

102 males (61%), 65 females. 5

SIZE: d'd' 15 mm. (29 May 1962, JPD) to 20 mm. (several speci-

mens collected during the monsoon). 99 14 mm. (30 April a

RLD) to 21 mm. (two specimens, 31 July 1962, JPD).

VARIATION : The seasonal forms are not well differentiated, oncae

that specimens flying during the monsoon are buighter yellow on the

underside. |

DISTRIBUTION: This species occurs from the Persian Gulf east to

Sind, Baluchistan, and the U.P. (Talbot 1939). It is common in Sind ~

throughout the year (Fraser 1911; Menesse 1950); ‘exceedingly

abundant’ during all months except May and June in Lahore (de

Rhé-Philipe 1917) ; common in Lyallpur, W. Pakistan (70 miles west

of Lahore: Sevastopulo 1948) ; and common during the fall and winter |

months in Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927). It has not been recorded | |

from Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902). The author obtained several — i

specimens in Agra, U.P. (21 Nov. 1957).

[28 j

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 263

Delhi is apparently near the north-eastern edge of the range of

this species.

Colotis fausta faustina (C. & R. Felder)

The Large Salmon Arab, the most striking of the Delhi Colotis,

was not found until the first trip to the Ridge, to which it is res-

tricted and where it is abundant virtually throughout the year, Nov.

Ito Dec. IV, and Feb. III to Sept. IV. Cold weather may account for

its absence in January, but it should occur in October. 214 speci-

mens : 146 males (68%), 68 females.

The sex ratio varies somewhat, although probably not significantly.

On 14 Aug. 1962, 27 specimens were collected, of which 22 (81%) were

males. On 20 Aug. 1962, 18 specimens were obtained, of which 12 (68%)

were males. Only the white form of the female occurs in August and,

- since they are not frequent, they were collected in preference to the

_ males—hence the actual percentage of males flying was probably greater

than indicated by the figures above. On 18 Nov. 1962, when the

salmon-coloured females could not be distinguished from the males,

_ 27 specimens were collected (RCF), of which 19 (70%) were males.

VARIATION : The females occur in two forms: a form with a white

or salmon-white ground colour on the upper- and undersides, which

_ flies from Aug. II to Nov. I (no October records); and a salmon-colour-

ed form, indistinguishable from males, which flies from Nov. I to Dec.

IV and from Feb. [IV to July I. Previous authors have failed to observe

- that these two colour phases are seasonal—the white or salmon-white

form flying in the wet season, the salmon form flying in the dry season.

Both forms fly together in the first week of November, and may also be

found to occur together in October.

The dry-season form of both sexes (Nov. I to July. I) is also charac-

terized by being smaller and having the black markings on the upperside

reduced : the black apical markings UPF are less extensive, and the

black margin UPH is reduced to separate spots, a very narrow line, or

is entirely absent.

_ One symmetrically aberrant male (15 Feb. 1964, RCF) has a rounded

apex on both forewings, quite unlike the apex of normal specim ns.

The black apical markings UPF are consequently more reduced than

usual for the DSF.

PREDATOR RECORD: On 20 August 1962 a specimen was observed

being eaten by a praying mantis, identified as a nymph of Gongylus

gongylodes (Linnaeus) (Orthoptera : Mantidae) by Dr. Irving J. Cantrall

Of the University of Michigan.

DISTRIBUTION: This subspecies is reported as ‘not rare’ from the

Punjab to Sind and Karwar, Mysore. The nominate subspecies occurs

[ 29 |

264 JOUKNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

as far west as South Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt (Talbot 1939). Publish-

ed records of this species are sparse, perhaps due to its very local

occurrence. The only records near Delhi are a few sight records in

Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927), a single specimen collected in Lahore in

October (de Rhé-Philipe 1917), a female in the MSU collection from

Pali, Rajasthan (4 Oct. 1961), and a male from Siliserh, Rajasthan (19

Nov. 1963, RLD). This species is more common in Kutch (Nurse 1899)

and Kathiawar (Mosse 1929), but Aldrich (1946) records it as ‘not

rare’ in Kaira District. It is reportedly rare in Sind (Fraser 1911.

Menesse 1950).

Delhi is apparently the north-easternmost record of this species in

India.

Colotis etrida etrida (Boisduval)

The Little Orange Tip is the only Colotis which is common in all

Delhi habitats. It occurs from Nov. [I to Sept. I, but appears to be un-

common (or poorly collected) in January, June, September, and October.

322 specimens : 192 males (60%), 130 females.

Longstaff (1912) found it ‘in abundance, flying close to the ground ’

in Mahrauli, 10 Nov. 1903.

SIZE: d'\o’ 13 mm. (3 March 1963, RCF) to 19°5 mm. (9 Aug. 1962,

JPD). 9211 mm. (9 May 1962, JPD) to 20 mm. (17 Aug. 1962, JPD).

VARIATION : Wet-season specimens are usually larger and darker on

the upperside than dry-season specimens. The wet-season form, which -

flies from April through September, is almost immaculate UNH, but

males have marginal black spots UPH. The dry-season form, which —

occurs from November through March, has a considerable amount of

black dusting UNH, while the males have almost no trace of the mar-

ginal spots UPH.

Two extreme wet-season females (9 Aug. 1962, JPD) have the apical

black UPF so extensive that only a trace of the orange band shows.

The underside of these specimens is more yellow than usual.

DISTRIBUTION: This species occurs from peninsular India to the |

Himalaya (Talbot 1939). It is rare in Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902) ;

fairly common in Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927) ; common in the Hardoi |

District, 190 miles SE. of Delhi (de Rhé-Philipe 1902); commonin Lahore

(de Rhé-Philipe 1917); and common in Sind (Fraser 1911; Menesse |

1950). Additional specimens from Siliserh, Rajasthan (19 Nov. 1963, |

RLD) and Agra, U.P. (21 Nov. 1957) are in the MSU collection. =|

Genus Catopsilia Hiibner

There is a strong belief by many workers that C. crocale and C.

pomona are conspecific, and that C. florella and C. pyranthe are also

[ 30]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 265

conspecific (see Sevastopulo 1950; and Talbot 1939 and 1947, p. 493,

for a summary of current thinking). The four ‘species’ are treated

as entities in this paper merely because they can be easily separated. No

endorsement, expressed or implied, is intended concerning the conspeci-

fic or distinct status of these four ‘ species ’.

Catopsilia crocale crocale (Cramer)

The Common Emigrant has been collected only in the Nursery, from

July II to Nov. I (no October records). 38 specimens : 23 males (61%),

15 females, of which 10 (67%) are form ‘ jugurtha’ (Cramer), 3 (20%)

are form ‘crocale’ (Cramer), and 2 (13%) are form ‘ jugurthina’

(Godart). The ‘crocale’ and ‘ jugurthina’ forms have only been

collected in July. The male forms ‘ alcmeone ’ (Cramer) and ‘ flavescens

Frihstorfer are considered together, since there is some overlap in the

colour pattern.

SIZE: jf 29 mm. (15 July 1961, JPD) to 37 mm. (13 July 1961, JPD),

~ 99 24 mm. (‘ jugurthina,’ 15 July 1961, JPD) to 39 mm. ‘ crocale,

14 July 1961, JPD).

_ DISTRIBUTION: ‘ Very common’ throughout India (Wynter-Blyih

1957; Talbot 1939). It has been recorded as common in Lucknow

(de Rhé-Philipe 1902), Lahore (de Rhé-Philipe 1917), Jodhpur

(MacPherson 1927), and Sind (Menesse 1950).

Catopsilia pomona (Fabricius) 2

The Lemon Emigrant is apparently the rarest of the four ‘ species ’

of Catopsilia in Delhi. Less than 4% of the Catopsilia specimens are

referable to this ‘species’. The rapid flight of Catopsilia makes them

difficult to collect, so this ‘ species’ may be more common than the

records indicate. All ten specimens are from the Nursery, except for a

male collected on the Ridge, 23 April 1963 (RCF), 36 mm. Males

were collected in the Nursery on 15 July 1961 (JPD), 37 mm.; 28 Aug.

1961 (JPD), 31 mm.; and 29 Aug. 1961 (JPD) 32 mm. The female form

‘hilaria’ (Stoll) has been collected on 5 Jan. 1963 (RLD), 27 mm.;

6 Jan. 1963 (RCF), 31 mm.; and 21 July 1962 (JPD), 28 mm. The

female form ‘catilla’ (Cramer), usually considered ‘not rare’, has

been collected in the Nursery on 14 July 1961 (JPD), 36 mm.; 31 Aug.

1961 (JPD), 35mm. ; and 28 Oct. 1962 (RLD), 29 mm. |

DISTRIBUTION : As for C. crocale, except that C. pomona is uncommon

in Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927) and Sind (Menesse 1950).

[31]

266 © JOURNAL,” BOMBAY NAPURAL (HIST: SOCIETY SVol, Osa.)

Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe (Linnaeus)

The Mottled Emigrant is confined to the Nursery, with the exception

of three males from the Ridge in August. It has been collected

April IV, May IV, and from July II to Noy. III. Females have only

been collected between April ITV and Sept. IV. Copulating pairs have

been collected on 20 July 1962 (JPD) and 29 Aug. 1961 (JPD). 109

specimens: 64 males (59%), 45 females.

SIZE: fo 22 mm. (3 Sept.1962, RLD) to 32 mm. (11 Aug. 1962, RLD).

92 19 mm. (29 May 1962, JPD) to 32 mm. (31 July 1962 and 26 Aug.

1961, JPD).

DISTRIBUTION: As for C. crocale.

Catopsilia florella gnoma (Fabricius)

The African Emigrant is less common and more scattered throughout

the year than C. pyvanthe. It has been collected in July III and IV,

from Sept. I to Jan. I, and from Feb. III to April IV. Further collecting

may produce specimens from May, June, and August, the months —

for which there are no records. Specimens have been collected

on the Ridge only in the last weeks of February, March, and December.

Only four specimens have been collected in Delhi during the monsoon

season, when C. pyranthe is most abundant, thus lending support to

Talbot’s (1939) belief that C. florelia is a dry-season form of C. pyranthe.

SIZE: oif'23 mm. (1 Dec. 1962, RLD) to 31 mm. (29 March 1964,

RCF). 2221 mm. (30 April 1963, RLD) to 31 mm. (3 Sept. 1962, RLD).

DISTRIBUTION: As for C. crocale.

Eurema brigitta rubella (Wallace)

The Small Grass Yellow is the least common Delhi Eurema. It is ;

found in all habitats from Aug. II to Jan. I, and again in Feb. III and ©

IV (Ridge). It is most frequently collected in August (10 specimens), —

September (12 specimens), and November (23 specimens). Females have :

only been collected from Aug. II to Dec. [V. 57 specimens: 39 males —

(68%), 17 females, 1 unsexed.

size: FS 14 mm, (several, Nov. & Dec.) to 19 mm, (29 Sept. 1961, :|

JPD). 9? 15 mm. (20 Aug. 1962, IPD ; 18 Nov. 1962, RCF) to 19 mm. |

(several, late Sept. to early Nov.).

VARIATION: The marginal band UPH is continuous and broad from '

Aug. II to early November, after which it becomes reduced and macular. —_ |

Wet season females (Aug. to Oct.) have a considerable amount of black & |

scaling on the upper-and undersides.

[32]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 267

_ DISTRIBUTION : Throughout India, while other subspecies occur west

to the Ethiopian Region (Talbot 1939). It is reportedly scarce in

Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902), uncommon in Jodhpur (MacPherson

1927), and occasionally abundant, though usually uncommon, in Lahore

(de Rhé-Philipe 1917). There are additional specimens in the MSU

collection from Ludhiana, Punjab (11-12 Sept. 1961), Siliserh, Rajas-

than (19 Noy. 1963, RLD), and Agra, U.P. (21 Nov. 1957).

Eurema laeta laeta (Boisduval)

The Spotless Grass Yellow is more common on the Ridge, but it

occurs in all habitats from Aug. II to April II. 103 specimens : 61 males

(59%), 42 females. -

SIZE: d'o' 13°5 mm. (26 Feb. 1963, RCF) to 18 mm. (18 Nov. 1962,

RCF). 29214 mm. (20 Aug. 1962, JPD) to 19 mm. (29 Sept. 1961,

JPD). |

- VARIATION: The wet season form ‘ venata’ (Moore) occurs from

Aug. II to Sept. IV. DSF ‘ laeta’ (Boisduval) occurs from Oct. IV to

April Il. There are no records from early October, when both forms

or a transitional form should occur. The dry season form is so pale

that it appears almost white in flight.

DISTRIBUTION : Throughout India (Talbot 1939). A few specimens,

of form ‘ Jaeta’ only have been reported from Lahore (de Rhé-Philipe

_ 1917), but itis common in Jodhpur (MacPherson 1927). It has not

been recorded from Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902). There are addi-

tional specimens in the MSU collection from 15 miles south of

Saharanpur, U.P. (8-9 May 1961), Siliserh, Rajasthan (19 Nov. 1963,

RLD), and Pali, Rajasthan (9 May 1961).

‘Eurema hecabe simulata (Moore)

The Common Grass Yellow is, appropriately, the most common

Eurema in Delhi, flying from June IV to May III in all habitats,

although it is more frequently collected in the Nursery. It is apparently

rare from January to June. A copulating pair was collected on 25

Sept. 1961 (JPD). 247 specimens: 156 males (63%), 91 females.

The sex ratio of field-collected specimens varies considerably, with

the percentage of males increasing from Aug. IV to Sept. I, then

decreasing to Nov. IV: 64% males Aug. IV (47 specimens}, 88% males

‘Sept.1(16 specimens), 69% males Nov. I (32 specimens), 53% males

Noy. III (17 specimens), and 47% males Nov. IV (19 specimens).

SIZE: fd 15 mm. (26 Feb. 1963, RCF) to 22 mm. (18 Nov. 1962,

RCFE; 7 Sept. 1962, RLD).. 99-15 mm. (22 Nov. 1962, RCE) to 22 mm.

(2 specimens, 28 Aug. 1961, JPD).

3 133]

268 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

VARIATION : The dry-season form of this species is more heavily

marked than the wet-season form. The DSF, which flies from about

early November to late April, has conspicuous rusty markings on the

underside and a prominent rusty subapical patch UNF. The WSF is

poorly marked on the underside, does not have the rusty subapical

patch UNF, and usually has no trace of the two cell spots UNF—the

often-used key character for the species. The ‘dogface’ pattern UPF

is mOre pronounced in the WSF than in dry-season specimens, and in

dry-season specimens the black margin UPF is occasionally reduced to

a narrow border somewhat as in E. brigitta (although there are some

males from Oct. IV and Nov. I with the reduced margin),

Because many specimens are poorly marked, the genitalia of all

males were examined, but no specimens of the similar E. blanda silhetana

(Wallace) were found. Despite the statements in Talbot (1939) and

Wynter-Blyth (1957) that Eurema blanda occurs from Ceylon and

peninsular India to Sikkim, Assam, and eastward, I have collected it

only in Ceylon, the Western Ghats, and north-eastern India. If it

does occur on the Deccan Plateau or the Gangetic Plain it must be

~ very local.

Because Eurema hecabe is so very variable in both size and colo-

ration, it is my opinion that at least some of the Indian subspecies are

not valid, but Talbot (1939) will be followed until more work can be

done on the genus.

DISTRIBUTION : E. hecabe occurs throughout India, with E. hecabe

simulata presumably restricted to Ceylon, peninsular India, and the

Central Provinces (Talbot 1939). E. hecabe fimbriata (Wallace) is said

to occur from the Punjab to Chitral and Kumaon (Talbot 1939), but all

the records cited indicate that this is a Himalayan subspecies, hence the

assignment of the Delhi population to E.h. simulata. The species is

common throughout the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and extends westward to

Africa (Talbot 1939),

Colias electo fieldi Ménétriés

As with Pieris canidia, the occurrence of this hill species in Delhi

was unexpected. RLD has collected the only five Delhi specimens, which

are identical to several large series I have collected in the Himalaya.

A female was collected in the Nursery on 3 March 1963, and on 24

March 1963 a male and a female were obtained. A male and a female

were also obtained on the North Ridge, near I.A.R.L, on 29 March

1964.

SIZE: The two males measure 19 mm. and 20 mm., ae the females

are 23 mm. 25 mm., and 25 mm.

[ 34]

AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI 269

DISTRIBUTION : The Dark Clouded Yellow occurs throughout the

Himalaya (Talbot 1939), but it has also been recorded from the follow-

ing localities on the plains, where it is presumably a non-breeding

straggler in the winter and spring: 15 miles NE. Amritsar, Punjab, in

late March [Sanders 1930, who also found C. erate erate (Esper) there

in late Feb. and late March] ; Amritsar (Sevastopulo 1948, who

also collected C. erate); Lahore, in the ‘ early cold weather months’

and again in Feb. and March (de Rhé-Philipe 1917) ; Fatehgarh (Peile

1911); and Lucknow, in the winter, and also in Feb. near Goshainganj,

130 miles SE. of Lucknow (de Rhé-Philipe 1902). Delhi appears to be

the south-westernmost record of this species.

(to be continued)

[35]

Aestivation of perianths of

Areca catechu Linn. fruits

T. A, DAviISs AND ABANTIKA KUNDU _

Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta

(With three figures)

INTRODUCTION

Data are presented in the following pages on the different ways the

six perianths of the female flowers/fruits of the areca palm (Areca

catechu Linn.) are arranged. It is customary to describe the sepals

(outer whorl of perianth) as well as the petals of areca flowers as

being imbricately arranged (Hooker 1894; Murthy & Bavappa 1960a;

Raghavan & Baruah 1956). But critical examination of a large number

of fruits reveals that. the sepals always imbricate leading to a spiral

arrangement. In about half the number of fruits, the spiralling is clock-

wise, and in the rest, the converse. The petals have four distinct kinds

of aestivation. In c. 20% of the fruits, all the petals regularly contort.

About half of them have clockwise and the rest counter-clockwise con-

tortion. In the remaining c, 80%, the petals imbricate like the sepals

(both directions). The leaves of areca palm are spirally arranged, and a

palm may be considered either a left-hander or a right-hander. The

foliar asymmetry is not correlated with the aestivation of either the sepals

or petals. Examination of the foliar spirals of seedlings raised from

known fruits suggests that there is no correlation existing between the

aestivation of the petals of a fruit and the foliar spiral of the seedling

which develops out of it.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 4203 areca palms from four Indian States (Kerala, —

Mysore, West Bengal, and Assam) were examined for their foliar

asymmetry in 1965. About four thousand fruits of 24 palms from

Ealcutta were examined for the arrangement of the perianths. (some

of them including the bracteoles) during 1964 and 1965. As some

knowledge on the gross morphology of the flowers/fruits may help

AESTIV ATION OF PERIANTHS OF ARECA CATECHU FRUITS 271!

to interpret the results better, a brief account of the areca flowers is

given below.

Areca catechu Linn. bears unisexual flowers on the same infra-

foliar, highly branched spadix, enclosed by a single glabrous spathe

which is covered by the sheathing base of the subtending leaf almost

up to the stage of the bursting of the spathe. The main rachis of the

spadix is stout and compressed, producing several branches, some of

which further branch and re-branch. The ultimate filiform spikes bear .

more or less distichous minute male flowers. The female flowers

are solitary or, less frequently, in pairs at the bases and axils of the

branches. Rarely one or two male flowers are seen at the base of

a female flower. The spathe, corresponding to the fourth bract

(younger to the largest spathe) of the coconut, although absent in

most areca spadices, can be made out if very young spadices are

examined. Barring the contributions of Blatter (1926), Juliano &

Quisumbing (1931), Menon & Pandalai (1958), Patel (1938), and

Venkata Rao (1959), the inal biology of palms has not been studied

appreciably.

At the base of every female areca flower, a minute bract is visible

which is more pronounced just at the time the spathe ruptures and the

spadix emerges. Each female flower has two small scaly bracteoles

‘(prophylls) just outside the sepals; of them the outer one sometimes

grows almost half the size of a sepal. The outermost sepal, which

partially overlaps the remaining two sepals, is located opposite and

equidistant from the two bracteoles. When viewed from behind the

spike on whose axil a female flower is produced, if the outermost

sepal is located to the right of the observer, the bigger prophyll will be

on the left. In another, the positions are just interchanged.

The male flowers are small triangular or ovate bodies measuring c.

45mm. xX 3:0 mm. There are three minute sepals which are largely

imbricate (critical large scale examinations not made); they alternate

the inner whorl of three valvate petals which enclose six stamens,

and the- pistillodes in the centre consist mostly of the reduced trifid

stigma. The female flowers are much larger, measuring c. 18 mm. x

10 mm. at the time of receptivity. The perianths of the outer whorl

representing the sepals are always imbricately arranged (one completely

out, another partially covered by the outer sepal and partially covering

the inner, and the third is completely in). Though the sepals are

described as boat-shaped, they are more or less triangular, concave

Within, and fit tightly on the petals which are also triangular, convex

outside, and slightly bigger than the sepals. The perianths being

acrescent grow with the fruit. A thin ring of six staminodes is seen

between the petals andthe ovary. The ovary has a dome-shaped trifid

stigma formed by the three stylar projections.

272 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL UIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

100 fruits from a-spadix were examined to determine the position of

the outer sepal relative to the axis on which the fruit is borne. The

fruit is viewed from behind the axis, and the results given under.

Fruits with outer sepal to left of axis ve Ad

Fruits with outer sepal to right of axis .. 44

Fruits with outer sepal opposite to axis cae

Fruits where positions could not be made out a seat

Total -. 100

Four distinct types of petal-arrangement are observable on areca

fruits. All the petals in a flower may regularly rotate, i.e. contort (one

half of each petal remaining out and the other half being overlapped

by the succeeding or preceding petal) either clockwise or counter-

clockwise. When a flower is viewed from the stigmatic end downwards,

if the outer free portion of the petal twists clockwise, the flower is

considered a left-hander, and vice versa if the petal twists counter-clock-

Mt ie ie nt at

2 CM.

Fig. 1. 1. Areca fruit (side view) ; ; 2-3. Corolla regularly

twisting to right (2), tothe left (3); 4. Six perianths intact ~*

(top view); 5-6. Right- and left- handed imbrications of

Corolla.

wise. In Fig. 1 the two middle drawings in the upper row represent the

two kinds of regular petal-twist, the two lower drawings the two

situations when the petals imbricate. In a flower where the petals are

imbricately aestivated, depending on the arrangement of the middle

petal, a flower is considered 3-left-hander (illustration 6 of Fig. 1) or

2-right-hander. In the 3-left-handed condition, (starting from the

outermost one) the three petals spiral clockwisely. The arrangement of

the petals is reversed in a 3-right-hander.

The proportion of flowers having their petals regularly contorting

AESTIVATION OF PERIANTHS OF ARECA CATECHU FRUITS — 273

and those with imbricate aestivation was about one to five for a

population of 762 fruits examined in 1964 (Davis 1964a). In Table 1

data are given on a little over three thousand fruits from 15 areca palms

sampled in Calcutta.

TABLE |

Areca catechu: AESTIVATION OF PETALS

Petal-twist No. of fruits Percentage

Left 320 10°53 )

\. 19°58

Right 275

2-Left 225 40°31 )

\. 80°42

2-Right 1,219 40°11 J

Total 3,039 100:00

The proportion of flowers having contorted petals to those with

imbricate ones in the new population altered slightly (1:4). Since

the earlier data were also collected from Calcutta, the variation in

the two sets of observations may suggest that the proportions differ

with individual palms or seasons, and warrants the need for much

larger samples. |

The petal arrangement on the fruits of six other palm species was

also studied and the data together with those for Areca catechu appear

in Table 2.

TABLE 2

AESTIVATION OF PETALS ON FRUITS OF 7 PALM SPECIES

Species Lefts Rights 3-L $-R Total

Areca catechu 320° 275 2257 219 © 3,039

Areca triandra 9 6 182 206 403

Borassus flabellifer 25 38 143 143 , 349

Cocos nucifera 25 16 208 186 435

Phoenix paludosa 42 19 62 61 184

Phoenix sylvestris 384 253 1,083. 961 2,681

Ptychosperma macarthuri 0 1 1,195 1,128 2,324

ee re =

Total 805 608 4,098 3,904 9,415

~ 274 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Flowers with contorted corolla in Areca triandra constitute only 3°7%

of the population sampled. The corresponding figures for Cocos nucifera,

Borassus flabellifer, Phoenix sylvestris, and P. paludosa are 9°4, 18-0,

23°8, and 33°7 respectively. In Ptychosperma macarthurii, however, with

the exception of a single flower, a population of 2324 flowers showed

only imbricate petals. The mechanism which regulates the aestivation

of the corolla varying with species is not yet known. As the number of

foliar spirals varies with the species, the foliar arrangement may have

some influence on the aestivation.

Calyx-corolla relationship

As already mentioned, the calyx in Areca catechu is always imbricate,

2 left or 3 right and, under each situation, the four types of petal-

aestivation occur (Fig. 2, L,-L,, R,-R,). In only a single exceptional

flower, the sepals contorted clockwisely. 2277 flowers were examined

for the arrangements of sepals and petals, and the data are presented in

Table 3. :

Fig. 2. Aestivation of perianths in Areca catechu. Top row:

The four possible petal-arrangements when sepals imbricate to left.

Middle row: Petal arrangements same as top row but sepals

imbricate to right. Bottom: A. Flower with a double petal; B.

Another with a double sepal; C. Flower with three petals united,

AESTIVATION OF PERIANTHS OF ARECA CATECHU FRUITS — 275

The auiaber of flowers oie left-handed sepal-imbrication does not

differ significantly from that of their counterpart. Flowers whose sepals

as well as petals are left-handed form slightly over 50% of the popula-

tion sampled (584 : 526). Among flowers with left-handed sepals, those

with left as well as right-spiralled petals are distributed equally. But

among flowers with right-handed sepals, those bearing left-handed petals

TABLE 3 ,

Areca catechu : DISTRIBUTION OF FRUITS ACCORDING

TO AESTIVATION OF PERIANTHS

(SSRI SSMS TEN AE SES I EE eR SE 5 RT RE He RI TIRES CRE Seal

Petals

Sepals —— SS Se ESS Total

Left Right 2-L 2-R

Left —— — 1 _ 1

Right — — == — —

z-L 124 124 460 468 1,176

2-R 116 101 458 425 1,100

Total 240 225 919 893, 2,277

are more. The slight excess of left-handedness in the aestivation of

Areca catechu perianths is in conformity with the situations met with in

some species of Malvaceae and Bombacaceae by Davis (1964b ; 1965).

Davis & Ghoshal (1966), Davis & Kundu (1965), and Davis & Selvaraj

(1964) and in the coconut by Davis (1962).

- In order to see whether the proportions of the different groups of

flowers vary significantly between individual trees, 1670 young fruits

from 12 trees were examined at Calcutta, and the data presented in

- Table 4.

All the trees bore fruits having the eight different types of perianih

arrangement. The aestivation is not influenced by the foliar spirality

ofapalm. Another point of interest is that 22°14% of the fruits bore

_ twin sepals, and the twins always happened to be the younger two calyx

components of a flower (Fig. 2, B). The outermost sepal which is

completely exposed is just opposite the twin sepal. This may confirm

that all the three members of the calyx whorl are not formed simulta-

_ neously, although the time-interval between the second and third sepals

is very small when it exists. :

Some spikes bore more than two flowers each, ‘and an examination

_ of those flowers suggested that the left- and right-handed flowers are

distributed randomly on a spike.

The areca palm has five rows of leaves placed at 2-distances of the

Circle, giving a phyllotaxy of five-ranked or ‘ pentastichous’ with an

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

276

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AESTIV ATION OF PERIANTHS OF ARECA CATECHU FRUITS — 277

angular divergence of 144° (Murthy & Bavappa 1960b). Thus, the sixth

leaf will stand over the first with a genetic spiral of two circles and the

eleventh leaf over sixth with a similar spiral. Since there are only about

eight leaves present on the crown of a palm at a time and because of the

fairly long internodes, the above details on the leaf-arrangement are not

easily observable. As the leaves appear to be ‘alternate’, it is easier

to conceive that they are arranged in a single spiral running clockwise or

counter-clockwise. A tree is considered as having a clockwise (left-

handed) foliar spiral if the younger of any two consecutive leaves (or

inflorescences) is located nearer the vertical drawn from the middle of

the older leaf towards the right-hand side of the observer, and as right-

handed if it falls on the opposite side. This definition conforms to the

coconut spirals (Davis 1962). In a population, the two kinds of trees

are distributed in almost equal proportions as may be seen from Table 5.

TABLE 5

Areca catechu: DATA ON FOLIAR SPIRALS

Locality Lefts Rights L+R L-R

——— SF Te

Palode (Kerala) 541 540 1,081 1

Vittal (Mysore) 544 505 1,049 39

Calcutta (W. Bengal) 155 162 317 ang,

Jalpaiguri (N. Bengal) 382 323 705 59

Gauhati (Assam) 538 513 1,051 25

Total 2,160 2,043 4,203 +117

As the leaves are arranged spirally, the perianths also show spiral

mechanism. The sepals of all the fruits and petals of about 80% fruits

are arranged one after another (from the outermost) in spiral form.

From data given in Table 3, it is seen that, only in just a little less than

half the fruits, both the sepals and petals are arranged along the same

direction (left- or right-spiralled). In the rest, the whorls of calyx and

corolla are oppositely arranged, and this situation is more difficult to

explain in view of the fact that the leaves in a palm always veer either

clockwise or anti-clockwise.

-_ Even in fruits where the sepals and petals veer in the same direction,

the outermost petal which is to develop in continuation of the last sepal

does not always seem to be doing so because of its varying positions as

detailed below.

Of the 2277 fruits examined, the sepals imbricate in all except an

odd case of contortion. On account of this situation a fruit bears one

278 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

sepal which is completely exposed. The sepals in a flower either twist

right-handed or left-handed. The three petals can be arranged in four

different ways (two types of contortions and two imbrications). Six

different types of aestivation are possible when only the two kinds of

petal-imbrications are considered in relation to the outermost sepal. —

Therefore, for the two types of sepal arrangements twelve kinds of im-

brications are possible. With the lefi- and right-handed regular contor- —

tions for each calyx type, there are altogether sixteen different arrange- —

ments of perianths possible. Fig. 3 depicts 12 such combinations and

the four combinations where the petals contort are seen in Fig. 2.

12 |

Fig. 3. Drawing to show relative positions of outermost

sepal and outermost petal in areca fruits. Sepals in flowers 1-6

imbricate to Jeft, in 7-12 to right. Petals in 1-3 and 7-9. im-

bricate to right, and in 4-6 and 10-12 to left.

AESTIVATION OF PERIANTHS OF ARECA CATECHU FRUITS — 279

When viewed from the middle of the outermost odd sepal, one petal

will be seen just on its opposite side, one to its right and the other left.

Any one of these can be the outermost petal. (Where the corolla is

contorted, all the petals are similarly arranged.) In flowers where the

petals imbricate right-handedly, the outermost petal can be in three

positions in relation to the outermost sepal (vide Nos. 1-3 of Fig. 3), and

when the petals imbricate left-handedly, a further three combinations

are possible (vide Nos. 4-6 of Fig. 3). The six figures in the lower two

rows show right-handed rotation of the calyx as opposed to the left-

handed rotation of those in the top two rows. The numbers of fruits

falling under the 16 sepal-petal combinations collected from three trees

are given in Table 6.

In 26:26% of the entire fruits examined, the outermost petal was

located opposite the outermost sepal, in 26°27% to its left, and in 23°10%

to the right. The proportion of fruits having both the sepals and petals

imbricating left-handedly and having the outer petal located to the left

of the outer sepal is slightly greater than those of the other perianth-

combinations relating to the left-handed sepals. Similarly, flowers

having right-spiralled calyx and corolla and the outer petal located to

the right of the outer sepal are slightly in excess of the other situations.

Aestivation of fruit and foliar spiral of subsequent seedling

One thousand ripe areca fruits collected from ten palms growing at

the premises of the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, were sown in

a special nursery in December 1964, after separating them into four

groups according to the aestivation of the petals. An examination of

the foliar arrangement in the seedlings did not show that a fruit with a

particular kind of aestivation gives rise to a seedling having a particular

foliar spiral. In each group, left-handed and right-handed seedlings

were observed. |

Abnormalities

- While examining the spadices from many areca palms, the following

abnormalities were met with. A single flower having regularly contorted

sepals and those bearing twin sepals have already been mentioned. In

the two other flowers, the younger two petals fused to about three-

fourths of their lengths (Fig. 2, A). In yet another flower, all the three

petals remained united, but the corolla was free at one region where the

Margins overlapped each other clockwisely (Fig. 2, C). The sepals of

this flower, however, were free and imbricate. One flower had only

|2 sepals and 2 petals as the one already described by Bavappa &

| Murthy (1961). Hermaphrodite flowers were noticed in five trees, a

| Spadix bearing 2 to 22 such abnormal flowers. The size of the bisexual

| flowers ranged between the sizes of normal male and female flowers.

280

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

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AESTIVATION OF PERIANTHS OF ARECA CATECHU FRUITS 281

Each flower bore six or less fully or partially developed stamens. The

ovary developed conspicuously in flowers which resembled the female

flowers. Similar condition was recorded in the coconut by Davis et al

(1954) and Rao (1948) and in the arecanut by Bavappa & Murthy

(1961) and Raghavan & Murthy (1954). One young areca fruit bore

a single horn-like structure developing from one of the staminodes

like the ones described by Davis (in press) and Murthy & Bavappa

(1959).

SYNOPSIS

Of the six perianths ona fruit of Areca catechu Linn., the outer

three (sepals) are always imbricately aestivated. The two wings of the

innermost sepal are overlapped by the outer sepals while those of the

outermost one are exposed. A wing of the middle sepal is overlapped

by the outer sepal and, depending on the position of its exposed

wing, a fruit may be regarded as left- or right-handed. In a large

sample, fruits with the two kinds of sepal-arrangement are distributed

in almost equal proportions. The inner whorl of three perianths

(petals) either contorts (twists regularly) or imbricates like the sepals.

The petals of about 20% of the fruits sampled twist regularly, and in

the rest they imbricate. In about 50% of the fruits having either

contorted or imbricate aestivation, the petals veer clockwise, and the

rest counterclockwise. The data supplied show that the outermost

sepal and outermost petal of a fruit are related to each other in

sixteen different ways. The aestivation of the petals of a fruit is not

correlated with the foliar spiral of either the mother palm or the

seedling that develops out of it.

282.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

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BLATTER, E. (1926): Palms of British

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Davis, T. A. (1962): The non-inherit-

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———-—— (1964a): Possible -geo-

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————— (1964b): Aestivation in

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———-———— (1965): Floral structure

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——_———— (in press) : Morphology of

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—— & GHOSHAL, K. K. (1966):

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es ee ee

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——— & Bavappa, K. V. A.

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Mae UY eee & BAvappa, K. V. A.

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—the shoot. Arecanut J. 11: 99-102.

PaTEL, J. S. (1938) :

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& Murray, .K.9Na

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239.

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occurrence of a hermaphrodite flower in

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and Chittoor Districts, South India

M. J. REBELLO AND RACHEL REUBEN

Virus Research Centre, Poona»

Early knowledge about ticks in south India was very scanty and

based mainly on collections made by veterinarians on domestic animals.

Sharif published a key in 1928 and Sen summarised the existing know-

ledge about tick ectoparasites of wild mammals and birds in 1938.

Subsequently the Virus Research Centre (VRC) has built up a large

body of information on the subject based on collections made in several

parts of India.

The present report is intended-to place on record information on

ticks collected from an area mainly in North Arcot District, Madras

State, not covered by any of the previous surveys made by the VRC.

The extensive studies made by the VRC in another part of south India,

Mysore State, are being separately reported by the workers concerned

(Trapido et al. 1964a and oe Rajagopalan, V. R.C. unpublished

$ data).

METHODS

During 1963 birds were mist-netted weekly in each of two villages in

North Arcot District. Japanese mist-nets, 3 to 4 feet off the ground,

_ were used among bushes and trees near houses. The birds caught were

searched for ticks and other ectoparasites, banded, and released. They

: were also bled for virological studies. During the course of the study

many released birds were recaptured and found to have moreticks. The

method adopted for searching for ticks was to lift each feather gently

and to remove with a pair of forceps any ticks attached beneath.

Special attention was paid to the head region, where the great majority

| of the ticks were found attached. After one of the authors (R. R.) had

1The Virus Research Centre is jointly maintained by the Indian Council of

i Medical Research and The Rockefeller Foundation. The Centre also receives a grant

| Of PL-480 funds from the National Institutes of Health, USA, through the Indian

| Council of Medical Research.

284. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

removed as many ticks as she could find, the bird was searched bya

second person, and then handed back to her for a final check. The

efficiency of this method is discussed later.

Some birds were also brought in by local trappers from forested areas

in North Arcot District. These were the Grey Partridge, Francolinus -

pondicerianus (Gmelin), and the Painted Spurfowl, Galloperdix lunulata

(Valenciennes). They were kept in the laboratory over trays of water

and the engorged ticks collected from time to time as they detached and

dropped in the water.

The small mammals were collected mainly from the villages where

the birds were captured. They were captured in standard Sherman traps,

brought to the laboratory, and transferred to cages which were kept over

trays of water for the fed ticks to detach. A few collections were made

in Ootacamund, Nilgiri District, and some in Chittoor District, Andhra

State. :

RESULTS

Birds

Over the period of the study 590 birds belonging to 55 species were

examined. Of these, 136 birds belonging to 16 species were found to —

be positive for Ixodid ticks (Table 1). Only three species of ticks were

collected, of which Haemaphysalis intermedia Warburton & Nuttal, 1909,

was the most common species. Its predominance in the collections is a

reflection of the fact that birds were almost all netted in and around

villages, since Haemaphysalis intermedia is a common cattle tick.

The following species of birds were negative for ticks: Ardeola

grayii (Sykes) (2), Accipiter badius (Gmelin) (5), Turnix suscitator _

(Gmelin) (3), Streptopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus) (1), Psittacula krameri

(Scopoli) (20), Clamator jacobinus (Boddaert) (2), Eudynamys scolopacea

' (Linnaeus) (2), Rhopodytes viridirostris (Jerdon) (3), Athene brama

(Temminck) (2), Caprimulgus asiaticus Latham (2), Halcyon smyrnensis

(Linnaeus) (20), Merops orientalis Latham (21), Upupa epops Linnaeus |

(10), Megalaima haemacephala (P.L.S. Miller) (2), Dinopium benghalense |

(Linnaeus) (16), Lanius vittatus Valenciennes (3), Lanius schach Linnaeus

(1), Dicrurus adsimilis (Bechstein) (1), Dendrocitta vagabunda (Latham) |

(1), Corvus splendens Vieillot (4), Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler (6),

Coracina melanoptera (Ruppell) (6), Pericrocotus cinnamomeus (Linnaeus) _

(3), Aegithina tiphia (Linnaeus) (4), Pycnonotus luteolus (Lesson) (4),

Muscicapa latirostris Raffles (1), Terpsiphone paradisi (Lianaeus) (1), |

Anthus trivialis (Linnaeus) (2), Motacilla maderaspatensis Gmelin (5), —

Nectarinia zeylonica (Linnaeus) (17), Nectarinia lotenia (Linnaeus) (1),

Nectarinia asiatica (Latham) (4), Passer domesticus (Linnaeus) (97), —

Petronia xanthocollis (Burton) (30), Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus) (28), |

TICKS COLLECTED FROM BIRDS AND MAMMALS 285

Lonchura striata (Linnaeus) (1), Lonchura malacca (Linnaeus) (19). The

number in brackets represents the number of birds examined.

The method of removing ticks has already been described. Its

efficacy was tested on a few occasions. Two birds were killed after

being searched in the field and five birds were kept alive in the labo-

ratory. Thrice a single tick was collected in the laboratory after the

original field examination, and on four occasions no more ticks were

recovered. The field method was thus reasonably thorough and it seems

likely, therefore, that the majority of the ticks collected on recaptured

birds represented fresh infestations, and were not merely ticks which

were missed by the naked eye the first time the bird was examined.

Indian Pittas and Greyheaded Babblers were frequently recaptured

infested with ticks after an interval of a week from the original

examination.

Small mammals

The collections made from small mammals in Chittoor and North

Arcot Districts are summarised in Table 2. It is interesting to find

that many rodents harboured the immature stages of the genus Hya-

lomma, the commonest collected in this study being H. brevipunctata.

The predominant genus, however, was Rhipicephalus, particularly R.

haemaphysaloides. At present three species of Rhipicephalus are recog-

nised in India (Sharif 1928; Dhanda, to be published). These are

Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille), Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides

Supino, and Rhipicephalus ramachandrai Dhanda. Two species of

Rhipicephalus showing distinct differences from the known species were

collected during this study from rodents and shrews. These species

have been designated as Rhipicephalus species 4 and 5 for the present.

_ These species require careful study to determine their taxonomic status.

Most of these ticks were collected as fed nymphs and subsequently

reared in the laboratory.

A few miscellaneous collections made in North Arcot District have

been included in Table 3.

Two Rattus rattus wroughtoni and four Suncus murinus were collec-

ted in Ootacamund, Nilgiri District. Two larvae identified as Ixodes

ceylonensis were collected, one from Rattus rattus wroughtoni and the

Other from Suncus murinus. Thisis of special interest since it is the first

record of this species in India outside the Kyasanur Forest disease area

in the forests of Shimoga District, Mysore State.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to express our thanks te Dr. T. Ramachandra Rao,

_ Director, Virus Research Centre, for his invaluable help and advice,

and to the Bombay Natural History Society for checking on identifi-

286

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

cations of birds and mammals and to Dr. P. K. Rajagopalanwho

checked on the identification of I. ceylonensis.

REFERENCES

ELLERMAN, J.R. (1947) : A key to the

Rodentia inhabiting India, Ceylon and

Burma, based on collections in the

British Museum—Part II. J. Mammal.

28 : 357-388.

DHANDA, V. (to be published) : Rhipi-

cephalus ramachandrai sp. n.(Acarina :

Ixodidae) from the Indian Gerbil Tatera

indica (Hardwicke, 1807) (Rodentia :

Muridae). J. Parasit.

SHARIF, M. (1928): A revision of the

Indian Ixodidae, with special reference

to the collection in the Indian Museum.

Rec. Indian Mus. 30: 217-344.

SEN, P. (1938): A check and host-list

of Ixodoidea (Ticks) occurring in India.

Ind. Jour. Vet. Sci. 8: 133-147.

TRAPIDO, H., GOVERDHAN, M. K.,

RAJAGOPALAN, P. 1 ae 2 REBELLO, M.

(1964a) : Ticks ectoparasitic on monkeys

in the Kyasanur Forest Disease area of

Shimoga District, Mysore State, India.

Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 13: 163-772.

——, VARMA, M.G. R., RAJAGOPALAN,

PK SINGH, KoR. & REBELLO, M. J.

(19646): A guide to the identification _of

all stages of the Haemaphysalis ticks of

South India. Bull, Entom. Res, 55.

249-270.

287

TICKS COLLECTED FROM BIRDS AND MAMMALS

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Chilka Lake: A Pilot Survey —

for Banding Possibilities

K. S. LAVKUMAR

Rajkumar College, Rajkot

The Bombay Natural History Society’s Party detailed to survey the

Chilka area for banding possibilities was rather hurriedly composed

in the month of December 1965 and consisted of Shekar of the Society’s

staff, Kishore Kadiwar a young and enthusiastic naturalist from

Rajkumar College taken along by me, and myself. We assembled a

few minutes before departure time of the Secunderabad Express at

Victoria Terminus. Somehow, our enterprising travel agents got us

the necessary seats and the last of the gear was stowed away just as

the train pulled away from the platform. It was Christmas Day and the

rush of people considerable at this otherwise normally crowded station.

The train journey from Bombay to Poona has always been my

favourite ; the clean and efficient electric engines make it a habit of

speeding across the low coastal plain to the foot of the Western Ghats. —

The mountain section is slow but not at all trying as an everchanging —

panorama of escarpments and deep forested gorges provide a thrilling

and everchanging view. It was good to once again see the arrogant curve

of the ‘ Duke’s Nose’ rising above Khandala and momentarily I was

transported to its top as I thought of the time two years previously when —

I had sat on the very edge of the proud profile.

From Lonavla to Poona the countryside assumes a typically Sau-

rashtrian appearance so characteristic of the Black-cotton soil areas and

I listed many of the common birds familiar at Rajkot as we speeded

past the small farmsteads and groves of trees. Beyond Poona the

ubiquitous steam engine took over and we puffed away into the dusk

through well irrigated land bearing wheat, sugarcane, and alfa-alfa. I

missed the Deccan as we arrived at Hyderabad early on the 26th |

morning. A day’s stay was necessary as the connecting train for Orissa —

left in the afternoon. We utilised the time in going over the famous |

Salarjung Museum and bird watching in the attractively laid out public |

gardens stretching between the station and the Vidhan Sabha. 4

The section between Hyderabad and Rajamundry on the north bankof |

the Godavari was also covered under cloak of night and I was able tosee

little of the country, though I expect I missed little as much should be |

CHILKA LAKE FOR BANDING POSSIBILITIES e271

arid and I expect scenically uninteresting. The Godavari Delta region

was pleasing country, green, well cultivated and populous. Here there

was an obvious demonstration of Man at harmony with Nature. People

looked well fed, there were fine cattle and despite the human affluence,

the trees and other vegetation around the stands of sugarcane and rice

stubble were not mutilated. The fuzzy toddy palms lent a peculiar

character to the scene. Around Bombay these palms look depressing,

but here they have full crowns and were most attractive. Birdlife was

plentiful and I expect there should be many roosts of wagtails in the

sugarcane plots.

From Rajamundry upto Vizianagaram, where the night once again

overtook us, the entire east coastal plain revealed a beautiful aspect.

Sugarcane, golden rice stubble, thick stands of coconuts, rows of toddy

palms, and closely ranked casuarinas all made a rich pastoral view,

offsetting a distant panorama of high blue and tangled mountains of

one of India’s last great forests, the Dandakaranya. It was lovely

country and birdlife was plentiful as could well be expected.

It was somewliere in the middle of the 27th night that the sleepy

station of Balugaon saw us bundle out of the train. The entire plat-

form was deserted except for the three of us and the Forest Range

Officer deputed to receive us. I sleepily wondered why ever should the

train stop at this place at all; Pilot Survey Parties could not be that

- frequent. A wet breeze blew through a large banyan tree outside the

station and limpid stars were reflected in water alongside the road—

_ dimmed imaginations conjured up a limitless expanse of water crowded

_ with waterfowl and skeins darkening the skies overhead—a Pinkheaded

~ Duck among them...

28th December. Mr. Rath, the aforestation D.F.O., stowed our

luggage and us into two jeeps and we set off for our destination on

the SE. edge of the lake. Till Rambha, we travelled along the

Madras-Calcutta highway shaded by large trees many of them ancient

banyans. The road skirted the sea-like Chilka. The country side had

a picture postcard quality and a cool morning breeze blew from the blue

mountains to our right. There were few birds apparent, and the lake

itself was totally devoid of any waterfowl.

A little beyond Rambha we turned off the road on to a red dirt track

and after winding through low scrub-covered hills we came out on to a

_ vast flat expanse of wet grass and salt marshes at the southern end of the

lake. There was much water in the roadside ditches, and long muddy

inlets of the lake cut across them. The scene now abruptly changed ;

there were waders and ducks everywhere and, on one large bay of the lake,

I was thrilled to see rafts of Pintail and Brahminies unconcernedly

drifting close to lines of fish traps. This was fine unspoilt country

indeed,

292. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Soon we came onto the sandy flats which continue as a string of dunes

to cut off the lake water from the sea. Here were thick stands of

casuarinas and cashew trees. This narrow tongue of sand is broken by

a single inlet of the sea through which the tide waters enter the lake and

the many fish of the Chilka have access to the sea. Between the outer

dunes and the body of the lake is a labyrinth of large low-lying islands and

water channels. Our hope of coming across large congregations of birds

centred on this complex and in this we were disappointed, as the further.

we proceeded along the dune, the number of birds became less and less

and, except for one broad inlet where a great mass of shovellers rose on

our arrival, we saw fewer birds in density than might be expected on any

winter day on the lakes at Rajkot. Here a duck trapper had a pair of

female shovellers and, as they were in good condition, I had them

purchased for subsequent ringing and releasing, though other members

of our convoy pressed to wring their necks instead. It was suggested —

we engage him and a few others of his tribe to catch birds for us, but —

he hardly appeared efficient and the number of birds did not justify

making any optimistic arrangements. Despite the paucity of birds, I

greatly enjoyed the drive as the freshness of the air and the lovely

surroundings were in themselves worth experiencing. It was about —

2.00 p.m. when we skirted the last bay and drew up beside two dug-

outs with mat sails tied to stakes on the grassy verge. In these we

crossed the furlong-wide channel to Barhampur Island which was

selected as our headquarters for the survey. The water was crystal |

clear and nowhere deeper than four feet. The floor was covered by a

thick mat of green water plants, but of birdlife there was a singular

absence. Two Lesser Egrets and some Ringed Plovers waded along

the water margin, and over the grass small flocks of Grey Plovers ran

about looking for insects.- Two Gadwall swam out in the water to

our left. Nothing could have been less exciting. Shekar was disgusted,

but I have given up getting disappointed as Dr. Longstaff’s advice to —

Himalayan travellers has long been a part of my general outlook on

life, and I make it a point to ‘ live in the present’ and the present in |

such lovely country was infinitely charming. |

The Forest Ranger’s hut placed at our disposal was a structure of |

clean whitewashed adobe walls and thickly thatched roof standing on |

the northern shore of the island. _ It was separated from the water by a

broad sward of grass, and surrounded by small rice fields, now in stubble,

enclosed by earth bunds planted with screwpine hedges and small wind-

swept banyans and cashew trees. The bird population was composed of

a scattered group of Ringed, and Grey plovers on the ground, a pair of |

Redvented Bulbuls, and a rabble of Whitethroated Munias in the hedges, —

while a Pied Bushchat cock and some Pied Mynas inhabited the small

compound of the hut. These then were the surroundings and birdlife of |

CHILKA LAKE FOR BANDING POSSIBILITIES 293

the Headquarters of the Survey Party for possibilities of ringing thou-

sands of waterfowl !

29th December. After a late breakfast, Mr. Rath decided to take me

in a larger dug-out to have a look at the birds reputed to be in large

throngs on the mud surrounding the Barnikuda Island and this would

also give us an idea of the congregation of birds, if any, on the main

Jake. Shekar elected to stay behind to string up a few nets along the

water’s edge in an attempt to get some of the Grey Plovers running

about. The brawny boatmen poled us across the shallow waters no-

where deeper than seven feet and when we were well out in the channel

and got the full force of the breeze, they unfurled their mat-sail and at a

leisurely pace we headed for a narrow channel between Barnikuda and

Noapara islands. The amount of birdlife increased and we passed rafts

of Pochards and, closer in to land where they could upturn to reach the

weeds, Pintail and Gadwall. On the flats, Brahminy Duck in droves

grazed placidly. I have never seen so many of them and at such close

‘quarters except in Tibet. There were many Stints of both species, Lesser :

Sand Plovers, Grey Plovers, and a large flock of Blacktailed Godwits.

The variety of waders one sees on the Saurashtra coasts was lacking. A

‘pair of Whitebellied Sea Eagles soared overhead and they had a huge

stick nest in a large banyan on the water-edge of Noapara Island. I was

brought a downy eaglet by one of the little boys, who apparently went

up to the eyrie frequently and once retrieved a duck brought in by the

great birds !

; Circling the island to the north, I got a view of large concentrations

of duck, and in the distance flocks of flamingos made a pink line above

the shimmering water. All this concentration was to the west and I

tesolved to have a closer look at the islands as soon as possible. Our

return to camp was uneventful and a brisk sea breeze carried us to a late

lunch and a disappointed Shekar who was just in time to take down the

Nets as a couple of young water buffalos started taking interest in the

quality of material used in the new ‘ fishing-net ’.

| It was quite apparent that if we wanted to achieve anything, we

_ would have to abandon our idea of returning to Barhampur each evening

_ and setting off the next morning in the boat, as our pace was too slow

| and we would not be able to cover much area of the islands. My resolve

| was finalized to spend nights either in the dug-out, or under the stars

| wherever we touched land at sundown.

| The evening was one of intense beauty as a setting sun shed its

| golden rays on wide expanses of blue water and distant mountains

| across the lake. A skein of Pintail headed across the green sky towards

30th December. We accompanied Mr. Rath to the jeeps and saw

| them off. After the party left, we crossed the dunes through dense

294 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Casuarinas to the main sea. The water was clear, and the sand shelved

steeply into the green depths. I was struck by the absence of sails

along the horizon and it was apparent that coastal traffic was not as

well developed as on the western coast. |

On return to the rest house, we assembled all our gear and after a —

hurried lunch, we stowed things into the canoe and set off on our voyage

of discovery. It was late afternoon and a stiff sea breeze drove us

round the northern edge of Barhampur Island to the entrance of the

Noapara channel. This circuit would give us a view into the channel —

between the islands and the main dune giving us an idea of conditions all ©

the way to Titipo where on our way in we had seen large flocks of shovel- —

lers. The main channel and the narrow one into which we turned were —

devoid of much birdlife and it was again with a sense of nagging doubt

that we moored at dusk and settled in for the night, the matting sail

spread over the canoe to protect us from night dampness. The pink —

light of sunset faded to reveal lustrous stars reflected in placid waters

and isolated pairs of Brahminy Ducks called to each other in resonant

honks, while a few Brownheaded Gulls floated like phantoms on the

glassy surface. |

31st December. The channel further narrowed and at its narrowest,

a cane pallisade cut it off with a couple of fish traps at one end. It

was a lovely morning and gulls and Brahminy Ducks floating on the

water made attractive pictures. Near the gate in the fish corral, we

again grounded our boat and while the boatman went into the village to

look for a reputed trapper and fetch some milk, we strolled along the —

waterside turf under curious but friendly gaze of muscular young fisher-

lads and watched a medley of common birds ; Common Swallows were

in numbers and, from the droppings around a large banyan, it was clear

they had been roosting there. In a hedge below were a pair of Dhayal,

a male Black Redstart, and flocks of Redvented Bulbul. The banyan

was alive with Greyheaded Mynas, White-eyes, and high in its great

crown was an immense platform of branches and twigs, the home of a

majestic pair of Sea Eagles. _ | j

The trapper was away and so we pushed off, helped through the

narrow passage by the bronzed youths and waved away by a young

teacher from the village school who had joined usin our morning amble* _

The muddy shores widened into broad flats and expanses of shallow —

water. Ahead stretched another corral beyond which lay the lake itself.

The binoculars revealed an astonishing sight of throngs of waterfowl. |

Pintail, Gadwall, Wigeon, Common Pochards, and Brahminy Duck

placidly floating on the water. To the south the concourse stretched into _

the hazy distance where a mass of pink proclaimed the presence of a |

multitude of flamingos. The entire afternoon was sailed parallel to the |

coast towards Krishnaprashad, and all along the shore were the |

CHILKA LAKE FOR BANDING POSSIBILITIES 295

‘teeming multitudes. The flamingos were breath-takingly spectacular. It

was indeed a memorable day worth all the distance of travel and the

days of disappointment.

| The reason why we had not come to know the great concentration of

duck was clear. The birds rested and fed in the same area. In the

shallows, an upending duck got all it needed from the lake bottom and

further out the diving duck got easy fare. On all sides, the rice stubble

was too dry and devoid of food for the duck to be attracted off the water,

hence the total absence of feeding flights which are such spectacular and

familiar sights at Bharatpur. All the ducks were out in the water, and |

doubted the efficiency of the netters in harvesting the throngs for us.

That evening we moored beside two other boats off Krishna-

prashad and turned in for the night, having accepted the ranking of

-Chilka among the waterfowl paradises in the country, and the boatmen

; promising greater sights on the morrow when we arrived at Nalbano

‘Island in the middle of the lake.

3 lst January. The golden light of the New Year awoke us to a thrilling

“spectacle of flamingos (Lesser) flying in wavering skeins towards the

‘fabled isle. I was reminded of the early dawn at Nir years ago when

_we had visited the Flamingo City in the Great Rann of Kutch. A flock

of Little Cormorants followed the Flamingos and, among the Brahminy

Duck, a group of twelve Shelducks swam past. After an early meal,

which was to serve as breakfast and lunch combined, we set course in

the direction the flamingos and cormorants had taken, and soon the trees

of Krishnaprashad were dimmedin the haze. On the body of the

lake itself there were no ducks and the interminable expanses of water

and sky and a warm sun overhead induced an amnesia followed by a

! pleasant drowsiness.

_ At around noon, I bestirred myself and looked over the gunwale of

Our ‘warship’ and what I saw startled me into wakefulness. There

_ ahead of us lay flocks of Pochards and, as we approached a low line of

| fish corrals which encircled the island, their multitudes became denser

_ and denser. What astonished me more than the number of the birds

| was the vast pallisade of canes which encircled the entire island like a

| fortification.

| The whole island is submerged under several feet of water in the

| fains, the fish come to feed and spawn in the shallow, weed-grown

| place. Before the level of the water falls, this great pallisade is put up

| by various villages ; the island itself is divided into four compartments.

| As the water level further drops, the weeds are exposed. In fact at the

} time of our visit there was no dry land. The drying waters expose the

. fish which are easily captured. This provides, as can be imagined, an

jideal feeding ground for duck, geese, flamingos, and Spotted Sand-

Pipers. Great eagles arrive to take the pickings, and on one low em-

29 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

bankment I saw an assemblage of 2 Pallas’s Fishing Eagles, 3 White-

bellied Sea Eagles, 1 Tawny Eagle, a couple of Ospreys, and several

Brahminy Kites, while overhead in constant flight were Blackeared

Kites, Whiskered Terns, Blackheaded Gulls, and Common Swallows.

Immense flocks of Shoveller, Pintail, Wigeon, and Gadwall fed in

the grass and a large flock of Lesser Flamingos rose in a pink haze

to the sound of a shot-gun as some shikaris entered the defences of

the island in a dug-out. A small flock of 15 Greylags took flight with

much gaggling. The afternoon was memorable as we waded through

the squelching plants, mud, and black ooze. The site was indeed

ideal for future ringing operations. That night we slept in the boat

after moving out into the lake out of reach of an odious stench set free —

by the rotting material and bird droppings. We planned a further foray

next morning into the marsh.

2nd January. During the night a strong easterly wind began to

blow, and in the pale light of dawn I was horrified to see a pale film of

cloud overhead, and thick clouds banked the horizon out to sea. ‘ We

end our work on the lake, Shekar ’, I said and told the men to get us as

fast as the gusty wind would take us across the lake to Balugaon.

Quite obviously this was a cyclone: and I did not fancy getting in-

volved in high wind, waves, and heavy rain under inadequate shelter,

rations in their last doles, and valuable cameras and books getting a

soaking. So, we hoisted our picturesque but inefficient rattan sail and

headed for a steep promontory near which was Balugaon landing. The

gales grew intense and the high waves transformed the Chilka into

a miniature sea. The dug-out raced forward and by 11°30 a.m. we

reached Balugaon. That evening the storm struck with violent inten-

sity. The grey clouds lowered anda deluge poured violently through

the night. I was thankful I had abandoned the venture and talking

things over with Shekar, I felt it would be correct to start opera-

tions in a planned way next season, and as he was to accompany

Dr. Salim Ali to Bhutan in the summer, he should return to Bombay

with me. =

3rd January. Dawned weak and wet. The rain continued well

into the afternoon and it was only at sundown that the storm clouds -

receded in a glory of gold and orange skies above the fine blue hills.

On the way back, we saw ample testimony of the cyclone’s velocity

in flattened sugarcane and jute; the great winds, the papers told us, had |

struck the entire east coast from Orissa to the Krishna Delta. y |

In conclusion I would like to recommend a ringing project cen-—

tred at Noapara, with tents to live in. Two boats, one large which

could be used for spending nights at the island and a smaller one |

with an outboard motor for quick transport of personnel and equip-—

ment from one halting centre to another. The trappers could

CHILKA LAKE FOR BANDING POSSIBILITIES 207

operate from the large dug-out stationed at the island, the smaller craft

bringing in the nightly catches each morning to the central camp. In

this manner, a 15-day camp should yield fine bags. The ringing party

should travel together from Bombay to Balugaon where prior arrange-

ment of hiring boats etc. should be made through the Forest Depart-

ment. Apart from the help in hiring craft and engaging men, the

Society’s party should be self-reliant.

There was a suggestion we engage local trappers, but I consider this

unsound policy as our work should not encourage netting which subse-

quently might provide a lucrative occupation at the expense of the

birds. There appears to be a good market for trapped duck around

Chilka, now one of the sought-after tourist attractions, grecssible over-

night from Calcutta.

The Nalbano Island could well be declared a sanctuary for ducks. Its

pallisades provide easy protection from marauding guns. Supervision

would be easy. Shooting around the lake should not be restricted,

however. Chilka properly managed is not only ideal for ringing opera-

tions, but could well be one of India’s star tourist attractions.

Our deepest gratitude is due to Shri Rath, the D.F.O., the Forest

Staff at Balugaon, and Shri Mahanty of Bird Heigler & Co., of Calcutta,

for all the kind help and encouragement they extended us during our

stay in the Chilka area. |

Transport of the Fry and Fingerlings

of the Milk Fish Chanos chanos

(Forskal)’

T. A. MAMMEN?®

Fisheries Extension Unit, Mandapam Camp

lL. INTRODUCTION

Chanos culture is very popular in several SE. Asian countries, and

extensive brackish water fish farms are exclusively devoted to its

culture. The main points in favour of chanos culture are: (1) Ready

availability of fish seed in creeks, lagoons, and salt pans connected to

the sea; (2) Capacity of the fry and fingerlings to rapidly acclimatize

to freshwater conditions; and (3) Good growth in fresh water, parti-

cularly hard water and highly alkaline water, in which the growth of

major carp is poor.

From 1931 onwards the culture of chanos was attempted, parti-—

cularly by the Department of Fisheries, Madras, but no appreciable

progress was achieved. Ganapathi et al. (1950), Panikkar et al.

(1952, 1958) and Viswanathan ef al. (1952) worked out certain interes-

ting aspects of the adaptability and acclimatization of chanos to low ~

salinities. In the wake of this interest several chanos collection centres

were located on the east and west coasts of India but, with the advent of

improved technique and the shift of emphasis to major carp culture,

chanos culture in India has been almost given up. The present produc-

tion of major carp seed is only about 1% of the total requirements and

the culture of chanos admirably fits into some of the places considered

unfit for fish culture. The main difficulties in utilizing chanos seed

resources are the inefficiency of the methods hitherto used for trans-

porting chanos, the disappointing results of direct stocking of chanos

fry, the equally disappointing growth of fry in nurseries,.and the very

great difficulty of transporting chanos fingerlings.

1 Published with the kind permission of the Fisheries Development Adviser,

Ministry of Food and Agriculture, (Department of Food), New Delhi.

2 Present address : Ministry of Food and Agriculture, (Department of Food),

New Delhi.

MILK FISH CHANOS CHANOS (FORSKAL) : 299

In view of the extensive resources of chanos fry and fingerlings in and

around Mandapam, the present author undertook a study of the trans-

port of chanos fry and fingerlings during 1959-62. Although, owing to

the winding up of the Fisheries Extension Unit at Mandapam Camp

and the transfer of the author to Hyderabad, it was not possible to

complete the work, some observations were made, which would help

towards the economic utilization of the chanos fry and fingerling

resources.

2. TRANSPORT OF CHANOS FRY

2.1. Chanos fry collection and transport

The material for the present study was collected from Chinnapalem

creek near Pamban. Fry were collected by dragging with a piece of

cloth, usually early in the morning. Collection was easy, from a

hundred to a thousand fry being collected with each haul. The fry were

then taken by head-load in milk-can type containers to Pamban, where

they were acclimatized to low salinities, by periodically replacing 4th

water with Well water, this process being repeated till a salinity of 5%,

or so was obtained. The fry were then transported by rail in 40-gallon

milk-can type containers, each filled with 25 gallons of water holding

250 to 400 numbers of fry. A mortality varying from 10 to 30% was

usually reported after about 6 hours of train journey. As this mortality

was considered excessive, alternate modes of transport were attempted.

2.2. Preliminary experiments were conducted, using small plastic

bags filled with 175 c.c. of sea-water holding varying numbers of fry, to

determine optimum concentrations. The bags were then filled with

oxygen and kept for observation on the incidence of mortality. The

results are given in Table 1.

It may be seen that, even at a very high concentration of 200 fry of

1°3 to 1-5 cm. size per 175 c.c. of sea-water, no significant mortality

was noticed up to 36 hours. Ataconcentration of 100 fry, mortality

was negligible even at 72 hours. With the latter concentration, trial

consignments were sent to Madurai, a distance of 90 miles by road and

rail. The procedure was as follows.

Chanos fry were obtained from Chinnapalem creek and transported

to the Fisheries Extension Unit, Mandapam Camp, by milk-can type

container each with 1000 fry, filled to capacity with water from the

collection ground. The mouth of the container was plugged with a

laboratory towel to avoid splashing during transport. The journey was

performed partly by head-load (3 km.) partly by train (6 km.), and

partly by Jeep (3 km.). No appreciable mortality was noticed. The fry

were then transferred to enamelled trays and gradually acclimatized to

low salinity conditions as described above. The entire process of trans-

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

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MILK FISH CHANOS CHANOS (FORSKAL) 301

port, and acclimatization, took 6-10 hours. The conditioned fry were

counted and removed by petri-dish to finger-bowls, each receiving 100 in

number. The water in each finger-bowl was renewed and made up to

175 c.c. and was transferred to plastic bags specially made for the

purpose from 200 gauge lay-flat tubing ; oxygen from an oxygen cylinder

was passed into the plastic bag till it filled up and exerted a reasonable

pressure. The free end of the plastic bag was twisted and double

knotted. A deal-wood box, 54:5 cm. x 31'°5cm. x 33 cm. could hold

40 such bags in four rows in two tiers. The weight of the consignment

was 10°2 kg., of which 7-4 accounted for the dead weight of the box. A

few trial consignments were despatched to Madurai, where they were

opened 20 to 48 hours after packing. In most of the cases the mortality

was nil, in a few it ranged from 1 to 4%. One interesting feature was

that the results from the transport tests did not appreciably vary from

the standing tests. Hence the bulk of the remaining tests were standing

tests. In some cases, for example where optimum surface area had to

be determined, the jolting effect of the rail transport was simulated by

stacking the bags on a weak table and running off and on an old table

fan placed on this table.

2.3. Causes of mortality of chanos fry

2.3.1. Handling mortality |

Chanos in all stages was extremely delicate and highly susceptible to

injury. A good number were accidentally killed during collection, partly

due to injury and partly to the clogging of the gills asa result of the

stirring of the silty bottom during dragging. Rough handling invariably

resulted in mortality. Thus, if after impounding the fry in the cloth used

for collection, the water was drained with the object of measuring the |

collection, a high mortality would result.. To avoid this mortality the

fry were transferred with water using a petri-dish for the purpose.

2.3.2. Medium of transport

Despite their delicateness, chanos fry showed extreme powers of

Osmoregulation and could even stand direct transfer from sea-water to

fresh water. The question for consideration was which of the salinity

Concentrations would be most conducive to maximum efficiency. To

elucidate this point, fry of 1-7 to 1°9 cm. size were packed with oxygen

in lots of 200 in bags, each containing 380 c.c. of water, some lots in

collection-ground water, some in well water, some in a mixture of the

| two, and some in tap water. Where changes in salinity were involved,

_ they were gradually acclimatized. The packed bags were left undisturbed

and the occurrence of mortality noted at definite intervals. The physical

properties of water were noted before and after the experiment. The

‘Tesults are presented in Table 2. It may be seen that the incidence of

mortality was early in tap water, followed by well water, then in the

‘mixture of well water and collection-ground water. Analysis of water

Vol. 63 (2)

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MILK FISH CHANOS CHANOS (FORSKAL) 24)3

at the end of the experiment showed a pH of 7°5 and sufficient pisselved

oxygen in all cases.

The reason for mortality in the low salinities could be either (1) after-

effect of acclimatization or (2) effect of accumulation of metabolic waste

products. From published accounts (Panikkar et al, 1952) it appears un-

likely that the former was the reason. This view is supported by the

fact that, when larger quantities of water were provided, mortality was

delayed. The limiting factor therefore appears to be the accumulation

of waste products, whose ill effects are experienced early in the

absence of buffer action of the saline medium. The actual physiological

break-down responsible for the high degree of mortality between 118

hours and 136 hours, even under high salinity conditions, appears to

have been starvation, as is revealed in a subsequent experiment. As the

mortality up to 30-hour period is low in all cases and the duration of

transport under field conditions was well within this period, all these

media could be adopted, although the saline medium ensured a greater

margin of safety. The final arrangement was as follows. After the

collection of fry, about 6 hours were allowed for the emptying of the

stomach—this period was conveniently used for gradually acclimatizing

the fry to a salinity of say 20%,. The fry were then packed in saline

medium and transported. At the salinity concentration of 20%,, the

osmotic pressure was more or less similar to that of the body fluid of the

fry, and this would facilitate the removal of the waste products and

offer a certain amount of buffering action against the accumulation of

carbon dioxide. The final acclimatization to fresh water was done after

the completion of the transport.

2.3.3. Transportation mortality

This was due to one or more of the following reasons,

2.3.3.1. Injury sustained, As already mentioned any injury sustained

_by the fry ended in mortality. During transportation in milk-can type

“containers the fry were very liable to get injured by violent splashing.

When these metal containers were used, say for short distance journey,

splashing was avoided by filling the container to the very top and closing

the mouth. The higher percentage of survival reported with the small

plastic bag was essentially due to the resilience of the plastic bag cushion-

ing out the splashing to a great extent; also the small surface area of

water reduced the amplitude of the splashing.

2.3.3.2. Lack of proper conditioning. Conditioning of chanos fry

prior to transport involved both acclimatization and physical condition-

ing. Since final culture was intended in fresh water, acclimatization to it

at some stage was necessary. The physical conditioning was to prepare

for a crowded journey so that the fry in transport would not suffer from

crowding and pollute the medium by vomiting and defaecation. How-

ever, prolonged physical conditioning was unnecessary, for chanos fry

304. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

occur crowded in-the-natural environment. |The alimentary-canal:at this

sage is short and the contents are quickly voided. So conditioning for

6 hours was sufficient. However, the medium had. to be periodically

replaced, because the fry would otherwise reinjest the faecal matter.

2.3.3.3. Lack of sufficient oxygen. The oxygen intake of chanos

fry being of the order of 0°:0002 c.c./fry/hour, the concentration’ of

100 fry per 175 c.c. arrived at was quite satisfactory for normal duration

oftransport. In actual transport, besides the oxygen contained in the

medium, oxygen was replenished from the atmosphere and the exact

quantity going into solution depended on (1) water surface area, (2) the

pressure and the percentage of oxygen contained in the atmosphere.

2.3.3.3.1. Water surface area. Increased surface area favoured

absorption of oxygen, but caused violent splashing and therefore more

mortality. To determine optimum surface area, experiments were con-

ducted with 4 distinct surface areas, keeping 200 fry of 1:7 to 1:9 cm.

length in 350 c.c. sea-water as constant in all cases. These plastic bags

were packed with oxygen and left in. plastic (pickle) jars of appropriate

surface area and the jolting effect was artificially simulated. Table 3

shows the optimum surface area for this particular volume and siz€é of

fry to be 25 sq. cm. ‘The mortality with larger surface area was Con-

siderable, and was caused by injury sustained during splashing. - With

a limited surface area of 14 sq. cm. the splashing was negligible and the

fry were not injured, but mortality set in at 48 to 60 hours and was

quite evident at 72 hours. This appeared to be due to oxygen deficiency

in the absence of adequate oxygen dissolution on acount of the limited

surface area. :

2.3.3.3.2. Pressure and percentage of oxygen | ee in the

atmosphere determines the extent of oxygen dissolution (Dalton’s law

and Henry’s law). In an open system the, rate of dissolution was. the

least as there was only 20% oxygen and no extra pressure. This could be.

improved by providing an atmosphere of oxygen (i.e. 100% oxygen) and

maintaining it under pressure, as in oxygen packing. _ Experiments were

conducted to find out the relative merits of different: packings. Some

lots of bags were kept open. In the second lot the bags enclosed a

certain amount of atmospheric air, and the free end of the bag was

twisted once or twice and knotted so that the air was compressed and

exerted a mild pressure on the water below. The third lot was packed |

with oxygen in the usual way, also maintaining a slight oxygen-pressure. —

The results presented in Table 4 show that, for short distance trans- |

port taking up to 24 hours, even open transport-in- plastic bags was

possible, although not recommended because of the chance of accidental

spilling. Merely keeping air under mild pressure prolonged the period

of safe transport to 36 hours, and oxygen transport was necessary in cases

requiring longer duration of transport,

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MILK FISH CHANOS CHANOS (FORSKAL) 307

2.3.4. Starvation mortality .

From the Tables 1, 2, and 3 it was seen abit even under the best

conditions mortality of chanos fry occurred after the 5th day. This was

suspected to be due to starvation, as provision of larger quantities of

water did not improve the situation. In a large basin of 400 sq. cm,

surface area, filled with 5 litres of sea-water 200 healthy fry were kept

and the incidence of mortality noted at intervals. The dead fry when

noticed were promptly removed to avoid fouling of the water. No

mortality was observed until after the Sth day, 8% mortality occurred on

the 6th day, 26% mortality (progressive) on the 7th day, 61% on the

8th day, and complete mortality on the 10th day. These deaths were

evidently due to starvation. The natural endurance being thus limited,

it was necessary that acclimatization, conditioning, and transport were

completed and the fry were planted in nurseries within this short

period. It is therefore necessary to restrict the combined period of

acclimatization and conditioning prior to transport to a short period,

say six hours.

2.3.5. Post-planting mortality

Growth of chanos fry in the natural environment is very rapid. They

attain 5-8 cm. length (3 to 7:5 gm. weight) in one month and 8 to 16

em. length (7°5-38 gm.) in the second month. As against this, growth

in nurseries was negligible and was associated with a very high incidence

of mortality. As direct stocking of fry was a failure, it was felt that

naturally-occurring chanos fingerlings should be utilized for stocking.

3. TRANSPORT OF CHANOS FINGERLINGS

Chanos fingerlings occurred in the shallow lagoons in and around

Mandapam, including those of the adjoining islands, in such large num-

bers that, during the late summer months, a fishery of chanos fingerlings

existed in this area. Preliminary attempts to stock these large-sized

fingerlings yielded good results in Ramanathapuram area. Similar good

results were recorded from Vellore Moat farms (1953). The extreme

difficulties in transport might have been the main reason for chanos

fingerlings not being taken up for large scale stocking.

3.1. Collection of chanos fingerlings

At Pamban chanos fingerlings were caught mostly by scare line

fishing. At Mandapam, kondavalai (an inshore drag net with wooden

sticks at regular intervals keeping the head rope and foot rope at a fixed

distance) was used. The kondavalai was dragged by 6 to 10 fishermen

in the shallow regions of the lagoon. During low tide the fingerlings got

stranded in the pools and collection was particularly easy, anything up

to 2500 fingerlings being collected per hour per net.

308 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

The freshly collected fingerlings being over-active, hand picking led

to loss of scales and consequent fungal attack and injury to the internal

organs. The excited fingerlings knocked about in the container, bruising

their body and polluting the water medium by the fallen scales and

vomited and defaecated matter. The mortality was so great that in one

instance the entire collection of about 2000 fingerlings died in the show

period between collection and actual transport.

3.2. Oxygen consumption of freshly caught chanos fase

Viswanathan & Tampi (1952) and Job (1957) worked out the oxygen

consumption of chanos in relation to size. But the oxygen consumption

reported appeared to be that of routine metabolism of conditioned fish

as the figures did not amply reflect the oxygen requirements of freshly

caught fingerlings. In actual practice it was necessary to know of the

optimum quantity of water required per fingerling to keep them alive.

With this object a series of trials were made using small cement cisterns

having a surface area of approximately 0°8 square metres. Each cistern

was filled with 35 gallons of water made up of equal quantities of fresh ©

water and sea-water. Concentrations varying from 5-500 freshly caught ©

fingerlings of size-7 to 9 cm. were kept in the cisterns. Mortality, except

in the lower concentrations, was so rapid that it was not possible to keep

a record. Having got an idea that the optimum number was between

10 and 20 fingerlings per cistern, the experiments were. repeated to

arrive at the optimum number. Fingerlings that died shortly after

the experiment began were replaced, their mortality being considered

due to injuries sustained during collection. The optimum number was

found to be about 17. This indicated that about 2 gallons (9 litres) of

water were required to sustain a single fingerling — a requirement

inconsistent with economical transport. The solution was one of reduc-

ing the rate of oxygen uptake. Of the two methods available, (1)

use of anaesthetics and (2) physical conditioning, the latter alone was

tried. |

3.3. Conditioning of chanos Bacoyes | )

-The fingerlings, immediately after impoundment in kondavalai, were:

transferred with minimum handling to conditioning boxes with velon

screen sides, kept immersed in water. The conditioning boxes were.

then transported, where possible, through water and, where overland | |

transport was necessary, in water-proofed jeep trailers filled with salt |

water. Spilling of water from the trailer was minimised by firmly tying _

a thin tarpaulin over the trailer mouth. To begin with, the conditioning

boxes with the fingerlings were kept immersed in the channel leading |

to the Marine Fish Farm at Mandapam. In due course the screen

meshes got plugged with silt and not more than 150 fingerlings could be

kept alive in a 105-gallon conditioning box. By periodical cleaning of the _

mesh, it was possible to keep alive 200 fingerlings. The conditioning —

MILK FISH CHANOS CHANOS (FORSKAL) 309

box was then moored to an anchor in the open sea, a little beyond

the zone of turbulence. In these conditions a concentration of 250

fingerlings not only did not result in appreciable mortality but the

fingerlings continued to be active, even after 4 days. Dissection re-

vealed that they were getting sufficient food ; starvation was evidently

necessary to reduce the activity. For this purpose a 6000-gallon

‘cemented tank at the Fisheries Campus was filled with water, partly

salt and partly fresh, and the fingerlings in the conditioning box were

left to starve in the tank. This procedure worked, the fingerlings became

progressively less active, and several batches of 200 to 250 fingerlings were

successfully conditioned.

Whereas freshly captured chanos fingerlings knocked aboutin frenzied

excitement at the sound of an approaching foot-step the same fingerling

of size 6-10 cm. did not respond to the sound of foot-steps after about a

week’s conditioning, though it could be excited by the beam of a flash

light. After another week flashing a light merely induced a scattering

of the shoal, and after 3 weeks of conditioning even this response was

hard to detect. Conditioning time increased with the size of the

fingerlings.

3°4. Starvation mortality

Unlike chanos fry, chanos fingerlings were hardy and, in a test

case, survived 56 days of starvation. Though they appeared emaciated

with somewhat disproportionately large heads, some of them grew

very well when stocked in tanks near Chittarakottai—apparently the

prolonged starvation did not impair their capacity for growth. .

3°5. Effect of starvation on the efficiency of chanos fingerling

transport — . ink

An experiment was conducted to determine the optimum number of

56 days conditioned chanos fingerlings. In standard plastic bags each

containing 6 litres of water, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 fingerlings res-

pectively were introduced and packed with oxygen. No mortality was

Seen in any lot in a standing test of 6 days’ duration. The maximum

efficiency in this case worked out to 10 fingerlings per litre as against |

fingerling per 9 litres for unconditioned fingerlings. In actual practice

such prolonged conditioning would be difficult, and the observation:

reported merely illustrates the possibility of economic-.transport by

starving the fingerlings. |

In order to arrive at the concentrations of fingerlings at various

levels of starvation a few further experiments were conducted. The

results obtained are presented in Table 6. oy

Since the season expired soon after and the author was transferred, by

the next season these experiments could not be repeated on-a statistical ©

design.» es Ser : : pit :

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL ‘HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

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EFFECT OF CONDITIONING ON THE LIMITS OF CONCENTRATION OF CHANOS FINGERLINGS AS REVEALED IN STANDING TESTS IN STANDARD

SIZE PLASTIC BAGS PACKED WITH OXYGEN UNDER SLIGHT PRESSURE, USING WATER OF LOW SALINITY (5%o)

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43 4-6 60 9 150 12 do.

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45 7 (av.) 60 9 150 7 do.

46 7 (av.) 70 9 129 7 do.

47 7 (av.) 40 9 225 12 do

48 TS (av.) 60 9 150 7 do.

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50 8 (av.) 25 9 360 3 hrs.

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37. 8 (av.) 25 9 360 1 day

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58 9 (av.)

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63 10 (av.)

64 10 (av.)

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70 12 (av.)

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TABLE 6

RESULTS OF CHANOS FINGERLING TRANSPORT USING JEEP TRAILER WITH FINGERLINGS PACKED WITH

OXYGEN IN STANDARD PLASTIC BAGS SUPPORTED IN CONVERTED KEROSINE TINS—DISTANCE 100 MILES ;

DURATION OF ACTUAL JOURNEY 5 HRS.

Quantity of | No. of days Actual duration Mortality

Serial Terie No. of Quantity of water per of conditioning between time of at the

No. Ga fingerlings water in litres fingerling before packing and time of

e (in c.c.) packing time of release release

75 47 70 9 129 10 13 hrs. 1

76 48 54 9 167 14 1335, nil

7 4-8 70 9 129 J 1305; 1

78 48 60 12 200 4 Oie5 2

79 518 50 12 240 14 12s. nil

80 5-9 55 12 218 5 10 ,, 2

81 5-9 45 12 267 5 10 ,, 3

82 5-9 50 12 240 5 11 ,, 2

83 5-9 } 50 12 240 5 Dp 2

84 6-10 46 12 267 5 11 ,, nil

85 610 | 45 12 267 5 12a 4

86 6-10 42 12 286 Ss 12 1

87 6-10 40 12 300 5 12 4

88 6-8 35 12 343 4 10 , 3

89 6-8 35 12 343 4 oF; 4

90 6-8 35 12 343 4 8 ,, 3

91 “7-9 40 12 300 4 Oy op 4

92 8-10 40 12 300 4 9 5 3

93 8-12 28 12 429 10 13 ,, nil

94 7-13 32 12 375 14 ES oy nil

95 9-12 20 12 600 4 8, 5

96 10-12 20 12 600 4 10 ,, 8

97 8-11 25 12 480 4 O35 6

98 9-12 20 12 600 4 10 ,, 6

99 9-13 18 12 667 4 10 5

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314. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am thankful to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Govern-

ment of India, for facilities, and to the staff of the Fisheries Extension

Unit, Mandapam Camp, particularly Shri P. Sulochanan, for assisting

me in this work.

This work was initiated in collaboration with Shri K. Virabhadra

Rao, then the Fisheries Extension Officer, Fisheries Extension Unit,

Mandapam Camp. After his transfer from this unit the work was done

more or less independently by the author. The author is grateful to

Shri Rao for his continued interest and several helpful discussions in the

course of this work.

SYNOPSIS

Transport is the main difficulty in utilising the extensive chanos

seed resources.

It was found that chanos fry can be transported in small plastic bags

very economically and with almost no mortality. Delicate handling

and gradual acclimatization over 6 hours to about half salinity concen-

tration prepare the fry for transport. The fry can be transported

without any packing in small plastic bags upto 24 hours, with air under

mild pressure upto 36 hours, and in oxygen under mild pressure upto

96 hours without appreciable mortality. Large water surface area caused

mortality by splashing. Optimum area was found to be about 25

sq. cm., for 350 c.c. of water.

The lack of sufficient knowledge on the technique of rearing chanos

fry to fingerling size limits the applicability of the above method of

transport. —

Chanos fingerlings are available in large quantities in the natural envi-

ronment. By a simple technique of starvation it was possible to reduce

their extreme excitability and high oxygen demand and thus improve

the transport efficiency by 90 times, a level at which it is economically

feasible to undertake their long distance transport for stocking purposes.

REFERENCES

Anonymous (1954): Administrative PANIKKAR, N. K., TAMPI, P. R. S., AND

Report of the Department of Fisheries, VISWANATHAN, R. (1952) : On the fry of

Madras, for the year ending 31st March Milk-Fish | Chanos chanos (Forskal).

1953. Curr. Sci. 21: 18-19.

GANAPATI, S. V., CHACKO, P. I., SRINI- ———-——-— — (1958) ; Some aspecia

VASAN, R., AND KRISHNAMURTHY (1950): of adaptation in Chanos chanos (Forskal).

On the acclimatization, transport and Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 37 (6) (B) : 201-213.

culture of some salt water fishes in inland VISWANATHAN, & Tampl, P.R.S.

waters of Madras See Pel geese Geogra- (1952): Oxygen consumption and via-

phical Journal 25 (2): bility in Chanos chanos (Forskal) in

Jos, S. V. (1957) : aie ‘routine active relation to size. Proc. Ind. Acad. ‘Sci.

oxygen consumption of the Milk fish. 36 (4), Sec. B ¢ 148-157.

Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 45 (B) (6) : 302-

313.

Studies on the Insect Pollinators of

— olitorius and capsularis Jute

S. K. GHOSE

Jute Agricultural Research Institute, Barrackpore, West Bengal

(With two figures)

INTRODUCTION

In the course of study on natural crossing in two cultivated species

’ of jute, Corchorus olitorius Linn. and C. capsularis Linn. (Family :

Tiliaceae), Ghose & Das Gupta (1945) found that, among flower-

Visiting insects, bees are the most numerous and frequent of the visitors

effecting cross-pollination. But they did not mention the species of

the bees. Ray (1960) assumed that insects, wind, gravitation, etc. were

the possible agents of natural crossing in olitorius Jute. Dutt & Ghose

(1962) ascertained that insects and not wind are the agents of cross-

pollination in both the species. Ghose & Das Gupta (1945) hypotheti-

cally deduced that the higher frequency of natural crossing in olitorius

was due to the bigger size of its flowers being preferred by the insects.

None of the previous workers examined the population of pollinating

insects. So the present investigations were carried out to study the

insect pollinators of both these species of jute.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Two field experiments, one with olitorius (JRO-632) and the other

with capsularis (JRC-212), were conducted in 1962 season. Crops were

_ raised in lines, 30°48 cm. (1 ft.) apart, in two separate but adjacent plots.

Each plot was 21°34 m.x 17:07 m. (70 ft. 56 ft.). The plant to plant

distance along the lines was 7°62-10°16 cm. (3-4 in.).

‘The flower-visiting insects were caught simultaneously from both

the olitorius and the capsularis trials for 11 days during the flowering

stage and their records were maintained. Insects were caught at six

fixed periods each day, namely 6.30-7.00, 8.00-8.30, 9.30-10.00, 11.00-11.30,

12.30-13.00, and 13.30-14.00 hours.

The number of flowers on three plants taken at random from every

alternate row, i.e. 81 plants from each trial, were recorded on the days

316 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

of capturing the insects. In the case of both the species, correlation

between the total numbers of hymenopterous insects and Apis dorsata

Fabricius caught and the average number of flowers per plant on the

respective dates have been calculated.

In order to assess the activities of A. dorsata, observations were made

to find out the average number of flowers and plants visited per minute

and also the time spent in a flower and in between two flowers by a single

bee in both the species of jute.

OBSERVATIONS

Orders of insects visiting flowers :

(a) olitorius: Insects belonging to three orders, namely Hymeno-

ptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera were found to visit olitorius flowers in

the proportions 80°00, 18°3, and 1:7°% respectively. The average total

catch of insects was 30 per day (Fig. 1).

(b) capsularis : capsularis flowers were also visited by these three

orders of insects. The average capture of flower-visiting insects per

day was 52 (Fig. 1). The percentages of hymenopterous, dipterous, and

lepidopterous insects were 80°7, 18°3, and 1:0 respectively.

The ratio between the average daily catches of insects in olitorius and

capsularis fields was 1: 1°8. Therefore, the density of insect population

in capsularis was nearly double that in olitorius.

Hymenopterous insects visiting flowers :

(i) olitorius: Three oriental species of honey bees, namely Apis

dorsata Fabricius, A. florea Fabricius, and A. indica Fabricius, were

found to visit olitorius flowers. Their respective daily average number

‘of captures were 18°0, 1:0, and 0°5 (Fig. 1), representing 75°3, 5°3, and

2°3 % respectively of the hymenopterous insects. The remaining 171%

hymenopterous insects consisted of bees other than honey bees, wasps, —

etc., none of them in considerable number. : .

(ii) capsularis: In capsularis, the corresponding average number

of daily captures of A. dorsata, A. florea, and A. indica were 28:0, 6°0,

and 0°5 respectively (Fig. 1), constituting 66°4, 14°8, and 1:3 % respec-

tively of the hymenopterous insects. Like olitorius, among the remain-—

ing 17°35 % hymenopterous insects, none of the species of other bees,

wasps, etc., was worth mentioning. =|

The average daily captures of A. dorsata, A. florea, and the remain- /

ing hymenopterous insects in capsularis were 1°55, 6°0, and 1:75 times |

respectively more than in olitorius. The populations of A. indica were

negligible and equal in both the fields.

317

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318 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Dipterous insects visiting flowers :

(a) olitorius: The dipterous insects were all syrphids, but Eristalis

obscuritarsis de Meiz. was very predominant and consisted of 81:97 %

of the dipterous insects. 3

(b) capsularis: EE. obscuritarsis was 86°91 % of the total syrphids

caught.

The captures of syrphids and of E. obscuritarsis were 1°75 times and

1°84 times more in capsularis than in olitorius (Fig. 1).

Periods of activity of insects :

A. Hymenopterous insects :

(i) olitorius: The hymenopterous insects were found in large

numbers during the period from 8:00 to 8°30 hours (Table 1). But as

A. dorsata was 60% -of the total insect pollinators and none of the re-

maining species of hymenopterous insects was more than 3°3%, the

activities of A. dorsata alone and of the others collectively were taken

into account (Fig. 2). The peak period of activity of A. dorsata was

from 8°00 to 8°30 hours, but there was no marked peak period in the

activities of the remaining hymenopterous insects. They were found

to be active during 8°00 to 14:00 hours (Table 2a).

(ii) capsularis: The maximum activity of the hymenopterous

insects was found during the period from 9°30 to 10:00 hours (Table 1).

It is evident from Table 2b that A. dorsata and A. florea, which consti-

tuted 53°8 and 11°5 % respectively of the total capture of insects had the —

same peak period of activity. But hymenopterous insects other than

Apis spp. were found to be active from 8:00 to 14:00 hours, without

showing any appreciable peak in their activities (Table 2b). |

The difference in the peak periods of activity of A. dorsata (Fig. 2)

in olitorius and capsularis was obviously due to the different times of —

opening of flowers in the two species.

B. Dipterous insects :

In both olitorius and capsularis jute, dipterous insects were present

in maximum numbers during the period from 6°30 to 7-00 hours, though

capsularis flowers had not opened at that time. During that period, they — yy

were found to sit on the closed. capsularis and olitorius flowers which had |

bloomed on the previous day and also to visit fresh olitorius flowers.

Correlations between the population densities of flowers and

hymenopterous insects and A. dorsata

(a) olitorius: No significant correlations between the avetage |

numbers of flowers per plant and of daily capture of hymenopterous —

insects and A. dorsata (Table 3) have been found.

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322 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

(b) capsularis: The number of daily captures of hymenopterous

insects collectively and of A. dorsata in particular showed highly signi-

TABLE 3 |

POPULATION DENSITIES OF FLOWERS AND INSECTS IN oOlitorius :

= q

. Number of eC uw 3a s :

Date of | Av.no.of| hymenopterous insects O28 ree 3 |

observation | flowers bio 2 ° = Z c .

A. dorsata Others Total Faget Z ae

2 |

25-9-62 3°54 | 20 J) 29 pa 5 34

27-9-62 2°61 5 5 10 3 8 54 |

29-9-62 322 11 if 18 2 13 33

3-10-62 1°84 23 8 31 1 14 46

4-10-62 1:96 22 7 29 0 4 33

5-10-62 2°64 43 1 44 0 5 49

9-10-62 2°68 44 3 47 0 4 51

11-10-62 DANS 15 9 24 0 3 ee

12-10-62 2°28 5 S) 14 0 2 16

16-10-62 1°54 9 4 13 0 3 16

18-10-62 0°84 1 3 4 0 0 4

= Se UP

SATS SST sana rans

ale NOt

13 0°418' significant.

1 average number of flowers per plant

2=number of A. dorsata

3=total number of hymenopterous insects

r +. 0°345) The correlations

Correlations :

ficant correlations (at 1°% level) with the average number of flowers per

plant per day (Table 4).

TABLE 4

POPULATION DENSITIES OF FLOWERS AND INSECTS IN capsularis

> |

| Number of a cie se. |

Date of | Av. no. of} hymenopterous insects O29 © OS a ae

observation | flowers |—————_—~- ——— | 6 § 2 62 2 bee

A. dorsata Others Total| AZ 4 = Z =e

o ! |

| |

25-9-62 6°85 25 6 31 4 7 42

27-9-62 6°53 25 20 45 1 10 56

29-9-62 10°64 54 25 79 ot 12 91

3-10-62 3-34 34 23 57 a 12 69

4-10-62 4:49 32 11 43 == . 29 7

5-10-62 7:30 56 4 60 a 9 69

9-10-62 5-36 56 10 66 ea 14 80

11-10-62 3-42 17 13 30 es 4 34

12-10-62 DAS Dx 22 29 1 5 35

16-10-62 1-22 3 19 D2, — 4 26

3 1 a.

18-10-62 0°39 0 | 3 3

es 0.800) 1 =average number of flowers per plant

| 2=number of A. dorsata

rons 0.796/ 3=total number of hymenopterous insects

The correlations are highly significant.

Correlations :

POLLINATORS OF OLITORIUS AND CAPSULARIS JUTE 323

Effects of climatic conditions on the activities of pollinating insects :

Dutt & Ghose (1962) assumed that the activities of pollinating insects

are affected by rainfall ; in the present experiments, their activities were

observed to be greatly reduced in cloudy weather.

Behaviour of A. dorsata in olitorius and capsularis fields :

(a) olitorius: A. dorsata was found to visit on an average 9:93

flowers and 8°85 plants per minute. Rarely, was it found to visit two

flowers of the same plant consecutively. It spent on an average 4°37

and 3°63 seconds in a flower and in between two flowers respectively

(Table 5).

TABLE 5

BEHAVIOUR* OF A. dorsata IN olitorius AND capsularis FIELDS

No. of : . : :

. Avy. no. of No. of flowers | Time (in secs.) | Time (in secs.)

Spec - of flower per ae ae visited per spent ina spent between

ju plant pare | minute flower two flowers

olitorius 2°65 6:06-11°35 4°61-19°45 2°23-10°38 1:92-7°16

: av. 8°85 av. 9°93 av. 4°37 av. 3°63

capsularis 6°91 6:°95-12°63 | 6°40-17°14 1:50-3°75 1°:35-3°62

av. 8°38 av. 11.18 av. 2°40 av. 2°36

*Observations on different aspects were made separately.

(b) capsularis: It visited on an average 11:18 flowers and 8°38

‘plants per minute (Table 5). Frequently, the flowers of the same plant

were visited consecutively by a single bee. It spent less time in a flower

(average 2°40 seconds) and in between two flowers (average 2°36 seconds)

than in olitorius. The difference in behaviour was probably due to the

smaller size and greater number of capsularis flowers.

DISCUSSION

In order to justify their view on the cause of higher percentage of

natural crossing in olitorius jute, Ghose & Das Gupta (1945) stated that

olitorius flowers, owing to their larger size, were preferred by the flower-

Visiting insects. Dutt & Ghose (1962) were of the opinion that the lower

percentage of natural crossing in capsularis was due to the larger number

of flowers per plant, i.e. all the flowers were not visited by the insects.

Neither explanation seems satisfactory to the present author, since the

‘proportion of flowers to insects in the olitorius field was virtually the

Same as that in capsularis, For example, while the number of-flowers in

324. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

capsularis was double that of olitorius, the number of insect visitors to

the former was also nearly double, i.e. 1°8 times. Moreover Apis dorsata,

the most important species, was found to visit capsularis flowers more

frequently and as such there is little chance of any capsularis flower

remaining unvisited as assumed by the above workers. In the opinion

of the present author, the higher percentage of natural crossing in

olitorius is due to a much larger number of ovules in its flowers than in

capsularis and less chance of close-pollination than in the latter as ascer-

tained from the behaviour of A. dorsata. According to Ghose & Das

Gupta (1945), the average number of ovules per ovary of olitorius is 200

against 50 in capsularis. It is, therefore, likely that the number of un- ©

fertilised ovules after anthesis will be higher in olitorius, thereby enhanc-

ing chances of natural crossing by the insects.

The variations in the extent of natural crossing in olitorius jute in the

observations of Ghose & Das Gupta (1945) and of Ray (1960) were slight, —

although they followed quite different techniques. The former authors —

thought that, if the number of dominant plants be increased, the chances

of a flower of a recessive plant being out-pollinated by the pollen of —

another recessive plant would be less. Accordingly, they raised four

recessive plants in a field of dominant plants and recorded on the average ©

12°8% natural crossing per plant, with a maximum of 17.0%. Ray —

(1960), on the other hand, raised both the strains of olitorius in alternate

rows and registered on an average 10°5% natural crossing per plant,

the highest being 17'7%, the figures differing little with those of Ghose &

Das Gupta (1945). Considering the proportion of dominant and reces-

sive plants, the percentages of natural crossing should have been higher

in the former experiment. The present author considers that the lack ©

of any significant variation is most probably due to differences in the —

population and activities of pollinating insects. The findings of Dutt &

Ghose (1962) tend to support this view, since they recorded much less ~

natural crossing in olitorius, though following the same technique as

Ray (1960). They attributed this phenomenon to the reduced activity _

of the pollinating insects due to frequent rainfall. Likewise, the same

factor seems to be responsible for the variations in the percentages of

natural crossing in capsularis, as observed by Ghose & Das Gupta (1945),

in different years or in the same year andin the same or different |

localities. , |

The part played by insects in the pollination of olitorius and cap-

sularis jute is further realised from the work of Dutt & Ghose (1962), —

who observed that the setting of seeds per pod was about 46% and 12%

more in non-caged olitorius and capsularis plants respectively in com- —

parison with caged plants and expressed the opinion that 16-mesh wire- —

net cages were satisfactory from the point of view of aeration, light, —

and humidity. It was, therefore, quite likely that visits of the insects |

POLLINATORS OF OLITORIUS AND CAPSULARIS JUTE £Ye3)

increased the intensity of self-pollination, leaving aside the question of

close- and cross-pollination, and thereby increased the production of

seeds in non-caged plants.

It is evident from the above observations that A. dorsata is the most

important insect pollinator of both the cultivated species of jute.

Unfortunately, this species cannot be maintained in hives, which is

however possible for A. indica. It may be worth while to place colonies

of this species in jute fields during the flowering season for the increase

in the production of seeds.

SUMMARY

Hymenopterous and dipterous insects represented about 80 and

18% respectively of the pollinating insects both in olitorius and in cap-

sularis jute ; lepidopterous insects were negligible. The total capture

of insect pollinators in capsularis was 1°8 times more than in olitorius.

The percentages of Apis dorsata among the hymenopterous insects

were about 75 and 66 in olitorius and capsularis respectively. The cor-

responding percentages of A. florea were about 5 and 15. No other

species of hymenopterous insect was important.

Eristalis obscuritarsis was about 82 and 87% of the total syrphids

captured in olitorius and capsularis respectively.

The peak period of activity of A. dorsata was from 8°00 to 8°30 hours

in olitorius ; in capsularis, this species and A. florea showed highest

activity from 9°30 to 10°00 hours. This was due to the different times

of opening of flowers in the two species of jute.

The number of daily captures in capsularis of total hymenopterous

‘insects and of A. dorsata showed highly significant correlations with the

average number of flowers per plant. But no such correlation has been

found in olitorius.

Cloudy weather affected greatly the activity of the insects.

Owing to the smaller size and greater number of the flower in cap-

_ sularis, A. dorsata visited more plants and flowers per minute and spent

less time in a flower and in between two flowers of this species than in

olitorius.

The higher percentage of natural crossing in olitorius was probably

due to its larger number of ovules which increase the chances of natural

crossing as compared with capsularis.

For production of seed, colonies of A. indica might usefully be placed

in jute fields during flowering.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Thanks are due to Sri P. Dutta, Statistician, Central Inland Fisheries

Research Institute, Barrackpore, for helping in the analysis of the data.

326 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

REFERENCES

Dutt, N. & GuosgE, S. K. (1962):

Measurement of natural crossing as

effected by insects in olitorius and cap-

sularis jute. Indian J. of agric. Sci.

32 : 242-250.

* cy i

‘GuosE, R. L. M. & Das Gupta, B.

(1945): Floral biology, antheses and —

natural crossing in jute. Indian J. —

Genet. 4 : 80-84. | a

Ray, B. (1960): Natural crossing in ©

Corchorus olitorius L. Indian Agrist. 4: 1-4. eo

Nomenclatural Notes on some

Flowering Plants

7 ING PR: BALAKRISHNAN

Botanical Survey of India, Shillong

The following notes involving nomenclatural changes were compiled -

by the author during the course of his work in the large Central National

Herbarium at Calcutta. The names are arranged family-wise. In

addition to the citation of original publication, indication of type speci-

mens wherever located, and important floras, a brief explanation to the

required name change is included.

AQUIFOLIACEAE

Tlex tavoyensis Balak. nom. nov. J. wallichii Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind.

1: 605, 1875 (non Steudel 1840) ; Kurz, Fl. Brit. Burma 1 : 246, 1877.

Type : Tavoy, Gomez s.n. Herb. Maingay 1774 (CAL).

ANACARDIACEAE

Holigarna wightii Balak. nom. nov. H. grahamii Hook. f. Fl. Brit.

Ind. 2 : 37, 1876 (non Kurz 1872) ; Woodr. in J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. .

me: 27/3, 1897; Talbot, Trees Bombay 63, 1902; Gamble, FI. Pres.

_ Madras, Reprint ed. 191, 1957 ; Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bombay, Reprint ed.

1: 298, 1958. Semecarpus grahamii Wight, Ic. Pl. Ind. Or. 1: t. 235,

1839 ; Dalz. & Gibs. Bombay Fl. 52, 1861.

Wight’s Icon 235 is based on specimens from peninsular India which

he named Semecarpus grahamii. Later Kurz (1872) wrongly referred

certain specimens from Pegu to this species and described them under

| the name Holigarna grahamii, indicating Semecarpus grahamii Wight in

| Parentheses as synonym. J. D. Hooker (1876) found the specimens on

Which Wight’s name is based are different from those described by Kurz,

| and he gave a new name, Holigarna albicans, to the specimens of Kurz

| and applied H. grahamii to Wight’s specimens, thus creating a later

| homonym. This is clearly against the provisions of Art. 64 of the Code.

| The combination H. grahamii Hook. f. (1876) is based on a type different

| from that on which the combination H. grahamii Kurz (1872) is based,

328 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

and is therefore a later homonym. A new name H. wightii is proposed —

here for the peninsular Indian species.

Holigarna grahamii Kurz in J. As. Soc. Beng. 41 : 395, 1872, pro parte.

Holigarna albicans Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 2 : 38, 1876.

Holigarna grahamii Kurz, excluding the synonym Semecarpus

grahamii Wight, is validly published; Kurz has given a detailed descrip-

tion which is entirely based on his Burmese specimens. The inappro-

priate indication of a synonym does not invalidate a name otherwise

validly published. H. albicans Hook. f. is a superfluous name and

should be rejected in favour of H. grahamii Kurz.

PAPILIONACEAE

Astragalus ladakensis Balak. nom. nov. A. strictus Grah. ex Benth.

in Royle, Illustr. Bot. Himal. 198, 1835 (non Siev. ex Fisch. 1825) ; Hook.

f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 2 : 124, 1876.

Desmodium benthamii Balak. nom. nov. D. brachystachyum Grah.

ex Benth. in Miq. Pl. Jungh. 223, 1852 (non Schlecht. 1838); Bakerin |

Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 2 : 171, 1876 ; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras, Reprint —

ed. 245, 1957 ; Haines, Bot. Bih. Or. 265, 1922.

Desmodium bakeri Balak. nom. nov. D. rottleri Baker in Hook. f.

Fl. Brit. Ind. 2: 174, 1876 pro parte (non G. Don, 1832) ; Gamble,

Fl. Pres. Madras, Reprint ed. 245, 1957. Eleiotis rottleri Wight & Arn-

Prodr. 231, 1834.

D. rottleri Baker is a later homonym of D. rottleri G. Don (Geel

Syst. 2 : 297, 1832). .A new name, D. bakeri, is chosen for this species.

The Burmese specimens cited by Baker Joc. cit. belong to Neocollettia

wallichii (Kurz) Schindl. in Fedde Rep. 21 : 16, 1925.

UMBELLIFERAE

Bupleurum hamiltonii Balak. nom. nov. B. tenue Buch.-Ham. ex D.

Don, Prodr. Fl. Nep. 182, 1825 (non Salisbury, 1796) ; DC. Prodr. 4:

128, 1830; Clarke in Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 2 : 677, 1882 ; Duthie, FI.

U. Gang. PI. 392, 1903 ; Wolff in Engler, Pflanzenr. 43 : 145, 1910.

Bupleurum hamiltonii Balak. var. khasianum (Clarke) Balak. comb.

nov. B. tenue D. Don var. khasianum Clarke in Hook. f. Fl. Brit. ig i

2 : 677, 1882 ; Wolff, Le. 145. aa

APIACEAE (RUBIACEAE)

Ixora arborea Roxb. ex Seem. var. zeylanica (Hook. f.) Balak. comb.

nov. J. parviflora Vahl var. zeylanica Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 3 : 143, 1880. —

Type : Thwaites C.P. 2, * Ixora jucunda Thw. var. r.’ (CAL). |

NOMENCLATURAL NOTES ON SOME FLOWERING PLANTS — 329

Bremekamp (in J. Bot. 75 : 324, 1937) changed the name /xora parvi-

flora Vahl to I. arborea Roxb. ex Seem., the former being a later

homonym. J. D. Hooker /oc. cit. described a variety zeylanica under

I. parviflora Vahl, which differs from the typical form in having broadly

elliptic, obovate, acuce, acuminate leaves, which are cuneate at base,

- more membranous, less reticulate ; the petioles arc longer and the stipules

- longer cuspidate.

ASTERACEAE (COMPOSITAE)

Artemisia edgeworthii Balak. nom. nov. A. stricta Edgew. in Trans.

Linn. Soc. 20: 73,.1846 (non Heyne ex DC. 1838) ; Hook. f. FI. Brit.

Bind, 3 : 323, 1881.

ACANTHACEAE

Rhinacanthus nasuta (L.) Kurz var. montana (Clarke) Balak. comb.

nov. R. communis Nees var. montana Clarke in Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind.

4: 451, 1885 ; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras, Reprint ed. 759, 1957.

LAURACEAE

Actinodaphne malabarica Balak. nom. nov. A. hirsuta Hook. f.

Fl. Brit. Ind. 5 : 152, 1886 (non Blume 1851); Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras,

Reprint ed. 862, 1957. Actinomorphe hirsuta (Hook. f.) O. Kuntze,

Rev. Gen. 570, 1891.

Litsea cuipala (D. Don) Balak. comb. nov. Tetranthera cuipala D.

Don, Prodr. Fl. Nep. 65, 1825. T. lanuginosa Wall. ex Nees in Wall.

Pl. As. Rar. 2: 64, 1831. Litsea lanuginosa Nees in Syst. Laurin. 634,

1831 ; Meissn. in DC. Prodr. 15(1) : 221, 1864; Brandis, For. Fl. 382,

1874 ; Gamble, Man. Ind. Timb. 312, 1881 ; Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 5:

178, 1886.

~ Litsea saligna (Nees) Balak. comb. nov. Tetranthera saligna Nees

‘in Wall. Pl. As. Rar. 2: 67, 1831. T. angustifolia Wall. ex Meissn. in

DC. Prodr. 15(1): 183, 1864, pro parte. Litsea angustifolia (Wall. ex

Meissn.) Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 5 : 169, 1886 (non Blume 1826, nec KurZ

1875) ; Prain, Beng. Pl. 903, 1903 ; Kanjilal et al. Fl. Assam 4 : 87, 1940

The oldest name for this species is Tetranthera angustifolia Wall.

(1830), but this is a nomen nudum and cannot be taken into consideration .

for purposes of priority. This name was validated only in 1864

by Meissner, when he furnished a description. There was already an

earlier validly published name for this species, Tetranthera saligna Nees

(1831) ; J. D. Hooker on transferring this species to Litsea, chose the

330 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

epithet of Wallich, angustifolia, and this is against the rule of priority of

the Code. Further, L. angustifolia Hook. f. (1886) is a later homonym

of L. angustifolia Blume (1826) and L. angustifolia Kurz (1875).

Litsea thwaitesii Balak. nom. nov. L. undulata Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind..

5: 158, 1886 (non Zipp. ex Blume 1851). Tetranthera lingustrina

Thw. Enum. Pl. Zeyl. 254, 1861 (non Nees 1831).

ORCHIDACEAE

Anoectochilus Blume: The genus Anoectochilus was founded by

Blume in 1825. In 1858 he described the genus Odontochilus, differen-

tiating it from the former by the shorter sac of its lip, which is concealed —

by the bases of the sepals and also because Of the more developed

columnar processes. These distinctions seem to be insufficient to justify

generic rank, an opinion first expressed by J. D. Hooker in Icones

Plantarum 2: t. 2168, 1893, and later supported by King & Pantling in

Ann. R. Bot. Gard. Calc. 8: 293, 1898, and recently by Holttum in

Rev. Fl. Mal. 1: 124, 1953. To quote Holttum : ‘ As construed here,

this includes two genera Anoectochilus and Odontochilus. The former

has coloured leaves and distinct spur, the latter genus green leaves and a

saccate base to the lip. The species A. calcaratus, however, is inter-

mediate between the two ; and the essential flower structure of both is

very similar ; so that the union of the two genera is not unnatural.’

The following new combination is proposed.

Anoectochilus rotundifolius (Blatt.) Balak. comb. nov. Odontochilus

rotundifolius Blatter in J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 32 : 521, 1928 ; Fischer

in Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras, Reprint ed. 1016, 1957.

AMARYLLIDACEAE

Molineria trichocarpa (Wight) Balak. comb. nov. Curculigo finlay-

soniana Wall. ex Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 6: 279, 1892. Hypoxis tricho-

carpa Wight, Ic. Pl. 6 : t. 2045, 1853 (sinistra fig. tant.) ; Thwaites, Enum.

Pl. Zeyl. 323, 1864; Kurz in Miquel, Ann. Mus. Lugd.-Bat. 4: 178,

1869. HA. latifolia Wight, l.c. t. 2044, 1853. H. leptostachya Wight,

Lc. t. 2045 (dextra fig. tant.).. H. pauciflora Wight, l.c. t. 2046 (sinistra

fig. tant.). H. brachystachya Wight, Lc. t. 2046 (dextra fig. tant.). Moli-

neria finlaysoniana Bakerin J. Linn. Soc. 17: 121, 1878 ; Fischer in

Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras, Reprint ed. 1049, 1957.

Curculigo finlaysoniana is the oldest name given to this species by

Wallich in 1832 as a nomen nudum, which was validated only in 1892

by J. D. Hooker. Next in order of priority follow five names described

by Wight in 1853 under Hypoxis. All these are synonymous with the

ee ST i a =

NOMENCLATURAL NOTES ON SOME FLOWERING PLANTS — 331

present species and have equal status, having been published on the same

date, March 1853. Of these, H. trichocarpa has been later adopted by

Thwaites°& Kurz, who treat the other binomials of ts as synonyms

and herice chosen here’as the basionym.

The genus Molineria has been segregated from Cur culigo by all recent

authors and can be distinguished as follows :

_ Perianth tube Produces above the ovary; stamens perigynous

; Curculigo

Periarith tube not. produced above the ovary : stamens epigynous

Molineria

Studies on Indian Copepods—8.

Observations on the diurnal vertical |

movements of Planktonic

Copepods in the Gulf of Mannar’

A. N. P. UMMERKUTTY?

Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Mandapam Camp

(With a map and seven text-figures)

INTRODUCTION

Both Russell (1927) and Cushing (1951) have reviewed this problem

and have shown that the majority of zooplankton species make extensive

vertical movements in the waters they inhabit. Their massive movement,

up and down every 24 hours is an impressive phenomenon which must

be fully studied for a closer understanding of the biological and

ecological conditions characteristic of a given species. The patterns of

vertical movements may differ not only between different species, but

also between different developmental stages and sexes of the same species.

It may also vary in different latitudes, under different physico-chemical

environments of the same latitude, and also in various seasons. It

results from a combination of several physical and physiological factors

which, acting together, produce a unique rhythm more or Jess steady in

a species under a particular set of conditions.

The vertical movements of copepods have been the subject of exten-

sive investigations in Polar and Temperate waters (Bogorov 1946;

Ussing 1938 ; Wiborg 1954; Russell 1925, 1926, 1928 a & b; Nicholls

1933 ; Clarke 1933; 1934a, b, & c; Farran 1947; Bainbridge 1952).

The information on this subject in tropical and subtropical waters is,

however, very meagre, particularly of the Indian region where little work

has been done in this field. The studies reported here aim at establishing

the nature of the vertical migration of planktonic copepods in our waters.

As the investigations have been carried out at a depth of about six

2 Published with the permission of the Director, Central Marine Fisheries

Research Institute, Mandapam Camp.

? Present address: Zoological Survey of India, 27, Jawaharlal Nehru Road,

Calcutta 13. e

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STUDIES ON INDIAN COPEPODS—8 333

fathoms, the data on which the present conclusions are based refer to

shallow waters only.

The results obtained indicate that diurnal vertical migration occurs

in tropical waters also, at least in some species of copepods. This state-

ment is based on two types of evidence. Firstly, the number of indi-

viduals of a species, especially adults and late copepodite stages, vary

considerably in surface hauls made at 4-hourly intervals. During the

dark hours there is a great increase in their number, and a considerable

reduction during the bright daylight hours. This indicates that the

general population withdraws from the brightly lit zones, although stray

individuals remain in all the layers irrespective of changing light intensi-

ties. Secondly, simultaneous collections made with Clarke-Bumpus

apparatus at surface and at depth indicate that during daytime adults

and late copepodites concentrate in the deeper areas, and extend their

distribution to the upper waters only when darkness sets in. This

alteration in distribution of populations in the two layers, coinciding

with changes in light intensity, is consistent with the idea of diurnal

vertical movements.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The material for the present study was collected at Station C in the

Gulf of Mannar (Map), situated about six miles from the Central

Marine Fisheries Research Institute and about one mile from Hare

Island. Three series of collections were made. (1) Using organdie

nets, 4-hourly surface hauls were made on 12 and 13 January 1960 com-

mencing at 6 a.m. on the first day and ending at 6 a.m. on the second

day. Temperature of the water both at surface and at depth was noted

along with each collection and water samples were taken for determining

the salinity from both hauls. (2) Attempts to make similar collections

throughout day and night did not succeed on 20 February 1960. After

6 p.m. the sea became rough, with a strong wind blowing towards

the mainland, and it was found difficult to continue the work. In

this second series of collections therefore, data are available only for

the day. (3) Four-hourly collections were made for 24 hours on 8 and

9 March 1960. The Clarke-Bumpus apparatus was employed for making

collections both at the surface and down below. Organdie half-metre

nets were used for surface hauls.

All the collections were preserved in 5% formalin immediately after

the haul. Subsampling for laboratory analysis was done as follows.

All samples were raised to 250 cc. by adding properly diluted formalin

and a subsample of 10 cc. pipetted out. In the case of collections ob-

tained by Clarke-Bumpus apparatus the entire subsample was examined.

However, as the half-metre net collections invariably contained a much

334. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

higher amount of organisms, it was difficult to make a detailed study of

the entire subsample. Subsequently, further subsampling had to be,

done of collections made by organdie nets and only a sample of 2 cc.

of the original 250 cc. was examined i in detail.

VOLUMETRIC COMPOSITION .

The volumetric composition of copepod and non-copepod items was

determined in wet condition using the principle of displacement and is

presented in Table 1. Copepod and non-copepod items of each sub-

sample were sorted out separately and were introduced into graduated

capillary tubes which contained known quantities of sea-water. The

volumetric value of the introduced item was then directly found from the

difference between the initial and final water-level readings.

TABLE | | |

ACTUAL VOLUMES OF COPEPOD (C) AND NON-COPEPOD (NC) ITEMS AND

_ THEIR PERCENTAGES IN SURFACE HAULS IN JANUARY 1960

SS ges

Total

Date & Time volume Relative volumes in cc. Percentage

in cc.

12.1.1960 Bite Cra NC G NC

5.45 a.m 22 12. 1:0 54:5 45:5

9.45 a.m 1:2 06. . 0:6 50:0 50°0

1.45 p.m 1:15 -0°6 0°55 53:0 47°0

5.45 p.m 1:3 0°7 0°6 ext. 46:2

9.45 p.m 2:0 1°15 0°85 SES 42°5

13.1.1960 e

1.45 a.m. 22 1°18 1:02 53°6 46°4

5.45 a.m. -.' 2°8 1:5 1:3 3°4 — -46°6

Fhe maximum concentration of copepods at the surface was found

at 9.45 p.m. The distribution of a certain percentage of copepods in

the surface waters persists because early larval forms are relatively less

rapid in changing the site than adults and late copepodites. Some non-—

copepod items of plankton show as much migratory behaviour as cope-

pods. Sagitta spp. and Lucifer spp., both well known to display pro-

nounced vertical movements, have been found making day and night

journeys in response to light. .

GRAVIMETRIC ESTIMATION

_ To give a clearer picture of the whole series of changes in diurnal

migration a gravimetric estimation is more important. A subsample of

copepods in 2 cc. of the surface hauls by organdie net was dried in a

-watch..glass: and ‘weighed, Similarly, a subsample of 10 cc. of each of

STUDIES ON INDIAN COPEPODS—8 — . 335

the collections taken by Clarke-Bumpus apparatus at surface and at 5-

‘metre depth was dried and weighed. The data obtained are presented

Fig. 1. Actual dry weights of copepods in 10 cc.-subsamples at

surface (——-—) at 5-metre depth (........ ), collected with Clarke-

Bumpus apparatus during March 1960.

. Fig. 2. The same collections expressed as Peres of the total

catch from the two layers of the water column. ae

» in. Text-figs. 1 and 2, in which copepod populations are expressed as a

whole and include adults and copepodites of both sexes. The figures

show that, though the population as a whole goes up and down, a certain

percentage of plankton retain their respective levels. These include not

only early copepodites of several species but also adults of such species

as Acrocalanus monachus, Paracalanus parvus, and Oithona spp. which

are composed of small-sized .individuals.- However, there is clearly a

conspicuous reduction in the abundance of copepods at the .surface

about midday, followed by a high concentration in surface waters about

pesinieht. : ,

NUMERICAL COMPOSITION ‘OF SPECIES

Psendodiaptomus aurivilli Cleve

Text-figs. 3 and 4 show the distributional naitern of this species at

5 metre level and at surface as sampled by Clarke-Bumpus apparatus

in March 1960 ; the actual numbers of copepodites and adults caught in

336 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

surface hauls by organdie net during the 24-hour period are presented

in Table 2. The two figures and the table show that the adult population

Fig. 3. Pseudodiaptomus aurivilli: Distribution of adults at

surface (———) and at 5-metre depth er eee ) on 12-13 January

Fig. 4. Pseudodiaptomus aurivilli : TeeGatied of adults at surface

on 8-9 March 1960 (———) and 12-13 January 1960 (........ ).

of this species displays great variation in its numbers in surface waters.

After sunset five times more adults are caught in surface waters than at

noon. There seems to be little change in the distributional pattern of

copepodites except, to some extent, in the case of the fifth stage, which

shows a higher concentration at surface during late hours of the evening.

A sex-wise analysis of adults does not show any difference in the

pattern of response to light. The males dominate most of the

time eXcept during the dusk and early morning. This dominance of

the male may be due to the greater percentage distribution of that sex

in the population during breeding months (December-March). The

apparent dominance of females during dusk and early morning is

probably attributable to the transient condition of the population, the

animals being in an active state of migration thus disturbing the normal

stability.

STUDIES ON INDIAN COPEPODS—8 337

TABLE 2

Pseudodjaptomus aurivilli : ACTUAL NUMBERS OF ADULTS AND COPEPODITES

(Cop.) CAUGHT IN SURFACE HAULS WITH ORGANDIE NETS DURING 24-HOUR

PERIOD ON 12-13 JANUARY 1960

Date & Time Cop. Cop. Cop. Cop. IV Cop. V Adults

I II Ill a Q a 2 J 2

12.1.1960

5.45 a.m 0 1 4 26 22 73 38 =. 121 50

9.45 a.m 0 2 5 22 16 32 a2 34 17

1.45 p.m 0 0 8 13 12 20 15 33 14

5.45 p.m 0 3 11 12 20 24 49 71 106

9.45 p.m 0 0 6 12 19 44 42 115 100

13.1.1960

1.45 a.m. ; 0 0 2 10 11 24 27 68 82

Centropages furcatus (Dana)

This species is composed of fairly large-sized individuals, but it

occurs only in small numbers. The members of this species appear to

react strongly to day and night changes. During noon not a single

adult was observed at surface in any of the three subsamples analysed,

but in samples taken at 10 p.m. and at 2 a.m. twelve and sixteen

individuals respectively were caught. During the intervening hours

the increase or decrease showed graduations (Text-fig. 5). The species

being scarce in plankton could not be sampled properly by the Clarke-

Bumpus apparatus and a thorough observation could not be made on

its distribution in different vertical levels.

Calanopia elliptica Dana

In this species also substantial evidence of migratory movements

was obtained. At dawn the species is represented by a few adults in the

plankton ; as the day advances it gradually disappears from surface

waters and is not seen throughout the brightly-lit hours. At night at

about 10 p.m. large numbers become available at surface. However, a

decline in abundance is seen in the early hours that follow (by 2 a.m.).

This may be due to what Cushing (1951) termed a departure from the

surface at midnight. According to this view, copepods migrate upwards

as darkness intensifies and reach. their maximum surface distribution by

about 10 p.m. In complete darkness they stop swimming and sink

passively. Thus, being unable to maintain their topmost level, they get

distributed in layers down below. This phenomenon which could be

termed positive geotaxis gets combined with photokinesis. It is parti-

338. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

cularly notable in the present species probably because of its larger size

(Text-fig. 6). cr

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5.45 pn

E &

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Fig. 5. il furcatus: Distribution of adults at surface on

12-13 J anuary 1960, collected by organdie net.

Fig. 6. Calanopia elliptica: Distribution of adults at surface on

12-13 January (.......6 ..) and 8-9 March 1960 (———), collected by

organdie net. 7

Acartia erythraea Giesbrecht

This is one of the commonest species of this area and seems to prefik

upper water layers during the dark hours. Minimum numbers are found

at surface during noon while maximum concentration occurs eight hours

later and persists till the early hours. The data obtained for the months

of January and March by organdie net are plotted in Text-fig. 7. In

March only the adults and the fifth copepodites were found. This

suggests that at this time of year the species reaches the end of its breed-

ing season. As in C. furcatus, in this species maximum concentration

in surface waters occurs at about 10 p.m. and is followed by a slight

declination.

_ Probably in this species, as in several others, diurnal migration is

not obligatory. They tend to avoid the brightly-lit surface layer during

the day and in doing so get distributed at lower layers. The

chief notable features are the low number of adults captured at surface

during the noon and the gradually higher concentrations appearing at

deeper levels. After sunset there is no appreciable decrease in their

numbers in areas near the bottom. This signifies that the population

remains fairly well-distributed at all levels above the bottom. In the

STUDIES ON INDIAN COPEPODS—8 339

surface layer, however, there occurs a progressive increase as the dark-

ness prevails.

ioe

Ren 3 9

Y~ 3s SS

hoa ~

Fig. 7. Acartia erythraea: Distribution of adults at surface on

12-13 January (....... ‘.) and on 8-9 March 1960 (———), collected

by organdie net.

Centropages dorsispinatus Thompson & Scott

This species showed a very irregular distribution. Though there

was an apparent withdrawal of the population from the surface during

the sunlit hours, the population did not return to its original density in

the surface waters even during the darkest hours (Table 3). Cushing

TABLE 3

Centropages dorsispinatus : DISTRIBUTION OF ADULTS AND COPEPODITES

(CopP.) IN SURFACE LAYER ON 12 AND 13 JANUARY 1960

- Date & Time Cop. Cop. Cop. Cop. IV Cop. V Adult

Me WonubiaeHivilvg “2 Seu PIED Q

12.1.1960

5.45 a.m. 0 7 19 36 33 50 Pay) 36 31

9.45 a.m. 1 Z 5 > 9 3 1 5 2

1.45 p.m. 0 5 7 36 39 18 16 8 5

5.45 p.m. 0 3) 6 7 12 4 2 Z 2

9.45 p.m. 2 3 7 5 5 5 6 2 3

13.1.1960

1.45 a.m. 1 2 7 9 7 6 5 2 1

5.45 a.m. 5 10 12 13 18 16 11

(340) JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

(1951) and other earlier workers have rightly pointed out the inadequacies

of the studies of selected horizontal stations in the investigations on

vertical migration. Cushing has shown that neither the vessel making

the collections nor the water mass in which the collections are made re-

main static even for short intervals. There is always an exchange of

fauna with the surrounding waters. This changing pattern becomes all

the more complicated by the patchy nature of the distribution of

copepods in the sea. An area where there is a swarming of a particular

species of copepod in the morning could be replaced in the evening by

a mass of water containing few of them, specially so if the patch noticed

is a small one. The example of C. dorsispinatus may be such a case.

Schmackeria serricaudata T..Scott

Within the limits of the available data for this species, it appears that —

there is an inherent, positive, migratory behaviour. The maximum

number is found in the surface layer during the dawn, and then there

is a decline in numbers. A slight increase is noticed at dusk which is

maintained up to midnight after which the species records appreciable

increase (Table 4). Why there should be a concentration on the surface

TABLE 4

Schmackeria serricaudata : DISTRIBUTION OF ADULTS AND COPEPODITES

(Cop.) IN SURFACE WATERS ON 12 AND 13 JANUARY 1960

Date & Time Cop. Cop. Cop. Cop. IV Cop. V _ Adult

: I II Ill 3 2 Oo. Gav ee

12.1.196

5.45 a.m. 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 28 25

9.45 a.m. 0 0 0 0 1. 5 0 5 4

1.45 p.m. 0 0 1 3 2 eee | 5 7

5.45 p.m. ge Sra 16 0 8 8 7 8

9.45 p.m. 0 0 0 1 z 4 fl. 8 iy

13.1.1960

1.45 a.m. 0 0 0 2, 2 4 7 14 12

5.45 a.m. 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1

in early morning hours, rather than during darkness, immediately after

dusk is hard to explain. It is likely that there is an error in

the data because: of their patchy distribution in plankton, a feature

common in copepods as has been already noted earlier.. - :

GENERAL REMARKS

Russell (1927) and Cushing (1951) have discussed the various factors

which influence the behaviour pattern of the migrating species. These

factors include sunlight, weather, water temperature, presence and |

STUDIES ON INDIAN COPEPODS-——8 341

abundance of phytoplankton, age of the animal concerned, etc. In

addition to these, physiological factors have also been held responsible

for the hazardous vertical sojourns that these tiny creatures undertake

during the course of a day.

The effect of weather is rather indirect. During a cloudy day, the

penetration of light into the water is poor. It thus creates artificially

a situation which is comparable to dawn or dusk. Windy weather will

make the surface turbulent thus making this layer physically uninhabi-

table. Both these factors seem to be insignificant in the present studies.

Both in January and in March when the studies were carried out the

weather was fair. }

The effect of temperature appears to act chiefly in the regions of

thermoclines : ‘ It is a possibility that a homogeneous group of animals

(stage, sex or brood of a species) has a temperature range beyond the

extremes of which the animal does not appear; a thermocline near the

limits of this range will be obviously more effective in modifying migra-

tion than one in the centre of the range. As a mediator of migration

temperature was shown by Esterley (1912) to be without effect as the

diurnal differences in temperature at any depth was only a small fraction

of the temperature range through which the animals moved’ (Cushing

1951, p. 165). This view is substantiated by the present series of obser- »

vations. The change in temperature between the surface and 5-metre

depth during the 24 hours was negligible (Table 5).

TABLE 5

TEMPERATURE OF WATER MASS AT STATION C IN THE GULF OF MANNAR

DURING JANUARY AND MARCH 1960 \

Temperature in °C.

Date Time Surface Five-metre depth

12.1.1960 5.45 a.m. 26°1 26°0

8.45 a.m. 26'2 = 26:0

1.45 p.m. 26°6 26°3

5.45 p.m. 26°8 26°4

9.45 p.m. 26°4 26°3

13.1.1960 1.45 a.m 26°2 26:1

5.45 a.m 26:0 260

8.3.1960

5.45 a.m. 26°5 26°4

9.45 a.m. 27°0 26°8

1.45 p.m. 27°3 Die

5.45 p.m. 27°5 2i3

9.45 p.m. 274 27°0

9.3.1960 oe .45 a.m 26°6 26°5

342 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

The importance of phytoplankton in the migratory activities of

planktonic copepods has recently been discounted as these animals are

filter feeders and are incapable of discriminating between food-abundant

areas and others. Age and inner physiological rhythm certainly play

important roles in deciding the migratory pattern of individual species.

But the most important factor appears to be light. The large amount

‘of work that has been done in boreal and austral waters on this subject

demonstrates beyond doubt that changes in the intensity of light that

penetrates into the water during different hours of the day have direct

bearing on the diurnal vertical movements of copepods. ‘It is now

generally agreed that the immediate stimulus to diurnal migration: is

light, perhaps modified in extreme cases by temperature. The concep-

‘tion of an optimum light intensity inside which the copepods keep, each

stage and each population having perhaps its own optimum, has proved

the most fruitful explanation of their movements ’ (Marshall & Orr

1955). Why and how the changes in light intensity come to exert such

strong influence on the movements of these organisms is not clear.

___ The fact that in the present studies all species avoided the bright light

of the sun to a great extent is in full agreement with the conclusions

arrived at by earlier workers. But why the adult population does not

withdraw completely from the surface during the day and - why

some species are quite indifferent to changing light intensities are not

clearly understood. Fuller and comprehensive studies on these lines

are needed in our waters.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS _

The studies presented above were carried out at the Central Marine

Fisheries Research Institute, Mandapam Camp, during the tenure of a

scholarship given by the Ministry of Scientific Research & Cultural

Affairs, Government of India, under the guidance of Dr. S. Jones,

Director. I am very thankful to him for his kind encouragement and

directions during the course of the investigations. I am also thankful

to Dr. R. Raghu Prasad, Deputy Director, and Dr. S. Z. Qasim,

Professor of Fishery Biology at the Central Institute of Fisheries. Edu-

cation, Bombay, (formerly of the Department of Zoology, Aligarh

University), for going through the manuscript and offering valuable

constructive criticism.

SUMMARY —

The diurnal vertical fevements of the following ee of nlanktonil

copepods are studied : Psevdodiaptomis aurivilli, Centropages furcatus,

STUDIES ON INDIAN COPEPODS—8

343

Calanopia elliptica, Acartia erythraea, Centropages dorsispinatus, and

Schmackeria serricaudata.

It is found that all these species are fairly well distributed in the sur-

facé waters from dusk to dawn, but they avoid the top layer during. the

brightly lit hours of the day. ‘The salient features of these migratory

movéinents and the probable causes that influence them are briefly

discussed.

* REFERENCES

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observations on the swimming of marine

zooplankton. J. Mar. biol. Ass. U.K.

31 : 107-112.

Bocorov, B. G. (1946) : Peculiarities

of diurnal vertical migrations of zoo-—

plankton in polar seas. J. Mar. Res.

6: 25-32.

CiarKE, G. L. (1933) : Diurnal migra-

tion of plankton in the Gulf of Maine

and its correlation with changes 1 in sub-

marine illumination. Biol. Bull. Wood's

Hole 65 : 402-436.

: (1934a): Further observa-

tions on the diurnal migration of cope-

pods in the Gulf of Maine. op. cit., 67:

432-455.

— (1934b): The

migration of copepods in St.

aoe Bermuda. op. cit.,

60.

diurnal

George’s

67 :. 456-

— (1934c) : Factors affecting

the vertical distribution of copepods.

Ecol. Mongr. 4 : 530-540.

Cusuinc, D. H. (1951): The vertical

migration of planktonic crustacea.

Biol., Rev. 26 : 158-192.

FARRAN, G. P. (1947): Vertical dis-

tribution of plankton (Sagitta, Calanus

and Metridia) off the south coast of

Ireland. Proc. R. Irish Acad. 51, B:

121-136. ©

‘MARSHALL, S. M. & Orr, A. P. (1955) :

The biology of a marine copepod.

Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh and London.

NicHoLts, A. G. (1933): On the

biology of Calanus finmarchicus.

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Verti-

cal distribution and diurnal migration

in the Clyde sea area. J. Mar. biol.

Ass. U.K. 19 : 139-164.

RUSSELL, F. S. (1925): The vertical

distribution of marine. macroplankton.

An observation on_ diurnal changes.

op. cit. 13 : 769-809.

— (1926): The vertical dis

of marine: macroplankton.

The apparent importance of light inten-

‘sity as a controlling factor in the be-

haviour of certain species in the Ply-

mouth area. op. cit. 14: 415-440.

———— (1927): The vertical distri-

bution of plankton. in the sea. Biol.

Rey. 2 : 213-262.

(1928a) : The vertical dis-

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Further observations on diurnal changes.

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(1928b) : The vertical a

‘ibueon of marine macroplankton. VII.

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Calanus finmarchicus. op. Cit., 15 :

429-454.

Ussinc, H. H. (1938) : The biology

of some important plankton animals in

the fjords of East Greenland. Medd.

Greenland 100 : 1-108.

WisorG, K. P. (1954): en cerie atone

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Norway with special reference to the

peda ae Fiskeridir. Skr. Havundersok.:

An Account of the Weeds of Central

Research Farm, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Y. SATYANARAYAN AND S. K. SAXENA

Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur

Weeds constitute a serious problem to agricultural production in

western Rajasthan. Most of these weeds can be controlled by simple

agronomic practices like clean cultivation. Apart from perennial weeds

such as Zizyphus nummularia, Saccharum spontaneum, Pluchea lanceolata,

Cyperus rotundus, and Cynodon dactylon, some of which provide either

useful top-feed or fodder, it is the annual weeds which severely compete

with the growing crop for moisture and nutrients.

A preliminary study of the weeds of Central Research Farm, Jodhpur,

was conducted during 1963. Weeds were collected from all over the

700-acre farm during June to December. Some of the weeds had both

a normal life form and a habitat form and could be considered as eco-

types. The soil of the Farm is sandy loam in texture, with a hard

kankar pan occurring at a depth of 2 metres from the surface. The

topography is flat with less than one per cent slope. The soil reaction

is alkaline but the total soluble salts are low. The majority of weeds

come up during the monsoon season (July to September) and disappear —

at the end of the season. Biennial and perennial weeds, however,

continue to thrive for a longer duration. Winter weeds are few.

Analysis of the weed flora showed that there are 25 families with 58

genera and 79 species among the dicots and 2 families, 16 genera and 29

species, among the monocots. Families with the largest number of

species are :

1. Dicots: Compositae—9 genera and 9 species ;

Papilionaceae—S5 genera and 10 species ;

Amaranthaceae—5 genera and 7 species.

2. Monocots: Gramineae—15 genera and 26 species.

Eight families are represented by a single genus and species, Viz. —

Papaveraceae, Polygalaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Malvaceae, Cucurbita-

ceae, Pedaliaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Portulacaceae. There are

altogether 73 annuals, 2 biennials, and 33 perennials, of which the dicots |

consist of 60 annuals, 2 biennials, and 17 perennials. The monocots :

contain 13 annual and 16 perennial species.

WEEDS OF CENTRAL RESEARCH FARM, JODHPUR 345

SYSTEMATIC ENUMERATION

Dicotyledons

PAPAVERACEAE

_Argemone mexicana Linn. Vern.’ Satyanasi. Tall annual herb.

Common, throughout the Farm.

CAPPARACEAE

Cleome papillosa Steud. Small, branched, semi-erect annual.

Occasionally found near fencing of Farm boundary.

Cleome viscosa Linn. Vern. Pilli-hulhul ; Hindi Gandhia and Kalo.

Common on roadsides, botanical garden, fallow, ploughed, and

bajra fields.

Gynandropsis gynandra Brig. Vern. Bagra. Erect, unbranched

annual. Common on roadsides, and in botanical garden and

fallow fields. :

POLYGALACEAE

Polygala erioptera Lamk. Vern. Chota bhekaria. Small erect

annual. Occasional in fallow, bajra, and castor fields.

CARYOPHYLLACEAE

Polycarpaea corymbosa Lamk. Vern. Zutaniakad. Small erect

annual herb. Abundant in fallow, bajra, and legume fields, and

nursery.

PORTULACACEAE

Portulaca oleracea Linn. Vern. Bara-noonia, Lunki, Succulent

annual herb. Occasional in fallow fields, botanical garden, and

nursery, |

MALVACEAE

Abutilon indicum Sw. Vern. Dabi, Jhili, Tarakanchi. Perennial

undershrub. Occasional in botanical garden.

. * The vernacular names: are local Marwari names except where otherwise

specified. eae pa ee -

346. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

_ TILIACEAE

Corchorus antichorus Raensch. Vern. Hadeka Khot. Prostrate,

perennial herb. Very common in fallow fields, along roadsides,

and in nursery.

Corchorus tridens Linn. Vern. Chuchki (Gujarati). Semi-procum-

bent annual herb. Occasional in legume fields and nursery.

Corchorus_ trilocularis Linn. Vern. MHardikekat, Kagle-ki-tamaku.

Erect annual. Occasional in ploughed and fallow fields and along

roadsides.

ZYGOPHYLLACEAE

. Fagonia cretica Linn. Vern. Damasha. Small spiny annual herb.

Occasional in fallow and harvested fields.

Tribulus terrestris Linn. Vern. Gokro, Konti. Prostrate annual.

_ Very common and abundant in fields and on unmetalled roads...

PAPILIONACEAE

Crotalaria burhia Ham. Vern. Sannai. Perennial undershrub.

Very common in fallow and bajra fields.

Crotalaria medicaginea Lamk. Vern. Ghagri. Annual herb.

Occasional in fallow fields.

Heylandia latebrosa DC. Vern. Gorakbutti, Sonda. Prostrate

annual. Rarely found, in botanical garden.

Indigofera anabaptista Steud. Vern. Bekrioneel. Annual herb.

Rarely found in fallow and ploughed fields ; and in legume crop.

Indigofera cordifolia Heyne. Vern. Bechka, Godadi, Panbekrio.

Prostrate annual. Very common and abundant in fields of bajra,

legumes, and castor ; also in nursery and on roadsides.

. Indigofera enneaphylla Linn. Prostrate annual. Common in fallow

fields, near nursery, and on roadsides. the

Indigofera linifolia Retz. Vern. Bekar, Bakri. Prostrate annual.

Common in fallow and bajra fields ; nursery.

| Indigofera trigonelloides Jaub. & Spach. Trailing annual. Common

in fallow fields and legume crops, near nursery. |

- Phaseolus trilobus Ait. Vern. Jungli Moth. Trailing annual.

Occasional in fallow and ploughed fields. sh

WEEDS OF CENTRAL RESEARCH FARM, JODHPUR 347

Tephrosia purpurea Pers. Vern. Sarphunka, Dhamasa. Erect

biennial. Very common and abundant in all fields, fallow lands,

and along roadsides.

CUCURBITACEAE

Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. Vern. Tastumba, Tumba. Prostrate

annual. Common on roadsides and in fallow fields.

FICOIDEAE

Gisekia pharnaceoides Linn. Vern. Morang, Sareli. Succulent

annual herb. Very common and abundant throughout the Farm.

Limeum indicum Stocks. Vern. Shapari. Prostrate annual herb.

Found rarely in fallow lands, ploughed fields, and in botanical

garden.

Mollugo cerviana Seringe. Vern. Pada, Pata, Ragatia, Khar, Chiruo-

ro-khel. Small erect annual. Very common in botanical garden,

bajra, castor, and cotton fields. |

Mollugo nudicaulis Lamk. Vern. Ragatia khar. Small annual

herb. Common in botanical garden and in nursery.

Trianthema pentandra Linn. Vern. Santa, Sarta. Succulent

annual. Occasional in botanical garden ; fallow and ploughed

fields. |

Trianthema portulacastrum Linn. Vern. Safed santar, Sarta.

Annual, slightly succulent. Occasional near nursery and

agronomy block.

RUBIACEAE

Borreria stricta Schum. Small annual herb. Rarely found in fallow

and ploughed fields ; in nursery.

Oldenlandia aspera DC. Vern. Danakar. Erect annual. Occa-

sionally found in botanical garden, irrigated fields, and agrostology

block.

COMPOSITAE

Blainvillea rhomboidea Cass. Annual herb. Rarely found in

agronomy block ; near nursery and building area.

348 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

- Blumea amplectens DC. Vern. Kukronda. Woolly annual herb.

Occasional in‘agronomy block.

Dicoma tomentosa Cass. Vern. Vajradanti. Erect annual. Com-

mon on roadsides, botanical garden, fallow and bajra fields.

_ Eclipta erecta Linn. Vern. Jalbangra. Prostrate annual. Rarely

found, in irrigated fields and in botanical garden.

Launaea chondrilloides Hook. Vern. Dhudphad. Perennial herb.

Occasionally found in botanical garden, nursery, and on boun- ©

daries of irrigated fields. |

Pulicaria wightiana C. B. Clark. Vern. Sonela. Erect annual. Very —

common and abundant throughout the Farm ; more on roadsides.

Tridax procumbens Linn. Vern. Junki (Hindi). Perennial herb.

Occasional in botanical garden, and near new buildings.

Vernonia cinerea Less. Vern. Sahadavi, Phulni. Erect annual.

Rarely found near agronomy block, nullah, and nursery.

Volutarella divaricata Benth. & Hook. Vern. Lin-Katmanda. —

Small erect annual. Common in fallow, ploughed fields, in bajra

and pasture fields ; near building site.

ASCLEPIADACEAE

Calotropis procera R. Br. Vern. Ak, Akra, Akda. Erect shrub.

Common along Farm boundary and in fallow and pasture fields.

Pergularia daemia Wight. Vern. Gadaria kavel. A large, twining

shrub. Rarely found along Farm fencing.

BORAGINACEAE

Arnebia hispidissima DC. Vern. Rambas. Annual or _ biennial

herb. Very common in fallow. fields, on roadsides, in bajra and

pasture fields.

Heliotropium strigosum Willd. Vern. Chotisantri. Prostrate

annual. Very common throughout the Farm.

Heliotropium zeylanicum Lamk. Vern. Khalibui. Erect annual. 4

Very common throughout the Farm. |

Sericostoma pauciflorum Stocks. Vern. Kharsan, Kharhani. -Small

perennial undershrub. Occasional in cue fields, roadsides,

and bajra fields.. Oe |

WEEDS OF CENTRAL RESEARCH FARM, JODHPUR 349

Trichodesma indicum R. Br. Vern. Salkonta, Phuldar. Erect

annual. Rarely found in botanical garden, fallow and bajra

fields.

CONVOLVULACEAE

Convolyulus glomeratus Choisy. Vern. Rhota Bhel. Perennial.

Occasional in botanical garden ; bajra and fallow fields.

Convolvulus microphyllus Sieb. Vern. Santari, Sanowri, Phulwati.

-.Procumbent perennial. Very common throughout the Farm.

Cressa cretica Linn. Vern. Lona, Oyindo. Prostrate annual.

Rarely found, in a temporary pond.

Evolvulus alsinoides Linn. Vern. Sanka-Huli. Small perennial

herb. Common in botanical garden and in bajra fields.

Ipomoea pes-tigridis Linn. Twining annual. Common in botanical

- garden, bajra fields, and nursery. ;

SOLANACEAE

Solanum indicum Linn. Vern. Mothi-ring. Tall undershrub.

Rarely found in botanical garden, roadsides, fallow and ploughed

fields.

Solanum xanthocarpum Schrad. & Wendl. Vern. Baringni, Adkun-

tali. Perennial herb. Common on roadsides, irrigated plots,

botanical garden.

SCROPHULARIACEAE

Anticharis linearis Hochst. Erect annual. Common in botanical

garden, roadsides, and fallow fields.

_ Lindenbergia urticaefolia Link & Otto. Vern. Pindra. Annual

“herb. Rarely found near Farm boundary.

PEDALIACEAE

Pedalium murex Linn. Vern. Mothegokhru. Erect annual.

Rarely found, in botanical garden.

ACANTHACEAE

-- Justicia procumbens Linn. Vern. Gungi bunti, Kagner, Mokra.

ghas. Erect annual herb. Common in botanical garden, legume,

bajra, and castor fields.

350 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Justicia simplex D. Don. Small annual herb. Occasional in fallow

fields, bajra fields, and nursery.

~Peristrophe bicalyculata Nees. Vern. Kagner. Prostrate or pro-

cumbent perennial. Common on roadsides, below Prosopis trees

in botanical garden. : .

LABIATEAE

Leucas aspera Spreng. Vern. Goama, Mund (Hindi). Erect

annual. Common in botanical garden, roadsides, castor, cotton,

and fallow fields.

Salvia aegyptiaca var. pumila Hook. Vern. Tukam. Small under-

shrub. Rare, along Farm fencing.

NYCTAGINACEAE

Boerhavia diffusa Linn. Vern. Chelavri, Sata, Perennial trailing herb: §

Very common throughout the Farm.

s *, ae

Boerhavia repanda Willd. Annual herb. Common on roadsides,

pasture fields, below trees in botanical garden.

AMARANTHACEAE

Achyranthes aspera Linn. Vern. Unda kanta, Khutia bharutia, —

Erect annual. Rarely found, in Silvatum, nursery, botanical —

garden. ;

Aerua persica Merrill. Vern. Bari bui. Tall undershrub. I

Common on roadsides, ploughed and cultivated fields.

Aerua pseudo-tomentosa Blatt. & Hall. Vern. Chotti bui. Small ||

perennial herb. Common on roadsides, ploughed and cultivated

fields. *|

Amaranthus blitum var. oleracea Hook. Vern. Jangli Cholai, z|

Tanduladge (Hindi). Erect, succulent herb. Occasional on irri-

gation bunds of the agronomy block. '

Amaranthus viridis Linn. Vern. Chonlai (Hindi). Erect- annual,

Rarely found, in botanical garden and agronomy block.

;

Celosia argentea Linn. Vern. Mokhmal, Pramarti, Annual herb. :

Occasional, along roadsides-and in bajra fields.

WEEDS OF CENTRAL RESEARCH FARM, JODHPUR 351

Digera muricata Forsk. Vern. Lahsua, Lulero. Annual which

occurs in erect, procumbent, and prostrate forms. Very common

in fallow, ploughed, bajra, and legume fields.

CHENOPODIACEAE

Chenopodium album Linn. Vern. Goela, Chill and Bathua (Hindi).

Succulent annual. Rare in fallow, cotton, and castor fields.

EUPHORBIACEAE

Euphorbia granulata Forsk. Vern. Dudeli. Prostrate annual.

Occasional, in fallow bajra_ fields, and botanical garden.

Euphorbia hirta Linn. Vern. Dudhdi (Hindi). Decumbent or

prostrate annual. Very common in nursery, near building site,

botanical garden, and irrigated plots.

Euphorbia microphylla Heyne. Vern. Chotti-Dudhi. Prostrate

annual. Common in botanical garden, nursery, building site

and in castor fields. |

Euphorbia thymifolia Linn. Vern. Duddi. Small annual herb. Very —

common in botanical garden, roadsides, and in legume fields.

Phyllanthus niruri Linn. Vern. Hasardana (Hindi), Bawal

(Gujarati). Erect annual. Very common throughout the Farm.

Monocotyledons

CYPERACEAE

Cyperus arenarius Retz. Vern. Motha. Erect perennial. Occasional

in botanical garden and on roadsides.

Cyperus conglomeratus Rottb. Vern. Motha. Erect perennial.

Occasional on roadsides, fallow or ploughed fields.

Cyperus rotundus Linn. Vern. Motha (Hindi). Erect perennial

with stolons. Very common throughout the Farm.

GRAMINEAE

Aristida adscenionis Linn. Vern. Lomp, Lompri. Slender perennial.

Very common in fallow fields and silvatum plots.

“Aristida funiculata Trin. & Rupr. Vern. Lambda. Small annual,

Common in botanical garden, and in fallow fields,

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Aristida hirtigluma Steud. Vern. Lomp, Lompri, Lompla. . Semi-

erect perennial. Occasional in fallow fields, along Farm boundary.

Aristida mutabilis Trin. & Rupr. Vern. Lounp. Erect annual.

Occasional on roadsides, silvatum plots.

Aristida setacea Retz. Erect perennial. Common in_ botanical

garden, fallow fields, and silvatum plots.

Cenchrus biflorus Roxb. Vern. Bhurut. Erect annual. Very ©

common throughout the Farm ; more on fallow fields.

Cenchrus ciliaris Linn. Vern. Anjan, Dhaman. Annual and peren- :

nial forms. Common throughout the Farm.

Cenchrus pennisetiformis Hochst. & Steud. Vern. Dhaman, Kala-

Dhaman. Decumbent perennial. Occasional in fallow fields

and Farm boundary.

Cenchrus setigerus Vahl. Vern. Kala Dhaman. Perennial. Common |

in fallow fields, botanical garden, and silvatum plots.

Chloris barbata Sw. Vern. Gharania-ghas. Tufted perennial.

Occasional near nursery and botanical garden.

Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers. Vern. Dubhi, Dobh. Slender peren- |

nial. Very common in cultivated fields, roadsides, nullah of

agronomy block, and botanical garden.

Dactyloctenium aegyptium (Linn.) Beauv. Vern. Makra. Prostrate

annual. Frequent on roadsides, cultivated fields, and silvatum plots.

Dactyloctenium sindicum Boiss. Vern. Ganthil, Ganthia. Perennial.

~ Common in botanical garden.

Dichanthium annulatum Stapf. Vern. Karad, Jharnia-ghas. Peren-

nial. Common in fields, botanical garden, nursery, and building ©

site.

Digitaria adscendens Henr. Vern. Tara, Kuri. Annual. Occa-

sional in fallow and uncultivated fields, botanical garden, and

silvatum plots.

Echinochloa crus-galli Fests Vern. Soma. Annual. Occasional

in silvatum plots ; botanical garden. a oe

Eleusine compressa heehee & Schweinf. iota Tantia, - Gandll

Perennial. So onmon. in n fields Sue: botanical garden, |

WEEDS OF CENTRAL RESEARCH FARM, JODHPUR

Eragrostis ciliaris R. Br.

Vern. Chirioroghas. Small annual.

353

Com-

mon on roadsides and in fallow fields.

Eragrostis pilosa Beauv. Erect annual.

and in fallow fields.

Common on _ roadsides

Eragrostis tenella (Linn.) P. Beauv ex R. & S. var. plumosa (Retz.)

Stapf. Slender annual. Common along roadsides, near observatory,

and Farm boundary.

Eragrostis tremula

Hochst.

Vern. Kiriya. Small annual.

Occasional in fallow fields, on roadsides near agrostology block.

Lasiurus ecaudatus Satya. & Shank. Vern. Sehwan. Woody perennial.

Occasional near nursery, building site, and botanical garden.

Panicum antidotale Retz.

Vern. Girona,

Gramna. Perennial.

Occasional, in legume plots and botanical garden.

Perotis indica (Linn.) Ktze.

Vern. Undra-Poonch. Small annual.

Occasional in botanical garden, on roadsides, and near nursery.

Tragus biflorus Schult.

Vern. Sita ghas.

Tufted grass. Occasional

near building site and silvatum plots.

Urochloa_ panicoides Beauv.

Vern. Kuri.

Decumbent annual.

Common in nursery, building site, and Farm fencing under shade.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are deeply obliged to Dr. P. C. Raheja, Director, Central

Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, for his encouragement.

They

also desire to express their thanks to Dr. K. A. Shankaranarayan, Syste-

matic Botanist, for his help in the identification of specimens.

REFERENCES

BLATi=R, E. & HALLBERG, F. E. (1918-

1921): The Flora of the Indian Desert

(Jodhpur and Jaisalmer). J. Bombay

nat. Hist. Soc. 26 and 27 (different pages).

Bor, N. L. (1960): The Grasses of

ize Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan.

Pergamon Press, London.

Cooke, T. (1901- 1908).: Flora of the

Presidency of Bombay. London.

KING, G. (1879) : Sketch of the Flora

of Rajputana. Indian For. 4: 226-36.

RAMACHANDRA Rao, Y. (1941): A list

of some of the more common plants of

the Desert Areas. J.C.A.R. Bull. No. 43.

SARUP, S. (1951-1954): A list of. the

common plants of Jodhpur and its

neighbourhood. Univ. Rajputana Studies.

Biol. Sect. 29-35.

SATYANARAYAN, Y. & SHANKARA-

NARAYAN, K. A. (In press): Flora of

the Central Luni Basin. J. Bom. nat.

Hist. Soc.

SESHAGIRI RAO, ROLLA & KANODIA,

ie ©: (1962-1963) : Studies on. the

Vegetation and Flora of Jodhpur Divi-

sion, Rajasthan State. Ann. Arid Zone,

& 11: 16-46 and 35-60,

Indian wood-destroying termites

M. L. ROONWAL, Sc.D. (Cantab.), F.N.I.

AND

O. B. CHHOTANI, M.Sc. (Hons.)

Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta

«(With two plates and an Appendix) :

I. INTRODUCTION

While all species of termites feed on cellulosic materials including

wood, some have a more direct and intimate association with wood. ©

Out of approximately 180 species occurring in the Indian Region (India, ©

Pakistan, Ceylon, and Burma), nearly 58 may be termed wood-destroy- —

ing. These species may be conveniently divided into two categories, —

viz. (i) those which are wood-inhabiting and spend either the whole or

a part of their life in wood, where they breed (42 species) ; and (ii) those

which do not habitually inhabit wood, but are nevertheless its important

destroyers whenever opportunity occurs (16 species).

These species (vide Appendix for a list) belong to four families, —

namely the Kalotermitidae (27 species), Hodotermitidae (1 species), —

Rhinotermitidae (14 species), all wood-inhabiting ; and the Termitidae

(16 species, mostly soil-inhabiting but also wood-destroying). }

Brief particulars of the more important wood-destroying species are

given here. Several of the wood-inhabiting species prefer relatively

moist wood (Archotermopsis wroughtoni and some species of the genera —

‘Kalotermes, Neotermes, Glyptotermes, and Stylotermes), while others —

prefer dry and seasoned wood (all members of the genera Cryptotermes, —

Coptotermes, and AHeterotermes, and some species of the genera —

Kalotermes and Neotermes). Of the latter category, Coptotermes and

Heterotermes have also close connections with the ground, where they —

live in subterranean colonies. It is fortunate and rather curious that

Neotermes tectonae (Dammermann), a serious pest of teak trees in Java, |

is not found in India and Burma, where also teak is grown in abundance. |

All the non-wood-inhabiting species concerning us here belong to

the family Termitidae and are largely subterranean, although a few of

them build earthen mounds above Skea such as some species ” the

genus Odontotermes,

INDIAN WOOD- DESTROYING TERMITES ie SS

Some species destroy woodwork in buildings. Such species may

conveniently be divided into two groups, namely: (i) dry-wood species

(species which live entirely in dry wood, e.g. beams, pillars, doors,

windows, furniture, etc.); and (ii) subterranean species (which, while

attacking woodwork in buildings, railway carriages, etc., are also sub-

terranean, often breeding underground in the soil). The more important

species damaging buildings in the Indian Region are :

Dry-wood species :

1. Cryptotermes domesticus (Haviland)—South India and Ceylon.

2. Cryptotermes dudleyi Banks—India, Ceylon, and E. Pakistan.

Note.—Ahmad (Spol. Zylan. 27(1), p.35, 1953) has recorded Cryptotermes cyano-

cephalus Light as having been introduced into Ceylon. We haye examined these

specimens, kindly sent by the Colombo Museum, and find that they are C. perforans

Kemner.

Subterranean species :

3. Heterotermes ceylonicus (Holmgren)—Ceylon.

4. Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann)—India and Pakistan.

5. Heterotermes malabaricus Snyder—India. 7

6. Coptotermes ceylonicus Holmgren—Ceylon, India.

7. Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki—Ceylon.

8. Coptotermes gaurii Roonwal & Krishna (exiguus? auct.)—Ceylon.

9. Coptotermes heimi (Wasmann) OES C. parvulus Holmgren)—

India and W. Pakistan.

10. Odontotermes ceylonicus (Wasmann)—Ceylon.

11. Odontotermes feae (Wasmann)—India, E. Pakistan, and Burma.

12. Odontotermes redemanni (Wasmann)—Ceylon.

13. Hypotermes obscuriceps (Wasmann)—Ceylon.

14. Nasutitermes ceylonicus (Holmgren)—Ceylon.

No precise estimates, in financial terms, of the damage caused by

termites to buildings in India are available, but there is no doubt that the

_ damage is very heavy. The principal species in India which damage

buildings are: Heterotermes indicola, Coptotermes heimi, and Odonto-

termes feae. Instances where almost an entire township was thus des-

troyed by Heterotermes indicola have been reported (Roonwal 1955).

II. PARTICULARS OF SOME WOOD-DESTROYING SPECIES

Brief particulars of the more important wood-destroying species,

especially with reference to recent work, are given below.

-* Coptotermes exiguus (Holmgren) ’, > as given by Harris (1961, pp. 156 and 159)

is Bost probably C. gaurii R. & K. No valid name ‘exiguus Holmgren’ seems to

exist (vide also oe prion in Roonwal & Krishna 1955, p. 143; and Roonwal &.

ort, 1962, p. 3

356 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

_ = (a) The wood-inhabiting species -

le Kalotermes beesoni Gardner (Plate II)

Occurs in northern India (Uttar Pradesh) and W. Pakistan (Punjab).

Some aspects of its biology have been studied by Chhotani (1962a, b).

Emergence of winged imagines occurred in June-August. The propor-

tion of the castes, viz. imagines, soldiers and pseudoworkers, was

1:5:94. Alates collected in the field, as well as those obtained in

laboratory emergences, consisted only of females, the males being en-

tirely wanting, thus suggesting that the colony was breeding by means of

parthenogenesis. For a detailed taxonomic description and illustrations

of the species vide Roonwal & Sen-Sarma 1960.

2. Neotermes bosei Snyder (syn. N. gardneri Snyder, vide Rane &

~ Sen-Sarma 1960, p. 153).

Occurs in northern and eastern India (Uttar Pradesh and Bengal).

Generally attacks dead wood of several species of trees, but infestation

may pass on to the living portions of trunks and branches. Some aspects

of its biology have been studied by Roonwal & Sen-Sarma (1955). |

Alates emerge from February to July but mostly in May. Faecal pellets

are small (length c. 0°9-1:14 mm.; diameter c. 0°5-0°7 mm.), reddish

brown and longish, with a hexagonal cross-section. In the galleries,

these pellets are often lumped together in masses which are covered with

wood-dust. These masses are sometimes as large as 3<4°5 cm. and,

being hygroscopic, may serve to condition the humidity inside the

galleries. For a detailed taxonomic description and illustrations of the

various castes vide Roonwal & Sen-Sarma 1960.

3. Neotermes greeni (Desneux)

Widely distributed in Ceylon where it is a serious pest of tea and

rubber plants, but less so than N. militaris. It also infests a number of

other trees. For its taxonomic description and illustrations vide

Roonwal & Sen-Sarma 1960.

4, Neotermes militaris (Desneux)

Widely distributed in Ceylon. Is a serious pest of tea plants whose

heartwood it generally hollows out. A single tea bush may harbour a

colony of as many as 3000-4000 individuals. Also infests other trees.

For its taxonomic description and US Elo vide Roonwal & Sen-

Sarma 1960.

5. Cryptotermes cyanocephalus Light —

A dry-wood species widely distributed in SE Asia (Java and the

Philippines). Recorded as a major destroyer of woodwork in buildings

in Ceylon (Harris. 1961, p. 158), but see Note under * ae species.

at page 355 above,

J. BOMBAY NAT. HIST. Soc. 63 (2) PLATE I

Roonwal & Chhotani: Termites

SUrren (warkers

their rene

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Bee oeraphs showing damage to wood and other cellulosic materials by ter-

Fig. 1. Part of a soft-wood (pine) door-piece, showin

a ; g damage by Hetero-

termes indicola (Wasmann); Fig. 2. A book damaged by eae Fig. 3. A

piece of wood of bar (Ficus bengalensis Linn.), showing galleries made by Cryp-

totermes havilandi (Sjostedt); Fig. 4. Pieces of wood from a log of unknown

Species almost completely eaten up by Odontotermes feae (Washman d

covered by it with earth coverings and fillings. rae pa

J. BoMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (2) PLATE II

Roonwal & Chhotani: Termites

x See 5 POS

Upper figure : Kalotermes beesoni Gardner. Imagos (alates) soldiers

and pseudoworkers.

Lower figure: Coptotermes feimi (Wasmann). Imagos (alates),

soldiers and workers.

INDIAN WOOD-DESTROYING TERMITES 357

6. Cryptotermes domesticus (Haviland)

A dry-wood termite, widely distributed in south east Asia (India and

Ceylon to Indonesia and Formosa, etc.). Is a serious pest of woodwork

in houses in Ceylon and Malaya.

7. Cryptotermes dudleyi Banks

A most widely distributed dry-wood species—India to New Guinea ;

and Central and South America. Is a serious pest of woodwork in

houses, etc.

8. Cryptotermes havilandi (Sjostedt) [syn. C. bengalensis (Snyder)]

(Plate I)

A dry-wood termite widely distributed from India to Africa and the

West Indies. Species of Cryptotermes are generally distributed in coastal

areas, many being introductions. But Chhotani (1963) has recently

recorded C. havilandi from the interior of India (Madhya Pradesh).

9. Glyptotermes dilatatus (Bugnion & Popoff)

Occurs widely in Ceylon. Is a serious pest of two economic plants,

tea and rubber. see

10. Archotermopsis wroughtoni (Desneux)

Western Himalayas (Hazara and Kashmir to Kumaon) at altitudes of

2800-9000 ft. above sea-level. Attacks and lives in dead logs and stumps

of conifers (pines and deodar). Its morphology and biology was studied

long ago by Imms (1919).

11. Heterotermes spp. (Plate I)

Members of this genus are subterranean, but attack dry wood above

ground in houses and elsewhere, being able to reach such wood by means ©

of long surface-galleries which they construct. Four species of Hetero-

termes are known in the Indian Region, all of them pests of woodwork in

houses. The most important species are H. ceylonicus (Holmgren) in

Ceylon, and H. indicola (Wasmann) and H. malabaricus Snyder in India.

Roonwal (1955) records an instance in which the township of Sri

Hargobindpur in the Punjab was partially abandoned a few years ago

due to the serious infestation of beams and other woodwork in houses by

A. indicola.

me . Coptotermes spp. (Plate II)

.. Like Heterotermes, the genus Coptotermes is a subterranean termite

which reaches dry wood above ground, as in houses, railway carriages,

etc., and does serious damage. Eight species are known from the Indian

Region (vide the recent revision by Roonwal & Chhotani 1962a, where

358 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

taxonomic descriptions and illustrations are given). The more

important species are discussed below briefly.

(i) Coptotermes ceylonicus (Holmgren): Southern India and

Ceylon. A pest of tea and rubber and also attacks dry wood.

(ii) Coptotermes gaurii Roonwal & Krishna (exiguus auct.) :

Ceylon. A serious pest of tea plants.

(iii) Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki: A species which is wide-

spread (Ceylon, Formosa, S. China, Japan, Hawaiian Is., U.S.A., and

S. Africa). A pest of tea and rubber, and also attacks dry wood.

(iv) Coptotermes heimi (Wasmann) (syn. C. parvulus Holmgren)

(Plate II): All over India and West Pakistan where it is very common.

Is a serious pest of woodwork, furniture, etc. in houses and elsewhere.

Also known to destroy electric-wire casing, railway coaches, etc. Our

knowledge of its biology has been summarised by Roonwal (1959). It

is known to attack the dead wood of a large number of trees. Swarming

of winged imagines generally occurs at dusk and early night (c. 6-10 p.m.).

The season of swarming is spring and early summer (March-May) in the

more humid areas (W. Bengal, Orissa, and Bombay) and during the mon- |

soon (June-August) in the drier parts (Uttar Pradesh). The nest is

made of semi-porous material in dead wood, sometimes even in railway

carriages.

(b) The non-wood-inhabiting species

1. Globitermes audax Silvestri (syn. G. birmanicus Snyder)

Burma. Attacks forest trees. Little is known about its biology.

2. Microcerotermes heimi Wasmann

Species of Microcerotermes are characterized by the inner margin of

the mandibles being serrated like a saw instead of toothed. Nearly 20

species are known from the Indian Region. The most common one is

M. heimi, occurring in Assam, south India, and Ceylon ; it lives chiefly

in logs etc. in forests and makes large globular carton-nests. ;

3. Odontotermes spp.

Species of this genus are among the most common termites in the

Indian Region, a few species building earthen mounds. The more

important species are discussed below.

(i) Odontotermes ceylonicus (Wasmann): Ceylon. A major

pest of woodwork in buildings in Ceylon (Harris 1961, p. 159).

(it) Odontotermes feae (Wasmann) (Plate I): India, E. Pakistan,

and Burma. One of the most destructive termites for woodwork in

buildings. Also attacks and kills Eucalyptus seedlings in nurseries. No

mound is formed as a rule but this happens occasionally (vide Roonwal &

INDIAN WOOD-DESTROYING TERMITES 359

Chhotani 19626). Winged adults swarm out at the beginning of the

monsoon. ;

(iii) Odontotermes obesus (Rambur): The most common mound-

building termite in the greater part of India except the south. Attacks

moist woodwork and other cellulosic materials (books, textiles, etc.) in

houses particularly during the rainy season. But as a pest of dry wood

in buildings does not seem to be important. Builds earthen mounds

which may rise as high as 26m. (c. 8°7 ft.) high. For its mound-

structure, vide Roonwal (1958a, 19626). For destruction of mound-

colonies, vide Roonwal (1951) and Roonwal & Chatterjee (1962). '

(iv) Odontotermes parvidens Holmgren & Holmgren: All over

India. A large species commonly attacking the bark of trees. Was

responsible for the killing of plantation teak in Uttar Pradesh (Roonwal

1954) by eating the bark and producing a sort of girdling effect. No

mound is built; nesting occurs underground. Swarming of winged

alates occurs in March from small holes in the ground.

(Vv) Odontotermes redemanni (Wasmann): Peninsular India,

Bengal, and Ceylon. Builds earthen mounds as high as those of Odon-

totermes obesus. Is destructive to woodwork in houses, especially in the

wet season.

_ 4. Microtermes obesi Holmgren (syn. M. anandi Holmgren)

A small, widely spread species in India and Ceylon. Often occurs

in association with Odontotermes obesus in the mound of the latter and

- in nest-areas of O. feae. Does not occur in buildings but attacks logs

and dead wood in forests, as well as growing crops such as sugarcane,

_ wheat, millets, etc. (vide Roonwal 1958).

5. Nasutitermes ceylonicus (Holmgren)

- Ceylon. Is a major pest of woodwork in buildings in Ceylon (Harris

me 1961, p. 159).

6. Hospitalitermes birmanicus (Snyder)

Burma. Attacks saplings. Like other members of the subfamily

Nasutitermitinae, the soldiers are characterized by a nasute process in

the front part of the subglobular head-capsule and by minute, non-

functional mandibles.

II]. CONTROL |

The destruction and control of wood-destroying termites is a difficult

| task, mainly because of the difficulty of reaching the population inside

the affected timber. The best course is to build houses according to

anti-termite designs and to use chemically treated wood (coaltar creosote

is very effective). The use of naturally resistant timbers, e.g. heartwood

360 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

of teak, is also helpful. Some of the effective contro] methods devised

in recent years in India against subterranean termites may be mentioned

briefly.

Control in mounds. Pouring suitable quantities of water-emulsions

of some of the chlorinated hydrocarbons (benzene hexachloride, aldrin,

and dieldrin) completely destroys mound-colonies in less than a week

(Roonwal 1951 ; Roonwal & Chatterjee 1962).

Control by soil treatments (mud-wall poisoning). Laboratory experi-

ments indicate that, if the mud used to plaster huts in villages is mixed

with small quantities of benzene hexachloride, effective protection to the

super-structure (roof etc.) of bamboo and wood is obtained up to about

two years (Roonwal, Chatterjee & Thapa 1962).

IV. SUMMARY

Out of nearly 180 termite species occurring in the Indian Region about

58 destroy wood. Of these, 42 commonly inhabit wood ; the remainder,

while not commonly inhabiting wood, nevertheless are important des-

troyers of wood. They belong to the families Kalotermitidae (27

species), Hodotermitidae (1 species), Rhinotermitidae (14 species), all

wood-inhabiting ; and Termitidae (16 species), soil-inhabiting.

REFERENCES

_ASSMUTH, J. (1913) : Wood-destroy-

ing white ants of the Bombay Presidency.

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 22 (2): 372-

384, 4 pls.

BEESON, C. F. C. (1941): A guide to

the control of termites for forest officers.

Indian For. Rec. (Ent.) (N.S.) 4 (2):

44-90. -

CHHOTANI, O. B. (1962a) : Biological

observations on the termite Kalotermes

beesoni Gardner. Proc. 1st All-India

Congr. Zool. (Jabalpur, 1959), Calcutta,

Pt. 2 (Sci. Pap.) : 476-478, 1 pl.

——— (19625): Further observa-

tions on biology and parthenogenesis

in the termite Kalotermes beesoni

(Kalotermitidae). pp. 73-75. In: Ter-

mites in the Humid Tropics (Proc. New

Delhi Sympos., 1960)—Paris (UNESCO).

(1963) : The termite Crypto-

termes havilandi |(Sjéstedt) from the

interior of India. J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 60 (1) : 287-288, 1 pl.

Harris, W. V. (1961): Termites :

Their Recognition and Control. xii+

187 pp., 57 figs., 8 col. pls. ; 1 flgd. chart.

—London. Longmans, Green & Co.

Imus, A. D. (1919) : On the structure

and biology of Archotermopsis, together

with description of new species of in-

testinal Protozoa and general observa-

tions on the Isoptera. Philos. Trans.

roy. Soc. Lond. (B) 209 : 75-180, 8 pls.

ROONWAL, M. L. (1951): Practical

directions for the prophylactic treatment

of timber, bamboos and plywood for

protection against insect damage.

Indian Forester 77 (10): 648-650. Also

as Indian For. Leafl. (Ent.), Delhi, No.

125 : 1-3, 1951.

(1954) : Biology and ecology

of oriental termites (Isoptera). No. 1.

Odontotermes parvidens Holmg. and

Holmg. severely damaging the bark and

contributing to the death of standing |

teak trees in Uttar Pradesh, India. J.

Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 52 (2 & 3): |

459-462, 1 pl. |

—— (1955): Termites ruining a

township. Z. angew. Ent. Berlin 38 (1):

103-104. Se

— (1958): Recent work on

termite research in India (1947-57).

Trans. Bose. Res. Inst. Calcutta 22:

77-100, 4 pls.

—— (1959): Biology and ecology

of oriental termites (Isoptera). No. 4.

The drywood termite, Coptotermes heimi

(Wasm.), in India. J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 56 (3) : 511-523, 3 pls.

INDIAN: WOOD-DESTROYING TERMITES

RoonwaL, M. L. (1962a): Recent

developments in termite systematics

(1949-60). pp. 31-50, 1 pl. (Pl. 1). Un:

Termites in the Humid Tropics: Proc.

New Delhi 1960)—Paris

(UNESCO).

symposium,

(19625): Biology § and

ecology of oriental termites. No. 5.

Mound-structure, nest and moisture-

content of fungus combs in Odontoter-

mes obesus, with a discussion on the

association of fungi with termites. Rec.

Indian Mus. 58 (3 & 4) [1960] : 131-150,

4 pls.

ee & CHATTERJEE, P. N. (1962):

Destruction of colonies of mound-

building termites in India. pp. 211-212.

(In : Termites in the Humid Tropics : Proc.

New Delhi Symposium, 1960)—Paris

(UNESCO).

——_——, & THAPA, R. S. (1962):

Recent results of work on the protection

of timber against subterranean termites

in India. Pp. 183-184, 2 pls. (Pls.

33 & 34, onp. 1). (In: Termites in the

Humid Tropics: Proc. New Delhi Sym-

posium, 1960)—Paris (UNESCO).

361

ROONWAL, M. L. & CHHOTANI, O. B.

(1962a) : Indian species of Termite Genus

Coptotermes. ix+115 pp. (18 pls.). Delhi

Indian Counc. Agric. Res., Entom.

Monogr. No. 2). Manager of Publ.,

Govt. of India.

—_—&———., (19626): The mound of

the termite Odontotermes feae in India.

Abstracts Papers 2nd All-India Congr.

Zool. (Varanasi, Oct. 1962), Cuttack :

85.

————, & KrisHNA, K. (1955):

Systematics of oriental termites. II. A

new species, Coptotermes gaurii, from

Ceylon. Indian J. agric. Sci. 25 (2):

143-152.

————.,, & SEN-SARMA, P. K. (1955) :

Biology and ecology of oriental termites

(Isoptera). No. 3. Some _ observations

on Neotermes gardneri (Snyder) [Family

Kalotermitidae]. J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 53 (2) : 234-239, 2 pls.

— & ————,, (1960) : (Contri-

butions to the Systematics of Oriental

Termites.) 2+xi+406 pp., 65 pls. New

Delhi (Ent. Mongr. No. 1, Indian Counc.

Agric. Res.).

362

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

APPENDIX

List OF INDIAN WOOD-DESTROYING TERMITES

(a) Species which oaini ont inhabit wood

Family I. KALOTERMITIDAE

Subfamily Kalotermitinae

Kalotermes beesoni Gardner

Kalotermes jepsoni Kemner

Kalotermes pintoi Kemner

Neotermes andamanensis Snyder

Neotermes artocarpi (Haviland)

Neotermes assmuthi Holmgren

Neotermes bosei Snyder (syn. N. gardneri Snyder)

Neotermes buxensis Roonwal & Sen-Sarma

Neotermes fletcheri Holmgren & Holmgren

Neotermes greeni (Desneux)

Neotermes kemneri Roonwal & Sen-Sarma

Neotermes magniferae Roonwal & Sen-Sarma

Neotermes megaoculatus megaoculatus Roonwal & Sen-Sarma

Neotermes megaoculatus lakhimpuri Roonwal & Sen-Sarma

Neotermes microculatus Roonwal & Sen-Sarma

Neotermes militaris (Desneux) _

Neotermes pishinensis Anmad

Cryptotermes cydanocephalus Light

Cryptotermes domesticus (Haviland)

Cryptotermes dudleyi Banks

Cryptotermes havilandi (Sjostedt) (syn. C. bengalensis Snyder) i

Cryptotermes perforans Kemner

Glyptotermes almorensis Gardner

Glyptotermes ceylonicus (Holmgren)

Glyptotermes coorgensis Holmgren & Hotmeren.

Glyptotermes dilatatus (Bugnion & Popoff)

Glyptotermes minutus Kemner

Family I]. HODOTERMITIDAE

Subfamily Termopsinae

Archotermopsis wroughtoni (Desneux)

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

3).

36.

aT.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

ak.

52.

INDIAN WOOD-DESTROYING TERMITES 363

Family HI. RHINOTERMITIDAE-

Subfamily (i) Heterotermitinae _

Heterotermes ceylonicus (Holmgren)

Heterotermes gertrudae Roonwal .

Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann)

Heterotermes malabaricus Snyder

Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder

Subfamily (ii) Stylotermitinae

Stylotermes fletcheri Holmgren & Holmgren

Subfamily (111) Coptotermitinae

Coptotermes ceylonicus Holmgren

Coptotermes emersoni Ahmad

Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (nec Holmgren)

Coptotermes gaurii Roonwal & Krishna (exigzius auct.)

Coptotermes gestroi Wasmann

Coptotermes heimi (Wasmann) (syn. C. paryulus Holmgren)

Coptotermes kishori Roonwal & Chhotani

Coptotermes travians Haviland

(b) Species which do not commonly inhabit wood but

attack and destroy it

Family IV. TERMITIDAE

Subfamily (i) Amitermitinae

Globitermes audax Silvestri (syn. G. birmanicus Snyder)

Microcerotermes annandalei Silvestri

Microcerotermes heimi Wasmann

Subfamily (ii) Macrotermitinae

Odontotermes bangalorensis Holmgren

Odontotermes brunneus Holmgren

Odontotermes czylonicus (Wasmann)

Odontotermes feae (Wasmann)

Odontotermes horni (Wasmann)

Odontotermes obesus (Rambur)

Odontotermes parvidens Holmgren & Holmgren

364 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

53. Odontotermes redemanni (Wasmann)

54. Hypotermes obscuriceps (Wasmann)

55. Microtermes mycophagus (Desneux)

56. Microtermes obesi Holmgren (syn. M. anandi Holmgren)

Subfamily (iii) Nasutitermitinae

57. Nasutitermes ceylonicus (Holmgren)

58. Hospitalitermes birmanicus (Snyder)

— —— - 4

The Birds of Nepal

PAR 12

BISWAMOY BISWAS

Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum, Calcutta

(With four plates and five figures)

[Continued from Vol. 60 (3) : 654}

PHYSIOGRAPHY, VEGETATION, etc. OF NEPAL

Nepal exhibits two general surface features, the lowland in the south,

and the Himalaya mountains in the north (Figs. 4 and 5).

LOWLAND

The lowland consists of the plain, tarai and bhabar. The former is,

in fact, a part of the highly cultivated and densely populated Gangetic

plain as seen in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar of India, and is indistin-

guishable from it.

The tarai (altitude c. 140-150 m.) is the slightly sunken tract of land

lying immediately to the north of the plain. It has come into being by

‘filling up by long-continued alluviation of a tectonic basin formed when

_ the strata of the Tethys Sea were folded and raised into the Himalaya

-_ Mountains’ (Karan 1960, p. 22). Typically, the tarai is a tract where

the meandering rivers which are open to annual flooding, flow through

alluvium, and give rise to a number of swamps and supports a thick

tropical moist deciduous forest consisting chiefly of Sisoo (Dalbergia

sisoo), Silk-cotton (Salmalia malabarica), Khair (Acacia catechu), Siris

(Albizia lebbek), Figs (Ficus religiosa, F. bengalensis), Palas or the Flame-

of-the-Forest (Butea frondosa), Tund (Cedrela toona), Haldu (Adina

cordifolia), Jarul (Lagerstroemia), a few Palm (Phoenix), and large

Stretches of various grasses, such as Kharaul (Saccharum narenga)

Cymbopogon, Andropogon, Setaria, etc. Large portions of the tarai

| have, however, been cleared off for the purpose of cultivation. Such

areas are indistinguishable in appearance from the Gangetic plain on the

south.

[ 284 ]

366 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Bhabar “pew

Mountains 2s

[ 285 ]

100 km.

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THE BIRDS OF NEPAL 367

The bhabar (altitude c. 150-300 m.) comprises a belt of ‘hill wash and of

alluvial fans composed of highly porous gravels’ (Karan 1960, p. 22),

immediately on the north of the tarai. It has a low gradient from north

to south. All the streams originating from the southern face of the

Siwalik Hills on the north, traverse the bhabar. However, because of

the nature of its soil and the gradient, water does not accumulate in this

zone, although the silt brought about by the streams is deposited. This

_ makes it possible to sustain a luxuriant moist deciduous forest consisting

mainly of Sal (Shorea robusta), with some Sisoo (Dalbergia sisoo), Silk-

cotton (Sa/malia malabarica), Bauhinia malabarica, Sinduré (Mallotus

philippensis), Haldu (Adina cordifolia), Tund (Cedrela toona), Asan

(Terminalia tomentosa), Phyllanthus, creepers (Spatholobus, Dioscorea,

Zehneria), a thick undercover of grasses (Oplismenus, Setaria, Pollinia,

Andropogon, etc.) and occasional scrub of Flephantopus, Mimosa,

Crotalaria, Sida, etc.

HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS

The Himalaya mountains in Nepal may be conveniently divided into

four zones from south to north, viz. the Subhimalaya, the Lesser

Himalaya, the Great Himalaya and the Tibetan zone.

The Subhimalaya or the Siwalik Range (altitude c. 300-1220 m.) : The

low range of hills running east-west throughout the length of Nepal im-

mediately on the north of the bhabar, and consisting mainly of sandstone,

sandy limestones and gravel beds, is the Siwalik range. It is known as

the Churia hills in Nepal, and is in fact, a continuation of the Siwalik

system of the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh of India. Its maximum

elevation is about 1220 m., and its ridges and spurs are narrow and

sharply edged. It supports thick tropical moist deciduous vegetation

composed chiefly of Sal (Shorea robusta), with some Sisoo (Dalbergia

sisoo), Asan (Terminalia tomentosa), Reinwardtia trigyna, Lindenbergia,

Inula, Leucas, and in the upper reaches, Pinus roxburghii, Swertia angusti-

folia var. wallichii, Aechmanthera, Indigofera, Blumea, Strobilanthes,

Scutellaria, etc., and climbers like Dioscorea, and Sabia. The under-

growth consists of Sabai grass (Eulaliopsis binata) and a few other grasses

and scrub. as

_ A large number of streams originate from the Siwalik range. Those

taking off from its southern slopes flow into India or form tributaries

of other rivers, while those from the northern slopes join several rivers

coming down from the Lesser or the Great Himalayan ranges. Those

tivers flow south through a number of deep gorges across the Siwaliks

into India. x | ,

- Between the Siwalik range and the Lesser Himalaya on the north are

a-Sseries of canoe-shaped longitudinal valleys running northwest-southeast

[ 286]

368 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

and separated by narrow ridges. These valleys which are more or less

wide, are called ‘duns’ (altitude c. 300-1370 m.). They are thickly

clothed with deciduous forest of mainly Sal (Shorea robusta) in the lower

elevations and Pine (Pinus roxburghii) at the upper reaches, with Sinduré

(Mallotus philippensis), Millettia auriculata, Chilone (Schima wallichii),

Champa (Michelia champaca), Haldu (Adina cordifolia), Callicarpa

macrophylla, Bankar (Clerodendrum colebrookianum), wild Raspberry

(Rubus rosaefolia), Vallaris solanacea, Inula indica, Indigofera dosua,

patches of Phragmitis karka, Anthistiria gigantea, and other grasses and

scrub like Mimosa, Phyllanthus, Drymaria, etc. | !

The Lesser or Middle Himalaya lying on the north of the duns, is an

intricate array of high ranges (altitude c. 1370-4570 m.) sprawling east-

west throughout the length of the country. These are cut into deep

ravines and precipitous defiles which fan out into irregularly directed

ridges with repeated ramifications. The southern slopes of its ridges,

except in protected valleys, are generally too steep to maintain a soil-

cap for the growth of forests, but the northern slopes are gentler and clad

with dense vegetation.

Depending on the location and altitude, the forests of the Lesser

Himalaya consist mainly of Katus (Castanopsis), Ash (Engelhardtia),

Pines (Pinus spp.), Oaks (Quercus spp.), Rhododendrons (Rhododendron

spp.), Poplar (Populus), Walnut (Jugllans), Alder (Ainus), Magnolia,

Deodar (Cedrus), Larch (Larix), Fir (Abies), Birch (Betula), Maple

(Acer), thin Bamboo (Pleioblastus), etc.

The well-defined mountain-range called the ‘ Mahabharat Lekh’,

extending throughout the length of Nepal from west to east, lies in the

Lesser Himalaya.

The Great Himalaya: North of the Lesser Himalaya lies the single

range of the Great Himalaya with its lofty mountainous wall rising above

the limits of perpetual snow. It completely shields thenorth. A

number of the greatest peaks of the world stand in clusters and rows in

this range. Numerous rivers of Nepal, which originate in the north of

the axis of the Great Himalaya, cut deep gorges across it to flow

southward. The average altitude of the crest of the Great Himalaya in

Nepal is more than 6000 metres.

In the lower regions of the Great Himalaya, from about 2450 m. up

to the tree limits (c. 3960-4264 m.), there are good temperate coniferous

forests of Blue Pine (Pinus excelsa), Spruce (Picea), Oak (Quercus), Fir

(Abies), Cypress (Cupressus), Tree Juniper (Juniperus), Birch (Betula),

with Hemlock-Spruce (Tsuga), Yew (Taxus), some deciduous Maples

(Acer) and Cherries (Prunus), thin Bamboo (Pleioblastus), Lyonia, Jasmin.

(Jasminum), Syringa, Rosa, Berberis, Rhododendron, Larch (Larix),

Asaré (Viburnum), Spiraea, Sorbus, and some alpine plants, like the

Primrose (Primula), Pedicularis, Potentilla, Androsace, Saxifraga, Gentian

[ 287]

369

THE BIRDS OF NEPAL

aly Ge falesleal tealeaws

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[288 ]

370 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

(Gentiana), Iris, Meconopsis, etc., depending on elevation and location.

Above the tree limits, the vegetation consists of low bushes of dwarf

Rhododendrons (R. setosum, R. anthopogon), creeping or scaly Juniper

(Juniperus squamata), Primrose (Primula), Iris, Meconopsis, Potentilla,

Pedicularis, Sedge (Cyperus), grass (Helichotrichon), etc. Immediately

below the snowline, the vegetation consists largely of the grass Helicho-

trichon.

As one goes higher, the number of plants becomes scarce, till on the

moraines of glaciers at about 5000 m. or thereabouts, they stand singly

or in small clusters. -

The Tibetan Zone: North of the axis of the Great Himalayan range

is the Tibetan zone. Here the mountain slopes gently from south to

north up to about 3660 m. The area is largely devoid of vegetation,

except for little patches of xerophytic thorny bushes such as of Caragana,

and grass here and there.

PHYSIOGRAPHY, VEGETATION, &C., OF THE COLLECTING AREAS IN

CENTRAL NEPAL

The following notes briefly deal with the conditions obtaining in

various localities in central Nepal where our collections were made in

March-August 1947. Since then, however, conditions there have greatly

changed through the interference of man, mainly by large-scale destruc-

tion of forests for reclamation of land for agriculture, communications,

hydroelectric projects and human settlements.

TARAI

Simra (27°10’N., 84°58’E.): This is a small village situated near

the northern edge of the central tarai, close to the bhabar. There are

cultivations about the village, especially in the south, and thick moist

deciduous forest in the west, north and east. Two rivers have joined

together in the vicinity of Simra to form the Sariswa River, one of which

was almost dry during our visit in March. There are also one or

two streams with fairly wide beds in the neighbourhood. Altitude :

c. 140 m. |

BHABAR

Amlekhganj (27°17’ N., 85°E.): This is a large village, the terminus

of the Raxaul-Amlekhganj section of the Nepal Government Railway,

and situated at the foot of the Siwalik range. There are small plots of

cultivation around the village amidst thick forest. A number of hill-

streams flow in the vicinity of this village. Altitude : c. 300 m,

[289 J

THE BIRDS OF NEPAL 371

DUN

Hitaura (27°26’ N., 85°2’ E.) area (with Suparitar, 27°28’ N., 85°2’E.,

Kusumtar, 27°27’ N., 85°5’ E., Pahare Ghat, 27°26’ N., 85° E., Karra,

| B5°0’ ey : *e e E 1 2

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| Koelz-Biswas team.

, 7°25’ N.; 85°2' E. as oilectiie localities) :

in the valleys of the Rapti, Samri, and_Karra Kholas.

[ 290]

“Thistarea (Figs. 6, 7) lies a

The principal

372 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

river of the area, namely the Rapti, flows north to south. North of the .—

Hitaura village, it receives the Samri Khola flowing east to west,

and south of the village it receives the Karra Khola coming from east,

and a small tributary from the south. The Rapti River then turns

sharply westward. Moreover, there are many hill-streams in this area,

some of which flow through dark, narrow ravines. The rivers have

shingle beds in this area. Apart from a narrow strip of cultivated land

along the Rapti and cultivated plots between the villages of Hitaura and

Karra, the entire area is well forested. The east-west ridge between the

Samri and Karra Kholas, and Paharé Ghat across the Rapti, have thick

forests of Sal (Shorea robusta), some Lampati (Duabanga), Asan

(Terminalia tomentosa), Bauhinia, Kadamba (Anthocephalus cadamba)s

a few Silk-cotton (Salmalia malabarica), Amaltas (Cassia), Clematis,

Drymaria, and shrubs and weeds like Mimosa, Sida, etc. Patches of tall

grass, like Saccharum, Phragmitis, Anthistiria, occur here and there. The

river beds are fringed with thickets of thorny plants and creepers like

Rhaphidophora glauca. Altitude : c. 420-610 m.

Bhimphedi (27°33 N., 85°9’E.) : Further to the north-east of Hitaura

(about 16 km. in a straight line) lies the small town of Bhimphedi, the

terminus of the motor route from Raxaul and Amlekhganj. It is

situated at the upper limit of the dun on the left bank of the Rapti River

at the foot of the Mahabharat Lekh. A number of tributaries of the

Rapti, rising from the Mahabharat, flow around the town. The western,

northern and eastern sides of Bhimphedi are surrounded by mountains

densely clothed with Pine with a mixture of deciduous and evergreen

vegetation (Plate I). On the south-west, south, and south-east of

Bhimphedi there are some patches of cultivation. There are a number of

hill-streams in the vicinity, some of which at places run through deep

ravines. The banks of the larger rivers sustain tall grasses and scrub.

Altitude : c. 1220-1370 m.

MARKHU VALLEY

Deorali (27934’N., 85°9’E.) : This is a place in name only situated on

the northern side of the pass on the Mahabharat Lekh above Chisapani

Garhi (= Sissagarhi) on the Bhimphedi-Kathmandu trail. In this area,

there is a thin forest of Rhododendron (R. arboreum), with some Cheer

Pine (Pinus roxburghii), Kharsu Oak (Quercus semecarpifolia), and bushes

of Luculia, Viburnum, Rhus, Rubus, Prunus, etc. The undergrowth

consists of Clematis, Galium, Hypericum, Valeriana, Dipsacus, Strobi-

lanthes, etc., and Anaphalis. There are also some orchids, like

Otochilus, and epiphytes (Peperomia). Abundant mosses festoon the

trees. A few small hill-streams are present in the area. Altitude: c.

1980 m.

[ 291 J

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(2) PLATE I

Biswas : Birds of Nepal

, 2. Forests on the Mahabharat Lekh, east of Bhimphedi, Central Nepal.

19 June 1947.

(Photos: B. Biswas)

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(2) PLATE II

Biswas: Birds of Nepal

18 March 1947.

3. Looking north from Chandragiri Pass, above Thankot.

4, Vegetation on northern edge of Thankot Village, Nepal Valley. 18 March

1947.

( Photos: B. Biswas)

THE BIRDS OF NEPAL S75

Kulikhani (27935’N., 85°9’E.): This is a small village situated on

the right bank of the Markhu River below Deorali, and on the trail to

85°2

*. ., : HITAURA AREA

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Kathmandu. There is extensive cultivation along the river, but to the

south”’and west on the mountain slopes, there are mixed deciduous and

evergreen forests. Altitude : c. 1400 m.

CHITLANG VALLEY

Chitlang (27°39’N., 85°11’ E.): This is a village lying at the

_ southern foot of the Chandragiri below the pass on the Kathmandu trail,

| and near the head of the Chitlang Valley. There is extensive cultivation

on the south of the village, with patches of scrub and grass here and there.

| [292 ]

374. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Such vegetation consists of Potentilla, Teucrium, Artemisia, Swertia,

Micromeria, Lotus, Viola, Gentiana, Arenaria, Oldenlandia, Stellaria,

Pollinia, Anthistiria, etc. A number of small hill-streams flow through

this area to join the Chitlang River which takes off from the Chandragiri.

On the north of Chitlang, is the thick forest on the Chandragiri.

Altitude : c. 1830 m.

CHANDRAGIRI

The Chandragiri range bounds the Nepal Valley on its western and

south-western sides (Fig. 8). It is well covered with forests from its

base to the crest, except about the villages situated at its foot. On the

outer side, its base lies at about c. 1830 m., but inside the Nepal Valley, at

about c. 1525 m. Collections were made between Chitlang (outside the

Valley) and Thankot (inside the Valley) on both faces of the Chandragiri,

as well as on the crest in the region of the Pass (27°41’ N., 85°12’E., alt.

c. 2285-2440 m.).

The forests on the Chandragiri, specially in its upper reaches, are

largely of the type which Champion (1936, p. 231) classified as ‘ Ban oak’.

The vegetation consists largely of Oaks (Quercus semecarpifolia and Q.

glauca), Rhododendron (R. arboreum), Aru (Pyrus pashia), Cherry

(Prunus puddum), Asare (Viburnum), Angeri (Pieris), with shrubs and

herbs like Jasminum, Rubus, Berberis, Randia, Ranunculus, Artemisia,

Valeriana, Fern (Pteris), Lindenbergia, Thalictrum, climbers like Vitis,

Smilax, etc. and grasses (Andropogon and others). There are a number

of patches where the undergrowth is very scanty, as well as much cut-

out treeless areas having thick secondary shrubby growths. The trees

are thickly covered with mosses and lichens. In the steeper parts of the

slopes, there are thick herbaceous growths with but few trees. Several

hill-streams, medium-sized and small, flow down the slopes of the

Chandragiri. Some of them have cut deep gorges, dark and damp, over-

grown with ferns and mosses.

NEPAL VALLEY

Almost completely enclosed by a series of ridges, the irregularly

oval-shaped Nepal Valley (Fig. 8) is situated in the Lesser Himalayan

mountain system. The more important of these ridges are the Sheopuri

Lekh on the north, Phulchauki Danda on the south-east and south,

Chandragiri on the south and south-west, and the Nagar Jong on the

north-west. The floor of the valley is more or less level and about

c. 1220 m. in elevation, but the surrounding ridges range from c. 1830 m.

to almost c. 3000 m. in height (Plate II, fig. 3, and Plate III, fig. 5). The

floor of the valley is densely populated and extensively cultivated, even

[2987]

305

THE BIRDS OF NEPAL

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[294]

376 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

up to the foothills in many areas. Barring some small patches of woods

here and there, there is no forest in the floor of the valley. The surround-

ing ridges are, however, well forested in most parts. They are chiefly

mixed forests of Oaks, Rhododendrons, Pines, Walnuts, Poplars, Alders,

and different shrubs, herbs and grasses, depending on the elevation and

location. The patches of woods on the floor of the valley are generally

located on isolated ‘ tilas ’ (little hillocks), and consist of pine and other

trees. They represent the ‘ central woods’ of Scully (1879).

‘A large number of streams, big and small, originate from the

surrounding ridges and flow into the valley. All of them form tribu-

taries of the Bagmati—the only river that leaves the Nepal Valley through

a narrow gorge on the south-west.

Kathmandu (27°42/N., 85°19’E.): The capital city of the Kingdom

of Nepal, Kathmandu is located a little to the west of the centre of the

Valley. The principal rivers of the Valley, viz. the Vishnumati and the

Bagmati, flow adjacent to the city, the former flowing north-south along

its western edge, while the latter which has first a north-south course

along its eastern edge, flows east-west along its southern border. The

two join at the south-western corner of the city. The area all around

Kathmandu is well cultivated.

Collections were made in and around a number of villages in the

outskirts of Kathmandu, as well as on the Vishnumati and Bagmati

rivers. Altitude : c. 1300 m.

Burhanilkantha (27°48' N., 85°22’ E.): This is a small village situated

‘ at the foot of the Sheopuri Lekh, about 13 km. north of Kathmandu.

A hill-stream named Rudramati (a tributary of the Bagmati), flows

north-south through the village. Another hill-stream flowing north-

south along the eastern edge of the village, joins the Rudramati after

turning west to pass through the southern part of the village. There is

a small reservoir on the Rudramati above the village. To the east of

the village, there is a narrow spur of the Sheopuri, which is covered with . 4

thick secondary scrub (Plate III, fig. 6). A little to the west, on a larger

spur, lie the villages Phulbari and Jhar. There arecultivations about the

villages and on the south, but the mountainside is forested. The vegeta-

tion is similar to that of the Chandragiri. .

Collections were made in Burhanilkantha-Phulbari and surrounding

areas and some way up the Sheopuri. Altitude : c. 1830-2155 m.

Godavari (27°36’ N., 85°23’E.) is a small village situated at the south-

eastern corner of the Nepal Valley between two spurs of the Phulchauki

Danda coming out of it. The extensive forest around is a preserve of

the ruling Prime Minister. There is a spring and a number of hill-

streams in this area, and barring small patches of cultivation the whole

area and the mountain are thickly clad with evergreen forest (Plate IV).

[ 295 ]

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(2) Prare Jl

Biswas: Birds of Nepal

). Looking towards Kathmandu from Thankot, Nepal Valley. 18 March 1947.

}. Vegetation on a spur of the Sheopuri Lekh, east of Burhanilkantha, Nepal

Valley. 4 May 1947.

(Photos: B, Biswas )

J. Bompay Nat. Hist. Soc. 63(2) PLATE IV

Biswas: Birds of Nepal

7. Forest on a spur of the Phulchauki Danda, east of Godavari, Nepal Valley.

13 May 1947. 8. Looking north-west from Godavari, Nepal Valley. 16 May 1947.

(Photos: B. Biswas)

THE BIRDS OF NEPAL tig)

The vegetation is similar to that of the Chandragiri. There are also some

grassy patches in this area. Altitude: c. 1675-2135 m.

Thankot (27°41'N., 85° 13’E.) : Located at the foot of the Chandra-

girl on the main trail from Bhimphedi to Kathmandu, this little village

has some cultivation and a few grassy meadows. The area around

Thankot is well forested, specially on the spurs of the Chandragiri about

the village, except on the eastern side where the extensive cultivated area

of the Valley begins (Plate II, fig. 4, and Plate III, fig. 5). In the im-

mediate vicinity of the village, however, the forest is much cut down (for

firewood, etc.), and as a result, large treeless patches overgrown with

shrubs and grasses are not uncommon. A few hill-streams flow through

the forest bed. The nature of the vegetation has already been

mentioned under ‘ Chandragiri’ (p. 374). Altitude: c. 1525-2135 m.

In addition to the above mentioned places in the Nepal Valley, co!-

lections were made at various spots along Kathmandu-Thankot,

Kathmandu-Sundarijal, Kathmandu-Sankhu and Kathmandu-Godavari

roads. All these localities were in the cultivated areas with no forests

in the vicinity, and in altitudes of c. 1285-1525 m. Opportunity was

availed of for making collections in a few of the ‘ central woods ’ on tilas.

(to be continued)

[ 296 ]

Re-use of Cells and Brother-Sister |

Mating in the Indian species _

Stenodynerus miniatus (Sauss.) |

(Vespidae: Eumeninae)

S. D. JAYAKAR AND H. SPURWAY

Genetics and Biometry Laboratory, Government of Orissa,

i Bhubaneswar

(With a plate)

INTRODUCTION

During the first period of colony formation, before any workers have

emerged, the behaviour of queens of the social non-swarming haplomet- ~

rotic species of Vespidae is comparable with the behaviour of females of

solitary species (Yoshikawa 1962). At the foundation of her nesta

queen builds cells and lays in them. When her first eggs hatch, food

gathering begins and this alternates with continued building and oviposi-

tion. A celi is not finished once and for all, but loads are added after

it contains a larva, both to accommodate this as it. grows and to elaborate

the architecture of the nest under various internal and external stimuli

(Deleurance 1957, Olberg 1959). A queen wasp can also clean out a

previously used cell and re-use it, She does this after she has removed

an egg, larva, or pupa, which she has part eaten herself, and part fed to

her other offspring. This destruction of some part of the brood is

characteristic of this early stage in the formation of the nest (Deleur- —

ance 1955). The queen re-uses a cell after a normal imago has ©

emerged only during the few days before the first daughter returns |

from her first foraging flight, after which the queen abruptly ceases all |

building and provisioning activities. The cleaning and structural —

reconditioning of previously used cells is however repeatedly performed |

by workers and forms an essential part of the economy of such colonies. ©

All social wasps build:their cells of paper, or other plant fragments. |

The solitary vespoids (eumenines) that build for their offspring not

only use mud (not paper) for this purpose, but lack the versatility of the

social species. They are usually divided into two behavioural groups:

(1) the potters who build individual cells for each egg, usually in |

RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS — 379

clusters; and (2) the renters (Iwata 1942) or squatters (Jayakar & Spur-

way 1965a) who lay their eggs in various holes and cavities including the

deserted mud ceils of. the potter species. Squatters not only seal

these cavities with mud, but also show considerable architectural skill in

filling chinks, partitioning cavities, and rebuilding walls.

This paper describes a species which combines both the capacity to

build individual cells and therefore qualifying as a potter wasp, and

the capacity to service and re-use these cells repeatedly after her first

offspring have emerged from them, and. hence functioning as a squat-

ter in her own cells. Thus, though a mud-builder and solitary, this

species shares a cell economy with the social species, and may mirror

a condition which some ancestor of theirs exhibited. As would be

expected on the previously hypotheticated phylogeny of the social habit

(Roubaud 1916, Wheeler 1923, Iwata 1942, Richards & Richards 1951)

this species also performs progressive, though not simultaneous, pro-

visioning.

THE MATERIAL

The species concerned is Stenodynerus miniatus (Sauss.), the cells of

which have been described and figured by Horne and Smith (quoted by

Bingham 1897) under the name Pterochilus pulchellus Smith. This

mainly black species is variable, individuals within the same sibship

differing both in the number and extent of the yellow spots on the head

and thorax and their appendages, and in the extent of red on the petiole

and anterior region of the gaster. The main body of this paper describes

the fourth nest and mother in our files and they are both numbered

Stenodynerus miniatus 4 or St. m. 4 (Fig. 1). The histories of St. m. 1,

2, and 3 begun on 18/v/63, 12/xi/64, and 20/vii/65 respectively all

confirm in some way that here reported, and will be further referred to

below. These four nests are all that we have observed in our house

(Unit 5, Type VIII, No. 2) in New Bhubaneswar (20° 15’ N.; 85° 50!

E. ; altitude 45 m.), which is built on laterite originally covered with wet

semi-evergreen forest which was cleared in 1947,

Nests 5-18 and A-T were dissected soon after discovery, only a

few observations of the mothers’ behaviour being sometimes made.

Their contents were either preserved in alcohol or kept alive. Nests 5

and 6 were collected on 14/iv/66 from a house from the village of Bala-

kati which, though only 8 km. from the Bhubaneswar house, is on

the delta of the Mahanadi and surrounded by rice fields. The mother

of nest 5 was also collected. Many other nests were present in this

house. The remaining nests were collected on 2/v/66 from a single

380 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 ()

house in Barabil (22° 05’ N.; 85° 25’ E.; altitude 520 m.). This is

a mining town associated with iron and manganese mines in the

midst of wet deciduous forest in which the dominant species is

Shorea robusta.

At Barabil, all nests found on the house and judged to have been

made this season were collected. Of these nine (nos. 7, 9-11, 14-18)

were collected with the mothers working in them, three (nos. 8, 12, and

13) were identified by the young developing in their cells and seventeen

(A to F and J to T) are associated with this species of Stenodynerus on

the nest architecture alone.

NEST STRUCTURE AND SITING

These nests consisted of one or more granular mud vaults about 4

mm. in diameter and 18-20 mm. long. These were usually attached to a

single surface, there being only three exceptions (9, 15, and E) (Figs. 2

and 3). These apparent tubes are numbered with Roman figures, in the

order of building when this was watched (in nests 1-4) or could be dis-

covered from the architecture. They were usually built parallel and

touching throughout their length, and when on a vertical surface might

be at any angle between 0° and 90° tothe horizontal. St. m. 1 built

tube II and tube III so that tube I was between them; the other three

individuals watched built their later tubes in a series above tube I. The

open vault was usually but not always completed with a chimney, i.e. a

complete tube about 3 mm. in diameter and 5 mm. long curved slightly

away from the substrate and with its opening bent slightly downwards.

The outer walls of these chimneys were smoother than those of the

vaults. Usually the tubes of a nest opened in the same direction but in

four (8, 14, Q, and S) one of the tubes had been built opening in a

different direction to the rest. In 8 and S (Plate, fig. 4) the opening of

this exceptional cell was at the opposite end of the construct, the vaults of

the tubes being parallel. In 14, the only nest with 4 completed tubes,

though the openings of the chimneys were opposite but parallel, the

vault of one (called I) was curved round and under the mouths of the

other three (Plate, fig. 5). In Q two cells were found in the usual parallet

relationship, then an unused but sealed half vault at right angles to

them at their open ends, and finally, on the other side of this, another

normal tube parallel to the other two (Plate, fig. 6). This partial tandem

arrangement of tubes was also present in nest 15 (Plate, fig. 3). The most

curious structure, which we have only seen in derelict nests, was for a

tube to be curved more or less into a ring built round the shaft of a stout

nail and in a plane perpendicular to it (Plate, fig. 7).

J. BOMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (2)

Jayakar: Stenodynerus miniatus (Sauss.)

een

Fig. 1 em.

Fig. 8.

Nests of Stenodynerus miniatus (Sauss.)

Note: All figures drawn to same scale

RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS 381

Considering the 35 nests studied :

1 nest (14) contained 4 tubes

eho) ‘ cides

17 nests (1, 3-5, 7-10,

15-17, C, F,

O, Py R; 8) is Bia}

Silgst (035718; B) | ” Oe

Diag ew@,, Ke) “ 1d,

Stee (65 12 Ae Ds EB,

L, M, T) A 1 tube

ore wen (leh. ING J) a as

Thus three was the commonest number of tubes and the behaviour of

St. m. 4 suggests that a nest of three may be regarded as the typical

‘completed’ nest.

All nests were built on the outer surface of ground floor rooms or on

verandah pillars, and all except T were sheltered by a roof or eaves.

Their height above the nearest soil ranged from 1:0 to 3°64 metres.

Nest 2 was built on a vertical pane of glass and nests 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6,

i.e. all the others observed in the plains, were built on vertical white-

washed brick walls, as was nest 18. Nest R was built on the lower

surface of a masonry lintel on a surface at an angle of 45°. Nest P

was built on a vertical wooden component of a wall, and T was built on

the wooden vertical surface above a window lintel. The remaining

nests at Barabil were all on the ceiling of a large verandah of a compli-

cated shape. This was edged by stout beams. Nest 13 was on the

outer or garden side of one of these. The remaining twenty-four nests

were on and under the verandah ceiling. Nests C, F, and S were on the

lower horizontal surface of these edging beams and, while remains of

derelict nests were found on their inner vertical surfaces, no nest includ-

ed in the sample was so situated. Similar beams attached the verandah

roof to the house and nest L was on a vertical surface and nests 8 and

17 on their horizontal surfaces.

The ceiling itself is higher nearer the house than at its garden edge,

the surface sloping upwards at an angle of about 15°. This ceiling

is made of many rectangular and triangular sheets of asbestos painted

white and held together with thin strips of wood, which like all the other

wooden structures is painted blackish brown to resemble European oak.

The 3 tube of nest 11 was built entirely on this asbestos and, even if

construction had not been interrupted, could not have extended on to

any wood. The remaining twenty-one nests were built mainly or

entirely on these strips of wood. Five nests (10, 12, A, B, D) were

built on the lower surfaces 3-4 cm. in width and either completely hori-

zontal or sloping at a small angle. The long axis of the cells might

382. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

be parallel or at right angles to the long axis of the strip. The greater

number (7, 9, 14, 15, 16, E, J, K, M, N, O, Q) were on the more or

less vertical surface of these strips and as these were usually less than

2 cm. in width the long axes ofthe nests were parallel to the strips.

In nests 9 and 15 (Figs. 2 and 3) most of the wall of one tube touched

the asbestos, and the single tube of E was built more or less vertically

on the wood and then bent over so as to be continued at right angles

away from the strip on the nearly horizontal asbestos. An angle bet-

ween two surfaces seemed rarely to be sought as a foundation for the

first tube, as it usually is by the sphecoid tube builder Sceliphron

madraspatanum (Fabr.).

The openings of the tubes were never directed towards the nearest

point in the garden. Usually they pointed towards the house walls

but sometimes towards a large area of roofed verandah.

THE EVIDENCE FOR PROGRESSIVE NON-SIMULTANEOUS PROVISIONING

The dissections of nests 5-18 were made much later than the diary of

nest 4, but they were made to answer questions raised by that diary.

Therefore it is convenient to consider some of the results obtained from

these dissections before considering the behaviour of St. m. 4, as this

will permit certainty in the interpretation of some of her actions.

Table 1 shows the contents of all nests seen worked on by or con-

taining individuals of Stenodynerus miniatus or other wasps, including those —

concerning which diaries had previously been kept. If known, the sex of

the cell contents has been given, and also the dates of pupation (p) and

eclosion (i) if these occurred. The presence or absence of a eumenine

cocoon was not systematically recorded. Only during the collection was

it realized that these are not removed by the mother before a cell is

re-used, as they are by the social vespoids.

In all tubes that contained two early stages of the wasp these were

separated by a mud partition, i.e. the tube was divided into two cells the

lower of which is called 1 and the upper 2, and in any given tube the

contents of cell 1 were at a more advanced stage of development

than those in cell 2 (e.g. pupa 4:I'1 having black eyes while those of

4-I:2 were brown, and 5-IIJ'1 eclosing 1 day before 5-III-2). |

Cells 7:II'1, 10-I-1, and 14-I-1 were not sealed but contained larvae

that were fully grown or nearly so. The prey in 10°I°1 was seen inserted |

by the mother who immediately came out, re-entered the cell abdomen

first, and was collected. This observation together with the contents of —

the cells makes it certain that members of this species practise progres- —

sive provisioning, i.e. continue to bring food for their larvae throughout

the larval life, only sealing them in at, or towards, the end of this.

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CONTENTS OF NESTS BEING WORKED ON BY OR CONTAINING Stenodynerus minlatus OR OTHER WASPS

ee Tubes in decreasing order of development of contents

dissection | © os

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14 | ttss Ive mt I

prey remains + large larva

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13 Is ’ Is ss sealed (double lid)

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RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS — 383

However the contents of cell 18-II:2 showed that the prey is not brought

lor2atatime. The six prey in this cell were collected at 11.42 and

were foolishly kept with the wasp larva; four were consumed before

alcohol could be added at 17.34. Therefore these may reasonably be

regarded as half a day’s provisions.

Cell 17'I:1 is particularly important. It was sealed and contained a

larva which was full grown, though it had not yet defaecated and

become butter-coloured and opaque, as aculeate larvae do before pupa-

tion. As cell 17:1:2 did not yet contain an egg this demonstrates that

the provisioning of one cell is completed before that of another begins,

i.e. Simultaneous provisioning does not occur.

The 15 prey recorded in Table 1 were, with one exception, lepidopte-

ran larvae, those in 18°II'1 having only one pair of pro-legs in addition

to the anal claspers. The exception is grossly unexpected for a vespoid

(Iwata, 1942) and may not have been inserted by the mother wasp. The

cell 9°III'1 contained | lepidopteran larva but the newly hatched wasp

larva was attached near the waist of the empty cuticle of a spider.

Alcohol was added at 17.34, and the spider remains were sufficient to

confirm under a stereoscopic microscope that the facts were as stated.

As the mother had been captured from tube 9°III only 17 minutes before

dissection of the nest, it is difficult to dismiss the spider as an intruder.

Though Bingham (1897) quoted Horne and Smith as interpreting spiders

to be the prey of Pterochilus pulchellus Smith [= Stenodynerus minia-

tus (Saussure) ], it would seem more likely that their cells were being

squatted, like our nest 3, by some spider provisioning squatter. The

larva in 9°III-1 could not belong to Trypoxylon pileatum Smith because

we have seen this species lay its egg only after all prey have ,been

inserted into the cavity. Nest 16 reveals that St. miniatus may return

to a construct after it has been used by a squatter species. . If so

cell 9: III-1 may have been in the process of being provisioned by two

species at the time we dissected the nest! We have never seen a

sphecoid and a vespoid performing this, but we have a record of a

Rhynchium brunneum (Fabr.) and a Pareumenes brevirostratus (Sauss. )

working alternately on the same tunnel in our nest boxes. Though

each removed many prey brought by the other, an egg with adequate

provisions was finally sealed, both females contributing mud to

the lid. |

The slightly crescentic egg in cell 11°I was about 3 mm. long, and

lying at the bottom of the vault, at right angles to its long axis, touching

and fitting the curvature of the wall. This confirms Roubaud’s (1916)

discovery that the typical eumenine egg suspension may be lost in 1 species

that practise progressive provisioning.

384 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY,. Vol. 63 (2)

THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE MOTHER ST. M. 4

At 09.09 on 13/viii/65, tube I of nest 3 was found newly opened and

a pair of wasps, the male mounted on the female, was standing on the

nest and, at least qualitatively, performing the rhythmic alternation of

courtship + display previously described (Jayakar in press). This was

not timed but the female was captured, etherised, painted red on the

thorax, and released. As she was the only female present on the const-

ruct at the time it was hoped that her further behaviour would reveal

whether she was the mother wasp, i.e. St. m. 3 herself, or a daughter.

As there is no evidence that any wasp ever returned to nest St. m. 3

the results are equivocal, for it would be a coincidence if the mother

should have chosen that moment to desert since, being absent at the

time, she could not have been disturbed by the capture of an offspring.

St. m. 2, the only mother similarly painted, did not complete the tube

she was building before capture, and is not known to have returned to

her construct.

On 15/viii/65 the red-marked individual was observed having just

begun tube I of nest St. m. 4 on another outside wall of the same house.

While building, like other wasps of this species, she was at right angles

to the edge to which she was adding mud. Each load was rolled out by

side to side movements of increasing range first of the head only and

then of the whole body. Thus her building movements resembled those

made by members of the related genus Eumenes who however build

round pots, and did not resemble those of the sphecoid genus Sceliphron

who also build tubular vaults; however, like a Sceliphron and unlike a

Eumenes, a Stenodynerus of this species can and does enter her cells

both head first and abdomen first. :

In the tube 4-I the egg 4-I°1 was laid when the vault was just over

half-made. This had been noted also in the tube 3°I. In both, the

vault was immediately extended and the chimney completed within

twenty-four hours, and as long as the contents of the tube were visible

no prey was brought during this post-ovipositional construction, i.e, this

species has, at this phase of its life cycle, the relatively rare sequence 11

of Iwata (1942), ‘ Preparation—Oviposition—Preparation—Hunting—

Closing’. The dissections have revealed that sequence 12, i.e. an egg

being laid in the second cell before the provisioning, or hunting, for both

begins (i.e. simultaneous provisioning) does not occur in this species.

The dates of building activity for St. m. 4 are given in Table 2. She

was last seen on the morning of 27/xi after spending the night (pernoc-

tating) in tube II and the red mark on her thorax was last checked on

20/xi while she was sealing tube I for the third time. Therefore this in-

dividual, if, as we must assume, the daughter of St. m. 3, lived as an

imago for 106 days, during which period 14 of her offspring completed

RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS — 385

their metamorphoses. The dates (Table 2) between the commencement

of a tube, or between the return to an empty tube, and its subsequent

sealing, delimit periods of between 8-20 days. Periods of such lengths

are to be expected if provisioning is progressive (Roubaud 1916).

TABLE 2

DATES OF BUILDING ACTIVITY AND EMERGENCE FOR NEST Stenodynerus miniatus 4

Date Tube Cell sealed emerged Sex Ref. no. of wasp

POTTER PHASE

begun

15/viii I 1 10/ix ?

17 /viii 2 27 / viii 11/ix a 4‘T-2°(1)

27 / viii II 1. 20/ix g 4-TE1-(1)

28 / viii 7 6/ix 20/ix 3 4-11-2°(1)

6/ix Ii 1 29/ix fe) 4-TII°1-(1)

7/ix Z 14/ix 29/ix 3 4-TIT*2°(1)

SQUATTER PHASE

Ist

re-pernoctation

I 1 7 {x

baer 4-T'1 & 2°(2)

14/ix 2 25/ix 7/x

II 1 16/x g 4°II-1°(2)

25 /ix 2 3/x 16/x é 4°TT°2°(2)

Til 1 6/xi 2 4°TIT'1°(2)

3/x 2 23 /x 6/xi roi 4°TIT-2°(2)

II 1 18/xi g 4°11°1°(3)

23/x 2 1/xi 18/xi es 4°IT-2°(3)

I 1 pupa 29/xi 2 4‘T°1°(3)

_I/xi 2 20/xi pupa 29/xi ie 4°T:2°(3)

ye II 4 small larva 29/xi 4°I1T°1°(4)

EE EER EE RT OEE TOE TI

The mother wasp St. m. 4 was almost continuously present in the

nest inside the second or outer cell of the tube in which she was working

386 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

at the time, facing. outwards. Whether or not she was pernoctating was

systematically checked on and after 31/viii. She was absent on only

one night (21/xi) from the nest. - During the hours of daylight, she

seemed to leave the nest at least daily, sometimes apparently only once,

sometimes once in the morning and once in the afternoon. As she was

not watched continuously, we can only guess at the duration of the

periods she was away but these seemed at first to be of the duration of

about 1 hour but later in the season this lengthened to over four. There

is some suggestion in the notes, strengthened by the examination of nest

contents (Table 1), that these periods of apparent absence were a series

of absences of short duration during which she brought several prey only

remaining long enough on the nest to insert each into the current cell.

Such behaviour is what would be expected were she provisioning pro-

gressively. At night she was completely withdrawn within the cell but

during the day her antennae were protruding.

Her loads being small, these were not seen as frequently as could be

wished. Mud was seen being brought on 15/xi, five days before the

final closure of I for the third time on. 20/xi. This load can be inter- |

preted as for the partition in the tube closing the lower cell, i.e. I-1:(3).

If so the mother took 14 days to provision 4°I°1:(3) and only 5 days to

provision 4°I-2:(3). Considering the completed tubes in the dissected

nests, omitting 4 known to have been deserted, only 1 outer tube con-

tained a larva but was not yet sealed, whereas 6 inner tubes were in a

comparable condition (Table 1). The difference is not yet significant

(probability -;1,),but again suggests that more time is occupied provisioning

the inner cell thaa the outer cell of a pair. The periods of intense work

deep within a cell alternating with many short absences, which were

recorded on several occasions during the twenty-four hours before final

closure, must be concerned with this rapid provisioning. After these

periods of work the mother could not enter so deeply into the tube.

The dissections have demonstrated that this internal working cannot be

interpreted as the closure of the inner cell which had previously been

open and provisioned simultaneously with the outer.

Mud was brought to seal the tube, but material from the chimney

was always incorporated, so that this was also drastically shortened.

The architecture was variable ; usually the tube was closed with a more

or less flat lid at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the chimney.

Sometimes this lid was within the remnants of the chimney which formed

a ittle crenellation round it, and sometimes the mud was worked so that

the tube was sealed with a convex knob. There was no daubing such as

is seen in the more typical potter. wasps, and. immediately after sealing a

tube the wasp either built another:or worked deep inside one previously

used, This resembled the cleaning activity performed both by the soli-

—— Seer

RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS — 387

tary squatter wasps and by the comb-building social wasps but, confirm-

ing the dissections, no mention of removal of cocoon tissue can be found

in the notes. If the cell wall contained an emergence hole (see below),

it was repaired at this time, and perhaps part of the chimney was rebuilt,

but this latter building was usually done gradually during the subsequent

provisioning period. Table 2 shows that the three cells were not always

re-used in the order in which they were originally built. Only once (see

below) did the wasp attend to both the empty cells then available alter-

nately before finally confining her attention to one of them.

The nest dissections have supplied architectural details not obtainable

from watching the females. Firstly the partitions between the two cells

in a tube which divide the vault into two more or less equal parts are

thin, less than 1 mm. in thickness, and fragile. Secondly several chim-

neys appeared not to have been shortened during sealing. Seven of these

chimneys (10°II, 10-III, 14°11, 15-1, 17°11], 18-1, B'}) contained two lids,

one at the mouth and the second 2-3 mm. within it. The remaining

fourteen sealed tubes contained only single lids. We have not yet found

single and double closures in the same nest. Such variation in the

number of layers with which a cavity is sealed is characteristic of squat-

ters, e.g. Subancistrocerus sicheli (Sauss.) and Antodynerus flavescens

(Fabr.).

-THE EMERGENCES FROM NEST 4 AND THEIR MATINGS

Table 2 shows the dates on which the offspring of St. m. 4 emerged

from the cells. With one exception, the two offspring from a single

tube emerged on the same day. The wasp I'1°(1) was not seen—only the

hole through which it had emerged was found in the cell wall in the

lower part of the tube. There had been a longer delay after the laying

of egg I'1-(1) before the laying of egg [°2°(1) than for the other pairs of

eggs for which the dates of laying were known. Such an emergence

hole through the belly of the pot (not the mouth) is typical of the pot-

building vespoids, e.g. Eumenes spp.

All other offspring emerged by walking out through a hole which

they had bitten in the lid with which their mother had sealed the original

mouth of the tube. Such an egression or emergence is performed by the

sphecoid potters of the genus Sceliphron, and by vespoid squatters

when the walls of the cavities in which they have built are harder than

their mud lids. All other offspring of St. m.4 were seen, and except

for I-1:(2) and [°2°(2) the process of emergence was first noticed when

the lid had been opened and the head of the occupant of the upper cell

(called 2) was visible inside it. From then, watching was continuous

until the two offspring were captured. These observations are summari-

sed in Table 3,

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

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RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS — 389

From this table it is seen that these emergences occurred relatively

early in the morning. The complete period between the opening of the

cell and the emergence of the male has not yet been accurately timed,

but that part of it that has been attended has usually been of the order

of an hour. The male has always been visible in the open cell but has

been characteristically farther within it than the usual position of the

mother wasp when she is resting during the day within the chimney of

the tube which she is provisioning. The mother has always been present

for some period at least while the emergence was in this stage, and on

five occasions she spent some time walking on, and therefore feeling, the

construct. The mother’s behaviour to her sons’ faces has been variable.

Sometimes she ignored the male so that there was no evidence that she

was aware of his presence, sometimes she made feeling movements with

her antennae, and on 20/ix she behaved in an aggressive manner to

ri-2°(1).

With one exception, the mother was resting in the currently worked-

in tube while the male finally walked out, and she showed no further

reaction tohim. On the exceptional occasion (on 18/xi) when she was

away, She returned carrying prey. She ignored the male and inserted

this prey, came out, felt him once and returned into the worked-on cell

abdomen first, and remained facing out in her usual position. During

the short period before the emergence of the second inner wasp the

male only once (on 29/ix) felt his mother. He usually remained quietly

over the open tube from which he had just emerged and reacted

immediately to the behaviour of the second wasp within the tube,

which became visible almost immediately. However, on 11/ix, when

there was no second wasp to emerge, the male I°2°(1) spent 39 minutes

assiduously feeling his mother and tapping the chimney of the tube in

which she was resting. It is difficult not to conclude that he was

attempting to stimulate her to come out. He was not disturbed, and

was captured only after he had flown from the nest of his own

accord.

In the other tubes considered in Table 3, another wasp appeared

within the tube very soon after the emergence of the first. In all

examples, this second wasp was a female. She stimulated the male

either with her mandibles or by pushing him from below. As soon as

her thorax had emerged, the male seized it, before her abdomen was

out of the tube. Twice a female slipped from the male’s grip and

retired into the tube, but immediately re-emerged to be seized again.

All these pairs (the male standing upon the female’s thorax and

facing in the same direction) entered into a rhythmic series of copula-

tions qualitatively indistinguishable from those previously observed,

probably in this species, and certainly in Subancistrocerus sichelii, and

390 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

described elsewhere (Jayakar in press). ‘To summarise, and in part add

to, this previous description, after the mounting immediately upon the

emergence of the females, both fluttered occasionally for about a minute

before the first copulation, which lasted less than 10 seconds. Imme-

diately after this, the male began tapping the female’s head with his

antennae, fluttering his wings and swinging his abdomen in an arc of

about 60° over hers so that he was repeatedly stroking the tip of hers

with it, with a rhythm of about 3 strokes a second. After about 1 minute,

the wing movements alone stopped, after another 4-5 the antennal

movements stopped, and after another 2-5 the abdominal movements

stopped. Then the female might walk on the nest carrying the male and

both might flutter occasionally, and in usually less than 10 minutes,

another copulation occurred, to be immediately followed by the

recommencement of the rhythmic abdominal movements accompanied

by the antennal and wing movements.

The mating behaviour of offspring of St. m. 4 was not timed in any

detail, but they were captured and, with one exception, preserved. The

exception, III‘1:(1), was painted and released. She was not seen

again.

The pair I:1'(2) and I:2:(2) were discovered on 7/x mounted on the

cell. Therefore we know that this tube also produced a male and a

female simultaneously, but we do not know whether the male emerged

from the upper cell and the female from the lower.

The pupae removed from tube I after the desertion of the nest lived

long enough to be sexed. I-1°(3)which died as a pupa) was a female

and 1:2:(3)a male. (These are entered in both Tables 1 and 2.)

Therefore St. m. 4 laid 17 eggs in this nest, and 14 of her offspring

emerged as imagines while she was still feeding their younger sibs. Of

the offspring, 7 of the possible 8 from the upper cell, built later than

the other and continuous with the chimney, are known to have been

males, and 6 of the possible 9 from the lower cell built first and forming

the belly of the tube are known to have been females. Of the unscored

individuals one tube produced a male and a female but the order of

emergence is unknown, one wasp emerged abnormally and was not

observed, and one was only obtained as a larva without provisions.

Thus, in this nest no exception was observed to the generalization that

the eggs are laid in pairs of unlike sex, and so arranged by the mother

that the male leaves the tube before the female.

OTHER DATA ON EMERGENCES, SEX DETERMINATION,

DEVELOPMENT, AND BEHAVIOUR

In the Bhubaneswar sample, previous to 4I:(1) on 10/ix/65, emer-

gences through the wall of the tube had twice been observed in 1-IT'1-(1)

RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS 391

on 14/vi/63 and in 1-1'1:(?) on 19/viii/63. In the dissected sample,

holes made by ten such flank emergences were found. Seven of these

were from cells that contained remains of chrysidid cocoons; of these

six (16TI'1, BI, BIL1, K:I'1, O-TII-1, and S-I'1) were in the inner

cell of a tube, but one (K’I‘2) was in the outer cell, the typical chimney

opening of which remained sealed. Empty chrysidid cocoons were

also found in 16°III:2, A‘I-1, B-II-2, O-IIl'2, Q:-III-1, and S12. In

these cells the mouth of the chimney was open and in Q’III the

partition between the two cells was broken down.

However lateral emergence holes were observed in three cells in which

no chrysidid vestiges were found. All these three were otherwise ex-

ceptional. Considering the hole in 13°II-1, the upper cell of the tube,

13-II‘2, though sealed, contained no vestiges of a eumenid cocoon and

therefore is presumed to have been sealed empty. It is interesting to

speculate as to what stimuli prevented its occupant from waiting indefi-

nitely for its absent tube-mate to make way for it. Two of its sibs,

13°I-1 and 13°I:2 were found dead in their cells.

Both the other wall emergence holes occurred in the same tube. Tube

L0°ITI carried a large hole at about the centre of its length. Excavation

revealed that this opened into both cells III-1 and III‘2 and

that the partition between these had been destroyed. If, as this suggests,

both occupants of the tube came out of this single large hole, the

wasp in 10°III‘2 must have pupated facing in the wrong direction.

- Spurway et al. (1964) have recorded an example of this in the vault

building sphecoid Sceliphron madraspatanum. As in both these species

the egg is laid very early in the filling of the vault, it is difficult to sug-

gest causes for such inversions.

Therefore though an individual of Stenodynerus miniatus can emerge

through a hole in the wall, more commonly these holes are made by

chrysidid parasites. Nest 7 reveals that the Stenodynerus miniatus

mother need not react to parasitism by ceasing oviposition, as a mother

of a Eumenes species usually does (Jayakar and Spurway 1965b, and in

press, and unpublished observations). A Chrysis (Trichrysis) mendicalis

Cam. was seen on nest 4, unfortunately while the female was absent,

and this was captured before any oviposition was performed. However

as this occurred on 15/x/65, this chrysidid was probably not the mother

of the unknown wasp that left I-1 on 10/i1x/65.

Considering nests other than 4, eleven outer cells (cell'2) con-

tained males and none contained females, and ten inner cells (cell!)

contained females. The offspring of the only tube found which was not

divided into two cells (18:1) was male. This latter tube was not

architecturally abnormal, but it contained only one cocoon occupying

| its inner two-thirds, which contained the male pupa.

392 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

However, the laying of eggs in pairs, the female being older than the

male, is confirmed as the rule in this species. The dissections have

revealed that these females have compieted most of their larval lives

before the corresponding male egg of a pair is laid. The female of a

pair was visibly more advanced in development at every stage until

the pupae become fully coloured just before eclosion.

Four pairs have eclosed under observation. There was.3 days’

difference between 2:I'1 and 2°I:2 in December, 1 day’s difference in

April for both the pairs from nest 5, and two days’ difference for the

pair from 17:IIJ, which was surprising as May was hotter than April.

Thus the synchronisation of the emergence from the mouth of the tube

opened by the male is not due to synchronisation of eclosion due to

different developmental rates, though there is evidence that the males

develop more rapidly than the females, as is common among eumenines.

In this species, the female, after eclosion, waits until the male leaves

his cell and thus makes way forher. It is interesting to speculate what

stimuli cause her to become active, and the circumstances in which

wasps ate found dead in tubes may provide evidence. Such waiting by

the imagines developed from the inner, and therefore older, eggs for

their younger siblings to eclose and emerge is again common among

tunnel filling aculeates. In Stenodynerus miniatus it is exploited to

almost ensure brother-sister mating. .

Two other examples of pairing on the nest other than those described

on nests 3 and 4 have been seen. Both were on nest 1 and both

support the generalization that these synchronised emergences and pair-

ings occur in the morning. One was observed on 23/viii/63 and timed

from 09.24, when the pair was discovered mounted, until 11.15 when the

male dismounted and flew away. The female also flew during the next

minute. This has been referred to previously, and is described

elsewhere (Jayakar in press). The second was on the same nest at 08.58

on 16/1x/63.

The 3 ofa species of Subancistrocerus, which may be an atypical —

member of S. sichelii, found dead in cell 16:II'1, provides evidence that

Stenodynerus miniatus may re-use a nest after a period of desertion.

This male was found in a lower cell and the upper was closed by curving

round so that the mouth of this vault was occluded by the wall of the

centre tube called I (because asin nest 1, it was apparently built first)

(Plate, fig. 8). This abnormal closure may be the work of the Suban-

cistrocerus mother and the space which table 1 schematizes as cell

16° 11-2 may represent the space which, as we have mentioned,

S. sichelii often leaves between the closure of the last cell and the plug

in the mouth of the tube. This Subancistrocerus mother may have

removed any St. miniatus or chrysidid silk which may once have been

present. Both 16°1II:'2 and 16IIJ‘1 contained chrysidid cocoons.

RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS = 393

Cell 16°I'1 contained a eumenid cocoon but cell 16°I:2 did not. There

was no partition between them. No egg was present in 16°I:1. There-

fore the female St. miniatus captured facing out of cell 16°1:2 seems

only to have entered the nest recently after a period in which it was

squatted by a Subancistrocerus sp. It is not impossiblethat this female

originally built these tubes and returned to them after they had been

squatted by the other species, and after at least one generation of

inhabitants had been parasitized. However, it is perhaps more likely

that the female St. miniatus numbered 16 did not build the tubes with

which she was found associated. If individuals of St. miniatus can

utilize cells which they did not build themselves, this species resembles

the African Rhynchium anceps Gribodo, which uses tunnels excavated by

the same species, including the same individual, not removing the pre-

vious occupant’s cocoon. In this digger vespoid the ovipositional

rhythm observed suggests that such re-use is the rule (Roubaud 1916).

Finally it is possible that St. miniatus may be found behaving as a

typical squatter nesting in deserted cells of other species or even hollow

stems and man-made cavities, i.e., having an ecology similar to that of

the mass provisioning species S. sichelii but differing in that it practises

progressive provisioning. |

DESERTION AND DISSECTION OF NEST 4

On 20/xi, after 11.50, when she sealed I, St. m. 4 was seen work-

ing in III repeatedly during the afternoon. However, she pernoctated

in IT and did so also during the nights beginning on 21, 24, 25 and 26/xi.

She was apparently absent from the construct on the night beginning

on 22/xi, and spent the night beginning on 23/xi in III. She was not

otherwise seen in III. She had not been seen previously to work on two

tubes simultaneously, nor had she been previously recorded as spending

a night away from the construct. Both these behaviour patterns

suggest that she did not lay in II until 24/xi, and this is confirmed by

the stage of development of the larva observed on 29/xi. These chan-

ges in behaviour pattern can also be described by saying that she was

becoming disorganized, and we were not surprised when we did not see

her again after 07.34 on the morning of 27/xi. On 29/xi at 12.05, the

construct was dissected (Table 1).

DISCUSSION

The only references to similar species we have been able to find are

to the larger Ancistrocerus fukaianus Schulthess referred to several times

under the genus Odynerus by Iwata (1942) and a smaller Thai species

reported as ‘* Odynerus sp. No. 1 (van der Vecht)’’ in Iwata (1964,

394. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

p. 339) and in Yoshikawa’s companion paper (1964, p. 398, Plate 12).

This latter species, which Dr. van der Vecht informs us is closely related

but not identical to St. miniatus, also builds on the wood work

of outdoor roofs. The slightly larger vaults of these tubes seem more

gourd-shaped and less cylindrical than in the Orissa species. In all the

nests found, they were vertical. The contents of the tubes of the Thai

species compared with the condition of the ovaries of the only working

female dissected revealed that it performed progressive provisioning.

Iwata uses the adjective ‘subsocial’®.. He only watched provisioning

of these tubes on one day, so he inferred from the maximum number

of tubes in an aggregate that the species must produce on an average

only 6 offspring, an apparent infecundity on which he commented.

If the Thai species, like the Orissa species, re-uses her own tubes, she

could also raise considerably more offspring than 6. Iwata (1964, p.

340) also reared specimens of the squatter species Subancistrocerus

sichelii from tubes made by this species: The Subancistrocerus that uses

tubes of Stenodynerus miniatus, though not certainly S. sichelii, is very

similar and we consider that the parallelism in courtship, the brother-.

sister mating, the ecological interaction and superficial morphological

resemblances between these at most three species which still makes us

confuse them macroscopically (Jayakar in press), may be examples of

convergence, and at least require explanation. The sphecoid Zrypoxylon

pileatum that competes with S. sichelii for the same size range of

tunnels in our nest boxes was also found squatting in the deserted nest

of St. m. 3 (Table 1). 3

Stenodynerus miniatus shows two unexpected features. The first, the

re-use of cells built by herself, is harmonious with contemporary —

phylogenetic hypotheses. Itis a mirroring of a behaviour that it is

reasonable to hypothesise could have occurred in some ancestors of the —

social vespoids and, as would be expected, is associated with the

intermediate condition of progressive provisioning. | :

In parenthesis, we would like to emphasise with Roubaud (1916)

that the evolution of the capacity for progressive provisioning should be

considered a separate step which necessarily preceded the evolution of

the capacity for simultaneous progressive provisioning, and which, in

the species discussed in this paper and many others, can occur alone.

We are convinced by Roubaud’s inductions that progressive provision-

ing, at first facultative, could evolve as an adaptation to inclement

conditions which caused provisioning to be delayed. On its first

appearance, any further eggs laid before the open cell was closed would

presumably not receive the environmental requirements to develop,

as observed and emphasised by Roubaud, and. which we have described

(in press) in Eumenes campaniformis esuriens (Fabr.) delayed by rain. Any

“a

‘

RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS — 395

wastage of gametes seems itself to create a selection pressure to minimise

such wastage, i.e. either the ovarian cycle would be brought under the

control of external factors so that egg maturation would be delayed

until a cell was prepared for it, or some behavioural capacity would

be evolved. to care for each egg as it was produced, the re-use of cells

being one such adaptation. Such selection pressures would become more

powerful once a population with compulsory progressive provisioning

returned to a favourable environment. There must also be very general

selection pressures favouring the supervision of any process at every

stage, so that in the event of a catastrophe, correction may be made, or

no further work need be wasted on it (Roubaud 1916). If progressive

provisioning, and consequent wastage of gametes, initiated the evolution

of simultaneous provisioning, this removes the difficulty expressed by

Richards & Richards (1951) in explaining the evolution of simultaneous

- provisioning which they see merely as a redeployment of effort, and

- not providing any economy of effort. They suggest that some unexplai-

ned alternation of the ovarian cycle may have made it necessary.

+ The important consequence of the evolution of progressive provision-

ing for the evolution of societies is that the mother was still present on

the construct when her offspring emerged, as we have described for

_ Stenodynerus miniatus.

1 é pease ;

' The second peculiar feature of Stenodynerus miniatus is, on the

contrary, unharmonious with contemporary evolutionary theory. This

eT TS =: Pe.

;

~ seed

—_—-

‘species seems to have evolved the combination of three behaviour

patterns to virtually ensure brother-sister mating, and, failing this,

perhaps son-mother mating. The first is shown by the mother, who lays

a female and then a male egg so that the male will walk out first. (This

behaviour pattern is the rule among tunnel nesting eumenines.) The

second is that this male offspring does not fly as soon as he has emerged

as, for example, is the practice of members of the species of Eumenes

(Jayakar & Spurway in press), but remains on the nest as do the social

vespoids. However, unlike these, he stays for a fraction of an hour if

Necessary but, while present, actively stimulates any other wasp (his

mother or his sister) who may be in any open cell and copulates

immediately this becomes mechanically possible. Courtship performed

by a male social wasp on the comb from which he developed is both

fare and unsuccessful (Yoshikawa 1963). The third pattern is shown by

the female offspring who, like many other eumenines, waits within her

cell for 1 to 3 days after eclosion for her brother to make way for her,

instead of emerging through the cell wall, which we know to be physi-

cally and behaviourally possible for this species. It will be important,

but arduous, to discover the sex of the exceptional individuals who make

these flank emergences.

396 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

We wish to emphasise that this compulsory brother-sister mating or

adelphogamy seems effected entirely by these specializations, which are

all exploitations or modifications of widely distributed capacities ~

which seem to have no other biological role for this species.

In several species of parasitic hymenoptera, not closely related, e.g.

Telenomus fariae (Lima), Scelionidae (Dreyfus & Breuer 1944), and Melit-

tobia spp., Eulophidae (Schmieder & Whiting 1947, Whiting 1947), son-

mother and/or brother-sister matings are the rule. These take place in the

confined space in which the imagines eclose, and in which another

generation may be produced. Therefore the close inbreeding in these

forms seems a secondary consequence of the parasitic habit.

Stenodynerus miniatus and the morphologically similar, perhaps

ecologically associated, Subancistrocerus sichelii are both common

around human habitations, at least in some areas, so there is no reason

to suggest that the behaviour patterns here described are adaptations to

a difficulty in encountering a conspecific partner once the maternal nest

has been deserted. Their evolution remains at present explicable.

In addition to the general disadvantages of close inbreeding which

hold widely in the organic world, there are special reasons which make

it unexpected in the hymenoptera. Whiting (1943) demonstrated in the

braconid Habrobracon juglandis (Ashmead) that a diploid was female

only if it was heterozygous at a precise locus, at which at least nine

different alleles existed. If, by inbreeding, a diploid was produced homo-

zygous for any one of these alleles, this diploid was a male, though

non-functional and subviable. The haploid is apparently male because

it cannot be heterozygous. The discovery of various mosaics confirmed —

the hypothesis. If this system were universal in the hymenoptera, some

vestiges of the homozygous diploid zygotes would be found in

broods of the species with intense inbreeding, probably as sterile eggs. _

These have been sought and are absent in the species of Melittobia

studied, However Machensen’s (1951) demonstration, that in Apis

mellifera L.. such sterile eggs in expected proportion are produced by

inbreeding, once more makes it likely (Whiting 1947) that sex-determi-

nation based on complementary allelic systems, though not universal in

the hymenoptera, may be generally distributed. It may perhaps be

primitive, or a later specialization now characteristic of at least a large

section of the group. If this is so, the discovery of any specialization

which so far has no discernible biological role but to produce inbreeding — |

in common free-living species with equality of the sexes (Jayakar &

Spurway, 1966 and unpublished, for data on S. sichelii) becomes even |

more disquieting.

RE-USE OF CELLS & BROTHER-SISTER MATING IN S. MINIATUS | 397

SUMMARY

Data obtained from thirty-five nests of Stenodynerus miniatus are

described and discussed. ee

A female (St. m. 4) was disturbed while mounted by a male on a

nest of that species, captured, marked, and released on 13/viii/65. She

was observed for 106 days and during this period built a nest containing

three tubes of mud, each of which was divided into two cells. By the

time she had sealed the third tube, the offspring of her first tube had

emerged. She then re-used the first tube, and for the rest of the period

during which she was observed, she re-used these six cells, laying

17 eggs, 14 of which emerged as imagines while she was attending to the

nest. At each-use of a tube, whenever we were able to observe the

emergences, she laid a female egg in the lower cell and a male egg in the

upper, i.e. the cell nearer the mouth of the tube, and the two offspring

of these cells typically emerged from the tube together. The male walked

out of the tube first and, as the female walked out, he immediately

mounted her and copulation occurred, before they had left the construct.

The species is typically eumenine in its building movements and

practises progressive provisioning with lepidopteran larvae and perhaps

spiders. The laying of the eggs in pairs is the rule, but one exception

has been found. St. miniatus may re-use a nest after this has been

squatted in by another species. | :

Solitary species which possessed a similar habit of re-using cells while

performing progressive provisioning may have formed a stage in the

evolution ofthe social groups. The occurrence of virtually compulsory

brother-sister mating is puzzling. ) aS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Dr. K. Iwata of the Entomological Laboratory, Hyogo

University of Agriculture, Japan for reading the first draft of this paper,

and for suggesting dissections to determine the method of provisioning,

These disproved our previously expressed hypothesis. We thank Dr.

J. van der Vecht of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden,

The Netherlands for identifying our vespoids and sphecoids and Dr.

S. Zimmermann of the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria for

identifying our chrysidids. Our colleagues Mr. R. Mangipudi and Mr.

H. Pulugurtha were extremely helpful at Balakati and Barabil.

We also wish to thank Mr. S. K. Ghose, Mr. N.S. Clair, and Mr.

S. Lal, who arranged for our accommodation in Barabil, and Mr.

M. Mahapatra for making possible the Balakati dissections.

398

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2).

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Winter diapause in the squatter wasps

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Normal and abnormal nests of

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&———. (1966) :~ The sex

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logiques sur les Guépes_ Solitaires

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Naturelles (Zoologie) Sér.X, 1: 1-160.

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Life History of the Indian Cuckoo,

Cuculus micropterus micropterus

Gould, in the Soviet Union

I, NEUFELDT

Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the

U.S.S.R., Leningrad

(With four plates)

The Indian Cuckoo was described in 1837 by J. Gould from a

specimen from the Himalaya. Twenty years later it was for the

first time collected in Russia near Blagoveshchensk on the Amur by

G. Radde. It was wrongly identified and recorded as C. optatus

(Radde 1863), and was kept under this name in the collection of the

Zoological Museum of the Academy of Sciences in Leningrad for many

years. In 1928 Stegmann collected an adult male of the Indian Cuckoo

in Amurland as the first record of the species. Later, working with the

Museum collection, he ‘discovered’ Radde’s specimen, and included this

species in the bird-list of the U.S.S.R. (Stegmann 1930). It is to

Stegmann and Radde that we are indebted for our first information on

the habits, voice, and habitats of the Indian Cuckoo. Though rather

scanty, these data were till now nearly the only source of information

for authors of Russian ornithological handbooks and species keys.

Very little was known’'of the breeding biology of the bird, and up to 1957

the eggs and nestlings of the Indian Cuckoo from the USSR were not

described, its fosterers remained unknown, and even museum skins

were rare in collections.

In the summer of 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, and 1962 the authoress

collected in Amurland new and interesting data which form the basis

for the present paper on the life history of this bird.

DISTRIBUTION

Ignoring the incorrect views of Caldwell & Caldwell (1931), Buturlin

& Dementiev (1936), and Belopolsky (1950) on the distribution of the

Indian Cuckoo, its breeding range in the Soviet Union may be confined

| 2 Following the majority of modern authors I accept the existence of only two

geographical forms of the Indian Cuckoo: C. m. micropterus and C.m., concretus.

Comparison of 30 adult birds from the USSR and China with Indian ones has shown

that C. m. ognevi (Vorobiev 1951) is a synonym of the nominate form.

400 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

to Amurland from the valley of Burinda River in the west (Radde 1863)

to at least the city of Komsomolsk in the east (Kistjakovsky 1959 ;

Kistjakovsky et al. 1962). Within the limits of Amurland, where this

cuckoo is recorded as a common and even numerous bird, its distribution

at the breeding period coincides nearly exactly with areas having two

zonal botanical-geographical complexes: broadleaved-coniferous taiga

and broadleaved forest (Sochava 1957). The most northerly points of

distribution of this bird in Amurland [the basins of Burinda, Olga,

Ushumun, and Tu Rivers, the mouth of Selemdzha River, and Bureja

River (Radde 1863) ; Stegmann 1930; Vorobiev 1951; Kistjakovsky &

Smogorzhevsky 1964] nearly reach the northern limit of the most

typical oak-larch, and oak-pine forests. In Ussuriland, the Indian

Cuckoo is distributed sporadically and in small numbers, predominating

in the west of the region. Some records come from the regions of the

middle reach of Ussuri River and the lower reach of Bikin River

(Vorobiev 1951 ; Leonovich, in Jitt.) and is also recorded from the lower

reaches of Iman River eastward to Kartun village (Spangenberg 1965).

The main breeding area of this species is outside the limits of the

U.S.S.R and embraces NE. China (Manchuria), the forest regions of the

provinces Hopeh, Shansi, etc. extending southward up to Kwantung

and Kwangsi (Vaughan & Jones 1913; Stresemann 1923, 1930; La Touche

1931; Meise 1934; Shaw 1936; Hoffmann 1950). The Indian Cuckoo

is also known from Korea but its status there is not clear. Austin (1948)

considers it to be an uncommon spring transient, but a few known

records of this species (Kuroda 1918; Yamashina 1932) are consistent

with its breeding irregularly in Korea. The Indian Cuckoo inhabits

India (except the north-western arid regions), eastward to Assam, West

and East Pakistan, and Nepal. It is widely distributed in Burma,

Ceylon, and apparently in northern Thailand, and is found further

south up to the Malay peninsula (Robinson & Chasen 1939; Deignan

1945; Phillips 1948, 1952; Smythies 1953 ; Ripley 1961).

Nearly everywhere within its breeding range the Indian Cuckoo is a

typical migratory species, though in Ceylon and in some parts of India a

part of the population is resident. In winter, apart from Ceylon, it is —

common in small islands in the Strait of Malacca, in the Philippines,

Banka, and the Thousand Islands; it winters also in Sumatra, Java,

and Borneo where C. m. micropterus occurs together with the smaller

resident form, C. m. concretus (Peters 1940).

ARRIVAL IN BREEDING AREA

The Indian Cuckoo leaves its winter quarters very early. In Burma

one may hear its characteristic call from the end of January or middle of

February (Bingham 1880; Smythies 1953). In Thailand Deignan

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION 4i)]

(1945) recorded their song on 12 March. In Ceylon the Indian Cuckoo

becomes active in March toearly April; later, when all winter migrants

have left the island for their breeding ranges further north, the summer

resident Indian Cuckoos become inconspicuous. According to

Hewetson (1956), in India in southern Madhya Pradesh the birds were

recorded in March and in northern Madhya Pradesh in May. At the

end of March their arrival was noticed in the north-East of the country,

in Bhutan (O’Donel 1936); from the beginning of April, in northern

Bengal (Storrs 1944; Lister 1954) and southern Bihar (Lowther 1949).

In Punjab the earliest arrivals were recorded on 23 April (Whistler

1926). In Nepal the birds are common in April-May (Rand &

Fleming 1957; Ripley 1950; Biswas 1960). In China in the second

half of April these birds were noticed during their migration in Yunnan

(specimens preserved in the collection of the Institute of Zoology,

Academia Sinica). In Kwangtung these cuckoos were recorded in the

first week of May (Vaughan & Jones 1913); in Fukien, in April ;

northwards in the provinces Hupeh, Kiangsu, Hopeh, Liaoning, and

in north-eastern China, in May (Caldwell & Caldwell 1931; Shaw

1936). According to observations made by A. Hoffmann (1950) the

first Indian Cuckoos in Nanking were noticed 28-29 April and in

Peking nearly two weeks later, 11-12 May. In the vicinities of these

cities these cuckoos were recorded somewhat earlier. Their arrival in

1944-1947 coincided with the appearance of the Blacknaped Orioles in

the parks and gardens of Nanking and Peking and preceded by some

days the arrival of Common Cuckoos. According to Piechocki (1958)

in the suburbs of Peking at the beginning of May the voice of the

Indian Cuckoo was not heard. Meise (1934) mentions a male shot

in Manchuria near Dshalantun on 29 May. In Korea, in the west

of Pyongan Pukto province, these birds were collected during 24-31

May (Kuroda 1918 ; Yamashina 1932). In Ussuriland (U.S.S. R) along

the lower reaches of Iman River, Spangenberg (1965) recorded the ear-

liest song during 27-29 May.

Males commence singing in winter and continue calling on their

way to their breeding places. Among palaearctic birds no other

species possesses a similar voice ; that is why the arrival of the Indian

Cuckoo cannot remain iidaticed and the date of the arrival of the

bird can be recorded accurately to a day.

According to my records the species arrived on the Amur-Zeya

plateau at the same time during five years. Thus, the first male call

was recorded near Klimautzy village (NW. of Blagoveshchensk) in 1957,

1958, and 1962 on May 23 and in 1959-1961 on May 24, ie. 4 days later

than the date of arrival of the Common Cuckoo and 2-3 days later than

that of the Himalayan Cuckoo. In 1957-1959 in May the weather was

rather warm but cloudy, and drizzled occasionally. On the contrary in

402. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

1961-1962 the end of May was dry and sunny, and the night temperature

fell to —5° C. The forest started to turn green : larch was covered with

young needles, small green leaves began to come out on Betula

platyphylla growing on the plateau along the sunny hill slopes ; oaks and

rhododendrons broke into leaf; Dahurian Birch (Betula dahurica)

burst into blossom and its buds swelled. On the first few days of their

arrival the Indian Cuckoo males sing little. A strong wind and

incessant rain, or a sharp fall of temperature or heat, exerted a negative

influence upon their activity. Owing to the lack of food (caterpillars

are few and small in size) in spring the Cuckoos had to spend much

time in search of food. Single individuals were repeatedly observed

awkwardly hopping on the ground in the most sparse and warmed parts

of the forest, picking up insects on the leaves of the previous year, in.

grass, or on the surface of the ground. Apparently, on May 23-24 only

the first males arrived; females were absent till 25-26 May. From

May 27 to 28 the number of males and females increased and the rise

in their activity became noticeable.

VOICE AND HABITS

In Chinese one of the names of this bird means ‘ four-syllabled —

cuckoo ’. In fact, the very peculiar ringing song of the Indian Cuckoo ~

consists of four sibilant, flute notes repeated one after another, a kind

of fju-fju-fju-fu. The song is rather melodious and easily memorized. —

In the far east of the U.S.S.R, in China, India, Burma, and in other

countries of south-eastern Asia where the Indian Cuckoo is met with —

during its breeding or non-breeding time, the local people know this —

song very well and readily recognise it. Without going into parti-

culars since it was done in detail by A. Hoffmann (1950), I would like ©

to repeat that in the majority of the Asiatic languages the name of —

this bird has an onomatopoeic etymology (Whistler 1926; Baker 1927; —

La Touche 1931 ; Burton 1935; Shaw 1936; Ali 1953 ; Smythies 1953;

etc.). Abdulali (Ali & Abdulali 1938) likens the song of C. micropterus —

to the voice of Pomatorhinus horsfieldi. .

As in the Common Cuckoo, males of the Indian Cuckoo have

individual differences in the key and timbre of the call. Being always ;

four-syllabic, the song may be dull and rough, or clear and ringing.

In Amurland the voices of individual males in the majority of cases

differed so much that it was rather easy to recognise them and to trace

the movements of individual birds all over the territory.

In the south of the Amur-Zeya plateau Indian Cuckoos could be |

heard all day in the breeding season. In June and the beginning of

July the birds did not cease singing even at night. According to my |

observations, at the end of May and the middle of June males began to

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION 403

sing before dawn, at 2-2°30 a.m. They sang at intervals which apparen-

tly coincided with the feeding times. At 18-18°35 p.m. the birds were

active again. Many individuals did not cease singing after sunset.

Within the breeding season even prolonged rain accompanied by strong

wind did not affect the time and intensity of the singing. It seemed to

me that on warm rainy days they called more readily. On the contrary,

the long summer drought of 1962, so unusual in Amurland, rather oppres-

sed the birds : some males nearly stopped singing in June, others were

heard only early in the morning, at dawn when the air was more humid.

However, the recession and rise of activity of Indian Cuckoos depends

to a greater extent on their breeding cycle than on the weather. On

days preceding copulation and on the days when it takes place males and

females are very excited and call often. With the beginning of egg-

laying Indian Cuckoos are nearly always silent in their breeding

territory.

- A male usually sings perched at the very top or on a lateral branch

of a high larch or pine tree; sometimes it settles in the crown not far

from the main trunk of the tree. Each individual has a favourite place

for singing, usually a tall tree. Some other birds living in the neigh-

- bourhood (Common Cuckoo, Indian Jungle Nightjar, Eastern Turtle

Dove, Whitethroated Rock Thrush, Chinese Greenfinch, migratory

_ Chinese Grosbeak, etc.) show a preference for the same trees. Thus, on

7 Junea male of the Indian Cuckoo sang at the top of an old pine three

times, from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. (once with a female), and a male of the

Common Cuckoo was heard on the same tree twice. Loud calls of the

Indian Cuckoo are audible more than one kilometre away. As distinct

from the Common and Himalayan Cuckoos, which before and after

cuckooing utter some additional sound, the Indian Cuckoo has no other

+ sound but the main song. While singing the male slightly hangs its

wings. When displaying before a female, at the moment of highest

excitement, the male spreads his tail in an erect position, slightly moves

it from side to side, and begins to call louder and rapidly. Often a male

calls even on the wing when chasing the female.

The nuptial call of females is composed of an interrupted warble

greatly resembling that of the Common Cuckoo female, but some tones

higher. Unlike the male the female is very seldom seen. Usually she

hides in a tree crown or perches rather often on a bough like a nightjar

and is very difficult to notice. Whereas the male prefers to keep to the

very tops of tall trees, usually coniferous ones, a female shows a

definite preference for the middle and the thickest part of a tree

crown and does not avoid leaf-bearing trees. A cuckoo-hen calls in full

measure only when flying; when perching it utters a short and muffled

warble.

When frightened or disturbed, Indian Cuckoos instantly fly a long

~ 404 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY,. Vol. 63 (2)

way off, never to the nearest tree as many other forest birds do. On the

wing, the Indian Cuckoo can be easily distinguished from the Common

and Himalayan Cuckoos by its fuscous-brown purple-glossed mantle

plumage, broad widely-spaced transverse bars on the breast, and short

rounded wings (hence its name micropterus), Its flight resembles much

that of C. canorus, but is more swift, with frequent flapping of

wings.

Nearly all ornithologists who have had an opportunity to watch the

Indian Cuckoo in the Far East have noted its extreme shyness. In

my first expedition to Amurland I had the same experience (Neufeldt

1959), in the summer of 1957 I was lucky to shoot one female, and

in 1958 with equally great effort two males. In the years that follow-

ed, when collection was not so keen and attention was directed to the

study of the biology of the bird, we found that it is no more shy than

the well-known Common Cuckoo but considerably more mobile. The

fact is that the female Indian Cuckoo is constantly moving over its

territory, and so accompanying males continually change their singing

places. Besides, the male-cuckoo regularly visits every part of its terri-

tory singing by turns at set perches. The intervals between such flights

are short, usually less than the time the observer must spend for conceal-

ment and subsequent watch for the bird. In the meantime the male (the

main partner is meant), after flying round the territory, returns again to its

original place. Thus, if you know the routes and favourite trees of an

individual bird you can judge beforehand where it can be met. It is of

interest that males of this species choose the same trees not only within

one season but during several years. Keeping this in mind, in the

summer of 1962, without any reconnoitring I installed the microphone on

the top of an old high pine which was often used by Indian Cuckoos in

1957 and 1958 for singing, and in 40-50 minutes I made a rare tape-

recording at short distance of this wonderful bird’s voice. We found

ourselves misled at times because a male that is not very excited has the

habit of interrupting his song without leaving the tree. During such a

pause another bird may start singing not far away and when he stops the

first starts afresh. Thus, males do not sing in chorus but call to one

another. Only when a female appears do the males call all together.

As mentioned earlier Indian Cuckoos begin to sing as early as

January in their winter quarters and stop when the breeding season is

over. In the south of the Amur-Zeya plateau at the beginning of July

their singing was not so intensive and was confined in general to early

morning and late evening. In the limits of the territory under study soli-

tary males could be heard up to 8 July in 1957, 10 July in 1958, 6 Julyin

1959, 11 July in 1961, and 12 July in 1962. In those years Common Cuc-

koos sang somewhat later, up to 23-25 July. According to Hoffmann’s

observations in Peking and its environs also, the Indian Cuckoo sings

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION 405

seldom and one at a time, in mid-July. In India, according to Baker

(1927) their calls were recorded before July. Storrs (1944) registered

their last song in Bengal on 31 June. In Thailand jthese birds whistle

up to 7 June (Deignan 1945) ; in Burma up to June (Smythies 1953); in

Ceylon, where the breeding takes place during the winter-spring months,

the Indian Cuckoos sing before May (Phillips 1948). The cessation of

singing does not mean that the birds have left the breeding area.

BREEDING HABITATS AND NUMBERS

The distribution of the Indian Cuckoo during the breeding season

depends, asin other parasitic birds, on the distribution of its main

fosterers. All Passeres, supposed or known to be foster-parents of the

_ young cuckoos, inhabit sparse portions of forests or old parks. The

Indian Cuckoo is also a typical forest inhabitant. In Thailand, for

instance, the birds keep to both evergreen and pine forests (Deignan

1945). In India at the breeding period this cuckoo is common in forests

at elevations about 1500 m. above m.s.1.; in the Himalayas it occurs

sometimes up to 2700 m. (Baker 1927; Brooks 1875 ; Whistler 1926 ;

- Hewetson 1956). In China in Hopeh province the Indian Cuckoo lives

in forest regions (Shaw 1936). According to Hoffman’s (1950) infor-

_ mation, in Peking and Nanking it is very abundant in gardens and parks

as well as in neighbouring hill forests. In Manchuria it prefers leaf-

bearing and mixed forests. Favourite habitats of the Indian Cuckoo

_ ate mentioned by Spangenberg (1965) to be sparse plantings of old

birches, oaks, and maples, and other leaved trees covering hills. Voro-

biev found this bird in Ussuriland in oak-groves on small hills ; Kist-

_ jakovsky (1959, 1962) met them not far from Komsomolsk on the

_ Amur in larch taiga. In the western part of Amurland the main biotope

of these birds is old pineries with an undergrowth of dwarf oak, growing

on hills and along the Amur River bank (Stegmann 1930). At a distance

of 40 km. from the Amur River Stegmann met this cuckoo in oak-groves

together with the migratory Chinese Grosbeak and the Grey Minivet.

| Radde (1863) writes that he observed the bird on high pines in the

| plains between Burinda and Olga Rivers.}

According to my observations near the town of Svobodny where larch

trees are very abundant in neighbouring forests, Indian Cuckoos at

breeding time are confined to stunted oak-larch forests, influenced by

fire and cutting. Such forests usually occupy the plateau and its slopes

of various steepness and exposure. The Dahurian Larch (Larix dahuricus)

| forming the upper canopy is represented here by very high solitary trees

—— —

* All Radde’s observations on this species are described under his review of

C, optatus.

ee ——

5 tig Sl ent po

406 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

usually with dead tops. Occasionally, generally on southern slopes,

there are old pine trees. In the second canopy Mongolian Oaks and—

Birches (Betula platyphylla and B. dahurica) dominate. The undergrowth |

is well developed and comprises in general the Hazel, Lespedeza, and

Dahurian Rhododendron. In more humid places the admixture of

alders and willows is rather significant. Brush and grass cover is rich

and variable. On the ground there is plenty of wind-fallen wood and

dead twigs. Such parts of the forests represent in general, clearings at

different stages of secondary growth and are favoured breeding places of

the Amur Brown Shrike, the density of whose population here is 0°5-1:0_

and even 2°0 pairs per hectare. In the Shimanovsky district (environs

of Simonovo village) the larch is nearly absent. Here the Indian Cuckoos

inhabit oak-pine forests with Rhododendron and Lespedeza. Such

forests cover terraces of narrow forested valleys and flat elevations. The

upper canopy is composed of solitary old pines, in the second canopy

oaks and birches prevail. The undergrowth is dense and composed of -

undersized oak trees, Rhododendron, and Lespedeza. Oak-groves with-

out admixture of high coniferous trees, and very dense deciduous and

pine forests without clearings are avoided by this bird. The abundance

of Amur Brown Shrikes (Lanius cristatus confusus Stegm.), the regular

fosterers of the Indian Cuckoo in the Amur-Zeya plateau (Neufeldt 1963),

and the presence in both the above mentioned biotopes of the high pine

and larch trees, on which male cuckoos perch for singing, make the

conditions favourable for the breeding of the cuckoos.

The arrival of Indian Cuckoos at their breeding places in Amurland

coincided with the time of pair-formation and occupation of nest sites

among the Shrikes. On returning from winter quarters male cuckoos

kept to biotopes situated immediately near the nesting ones. By the end

of May territories of the cuckoo-hens were distinctly demarcated. One

female controlled an area inhabited by 25-30 pairs of shrikes ; thus the

range of the individual cuckoo’s area depended on the population density

of the host species. In years when numerous areas of secondary growth

provided a high concentration of shrikes, an area of 100-125 hectares in —

the environs of Klimautzy village (Amurland) was constantly inhabited

by Indian Cuckoos : 1957—2 99, 4 Ho; 1958—2 99, 3 Hi; 1961—1 Q, |

23H; and 1962—2 99,3 wg. (Cases in which territories occupied by |

the females overlapped have not been taken into account). Very often, |

due to rugged terrain with complicated network of forest valleys and |

diversity of plant associations, the territory occupied by one cuckoo- |

female was considerable and separated into isolated parts situated as S|

much as 100-300 metres from each other. 4 |

The associates of Indian Cuckoos and Amur Brown Shrikes inhabit- a

ing the same biotopes were Gray’s Grasshopper-Warbler, Thickbilled j

Warbler, Rubythroat, all rather common and numerous in the under-

—

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION 407

growth, and the scarcer but still typical forest dwellers, such as Radde’s

Bush-Warbler, Indian Tree Pipit, and Masked Bunting. Occasionally

nesting migratory Chinese Grosbeaks could be seen. The abundance

_of open-nesting songbirds attracted Common Cuckoos to these biotopes.

All the forest valleys.were occupied by the Great Spotted Woodpecker,

Whitebacked Woodpecker, and Tits.

_ Long-term observations on Indian Cuckoos tfidertaken at one terri-

tory have shown that these birds are confined to definite parts of the

forest and even to individual trees. Unfortunately, I was not able to

‘ring Cuckoos and so to establish individual identity. The return of

Common Cuckoos to the same area over a number of years has been

proved beyond doubt (Makatsch 1955).

BREEDING |

As stated above, in the territory under observation a preponderance

of males over females was noticed every year. The literature shows that

this phenomenon, characteristic also of the Common Cuckoo, has

contributed to the widespread opinion that the parasitic cuckoo is

_ polyandrous and female mates with several males visiting her territory.

On the contrary, some authors (e.g. Harb¢ & Moebert, cit. Makatsch

1955), on their own long-term observations, have concluded that in the

breeding period Common Cuckoos live in pairs. Now we have data

“indicating that the excess of males over females is not invariable. Thus,

_ Malchevsky (1954) records an equal correlation between sexes or even

an excess of females over males. So polyandry seems unlikely. This

problem can be solved only by ringing or otherwise marking the birds

eo making a special study on the composition of their population.

I give below some results of my stationary visual observations on the

Bidian Cuckoo and state my opinion on its breeding habits. I would

“premise that, as regards males with distinctive voices, I was dealing with

‘marked’ individuals.

At the height of the breeding season one female is fo owed by 1 or

2, sometimes 3, males who frequently visit her territory. But only one

Male is believed to impregnate. her. This male is most often seen near

her. On the day of copulation the female’s ‘chuckle’ is heard very

Often and she repeatedly changes her place flying from one end of the

| territory to another. It is very significant that in this period the hen’s

callis a reciprocal reaction to the song of the ‘ favoured’ male, who

| Judging by his activity is considerably more excited than other males in

| the vicinity. I saw repeatedly the ‘favoured’ male try to drive out

| the other males, who apparently took no part in breeding. When laying

| eggs the cuckoo-hen is especially cautious and silent. But the male is

| sometimes heard or seen nearby. He flies openly and diverts to some

be —r

408 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

extent the attention of host-species, thus making the female’s task

easier. It thus appears that during the breeding season Indian Cuckoos

live in pairs. Brood parasitism involves an escape from the chief duties

of raising a family: building the nest, incubating the eggs, and rearing

the young. Thus the duties of mates become minimal, being limited

to the selection of the breeding biotope and its protection, to a timely

search for fosterers’ nests, and egg-laying. The relation between mates

is not so stable as in non-parasitic species of cuckoos, but the female

always shows a preference for a definite male and he becomes her partner

for the breeding season. ‘

The ‘ superfluous’ males who occur in the territory are, seemingly, —

one-year old birds come from their winter quarters to the area where

they hatched and grew up. Nearly half of the singing Indian Cuckoo

males collected in Amurland had, in varying number, unmoulted juve-—

nile secondaries and greater coverts, a fact that indicates a considerable

proportion of young males in the population. Owing to the generally

unequal correlation of the sexes that is observed in nature, not only in

cuckoos but also in many other birds, a number of males (particularly

young and less experienced birds) remain unmated in their first year.

In regions with great density of population, where several females’

territories are contiguous, unmated males in moments of great excitement

pursue more than one female. Such a pursuit is common even in birds —

living in constant pairs. In many perching birds, woodpeckers, and

birds of prey, not only unmated but also paired males are lured from

their territories by the voice or the display of a female from another

pair. Several times I observed the nuptial call of the Indian Cuckoo

female attract Common Cuckoo males, but this fact does not prove —

that Indian Cuckoo females mate with males of another cuckoo species. —

The idea of polyandry in these birds is, I think, groundless. Finally, I

would like to note that the impression of a numerical excess of males

over females among cuckoos is probably due to the impossibility of

observing all the female cuckoos in an area during a short trip. 4

The Indian Cuckoo is atypical nest parasite, like the other eleven

species of the genus Cuculus. Though about two hundred hosi species _

-of the Common Cuckoo are known, for the Indian Cuckoo only ©

isolated trustworthy records are available. For example, the Azure- |

Winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyana, is one of the commonest hosts of the — |

Indian Cuckoo in Peking and its environs (Shaw 1938, 1940; Hoffmann |

1950). In northern Bengal this cuckoo’s eggs were found in the nests —

of the Drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus (O’Donel 1936; Storrs 1944), —

andin Sikkim in those of the Spider hunter Arachnothera magna —

(Gammie 1877). In Ceylon the Ceylon Blackheaded Oriole, Oriolus —

xanthornus ceylonensis, is probably a foster-parent of this cuckoo |

(Phillips 1952), The majority of the data, however, is based on guess- |

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION 409

work and supposition and needs confirmation by observed fact.

Sometimes having found an egg ready for laying in the oviduct of

_a dead bird, ornithologists have tried to determine the host species by

matching the colour of the egg’s shell. Sometimes an abnormal egg in

the nest of a songbird, which differed from the others in shape, size, or

colour has been referred to some species of cuckoo. Lastly, some

authors have listed as host species of the Indian Cuckoo birds among

whom the appearance of the cuckoo near their nest caused anxiety

(Rattray 1905; Vaughan & Jones 1913; Nehrkorn 1910 cit. Makatsch

1955; Hoogerwerf 1949, cit. Makatsch 1955 , Spangenberg 1965). In

the above mentioned works Drongos (Dicrurus and Buchanga) are

mentioned most often as the host-parents of the Indian Cuckoo.

- Inthe U.S.S.R., in Amurland, the egg of the Indian Cuckoo was first

found by me in the nest of the Amur Brown Shrike in 1957. The

- astonishing similarity in the coloration of the eggs of the two species,

as well as an obvious adaptation of Indian Cuckoos to the nesting-

biotopes of the shrikes in the investigated territory, had long since

suggested that the connection between these two species is not acci-

_ dental. The additional material collected by me in the same region of

Amurland now enables me to state quite definitely that this species of

shrike is the main, and apparently the single, host of the Indian Cuckoo

in this part of its range. Further avifaunistic investigations in our Far

East will possibly add to the list of birds fostering Indian Cuckoos.

_ Itis not impossible that in the Amur flood-land, as in China, these

birds parasitize the Azurewinged Magpies, and that, south of this river,

there are nests of the Amur Brown Shrike with eggs of Indian Cuckoos

inthem. Hoffmann (1950) has mentioned this shrike as a possible

foster-parent of the Indian Cuckoo in the parks of Peking.

The breeding period of this cuckoo is correlated with that of its main

fosterers. At the end of December, near the southern borders of the

breeding range, in Ceylon, Phillips (1948, 1952) found in the nest of the

Blackheaded Oriole an egg which is supposed to have been laid by an

Indian Cuckoo, and at the beginning of May he obtained a fledgling of

this cuckoo. In different regions of India the egg-laying takes place

from March-April till May-June (Baker 1927 ; Jones 1941 ; Storrs 1944 ;

Ali 1953). Northward, in Peking and its environs, the breeding takes

place in general in June. Shaw (1938) reports, for instance, the finding

of a week-old cuckoo in the nest on 25 June. Hoffmann (1950) observed

young Indian Cuckoos able to fly well in 1946 from 31 July to 16 August,

in 1947 from 19 July to end of the month.

In the south of the Amur-Zeya plateau fresh eggs were found in

50 nests of Amur Brown Shrikes from 6 June to 30 June. Some indi-

viduals were building their nests till the middle of July. In all the cases

known to me Indian Cuckoo eggs were laid also in June at the time of

410 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

the intensive breeding of the shrikes. Thus, on 8 June 1957 a cuckoo-

female was obtained just after she had laid the second egg of that season

(apparently the first egg was laid on 5 or 6 June); on 12 June 1962 a

shrike’s nest was found containing a fresh cuckoo egg, the nestling

hatched on June 22 (the clutch was apparently laid on June 11); on

12 June 1961 I watched for a long time a female Indian Cuckoo try,

though unsuccessfully, to enter the nest of a shrike ; on 4 August 1959

I obtained a 40-day old Indian Cuckoo, and on 26 July a fledgling whose

age was estimated as about 30 days (both could have hatched from eggs

laid in the middle of June); on 28 June 1962 a nest was found with a

fresh cuckoo egg, the nestling hatched on June 9. The gonads of all

male Indian Cuckoos shot at the height of the breeding period (7-27 June)

were of equal size, measuring in mm.: 4:0x40-60x40, and —

4:0 x 3:7-5:0 x 4:0.

Nearly 75°% of the Amur Brown Shrikes nests observed in Amurland

were built on the ground, the rest at a height of 0°5-1'9 m. above the

ground in bushes and trees. The Indian Cuckoo parasitized nests of both

types. Its eggs were twice discovered in nests situated on the ground in

dense grass and once in a nest built in the crutch of a willow bush.

When looking for the nests of shrikes, females of the Indian Cuckoo as

well as those of other parasitic species are guided in the first instance by

the behaviour of the fosterers. The .singing of male shrikes, which is

usually accompanied by typical displays, as well as the loud call notes

of these birds attracted the Indian Cuckoos to their nest. Later, cuckoo-

- hens watch the birds in the process of nest-building or discover their —

nests by the alarm-calls or behaviour of the host. To begin with, |

cuckoos apparently discover the less disguised nests and the nests of those —

individuals who by their high excitability and carelessness attract the

cuckoo’s attention. :

On 12 June 1961 I watched a female Indian Cuckoo, perched in th

low branches of an old larch on the outskirts of the forest, looking very —

attentively at a thicket near which a male shrike frightened by me was ~

flying. For a long time she remained unnoticed, but the moment she

made a careless movement the shrike noticed her. With a loud call he

attacked her and pressed the attack till she left the territory. So

the nest built in a heap of dead branches and containing a fresh clutch

was not discovered by the cuckoo.

When laying in a nest found beforehand the cuckoo-hen acts with

confidence and most persistently. Thus on 8 June 1957 during a trip

my attention was attracted by a male shrike flying in agitation near his

nest containing fresh eggs. Through binoculars I could make out that

he was trying to drive away a rather large bird, an Indian Cuckoo female, —

perched on the branch of a dry willow bush. In 15-20 minutes the

cuckoo flew on to. a fragment of a larch branch lying on the ground at

eats es

J. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. 63(2) PLATE I

Neufeldt : Indian Cuckoo

Above : Nest with complete clutch of Amur Brown Shrike eggs and one Indian

Cuckoo egg ; Below : Two-day old nestling of Indian Cuckoo in the nest.

(Photos : I. Neufeldt)

PLATE II

J. Bompay nat. Hist. Soc. 63(2)

Neufeldt : Indian Cuckoo

Above: Amur Brown Shrike female brooding 7-day old Indian Cuckoo ; Below:

Same bird with food for young cuckoo.

( Photos : I. Neufeldt )

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION 411

1:5 m. distance from the nest. The frightened female shrike immediately

left the nest and joined her rhate. Looking round-but paying no atten-

tion to her attacking hosts the cuckoo reached the nest. In 20-30

seconds she flew away from the nest leaving her egg there.

Complete clutches of the Amur Brown Shrike consist usually of 6-7

and sometimes 4-5 eggs, in some nests we found only 3 eggs—the last

apparently a case of second laying. In one nest containing 6 eggs, an

Indian Cuckoo laid her egg, leaving host’s clutch untouched. In two

other nests used by these cuckoos we found only 3-5 eggs. It is diffi-

cult to say whether cuckoos were to blame or they had laid their eggs in

nests with incomplete clutches. It is of interest that, analyzing the

stomach contents of Indian Cuckoos collected in China, Shaw & Liu

(1940) found the shells and inner shell membranes of a bird’s egg.

Apparently, this cuckoo as well as the Common Cuckoo sometimes

carry off and swallow eggs from their fosterers’ nests. In all cases

known to me Indian Cuckoos laid their eggs in nest which contained

full fresh clutches. Judging by the behaviour of the cuckoos in their

territory and by the changes in the activity of males and females during

_ the breeding season the eggs are normally laid at intervals of 1°5-2 days.

I do not know the number of eggs laid by one female in one summer,

but I think this species lacks the high fertility usually attributed to

Common Cuckoo females. If one Indian Cuckoo female could lay

25-20 or even 15 eggs in a summer, at least every second shrike nest

examined by me should have contained a cuckoo egg, but actnally it

was otherwise.

The Indian Cuckoo eggs found in the nests of Amur Brown Shrikes

are mimetic. In two cases they practically did not differ in pattern,

;

coloration, and shape “from fosterers’ eggs. They had a dirty-white,

slightly greenish ground colour with beige surface and deeper grey spots

and speckles concentrated near the blunt end of the egg thus forming a

nimbus-like thickening (Plate I, above). The third egg found in the

shrike’s nest had a pink background mottled with darker greyish brown

spots and somewhat different in coloration from the two preceding eggs.

Thus, in Amurland according to the coloration of the eggs Indian

Cuckoos may be arranged in two groups corresponding to the two types

of pigmentation of their fosterers’ eggs. In general, the eggs of these

cuckoo parasites of the shrikes resemble by coloration the eggs of

Azurewinged Magpies, Drongos, and even Streaked Spiderhunters, birds

known as Indian Cuckoo host-species in other parts of the area. The

eges of the Indian Cuckoo are larger than those of the Amur Brown

Shrike, the measurements (in mm.) being :

Nest No. 1—Shrike: 20°0 x 17:0 (2), 21:5 x 16°7, 21°6 x ‘17/0,

| 22:0 x 17:2, 230 x 17-0, average 21°4 x 16°98; Cuckoo : 25:0 x 19°0.

412 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Nest No. 2—Shrike: 23°0x17:0, 23°5x17:0, 23°5x17°5, average

23°3 17:1; Cuckoo: 26:0 x 20°0.

Nest No. 3—Shrike: 20°5 x 16:5 (3), 21:0 x 16°5 (2), average

20°7 x. f6°5 = Cuckoo 250 19'5.

The shell surface of fresh Indian Cuckoo eggs is matt but on hatching

it acquires a faint lustre.

In all cases known to me shrikes did not notice the increase of the

number of eggs in the nest and readily accepted the larger and roundish

cuckoo eggs.

Indian Cuckoo eggs hatch in about 12 days, whereas the shrike eggs

require 14 days. The cuckoo nestlings always hatch before the fosterers’.

The hatching sometimes lasts long. Thus, in one nest cracks on the

cuckoo-egg were recorded on 8 July at 18 hrs. and the chick emerged

only between 9 and 10 hrs. on 9 July. Whenever cuckoo-females laid

their eggs before midday, usually in the morning, the hatching also took

place in the morning.

The newly-hatched. Indian Cuckoo chick is blind and naked, with —

closed acoustic.ducts ; skin on the body, bill, nostrils, and legs yellowish

pink ; tongue (except the very tip) and inside mouth orange-red ; com-

missures of the jaw and tip of the tongue yellow—even at this age the

chicks differ from Common and Himalayan Cuckoos’ chicks in having a

lighter tip to the tongue. Immediately on hatching, the chick weighs

4°7-4°9 gm. |

In the one-day old chick the acoustic ducts are open and the skin on

the dorsal part of the body and on the legs is darker. The two-day old

is very limp and lies cheeping quietly at the bottom of the nest (Plate I,

below). Only on strong tactile irritation of the rump skin does the blind

nestling strike a rather typical ejection attitude ®stands up with legs wide

apart, throws its wings well back, and bends its neck down setting the

top of the head against the nest bottom. Contact with eggs or newly-

hatched fosterers’ chicks does not cause this reaction. The actual

ejection takes place on the third and partly on the fourth day ; after this

period the ‘ overboard ’ instinct gradually disappears. |

On the third day in the region of the future remiges and rectrices there

appear hardly visible ‘ hairs’, which may be regarded as rudiments of

ancestral nestling ‘down’. It is known that only non-parasitic cuckoo- _

chicks (Centropus, Geococcyx, Coccyzus, etc.) have ‘down’. Shelford’s —

(1900) investigations have shown that these thread-like structures

(trichoptiles) are not down, but abnormally elongated apexes of horny

sheaths enveloping growing feathers. With the growth of a feather

papilla trichoptilia lengthen as well. When feathers begin to unfold

the trichoptilia break off. I think that the degeneration of the thread- |

like structures in parasitic cuckoo nestlings is of an adaptive nature, |

tactile receptors in a naked skin being more sensitive and easily provok- |

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION 413

ing a reflex act of ejection. On the fourth or fifth day appear the first

feathers on the nape and shoulders, and then on the forehead, ulnar,

carpal, and femur regions ; the eyes half open; the skin of the dorsal

surface of the head, body, and wings as well as the bill and tip of the

tongue grow darker and become dark-grey with a violet shade. Now

the Indian Cuckoo chick differs very well from those of the Common

and Himalayan Cuckoos, not only in tongue colour but also in the

colour of the feather sheaths, the tapering apexes of the undeveloped

feathers being beige or pale-yellow in colour in the Indian Cuckoo while

in the two other species they have white or slightly greyish distal

poles.

In the 7-day old Indian Cuckoo the eyes are entirely open, feather

papillae grow over all the pterylae except the dorsal one, the caudal

portion of the ventral one, and some parts of the head (Plate IT, above).

The week-old juvenile weighs eight times the newly hatched one. It is still

poikilothermal and is constantly brooded by the host-hen. While sitting

in the nest the cuckoo cheeps quietly and even when hungry does not

utter loud calls. Sometimes it tries, though rather clumsily, to preen.

On 8th day the feathers on the nape, shoulders, thighs, and greater

wing-coverts begin to unfold; the eyes are entirely open, though in the

nest the chick prefers to keep them closed ; the bill flanges, nostrils, and

the tip of the tongue become black. The nestling weighs 40-45 gm., i.e.

more than an adult Amur Brown Shrike. The length of the second

primary is 13-15 mm. and the second rectrix 5-6 mm.

By 9-10 days of age nearly all the feathers emerge from their sheaths ;

there remain in papillae only the feathers on the crown, the forehead,

and the rump, corresponding to the parts of the body with high sensiti-

vity in the 2- to 3-day old nestling. The wing-coverts as well as the first

feathers on the nape and thigh have rather large vanes. The skin on the

‘dorsal, the most exposed side of the body is dark, whereas abdominally

it is a pale pinkish yellow. |

At the approach of a man the 10- to 11-day old cuckoo produces

some threat gestures : ruffles its feathers on the head, opens its wings,

’ raises the tail, and tries to peck. The foster parents still continue to

brood the nestling.

12-day old chick weighs 73-75 gm., the second primary is 41 mm.

the second rectrix 24 mm. All feathers unfold; only the lores and

} feathers near the orbital ring remain in sheaths. From the age of 12 days

regular brooding of the nestling ceases. When its shrike-hosts are absent

the young cuckoo sits very quietly in the nest, sometimes preening,

raising, and stretching itself. It constantly cheeps without opening its

bill. When hungry it screams out its shrill tu-fju. On hearing or seeing

its foster-parents approaching with food the nestling calls louder, opens

its bill, and shakes its wings (Plate III, above). At the moment of

414. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

taking the food the cuckoo-chick cheeps and trembles all over. In gene-

ral, all vocal reactions of the young Indian Cuckoo are very similar to

those of the young Common Cuckoo but somewhat muffled and low.

The female shrike for some unknown reason fed the chick of the Indian

Cuckoo less willingly than the males did. Sometimes they did not

feed them at all. In such cases young cuckoos readily recognized the

male bird and responded only to its calls. Usually, in the nestlings of ©

the Indian Cuckoo and of many passerine birds, each discharge of

excrement is enclosed in a gelatinous capsule (faecal sac) so that it can

be removed by the parents. It is of interest that the droppings of nestlings

of the non-parasitic cuckoos are not encapsuled. However, you have only

to touch the Indian Cuckoo chick or take it in the hand for it instantly

splashes you over with a large excretion of brown stinking liquid. Thus,

at this age the young cuckoo is capable of actively protecting itself from

enemies. |

When 14 days old the Indian Cuckoo is rather well feathered

(Plate III, below) though the bases of all the feathers are more or less

concealed in feather sheaths. When in the nest the young cuckoo closely

watches its foster parents bringing food and actively gets the food from

them, It was quite indifferent to calls of the male and female Indian

Cuckoos. When the shrikes are out of the nest it raises, stretches, and

cleans itself. |

On the 18th day the young cuckoo tried to perch on the edge of the

nest. When three weeks old it left the nest and perched on a high

stump (Plate IV); the remiges, rectrices, and the majority of the small

feathers had not reached normal length and the cuckoo was not capable

of active flight. Its weight after leaving the nest was 90 gm.

In captivity the Indian Cuckoo chick grows to adult size and acquires

the complete juvenile plumage at the age of 45 days (Shaw 1940). Acc-

ording to my data the 30-to 40-day old cuckoo is airborne and does not

differ fromadults in size, but still continues to beg for food from the foster

parents. From shrubs growing on the edge of the forest or from the

glade where it hatched and grew up, the chick now moves into the heart

of the forest. The shrikes follow it rather unwillingly in this change -

from their habitual biotope and try to lure it out in every possible way.

When hungry the cuckoo flies to the forest edge and perches on a low

branch or stump, where it receives food. When perching or flying the

juvenile Indian Cuckoo utters in succession low and rather tuneful calls,

a kind of tu-fju, tu-fju. At the moment of feeding it utters sounds ©

resembling the hunger cry of the foster parents’ chicks. Flying from

place to place a frightened young cuckoo produced a loud ringing warble ©

resembling that of the juvenile Common Cuckoo. Fledglings of the

Indian Cuckoo at the age of one month weighed 119-5 and 127-0 gm., |

the same weight as adults. The weight of adult birds collected in —

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(2) PLATE III

Neufeldt : Indian Cuckoo

Above : 13-day old Indian Cuckoo begs for food ; Below : 14-day old Indian Cuckoo

in Amur Brown Shrike nest.

(Photos : I. Neufeldt)

J. BomBay NaT. Hist. Soc. 63(2) PLATE IV

Neufeldt : Indian Cuckoo

newly out of nest being fed by foster-parent, an Amur

Brown Shrike.

Young Indian Cuckoo

(Photo : I. Neufeldt)

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION ANS

Amurland was as follows: co 112°0, 114°0, 115°0, 120°0, 124-0,

129-0 gm. ; 2 119:0 gm.

The coloration of the Indian Cuckoo’s juvenile plumage is so peculiar

that young birds of this species cannot be confused with the chicks

of any other cuckoo. The difference from the adult plumage is the

absence of pure white colour and of various grey tints, and in the

predominance of dirty cream, isabelline, dark-brown, and ferrugineous

shades. The plumage of the upper part of the head (besides the crown),

hindneck, and throat is basally black with broad isabelline apical bands.

On the forehead, along the mouth, and around the eyes and ear-coverts —

the feathers are entirely black with a light base and black apex. The

lower throat of the juvenile is also black with considerably longer

covering feathers and has an additional black stripe against an isabelline

background. By such coloration of some feathers in the lower part of

the lower throat sparse transverse bars are outlined and the lower throat

itself looks considerably darker. The plumage of the belly has a pure

isabelline coloration and only the under tail-coverts sometimes have

black markings. On the flanks and the breast grow feathers bearing two

rather broad dark transverse bars on isabelline vanes. Those which are

situated nearest to base are usually concealed by the apex of overlapping

neighbouring feathers. Apical bars are distinctly seen; they impart

typical cross-barred coloration to the underpart of young cuckoos

(PlateIV). On the dorsal side isabelline or a paler colour stretches, except

for the head and hindneck, to the apexes of some scapulars and to the

ends of all the tail feathers. The crown and rump juvenile feathers

grow later than the rest of the plumage and are dark-brown with ferru-

gineous apical bars and transverse stripes and speckles on the inner and

outer webs, with a hardly noticeable purple shade. The primaries are of

the same colour, their inner webs barred with ferrugineous. The ends of

all the wing feathers are ochre-fulvous. The wing-coverts are dark brown

with ochre apexes and spots or stripes of the same colour on the vanes.

All the rectrices are greyish brown, and the preapical part black with

transverse ferrugineous bars. The central part of each feather bears

against each stripe hardly noticeable depigmented spots. The orbital

| ring is yellow, the legs flesh-pink, the iris dark-brown, the tongue and the

‘inside of the mouth salmon-orange, the tip of the tongue black, the

upper mandible, margins of the eyelids, and the nostrils black, the under

“mandible of horny colour darkening to the apex.

The food given to the young Indian Cuckoo is identical with that

‘used by the foster parents themselves. Grasshoppers and locusts of

various size, caterpillars and imagines of moths (Noctuidae, Geometridae)

and sphinxes (Sphingidae) predominated in the diet (Plate IV).

‘Gaily-coloured butterflies such as Vanessa urticae and Papilio xutus

Were recorded as food at that time. The shrikes pick up small beetles

416 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

(Carabidae and Cerambycidae) but rarely. Horseflies and cicadas

(Lyristes sp.?) formed a large part of the diet of the Indian Cuckoo

chicks.. Sometimes the hosts brought small spiders (Plate II, below).

The older juveniles were fed even with the meat of lizards (Lacerta)

and shrews (Sorex). It is of interest that the cuckoo young digested

large pieces of meat together with skin and bone and did not eject

pellets. Adult Indian Cuckoos are typical insectivorous birds and,

in this respect, do not differ from the Common and Himalayan Cuckoos

living in the neighbourhood. The stomachs of all specimens collected

in Amurland contained large caterpillars, mainly hairy ones which are

serious forest pests. They feed very willingly on caterpillars of the

Siberian Moth (Dendrolimus sibiricus), the pest of larches—we found

up to 9 specimens in one stomach. Sometimes they pick up caterpillars

of the Tussock Moth (Dasychira albodentata), click beetles (Elateridae),

and black carpenter ants (Campanotus).

THE NON-BREEDING LIFE, MOULT \G

After the breeding period Indian Cuckoos become silent and very

shy and are very difficult to observe. In Amurland in the second half

of July and the beginning of August I saw only juvenile individuals. —

But this did not mean that the adults had left their breeding area; they |

had merely become less noticeable. The majority of these birds leave

the territory of the Soviet Far East apparently in the second half of

August. In August-September they start to move to their winter

quarters in most parts of China and India, though some individuals,

generally immature ones, sometimes stay up to October (Whistler 1926 ;

Caldwell & Caldwell 1931; O’Donel 1936 ; Shaw 1936 ; Hewetson 1956;

etc.). \

It is possible that before the autumn migration young Indian’

Cuckoos start a partial post-juvenile moult which lasts during their |

migration and in winter quarters. This process involves nearly all the .

contour feathers but does not include the remiges and their coverts,

rectrices, and upper tail-coverts. Yearlings are easily distinguished

among wintering or newly-arrived birds by the remains of this nest-

plumage. By mid-summer the light bands on wings and tail feathers of

the juvenile cuckoos become so shabby and faded that by this feature

they can be easily distinguished from adult birds. During the summer

the young birds change the most exposed and consequently the shabbiest

and loosest feathers. Thus on 7 June 1961 in Amurland in a yearling- |

male among very shabby and faded wing feathers were seen fresh last

secondaries and greater wing-coverts ; the upper tail-coverts, some wing-

coverts, and other small feathers were moulting as well. The year-old

Indian Cuckoo from 9 June 1959 changed many lesser wing-coverts, the |

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION 417

10th primaries and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th rectrices of the left side of the tail,

which reached 3 of the normal length. A male yearling shot on 27

June 1959 had lost its last secondary on the right wing whereas on the

left wing the same feather and its coverts reached the normal length.

In the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the

U.S.S.R we have not got a collection of moulting adult Indian Cuckoos

made during the breeding season. In one male collected by me on

June 21 both the central rectrices are half grown. In a male dated 5

June 1934 obtained in China (Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica)

the tail feathers were moulting. Apparently adults (with a small excep-

tion) have a complete moult in their winter quarters, in late autumn

and winter,

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I express my thanks to Dr. Salim Ali, of the Bombay Natural History

Society, for editing the manuscript. I am also grateful to Professor

A.I. Ivanov, Curator of Birds of the Zoological Institute of the

Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R, Leningrad, for his helpful

suggestions.

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and Scrub. 4: 142. H. F. & G .Witherby

Ltd., London.

SHAW, TSEN-HwANG (1936): The

Birds of HopeiProvince. Zoologica Sini-

ca, Ser. B, 15 (1) : 502-504.

——————— (1938): Nord-

chinesische Blauelstern als Pflegeeltern

yon Racine micropterus. Orn. Mber. 46:

154-155.

——————— (1940) : Some

observations on the growth of the Indian

Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus micropterus)

held in captivity. Bull, Fan, Mem, Inst,

Biol. Zool. Ser.10: 119-130.

———— —————— & Liv, Cain-

TinG (1940): The food of some wild

birds. op. cit. 10 : 140. .

SHELFORD, R. (1900) : On the Pterylo-

sis of the embryos and nestlings of Cen-

tropus sinensis. Ibis 6: (24) : 654-667.

SmyTHIgs, B. E. (1953): The Birds of

Burma: 321. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh,

London.

SoOcHAVA, W. B. (1957): Zonal fea-

tures of vegetation throughout the terri-

tory from Tukuringra ridge to the Amur

river. Botanical Journ. 42 (2): 195-210,

(In Russian) :

SPANGENBERG, E. P. (1965): Birds of

Iman river basin. Proc. Zool. Mus. Mos-

cow Univ. 9: 151-152. (In Russian)

STEGMANN, B. (1930) : Die Végel des

dauro-mandschurischen Uebergangsge-

bietes. Journ. f. Ornith. 78 (4): 456-458,

Storrs, H. T. (1944) : Indian Cuckoo

(Cuculus m. micropterus) laying in the

nest of the Himalayan Black Drongo,

J. Bengal nat. Hist. Soc. 18: 116-120.

STRESEMANN, E. (1923): Zoologische

Ergebnisse der Walter Stdtznerschen

Expeditionen nach Szetschwan, Osttibet

und Tschili, Abh. Ber. Mus. Tierk. u. Vél-

kerkunde Dresden 16 (2): 35.

LIFE HISTORY OF INDIAN CUCKOO, IN SOVIET UNION

STRESEMANN, E. (1930): Eine dritte

Vogelsammlung aus Kwangsi. Journ. f.

Ornith. 3: 305.

VAUGHAN, R. E. & JONES, K. H.(1913):

The Birds of Hong Kong, Macao, and

the West River or Si Kiang in South-East

China, with special reference to their

nidification and seasonal movements..

Ibis 2 : 186-187,

419

VorosiEv, K. A. (1951) : The new form

of the Indian Cuckoo—Cuculus microp-

terus ognevi subsp. nova. Doklady Akad.

Nauk SSSR 77 (3) : 511-512. (In Russian)

WHISTLER, H. (1926): The Birds of

Kangra District, Punjab. Ibis 3: 749.

YAMASHINA, Y. (1932): On the speci-

mens of Korean Birds collected by

Mr. Hyojiro Orii. Tori 7 (33-34) : 241,

More new races of birds from the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

HUMAYUN ABDULALI

After the publication of my report on my collection of birds mainly

from the Andamans (1964, 1965), I have visited the area again spending

more time in the Nicobars and obtaining 280 specimens from Car Nico-

bar, Central Nicobars, and Great Nicobar.

I have also had the opportunity of examining at the British

Museum (Natural History) the specimens collected by Hume, Davison,

and others about a hundred years ago, enabling me to take some

decisions which were not possible with the material available earlier.

An account of the trip together with a general report on the birds of

the Nicobars is ready but, as I understand that there is not much

chance of its early publication, I am publishing the descriptions of

new races earlier. The description of a new race of Aplonis panayen-

sis from the Central and Great Nicobars is being published in the

Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club.

1. Rallus striatus: Bluebreasted Banded Rail.

The race obscurior described by Hume from the Andamans has been

accepted as the form found in the Nicobars.

A single male, obtained at Nancowri, Central Nicobars, has a

128 mm. wing and is much darker (almost black) on the upper parts

and much deeper grey below than any of the specimens from India

(9) andthe Andamans (1) available in Bombay. At the British Museum

there were no specimens from the Nicobars, but specimens from the

Andamans were all smaller and much paler than the others of this

species available for examination. Javan birds are also very similar

to those from India, and it would therefore appear that the birds from

Central Nicobars are different and I name them:

Rallus striatus nicobarensis subsp. nov.

Holotype: collected by B. R. Grubh at Nancowri, Central Nico-

bars, on 23 March 1966, Collection No. 193 and Bombay Natural

History Society Register No. 22562.

BIRDS FROM THE ANDAMAN .AND NICOBAR ISLANDS 421

2. Macropygia rufipennis : Cuckoo Dove.

The two males I obtained in the Middle Andamans can be separated

from the two males and one female from the Central Nicobars by

the outer webs of the primaries having a fine fringe of rufous against

the basal two-thirds being entirely rufous in the Nicobar birds. This

rufous shows as a strikingly different patch of colour in the folded wing

which in Andaman birds is more or less concolorous with the other

feathers of the back. This character is consistent in the large series (32

Andamans, 10 Nicobars) at the British Museum and Mr. Derek Good-

win who had a look at the specimens agreed that the Andaman birds

were different, and I name them :

Macropygia rufipennis andamanica subsp. nov.

Holotype: collected by me at Betapur, Middle Andamans, on 24

February 1964, and bearing Bombay Natural History Society

Paratype: ‘collected by me at Bakultala, Middle Andamans, on 21

February 1964, and bearing Bombay Natural History Society

_ None of my specimens show the ‘ lilac-purple aloes on the crown of

the male’ mentioned in most earlier descriptions. Though unfortunate-

ly not specially looked for, this was not noticed in the specimens

handled at the British Museum.

Curiously, though the original type locality is Southern ‘ Nicobars’

this species has always been called the Andaman Cuckoo Dove. These

names will now have to be reversed.

3. Oriolus xanthornus: Blackheaded Oriole

This oriole has been accepted as a migrant to the Andamans, and I

have already drawn attention (1965 : 549) to the single specimen I

obtained being too small for the nominate race xanthornus (Type

locality Chandernagor, Bengal) and its similarity to Ceylon birds,

ceylonensis Bonaparte.

I have now had the opportunity of examining the material at the

British Museum and there appears to be no difference in size.

Andamans Ceylon

Wings

6 tS 122-134 av. 128°6 4% 125-134 av. 128°75

S2> 125-130 av. 127-4 oe W222030 avy 12553

Tails

6's 72-84 av. 78°8 43% 79-82 av. 80°2

522 76-82 av. 79:2 392 72-78 av. 763

422. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

The Andaman birds are however a deeper mango yellow, and have

the edges to the outer webs of the inner secondaries yellow against pale

yellow, almost whitish, in the Ceylon birds. On these differences I

separate the Andaman birds as

Oriolus xanthornus andamanensis subsp. nov.

Holotype: a collected by me at Wrightmyo, South Andamans, on

16 February 1964 and bearing Bombay Natural History Society

From the material examined it also appeared that the females snd

immature males (with streaked throats) of Indian birds have pale under-

parts, while Andaman birds appear to be as dark as the adults, a fact to

which Blyth (1846) had drawn attention many years ago.

REFERENCES

ABDULALI, HUMAYUN (1964): Four of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

new races of birds from the Andaman op. cit. 61(3) : 483-571.

and Nicobar Islands. J. Bombay nat. BLYTH, E. (1846): Notes on the Fauna

Hist. Soc. 61(2) : 410-17. of the Nicobar Islands. J. Asiat. Soc,

wo — (1965): TheBirds Bengal 15 ; 367-379,

———

Reviews

1. THE BEHAVIOUR OF ARTHROPODS. By J. D. Carthy.

pp. 148 (5282 inches). 41 black-and-white figures (drawings and

graphs). Edinburgh/London, 1965. Oliver & Boyd. University Reviews

in Biology 1. Price 12s. 6d. net.

The arthropod nervous system comprises a few cells, with small cell

bodies and a smaller receptive area than corresponding mammalian cells.

Such a nervous organization produces rigid behaviour patterns under set

circumstances, resulting in adaptive behaviour in changed circumstances

which appears to be purposeful, though in fact it is not. An excellent

account of the nervous system and its working was given by Roeder in

1963, in a book entitled NERVE CELLS AND INSECT BEHAVIOUR which was

reviewed in this journal a few years ago. Dr. Carthy’s book is concerned

with the behaviour patterns produced by simple nervous systems of this

type among the arthropods.

Hairs are the commonest sense organs on the surface of the

arthropod body. They serve as chemoreceptors, or hygroreceptors, or

are sensitive to bending or to touching. Many insects have hair plates

on the articulation between the head and the thorax. An example of

how these function is in the dance of the honey bees. When the insect

is horizontal the head presses equally on the two neck plates, but when

it is dancing vertically with its head directed upwards, the lower or

heavier part of the head sinks and the pressure on the lower part of the

head is greater. Ifa piece of lead is attached to the top of the bee’s

head, so that the top of the head presses down on the hair plate, the

bee will confuse ‘up’ and ‘down’. There are other hair plates at

the articulation of the thorax and the abdomen, and at the leg joints,

which are also involved in gravity perception.

Central summation takes place in the nervous system of arthropods.

The stimulation of chemosensitive hairs on the tarsi of a fly by contact

with sugar causes it to extend its proboscis, If a tarsus on one side is

touched with a sub-threshold concentration at the same time as tarsus

on the other side, the proboscis will be extended if the sum of the

concentrations is greater than threshold. Heterogeneous summation

Can also take place when a group of stimuli act together to release an

instinctive act. Mosquitoes are more attracted to dark than to fair skins,

and to warm rather than to cool skins. A fair warm skin can be as

attractive as a cooler dark one. Similarly, the spider Salticus scenicus

can be induced to attack models, and shows a distinct preference for

424. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

three-dimensional models and for models moving fast. A flat fast-moving

model can be as effective as a rounded one moving slowly.

One of the most interesting chapters deals with learning in

arthropods. Many arthropods are capable of learning simple T-mazes

to get at a food source, and wood-lice can in addition learn to

take the upper or the lower of two alternative pathways. Ants

can learn much more complicated mazes. These are examples of ‘ posi-

tive conditioning’. The spider Salticus scenicus can be trained to

associate attacking a particular shape with an electric shock, and learn

not to jump atit. This is ‘ negative conditioning’.

Arthropods also show ‘ latent learning ’, where the experience is not

of immediate importance but memory influences behaviour after an

interval of time. Such learning of landmarks by social insects does not

bring any immediate reward. A particularly interesting example is the

ichneumon fly, which lays eggs on the flour moth Ephestia kuhniella

caterpillars and will choose these by smell if offered a choice between

them and other lepidopteran larvae. But, if the parasites after emergence

are exposed to an air-stream bearing the scent of the moth Meliphora

grisella, they choose this scent as often as that of Ephestia in the

olfactometer.

Most work on arthropod behaviour has been concerned with insects.

The author has integrated this with information about other groups

wherever possible.

R. R.

2. THE COMPANY OF ANIMALS. By Ronald McKie. pp. 225

(22°514°5 cm.). With 31 photographs on 16 plates. Sydney, 1965.

Angus & Robertson Ltd. Price $3°75, 37s. 6d.

Since the War there has been a spate of books on animals, particularly

on those that are usually termed as large game. The bombs effectively

prevent universal participation in the so-called peoples wars which occur

like brush fires in odd spots of the world and the searcher for vicarious

thrills has to rely on the exploits, often questionable, of the hunter.

The trend now shows a welcome inclination towards conservation of

Wild Life rather than its decimation. This book is, however, slightly

different being the biography of James Hislop, the last ‘ white’ Game

Warden of the King George V National Park in Malaya.

Many of the incidents are related at considerable length and being —

told by a person who was not present, leave an air of scepticism about

the whole story. There are also unfortunate repetitions of some of the

old saws like the King Cobra’s speed equalling that of a galloping horse,

REVIEWS 425

and other stories which one is inclined to view with surprise e.g. a small

bird crossing the river seated on the tail of a Great Hornbill (p. 20) and

lightning visible at several miles created by elephants shaking their

bodies. It is added that the cows and the bulls make different kinds of

lightning, while Seladang alsg produce a flickering lightning. A wild

elephant cow was seen nursing six calves, and Mouse Deer are said to

tap with their feet when courting. The baby Mouse Deer is 3 inches

long and 2 inches high, a miniature of the adult.

On page 16, reference is made to the many volumes of the Bombay

Natural History Society’s Journal which formed an important part of

Hislop’s library. Some of the items mentioned in the book would

certainly have made excellent subjects for Miscellaneous Notes and it is

unfortunate that we do not get them directly from the observer, for there

is little doubt that some of them have been misquoted.

In Malaya as in India, Wild Life is on the decline. The Javan

Rhinoceros is extinct and the Sumatran Rhinoceros well on the way to

extinction. The passage, from the book, quoted below precisely

expresses what protection of Wild Life asks of the human population of

a. country.

‘Preservation is,a state of mind, a climate of opinion, a realizable

aim. It doesn’t emerge from apathy and indifference. It doesn’t

prosper on the assumption, rooted in ignorance, that animals, and the

land that is their home, are limitless and wili last for ever. It is a

product of maturity. It rises out of intelligent concern not only for

animals but for the nation’s most precious asset, its land.’

J.C. .

3. THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE OCEANS. By

Charles H. Cotter. pp. 317 (16X24 cm.). Numerous figures. London,

1965. Hollis & Carter. Price 35s. net.

This book is a welcome addition to the large number of books that

are now being published on Oceanography. The study of the oceans has

made rapid advance during the last score of years. With the dwindling

- Of natural resources on land, man is now turning his attention to the

vast unexplored and less exploited regions of the oceans and many

nations of the world are planning large-scale studies of the oceans.

In this context, bringing together all the related knowledge of the

oceans and presenting it in a concise form is very essential and Cotter’s

book is an admirable job in this respect. The author’s long career as a

navigation officer in the Merchant Navy from 1939 and later as

lecturer in Navigation at the South Shields Marine and Technical College

426 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

since 1962, has helped him to present different aspects of Oceanography

in simple and precise language. On account of this, the book is

eminently suitable as a text book for colleges, and more particularly for

marine science and marine engineering students, who require a basic

knowledge of the science of Oceanography. |

The book covers almost the entire gamut of Oceanography and

includes chapters on origin and distribution of the Continents and

Oceans, coastlines and shores, the ocean bed, properties of sea water,

life in the sea, corals and coral reefs, sediments and deposits on the sea

floor, weather and climate over the oceans, tides and related phenomenon,

ocean currents, and instruments used in ocean research. The book ends

appropriately with a chapter on the history and progress of the science

of the sea.

T.S.S. R.

4, BUDONGO. By Vernon Reynolds. pp. 228 (14x24 cm.). 16

black-and-white plates. 5 figures. London, 1965. Methuen & Co. Ltd.

Price 36s. net.

The exuberant Chimpanzee, man’s nearest relative in the Animal

Kingdom has been studied in captivity more than any other species of

ape. Their life and social behaviour in the wild was little known. In

this book Vernon Reynolds tells of his field observations on the

Chimpanzee, during the eight months, he and Mrs. Reynolds spent in the

Budongo forests of Uganda studying the daily life and social behaviour —

of the Chimpanzee. The results of their hours of patient observation

make absorbing reading.

The Chimpanzee’s social organisation is not family based like that of

the Gorilla but is a loosely knit community of sixty to seventy animals —

using a home range of six to eight square miles where their life revolves

round the different fruiting seasons of their main food plants. Its

extreme noisiness and the habit of drumming on the buttress roots of —

forest trees, advertises the movement of Chimpanzee groups through the

forest when food is abundant, and enables groups to concentrate at the © |

source of food. The hooting and drumming by a group in movement

is so fantastically loud that it is very intimidating to other species inclu-

ding Man. uf

The book is a fund of information on the Chimpanzees, other animals,

the forest and the people that the Reynolds saw and lived with, during — i

their eight months stay in Uganda.

J, Co De

REVIEWS : 427

5. HANDBOOK OF WATERFOWL BEHAVIOUR. by Paul

A. Johnsgard. pp. 378 (24 x 16cm.). With 11 plates and 96 figures.

London, 1965. Constable & Co. Ltd. Price 735%

Based on earlier publications in scientific journals and extensive

original research, mostly at the Wildfowl Trust in England, Dr. Johns-

_ gard provides a detailed survey of the fixed action behaviour patterns

of ducks and geese. The method is comparative and each species is

_ described individually and then related to those it most resembles. The

result is an important contribution to the taxonomy of the group. More

than 100 pages of photographs and drawings make this work one of

- the most effective exercises in descriptive ethology yet completed and

the waterfowl the best known group of birds in this respect.

| This book is, however, by no means the last word on waterfowl be-

haviour. Most of the study is based on observation under captive

conditions and much further information regarding species ecology,

population dynamics and population dispersion in different seasons is

needed before a comprehensive evolutionary analysis can be attempted.

- Johnsgard’s book remains an important step forward and will be essen-

tial reading to those whose research interests include comparative avian

ethology or any aspect of wildfow] life.

de EEG;

nid

Miscellaneous Notes

1. CALCIUM DEPRIVATION AND OSTEOMALACIA

IN A SLENDER LORIS, LORIS TARDIGRADUS (LINNAEUS)

(With a plate)

In November 1964, a tame male loris, Loris tardigradus (Linnaeus),

was purchased in Bangalore. This animal handled easily and climbed

freely on anyone. He was taken to Vellore and permitted to live free in

the bedroom of E.E.C. His diet consisted of half a banana and three

ounces of whole unboiled milk daily. In February 1965, a wilder and —

larger female loris was obtained and she too was placed in the same —

room as the male. The food ration was doubled.

The two animals spent their days huddled together sleeping in a

corner but became active at night, eating and exploring. A small

residuum of milk and banana in the morning proved the adequacy of |

the diet offered. They appeared to get on well. Following the addition

of the female, however, the male was less easily picked up. :

In mid-April 1965, we left Vellore for three months, leaving the

lorises in the care of a couple who occupied our home. On our return

in July 1965, the male was found huddled in a corner, scarcely walking

and objecting noisily to any handling. He seemed in pain whenever he

moved. He did not climb at all. His arms were noted to be markedly

bowed. The female appeared normal.

X-rays (Plate) of the arms of both animals were read _ by

Dr. A. S. Tucker, Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College

Hospital, Vellore, as follows :

‘* View shows under mineralization of the bones of the forearms, and several

irregular bands of sclerosis across the bones which seem to represent healing

fractures.

‘* There is bowing of the forearms, most marked just above the wrists.

‘* The cortex is rather thin in both upper and lower arms, which fact is rather

readily apparent on comparison of the film with those of the control adult

female.”

Questioning then revealed that, instead of their regular two cups of

milk daily, the lorises had in our absence been offered only one cup.

Apparently, the stronger, more aggressive female had consumed this

leaving the male without? milk and practically without calcium and

vitamin D. As a result, he had, it seems, over the three-month period

lost sufficient calcium from his bones to render them incapable of |

supporting his weight when he climbed, thus leading to the fractures. —

NAT. Hist. SOc. 63 (2)

~J. BOMBAY

Slender Loris

Carey

X-ray of arms of calcium-deficient loris (/eft) and normal comparison (right)

Arrows mark areas of healing fractures.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 429

According to Duncan (1953) an adult human requires 7-8°5 mgm.

of calcium per kg. per day. The original diet offered supplied approxi-

mately 89 mgm. of calcium per day to each of the 200-300 gram lorises.

A full milk and banana diet was restored, and the loris was given in

addition 400 units of vitamin D daily for a month. Within two weeks

there was marked improvement in his activity but it was approximately

six weeks before he was again climbing. The deformities, as would be

expected, persisted. Although activity returned to normal, there was

little change to be seen in a X-ray taken ten weeks following the first.

Shortly thereafter he was accidentally electrocuted while climbing on

a lamp.

This report is offered simply as an interesting case and also as yet

another example of the pervasiveness of what James Thurber has termed

the ‘War Between Men and Women’.

CHRISTIAN MEDICAL Ea ae DONALD E. CAREY

VELLORE, : EDWARD E. CAREY

May 5, 1966 |

REFERENCE

Duncan, G. O, (1953): Diseases of Metabolism, 3rd ed. W.B.

Saunders Co., Philadelphia.

2. AUTHORSHIP OF THE NAME PRESBYTIS GEEI

[MAMMALIA : PRIMATES]

The existence of the Golden Langur in Assam was first brought to

the notice of the writer of this note and his colleagues by Mr. E. P. Gee

in the winter of 1954-55. On that information, the Zoological Survey of

India sent a party headed by Mr. H. Khajuria i in March-April 1955 to

Jamduar, Goalpara district, Assam, to obtain some specimens of that

langur for the department. Mr. Khajuria brought back six specimens

which on careful study were found to represent a. hitherto unknown

species of langur of the genus Presbytis. Mr. Khajuria prepared the

description and in appreciation of Mr. Gee’s contribution to the discovery

of the species, named it after him as Presbytis geei. While this paper was

still under publication in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History

(Sr. 12, Vol. 9, pp. 86-88, published February 1956), an article on the

habits and a brief description of the Golden Langur by Mr. Gee appeared

_ inthe Journalof the Bombay Natural History Society (Vol. 53, pp. 252-254,

_ published January 1956), in which he wisely and carefully refrained from

430 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

using a scientific name for this species. Unfortunately, the editors of

the Journal added a note to Mr. Gee’s paper (op. cit., p. 254): ‘We

understand from Mr. Khajuria of the Zoological Survey of India that

his description of this new species of langur, which he has named

Presbytis geei, will shortly be published in Annals and Magazine of —

Natural History.’ Mr. Khajuria’s paper also bore an editorial note

(op. cit., p. 86): ‘ Following a strict interpretation of the International

Rules of Zoological Nomenclature this species has already been named

(although unintentionally) Presbytis geei by E. P. Gee (J. Bombay Nat.

Hist, Soc. 1956, 53 : 252-254, 1 fig., published 20th January 1956). The

present work is however the first scientific description of the new species.’

Since Mr. Gee was not responsible for the new name, the present

writer has beén ignoring his paper for the purpose of nomenclature.

However, in the recently published revised edition of Prater’s THE BOOK —

OF INDIAN ANIMALS (Bombay, 1965), there is a footnote on p. 42, which

ays thats the author of the name Presbytis geei is Gee and not Khajuria,

and this has prompted the writer to examine the question in detail.

All this confusion has arisen from the editors of the Journal —

of the Bombay Natural History Society, publishing the manuscript —

name Presbytis geei of Khajuria simultaneously with Mr. Gee’s ~

descriptive paper. Now, according to the Article 50 of the Inter-

national Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1961) the author of —

a name is the person who ‘is alone responsible both for the name

and the conditions that make it available.’ It is very obvious that

Mr. Gee is not responsible for the name Presbytis geei even though

the descriptive matter in the text are not only diagnostic but also ©

made by him. The editorial note to the paper (Gee, op. cit., p. 254),

however, constitutes, for the purpose of nomenclature, a separate article

by separate authors. In this separate article no description is given and

the authorship of the new name is clearly credited to Mr. Khajuria.

At this place and in this separate paper by the editors the name :

Presbytis geei is a nomen nudum. Furthermore, the authorship of this

footnote article 1s anonymous and the name Presbytis geei would be

unavailable according to Article 14 of the Code, even if it were

otherwise considered available. In Mr. Gee’s paper the name Presbytis —

geei does not occur anywhere except in the caption of the distribution —

map, but there is no indication anywhere if this name refers to the —

Golden Langur. As such, Mr. Gee cannot be held responsible for |

introducing the new name.

It follows, therefore, that the first publication of the name Presbytis _

geei in a manner to satisfy the provisions of the Code for availability is _ 4

that in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 12, Volume 9, © )

pages 86-88, and that the authorship of the name is to be credited to, |

Mr. Khajuria as of Eeeruels 1956.

ae 4, io

srg

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 431

The writer is greatly indebted to Professor Ernst Mayr and

_ Dr. Krishna Kant Tiwari for their wise counsel in his attempt to solve

this problem.

ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, BISWAMOY BISWAS

INDIAN MUSEUM,

CALCUTTA 13,

August 1, 1966

3. SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE HAIRYFOOTED

GERBILLE, GERBILLUS. GLEADOWI MURRAY,

IN THE RAJASTHAN DESERT

(With a text-figure and a photograph)

There is little information available on the ecology of the Hairy-

footed Gerbille, Gerbillus gleadowi Mutray (Blanford 1888-91). These

observations were, therefore, recorded on the rodent in the westernmost

part of the Rajasthan desert. :

Habitat. G. gleadowi is distributed in the arid belt of Jaisalmer-

_Gadra Road-Jodhpur and is more common in the Gadra Road region

where its burrows are found on sand dunes, usually in association with

the bushes Calotropis procera, Zizyphus nummularia, Capparis decidua,

and Aerva tomentosa —they seem to prefer the first plant to burrow

under. Their burrows are not found on sandy plains in this area ; there

they are replaced by the Desert Gerbille, Meriones hurrianae. In the

Jaisalmer tract, the desert is predominantly characterized by gravelly

sand formations and the Gerbillus inhabit mainly the sides of the roads,

where their burrows are to be found under Calotropis and Zizyphus

bushes, Their habitat is characterized by Calotropis bushes and long

streaks of sand dunes in the sandy plains, away from the road where

_ they are found in patches and their number is usually very low. In this

_ region they prefer habitat having hummocks of sand. Discussing the

habitat preference of the gerbilles of Israel, Zahavi & Wahrman (1957).

grouped G. gerbillus, the Middle Eastern species nearest to G. gleadowi,

as psammophile, i.e. ‘ confined to either shifting sand dunes or to more

or less stable sand formation’. Inthe Rajasthan desert, G. gleadowi

| is also psammophile in its habitat preference.

Burrows. The burrows follow a simple pattern and have a principal

gallery with two to three smaller tunnels leading to openings outside,

a bolt run, and a resting chamber (see Figure). The burrow resembles

that of G, gerbillus, which comprises of a main tunnel bifurcating at both

extremities into four galleries (Petter 1961), a bolt run, and an ampulla

432 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

accommodating the nest and PO ours to the resting chamber of

G. gleadowi.

—_

PRINCIPAL GALLERY

= RESTING CHAMBER

b> OPENING 7

Text-fig. View (from above) of the burrow of Gerbillus gleadowi Murray

Habits. The Hairyfooted Gerbilles (photograph) are nocturnal,

venturing out soon after dusk and retiring after midnight. They are

not crepuscular like the Desert Hare, Lepus nigricollis dayanus.

We did not find any gerbille in the Jaisalmer region during winter,

which suggests that they either hibernate or are torpid during the cold

spell.

Although their hind feet are quite long they do not move about

only on them as the true jerboas do. When chased they leap to keep

the collector at a distance. Collection of gerbilles was done with spot

light and butterfly net. While collecting them we observed that they

stand erect on their hindfeet and jerk their body forward and backward

in quick succession. At times, while escaping, they entered the burrows

of the merion gerbille but quickly came out to enter their own burrows,

which they closed from the inside by shovelling sand on to the opening,

an action done so quickly and neatly that it was very difficult to locate

the burrow opening afterwards. This might be an effective adaptation

to evade the snakes which feed on the rodents.

Stems of Cenchrus biflorus, the leaves and flowers of Crotalaria

burhia, stems of Eleusine compressa, and seeds of Lasiurus sindicus were

found in the burrows. In captivity, Gerbillus thrived on grains and

preferred millet, Pennisetum typhoideum, and the pulse Phaseolus aconti-

folius, the total daily consumption being 16°20 and 15:07 gm. per 100

gm. body weight respectively. Their food requirement appears to be

more than that of the Desert Gerbille, which consumes 8:08 gm. of |

millet and 5:29 gm. of the pulse per day per 100 gm. body weight. G.

gleadowi being of a smaller size than Meriones hurrianae, a higher rate

of food: consumption per unit body weight is to be expected. as bt

former will have a higher metabolic rate than the latter.

Sex Ratio. In collections from the Rajasthan desert females were

slightly in excess, 29 against 25 males, but the difference was not statis-

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 433

tically significant. Contrariwise, a sample of this gerbille from Sind

(Ellerman 1961) comprised 14 males and 10 females. .

The Hairyfooted Gerbille, Gerbillus gleadowi Murray

Note white pelage around eyes and on bases of ears

_ Breeding. Out of the summer collection, two females were pregnant,

carrying three and four young respectively. Two more females

delivered litters of two young each. Out of 19 rodents collected in July

1964, 8 were sub-adults, indicating that littering had taken place in June.

In the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, G. gerbillus deli-

vered from April to June and litters consisted of three to five young

(Zuckerman 1953). Our observations also indicate that littering in

G. gleadowi occurs during summer.

- The New-born, Pink in colour; skin translucent and abdominal

434. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

contents almost visible ; no hair coat; eyes closed; pinnae folded and

enclosed in a membrane; very short vibrissae.

The young ones in the two litters were almost equal in size; head

and body length 39:0-40:0 mm. (mean 39°5 mm.) ; tail 15-0 mm., hind-

foot 8:0-9:0 mm. (mean 8:2 mm.); weight 1°8-2°0 gm. (mean 1°9 gm.).

Zoogeography. Most species of the genus Gerbillus are distributed

in the Palaearctic deserts (Ellerman 1961), only three species having

entered the Oriental Region: G. nanus distributed from Algeria and

south Egypt to Baluchistan ; G. dasyurus from Algeria to Thar Desert ;

and G. gleadowi found only in the Sind-Rajasthan desert and regarded

as an endemic desert species (Prakash 1963). Presumably G. gleadowi

evolved after xeric conditions started establishing in this subcontinent.

Acknowledgements. Thanks are due to Dr, Pulak K. Ghosh, Animal

Physiologist, Shri L. R. Kametkar, Senior Scientific Assistant, and

Shri H. P. Sharma, Junior Scientific Assistant, for assistance during the

field work,

DIVISION OF SPECIAL ANIMAL STUDIES, ~ JSHWAR PRAKASH

CENTRAL ARID ZONE RESEARCH INSTITUTE K. G. PUROHIT

JODHPUR, ~

February 2, 1966.

REFERENCES

BLANFORD, W.T. (1888-91) : The Fauna PRAKASH, IsHwAR (1963) : Zoogeo-

of British India, Mammalia, Taylor and _ graphy and evolution of the ‘mammalian

Francis. London. fauna of Rajasthan desert, India. op.

ELLERMAN, J. R. (1961) : The Fauna of cit. 27 : 342-351.

India including Pakistan, Burma and ZAHAVI, A. & WAHRMAN, J. (1957) :

Ceylon. 3(1) : 391. Manager of Publi- The cytotaxonomy,ecology and evolution

cation, Delhi. of the gerbilles and jirds of Israe] (Roden-

PETTER, F. (1961) : Repartition geo- tia : Gerbillianae). op. cit. 21 : 341-380.

_graphie et ecologie des rongerurs ZUCKERMAN, S. (1953): The breeding —

desertiques (du sahara occidental a_ seasons of mammals i in ene Proc. —

ia Mammalia 25 (No. special): Zool. Soc. London, 122 : 859.

1-222.

4. AN OUT-SIZE ELEPHANT (WITH A NOTE ON

MEASURING ELEPHANTS)

On 21 May 1965 at about 6 p.m. in Koilamari Tea Estate grant,

bordering on Reserve Forest and North East Frontier Agency, I came

upon the out-size tracks of this very large Bull Elephant, after a day of |

heavy rain. The tracks led out of the Reserve Forest and along a

boundary path which separated the Koilamari T. E. grant from the

“MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 435

Reserve Forest. The spoor was very fresh and, as I hurried along the

gloomy path following the spoor, my ears were attuned to hear the crash

of breaking jungle which normally heralds the close proximity of

elephant. o

Tree trunks along the path I now followed showed rub marks which

to me passing beneath and beside them indicated a gigantic animal. The

tracks crossed a small water course and, as evening was now closing in

fast, I knew that if I did not contact the animal within half an hour, I

would have to look for him another day.

About sixty yards after crossing the stream, he had rubbed himself

against a large dead tree stump, so recently that water and mud were

still dripping off the trunk. I stopped and listened, and about forty

yards to my right front I heard the cracking and breaking of branches.

The tracks led off the boundary path towards the noise I heard. Quietly

and quickly, as there was not much time, I hurried along the path he had

made—fortunately the jungle was thin and the undergrowth sparse. He

was very Close now, and not being able to check wind direction, I paused

a few seconds in order to calm down and make final checks on my rifle,

Fifteen yards ahead was a giant tree, and from just behind this had

come the last sound of elephant noise. Creeping forward, I peered

around the tree and saw the huge rear of the elephant, who was still

- unaware of my presence. So J stepped around the tree, raised my

‘404 rifle, and prepared to shoot as soon as I could see a vital spot—the

distance was twenty paces. He slowly swung three-quarters round and

I saw the dull gleam of ivory. Using the #-angled brain shot for the

_ head for the first time, I pressed the trigger as soon as line and angle

_ were right. 3

With the roar of explosion, the huge beast slumped to his knees and I

am quite sure he did not hear the shot which killed him. However, I

ran up at once and administered my normal safety shots.

As my eyes ran over his magnificent proportions, I realized that here

- indeed was a very large elephant, possibly one of the largest I would ever

_ shoot. His measurements, taken next day, more than proved this.

I note below the measurements which have been verified by the Forest

_ Range Officer, North Lakhimpur :

Circumference Measurement: Left Forefoot 65% in.

do Right Forefoot 654 in.

do | Left Rearfoot 56% in.

do Right Rearfoot 564 in.

| Height at shoulder taken down the length of the leg, right side (measured

| With steel tape): 10 ft. 114 in.

Estimated height (2 x circumference of forefoot): left 10 ft. 11 in.

in right 10 ft. 103 in,

436 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

The right forefoot had one toe nail damaged which would account for

the 4 in. difference between the forefeet measurements.

KomLAMARI TEA ESTATE, DUNCAN HAY

LAKHIMPUR NORTH P.O.,

NorTH LAKHIMPUR,

ASSAM,

August 6, 1965.

[Mr. E. P. Gee, whose comments were invited, writes :

‘I have read with interest the account by Mr. Duncan Hay of the

killing by him of a very large wild elephant, and find that his report

appears to be authentic. I would point out, however, that it is extremely

difficult to avoid errors in measuring elephants—whether dead or alive.

I have myself done quite a lot of measuring of live tame ones, and-I

seldom find it easy to do—even with a very docile captive elephant,

because of uneven ground, continual changes of posture of the animal,

and the measuring tape (for the forefoot measurement) being either too

stiff (of steel) or too soft (of cloth).

‘IT have found that the only accurate method of measuring the fore-

foot is to use a piece of thin, flat cane and to have another man lift up the

other forefoot so that the one that I am measuring is pressed down. For

measuring the shoulder height two stiff and straight bamboo sticks are

required, with another man standing some distance away to see that I

have got the upper piece of bamboo flat across the shoulder and absolu-

tely level with the ground. Even with all these ideal conditions, I find a

lot of differences and discrepancies in the measurements, and usually

have to take the average of a number of times. And the shoulder height

is seldom exactly, usually only approximately, double the circumference

of the forefoot.

‘Obviously measuring a dead elephant, especially one lying in an

awkward position or on uneven ground, must be very much more diffi-

cult.

‘The measurements of the largest dead wild elephants are nearly —

always greater than those of the largest live captive ones; and this fact

has always led people to believe either one or both of the following:

(1) that elephants grow to a bigger size in the wild state, and/or (2) that

elephants measure more when lying down (whether dead or alive) than

when standing up.

‘The only case, I think, of anyone putting to the test whether live

elephants measure more when lying down than when standing up is the

late E. O. Shebbeare. He once measured the shoulder heights of ©

23 female elephants both standing up and lying down, and also the

circumferences of their forefeet. The average of these measurements

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 437

shows an increase in height of no less than six inches when the elephants

were lying down: 8 ft. 7! in. compared with 8 ft 1L in. Incidentally the

twice-round-the-forefoot measurement came to 8 ft. 2 in., almost coin-

ciding exactly with the standing height. Nowa difference of six inches

in 8 ft. 6 in. means a difference of 72 in. in 11 ft., so this amount of

allowance would have to be made in all measurements of record dead

elephants unless these were based on the forefeet circumference.

‘ Shebbeare’s own conclusions after the above experiment were that

‘a live elephant measures approximately 6°3% more lying down than

standing up and that the twice-round-a-forefoot measurement is a good

approximation on the average though there may be glaring exceptions in

individuals.’ |

~ So it follows that the large elephant shot by Mr. Duncan Hay, and

also the record 11 ft. elephants recorded by Mr. P. D. Stracey in the

Journal, Vol. 46 at pp. 717-718, must also have 6°3% deducted from

their dead measurements to show what they must actually have measured

when alive.

‘The following two museum pieces are, I think, the record Indian

elephants of all time (within the last hundred years or so): (1) the one

which I think is in the Madras Museum measuring over 11 ft., and

(2) the skeleton in the Indian Museum of Calcutta, which measures

11 ft. 3 in. at the anterior dorsal vertebra just above the scapula, and

bears the laconic description: ‘‘ Santal Parganas, W. M. Smith 1879.”

When alive this latter elephant must have stood about 12 ft. high—a

truly formidable creature.’]

5. THE SHORT-TAILED OR RED-BILLED TROPIC-BIRD

(PHAETHON AETHEREUS INDICUS HUME)

AT KIHIM ON THE MAHARASHTRA COAST

On the 8th of May 1966, a Short-tailed Tropic-bird was found dead

in some bushes at around 11.00 a.m. on the coast of Kihim, about

12 miles south of Bombay, location c. 18° 45’N., 72° 53’E., by Idrees

Ali and Nisar Sikander. It was skinned by me there, and sent to the

Bombay Natural History Society through Mr. Humayun Abdulali.

33, PALI HILL, | RAUF ALI

BANDRA, BOMBAY-5O,

May 24, 1966

_ [The author is a twelve year old boy. The skin, now in the Society’s

Collection, is identified as that of Phaethon aethereus indicus Hume,

438 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

According to Hume (1876, Stray Feathers 4: 481) the bird is found

in a Zone between 7 and 30 miles offshore. Sinclair (1886, J, Bombay

nat. Hist, Soc. 1 : 168) included it among pre-monsoon strays and swept-

ins but recorded no specimen actually taken on the coast. The first such

record, from Marine Drive in Bombay, was reported by Novarro (1962,

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 59: 649). The present specimen, found in

good condition in vegetation 8 to 10 yards above high-water mark, is

probably a bird that was washed ashore in an exhausted state. A sight

record in February (Novarro, ibid.) is interesting as it suggests the

possibility that the bird is commoner ashore than is generally realised.

—EDS, |

6. NOTES ON INDIAN BIRDS 10—OCCURRENCE OF THE

CHINESE GREY DUCK/SPOTBILL (ANAS POECILORHYNCHA

ZONORHYNCHA SWINHOE) IN INDIA

In Cheetal, the journal of the Wild Life Preservation Society of India,

for October 1964, Mr. M. J. S. Mackenzie of Balijan North Tea Estate,

Chabua P.O., Assam, referred to Chinese Spotbill (Anas poecilorhyncha

zonorhyncha Swinhoe) as regularly found in Assam during the cold

weather. Since the earlier records of this form were discarded in the

FAUNA and the SYNOPSIS and the only evidence of its occurrence in India

was believed to be the bird obtained by Inglis in Bihar (J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 34: 810), I suggested a mistake in its identification.

Mr. Mackenzie promptly countered by shooting and sending to me

two ducks which, from the specimens and literature available to me in

Bombay, appeared to be zonorhyncha and this has been confirmed by

Dr. Dillon Ripley. I also found these specimens to be identical with

another shot by Parsons at Pasighat, Sadiya Frontier, Assam, and noted

by Stuart Baker (op. cit., 39: 638) as intermediate between zonorhyncha

and haringtoni [from Burma with a green speculum—H. A.]. His note —

however went on to say that the latter had a purple-blue, speculum!.

This prompted me to make a more careful examination of the earlier a

records with the following results : ra

In 1904 (J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 15: 718) Stuart Baker said that he i |

and, earlier, Moore and Mandy had shot several zonorhfncha out of ag |

flock of about 40 birds on Sirsi Bheel in Dibrugarh in the extreme east

of Assam, and repeated the statement in the first (1908) edition of |

INDIAN DUCKS AND THEIR ALLIES. In the latter, he discredited Oates’s

rece y described ees from Burma, holding that they were only

This statement appears to be due to ‘some oversight. ‘The error was corrected

in the errata list at page xvili of Vol. 39, Nos. 3-4 of the Journal.—Eps, —

Lie

i ca

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 439

immature birds in which the red ee at the base of the bill had not yet

_ developed.

In 1913 (J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 22: 806) he agreed that haringtoni

was separable and classed the east Assam birds as of this race. This was

repeated in the second (1921) edition of INDIAN DUCKS, and in the FAUNA,

where Inglis’s specimen from Bihar, referred to earlier, was said to be the

only record of zonorhyncha from India.

In 1931 J. C. Higgins (J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 35: 460), seeing

Inglis’s note and having access only to the first edition of INDIAN DUCKS,

drew attention to the earlier records of zonorhyncha and said he had

seen and shot them himself in Assam. Inglis (op. cit. 35: 687) replied

that the earlier records were of haringtoni ‘a quite different bird with a

blue and not green speculum’. Higgins (op. cit. 36: 266) drew attention

to this error in colour, but Inglis neither offered an explanation nor

admitted an error. Later Higgins repeated his earlier records

(op. cit. 36: 421) and referred (op. cit. 37: 224) to two more zonorhyncha

shot on the north bank of the Brahmaputra.

In all this confusion one can only guess that, when accepting haring-

toni as a valid race from Burma, Stuart Baker made the mistake of

assuming, without examination, that the earlier records of zonorhyncha

from Assam were all in error for this form. That these Assam birds

were not haringtoni is endorsed by the fact that Oates, when describing

this race specifically referred to two specimens from Assam ‘ recently

) acquired for my collection and recorded in the Society’s Journal as

zonorhyncha ’.

From the material and literature available in Bombay, zonorhyncha

is distinguished from the typical race by :

(a) the absence of red spots at the base of the bill (a character

_ shared with haringtoni, at least at certain seasons or stages),

(b) the lower portion of the underparts being more or less uniformly

brown, and not spotted,

speculum,

(d) the speculum being purple- -blue and not green. Regarding the

colour of the speculum it must be noted that, though the speculum of

typical poecilorhyncha from peninsular and western India is green and

at the same angle outstandingly different from the purple-blue in

-zonorhyncha, these colours change and replace each other at different

angles and it is possible to get a purple-blue effect in the greenest

speculum, and vice versa. From the limited number available for exa-

| mination, it also appears that this tendency to turn from one to the

other increases as one approaches an intermediate area and is most

prominent in specimens of poecilorhyncha from Assam and |

haringtoni from Burma, though both can be accepted as green.

440 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

(e) a dark line formed by speckles extending from the base of the

bill towards the ear-coveris. This character is shared with at least three

races of Anas superciliosa (vide Delacour’s THE WATERFOWL OF THE

WORLD 2 : 62) but does not occur in poecilorhyncha.

The westernmost record of zonorhyncha is still Inglis’s from Bihar,

which is nowat the Yale University, and whose identity is confirmed by

Dr. Ripley. But there is also no doubt that the earlier records from

Assam were correct and there was no need to discard them.

The number of mistakes that have dogged the descriptions and

accounts of this species is indeed remarkable—even the colleague whose

birds Stuart Baker first identified as zonorhyncha has had his name written

as Mandy, Mondy, and Mundy in the notes referred to above !

However there can now be no doubt that A. p. zonorhyncha, The

Chinese Grey Duck, is a fairly regular winter visitor to eastern Assam,

and once strayed as far west as Darbhanga in Bihar.

75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET, | HUMAYUN ABDULALI

BoOMBAY-3,

June 7, 1966

7. THE PINKHEADED DUCK [RHODONESSA

CAR YOPHYLLACEA (LATHAM)] AGAIN

(With a plate)

This is to inform the Bombay Natural History Society that, in the

year 1947 on the 27th January in the afternoon, I shot -a: Pinkheaded

Duck [Rhodonessa caryophyllacea (Latham)] at Manroopa Lake in

‘ Khagaria subdivision, Dist. Monghyr, in my Estate area known as

Bahadurpur Estate. The said duck, six in number, took off from

Manroopa jheel and came over me and I shot only one. Sir Hugh

Dow, Governor of Bihar, and Mr. E. O. Lee, 1.C.S., Member of the

Board of Revenue, Bihar, were in the shoot. The latter gave me a

letter of testimony which read that the Pinkheaded Duck is rarely found

in India and he congratulated me, but this letter is eget S at

present.

Again in 1948-49 I saw some Pinkheaded Duck on the Lake Man-

roopa, about 5 to 8 of them, but they did not come over me so I could

not shoot.

SHAKARPURA RAJ,

P.O, SHAKARPURA RAJ, LALITESHWAR PRASAD SINGH

DIsTRICT MONGHYR, BIHAR,

January 18, 1965.

(YSUIS “dL * 9704q)

‘unasny, euyeg oY} Ul (WueY}eT) vaevYAYdokuvs Vssauopoyy You pepreyyutg

we Oe a ae

j 8 SES BI RE RE.

yond pepeeyyxur_ : Ysurs

(Z)€9 “OOS “LSI “LVN Avawog ‘[

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | 44]

[The last authentic record of the Pinkheaded Duck dates back to

1935. It is feared that the species is extinct, and for some time now

the Society has been making enquiries about it. A report of an un-

successful investigation in north Bihar is published at pp. 415 ff. of

Vol. 57 of the Journal. Immediately after the report follows a claim by

Mr. K. L. Mehta, Deputy Game Warden, Himachal Pradesh, to have

seen Pinkheaded Duck in February 1960 about 40 miles south of Simla.

This, however, was in circumstances which made identification difficult,

by torchlight between early dawn and sunrise (see H.A.’s review at page

626 of Vol. 59 of the Journal). The present claim comes from near

Bakhtiarpur (generally known as Simri Bakhtiarpur to distinguish it

from Bakhtiarpur in Patna District), formerly in Monghyr District and

from 1965 in Bhagalpur District, where a pair of Pinkheaded Duck

were shot in 1924 (see Plate opposite and our Editorial Note at the top

of page 417 of Vol. 57 of the Journal).

The letter df testimony referred to by our correspondent has not

been traced. Mr. E.O. Lee is dead. Sir Hugh Dow, now in London,

remembers the shoot but not the shooting of a Pinkheaded Duck. He

adds, however, that he sees no reason to doubt our correspondent’s

statement. Itis not impossible that the species still survives in some

remote corner of its former haunts. We are therefore placing the pres

sent claim on record, in the hope that those of our readers who live in

or visit this area or any other area where the species is known or believ-

ed to have been seen will keep a look-out for it. We may add that since

1956 it isa punishable offence to kill or capture the bird. Sportsmen

would therefore be wise to learn to recognise the bird. If the bird is

found, intimation should be sent at once to the Society. |

We are grateful to Mr. T. P. Singh, Chief Secretary, Government of

Bihar, for sending us the photograph of the Pinkheaded Duck exhibit in

the Patna Museum.—Eps.]

8. AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR OF A SPOTTED OWLET

[ATHENE BRAHMA (TEMMINCK)]

A pait of Spotted Owlets, Athene brahma (Temminck), have their

roost under the roof of the Range Forest Office here. One of the pair

has an annoying habit ; when they come out of the roost in the evening,

it attacks anybody walking or sitting outside in the Range Office com-

pound.

On 20 March 1966, at about 17. 15 hrs., while I was cis about the

compound, it swooped down on my head from behind giving me a

nasty shock! At that time, I thought it overshot one of the common

yellow bats (Scotophilus heathi ?), which were flying around, and landed

on my head and I was thankful that I am not bald! On 27 March

442 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

evening, I was talking with a gentleman sitting outside in the Range

Office compound ; I saw both the birds come out of the roost and perch

on a branch of a Zizyphus tree. Suddenly without any reason or pro-

vocation, one of the owlets came sweeping down on my companion’s ©

head from behind. It made three more unsuccessful and determined

attacks on us within the next fifteen minutes, and we beat a hasty retreat !

Only one of the pair made the attacks—the other just took aringside seat.

The Depot Officer, who lives next to the Range office, reported that

almost everybody in his family had been attacked by the owlet. The

old forest guard sadly said that the saitan (devil) has a special liking for _

him, once or twice inflicting bleeding wounds. Only today the Depot

chowkidar had the benefit of unwelcome attention from the owlet.

I do not know what makes it attack. It is not nesting and does not

attack anybody in the Office— otherwise I would have run away by this

time because they have their roost just six feet above my head, where

I am sitting now. | y] :

RANGE FOREST OFFICE, :

BASUGAON, K. K. GUPTA

GOALPARA, ASSAM,

April 7, 1966 7

[The author informs us that the owls occupied the roost till the first

week of July, when they were driven away by some children who had

been attacked by the aggressive owl.—EDs. | ek

9. OCCURRENCE OF THE WIRE-TAILED SWALLOW —

(HIRUNDO SMITHII LEACH) IN NORTHERN

CEYLON: A FIRST RECORD

While out looking at birds with Mrs. Nugawella, Miss A. Perera,

and Dr. Somasunderam, on the afternoon of 26 February this year, we

were motoring slowly along the coast road from Pooneryn to Mannar

on the north-western coast of Ceylon; near [llupaikkadavai, some 15

miles from Mannar, we noticed a party of about 10 swallows sitting on —

the telegraph wires that skirted the roadside.

As we approached we saw that all but one of the birds were the —

Swallow (Hirundo rustica Linnaeus), and our attention immediately —

focussed upon the single bird, sitting with the others, which was

obviously of a different species. This bird, which was not more than10

ft. away, bad two long wiry tail feathers and pure white underparts

including throat, steely blue wings and back, and chestnut cap. We

were all able to observe it closely and were unanimous in our identifi- |

cation of it as a Wire-tailed Swallow (Hirundo smithii Leach).

This swallow, although not recorded from Ceylon, is reported to

ee ee ee

"J Ree ea

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 443

occur in Southern India in winter, so the bird we saw had probably

overshot its usual winter habitat.

STORTH, MANOR Way,

ALDWICK BAY, (Mrs.) E. M. WY NELL-MAYOW

BOGNOR REGIS,

March 20, 1966.

[Mrs. Wynell-Mayow’s father Major W.W.A. Phillips first recorded

the occurrence of the Indian Cliff Swallow (Hirundo fluvicola Blyth) in

Ceylon (1948, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 47: 740). That stranger, like

the stranger in the present case, was in a party of H. rustica and Major

Phillips suggested that it might have straggled into Ceylon with them at

the time of their annual migration. H. smithii is not common in S.

India. Salim Ali has seen it several times in Mysore, but there is no

_ record from Travancore and Cochin. We know of no evidence to indi-

cate that it is a winter migrant to S. India; this species is accepted as a

resident form, except perhaps for small local migrations.—EDs.]

10. BEHAVIOUR MIMICRY BY THE LARGE

- RACKET-TAILED DRONGO [DICRURUS PARADISEUS

(LINNAEUS)]

The tongue of land on which the Tourist Lodges are situated at the

Periyar Lake Wild Life Sanctuary is an ideal place for birdwatching.

Among the many species of birds that can be seen in this area, one of

the most vocal is the Large Racket-tailed Drongo [Dicrurus Pparadiseus

(Linnaeus)] whose exasperating habit of mimicking the calls of other

birds limits one’s bird list to sight records only.

While on a visit to the Sanctuary in May this year, [ was intrigued

by the large repertoire of calls of this drongo and, after being twice

‘taken in’ by its mimicry of the Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica), made a

habit of investigating each call from unseen sources. On one such

occasion, while following a mixed hunting party of birds, I heard the

agitated squeaking calls of a Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striatus) and was

surprised to see that the calls were being made by a drongo perched on

a low branch. While calling the drongo had the feathers of its body

fluffed out, its wings drooping, and its tail depressed, and was pivoting

from side to side on its perch—an exact mimicry of the behaviour of the

Jungle Babbler while thus calling !

There were no babblers in the vicinity.

BoMBAY NATURAL History Society,

_Hornsiiy House, | J. C. DANIEL

BomBAY 1-BR, Curator

August 17, 1966.

1. RECOVERY OF RINGED BIRDS

~~ Ring No.’

and species

A-10400

‘Passer hispanio-

lensis 2

A-10616

' Passer domesti- — |

cus parkini 3 fa

AB-8264 | :

- Philomachis © ~

pugnax 2

AB-10217 72 ™,

Tringa.glareala

B-1609

*: Philomachus .

_ pugnax 3

B-1657 }

Tringa totanus 0?

B-1721"

. Philomachus *

_, pugnax

BalSsitiane,

‘Philomachus

““pugnax f

"Be193B Weis lied

Philomachus

pugnax 3

B-3476

Tringa glareola

Date and place of | | Date and place of

ringing | recovery

CEQ? AB’ NTT 826

10.10.1965. do.

43.10.1965. do.

13:10.1965. do.

25.3.1962. Bharatpur |} +, 9.5.1965. Ernazar,

near Djambul, Djam-.

-E.), India bul Region, Kazakh

| SSR (42° 54’ N., 71°

4 24 ER):

26.3.1962. do. | +, 15.5.1965. Dekh-

kan-Abad near Park-

har, Parkhar District,

Tajik SSR (c. 37°

30’ N., 69° 20’ E.)

(V), 16.2.1966. Naral

Subdiv. Jessore Dis-

trict. -(c. 23° .10’ N.,

891380! 7" aE)

Pakistan

20.10.1965. do.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Remarks ©

Reported by

Bird-Ringing

Bureau,

~ USSR

dees

Reported’by

Mr. S. M.

Ilias |

4 =

26.3.1965... Beliaghata, |: +, 25.5.1965. . Sredny-| Reported by

_N. Salt Lake, Calcutta} “aya, Olekma,° Tun-

-- -(¢ 22° 35! N., 88° 21’E.)

giro-Olekminsk. -Dis-

trict, Chita Region,

USSR (c.55° 15’ N.,

ALZOR Fe) eae

“|. 3.10.1965. . Bharatpur | V. (13.2.1966), Ram-

pele 21 AS AN epee

kola, Uttar Pradesh

E.), India {c. 26° 307 NN... 383"

ae SOAR DR IA | :

6.10.1965. do. +, Spring 1966, Altai

veshchenka, | USSR

(52° 50" N79 33

SSR near Syrdariya

(40° 50’. N., 68° 42’

E.)

938 1966:

N., 74° 30’ E.) near

Lahore, W. Pakistan

+, 18.4.1966. Turk-

menian SSR_ near

| Kunya-Urgen (42° 20’

IN. 5855! 8.)

1.1.1965. Bakhri, . | +,.8.5.1966. Irkutsk

Monghyr Dist., Bihar | Region, near Cherem-

(c. 25° 23’ N., 86° 30’

E.), India |

103° 05’ E.)

Region, Near Blago- |

(| +, 28.2.1966. Uzbek |

khovo (53° 10” N.,|°

-~ Bird-Ringing

Bureau,

USSR

-Reported by |

Mr. Sant

Prasad of —

Ramkola |

Reported by

Bird-Ringing

Bureau, |

USSR

~ do.

| Reported by:

Sheik- |

‘pura District (31° 307 |

Pakistan .

Zoological

‘Survey

_ Department

Reported by —

Bird-Ringing

Bureau,

USSR |

- do.

Ring No.

and species

C-147

Anas crecca 3?

C-1008

Anas querque-

dula

C-1193

Anas crecca 3

C-1230

Anas crecca 3

C-1288 a

Anas querque-

dula 3

C-1710

Anas crecca 0?

C-1711

Anas crecca &

C-1715

Anas crecca 38

C-1958

Anas crecca 2

C-1968

Anas crecca °

OT SE ES SES PSE TLE ET SSI ST SE SE SEF STT T T

32’ E.), India

7.10.1965. Bharatpur

(e272 13 Ns 772328

E.), India

8.10.1965. do.

17.10.1965. do.

3.12.1964. Manjhaul

(CPZ 25) NY 86"

30’ E.). Monghyr

District, Bihar, India

3.12.1964. do.

B12964: oss s

6.1.1965. Bakhri,

Monghyr District.,

Bihar (c,25° 237 N.,

86° 30’ E.), India

Sl 1965... «do:

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 445

RECOVERY OF RINGED BIRDS (contd.)

Date and place of Date and place of

ringing recovery Remarks

18.2.1964. Manjhaul |+, 8.5.1966. Near | Reported by

(c. 25° 23’ N., 86° 30’ | Nizhnii Ingash (56° Bird-Ringing

E.), Monghyr District,, 10’ N., 96° 28’ E.),| Bureau,

Bihar, India Krasnoyarsk Region USSR

27.9.1965. Bharatpur | +, 10.5.1966 Novosi- do.

(cx 27° SON. 772 \s ibirsk, Region, Chylum

District, near Uzha-

nikha (54° 40’ N.,

81° 03’ E.)

+, 2.1.1966, Kasim-| Reported by

pur village, Agra (c.| Mr.R.S.

21 1Oe- NG. 78% 03” Sharma,

E.) Sr. Supdt. of

Police, Agra

+, 2.3.1966. Uzbeck

SSR, Bukhara District

near Karakul (39° 34’

N., 63° 50’ E.)

Reported by

Bird-Ringing

Bureau,

USSR

+, 21.1.1966. Deva-| Reported by

kottai, near Madurai|} Mr. Kaila-

(C2595) SION. 4185 sam, Chair-

SIZE.) man of Deva-

kottai

Panchayat

+, 19.5.1966. Yaku- | Reported by

tian ASSR, near

Churapcha (62° 02’

N., 132° 36’ E.)

+,7.10.1965. Novosi-

birsk Region, near

Kraznozerskoe (54°

N., 79° 16° -E:)

+, 11.5.1966. | Near

Khorinsk (52° 10’ N.,

109° 44’ E.), Burya-

tian ASSR

+,12.5.1966. Krasno-

yarsk Region, hear

Ilanskii (56° 14’ N., |

96° 05’ E.)

+, ?.9.1965. Chita

Region, Nerchinsk

district, near Olinsk

O27 1AONE. 116° 12”

E.)

Bird-Ringing

Bureau,

USSR

do.

Kalo

do.

446 . JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

RECOVERY OF RINGED BIRDS (contd.)

Date and place of | Date and place of

Ring No. |

and species ringing | recovery Remarks

C-2090 3.2.1964. Bakhri, +,3.5.1966. Irkutsk | Reported by

Anas crecca@ Monghyr — Dist., Region, near Zima (c. | Bird-Ringing

Bihar (cs 25° 23’ 53° 56’ N., [02° 02’ | | Bureau,

N., 86° 30’ E.), India | E.) USSR

F-1017 27.9.1965. Bharatpur +, 1.5.1966. Omsk do.

Anas acuta $ Co: Ziad No) Pe Region, near Tara

32’ E.), India (56° 54° N.S 74° 20°

E.)

F-1058 | 15-1051965. “do; +, 1.5.1966. Severo- do.

Anas clypeata 3 Kazakhstan Region,

near Bulaevo (54° 54’

Net) 30.)

F-1090 17.10.1965. do. +, 30.4.1966. Altai do.

Anas ciypeata 3 Region, near Blago-

veschenka (52° 50’ N.,

19° 53° &.)

F-1130 18.19.1965 do. |-+, 2.12.1965. Karim- | Reported by

Anas acuta go | nagar, Andhra Pra- Mr. Rahim

desh (c.-18°26.N.: Khan of

| 79° 08’ E.) Karimnagar

| Police Head:

, quarters

F-3044 7.2.1966. Dibrugarh (+, 6.5.1966. Burya- | Reported by

Anas acuta 3 (c. 27° 4b’ N.,94° | tian ASSR, Selenga |" Bird-Ringing

57’ E.), Assam > River 62° 207 N= Bureau,

: | 106° 23’ E.) USSR

{

Note. + = shot or killed by man.

(V) = trapped and died in captivity.

V = caught alive and released with ring removed.

All these birds were ringed in the course of BNHS/WHO Bird

Migration Field Study Project, except AB-10217 (B. Biswas, Calcutta),

and F-3044 (M. J. S. Mackenzie, Assam).

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

HORNBILL HOUSE, EDITORS

BOMBAY 1-BR,

August 27, 1966.

(

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 447

12, OCCURRENCE OF THE TOAD BUFO FERGUSONII

BOULENGER IN HYDERABAD, ANDHRA PRADESH,

INDIA (ANURA: BUFONIDAE)

On 8 August 1961, JPD, accompanied by Schuyler Giles, collected

several frogs and toads from grassy monsoon puddles in the Banjara

Hills neighbourhood of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Among the

specimens were two calling males of Bufo fergusonii Boulenger (JPD 136,

137), with snout-vent lengths of 30 mm. and 33 mm., respectively.

This species has apparently not been previously reported from

Andhra Pradesh, although it has been recorded from the states of Mysore,

Kerala, and Madras (J. C. Daniel, 1963: Field guide to the amphibians

of western India, part 1. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 60: 415-438).

Other anurans collected the same night from similar Sera were

Rana cyanophlyctis Schneider, and R. limnocharis Boie.

- All specimens mentioned in this note are deposited in The Nite iial

Michigan State University.

DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY,

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, JULIAN P. DONAHUE

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN, U.S.A.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

HorRNBILL HoUusE, ~ J. C. DANIEL

Bombay 1-zr,

August 17, 1966.

13. AN INSECT’S PERSISTENT VITALITY

- Entomologists, and even a few laymen like myself, are familiar with

the ‘ decentralization ’ of an insect’s nervous system. Nevertheless, the

following instance of persistent vitality may prove of some slight

interest.

About 9 o’clock of an April morning, I discovered a large

specimen of the Hooded Grasshopper known as Teratodes monticollis on

a plant in my garden. I picked it up by the wing-cases and found

it somewhat sluggish. To kill it, I forcibly pinched its head, and

while doing so unintentionally pulled the head clean off; it came away

_ with the front pair of legs and practically all the entrails attached to it.

I dropped this on the ground, and close byI dropped the remaining

Portion consisting of the hind-legs, median legs, wing-caSes and the now

hollow thorax and abdomen (all attached together).

A few minutes later, I happened to observe that this ‘ rear end’ was

standing normally erect, exactly as though it had not lost its head and

448 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

forelegs and ‘innards’. When I picked it up, the powerful hind-legs

attempted to push my fingers away in the usual manner. Being curious

to see how long this half-insect’s life would persist, I carried it indoae

and placed it under an inverted glass in my room.

About noon, three hours after separation from the head, this rear

portion was still standing normally, and showed the usual reaction when

I picked it up. Six hours after decapitation, at 3 p. m., I lifted the glass

and lightly touched the wing-cases, whereupon the creature executed a

typical leap, which landed it some two feet away and reached a roughly

estimated height of 15 inches. At 6 p.m. there was some sign of sagging —

from the upright stance ; but it was only at 9 p.m., twelve hours after

decapitation, that the body definitely collapsed aad spontaneous move-

ment ceased.

DEV KUNJ, | ) ie

PRABHAT ROAD, ~ THOMAS GAY

Poona-4, i ie

April 26, 1966.

[A. D. Imms (1957, A GENERAL TEXTBOOK OF ENTOMOLOGY) writes

«... each segment of the (insect) body, with its ganglion, is capable of

a considerable degree of autonomous reflex behaviour . . ..Centralization

of function is, therefore, less well developed than in. the vertebrates.

. Local reflexes are also involved in reproductive movements—the

isolated abdomen of a female silkworm moth can be fertilized and lay

eggs, while in mantids the copulatory movements of the male and

movements of the ovipositor can be made after decapitation.’ EDs. ]

14. RECORD OF PARACLEPSIS PRAEDATRIX HARDING, 1924

(ANNELIDA: HIRUDINEA), FROM A NEW HOST, NATRIX

PISCATOR (SCHNEIDER), THE CHECKERED KEELBACK ~

(REPTILIA : SERPENTES)

- The leech Paraclepsis praedatrix Harding, -1924, is distributed

throughout India, mostly in a free-living state in ponds, tanks, etc. (but

not in running water). The only record of parasitization by the leech —

is on the freshwater tortoise, Lissemys punctata granosa (Schoepff)

(Harding & Moore 1927). The present note deals with another record

of parasitization on a reptile, the new host being the Checkered Keel-

back Natrix piscator (Schneider), a very common snake of India. The

leech was seen coming out of the buccal cavity of the snake, collected

alive by Dr. B. Biswas from Salt Lake, off Calcutta, when the snake was

freshly killed by chloroform in the laboratory two days after collection.

- MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | Via 449

The translucent leech (in live state) had a pinkish white ground

colour, profusely ornamented with dull green pigment cells on the dorsal

surface. It had three pairs of eyes disposed in two subparallel rows.

The first and second pairs were situated on third and fourth rings respec-

tively, while the third pair was on the seventh ring, separated from as

others by two annuli.

We are thankful to Dr. B. Biswas of the Zoological Survey of India

for letting us identify the specimen and make this dnteresiang record. |

ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,

CALCUTTA, : ae Sopher MAHESH CHANDRA

August 8, 1966. ne ae Meas Se S. SAHA

[Two ‘earlier instances of leeches feeding on snakes have been re-

corded in the Journal. Wall collected two unidentified freshwater leeches

from the mouth of a Copperheaded Ratsnake (Elaphe radiata) which he

caught in ‘water (Vol. 23 : 208 ; 1914), and Kinloch records a land leech

on a species of Dryophis which he caught on the ground in a ‘coffee

estate in the Nelliampathy Hills (Vol. 28 : 557 ; 1922).—Ebs.]

REFERENCE

HARDING, W. A. & Moore, J.P. (1927): Fauna of ‘British India, Ceylon and

Burma. Hirudinea: 88-90. London. Taylor and Francis. _

15, INTERTIDAL ENTOPROCTA AND ECTOPROCTA

(BRYOZOA) OF BOMBAY ~

(With one plate)

In this second paper in the series on-the marine fauna of Bombay are

listed the Entoprocta and Ectoprocta. These two phyla were earlier in-

cluded as two groups under the phylum Bryozoa, also known as Polyzoa

but were assigned phylum rank by Hatschek (| 388) and are now accept-

ed as such by most workers. —

Most of the taxonomic work on diese phyla done ‘in India is on

forms living in fresh water. Thus Annandale -has published a series

of papers between 1907 and 1916. Seshaiya (1946) described. a, new

species of Urnatella from Annamalainagar (South India). Marine forms

from India have been studied by Thornely (1907) and Hincks (1884),

Thornely has also dealt with Polyzoa from Ceylon (1905) and from

the Indian Ocean (1912—material | from ne Rercy sludem \irust

Expedition).

450 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Other papers on Indo-Pacific Polyzoa have been by O’Donoghue

& de Watteville (1935-1944) from South Africa, Waters (1913) from

British East Africa and Zanzibar, Kirkpatrick (1888) from Mauritius,

Waters (1909-10) from the Red Sea, Hastings (1932) from Australia,

-Canu & Bassler (1929) from the Philippines, and Okada & Mawatari

(1935-1956) from Japan.

In addition to the general works on Indian Polyzoa, those of

Bengal have been dealt with by Robertson (1921). The- polyzoan

fauna of the west coast of India has, however, not received much

attention in the past, except for the work by Thornely (1916) at Okha.

The vast area south of this has remained unexplored, except for stray

records by the same author from Mangalore, and by Patil (1953)

from Karwar. It was, therefore, decided to make a representative

collection from Bombay. Collections were confined to the inter-tidal

zone.

A total of 11 species, belonging to seven different families, comprises

the present collection. None of these has been previously recorded from

Bombay.

Phylum ENTOPROCTA

Family PEDICELLINIDAE

Genus PEDICELLINA Sars

1. Pedicellina cernua (Pallas)

Genus 24renTS/4A Hincks

2. Barentsia gracilis (Sars)

Phylum ECTOPROCTA

Class GYMNOLAEMATA

Order CTENOSTOMATA

Suborder STOLONIFERA

Family VESICULARIIDAE

Genus 4147x474 Lamouroux

3. Amathia convoluta (Waters)

| Genus BOWERBANKIA Farre

4. Bowerbankia imbricata Adams

Order CHEILOSTOMATA

Suborder ANASCA

Division MALACOSTEGA

Family MEMBRANIPORIDAE

Genus £L£ECTRA Lamouroux

J. BOMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (2)

Chhapgar : Intertidal Bryozoa

Barentsia gracilis: a. side view of individual. Amathia convoluta: b. part

of zoarium ; c. group of zooecia; d. zooecia. Bowerbankia imbricata: e. group

of zooecia: f. portion of stem with one complete zooecium and parts of several

Others. Acanthodesia savartii: g. zooecia. Nellia oculata var. quadrilatera :

h. ovicells. Poricellaria ratoniensis: i. proximal part of young colony ; j. front

view ; k. side view. Caulibugula zanzibariensis : 1. zooecial fan, showing modified

proximal zooecium, and end of last kenozooecium of stalk; m. part of branch,

showing avicularia; n. parts of two kenozooecia, one with a group of stem-

vesicles near distal end. Celleporaria pilaefera: 0. zooecia, avicularia and

Ovicells. (All illustrations after Harmer).

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 451

5. Electra pilosa (Linnaeus)

Genus 4c4nTHopESIA Canu & Bassler

6. Acanthodesia savartii (Audouin)’

Genus wFzz74 Busk

7. Nellia oculata var. quadrilatera D’Orbigny

Division COELOSTEGA

Family PORICELLARIDAE

Genus PorrcettariA D’Orbigny

8. Poricellaria ratoniensis (Waters) é

Division CELLULARINA

Family BICELLARIELLIDAE

Genus cauzreucuza Verrill

9. Caulibugula zanzibariensis (Waters)*

Suborder ASCOPHORA

Division ASCOPHORA IMPERFECTA

Family CELLEPORARIIDAE

Genus CézzePorARiA Lamouroux

10. Celleporaria prox. pilaefera (Canu & Bassler)

Division ASCOPHORA VERA

Family VITTATICELLIDAE

Genus w/77a7TicezLtA Maplestone

11. Vittaticella sp.

KEY TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF ENTOPROCTA AND

| ECTOPROCTA OF BOMBAY

| 1. Anus lying inside the circlet of tentacles

. (Entoprocta) 2

i Anus lying outside the circlet of tentacles

(Ectoprocta) 3

2. Stalk approximately of the same diameter and

| muscularity throughout, lacking special mus-

| cular enlargements... Py _ Pedicellina

cernua

Stalk has muscular thickenings along it, also a

basal muscular socket .. Barentsia gracilis

1 The specimens in the present collection do not show the internal proximal

| ¢ryptocystal denticle characteristic of this species.

* The stolons of the specimens in the present collection do not bear the large

Brics which are characteristic of this species,

452

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY,

Zoecia not calcified, membranous ; orifice ter- —

minal or subterminal, closed by a pleated

collar, ovicells and avicularia absent (Cteno-

stomata)

Zoecia box-like, with ml subterminal prides

closed by a hinged operculum ; brood cham-

bers frequently in the form of ovicells ; often

with avicularia (Cheilostomata) ..

Zooids in spirally curved double rows

Zooids in clusters

Zooids without compensation sac (Anasca)

Zooids with compensation sac (Ascophora)

Zooids more or less contiguous, generally cal-

cified except for the frontal membrane ; with

or without ovicells and avicularia (Mala-

costega)

Cryptocyst extending a orifice, oe poe

les ; ovicells hyperstomial or endozoecial

Zoecia uncalcified or only moderately so, in

branching colonies ; with hyperstomial ovicells

and typical avicularia

Frontal membrane occupying entire ventral

surface (Membraniporidae)

Frontal membrane reduced to an oval area

bordered with spines

Gymnocyst and ovicells wanting

Short gymnocyst and small, entozoecial ovicells

present

Colony with irregularly piled up, erect zooids.

Colony with delicate, jointed branches with

one to three successive zooids, all facing in

one direction, making up each inilennede

between joints chin :

Vol. 63 (2)

Amathia

convoluta

Bowerbankia

imbricata

Poricellaria

ratoniensis

Caulibugula

zanzibariensis

Electra pilosa

Acanthodesia

Savartil

Nellia oculata

var. quadrilatera

Celleporaria

prox. pilaefera

Vittaticellg sp.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 453

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are grateful to Miss Patricia Cook, of the British

Museum (Natural History), London, for identification of some speci-

mens and confirmation of the identification of others, and to Dr. C. V.

Kulkarni, Director of Fisheries, Maharashtra State, and Dr. H. G.

Kewalramani, Senior Scientific Officer, for facilities for work at the

Taraporevala Marine Biological Station, Bombay. |

TARAPOREVALA MARINE BIOLOGICAL —

STATION,

BOMBAY 2-BR,

c/o SACHETAN, __ aA

L/4-5 SITARAM BUILDING,

PALTON ROAD,

BoMBAY 1-BR,

August 27, 1966.

B. F, CHHAPGAR

S. R. SANE

1 ERED EN GR

Be Acsinivcsaneh N. (1907a) : ‘Burttie? note

on a Polyzoon ' from -the Himalayas.

Rec. Ind. Mus. 1 : 145-148, 3 text-figs.

a (1907b) : The fauna of

. brackish ponds at Port Canning, Lower

Bengal. Part VI. Observations on the

Polyzoa, with further notes on the ponds.

op. cit. 1 : 197-205, 4 text-figs.

——_—_—_—— (1908) : Ditto. Part VII.

Further observations on the Polyzoa,

with the description of a new genus of

Entoprocta. op. cit. 2: 11-24, 7 text-figs.

—_——_——— (1909a): Preliminary

note on a new genus of Phylactolaema-

tous Polyzoa. op. cit. 3 : 279-280.

——— (1909b) : A new species

of Fredericella from Indian lakes. op. cit.

3: 373, 374, 1 text-fig.

———— (19lla): Systematic

notes on the Ctenostomatous Polyzoa of

fresh water. op. cit. 6: 193-201, pl. 13.

+ (1911b): Freshwater

sponges, hydroids and polyzoa. Fauna

of British. India: 163-247, pls. 3-5, 20

text-figs. -

- ——-_——-——. (1912) : Baan Symbi-

Otica Indica. No.1. Polyzoa attached

——

to Indo-Pacific Stomatopods. Rec. Ind.

Mus. 7: 123-126, 1 text-fig.

ee (1912b) : Ditto. No. 3.

Polyzoa associated with certain Gangetic

tortoises. op.cit.7: 147-150, pl. 13.

——— ——— (1912c): The occur-

rence of Entoprocta in Indian waters.

Sp. cit. 7: 205.

— (1915): The genus Aus-

—_—_——..

tralella and some allied species of Phy-

lactolaematous Polyzoa. op. cit. 11:

163-169, pls. 2, 3, 2 text-figs.

(1916): Zoological re-

sults of a tour of the Far East. Polyzoa

Entoprocta’ and Ctenostomata. Mem.

Asiat. Soc. Bengal 6 ; 15-37. ab

—— & Kemp, S. (1912):

Observations on the invertebrate fauna of

the Kumaon lakes, with special referen-

ces to the sponges and Polyzoa. op. cit.

7: 129-145, 2 text-figs.

CANu, F. & BASSLER, R. (1929): The

Bryozoa of the Philippine region. Bu//.

U.S. Nat. Mus. 100, pt. 9 :; 1-685.

GRAVELY, F. -H. (1927): The littoral

fauna of Krusadai Island in the Gulf of

Manaar. Bull. Madras Govt. Mus., n

ser., nat. hist. 1(1) : 89-94, pl. 11.

HARMER, S.F. (1915) : The Polyzoa of

the Siboga Expedition. Part I. Ento-

procta, Ctenostomata and Cyclostomata.

Siboga Exped. Rep. ae : 1-180, pls.

1-12.

———— (1926) : Ditto. Part II. Chei-

lostomata Anasca. op. cit. 28b : 181-501,

pls. 13-34, 23 text-figs. j

——— (1934): Ditto. Part III.

Cheilostomata Ascophora. I. Family

Reteporidae. op. cit 28c : 503-640, pls.

35-41, 25 text-figs.

— (1957): Ditto. Part IV.

Cheilostomata Ascophora II. (Asco-

phora, except Reteporidae, with additions

to Part II, Anasca). op. cit. 28d: 641-

1147, pls, 42-74, 70 text-figs.

454

Hastincs, A. (1932): The Polyzoa,

with a note on an associated Hydroid,

Sci. Rep. Great Barrier Reef Exped. 4

(12) : 399-458.

Hincxs, T. (1884): Contributions to-

wards a general history of the marine

Polyzoa. XH. Polyzoa from India (coast

of Burmah). Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5) 13:

356-369.

—_—~—— (1887) : Polyzoa and Hydroi-

da of the Mergui Archipelago. J. Linn.

Soc. (zool.) 21 : 121-135.

KIRKPATRICK, R. (1888): Polyzoa of

Mauritius. Ann. Mag. nat Hist. (6) 1:

72-85, pls. 7-10.

———— (1890a): Reports upon the

Hydrozoa and _ Polyzoa China

Sea. op. cit.(6)5 : 11

———— (1890b): Report upon the

zoological collections made in Torres

Straits by Prof. A. C. Haddon 1888-1889,

Hydroida and Polyzoa. Sci. Proc. R.

Dublin Soc. (n.s.) 6 : 603. <

Mawartaki, S. (1952): Bryozoa of Kii

Peninsula. Publ. Seto. Marine Lab. 2:261

———— (1953): Studies on Japanese

_ Ctenostomatous Bryozoa. op. cit. 3: 213.

— (1956) : Cheilostomatous

Bryozoa from the Kurile Islands. Pacific

Sci. 10: 113-135.

O’DonoGHuE, C. H. & WATTEVILLE,

D. vE (1935): A collection of Bryozoa

from South Africa. J. Linn. Soc. (Zool.)

39 : 203-218.

— (1937): Notes on South

African Bryozoa. Zool. Anz. 117: 12-22.

——_——— (1944): Additional notes

on Bryozoa of South Africa. Ann. Natal

Mus. 10: 407-432.

OKADA, Y. & MAwatTARI, S. (1935):

Bryozoa around Izu Peninsula. I. Sci.

Rep. Tokyo Bun. Daig., sec. B. 2.

—————- (1936) : Ditto. If. op.

cits3.;-53-73.

— (1937) : On the collection

of Bryozoa of Honshu, Japan. op. cit.

ser. 4, biol. 5 : 433-445.

——-—-— — (1938) : Bryozoa along the

middle part of Honshu, Japan. Annot.

zool. Japonenses 17 : 445-462.

PaTiL, A. M. (1953): A study of the

marine fauna of the Karwar coast and

the neighbouring islands. J. Bombay

nat. Hist. Soc. 51(4) : 429-434.

ROBERTSON, A. (1921): Report on a

collection of Bryozoa from the Bay of

Bengal and other Eastern Seas. Rec.

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

Ind. Mus. 22 (pt. 1) no. 8 : 33-65, 11

text-figs.

SANE, S. R. & CHHAPGAR, B. F.

(1962): Intertidal Echinodermata of

Bombay. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.

59(2) : 672-676, 2 pls.

SESHAIYA, R. V. (1946): Urnatella indi-

ca, sp.nov. Proc. 33rd Ind. Sci. Congr. pt.

Il, abstracts: 121.

STOLICZKA, F. (1869) : On the anatomy.

of Sagartia schilleriana and Membranipora.

bengalensis, a new coral and a bryozoon

Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 38(2) : 55.

THORNELY, L. R. (1905): Polyzoa, in

W.A. Herdman’s report to the Govern-

ment of Ceylon on the pearl oyster

fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar (pub-

lished by the Royal Society), pt. 4,

Suppl. Rep. 26: 107-130, 1 pl.

——-———— (1906): Corrections and

additions, Ditto. pt. 5. 449, 450.

—_———— (1907): Report on the

marine Polyzoa in the collection of the

Indian Museum. Rec. Ind. Mus. 1:

179-196, 8 text-figs.

————— (1912): The marine Poly-

zoa of the Indian Ocean, from H.M.S.

*‘Sealark’. Trans. Linn. Soc. 2. ser.

zool. 15: 137-157, pl. 8.

—————- (1916): Report on the

Polyzoa_ collected at Okhamandal in

Kattiawar, in J. Hornell’s Rep. Govt.

Baroda Mar. Zool. Okhamandal, pt. 2:

157-165.

THURSTON, E. (1895): Rameswaram

Island and fauna of the Gulf of Manaar.

Madras Govt. Mus. Bull. no.3.(2nd Ed.) :

131,132:

WatTerRS, A. W. (1908): A sub-fossil

Polyzoan from Calcutta. Rec. Ind. Mus.

2: 109, 110.

————— (1909): Reports on the

marine biology of the Sudanese Red Sea.

XII. The Bryozoa. Part]. Cheilosto-

mata. J. Linn. Soc. (Zool.) 31: 123-181,

pls. 10-18, 24, 25.

———-—— (1910): Ditto. Part If.

Cyclostomata, Ctenostomata, and Endo-

procta. op. cit. 31: 231-256.

from collections made by Cyril Cross-

land, M.A., B.SC., F.Z.S., in the years

1901-1902. Bryozoa — Cheilostomata.

Proc. Zool. Soc. London : 458-537.

—

Cyclostomata, Ctenostomata, and Endo-

procta. op. cit. 831-858, pls. 1-4.

— (1913): The marine fauna ~

of British East Africa and Zanzibar,

— (1914): Ditto. Bryozoa— —

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 455

16. CORRECT NAME FOR VENTILAGO CALYCULATA

TULASNE

The present note gives the correct name, Ventilago denticulata Willd.,

for Ventilago calyculata Tulasne. To explain the change, I have put

the list of necessary synonyms after the correct name.

Ventilago denticulata Willd. in Ges. Naturf. Fr. Neue Schr. 3: 417,

1801. V. maderaspatana Roxb. Pl. Corom. 1 : 55, t. 76, 1796-98 ; Wt. &

Arn. Prodr. 164 (non Gaertn. 1788). V. maderaspatana var. 8 Roxb.

loc. cit. V. calyculata Tulasne in Ann. Sc. Nat. (Ser. 4) 8: 124, 1857.

V.macrantha Tulasne in Ann. Sc. Nat. (Ser. 4) 8: 123, 1857. V. silhetiana,

smithiana et sulphurea Tulasne in Ann. Sc. Nat. (Ser. 4) 8: 125, 1857.

V. maderaspatana Gaertn. var. calyculata King in Journ. As. Soc. Bengal

65(2) : 378-79, 1896.

DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL EDUCATION, G. M. OZA, Ph.D., F.L.S.

M. S. UNIVERSITY OF BARODA,

BARODA,

February 18, 1966.

17. A NEW SYNONYMY IN UMBELLIFERAE

Pternopetalum vulgare (Dunn) Hand.-Mazz. Symbol. Sinic. 7: 719,

1933. Cryptotaeniopsis vulgaris Dunn in Hook. f. Ic. 8: t. 2737. 1902 et

in J. Linn. Soc. Bot. 35:494. 1903; Wolff in Engl. Pflanzenr.

IV. 228:176. 1927. Pternopetalum davidii Boissieu in Bull. Herb.

Boiss. II. 2: 806. 1902, non Franch., 1885. Deringa vulgaris (Dunn)

Koso-Poljansky in Monit. Jard. Bot. Tiflis 11 (3-4): 6. 1915 et in Bull.

Soc. Nat. Mosc. 29: 136. 1915. Pimpinella clarkeana Watt ex Banerji

in J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 50 (1): 88. 1953.

Pimpinella clarkeana Watt ex Banerji being based on Watt 6556, a

syntype (here chosen as Lectotype) of Cryptotaeniopsis vulgaris Dunn in

_ Hook. f. Ic. 8:t. 2737. 1902, is a synonym of the latter.

CENTRAL NATIONAL HERBARIUM, D. B. DEB

INDIAN BOTANIC GARDEN,

HowRAH,

May 26, 1966.

456. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

18. FLORAL VARIATIONS IN THREE SPECIES OF

CESTRUM LINN., VIZ. C. DIURNUM LINN., C. ELEGANS

SCHLECHT., AND C. NOCTURNUM LINN.

INTRODUCTION

Though a considerable literature is available on the teratology of

vegetative organs, the data on floral variations are comparatively rare.

It may be because such a study involves a critical examination of a

number of flowers. Whenever a variation is observed, it is often by-

passed as an abnormality. If floral variations have to play an impor-.

tant role in taxonomy, a detailed study of several flowers is necessary to

find out the nature and frequency of such variations.

Cestrum diurnum L., C. elegans Schlecht., and C. hocturnum 1

belong to the family Solanaceae. Reports on teratological variations in

this family seem to be scanty. Singh (1935) reported the flattening of the

vegetative and reproductive axes in Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Floral

variations occur in Solanum melongena L. (Sayeeduddin & Salam. 1936)

and Capsicum annuum (Sunderaj & Balasubramanyam 1956).

According to Linnaeus (1753), Dunal (1852), and Bentham &

Hooker f. (1876), the genus Cestrum is characterized by 5 sepals, 5 petals,

and 5 stamens. In fact Dunal (1852) and Bor & Raizada (1954) have

described pentamerous flowers for C. diurnum L. and C. nocturnum L.,

though the last-named authors casually mention that the corolla is 5 or

more lobed in the genus Cestrum and in C. elegans in particular. This

seems to be the only report on floral variation in the genus. In a cursory

study of these plants a few hexamerous and tetramerous flowers were

observed, A critical study of as many fresh flowers and buds as possi-

ble was, therefore, undertaken to find out the range of variation. Since

the variations were many even in the same plant and even in the same

inflorescence, it was thought necessary to record them. They will be

taxonomically useful while comparing the descriptions of these plants

with those in published books.

The material of C. diurnum L. and C. elegans Schlecht. was collected

from different plants growing at Vallabh Vidyanagar and Mahableshwar

respectively, while that of C. nocturnum. L. was Sto from both

localities. HOMER Olas 4

OBSERVATIONS

220 flowers of C. diurnum L., 300 flowers of C. nocturnum L., and

113 flowers of C. elegans Schlecht. were examined, of which 93 flowers

(42°3°%), 94 flowers (31°3%), and 40 flowers (35°4%) respectively showed

variations. They were in the number of sepals, petals, and stamens,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 454

but the gynoecium remained unaffected. About 14 types of variations

were seen in C. diurnum L., 9 types in C. nocturnum L., and 12 types in

C. elegans Schlecht. They can be grouped as follows : (a) Variations in

three whorls, i.e. sepals, petals, and stamens of the same flower ;

(6) Variations in two whorls, i.e. (i) sepals and petals, (ii) sepals and

stamens, and (iii) petals and stamens of the same flower; (c) Variations

only in one whorl, i.e. sepals, petals, or stamens of a flower. Instead of

describing them separately they are tabulated (Tables 1-3) so as to enable

one to see the range of variations at a glance.

TABLE 1. C. diurnum L.

Number of :

Serial flowers Number of Number of Number of

number. showin a sepals. petals. stamens.

variations.

10 4 4 4

2 36 6 6

Bei 2 1 6 6 6

4 2 6 5 6

5 1 6 5 4

6 2 5 i) ii

7 20 5 6 6

8 1 5 4 4

9 i 6 6 5

10 2 4 4 5

1] 1 4 5 5

12 5 6 5 5

13 3 5 5 4

14 8 5 5) 6

Total .. 93

Fasciation. In addition to the floral variations described above,

fasciation was observed in three cases of C. elegans Schlecht. In two

cases, the sepals of the two adjacent flowers were so fused that they

had a common whorl of ten sepals. In a third case, a flower consisted

| of eight sepals, nine petals, eight stamens, and two fused gynoecia.

458 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

TABLE 2. C. nocturnum 1.

_ Number of ‘

Serial flowers Number of Number of Number of

number. showing sepais. petals. stamens.

variations.

i 5 3 3 3

2 i + 4 4.

3 | 3 4 4

4 I 4 6 6

5 | 5 6 6

6 1 di 5 5

7 5 eae 5

8 if 5 ie 4

9 2 4 5 5

Total rags =

TABLE 3. C. elegans Schlecht.

STALE AE EIT TOR LEAL SLY ES CP SOP ONDA DOs,

Number of

Serial flowers Number of Number of Number of

number. showing sepals. petals. stamens.

variations.

1 13 6 6 6

2 Brg y 6 6

3 1 10 6 6

4 6 6 4

5 1 6 5 4

6 1 4 5 4

y 1 10 6 5

8 1 6 6 = 3.

9 5 5 5 3

10° 3 5 5 4

11 8 6 5 ope

12 2 7 5 5 :

Total .. 40

~ eo ee ee 2

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 459

_ This was due to a complete fusion between different whorls of the two

~ Schlecht.,

adjacent flowers.

SUMMARY

Observations on floral variations in C. diurnum L., C. elegans

Schlecht., and C. nocturnum L. are recorded. Among the flowers with

variations, the hexamerous flowers are by far the largest in number in

the first two plants and the tetramerous ones in the last one. There are

fourteen types of variations in C. diurnum L., twelve types in C. elegans

and nine types in C. nocturnum L. The variations are in

the number of sepals, petals, and stamens, but the gynoecium remained

unaffected.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are deeply grateful to Dr..H. Santapau for valuable

suggestions and help.

_ DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY,

SARDAR PATEL UNIVERSITY,

VALLABH VIDYANAGAR,

GUJARAT STATE,

May, 17, 1965

cod

G. L. SHAH

B. SURYANARAYANA

REFERENCES

BENTHAM, G., & HOokKeErR, J. D.

(1876) : Genera Plantarum 2 : 904.

Bor, N.L., & Raizapa, M.B. (1954):

Some beautiful Indian climbers and

shrubs : 118-120. Bombay Natural

History Society, Bombay.

DuNAL, M. F. (1852) : Solanaceae in

DC. Prod. 13 ge = 603 and 631.

SAYEEDUDDIN, M. & SALAM, M.A.

(1936) : Teratological notes. Curr. Sci.

5 : 203, 204.

SINGH, T. C. N. (1935): Notes on tera-

tology of certain Indian plants—VIII.

J. Indian bot. Soc. 14 : 320.

SUNDERAJ, D. & BALASUBRAMANYAM,

G. (1956): Abnormal carpellary con-

oe coma one 3) : Genera Plan- ditions ina few plants. Sci. and Cult.

tarum, No. 21 : 468-470.

19. UTRICULARIA MINUTISSIMA VAHL: A NEW RECORD

FOR NORTH INDIA

A species of Utricularia, collected near Nuanai bridge in Octcber

1965 during a botanical exploration in Balukhand Reserve Forest, Puri

District, Orissa State, has been subsequently identified as U. minutissima

Vahl, a new record for northern India. The plant grows in abundance

in sandy marshes in association with U. baouleénsis A. Chev., U. bifida

L., U. caerulea L., U. hirta Klein, and U. stricticaulis Stapf.

460 JOURNAL; BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

C. B. Clarke (1885) in Hooker’s FLORA OF BRITISH INDIA includes U.

minutissima in the group of imperfectly known species. Subramanyam &

Balakrishnan (1960) reported the occurrence of U. Jilliput Pell. in India,

based on a collection from Courtallam, Madras State; this name has

been subsequently proved to be synonymous with U. minutissima Vahl.

Recently Vasudevan Nair (1965) has reported this species from Palghat,

Kerala State. So far there is no other report of this plant from any-

where else in India and its presence in Orissa State adds information

about its distribution in India. The specimens are deposited in Blatter ~

Herbarium (BLAT), Bombay.

In essential characters, the present collection of U. minutissima

matches with the details of its earlier reports ; certain variations noticed

are pointed out below: (i) Leaves bear 8-14 minute bladders arranged

alternatively ; (11) flowers bluish white, unlike the previous reports, where

they are described as pinkish or pinkish red. The bladder has a lateral

mouth. As in other semi-marshy species, this also has bladders but lacks

the sensitive hairs on the door. The mouth is guarded by the door,

velum, and threshold and bears the usual type of sessile glands as in

other semi-marshy species. Within the bladder, there are a few digestive

glands, usually quadripartite, sometimes bipartite. Exomorphic charac-

ters of the seeds of Utricularia are highly variable from species to spe-

cies and they could be used for their identification. In this species the

shape and structure of the seed are unique ; they are globose and reti-

culate and look almost similar to seeds of U. squamosa Wt.

Specimens examined :

Abraham 264, 354 (BLAT), Balukhand Reserve Forest, Orissa,

October 1965. Le

My thanks are due to Dr. K. Subramanyam, Joint Director, Bota- —

nical Survey of India, Calcutta, for encouragement and for the facilities

provided for this study.

BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,

76, LOWER CIRCULAR ROAD, VY. ABRAHAM?

CALCUTTA 14,

April 6, 1966.

REFERENCES

SUBRAMANYAM, K. & BALAKRISHNAN, VASUDEVAN Nair, R. (1965): New re- |

N. P. (1960) : Utricularia lilliput Pellegrin - cord of Utricularia.minutissima Vahl in |

—A new record for India. Bull. bot. SouthIndia. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. |

Sury. India 2 : 247-348. 62: 180-182.

2 Present Address: Biology Division, Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay, 4 |

Bombay 8

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 461

20. TWO INTERESTING ORCHIDS FROM N. W. HIMALAYAS

The author who was a botanist member of the mountaineering expedi-

tion to the Tirsuli Peaks, Pithoragarh District, Kumaon, undertaken by

_ the Himalayan Association, Calcutta, during April-May 1965, collected

two plants of the genus Pleione D. Don, viz. P. grandiflora Rolf. and

P. humilis D. Don var. albata Reichb. f., from Kalamuni Pass at an

altitude of 2600-2700 m. ‘The former is a central Asiatic (Yunan,

_ Mengtze) species and has not been previously reported from India. The

other taxon is known only from temperate Nepal and the Sikkim

Himalayas. Both the species have been collected from mossy rocks in

Quercus-Rhododendron forest. The specimens are deposited in the

Central National Herbarium, Sibpur, Calcutta (CAL) and Herbarium of

the Botanical Survey of India, Northern Circle, Dehra Dun (BSD).

P. grandiflora Rolfe in Orch. Rev. 11: 291, 1903; Pfitz. et Kraenzin

Pflanzenr. 32:124, 1907. Coelogyne grandiflora Rolfe in J. Linn.

poc. 36: 22,.1903.

Rhizome repent; root fibrous. Pseudobulb ovate to flask-like,

surrounded by leaf fibres, 3 to 4cm. long, about 1°5 cm. in diameter;

apical annulus, cylindrical, dentate, 1-leaved. Leaf lanceolate, acute,

_ projecting much above the annulus, 4 to 5 cm. long when the flower

opens. Scape appearing with the leaves, erect, 4 to 5 cm. long, single-

‘flowered ; basal sheath tubular, obliquely truncate, thin and membrane-

ous, almost transparent, shining, equalling the pseudobulb in length.

Bracts narrowly elliptic, tip rounded. Flowers white. Sepals and petals

similar, lanceolate-oblong, obtuse, 4to 5 cm. long, 0°75 cm. broad, 5- to

I-nerved. Labellum white; streaked and spotted brown inside, trilobed

‘with rounded lateral lobes and trapeziform median lobe, emarginate,

margin fimbriate ; carina with 5 longitudinal fringed lamellae. Gynos-

| tegium slender with triangular wing which towards the apex become two-

| lobed.

| N. C. Nair 35536.

_ Pfitzer & Kraenzlin (loc. cit.) report that the size of the scape is 10 to

12 cm. long and sheath 12 cm. long. In the present material the scape

and sheath were short.

: P. humilis D. Don var. albata Reichb. in Gard. Chron. 1: 392,

1888 ; Pfitz.et Kraenz. 32: 122, 1907. Coelogyne humilis (D. Don) Lindl.

var. albata (Reichb.) Hook.. f. in Fl. Brit. Ind. 5: 841, 1890.

| Pseudobulb flask-shaped, 3 to 3°5 cm. long, 1 to 1°5 cm. diameter,

single-leaved ; annulus membraneous. Leaves oblong-obovate, acumi- ~

nate, 5-nerved, 20 cm. long appearing later than the single-flowered

| scape. Bracts longer than the ovary. Flowers white. Sepals lanceo-

late, sub-acute. Petals similar, obovate from a cuneate base. Labellum

—_

462 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

streaked and spotted purple inside ; margin lacerate towards the tip;

lamellae 5, fimbriate.

N.C. Nair 35519.

I am thankful to Dr. M. A. Rau for encouragement.

BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, N. C. NAIR

63, RAJPUR ROAD,

DEHRA DUN,

April 27, 1966

21. ELEOCHARIS FISTULOSA SCHULT. : A NEW

RECORD FOR THE UPPER GANGETIC PLAIN

Duthie (1929) recorded three species of Eleocharis (Cyperaceae), —

namely, £. atropurpurea Kunth, E. palustris R. Br. and E. plantaginea —

R. Br. from the Upper Gangetic Plain. Recently one more species of —

Eleocharis was collected by the authors from Meerut, which was later '

identified as E. fistulosa Schult. Since this species has not been report- —

ed from the Upper Gangetic Plain, the publication of this record may be —

of some interest. ‘

Eleocharis fistulosa Schult. : Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 6: 626, 1893; —

Cooke, FI. Bomb. Pres. 2: 863, 1908; Haines, Bot. Bih. & Or. 912, —

1924; Fischer, Fl. Pres. Mad. 1948, 1931. $

A rush-like caespitose herb, 30-90 cm. high; rhizome stoloniferous. —

Stems tough, terete, glabrous, triquetrous at the top, basally embraced &

by loose, membranous, obliquely truncate, sheaths. Spikelets terminat- — :

ing the stems, embraced at the base by a short rounded bract, cylindric, © 4

acute, dusky, green, 2-4 cm. high, as broad as stem. Glumes laxly im- .

bricate, much striated, suberect, obovate, subacute. Bristles 6, slightly _

longer than the nut, brown. Nuts obovoid, faintly striate, bie or dark 5

- brown, tipped with persistent style bases.

Flowers and Fruits : October-December. :

Amhera, Meerut, November 5, 1965, Murty & Singh 2495. : |

This species was growing gregariously in marshy places near village

Amhera, associated with Eleocharis plantaginea R. Br. and Isoétes coro- —

mandelina Linn. It can be readily distinguished in the field from othe t

species of the genus occurring in the Upper Gangetic Plain by its sharplj

triquetrous stem at the top. i

Hooker (1893) gives the distribution of this species from Nepal a é

earlier collectors is strong. ae

The authors record their thanks to Professor V. Puri for his inten

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 463

in this study and to Dr. S. Kedarnath for facilities to work in Forest

Research Institute Herbarium, Dehra Dun.

SCHOOL OF PLANT MORPHOLOGY, |

MEERUT COLLEGE, V. SINGH

MEERUT, Y. S. MURTY

June 10, 1966

22. DISTRIBUTION OF SPINIFEX LITTOREUS

(BURM. F.) MERR. ALONG INDIAN COASTS

_ Although most plants in Indian coasts are more or less well known,

information on their habitats and distribution is meagre. Recently a

population of Spinifex littoreus, a suffructicose dioecious perenniat grass,

near Digha of Midnapur coast in West Bengal was observed. This is

the first report for West Bengal State, thus indicating an extension of

the known range of distribution from the shores of Puri, Cuttack and

Balasore. F

This hardy grass is found along the western and eastern coasts of

India. It is ecologically restricted to the maritime strand ecosystem and

_ is prominent there. It occurs along the tropical coasts of China, For-

- mosa, Siam, the Malay archipelago, Burma, the Laccadive and Maldive

islands, and Ceylon where it forms a major component of the strand |

- vegetation. Along Indian coastal areas it occurs along the west coast ;

_ Domas near Surat in Gujarat State is the north-western limit of its ex-

tension ; along the east coast its occurrence has been reported from the

sandy shores of Puri by Prain (1903) and Cuttack and Balasore by

_ Haines (1924). Recently, male clumps were found near Digha in

_ Midnapur District. ‘These observations thus indicate that Spinifex per-

haps has invaded this area only recently.

| The plant is sometimes associated with the sand-binding Ipomoea

_ pes-caprae (L.) Sweet. However, it does not have any consistent associa-

tion with any plant species, but exhibits special adaptations for com-

_ peting successfully with other species of the strand ecosystem.

_ BoraNIcAL Survey OF INDIA,

| 76 ACHARYA JAGADISH BosE ROAD, T. ANANDA RAO

| Catcurta 14, | P. G. SHANWARE

| May 3, 1966

REFERENCES

Haines, H. H. (1921-5): The Botany Prain, D. (1903): Bengal Plants,

of Bihar and Orissa. London, Calcutta.

464 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

23. A NEW SPECIES OF HYDROGONIUM FROM THE

WESTERN HIMALAYAS

(With a plate)

Hydrogonium mussoorianum Vohra, sp. nov.

Affine H. amplexifolio (Mitt.) Chen, ab eo tamen differt foliis mi-

noribus, fortiter carinatis, obtusis, nervo lato et complanato desinente

ad apicem vel in dentem brevem; cellulis basalibus versus marginem

subquadratis.

Typus, Vohra 453A, et isotypus, Vohra 453B, lecti ad Mussoorie in

Himalaya Septentrionali occidentali, ad altit. 2000 m. die 22.3.1963.

Holotypus positus in CAL, isotypus in BM.

Hydrogonium mussoorianum Vohra, sp. nov.

Allied to Hydrogonium amplexifolium (Mitt.) Chen, but differs in

leaves being smaller, strongly carinate, obtuse, nerve wide and flattened,

ceasing with the apex or projecting in a short tooth; and basal cells

towards margin somewhat quadrate.

Plants laxly tufted, brownish green or dark green. Stems slender,

weak, 2-3 cm. tall, simple or branched with 2-4 subapical innovations.

Leaves when dry coiled round the stem with apices incurved or circinate,

when moist spreading from an erect sheathing base, amplexicaul,

strongly carinate, apices more or less curved upwards, 0°75-1 mm. x

0:5-0°6 mm., ovate lanceolate, obtuse ; margin erect, entire, somewhat _

crenulate due to papillae ; nerve yellowish brown, wide, 70-90 « at base,

flattened, uniform or slightly narrow at apex, ceasing with the apex or

projecting into a short tooth, papillose at back ; cells rounded-quadrate,

5-7 4, densely papillose with 4-5 minute semilunar papillae in each cell,

obscure, at base pellucid, oblong, thick-walled, 8-11 x 14-34 mw, 5-10

rows toward margin short and quadrate.

The holotype of this species (Vohra 453A) and icotspe (Vohra 453B)

were collected from Mussoorie, NW. Himalayas at an altitude of —

2000 m., on 22-3-1963. The holotype has been deposited in the Central —

National Herbarium, Howrah, CAL, and isotype in the British Museum

(Nat. Hist.), London, BM.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank Dr. Santapau, S.J., F.N.I., Director, Botanical Survey

of India, for going through the manuscript and for the Latin diagnosis,

and Mr. A. H. Norkett of the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) for his valu-

able opinion on this species.

BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,

76 ACHARYA JAGADISH BOSE ROAD, J. N. VOHRA

CALCUTTA 14,

May 18, 1966,

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J. BomBAy NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (2)

Vohra: Hydrogonium mussoorianum

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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 465

24. OCCURRENCE OF STREPTONEMA TRILOBATUM

WALL. AT RAIPUR, MADHYA PRADESH

Wallich in 1855 reported Trigonema trilobatum from lower Bengal

and later in 1860 synonymised it with Streptonema and described it.

Subsequently it was reported and described by Turner (1892) from East

India and since then there are no reports of this alga from any other

parts of the country. During the author’s collection of algae from here

in October 1964 it was found submerged in Mahant Tal near Science

College. When the water is disturbed the filaments come very near

to the surface but do not float. There are no reports about the habit of

the alga by previous authors. The filaments do not form clusters and

were found only at the margin of the pond. It was observed for nearly

two months in 1964; in 1965, perhaps due to lack of rains, the alga

was not seen. ,

The author could not get any reproductive stages. The alga shows

a little difference in size from the previously reported forms. The fila-

_ ments are 2 to 3 cm. long or even longer. Semi-cells 20 to 24 , long,

40-45 » broad and processes 4 to 7 u long.

‘Iam thankful to Dr. R. Ross, Keeper, British Museum (Natural

History), London, for identification, and to Dr. G. S. Venkataraman

for giving me the literature.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY,

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, K. SANKARAN UNNI

RarPur, M. P.

December 30, 1965.

REFERENCES

_ Turner, W. B.(1892): The Freshwater of Desmidiaceae from Lower Bengal.

Algae of East India. Kongl. Sve. Vet. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 5 : 196-197.

Akad. Handl, 25 (5) : 144-45. WALLICH, G. C. (1855): ibid. 39-46.

WALLICH, G. C. (1860) : Descriptions

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY

SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR 1965-66

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President

Dr. P. V. Cherian, Governor of Maharashtra

Vice-Presidents

Major-General Sir Sahib Singh Sokhey, I.M.s. . (Retd. )

Dr. Salim Ali, D.Sc., F.N.I.

Rev. Fr. H. Sane S.J.

Hon. Secretary

Mr. Zafar Futehally

Hon. Treasurer

Mr. J. D. Kapadia, 1.c.s. (Retd.)

Member

Secretary, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India

Elected Members

Mr. Humayun Abdulali

_ Mr. G. V. Bedekar, I.c.s. (Retd.)

Prof. P. V. Bole -

Mr. R. E. Hawkins

Dr. C. V. Kulkarni, M.sc., Ph.p.

Mr. S. Majeedullah, 1.P.s.

Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati, M. D.

Mr. D. J. Panday

Dr. T. Ramachandra Rao, D.Sc., F.N.1.

Mr. D. E. Reuben, I.c.s. (Retd.)

aR OF

ex officio — *

aaa te.

Ta oe

A.G.M. 1965-66—PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS 467

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Mr. H. G. Acharya er a .. Ahmedabad

Mrs. Jamal Ara... a af Ge RONCHI

Mr. F. C. Badhwar, O.B.E. Ny .. New Delhi

Sir Chintaman Deshmukh, Kt., C.1.E., I.C.S. ‘(Retd. ) .. New Delhi

Mr. B. P.-Gee, MiA., C.M.Z.58. ie .. Shillong

Mr. M. Krishnan .. i” .. Madras

Dr. N. K. Panikkar, M.A., D.Sc., rer we .. New Delhi

Dr. Baini Prashad, D.Sc., F.N.I. se .. Dehra Dun

Mr. P. D. Stracey, 1.F.S. a, .. New Delhi

Lt.-Gen. Sir H. Williams, C.B., C.B.E., M.I.C.E., MLE. .. New Delhi

HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1965

At the last Annual General Meeting of the Society held on 30th July

1965, we presented a report on the activities of the Society up to April

1965. The present report covers the 8 months thereafter up to 31st

December 1965.

MEMBERSHIP

The total number of members on our register on 31st December 1965

was 1415. Out of this 71 were nominees of the Forest Department

(who received the Journal at the concessional rate of Rs. 20), 249 were

- life members, and 2 honorary members. The position of the six

previous years is tabulated below :—

Ordinary

Year Life Honorary Paid Pending Total

1960 235 3 680 180 1098

1961 237 2 749 174 1162

1962 240 ee 163° 208 1213

1963 242 2 741 297 1282

1964 241 2 764 306 1313

1965 249 2 836 328 1415

During the year under report 100 ordinary and 6 life members were

| enrolled as against 23 ordinary and 7 life members who resigned or died.

Even after allowing for the fact that Natural History is not a very popular

subject in this country there is still scope for enlarging our membership

very considerably. It may be pointed out that corporate members pay

468 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

the same fees as individuals and business firms, many of which are get-

ting increasingly public spirited, could be induced to become members

and support the Society in its various schemes.

THE SOCIETY’S JOURNAL

Three numbers of the Journal, Vol. 61, No. 3, and Vol. 62, Nos. 1

and 2, were published during the period under report. The 620 pages

include 9 papers on Botany, 7 on insects, 3 on birds, and 2 each

on mammals, fishes, crustacea, and molluscs. The 64 Miscellaneous

Notes covered many subjects and, together with the papers, included

descriptions of several new species and races of plants and animals.

With financial assistance received from authors of two articles we

were able to include colour plates in two of the issues published during

the year. The Society records its appreciation for this assistance.

It is unfortunate that we have not been able to publish the Journal

on its scheduled date. This delay is, among other things, due to the fact

that the Society is very understaffed for its editorial and clerical work.

GENERAL

BNHS/WHO Bird Migration Study Project. During the period

under report one bird banding camp was held at Bharatpur, Rajasthane

between 22nd September and 25th October 1965. This year the main

effort was on ringing ducks and waders. 2085 ducks and waders were

ringed ; the trapping was done with the help of professionals recruited

from Bihar. Blood samples collected from the birds were sent to the

Kievskae. Shosse Institute of Poliomyelitis and Virus Encephalitis,

Moscow, U.S.S.R., for virological investigation. We have had several

recovery reports of these ringed birds, five of which are from Russia

and one from East Pakistan. These recoveries are very important from —

the point of view of studying the migratory routes of birds.

A pilot survey party was also sent to the Chilka Lake area in Orissa

and information collected by them will be useful for future camps.

This work, as you know, is carried out with the financial assistance of —

WHO with Dr. Salim Ali as the Chief Investigator. During the year a —

sum of $ 1000 has been received for continuing with this project.

Additions to the Collections. During the year 639 additions were

made to our collections as under:

Mammals trtend

Birds .. 136 (20 specimens were received in exchange —

from Berlin and Denmark Museums) —

Reptiles and Amphibians .. 406

Insects and other invertebrates te 1 BS ae

a ee Ce

Sieh Ta

A.G.M. /965-66—PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS 469

Interesting additions among these are :

Birds 4

Astur gentilis

Anser fabalis

Anser fabalis brachyrhynchus

Catharacta maccormicki

Reptiles

Cabrita leschenaulti

Oligodon travancoricus

Amphibians

Rana brevipalmata

Rana dobsonii

; Microhyla zeylanica

Wild Life Preservation. We mentioned in our last report that a seminar

was held in Delhi in April 1965 between representatives of the Planning

.. Commission, the Ministry of Food & Agriculture, and the Indian Board

for Wild Life. At this meeting a memoranduim was submitted on behalf

of the Society dealing with the administrative set-up necessary for wild

life preservation in this country. This was followed up by a seminar in

: New Delhi on 24th of November 1965 in which several distinguished

members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and

Natural Resources participated. The report of the seminar has not yet

been. published in our Journal because the minutes of the meeting have

not yet come in from the Ministry of Food & Agriculture. The seminar,

- however, proved a useful forum for drawing attention to matters of im-

_ portance in connection with nature conservation in this country.

The Society had been concerned about the proposal to establish an

air rifle factory in the Punjab, and representations had been made to the

Home Ministry advising that it was necessary to have suitable legislation

- enacted to prevent damage to our bird life by youngsters handling these

air rifles. We have now been advised that this project has been dropped.

The Society has been exerting itself to preserve the small area of

forest around Karnala Fort in Kolaba District, and to have it designated

as a bird sanctuary. Members will recall that in this area a new bird

record for the Indian limits, namely Pericrocotus divaricatus, the Ashy

Minivet, has been found. This was reported in Vol. 62, No. 2, of the

Journal, at page 303. The Maharashtra State Wild Life Board on which

the Society is represented is recommending to the Government that this

470 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

area be designated as a bird sanctuary, and it is hoped that this repre- ©

sentation will be successful.

At our instance Mr. M. Krishnan of, Madras, a member of our.

Advisory Committee, wrote to the Secretary, Forest Department,

Government of Kerala, about the destruction of the forest in the Periyar

Wild Life Sanctuary, and stressing the importance of preserving this area

in its natural condition. We hope that the Government of Kerala will —

consider this representation carefully.

PuBEPe# TONS

A SYNOPSIS OF THE BIRDS OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN. Our stock of this

book was exhausted during the year and Dr. Ripley was kind enough

to donate 100 copies from the lot of 750 sent to the U.S.A.

The sale of our popular publications THE BOOK OF INDIAN BIRDS and

THE BOOK OF INDIAN ANIMALS is Satisfactory. The stock of SOME

BEAUTIFUL INDIAN CLIMBERS AND SHRUBS and SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN

TREES is now nearly exhausted and the Committee is considering the

possibility of reprinting these publications as well as the book

CIRCUMVENTING THE MAHSEER AND OTHER SPORTING FISH IN INDIA AND

BURMA by Macdonald. The main difficulty is the lack of funds, though — |

the profits from the sale of our publications are the mainstay of

the Society’s finances.

HANDBOOK OF INDIAN BIRDS, by Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley.

Work on the Handbook is continuing and the first volume is now in the

press and is expected to be published in 1967. The paintings for the

Handbook have been received and blocks will be prepared before the —

end of 1966.

FAUNA OF MAHARASHTRA. The Society has undertaken to prepare a

volume on the Fauna of Maharashtra in the Maharashtra Gazetteer

series. The work is now in progress and is expected to be completed

before the end of the year 1966.

DONATIONS

Members are aware of the generous manner in which the late Dato

Loke Wan Tho assisted the Society. The executors of Loke Wan Tho’s

will have donated to the Society a bird-call tape recording set and acces- © |

sories, a photo enlarger, and all the negatives of photographs taken by |

Dato Loke Wan Tho, and Col. R. S. P. Bates. Col. Bates’s negative i

were earlier purchased by Loke Wan Tho. The Society is deeply in-_

debted to the executors for this most valuable and useful gift,

eae a es 4

heat ded . sine wt

RR phe? I

A.G.M. 2965-66—PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS 471

Salim Ali/Loke Ornithological Research Fund. Weare glad to report

that Dr. Salim Ali has donated a sum of Rs. 10,000 for starting a

research fund for the study of field ornithology and generally to

promote the cause of bird preservation in this country. The interest

from the fund will be available to both amateur and professional biologists

and we appeal to our members for. further contributions so that a

substantial fund can be built up for use in future years.

A donation of Rs. 100 has already come in from Dr. (Miss) R. Reuben.

Dr. Salim Ali has also donated his entire library of about 500 volumes

and 1000 separates of scientific papers to the Society. We are deeply

grateful for this very generous gift. ;

Col. R. W. Burton Fund. The late Col. R. W. Burton who was one

of the most active members of our Society during the 70 years of his stay

in this country left the Society a sum of Rs. 3000. The Society proposes

to invest this fund and use its proceeds for furthering the cause of Nature

Conservation.

Furniture. The National Institute of Oceanography who have been

given temporary accommodation in our building and who have been

using our library and auditorium for their training programme in

Oceanography have thoughtfully donated to the Society furniture and

fittings for the auditorium.

RESEARCH STUDIES

The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust Fund. One of the research fellows of the

Society was given financial assistance for investigating the status of the

Largebilled Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus orinus. The study was carried

out in Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. Another member was given monetary

assistance for doing a survey of the Hazaribagh National Park. The

report of the survey will be published in a future issue of the Journal.

Field Ornithology. A student from Cambridge University under the

guidance of Dr. Salim Ali is at the moment working on the social be-

_ haviour and breeding biology of the Indian Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa).

ee oe

- ae Pie

Herpetology. With the financial assistance from the California

Academy of Sciences herpetological collections were made in two selected

areas in Madras and Mysore States and some very interesting material

has been obtained. Further work under the same programme will be

_ continued during 1966.

ae CT, ote *?

Sea Anemone Fauna. Facilities were offered to a CSIR Research

Fellow for the study of Sea Anemones of Maharashtra.

472. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

NATURE EDUCATION SCHEME

The Nature Education Scheme financed by the Government of

Maharashtra is now in its 18th year. Tours of the Natural History

Section of the Prince of Wales Museum and special talks on natural

history subjects with the aid of exhibits and specimens, films, and living

animals were continued. The activities under the scheme have now

been extended to Poona and Bassein and Virar in the Bombay environs,

Efforts are being made to-reprint booklets in the ‘‘ Glimpses of Nature ”’

series which are out of print and also to publish new booklets in the

series.

LIBRARY

During the year 125 books and bound journals were added to the

library, of which 7 books were purchased, 9 received for review, and 11

presented. Our thanks are due to the donors.

EXHIBITION

An exhibition of wild life paintings by Shri Basu Roy Choudhury

was held at the Society’s auditorium from 30-7-1965 to 7-8-1965.

REVENUE ACCOUNT

The audited accounts for the year are attached. It will be seen that

the revenue account is somewhat better than in previous years mainly

because of the sale of our two popular books THE BOOK OF INDIAN

ANIMALS by S. H. Prater, and THE BOOK OF INDIAN BIRDS by Salim Ali.

STAFF

The Committee wishes to record its appreciation of willing

co-operation of the entire staff in the activities of the Society.

(

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

{

The Committee’s thanks are due to Mr. J. L. Bernard who continues

to look after the Society’s interests in the United Kingdom.

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ALAIOOS AUOLSIH IVUALVN AVEWO

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY HELD AT

HORNBILL HOUSE, APOLLO STREET, BOMBAY 1, ON

FRIDAY, 26TH AUGUST 1966, AT 6.30 P.M., WITH

DR. SALIM ALI, p.sc., F.N.I., IN THE CHAIR

(1) The Honorary Secretary’sreport for-the year ending 31st

December 1965 having been previously circulated to members was taken

as read and was adopted.

(2) The Balance Sheet and Statement of Accounts presented by the

Honorary Treasurer were approved.

(3) The following were elected as members of the Executive and

Advisory Committees for the year 1966-67.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President : 7}

Dr. P. V. Cherian, Governor of Maharashtra

Vice-Presidents

Major-General Sir Sahib Singh Sokhey, I.M.s. (Retd.)

Dr. Salim Ali, D.SC., F.N.I.

Rev. Fr. H. Santapau, s.J.

Hon. Secretary r ex officio

Mr. Zafar Futehally

Hon. Treasurer

Mr. J. D. Kapadia, I.c.s. (Retd.)

Member

Secretary, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India J

A.G.M. 1965-66-—PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS A485 -

Elected Members

Mr. Humayun Abdulali

Mr. G. V. Bedekar, I.c.s. (Retd.)

Prof. P. V. Bole

Mr. R. E. Hawkins

Dr. C. V. Kulkarni, M.Sc., Ph.b.

Mr. S. Majeedullah, 1.p.s.

Dr. A. N. D. Nanavati, M.D.

Mr. D. J. Panday

Dr. T. Ramachandra Rao, D.Sc., F.N.I.

Mr. D. E. Reuben, I.c.s. (Retd.)

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Mr. H. G. Acharya 7 ie .. Ahmedabad

Mrs. Jamal Ara... ae tae af .. Ranchi

Mr. F. C. Badhwar, 0.B.E. - .. New Delhi

Sir Chintaman Deshmukh, Kt., C.I.E., I.C.S. “(Retd. ) ... New Delhi

Miro. P-Gee, M.A:,.6.M.Z;S; > «. e .. Shillong

Mr. M. Krishnan .. AF .. Madras

Dr. N. K. Panikkar, M.A., D.Sc., F.N.I. - .. New Delhi

Dr. Baini Prashad, D.sc. 7 Net ey .. Dehra Dun

Mr. P. D. Stracey, 1.F-s. as ‘ .. New Delhi

Lt-Gen. Sir H. Williams, C.B., C.B.E., M.L.C.E.,M.LE. .. New Delhi

(4) A Talk was delivered by Mr. Zafar Futehally on the International

Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The Talk

was followed by a film show.

(5) The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the British

Information Service for the films, and to the Chairman of the meeting.

Gleanings

Sound production by an Indian catfish

A common Indian catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, has been found to

possess three types of sound-producing organs. A high-pitched sound,

particularly audible during the breeding period especially at the time

of spawning, is produced by the movements of the pectoral spine. It

is caused by the rubbing of striations on the pectoral spine against

striations on the groove of the cleithrum of the pectoral girdle into which

the pectoral spine fits. A sound of lower pitch is produced by

the rubbing together of numerous small fine teeth situated in four tooth-

patches, two in the roof and a corresponding pair on the floor of the

buccal cavity. The third sound, of infrequent occurrence, is caused by

the expulsion of gas from the suprabranchial diverticulae. The authors

do not suggest any useful purpose served by these several sounds.

1965, V. P. Agarwal & R. S. Sharma, The Annals & Magazine of —

Natural History, ser. 13, Vol. viii: pp. 339-344.

The ethology of the Marabou Stork

The African Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) is well knows 4

as a carrion eater, but it also consumes numerous small living vertebrates

e.g. frogs, mice, and fish, especially when rearing young. It eats great

quantities of termites at the time when they are swarming. In turbid

water it is capable of finding food by tactolocation. One means of heat

dissipation employed in hot weather is the excretion of dilute urine on —

the legs, which by evaporation cools the blood supply to the legs ; this

causes the white deposits so commonly seen on the legs. Ina group of |

Marabou Storks dominant individuals can be easily picked out by the

inflated throat sac ; apparently, in adults the throat sac functions as a

warning signal. Contrary to some published statements, the Marabou |

is not voiceless. It is very vocal, particularly near the nest, and some of |

its noises can be heard several hundred metres-away. The young in the |

nest are fed by regurgitation by both the parents, the regurgitated food _

being dropped for the purpose on the floor of the nest—a procedure |

which gives the advantage to the older, stronger chicks. These and many

other observations are recorded at length by M. P. Kahl in a paper,

the first of a series planned for the study of the storks (Ciconiidae) from

the point of view of comparative behaviour. Gg

1966, M. P. Kahl, Comparative Ethology of the Ciconiidae. —

GLEANINGS 487

Part |. The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus (Lesson)

Behaviour, Vol. 27, Parts 1-2, pp. 76-106.

A selective control for the Red Cotton Bug

An interesting possibility of the discovery of a selective control for

the pest, the Red Cotton Bug (Dysdercus koenegii F.) is opened up by

observations reported by K. N. Saxena and C. M. Williams in a recent

issue of Nature. Previous observations by K. Slama and C. M. Williams

have shown that certain species of American wood used for paper pulp

contain a powerful analogue of the juvenile hormone of the European

bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus L., and that the metamorphosis of the 5th instar

larva of this bug is inhibited by rearing the larva in contact with * active

paper’ or by a topical application of an extract of the ‘ paper factor ’.

Contact with ‘active paper’ has been found to inhibit the hatching

of newly laid eggs and, when an extract of the ‘ paper factor’ was

topically applied to freshly moulted adult females, the eggs subsequently

laid by them were similarly affected. The present observations show that

the 5th instar larvae of D. koenegii are sensitive to the * paper factor’,

though not as sensitive as those of P. apterus. It is noted that the experi-

ments in the present instance were performed with a crude extract pre-

pared from 250 paper napkins, containing at most only trace amounts

of the * paper factor’.

1966, K. N. Saxena & C. M. Williams: ‘ Paper Factor’ as an

Inhibitor of the Metamorphosis of the Red Cotton Bug,

Dysdercus koenegii F., Nature, Vol. 210, pp. 441.

Thermoregulation in Brooding Python

It is generally believed that there is no internal regulation of body

temperature in reptiles. As long ago as 1832 Lamarre-Piquot read a

communication to the French Academy in which he claimed that the

python, after laying eggs, coils itself about them and produces heat to

help in incubation. His statements were not accepted. Recent obser-

- vations on Indian Pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) at the New York

- Zoological Park have indicated that brooding pythons are able to main-

tain their body temperature up to 7°3° C. above the ambient air and

substrate temperatures for long periods. They do this by a process

analogous to shivering in birds and mammals. One of the brooding

pythons was kept in a respiration chamber in a temperature-controlled

room. At temperatures below 33° C. there were spasmodic contractions

of its muscles, which resulted in an increase in metabolism and in body

temperature. Between 33° and 25°5°C. the metabolic rate and the

number of contractions per minute increased as the air temperature was

lowered, but below 25°5°C. the snake could not maintain its metabolism

488 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (2)

and the metabolism fell. The same snake was tested when it had finished

brooding ; this time there was no thermoregulation and the metabolic

rate fell as the temperature was lowered below 33°C.

1966, Victor H. Hutchinson, Herndon G. Dowling, & Allen

Vinegar, Science 151, pp. 694-696.

On ecotypes in the Indian Shad

On a study of the literature S. Dutt, Department of Zoology, Andhra

University, suggests the possible existence of three ecotypes of the Indian

Shad, Hilsa ilisha (Hamilton): (1) Anadromous stock, feeding and

growing in coastal water and spawning in middle or lower reaches of

rivers ; (2) Potamodromous stock inhabiting the middle reaches of river,

and; (3) Stock that lives and spawns in the sea.

1966, S. Dutt, Current Science, Vol. 35, No. 13, pp. 329.

A war-use of biological luminiscence

‘ Cypridina is a small crustacean with two hinged valves covering

its body. It is found in both fresh and salt water, but only the marine

forms are luminous. During World War Il, Japanese soldiers used |

dried Cypridina as a source of low-intensity light when they did not want

to run the risk of using a flashlight. A small quantity of Cypridina

powder placed in the palm of the hand and moistened provided enough

light for reading a map or a message.’

1962, William D. McElroy & Howard H. Seliger, Scientific

American, December 1962, pp. 79.

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AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF DELHI, INDIA. By Julian P. Donahue 235 —

AESTIVATION OF PERIANTHS OF Areca catechu LINN. Fruits. By T. A. Davis and

Abantika Kundu Pcie ye er - 48 -» 270.

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nerus miniatus (SAUSS.) (VESPIDAE : ES eNNes)- By S. D. Jayakar and

iH. Spurway - ee eae Wil’ 0 ues or oo oae

Lire HisTORY OF THE INDIAN Cuckoo, Cuculus micropterus micropterus GOULD.

IN THE SOVIET UNION. ByI.Neufeldt. .. =... .. 399

MorE NEW RACES OF BIRDS FROM THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS. By

Humayun Abdulali - ig ay te Se .. 420

REVIEWS .. ae as Pers aa ra . «=! eg

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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BomBAY NATURAL HiIsToRY SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR Ry:

1965-66 ce i ve bes ae 2 466

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MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING .. oe ¥ .. 484

GLEANINGS. . Be ee ee mi, see . 486

Journal of the

Bombay Natural History Society

Vol. 63, No. 3

Editors

H. SANTAPAU, S.3.,

ZAFAR FUTEHALLY, & J. C. DANIEL

DECEMBER 1966

Rs. 15

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Contributors of scientific articles are requested to assist the

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or Dimeria blatteri.

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Prater, S. H. (1948): The Book of Indian Animals. Bombay.

Titles of papers should not be underlined.

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EDITORS,

Hornbill House, Journal of the Bombay Natural

Opp. Lion Gate, History Society.

Apollo Street, Fort,

Bombay 1-BR.

VOLUME 63, NO. 3—DECEMBER 1966

Date of publication : 20-7-1967

CONTENTS

EDITORIAL Pe Mi

A REPORT ON WILD LIFE SURVEYS IN NORTH INDIA AND SOUTHERN NEPAL

JANUARY-JUNE 1966. By J. Juan Spillett. (With two coloured and ten

monochrome plates and eight maps)

Tue Axis Deer IN HAWA. By William Graf and Lyman Nichols. (With

two maps, fourteen plates, and seven figures)

REVIEWS :

1. A Zoo Man’s Notebook (D.E.R.) ..

2. Chapters on the History of Botany in India (P. V. Bole) ..

3. The Wealth of India: A Dictionary of Indian Raw Materials and

Industrial Products. Raw Materials. (D.E.R.)

4. Evolution and modification of Behaviour. (J.H.C.)

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :

1. A note on the Urial, Ovis orientalis Gmelin. By T. J. Roberts (p. 743).

2. Behaviour of Chital Axis axis (Erxleben). By K. C. Roy Choudhury.

(p. 747). 3. Ravens and Brown Bear. By Col. H. Nedou (p. 747). 4. The

Identification of the eggs of the Indian Hill Partridges of the genus Arborophila.

By C. J. O. Harrison and S. A. Parker (p. 748). 5. The Egg-laying of the

Koel, Eudynamys scolopacea (Linnaeus). By B.S. Lamba (p. 750). 6. Occur-

rence of the Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa latirostris Raffles) in the Gir Forest.

By Lalsinh M. Raol (p. 751). 7. Ona rare Blennid Fish Xiphasia setifer Swain-

son from the Madras Coast. By A.G.K. Menon and P. C. Varma. (With

two text-figures) (p. 752). 8. Two new species of Trichiurid Fish from Waltair.

By S. Dutt and V. Thankam (With a plate) (p. 755). 9. Ambicoloration in

two species of Flatfishes from Madras. By T. E. Sivaprakasam (With two

plates) (p. 758). 10. Sexual behaviour in solitary Eumenid Wasps. By S. D.

Jayakar (With two text-figures) (p. 760). 11. Genitalia and opisthomeres of

the Earwig, Anechura himalayana Singh. By V. C. Kapoor (With three text-

figures) (p. 764). 12. New Pentatomid host record for Hymenopterous egg-

parasites Anastatus colemani Crawf. and Asolcus sp. By B. N. Ramamurthi

(p. 767). 13. First record of the Fairy Shrimp Branchinella kugenumaensis

Ishikawa in Gujarat State, North India. By E.M. Shull (p. 769). 14. On the

occurrence of Porcellanella picta Stimpson (Decapoda : Anomura) in the Gulf

of Kutch. By R. Ramanandan (With a plate) (p. 770). 15. Notes on a collec-

tion of Barnacles from the east coast of India. By A. Daniel and P. K. Chakra-

489

492

629

135

737

738

739

barti (With five text-figures) (p. 772). 16. A note on Gnaphalium peregrinum in

North and North-western India. By N.C. Nair (p. 777). 17. Additions to the

flora of Gujarat. By G. L. Shah and B. Suryanarayana (p. 778). 18. New Plant

records from Erstwhile Bombay State III. By A. R. Chavan and Surinder

J. Bedi (With two plates) (p. 779). 19. Contribution to the genus Rubia L. By

D. B. Deb and K. C. Malick (With two plates) (p. 781). 20. A New record

for Ammania pygmaea Kurz from south India. By R. Vasudevan and V. P. K.

Nambiar (With a plate) (p. 784). 21. A few additions to the flora of Pava-

gadh. By A. R. Chavan, 8S. J. Bediand S. D. Sabnis. (p. 786).

GLEANINGS

787

J. Bombay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(3)

Spillett : Wild Life Surveys

A herd of Wild Buffalo at Kaziranga Sanctuary.

(Photo: E. P. Gee)

FRONTISPIECE

Kmogoyaronoue:

guoenn none op

DevowaRses

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL

HISTORY SOCIETY

1966 DECEMBER | Vol. 63 No. 3

Editorial

One of the problems of the Conservationist in India, is the lack of

authentic knowledge of the status of species and habitats in our country.

This fact, well known to everyone, was brought home rather forcefully

during the preparation of the fauna section of the Maharashtra Gazetteer

by the Society. Everything that is now being written in the Gazetteer

volumes about Birds and Animals is based mainly on past records and

not on recent information procured from field observations. The

intelligent, well informed, amateur naturalist, with a certain flair for

writing and with leisure enough to worry about our wild life seems to be

rare today. The Society has been making attempts to activate the

Forest Department Personnel to take more interest in their surroundings

and to carry with them at least the BOOK OF INDIAN BIRDS by Salim Ali

and the BOOK OF INDIAN ANIMALS by Prater, and to make an attempt to

identify and keep records of the various forms of life in different areas.

A letter was addressed to practically all the Divisional Forest Officers

in India, stressing that the future of wild life was now mainly in their

hands and requesting that they communicate with the Society about the

position of wild life in their Districts.

The replies received (in those cases where a reply has come) have been

pathetic.

Reproduced below is a part of a letter received from a Divisional

Forest Officer, with the original spellings: ‘ Referring to your letter,

sighted I am furnishing below the list of the animals and birds that are

commonly seen in the Forest Division........ Spoted deer, Royal

tiger, Peageons, Jungle fouls........ since there is no close watch of

these animals and birds, it is difficult to give a discriptive picture of their

status and habitats........ ;

What is the remedy for this situation? Some insist that the Forest

Department is mainly concerned with the economics of timber exploi-

tation and will not be in a position to look after our wild life. They

490 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

stress the importance of having a separate Wild Life Service for the whole

country.

The Executive and Advisory Committees of our Society have been

greatly concerned about the situation and have recently evolved a policy

statement on Wild Life, which is reproduced below.

1 ‘The Bombay Natural History Society has repeatedly stressed the

importance of instituting a competent Wild Life Service to preserve the

species and habitats of our country. This has been done in memoranda

presented by the Society to the Planning Commission, to the Ministry

of Agriculture, and in meetings of the Indian Board for Wild Life. It

holds that legislation on the lines of the Bombay Wild Animals and Wild —

Bird Protection Act 1951, as originally enacted, is essential in all states,

particularly the provision of having a separate Wild Life Preservation

Officer on whom complete responsibility for protection of wild life

throughout the State should devolve and who should be a full-time

Officer.

Recognising the immediate difficulties of instituting a comprehensive

Wild Life Service, the Society feels that in the present circumstances

the Forest Service can be made responsible for the preservation of wild

life in the areas in-charge of forest department. Outside the areas in-

charge of forest department the civil authorities would be responsible

as under the Bombay Act. There should be a suitable cadre of Wild

Life er Game Wardens both stipendiary and honorary for forest as well

as non-forest areas working in association with the forest and the civil

authorities, under the control of the Wild Life Preservation Officer.

2. In order to enable the Wild Life Circle or Division both at Central

and at State level to discharge their responsibilities effectively, the follow-

ing steps need to be taken :—

(a) Centre: A separate Wild Life Wing should be constituted

in the Ministry of Food & Agriculture with a

whole-time Secretary of adequate status, assisted

by the necessary technical and administrative staff.

(b) States: In each State there should be a separate Wild Life

Department, Circle or Division with the neces-

sary administrative and field staff for the preser-

vation of wild life. The Centre should provide the

necessary assistance to the States for the purpose.

3. In order to provide suitable trained men for the purpose,

advanced courses in wild life management should be instituted at the

Forest Colleges and in other institutions.

4. In order to determine correctly the status of the various species

of wild life and their natural habitats, advantage should be taken of

technical aid programmes for bringing expert ecologists of international

repute to India.’

EDITORIAL 40]

The Society will continue to press for the implementation of this

policy both with the Central government and with the State governments,

but with the pressing problems of economic development which India

faces today and with the general uncertainty created by the approach

of the Election in February 1967, nothing very effective can be expected

right away. All of us, nevertheless, who have the interest of our magni-

ficent fauna and flora at heart, must continue to struggle for its survival

and for a rational approach by government for its welfare and

preservation.

We are, indeed, fortunate in being able to include in this volume a

- report on the status of wild life in the Sanctuaries of Northern India by

J. Juan Spillett, who has been conducting ecological research in India for

his Doctorate in Animal Ecology from The Johns Hopkins University,

U.S.A. This work was made possible by a grant from the Foundation

Volkart Brothers, Switzerland through the World Wild Life Fund. That

this project came into existence was mainly due to the untiring work of

Mr. E. P. Gee, one of the most dedicated advocates in the cause of con-

servation in this country. From January to June 1966, Spillett travelled

a distance of over 13,500 miles by every conceivable form of transport

from the aeroplane to the bicycle and the boat and covered 300 miles

on foot and spent over 21 days on elephant back. Being accompanied

by his wife, who is an expert typist, he was able to complete the report

in record time. It is a matter of gratification that Spillett hopes to survey

other areas of India, and when this has been done, a full ecological report

of the more important species of wild life, will be available to this country.

In the context of the agitation for cow protection that is now in pro-

gress, it is not irrelevant to refer to Spillett’s conclusion, that it is not only

poaching that is the great threat to the continuance of India’s wild life

and wild places, but the disastrous effect of over-grazing by domestic

livestock all over the country. Understanding a problem clearly, is

the first requirement towards its solution, and we are grateful to the

author of this report for the facts which he has uncovered.

We are also publishing in this issue a report on the Chital Deer (Axis

axis Erxleben), by Dr. William Graf, Professor of Wild Life Management,

San Jose State College, California, U.S.A., and Lyman Nicols Jr., Hawaii.

This report is based on a study of the animal extending over a period of

six years. The observations were made in Hawaii where the animal was

introduced in 1868. However, as Prof. Graf says, the climatic conditions

under which these animals live resemble closely that of many parts of

India, where the Chital occurs. Our main object in publishing this very

comprehensive report is to draw attention to the type of work that has

to be done in this country if we are to be in a position to assess our wild

life resources properly.

492. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

A Report on Wild Life Surveys in

North India and Southern Nepal

January-June 1966

J. JUAN SPILLETT

(With two coloured and ten monochrome plates and eight maps)

INTRODUCTION .. “ ee as i .. 492

THE KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM... .. 494

LAOKHOWA AND OTHER RHINO AREAS IN ASSAM... 520

THE JALDAPARA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL Mel 5a

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION IN NEPAL e a ae

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE STATUS OF THE GREAT INDIAN ONE-

HORNED RHINOCEROS 3 a , eae

A STUDY OF THE CHITAL OR SPOTTED DEER IN CORBETT

NATIONAL PARK, UTTAR PRADESH is ie 576 4

THE BLACKBUCK OF SIKANDRA, UTTAR PRADESH .. 1. 5g9

THE LARGE MAMMALS OF THE KEOLADEO GHANA SANCTUARY,

RAJASTHAN .. = s . 602

OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE SARISKA WILD LIFE SANC-

TUARY, RAJASTHAN .. €: " . -. “608

NOTES ON THE VAN BIHAR AND RAM SAGAR WILD LIFE SANC-

TUARIES, RAJASTHAN 7 is x ce GIG

GENERAL WILD LIFE CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN INDIA... 616

INTRODUCTION

At the request of the Chief Conservator of Forests, Assam,

Mr. E. P. Gee, member of the Indian Board for Wild Life, informally

applied at the First World Conference on National Parks (held in Seattle,

Washington, U.S.A., in 1962) that an ecological survey of the Great

Indian One-horned Rhinoceros be undertaken in northern India. This

became the World Wildlife Fund Project No. 47 of 1962 and received the

official welcome of the Indian Board for Wild Life. Although this

WILD LIFE SURVEYS IN NORTH INDIA AND NEPAL 493

project was given high priority by the World Wildlife Fund Board of

Trustees, lack of funds prevented any further action being taken until in

1965. The Foundation Volkart Brothers of Winterthur, Switzerland,

then sponsored the study, which became World Wildlife Fund Project

No. 173 : The Wild Life of India.

I was invited to undertake this survey of the Indian rhino, as well

as -several other short studies contained in this report. These were

officially sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Morges, Switzerland.

However, the project was assisted by The Johns Hopkins University

Center for Medical Research and Training, Calcutta, India, and Balti-

more, Maryland (U.S.A.), supported by U. S_ Public Health Service

Grant ROTTWOOYL. Mr. E. P. Gee made the necessary arrangements

with the Government of India and the State Forest Departments of Assam,

West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. The sanction of the Rajasthan Forest

Department was also obtained. In order to obtain an overall status

of the Indian rhino, it was necessary to include Nepal, which extended

the fullest co-operation. In addition, Mr. Gee supervised and assisted

me in every way possible, and I particularly want to thank him for his

counsel and advice.

Messrs. Joel E. Cohen and Rames C. De assisted me in a large

mammal census of the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary, Rajasthan, the latter

part of January 1966. Mr. Cohen was a Frederick Sheldon Travelling

Fellow, 1965-1966, of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

(U.S.A.). Mr. De then conducted a study of the spotted deer in Corbett

National Park, Uttar Pradesh, from February 1 through 29 May 1966,

with my assistance. He was a research assistant, supported by The

Johns Hopkins Center for Medical Research and Training, and his

_ study is included in this report.

Mr. E. P. Gee and I had also proposed a census of the Kashmir

Stag on its wintering grounds. The Forest Department of Kashmir had

extended an invitation to us and had promised to assist in every way

possible with this undertaking. We attempted to travel to Srinagar

for five successive days but, although we travelled as far as Jammu twice,

we were unable to reach our destination because of inclement weather.

Therefore, this study was regretfully abandoned.

The author received an M.S. in Wildlife Resource Management from

Utah State University, Logan, Utah (U.S.A.). Since October 1964 he

has been conducting ecological research in India for his doctorate in

animal ecology from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Mary-

land (U.S.A.).

J. JUAN SPILLETT

494 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

The Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary, Assam

J. JUAN SPILLETT

(With two plates and two maps)

If.

IV.

VI.

_ VIL.

vol.

IX.

INTRODUCTION

HABITAT

Grassland

Forests ..

Fire and Flood

CENSUS METHODS

RESULTS

Age Composition and Sex Ratios

Rhino

Wild Elephant

Wild Buffalo

Swamp Deer

Sambar

Hog Deer

Barking Deer

Wild Pig

Other Animals

Time of Observation

Other Factors

CONSERVATION PROBLEMS

Livestock

Erosion

Exploitation

Education =

Poaching and Illegal Fishing

‘Administration

RECOMMENDATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LITERATURE CONSULTED

GLOSSARY

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM 495

TABLES AND MApP3

Table 1. Names of some animals inhabiting the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanc-

tuary, Assam, and possibilities of visitors seeing them + te 496

2. Total counts for large mammal species per block during the 1966

wild life census of the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary, Assam .. 505

3. Sex and age classification data for the common large mammals

observed during the 1966 wild life census of the Kaziranga Wild

Life Sanctuary, Assam Re ay 4 we 308

4. Common large mammals observed during the morning as compared

to the afternoon during the 1966 wild life census of the Kaziranga

Wild Life Sanctuary, Assam .. * ne apie

Map 1. General map of the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary, Assam, depicting

the areas along the Brahmaputra River which have been lost to

erosion i zi Ey ie 5, 498

2. Map of the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary, Assam, depicting the

blocks and compartments used during the 1966 wild life

census ne pene AY; Ks vo OOS

I. INTRODUCTION

Kaziranga is renowned as one of the finest wild life sanctuaries in

southern Asia. Although it is particularly noted for harbouring large

numbers of Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis),

the other large mammals found here also deserve attention. In addition

to rhino, wild buffalo, hog deer, swamp deer, and wild pig are almost

invariably seen by visitors. It is practically guaranteed that visitors will

see both rhino and hog deer, as well as swamp deer during certain

seasons of the year. Indian elephant, gaur or Indian ‘ bison’, sambar,

barking deer, tiger, leopard, two or possibly three species of bear, and

numerous smaller mammals are also represented. A list of some of the

animals found in the sanctuary and their local and scientific names is

presented in Table 1. Numerous birds, including red junglefowl, par-

tridge, various doves and many species of water birds, are also common

to the sanctuary. A nesting colony of spottedbilled pelicans (Pelecanus

phillippensis) was first discovered inside the sanctuary in 1958. This is

one of India’s few pelicanries and the only one known in the northern

part of the country.

The Kaziranga Sanctuary officially includes 165°84 sq. miles. How-

ever, due to erosion by the Brahmaputra River, the curve of which forms

the northern boundary, the present size is probably less than 150 sq.

miles. Most of the southern boundary is formed by the Mora (dead)

Diphlu River, which roughly parallels National Highway No. 37, better

known as the Grand Trunk Road of Assam. The eastern boundary

is formed by both stream beds and surveyed lines. The shape of the

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KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM 497

sanctuary is more or less an oval, which is approximately 25 miles long

and 8 miles wide at the widest point (Map 1). The nearest airport is

Jorhat, 60 miles to the east. Gauhati is 135 miles to the west. There

is a well-constructed tourist lodge and a tourist bungalow at Kohora,

which is about mid-way along the southern boundary of the sanctuary.

Both are administered by the Tourist Department, which also provides

catering service for visitors. The Forest Department has two forest

rest houses—Baguri, located along the Grand Trunk Road near the

western end of the sanctuary, and Arimora, which is in the heart of the

sanctuary about 10 miles north of Kohora. Catering is not provided

at these two places. Riding elephants are also provided for visitors by

the Forest Department. The ease with which visitors may view rhino

and other animals at close range from elephant back during a very short

visit makes Kaziranga a unique experience. A Forest Range Officer

- stationed at Kohora is in charge of the sanctuary and supervises a staff

of over 100 men. These patrol and protect the sanctuary and its wild

life, maintain the sanctuary’s roads, buildings and equipment, and care

for the domestic riding elephants. |

There were a number of reports during 1964 and 1965 concerning

the slaughter of rhino by poachers inside the sanctuary. Although some

of these reports were clearly exaggerated and others appeared to be

unfounded, the Forest Department decided to conduct a full scale census

to determine the exact status of the wild life and particularly of the

rhino. Upon the suggestion of Mr. Gee, member of the Indian Board

for Wild Life and a noted authority on the Great Indian One-horned

Rhinoceros, Mr. P. Barua, Chief Conservator of Forests for Assam,

solicited my assistance. I am grateful to both of these men for the

opportunity to have participated in this census. I spent most of the

time between March 2 and 17 on elephant-back inside the sanctuary,

attempting to become acquainted with as much of the area as possible.

The actual census was conducted on March 17 and 18 and the collected

data was tabulated on the 19 and 20. I revisited the sanctuary between

June 9 and 14. Observations were then made both from boat and

elephant back as to the effects of the monsoon and flooding inside the

sanctuary.

The nature of the vegetation and the terrain in Kaziranga thwart

the use of most methods commonly used to determine wild life

populations. Counting animals from an airplane was tried on

24 March 1949, but the grass cover was so dense that only a few animals

could be counted. A six-seater airplane was used during this attempt

and was not flown below a height of about 400 feet. Perhaps the use

of a lighter airplane, which could be flown at lower altitudes, would

provide a relatively accurate and inexpensive means of counting most

of the rhino in the sanctuary. This was further confirmed by a discussion

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

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with a Capt. Tamang when I was visiting Nepal in April. Capt. Tamang

is a pilot for the Royal Nepalese Airlines, but regularly flew over

Kaziranga while he was in the Air Force. He stated that the wild

animals were readily observed from the air and that he often sought

out particular individuals.

A wild life survey of Kaziranga was conducted with 11 elephants on

19 April 1963. The sanctuary was divided into seven blocks and from

one to four elephants were used to count the wild animals in each block.

However, it was found that the areas were much too large to be effectively

covered in a single day by the number of elephants employed. Only a

sample count was obtained. Therefore, this report covers the first

extensive wild life census of the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary.

Il. HABITAT

The Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary lies in the Brahmaputra River

flood plain. ‘This riverain habitat consists primarily of tall, dense

grasses interspersed with open forests, interconnecting streams, and

numerous small lakes called * bi/s’ or ‘ bheels’. Much of the sanctuary

is submerged by the annual flood waters of the Brahmaputra. However,

the well-forested Mikir Hills, which rise to a maximum height of 4000

feet are located across the Grand Trunk Road to the south. These

offer a ready retreat for many animals from the sanctuary during the

flood season. The climate is monsoonal with rains usually from May

to October. The average rainfall is approximately 80 inches per annum.

The ground and grass become fairly dry by late November or early

December and during February and March much of the grassland area

is burned by the sanctuary staff.

Grassland

A transect taken from the Brahmaputra River inland indicates the

vegetational succession of the area. Kash (Saccharum spontaneum), a

thin wiry grass with a maximum height of about six feet, first invades

the dry sandy-silt soils recently deposited by the river. Jhau (Tamarix sp.),

an evergreen shrub resembling some ornamentals used in gardening, is

often interspersed with kash. Depending upon the nature of the habitat,

these are generally followed by other species of grass. The bamboo-like

nal (Arundo donax) predominates in marshy areas near permanent water,

while in somewhat drier, but still moist, areas it is khagra (Phragmites

karka). Areas flooded during the rains, but later dry, are mostly

covered by ekra (Erianthus spp.), which is the most common grass in

the sanctuary. The slightly higher or drier areas are dominated by kher

or thatch (Imperata cylindrica). Most of these grasses, often collectively

called ‘ elephant grass ’, attain a height of 15 feet or more by late summer.

500 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Animals literally tunnel through them and even a herd of elephant may

pass near by in this grass jungle without being observed. Each year

between one-third to one-half of the sanctuary’s grasslands are burned.

Many animals were observed to re-enter the burned areas almost imme-

diately and appeared to relish the remaining mineral-rich ash. The

new growth, which shoots up within a few weeks after burning, also

attracts the wild animals and probably provides the most palatable forage.

The lowlands surrounding the bils favour the andropogonous grasses.

These are relatively short (less than three feet high) and provide the

only open areas in the sanctuary during much of the year. These areas

appear to be favoured by most of the ungulates and probably provide

the best year-round grazing for much of the wild life.

Forests

Without annual burning the aforementioned grasses are eventually

replaced by flood-resisting species of trees. The dominants are silk

cotton or simul (Bombax ceiba, formerly known as Bombax malabaricum)

and the leguminous koroi (Albizzia procera). Ajar (Lagerstroemia flos-

regindae) and outenga (Dillenia indica), as well as other species, are also

present. There are scattered groups of trees on both ends of the sanc-

tuary and denser stands along the banks of the major streams, such as

the Diphlu River. The ridge-like banks of the larger streams are

generally higher than the surrounding terrain. Some of the forests are

relatively open, but others are a tangled mass of almost impenetrable

undergrowth, much of which consists of thorny species such as cane

or tita bet and jati bet (Calamus spp.). The dense undergrowth provides

excellent cover for wild life, particularly for elephant and rhino. Dense

stands of the broad-leafed tara (Hedychium sp.), which is greatly relished

by elephant, are also frequently associated with the forested areas.

Fire and Flood

_ Annual burning of the grasslands along the Brahmaputra River valley

has been practised for so many hundreds of years that it can probably

be considered as an integral part of the ecology of this region. In fact,

the grasslands are maintained by fire and without it many would even-

tually become forests. There are invariably a sufficient number of

unburned areas to provide cover for the animals until re-growth takes

place. In fact, it is practically impossible to burn an entire area clean. —

Without burning there might actually prove to be a lack of suitable

forage during the late summer season. The only animals which were

observed not to benefit from the burning were some of the early nesting

birds and some of the slower-moving reptiles, such as the python, which

are occasionally consumed by the roaring flames. :

Annual flooding of the sanctuary by the Brahmaputra River is

probably essential for the maintenance of optimum habitat for some

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM 501

species, such as rhino and wild buffalo. However, it is also probably

a limiting factor in so far as populations of other species, such as sambar

and barking deer, are concerned. Almost all of the sanctuary’s streams

and bils have been invaded during recent years by water hyacinth

(Eichhornia crassipes). Floods are presently the only means by which

these water areas are temporarily cleared and without floods they would

shortly become solid green masses of vegetation. Although the dry

water hyacinth plants are burned in the ephemeral bils, it is not yet

known if this is of any benefit in checking re-infestation by this

undesirable weed. Overall flooding is probably beneficial, if not essential,

for most species of mammals in the sanctuary. Besides temporarily

clearing the water areas of water hyacinth, they replenish the water

supply in the numerous bil/s, and essentially irrigate the savannah-like

grasslands. The numerous fish of several species in the sanctuary’s bils

are also dispersed by the annual floods. This serves the useful purpose

of re-stocking areas adjoining the sanctuary with valuable fish. Because

of this and the fact that the sanctuary serves as a spawning ground the

Forest Department has resisted attempts by local interests to exploit

the sanctuary’s fishery resources.

Between June 9 and 14, during the monsoon season, I visited the

Baguri Block twice by boat. During the first visit we travelled about

six miles up the Mora Diphlu from the western end of the sanctuary.

Three rhinos were observed to be contentedly grazing along the bank in

water approximately three feet deep. Other rhino were heard moving

in the flooded grasslands, but we were unable to see them. A large

herd of wild buffalo was also seen, but it was impossible to get a count

as they sloshed through the flooded grass. During the second visit we

crossed the block from south to north in the area behind the Baguri

Forest Rest House. The water in most of the bils was over 12 feet

deep and much of the grassland was under more than six feet of water.

We briefly visited the high-forested area near the Diphlu River.

Although we saw a female rhino with a calf here, relatively few tracks

of other animals were seen. I estimated that almost 80% of the Baguri

Block was under water. Forest Department personnel observed large

numbers of wild elephant crossing the Grand Trunk Road into the

Mikir Hills to the south on the first of June. Some animals, such as

hog deer, were also known to have crossed the road. Rhino and wild

buffalo appear to be little affected by flood waters under four feet deep,

but it is not known where the vast majority of the wild animals in the

' sanctuary take refuge during the flood season.

Mihi Mukh was visited on elephant back on June 11. Swamp and

hog deer appeared to be concentrated on the relatively dry grasslands

near the edge of the sanctuary. However, nine of the sixteen rhino

which we saw were in water about four feet deep. Several were feeding

502. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

on vegetation under the water and two were observed to swim distances

of over 50 yards. A group of sixteen buffalo were also seen in an area

flooded by about two feet of water.

III. CENsus METHODS

Prominent features, such as rivers or roads, were used to divide the

sanctuary into eight blocks: Baguri, Haldhibari, Kaziranga, Panbari,

Tamulipathar, Bhawani, Charigharia, and Baralimora. Each block was

subdivided into three to five compartments including approximately five

square miles each. There were a total of 33 compartments (Map. 2).

Where it was not possible to use natural features, such as bil/s or streams,

10-foot wide compartment boundaries were cut through the vegetation

by the sanctuary staff. |

A total of 18 census parties consisting of an enumerator, helper,

guide, mahout, and elephant were used to carry out the census. Both

the enumerators and helpers were experienced Foresters, Deputy Rangers,

or men acquainted with wild life. Guides were members of the sanctuary

staff that had worked in and were acquainted with the particular area

to which they were assigned. Ten mahouts and their elephants from

the sanctuary were used during the two-day census operation. However,

it was necessary to hire eight mahouts and elephants from outside.

Enumerators were in charge of their respective parties and recorded

all the wild animals observed as to species and sex or age class (i.e. adult.

male, adult female, or young). Special forms were provided for re-

cording this data. If there was any doubt as to the sex of an adult animal

it was recorded as ‘ non-sexed’. Only the eight most common large

mammals in the sanctuary were listed on the form. Other miscellaneous —

observations (animals fighting, mating, etc.) were recorded either in the ©

miscellaneous or remarks columns. The helper was provided with a map

of the block and compartment to which he was assigned. He plotted

the approximate line of travel for the census party, the location of the

animals observed by the use of abbreviated symbols (i.e. eight buffalo=

8 B), and the location and approximate area which had been burned

within the compartment. The guide assisted the helper and ensured

that the party remained inside its assigned compartment and did not |

trespass into others. The mahout directed the elephant and assisted the

enumerator in identifying and determining the sex or age of the animals

observed. |

The enumerators and helpers were instructed and tested for two days

prior to the census. During this time the guides inspected and became

well acquainted with the assigned compartments. Each party camped

the previous night at an assigned starting point prior to censusing the

compartment the following day. Census operations were conducted

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504. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

from 05:00 to 09°30 hours in the morning and from 14-00 to 17:00 hours

in the afternoon. Sunrise was at approximately 05.30 and sunset at

17°00 hours.

A few compartments, which were relatively small or open areas, were

covered in less than the assigned time. However, other compartments

took longer than the assigned time. A total of 158 census hours were

spent during the morning by the census parties and only 96 hours in the

afternoon during the two-day census. The average census time per

compartment was 7°7 hours. The four blocks south of the Diphlu

River, namely Baguri, Haldhibari, Kaziranga, and Panbari, consisted

of 18 compartments. These were censused the first day, March 17. The

census parties then moved that evening to pre-arranged starting points

in the four blocks north of the Diphlu River, namely Tamulipathar,

Bhawani, Charigharia, and Baralimora, which consisted of 15 compart-

ments. These were censused the following day, March 18.

After completion of the two-day census, all forms and maps were

collected and the data individually reviewed with the enumerator or

helper concerned to ensure that it was complete and free from errors.

The overall census operation was well-planned and efficiently run. I

feel that the data collected was reliable and subject to very little error.

The methods used, however, give only a minimum count of the principal

species of large mammals. A great deal of care and judgment, based

upon experience and an intimate knowledge of the entire sanctuary, must

be used to estimate the numbers of the different species that were over-

looked or missed.

IV. RESULTS

A riding elephant in open country can cover between 3°5 and 4:0

miles per hour (mph). However, when forcing its way through dense

grass or undergrowth it does well to cover 2.0 mph. Using a figure of

2°5 mph. for the average of 7°7 census hours per compartment, it can be

assumed that approximately a 20-mile transect was covered in each com-

partment. The compartments averaged just under 5 sq. miles each and

were probably slightly less than 2°5 miles per side. Each census party

should have made about eight transects per compartment. Therefore,

to cover completely the average compartment, each transect would have

to cover a strip slightly less than one-fourth mile wide. The majority

of the larger mammals could probably be observed in an even wider strip

in open or burned areas, but in tall dense grass or undergrowth, visibility

was limited to a few yards or even feet on either side of the elephant.

Transects, however, were not run in regular lines. By use of the map

provided, an attempt was made to cover those sites where animals were

most likely to be seen, such as burned areas and the short grasslands

505

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506 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

surrounding the bils. In short, each census party attempted to observe

as many animals as possible during the allotted time, without duplication.

When disturbed most of the animals moved into dense cover. This

generally required a movement of less than 100 yards. Many animals,

if not closely approached, did not even seek cover. Therefore, there

was probably little, if any, duplication in the counts. After examining

the maps and the approximate line of travel taken by each census party, I

roughly estimated that less than 70% of the sanctuary was covered.

However, it appeared that most of the preferred habitats were covered.

Therefore, it can be assumed that much less than 30% of most of the

larger mammals were missed. The numbers of animals tallied per

compartment and the completed compartment maps, which indicated

the burned areas, were compared with my previous observations for that

area. I then made a conservative estimate of how many animals I felt

may have been overlooked during the census. The actual census count

as per block and my total estimates for the sanctuary are givenin Table 2. —

Age Composition and Sex Ratios

Age composition, although often difficult to determine accurately in

the field, is generally a reflection of the status of a species in terms of its

reproductive potential. A high percentage of young as compared to

adults generally indicates a growing or thriving population. In contrast,

a relatively small percentage of young usually indicates a low reproducing

or senile group. Sex ratios likewise are an indication of reproductive

potential. Most large mammals, particularly the ungulates or cud-

chewers, are promiscuous about mating and can increase rapidly with five

or even more females per adult male. Therefore, within limits of course,

a population with more females than males generally has a higher re-

productive potential than does one that is predominantly male. However,

adult males are more spectacular and visitors to a sanctuary generally

prefer to see them rather than females or immature animals. With —

reliable age composition and sex ratio data a biologist can often compute

the average annual rate of net increase or loss, as well as determine the

present status of a population.

Field glasses were not available for the census workers. Age com-

position data was, therefore, restricted to two categories (adult and |

young), which in most cases could be readily distinguished without the

aid of binoculars. However, rather than bias the sex ratio data which was

collected, whenever there was any doubt as to the sex of the adult animals —

observed, they were tallied in the ‘ non-sexed’ column. No attempt was

made to sex young animals or hog deer. The age composition and sex

ratio data collected during the census are presented in Table 3. These,

along with data which I collected, will be discussed later.

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM 507

Wild life populations do not remain static. Increases or decreases

often occur rapidly and a single census rarely provides answers to questions

about several aspects of the population. An accurate census of the total

wild life population is essential for the proper management of a sanctuary,

but data should be collected and analyzed continuously in order that

current conservation measures may meet the demands of changing situa-

tions. Therefore, it should be realized that the results of the 1966 wild

life census of Kaziranga provides only a basis for future management.

And an annual census of the wild life should be considered as a part of the

sanctuary’s management plans. An effort should also be made to deter-

mine the most economical means of conducting wild life surveys in

Kaziranga, while still providing reliable results. For example, if

the guides were thoroughly acquainted with their assigned compart-

’ ments, there would be no need of going to the expense of cutting compart-

ment lines. There is no reason why a census could not be conducted

Over a one or even two-week period.- This would permit the use of only

sanctuary elephants and experienced personnel and would result in less

expense to the Forest Department, while providing more accurate data

(i.e. information concerning sex ratios and age composition). As pre-

viously discussed, there is also the possibility that the use of airplanes

would provide an economical, but satisfactory, means of conducting wild

life censuses in Kaziranga.

Perhaps of interest, two carcasses of rhino, which had apparently

died of natural causes, were found during the course of the census. The

sale of the collected horns at public auction by the Forest Department

should more than meet the total expenses incurred by the census operation.

Rhino

Rhino are relatively difficult to sex in the field, except in the case of

females with young. Similar to many wild animals, when disturbed rhino

frequently urinate. This enables a keen observer to sex individuals

accurately. But, other than observing their private parts, there appears

to be no fool-proof criterion for sexing solitary rhino. However, some

claim to be able to differentiate the sexes by the size or shape of the horn

and others maintain that the males have a thicker neck than the females.

These criteria were not substantiated by my observations.

508

TABLE 3

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

SEX AND AGE CLASSIFICATION DATA FOR THE COMMON LARGE MAMMALS OBSERVED

DURING THE 1966 WILD LIFE CENSUS OF THE KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY,

ASSAM

Number of Animals

Species Non-sexed Young Total

Adult Adult

Male Female

Rhino =A 172 67 83 44 366

Wild Elephant 214 62 44 29 349

Wild Buffalo 115 54 217 85 471

Swamp Deer 141 17 49 6 213

Sambar : 6 33 61 20 120

Hog Deer .. 1,033 105 119 54 1,311

Wild Pig ips 36 27 20 155

A total of 366 rhino were tallied during the two-day census. Three

hundred and twenty-two or 88% were adults, of which 172 or 53%

were ‘non-sexed’. Eighty-three or 55% of the 150 sexed adults were

females and 44 or 29% of these were accompanied by young.

Admittedly, with such a high proportion of ‘non-sexed’ animals, the

true sex ratio of the population cannot be ascertained. However,

assuming a 50-50 sex ratio for the 322 adults observed, there was only one

young for every 3°7 of the assumed adult females or only 27% were

accompanied by young. |

Dr. George Schaller observed a total of 48 adult rhino and five young

in May 1965. Once more assuming a 50-50 sex ratio for the adults, he ©

observed only one calf for every 4'8 of the assumed adult females or 21%

were accompanied by young.

I personally observed 162 rhino between March 3 and 18 : 62 ‘ non-

sexed’ adults, 21 adult males, 45 adult females, and 34 young. Sixty-

eight % of the sexed adults were females and 34 or 76% were accompanied

by young. Again assuming a 50-50 sex ratio for the 128 adults observed,

there was one young for every 1°9 of the assumed adult females or 53%

were accompanied by young. 3

Most of the rhino which I observed were in the Baguri Block, which

has the highest rhino density and is the most productive block in the

sanctuary. Almost 43% (157 of 366) of the adult rhino and over half —

(23 of 44) of the young tallied during the census were observed in this” |

block. No rhino were reported in eight of the sanctuary’s 33 compart-

ments. Therefore, my sample may indicate a much higher young-female

ratio than is true for most of the sanctuary. However, this is perhaps an

indication of what the young-female ratio should be in a thriving or grow-

ing population. Perhaps this is an indication that the rhino population

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE I

Spillett : Kaziranga Sanctuary

Above:

rear.

A herd of Wild Buffalo in Kaziranga. The master bull is in the

Below : Mother and young rhino in Kaziranga. The baby is leading

the way as usual.

(Photos = E. P. Gee)

J. Bompay Nat. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE 1

Spillett : Kaziranga Sanctuary

Above: A census party in Kaziranga crosses a bil covered with water

hyacinth. Below: One of the cold weather jeepable roads inside

Kaziranga

(Photos: J. Juan Spillett)

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM 509

in many parts of Kaziranga has reached its peak. Nevertheless,

the animals appear to be in good condition and with the high number

present there is no reason why the Forest Department cannot begin to

realize a financial return from the sale of some of its rhino resources. A

few rhino could probably be sold to reputable zoos each year without

any appreciable effect upon the sanctuary’s rhino population.

I noted during my observations that almost invariably when a female

rhino was accompanied by a calf, other females with calves could be

located near by. For example, while visiting the Kaziranga Block on

March 14, we observed five females within a radius of 200 yards, all of

which were accompanied by young. In fact, even though these were in

an open forest area intermingled with tall, dense grass, we were able to

observe eight of the rhino (4 females and 4 young) at one time. There

were also no bi/s or other features near by which could be considered

as an attraction to these rhino. No young were reported from the

Kaziranga Block during the census. Therefore, it appears that this

entire group was probably missed by the census party in this compart-

ment. On other occasions, up to 20 adult rhino would be tallied at a

stretch, then within a relatively short time several females with calves

would be observed, one pair right after another. This same pheno-

- menon was later noted during studies in April in the Jaldapara Wild

Life Sanctuary of West Bengal. Whether or not there is a definite social

relationship among females with young deserves further investigation.

There is, however, the possibility that ‘ pockets’ of females with young

were missed during the Kaziranga census and that the young-female ratio

for the sanctuary was not as disproportionate as was recorded. |

Rhino calves apparently remain with their mothers for almost four

years, after which the female again breeds. The young attain puberty

at about four-and-a-half years of age and the females have heat periods

at intervals of 40 to 50 days. The gestation period, as observed with

captive animals in the Whipsnade Zoo, is 488 days or approximately

16°3 months (Asdell 1964). Therefore, it appears that the maximum

rate of increase in the wild state would probably be little more than one

calf per female every five to six years. With such a slow rate of increase

it would generally be assumed that the pare omale ratio should perhaps

approximate my figures.

The reason or reasons for the apparently low reproductive rate of much

of Kaziranga’s rhino population is not readily apparent. However,

366 rhino were counted during the two-day census, which was conducted

- when only about one-third of the sanctuary’s grasslands had been burned.

I am certain there are at least 400 rhino in the sanctuary. This means

that over one-half of the Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros in exis-

tence are located in the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary !

510 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Wild Elephant

Elephant are readily sexed in the field when they are clearly observed.

However, the forests or dense habitat in which they are usually en-

countered in Kaziranga, their generally shy or retiring nature, and the

fact that they are usually met in fairly large groups, make it difficult

even for an experienced observer to record accurately sex and age com-

position data for groups encountered. The gradualincrease in size from

a new born calf to a mature elephant also makes it difficult to determine

which animals should be classified as adults and which as young. This is

particularly true when only two categories (adult and young) are used.

Therefore, the sex and age ratio data collected for wild elephant during

the census has little significance, but the total number counted does.

The tribal Mikirs were burning extensive areas for their jhum cultiva-

tions in the Mikir Hills south of the sanctuary prior to and at the time of

the census. There were perhaps more elephant in the sanctuary due to

this disturbance than would normally be expected. This was further

indicated by numerous trails and recent elephant tracks entering the sanc-

tuary through the south-west corner where the forest provides a natural

passageway into the nearby hills. Elephant are migratory or nomadic

and, except for some solitary males, rarely remain in the same vicinity

for long periods of time. Also, they tend to move as a group or herd,

which can generally be identified by its composition or by the presence of

easily identified or ‘ marker’ individuals.

A total of 349 elephant were tallied during the two-day census. Three

herds totalling 241 or 69% of all the elephant censused were observed in

compartment 1 of the Bhawani Block. Twenty of the sanctuary’s 33

compartments reported no elephant and five reported only solitary males.

Prior to the census I observed many fresh signs and frequently

heard elephant nearby, but I saw only four solitary males. However, I

tallied two elephants during the census and observed movements in the

forest undergrowth where others remained hidden. Itiscertain that some

elephant were missed. Therefore, there were probably at least 375

elephant in the sanctuary during the census, although many of these are

probably not permanent residents. This is relatively high number for

an area the size of Kaziranga and exceeds all previous estimates.

Elephant may become too numerous in the sanctuary and eventually

become a major problem. Kheddas and mela shikar conducted in the

Mikir Hills south of the sanctuary would help to hold the number of wild

elephant in check. This would result in no disturbance to the sanctuary

and could also provide a source of revenue to the Forest Department.

Wild Buffalo

Buffalo are not: difficult to sex in the field, although immature males

may be quite easily mistaken for females. There may also be some

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM Si1

ambiguity as to whether a yearling or even a two-year-old should be

classified as adult or young. With the exception of solitary males, buffalo

are usually encountered in groups or herds. However, in contrast to

herds of elephant which may contain a number of adult males, a herd

of buffalo usually contains only one adult male and perhaps a number of

immature males. Buffalo herds in Kaziranga are generally observed in

or around the bDils, particularly during the warmer part of the day when

they come to lie or wallow in the water and mud. Buffalo in some areas

regularly visited by tourists have become accustomed to the presence of

man. But in most parts of the sanctuary they are wary and generally

seek cover and remain hidden whenever man appears on the scene.

A total of 471 buffalo were tallied during the two-day census. Three

hundred and eighty-six or almost 82% were adults, of which 115 or

almost 30% were ‘non-sexed’. Two hundred and seventeen or 80%

of the 271 sexed adults were females and 85 or 39% of these were reported

to be accompanied by young. This is one young for every 2°6 sexed

females. Thirteen of the sanctuary’s 33 compartments reported no wild

buffalo and five reported only solitary males.~ Three hundred and thirty-

seven or almost 71% of the 471 total were observed in the Baguri Block.

Others were undoubtedly missed during the census and there are probably

at least 550 wild buffalo in Kaziranga.

Considering the predominance of females in the sexed adult

population observed during the census (four adult females per adult male)

and the relatively high reproductive potential of this species (one young

per adult female per year or at most every two years), it appears that the

. sanctuary’s buffalo population could easily become too numerous. Both

wild buffalo and elephant are little endangered by the annual floods

covering the sanctuary and, except for small young, are relatively immune

to the effects of natural predation. Another factor to be considered is

the relatively large number of semi-wild buffalo in the sanctuary. Over

2000 head of domestic buffalo are presently grazed in Kaziranga.

Graziers are unable to keep domestic males with their herds, because they

are usually killed by wild males. Therefore, domestic females are practi-

cally always served by wild males and the resulting cross-breed young

males are sometimes permitted to become feral. This problem could be

eliminated with the elimination of domestic livestock grazing inside the

sanctuary. However, when discussing the possibilities of the wild

buffalo becoming too numerous, Mr. Gee informed me that the

sanctuary’s population has not increased during recent years, but has

actually appeared to decrease. Whether or not this can be attributed to

diseases contacted from domestic animals or other factors should be

thoroughly investigated,

512. JCURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Swamp Deer

The slender and graceful swamp deer of Kaziranga are usually seen

in groups or herds on the short andropogonous grasslands surrounding

the bils. Predominantly female with young or male groups were

generally encountered during the census. According to the Forest

Department staff, the breeding season of the sanctuary’s swamp deer is

between November and December. Groups or harems of females are

then observed with adult males. Brander (1923) stated that the rut

is ill-defined, but that mating in central India is mostly from mid-December

to mid-January. The gestation period was observed in the London Zoo

to be 240 to 250 days or approximately 8:2 months (Zuckerman 1952-53),

‘The fawning period in Kaziranga is reported to start in the latter part of

May or first of June. Prior to and during the census, very few small

young were observed and most young were approaching yearling size.

The antlers of all males that I observed were in velvet and most were in

the early stages of development. This coincides with the reported

November-December rut, as well as the hardening of the antlers by late

October, and the shedding of the antlers in late December or early

January.

A total of 213 swamp deer were tallied during the two-day census.

Two-hundred and seven or 97% were adults, of which 141 or 68% were

‘non-sexed’. Forty-nine or 74% of the 66 sexed adults were females

and only six or 10% were reported to be accompanied by small young.

Eighteen of the sanctuary’s 33 compartments reported no swamp deer

and two reported only a single female each. None were reported in the

entire Tamulipathar Block and only a single female in the Bhawani

Block. Because of the large proportion of ‘ non-sexed’ adults and the

fact that all except small young were classified as adults, it is difficult

to derive any conclusions from the census data as to the reproductive

status of the sanctuary’s swamp deer population.

I observed 152 swamp deer between March 3 and 18 : 21 ‘ non-sexed ’

adults, 45 adult males, 57 adult females, and 29 young (including those

approaching yearling size). Fifty-six? of the sexed adults were females

and almost 51% were accompanied by young. Dr. George Schaller

classified a total of 108 swamp deer in May 1965. Fifty-three% of his

sexed adults were females and approximately 33% were accompanied by

young. Both of our observations were apparently prior to the fawning

season. Considering these factors, Kaziranga’s swamp deer population

appears tobe thriving. Because of the open areas which they generally

frequent, swamp deer are readily observed in Kaziranga. However, —

some were undoubtedly missed during the census and there are probably |

at least 250 head in the sanctuary.

fe Baas

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM elt,

Sambar

Sambar are usually shy and somewhat solitary in nature and the

forested areas in which they are generally encountered makes it difficult

to census their numbers accurately. This deer has a wide distribution

in southern Asia and its reproductive behaviour apparently varies with

the region. Blanford (1888-91) reported that in peninsular India the

rut period is from October to November, but Phillips (1927-28) stated

that in the lowlands of Ceylon there is no definite season. Cahalane

(1939) claims that in its ‘native habitat’ the fawning season for

the sambar is usually May or early June and Lydekker (1924) stated that

the gestation period is about eight months. Information concerning

antler development or size of the young was not recorded during the

census. However, the sanctuary staff claimed that adult males in the

sanctuary have hard antlers in October, the rut period occurs in

November and December, and the antlers are shed in late December.

It was also claimed that the main fawning period takes place between

May and June, which is too early to coincide with a November-December

rut period coupled with an eight month gestation period. I saw only two

sambar during my observations in Kaziranga, a female and an adult male

with hard antlers.

A total of 120 sambar were tallied during the two-day census. One-

hundred or 837% were adults, of which only 6 were ‘non-sexed’. Sixty-

one or almost 65% of the 94 sexed adults were females and 20 or almost

33% were accompanied by young. It was surprising to see sucha rela- .

tively high count during the census, but 19 of the sanctuary’s 33 compart-

ments reported no sambar, 6 reported only one each, and 5 reported two

animals each. Three compartments (compartment 5 of the Baguri

Block with 38, compartment 2 of the Bhawani Block with 60, and com-

partment 4 of the Haldhibari Block with 5) reported 103 or 72% of the

total count of 120 sambar. Only one sambar each was reported for

the Kaziranga, Baralimora, and Panbari Blocks, two from the

Charigharia Block, and three from the Tamulipathar Block. Checking

with the Forest Department staff, it was found that the three principal

compartments were noted for their high densities of sambar. Also,

other reliable sources have claimed that they have observed exceptionally

high numbers of sambar in these areas and that, although this species is

usually relatively solitary, they were often seen in groups of over fifteen.

Therefore, the census reports are apparently reliable. Many sambar

were also undoubtedly missed during the census and there are probably

at least 300 in the sanctuary.

Hog Deer

The relatively small and gregarious hog deer is by far the most com-

mon ungulate in Kaziranga. Groups of these deer running through the

514. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63° (3)

dense grasslands are very difficult to count, and accurate age composition

and sex ratio data are even more difficult to collect. Therefore, no

attempt was made during the census to record more than a total count.

A total of 1311 hog deer were tallied during the two-day census.

This is probably only a small proportion of the sanctuary’s population,

which probably numbers between four and five thousand. Dr. George

Schaller classified 290 hog deer in May 1965. Approximately 240 or

83% were adults, of which 118 or 49% were females. Forty-eight or

17% of the females were accompanied by young. He also observed

that approximately 15% of the total population consisted of yearlings

(between one and two years old). Although I observed over 500 hog

deer prior to the census, I only classified groups totalling 128 : 53 adult

males, 59 adult females, and 16 young. Fifty-three% of the adults

were females and 27% of these were accompanied by young.

The sanctuary staff appeared to be indefinite as to when the majority

of hog deer males have hard antlers, when- the main rut occurs, and

when the males shed their antlers. However, the majority of the males

had antlers in velvet (later stages of development) at the time of the

census. A relatively large number also had hard antlers and a few had

recently shed their antlers. It was claimed that the main fawning season

begins between May and June, but it appears that fawning is over an

extended period of time or that there are more than one peak period.

Hog deer are well distributed throughout Kaziranga and only two of

the sanctuary’s 33 compartments (1 and 4 in the Baralimora Block)

failed to report them.

Barking Deer

Barking deer are solitary forest dwellers. They never form large

groups or herds, although they are occasionally encountered in family

groups of two or three. The dense forest undergrowth which they

normally inhabit and their solitary and shy disposition make it extremely

difficult to determine their numbers accurately. Little appears to be

known about their reproductive physiology in Kaziranga, other than

it is claimed that all of the males have hard antlers in July. Although

they were reported to be relatively abundant in some of the sanctuary’s

forests, I observed only two and am, therefore, unable to add any

additional information concerning this species.

A total of 29 barking deer were tallied during the two-day census.

Sex and age ratio data was not recorded. However, all were observed

in the forested areas of three of the sanctuary’s eight blocks, Baguri,

Haldhibari, and Panbari. This is probably only a small proportion of

the total population and there are undoubtedly 100 or more in the

sanctuary.

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM a05

Wild Pig

Wild pig are relatively common in many parts of Kaziranga, parti-

cularly in the marshy grasslands. Except for solitary males, they are

usually encountered in family groups or sounders. The dense grass

which they generally frequent and their practice of breaking for cover

when closely approached make it difficult to count their numbers

accurately or to determine the sex and age composition for groups

observed. Although they are reported not to have any definite breeding

season, I did not see any small young among the 118 pigs which J

observed prior to the census. Half-grown young were, however,

frequently seen.

A total of 155 wild pigs were tallied during the two-day census. One-

hundred and thirty-seven or 88% were recorded as adults, of which 72

or almost 52% were ‘non-sexed’. Twenty-seven or 43% of the sexed

adults were females and they were accompanied by 20 young. Eleven

of the sanctuary’s 33 compartments, including the entire Bhawani Block,

reported no pig. Only a small proportion of the wild pig population

was observed during the census and an estimate of five to six hundred

for the sanctuary would not be unreasonable.

Other Animals

Other animals recorded during the census included: gaur or Indian

‘ bison ’, tiger, leopard, bear, otter, water monitor, and python.

Gaur—are not uncommon in the Mikir Hills to the south, but they

have rarely been seen in Kaziranga. There is one unofficial report of

a herd of nine of these impressive bovines and several skulls of adult

males have been recovered from the sanctuary. These are presently on

display at the Range Officer’s office in Kohora. However, many men

on the staff have never observed gaur in this area. A single solitary

male was observed in the Charigharia Block during the census and

probably fewer than 20 inhabit the sanctuary.

Tiger—have been infrequently observed in Kaziranga. However,

based upon the relatively few tiger signs observed, they appear to be

quite rare in the sanctuary. This is rather surprising considering the

abundance of prey species, particularly hog deer and wild pig. Two

were observed during the census, one each in the Haldhibari and Bhawani

Blocks. A courting pair was also observed during my June visit at Mihi

Mukh. Probably fewer than 20 exist in the sanctuary.

Leopard—have been seen in Kaziranga on only a few occasions.

Some members of the Forest Department who are intimately acquainted

with the sanctuary have never observed leopard nor their sign in the

sanctuary. Except for a leopard skull, I likewise observed no sign of

leopard. However, several visitors reported seeing a leopard climb a

tree along the road leading to Arimora just a few days prior to the census.

316 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

A leopard was also reported in the Kaziranga Block during the census.

Although their presence has been definitely established, they are still

apparently rare and it is doubtful that more than a dozen reside in the

sanctuary.

Bear—appear to be relatively common in Kaziranga. Although they

are generally noted for being nocturnal in habits, they are quite fre-

quently observed in many parts of the sanctuary. I saw what appeared

to be an adult sloth bear in the Baguri Block on March 6. Many bear

signs (i.e. scratches on trees and destroyed termite hills) were particularly

evident in the forested areas of this block. Besides official sightings of

sloth and Himalayan black bear, visitors have also reported seeing bear

with a yellow ‘ U’ on their chest, which may well be the Malayan sun

bear. Two bears were observed during the census, one each in the

Baguri and Kaziranga Blocks. Although difficult to estimate, there are

probably at least 30 in the sanctuary.

Otter—are frequently seen along the sanctuary’s numerous streams

and in many of its bils. Fishing is prohibited inside Kaziranga and as

a result many of the streams and bils are literally teeming with fish.

The abundance of food and suitable habitat probably account for the

relatively large numbers of this interesting mammal, which has become

all too rare in many parts of India. Prior to the census I observed

more than 50 otter, including numerous family groups. A total of 29

were reported during the census from five of the sanctuary’s eight blocks.

There are probably several hundred otter in the sanctuary.

Water Monitor—Water monitor (Varanus sp.) are fairly common in

some of the marshy areas or along some of the sanctuary’s waterways.

These reptiles often attain a total length of over six feet. Their large

size and striking colouration, consisting of a dark background splotched

with bright yellow, make an impressive sight. I observed two prior to

the census and two were also reported during the census. A relatively

accurate estimate of their total numbers in the sanctuary would be very

difficult to ascertain.

Indian Python—are one of the various species of snakes which are

not too uncommon in many parts of Kaziranga. However, due to the

annual burning of much of the grassland, their numbers are probably

held somewhat in check. I observed a python in the Baguri Block

prior to the census. It was approximately 10 feet long and had recently

swallowed a meal. Another python was also observed during the census

in the Kaziranga Block. A cobra was seen near Baguri during my

June visit. No attempt will even be made to estimate the numbers of

python or other snakes in the sanctuary.

Time of Observation

It is generally assumed by many people that most wild animals are

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM ily

more readily observed during the morning rather than in the afternoon

or evening. However, my observations prior to the Kaziranga census

indicated that this was not true for many mammals in the sanctuary

during this time of the year. For example, on March 5, I spent three

and three-fourths hours (06°15 to 10°00) in the morning and about three

and three-fourths hours (14°15 to 18°10) in the afternoon on elephant

back making a somewhat circular transect in the Baguri Block, visiting

as many bils as possible. Besides other mammals, I observed 14 rhino

and 34 buffalo during the morning and 17 rhino and 73 buffalo during

the afternoon. The following day I followed the same route, but in

reverse order. This time I spent four and one-half hours (06°45 to 11°15)

in the morning and about four hours (14:00 to 18°10) in the afternoon

on elephant back. Again fewer animals were observed during the

morning than during the afternoon: 11 rhino and 55 buffalo as com-

pared to 23 rhino and 88 buffalo. During an additional eight days

spent on elephant back in other parts of the sanctuary, the same trend

generally held true and I usually observed more animals in the afternoon

than in the morning. Therefore, during the two-day census the counts

were tabulated on a morning versus afternoon basis. Due to a number

of factors, the census parties worked a total of 158 hours during the

morning and only 96 hours during the afternoon. However, comparing

the numbers of the common mammal species observed per hour for each

period, the data again indicates that the afternoon was best to observe

most animals in the sanctuary during this season (see Table 4).

TABLE 4

COMMON LARGE MAMMALS OBSERVED DURING THE MORNING AS COMPARED TO

THE AFTERNOON DURING THE 1966 WILD LIFE CENSUS OF THE KAZIRANGA

Average paper Per Census Total Number Observed

our

Kind of Animal |

Morning Afternoon | Morning Afternoon

le (158: rs.) (96 hrs.)

Rhino 1) 1°6 207 159

Elephant 0°4 29 69 280

Buffalo 2 2°9 194 pI G |

Swamp Deer 0-9 0°8 139 74

Sambar 0'1 1-1 P14 106

Hog Deer 5°] 671 724 587

Wild Pig OF 0-4 112 43

Other Factors

It will be noted that those blocks in which livestock grazing is per-

mitted or that are most distant from the cultivated areas along the Grand

Trunk Road had lower densities of wild animals, particularly rhino,

518 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

than did the other blocks. In the case of areas grazed by livestock,

this can probably be attributed to a lack of suitable forage and perhaps

to disturbances and other factors associated with domestic livestock

grazing. However, in the case of the more distant areas that are not.

grazed by domestic livestock to any appreciable extent, it is difficult to

pinpoint the exact reasons. The habitat may be less desirable or,

perhaps, particularly in the case of rhino, poaching may be an important

factor. Also, it may be that the cultivated areas along the southern

boundary serve as an attraction to wild animals, such as the rhino, and

that they tend to congregate in the adjoining parts of the sanctuary so

as to have ready access to the cultivation during the crop seasons. Crop

depredation, particularly by rhino, is a serious problem in this area

and one man was recently killed by a rhino while trying to protect his’

crops. Wild buffalo, particularly solitary bulls joining herds of domestic

cows, are also a problem and a number of people in the vicinity of

Kaziranga have been injured by them.

V. CONSERVATION PROBLEMS

Livestock

It was realized when Kaziranga was first recognized as a sanctuary

that domestic livestock grazing is not desirable in an area dedicated to

the preservation of wild life. However, grazing had previously been

permitted when Kaziranga was recognized as a Reserved Forest. There-

fore, graziers had established prior rights. Also, due to the prevalence

of rhino poaching and a lack of sufficient number of Forest Department

personnel to patrol the sanctuary and to protect the wild life effectively,

the then Chief Conservator of Forests (Mr. A. J. W. Milroy) felt that

the establishment of khutis along the bank of the Brahmaputra would

help to deter poachers from the sanctuary. Poachers were generally

known to enter this area from the Brahmaputra River. Therefore, an

_ agreement was made between the Forest Department and the professional

graziers whereby the graziers would immediately report to the Forest

Department anyone whom they observed entering the sanctuary through

their khutis or buffalo camps along the banks of the river. Although

such information has oftentimes been of value, it is not known whether —

or not this service is presently of sufficient value to offset the deleterious

effects of livestock grazing. Grazing fees are presently paid to the Forest

Department by 39 professional graziers for rights to graze over 1500

head of adult buffalo in the sanctuary areas bordering the Brahmaputra

River. Fees are not charged for animals under two years old and they

are not included in the official total. Eight of these professional graziers

also pay fees to graze almost 300 head of adult cattle in this area. There-

fore, the actual number of domestic animals, including animals under

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM oie)

two years of age, presently grazing in the part of the sanctuary adjoining

the Brahmaputra probably exceeds 3000 head.

Prior to 1950 domestic livestock grazing in Kaziranga was confined

to the khuti areas along the Brahmaputra. However, due to political

expediency, livestock grazing was then initiated in the Kaziranga Block.

_ The Government then gave grazing rights inside the sanctuary to villagers

living along the boundaries of Kaziranga. This initially involved the

encroachment of domestic livestock upon a one-square-mile area, but

has since been extended to a two-square-mile area. This grazing area

is not demarcated and the cancerous disease of overgrazing by domestic

livestock is slowly eating its way deeper and deeper into the sanctuary.

Presently 10 professional graziers and 56 villagers have permits to graze

over 450 head of adult buffalo in this area. Although cattle are sup-

posedly excluded, I counted over 100 head of cattle during my brief

visit to the Kaziranga Block on March 14. I also observed over 30

head of domestic buffalo near Charigharia on March 8, which is in the

heart of the sanctuary. In addition, livestock belonging to villagers

living along the sanctuary’s boundaries almost invariably graze along

the edges of the sanctuary. Therefore, in addition to illegal grazing,

approximately four to five thousand head of livestock are presently

grazed inside Kaziranga.

When domestic livestock and wild life are present in the same area

there is direct competition for forage, and wild life is usually the first

to suffer and become eliminated. This was dramatically demonstrated

by the results of the Kaziranga wild life census. Areas inhabited by

domestic livestock contained relatively few, if any, wild ungulates. This

was particularly true in the case of rhino. For example, prior to the

advent of grazing in 1950, compartment 4 in the Kaziranga Block was

noted as one of the sanctuary’s outstanding rhino areas. However,

only eight rhino were reported during the census for the entire compart-

ment. Further, none were observed in the two-square-mile area grazed |

by domestic livestock.

The presence of domestic livestock also presents the possibility of

introducing diseases and parasites which may prove fatal to wild life

populations. There is the possibility that the sanctuary’s wild buffalo

population is presently being controlled by parasites or diseases. An

example which may be attributed to the drastic effects of disease upon

wild animal populations is the case of the near extermination of the

swamp deer in Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh.

The grazing of domestic livestock requires the presence of herders

and other people. In addition to the domestic animals, these also

create disturbances which many wild animals cannot tolerate. As a

result, their numbers will decrease or the species may eventually dis-

appear altogether from an area. The high incidence of mortality due

520 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

to injuries sustained in fighting among rhino in the Laokhowa Reserve

may be the result of too many disturbances. Females with recently

born young will often abandon them if they are frequently disturbed or

if their young are touched by humans.

Erosion

Annual flooding of Kaziranga is undoubtedly essential for the main-

tenance of optimum habitat for wild animals such as rhino, wild buffalo,

and so forth. However, the loss by erosion of relatively large portions

of the sanctuary bordering the Brahmaputra is a major problem. Al-

though some areas on the western end of the sanctuary are being built

up by deposition, erosion from the eastern end is taking place at a more

accelerated rate. It is presently estimated that about 15-square-miles

of Kaziranga have been lost to erosion since 1950.

The Embankment and Drainage Department (E. & D. Dept.) has pro-

posed that a bund for flood control be constructed along the Brahmaputra

in the north-eastern part of Kaziranga. Preliminary surveys were ini-

tiated in 1965, but were discontinued upon the insistence of the Forest

Department. The E. & D. Dept. maintains that the construction of a

bund is essential for flood control. On the other hand, the Forest

Department claims that annual flooding of the sanctuary is essential for

the welfare of the wild life and that the consequences of flood control

would be worse than the losses to erosion. Presently this issue is a

controversy between the two departments.

Some experimental plantings of different grasses and shrubs for the

control of erosion have been made in one area inside the sanctuary. ~

Although the value of such plantings has not yet been thoroughly de-

monstrated, it appears that such methods of erosion control should be

investigated. It also appears that overgrazing by domestic livestock

along the banks of the river may be a contributing factor in the accelera-

tion of erosion. As previously mentioned, without the annual floods

temporarily clearing the water areas inside the sanctuary, they would

shortly become a solid mass of water hyacinth. In addition, the

elimination of annual flooding would change the ecology of the entire

sanctuary. There is also the danger that if a bund was constructed it

may be breached by the high flood waters of the Brahmaputra, which

would then result in the devastation of the sanctuary and its wild life.

It is my opinion that the Forest Department is right in not permitting

the construction of a bund in this area. However, measures should be

taken to check the sanctuary’s losses to erosion. These would probably

include the removal of domestic livestock grazing along the banks of the

Brahmaputra and extensive plantings in the affected areas. Chapories

formed along the southern bank of the river at the western end of

Kaziranga should also be considered as a part of the sanctuary.

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM §21

Exploitation

Exploitation of Kaziranga’s natural resources, with the exception

of domestic livestock grazing, was prohibited until this year. How-

ever, in February 1966 the Government of Assam passed an order allow-

ing the local people to collect thatch from the sanctuary for domestic

use. It is argued by some that such natural resources should be

exploited, rather than ‘ wasted’ or annually burned. However, if such

exploitations are permitted inside the sanctuary, where is the line to be

drawn? Numerous examples could be given of how the wild life in

many of India’s other sanctuaries has been completely devastated by the

ever-increasing demands of the local people for the exploitation of their

natural resources. The results in many cases has been the conversion of

once beautiful and choice areas, with great economic potential, into little

more than deserts which are of little value to anyone.

Education

Without the co-operation of the inhabitants living and working in

the vicinity of Kaziranga, it is difficult, if not almost impossible, to ad-

minister efficiently or to protect fully the sanctuary and its wild life.

The importance of publicity and education cannot be over-estimated.

The local villagers and particularly the local members of the legislature

must be convinced of the long-term economic advantages of wild life re-

sources. It is essential that the right kind of publicity and education be

done so that these people will be emissaries of nature conservation, rather

than advocates for immediate short-term exploitation of the sanctuary’s

natural resources. Perhaps the local people could most easily be con-

vinced of the value of Kaziranga by some concrete and useful project,

such as the construction of a school with funds proclaimed as having

come from a part of the revenue earned by the sanctuary’s wild life.

Kaziranga, in addition to already being the most outstanding wild

life sanctuary in southern Asia, has the potential of becoming one of India’s

greatest sources of much needed foreign exchange. This potential will

probably never be realized if political expediency is permitted to dominate

the sanctuary’s practices and policies. The question should be settled

once and forall. Is Kaziranga going to be permitted to realize its poten-

tial long-term economic advantages based upon the conservation of its

wild life resources ? Or are ever increasing demands for immediate short-

term exploitation of its natural resources going to be met? Both cannot

be realized simultaneously ! Visitors to Kaziranga are not willing to

pay travel and accommodation expenses for the opportunity of seeing

domestic livestock or grass cutters inside the sanctuary. Now is the time

to make the decision. If those in-responsible positions are wise enough

to choose the better course of action, they will probably initiate the

necessary legislation to constitute Kaziranga legally as an inviolate

522 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

national park—dedicated to the preservation of a part of India’s great

wild life heritage and above the demands of exploitation by the local

people and politicians. The status of a national park would also give

added prestige and publicity to this outstanding wild life area.

Poaching and Illegal Fishing

Although poaching, particularly of rhino, is one of the problems con-

fronting Kaziranga, it does not appear to have attained the proportions

that some recent newspaper articles have indicated. Poaching also

appears to be restricted primarily to the north-eastern part of the

sanctuary, particularly in the areas most distant from the office at Kohora

and specifically in the vicinity of Dhansiri Mukh. Poaching appears

almost non-existent in the areas frequented by visitors, such as near Mihi

Mukh and the Baguri Block.

The common method for poaching rhino in this area is the digging of

pits along their trails. In this manner a small band of poachers has a very

good chance of obtaining a number of rhino with relatively little danger

of being apprehended. Rhino horn, most of which eventually reaches

China where it is thought to have potent aphrodisiac qualities, is said to

sell for as much as Rs. 6000 per kg. on the black market.

Professional fishermen also enter Kaziranga with their boats and nets

during the flood season or by means of its many streams. They often

hide their equipment in or near the numerous bils and return at irregular

intervals to exploit the sanctuary’s fishery resources illegally. It is

claimed that a single party can remove as much as Rs. 2000 of fish from

the sanctuary per day. We found and destroyed eight dug-outs, most of

which had been hidden by sinking them along the edges of bils. How-

ever, due primarily to the dense cover, it is extremely difficult to appre-

hend the culprits and even more difficult to take them into custody.

It is not economically feasible to employ sufficient personnel to

maintain a continual vigilance over the entire sanctuary. Neither should

the sanctuary be ‘ honey-combed’ with numerous roads for patrolling

purposes. However, there are a number of preventive measures which

could be employed.

Both poachers and fishermen generally operate inside Kaziranga in

armed bands. Therefore, a single or even several Wild Life Guards are

practically helpless or take a great risk in attempting to take them into

custody. In order to operate efficiently against such groups, patrol units of

at least six armed men are needed. Also, the most efficient or practically

the only means of travel in much of the sanctuary is by elephant back.

Anti-Poaching Squads or Patrol Units consisting of at least two elephants,

their mahouts and grass cutters, and armed guards supervised by a

Deputy Ranger would probably be the best and most economical means

of combating such illegal activities. Such units should be supplied with

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM 523

tents and other equipment so that they could remain in the field inde-

finitely. Portable walkie-talkie sets would also be valuable in co-ordinat-

ing the activities of such groups and providing a means of communication

with the rest of the sanctuary. These units would be completely mobile

and their mere presence should act as a deterrent to poachers or other

law-breakers. These units could also be shifted to patrol boats during the

monsoon or flood seasons.

There is a dire need for ameans of communication inside the sanctuary.

Travel at best is slow and difficult. Presently it often takes the better

part of a day for men stationed at the various guard posts in the sanctuary

to send a report to the office at Kohora or vice versa. Under such

conditions little can be done to co-ordinate activities in situations suchas

the apprehension of law-breakers. Either a telephone or radio com-

munications system should be installed at least between all beats and the

office at Kohora. Telephone communication between Kohora and

Jorhat, Gauhati and Shillong should also be improved, both for official

use and for use by visitors to Kaziranga.

Fair-weather roads presently connect Kohora and Baguri with the

Forest Rest House at Arimora. However, travel on them is slow and

rough and they are jeepable only during a part of the year. Although it

ls probably advisable to keep road construction inside the sanctuary to

a minimum, it is suggested that the present roads be improved and main-

tained in good condition and that an east-west road be constructed along

the south bank of the Diphlu River connecting the Kohora and Baguri

roads. Vehicular traffic would thus be improved and the movement

of men and supplies inside the sanctuary would be greatly facilitated.

Besides a lack of equipment such as arms and ammunition, there is

presently little incentive for Wild Life Guards to apprehend those whom

they encounter violating the law. They are subject to great personal

risks when attempting to apprehend violators, but gain little, if anything,

by taking them into custody. They receive the same pay, which in most

cases appears to be inadequate, whether they fully meet their obligations

as guardians of the public domain or whether they do very little in this

regard. Men are rarely rewarded for work well done, while, on the other

hand, they are rarely dismissed for not fulfilling their obligations. A

system of rewards for acts of bravery and devotion to duty would serve

as an added incentive to apprehend poachers. And, a more effective

system of punishment should be established so that men who do not meet

their obligations can be dealt with effectively.

The presence of visitors in an area acts as a deterrent to poachers and

other law-breakers. Therefore, visitors to Kaziranga should be en-

couraged to visit as much of the sanctuary as possible. This can be

done by the provision of accommodations and other facilities in as many

parts of the sanctuary as possible. For example, if in addition to

524. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Kohora, accommodations and elephants were furnished for visitors at

Arimora, Baguri, and near Kaziranga, the greater part of the sanctuary

would probably be immune to illegal activities such as poaching.

Administration

The Forest Department officers in charge of the Kaziranga Wild

Life Sanctuary have been trained in forestry. Very few have received

training in wild life management. Considering this, the supervision and

administration of Kaziranga has been especially commendable. This

may in part be attributed to the fact that many members of the staff have

a personal interest in wild life and have taken it upon themselves to learn

some of the basic concepts of wild life management. However, like

forestry, wild life management is a technical profession and a fulltime

job.

It has been wisely proposed in the Forest Department’s present five-

year working plan that the cadre for the protection and preservation of

the State’s wild life should be separated. A Wild Life Division within

the Forest Department has worked well in other states such as Uttar

Pradesh. Such a division would help to attract qualified men and would

provide a means whereby personnel interested in this specialized type of

work could be better trained. It would also make for better administra-

tion of the State’s various wild life areas and provide opportunities for

promotion in this field. Presently when a man is promoted for out-

standing work in a sanctuary, such as Kaziranga, it almost invariably

means that he must be transferred back to aregular Forest Department

position.

VI. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are made :

1. That Kaziranga be legally constituted and officially recognized

as a National Park. i

2. That the exploitation of Kaziranga’s natural resources, including

the cutting of reeds and thatch, felling of trees, fishing, and shooting,

be perpetually prohibited and the rules and regulations prohibiting their

exploitation be strictly enforced.

3. That all domestic livestock grazing be prohibited inside the sanc-

tuary. If this is not presently possible, only established khutis along

the bank of the Brahmaputra River in the northern part of the sanctuary

should be allowed to remain and then the numbers of domestic grazing

animals should be progressively reduced and strictly controlled. Live-

stock grazing in the Kaziranga Block should be stopped immediately.

4. That all areas south of the Grand Trunk Road into which rhino -

and other animals move during the flood season be declared as a Buffer

Zone and be demarcated as such.

> RNS pe eeeeeene meme ne ae

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM 525

5. That the portions of the Mikir Hills south of Kaziranga into

which elephant and other animals migrate be constituted as a Reserved

Forest.

6. That, because of administrative and political difficulties involved,

the actual area of Kaziranga not be added to, but that all chapories

formed along the south bank of the Brahmaputra River, either by

erosion or by deposition, be considered as a part of Kaziranga.

7. That the construction of roads and facilities within the sanctuary

proper be maintained at a minimum. However, that the present roads

be improved and that an east-west road connecting the present Baguri

and Arimora roads be constructed along the south bank of the Diphlu

River.

8. That a telephone or radio communication system be installed

between each of the beats in the sanctuary and the office in Kohora.

Telephone connections between Kohora and Jorhat, Gauhati and Shillong

should also be improved.

9. That mobile patrol units (consisting of mahouts, elephants, and

armed guards with portable walkie-talkie sets) be detailed to patrol

regularly the entire sanctuary to minimise illegal activities, particularly

the poaching of rhino.

10. That a separate Wild Life Staff or Division be established within

the Forest Department on a State-wide basis. This would permit the

selection of men interested in and qualified for positions in the State’s

wild life areas and would also provide opportunities for promotion for

outstanding work in this field.

11. That a system of rewards and punishments be established to

encourage Forest Department personnel to better meet their obligations

concerning the preservation and protection of wild life. Rewards for

acts of bravery and devotion to duty, as well as a portion of all fines

collected, should be given to the Forest Department personnel

concerned. Likewise, greater emphasis should be placed on meting out

suitable punishment to those that neglect or violate their obligations as

guardians of their nation’s wild life.

12. That an esprit de corps be fostered in the Wild Life Staff by such

means as: the provision of uniforms and appropriate badges for all

personnel, the payment of salaries appropriate to the obligations and

duties entailed, the provision of opportunities for advancement in all

positions, the provision of adequate living accommodations, and a

system of rewards and punishments as recommended in No. 11.

13. That additional facilities for visitors be provided. First class

accommodations at Kohora need to be improved, and additional faci-

lities are also needed during the December-April visitor season and for

groups on scheduled tours. These could most economically be provided

by the construction of dormitory facilities. Tourist Lodges with modern

526. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

conveniences, adequate staff, elephants, etc., are also needed at Baguri

and at the eastern end of the sanctuary.

14. That transportation be provided for visitors from Jorhat to

Kohora and within the sanctuary. The possibilities of constructing an

airfield in the vicinity of Kaziranga should also be thoroughly

investigated.

15. That private enterprise, under the direct supervision of the

Forest Department, be encouraged in the construction, maintenance,

and operation of the sanctuary’s visitor facilities, such as Tourist Lodges,

catering, transportation, boat excursions, souvenir shops, and so forth.

16.. That a programme of education and publicity be undertaken

both to help people in the vicinity of Kaziranga become aware of the

importance and value of this area and to attract visitors.

17. That information concerning the sanctuary (i.e. pamphlets,

folders, postcards, etc.) should be made available through the Depart-

ment of Tourism and recognized tourist agencies.

18. That wild life enumerations, similar to this year’s, be conducted

on an annual basis. However, that the most efficient and economical

means of conducting such surveys also be thoroughly investigated.

19. That scientific studies of the sanctuary’s wild life, particularly of

the rhino, be encouraged by qualified personnel and that facilities

(i.e. accommodation, elephants, etc.) be provided whenever possible.

20. That wild life observations both by visitors and by the sanctuary

staff be kept in a permanent record in the sanctuary. Also, that check-

lists of the sanctuary’s birds, mammals, and reptiles be compiled and

provided for visitors.

21. That aerial photographs be obtained of the sanctuary and that

accurate maps depicting the vegetation types, bils, etc., of Kaziranga be

made from them.

VIT. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank the Forest Department of Assam and members of

its staff, particularly Messrs. P. Barua (Chief Conservator of Forests),

M. A. Islam (Upper Assam Circle Conservator of Forests), H. K. Nath

(Sibsagar Divisional Forest Officer), and C. L. Chakravarty (Kaziranga

Range Officer) for their hospitality and assistance. Also, the accom-

modations furnished both for me and my family during our two enjoyable

visits to. Kaziranga are greatly appreciated. Mr. A. C. Gohain (Wild

Life Officer for Assam), who accompanied me in the field most of the

time, deserves special thanks for his assistance and patience. .The

assistance and services of other Forest Department personnel, too

numerous to list individually, were also most welcome.

The Forest Department of Assam and its staff are to be commended

for the fine work they have done and are doing to help preserve wild

KAZIRANGA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, ASSAM

oi)

life and its habitat in Kaziranga as a part of India’s wild life heritage,

I am anxiously looking forward to Kaziranga being legally constituted

as a national park in the near future and also recognized as Asia’s

outstanding wild life attraction.

VU.

ASDELL, S. A. (1964): Patterns of

mammalian reproduction. 670 pp.

Ithaca, N. Y.

BLANFORD, W. T. (1888-91): Fauna

of British India. Mammals. London.

BrANDeER, A. A. D. (1923): Wild

animals in Central India. London.

CAHALANE, V. H. (1939): Nat. Geo-

grahphic Mag. 76 : 463-510.

GEE, E. P. (1953): Life history of the

Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros

(Rhinoceros unicornis Linn.). J. Bombay

nat. Hist. Soc. 51 (2) : 341-348.

————— (1959): Report on a

survey of the rhinoceros area of Nepal.

Oryx, Jour. Fauna Preservation Soc.,

5 (2) : 30 pp.

Heare, W. (1901): Quart.

Mammal Soc. 44 : 1-70.

KELKER, G. H., & SPULeTT, J. J.

(1966) : Wild life inventories. Cheetal,

Jour.

LITERATURE CONSULTED

Jour. Wild Life Preservation Soc. India:

8 (2) : 46-49.

LYDEKKER, R. (1924): Game animals

of India, Burma, Malaya, and Tibet.

London.

Puiiires, W. W. A. (1927) : Guide to

the Mammals of Ceylon. Part VI.

Ungulata. Spolia Zeylan. 14: 1-50.

Colombo.

PRATER, S. H. (1965) : Book of Indian

Animals, 2nd ed. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc., Bombay.

SPILLETT, J. J., & KELKER, G. H.

(1965) : Census techniques in wild life

Management. Cheetal, Jour. Wild Life

Preservation Soc. India. 8 (1) : 6-13.

TALBOT, L. M. (1959): A look at

threatened species, 133 pp. Fauna

Preservation Soc., London.

ZUCKERMAN, S. (1953): The breeding

seasons of mammals in captivity. Proc .

Zool. Soc., Lond. 122 : 827-950.

IX. GLOSSARY OF LOCAL TERMS

bil or bheel

A small lake or pond (same as jhee/).

A dike or embankment ; sometimes denotes the road running

a riverain island formed either by erosion or deposition.

the pad used on a riding elephant ; Nichol’s guddiis used on the

a wasteful method of shifting cultivation as practised chiefly

a camp established for the grazing of domestic buffalo, such as

along the bank of the Brahmaputra River in Kaziranga.

elephant catching, especially in a corral or stockade.

the noosing of wild elephants by men riding on trained domestic

bund

along the top of an embankment.

chapori

guddi

elephants in Kaziranga.

jhum

by hill tribes in north-eastern India.

khuti

khedda

mela shikar

elephants.

mora

literally means dead, but also used to denote a former channel

or a stream, i.e. Mora Diphlu,

528 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

mukh

nala or nulla

reserve

Reserved Forest

the confluence of two streams.

a small ravine or stream.

(See Reserved Forest).

an area of waste or forest land so constituted under the Indian

Forest Act or other forest law, in which the Government has

full proprietary rights over the forest produce and in which

all acts are illegal unless specifically permitted.

LAOKHOWA AND OTHER RHINO AREAS IN ASSAM aye)

Laokhowa and other Rhino Areas in Assam

J. JUAN SPILLETT

I, LAOKHOWA ud As of se ae eR

Il. KUKURATA .. ast Pa o Re 2 Dail

Ill. RAjJA MAYANG 7 ee ay " neo S2

ITV. ORANG bis Py Me se Aisa"

V. ELSEWHERE fe os se +. 5 OD:

TABLE

Results of the Laokhowa Reserve Wild Life enumeration conducted by the Forest

Department on 28 March 1966 se ae sf 530)

I. LAOKHOWA

The 26-square-mile Laokhowa Reserved Forest was constituted as

such about 1929, but has been recognized as a ‘ multiple-use’ area

since 1958 and was proposed as a Wild Life Reserve in 1965. The

reserve includes one forest village of 51 households or approximately

535 people, seven taungya' villages with a total of 166 households or

between 800 and 900 people and 140 acres of plantation forests. Each

forest village household is allowed to cultivate two and one-third acres

inside the reserve and each taungya household is allowed two acres.

They are also permitted free and unrestricted grazing inside the sanctuary

and it is estimated that each household has at least three head of live-

stock. In addition, the Ruphiahi Co-operative (a fishery and farming

co-op.) has leased 400 acres for agricultural cultivation since 1958 for

Rs. 1:75 per acre per year, and the reserve’s bil/s are exploited for their

fishery resources on a lease system. Permits are also given to villagers

living in the vicinity of the reserve for the grazing of domestic livestock.

In short, the Laokhowa Reserve has a human population of appro-

ximately 1400, contains at least 1000 acres of cultivation, and provides

grazing for approximately 5000 head of livestock. This is apart from

the fact that its forest and fishery resources are also exploited to the

fullest extent.

1 Taungya is a forest village in which the villagers cultivate plantation forests in

return for rights of cultivation etc. in the forest area.

530 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Approximately 70% of the reserve consists of open areas, including

grasslands, cultivation, bils, etc., and the remaining 30% consists of

forests, primarily of plantation or pure natural stands of simul (Bombax

ceiba) or mixed open forests of simul and koroi (Albizzia procera). The

relatively soft and light wood from these two species is used primarily

for matches and match boxes.

We travelled from Kaziranga to Nowgong on March 12. I met

Mr. P. C. Gogoi (Nowgong Divisional Forest Officer) that evening and

discussed the status of the rhino in the Nowgong Forest Division. The

following day we visited Laokhowa, which is 13 miles from the town

of Nowgong. Elephants were provided by the Forest Department and

we spent the morning inside the reserve searching for rhino. Members

of the staff estimated that there were between 30 and 40 rhino in the

reserve and it was claimed that 37 were counted in 1965. They further

stated that rhino were restricted primarily to the eastern and central

parts of the reserve. However, the largest bi/ (Khalihamari) which has

the most suitable habitat (cover) is located in the north-western corner.

The two rhino which we observed during our visit were located here.

Other wild animals inside the reserve include : wild buffalo (we saw six),

a few wild pig, hog deer, and swamp deer. A wild life enumeration,

utilizing methods comparable to those used in Kaziranga, was conducted

by the Forest Department on March 28. The reserve was divided into

six compartments. Census parties consisting of an enumerator, guide,

mahout, and elephant tallied the animals observed in each compartment.

Most of the rhino were seen in the north-western part of the reserve or

along the Mora Suti, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River. The results

of the Forest Department’s enumeration are presented in the Table.

TABLE

RESULTS OF THE LAOKHOWA RESERVE WILD LIFE ENUMERATION CONDUCTED

BY THE ForEST DEPARTMENT ON 28 MARCH 1966

Number of Animals

Kind of Animal ‘ Non- wy Youn | Total

sexed ’ Adult Adult Baa

Male Female

a eee ae 1 | | A

Rhino I IES) 12 | 3 4]

Wild Buffalo — 10 29 | il 50

Swamp Deer =e 4 | — a= | 14

Hog Deer — 6 — | — | 6

Wild Pig os 5 | — | -— | 5

Numerous people were observed to be moving freely about the reserve

during our visit. Overgrazing by domestic livestock was also evident in

all parts visited. Besides the apparent lack of sufficient forage to main-

LAOKHOWA AND OTHER RHINO AREAS IN ASSAM 531

tain animals the size of rhino, cover also appeared to be almost non-

existent. During the afternoon we jeeped to the north-eastern part of

the reserve and questioned a number of villagers there as to the presence

of rhino. They claimed that there were four, including a large calf,

in that area. Based upon my limited observations and the degree of

habitat abuse presently being practised in the Laokhowa Reserve, I

doubt that its rhino population will be able to increase or even maintain

its present status.

Three cases of rhino dying as a result of injuries sustained in fighting

have been reported from Laokhowa since 1964. An adult female died

in July 1964, a male in February 1965, and another male in November

1965. The weights of the recovered horns were 0°57, 0°14, and 2°20 kg.

respectively. Whether or not this high incidence of mortality due to

fighting can be attributed to a lack of forage and/or the presence of so

many disturbing elements is not known.

II. KUKURATA

En route to Nowgong, Mr. Gohain and I also visited the Kukurata

Reserved Forest, located along the Brahmaputra River west of Kaziranga.

This small reserve contains about 8000 acres, most of which consists of

plantation teak (Tectona grandis). We were met by Mr. R. N. Saikia

(Jaklabhanda Beat Officer), who informed us that the rhino in this area

inhabited an approximately one-square-mile grassland marsh called

Mohkhuti Bil. This 5i/ is located along the north-western boundary

of the reserve 11 miles downstream from Kaziranga. Although this

area is outside the reserve and we were informed that the rhino rarely

enter the reserve proper, Mr. Saikia stated that the nearby villagers

come to the Forest Department for help whenever the rhino raid their

crops. Also he counted seven different rhino, including two calves,

while attempting to frighten them away from the paddy fields in January.

He accompanied us to Mohkhuti Bil, where we met several members

of the Embankment and Drainage Department. This department has

constructed a bund along the southern edge of the Dil for flood control

and a small staff remains in the area. One man informed us that he

saw a female rhino with a small calf cross the bund the previous day

(March 11) and the watchman claimed that he saw four rhino (apparently

all adults) on March 10. Some of the nearby villagers claimed that

there were more than seven rhino in the area, but they had no idea

what the actual number might be. However. it appears almost certain

that there are at least seven in this vicinity.

532 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

II. RAJA MAYANG

It was proposed by the Forest Department in 1965 that the 4464-acre

Raja Mayang Forest area be constituted as the Pobitora Reserved Forest.

This reserve is also located in the Nowgong Forest Division and the

Forest Department claims that it contains 12 rhino. Perhaps to be on

the conservative side, this number should be reduced by half.

A case of poaching was detected by the Forest Department in Raja

Mayang in 1964. The case was investigated by the police and the

1:75 kg. horn of an adult female was recovered and turned over to the

Forest Department. An adult male also died in February 1966 from

injuries sustained in fighting. The horn from this rhino weighed

1:265 kilograms.

“IV. ORANG

I was informed by Mr. Gogoi that the 24-square-mile Orang Reserved

Forest in the Darrang Forest Division has a rhino population of

approximately 25. However, many of these rhino do not permanently

reside there, but frequently enter or leave the reserve. It was further

stated that this reserve and the surrounding areas are probably inhabited

by a total of approximately 50 rhino, including the near-by chapories of

the Brahmaputra River, and that they are increasing in numbers every

year. Mr. Gee estimated in 1964 that there were only 12 rhino in

Orang. Therefore, to be on the conservative side, I will accept his

figure, but will add a few to his estimate of total rhino found outside

of the sanctuaries or reserved forests in Assam.

V. ELSEWHERE

Besides the rhino reported in the areas surrounding the Orang

Reserved Forest, the Doboka Reserved Forest also contains two adult

rhino, supposedly an adult male and a female. This area, located 32

miles from the town of Nowgong, also reported the death of an adult

male in April 1964 as a result of injuries sustained in fighting. The

collected horn weighed 1°875 kilograms.

Returning to Kaziranga from Nowgong, we also visited Bihdubi

Chapori, which is located three miles west of Silghat. Mr. Gohain

had observed a female with a calf in the dense grasslands of this sandy

flood plain in mid-December of 1965. When we inquired about rhino

at Ferryghat, we were informed that a solitary rhino (apparently a male)

frequented the area, but had not been seen since the first of March.

Six rhino were also reported in 1959 to inhabit an island (Sal Chapori)

in the Brahmaputra River near Kaziranga.

LAOKHOWA AND OTHER RHINO AREAS IN ASSAM 533

The authenticity or accuracy of scattered reports of rhino outside

of established wild life sanctuaries or reserved forests is very difficult to

determine. The chances of these animals successfully breeding or attain-

ing any appreciable numbers in these areas also appear to be very slight.

In my opinion, strictly protected sanctuaries or reserved forests offer the

only means of ‘preserving this species from annihilation. Although I

feel that these scattered animals add little to the reproductive

potential for the species, I estimate that there are probably at least 40

rhino outside of the major reserved forests and the Kaziranga and

Manas wild life sanctuaries in Assam.

The Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary, West Bengal

J. JUAN SPILLETT

(With two plates and two maps)

I. INTRODUCTION

II. HABITAT

Streams ..

Floods

Fire

Climate .

Vegetation

Improvements

III. Witp LIFE ENUMERATIONS

Previous Enumerations and Methods

Age Composition and Sex Ratios

Rhino

Wild Elephant

Gaur or Indian ‘ Bison ’

Swamp Deer

Sambar ..

Chital or Spotted Bee

Hog Deer

Barking Deer

Wild Pig

Other Mammals

Reptiles ..

Miscellaneous Observations

IV. CONSERVATION PROBLEMS

Livestock

Poaching. .

Other Illegal ermiice

Military se

V. RECOMMENDATIONS

VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

VII. GLOSSARY OF LOCAL TERMS

TABLE AND MAps

Table Total counts for animals observed in the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanc-

tuary, West Waar during the 1964, 1965, and 1966 wild life enu-

merations : be ss,

Map 1. General map of the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary, West Bengal,

depicting the beat offices, firelines, and principal streams

2. Map of the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary, West Bengal, depicune

the census blocks utilized during the 1966 wild life enumeration ..

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542

JALDAPARA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL 535

I INTRODUCTION

The Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary in northern West Bengal is an

example of how conservation measures can preserve both a vanishing

species and a worthy wild life area as a part of a nation’s heritage. By

the early 1930’s the great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros was on the

verge of extinction in what is now the state of West Bengal. The Bengal

Rhinoceros Preservation Act of 1932 (Bengal Act VIII of 1932) con-

demned the indiscriminate destruction of this impressive animal and

provided it with legal protection. However, illegal poaching and

encroachment by cultivation and human habitation upon the few remain-

ing haunts of this rare species continued. Although the area presently

occupied by the sanctuary was unofficially recognized as such as early

as 1936, it was not until 13 March 1941 that it was set apart as a sanc-

tuary, primarily for the preservation of the rhino (Government Order

No. 10549, which was later amended by Notification No. 5238 on

3 April 1943). Jaldapara was first known as a game sanctuary, but

subsequently as a wild life sanctuary—dedicated to the preservation and

conservation of all the wild life, both plants and animals, within its

confines.

The Jaldapara Range covers a total of 25,833 acres (40°36 square

miles). Besides the sanctuary, this includes the 1243 acre Salkumar

Block, part of which is cultivated lands and the remaining forests are

commercially exploited for forest produce. This block, however, forms

an isolated island and, except for administrative purposes, has little

relation to the sanctuary. The sanctuary proper includes 24,590 acres

(38°42 square miles) and, with a little imagination, takes the form of a

man’s pair of trousers. The northern boundary or the ‘ waist’ is

approximately two and one-half miles across. The total length of the

‘legs’ is about 11 miles. And the length of the ‘inseams’ is almost

eight miles.

Accommodation for visitors and catering facilities are provided by

the Forest Department at the Baradabri Tourist Lodge on the east

bank of the Malangi River, along the north-eastern boundary. The

lodge contains three units, each of which accommodates two people.

A youth hostel is also located near-by and provides accommodations

for sixteen people. Although the hostel is under the direction of the

Education Department and is primarily for the use of students, it is

administered by the Forest Department and can be used by other visitors

by special arrangement.

The nearest railroad station is Hasimara, less than four miles from

the Baradabri Tourist Lodge. However, it should be noted by visitors

arriving by train that the Assam Mail does not stop at Hasimara, but

all trains stop at Madarihat, seven miles to the north-west. There is

536 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

also a Forest Rest House near the Madarihat station and from here an

access road is presently being constructed by the Forest Department.

This road runs along the western boundary of the sanctuary to the

proposed site of a new tourist lodge to be built shortly by the Forest

Department along the Holong River four miles south of Madarihat.

Thrice weekly unscheduled air flights from Calcutta land at the Hasimara

airfield, three miles distant from Baradabri. The office and quarters of

the Jaldapara Range Officer in charge of the sanctuary are centrally

located at the ‘crotch’. Beat offices, each manned by a Forester and

two Forest Guards, are strategically located along the sanctuary’s

boundaries (see Map 1).

JALDAPARA

WILD LIFE SANCTUARY RANGE

LEGENG

BOUNDARY

ROADS

BEAT OFFICES

FIRE LINE

SCALE:-

crag MILES —of

Map. 1. General map of the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary,

West Bengal, depicting the beat offices, firelines, and principal streams

JALDAPARA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL a7

Viena II... HABITAT

Streams

- Jaldapara is located in a level flood plain, 200 feet (61 metres) above

sea-level. The sanctuary is intersected by numerous rivers and streams

that flow basically from north to south. The west ‘leg’ is drained by

the Torsa River, which is the largest river in the area. It rises in the

Chumbi Valley of Tibet and then flows across Bhutan before entering

India at Baladuar and finally emptying into the Brahmaputra near

Cooch Behar. The east ‘leg’ is drained by the Malangi River, which

becomes the Siltorsa in the southern part of the sanctuary. Both the

Torsa and the Malangi have a rapid flow and are fed by numerous

tributaries. Their clear waters, flowing over a rock shingle bed, are a

welcome contrast to the muddy, silt-laden streams common in much of

India. Some of the other principal streams of the area are the Holong,

Chel, Basra, and Para rivers. Most of these are perennial, but some

occasionally become almost completely dry between February and April.

Floods

Streams in this region have a foitetiey to cut new channels during

the annual flood season, from May to September. They intercom-

municate by a network of ‘ cross-country ’ watercourses. The frequent

changes in stream beds result in numerous pools and marshes, favourite

haunts of rhino.

The behaviour of these rivers is always unpredictable, but since 1950

there have been two devastating floods, one in 1952 and the other in

1954. The latter, which was caused primarily by the Torsa River, was

of enormous magnitude. It flooded approximately 600-square miles in

this area and did considerable damage to crops, bridges, roads, and

human dwellings. Entire forests were washed downstream and many

of those that remained standing were so laden with sand and silt that

many of the trees subsequently died and their vegetational composition

was radically changed.

Fire

= Phe. Forest cee maintains 20 miles of 50-feet wide firelines

within the sanctuary. These are divided into 12 lines, most of which

run east to west. The other sides of the blocks or compartments are

formed by the north to south flowing streams. These lines are intended

to protect the area against fire or to provide a means by which burning

can be controlled and systematically utilized for management purposes.

‘They also encourage the movement of animals and provide paths or

landmarks both for visitors and workers within the sanctuary.

The sanctuary is annually burned by a controlled rotation method.

Alternate blocks are first burned. The unburned blocks provide cover

‘4

538 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

and forage for the wild life until new growth in the burned areas is

sufficient to provide these necessities. Then the remaining blocks are

burned by the sanctuary staff. It is evident that what was once a pre-

dominantly forest area is gradually becoming a savannah or grassland

due to annual burning. This is probably desirable for such species as

rhino and hog deer, but may be detrimental for such reve as sambar

and barking deer.

Climate

_ Jaldapara is located in a moist tropical zone. Rainfall is mon-

soonal and the total annual precipitation is approximately 165 inches.

The effect of the south-west monsoon is usually marked by a few heavy -

rains in May. Frequent heavy rains can then be expected throughout

June, July, and August. The rains decrease by mid-September and

usually cease before mid-October. However, the atmosphere is usually

humid and there are heavy dews from November to January. Early

rains can also be expected in April.

The mean daily temperature range from November to February,

the winter season, is 60-70°F. (15°56-21:11°C). From May to Sep-

tember, the monsoon or rainy season, it is 80-90°F. (26°67-32°22°C.),

and during the rest of the year it averages 75-80°F. (23°89-26°67°C.).

Severe wind storms are common between April and May and some-

times occur in pas and October. ,

Vegetation

The entire Sanctuary lies in a level flood plain. The soil consists

mainly of a deep bed of sand, superimposed with a thin layer of light,

friable loam. The whole formation is detritus, washed down from the

neighbouring Himalayas. This riverain habitat consists primarily of

forests interspersed with tall, dense grasses and interconnecting water-

ways. Much of the sanctuary is flooded each year by the rivers flowing

through it. During these floods, most of the animals retreat to the

slightly higher forest areas. The ground and much of the vegetation

is fairly dry by late November or early December and between January

and March most of the sanctuary, including both the forests and grass-

lands, is burned by the sanctuary staff. Although numerous vegetational

types are found here, they can be roughly divided into two classes :

riverain forests and grasslands or savannah.

Forests - 7

Although complicated by numerous interconnecting streams, tran-

sects taken inland from the main rivers of the sanctuary indicate the

forest succession for this area. A narrow fringe of deciduous forests,

composed of more or less pure stands of khair (Acacia catechu) or sissu —

(Dalbergia sissoo), is generally encountered along streams, such as the

JALDAPARA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL 539

Torsa River. Both khair and sissu prefer porous alluvial soils, which

may or may not be dry for a considerable portion of the year. Sissu

is particularly evident in areas where the grass has been grazed. heavily

by livestock and is too short to be readily burned. In slightly more

stable areas, khair and sissu yield to such species as silk cotton or simul

(Bombax ceiba) and siris (Albizzia spp.). These may be either in pure

or mixed stands, but are most often accompanied by numerous other

species, such as sidha (Lagerstroemia parviflora), tun (Cedrela toona),

gamar (Gmelina arborea), pitali (Trewia nudiflora), kainjal. (Bischofia

javanica), and kadam (Anthocephalus cadamba). Where the water

level is not deep, almost pure stands of pitali and kainjal are evident,

with perhaps a few chalta (Dillenia indica) and other species. Along

the river beds, adjoining dry mixed forests or plateau-like areas where

the permanent water level is fairly deep, tanki (Bauhinia purpurea) often-

times predominates. Eventually on the more permanent sites or more

stable areas are encountered mixed forests. Here the most predomi-

nate tree species are usually harra (Grewia laevigata) and barkaule

(Casearia graveolens). Sal (Shorea robusta), a valuable hardwood

species, is confined to the east bank of the Malangi in the northern and

the extreme southern portions of the sanctuary.

A number of different species of weeds and climbers or vines are

also associated with the forests of Jaldapara. Assamlota (Eupatorium

_ spp.) is the most common weed and is associated both with trees and

other vegetation. Kowcha (Mucuna prurita), a herbaceous climber

which often kills the trees around which it entwines, is quite frequently

seen. Mikania (Mikania cordata) is not yet widespread, but is already

a problem in some areas and may eventually become a major problem

in the sanctuary. It is reported to have been introduced from Malaysia

and both trees and grass are killed by its strangling tentacles. Simple

culling does little to deter its spread and burning does not kill its roots.

There is apparently no inexpensive method to control this undesirable

plant. Charchare (Vitis spp. or Cissus adnata) is also present.

The most common shrub in the sanctuary is boroi or kool (Zizyphus

mauritiana var. fruticosa). With fire protection, Macaranga denticulata,

Alphia alughas, Trema orientalis, and other species spread rapidly, parti-

cularly, in damp areas.

Grassslands

Transects from the main rivers inland also indicate the succession of

_the grasslands or savannahs. However, as has been previously men-

tioned, the sanctuary is predominantly forest and without annual burn-

ing almost all of the grasslands would eventually become forests. Be-

sides burning, the successional stages are, of course, dependent upon

_the behaviour of the streams and the stability of the site. Cassia or

540 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

khasila (Saccharum spontaneum), a relatively short grass which is usually

less than six feet high, has remarkable powers of colonization and is

one of the primary invaders on new riverain accretions. This grass is

commonly found on sandy soils, but may also be encountered in clay

pockets, which are often silted-up old stream beds. Dachla or khagri

(Phragmites karka) is also generally found in clay pockets, as is Sac-

charum procerum. Some of the other grasses present in the sanctuary

are LErianthus elephantinus, Anthistiria gigantea, Andropogon nardus,

Arundinella brasiliensis, Arundo donax, Paspalidium punctatum, Sac-

ciolepis myosuroides, and so forth.

Improvements

In addition to controlled burning and the construction and main-

tenance of firelines, the Forest Department has attempted in various

ways to improve the wild life habitat of the sanctuary and to improve

the possibilities for visitors to view the wild animals. A total of 12

glades, eight in the east side and four in the west, are maintained by the

sanctuary staff. Each glade consists of a circular clearing, about 150

feet in diameter, with a centrally located salt lick. The bushes have

been removed from these areas and the grass is burned prior to Decem-

ber. Salt is regularly mixed with the soil in a bare spot in the center.

Therefore, during the visitor season (January-April) both green forage

and salt are present in these glades to entice animals into the open where

they can be readily seen by visitors. A number of wallowing pools

for rhino have also been constructed in different areas and natural

wallows have been improved or enlarged.

Although the firelines within the sanctuary serve as paths or roads

for workers and visitors on elephant back, the Forest Department

has wisely refrained from constructing motorable roads. The sanc-

tuary is not large and due to its unique shape almost any part of it can

be quite easily reached from roads outside the boundaries. One excep-

tion to this rule is the present construction of a road entering the west

side, which leads to the site of a new tourist lodge to be built along the

Holong River. This will make some of the best wild life habitat in

the sanctuary readily accessible to visitors. It will be interesting to

note what effect this road has on the relatively dense animal popula-

tions now present in that area.

All forms of hunting, shooting, and fishing are prohibited in the

sanctuary. However, Forest Officers of gazetted rank or designated

members of the sanctuary staff are authorized to shoot dhole or Indian

wild dog (Cuon alpinus) and otter (Lutra lutra or L. perspicillata).

Throughout India wild dogs have the reputation of being merciless and

ruthless killers. Nevertheless, there have been no reports of their

presence in this vicinity during recent years and, even if they were present

JALDAPARA WILD LIFE. SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL 541

they. should probably be considered as an integral part of the faunay

composition of the sanctuary. As such, they should be extended the

protection of the sanctuary until such time as it is definitely established

that their presence is a threat to the existence of other animal species.

Because of its supposed depredations upon valuable fish resources, the

otter is classed as vermin in West Bengal, as well:as in a number of

other Indian States. Whether or not there is a sound basis for this,

there appears to be little basis upon which to persecute this animal in

a sanctuary where all fishing is prohibited. It is, therefore, suggested

that otter also be afforded the protection of the sanctuary.

Ill. WiLp LiFe ENUMERATIONS

West Bengal was formerly very rich in wild life, but due primarily

to the spread of cultivation, including tea plantations and human

habitation, this valuable natural resource has been drastically reduced.

It appears that only in sanctuaries, such as Jaldapara, can remnants

be preserved of the vast numbers of wild animals once found here.

Besides rhino, other mammals represented in the sanctuary include :

wild elephant, gaur or Indian ‘ bison’, swamp deer, sambar, chital or

spotted deer, hog deer, barking deer or Indian muntjac, wild pig, tiger,

leopard, jungle cat, large and small Indian civets, mongoose, otter,

jackal, sloth bear, common hare, northern palm squirrel, gayal, and so

on. The Jaldapara range was never the natural habitat of the gayal,

but six were introduced into the sanctuary from Manipur by the Forest

Department in 1964. Larger mammals such as wild elephant, gaur,

swamp deer, and chital are rare. Although wild buffalo (Bubalus

bubalis) formerly inhabited northern Bengal they have been exterminated

in this area and are presently restricted to a few locations in the neigh-

bouring state of Assam. The Forest Department is considering their

re-introduction into Jaldapara. Over 200 species of birds, including

peafowl, red junglefowl, and several species of partridges and numerous

species of fish and reptiles are also present in the sanctuary.

Previous Enumerations and Methods

The Forest Department has conducted wild life enumerations in the

Jaldapara Sanctuary for three consecutive years (1964, 1965, and 1966).

Therefore relatively accurate data is already available upon which future

management plans and policies may be based.

The first enumeration was conducted on 21 May 1964. Eleven

enumeration parties (each consisting of an elephant, mahout, enumerator, |

and Forest Guard) were employed in each compartment or block in the

sanctuary between 04.00 and 12.30 hours. Firelines or features such as

streams or boundary lines were used to divide the sanctuary into the

542 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63. (3)

enumeration blocks, which averaged a little less than four square miles

each. The parties systematically zigzagged across their assigned block,

tallying all animals sighted. Although some animals are usually missed

when this method is used, it gives a minimum count for the different

species and provides a relatively reliable index of abundance. The

game methods were again employed by ten. enumeration pniet on

25 April 1965.

These methods were slightly modified for the 1966 enumeration,

which was conducted on April 26. As in 1965, ten parties were used,

but each started counting at 04.00 on the southern boundary of their

assigned blocks and terminated at 12.00 hours at the northern boundary

(Map. 2). Therefore, the possibility of duplicate counts of the same

JALDAPARA

WILD LIFE SANCTUARY RANGE

cons

Ome eo Ow one ae

oe 000 o Caw as ose”

om,

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Map 2. Map of the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary,

West Bengal, depicting the census blocks utilized during 2

1966 wild life enumeration

JALDAPARA. WILD LIFE..SANCTUARY, -WEST:. BENGAL | 543

animals by enumerators in adjoining blocks was probably eliminated.

As previously mentioned, the methods used give only a minimum count

or index of relative abundance for the larger mammals in the sanctuary.

A great deal of care and judgment, based upon experience and an

intimate knowledge of the entire sanctuary, must be used to estimate

how many animals of each species may have been missed or overlooked

(Table ).

Age Composition and Sex Ratios

“Only the numbers for each species dened were recorded prior to

the 1966 enumeration. This year an attempt was also made. to classify

the animals as to sex and age class (i.e. adult male, adult female, or

young). If there was any doubt as to the sex of an adult animal, it was

classified as ‘ non-sexed ’.

Age composition generally reflects the status of a species in terms of

its reproductive potential. A high percentage of young animals

generally indicates that a population is growing or thriving, whereas a

relatively small proportion a young indicates a low producing or senile

population. Sex ratios likewise are an indication of reproductive

potential, Most mammals, particularly ungulates, are promiscuous in

their mating and a single adult male is generally sufficient to cover five

or more females. Therefore, within reasonable limits, a predominantly

female population has a higher reproductive potential than one with

more males. With reliable age composition and sex ratio data a trained

biologist can often compute the average annual rate of net increase or

loss, as well as determine the present status of the population.

- Age composition and sex ratio data collected during the 1966 enu-

meration, along with data previously collected, will be discussed under

the various mammal species.

Rhino

No evidence of rhino poaching was observed during the eight days

I spent on elephant back in the Jaldapara Sanctuary. Therefore, it may be

reasonable to assume that practically none, if any, exists. Neither was

any evidence of natural death among rhino encountered during the

wild life enumeration. Therefore, I am unable to fully account for the

discrepancy in the numbers of rhino counted this: year as compared to

the two previous years (32 versus 72 in 1964 and 75 in 1965). The day

of the 1966 enumeration (April 26) was very warm and most of the rhino

tallied were observed in or near wallows or streams. Perhaps, due to

this factor,.a relatively large number were Overlooked. I observed as

_ many as 20 different rhino in a single day (April 2) along the Torsa River

in the western ‘leg’ of the sanctuary. During seven days in the field

prior to the enumerations I observed a total of 46 rhino, of which at

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JALDAPARA -WILD.-LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST . BENGAL 545

least 40 were different animals. Included in my total count were two

‘non-sexed’ adults, 12 adult males, 21 adult females and 11 young,

Thus, of the rhino which I observed, 36% of the sexed adults were males

and 52% of the adult females were accompanied by young. In compari-

son, 54% of the adults observed during the enumeration were males and

only 31% of the adult females were accompanied by young. In either

case, the relatively high percentage of young would probably indicate

that the population is thriving. I feel certain that there are at least

50 rhino in the sanctuary. A factor worthy of note is that wherever

domestic livestock grazing is evident there are few, if any, rhino present.

Examples are Blocks 3, 4, and 5 which reported a combined total of

only two rhino.

Wild Elephant

No wild elephant were observed in the Jaldapara Sanctuary during

the 1966 enumeration. However, a single male makhna was observed

‘in the vicinity of the Jaldapara Forest Office on April 5 and 6. Two

elephant were reported in both the 1964 and 1965 enumerations. A

wild tusker also killed one of the Forest Department’s domestic male

tuskers near the Jaldapara Forest Officer’s quarters in 1965.

- Wild elephant are not permanent residents inside the sanctuary and

are usually attracted into this area by crops, such as paddy. The enu-

meration was conducted in the dry season. Therefore, due to an absence

of forage or crops only a few elephant at most would normally be

expected in the sanctuary at this time of year. During their migrations

or seasonal movements, elephant enter or leave the sanctuary by way

of the Chilapata Range to the east, the Madarihat Range to the west,

or the Nilpara Range and Bhutan to the north. The only side of the

- sanctuary not commonly traversed by elephant at one time or another

during the year is the Patlakhawa Protected Forest area to the south.

Gaur or Indian ‘ Bison ’

No gaur were reported during the 1966 enumeration. Several parties,

however, reported fresh tracks. Mr. Sanyal, Assistant Divisional

Forest Officer, Cooch Behar observed five head (3 males, a large female,

and a calf) west of the Torsa River on April 2. . We also observed two

(a young adult male and an adult female) north of the Jaldapara Forest

Rest House on April 5 and a solitary adult male in the same vicinity

on April 6.. These bovines are genérally forest dwellers and are

migratory in- nature. Although some were obviously not counted during

the 1966 enumeration, it is doubtful that as many as. 20: are ever T present

in the sanctuary at one time.

Swamp Deer

Herds of swamp deer were once common in much of northern West

Bengal. However, this animal is now very rare even in the Jaldapara

546 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Sanctuary. - None were reported in the 1964 and 1965 enumerations,

but three adult females were observed in 1966. I also observed a single

female on April 1. Here as in many parts of India, the outlook. for

this species is not promising and there are probably fewer than 10 in

the sanctuary.

Sambar |

Sambar are not encountered in herds and rarely in large numbers,

but are still relatively common in many forest areas of India. However,

due to their shy and somewhat solitary nature, it is very difficult to deter-

mine their numbers accurately. Twenty were observed in the 1964

enumeration, 22 in 1965, and 20 again in 1966. Undoubtedly less than

half of the sambar in the sanctuary were observed during these enumera-

tions, but the figures indicate that the population is probably stable.

In the 1966 count, no young were observed and 60% of the adults

reported were males. Prior to the enumeration I observed 12 sambar,

including 7 adult males, 3 adult females, a yearling, and a small fawn.

Therefore, 70° of the adults which I observed were males (all of which

had hard antlers) and two of the three adult females were accompanied

by young. This closely approximates the results of the enumeration.

It is not known why almost twice as many adult males as adult females —

were observed. This indicates a very low reproductive potential for

this population. There are probably between 40 to 50 sambar in the

sanctuary and, although not overly abundant, they are not rare in the

sanctuary as are chital and swamp deer.

Chital or Spotted Deer

-Chital, although the most common deer in many parts of indies are

extremely rare in the Jaldapara Sanctuary. Eleven were reported in the

1964 enumeration, 20 in 1965, but none were observed in 1966. I did

not observe any chital inside the sanctuary. Further, the Jaldapara

Range Officer stated that he has seen only one animal, which he could

positively identify as a chital, during the almost two years he has been

stationed here. The closely related hog deer often attain fairly large

proportions before losing all of their spots. Therefore, I am inclined

to believe that there have never been more than a few chital, at most,

in the sanctuary during recent years, and perhaps some of those reported

as such in 1964 and 1965 were actually young hog deer. It has also

been observed that chital seem to prefer a deciduous forest habitat,

which is not present in Jaldapara. Perhaps this is one of the reasons

why they are apparently rare in this area ; and, if they are present, why

their numbers have not increased, .

J. BompBay NAT. Hist. Soc.63(3) PrATe, LT

Spillett : Jaldapara Sanctuary

Above :

(Photo: J. Juan Spillett) Below: The author in the field in Jaldapara. (Photo: E. P. Gee)

The Baradabri Tourist Lodge at the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary.

PLATE IV

J. BomBay nat. Hist., Soc. 63(3)

Spillett: Jaldapara Sanctuary

Above: A rhino in typical riverain habitat in Jaldapara. (Photo: J. Juan Spillet)

Below: A young male hog deer. (Photo: E. P. Gee)

JALDAPARA - WILD. LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL 547.

Hog. Deer. :

- Hog deer are by far the most common pe mammal in the Jaldapara

eictaeey This is to be expected in an area that is predominantly

riverain habitat. These deer are most commonly encountered in small

groups in savannah or grassland areas or along the forest edge, but

rarely inside the forest where they are replaced by the solitary barking

deer. Total counts for the 1964, 1965, and 1966 enumerations (141, 101,

and 132 respectively) indicate that the sanctuary’s hog deer population

has been quite stable during the past three years. In the 1966 enumera-

tion, 46% of the classified adults were males and only 4% of the adult

females were accompanied by young. Prior to the enumeration I classi-

fied a total of 119 hog deer (34 adult ‘males, 53 adult females, and 32

young). Therefore, only 39% of the adults I classified were males and

60% of the adult females were accompanied by young. Probable

reasons for discrepancies in the enumerators’ figures as compared to

mine are: (1) most of the young were approaching yearling size and

were often difficult to distinguish from adults, (2) the main rut season

had passed and the males were shedding their antlers, making it difficult

to distinguish antlerless males from females, and (3) without binoculars

it is often difficult to distinguish hog deer from barking deer and the

enumerators did not have binoculars to aid them as I did. Also, (4) I

had. been classifying animals as to age and sex almost daily for the past

three months, while many of the enumerators were relatively inexperi-

enced in such work. Based upon my data, the hog deer population

appears to be doing well and I estimate there are probably 400-500

present-in the sanctuary.

Barking Deer

Barking deer or Indian muntjac are solitary forest dwellers and are

rarely encountered in groups of more than three. The dense forests

which they inhabit and their solitary and shy nature make it difficult to

census this species. Although totals of 188 and 171 were reported in

the 1964 and 1965 enumerations, only 68 were reported in 1966. Barking

deer and hog deer are generally encountered in different habitats. How-

ever, in much of Jaldapara where there is an intermingling of forests

and grasslands, hog deer and barking deer are often in close association.

Under such conditions it is often difficult to distinguish these two species

without the aid- of binoculars. I observed less than 20 barking deer

during eight days inside the sanctuary and am inclined to believe that

some of the animals reported as barking deer, particularly in the 1964

and 1965 enumerations, were probably hog deer. In the 1966 enume-

ration, 39% of the classified adults were males and 13% of the adult

females were accompanied by young, whereas in my small sample the

adult sex ratio was almost 50-50 and almost one-third-of the adult females

548 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63..(3)

were accompanied by young. In either case this species is- probably

doing fairly well and I estimate there are at least 125 barking deer in

the sanctuary.

Wild Pig

Wild pig are relatively common in much of the Jaldapara Sanctuary.

Except for solitary males, they are usually encountered in family groups

or sounders. However, the dense cover which they generally inhabit

and their practice of remaining hidden until closely approached and

then suddenly breaking in all directions make it extremely difficult to

count them accurately. Accurate sex and age ratio data is even more

difficult to obtain. However, enumeration figures for the past three

years indicate that the wild pig population in the sanctuary has been

relatively stable. During the 1966 enumeration, eight adults were not

sexed, but 57% of the adults classified were males and the 18 adult

females tallied were accompanied by only five young. Prior to the enume-

ration I tallied 19 wild pigs: 11 unsexed adults, 2 adult males, 2 adult

females, and 4 very small young. Totals in both cases indicate a very

high adult/young ratio, particularly fora species with such a high repro-

ductive potential. Many tribal people, who are experts with their

primitive bows and arrows, are employed in the near-by tea estates.

There is evidence that pig are perhaps the most commonly poached animal

inside the sanctuary. However, hog deer also appear to be poached

regularly. This may be one of the reasons for the small proportion of

young pigs to adults. Wild pig are also common prey for many carni-

vores, such as tiger, and the young are more susceptible to predation

than the adults. Nevertheless, the wild pig population appears to be

in good condition and I estimate there are probably 125 to 150: in the

sanctuary.

Other Mammals

Besides the mammals which have already been discussed, other

mammal species observed during the enumerations also deserve attention.

Bear were reported in both the 1965 and 1966 enumerations, three and

two respectively. These were probably sloth bear, but there is the

possibility that the Asiatic black bear (Selenarctos thibetanus) also

inhabits this area. Tiger were reported in 1964 and 1965, but not in

1966. I saw evidence of at least three different tigers inhabiting the

sanctuary. Although leopard is not common in this area and apparently

had not previously been reported.for the sanctuary, I observed the pug

marks of a leopard north of the Jaldapara Forest Rest House prior to

the 1966 enumeration. Wild cat, most probably the jungle cat (Felis

chaus), were also reported during the 1966 enumeration. Asiatic jackal

(Canis aureus) are present and most generally seen along the boundaries

JALDAPARA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL 549

of the sanctuary near villages. Mongoose (Herpestes spp.) are also

frequently observed. Troops of rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) are

commonly encountered inside the sanctuary. There is no evidence,

however, of the presence of the common langur (Presbytis entellus).

Northern palm squirrel (Funambulus pennanti).is common in the sanc-

tuary’s forests and the common hare (Lepus nigricollis) is frequently

seen in the drier grassland areas. Although not reported, there was

evidence that otter (Lutra spp.), large and small Indian civets (Viverra

zibetha and. Viverricula indica), porcupine (Hystrix sp.), and other small

mammals are also present. The gayal, introduced into the sanctuary

from Manipur by the Forest Department, are domestic and frequent the

area around the Baradabri Tourist Lodge. One female had a calf

in 1965.

Reptiles

Wild life enumerations such as have been conducted in the Jaldapara

Sanctuary do not give an indication of the abundance of the reptilian

species. However, Indian python (Python molurus) were reported both

in 1964 and 1965, common cobra (Naja naja) were reported in 1964

and 1966, and water monitor (Varanus sp.) was reported in 1966.

Other unidentified reptiles, particularly snakes, were also observed.

The great variety of faunal forms, including mammals, birds, reptiles,

and fishes, as well as the abundance of floral species present in Jaldapara

indicates a wise choice by the Forest Department in establishing a wild

life sanctuary in this area and makes it even more imperative that the

wild life of this outstanding area be protected and preserved.

Miscellaneous Observations

Mr. Sanyal and I spent seven days on elephant back between March

31 and April 7, becoming acquainted with as much of the Jaldapara

Sanctuary as possible. Twice during this time the courtship behaviour

of the Indian rhino was observed. Perhaps one observation, as recorded

in my notes, would be of interest. |

April 2 at 05.45 : Just after crossing the Torsa River north-west of the

Jaldapara Forest Rest House, we heard the roar, followed by two honk-

ing snorts, of rhino somewhere along the river north of us. We started

towards the noise, but within a short time encountered an adult rhino.

We observed it until we were able to determine its sex and ensure that

there were no other rhino present in the tall grass near by. After leaving

the solitary male we sighted a large male at 06.00 coming directly towards

Us across an open island of sand in the river bed. On the distant bank

were two more rhino. The male approaching us had a large bleeding gash,

about 24 inches long, which extended across the top of his neck and down

onto the left shoulder. Although the light was still poor, (sunrise was at

05.30 but there was a smoky haze in the sky) I attempted to take a few

550 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

photographs of the apparently ousted suitor. The male slowly moved

into the dense grass on the river bank just north of us. We decided to

try to get closer to the courting pair across the river. Although the

river bed was open sand and gravel bars, we took our two elephants up

to less than 200 feet from the two rhino without them apparently sensing

our presence. The courting male was noticeably smaller than the ousted

one and had a much shorter horn. I could see no evidence of aggression

on either him or the female. We could only conjecture as to what had

actually happened a few minutes earlier.

Whenever the female moved, the male followed closely at her

side. When she stopped the male would move up near her head and rub

his head along her neck and head and occasionally butt her lightly in the

chest. She would occasionally open her mouth and several times

appeared to be playfully nibbling at his head and ears. She would

frequently begin her slow shuffle diagonally downriver towards us and

the male would follow at her side until she stopped. The ‘ caressing ’

would then be repeated. Approaching the main channel of the river, they

swam across one of the few deep places in the river. They could have

easily waded across only a few feet either up or downstream.

We remained motionless, but when they had moved directly downwind

of us, they suddenly stiffened and became alert. Their heads went up,

necks extended and ears cocked forward. They acted confused and

would turn first one way and then the other. Although we were only

about 75 feet upriver from them, they appeared not to be able to distin-

guish us and our elephant clearly. Suddenly they turned and dashed

across a shallow stretch of water and disappeared into the tall grass on

the river bank. After waiting a short while we attempted to follow, but

their love-making had ceased and upon our approach all we saw

were their wobbling rumps as they ran snorting through the dense grass.

Prior to coming to Jaldapara, I had observed during a three-week

visit to the Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary in Assam that when a female

rhino accompanied by a calf was observed there would almost invariably

be other females with calves in the immediate vicinity.. This also held

true in my observations at Jaldapara. Discussing this point with

Mr. E. P. Gee, during his visit to Jaldapara on April 3, he stated that he

had noted the same in his observations.

The following day (April 4) Mr. Sanyal and I visited the western ‘ leg’

of the sanctuary along the west bank of the Torsa River. We encoun-

tered a female rhino with about a 3-year-old calf and shortly afterwards

another female with about a 2-year-old calf. At the second location,

a somewhat circular opening of relatively short grass, my mahout

(Kancha Bhuzel) became excited and insisted that we stop while he told

us what he had observed on this site the previous year.

Kancha claimed that he was passing through this area on his elephary

_JALDAPARA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL 551

-(Rukali Number 2, a large and fairly old female) when he came upon a

female rhino giving birth to a calf on this site. The female was evidently

in labour as she would lie down and then get up and move a short distance

and lie down again. He stated that six adult females formed a sort of

circle around the pregnant female and whenever he attempted to approach

they would alternately charge him and his elephant. Therefore, he said

he remained along the edge of the forest and watched the female have her

calf. He also stated that at birth the calf was a pinkish colour and within

a few minutes was upon its feet and the group slowly moved together

into the near-by forest.

Whether or not there is a definite social tendency among female rhino

or females with calves remains to be investigated.

IV. CONSERVATION PROBLEMS

All exploitation of Jaldapara’s natural resources, including grazing of

domestic livestock, cutting of reeds and grass or thatch, gathering of fire-

wood, felling of trees, shooting, fishing, etc. is prohibited. This is as it

should be, but in actual practice is very difficult to enforce. The

sanctuary’s unusual shape, resulting in almost a 50-mile boundary, makes

the problem of complete protection very difficult. In addition, much of

the sanctuary adjoins cultivated lands inhabited by high densities of rural

people, most of whom are illiterate and have little understanding of the

need or value of areas such as wild life sanctuaries or reserved forests.

Many feel little, if any, obligation (moral or otherwise) to comply with

the laws which have been established for the protection of this area.

Livestock

The major problem confronting the Jaldapara Sanctuary is that of

illegal grazing. Overgrazing by domestic livestock is evident in many

parts of the sanctuary and particularly the eastern ‘leg ’ in the Chilapata

Block. Several camps, each with well over 100 head of buffalo, have

been established along the western boundary in this block. There are

no grazing lands available for domestic animals in this area, except inside

the sanctuary. Professional graziers are illegally maintaining their large

herds upon the sanctuary’s resources. From their camps, well-beaten

paths lead deep inside the sanctuary. Little forage remains in many parts

of the sanctuary and there are extensive areas that are severely trampled.

There is not even sufficient grass left to burn in some parts and, as a

result, sissu trees are invading what were formerly grasslands. Also,

areas grazed by livestock are almost completely void of wild life.’ I saw

only four hog deer and a solitary hare while visiting the 4556-acre

Chilapata Block. Domestic grazing is also evident along both

boundaries of the Torsa Block and the north-eastern corner of the Malangi

§52. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Block. I did not visit the exterior boundary of the Jaldapara Block.

There is, however, little evidence of domestic grazing in the vicinity of

the Jaldapara Range Office. The relatively high numbers of wild

animals observed in this area is a marked contrast to what was observed

where illegal grazing was evident.

On April 5, two professional graziers were apprehended by the Forest

Department for illegal grazing of their buffalo inside the sanctuary in the

Chilapata Block. Some of their buffalo were impounded and they paid

a fine of Rs. 10 per adult head to the Forest Department, as well as an

additional fine to the pound keeper. As a result, some of the remaining

buffalo camps on the edge of the sanctuary were shortly moved to other

areas by their owners.

Poaching

Rhino poaching does not appear to be excessive in the Jaldapara Wild

Life Sanctuary. However, there is evidence that other animals, such as

wild pig and hog deer, are regularly poached inside the sanctuary. This is

further indicated by the fact that rhino can usually be closely approached

on elephant back, whereas the other animals are shy and easily frightened.

Shooting was heard inside the sanctuary on three occasions during my

first visit (April 1-7). However, it appears that bows and arrows are

most commonly used for poaching here. A party of poachers, labourers

from a near-by tea estate, was also encountered. |

The presence of large numbers of tea estate labourers, villagers, and

military personnel along the boundaries of the sanctuary makes it im-

perative that the sanctuary staff be exceptionally vigilant to minimize

illegal practices. However, the Forest Department presently does not

have the legal authority that it should have to help the staff apprehend

and prosecute those whom they encounter violating the law.

The size of the present sanctuary staff appears to be adequate. The

nine beat offices, each of which is manned by a Forester and two Forest

Guards, are also well situated along the boundaries. However, it is

suggested that at least one patrol unit consisting of two armed guards, a

mahout, and an elephant be detailed to patrol the sanctuary regularly.

The objective of this unit would be to minimize poaching and other illegal

activities throughout the sanctuary. Personnel from the present staff

could be utilized to form such a unit. Beat Officers and Forest Giards

should also be required to patrol their assigned blocks. | |

Poaching and other illegal activities inside the sanctuary are presets

considered as problems of law enforcement. They should, however, :be

considered as a long-term problem of education. The public, parti-

cularly those living near sanctuaries or reserved forests, should not only

be informed as to what the laws in these areas are, but should also be

taught why these laws exist and their importance. This should be dorie

JALDAPARA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL 553

by every means possible—through the schools, through proper publicity,

and through explanations by a well-informed staff. Concerning the

latter, this can best be done by men that have been trained in the basic

concepts of conservation. Basically, conservation is the wise use of

natural resources so as to provide the greatest benefit for the greatest

number of people.

Other Illegal Activities

Most of the natural resources of lands adjoining Jaldapara have been

depleted. Therefore, in addition to illegal grazing or poaching, many

of the near-by people also turn towards the sanctuary to supply their

needs for firewood and construction materials, such as poles and thatch.

Individually these violations may appear to be minor offences, but

collectively they attain enormous proportions.

Practically all of the rural dwellings in the surrounding areas consist

of thatch or kutcha huts constructed over pole and bamboo frames.

Although some stands of bamboo are present on private lands, the only

near-by source for thatch or wood is the sanctuary. In addition, re-

serve supplies of thatch, as well as stacks of firewood, are present in front

of many dwellings. Families enter the sanctuary and clear cut relatively

large areas of grassland for thatch. It is then tied into bundles and even-

tually carried out of the sanctuary.

Firewood is illegally collected from the sanctuary forests, primarily

by women or young girls. If apprehended by members of the sanctuary

staff, they often evade the offence by claiming that the staff members

‘tried to molest them. In some areas, such as the Chilapata Block, the

felling of large trees is evident. Some of the remaining stumps are over

two feet in diameter. These illegally felled trees are sawed into suitable

lengths so that they can be removed from the sanctuary by bullock carts.

Therefore, some violations are not just a matter of supplying personal

needs, but have attained the proportions of commercial exploitation.

Now is the time to halt violations of the sanctuary’s laws and regula-

tions. The longer these violations are permitted to continue the more

difficult it will become to suppress them. In fact, through continually

breaking the law, many people become convinced that it is not wrong,

but their inherited right.

Military

The Bhutan border is less than 10 miles north of the Jaldapara Sanc-

tuary. During the 1962 emergency, caused by the Chinese invasion into

Indian territory, the military established an encampment at Baradabri

along the north-eastern boundary. It is regretful that they chose

this area when there are other near-by reserved forests that could have

been equally well utilized.

554. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Army personnel at Baradabri freely enter the sanctuary to bathe and

to do their laundry in the rivers and streams. They also use the forests

and grasslands as defecation sites. These activities are not restricted to

any particular location, but depend upon the choice of the individuals.

Military personnel may or may not participate in other illegal activities

such as poaching, but their mere presence has resulted in the part of the

sanctuary adjoining the tourist lodge being almost completely void of

wild animals. Therefore, visitors staying at the lodge enter a con-

siderable distance into the sanctuary by elephant before they can see wild

animals.

The Commanding Officer of the military in this area should be con-

tacted and should be requested that bathing and laundering by military

personnel be restricted to specified areas. Toilet facilities should also

be provided to eliminate the disturbing, as well as insanitary, practice of

using the sanctuary as an outdoor latrine.

Because of the military situation, foreign visitors must first receive a

permit from the Home and Political Department of West Bengal before

they can visit northern West Bengal or the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary.

Due to the time and difficulties involved in obtaining such a permit, re-

latively very few foreigners presently visit Jaldapara. Every effort should

be exerted to expedite the issuing of permits for Jaldapara with a

minimum of delay and inconvenience to foreign visitors.

V. RECOMMENDATIONS

Most of my recommendations closely parallel those already presented

by the Forest Department of West Bengal in its present working plan

for the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary. The following recommendations

are made : 3

1. That the exploitation of the sanctuary’s natural resources (in-

cluding the grazing of domestic livestock, the cutting of trees and reeds

or thatch, the killing or capturing of all animals, etc.) be perpetually

prohibited and the rules and regulations prohibiting their exploitation

be strictly enforced.

2. That mobile patrol units (consisting of armed guards, a mahout,

and an elephant) be detailed to patrol the entire sanctuary regularly to

minimize illegal activities.

3. That Beat Officers and Forest Guards be required to patrol their

assigned beats regularly and to report violations or evidence of violations

encountered,

4. That action be taken to obtain the necessary legal authority for

Forest Department personnel to enforce the rules and regulations of the

areas under their jurisdiction.

Soaps

JALDAPARA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, WEST BENGAL 255

5. That a system of rewards and punishments be established to en-

courage Forest Department personnel better to meet their obligations.

The establishment of a State Wild Life Division should also be considered

to help train and attract the most suitable men for the special type of

work required in wild life sanctuaries or national parks.

6. That no one but bonafide visitors and Forest Department staff

or labourers be permitted inside the sanctuary. This would eliminate

all excuses by others entering the sanctuary to violate its rules and regu-

lations. Lei ae

7. That a programme of education and publicity be undertaken to

help people become aware of the importance and value of such areas as

sanctuaries, as well as the necessity of preserving their flora and fauna

and of obeying the rules and regulations established for their protection.

8. That a new tourist lodge be constructed on the western side of the

sanctuary near the Holong River, as has been proposed by the Forest

‘Department. However, private enterprise, supervised by the Forest

Department, should be encouraged not only to construct and maintain

these facilities but also to operate them for the convenience of visitors.

9. That information concerning the sanctuary (i.e. pamphlets,

folders, post cards etc.) be compiled and made available to the Depart-

ment of Tourism so that tourists will become aware of the Jaldapara

Wild Life Sanctuary and the facilities which are available for their use.

10. That the Home and Political Department of the State be

encouraged toexpedite permits for foreign visitors wishing to visit

Jaldapara.

11. That the Commanding Officer of the military units at Baradabri

be requested to restrict the activities of military personnel (i.e. bathing

and laundering) to specified areas along the boundary of the sanctuary.

12. That wild life enumerations in the sanctuary be conducted on a

yearly basis as they have been during the past three years.

13. That scientific studies of the sanctuary’s wild life species by quali-

fied personnel be encouraged and that facilities (i.e. use of Forest Rest

House, etc.) be provided for their use whenever possible.

14. That wild life observations by both visitors and Forest Depart-

ment personnel be kept in a permanent record at the sanctuary.

VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First I would like to commend the Forest Department of West Bengal

and members of its staff for the fine work they are doing in wild life con-

servation in the Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary. I also wish to thank the

Forest Department and particularly Messrs. K. L. Lahiri (Chief

Conservator of Forests), J. N. Bhadury (Cooch Behar Divisional Forest

Officer), H. P. Talukder (Jaldapara Range Officer), and S. K. Gupta

556 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

(Caretaker of the Tourist Lodge at Baradabri), for the invitation to assist

in their 1966 wild life census, for the accommodations and facilities

provided during my two visits to Jaldapara, and above all for their assis-

tance and wonderful hospitality. Special thanks goes to Mr.S. S. Sanyal

(Assistant Divisional Forest Officer, Cooch Behar) who accompanied

me in the field and graciously answered my many questions. In this

report I relied to a great extent upon the Forest Department’s * Jaldapara

Working Plan’ which demonstrates much hard work and good judgment

in the establishment of management plans for this outstanding wild life

area.

VII. -GLOSSARY OF LOCAL TERMS

basti .. asettlement of cultivators.

chak .. a village land surrounded by Reserved Forests.

ghora .. astream or water-course.

Khola .. astream or water-course.

khasmahal .. land owned by the Government.

kutcha .. thatch hut, the wall of which may or may not be plastered with mud

or a mixture of mud and cow dung.

kukat .. any local tree species other than sal or teak.

makhna .. amale elephant without tusks.

nadi ea tIVers

nala .. aravine.

paddy field .. rice field (paddy is unhusked rice).

taungya .. sowing and tending of forest tree species in conjunction with agri-

cultural crops.

Wild Life Conservation in Nepal

J. JUAN SPILLETT AND KIRTI MAN TAMANG!

(With two plates and one map)

I. INTRODUCTION y ate RP a0 Se SOL,

II. GENERAL REVIEW AND THE PRESENT SITUATION ae me dDDo

National Parks Sn 7 ie ws Signe se

Visitor Facilities .. Pe se Se «7 360

Proposed Sanctuaries and Shikar Reserves aes i. 561

Himalayan Wild Life Areas... - oh fa 562

Rhino .. aft eS xe ty $i, 563

Fish ae Ae fhe re at O04

- JII. CONSERVATION PROBLEMS 43 ue ae ¥. 4565

Livestock =p Ae ar aot Fh OD

Encroachment i, ae se ae v2 97566

Fire a a sie aS ie Ne SOF,

Poaching .. ce ie 48 a OS

TV. RECOMMENDATIONS a, pe pe SS. .. 569

V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .. ke at ise Soe S71

VI. LITERATURE CONSULTED oe mh oF eee |

VIT. GLOSSARY OF LOCAL TERMS oh a an ae mL

Map

Map of Chitawan (Rapti River Valley) in southern Nepal, depicting the

proposed national parks and shikar reserves 1: SDD

I. INTRODUCTION

The two major industries in Nepal are the production of agricultural

and forest products. Wild life is under the jurisdiction of the Forest Depart-

ment and should probably be considered as an integral part of the forests.

Most wild animals in Nepal are also forest or forest-edge dwellers and

their basic requirements of food and shelter are usually provided on

Forest Department lands. Therefore, generally speaking, the problems

confronting the forests in this country are also the problems confronting

the wild life.

4 ees Inventory Specialist for the Forest Department of Nepal, Kathmandu,

epal,

558 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Between 1846 and 1950 Nepal was under the rule of the Rana family.

There were practically no wild life conservation laws during this time,

but animals such as tiger and rhino were considered strictly as royal game

and as a whole wild life in the country fared very well. This

was changed, however, when the Rana regime came to-an end in 1950

and democracy cameinto being. During the period of political instability

which followed, lasting until the present Panchayat System of Govern-

ment came into existence in 1961, wild life suffered greatly. Strong

representations concerning the dire straits of both the forests and wild

life were made by the Forest Department to the Government in 1962.

Since then some notable gains in conservation have been achieved.

Presently the outlook for wild lifein this country is better than it has been

at any time during the past fifteen years. However, there still remain

some problems to be solved and much work to be done. Continued

vigilance must also be exercised or the gains of the last few years may be

lost almost literally overnight. It is to be hoped that Nepal can benefit _

from the mistakes of other countries and particularly that she will re-

frain from committing some of the errors that other Asian nations have

committed in wild life conservation.

We spent 15 days (April 9-23) as guests of the Forest Department of

Nepal, during which time information for this report was collected.

Three days were spent meeting with Government officials in Kathmandu.

Another three days were spent on elephant back in the rhino areas along

the Rapti River and approximately 450 miles were travelled by jeep.

Both of the proposed national parks were visited and two of the shikar

reserves (Bagmara and Lothar). In addition we visited the Churia Hills -

and forests in the bhabar and mahabharat areas. We also spent two

enjoyable days at ‘Tiger Tops’ as the guests of Mr. and Mrs.

J. V. Coapman. Information concerning the Himalayan wild life areas

is from Mr. Tamang’s previous visits or from R. G. M. Willan (Chief

Conservator of Forests) and other Forest Department personnel.

Among the wild animals which we observed were: 11 rhino (including 5

adult males, 4 adult females, and 2 young), sambar, chital, hog deer,

barking deer, four-horned antelope, wild pig, otter, tiger, and Gangetic

dolphin. | |

Il. GENERAL REVIEW AND THE PRESENT SITUATION

National Parks

The Mahendra Mrigan Kunja (Mahendra Deer Park), which was

established in 1959, is presently being reconstituted as the Mahendra

National Park. This was necessitated by the encroachment of settlers —

in some areas inside the former park, their subsequent resettlement also —

within the confines of the former park, and to include forest areas along

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION IN NEPAL apy]

the Narayani River. Therefore, the boundaries of the proposed park

do not exactly coincide with those that were formerly established. The

total area of the present park is 60-square-miles (see Map).

: meee ST er, Saar as - nc a

CHITAWAN (RAPT: RIVER VALLEY)

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Map of Chieietn (Rapti nee Felon in Ne yutheg Nepal, depicting

the proposed national parks and shikar reserves

Another national park, yet to be named, is also proposed south of

the Rapti River. This will include the riverain and low-lying forests in

that area, as well as most of the present rhino habitat in Nepal. In

addition, the adjoining extensive grasslands of Sukebhaar westwards

up to Dhakray Khola, close to the confluence of the Rapti and Narayani

rivers, will also be included. To the south the proposed park will extend

to the Someswar Range (Indo-Nepal border), excluding the Madi areas

of cultivation and the new resettlement areas south of the Reu River.

It then extends eastwards to Amuwa and Hasta Khola back to the Rapti

River. The total area to be included in this park, all of which is south of

the Rapti River, is approximately 240-square-miles (Map). Concrete

pillars have been placed to demarcate the boundaries. The wild life of

this area is very rich, both in abundance and in the variety of species,

560 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Large mammals found here include : rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), wild

elephant (Elephas maximus), gaur or Indian ‘ bison’ (Bos gaurus) sambar

(Cervus unicolor), chital or spotted deer (Axis axis), hog deer (Axis

porcinus), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), four-horned antelope

(Tetracerus quadricornis), wild boar (Sus scrofa), tiger (Panthera tigris),

leopard (Panthera pardus), Himalayan and sloth bear (Selenarctos thibe-

tanus and Melursus ursinus). Over 100 species of birds also inhabit this

area and the numerous species of fish found in the Rapti and Reu rivers

offer excellent opportunities for sport fishing.

A draft act and rules for both national parks is presently under the

consideration of the Government and it is hoped that these parks will be

legally constituted in the near future. Both areas are already being rigidly

protected and patrolled by armed rhino guards.

Visitor Facilities

(1) ‘ Tiger Tops ’, a private hotel located inside the proposed national

park south of the Rapti River, has been operating successfully since it

was opened in November 1965. It has already gained considerable

publicity and has made a commendable impression upon visitors by

showing them the rich and varied wild life of this area. Situated near the

confluence of the Rapti and Reu rivers, the location provides a magni-

ficent view of the high Himalayas to the north, including such peaks as

Annapurna (26,490 feet) and Machlapuchre (22,958 feet). It is located

in the heart of the jungle and provides the luxuries and comforts

of modern living, but in a primitive atmosphere. The Meghauli airstrip,

built for use during the 1961 visit of Queen Elizabeth, is less than three

miles from the hotel and is served by frequent flights. Royal Nepal

Airlines flights take less than 30 minutes to cover the 35 airline miles from

~ Kathmandu to Meghauli.

This hotel serves as an excellent example of how a national park can

be developed for tourism by private enterprise and also earn revenue

and foreign exchange with only a relatively very small investment by the

Government or the department involved.

(2) Kasra Durbar was originally built as a shooting lodge during the

1930’s for the Rana rulers. It is situated on the south bank of the Rapti

River, approximately 10 miles east of ‘ Tiger Tops’. It is also located

on the site of a former shooting lodge built for the 1911 visit of King

George V, then the Prince of Wales. The Forest Department has pro-

posed the renovation of this lodge for a tourist rest house. Approach

roads from the east and west are presently being constructed. With

accessibility by road and improved accommodations, this lodge should

provide a much needed facility for the general public visiting the national

park in which it is located. It should also help to generate public interest

in wild life conservation in Nepal,

J. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE V

Spillett : Conservation in Nepal

Rhino in typical habitat in the Rapti River Valley, Nepal

(Photos: J. Juan Spillett)

J. BomBay NaT. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE VI

Spillett : Conservation in Nepal

Above : Mother and large young rhino

These domestic buffaloes should be remcved from the proposed national park where

they are grazing.

Below : The ‘ Tiger Tops Hotel’ near the confluence of the Rapti and

Narayani rivers, Nepal

(Photos: J. Juan Sphillett)

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION IN NEPAL 56]

Proposed Sanctuaries and Shikar Reserves

A 44-square-mile forest area near Sukla in the Kanchanpur District

of western Nepal has been proposed as a wild life sanctuary by the Forest

Department. A forest rest house and the demarcation of the boundaries

for this sanctuary have already been completed. Besides wild elephant,

sambar, chital, hog deer, barking deer, wild boar, tiger, leopard and

bears, this area also has large numbers of swamp deer and a few black-

buck or Indian antelope. Nowhere else in Nepal are swamp deer found

in such abundance. The open and extensive grassland vegetation in the

Sukla Phanta area also provides visitors with excellent opportunities to

view wild life. Although a few blackbuck are still to be found in the

Mainapokhar area in the Bardia District and inthe Bankey District in the

terai of west Nepal, the future of this species in these areas is not promis-

ing. Both are near heavily populated villages and the short-grass areas,

typical habitat for the blackbuck, are being abused through overgrazing

by domestic livestock. Some of the short-grass areas in the Sukla

Phanta area in Kanchanpur are ideal for the preservation of blackbuck

in Nepal. 7

Presently, the area in which the proposed sanctuary is located is not

readily accessible to visitors. The nearest airstrip is at Dhangarhi in the

Kailali District, about 30 miles away. However, with proper develop-

ment of roads and accommodations, the prospects of attracting visitors

to this wild life area appear very promising.

Wild buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) have been practically exterminated

throughout their former range in Nepal. However, 20 to 30 are reported

still to inhabit the flood plain along the Kosi River in the eastern part

of the country. The Forest Department is presently attempting to

demarcate and establish a small sanctuary in this area, primarily for

the protection of this species.

Throughout the history of Nepal royal shoots have been notable

events. As has previously been mentioned, Chitawan or the entire

Rapti River Valley was formerly a strictly protected shooting reserve

for the Rana rulers. In keeping with this ancient tradition, three shikar

reserves or royal hunting blocks have been established solely for the use

of members of the royal family or their guests.

The Meghauli Reserve adjoins the proposed national park to the

west and Jies south of the confluence of the Rapti and Narayani rivers.

It encloses approximately 75-square-miles of forest lands. The Bag-

mara Reserve consists of a narrow neck or forest belt connecting the

two national parks. It is north of the Rapti River and is bordered on

the east and west by cultivated lands. It also contains approximately

20-square-miles of forest. The Lothar Reserve adjoins the proposed

national park to the east and lies south of the Rapti River. It consists

of approximately a 60-square-mile area,

562 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Rhino, once considered as royal game, is now strictly protected

throughout its range in Nepal, including the shikar reserves. His

Majesty King Mahendra is very conservation-minded. And, although

the shikar reserves are officially recognized as shooting blocks for royalty,

in reality little shooting will probably take place in these areas and they

can probably be considered almost as extensions to the adjoining national

parks.

Himalayan Wild Life Areas

The scenic grandeur of the high Himalayas of Nepal needs no

emphasis. The flora and fauna of these mountain areas have been and

will continue to be of exceptional scientific interest. Although there

is practically no information, up-to-date or otherwise, concerning the

large mammals of the high Himalayan regions of Nepal, there are a

few unofficial reports that remnants of some species are still to be found

in a few isolated places. |

Concerning wild sheep : nayan or great Tibetan sheep (Ovis ammon

hodgsoni), and bharal or blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) are said to occur

in a number of locations. Marco Polo’s sheep (Ovis ammon polii)

has never been recorded from Nepal and whether or not it exists inside

the country is not known. Wild goats: fair numbers of Himalayan

tahr (Hemitrdgus jemlahicus) are reported still to inhabit some parts

of Nepal. The range of the ibex (Capra ibex) is given as Kashmir to

Kumaon. However, a well-known shikari reported shooting a number

of these rare animals in Nepal in the early 1960’s. The markhor (Capra

falconeri), said now to be on the verge of extinction, used to be found

in Kashmir and westwards. It is not known whether or not it is or has

ever been found in Nepal.

Goat-antelopes : the goral (Nemorhaedus goral) appear to be sut-

viving in fair numbers in some parts of Nepal. On the other hand, the

serow (Capricornis sumatraensis) is believed to be very rare throughout

most of its range. The skins of ounce or snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

and clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) are still occasionally seen in

the markets, although they are also becoming rare. The brown or

red bear (Ursus arctos) is reported to be quite common in many of

the mountainous regions.

The establishment of national parks or sanctuaries to protect the

flora and fauna of the mountainous regions and to provide opportunities

for people to see and study them is of paramount importance. The

Khaptar forest area north of Doti, at an elevation of about 11,000

feet, and Rara Lake at 9805 feet, including the forests surrounding the

lake, are two places in the western Himalayas of Nepal that deserve

serious consideration.

Mr, Willan visited the forests around the Thyangboche Monastery

WiLD LIFE CONSERVATION IN NEPAL 563

(13,500 feet) in Khumbu in May 1966. This is also the closest forest

area to Mt. Everest. He reports that this is an incredibly beautiful and

interesting place. The Head Lama, according to the Buddhist ideais,

is very anxious to secure complete protection for the flora and fauna

of the area. The Lama claimed that some years ago musk deer (Mos-

chus moschiferus), Himalayan tahr, and bharal or blue sheep were com-

monly seen there. However, later on many were shot by Army Officers

for their meat, which was taken down to Kathmandu and given to

friends. As a result, now they are rarely seen. However, signs of

musk deer were seen.

Mr. Willan has proposed that the Gosainkund area and the Lang-

tang Valley be examined as possible Himalayan National Parks. The

Langtang Valley, north of Kathmandu, is surrounded by peaks that

exceed 23,000 feet.

Rhino

Mr. E. P. Gee, a noted authority on the Great Indian One-horned

Rhinoceros, reviewed the history of the rhino in Nepal in his 1959

‘Report on a Survey of the Rhinoceros Area of Nepal’. He again

visited Nepal in 1963 and reported further observations and recom-

mendations in his ‘ Report on a Brief Survey of the Wild Life Resources

of Nepal, including the Rhinoceros’. Mr. Willan has brought the

record up-to-date with his reports in Oryx (1965) and the IUCN Bulletin

(1965). Therefore, we will only briefly review the history and present

status of the rhino in this country.

In ancient times rhino inhabited suitable areas, particularly in the

dun country, throughout the entire length of Nepal. However, by

modern times the range of this prehistoric-looking animal had decreased

considerably. During the rule of the Rana family, which iasted over

one hundred years, very few foreigners were even permitted to visit

Nepal. Although there is little specific information concerning the

status of the rhino during this time, there are numerous reports as to

the abundance of big game, including rhino, particularly in Chitawan

and neighbouring areas. The south central part of Nepal was strictly

guarded as a shooting preserve for the Ranas. Royal hunts in these

areas were renowned for their elaborate preparations and grandeur, as

well as for the great numbers and variety of big game species shot.

Hundreds of elephants were sometimes used in a single beat in honour

of visiting royalty. Mr. E. A. Smythies, Forest Adviser to the Nepal

Government during World War II, and his wife spoke of the abundance

of wild life in the Narayani, Rapti, and Reu valleys between 1941-1945

in their books, BIG GAME SHOOTING IN NEPAL and TIGER LADY. This

changed with the coming of democracy. Many rhino were poached

and the horns sold to further the cause of the political upheaval which

564 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 63 (3)

ended the Rana rule. Poaching of rhino and other wild life continued

in the following years. Of greater consequence was the influx of thou-

sands of settlers into the areas once occupied only by rhino and other

wild life species. 7

It is estimated that prior to democracy there were some 800 rhino

in the open grasslands and swamps at the western end of the Rapti

Valley. In 1957, Mr. P. D. Stracey, then Director of Forest Education

in India, estimated about 400 rhino for the entire country. Their

numbers were reduced to such an extent that in his 1959 visit Mr. Gee

estimated only 300. Large scale poaching continued in 1959 and 1960,

until it was estimated that only 165 rhino remained in the entire country

in 1961. Strong action was taken in 1962 by the Forest Department

and also by the present Government. Since then rhino poaching has

been noticeably reduced. It is officially estimated by the Forest Depart-

ment that there are now about 180 rhino in the country. However,

based upon limited observations and discussions with people in-

habiting the principal rhino areas, we believe there are probably fewer

than 100 rhino in Nepal. The important factor, however, is not the

exact number but the steps being taken by the Government and the

Forest Department for the protection of those that are present. Under

the present policies the country’s rhino are relatively immune to further

depredations and their numbers will undoubtedly increase.

Fish

The rich natural fishery resources of Nepal remain virtually unex-

ploited and uncontrolled. The country has three major river systems,

the Karnali in the west, the centrally located Narayani, and the Kosi

in the east. Each has numerous tributaries that run mainly from north

to south. Almost without exception, all are rich in fish and some are

teeming with valuable fishery resources. Mahseer (Barbus tor), catli

(Barbus hexagonalepsis), and a few other species offer excellent oppor-

tunities for sport fishing. In addition to these, there are numerous

species which also offer excellent possibilities for commercial exploi-

~ tation.

There is very little sport fishing presently done even in the first-class

streams of the country. Further, there appears to be little realization

that such fishing could easily become a major tourist attraction and

could thereby become an important source of revenue and much-needed

foreign exchange. In a few areas there is some fishing for local con-

sumption, but there are no real commercial enterprises tapping this

valuable food supply. Development plans for Nepal should include

planned and managed exploitation of both types of fisheries.

Prior to extensive exploitation, a thorough survey of the country’s

fishery resources should first be undertaken. Scientific studies should

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION IN NEPAL 565

then be initiated to determine how these resources can best be utilized

on a perpetual basis. For example, some areas should probably be

restricted solely for sport fishing, while both sport and commercial fish-

ing may be allowed in others. Spawning seasons and growth rates for

the different fish species should be determined for the various rivers so

that sound management principles can be practised. There is also the

added possibility that certain rivers at higher elevations could be stocked

with trout species, some of which have done exceptionally well in

Kashmir and Bhutan. However, thorough studies should first be con-

ducted to determine whether or not native species would be superior to

introduced ones, as well as whether or not the introduced species would

thrive in these areas.

Plans for hydro-electric and irrigation projects should also provide

for the protection of fishery resources. Stream pollution is not yet

apparently a problem. Nevertheless, steps should be taken now to

ensure that streams are not polluted in the future. Conservation

practices, particularly in the catchment areas, will also help to protect the

fisheries and other resources, such as the land, forests, and agriculture.

Planned management and control of the nation’s fishery resources will

result in untold benefits for the country, as well as the protection and per-

petuation of these valuable assets.

III. CONSERVATION PROBLEMS

Livestock

Overgrazing by domestic livestock is undoubtedly the major threat to

wild life conservation in Nepal. Differing only in intensity, all forest

areas are subject to livestock grazing. Forest lands near villages are the

most drastically abused. Concentrated grazing throughout the year in

these areas has resulted in extensive tracts of bare and badly trampled

ground. Well-beaten trails continue to extend from the villages ever

deeper into the near-by forests.

Although light to moderate grazing encourages the reproduction of

some species of trees, overgrazing is detrimental both to the forests and

to the wild life. The first result of this common practice is the replace-

ment of desirable forage plants with undesirable ones, such as thorny

shrubs and bushes. Continued abuse eventually converts entire forests

into little more than deserts. Apart from direct competition for food and

other disturbances resulting from the presence of livestock in areas

inhabited by wild life, there is always the possibility of disease trans-

mission.

It is probably impossible, as well as impractical, to stop livestock

grazing completely in all but a few selected forest areas. However,

566 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

grazing must be controlled. Conservation practices and _ scientific

management must replace the almost omnipresent practice of overgraz-

ing. Otherwise, the entire nation will suffer. It is, therefore, suggested

that in many areas the numbers of domestic animals be greatly reduced

and that whenever possible rotational grazing or other scientific methods

of range management be employed.

Encroachment

During the ten-year period of political instability which followed the

advent of democracy in 1950, it became known that land for cultivation

was available in the lowlands of Nepal. People from different parts of

the mountains and hills, where agriculture at its best provides only a

scant living, began to move into the richer valleys and forest areas. The

effects of the devastating floods of 1954, the worst in the recent history of

the country, gave impetus to this mass migration movement. Soil

erosion, landslips, and other damages to farmlands in the high country

caused thousands to leave their homes and migrate to the rich forest

areas of the dun valleys and the ferai plains. A malaria eradication

programme initiated in the early 1950’s also opened the way into areas

which hitherto had been avoided primarily because of malaria.

The Rapti River Valley, known as Chitawan, once supported the best

forests in Nepal. Its forests and grasslands, combined with an abundant

supply of water, were inhabited by great numbers of wild animals, such

as rhino, elephant, gaur, chital, sambar, swamp deer, hog deer, wild

boar, tiger, and leopard. This area was also strictly protected until

1950 as the shooting preserve for the Ranas. In 1955 the Government

of Nepal, in co-operation with the USAID. Mission, launched the

Rapti Valley Multi-purposes Project. This development programme

envisaged, among other things, to develop and to settle the many grass-

lands (savannahs) of the valley as agricultural lands. Prior to this time,

except for a few scattered villages of Tharus who were reputed to be im-

mune to malaria, this large valley was uninhabited.

The construction of a road from Hetaura to Narayangarh, the eradi-

cation of malaria, and the distribution of land to the landless invited

increasing numbers of people every year to come to the lowlands. Forest

encroachment had reached such epidemic proportions by 1959 that it

had spread all over the Rapti Valley, including Hetaura and the Churia

Hills to the east. The illegal encroachment upon forest lands by these

thousands of people resulted in the destruction of millions of valuable

trees and untold numbers of wild animals. :

The gravity of the situation was finally recognized by the Government.

Starting in 1959, various bodies comprised of local administrative officers

were formed. In 1963 a fact-finding commission headed by a senior

government official investigated the situation. Upon the basis of the

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION IN NEPAL 567

report submitted, another government commission headed by a cabinet

minister was formed in October 1963 to settle the problem on a

permanent basis. This commission has functioned effectively ever since

and its achievements thus far have been commendable.

Approximately 4400 families from different encroachment areas have

been resettled along the Indo-Nepal border in the Reu Valley and near

Thori. Six hundred families of ex-servicemen have also been settled in

the forests north of Khaireni, south of the foothills and west of Lothar.

Except for the oldest Tharu villages, all new cultivations and encroach-

ments south of the Rapti River, north of the Churia Hills, and west of

Lothar up to the Narayani River have been completely vacated. The

encroached areas north and north-west of Tikoli, east of Khagari Khola,

viz. Tilkaney, part of Jirauna, etc., have also been vacated. The total

gain in terms of forest area from these evacuated areas comes to 10,200

acres and the forest area lost in resettlement of the ex-servicemen is 2500

acres. Concrete boundary pillars have been fixed by the commission

along these settled areas, thus demarcating the forest areas that will be

permanently retained as forests.

Except for a few cultivated patches in the remaining portion of the

Rapti Valley, the overall situation in this area appears favourable.

However, problems urgently remain to be permanently settled in the

areas east of Lothar and Harda Khola up to Hetaura and the valley east

of the Hetaura-Amlekhganj main road.

The present Government of Nepal is demarcating or has demarcated

all forest lands in the dun and the terai areas. However, the problem still

remains to maintain these boundaries against further encroachment.

This is further complicated by increasing population pressures and de-

mands for more and more agricultural land. Marginal lands or those

best suited for forests should remain as such. Rather than continually

seeking new crop lands, the emphasis should be placed upon intensive

farming methods so that optimum production can be realized from those

lands best suited to agricultural use.

Fire

Every year all forest areas in Nepal are subject to intensive burning

between February and June, prior to the monsoon. The two main

causes of fire are carelessness and the common belief by most rural people

that burning improves grazing for their livestock. The movements of

the local people are unrestricted in the forest areas where they graze

their livestock, gather firewood and cut thatch for their huts. These

factors must be considered in any future plans to control fires on forest

lands.

Controlled burning in some areas, such as low-lying forests on rela-

tively level terrain and with sufficient precipitation, is probably beneficial.

568 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

When properly managed, burning such lands helps to control undesirable

plants, permits the regrowth of forage, and quickly returns the nutrients

of old or undesirable plants to the soil. However, all burning should be

controlled and not let to run rampant or left to haphazard methods. For

example, early burning in the winter season, when plants still have a high

moisture content and when humidity conditions are right, generally does

not greatly hinder forest regeneration or destroy the humus on the forest

floor. Burning later in the season under drier conditions often results in

scorching fires that damage both the forests and the undergrowth.

It should also be recognized that burning at any time is probably

detrimental on precipitous slopes or in forest areas with relatively scant

rainfall, less than approximately 40 inches per annum. Fires eating their

way up the steep forest slopes of Nepal are an all too common sight dur-

ing the late winter months of April and May. Total damages as a result

of these burnings are incalculable. The regeneration of entire forests

is prolonged or completely destroyed. As a result of burning, large

patches of low quality stunted trees can be observed in many areas.

The net result of this practice is erosion and a loss of soil which results

in devastating floods and silting in the agricultural lowlands and the ruin

of the forest above. Although detrimental, early burning in many

areas would be preferred to late burning and its more serious con-

sequences.

The Forest Department is presently conducting scientific studies on

the effects of burning under controlled conditions on 64 plots in the

Ramoli-Pratappur forests west of Hetaura. Similar studies are also

proposed in a low-lying forest area near Bharatpur. As soon as definite

conclusions can be derived from these studies, the results should be

utilized in determining fire control practices on an extensive scale.

Poaching

There was undoubtedly some poaching in Nepal during the Rana

rule. However, due to the feudalistic powers of the rulers it was probably

so restricted during this time that for all practical purposes it could be

considered negligible. With the coming of democracy, however,

poaching in many areas attained major proportions and continued un-

abated for a number of years. Under the present government the situa-

tion has improved, but poaching still remains a major problem in many

parts of the country.

A Wild Life Management Division of the Forest Department, with

headquarters at Tikoli, is responsible for the protection of wild life and

its habitat in that area. This division is directly under the Kathmandu

Circle Conservator of Forests, and is headed by a Wild Life Preservation

Officer, Major Nara Raj Thapa. The division has a total of 185

employees, consisting of the Major, 1 lieutenant, 5 swbedars, 23 havildars,

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION IN NEPAL 569

146 rhino guards, 4 clerks, and 5 peons. Major Thapa has instilled in

his men an esprit de corps that is commendable. As a result of the fine

work of this division, Major Thapa has been awarded the Gorkha

Dakshin Bahu by His Majesty the King.

The rhino guards are stationed in different chowkis all over the Rapti

and Reu valleys and in rhino areas in Nawalpur, west of the Narayani

River. They are almost continually in the field and have done excep-

tionally well in the execution of their duties, including the protection

of the forests and the evacuation of settlers from encroachment areas, as

well as protecting the wild life. However, outside of the areas under the

jurisdiction of the Wild Life Management Division, the regular Forest

Department staff is charged with the protection of both the forests and

the wild life.

Thousands of villagers in Nepal own muzzle loading firearms, most of

which are locally made. The shooting of animals, such as wild pig and

chital, by villagers for meat is the most common form of poaching.

Perhaps it would help to minimize poaching if shooting regulations were

made as simple as possible and if shooting licences and fees were well

within the financial means of the common people. For example, if a

nominal fee entitled a Nepali to a specified number of game animals,

there would be little excuse for him to poach. In addition, licences

should be readily obtainable from Forest Officers with a minimum of

delay and forms or paperwork. Licences and fees for trophy species,

such as tiger and leopard, should remain relatively high or perhaps even

be increased. Fees for foreigners shooting in Nepal should also be high.

It is further suggested that protective measures, similar to those used

so effectively by the Wild Life Management Division in rhino areas, be

used in all important wild life areas in the country.

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are made:

1. That the Government of Nepal recognize the importance of the

country’s wild life resources, both flora and fauna, and that necessary

- steps be taken to protect, utilize, and develop these resources on a per-

petual basis for the benefit of the people. ?

2. That a programme of education and publicity be undertaken to

develop an appreciation among the people of Nepal for the cultural and

economic values of wild life preservation and conservation, and to

develop tourism, based upon wild life conservation, as an important

source of revenue.

3. That the Mahendra National Park, the proposed national park

south of the Rapti River, and the proposed wild life sanctuaries in the

Sukla.area of Kanchanpur District in south-west Nepal and along the

6 )

570 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Kosi River in the eastern part of the country all be legally constituted as

such, as has been presented to the Government by the Forest Department.

4. That high altitude areas of special scenic and wild life attraction

or significance be selected and legally constituted as national parks or

wild life sanctuaries.

5. That measures, both protective and legislative, be taken to ensure

the preservation of the flora and fauna in Nepal, and particularly in the

parks and sanctuaries. This perhaps can best be done by a nation-wide

Wild Life Branch of the Forest Department, which would have jurisdic-

tion of all parks and sanctuaries, as well as the wild life on all Forest

Department lands, and would be charged with the enforcement of all

wild life legislation.

6. That facilities for visitors to the parks and sanctuaries (i.e. air-

fields, roads, accommodations, etc.) be developed and that private enter-

prise, supervised by the Forest Department, be encouraged in the

development, maintenance, and use of these facilities.

7. That a systematic survey of the country’s faunal resources, in-

cluding fish, be undertaken by qualified personnel. This would form the

foundation upon which long-range management plans could be based.

8. ‘That shooting blocks be established in all suitable Forest Depart-

ment lands not devoted to parks or sanctuaries and that, with proper

control and management, the game species in these areas be systematically

harvested. The shooting or harvesting of wild game is an integral part

of wild life conservation. However, conservation practices, such as

control and management, must be exercised to ensure that the wild life

species involved are harvested on a sustained yield basis.

9, That the country’s fishery resources be studied and then developed

so as to ensure both a sustained yield of valuable protein food and an

attraction for sport fishing. eo

10. That selected personnel from the Forest Department be sent

abroad for conservation training in such fields as wild life and range

management, recreation, and so forth, as well as deputed to visit and

study management practices in parks and sanctuaries in other countries.

11. That the numbers of domestic livestock grazing on Forest Depart-

range management methods, such as rotational grazing, be employed.

Also, that the grazing of domestic livestock in selected areas, particularly

in national parks or sanctuaries, be completely prohibited.

12. That forest lands demarcated as such be retained inviolate to

further encroachment by people seeking new agricultural lands.

13. That a programme of fire control or prevention, based upon the

results of the studies presently being conducted by the Forest Depart-

ment, be undertaken on all forest lands. This would entail both control

and educational measures. People, particularly those living in or near

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION IN NEPAL 571

forest areas, should understand the serious consequences of uncontrolled

or, in many cases, of any type of burning in forest areas.

14. That the protective measures that have so effectively reduced

poaching in the rhino areas be extended to all important wild life areas.

V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report was made possible by the courteous invitation of the

Forest Department of Nepal. We wish to thank His Majesty’s Govern-

ment of Nepal, without the co-operation of which this undertaking could

not even have been attempted.

We are also grateful to Mr. R. G. M. Willan, Chief Conservator of

Forests, and to the Forest Department of Nepal for their hospitality and

kind assistance, as well as for the facilities, including elephants, provided

while we were in the field. All Forest Department personnel with whom

we came in contact were most courteous and co-operative. Special

thanks are also given to Mr. and Mrs. J. V. Coapman for their gracious

hospitality and for the two enjoyable days spent with them at ‘ Tiger

Tops’.

VI. LITERATURE CONSULTED

GeE, E. P. (1959) : Report on a survey

of the rhinoceros area of Nepal, March

and April 1959, Oryx, Jour. Fauna Pre-

servation Soc. 5 (2) (Aug. 1959) 30 pp.,

illustrations and maps.

——(1963): Report on a brief

survey of the wild life resources of Nepal,

including the rhinoceros, March 1963,

op. cit. 7 (2 & 3) : 67-76.

Smytuiges, E. A. (1942): Big game

shooting in Nepal.

SmytTuHies, O. (1953): Lady.

Heinemann, London. —

STRACEY, P. D. (1957) : On the status

of the Great Indian Rhinoceros (R.

Tiger

unicornis) in Nepal. J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 54 : 763-766.

IRALBOR,, 12. *Me 4(1959)- A look ‘at

threatened species; 133° pp. Rauna

Preservation Soc., London.

TAMANG, K. M. (1965): Report on

investigation of forest management re-

quirements for the TCN area in Chitawan

Forest Division, Sept. 1965 (unpublished).

WILLAN, R. G. M. (1965): The

Chitawan Wild Life Sanctuary in Nepal.

IUCN Bull., Oct.-Dec., 1965.

——— (1965) : Rhinos increase

in Nepal. Oryx, Jour. Fauna Preser-

vation Soc. 8 (3) : 159-160.

VII. GLOSSARY OF LOCAL TERMS

Bhabar or charkosya

jhari

an almost continuous dry belt 8-12 miles wide between

the terai and the hills and at an elevation of 600-1000 feet.

The soil is dry, porous, and infertile and consists mostly

of sand, gravel and boulders washed down from the

mountains.

chowki

Churia Hills or

Siwalik Range

a station or post, such as those used by rhino guards.

2000-4000 foothills which rise sharply north of the bhabar

and consist of sand, gravel, and boulders.

They are

irregular in size, Comprise one or two chains and stop

short east of the Kosi River.

572. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

dun

havildar

khola

mahabharat

panchayat

shikar

shikari

subedar

tal

tapoo

terai

a wide or flat valley between the bhabar and the maha-

bharat or Himalayan range. The best known dun in

Nepal is the Chitawan or Rapti River Valley.

a non-commissioned officer or head constable with the

rank of ‘ Sergeant’. ‘

a stream.

the Himalayan range, which forms 80% of Nepal. It

consists of sedimentary rock that has been disturbed

by the uplifting of the crystalline Himalayas. The

variety of soils and folds and the rocky alluvial deposits

make for extreme complexity.

a committee or council, literally of five members, at any

level of government.

shooting or hunting

a hunter or professional shooting guide.

a junior commissioned officer.

a small lake.

an island in a river.

a fertile and moist alluvial plain, located south of the

bhabar, a few miles from the foothills of the Himalayas

and at an elevation of 250-600 feet. In Nepal the ferai

forms the northern end of the Gangetic plain and is 20

miles across at the widest point.

Brief Summary of the Status of the Great Indian

One-Horned Rhinoceros

J. JUAN SPILLETT

The overall outlook for the Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros

presently appears to be better than at any time during recent years.

Nevertheless the preservation of this species is fraught with numerous

problems. Chief among these are overgrazing by domestic livestock,

human encroachment or exploitation of its few remaining habitats, and

poaching. Although there are frequent reports of rhino in areas outside

established sanctuaries or reserved forests, particularly in Assam, it is -

my firm belief that these scattered animals contribute little to the preser-

vation of this species. Only strictly protected and managed sanctuatries

or reserves offer reasonable possibilities for preserving, maintaining, or

increasing the numbers of Indian rhino presently in existence.

The 166-square-mile Kaziranga Wild Life Sanctuary in Assam was

censused on 18 and 19 March 1966. Four hundred or well over half of

the Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros in existence are harboured in

this outstanding sanctuary. It also offers better possibilities of main-

taining relatively high numbers of rhino than any other area in its present

range. However, problems confronting the rhino in Kaziranga include

poaching, erosion by the annual flood waters of the Brahmaputra

River, and to some extent grazing by domestic livestock.

The Forest Department reports that there are over 40 rhino in the

26-square-mile Laokhowa Reserve in Assam. However, it is doubtful

_ that under present conditions this population will even be able to main-

tain itself, let alone increase in numbers. Poaching does not appear to

be a major problem in Laokhowa. But, besides extensive crop culti-

vation and forest exploitation, the entire reserve is severely abused by

overgrazing by domestic livestock and excessive disturbances caused by

numerous people residing in the area. The seven rhino reported for

Kukurata actually reside outside of the reserve in about a mile-square

grassland area along the Brahmaputra River. In addition to being in an

exceptionally vulnerable position in so far as poaching is concerned,

these rhino must move elsewhere during the annual flood season when

the area that they inhabit is completely inundated,

574. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 63 (3)

I did not visit the 7-square-mile Raja Mayang nor the 22-square-

mile Orang reserved forests. The figures given in the Table below for

these areas are based upon information received from Mr. P. C. Gogoi

(Nowgong Divisional Forest Officer) and the Range Officer stationed

at Orang. Mr. E. P. Gee’s estimates for the 105-square-mile Manas or

North Kamrup Wild Life Sanctuary and the 85-square-mile Sona Rupa

Reserve are also given. These estimates, as well as those given for else-

where in Assam, are based primarily upon information obtained from

others. Therefore, I am not in a position to state the actual status of the

rhino in these areas.

The 38-square-mile Jaldapara Wild Life Sanctuary in northern West

Bengal was censused on 26 April 1966. Although only 32 rhino were

tallied during the census, based upon my observations between March

31 and April 7, I am certain that the sanctuary contains at least 50 rhino.

Poaching of rhino does not appear to be excessive in Jaldapara, but the

illegal grazing of domestic livestock and forest exploitation by villagers

living along the boundaries are major problems. In spite of these dis-

turbances, I observed a relatively large proportion of young and the

sanctuary’s rhino population appears to be thriving. Five rhino are

also reported to inhabit the near-by Goru Mara Sanctuary. 3

The outlook for the preservation of the Great Indian One-horned

Rhinoceros in Nepal was very bleak until just recently when the Forest

Department and the Government of Nepal took definitive measures to

protect this threatened species. The distribution of the rhino in Nepal

is restricted to Chitawan or the Rapti River Valley and a few of the near-

by tributaries. Although considered until recently as royal game,

King Mahendra has extended full protection to the rhino in his country,

A Wiid Life Management Division under the supervision of Major

N. R. Thapa, consisting of over 100 ‘rhino guards’, has also been

established primarily for the protection of the rhino. The Forest

Department’s official total for rhino in Nepal is 185. However, based

upon my limited observations between April 9 and 23, and discussions

with people inhabiting the principal rhino areas, I believe there are pro-

bably fewer than 100 in the country. The most important factor,

however, is not the exact number, but the steps being taken by the

Government and the Forest Department for the protection of those that

are present. The major problems presently confronting rhino in Nepal

are overgrazing by domestic livestock and sporadic forays by poachers

crossing the Indo-Nepal border.

STATUS OF THE GREAT INDIAN ONE-HORNED RHINOCEROS | 575

Estimates for total populations of the Great Indian One-horned

Rhinoceros throughout its present range are given below.

TABLE

ESTIMATES OF GREAT INDIAN ONE-HORNED RHINOCEROS, JUNE 1966

Assam (1) Kaziranga Ate 400

(2) Laokhowa a 40

(3) Kukurata as )

(4) Raja Mayang ae 6

(5) Orang as 12

(6) Manas “0 | 5h

(7) Sona Rupa ave a

(8) Elsewhere = 40

West Bengal (1) Jaldapara bat 50

(2) Goru Mara ~ Mas 5)

Nepal ae 100

Rotale, 3% 680

* Mr. Gee’s figures.

A Study of the Chital or Spotted Deer in Corbett

National Park, Uttar Pradesh

RAMES CHANDRA DE! AND J. JUAN SPILLETT

(With three maps)

I. INTRODUCTION te ay, i Ba ey ED,

iS EARIPAg) as. = oe os Peles a geen

III. RESULTS .. ‘s 5 im 2. DBZ

Population Density ah Bia ay oe Fo Oe

Movements shi re we +, OSS

Sex Ratios and Age Comporuion < ie MAE Yo

Miscellaneous Observations ce cE i S589

IV. OTHER ANIMALS oe ne ae s2 «590

Hog Deer Ae ae 58 ar wut aU

Sambar oi 4% “% Rie ~ ae On

Barking Deer ae — ae he saan 596

V. RECOMMENDATIONS .... Puss te ae eS

VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .. ae re 2 Se SOF

VII. LITERATURE CONSULTED a S A 23 O98

TABLES AND MAPS

Table 1. Some of the larger animals represented in Corbett National Park,

U Pcie nc 1208s A AO Ee eee eee 580

2. The mean monthly maximum cane minimum ceniperaeinee recorded

at Dhikala in Corbett National Park, U.P. (February 1-May 29,

1966). 38. boc, VRE are ce 581

3. Forest Doetent estimates of reservoir water levels Aer the

completion of the dam on the Ramganga River at Kalagarh...... 582

4. Total daily counts of chital on the Dhikala chaur.............2.00: 583

5. Relationship between temperature and time of entrance and exit

from the forest*by::chital; 2.44555 So hoe eee eee 584

Chital age composition and sex ratios observed on a monthly basis.. 588

Frequency of mating calls by male chital on an hourly basis........ 591

Hog deer age composition, sex ratios, and antler development as

observed on a monthly basis..... ea Rk Geant: 2c ae 593

9. Sambar age composition, sex ratios, and antler dee clontiere ona :

monthly “basis 13:0. aide renee ee Ae 2a sess. 594

10. Barking deer sex ratios and antler Ncvelomacne ona creche basis... 595

1 R.C. De’s salary was paid by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Medical

Research and Training, Calcutta, India, while the study was sponsored by the World

Wildlife Fund, Morges, Switzerland, and supervised by J. J. Spillett.

THE CHITAL IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, UP. $77

Maou. Map of Conbett National Park, WUsP i. oes. SP. bs... Sil

2. Map of Corbett National Park, U.P., depicting the area to be sub-

merged by the Ramganga Dam Project and the forest blocks

IMSIMO SME HO ARK Ae ys. vie fis «oh p Dk ROPES. cee a wey eteiahS ever aE elas ote. 5 579

3. Study area in the Dhikala chaur of Corbett National Park, U.P.

with the daily movements of different herds of chital............ 586

1 eENTE ROD UCT TON

Corbett National Park, so named since 1957, has the distinction of

being India’s first national park. It was first constituted in.1935 as the

Hailey National Park, later as the Ramganga National Park, and finally

as Corbett.

This 125-square-mile park is located in the rugged Himalayan foot-

hills in the districts of Nainital and Garhwal of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.).

The Ramganga River forms the northern and western boundaries, the .

-Ramnagar-Ranikhet road the eastern boundary and the Ramnagar-

Kotdwara road the southern boundary (Map 1). Corbett Park is sur-

Si ay eaee

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ROADS METOILED BUNME7SILED. Loree:

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Map 1. Map of Corbett National Park, U.P.

578 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

rounded by shooting blocks. Shooting, however, has been fully prohi-

bited in the Jhirna Block and partially in the Bijrani and Mandal Blocks,

with the reported expectation that these areas totalling about 32-square-

miles will soon be included in the park. Approximately 60 miles of fair

weather roads inside Corbett Park are maintained by the Forest Depart-

ment. The park is closed to the public during the monsoon season,

mid-June to October. |

Dhikala is the main visitor center. Located here are two Forest

Rest Houses, a hutment, a number of tents for visitors and houses for

14 members of the Forest Department staff. Forest Rest Houses are

also located at Sultan, Sarapduli, Boxar, Patairpani, Gajpani, Jamnagwar

and Malani. Corbett is under the jurisdiction of the State Forest

Department and is supervised by a wild life warden, with a staff of several

assistant wild life wardens and a number of wild life guards.

Numerous forms of mammals, some of which are listed in Table 1,

are present in Corbett. In addition, several hundred species of birds

have been reported, as well as several species of tortoises, snakes (both

non-poisonous and venomous), and other reptiles. The ‘Indian salmon’

or mahseer (Barbus tor) is the most notable of the fish species found in the

Ramganga River and the larger streams.

An irrigation and hydroelectric dam, to be completed in 1973, is

presently under construction at Kalagarh. An area of approximately

18-square-miles of grasslands within the park, including parts of the

Patairpani, Dhikala, and Gajpani forest blocks, will be inundated after

the completion of the dam (Map. 2). The most common large mammal

in the park is the chital, the vast majority of which inhabit these grass-

land areas which will be submerged. Therefore, the primary objectives

of this study were to determine the present status of the chital in this area

from the standpoint of their population density, movements, sex ratios,

and age composition. Hopefully this report will provide information

that will be useful in the preservation of wild life, particularly the chital,

after the environment has been altered by the advent of the dam. Also

that it will serve as a comparative basis for future studies, which may

help to determine how wild life can best be considered in future projects

of this nature. |

The main area of study was in the vicinity of the tourist center at

Dhikala, located at an elevation of 1265 feet. It consisted of about

seven-square-miles of open grasslands, locally called chaur, and the

adjoining forest areas. About four square miles were in the Khinanauli

Block and about three in the forests of the Dhikala Block (Map. 3).

Daily observations were made from 04:30 to 11°30 hours and from

14:30 to 19°30 hours. Eight-power binoculars or a 20-60 x zoom spotting

scope were used. Three watch towers or wooden machans in the chaur

were also frequently used for observations,

579

THE CHITAL IN CORBETI NATIONAL PARK, U.P.

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580 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

TABLE 1 |

SOME OF THE LARGER ANIMALS REPRESENTED IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, U.P.

Common Name Local Name Scientific Name

Indian Elephant Hathi Elephas maximus

Sambar Sambar Cervus unicolor

Chital Chital Axis axis

Hog Deer Para Axis porcinus

Barking Deer Kakar Muntiacus muntjak

Tiger Sher or Bagh Panthera tigris

Leopard Guldar Panthera pardus

Hyaena — Hyaena hyaena

Sloth Bear Bhalu Melursus ursinus

Himalayan Black Bear Bhalu Selenarctos thibetanus

Wild Boar Suar Sus scrofa

Rhesus Monkey Bandar Macaca mulatta

Common Langur Hanuman Presbytis entellus

Porcupine Soohi Hystrix indica

Marten Chitrole Martes flavigula

Mugger Magar Crocodilus palustris

Gharial Gharial Gavialis gangeticus

Python Ajgar Python molurus

Il. HABITAT

The study area can be roughly divided into three vegetational types :

(1) chaur or savannah-like grasslands, (2) sal forest, and (3) river bed.

The Dhikala chaur was formed by past cultivation. The Ramganga

River forms the northern and western boundaries and the Thandi-Sarak

road runs along the edge of the forest on the south and east. The vege-

tation consists primarily of grasses such as suthi (Aristida cyanantha),

Cymbopogon confortiflorus, Arundinella nepalensis, bichroo (Neyraudia

arundinacea), munja (Saccharum munja), S. arundinaceum, kans (S.

spontaneum), Imperata cylindrica, gdneria (Narenga porphyrocoma),

kus (Desmostachya bipinnata), khus (Vetiveria zizanioides), ulla (Themeda |

arundinacea), Chionachne koenigii, Alpuda varia, etc.

There are a few patches of sa/ in the chaur and a few scattered trees

such as simul (Bombax ceiba), dhak (Butea monosperma), bauhinia

(Bauhinia malabarica), and donla (Emblica officinalis). Ber bushes

(Zizyphus jujuba) are also commonly intermingled with the grass.

The sal forest extends from the southern edge of the chaur towards the

north. It may be divided into three levels or stories: (1) canopy, (2)

middle level or storey, and (3) ground level.

The canopy consists mainly of sa/ trees (Shorea robusta). However,

other species of trees, such as sains (Terminalia tomentosa), haldu (Adina

cordifolia), bahera (Terminalia belerica), jhingan (Lannea wodier), jamun

(Eugenia jambolana), kharpat (Garuga pinnata), and. tendu (Diospyros

THE CHITAL IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, U.P. OB

tomentosa), are also represented. In moist areas these trees replace sal

as the dominant species.

The middle level or storey consists mainly of shorter trees, such as

rohinis (Mallotus philippinensis), chilla (Cdsearia tomentosa), amaltas

(Cassia fistula), lisora (Cordia dichotoma), gaya (Bridelia retusa), etc.

The ground level is characterized by small trees, such as gandhela

(Murraya koenigii), shrubs such as Glycosmis pentaphylla, Clerodendron

infortunatum, dhaia (Callicarpa macrophylla), other shrubs, herbs, and

patches of grass, as well as tree seedlings. The dominant grass species

are Imperata sp. and Chloris incompleta.

The river-beds are characterized by trees, such as ivan: Or sissu

(Dalbergia sissoo) and a few khair (Acacia catechu), in the canopy. Shrubs

or vines are represented by bhang (Cannabis sativa) and lantana (Lantana

camara).

The vegetation near Boxar is typical river bottom. However, in one

patch of forest, trees like shisham, bel (Aegle marmelos), khair, and ber

predominate. The Patairpani area is open forest, consisting of about

50% sal and 50% grass. The dominant grass in the stream beds here

is pater (Typha elephantina). Besides the Ramganga River, another

source of water in the main study area was about a one and one-half

mile long nullah or water course in the center of the Dhikala chaur.

Other nullahs present in the study area remain dry, except during the

monsoon. The annual rainfall for this region is reported to be about 100

inches. Mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures during

the study period are given in Table 2

TABLE 2

THE MEAN MONTHLY MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES RECORDED AT

DHIKALA IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, U.P. (FEBRUARY 1-May 29, 1966)

Month

Minimum } Maximum

February Roe 41°F. Gie:

March ne 56°F: | 88°F,

April eA 64°F, 98°F,

May ue fiom ee 105° Rh.

582. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

TABLE 3

FOREST DEPARTMENT ESTIMATES OF RESERVOIR WATER LEVELS AFTER THE

COMPLETION OF THE DAM ON THE RAMGANGA RIVER AT KALAGARH

Date Water storage in M. ac. ft. Approximate reservoir level

(feet elevation)

October 8 | a 1,504 1188

November | a 1,559 1191

December | ibs 1,386 1181

January 1 as 1,126 1164

February 1 ae 875 1147

March 1 es 708 1133

April 1 re 539 1116

May 1 oe 416 1102

June 1 ee 273 1084

June 16 a 203 1075

III. RESULTS

Population Density

The highest total count of chital in the study area was 1584. Chital

in the chaur were generally quite easily tallied with the aid of a spotting

scope from the watch towers. Those in the forest, however, were

censused by the strip method, i.e. we walked in parallel lines and main-

tained sufficient distance between the lines to avoid duplication in the

counts.

In addition to the study area, the highest count for areas to be sub-

merged inside the park (parts of three compartments in the Dhikala

Block, three compartments of the Gajpani Block, seven compartments

of the Patairpani Block, and adjoining grasslands) was 922. Compart-

ments I, II, IIIA, IIB and IV of the study area (Map 3) will not be

submerged. Almost 600 chital were counted in these compartments.

Therefore my totals for the chital population in the park areas to be

submerged was about 1900 (1584-922 —600=1906). Estimated water

levels at different times of the year for this area are given in Table 3.

It is almost certain that some animals were missed. Thus, it is estimated

that as many as 2300 chital may have inhabited the area to be submerged

during the course of the four-month study (February | through May 29).

Total daily counts in the Dhikala chaur are given in Table 4.

THE CHITAL IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, U.P. 583

TABLE 4

TOTAL DAILY COUNTS OF CHITAL ON THE DHIKALA chaur

Month Date Total chital

February 1966... 10 877

ltl 920

12 820

14 898

15 910

16 940

21 834

24 924

26 918

Dh 975

28 963

March 1966 1 812

3 954

6 976

April 1966 2 860

5 703

8 842

2 694

17 735

P| 922

27 699

29 641

30 767

May 1966 Kr 3 642

5 631

6 816

‘I 669

11 829

2 685

13 811

14 892

eer Se

About 1600 chital were primarily dependent upon the grass of the

- Dhikala chaur for forage. Although there was sufficient grass in the

chaur, the areas along the forest edge were severely overgrazed. This

overgrazing, coupled with the high frequency of dominance interactions

and fighting, may indicate that the population density for the study area

has passed the optimum level.

Movements

The movement of chital is affected by numerous factors, such as

temperature, weather, food, water, and disturbances. The role of

temperature on their movements is evident from Table 5. During the

four-month study period, the chital observed demonstrated a general

pattern of movement. During February, most of the chital remained

on the chaur throughout most of the day and night, taking rest in the

584. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

forest only a few hours at midday. But during March, April, and May,

when the temperatures went up, they left the chaur earlier and then

TABLE 5

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEMPERATURE AND TIME OF ENTRANCE AND EXIT

FROM THE FOREST BY CHITAL

Temperature Hours of

Date

(1966) Min. Max. going in coming Sunrise Sunset

forest out of

forest

March Z a) 89 11°30 14°30 06:30 18°12

4 56 89 11:20 14°40 06:28 18°13

6 50 78 10°50 14:30 06:26 18°14

10 53 84 10.30 15.30 . 06.21=>. -TSi6

31 7 91 10°00 15°40 06:03 18°23

April D; 61 96 09°40 16°10 06°01 18:24

4 60 98 09:30 16°20 05°59 18225

8 59 92 09°00 16°00 05°55 18°26

ile 62 97 08°10 16°30 05°53 18°27

14 63 98 08°00 16°40 05°50 18:28

17 64 98 07°40 16°50 05°47 18°29

Di 63 100 07°20 17°10 05°44 18°31

25 65 104 07:00 17°40 05°41 | 18°33

28 wl 103 707200 17°40 05°39 18°34

30 69 102 07°10 17°10 05°37 18°35

May 3 63 105 06°20 18°10 05°35 18°36

4 69 108 06°10 18°25 05°35 18°36

5 68 109 06:00. — 18°10 05°34 18°37

6 iB 108 06°10 18°10 05°33 18°37

8 7B 106 06:29 18°00 05°32 18°38

10 68 97 07°30 16°30 05°31 18°39

iby 70 90 07°45 15°45 05°30 18°40

returned to graze between 14:30 to 18:25 hours until 06°10 or 11°30 hours

the following morning. During periods of rainfall or during cloudy

or foggy weather the chital remained on the chaur for longer periods of

time. This can probably be correlated with lower temperatures on these

days.

Chital are primarily grazers and prefer the shorter green grasses or

the more palatable green shoots. Since there were very few patches of

grass inside the forests, they regularly came out on to the grassy chaur

to graze. It was reported by members of the Forest Department staff

that during November and December chital were found in the river-

beds. But, as the new grass shoots began to appear in January after

the grasslands had been burned by the Forest Department, they began

to congregate on the chaur. Besides grass, chital were observed to eat

the leaves of trees, such as maljhan (Bauhinia vahli), kachnar (B. mala-

THE CHITAL IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, U.P. 585

barica), lisora, gandhela, and gaya (Bridelia retusa); shrubs such as

Glycosmis pentaphylla and the fruits of bahera (Terminalia belerica)

and aonla were also eaten.

Water plays a major role in the movement of chital. Herds

in different compartments of the study area moved across the chaur to

reach either the nullah in compartment IX or the Ramganga River (Map

3). Most of the animals went to water in the late evening, but a few

were also occasionally observed to drink in the early morning.

Due to the movements of visitors and crews working to clear-fell the

areas to be submerged by the backwaters of the dam, disturbances in the

Dhikala chaur were often excessive. However, moving vehicles or

bicycles did not normally disturb the chital to any appreciable extent.

Stopped vehicles, domestic elephants, and people on foot generally

caused the chital to seek refuge in the near-by forests. The number of

roads in this area aré excessive and many disturbances could probably

be minimized if only a few of the roads were maintained and the others

were closed. Predators, such as tiger or leopard, also disturbed chital

grazing on the chaur. The animals also appeared to be more easily

frightened by our presence after having previously been frightened by a

predator. ,

Daily observations enabled the senior author to distinguish the terri-

tories of ten more or less stable herds of chital (Map 3). Some of these

were readily distinguished by ‘ marker’ individuals or those which had

readily observed abnormalities, i.e. antler development. For example, herd

1 of compartment II occupied a territory covering compartments I and II.

Herd 2 of compartment HIB occupied a territory covering parts of com-

partments IIIB, IV, VIII, IX, X, IIA, I, and I, and so forth. All

ten herds also occupied areas from one-half to two miles inside the forests

adjoining the chaur. Frequent mixing of herds was also observed,

particularly when the chital were disturbed,.i.e. by men or predators.

Sex Ratios and Age Composition

Age composition and sex ratio data were most commonly recorded

when the chital made either their exit from or their entry into the forests.

At this time they would normally move slowly in single file, enabling one

to sex and age entire groups accurately. Watch towers were also used

for this purpose. A more or less | : 1 sex ratio may usually be expected

in an area which is free from selective shooting or predation. The

percentages of adult females observed as compared to adult males for

February, March, April, and May were 52, 58, 60 and 53° respectively.

The variations are not significant and the observed sex ratio always

approximated 1:1. The adult female-young ratios for February,

March, April, and May were 33, 37, 37 and 31%. This indicates that

the main fawning season was probably over by mid-March. Further

| 7

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

586

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THE CHiTAL IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, U-P. 587

information concerning sex ratios, age composition, and antler develop-

ment on a monthly basis is given in Table 6.

Reproduction

Seasonal sexuality in chital males is manifested by the growth of

antlers and mating behaviour. During February, March, April, and May

the percentages of males observed with hard antlers were 2, 9, 12, and 51%

respectively. The onset of the main rut in May was characterized by an

increased frequency of fighting. Males appeared to eat less and

frequently moved in search of females. The necks of some stags began

to swell and their colouration became darker. The infra-orbital glands

began to secrete a musky amber-coloured wax-like fluid, which trickled

down the face.

The frequency of mating calls also notably increased from February

through May. As presented in Table 7, the mean number of calls

recorded per hour on a monthly basis increased from three during the

later part of February to 11 during May. It appeared that the rutting

season was just attaining its peak when the study was terminated the

last of May. It is also evident that mating calls or bellows were more

often given in the evening than in the morning. Mating calls also were

frequently heard at night, although their frequency was not recorded.

Balls were rarely heard between the late morning and late afternoon

ours.

The frequency of mounting and copulation, as would be expected,

also increased between February and the end of May. As recorded in

ten observations, these typically involved the male chasing the female,

frequent eversion of the penis, repeated licking of the muzzle, retraction

of the lips from the upper gum while holding the muzzle up, sniffing

of the vulva, mounting, insertion of the penis into the vagina, licking of

the penis, and retraction of the penis into the sheath. Insertion of the

penis into the vagina was sometimes accomplished only after numerous

attempts. Mating males also occasionally had to challenge or threaten

other approaching males and on a few occasions severe fighting was

observed.

Generally speaking, chital are not aggressive animals. Sometimes,

however, severe fights among them are witnessed. Observed fighting

was either between males or between females, it was never between

animals of opposite sexes. Fights among young males with spike antlers

in velvet on three occasions involved dominance interaction, slapping at

each other with the forefeet and pushing each other with the neck, while

Standing on their hind legs for as long as three or four minutes. Similar

fighting between females was observed on four occasions near salt licks.

Besides fighting, aggression was represented by chasing, butting, and the

turning of the head or body towards another animal. Mild forms of

$88 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

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THE ‘CHITAL. IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, U.P. 589

fighting between males involved the simple interlocking of antlers and

slight pushing. More severe fighting involved antler interlocking and

severe ‘jousting’. This form was most obvious among combating males

during May.

The female gives birth after completing a gestation period of about

seven and one-half months. Many newborn young were seen in

February. Fawning also continued up until the first of May and then

decreased considerably. Young from the previous year were also

attaining adult size at this time.

Dominance interactions were particularly evident between males

with hard antlers or antlers in the later stages of development. Such in-

teractions generally involved two to seven animals walking in parallel

lines or in circles with a stiff, slow gait—heads slightly bent to the side,

ears laid back onthe neck, and with the tail sometimes raised. Larger

males usually dominated younger or smaller males, which moved away

from them. Although numerous dominance interactions were observed

in February, March, and April, these usually did not lead to fighting.

When many males had hard antlers in May, however, dominance inter-

actions often led to severe fighting.

Females were observed to hide their newborn young in the grass.

On three occasions females were seen to leave a grazing herd to caress and

suckle their young, which were lying elsewhere. Caress was represented

by licking of the fawn’s body, particularly the rump region. Suckling

time varied from 45 seconds to five minutes. In 9 out of 13 suckling

observations the mother again left the young.

Miscellaneous Observations

It was noted that when chital came out of or entered into the forest

areas they almost invariably used narrow paths or game tracks. These

were most numerous near salt licks and approaching the Thandi Sarak

road, but diminished inside the forest or towards the center of the chaur

where the chital were generally scattered. Chital appear to regularly

use the artificial salt licks, which were provided by the Forest Department.

The chital made shallow pits with the help of the forefeet and teeth and

then ate the salty soil. The length of time that individuals licked salt

varied from 2 to 37 minutes.

Chital are very social animals and are rarely encountered apart from

a group or herd. The number of individuals counted in groups varied

from 2 to 315. Herds generally consist of males, females, and young

of all ages. Very few solitary males or females were seen. In a few

cases all male groups were seen. However, most of the time males

were seen with females, although during February and March they had

a tendency to remain to one side of the herd when it was grazing more or

less in a line on the chaur,

590 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

A matriarchal social system was indicated by the fact that females

were generally more alert than males. Also, females led the way 110

times out of 136 occasions when chital were observed entering or coming

out of the forest.

VI. OTHER ANIMALS

Tiger and leopard probably play the major role in controlling the

chital population in Corbett. The carcasses of four male chital, three

adults and one yearling, killed by tiger or leopard were found in the

forest areas adjoining the chaur. Three of these had large antlers in

velvet. This may indicate that heavy or large antlers, as well as age,

may be a factor in predation. A jackal on one occasion broke the lower

jaw of a young chital, which was captured later by one of the forest

guards. On four occasions chital were observed to run when approached

by jackal. An eagle was observed to swoop down upon a very small

chital and carry it away. Several adult female chital followed after the

flying bird.

The actions of other animals also affect the behaviour of chital.

For example, on two occasions chital were observed to follow mixed

groups of common langurs and rhesus monkeys. They were feeding

upon the leaves and fruits dropped from the tops of the trees. The

alarm calls of both langur and rhesus also warn chital, particularly when

in the forests, of the presence of predators such as leopard.

Although chital were observed to graze within a few hundred feet of

wild elephants, they did not mix or intermingle with them. On nine

occasions chital were observed to enter areas occupied by elephants much

later than was their normal pattern. However, chital appeared to freely

mingle with wild pig, hog deer, and sambar. No aggressive interactions

were observed between these species. Birds, such as mynas and tree

pies, would frequently light on the backs of chital and appeared to feed

upon external parasites. This would probably be advantageous to the

chital.

A recently born chital young examined on May 19 had an in-

fection of maggots in the vicinity of the umbilical cord. Amphistome

flukes (Calicophon cauliorchis), identified by the Zoological Survey of

India, were collected from the rumens of two dead chital. This parasite

may cause amphistomiasis.

Hog Deer

In addition to chital, hog deer will also suffer when grassland areas |

in Corbett are submerged by the backwaters of the Ramganga River |

dam. Greater concentration on chital observations, the relatively small |

size of hog deer, the dense grass which they generally inhabit, and their |

somewhat secretive habits prevented us from obtaining a total count of

THE CHITAL IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, UP, 591

the hog deer in the study area. However, we guess there were at least

100 hog deer present on the chaur of the study area.

Hog deer were observed to remain in the chaur throughout the day

and night. In comparison to chital, they grazed in smaller or more

restricted areas. It was difficult to note the time of grazing, but they

generally grazed intermittently fromlate afternoon until late the following

morning. In midday they would seek refuge in-the tall grasses of the

TABLE 7

FREQUENCY OF MATING CALLS BY MALE CHITAL ON AN HOURLY BASIS

Hour when Number of Mean number Maximum no.

Month Date mating calls mating calls of calls per of bellowings

were counted per hour hour in one call

February 14 07:00-08°00 3 8

16 16°50-17°50 8

18 06°50-07°50 i/

21 07°10-07°40 qi

Di; 06°30-07°00 8

26 06:00-07:00 7

Uy 06°20-07:20 5

March 3 06°15-07°15 315)

28 05°45-06°45

April 5 05°45-06°45 6

6 05°45-06°45

8 05°45-06°45

11 18°45-19°45

192 05°45-06°45

13 05°45-06°45

13 17°40-18°40

IS 05°45-06°45

Wh 05°45-06°30

Ie 18°00-19°00

21 05°45-06°20

21 18°45-19°45

23 17°45-18°45

24 17°45-18°45

25 04°50-05°50

25 17°45-18°45

OM] 04°45-05°45

29 05-00-0545

29 18°10-19-00

OOOH C DINAH VWOWMNAMAUBADANRN BW NWWNWRW

YONA YIANNIS SYN SYNOD NAA DANDADMNAAAAAWON

May 4 04°45-05°45 fl

4 18°20-19°20

5 04°95-05°45

P) 18°00-19°00

8 04°45-05°45

11 04°45-05°45

13 04°45-05°45 10

14 04°45-05°45 11

14 18°20-19°20 13

16 04°45-05°45 12

19 04°45-05°45 11

19 18°20-19°20 13

20 04°45-05°45 13

20 19:00-20°00 16

592 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

chaur. Four groups of hog deer were repeatedly seen lying in the open

in compartments IIIB, IV, and VI. But, as the temperature went up in

April and May and as the tall grasses were flattened, these groups then

sought out tall grassy areas or the shade of scattered trees to take rest.

Two groups of hog deer in compartment X were seen lying in the tall

grass repeatedly, even in summer during the heat of midday.

Hog deer are social animals and in Corbett they usually remained in

groups of from three to seven of both sexes and all ages. The males,

however, had a tendency to graze somewhat apart from the groups of

females and young. When disturbed they would usually take cover in

the tall grass, rather than in the near-by forests as did the chital. No

fighting, dominance interactions, or play among hog deer was observed.

Hog deer fawns were first observed during the last week of March.

Recently born fawns then continued to be seen up until May. The re-

ported gestation period is about eight months (Asdell 1964). The rut,

therefore, was probably between August and October. Information

concerning the sex ratio, age composition, and antler development for

hog deer observed is given on a monthly basis in Table 8.

Sambar

Sambar are usually somewhat solitary forest dwellers and it was

difficult to collect much information concerning them. However,

seven sambar were repeatedly observed inthe study area. It was noted

that a group consisting of an adult male, three adult females, and two

young usually occupied parts of compartments II, HI, IV, VHI, IX, and

X. A solitary adult male was seen frequently in compartments V, VI,

and IX. This suggests that sambar may be territorial. Groups

numbering up to six were seen and they generally contained one or two

adult males.

Sambar were seen only occasionally in the chaur during February

and March. Although they are considered to be primarily browsers,

during April and May, they were observed quite regularly to enter the

chaur in the evening and remain until 05°10 to 07°30 hours the following

morning. They were also seen eating short grasses in the forest and

hilly areas. The colour of their coat changed from dark grey in February

and March to a whitish grey in April and May. During the first part of

May, 33 out of 55 sambar seen had a whitish grey coat.

Small young sambar were rarely seen. A lactating female was killed

by a tiger on February 23 and two young which were about three months

old were seen in the second week of March. This suggests that the

fawning period may be during December or January. Asdell (1964)

reported that the gestation period for the sambar is eight months.

Information on sex ratios, age composition, and antler development for

sambar observed is given on a monthly basis in Table 9,

593

THE CHITAL IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK, UP.

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JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

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596 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Barking Deer

Barking deer were never seen on the chaur, but were frequently

observed along the roads and in the adjoining forests. Generally they

were solitary, but were occasionally observed in pairs or groups of two.

One pair near compartment IIIB and two males near compartment VI

were repeatedly seen together. There was an indication that they may

also be territorial. Asdell (1964) claims that the young are born in July

and August. No small young were observed. Therefore no definite

information can be given about the reproduction of this species in

Corbett. Information concerning sex ratios and antler development

is given in Table 10.

V. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are made:

. 1. That forest areas adjoining the chaur areas to be submerged be

clear-felled to create grasslands to compensate for the grazing habitat that

will be lost. Artificial salt licks should also be provided in these areas

to help attract animals, such as chital and hog deer, into them.

2. That controlled burning by the sanctuary staff be practised on the

grassland areas of the park. Whenever possible burning should be done

as early as possible in the season and at a time when it is not detrimental

to ground-nesting birds or other animals.

3. That all domestic livestock grazing inside Corbett be prohibited.

The Forest Department has already made very good progress towards

this end.

4. That, in so far as is possible, the exploitation of forest produce

inside Corbett be stopped. Exploitation should be completely prohibited

in at least a few key wild life areas.

5. That the main roads inside the park be improved. If possible,

they should be metalled. However, in some areas, particularly the Dhikala

chaur, the number of roads should be greatly reduced.

6. That night driving inside the park be prohibited.

7. That transportation for visitors be provided at reasonable rates

from Ramnagar to Dhikala.

8. That information concerning the park (i.e. pamphlets, folders,

post cards, etc.) be made available through the Department of Tourism.

Although a folder concerning the park is available at the office in

Ramnagar and in Corbett, it should also be made available in the

Tourist Bureaus.

9. That Forest Department personnel who show a genuine interest

in wild life be employed in the park and that they be trained in the basic

concepts of wild life management. Salaries in keeping with the specia-

lized work of wild life management should also be provided.

THE CHITAL IN CORBETT NATIONAL, PARK, U.P. 597

10. That members of the Forest Department staff be enabled to visit

other parks and sanctuaries in India to help them to better understand

how they can improve and develop Corbett as a major tourist attraction.

11. That visitors visit the Dhikala chaur as a group to observe wild

life and that they be accompanied and supervised by a member of the

Forest Department staff.

12. That evening programmes (i.e. slide lectures) by the Forest

Department staff concerning the park’s wild life be scheduled regularly

for visitors. Also that wild life films, specifically about Indian wild life,

be solicited for use in the evening cinema being presented for visitors at

Dhikala.

13. That attempts be made to show tiger regularly to visitors from

well constructed machans. The provision of baits at regular intervals

and the construction of artificial water-holes at these locations would

probably help increase the possibilities of visitors regularly seeing tiger.

There is also the possibility that the same could be done with leopard.

14. That reservations for visitors to Corbett be handled at Ramnagar,

rather than in Lucknow.

15. That the possibility of regularly scheduled Department of

Tourism bus tours from Delhi to Corbett be thoroughly investigated.

16. That a gift shop, operated by private enterprise but supervised

by the Forest Department, be opened at Dhikala. Besides souvenirs,

foodstuffs, drinks, postcards, etc., books (i.e. on the birds and mammals

of India), should also be on sale. 3

17. That, although private enterprise should be encouraged, the

Forest Department should strictly supervise the operation of tourist

facilities within the park. Adequate staff (cooks, bearers, etc.) should

also be provided at Forest Rest Houses other than at Dhikala.

18, That scientific studies of the park’s wild life by qualified personnel

be encouraged and that facilities, such as housing, be provided when-

ever possible, as was done during this study.

19. That wild life observations both by the staff and by visitors be

kept in a permanent record at Dhikala.

VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to thank the Forest Department of Uttar Pradesh for the

opportunity to conduct a study in Corbett National Park and for the

accommodations and assistance which were given to us. Particularly

we wish to thank Messrs. R. C. Soni (Chief Conservator of Forests),

B. B. Singh (Chief Wild Life Warden), H. C. Joshi (Wild Life Warden for

Corbett National Park), A. C. Agarwala and Mr. Roy (Kalagarh Sub-

divisional Forest Officers) D. S. Negi (Kalagarh Range Officer)

598

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

N. S. Negi (Assistant Wild Life Warden of Corbett), and Sohan Singh

(Wild Life Guard).

The Forest Department is to be commended for their management

of Corbett and it is our sincere desire that this study will be of value to

them in the future management of this outstanding wild life area.

VII.

ASDELL, S. A. (1964): Patterns of

mammalian reproduction. 670 pp.

Ithaca, N. Y.

DarLinG, F. F. (1964): A herd of

red deer. 226 pp. Natural History

Library Edition. Garden City, N. Y.

PRATER, S. H. (1965): The Book of

LITERATURE CONSULTED

Indian Animals 2nd, ed. 323 pp. Bombay

Nat. Hist Soc., Bombay.

SRIVASTAVA, 8S. S. Working plan for

the Kalagarh Forest Divisicn, Western

Circle, Uttar Pradesh (1965-1970): 319

pp. U.P. Forest Department.

PLATE VII

J. Bombay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(3

Spillett: Blackbuck

A herd of Blackbuck. |

(Photo: E. P. Gee)

The Blackbuck of Sikandra Uttar Pradesh

J. JUAN SPILLETT

(With two plates)

Akbar’s Tomb, one of India’s outstanding archeological monuments,

is located along the Delhi-Agra highway at Sikandra, six miles north

of the city of the Taj. Thousands of tourists annually visit this impressive

monument while travelling this route. Most visitors, however, are not

aware that the enclosure behind these historical ruins contains a small

herd of blackbuck—beautiful antelope which are unique to India.

Historians have recorded that, during the reign of Akbar the Great in the

latter part of the 16th century, over 1,000 Indian cheetahs were kept solely

for hunting the fleet-footed blackbuck which then roamed the surround-

ing plains in herds of hundreds. The cheetah has since entirely dis-

appeared from the Indian sub-continent and the blackbuck is presently

becoming rare. It appears that blackbuck perpetually inhabiting the

area dedicated to Akbar’s memory would be a fitting tribute both to

this man and the royal sport to which he was so dedicated. At the

alarming rate at which these animals are presently disappearing, they

might shortly become an even greater tourist attraction than the ruins

which they inhabit.

Dr. George Schaller and I visited Sikandra the first part of February

1965. We counted a total of 128 blackbuck within the 50-acre enclosure

and recorded sex and age ratio data. Only a few small young were present.

Dr. Schaller returned to Sikandra the latter part of February and reported

that five head had recently died, apparently from malnutrition or disease.

The high walls surrounding the monument probably restrict the entry of

dogs or other predators which might prey upon the captive herd. How-

ever, during the months between March and May most of the vegetation

in the area becomes very dry and it was readily apparent that the carrying

capacity of the forage within this enclosure was being exceeded, parti-

cularly during this time of year.

Messrs. Joel Cohen, Rames De, and I visited Sikandra in the latter

part of January 1966. We counted a total of 104 blackbuck and again

recorded sex and age ratio data. Therefore, during the intervening

year the herd had diminished by almost 20%. While meeting with Forest

Department officials in Delhi in the first part of February, Mr. E. P. Gee

and I were informed that it had been proposed that the blackbuck be

600 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

removed from Akbar’s Tomb and the area utilized in the present ‘ Grow

More Food Campaign’. We therefore travelled to Agra and met with

Mr. S. N. Singh, Superintendent of Archeological Gardens in India, on

February 17. Happily we found that it had not been proposed that all

of the blackbuck be removed, but only a part of the herd. We spent the

better part of a day at Sikandra discussing the ‘ deer park’ and photo-

graphing the animals. Mr. Singh solicited our recommendations, which

are as follows :

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That the back (east) half of the 50-acre deer park be left

untouched—a regular jungle of native plants, which will provide cover and

a natural setting for the enclosed animals and also provide nesting cover

for birds.

2. That if one-half of the 50-acre compound is watered the number of

animals retained inside be not more than 100 (i.e. 75 blackbuck, 12 chital,

and 12 chinkara).

3. That if one-fourth of the area is watered (as at present) the number

be reduced to a maximum of 75 animals (i.e. 60 blackbuck, 7 chital, and

7 chinkara).

4. That, if possible, in either case approximately 60% of the animals

should be males (i.e. 45 male plus 30 female blackbuck and 7 male plus

5 female of both chital and chinkara). Males are more spectacular as

a tourist attraction and a predominantly male sex ratio would reduce

reproduction, and hence the efforts needed to maintain no more than

the desired number of animals.

5. That if wild birds are introduced into the deer park, they be

restricted to species presently or formerly inhabiting the area around

Agra. For example, peafowl, red jungle fowl, and grey partridge.

6. That necessary precautions be taken to ensure that animals

introduced into the park are healthy and free from diseases. Otherwise,

their introduction could have disastrous results upon the fine herd al-

ready present.

7. That the deer park receive ample. publicity along with the arches

logical attractions in the area. Blackbuck, chital, and chinkara are all

species unique to India. In addition to being beautiful animals, black-

buck and chinkara are also becoming so rare that it is becoming

increasingly difficult to see them in their natural setting. This park would

readily provide people with this opportunity.

8. That a waterhole and salt-lick with suitable hides be ronided SO

that those who so desire can closely observe and photograph these unique

animals without disturbing them.

(20D ‘qd “HY + 0j04q)

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BLACKBUCK OF SIKANDRA, UTTAR PRADESH 601

The 50-acre ‘deer park’ at Sikandra is divided into two 25-acre

enclosures, which are connected by a narrow passageway. The black-

buck inside the enclosures can be observed readily from the elevated walk

behind the tomb and along the west side. When disturbed the animals

usually pass in single file from one enclosure into the other. Accurate

counts, as well as sex and age ratio data, can easily be obtained during

these movements. During our January visit we counted the entire herd

three times with exactly the same results each time. However, during

the February visit Mr. Gee and I were informed that the monument staff

had recently counted the herd and claimed that it consisted of over 200

animals. A re-count gave our previous number. This is an example of

how many people tend to over-estimate (count ?) groups of wild animals.

ane an Mammals of the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary,

' Rajasthan

J. JUAN SPILLETT, JOEL E. COHEN, AND RAMES C. DE

I. INTRODUCTION ai ve ee te «oe -. COZ

II. RESULTS & 8: Gis af pie OOS

fill. (Caveimeeeiany Sacha s- ay ie ey SEL G4

Domestic Livestock = BA Be .. 604

Predation a Ae eu or, 1605

General Human Disturbances te xe ce 27605

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS ei Br a a3 .. 606

TABLE

The number of wild ungulates in the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary,

Rajasthan ti Ane ae as > (3604

Pec NCE ROD UC TLON

Keoladeo Ghana is known as one of the finest waterbird sanctuaries

in India. However, it is not generally appreciated that this reserve also

harbours such typically Indian ‘ big game’ species as the blackbuck,

nilgai, and chital, in addition to sambar, hog deer, leopard, and others.

Schaller and Spillett conducted a census of the large mammals in the

Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary at Bharatpur in February 19651. Spillett

revisited the sanctuary for three days in November 1965. Although he

did not attempt a census then, he spent over 20 hours walking throughout

the sanctuary area and made several attempts to count all of the black-

buck. A deterioration in the abundance of the large mammals since the

preceding February was apparent during this short visit and suggested

the need for a thorough re-census of their populations. In order to

determine exactly what changes had occurred, the authors spent six days,

January 23 through 30, 1966, conducting a census of the sanctuary on

foot. We repeated the census methods of Schaller and Spillett : in brief,

walking three abreast and spaced so as to be able just to see each other,

1 The Status of the Big Game Species in the Keoladeo ree Pattie

Rajasthan. Cheetal, Jour. Wild Life Preservation Soc. India, 8 (2):

LARGE MAMMALS OF THE KEOLADEO GHANA, RAJASTHAN 603

we covered the entire land area of the sanctuary. The sanctuary includes

7000 acres of which about half is marsh.

II. RESULTS

Our estimates of the total population of each species, compared to

the estimates of February 1965, are presented in Table. Chital, still

the most abundant wild ungulate in the sanctuary, noticeably declined in

numbers during the year. Though we counted only 200 individuals, we

are willing to accept a generous estimate of the total population at 300 to

325 because of the extreme shyness of the animals encountered and the

difficulty in observing them. Even with this allowance the population

declined during the year by not less than 20%. The largest group en-

countered numbered 44, whereas groups of this size, or larger, were

- commonly observed the previous year. The animals’ shyness made it

impossible to collect data on sex ratios and age classes, All but a few

males had antlers in velvet (later stages of development). Very few small

fawns were observed.

The total number of nilgai increased markedly, by about 25%, to 152.

This may be attributed to the fact that they commonly have twins.

These animals were easily counted because they are large, are usually

found in open areas, and were not much disturbed by our presence ;

hence we believe our count to be quite accurate. We were also able to

classify them according to sex and age. Of the classified adults, some

46% were males ; of these 57° were bluish and hence older, while the

remainder were brownish and hence younger. Most of the males were

encountered in bachelor groups of 3to 11. The ratio of adult females to

young was 1°6 to 1. The females were generally found in small groups

of females and young, or in predominantly female groups which also

contained one to three adult males.

Most of the blackbuck were congregated in one large herd at the time

of the 1965 census and were therefore readily tallied. On the other hand,

in 1966, the blackbuck were scattered in small groups in several parts of

the sanctuary, which was probably due to greater disturbance. Though

an accurate count was difficult, an overall decline in the population was

obvious. We counted not more than 54 individuals and, though a few

may have been overlooked, we believe there were less than 60 in the

sanctuary. If the six or seven fawns one to three months old in the 1966

count are ignored, then approximately 30% of the population counted

the previous year disappeared. About 40% of the classified adults were

males ; of these 32% were black-backed and hence older and the

remainder brown-backed and hence younger. The female-young ratio

was greater than 3 to 1. However, some very young fawns may have

been overlooked and the fawning season may not have been completed.

604. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

TABLE

THE NUMBER OF WILD UNGULATES IN THE KEOLADEO GHANA SANCTUARY,

RAJASTHAN

Estimates of Numbers

Common Scientific? 'is4— hee

amie NEE February January (Approx.)

1965 1966

Chital or Spotted

Deer Axis axis 375-400 300-325 20 —

Hog Deer Axis porcinus fewer than 20 fewer than 20 none

Sambar Cervus uni-

color fewer than 20 fewer than 20 . none —

Biackbuck or Indian

Antelope Antilope cervyi-

capra 70 fewer than 60 | 30—

Nilgai or Bluebull Boselaphus tra-

— gocamelus ‘110-120 150-160 25 4-

Wild Pig Sus scrofa fewer than 40 fewer than 80 . 00--

We saw 13 different sambar : 2 males, 6 females, 4 young, and one

adult not identified as to sex. We hazard no guess as to whether this

species increased or decreased in abundance during the year. We still

consider it unlikely that there are more than 20 in the sanctuary.

We saw only one male hog deer.

Of wild pigs, we counted 37 : a sounder of 18 (apparently two females

with young), a female with 8 young, two groups of 3 adults and one of 3,

and a solitary adult male. Thus the pig population increased, Because

we undoubtedly missed others, we guess that the total population may

number as high as 80.

We found no evidence of leopards in the sanctuary and doubt that

more than one or two survive in the area. Jackal, fox, mongoose, jungle

cat, hare, and other smaller mammals were seen. Indirect evidence

suggested the presence of hyena, porcupine, and otter.

IiJ. CONSERVATION PROBLEMS

Domestic Livestock

Overgrazing by domestic livestock continued unabated during the

year. In addition, even the water plants from the marshy areas were

being gathered as fodder, since there was obviously not enough grass.

There aré approximately 7000 head of cattle and buffalo descending on

the sanctuary from the surrounding villages each morning and returning

each afternoon. Much of the sanctuary has been trampled to bare

ground or dust, thus aggravating the shortage of fodder. The most

severely abused parts of the sanctuary, in the north and east, have been

LARGE MAMMALS OF THE KEOLADEO GHANA, RAJASTHAN 605

reduced to near-desert. Besides cattle and buffalo, approximately 100

sheep and goats, officially prohibited from the sanctuary, were observed

defoliating one area. Ifthe present numbers of livestock are permitted to

remain, much of the sanctuary will become desert within a very few

years. And, very likely, the numbers of wild animals will not increase

until the competition from livestock has been substantially reduced.

Since the 1965 census, the Rajasthan Forest Department has wisely

fenced off a small area just north of the Rest House, and was fencing off

another to the south at the time of the 1966 census. Some cattle still

entered the fenced area and wild life tended to congregate there. How-

ever, even such partial protection for less than one year remarkably

improved the condition and abundance of the forage within the fence.

Predation

Natural predation of the large mammals appears very slight. But

the smaller carnivores, particularly mongooses, probably destroy many

birds’ eggs, nestlings, and smajler mammals.

Overall, the most effective predators in the area are men. In

November Spillett found the head of a young chital stag and splotches

of blood and hair in two areas. He also saw a female blackbuck with a

broken hind leg. In January we saw a blackbuck male with a broken

hind leg. Both injuries were probably caused by gun shots. In January

we also found partial carcasses of five nilgai. One young animal was

evidently poached, and four adults which may, or may not, have been

shot.

Of the ungulates, chital are probably poached most frequently and

blackbuck less. The young nilgai somewhat resemble deer and may be

occasionally poached, but the adults, perhaps because of their resemblance

to cattle which are protected for religious reasons, seem to be rarely shot.

The Maharaja of Bharatpur and his guests have shooting rights within

the sanctuary. Although he was absent during the 1966 census, there

was hardly an hour during the three-day visit in November 1965, from

before daylight to well after dark, that shooting could not be heard

somewhere in the sanctuary. Although the Maharaja’s parties generally

shot waterfowl, they took some big game as well.

Poachers took advantage of the disturbance caused by this legal

hunting : shooting was also frequently heard in November from areas

where the Maharaja or his guests were not hunting. During the 1966

census, we frequently heard shooting, and often saw men with guns

openly travelling on bicycles along the main road through the sanctuary.

General human Disturbances |

Human activity within the sanctuary was even more excessive than

in the previous year. In addition to tending livestock and poaching,

606 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

villagers were gathering berries, cutting and removing grass, collecting

and drying water plants for livestock feed, collecting firewood, making

charcoal, and so forth. Whereas a year ago wood collectors were

observed breaking limbs from growing trees, this year many of them had

axes which they used to cut living branches and trees illegally to produce

dead wood from live. We saw whole trees felled.

Almost invariably, when the people in the sanctuary saw wild animals,

‘they attempted to frighten them by clapping their hands and shouting.

As a result, the wild life was constantly disturbed.

1V. RECOMMENDATIONS

Our recommendations differ only slightly from those of Schaller and

Spillett. They are:

1.. That the number of cattle and buffalo be reduced immediately

to a maximum of 1200 head. Each village should be given a definite

grazing quota and assigned to specific grazing areas. Periodic checks

should be made to ensure that these quotas are not exceeded and that

animals are kept in the areas assigned. Because the villagers are charged

almost three rupees per head of adult livestock per year for grazing rights

in the sanctuary, this recommendation entails a substantial loss of income

to the Forest Department. This loss could be converted to a large gain

by enacting the following recommendation, No. 2.

2. That the Forest Department contact the central Tourist Depart-

ment and arrange to include Bharatpur in the regular Delhi-Agra-Jaipur

tours for visitors ; and that an entrance fee be charged all non-local

visitors to the sanctuary. The increased abundance of wild life that

would follow a reduction in overgrazing would attract and ensure a

steady flow of tourists. The combination of these two recommendations

would shift the Forest Department’s source of income from the already-

taxed villagers to more wealthy visitors.

3. That certain parts of the sanctuary be exclusively reserved for

wild life and remain closed to all livestock. Perhaps this can best be

done by fencing off certain areas, as the Forest Department has already

begun to do. Hats |

4. That experimental preservation plots, including at least five

acres each, be fenced off in various parts of the sanctuary. The fences

should exclude both domestic livestock and wild ungulates. Such en-

closures would demonstrate what the vegetation would be like if protected

or properly managed.

5. That a good fence be completed and maintained aro the entire

perimeter of the 11-square-mile sanctuary ; and that the number of live-

stock entrances be reduced. At present, livestock pass through 14 legal

gates and many more illegal ones, while many farmers in the surrounding

LARGE MAMMALS OF THE KEOLADEO GHANA, RAJASTHAN 697

cultivated areas maintain fences or barriers to protect their crops from

wandering wild animals. A secure and well-maintained fence would

eliminate these problems for both the sanctuary and the farmers.

6. That Forest Department personnel patrol the sanctuary on foot

at least once daily to eliminate poaching and other illegal activities.

7. That livestock in transit within the sanctuary be restricted to the

main roads to reduce trampling.

8.. That all so-called ‘crop protection’ guns be withdrawn during

non-crop seasons from the villages bordering the sanctuary ; and that

no one (other than the Maharaja of Bharatpur and his guests) be per-

mitted to carry a gun, along the main road or elsewhere, within the

sanctuary.

9. That no villager be permitted to leave the main road in the sanc-

tuary unless licensed for a particular task such as herding cattle or collect-

ing firewood ; and that firewood collecting be strictly supervised to

prevent damage to growing trees.

If strong action along the lines we have suggested is taken as soon as

possible, Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary could become a very valuable

economic asset to India. It is close to other major tourist attractions ;

it already offers good accommodations and could easily offer more with-

out disturbing the wild life ; it already offers a great, but threatened,

variety of wild animals and could easily offer these in fantastic numbers

as well.

In addition, the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary could become a very

valuable site for scientific studies. Besides its avifauna, which is enor-

mous in size and complexity, the sanctuary offers three species of ungulates

not found outside the Indian sub-continent and a fourth not found

outside Asia. These species are living together under nearly ideal

conditions for observation, in an easily accessible area of manageable

size, with a potentially well-defined boundary. An ecologist could, for

instance, investigate how species which differ in social systems relate to

their different ecological niches, and how the social units of the different

species interact. The possibilities are endless and, given the sanctuary’s

good living accommodations and weather, attractive.

Those who control the future of the Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary

must choose between a small income from the sanctuary, one which is

sure now and equally sure to disappear soon, and a potentially much

larger and assuredly long-term income from the sanctuary ; an income

from those who want to enjoy it and from those who want to study it.

The choice will soon disappear if the sanctuary is left to continue as

it is and the better alternative can be realized only if effective action is

taken very soon,

Observations concerning the Sariska Wild Life

Sanctuary, Rajasthan

J. JUAN SPILLETT

(With one plate)

I. INTRODUCTION oe i ry Bee oe 608

Il. PROBLEMS 608

Domestic Livestock a a. ves a 21008

Villages x ee a m: > //" 609

Other Problems

Poaching, particularly from vehicles along the sanctuary’s roads,

does not appear to be a major problem in Sariska. This is further

demonstrated by the fact that most wild animals in the sanctuary pay

little heed to approaching vehicles. However, these same animals are

often extremely wary of aman on foot. Most of the poaching that does

occur in Sariska would probably be eliminated with the removal of

villages from inside the sanctuary.

Visitor facilities presently consist of two tourist rest houses at Sariska.

Each accommodates four people. The Forest Department is construct-

ing another near-by rest house, which will accommodate an additional

14 persons. Therefore, the sanctuary will have accommodations for 22

visitors for the 1966-67 season. However, even this will not be sufficient

during the peak visitor season between November and April or to accom-

modate entire groups arriving by Tourist Department tour buses. It |

is suggested that additional dormitory facilities be constructed or that

as soon as the new tourist rest house is completed the other two be con-

verted into dormitories. Not all facilities need to be first class, but

accommodations for a minimum of 40 persons are essential so that

visitors may be provided at least basic facilities or accommodations.

III. ADVANTAGES

Accessibility ,

Although problems confronting Sariska have been presented,

the potential or advantages of this unique area. by far outweigh the

problems. The major advantage is that of accessibility. Many of —

India’s sanctuaries or parks are virtually inaccessible to the average

tourist or to a person without a vehicle. In contrast, regular daily bus

services between Delhi and Jaipur will drop or pick-up the visitor to

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(3) PLATE. 1X

Spillett : Rajasthan Sanctuaries.

Wile OL

Above: The Tourist Lodge and lake at Van Bihar. Below; A chital

stag with antlers in velvet in Sariska.

(Photos: J. Juan Spuillett)

SARISK.4 WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, RAJASTHAN 611

Sariska at the gate of one of the tourist rest houses. The well-

constructed and scenic National Highway No. 8 passes directly in front

of the rest houses and passes through 13 miles of the sanctuary. Delhi

is 124 miles to the north and Jaipur 67 miles to the south. Extending

from the National Highway the metalled Pandupole-Thela Road forks

six miles inside the sanctuary. One fork continues an additional seven

miles to the Pandupole Temple and the other also seven miles to the

village of Thela. Both pass through exceptionally scenic canyons

inhabited by sambar and nilgai. In addition to metalled roads, forty

miles of fair weather roads are maintained inside the sanctuary. A

jeep is provided by the Forest Department for the use of visitors so that

they may easily observe the wild animals.

Scenic and Other Attractions

Sariska consists primarily of a desert scrub forest intersected with

steep rocky canyons. The sheer rock cliffs and the frequent oases of

palms combined with the ease with which visitors can view wild life all

make Sariska a unique experience. Excellent opportunities of seeing

tiger at a kill from a comfortable and well-constructed tower, visiting

the interesting Pandupole Temple (site of regular pilgrimages), viewing

or climbing the stairway through a large natural arch or bridge, or visiting

the partially excavated archaeological ruins dating back to the 9th century

should make a visit to Sariska a memorable experience for anyone.

These numerous attractions deserve national attention. It appears that

not even a portion of the full potential of this fabulous area is realized.

Sariska should not be considered as just another wild life sanctuary,

but as a part of the nation’s heritage and a valuable economic asset. A

small but well-planned and managed capital investment in Sariska could

easily result in a bounteous harvest.

Revenue

Although the potential of Sariska as a notable tourist attraction has

not begun to be realized, the sanctuary is already a source of substantial

amounts of revenue. An income of between Rs. 1°5 and 2:0 lakhs is

annually realized from the sanctuary’s forest produce. This is chiefly

from the commercial exploitation of dhok (Anogeissus penduld) and other

tree species (i.e. Acacia spp. and Zizyphus spp.) for firewood or the

production of charcoal. The production of katha (a paste used on betel

leaf) from the heartwood of khair (Acacia catechu) is also of importance.

Grazing fees for domestic livestock presently total between Rs. 50,000

to 60,000 per annum. Professional graziers are charged Rs. 10 per adult

buffalo for camps inside Class I forest areas (the best grazing), while

villagers are charged Rs. 8 per head in these same areas. A Rs. 6 fee

is charged per adult buffalo in Class II areas and Rs. 4 in Class III or

the most arid parts of the sanctury. Fees for adult cattle are Rs. 3

612 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Rs. 2°50, Rs. 2, and Re. 1 respectively. A fee of Rs. 1:25 is charged per

adult goat kept in the Class I areas, while Re. 1 is charged for those in

the other areas. Fees are not charged for juveniles or young animals

accompanying their mothers. A flat rate of Rs. 6 is charged for camels,

which are restricted from the ‘ heart’ of the sanctuary. There are no

rules or regulations at present for the control of livestock numbers.

Just as long as the fees are paid, villagers or professional graziers can

graze as many head of livestock as they desire inside the sanctuary.

A penalty is levied on those encountered with more animals than for

which they have paid fees. Such animals are not removed but remain

inside the sanctuary upon payment of the penalty by their owners. Asa

result, land abuse by overgrazing gradually increases and livestock

numbers continue to spiral upwards. Unless drastic measures are soon

taken to control livestock numbers, revenue from grazing fees will

gradually disappear with the forage.

Revenue from visitors to Sariska presently constitutes only a very

small proportion of the sanctuary’s total income. However, indirect

benefits to the State and the nation from the presence of Sariska are

substantial, but difficult to determine precisely. For example, each

visitor probably spends more travelling to and from Sariska than he does

inside the sanctuary. These expenditures also contribute to the economy

of the nation, particularly in the case of foreign tourists bringing foreign

exchange into thecountry. These benefits are also apart from the

aesthetic and recreational values of Sariska.

The emphasis in Sariska should be shifted from commercial grazing

and forest exploitation to tourism based upon wild life conservation.

This would eventually result in much greater returns to the sanctuary,

the State, and the nation. However, under the present rate of abuse

this potential source of revenue will soon vanish and even that realized

from grazing and forest produce will continually decrease unless strict

measures are soon undertaken to manage these priceless resources. On

the other hand, sound conservation practices in only a few parts of the

sanctuary left open to commercial exploitation would probably result in

greater long term returns, both from grazing and from the forests, with-

out greatly impairing the other values of the sanctuary.

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are made:

1. That the grazing of domestic livestock and the exploitation of

forest produce inside the sanctuary be strictly controlled and managed.

2. That the numbers of domestic livestock be reduced to the carry-

ing capacity of the forage and that rotational grazing or — scientific

methods of range management be employed. wens |

SARISKA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY, RAJASTHAN 613

3. That key wild life areas be selected and maintained as a ‘ sanctum

sanctorum ’, which would be strictly protected for the exclusive use of

wild life. :

4. That villagers and their livestock living within the confines of the

sanctuary be re-settled outside the sanctuary on other Forest Department

lands.

5. That accommodations for a minimum of 40 visitors be provided

within the sanctuary and that the present practices of providing trans-

portation within the sanctuary and showing tiger to visitors be continued,

6. That a publicity programme extolling the numerous attractions

of Sariska, such as its scenic and archaeological significance and its wild

life, be initiated and that information concerning the sanctuary (i.e. pam-

phlets, folders, etc.) be compiled and made available to the Department

of Tourism so that tourists will become aware of this unique sanctuary

and the facilities which it provides for their use.

7. That the Department of Tourism be contacted and that Sariska

be included in their scheduled Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Delhi bus tours. The

Keoladeo Ghana Sanctuary at Bharatpur should also be included in

these tours. There is a possibility that regular tours exclusively for these

sanctuaries would be profitable.

8. That scientific studies of the sanctuary’s wild life by qualified

personnel be encouraged and that facilities (i.e. accommodations, etc.)

be provided for their use whenever possible.

9. That wild life observations by both visitors and Forest Depart-

ment personnel be kept in a permanent record in the sanctuary.

10. That Forest Department personnel who demonstrate a genuine

interest in conservation and wild life be employed in the sanctuary and

that they be trained in the basic concepts of wild life management.

Notes on the Van Bihar and Ram Sagar .

Wild Life Sanctuaries, Rajasthan

J. JUAN SPILLETT

The 11-square-mile Van Bihar (often spelled Van Vihar) Wild Life

Sanctuary is located. 14 miles from the town of Dholpur in Rajasthan.

Dholpur can be reached by regularly scheduled bus services from Agra,

which. is 36 miles to the north. A 12-milelink road leads to the sanctuary

from the Delhi-Madras National Highway No. 3. A metalled road

continues almost to the edge of the sanctuary, but bus services turn west

at the crossroads four miles from the Tourist Lodge. Therefore, unless

one wishes to walk the last four miles, a tonga or other means of trans-

portation must be arranged in Dholpur. The smaller (approximately

8-square-mile) Ram Sagar Wild Life Sanctuary lies 12 miles west of the

Van Bihar Tourist Lodge. Both are located in a plateau-like area, which

overlooks the surrounding desert country. The vegetation consists of

desert scrub—thick forests of short trees, such as Khair (Acacia catechu),

babul (Acacia arabica), dhok (Anogeissus pendula), and thorny shrubs,

which are typical for much of this region. Both sanctuaries are ad-

ministered by the Forest Department and the same staff, which consists

of a Game Warden and a number of Forest Guards.

The Van Bihar Tourist Lodge is an imposing castle-like structure with

a walled-in courtyard. It has a beautiful setting on the edge of a small

lake. Numerous peafowl inhabit the grounds ; and wild animals, such

as chital and nilgai, can be observed from the lodge’s balconies during their

early morning or evening visits to the lake. The lodge formerly belonged

to the Maharaja of Dholpur, who regularly visited this area and was

famous for his kindness to wild animals. It is claimed that while driving

through the sanctuary he would ring a bell and the wild animals would

flock from the forests to greet him and to be fed from his hand. It is

even claimed that such predators as tiger did not fear him and graciously

received his affections.

My visit to Van Bihar was in mid-February, the start of the summer or

dry season in this area. The trees were barren of leaves and all available

forage had already been eaten by domestic livestock. Conditions were so

bad that the livestock camps inhabiting the sanctuary (the entire area

is utilized, or rather abused, by domestic animals) had previously left

the area. The bare rocky soil and naked trees presented a bleak picture

and it was difficult to imagine how the wild animals could survive until

the rainy season in June. During two days of walking throughout the

VAN BIHAR AND RAM SAGAR SANCTUARIES, RAJASTHAN 615

sanctuary’s forests, I observed fewer than 100 chital and most of these

were in the vicinity of the small lake in front of the tourist lodge. I was

able to classify 61 of these animals as to age and sex : 15 adult males (the

antlers of 4 were in velvet and those of 11 were hard), 34 females, and

12 small young (1-2 months old). The adult sex ratio of over two females

per male indicates a much higher mortality rate for males than for females,

perhaps from shooting. Small groups of nilgai were encountered, which

consisted primarily of female with small young less than two months old.

All were exceptionally shy and the total number observed was less than

40. Approximately 27 chinkara or Indian gazelle were also seen inside

the sanctuary. No sign of tiger was observed, although they were re-

ported to inhabit the sanctuary. Surprisingly, however, I did observe

the tracks of a leopard.

Greater numbers of wild animals can be observed from the tourist

lodge at Van Bihar than by walking throughout the sanctuary. The

Forest Department staff regularly provides paddy along the edge of the

lake opposite the lodge for the wild animals such as chital, which congre-

gate here in the early mornings and evenings. A casual visitor readily

observing these animals would probably tend to assume that the

penemay harbours much larger numbers of wild animals than it actually

oes.

Although I only briefly visited Ram Sagar by jeep, the status of the

wild life in that sanctuary appeared even more bleak than in Van Bihar.

It appears that the Van Bihar and Ram Sagar Wild Life Sanctuaries

are presently little more than glorified shooting camps. Evidence which

I observed that further substantiates this claim has been given to the

Forest Department. It is readily apparent that the situation is not what

it should be for areas classified as wild life sanctuaries. There is also

little reason to permit domestic livestock to devastate a wild life

sanctuary, or any other area, to such an extent that even they must be

removed to other areas to enable them to survive for a good part of the

year.

General Wild Life Conservation Problems in India

J. JUAN SPILLETT

(With two plates)

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ae ia ae NM, 2) O16

II. Domestic LivESTOCK .. a ne Bes snaiy OE?

Ill. ENCROACHMENT AND EXPLOITATION IN NATIONAL PARKS AND SANC-

TUARIES .. Bs a aK be: wat O24

IV. PoscHING .. ye zt: a ie Ju G25

V. Law ENFORCEMENT us it es by .. 625

VI. EDUCATION .. t Bs a ie .. 627

VIT. LITERATURE CONSULTED ae cs. ty :. . 628

Le INTRODUCTION

Many people have the mistaken idea that conservation means the

‘locking up’ of natural resources so that they cannot be utilized and

hence are of no value to anyone. This is not true. In extreme cases

conservation may be synonymous with preservation, such as when an

attempt is made to save a threatened species from extincticn. How-

ever, conservation basically means the wise use of natural resources

so as to provide the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people in

the long run. Therefore, true conservation involves both the use and

the preservation of natural resources. which when destroyed oftentimes

cannot be replaced. |

Can you imagine a farmer not retaining a portion of his harvest

or at least ensuring that he will have seed for the forthcoming year?

However, the livestock grazier often permits his livestock to devour

every available blade of grass or all of the vegetation without

provide seed, as well as protection for next year’s forage crop.

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN INDIA 617

Likewise, the poacher rarely thinks of leaving sufficient breeding stock

for next year’s game harvest.

India has been richly endowed with precious natural resources.

Many of these, however, already have been destroyed or lost due to

ignorance, tradition, apathy, or political expediency. On every side

the remaining natural resources of this country are confronted with

what often appear to be insurmountable barriers. Unless the leaders

of India are soon able to implement definitive measures and initiate

sound conservation practices,-littke more than want and poverty and

the eventual weakening of this great nation can be expected.

Uf. Domestic Livestock

India is basically confronted with two major problems. I firmly

believe that if these were brought under control, the numerous other

problems which are presently receiving so much attention and publi-

city, such as the scarcity of food, lack of foreign exchange, poor living

standards, and so forth, would eventually resolve themselves.

Ironically neither of these problems is a lack of something. In fact,

both are a matter of having too much of a resource. These two

problems are: (1) too many~people, and (2) too much domestic

livestock. The former is recognized by the Government and is

gradually becoming recognized by the general public as a major

problem. Steps are being taken to bring India’s population explosion

under control. However, the latter problem, that of overgrazing by

domestic livestock, is not even recognized as a problem by the vast

majority of the people. And those that do recognize it as such are

doing little, if anything, about it.

Overgrazing by domestic livestock is like cancer—it often over-

comes its victims without them even becoming aware of its presence

until it is too late. Unless an area 1s drastically abused, people not

trained in conservation or range management may not be able readily

to distinguish an overgrazed area from one that is in good condition.

It must be realized that animals, both domestic and wild, cannot

thrive on just any available greenery. They, like humans, must have

a balanced diet of both palatable and nutritious teeta to remain

healthy and vigorous.

With the abuse of overgrazing, the most palatable or desirable

plants are the first to disappear. They are followed in turn by. the

next most desirable plants and so on until eventually all that remain

are plants which the animals would not normally eat, let alone depend

618 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

upon for a staple diet. All too often the whole ecology, hence both

the floral and faunal composition, of entire regions have been changed

by the unwise practice of overgrazing. Nature wisely placed checks

cr balances, such as predators, to control grazing by wild animals.

However, with his domestic animals, man often fails to recognize the

facts that nature has repeatedly demonstrated to him. As a result,

forests are turned into deserts and choice grasslands are comers

into barren wastes.

When discussing the all too common problem of overgrazing in

India’s forests and sanctuaries, I am almost invariably told by

officials that the problem is realized, but that it is impossible to

control grazing by domestic animals in a democracy such as India’s.

This is faulty reasoning. No government, particularly a democratic

one, should permit its people to destroy the nation’s most priceless

possession—its land. Many feel that in a democracy public property

belongs to everyone. But this does not mean that the people are free

to destroy the public domain. For example, a public building belongs

to everyone just as much as does a reserved forest or a wild life

sanctuary. However, no one is allowed te destroy such buildings or

to remove materials from them for private use.

The destruction of public forests and lands by men and em

livestock is of greater consequence and the effects are much more

drastic and longer lasting than the destruction of any public building.

A building can be rebuilt in a relatively short time, but a forest

converted into a desert or the loss of a single inch of precious top

soil cannot be restored or may take centuries to replace. Must an

entire nation suffer because of land abuse by a relatively few PEADIS

and their livestock?

I have so far discussed the threat from overgrazing to India as

a whole. Now what about one of her most valuable natural resources,

her wild life? Domestic livestock grazing presents a triple threat

to wild life: (1) direct competition, (2) diseases and parasites, and.

(3) disturbances.

Many wild ungulates, like domestic livestock, are be el

grazers. ‘Therefore, when the two inhabit the same area there is direct.

competition for forage. Domestic livestock may be provided with

supplementary feeds, particularly during times of drought or hardship. .

The wild animals, on the other hand, must depend entirely upon the-

available forage. Therefore during ~“bottle-neck’ periods, such as

drought and flood, they often have to struggle to survive. This is.

particularly true if they inhabit overgrazed areas.

Whenever animals are in close proximity to each other there. is

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(3) PLATE X

Spillett : Conservation Problems in India

Above: Domestic livestock grazing inside a forest. Below: Part of a wild

life sanctuary overgrazed by domestic livestock.

(Photos: J. Juan Spillett)

J. Bompay nat. Hist. Soc. 63(3) PLATE XI

Spillett : Conservation Problems in India

(Photo: E. P. Gee). Below:

Above: Typical rural scene—too much livestock

Is an aged domestic animal like this of any value (Photo: J. Juan Spillett)

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN INDIA 619

the possibility of disease or parasite transmission. Through centuries

of adaptation, many domestic animals have become resistant or

immune to diseases which often prove fatal to their wild relatives.

Therefore the presence or introduction of domestic animals into areas

inhabited by wild life preserits the threat of introducing diseases or

parasites, which may prove disastrous to wild populations. |

Precautions should be taken to prevent the incidence of disease

among domestic animals. These measures include: (1) the inoculation

of livestock for the prevention of disease, (2) the immediate removal

and disposal of unhealthy or sick animals, and (3) the maintenance of

good forage conditions so that animals can maintain their health and

vigour to resist disease. It should be noted that there are as yet no

effective vaccines to combat diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease.

The presence of diseases of this nature may take a heavy toll of both

wild and domestic animals. — |

Mr. E. P. Gee (1955) reported:

_ “There are innumerable cases of valuable wild animals agine wholesale from

epidemics spread by domestic cattle and buffaloes. In Kaziranga Sanctuary of

Assam, for example, many rhino died in 1944 and in 1947, presumably from an-

_thrax ; and some wild buffalo died in 1952 from rinderpest, and in 1953 from hae-

morrhagic septicemia. As many as 150 wild elephants are believed to have died

~ in the Reserved Forests of the North Cachar Hills in Assam in 1949 from anthrax.

The “Indian bison’’ or gaur have become scarce in many Places in north-east

India and south India due to cattle-borne diseases.

“In the Hailey (Corbett) National Park, moreover, I was informed that there

. were severe outbreaks of rinderpest in 1942 and.1947, in which countless chital are

toys to have perished, and probably hog deer, barking deer and sambar as well.’

The grazing of domestic livestock also invariably requires or

results in the presence of herders and other people. These often

create disturbances which some wild animals cannot tolerate. This

is particularly true during certain seasons of the year, such as the

mating or calving periods of particular species. Undue disturbances

during these times may so alter the normal behaviour patterns of some

wild animals that they will dwindle in numbers and eventually

disappear from an area. For example, many animals prior to mating

have extended periods of courtship or displays which ensure that

their mating is successful. However, if courting animals are repeatedly

disturbed, ‘they may never mate successfully. As a result, there will

be no offspring. Also females with recentiy born young often abandon

them if they are frequenily disturbed or if their young are touched by

humans.

Admittedly domestic livestock forms an important and necessary

part of a nation’s economy. But it is generally recognized that in

most parts of India where domestic animals are grazed, severe over-

620 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

grazing is the general practice. Primarily due to overgrazing by

domestic livestock, India already has the notoriety of having created

the largest man-made desert in the world. Also, due to continued

land abuse, the Rajasthan Desert continues annually to enlarge its

boundaries. Certain supposedly learned men still continue to advocate

that India needs more livestock. Why?

It is a historical fact that more nations have fallen ue of

land abuse, such as overgrazing by domestic livestock, than by all

other factors combined, political or otherwise. Tradition and false

sentiment must be replaced by sound management, based upon facts,

if a nation is to thrive and flourish. The misconception that numbers

of animals determines wealth must be replaced by the fact that quality,

not quantity, is the goal to be achieved.

The average milch cow in India produces less than one litre of

milk per day. Whereas in many developed nations, such as the

Netherlands, it has been found uneconomical to keep a cow that

does not produce over 20 litres of milk per day. Most of India’s

valuable forage is being used just to maintain domestic animals, with

little or no return to their owners for their financial investment. A

single well-fed animal will often be of greater value and give a much

greater return than ten or more poorly-fed animals. Also, present

schemes to improve the breeds of domestic livestock in India will be

of little value unless there is sufficient good quality forage to maintain

such animals in a healthy and vigorous condition.

Draft animals or bullocks are also important in an agricultural

economy such as India’s. But all too often one sees large numbers

of livestock, the majority of which are unfit for work, which do not

produce any milk, and even are many times unable to breed. It is

their lot to continue denuding, as best they can, an already almost

sterile land, giving little or nothing in return until they eventually die

from starvation or disease.

India’s first Prime Minister, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, stated the follow-

ing in the foreword to Mr. E. P. Gee’s notable book (THE WILD LIFE

OF INDIA):

‘In India, perhaps even more than in other countries, there is this difference _

between precept and practice. In no country is life valued in theory so much as

in India, and many people would even hesitate to destroy the meanest or the most

harmful of animals. But in practice we ignore the animal world. We grow

excited about the protection of the cow. The cow is one of the treasures of India

and should be protected. But we imagine that we have done our duty by passing

some legislation. This results not in the protection of the cow but in much harm

to it as well as to human beings. Cattle are let loose and become wild and become _

a danger not only to crops but to human beings. They deteriorate and the very

purpose for which we value the cow is defeated.’

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN INDIA 621

Grazing by domestic livestock must be controlled. The time to act

is now. Tomorrow may be too late. Tradition, false sentiment,

apathy and political expediency must be replaced by sound conserva-

tion practices based upon facts if this nation is to thrive and flourish.

III. ENCROACHMENT AND EXPLOITATION IN NATIONAL

PARKS AND SANCTUARIES

Certain people in India today may be advocating the elimination

of wild life sanctuaries and the cultivation of forest lands. They

contend that a ‘poor’ nation such as India, particularly during the

present food crisis, cannot afford ‘luxuries’ such as wild life

sanctuaries or even forests. On the other hand, experts state that to

maintain the basic economy of a nation a'minimum of 1:0 acre of

forests per capita must be perpetually maintained. India presently

has only 0°54 acre per capita and many lands classified as forest

lands are little more than barren wastes. ‘Poor’ nations, such as

India, cannot afford NOT to have sanctuaries, parks, and forests!

Most of the best agricultural lands in India have been under

cultivation for centuries. Attempts to cultivate the relatively few

remaining forest areas, the vast majority of which are on marginal

lands, will eventually result not in increased food yields, but in the |

destruction of other lands better suited to agricultural use. It is

difficult for many to realize that the wanton destruction of forests and

grasslands by such practices as overgrazing, or the cultivation of

marginal agricultural lands, usually results in drought, such as India

has just recently experienced, followed by devastating floods, which

under the present practices of land abuse she may expect in the near

future.

The presence of sufficient natural or well-managed forests

_ modifies climatic extremes, builds or enriches the soil, and prevents

water run-off, erosion, and floods. The existence of a forest may

lower-the temperature in that area as much as 30°F. during the

“summer months, while making it as much as 10°F. warmer during

the cold winter months. Forest vegetation and humus gradually

release their water, which is stored during the rainy season. There-

. fore, their presence helps to eliminate periods of devastating flood

followed by periods of drought. |

India has been endowed with some of the most extensive and

richest agricultural lands in the world. However, in the use of these

lands she has the notoriety of producing lower crop yields than any

other country in the world. Nevertheless, she presently produces

622 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

enough food to feed her almost 500 million people. But ‘due_ to

primitive farming methods, waste in harvest and storage, and losses

to birds, rodents, and insects, she must invariably seek aid from

abroad. be : HX, a

Rodent studies, which I conducted in Calcutta between October

1964 and January 1966, demonstrated that in an average Calcutta

grain storage godown rats were daily destroying the rations of over

10 human beings. International agencies, such as FAO (Food and

Agricultural Organization of the United Nations), have estimated that

the annual loss of food grains in India to rodents alone is probably

about 30% of the total production. If food losses to rodents were

controlled, even with her present food production India could be a

food-exporting nation. Agricultural experts claim that many farm

lands in India could easily quadruple their present yields. Even if

yields were only doubled, India could become the greatest food-

exporting nation in the world! There is little or no ecologically. or

economically sound basis upon which to advocate overgrazing or the

agricultural use of wild life sanctuaries, parks, or reserved forests.

It may be argued by some that forest products inside sanctuaries

or parks should be exploited. However, if such is permitted, where.

is the line to be drawn? If the cutting of thatch and reeds is allowed

in one area, how can it be prohibited in others? Or, if such

cutting is permitted, why not permit the cutting of trees? If people:

are allowed to collect dead wood, for fuel, how can they be restrained

from making dead wood out of live? If fishing is allowed, then why

can’t the other animals also be harvested? Each of these activities.

disturbs the wild life. If such activities are permitted, the area no

longer remains as a sanctuary or park. Instead, it soon becomes only:

another depleted area—like too many thousands of others throughout.

India. : : ;

Numerous examples could be cited of how the flora and fauna

in many of India’s sanctuaries has been completely devastated by:

the ever-increasing demands of the local people for the exploitation. —

of their natural resources. The results in many cases have been

the conversion of once beautiful and choice areas, with great economic.

potential, into little more than deserts which are of little value to:

anyone. India is a huge country endowed with vast natural resources,.

many of which have already disappeared or have been lost due to political

expediency or to a lack of understanding as to the true_ meaning: of

conservation. Isn’t India large enough so that at least a remnant of:

its wild places, with both their: native flora and fauna, can be:

maintained in their natural. state as a part of the nation’s heritage? |.

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN INDIA 623

IV. POACHING

Poaching is in reality an uncontrolled and generally non-selective

type of predation. When legalized and properly managed it becomes

known as shooting or hunting. Selective harvesting of game animals in

many areas is an important and even a necessary part of wild life

conservation. Shooting, however, should always be controlled and

based upon conservation principles, which ensure that the species

involved will be maintained on a sustained yield basis. Poaching,

combined with habitat abuse or destruction, has presently attained such

proportions in much of India that with many species of Indian wild

life it is now more a matter of preservation rather than sustained

yield management. It is also imperative that at least a few select

areas be maintained, in so far as is possible, in their natural state.

These generally are recognized as national parks or wild life sanctuaries.

Besides serving as tourist attractions and recreational areas, these also

serve 2s outdoor laboratories and as a gauge with which to compare

management practices in areas where shooting is permitted. I regret

to report that at present many Indian sanctuaries dedicated to this end

appear to be little more than glorified shooting camps. I have

occasionally blundered into situations, while visiting India’s wild life

sanctuaries, which I am sure that officialdom and the general. public

do not realize exist.

Those participating in shooting, as it should be practised, often

gain an insight as to the value and beauty of wild life. As a result,

many of today’s most avid conservationists are sportsmen who,

through their outdoor experiences or shooting, have come to realize

some of the problems faced by the country’s dwindling wild life and

hence are some of the most staunch advocates of wild life conserva-

tion. The poacher, on the other hand, usually fails to recognize that

through his unethical practices he is eliminating one of his present

sources of food or income. Also, with ever increasing pressures from

human population, it is imperative in many cases that the rifle be

replaced by the camera and the note-book if even remnants of the

nation’s wild life are to be preserved for the enjoyment of future

generations.

_ The poacher in some cases is also reducing the grazing capacity of

the land. This may at first sound ironical, particularly when you

consider that he is subtracting rather than adding animals. However,

through the aeons of time nature has evolved what is often termed

‘the balance of nature’. Nevertheless, this is a dynamic ‘balance’,

which is kept on an even keel by numerous natural checks. Generally

624 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

speaking, each plant and animal species in a natural environment

plays a specific or special role in the overall scheme of nature. For

example, some animals feed upon particular plants, while others prefer

different ones. Then, of course, the predatory animals prey upon the |

herbivores so that they will not ‘overly abuse the forage. Thereby,

in a natural community the plants and animals are interrelated and

the entire habitat is usually used to its full potential.

The African Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), in contrast

to the Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros, is primarily a browser.

It feeds to a great extent upon thorny shrubs, which are unpalatable

to most ungulates. By keeping such shrubs in check, it has been

observed that the carrying capacity for grazing ungulates in a given

area is often increased by the presence of the Biack Rhinoceros.

Livestock graziers in North America for many years advocated the

removal of deer from their cattle grazing areas. They thought that

their removal would result in more forage for their domestic livestock.

However, just the opposite was found to be true. The deer species

concerned were primarily browsers, while the cattle were grazers. The

deer held the shrubs or woody plants in check and thereby favoured

the growth of grass and increased the grazing capacity of the range

for cattle. As a result, most cattle graziers in North America

presently welcome deer on their grazing lands. In short, except in

national parks and wild life sanctuaries, wild life conservationists do

not advocate that livestock grazing be abolished. But that both the

livestock and the wild life be properly managed so as to provide

the greatest benefit for everyone. ,

Mr. E. P. Gee (1964) related how wild life conservation is

somewhat of a tradition in the long history and culture of India.

The treatise on Statecraft called the ARTHA SHASTRA, attributed to

Kautilya about 300 B.c., provided for the protection of certain

forests and their wild life. Also, in 242 B.c. the Emperor Asoka’s

fifth pillar edict gave protection to fish, animals, and forests. The

rulers of many of the princely states also practised conservation in

order to ensure the continuance of big and small game shooting.

Since Independence in 1947, however, much of this good work has

been undone by some people who, believing that the wild animals

are rightfully theirs, sally into the forests to massacre whatever they

can find. The most effective deterrent for poaching is conservation

education. In its absence or until it can be universally achieved, the

only remedy is strict law enforcement. These will be discussed in

more detail in the following pages. .

The poacher is actually a thief. He is stealing from his fellow

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN INDIA... 625

citizens of both today and tomorrow that which is rightfully theirs.

Unless his depredations are soon brought under control, much of

India’s priceless and irreplaceable wild life will be lost forever. Man

may again build a Taj Mahal, but once he exterminates a living

species—that creature is lost forever.

V. LAW ENFORCEMENT

Many people, particularly in some of the relatively new democratic

nations, have the mistaken idea that democracy means that everyone

is free to do as he pleases. Oftentimes they think that, because the

public domain belongs to everyone, they have the right to take what

they want from it. For example, many simple people feel that when

they illicitly take natural resources from sanctuaries or reserve forests

they are only taking that which rightfully belongs to them. This is

not true. Democracy is dependent upon law and order and no one

has the right to infringe upon the rights of others. Democratic laws

are established not only for the maintenance of order. but also for

the protection of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

Although the public domain does belong to everyone, it is held in

trust by the Government or, appointed departments for the benefit

of all—not just for the benefit of the few that take it upon themselves

to take from it what they can.

Democratic laws are formulated by elected representatives of the

people. Therefore, it behoves each and every citizen to strive to elect

men that will formulate only good and just laws. If a law that is in

force is not just, a loyal citizen will do all that is legally within his

power to have it changed or repealed. But while so doing, he does

not have the right to break that law.

The Forest Department is charged with the protection and

management of all State forest lands, including parks and wild life

sanctuaries, for the maximum benefit of the public. In order to meet

these obligations, rules and regulations have been establishéd both

as guides to the public and for the Forest Department personnel. In

turn, the Forest Department staff is charged with the responsibility

of enforcing these rules and regulations. If a Forest Department

officer knowingly permits their violation, he also becomes an offender

and should be recognized as sucn. Negligence in protecting the public

domain should not be tolerated.

Forest Department personnel, however, should be = delegated

sufficient legal authority to enforce the law in areas under their

626 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

jurisdiction. In many cases they do not have. such authority. For

example, many Forest Guards are armed, but they are not permitted

to use these arms in enforcing the law, but only as a means of

self-defence. At present even when a person is detected in the act

of committing a violation they merely have to flee in order to avoid

being taken into custody and to escape punishment. The most a

Forest Officer can do is to attempt to apprehend the law-breaker by

peaceful means. By so doing he runs the risk of bodily injury to

himself and gains nothing in return for apprehending the culprit. As

a result, relatively few people that violate the laws of the public

domain are taken into custody and even fewer are tried by a court of

law for their offences.

Violations, such as the cutting of thatch or reeds, gathering of

firewood or even poaching in a wild life sanctuary, may be considered

by many as only minor offences. However. it should be recognized

by all that resisting or attempting to avoid arrest by an authorized

representative of the law, such as a Forest Guard, is a major offence

and should be dealt with severely. Although the taking of life

‘should never be advocated, surely a public servant charged with the

protection of the public domain should have the legal right to use

force, if necessary, to carry out his duties. This might include, if

need be, the shooting (only to injure) of violators attempting to avoid

arrest. For example, if a Forest Guard encounters someone violating

the laws of a sanctuary, he should inferm them in a loud clear voice

that they are under arrest. If the violator attempts to flee, a warning

shot should perhaps first be fired and, if the person does not then halt,

it is clearly evident that they are resisting arrest, which is a major

offence. The Forest Guard should then have the legal right to do all

in his power, including the use of force or firearms, to take the

person into custody. Acting as a representative of the Government,

he should also be absolved of any responsibility for injuries to others

resulting from his action in attempting to enforce the law. However,

those taken into custody should never be abused and as quickly

as possible should be turned over to the civil authorities and brought

before a court for trial. .

A system of rewards and punishments should also be established,

if not already in force. If Forest Department personnel take

determined action and the risks involved in apprehending and taking

into custody those violating the law, they should be rewarded for

their efforts. This would also provide an added incentive to personnel

better to meet their obligations as custodians of the public domain.

Determined action must be taken to ensure that Forest Department

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN INDIA 627

personnel have the legal authority to fulfil their obligations properly

to the public in maintaining the laws and protecting the public

domain under their jurisdiction.

VI. EDUCATION

The importance of conservation education cannot be over-

estimated. Without the co-operation of the general public, particularly

those living or working in the vicinity of wild life areas, it is practically

impossible to manage or to protect effectively the nation’s wild life

resources. It is also necessary that the proper type of education be

undertaken. All possible means should be utilized to instil in the

citizens of India the basic concepts and need for conservation practices.

The members of the local legislatures must be convinced of the

long-term economic advantages of wild life resources. Through

proper. education those who are presently advocating the immediate

short-term exploitation of these resources will eventually become

emissaries of nature conservation.

Mr. E. P. Gee most effectively stated the situation in his recent

paper presented at the Conference on Conservation of Nature and

Natural Resources in Tropical South East Asia at Bangkok, Thailand.

MaRS Where poverty, hunger and often illiteracy are prevalent among the local

people, it is mostly of no avail to stress the importance of wild life and wild places

_on aesthetic, cultural and scientific grounds. The main emphasis should always

be on their economic value ; in other words it should be emphasised that rare wild

animals are of infinitely greater value to the local villagers if kept alive in their

“natural habitat than if killed and eaten. Wild animals, especially rare ones, in

their natural surroundings will attract visitors from near-by cities and tourists from

abroad, and thus provide the necessary revenue and foreign exchange for the sorely

needed development and elimination of the very poverty, hunger and illiteracy

- which everyone wants to remove.

“The problems of preserving rare species of wild life in existing or proposed

: sanctuaries in South and Southeast Asia are mainly political and administrative,

and only in a lesser degree are they scientific or ecological. The staff or the de-

partment concerned with protecting a sanctuary, whether it be the Forest or some

other department, and the local civil authorities including the police, will find it

extremely difficult to enforce Jaws unless these laws are carefully drawn up and

unless the full co-operation of the local villagers is first obtained.’

India’s wild life sanctuaries and parks have great potential as

international tourist attractions and as a source of much needed

foreign exchange. Tourism, based upon wild life conservation, is

presently the major source of income for many of the African nations.

India has wild life areas, such as Kaziranga, Kanha, Periyar, and

Bandipur, that with nominal investments in facilities (ic. adequate

628 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

accommodations, transportation, etc.) could compete even now with

what Africa has to offer. However, before the full economic potential

of these areas can be realized, effective and well-planned programmes

of education and publicity must be initiated.

Besides conservation education in the schools, publicity pro-

grammes extolling the sanctuaries—their numerous scenic and aesthetic

values, as well as their wild life—should be initiated as soon as

possible. Information concerning these sanctuaries (i.e. pamphlets,

folders, posters, and post cards) should also be made available through

the Departments of Tourism at the central and state levels and to

approved Tourist Agencies. Almost invariably when I have enquired

at both Government and State tourist offices, those in charge have

not been able to give me complete information as to how these

places may be reached and what facilities are available for visitors.

Although some sanctuaries presently have pamphlets or folders,

these are not usually available to the general public or distributed to

visitors. For example, while visiting the Kaziranga Wild Life

Sanctuary the Tourist Department Officer stationed at Kohora could

supply me with no literature or information concerning this out-

standing sanctuary. However, he had numercus pamphlets and

folders concerning Agra, Delhi, and other tourist attractions in India.

Thousands of tourists annually travel between Lielhi, Jaipur, and

Agra without even realizing that they have passed by the notable

wild life sanctuaries of Keoladeo Ghana and Sariska. Peter Scott',

the renowned naturalist, remarked upon visiting the Keoladeo Ghana

Bird Sanctuary at Bharatpur: ‘It is one of the most incredible

places’. And, ‘Enormous numbers of people would want to see such

a spectacle’.

A nation which has preserved such renowned relics from the past

as the Taj Mahal and the ruins of Khajuraho should also demonstrate .

to the world that it has the foresight to preserve and protect its

invaluable wild life resources for the enjoyment of the people of both

the present and the future.

VII. LITERATURE CONSULTED

Gee, E. P. (1955): Management of GEE, E. P. (1966) : Importance of sanct-

India’s wild life sanctuaries and national uaries (including national parks) in the

_ parks, Part Il. J. Bombay nat. Hist. conservation of threatened species of

Soc. 52 (4) : 717-734. large mammals in south and south-east

(1964): Wild life of India. Asia. Cheetal, Jour. Wild Life Pre-

192 pp. London. servation Soc. India, 8 (2) : 6-9.

1 For Peter Scott’s account of his visit to Keoladeo Ghana, see J, Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 63 : 206-209—EDs,

The Axis Deer in Hawati

WILLIAM GRAF, Ph.D.

Professor of Wildlife Management, Department of Biology,

San Jose State College, San Jose, California, U.S.A.

AND

LYMAN NICHOLS Jjr.?

Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.

(With two maps, fourteen plates, and seven figures)

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT e a Fe ay ae re O50

INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .. xe Rete (0383I |

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ca Me is wags O2

GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND MEASUREMENTS Pe re MT OSZ

COLOUR we Ke i i, it 1636

MELANISM AND ninres ae aN, -s 2, ASIST

_ THE Coat =e = z ae u .. 638

ANTLERS p i. ae ee a; 2a 639

ANTLER MEASUREMENTS A Ss ie oe .. 640

WEIGHTS AND BODY MEASUREMENTS Me wy. a .. 644

GLANDS : te = Ao ms .. 647

HOors AND Tees ou Ss a a .. 649

VOICE a Bee ay: a: = oa. 050

TEETH ae “ ee AY 40 aie £652

AGING DEER... SP ae a ib ai 653

OTHER UNGULATE SKULLS .. ae ab if SENBOSS:

FAECAL PELLETS .. ak Wie mi a Cees 7

TEMPERATURE... bis his as He Le 4059

SENSES es pitt a Rt 23 raed cee)

GAITS bat a Re ae ei 4. 660

HABITS AND BEHAVIOUR .. es By OO!

NORMAL AND ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR faa nae ae a OO 1

TEMPERAMENT AND ALERTNESS a ie A. HL LOOL

DatLty MOVEMENTS on oer wi ie ee O06

RESTING : ne a .. 670

EFFECTS OF Waren ON Dae Steen as ts ee: O72

1 Formerly Wildlife Biologist, Division of Fish and Game, Hilo, Hawaii.

630 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

SEASONAL MOVEMENTS "ra ss ae he Js M673

WATER USE ps ae Bs Bi on .. 674

TRAILING ABs Seay, NG ve is 8078

Home RANGE... ae é., pers cE: .. 679

EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY ai he .. 680

GREGARIOUSNESS AND HERDING ies oe ae 2 os OGL

HERD COMPOSITION AND SIZE oe ee ats om OGL

CURIOSITY os ues ee on ys se 689

REACTION TO FRIGHT e ne Re See etme amy 2)

SWIMMING a hs “a a AS 2 - 692

PLAY a “as ie .» 692

SOCIAL AND Teetoune Ben ioun bee se ie .. 693

CO-OPERATION .. a a A Re .. 700

DEER AND FENCES zs an io 701

BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS Ore re rere zi seg tg 1Ol

REACTION TO Domestic ANIMALS tas ‘oe ‘ wm, 703

DEER IN CAPTIVITY ee oa Ae an ie OA

HANDLING CAPTIVE DEER .. a he 2. 407

REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT oe a sco Ome

BREEDING CYCLE ne to ee ies ee Wh),

ANTLER DEVELOPMENT A se oe ae 7/00",

BREEDING ABILITY AND PREGNANCY Rae “i ta =» new a3

BREEDING BEHAVIOUR A se oe fh en 24 CRG

GESTATION % nt nes Re om age BY

GROWTH OF THE FOETUS ss 5% Pe ae 6 eS

SEX RATIO OF FOETUSES par ot 5 BY Pepys i

FAWNING Ae ee 24 i os EA i (02

PARTURITION we Be A bis ae vey 123

FAWN DEVELOPMENT oe ee Be AF gh 723

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT igs Ag Be as ig ie Pe

SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT be) ie ee .3 ms NE Ao

LITERATURE CITED es ay At is See oe

ABSTRACT

A study of the physical characteristics of the axis deer [Axis axis (Erxleben), 1777],

introduced into the Hawaiian Islands in 1868, shows no changes in weight and

measurements from those of India and Ceylon although it has been isolated for

almost 100 years. Tooth development and aging characteristics have been worked

out. Upper canines are present at birth but are lost before the animal is a year old.

Other physical characteristics are described and discussed in detail.

The reproductive cycle is found not to have changed from that of Indian axis

deer. Peak fawning periods are November, December, January, and February.

Fawns are produced during all months of the year. Males are sexually active during

allmonths of the year and regardless of the stage of antler development. The

majority of bucks are in full rut during June and July. Foetal development, weights,

measurements, and methods for aging the foetus are presented in detail ; also charts

of the reproductive cycle and other aspects of reproduction. ee

A study of behaviour shows the beginning of a harem system similar to that in

members of the genus Cervus. The rutting behaviour is typified by a highly ritualized

behaviour pattern, both as individuals and towards other males. Posturing by dis-

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAIL.. 631

playing facial expressions and body attitude seems to be related to territorial

behaviour and territorial signpost behaviourisms.

The general behaviour as individuals and as a group in relation to types of cover

and distances from cover is significant. The animals avoid extensive open areas as

well as extensive closed forests. The behaviour of the animals by day and by night

is discussed in relation to crop damage with possible significance and its meaning.

INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The axis deer was, so far as can be determined from existing records,

introduced into the Hawaiian Islands in 1868. These records, based

entirely on several newspaper accounts, mention only eight animals,

three bucks, four does, and one fawn. The various versions of the

arrival of these deer and their subsequent release on Molokai Island are

well documented by Cooke (1949). The entire stock of deer on both

Molokai Island and Lanai Island dates back to this one introduction

of eight deer. Lanai received a stock of 12 deer in 1920. There is

some question about the total number of deer transplanted to Lanai

but there is no question of the source of the deer, Molokai Island

(Cooke 1949). From where or when the present remnant population

of axis deer on Oahu Island was introduced is not known. It is possible

that deer were brought from Molokai, possibly from other sources.

The most important point, however, is that on Molokai and Lanai

the entire population of deer, estimated today at a total of 5000 to 6000

head, is the progeny of only eight animals. This should provide some

interesting food for thought for those sportsmen who persistently contend

that inbreeding degrades our game species—or rather that the deterio-

ration of a stock of game is due to inbreeding.

As will be seen from our study, there has been no deterioration,

physical or otherwise, in the Hawaiian deer herds. No one knows

how many deer have been produced since 1868 on Molokai and Lanai.

On several occasions, once on Lanai and once on Molokai, there was a

determined effort to exterminate the entire deer population. Cooke

(1949) quotes figures which give some idea of the tens of thousands

that were slaughtered. It is a well-known fact that deer have been

hunted continuously and hard during their entire existence on the

Islands. All the evidence that we have been able to find, both from

the past and during our present study, shows that the axis deer of Hawaii

today is in every respect the equal of the Indian axis deer, both as

compared with past measurements and present ones.

The habitat of the Hawaiian axis deer ranges from semi-desert types

at altitudes generally below 1500 ft. to rain forest at the higher altitudes,

reaching rainfalls of over 200 inches at 3000 to 4000 ft. The lower dry

habitat is primarily an open savanna-type acacia forest, primarily kiawe

or Algaroba (Prosopis chilensis) with an understorey of Lantana (Lantana

632 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

camara) and llima (Sida fallax) and a variety of grasses, primarily the

native Pili grass (Heteropogon contortus). The rain forest habitat con-

sists primarily of mixed fern and Ohia (Metrosideros sp.) forests and

various native and introduced grasses. While many parts of this forest

present dense growths of shrubs and ferns, other parts are open glades

and open park-like forests of the giant tree fern (Cibotium sp.).

In all cases, both dry habitat and wet, the deer are found in semi-

open habitats or where dense forests are liberally interspersed with

glades and meadows. The affinity for such habitat will be discussed in

greater detail under behaviour.

The study was financed in part by the State of Hawaii and the United

States Government under the Federal Aid to Wildlife Management

Programme (Project W-5-R) and in part through a sabbatical leave from

San Jose State College. In addition the American Philosophical Society

provided support for continued study during the summer of 1959 to

complete some unfinished investigation on Molokai Island. :

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Axis axis (Erxleben) 1777

Type locality. Banks of the Ganges, India.

Flerov (1952) places this deer in the genus Cervus on the basis

of morphological affinities and characteristics. In this respect our

observations, on the basis of morphological characteristics, field

characteristics, and habits, agree with his conclusions.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND MEASUREMENTS

In general appearance a small cervid, mature males standing about

36 in. at the shoulder, females about 30 in. ; males with antlers ; manes

lacking ; colour fawn or tan with persistent white spots ; colour dimorphism

weak and irregular. Antlers grow from high pedestals, rounded in cross

section, and only lightly roughened near Jower quarter ; beam simple,

strongly concave in outline and sharply inclined backwards at a point

just above the pedestal.

Measurements in millimetres of typical mature specimens are as

follows :

Mature male collected 25 March 1958, Molokai Island, west end: Total length

1780 ; tail 280 ; hind foot 440 ; ear 135 ; height at shoulder 935 ; weight : live

156, dressed 116 Ib. \

Mature female, collected 9 Feb. 1958, Molokai Island, west end: Total length

1640 ; tail 265; hind foot 375; ear 125; height at shoulder 750; weight :

live 105, drewed 70 |b.

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63(3) Prana

Graf: Axis Deer

Family group. Doe with yearling daughter and current fawn

The terraine and vegetation is typical of the dry parts of Lanai and Molokai Islands.

(Photo: Lyman Nichols)

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Largest male measured was from the west end of Molokai Island, taken 9 Jan.

1958 : Total length 2070 ; tail 300 ; hind foot 430 ; ear 144 ; height at shoulder

1000 ; weight : live 215, dressed 170 lb.

Largest female was taken on Lanai Island, 29 Oct. 1957: Total length 1660 ;

tail 274 ; hind foot 405 ; ear 129 ; weight : live 120°5, dressed 88°5 Ib.

On the basis of condylobasal length, Pocock’s (1943) specimens

show a greater size in males. His male axis skulls all range from 260 mm.

to 302 mm. with most of them in the upper limits. The largest buck

collected in Hawaii, an old buck estimated at 8-9 years old, had a con-

dylobasal length of 293 mm. Pocock’s males may have been specimens

collected by hunters, who tend to select older, trophy-sized animals.

His female skulls show a range from 231 mm. to 260 mm. These com-

pare favourably with Hawaiian skulls which ranged from 216 mm. to

265 mm. Eight fully matured does, i.e., two years or older, averaged

244 mm.

Phillips (1935) lists the average of 9 Ceylon males and 3 females.

Males: Total length 1420 ; tail 283 ; hind foot 392 ; ear 156 ; height at shoulder

831 ; weight (of 5 only) 162 1b. —

Females: Total length 1283.;:tail 177; hind foot 301; ear 115; height at

shoulder 698 ; weight 109°3 Ib.

If these measurements are representative, it would appear that

Hawaiian deer do not differ greatly from the Indian. Pocock’s female

skulls bear this out and, although his male skulls are larger, the

uniformity and measurements near the upper limits indicate selective

collecting—as could be expected when skulls are obtained from sports-

men. Our Hawaiian skulls are, however, close enough to be comparable.

The Ceylon measurements would indicate that the deer there are some-

what smaller if the averages given are from representative mature deer.

The largest listed had a total length of only 1701°8 mm., a measurement

more nearly that of our average (table 3) of 1781 mm. These discre-

pancies could very well be in the method of taking measurements. The

axis deer has apparently lost none of its characteristics during more

than 90 years of isolation and inbreeding from four original pairs.

These deer are considered the most primitive representatives of their

group today, as shown by ‘various morphological characteristics. These

characteristics are particularly the high.bony -pedicles from which the

antlers grow, the simple-antler structure with only a basal brow tine and

a simple upper tine always on the.inside of the beam, the weak and

inconsistent colour dimorphism,-and the strongly spotted coat which is

persistent throughout hfe. ‘The weakly developed herding and harem

characteristics for a member of this group probably also can be added

to this category.

IOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

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In outline the axis deer quite strikingly resembles a small elk or

wapiti, with its high shoulders, thin neck, and rather long face which

in shape and outline strongly resembles that of its large relative. In

general the body is well-knit and graceful in appearance. Does with

their thinner necks appear a bit ungainly about the head, somewhat

after the manner of a cow elk, thus heightening the resemblance between.

pleasing appearance to the eye, particularly during the rut when the

necks are enlarged. Young bucks or even old ones, when the necks |

are still normal in size, show a tendency toward the same papain 2%

observed in does, though not to the same extent.

COLOUR

All points considered, the axis deer probably rates as one of the

most beautiful of all deer. The ground colour of the coat is generally

a light reddish brown or yellowish brown. In the males the neck and

foreshoulders may be darker, almost charcoal, and in one or two this

part was observed to be a lighter yellowish or light fawn colour in contrast

to the rest of the body. Females never show this darker colour. The

entire dark part of the body is covered with snow-white spots about

20 to 25 mm. in diameter. These are arranged roughly in rows parallel

to the mid-dorsal line and across the lower hips, flanks and shoulders ;

on the neck up to the head and elsewhere, the spots are more or less

arranged at random, but may at times take the form of broken rows.

The outer legs are without spots and the chest, belly, and inner legs,

and at times the outer, lower legs, are pure white. A white throat

patch extends from about half way up the throat and along the lower

jaw to end just below the nostrils. The white of the belly and inner

hind legs continues in a narrow band between the buttocks and along

the under surface of the tail.

A dark chocolate-brown to blackish brown band extends along the

mid-dorsal line from about midway of the neck to the rump; within

this band and on each side of its center line is a row of white spots.

The upper side of the tail is light brown bordered with darker brown

hairs where it joins the white under surface. A thin line of dark brown

hairs splits the white of the chest from the lower throat down the brisket.

The white spots on the neck give way to a solid light brown on the head,

face, and back of the ears. The edges of the ears are rimmed with

-dark hairs, while the inner surface of the ears is white near the base.

-Does are generally slightly lighter in colour than bucks, especially

“over the face and neck. Bucks have a black or dark brown diamond-

shaped spot in the middle of their forehead and a black line that extends:

from the antler base to the eyebrow on each side of the head, and con-

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- tinues from the eyebrow to the bridge of the nose, thus forming a black

inverted chevron on the face. The black may or may not continue

- down the nose to the muzzle, but there is always a black band that runs

from the rear of the mouth forward and over the muzzle just behind

_the nostrils. The ground colour of the head and face is lighter brown

~ than the body, while the naked portion of the muzzle is grey in colour.

: Does: occasionally have dark faces, but the black chevron and nose

band are not present.

Bucks often have darker necks than does. This darkening of the

ground colour extends from the front of the shoulders to the head and

is highly variable, from just a very slightly darker brown to almost

, Charcoal black. On Molokai it was most pronounced during late

summer and fall in bucks. with fully hardened antlers. Bucks in shed

.or velvet condition appeared more uniform in colour. The dark necks

_ Were also more pronounced on the leeward side below Mauna Loa, some

here having the almost charcoal black necks. This was also the area

. Where one melanistic buck was seen.

-~ No-colour difference was observed between: ie deer of ne ee wet

forest and. the dry lowland areas. although ‘hunters claimed that..deer

: were darker from the swamps of the high cloud forest. ene

-. . Antlers take on the characteristic colour of the substances with which

‘they come in contact when RULE, an antler colour may vary ey)

from range to Pane e aoe

MELANISM AND ALBINISM

Menee i.e., an all black colour, is rare in deer. It was observed

‘in one buck on fis leeward side in the Punakau Game Area in 1958.

_This was a mature buck of better than average size with fully developed,

-hard antlers. The colour appeared as an overall charcoal black, rather

‘than a glossy black. The white spotting appeared in normal pattern

from a distance, but due to cover it was not possible to determine. the

colour.of the underparts. This particular area also has shown the darkest

neck -colours of any area observed on Molokai. This ‘ black’ colour

appeared similar to the black observed in the. melanistic mule deer

‘specimens of northern California and Nevada. It was not possible to

determine whether any brown hairs-were mixed in with the black because

of the distance. Lydekker (1893)-mentions a black variety. He says :

“there is a rare black variety of the spotted deer, in. which the spots

are scarcely perceptible.’ 3

. Albinism. apparently occurs, but is rare. One albino buck was

reported seen in the mountainous country east of Kaunakakai, Molokai.

Bahadur (1942), reporting. on a captive albino, states :

*> >. The original sire has horns about 2 ft. in length with no tines ; they are always

. 638 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

in velvet, of a pink flesh colour, and the ends appear slightly raw. He drops

his horns annually but the new ones grow in the same way. ”

He described the albino as having pink eyes, nose, ears, and light coloured

hoofs. 7

Mrs. Marie Palit, of Ranchi, India, in personal correspondence

states that she has seen 3 albino fawns in the past 12 years near her

home. Two were picked up and died, and the third, three-fourths

grown, was seen with a normal coloured doe.

THE COAT

The coat is composed of soft, fairly short hair which normally lies

flat and gives these deer a very sleek appearance. The hairs are not

brittle like those of North American deer and antelope, but are soft

and flexible, and the coat is silky to the touch. There is a sparse under-

coat of very fine hair beneath the outer coat of guard hair. Sebaceous

-and apocrine glands are found at the base of each hair shaft, and these

exude an oily liquid which makes the coat shine and helps repel water.

However, the amount of oil normally exuded is slight, and the coat

feels dry and fluffy. On very hot days, though, the secretion is increased

and tiny droplets may be seen on each hair, giving the appearance of

sweat.

The coat of young fawns is somewhat heavier than that of the adults,

but the hairs are finer and fluffier, giving the fawns a fuzzy appearance.

The fine silky undercoat is also heavier.

Bucks, at least, have the ability to erect most of the hair on the neck

and torso, as well as hair on the tail and of the rump patch. When a

buck is threatening another, he will erect the hair over most of the body,

particularly that of the white rump patch and the under-tail so that he

resembles an angry, fluffed-up tomcat. Does have not been observed

to fluff out their whole coat, but they erect the hairs of the rump patch

and the under-tail when excited.

The coat is kept clean by frequent licking ; in fact, these deer are

one of the cleanest of all wild animals that we have observed, and none

has ever been observed with a dirty coat unless it had very recently gotten

up from a muddy bed.

The seasonal change in the coat is very gradual and, rather than the

usual fall and spring moult observed in North American deer, there is

a gradual thinning so that in the winter the coat becomes somewhat

heavier and again in the summer somewhat lighter. A moult such as

can be observed in North American deer could not be detected, and

the process of moulting itself was hard to detect at a given time. The

one difference that could be noticed, though it was slight, was that

during the period when the antlers were shed or in the velvet some of

THE AXIS - DEER IN HAWAIl 639

the bucks did not show the darker neck colour, appearing lighter on

those parts.

ANTLERS

The antlers develop from bony pedicles which rise about one to one-

and-a-half inches above the surface of the frontal bone, the antler form-

ing a distinct burr at its base and growing in a line with the axis of the

pedicle to a point where the brow tines branch from the beam. At this

point the beam bends sharply backward, almost 45° from the original

axis for roughly half its length and then bends upward again at nearly a

right angle ; this presents a distinctly backswept and concave or dished

outline from the plane of the face. The brow tines arise at right angles

from the beam and grow forward and outward. The main beams turn

slightly outward and continue to spread until about the main bend in the

beam, then continue more or less parallel during the upward sweep.

A single tine branches from the inner side of each main beam near the

upper one-fourth of the otherwise unbranched beam. In well-formed

antlers the view from the front is an almost perfect lyre shape. Some

have very narrow, almost parallel, beams and others very widespread

ones, though the latter appears to be less common, The most sym-

metrical antlers will have a spread of about 4 to 4 their length at the

bend of the beam with the tips somewhat closer together. A good set

of mature antlers in the 30-inch class makes an interesting and fine

trophy, though somewhat plain in its simplicity.

The surface of the antlers is slightly to moderately roughened

or veined, with the lower or basal part showing the greatest degree of

roughening, and even beading at times. This varies from animal to

animal, some antlers being almost smooth, others very rough on the

lower 4. A pair of large antlers in the office of the Molokai Ranch is

covered over the entire surface of the beams with fine to very coarse

beading. These antlers were said to have come from a castrated buck.

Although roughened over the lower surface, the antler tips are nearly

always smooth, polished, and sharp.

Beneath the drying velvet covering, the newly-matured antler is

bone white, but as soon as the velvet begins peeling, blood begins to stain

the antler brown. Rubbing against trees, shrubs, and sometimes the

ground, continues to darken the stain while the roughened portions of the

antler soon become filled with embedded bark fragments and dirt, leaving

the antler surface relatively smooth and dark except for the ivory-coloured

tips. The objects against which the antlers are rubbed will largely deter-

mine their final colour. In the kiawe (Prosopis chilensis) forest zone, they

are frequently a light to a medium brown, and not uncommonly,

a greenish brown colour from the embedded bark and stain, Some may

640 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

have a yellowish or reddish cast from the colour of the soil in the area—

a soil which readily stains objects. pea

In the wet cloud forest of Molokai, antlers are so frequently Washed

by rain and by contact with wet shrubbery that the bark fragments do not

have a chance to set into a hard paste, and are usually washed off, leav-

ing the antlers more or less free of debris. They are, however, commonly

coloured a dark chocolate-brown from the:staining effects of plant juices

and blood, and are usually darker than those from the lowlands.

The clean; ivory-white of the tips may result from gouging the antlers

into:the ground—a habit of some bucks, but:may be partly due to the

natural smoothness of the bone surface here, which does not take a. So

readily nor hold a coating of bark or dirt..

Yearling bucks develop spike antlers that point to the-rear like short

sharp daggers. Such spikes may at times be adorned with several short

snags at their bases. Second-year bucks may develop a.simple beam

with brow tines or may develop light-beamed three-point antlers: In

these the main-beam tine may be a mere stub or it may exceed the main

beam above it. Such antlers. usually lack the curving sweep of older

bucks.

Antler variations and mialforhtahibns are. common: Bucks are

commonly seen with one nornial, fully developed antler; and.one that‘is ~

shorter and lacking the upper point, or is:twisted and deformed. Some

of.the defects may be of a hereditary nature, but others are undoubtedly

due to injuries sustained while the antler is still young and soft. .

Old bucks are occasionally seen with antlers lacking the intermediate.

or main-beam tine, the main beams forming long’curved spears. Such

bucks. have passed their prime sexually, and, as is common in most deer,

antler points decline in number and.size after this, the main beam: being

the last to be affected. Just what this age is is difficult to:say.. Rudolph,

the captive: buck on Molokai, grew antlers .as large as: any previously’

grown in his 9th year, ee that he had not yet passed his eae

ANTLER MEASUREMENTS

The largest antlers: measured during the study were 37 in. in length

along the curve of the beams. These were brought in too‘late to be in-

cluded in our tables. There are without doubt ae bucks with better’

SUL on both Molokai and Lanai.

- Table 1 lists the average measurements in cm: and inches of all the

antlers measured during this study with the exception of spike bucks

which are obviously not full grown. The upper and lower ranges of the

measurements encountered in the study are also included. The various

measurements were analyzed statistically to see if there was any significant

J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc.63(3) Priam Ly

Graf: Axis Deer

Skull of typical, mature axis buck from Hawaii

(Photo: Lyman Nichols)

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THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII | 641

difference between antlers of Molokai and Lanai bucks, but in all cases it

was found that there was less than one chance in 100 that there was a

real difference noted in the sample of antlers measured between Molokai

bucks and Lanai bucks—analysis showed that this was due to sampling

error rather than to a real difference in size between the two populations.

Consequently, all measurements of antlers of Molokai and Lanai bucks

were lumped together and again statistically analyzed to give the data

presented in Table 1.

TABLE |

ANTLER MEASUREMENTS (IN CENTIMETRES) OF ADULT BUCKS

(The numbers in parentheses show the equivalents in inches)

Average Beam Length

(Length of left and right beams averaged)

Sample Mean (Average Beam Length) .. ae Bs 55-89

(22°00)

Standard Deviation of the Mean .. a se 1°46

Clg of the True Mean .. es es of 251 t=59766

Sample Range (Shortest and Longest Measurements) ih 24°2-80°4

: ~~ + (952-3165)

Standard Deviation m ss J a 12°93

CI of 99:7% of the True Range oa aa 4... 17:10-94°68

ae (6°74-37°25)

Number of Measurements in Sample _.... re oa 79

‘Average Circumference above the Burr

(Circumference of left and right beams averaged)

Sample Mean (Average Circumference) .. ee Le 11°37

(4°48)

Standard Deviation of the Mean .. ay a8 0°03

Clo. of the True Mean ... ie 5 seg Me 292 145

Sample Range (Smallest and Largest Circumferences) 2. 9:0-15°6

; (3°54-6°15)

_ Standard Deviation sé 4 Ts oe 1°55

CI of 99°7% of the True Range _.... bt 6571216303

. (2°64-6°32)

Number of Measurementsin Sample _.... Re a 79

Average Circumference above First Fork

(Circumference of left and right beams averaged)

Sample Mean (Average Circumference) .. 3% a 8°55

ae ; | (3°36) -

Standard Deviation of the Mean roe ivy i 0°17

Cly, of the True Mean .. as oe i 8:11-8:99

642 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Sample Range (Smallest and Largest Circumferences) as 6:0-12°4

ena 7 (2:36-4:88)

Standard Deviation as ed sf tee 1:46

CI of 99:7% of the True Range es ef -» 4:16-12°93

(1°64-5°17)

Number of Measurements in Sample ... bs a 76

Spread between Tips of Main Beams |

Sample Mean (Average Spread) ‘i S Heate 39°42

(15°50)

Standard Deviation of the Mean... ie - a7 Dh

Cl of the True Mean .. ve at ». 36°30-42°55

(14°28-16°75)

Sample Range (Narrowest and Widest Spread) 3 a 19:0-70°5

(7:48-27-74)

Standard Deviation = = ae a 10°44

CI of 99'7% of the True Range _... Af .. _ 8°10-70°75

i : (3°19-27°85)

Number of Measurements in Sample... og ie a

Also included in Table 1 are the statistically computed confidence

intervals for the means of the measurements. While the averages of the

measurements may be determined arithmetically from the samples

examined, it does not necessarily follow that the sample average is exactly

the same as the true average of all antler measurements. Analysis shows

within what limits the true average probably falls. For example the

average antler beam length of the antlers measured was found to be 55°89

cm., but statistical analysis of the data shows that the true average of all

antlers, including the great number not examined, probably falls between

52°11 and 59°66 cm., with less than one chance out of 100 of falling out-

side of these limits Gedicnea by CIg,).

Analysis of the data also can show the probable upper and lower

limits of the measurements of all antlers. Again using the antler-beam.

length as an example, it may be seen from Table | that the shortest antler

beam measured was 24:2 cm., and the longest was 80°4. Since only 79

sets of antlers were measured to determine this range, it is reasonable to

assume that out of several thousand deer remaining unmeasured some are

going to have shorter, and some will have longer, antlers than those.

examined. Statistical analysis of the sample data indicates that about |

99°7% of all bucks on the two islands will have antlers measuring bet-

ween 17°10 and 94°68 cm. in beam length. Thus we can state that the

longest antler length that can normally be found on Molokai and Lanai

is probably about 94°68 cm., or 374 in.—but of course, there is still a

chance that a few rare individuals may exceed this length, ~ i

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 643

_ It was noted that antler circumference and beam length seemed to

be roughly related to the size of the buck, and these measurements were,

therefore, examined graphically and statistically to see if this was truly the

case. Examination did show a fair correlation between antler circum-

ference above the burr and the dressed weights of the bucks, and

indicated that antlers grow more massive in direct relation to the bucks’

increase in weight as demonstrated in Figure 1. Although the general

correlation could be computed and shown, individual measurements did

not follow the computed average regression line too closely. The corre-

lation of beam length and body weight was very weak and is not illus-

trated.

Fig.ek

Antler Circumference (in centimeters)

vs.

Dressed Weight (in pounds)

Above Burr

(in centimeters)

1.0

ans ie 7=11.368 (e= observed measurements )

4 (@=computed averages) —

Antler Circumference

Dressed Weight (in pounds) of Bucks

It is probable that antler beam circumference, and possibly beam

length, are directly related to the age of the buck, getting larger and longer

as the buck grows older. Unfortunately the ages of the bucks whose

antlers were measured were not known. Until a number of known-age

bucks are available, this relationship cannot be determined with

certainty. Both food quality and quantity, and heredity are known to

influence antler size and could upset the direct relationship between size

_of body and antler size. Also it could well be that body weight and age

of bucks are not closely related beyond a certain point ; hence the weak.

correlation between antler size and weight.

644. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

- For ‘those’who -are interested in the antler: measurements of bucks

from India and Cpe the pre will give some comparison :

ica Circum- Spread

aoe ; ae | Length ference | qe

India—(Lydekker 1898) Sh sae 381 4g 7 * 192 in, |

.. India—(Rowland. Ward 1928) 40 4>: 233 in..

Ceylon—(Phillips AE) cg RON ha tek gee a 232 in.

2 hee +363 ye 193 j in.

ae, buck with antler hee above 30-in. and a basal cincum ire of

over 4 in. can be considered a good one. It would appear from: our

measurements that Hawaiian deer have heavier and wider antlers than

the Indian or Ceylonese deer

WEIGHTS AND: BODY’ MEASUREMENTS

There is a persistent misconception among many people both in

Hawaii. and among tourists who have visited the Islands, that the

Hawaiian. deer are small, almost tiny. Expressions such as. ‘ small ’,

‘tiny ’, etc. are often heard. How or why this should be is not known ;

certainly the axis deer cannot be listed with the largest deer, neither can

it be listed with the smallest.. They compare favourably on.the average

with the well-known white-tailed and black-tailed deer of North.America,

although the extreme weights of bucks of these species exceed those: of the

axis bucks that we have weighed. However; in view of our lack of a good

sample of large bucks from the high forest of Molokai, ues is Giseuepauey

may not be as large as it appears to be.

TABLE 2

AVERAGE DRESSED WEIGHTS (IN POUNDS) OF HAWAIIAN AXIS DEER

Adult Bucks

Sample Mean (Average dressed weight) . -120°3

« Standard Deviation of the Mean 7249193

~ CIgq of the True Mean .. 114°5-126°1

Sample Range (Lightest and Heaviest Weighed) 74:0-170°0

- Standard Deviation. __ eve 21:32 oe

CI of 99°7% of the True Range 56371043 een

Number of Measurements in Sample 92

Spike: Bucks cs aati

Serine Mean (avetnus Dressed Weight). 2 BSS oa oe

Standard Deviation of the Mean 7216

82°5-94°6

Clo, of the True Mean ., 1 ve

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J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE VII

Graf: Axis Deer

Willie, the hand-raised Fawn, at 69 weeks old

Willie’s antlers were fully mature at 63 weeks. Here, at 69 weeks the swelling

neck, sleeker coat, and filling out of the body show the full masculinization of a

buck entering the rut. At this age he was mean and aggressive, constantly looking

for trouble and dangerous to humans, whom he no longer feared. The lower

picture shows him in the typical attitude and posture of a challenging buck, the

attitude and expression during ritual posturing between two bucks.

(Photos: Lyman Nichols )

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII an 645.

Sample Range (Lightest and: Heaviest gene) ae .. _71:0-109°0

_ Standard Deviation | vee a 10°80

CI of 99.7% of the True Range eves ra we, 50: 1-12079

Number of Measurements in Sample... — aid = 26

Adult Does

Sample Mean (Average Dressed Weight) Pas he ~70°5

Standard Deviation of the Mean ... . ee a 1:67

Cl,3 ofthe True Mean .. ae us a 65°0-75°1

Sample Range (Lightest and Heaviest Weighed) eee HA 55'0-97:0

Standard Deviation ae sat oe sae 9:0

CI of 99.7% of the True Range ae e, ». 45°5-97:74

Number of Measurements in the Sample ne se 30

‘The average dressed weights (with.the viscera removed) of the axis

deer examined are given in Table 2. ‘ Adult bucks’ here refers to those

larger than: spike. bucks, which are generally referred .to.as’ yearlings.

From this table it can. be seen that the average weight is 120°3lb. It was

found that the average loss of weight in the field dressing was 24% ;

thus the average live weight of adult bucks is about 158 lb. The compu-

tations indicate that the largest bucks. may dress out at as much as 184°3

lb., or weigh when alive up to 243 Ib., and possibly more in exceptional

cases. The heaviest buck examined une the course of this study had

a live weight (whole weight).of 215 lb. and, eviscerated, weighed 170 lb.

It should be pointed out here that weights and statistical conclusions

are based on deer collected in the dry-land habitat, with one exception

—one buck taken from the Molokai wet forest. This buck, compared

with a Molokai buck of the same age class and size from the low, dry-

land areas, was found.to weigh 10 to 12% heavier. Actually the nearest

comparable dry-land buck was slightly larger than the one from the high

forest.’ Jf this difference in weight should prove to be a general-rule,

then we might expect to find bucks that will go as high as 250 lb. dressed

weight in the wet forest area. We have had unconfirmed reports from

hunters of weighed bucks in this weight range.

It must also be remembered that the deer of these tropical regions. do

not put on. layers of fat as do northern deer. The best-conditioned bucks

that we have examined show almost no subcutaneous fat and only a

moderate.amount of visceral fat. In contrast, northern-climate deer in

good condition put on many pounds of fat in the fall, thus adding con-

siderably to the weight of the animal.

Does are considerably smaller than adult bucks, weighing on the.

average, only about 70°5 Ib. dressed. Since they lose about 31% of

their weight upon field dressing, a percentage which varies greatly.during

pregnancy, an average live doe would weigh about 97°8 Ib., an extremely

large doe could weigh up to 141 Ib.

646 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

As a matter of interest, the normally unused portions of one buck

were weighed separately to determine what part of the animal’s weight

they represent. It was found that in this case, the viscera (all internal

organs) weighed 25% of the live weight ; the hide 7-2% ; the head 6°6% ;

and the feet 2%. The forequarters (separated from the hindquarters

between the last two ribs as is usually done) weighed 30°2% of the live

weight, and the hindquarters 28°3%. The remaining 0°7% of the weight

was accounted for by blood loss.

Weights of Lanai deer appeared to be greater than on Molokai, but

statistical comparison again showed no significant difference between the

two populations.

TABLE 3

AVERAGE Bopy MEASUREMENTS (IN CENTIMETRES) OF AxIS DEER

(The numbers in parentheses show the equivalents in inches)

Adult Bucks

Average Length Sample Range

Total Length 40 sD ah Me i MN ae aes ot ge Me -+» 164:0-207:0

(70:25) (25) Fees 3 zt

Tail Length ia S098 3 5 SS ie ee ee 26°0-36°0

(12°2)

Hind Foot es re ee Magy Cg Ti a 39°0-45°0

(16°5) Eee A | :

Ear Length wanes IE ie Aaa ta i Mine Coa MME SS Wek. 12°0-15'0

i: (5°4)

Shoulder Height a 9372. Os UE AR ie ee Rees 80°0-101°0

(36°7)

Head Length BUCO in he ou meee ~~» 29°0-33°5

(12°2) |

Spike Bucks

Total Length Pie cate 16292 hi aa ete eae — :148°5-173-0

: (63°8)

Tail Length “2 is BOOT ai a on ann. Uaeeahaeale ~ 26°5-36°0

(11°8)-

Hind Foot~ = *-2272 72 ADD. See e hie ae is halen 31°0-44:0

; (15°8) .

Ear Length <a 133; BE dy hor 12°5-14°5

(5:2)

Shoulder Height as sO Met TREEREPRE TE <a So 78:0-99:°0

24°0-30°5

Head Length Be 28:4 + se SO LE ese

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 647

4 bi Adult Does

Total Length se TSS en rh. Sener es 144-0-167°5

| - (61°3) |

Tail Length aS Dad OT As a Na 8 ae Bi Bit 20°0-30:0

(10°6) ieee

Hind Foot ae Seabee fo eee se eee rc ede 35°5-40°5_

, (14-8)

Ear Length ny SPAS aide lar ie MRRR Rs PeAC a P 11°5-13°4

. (5°0) :

Shoulder Height af TET EAN ai = ae var Rio ee ite er RA 70°0-87:

(30°8) )

Head Length se DUE SI ayn ly SA eh aio arr iee 24'5-30°0

(10°9)

Various body measurements were also made on deer examined during

the study and are presented in Table 3. The total length is the length

from the tip of the nose to the tip of the last vertebra in the tail, following

the body contours. The tail length is from the tip of the last vertebra

in the tail to the junction of the coccygeal and sacral vertebra, and is

taken by bending the tail at right angles to the back and measuring from

the base to the tip of the tail exclusive of hair. The length of the hind

foot is measured from the point of the hock to the tip of the hoof, and the

ear length from the notch of the ear (the deepest notch at the inner base

of the ear) to the tip. Shoulder height is from the ball of the foot to the

mid-line of the back and, though it is slightly longer than the actual

standing height, it gives a reasonable approximation of the true height

at the shoulder. The head length is from the tip of nose to the notch of

the ear. With the exception of the head measurement, which we added

for our own convenience, these are standard measurements used in the

scientific comparison of animals. They provide a constant standard of

comparison which the layman will have little occasion to consider and

even less to use.

GLANDS

The external scent glands of the axis deer are similar to those of

other deer. Inter-digital glands are present between the toes of each hind

hoof, and are indicated externally by a distinct line of dark hairs. The

skin at the opening of these glands is involuted and covered with short,

oily hairs, while subcutaneous glandular tissue is abundant. There is

4 less distinct line of dark hairs between the front toes, but the involuted

skin, oily hairs, and glandular tissue are absent or much reduced, indi-

cating a lack of functional glands here. Metatarsal glands-are located

several inches below the hock on the outside of the metatarsus, or lower

hind leg. The glands themselves are small—about three-quarters of an

inch long—but are indicated externally by a larger clump of comparatively

648, JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

long, light-coloured hairs, which are quite apparent against the normally

short, brown hair of the leg. ?

‘The most noticeable and interesting of the external glands is Ute infra-

orbital gland located just below the inner corner of each eye. . This

gland normally appears as a mere slit extending from the junction of the

upper and lower eyelids. When the deer is excited, however, the gland

can be rapidly opened to reveal a large, shallow pouch of nearly the

dimension of the eye itself. At the lower, or nostril end, of this gland is

a clump of longer oily hairs that are normally folded inwards and en-

closed in the slit-like opening. When the gland is flared open, these

hairs are rolled outwards, forming an oily tuft at the end of the pouch.

This gland appears to be activated by excitement, anger, or other emo-

tional stimuli, and can be opened or closed almost-as fast as the winking

of aneye. Excitement can be in the form of hunger and anticipation:;

when fawns are nursing, or are about to nurse, they become tense with

anticipation and their infraorbital glands are flared wide. Or when deer

are alarmed, they stand tense and alert, with the glands partially opened.

The glands appear most highly developed in bucks, and appear to

be most important when the buck is threatening or challenging another

buck, or just stalking around impressing himself with his own importance

and toughness. In such instances the glands are opened to their utmost

and add considerably to the fierce expression of the face.

Close observation of the captive buck Rudolph, on Molokai, showed

that apparently the slightest emotional disturbance or stimulus would

cause the glands to open. Obvious stimuli, such as threatening gestures

toward the buck or walking close to the fence, caused the glands to flare.

Sudden motion towards the buck never failed to bring reaction. Even

when standing 10 to 15 feet from the buck, the sudden motion of the hand

toward him would cause the gland to open at least partly, and a threatening

step forward would usually bring it to full expansion. It was also noticed.

that even though no threatening gestures were made and the buck had

been allowed to become quiet, the gland would at times open partly,

sometimes momentarily almost fully, even though no apparent reason

was visible.

_ At this time the antlers were still in velvet, though almost fully

developed in size, and the buck’s neck was showing some slight swelling,

indicating that the emotional state of the rutting condition was building

up. Normally;.a buck’s neck shows no swelling before the antlers are

hard, and in North American deer we have never observed neck swelling

among bucks still in the velvet. However, a number of axis deer have

been observed in the wild state with necks beginning to swell when the

antlers are fully grown but still in the velvet. The largest buck collected,

with fully grown antlers still in the velvet and slightly rubbery at the tips;

showed pronounced .neck . swelling. This is undoubtedly .due to the

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J. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE IX

Graf: Axis Deer

Axis deer, showing infraorbital gland. Above : Gland closed, the normal

aspect. Below: Gland open.

The infraorbital gland, seen here as a shallow pouch in front of the eye, can be

opened and closed rapidly under stress of excitement.

(Photos : Lyman Nichols)

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 649

fact that there is no true sexual quiescence in these deer as there is in

northern-climate deer. The physiological condition of the rut, therefore,

appears before the antlers are fully hardened and cleaned.

The odour of these external glands is very mild and is a mildly sweetish,

musky odour that is not unpleasant. It is hardly noticeable to the human

sense of smeil except when the glands are held close to the nose. Even

old bucks in full rut have little orno odour. Thereis no comparison

with that of a rutting mule deer buck or bull elk.

On damp days, when trailing deer up-wind, they can often be detected

as much as 50 yards away by a characteristic pungent odour. This, how-

ever, is the odour of the fresh droppings or urine which are almost conti-

nuously being deposited by one or other animalina herd. This odour

is somewhat similar to that of the fresh dung of cattle, and is

never apparent on the animals themselves.

The genitalia of axis deer are quite similar in appearance to those of

other Cervidae, with no significant differences worth recording. The

mammaries of the does are equipped with four small teats and two rudi-

mentary accessory teats.

HOoFs AND TRACKS

‘The feet of the axis deer are similar to those of other deer of the

same size range. The hoofs are hard and black on the outside but tough

and rubbery on the ventral surface. Hoofs of the front feet are slightly

longer than those of the hind feet, and measure from 4°1 to 6°1 cm. in

length along the bottom surface. The outer toe on both front and hind

feet is usually slightly longer than the inner one, and all toes taper to a

fairly sharp point. Two dew-claws are present above and to the rear of

the hoofs on each foot.

The front feet of a number of bucks and does were measured with

the idea of comparing them to see if it would be possible to differentiate

between the tracks of bucks and does by track size. Both length and

width of the hoofs were measured, and the data thus obtained were

examined graphically and statistically. The analysis showed that there

was no real difference between the size of the hoofs—and hence

the tracks—of the sexes. The tracks of a large buck may be told from

those of a doe with some chance of correctness if the depth of the track

(determined by the weight of the animal) and the placement of the feet

can be noted, but not by size alone. The judgment of the factors that

go into the making of a track on the ground—the weight of the animal,

the hardness of the soil, the speed of movement, the age of the track, etc.—

all require such continuous experience that a sportsman of today has

little opportunity to acquire the skill of real tracking.

650 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Deformed hoofs appear to be common on the deer living in the rain

forest of Molokai where the soil is soft and wet almost continuously,

and where there are few rocks in the ground to wear them down. In

hooved animals, the outer shell of the hoof grows continuously and is

kept worn down by normal abrasion against the soil. Unless driven to

it, wild animals seldom wear their hoofs down too much. Horses,

however, under domestic use commonly show this type of abuse if worked

on hard and rocky soil without shoes. On the other hand, the deer and

goats of the wet forest simply do not get enough wear to keep their hoofs

worn to normal shape and size.

Goats appear to have more trouble in this respect than deer. This is

apparently due to the fact that goat’s feet are normally adapted to rocky,

mountainous, cliff country, and probably have a faster growth rate.

Perhaps they are also harder, and require more wear to keep them in

shape. Deer hoofs in the wet areas showed the abnormal growth,

but the edges seemed to break off in irregular pieces sooner, indicating

that the horn shell is not as tough as, or perhaps is more brittle than,

that of goats.

Deer range in some areas overlaps that of feral Ponts not only on

Molokai but also on Lanai, and the tracks of both will be found together.

The tracks of the Mouflon sheep (Ovis musimon) and the North American

pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) will also be found in the

deer range on Lanai. The goat tracks are usually much more blocky in

appearance than those of the deer, being wider and blunter, and giving

the impression of a square shape rather than a heart shape, and clear

impressions may be readily distinguished from those of deer. However,

the hunter must ever be alert to exceptions. On Molokai, particularly

in the wet forest areas, tracks were often noted that were very much like

those of deer in size and shape, especially the smaller tracks.

Mouflon tracks are slightly blunter than those of the deer and show a

somewhat concave outer edge, but the difference is usually apparent

only in very clear impressions. Antelope tracks are even more difficult

to differentiate from deer tracks, but may appear sharper at the tip of the

toe, and may appear more wedge-shaped than those of deer, whose toes

have a more convex outer curve and a concave inner curve. There are

many variations and exceptions to all these characteristics, associated with

many varied conditions.

VOICE

One of the most noticeable and interesting characteristics of the axis

deer is its voice. Itis one of the most vocal of all deer, being rivalled by

only a few other Asiatic deer.

There are several fairly well-defined calls uttered by these animals,

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII | 651

The most commonly heard is the ‘ bark’ of alarm or curiosity, which is

a loud, high-pitched ‘ Yowp !’ that is usually repeated several times. A

group of deer seeing something that puzzles or worries them will fre-

quently ‘ bark ’ at it for several minutes or longer while watching intently.

After their curiosity has become satisfied, the calling is discontinued.

It is used more commonly by does and fawns than by adult bucks, al-

though the latter do ‘ bark’ when sufficiently aroused by curiosity.

This ‘ barking’ has been heard over a mile away in the high canyons

of the Molokai rain forests, even over the soft noise of drizzling rain ;

and on windless days in the dry lowlands, it has been heard from observed

deer that were a full mile and a half away.

Besides the common curiosity or ‘ attention’ bark, there is a short

explosive yelp of extreme fright or alarm. This is a short ‘ Y-owp !’

r ‘ Yup !’ and is the ultimate in danger signals which all deer within

hearing never fail to heed. If a group of deer is suddenly startled and

badly frightened, the first one spotting the danger will give this warning

yelp, whereupon the whole group, whether or not they too have observed

the danger, will take immediate flight without calling. Both bucks and

does use these calls, though the calls of the large bucks. are slightly hoarser

and seem to have a bit more power behind them.

_ An interesting, and somewhat comical, sidelight to these calls is that

the. tail gives a spasmodic up-and-down jerk with each ‘ Yowp !’ It

almost appears as if some invisible hand is cranking out the ° yowps’

by pumping the tail ! :

Another call appears to be characteristic only of adult bucks during the

rut. Lydekker 1901) describes it as a- ‘peculiar moaning sort of

bellow’. To us it sounds like a low, hoarse,modification of the normal

call, and may be perhaps described as sounding like ‘ yo-o-0-w-w*, or

‘h-h-d-o-u-u-h’. It has a low, groaning, forced breathlessness about it

that ismost difficult to describe, and sounds as though it was being uttered

with the last available breath left in the lungs. These calls can be heard

at any time of the day, but most often in the morning or evening or at

night.. Most of them seem to be repeated at intervals of 15 to 20 minutes,

_ though some have been heard to call at intervals of five minutes for a

period of some fifteen minutes. The callis not loud, but on quiet days is

still easily heard at half a mile. It is an impressive and weird sound and,

in the strange world of giant tree ferns and swirling mists of the cloud

forest, it is a sound that will long be remembered.

The call appears to be a mating call or, more likely, a call signifying

to call for days from ‘the same spot. A large buck with a herd of does

was heard to give this call throughout the mid-afternoon, alternating it

with an antler thrashing of kiawe boughs. In the heat of passion the call

becomes a moaning roar and, during the excitement of a fight or shoving

652 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 3)

contest, bucks often give vent to their rage with a high-pitched, nasal

squeal, somewhat like the ‘ meow’ of an excited house cat.

Young fawns also have several calls with which they summon their

mothers. The most common is a high-pitched, nasal ‘ naya-a-ah |’

similar to the squeal of the bucks, and has a kitten-like sound. Another

call begins with a high-pitched, rising whine, and breaks suddenly into

a loud raucous squall: ‘ ee-ee-p-Y-A-AH !’. Fawns will of course

squeal or scream shrilly in fright when caught by predators, or when in

pain. Adult deer also will squeal with fright when pulled down by pre-

dators or when handled in live trapping, though in the latter case they are

not being hurt. Wounded deer have not been heard to utter a sound.

TEETH

The dentition of adult axis deer strongly resembles that of the black-

tail deer but can easily be distinguished from it by the two middle incisors,

which are very wide and shovel-shaped, with the crowns wider than they

are high. aN

In the lower jaw there are 3 pairs of incisors, one pair of canines

(these appear as the outermost incisors), three pairs of pre-molars and

three pairs of molars — ten pairs in all. The upper jaw contains no

incisors, and in deer a year or more old, no canines. There are three

pre-molars and three molars which correspond to their counterparts

below. The formula for the axis dentition is:

. 0-0 0— 0 3.— 3 5 ea cebiires %

1. ane C. Ea tes pm. 3 age m. 2 ici ke =} 324

In fawns there is a distinct upper canine tooth on each side, located

about midway in the gap between the incisors and first pre-molar. A

great deal of controversy has existed over these canines, and whether they

are or are not present. Pocock (1943) disclaims their presence, simply

because :

‘ They are entirely absent, however, in all the numerous skulls examined in the

British Museum.’ ;

This, at least, serves one purpose—to point out the inadequate age

distribution of the collection. Fooks (1945) merely adds to the confusion

and misinformation by stating :

‘With reference to Mr. Nolthenius’s note on the canine teeth in chital stags

(Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 83), I should like to say that after examining a number of

chital and sambar for their “‘ tushes ’’ I have only found them in a very rudi-

mentary form and then only in older beasts.’

Fooks’s involvement of the sambar as well as his reference to older

beasts indicates that he has not examined enough age classes and is con-

fused on the whole subject. Nolthenius (1944) apparently comes closer

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THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 653

to the problem, at least in terms of the exception rather than the rule.

He says :

‘No doubt these teeth as found in axis, can only be called rudimentary, they are

not solid and fully developed as in the stags of Europe. As a rule they are

just under the skin of the upper gums and have not broken through. In a few

cases they are visible as small white spots.’

‘ They can be lifted out quite easily and rather resemble the thin broken shell of

a tiny egg. It is not surprising that the skulls in the British Museum should

not show any of these teeth as they are lost at once when the flesh has rotted

or the skull has been boiled and cleaned. There is no socket.’

The solution is quite simple. The canines are present in new-born

fawns, actually already being present before birth. These canine teeth

appear as slim, curved tusks, about one-quarter to one-third of an inch

in length. The tooth is imbedded quite firmly at this stage in a very

definite socket. We have found one skull on Molokai from a fawn so

young that the skull bones fell apart, yet the canines were firmly in

place in the tiny upper maxilla. There is indeed a socket, and these

teeth do not readily fall out when the flesh rots away.

The teeth are quite firmly placed in sockets in young fawns, but

gradually loosen as the fawn grows older and usually fall out before

the fawn is a year old. Most of them probably are shed by the time

the fawn is eight months old. After shedding these teeth, the sockets

close up and so are not seen in the adult deer. Occasionally, one or

both of these tiny ‘tusks ’ may be retained by the cartilage of the upper

jaw after having come loose from their bone sockets, and are thus found

in the gums of the older deer.

AGING DEER

The problem of aging animals by their teeth is not easy, and the

determination of the factors by which this can be done is even more

difficult in a study of this kind. One needs at least one or two skulls

of known age from the various age classes, starting with young fawns

and ranging through all adult years. Rarely is this possible. We have

only one skull of known age, a 12-month-old buck plus some informa-

tion on the development from a live deer up to 18 months. Our age

determination is based on the order of appearance and approximate

time of development judged from the known-age deer.

Temporary premolars are fully present by the time a fawn is a few

months old. They can be distinguished by the size and form of the

third premolar, which is long and flat crowned but with three distinct

cusps or crown areas. Viewed from the outside it appears to have

three pillar-like ridges on its side. The first two premolars are shorter

and smaller. The permanent molars are added one at a time in the

654 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3) -

2-4 months

6-9 months

12-14 months

14-16 months

PLATE XI

Lower Jaws of Axis Deer

The first molar is just beginning to show at this age. The milk-

premolars or temporary premolars are all high-crowned with sharp

distinct cusp points. The three-crowned 3rd premolar is distinctive

up to about the 18th or 19th month when it is shed. The middle or

first pair of incisors are about % inch wide at the top. The other

incisors are about +, inch wide. Permanent incisors are about

twice these widths. Because the middle incisors are much wider at

the top than the base, the crown width will decrease with wear.

The first molar is now fully out and the second molar is just beginning

to show. The milk premolars are now beginning to show some wear,

particularly the 3rd premolar. The middle incisor also may show

some wear and may be narrower at the top than in younger deer. »

The middle or first permanent incisor is now in place. The width of

this permanent incisor is about 4 inch across the crown. The 2nd

molar is about half out and the socket of the 3rd molar is now visible

as a wide slit in the angle of the jaw behind the 2ndmolar. The

premolars are now showing considerable wear.

The 2nd and 3rd temporary incisors and the incisiform canines are still

present but show considerable wear. The 2nd molar is now fully

out. The 3rd molar is still indicated only by the oval slit in the bone

behind the 2nd molar. This opening is however, much wider and

has advanced forward in the angle of the jawbone. Note parti-

cularly the angle and shape of the front part of the jawbone just

behind the incisors. This is due to the permanent incisors imbedded

in the bone beneath the temporary incisors. When these permanent

teeth are allin place the space occupied by them will close up

gradually and the jawbone will flatten out and take on the thin

flattened shape of deer two years or older. Note also that the third

temporary premolar is being lifted by its permanent replacement,

J. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE XI

Graf: Axis Deer

Lower Jaws of Axis Deer

For explanation see page opposite

(Photo: Wiliam Graf)

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 655

order of 1, 2, and 3, starting from the front. Determining age is done

by using the presence or absence of certain teeth and the degree of

development of the various molars, and then finally by the degree of

wear of the various teeth.

Hunters, as well as game managers, should be interested in the age

of deer they shoot, and the following outline in combination with the

illustrations (Plates XI, XII and XII) will help a great deal in obtaining

some estimate of the age of deer. It is admitted that our outline is

purely an estimate beyond about 30 to 36 months. It should be pointed

out that the wear of teeth may vary because of variable factors. For

example, a deer from the dry, coastal area, with little rain, high wind,

and consequently much dust and grit blown on the vegetation, will

Show much greater wear than a deer of the age from the high, wet moun-

tain forests of Molokai, where the vegetation is virtually dustless and is

constantly washed clean by daily rains. Replacement ages will be the

same within their limits of variability in these two areas. A deer of

30-36 months age with a virtually complete new set of permanent teeth

will look much the same from both areas. However, after this the

wear can be expected to be much faster in the dry-land deer than in

the forest deer of the wet uplands.

Records from the captive buck ‘ Willie’ show that the middle pair

of deciduous incisors were shed the 63rd week of age and replaced eight

days later ; the 2nd pair were shed the 65th and 68th week and fully

replaced by the 73rd week. No further records were possible after that,

but probably all incisors are replaced by the age of 2 years. This infor-

mation is useful in conjunction with data given for the molar teeth,

though most people would have difficulty in determining what is a

temporary and what is a permanent incisor.

Age criteria in the illustrations (Plates XI, XII, and XIII) are fairly

close up to 36 months. Above four years the aging becomes a matter

of judgment and comparison with known-age skulls which we lack

today.

OTHER UNGULATE SKULLS

Hunters may at times find the skulls of other ungulates, such as

goats, mouflon sheep, or pronghorn antelope, in the field on Lanai

and Molokai. These are for the most part easily separated from the

axis deer. The skull of a buck deer obviously will show at least antler

pedicles, the bony, flat-topped, peg-like protrusions rising about | to 13

inches above the surface of the frontal bones. Antlers, of course, easily

identify the skull from any other ungulate. On Kauai, where the North

American blacktail deer (Odocoileus hemionus) has been introduced, this

will be the only deer skull to be found, and pedicles are much lower

656

18-24 months

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

PLATE XII

Lower Jaws of Axis Deer

All incisors are in by the end of this age-class. The replacement of the

2nd incisor is probably by 18 to 20 months (see text) and the 3rd

incisor and incisiform canines between 20 and 24 months. The

2nd and 3rd temporary premolars are in the process of replacement.

In the upper specimen (female) the replacement is not as advanced as

in the lower specimen (male). The permanent ;rremolar is just

visible beneath the three-crowned temporary 3rd premolar in the

upper specimen and also beneath the 2nd temporary premolar in

the 2nd specimen. In this specimen the 3rd molar is also farther

out than in the upper one. There may be a difference in the ages of

tooth replacement in sexes. Note the flattening of the mandible

behind the incisors as the permanent incisors push out and replace

the milk incisors.

30-36 months All permanent teeth are now present. Note the difference between the

4-5 years

permanent and temporary pre-molars, particularly the 3rd pre-molar,

which no longer has three cusps. The crowns are all high and the

points of the cusps are sharp triangles. The anterior part of the

mandible behind the incisors is losing more of the thickened shape

of the temporary tooth condition.

Similar to preceding condition. Crowns are still high and the cusps

still angular but the points are now rounded off and teeth are de-

finitely showing wear, particularly on the outer side. Note the

difference in the appearance of the Ist molar and the 3rd and 2nd

premolar The greatest wear is on the Ist molar and the 3rd pre-

molar,

J. BomBay nat. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE XII

Graf: Axis Deer

Lower Jaws of Axis Deer

For explanation see page opposite

(Photo: William Graf)

it = » a

; La -

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 657

than in the axis deer. Also, antlers are readily distinguished. In doe

skulls the two middle incisors, with their wide shovel shape, will easily

distinguish the axis deer from the blacktail, The males of other

ungulates that are found in the area all have true horns ; that is, a bony

core rising from the frontal bones, covered with a horny sheath, as in

goats, sheep, and antelope. If the horn is missing the bony core will

be there, rounded and back-curving in sheep and goats, and straight

and flattened at the upper end in the antelope. Most female goats

will show this horn core, but smaller. Female deer, female mouflon,

and most female antelope have no horn distinction. However, the

female mouflon skulls are easily distinguished from doe deer skulls by

their general shape. The mouflon skulls are shorter and broader, with

a distinct concave or dished outline, while doe skulls are long and narrow

with a fairly straight outline from forehead to nose. Doe antelope

skulls are similar in general appearance to doe deer skulls, but have

very large, heavy eye sockets (indicating their dependence on vision and

high eye development) located more to rear—giving them a greater field

of vision to side and rear. Antelope also have middle incisors which

are narrower than they are long, in contrast to the very wide spatulate

middle incisors of the axis deer. Photographs should be carefully

examined for other distinctive features.

FAECAL PELLETS

The fecal pellets of axis deer assume many shapes typical of other

deer, sheep, goats, and antelope, and it would be very difficult to state

with certainty that a certain pellet group was that of a deer. The pellets

may range in size from one-quarter to three-eighth of an inch in diameter

and from one-half to one inch in length, and be deposited separately

in a group, or in a solid mass. They often are tear-drop shaped with

a dimple in the large end and several indentations on the sides, or else

in the shape of cylinders with rounded ends, but may take many forms.

They are dark green and soft when fresh, but become dark brown or

black and hard with drying. :

Goat pellets seldom have the tear-drop shape, and are usually blunt,

rounded cylinders, while mouflon pellets are more typically tear-drop

in appearance, but less than one-half inch in length. However, the

pellets of each species are so variable, that they cannot be definitely

identified in all cases by pellet shape alone.

The defecation rate of one captive buck on a diet of natural food

was measured for a period of four days to determine the average number

of pellet groups deposited per day. The rate in this case was found

to be about 15°5 groups per day.

658 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

5-6 years

6-7 years

8-10 years

PLATE XIIT

Lower Jaws of Axis Deer

The points of the cusps are showing much wear and are dulled

or ground down. The condition of the incisors should be noted.

The middle and outer incisors will be still about the same length and

the middle incisor is still almost full width. Top specimen shows

the first molar partly broken away and other teeth show heavy

chipping of the points of the cusps. This animal apparently came

in contact with hard, gritty food. Such specimens will still show

high crowns but chipped rather than worn points. The upper speci-

men in this case is undoubtedly older, probably at the upper limit of

this age class, whereas the second specimen shown is at the lower

limit of its age class.

The crowns of all teeth are now well flattened and definitely nearer

the gum line. Crowns are reduced about 4 to 3 of their original

height and have a fairly flattened appearance. Some evidence of

the original triangular pointed cusps is still evident. The first

premolar still shows a triangular shape. The incisors show

shortening with wear and the outer ones are shorter now than the

Ist or middle pair.

All the teeth are now badly worn. The Ist molar is now almost down

to the gum-line and presents a concave or cup shape, and even the

first premolar is now squ2re topped. The incisors are much worn

and the middle incisor in this age-class as in the preceding one will

be no wider at the top than in a 9month old deer. The outer

incisors are usually much shorter than the Ist pair of incisors.

Note that the last age-class specimen has only five molariform teeth.

The first premolar is lacking. In some specimens the 3rd premolar

was missing, a condition that apparently is not uncommon.

All age-classes above 24 months are estimates and ages above 4 years

are particularly difficult to judge under variable forage conditions.

The examples listed are an average guide to follow but their age may

vary depending on conditions. i

J. BomBay NaT. Hist. Soc.63(3) PLATE XIII

GratwAsds. Deer

Lower Jaws of Axis Deer

For explanation see page opposite.

(Photo: William Graf)

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 659

TEMPERATURE

The temperatures of four freshly-killed adult deer were taken rectally.

These were found to be 101°5, 101°6, 101°2, and 101°2 degrees F. Normal

temperature is probably about 101°3 to 101°4. These deer were at rest

and were killed instantly. A large buck that had run a short distance

was shot but lived about 10 minutes before dying. The temperature

taken rectally about 45 minutes after death was 102°7 degrees F.

SENSES

All senses are very highly developed in the axis deer. Probably the

sense of smell is the most important, but certainly hearing is not far

behind in use and importance ; in fact, it is probably equally important,

depending on circumstances and conditions. It should be kept in mind

by the reader that senses are developed in proportion to the usefulness

to the animal. There is too much tendency on the part of sportsmen

and popular writers to make hard and fast rules on the basis of general

observations.

Both deer and antelope have been observed (Graf 1956) that dis-

regarded their sense of smell, and depended either on eyesight and/or

hearing entirely. Under these conditions it was possible to approach

to within a few yards with the wind at the observer’s back without causing

the animal any alarm. Yet in all these cases the animals showed

extremely keen alertness to sight and sound.

In deer, normally a forest animal, vision is often greatly restricted

and consequently is of little use. Scent and sound are of great

importance, and are constantly used. An animal from a dense forest

country may at times appear almost blind in its inability to spot an

enemy even in the open. Or it may appear quite stupid and remain

standing, staring at a man apparently without recognizing him. The

answer is quite simply that without scent or sound, by which the animal

normally recognizes its enemy, there is no sight recognition of an enemy

which the animal may never have seen before. In short, it is

unfamiliarity, through a sense by means of which it does not recognize

danger, that causes the apparently stupid and unorthodox behaviour of

an animal.

In our experience, the senses of smell, sight, and hearing are extremely

good in the axis deer. These deer can scent danger that is almost a

mile away up-wind from them. They seem to locate food primarily by

scent, and it may be that these deer (and perhaps others) are far-sighted,

a condition that would not be too strange since the greatest need is to

see keenly at a distance. Eyesight at close range, that is, a few feet

away, appears to be poor. Beyond a few yards it is excellent. There

660 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

is another explanation for this. The captive buck had difficulty in

locating food by sight that was in plain view a few inches from his nose.

Actually this should not be considered strange since the placement of

the eyes—far to the side of the head—is not conducive to locating

objects directly under the nose. Eyes so placed are strictly for detecting

danger at a distance, not for critical viewing at short range. Critical

focus for the purpose of food gathering is of little use to an animal that

feeds on the type of food, and in the manner of a deer, and it is quite

possible that ungulates’ eyes do not focus sharply at very short distances,

Whether deer are colour blind or not, we are unprepared to say.

Their eyes are excellent and they can often recognize a man at con-

siderable distance even though he is standing still. This is particularly

true on the west end of Molokai where hunting has conditioned the

deer to the use of their eyes more than elsewhere. On the east end of

Molokai in the high, wet forest, deer showed the typical sight-response

of animals not used to using their eyes—as was to be expected in the

heavy jungle country and where man is seldom encountered by them.

Hearing is extremely acute, and the ability of the animals to dis-

tinguish danger signals from ordinary sounds is at times amazing. Here

again it is a matter of conditioning and training. The Molokai west-end

deer showed the highest degree of conditioning, the east-end forest deer

the poorest.

GAITS

When feeding, the axis deer usually moves along at a slow walk,

but it may walk rapidly at times, and occasionally breaks into a trot.

When frightened, however, they run with a speed and agility that is

surprising. Their run is a low, stretched-out, well co-ordinated flow of

motion, with the footwork of a greyhound at full speed, and they can

negotiate rocky ground and brush with flashing ease. We have clocked

them at 50 miles per hour from a helicopter, but that was ‘ air-speed ’,

and the true ground-speed could have been somewhat lower due to head

winds. A few observations on Molokai, when deer angled across in

front of a jeep racing to intercept them, indicated that they are able to

push their speed up to 40 miles per hour for short bursts. However,

they tire easily and do not appear able to keep up top speed for long

distances, soon dropping back into a slow gallop, then a trot, and finally

a walk when pursued steadily, eventually seeking cover in which to hide

and rest. This accounts for the ease with which Molokai Ranch cow-

boys were able to lasso them for the original shipment to Lanai ; they

chased them on horseback in relays until the deer slowed enough so that

they could catch them.

Leaps of 15 to 18 feet have been recorded for deer in full panic-

stricken flight, but these are ‘ broad-jumps’ not ‘high-jumps’. Jn the

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 661

wild, they do not usually jump over obstacles, but prefer to run around

them. Captive deer, on the other hand, can soon learn to make high-

jumps when necessary, and have been observed to clear a six-foot fence

easily from a standing start. Even tiny fawns can bounce over a sur-

prisingly tall barrier. Wild deer, without reason for learning or need

to do so, would fail to take even a five-foot fence, preferring nearly

always to slip through or under it. |

HABITS AND BEHAVIOUR

NORMAL AND ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR JUDGMENT

In general the behaviour and habits of the axis deer show its relation.

ship to other members of the genus Cervus as a whole. However, in

many specific details it varies not only from this pattern but varies to

a considerable degree in specific habits between each of the islands on

which it is found in Hawaii. |

Such specific variations are due to the conditions brought on by

climate and weather, terrain, and food which may force the animal to

adopt behaviour habits that differ from the normal. When abnormal

pressure factors are brought to bear upon the animals, one can expect

to observe patterns of behaviour that are radically different from the

normal. Conversely, when radically different or unusual behaviour is

observed, one should look closely to see the cause for such behaviour.

The problem is then to determine what ‘normal conditions’ are

and what is ‘ normal behaviour ’.

The inexperienced observer, scientist as well as layman, all too often

judges by anthropomorphic standards. It is most difficult to avoid

doing this, especially when we have nothing else to judge by except our

own experiences. This, of course, is wrong. Deer behaviour, or any

other animal behaviour, must be judged by its own standards—deer, by

deer standards in general, and most specifically by the kind of deer

under consideration.

The problem is in knowing what constitutes normal conditions, and

normal behaviour. If we know what normal conditions are, we can come

closer to deciding what normal behaviour is. If we do not know this,

then we can only accept the behaviour as an expression of the conditions.

Also, if the abnormal or unusual conditions persist as a constant

situation, then the behaviour must be considered as normal for the

conditions. The important point to remember is that varying condi-

tions may create varying habits and that, while many behaviour

characteristics are inborn, others can be acquired or varied.

Generally speaking, there is a feeding, herding, breeding, etc. pattern

which resembles that common or related to other cervids. Also, in

662 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

general the axis deer in India and Hawaii have certain habits in common,

but in some respects the axis deer of Hawaii appear to differ not only

from their Indian relatives, but show varying habits between the island

groups.

It takes a great deal of time in the field observing both habitat and

habits to determine what is normal and what is not normal habitat or

normal behaviour. Hunters, who spend only a few days a year afield,

should keep this in mind. It will help prevent many false assumptions

and conclusions and the establishment of so many commonly held

dogmas which one finds firmly fixed in the minds of laymen and hunters.

With this in mind let us take a look at the behaviour and habits of

deer in Hawaii. |

On the whole, there is a degree of gregariousness similar to that in

elk and other deer, but not as well developed as in the most specialized

groups. They like to be in each other’s company, but form only loose

ageregations or herds. Feeding is usually during the early and late

hours, with regular movements to water during the hot parts of the

year. They graze when grass is green and abundant, and browse when

grass is scarce, or when browse is particularly palatable or abundant.

Groups or herds are matriarchal in nature—i.e. old does generally are

the leaders, never bucks. There is evidence of nursery formation among

fawns, and there is a well-defined ‘signpost’ behaviourism in bucks.

All these are characteristic of deer in general, but all have their own

variations and specific characteristics within or around these basic

patterns. Ba tny? LUE: Sa Reread oe ot ee ibe tase z

Even as a new-born fawn, the axis deer exhibits characteristics not

common to others and which seem to reflect certain adult characteristics

to be discussed later. Normally, a new-born fawn shows no’ fear of

man and may be readily approached and even handled. This does not

appear to be the case with axis fawns. Those which were encountered,

so young that they could only wobble about on rubbery legs, promptly

showed every sign of fear and recognition of an enemy, and made every

attempt, and quite successfully too, to flee.

TEMPERAMENT AND ALERTNESS

Axis deer, particularly the females, are extremely alert and wary.

In their nervousness, they are constantly on edge during the daytime,

often jumping up and running from imagined dangers, as well as from

real ones. They continually test the breeze, pausing to look and listen

for signs of danger, and are thus difficult to approach. The older

bucks, however appear to be a bit less alert—or, at least, less nervous

than the young bucks and does. When with does, they seem to depend

to. some degree on the alertnéss of the does for their own. protection.

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 663

When alone, they are usually somewhat easier to approach than does

if care is taken to stalk them up-wind—the least trace of human scent

will put any of them to flight. Young fawns of both sexes, though

instinctively alert and nervous, sometimes get carried away by their

playing, curiosity, or feeding, and at such times are not as sensitive to

the approach of danger as their mothers, who are constantly aware of

all happenings in their vicinity. During the night, the nervousness is

much reduced and the deer appear to be a little less alert than during

the day ; even the does may then be approached fairly easily if wind

direction is watched.

--This inborn wildness seems to be retained even by deer raised in

captivity under close proximity to man. The only exception seems to

be: in those raised by hand and handled constantly, but even these

‘tame’ deer will instantly become wild and panic-stricken when

frightened by unfamiliar stimuli.

-- At the Honolulu zoo, the well-fed, well-kept small herd of axis deer

will promptly retire to the far end of their roomy paddock at the approach

of a visitor. They are rarely found near the outer fence as is commonly

the case with other species of deer. This negative reaction is not an

accident’ and ‘has- been watched too many times to be mistaken. - There

is'a° definite nervousness and watchfulness in the herd- when -visitors

standin front of the paddock. The does-and young bucks in the small

herd. kept -by Mr. Noah Pekelo of Molokai; showed the same behaviour

pattern. All of these were born and: raised in captivity. Yet the

approach of even members of the Pekelo family would cause the animals

to run ‘to the far side of the pen, and the approach of. strangers would

create a wild panic, with animals dashing wildly into the wire fencing

of their pen. Only the old buck, Rudolph, raised indoors on a bottle,

showed no fear of men, and in fact was exceedingly pugnacious most

of ae ‘year except when his antlers were shed or still very young and

soft.

There appears to be a greater degree of nervousness and wildness

demonstrated among wild deer on the Molokai Ranch range than else-

where. This undoubtedly is due to the extremely heavy hunting that

goes on the year round, as well as the type of hunting that goes on in

this area, and not in other areas.

_ This inborn wildness and timidity may also be the reason for this

deer’s demand for overstorey cover, such as a forest cover. It apparently

derives some feeling of security from the partial concealment and shading,

yet dislikes the close confinement of dense and continuous cover—there

must always be openings or clearings near by, or an open parkland

forest.

On Molokai Ranch this affinity for cover was developed and dis-

664 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3) -

played perhaps to the highest degree. A typical example that could

be observed almost any evening is the following :

A herd of 15 to 20 deer, made up of does, fawns, and perhaps several

young bucks and an old mature buck, ventures out of a thicket of kiawes

to feed at the edge of an-open pasture at the start of their evening’s

foraging. As they feed out into the clearing, there is the usual pause

and quick look up and around for any possible danger. Gradually, as

the distance from the forest increases, the frequency with which heads

are thrown up increases, there is a gradual but definite build-up in the

tenseness and alertness with which the animals move. This changes to

outright nervousness as the distance widens to 300 yards or more and,

finally, as the distance from cover increases still more, the nervousness

reaches a point where there is very little grazing but more looking about |

and nervous stepping around. This reaches the point where, finally,

an animal makes a nervous jump, or jostles another one, which may

result in another nervous jump, a startled yelp, and the whole herd

breaks into a wild, helter-skelter flight back towards the forest edge.

The speed and panic is high, yet it shows a direct relationship to the

origin of the cause for the panic, namely the distance from shelter. As

the distance from the forest decreases, so does the panic. The wild

racing slows to an easy run, then a trot, and finally to a walk, and comes

to a halt near the edge of the forest. Here the group stands around

with a bewildered and puzzled look about it that needs only someone

to say : ‘who started that? what happened?’ The animals walk back

and forth, peer here and there; perhaps one gives voice to a shrill

‘ ye-e-o-op’, which may be taken up by another one and is continued

back and forth for minutes without anyone really believing anyone else—

for these are not really alarm calls which, when uttered lower and sharper,

leave no room for doubt in anyone’s mind.

Such self-generated flights have been observed many times on Molokai

Ranch, where this type of behaviour seems to be most common. One is

reminded of a group of young schoolboys out on a ghost hunt to the

local cemetery or haunted house—the closer they come to the object,

or perhaps the farther from the known security of their car, the more

nervous or fidgety they become, until some imagined or misinterpreted

sight or sound sets them into flight. There isno doubt that the objectives

and minds involved are quite different, but the psychological causes

that create the condition and trigger the reaction are the same in both

cases.

Another behaviourism that is closely related is one that often occurs

in or near open forests, where the deer do not ever get far enough away

from surrounding cover to display the spontaneous panic reaction, but

which is open enough to make them thoroughly alert. This extra alert-

ness is always manifest whenever they step into a clearing, even a

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 665

relatively small one, or thin patchy forest. Under such conditions,

either as a result of a real but passing danger or of an imagined one, a

deer gives its high pitched alarm bark. This call is clear and distinct

and longer than the real alarm call, and might better be termed the

‘alert’ call. It may evoke a short run which stops after a few half-

hearted bounds. After this first moment of alarm, the group stands

peering in the direction of the supposed danger. The alarm-giver repeats

the call and others, without really knowing what it is all about, may

also call. This may go on for several minutes until the whole herd

loses its tense attitude. Individuals may wander about in a relaxed and

indifferent attitude, now and then throwing up their heads to give a

yelp, others answering, until there may be a sort of chain reaction of

yelping calls repeated with considerable frequency as the herd wanders

about picking at feed or just standing around.

Such a chorus may continue for a considerable period of time fol-

lowing the incident which initiated it and which is always something

which has no immediate real threat to the herd. It can be a cow that

shows up on the horizon a half mile away, a stray and unidentifiable

scent that is picked up momentarily, or a sound, or finally just an

imagined danger. Such calling, or ‘talking’, sessions are so common

on Molokai that one is hard put to try to explain the comparative silence

of the deer on Lanai. The Lanai deer do, of course, call at times. But

even genuine alarm calls are less frequent, while ‘talking’ sessions,

such as those described on Molokai, are even rarer.

Here one could be tempted to say: ‘Lanai conditions are more

nearly normal. The very limited hunting permits the deer to live a

relatively undisturbed life and therefore express themselves in a more

~ normal and natural way.’ It is a conclusion which can leave one feeling

quite smug and self-satisfied at the ease of solution of the problem—

until one becomes acquainted with the deer of the cloud forest of east

Molokai. These deer are hunted even less than the Lanai deer. In

fact some of these deer may never see a man throughout their lives.

They live under almost true wilderness conditions. Yet they are as

talkative as their relatives some thirty miles away on the opposite end

of the island. Small groups have been observed on distant ridges a

half mile or more away, some feeding, some resting, yet now and then

at fairly regular intervals one of them, usually an older doe, utters her

sharp, clear yelp.

Such calling was a real boon to us while working in the rain forest,

both in helping to locate deer for collecting purposes and for observation.

666 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

DAILY MOVEMENTS

Phillips (1935) says of the axis deer of Ceylon: ‘Except where they

have been much shot at and harried they are diurnally inclined and

feed in the mornings and evenings ; resting during the heat of the day in

the shade of the jungle.’ Prater (1935) concurs in this. He says:

‘ They are less nocturnal than sambar and feed till late in the morning

and again in the afternoon, and lie down in the interval in some shaded

spot.’

These statements are generally true of the Hawaiian axis deer also.

The heat probably influences them more than daylight or darkness. On

Molokai during the cool winter months deer could be seen active until

mid-morning or even later. With the hotter weather, activity would

cease earlier and start later in the afternoon. However even here there

were exceptions, and in the protection of the open kiawe forest of the

leeward west end, where there was little human activity, deer were often

seen feeding and active as late as 10 and 11 a.m. or as early as 2 and

3'p.m. Such activity is, of course, dictated largely by how well-fed and

satisfied the animal is.. Once the stomach is filled, there is little incentive

to. move about, and the animal usually lies down to chew its cud and

rest.

In this part of the range below Manne Loa, many of the water

troughs—the’ sole source of water—were well above the kiawe forest,

some as much as a half-mile above the main fringe of the forest. Deer

began to show up at the edge of the forest just before sunset, occasionally

as much as an hour before sunset if the weather was relatively cool.

They loitered just within or at the edge of the cover, gradually working

farther out as the light fades. None were observed to go to these

troughs before it was too dark to see. They gradually wandered uphill

to water during the night, feeding, drinking, and then returning to the

forest by sun-up. At the first hint of dawn the deer would be heading

_back to cover. Again, the farther away from the forest, the more

hurried the pace, often a trot or even a lope. As they neared the forest,

the pace would slow to a leisurely walk, and finally there would again

be a period of loafing near the edge of the trees, perhaps some feeding,

and at last retirement into cover by 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. at the latest. This

retirement from the edge of the forest did not, however, stop all activities.

If followed up into the forest, some deer could be found grazing or

browsing as late as 9 or 10 a.m.

_ In Papahaku Forest, a beautiful ethno kiawe forest that stretches

for two miles back of Papahaku beach on the west end of the island,

deer were observed active all day during the kiawe-bean season. Beans

appeared to reach their peak abundance here in October and November

during the study period, and were eagerly sought by the deer. During

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 667

the 1957 season, beans were relatively scarce. Food conditions in

general were also very poor on the west end, and the forest itself was

literally trampled bare by cattle. Only a few hardy lantana shrubs that

had reached large size managed to survive under the closed canopy of

this forest.

On 5 November 1957, for example, deer were active all day, moving

singly and in groups of two to five or six about the forest in search of

fallen beans. Cattle and horses also were actively searching for the

beans. When a bean dropped within hearing of the deer, they would

literally race each other to get to it first. Livestock, particularly

the horses, would also respond to the sound of a falling bean, so that

competition was high for this food. These beans, like our mesquite beans

of the south-west, are high in sugars, with sugar content running up to

25%. The kiawe trees were originally introduced as a supplementary

cattle feed. An insect pest that now infects the beans has much reduced

the dependability of this crop.

On December 6, a group of 23 deer was observed in the open in a

medium-sized forest clearing between 9 and 10 a.m. Generally, how-

ever, the Molokai west-end deer cease all activities in the open by 7 to

8 a.m. and do not venture out into the large clearings or fields until 5 p.m.

or later.

On the west end, where the water troughs. were within the forest and

not more than 100 feet from the nearest cover, the deer came regularly

in the late afternoons to water. Usually the first individuals would

start arriving about 4 p.m., occasionally a few as early as 3 p.m. The

main groups and herds would usually drift in after 4 to 5 p.m., always

trough, they preferred to come in from the east and north-east side which

provided good forest cover as well as the shelter of a shallow ravine.

This part of the forest is hunted regularly and deer are shot even at the

watering place which lies in a clearing some 200 to 250 feet wide.

Deer arrive at the edge of the clearing from the gulch, or north-east

side, and spend some time standing and milling around within the edge

of the trees. The animals show a great alertness and wariness, not only

in general but toward each other. There is a stiff-legged wariness as

they mingle ; obviously many are strangers to each other, or at least not

regular associates. Drinking is done singly or in small groups. Usually

one individual, often a doe, will approach the trough warily, tail raised

stiffly ; her gait is measured and halting and as she nears the trough, her

neck stretches farther and farther out towards it. By the time she is

at the trough she is literally leaning forward, reaching for the edge with

her nose. In this way, standing as far back as possible, she drinks ; she

may leap back once or twice and re-approach the trough again ; drinking

is hurried and often not completed in one operation.

668 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

These water troughs swarm with honey bees during the dry season ;

many fall in and float or swim about in the water so that not only is

the air swarming with hundreds of bees, but often there are almost as many

in the water as in the air. This buzzing swarm of bees is no doubt an

annoyance to the deer and perhaps a cause of alarm and fear.

After one animal has approached the trough, others become more

venturesome, though usually only in small groups. The rest may mill

about behind these, stepping warily around each other with stiffly erect

tails, like so many strange dogs. Calling may start and may be carried

on for a time, simply ‘ talking’ back and forth, both by animals in the

clearing and others coming in. ;

A most interesting feature of the behaviourism around the watering

troughs is the deer’s reaction to the fencing, and particularly the gates,

around the troughs. ,

The Papahaku troughs, as well as a number of other troughs on the

west end, were situated in a fenced cattle corral. These corrals were

usually rectangular or square and about 200 to 300 feet across ; the fence,

usually made of smooth strands of wire and wooden posts, presented no

problem to the deer. The gates, 15-20 feet wide, were always left open.

Such fences and gates made it possible to control the use of water by cattle

as well as to corral cattle at the water trough.

It was most interesting to note that deer never used the gates at a

number of these fenced water troughs on the west end though these

troughs were used daily throughout the dry season by hundreds of deer.

In every case deer crawled under or through the fence, no matter how

inconvenient, rather than go through the gate. These troughs were

checked for tracks on numerous occasions throughout the dry season,

and not once were tracks found entering or leaving through the gate. A

coincidence? It is difficult to explain such a coincidence when numerous

tracks were to be found going through the fence near the gate, not once

but consistently on successive nights,

On Lanai, deer generally remained under cover during the daytime

and were rarely seen moving about in the open until just before sunset.

An hour or so before sundown they would begin to emerge from their

daytime resting places, and would be seen browsing and grazing along

the edges of the coverts. There, as on Molokai, they are hesitant and

nervous when first leaving their protective cover, but as darkness

approaches they become bolder and work farther and farther from the

thickets and onto the open ridges and hillsides. Since the best cover

there, as on Molokai, is usually along the coast or in the gulch bottoms,

the evening drift is predominantly uphill towards the open ridge. tops.

This is particularly noticeable along the northern coastline where the

deer may move uphill two or three miles from the kiawe forests before

the night is over, with a climb of perhaps 500 to 1000 feet in elevation.

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 669

Where the dense and attractive coastal forest is not present, the deer

may spend the day at fairly high elevations wherever cover is available,

so that the evening feeding is just on the near-by open ridges rather than

up-slope. It is possible that this upward movement may be towards the

zone or elevation in which nightly dews fall and thereby provide more

moisture in terms of succulence as well as water on the grass.

There is no comparable movement on Molokai except that described

for the leeward shore water troughs, which are situated well above the

forest line at altitudes up to 1000 feet. East of Mapulehu on Molokai,

and still on the leeward side, there is some movement of deer down from

the cooler higher elevations into the lowland kiawes where water troughs

are located. This is an area where the trade winds and the cooler mois-

ture conditions of the east end make themselves felt. There is a higher

open forest in some sections here, and deer prefer to rest and feed at the

higher elevations and come down to water at the coastal troughs. |

Along the eastern coast of Lanai, at the base of the big ridges leading

down from Lanaihale, the evening drift is the reverse of that along the

western, northern, and north-eastern coasts. Here many of the deer

spend their days in the lower ends of the gulches and move down into the

coastal forests in the evening and at night to feed.

Feeding goes on throughout the night, either continuously or inter-

mittently between short periods of rest. They seem to become much

more confident after dark, perhaps feeling better protected by the cover

of darkness, and are not nearly so prone to take to their heels over distur-

bances. They calmly feed out onto open slopes that they would not

normally set foot on during the day, and where their range adjoins the

pineapple fields on Lanai, may wander out onto the dirt roads along the

edges of the fields, picking at weeds made succulent by farm irrigation.

Occasionally a few work into the cultivated fields for a quarter of a mile

or more from the nearest brush along the edge.

On Molokai, there was no activity observed on the roads into or along

the edges of the pineapple fields. The difference may be due to a greater

reluctance on the part of Molokai deer to leave cover for any distance

beyond the maximum 300 to 400 yards, but more probably is due to the

combination of fences along the edges of the pineapple fields and the

distance below these fences to reasonable forest cover.

As daylight approaches, the deer that have been feeding on the open

ridges on Lanai begin to move slowly downward again, feeding as they

go, while generally working their way towards the cover of the forest or

dense brush in the gulch bottoms. By some two hours after sunrise,

there is rarely a deer in sight in the open, though of course some excep-

tions to this occur and animals may occasionally be observed moving

about even at midday. The majority drift into the heavy brush along

the inland fringe of coastal kiawe forests or into the dense brush or forest

670 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

that lines the sides and bottoms of many of the gulches.. Where the

coastal forest is not available; they:move into such patches of cover as ~

are suitable for protection and shade. As on Molokai, the deer on Lanai

continue to browse and graze along after reaching cover, or just dawdle

along or stand round doing nothing. When they find a suitable place,

they bed down to spend the day,-: resting and chewing their cud. These

periods of rest may be interspersed with short feeding periods. Resting

animals rarely remain bedded continuously for a long period of time, but

usually get up to stretch, turn around, or move about a little, bedding

down again after a half hour or so in the same or a different spot.

Individual deer appear to be fairly regular in their daily feeding rounds

if undisturbed, and if the weather remains the same. For example, a

small herd occupying the lower fringes of the eucalyptus forest behind

Lanai City would move out of the forest regularly each evening along a

similar route and spend the night feeding in an abandoned, weed-grown

pineapple field, the open hillside, the fields between the town and the

forest, or occasionally out on the golf course. In the early morning

they would return slowly to the forest where they spent the day. Once

their route and timetable was established, they could be found almost at

a given time and place with a fair degree of certainty. Deer with distinc-

tive markings in other areas have also been observed to follow roughly

the same circuit day after day if undisturbed.

RESTING

~ During the night between periods of feeding, axis deer frequently

bed down to rest and chew their cud. Because of their confidence in the

protective cover of darkness, they lie down wherever they happen to be

without seeking cover. The use of a spotlight at night shows small

groups of deer scattered over the hillsides and flats, with some feeding

and others lying down, often right out in the open.

In the morning, after they have reached cover, many deer spend

some time just loitering under the trees before seeking their day-beds.

These loafing areas are usually found within a grove of good-sized kiawe

trees surrounded by a screen of smaller growth which protects the interior

of the grove from observation. They are marked by well-trampled, and

usually, bare ground, buck-rubbed tree trunks and branches, and large

amounts of droppings. Some deer lie down in these spots and spend the

day resting and picking at what forage is available there, but most soon

wander away to search out more favourable bedding sites.

Preferred spots for beds are generally in the shade of kiawe trees,

large klu bushes, or wiliwili trees, though some just lie down at the base

of a large rock screened by a little shrubbery. On Molokai where there

is always an abundance of kiawe cover, it was noted that deer liked to

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 671

pick flat benches on the sides of gulches or slopes. In areas where the

kiawes are widely spaced, the trees are wide-branching with branches

reaching almost to the ground. Such trees provided favourite resting

spots, the deer crawling under the low-hanging branches and bedding

down on the clear ground underneath. In the rain forest, deer were

observed bedded in open pockets on the sides of canyons. Here, however,

the grass was so high that a deer lying down was almost invisible.

Beds may be on ridge tops where cover is available, but more often

they are on the edges, slopes, and bottoms of the larger gulches, where, if

disturbed, the deer can reach other cover in a few leaps, or run down or

across the gulch putting it between themselves and the source of danger.

Beds appear to be picked for comfort as well as concealment and

safety ; on hot days shaded beds will be used, while on cool days deer

will often lie in beds open to the warmth of the sun. The beds are often

situated on the lower or down-hill side of a clump of bushes or trees under

the rim of a gulch, where there is a good view of the country below.

Since deer, like other ungulates, tend to turn their back to the wind,

one might be tempted to conclude that deer pick their beds with a down-

wind view in order to be able to see danger in front as well as to scent it

approaching from the rear. However, one can find almost as many

cases where there is no correlation between the way in which the animal

lies and its ability to foresee danger.. Sites on the sides of hills or canyon

walls generally present a good view downhill, and if the wind happens

to be at the animal’s back from across the top of the gulch—as it often is

on certain parts of the islands where: the tradewinds blow across

the gulches at an angle—then it might appear that the deer possess a

judgment and sagacity which such animals are not likely to have. With

a change from the normal tradewinds, the wind and view would often be

from the same direction, thus offering no: particular advantage of scent

to the deer’s usual bedding site.

If there is a slight slope to the bed, the deer lies with its Heid in i

direction of the higher part of the bed and with its back to the

slope. This is a natural position which even a man will take under these

conditions. Where the benches were wide enough, or on ridge tops,

there was no uniform direction of facing except to turn the back to the

wind if it was particularly strong or cold. |

Day-beds are frequently used over and over again by the same or

other deer, and are often worn bare of vegetation from continuous use..

While lying in their beds, they nibble at any forage within reach on the

ground or overhead, so the sites are usually picked clean.

Axis deer always lie down by folding their forelegs Caden them-first,

then their hindlegs. They get up on their hindlegs first when arising.

They can rise and be running so rapidly when frightened that it seems

they are almost exploded out of their beds and into full stride. Nor-

672 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

mally, however, they get up slowly, arch their backs and stretch their legs

luxuriously, and then move off.

When lying down, they usually have their legs folded under them in

readiness for quick flight, but they sometimes roll over onto their sides

with legs extended in complete relaxation. Their resting attitude is one .

of dozing rather than sound sleep, and the head is often partially erect

even though the eyes are closed and the animal appears sound asleep.

Even while dozing, the ears and nostrils are attuned to sound and scent,

and they are wide awake in an instant at any sign of danger.

An interesting note about the bedding habits of these deer is that

bucks frequently urinate in their beds while lying down. Their rate of

excretion is slow enough to let the urine soak into the ground rapidly,

forming a very small wet patch and hardly contaminating the coat at all.

Does have never been seen to do this, so if a fresh bed is found with a

wet spot in it, it is almost certain to have been that of a buck—a point

worth remembering by the hunter.

EFFECTS OF WEATHER ON DAILY MOVEMENTS

The daily feeding and resting movements as described are typical for

normal, clear dry weather with little or moderate wind. On Lanai in

the dry-land habitat, a rainy day willchange the pattern and the deer will

tend to remain under cover instead of coming out in the open in the

evenings and early mornings to feed. The rain does not seem to bother

the deer particularly ; captive deer lie or stand in rain with no appearance

of discomfort and only seek shelter if it rains very hard. Nonetheless,

they are rarely seen in the open during, and for perhaps a day following,

rain.

In the cloud forest habitat of east Molokai, rain is an almost daily

occurrence and there is no escaping it. In fact, deer and goats have been

observed to move into the open during drizzles and fogs to escape the

drip from the trees. There is neither a daily or seasonal movement here,

nor other movement within the home range for food and shelter. ,

A heavy wind also seems to keep the deer under cover, particularly

those ranging the comparatively open brushy slopes away from the

coastal forests of large kiawe trees; they tend to move and feed in the

shelter of tree-clumps and brush-patches in the gulleys, and are not seen

as abundantly in the open during the normal feeding hours. The wind

itself may cause no discomfort, but they appear much more nervous and

‘spooky ’ during a strong blow and perhaps remain closer to cover for

this reason. Strong wind dissipates odours rapidly, creates a constant

sound of rattling branches, and puts all vegetation in motion, thus making

danger much harder to detect. It is possible that the deer realize their

senses are not as effective under these conditions,

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 673

However, on west-end Molokai there was no noticeable difference

in the behaviour (nervousness) of the deer under such conditions, perhaps

because they are constantly keyed-up to their highest pitch due to heavy

hunting.

On cool or overcast days, the morning feeding periods last longer and

the evening periods commence earlier. The deer move about more

during these périods and feed longer than they do onhot mornings and

evenings when they seek shade earlier and leave it later.

Foggy weather, while rare in the dry-land habitat, is common in the

wet forest and just below it. Under these conditions, deer may be

encountered. feeding in the open at a much later hour than on clear days.

On Lanai, if the fog persisted, the deer living in the lower fringes of the

cloud forest often remained. out, moving and feeding as long as it lasted,

perhaps spending much of the night bedded down. However, on

Molokai during the time which we spent on the high north-eastern open

ridge in the rain forest, deer were gone from the open ridges as early as

dawn on the drier slopes. Likewise, they were abroad all night long,

judging from their frequent calls all around camp, and from the tracks

on the trails ; and this during the nightly rains and fogs. In the rain

forest where the collecting of specimens was done on both clear days as

well as many rainy foggy days, there was no consistency of activity. Deer .

were sometimes encountered in the open during the clear days as well as

in fog and rain. Likewise, during many rainy and cloudy days, deer did

not appear in the clearings until late afternoon.

The stage of the moon, while nota weather condition, also seems to

affect the daily movements to some degree. During full moon, feeding

is heavier at night when visibility is relatively good, and the deer take

cover earlier in the morning and leave later inthe evenings. The reverse

takes place during the dark of the moon.

SEASONAL MOVEMENTS

On Molokai the only seasonal change was not of movement, but

rather one of activity as it was affected by water and food. With the

rainy season, food and water becomes abundant and the deer are not

obliged to travel to the tanks for water. Food is abundant in the open

kiawe forest as well as on the open ridges. Concentrations of deer

disappear from some areas near favourable feeding places—such as

sections of forest with a gdéod bean crop. They are then somewhat

more uniformly distributed throughout the forest areas. Perhaps, if

anything, there is less movement and activity than during the dry season.

There is, of course, not even this change in activity within the rain forest.

On Lanai, as on Molokai, there is no great seasonal variation in

temperature. The seasonal variation is one of rainfall and, with it, of

vegetation and surface water. On the north end during the summer and

674 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

fall, when the weather is normally dry with only an occasional shower,

many deer move to the upper ridges and some even move up onto the

north end of the central plateau, where they spend the entire day bedding

in whatever cover is to be found. They are probably seeking more

succulent vegetation than that to be found at the lower elevations. Al-

though there is plenty of green feed throughout the range all year, the

~ almost nightly dewfall at the higher elevation may itself be the cause of

the movement.

With the first heavy rains of late fall, the deer almost immediately

move down to the lower elevations, where they remain throughout the

rainy period and for some time thereafter. During this period of time,

the deer have choice food and water within the forest cover they prefer,

and so remain in it.

Sometimes during the winter there are long periods between rains and

the lower elevations again dry up.. When this happens, the upward

drift of deer again occurs just as it does in the late spring after the main

rainy season. These ‘ seasonal’ movements are not really shifts of the

entire north-end herd, but rather a spreading of the herd during the dry

periods. Although many deer do move into the high elevations, others

remain on the coast and in the intermediate country. Wet weather

concentrates nearly all of the population in and near the lower forests.

This spreading and retracting of the herd in relation to the weather

cycles is noticeable primarily in the population occupying the north-

western, northern, and north-eastern slopes of the island, where there is

moderate to heavy forest at the lower elevations. The forest attracts the

deer because of its favourable cover, food, and water when conditions

are favourable.

There appears to be no major upward movement along the eastern

coast in dry times, possibly because of unfavourable food and cover

conditions higher up, but more likely because water is available along

this coast all year in the form of sump-units, seeps, and a few pipe-line

troughs all within the heavy forest.

Along the southern and western slopes there is no coastal forest to

hold the deer during the rainy season. Here they occupy all parts of the

slopes the year round. The most noticeable change in activity is that

during the wet season there is less use of the pineapple field margins than

during the dry season. We see, here as elsewhere, that water is the criti-

cal factor that, along with cover, determines and controls the movements

of the deer, both daily and seasonally.

WATER USE

During the dry season, when natural water is scant, deer inhabiting

sections of the islands where artificial water units are available make heavy

use of these units. It is not known definitely how often individual deer

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAIL 675

must drink, but indications are that in hot, dry weather they need to drink

at least every day or two. Water units were visited with a frequency that

indicate daily use and possibly more often. Inthe dry north-end range

of Lanai, where no artificial units are available at present and where long

trips are necessary to get to the few coastal springs, seeps, and potholes,

they probably drink less frequently. A captive deer was able to get

along for several days without drinking water, even in hot weather, as

long as green forage was plentiful, but would use water every day if it

was available. However, this deer would pass up water for days at a

time if the weather was cool and heavy dews occurred. His water con-

sumption, measured over a 26-day period of mixed hot and cool weather,

averaged 2°5 pints (1°18 litres) per day—this was for a 120-pound deer.

On Lanai, in the dry north-end habitat, deer may have to make trips

of up to five miles in order to reach water, though most of them travel

much less than this. The ones that spend their summer at the upper

elevations apparently obtain most of their water requirements from dew-

fall, with only occasional long trips to the coastal watering spots. How-

ever, those in the lower areas probably must water daily. One buck was

collected in this habitat that had a damaged stifle joint which limited his

movements severely. Although he was in an area of abundant forage

and the wound in itself was not serious, he was extremely emaciated

and weak due to the fact that he was unable to make the long journey

necessary to get to water, and apparently had been without it for days.

In this dry area of Lanai, which incidentally contains the largest part

of Lanai’s deer herd, the deer make use of any potable water that they

can find. This includes one or two freshwater springs found on the

beach at high-tide level, brackish water seeps in the mouths of several

gulches just behind the sand beach, and the several rain-water potholes

which last all year only in Kaapahu Gulch on the north-western slope.

They even wade out into the shallows on the reef and apparently drink

salt water occasionally. Actually they are probably drinking brackish

water where fresh water seeps up through the salt water in places on the

reef. Such freshwater springs in the salt water are well known on

Molokai, and both cattle and deer used them in days past, though

apparently not to any great extent today. To what extent cattle or deer

can use pure Salt water is not known, but an observation made on Molokai

is worth noting in this respect.

On 19 January 1957, seven of the Molokai Ranch Santa Gertrudis

bulls were observed on Papahaku Beach. These were a group of young

bulls, perhaps two-year-olds, that were often seen in each other’s company

as a bachelor group. The seven bulls walked out across the beach from

the direction of the Papahaku water trough, and on reaching the water,

each walked into the surf and tasted the brine. Several apparently

swallowed some water, One bull waded knee deep into the surf

676 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63. (3)

and drank continuously, just as if he were drinking from a freshwater

trough. It was estimated that he drank at least a gallon and a half or two

gallons of water judging by the length and steadiness with which he

swallowed water. Drinking time lasted approximately half a minute, |

possibly longer. No ill effects were noted either then as the animal

wandered away with his companions, or later as they were seen in the ~

vicinity of the water trough. There was no need for any of the animals to

drink salt water; all tried it and several drank at least two or three

swallows, while one drank deeply. A water trough was available

within 400 to 500 yards. January is in the rainy season, and there was

no dry, hot weather that might force an animal to drink salt water. Deer

quite commonly wander out on the beaches. Do they drink salt water ?

How often and how much do they drink ?

On Lanai the artificial water units are heavily used during the dry

periods. At these units they show their characteristic suspicion and

nervousness even though they must have watered there many times before,

and it is interesting to watch them approach. They approach with ut-

most caution and hesitancy, often running off for a short distance for no

apparent reason several times during the approach, then nervously return-

ing. Once they have reached the water, the fear seems to subside and

they drink with relative calm. When a group approaches the water unit,

one or two will often be bolder than the rest and approach the unit first,

while the rest fidget about a short distance away. When they see the

‘advance guard’ drinking safely, the rest will then move in confidently.

If the water unit is overflowing onto the ground and forms a puddle,

the deer prefer to drink out of the puddle rather than from the trough.

While at the water unit, they frequently dawdle for some minutes, taking

a drink, walking around or shoving for position, and then returning for

another drink. They usually leave a water unit, particularly one that is

in the open, by a different route from the one by which they approached.

On Lanai there appeared to be no set time for watering ; they would

visit the troughs or natural watering places at the beginning of the evening

feeding period, or at any time during the night, or during the early morn-

ing before bedding down for the day. Occasionally they would come to

water during the daytime but this was uncommon. On Molokai in the

forest cover, the most common watering time appeared to be late after-

noon and early evening, although deer continued to arrive long after

dark. Papahaku trough, which was located in a heavy forest, was

watched on many days and occasionally all night long. A few deer could

be expected to arrive at all times of the day. These were usually singles

often a doe with a fawn, sometimes a buck. Apparently these were

unattached animals that had missed the normal crowd and just came in as

it suited them. The big press around the trough would be from four

o’clock until just after dark. By ten o’clock at night, there would be

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 677

only a few individuals about. Dawn would see a resurgence of activity,

apparently many of the animals returning for another drink after a night

of feeding. At the troughs well away from any cover, such as several

below Mauna Loa Heights on the lee side and some on the west end,

deer were never seen at the troughs during midday and, as already des-

cribed elsewhere were usually gone by sun-up. Likewise, their approach

here was reluctant and slow before sundown, and all drinking appeared

to be done during the night, although exceptions undoubtedly did occur

here also. :

As soon. as good rainfalls provided natural potholes of fresh water in

the gullies, the deer on Lanai abandoned the artificial units and the less

palatable beach supplies, obtaining their water from potholes, and rarely

visited the other sources until the potholes had again dried up. They

prefer to drink from muddy, stagnant pools of natural rainwater in the

cover of the gulch bottoms, rather than from the clear, fresh water of

the artificial troughs. Even the troughs in Maunalei gulch, which are in

a dense kiawe forest, are rarely used during the wet season.

On the west end of Molokai the rainy season also brings an end to the

use of water troughs by deer. The rainy season usually starts with torren-

tial rains that turn the gulches and gullies into torrents. These flow only

for a short time, the best ones for perhaps a week or so. Then

the gulches are again dry. The water-holding quality of this area is ex-

tremely poor and pools of water are scarce. In a few of the deeper,

jarger gulches good pools of water remained over a period of several

months during the main part of the rainy season. These, however,

are so few that it was easy to check them often for deer use. Not one

instance of use by deer was noted during theentire rainy season of 1957-58.

The soft silt and mud around the pools made checking very easy and,

although tracks were on several occasions found near the pools, it was

obvious that the deer had only walked by the pool but had shown no

interest in the water. At this time, also, no tracks were found around the

water troughs. It is obvious that, in this area at least, all water require-

ments were being obtained from the fresh green vegetation available at

this time. Rumen contents in specimens collected at this time in this

area showed a very high water content—25-50% by volume—obviously

more than enough to satisfy the deer’s water requirements.

The water pools in the gulches dried up long before the lush green

vegetation declined so that, by the time the vegetation no longer supplied

the water needs of the deer, these pools of water were no longer available.

As the vegetation dried up, there was a gradual increase in use of the

water troughs. A similar pattern of water use was noted for the cattle in

this area.

Phillips (1935), in speaking of the Ceylon axis deer, has this to say

of its drinking habits : ‘ It generally drinks daily, towards midday, and

678 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

in dry weather is usually to be found in the vicinity of water-holes and

tanks between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.’

TRAILING

When travelling to and from feeding grounds and watering sites, the

deer follow well-used trails that form a network throughout their range.

The feeding movements are random, without necessarily following trails

but, when travelling from place to place, they usually follow trails if it

is at all possible. This system of trails on Lanai reaches its greatest

development in, and just above, the coastal kiawe forests, where they

form a complete lacework covering all parts of the area. The trails

become less numerous towards the upper limits of the range, where they

lead more definitely from one point to another rather than wandering in

all directions as they doin the forest. Usually trails follow available

cover, crossing open areas at their narrowest points, but some cross large

expanses of open grassland when leading from one feeding ground to

another, or to water. They frequently follow contours of the land, but

may go straight up and down steep ridges, and there is usually a series of

trails in the bottoms of the gulches. Trails are particularly noticeable

at watering sites where they converge from all directions.

In the Molokai rain forest range, the vegetation is so heavy and pro-

fuse, and the deer density so low, that trails are few and faint at best.

Where they are noticeable at favourite crossing points, they are usually

short and faint, and quickly vanish once the deer leave the crossing point.

On the west-end where cattle use is heavy, deer use the cattle trails

as well as their own. On the south-west side in the quite heavy cover,

trails are indefinite and show only along steep slopes or on points where

deer must follow a favourable bit of terrain. Above .the forest, the trails

quickly converge into the cattle trails to the water troughs. It was

noticed that, when leaving the forest, deer tend to drift in a loose group

until well up the hill towards the trough before actually forming a trail

group. Likewise, when leaving the trough, the group stayed on the heavy

cattle trails only for a short distance over the roughest part of the terrain..

Then they quickly spread out in a loosely grouped formation on

‘the broad grassy ridge top for the last quarter of a mile or so down to the

forest, feeding hastily or just trotting and walking as they hurried back to

cover.

On the broad, open flats on the south-west part of Molokai Ranch,

there were definite deer trails leading to the nearest water troughs.

These were used for the specific purpose of reaching the watering site.

Most were used by small groups of deer, some of which travelled up to

three miles to reach water. They could not be considered heavily-used

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 679 —

trails since they were generally used only at night for a two-way trip by the

several groups of deer that used each trail.

Well-used trails are usually trampled bare of vegetation, forming

narrow ribbons of naked soil through grassland parts of the range.

Within the dense forests, where the ground cover is scanty at best, they

merely form beaten pathways across the nearly bare ground. Trailing

appears to be the major form of range damage caused by deer on Lanai

at present. This is more apparent than real, except in a few areas of

concentration of small size where the ground is trampled bare. It is

most common on the loafing grounds, usually within a clump of trees,

where the deer may congregate and mill around. It is by no means

serious. There is little evidence of erosion being caused by trailing,

since most of the deer range is in an area of low rainfall. On the wet

rain forest range it would take many times the present deer population

to show any noticeable effect on the soil or vegetation.

On Molokai Ranch, in the area of the leeward forest below Mauna

Loa, most of the forest is not used by cattle, which are excluded by fences

which extend along the fringe of the forest for a considerable distance.

In other parts, cattle stay above the main forest, or use only the upper

edge because of the location of water troughs. Here one can see an

interesting contrast between the effect of the cattle and that of the deer.

Below the cattle-use area, deer trails are faint and ill defined at best ;

grass is knee high in the open forest. Above the forest, the land can

best be characterized by the scarred erosion gullies, erosion sinkholes,

heavily tramped cattle trails, and all the other symptoms and signs of

land abuse.

HoME RANGE

Because of the poor success in capturing and marking wild deer, our

information on the size of the home range and extent of movement of these

deer is very limited. However, a few distinctively marked deer were

observed over and over again in a relatively small area. They remained

in an area of approximately a quarter of a square mile, if one can exclude

the occasional long trips to special feeding areas or watering troughs.

During the dry season, when seasonal movements to the upper elevations

occur on Lanai, the deer appear to establish a home range within a fairly

small area at this higher elevation ; most do not move back to the lower

slopes for resting after feeding on the upper slopes. A few, however,

may make these daily movements of several miles for water, returning to

favourite resting grounds afterwards. In these cases, probably much of

the feeding is actually done in these favourite areas also.

Deer residing in the sections where seasonal ‘ migrations’ are not

necessary — such as the herd occupying the eucalyptus forest above

680 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi, 63 (3)

Lanai City — spend most of their daytime activity in an area not over one-

quarter of a square mile. Their nightly foraging, however, may take

them up to a mile and a half from the daytime resting areas.

EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY

Throughout most of Lanai’s deer range, human activity is usually

limited to the daylight hours. Since deer spend most of the day under

cover, little effect upon their normal activities and movements has been

noted. Where their range includes well-used roads, or where it adjoins

the plantation, they simply move away from the disturbed portion during

the time of human activity, returning at night after activity ceases. Some

merely seek out the best cover at hand: and wait out the disturbance if it

is not too severe or too close. The small herd living just above Lanai

City commonly feeds right next to a number of homes throughout the

night, disregarding the barking of dogs (providing these are chained)

talking, lights, and other human activities. At daylight they move back

into the forest where it is quiet.

When people move directly into the deer range, the reaction is much

the same as that noted near the roads and pineapple plantation. Deer

frightened away by campers during the day will frequently return after

dark and go about their normal activities regardless of the camp, merely

remaining a discreet distance away. They often come to within 100 yards

of camp and spend long periods barking in curiosity at the camp fire.

Hunting, of course, does affect the normal activities of the deer.

If the hunting is light, such as one or two persons collecting a specimen

now and then, the disturbed animals leave the area hastily but apparently

return again at night. Heavy hunting will cause the animals to flee in all

directions and, if it continues, will keep them on the move all day, forcing

them into long flights from which they may not return for several days.

Many. seek out the heaviest cover they can find, wherein they spend the

day in hiding rather than leave their home area, while others run back and

forth, circling, if possible, in order to remain in country they know.

Where hunting goes on continuously, as on Molokai Ranch, many people

believe the deer herds move out of the area entirely for the duration of

the hunting. If this were true, the west-end range would long ago have

been cleared of deer. Observations show that the vacating ofa particular

area is only temporary and that actually most deer do not leave, but

merely keep to the dense cover during the day. Where areas have been

thoroughly driven and most of the deer moved out, they return again at

night. Papahaku forest on the west coast was hunted every weekend, |

and often during the week, during the winter of 1957-58 ; yet within 24

hours after the hunt, often within a few hours, deer could be found in

the forest if one cared to leave the roads to look about. The type of road

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 681

hunting usually practised here does not take the hunters into the dense

thickets ; they do not see as many deer as at other times and assume that

the deer have moved out.

Deer can be moved out, of course, and axis deer are particularly

susceptible to driving. On Molokai Ranch it was often the practice to

send a number of drivers into Papahaku forest on the south end ; these

would fire ‘ scare shots ’ as they went and this type of driving would often

move deer in large numbers out of the area of the drive. These would

return, usually the next night.

As a rule axis deer are sensitive to human activities during daylight

hours and either leave the area temporarily or withdraw to dense cover.

During the night they will put up with a remarkable amount of

harassment before abandoning a choice feeding location. Attempts

to keep them out of alfalfa and pineapple fields at night by means of

patrols, firecrackers, gunshot, lights, and acetylene exploders have been,

for the most part, futile. Shooting them at a safe range with a shotgun

loaded with skeetshot was the only means found effective for keeping

them away, and even after this treatment many would return in a few

hours. Although nervous and fearful of the least disturbance during the

day, they appear to feel completely secure and safe under cover of dark-

ness.

GREGARIOUSNESS AND HERDING INSTINCTS

True herd formation, on the order of that of the North American elk

or the European red deer, does not take place with the axis deer. There

is, however, the rudiment, or the beginning, of such a herd formation.

The axis deer does not appear to have a strong herding instinct and a

group feeding or moving together will often scatter and go their own way

when disturbed. Even when undisturbed, various individuals and small

groups commonly leave a larger group and drift off on their own, to feed

or seek resting places. This was commonly reflected in changing

numbers and compositions of groups that regularly came to drink at

certain water troughs. One morning one might see 40 animals, the next

only 25, and the next 30 ; sex ratios and age classes would be equally as

varied. This is quite in contrast to many herds of elk, sheep, and prong-

horn antelope which we have observed, and in which numbers and indi-

viduals may remain very constant throughout the year except for adult

males, which join the herds during the breeding season.

Gregariousness is there, and they like the company of others of their

kind. It is common for small groups to rest, feed, or travel together.

Single deer or small groups frequently leave their bedding spots and drift

together to form larger herds while feeding. When left behind,

individuals will hurry to catch up with the main group.

682 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

A captive buck, raised alone from infancy, would follow his master

like a pet dog, apparently enjoying his companionship, though he would

not hesitate to run off alone if frightened. Another pair of fawns, also

raised by hand almost from birth—but together—were inseparable and

were most unhappy if not together. These two also seemed to enjoy

their owner’s companionship, but to a much lesser degree than the one

raised alone. The behaviour and actions of deer raised in captivity must

be interpreted with caution, however, for there are many influences under

such conditions not found in the wild state. Captive conditions may

bring about expressions which would never be developed under wild

conditions, although, in this case, the desire for companionship seemed

apparent—at least for young deer.

HERD COMPOSITION AND SIZE

The basic unit of the herd appears to be the family group, usually

composed of an adult doe, her yearling fawn, and her new fawn, if she

has one. If the yearling is a buck, he may leave his mother and strike

out on his own as his first spike antlers mature, but it is not uncommon

to see several spike-antlered bucks remaining with a group of does and

fawns. The yearling does apparently remain with their mothers until

their own first fawns arrive, and in some cases even after they are nursing

their own young. An old doe, with a distinctive white chevron on her

neck, was seen several times in the company of another doe, apparently

an yearling, which also bore the same unusual mark. Both does had

small fawns, one of which was similarly marked.

The larger groups may be made up of several of these family units,

which may join together temporarily for companionship when feeding,

travelling, or resting. Herd composition and size often change during

the day and single animals may band together for a short period of time

on good feeding grounds, on trails to and from feeding and watering

grounds, or on favoured loafing grounds, later breaking up to go their

own way. It is not uncommon to see an older buck or two moving

temporarily with the doe-yearling-fawn group. These, however, usually

do not remain long with them unless one of the does happens to be in

season.

Except during and just after the peak breeding season, most of the

mature bucks tend to seek solitude or form ‘ bachelor’ groups of two or

more animals. This is particularly noticeable on Lanai when many of

the bucks are ‘in the velvet’ during the late winter and early spring

months. During that period, they are often seen in such bachelor

groups, or alone, and rarely with doe-fawn groups. During the peak

breeding season, and for a while thereafter, the bucks join the doe-

yearling-fawn herds, and groups of all ages and sexes may be seen to-

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 683

gether. But here again, the composition of the groups is not necessarily

constant, since many of the bucks shift from one group to another in

search of receptive does.

Due to the fact that some breeding goes on at all seasons of the year—

even though the peak rut is in late spring and summer—this sexual

segregation is not nearly so clear cut as it is with other temperate-climate

big game. A few bucks may be seen with the doe groups at any time,

probably following those females that occasionally come into season

during other than the main breeding months. This situation is even

more confused on Molokai, where the almost constant hunting pressure

disrupts what would be the normal group behaviour pattern on less-

disturbed Lanai, and causes the sexes to mix in a more random manner

throughout the year.

Harem-gathering and herding by large bucks is not common with the

axis deer, although occasionally a large old buck will do so to a limited

degree. Even during the breeding season, the bucks are more or less

outsiders in the groups and, although they may be the physical masters

because of their size and aggressiveness, are rarely the herd leaders.

Although leadership, like other phases of the herding instinct, is poorly

developed in the axis deer, what there is of it appears to be of a matriarchal

type. An old doe is usually the initiator of such action as she may

influence, and often is the one to warn of danger and lead the escape,

although she is probably acting as an individual rather than as a deli-

berate leader.

There is no basis for the commonly held belief that bucks are the

leaders of the herd, or that they will protect the does and fawns from

danger. When danger threatens and a group takes flight, it is rarely a

buck that leads them off, but rather an old doe. The larger bucks usually

follow last or run off by themselves, abandoning the others. Not only

do they not protect the does and fawns, but big bucks frequently bully

them, use the does when they can, and leave them to shift for themselves

at the first sign of danger unless it happens to be convenient to follow

them in flight.

Altogether, the herd organization and behaviour pattern is a primitive

one, with poorly developed habits and characteristics of organization

or specialization.

In size, the herds on Lanai usually number about seven to eight deer

or less, although some are occasionally seen with ten or more. Larger

herds are more common on Molokai, where 15 to 25 were commonly

seen. There, one herd of 97 was observed. This was apparently made

up of a number of smaller groups that left a feeding area at the same time

over the same route, thus forming a large herd while travelling, but split-

ting up again on reaching the resting grounds. There is no justification

684 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

for the ‘ herds of 200’ or even more that one often hears about.? Such

herds are often reported on Molokai Ranch, but apparently are largely

the figment of wishful thinking by those who have never been there, or

someone who has driven through the area and has seen perhaps 20 or 30

deer dashing away in all directions among the kiawe bushes and trees.

Such a sight appears most impressive and is quite likely to look like * 200’

deer to the inexperienced and impressionable viewer—especially several

days later when the experience is being recounted to an equally impres-

sionable and wishful audience.

Hunting pressure, both on Molokai and Lanai, may cause the tem-

porary formation of larger-than-normal herds. Small groups and indi-

viduals, running back and forth to escape hunters, may join together in

common flight for short periods, giving rise to the ‘ large herds’ often

reported. Also, these large herds may be composed mainly of does,

fawns, and young bucks, leading to the belief among hunters that mature

bucks are scarce or ‘shot out’. Actually, bucks in general, especially

older and larger bucks, tend to be more phlegmatic, perhaps through

longer experience, and are consequently less prone to panic and

run about. These may hang back in heavy cover and hide while the

hunting is going on. Thus, they may be overlooked during the hunt,

but soon show up after the hunting is over and conditions return

to normal.

In the rain forest of Molokai, the largest groups observed numbered

five, a typical group consisting of an old doe, a younger one, two yearling

does, and a 16- to 18-month old spike buck. Other groups of two to

three and four were the rule.

Prater (1935) has this to say of numbers and activity :

* They are seen in herds of ten to thirty, which may contain two or three stags ;

but assemblages numbering several hundred have been met with. They do

not shun the proximity of villages, enter cultivations and frequently associate

with many forest animals, particularly monkeys. They are less nocturnal

than sambar and feed till late in the morning and again in the afternoon, and

lie down in the interval in some shaded spot.’

Apparently the Hawaiian axis deer have not changed much, for there is

little that we can differ with in this regard. Perhaps the Hawaiian deer

are not quite so tolerant of other animals, but then there are few with

which to get acquainted. The feeding in India seems a bit late in the day,

but then again as we have seen, there is some variation even between

Molokai and Lanai.

1 Mr. E. R. C. Davidar, The Nilgiri Wild Life Association, at p. 682 of Vol. 61 of

this journal publishes a photograph of a ‘herd’ of axis deer, which he estimated

as consisting of more than 500 individuals.—Ebs.

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 685

CURIOSITY

Unusual occurrences or objects, if not recognized as immediately

dangerous, excite the strong sense of curiosity (or anxiety) in the axis deer.

When they see something they don’t understand, they stare at it intently,

with neck stretched out, ears up, tail up, and all muscles tense and ready

for immediate flight if necessary. If nothing ‘dangerous’ happens

they will watch for some minutes, barking their ‘ yowp !’ of curiosity

or mild alarm, then begin to approach guardedly, or to circle downwind

to get the object’s scent. While approaching or moving about for

better views, they are as tense as tightly wound springs, lifting each leg

quickly and nervously. They usually raise their front legs high and

stamp each forefoot down hard, as though to ensure a solid footing for a

quick flight—however, quite possibly such an action telegraphs a warning

sound to other deer, — or could it be a threatening gesture ?

A group of deer attempting to satisfy their curiosity in this manner

form a picture of tense concentration, high-strung fear barely concealed

by burning curiosity. The least disturbance or sound will cause the

group to scatter like wind-blown leaves. If the sound or disturbance

is minor and does not appear dangerous, they will often stop after a

few leaps and again begin the cautious approach. Finally, their curiosity

satisfied, they almost immediately forget their concern and begin again

their normal feeding. One or two may keep a close watch on the

strange object as they move off, and occasionally one will return for a

second or third close inspection.

Usually, an observer standing motionless in view of a group of deer

will hardly be noticed as long as he is motionless. A quick movement

will focus every eye upon him. If the movement is not repeated, they

soon forget their fears and resume their normal activities. Repeat the

movement a time or two and one will soon circle downwind to get the

scent, whereupon there is a startled ‘ yup!’ and one and all vanish in

a drumming of hoofs.

The reader must not get the impression that standing motionless

will always conceal him from recognition. Experienced individuals do

learn to recognize the human form—and vehicles. This is particularly

true on the much-hunted west-end of Molokai. In the picturesque and

beautiful Papahaku forest, a parked jeep, even though carefully backed

into what was considered a most favourable position for blending con-

cealment, was recognized as dangerous, and produced instant flight

when the deer were still 60 to 70 yards away. Likewise, the observer

was readily recognized even though completely motionless. Association

and conditioning is the primary factor here.

Older bucks in a group will usually stand quietly in the rear, watching

intently but not approaching, allowing the does and younger spike bucks

686. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. €3 (3)

the opportunity—and possible danger—of discovering the nature of the

object or occurrence. These old-timers are satisfied with watching from

a safe distance or, if alone, perhaps by circling downwind at a safe

distance. If they do not determine the nature of the strange object by

a few minutes of staring, they usually slip quietly away rather than

risk a closer approach.

Curtosity will sometimes get the better of them, however, and they

will react in much the same manner as does and younger bucks. A

group of deer, including a beautiful, full-grown buck with polished

antlers and swollen neck, several smaller bucks, and a dozen or so does

and fawns, was stalked for photographs as they fed near a clump of

kiawe trees on Lanai. When within about 50 yards of them, the observer

—who had crawled on his stomach through the grass and low brush—

carefully raised himself and set up camera and tripod. These move-

ments were made while partially screened by brush, and were made

with great care ; furthermore, the observer was dressed in a camouflaged

parka to help break up his outline. While he was setting up, the deer

became aware of the slow, guarded movements, but were unable to

recognize the form as being human, or for that matter, as anything else

of immediate danger.

Their curiosity was intense, however, and they began the typical

nervous pacing, all the while staring at the unknown object with necks

stretched and tails raised, and uttering their ‘alarm’ bark back and

forth. The big buck, who had been standing back in the cover of the

trees and watching quietly, finally could stand it no longer, and he, too,

moved out with the others to bark and to stare with neck stretched and

raised to its utmost. After a number of photographs had been taken,

the building tension grew too much for them and the whole herd whirled

and vanished in the forest.

People are often tempted to ascribe greater sagacity to ithe large

bucks but, although they may certainly be somewhat wiser than young

-animals because of more years of varied experience, their actions may

also be due to other factors than true intelligence. The males, parti-

cularly the old males, of most members of the deer family are not of

the same temperament as females or young males. There is by the

very nature of maleness, especially mature maleness, a greater degree

of stability, self-assurance, and what may pass for better judgment but

may only be less excitability.

Energy and alertness are largely directed towards one goal—breeding

activities—and are expended in this direction. A great deal of energy

and aggressiveness must be available to accomplish this in the type of

rutting behaviour found in the members of the deer family, more in some

than in others, true, but a great dealin all. This also calls for what we,

for lack of better knowledge, call a more phlegmatic nature between

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII ? 687

breeding periods. Such a condition is not compatible with an excitable,

nervous disposition.

A buck that stands quietly and does his viewing of a suspicious

object from a distance without a great to-do may be no more stupid,

or for that matter any smarter, than his nervous sisters. Also, he will

probably learn just as much. Likewise, it is doubtful that he is deli-

berately letting his females and junior members do the dangerous work

for him. Not having the nervous temperament of the females and

younger animals, he is usually content to do his viewing from where

he is.

Three captive fawns raised on Lanai all showed strong curiosity about

their surroundings. Their fear of humans, at least of certain individuals

that they knew, had largely been overcome. ‘Their true character was

“readily observable and was not hidden or modified by the factors that

influence the life of a deer in the wild.

All three closely examined everything within reach, particularly in

relation to edibility. Almost every object had to be sniffed, licked, and,

if chewable, chewed though not necessarily swallowed. Strange objects

in the pen were always approached and examined, even though some

nervousness and fear may have been expressed at first. Strange animals

were likewise subjected to intense examination, though much more

suardedly.

Two small goat kids were placed in a smail pen adjoining the fawns’

pen for two days. The fawns, which had never seen a goat before, were

at first very hesitant and remained as far away as they could but, shortly

after dark the first night, they approached the kids with the usual mixed

fear and curiosity. After ‘stalking’ carefully up to within 15 feet of

the goats, they stopped. The next hour was spent in barking at the

goats while examining them from this ‘safe’ distance, all the while

exhibiting the usual signs of deer curiosity : head stretched as far up

and forward as it would go, ears forward, eyes staring, nostrils flared

and searching, tail held rigidly up and flared wide, and forefeet stamping

as they slowly stalked stiffly back and forth. At the end of this time,

the fawns apparently decided that the kids were probably nothing to

fear, but not really to be trusted. They then moved off to another

part of their pen and settled into their regular routine of grazing and

resting, keeping some distance away from the goats, but hardly looking

their way again.

REACTION TO FRIGHT

When deer are watching something because of curiosity, but are

unable to satisfy themselves that it is harmless, the tension may build

up to the breaking point and they may jump into hasty flight. If they

688 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

are not too frightened, they may stop after a few hundred yards after

putting some cover, such as a ridge, gulch, or large clump of trees,

between themselves and the danger. However, if thoroughly frightened

they usually run for a half-mile or more before seeking cover in which

to stop.

One of the most interesting aspects of flight in these instances is

their orientation to the wind while fleeing. They will almost invariably

run into the wind if it is at all possible to do so. So strongly established

is this safety orientation that they will frequently run into the wind

even when it involves the risk of passing closer to the object of their

fear. For example, groups of deer have on many occasions been

observed to circle close by, or angle towards an observer, the object of

their fear, in order to run into the wind ; yet there was ample room to

run in any one of several other directions that would have taken the

deer away from him. On several occasions deer actually overran the

observer, i.e., they passed on either side within a few feet of him when

actually they could more easily have avoided the danger by taking the

opposite direction or several other directions, all away from him.

This commonly observed display is probably not only an instinctive

Orientation, but is also related to the habit of these deer to panic easily.

The instinctive reaction to wind direction is there and, when sudden

fright occurs, they may panic so suddenly that they automatically take

the direction into the wind even when it is to their disadvantage. Such

witlessness under conditions of sudden fright is quite striking in com-

parison with many other ungulates.

When danger threatens, or a deer is suddenly surprised, it usually

utters a single startled yelp of warning. This sound, a short, sharp

‘yowp !’ is uttered only once and is almost always heeded, resulting

usually in instant flight by all within hearing. This can be well illus-

trated by the actions noted during another photographic stalk, this time

of a buck that was heard calling from a ridge-top in the kiawe forest

below Mauna Loa, Molokai.

A careful approach brought the photographer to within 60 yards of

the buck—a superb specimen in full breeding condition in the midst

of a group of does, fawns, and lesser bucks which were spread out

among the trees. These were resting and dozing while the ‘ master

buck’ kept repeating his rutting call and horning a kiawe limb. The

observer, partly concealed behind a tripod and movie camera, was

quietly running off film when the buck stepped out from under his tree

and walked towards the camera, completely unaware of man’s presence.

As he stepped into the open about 40 yards away, the sight of the

camera and tripod and whatever showed behind it, and possibly the

quiet hum of the camera motor, struck his senses. The pop-eyed

astonishment, but, unfortunately, not the startled squawk of alarm, was

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 689

clearly recorded on the film, as was also his lightning-quick about-face

and disappearance into the thickets. There was no hesitating, no

curiosity, and no second-looking here. :

When thoroughly frightened, deer rarely stop for a second look,

but keep running at full speed until well away, and only then stop for a

brief look back ; more often, they simply slow down but keep on going

until they feel safe. Bucks, possibly because of their less excitable

nature, occasionally stop for a second look if they are not certain of

the cause of the alarm.

Both bucks and does will tire quickly after the initial all-out blazing

burst of speed and drop to a slow run and then a trot, occasionally

stopping to make a check on the pursuit or danger. As they become

exhausted they seek cover in which to stop to hide and rest, leaving it

reluctantly if closely pursued, only to dive into other cover.

The axis deer do not lie as closely as do the blacktail, mule deer,

or white tail deer. Only occasionally will they lie so close that one

can pass but a few yards away. However, when exhausted and very

frightened, they may take refuge in very dense cover, if it is present,

and refuse to move so long as they remain undiscovered. When dogs

got into the experimental range-pen where two does were penned and

killed one of the deer, the 15-acre pen was combed with 14 drivers to

remove the dogs left in the enclosure. This enclosure, roughly rectan-

gular, contains a heavy rain forest cover of ferns, shrubs, and trees over

about one-half of the area. Two drives, one lengthwise and one cross-

ways, with 14 yelling, brush-beating boys netted two dogs, but no deer.

It was assumed that both deer had been killed by the dogs and that

one probably was killed in the heavy brush where it was difficult to see.

However, a few days later the doe turned up safe and sound in the pen.

She had obviously crawled into one of the many heavy thickets, over-

grown with the almost impenetrable staghorn fern, and let the drivers

pass by.

Does are especially prone to panic and, when cornered, or when

they think they are cornered, or when very badly frightened, they may

go completely to pieces in blind panic, running into objects in their

way, or over cliffs, injuring or killing themselves. Once panic grips

them, they run until it leaves them or, if they cannot get away, they

run back and forth into whatever barriers are present, battering them-

selves until they drop from exhaustion or injury. Under these conditions

they frequently die from shock. If caught by man or dogs, their panic

wells up in loud bawls of abject fear ; otherwise they run in silence.

Cornered bucks will try every means of escape, including charging

their tormentor in an effort to gore and overrun him. Unlike the does,

they are not as likely to lose control of themselves. When all hope is

gone they may lie down and sulk, waiting for an opportunity to escape

690 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

or fight. The Lanai investigator was very nearly gored by a buck on

Molokai which was discovered tangled in some light field telephone

wire. One end of the wire was thoroughly tangled in the buck’s antlers,

while the other end was snagged in a clump of kiawe trees ; thus the

buck was on a 50-foot line like a trout on a hook. When approached,

he ran into the grove of trees to the limit of his line. When he was

further pursued, he immediately whirled and charged at full speed with

antlers lowered. Quick footwork saved the day by inches, though the

investigator was flipped over by a trailing loop of wire. The buck was

soon subdued by means of a drugged dart, ear-tagged, and released.

As already stated, the deer become more confident after dark and

do not take fright as easily or readily as during the day, nor do they

permit fright to overcome them as easily. Even the scent of humans

may cause them to run off only a few yards before stopping. They

apparently depend heavily on the protection of darkness rather than

on flight, and feel secure. Noises and actions that would send them

into a panic during the daylight may startle them at night, causing them

to run off for a short distance before stopping, but will only rarely put

them into wild flight.

When attempts were being made to frighten them from the pineapple

and alfalfa fields at night by means of acetylene ‘ cannons ’, firecrackers,

and gunshots, they soon became accustomed to the noise and would

all but ignore it. Often they were spotlighted with a powerful light

while rifle shots cracked over their heads and into the brush around

them in attempts to drive them away. The usual reaction was to jump

and fidget at the first few shots, then to move off a short distance, and

finally, if the shooting continued, to trot over a ridge or into a ravine

out of sight, all the while showing obvious reluctance to leave. The

same actions during the daytime would bring on a wild and immediate

flight.

Even under normal conditions, when not attracted to some choice

location by food (such as under drought conditions which were involved

in the cases mentioned), they nevertheless are more reluctant to leave

the area of disturbance at night, but do so in a relatively calm manner,

compared with daytime behaviour. When spotlighted, they do not

usually ‘hold’ as well as do some of the other deer species, but fidget

about nervously, attempting to get out of the blinding glare. Once

out of the light, they soon settle down unless very badly frightened by

close approach of a human, or by the sting of a drug-laden dart hitting

them. At this they will immediately run and keep going until out of

sight in good cover. This is the main reason why this method of capture

has so far failed ; once they are hit and really scared they do not hesitate

to leave the area at full speed, night or day.

This paradoxical behaviour of the deer by day and night may not be

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII | 691

as easily explained as it appears to be. To say that the deer ‘ realize ’

they cannot be seen and feel secure is easy, but an analysis of this simple

explanation leaves much unanswered. How can the deer know they

cannot be seen? If they themselves can see well, as is indicated by their

freedom of movement at night, then they must also see man and his

activities at night. On the other hand, if their security lies in not being

seen, then our assumption that they see well must be false. For the

only way that a deer could feel that it was not seen (to be hidden) is

not to see well itself. It has no knowledge of how well we see, but

only of how well it sees. The answer may well lie somewhere between

the two extremes. |

We ourselves do not rush about at night because of our limited

vision. The same is probably true of the deer. While there is little

doubt that deer and other ungulates see quite well at night, the visual

acuity may well be relatively short and, while the animal may see very

well within reasonable limits which would enable it to get around with

ease and to forage for its food (keep in mind a highly developed sense

of smell, vibrissae to help in tactile sensing, and sure footwork), it may

actually be operating in a visual field that is not very large. In other

words, rather than feeling altogether secure, it may simply be more

reluctant to go barging about in a world in which its own vision and

perception is much more limited than during the day. Be this as it

may, there is apparently some feeling of safety at night which leads it

to wander into areas which it would not enter during daylight. Our

knowledge of the night vision of wild animals is extremely limited, and

we need to know much more before we can analyze their night time

behaviour correctly.

There is another possible explanation for the lack of continued fear

over loud noises during the night, and the use of exploding devices,

gunfire, etc., may be the wrong method entirely for scaring deer during

darkness. It has already been pointed out that when sense perception

is not associated with a known danger, then no fright reaction will

result from the sense stimulation. We assume that since deer do run

from sounds of gunshots during the daytime, they will react similarly

at night. Under cover of darkness, and with the possible inhibition of

visual senses, deer may simply accept the repeated explosions of carbide

exploders and guns as a natural phenomenon, such as thunder, rather

than related to man. Deer readily become accustomed to dynamiting

and similar continuing activities. During the daytime there is no diffi-

culty in keeping deer out of crop areas such as the case mentioned

because they can see that man is associated with the disturbance. It

should be possible to do so at night by providing the right stimulus

and sense association to produce the desired reaction.

692 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

SWIMMING

Axis deer swim well when forced to do so but, in Hawaii at least,

they do not enter the water by choice. Several have been encountered

on the shore where they were trapped between the sea and impassable

cliffs, perhaps having fallen into this situation or driven into it by feral

dogs. None of these was observed to attempt to swim out of their

predicament; they would walk back and forth disconsolately, looking

for a way up the cliffs. Perhaps others, not discovered, have saved

themselves from starvation by swimming to freedom voluntarily. At

any rate, when attempts were made to free those that were discovered

trapped, they readily entered the sea and swam strongly away. One,

at least, was drowned by being caught between a sheer rock ledge and

the pounding surf while attempting to regain the shore. A few reports

have been received of others seen swimming off shore but no details

of the circumstances are known.

PLAY

Wild fawns have frequently been observed playing wild, carefree,

running and butting games, and all three captive fawns showed a strong

desire to play when well fed and secure from danger. Play takes the

form of leaping back and forth, wild, zig-zagging runs through the

brush, and mock head-butting fights. The captive fawns frequently

chased each other around until they were panting from the exertion,

and seemed to enjoy the ‘game’. Male fawns apparently prefer the

butting games, while the females prefer the running games of ‘tag’;

although both sexes will engage in some of each.

Both captive male fawns enjoyed playing butting games with their

owner ; this consisted of butting his outstretched hand, arm, or foot

as rapidly and as hard as they could, alternating the actual butting with

a comical, high-jumping, back-and-forth dance, somewhat like a boxer

practising his footwork. As they grew older the play became rougher

and, by the time ‘Willie’, the first fawn, developed his spike antlers,

the owner was hard put to keep up with his play. After Willie’s spike

antlers matured and hardened, his playfulness began to give way to

aggressive anger and he became too dangerous to rough-and-tumble

with.

While playing, the tail is held up with the hair flared out, presenting

a striking white ‘flag’, and the infra-orbital scent glands are frequently

opened wide in excitement. This play, besides being an enjoyable

means of using up excess energy, undoubtedly also serves as valuable

training for the fawn’s future life by hardening muscles, teaching foot-

work for running and jumping, and preparing the young bucks for

their adult battles.

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 693

Adults of both sexes have occasionally been observed to engage in

similar games, though such instances do not appear to be common,

especially among older animals. Several times, particularly? during

cool mornings or evenings, does have been seen chasing each* other

wildly in play, and, once, a spike buck and a doe engaged in a game

of tag, including some mild butting and shoving, apparently all in a

spirit of play. Spike bucks, with both mature and velvet-covered

antlers, commonly engage in mild sparring contests with each other,

apparently more in playfulness than in anger.

Older animals appear to lose their ‘sense of humour’ and not only

refuse to play, but intervene in the game of others if they come too close

and annoy them. On one occasion, two fawns were seen chasing each

other merrily around the brush. Their play took them near an old doe,

which was browsing on a klu bush; as the fawns ran by her, she whirled,

charging at them with forefeet striking and teeth reaching, immediately

breaking up the game. On several other occasions, mature bucks jabbed

with their antlers at small fawns that played too close, or that came up

to sniff them in curiosity.

SOCIAL AND TERRITORIAL BEHAVIOUR

The aggressive and bullying nature of the bucks becomes evident

when they are still fawns and increases as they grow older. The two

captive fawns that were raised were inseparable friends ; even so the

little buck did not hesitate to butt the doe out of his way to get at pre-

ferred food or to keep her from getting petted when he wanted the

attention. As bucks grow older and develop spike antlers, they become

even more aggressive and frequently use their weapons to bully and

shove does that get in their way.

The relationship between males of various ages in the axis deer

appears to be one of rather primitive and unspecialized development

compared with that of other cervids with a highly specialized and well-

developed herding characteristic.

In the axis male there is the normal aggressiveness and antagonism

that is common to males, but it is far less segregated in terms of age

classes and seasons. This shows up in the very generalized year-round

breeding cycle and potency of the bucks, as well as the much milder

antagonism and animosity that bucks show towards each other at all

stages of their relationship to each other and to the does.

The general attitude of bucks of various ages and stages of antler

development follows a pattern that is not unusual or unexpected in such

animals. Larger animals dominate smaller ones, and older animals

dominate younger ones. Hard-antlered bucks generally dominate those

in the velvet, although here social order may assert itself when a large

694 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

old buck in the velvet comes up against an immature buck with hard

spike antlers. The authority of habit and the size and years will give

the older buck right of way over the younger one even though the 8-

to 10-inch needle-sharp spike antlers could be a most potent weapon

for the young buck. This is all as is to be expected. Within these

general rules there is, however, a good deal of variation as well as an

over-all tolerance of adult bucks towards the younger ones and each

other in general that is not observed in cervids of more modern groups.

Spike bucks commonly engage in shoving and sparring contests with

each other, many of a playful nature, but others in a more serious tone.

These sparring matches begin when the antlers are still in the velvet,

indicating that they are not as tender as is sometimes believed, though

they do appear to ‘pull’ their punches to some degree at this time.

These spike bucks often give the appearance of being the most aggressive

of all ages, since they commonly may be seen stalking around with their

hair all bristled up, challenging any other buck near-by. They approach

each other, stalking stiff-legged like two strange dogs, pawing the ground,

and hooking at brush; then may come a contest as they put their heads

together and begin to shove back and forth. Such battles usually end

in a draw, and both contestants quit almost as though on a signal and

resume their feeding. Sometimes there may be several of these contests

going on at one time ina group of bucks, and at times even a three-way

match. :

Such behaviourisms are usually accorded the most common interpre-

tation of the simple expression of aggressiveness or simply competitive

animosity. However, in many cases there may be quite complex under-

lying aspects of social structure and organization, varying in degree of

development and significance.

This underlying social structure is the ‘territorial and signpost’

behaviour pattern. We have already mentioned the home range. This

is the area in which the animal feeds and lives. Within this, or perhaps

overlying this, there may also be a territory which the animal will defend

against encroachment by others of its kind or, if not defended, at least it

is not invaded actively by others. The first would appear to be the more

primitive, the latter the more developed and specialized. In the case of

an undefended or ‘ psychological’ territory, it would have to be carefully

and definitely marked out with recognition signposts which could and

would be recognized by other individuals. In its highest development,

these signposts would have to have an intimidating effect in the absence of

their marker for the greatest effect and usefulness. The making of sign-

posts, i.e. the activity itself, may also have an intimidating effect on a

potential invader or competitor.

Most members of the deer family show this territorialistic behaviour

to some degree. Observers have recognized it in some form, usually

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAH 695

without a knowledge of its significance. In most cases little is ever said

about it, and for that matter, very little is known about most of our

deer in this respect. One of the best developed territorial behaviourisms

is that of the Roosevelt elk, with its interesting and highly ritualized and

spectacular signpost habits (Graf 1956). Others (Lindsdale 1953,

Darling 1936, et al.) have recorded signpost behaviour, with either no

comment on its real significance, or without recognizing its significance.

As a rule, a well-developed signpost habit indicates a well-developed

territorial habit and a complex social structure. The axis deer shows

some of these to a degree, mostly weakly developed and not highly

organized. Its signpost habits, though well developed are only

moderately organized so far as any apparent benefits are derived. How-

ever, this may only be our lack of understanding and interpretation.

There appears to be no territorial segregation of herds, and as already

described, the herds are rather loosely organized and not too stable in

composition and numbers. Animals do have an area in which they pre-

fer to stay and where several, perhaps a family group, are found ;-one

could speak of these as a herd home range. Throughout these areas

there will occur ‘signposts’ with varying frequency. This signpost is

an inverted V mark made by scraping the ground with the forefeet. It

will invariably be found at the base of some small plant—a smail ilima

or a lantana bush or even tall weeds. The characteristic ‘marker’ plant

is never large—usually with a stem not over pencil diameter, often much

less. The plants are usually not more than 18 to 20 inches high, and

often are solitary ones out in the open. Sometimes the end of a low-

hanging branch of a tree may be used.

The buck, and only bucks have been observed in this act, walks up

to a ‘marker’, lowers his antlers, and brushes them through the twigs

with a back and forth motion, sometimes with an up-and-down swing.

After the antler-brushing, there is a careful nosing of the twigs brushed,

that is running the nose carefully over the effected twigs as though inspect-

ing them by scent. This may be done five or six times; then he scrapes

the ground alternately with each front foot several times, then brushes

his antlers through the twigs again. The whole procedure may be re-

peated four or five times at one point or only once or twice. The buck

may then move on to another point ten or fifteen feet away and repeat

the process. ee

As many as six to ten of these signposts have been found in a distance

of 75 to 100 feet—apparently made as the buck wandered along ; others

have been found scattered at random within a radius of 30 to 40 feet.

They are often most common around the loafing and resting areas. All

were found on ridge tops or on flat areas, some on feeding areas ; the

latter were apparently made during the feeding period. One buck was

observed to stand on his hind legs and brush his antlers through the twigs

696 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

of a kiawe tree. Most interesting here is the fact that this buck and most

others observed in this act were in the velvet or were young bucks,

usually spikes or two-pointers, that is bucks in their first and second sexual

cycle. One is tempted to say this is the ‘non-combatant’ group and

most likely to benefit from this expression. However, this may be

putting it in anthropomorphic terms.

The ‘ inspection’ of the ‘ marker’ behaviourism is also often carried

over to the more commonly observed horning, or fighting of trees and

shrubs. After horning an object, the buck often ‘inspects’ the object

with his nose by carefully running his nose over the horned area.

‘Willie ’, the pet buck on Lanai, would always do this after one of his

bouts with a post or shrub. This would appear to relate at least some of

the horning and fighting of trees and shrubs, and even the ground, to the

signpost behaviourism although the scrape marks are omitted. Some of

this behaviour is, on the other hand, only a form of ‘ punching bag’ fight

practice.

In the axis deer, where bucks start brushing antlers in the vegetation

and twigs while still in the velvet, the picture may become even more

confused. The reason may be due to the fact that these deer are sexually

potent throughout the year, regardless of antler or neck condition.

In the case of the spike bucks’ threatening and sparring behaviour

as described above, there may be more involved than simple animosity.

Behaviour has been observed which takes on a uniform and ritualized

posturing. It varies only slightly from that already described. Young

bucks in the velvet display it more often than others. In this case, two

bucks approach each other, back slightly arched and body held stiffly,

neck bowed and head held low and with chin tucked in, ears flat. The

tail usually, but not always, is held stiffly erect or cocked to one side.

The bucks approach each other to within about 3 feet, facing, but several

feet to one side of each other. In this position each one scrapes with

alternate strokes of the front feet, forming the typical inverted V mark.

There are usually 3 to 4 strokes in this scraping. The bucks may then

circle around each other in the same relative position, walking in

this same humped-back pose, with neck bowed, dorsal hair erected, and

chin held in, so far as walking will permit this. The pace is stiff and with

slow-motion deliberateness, almost like that of fixed mechanical figures.

After circling slowly and deliberately, they may stop and again scrape

the ground several times, then circle again. This may go on for four or

five minutes after which the bucks will withdraw, and wander about only

to come together again later and repeat this process.

The V marks are, of course, numerous at such points, but are not to be

confused with those made in relation to some ‘marker’ plant as

described above. These latter are readily recognized by the uni-

formity of shape and without the trampling over them. They are located

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THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 697

individually and almost always with the apex just infront of some small

shrub plant, or clump of weeds which will show unmistakable signs of

having been worn by the brushing of antlers through it.

These behaviour patterns should be kept in mind when reading of, or

observing, the various patterns of behaviour that we have described here.

What may appear to be a simple antagonistic or fighting behaviour may

have an underlying social behaviour origin with some significance which we

do not yet fully or correctly understand. What goes on in the mind of an

animal, and how this mind and its processes work, is even less under-

stood than the outward manifestations which we observe.

The behaviour of the spike bucks described earlier may be a variation

of the formal posturing ritual, and the posturing undoubtedly has some

relationship to the ‘signpost’ performance. The psychological effect

of such rituals and performances is that they may avoid active conflict,

Or may minimize it—expression of feeling and accomplishments may be

attained in this way and thus reduce, if not eliminate, the necessity for

active bodily conflict. It may be a process of ‘ debate ’ or of ‘ cold war ’.

It must be remembered that in other deer, where there is a definite

seasonal breeding cycle with a quiescent period, the usual animosity and

aggressiveness towards each other disappears in the male ; likewise it

becomes much more exaggerated during the rutting period. In the axis

deer, breeding in both males and females continues during all times of the

year and males are, in effect, in the rut regardless of other physiological

factors involved. If the male axis deer were to display the same degree

of aggressiveness and animosity throughout the year as the elk or the red

deer, he would probably be reduced to a complete physical and nervous

wreck. A more moderate and milder social relationship is therefore the

rule. The continuous breeding condition nevertheless influences the

behaviour throughout the year.

Spike bucks, therefore, will try to take on a larger buck and, while

the old bucks are generally intolerant, they make no effort to go out of

their way to pursue or overcome these young upstarts. The youngsters

quickly learn that the old-timers are better armed and not very playful.

There are exceptions to this, which illustrates the very nature of the more

tolerant relationship. For example, a spike buck was observed to engage

a much larger buck, perhaps three years old and of medium size with

fully developed antlers. The match obviously was strictly in play with

good-natured fencing and sparring and mild pushing. However, as the

pushing increased, the weight of the bigger buck quickly proved to be too

great for the youngster, and he was pushed back. As the younger one

gave way there became apparent a rapid change in the attitude of the

bigger buck, so that as he advanced his aggressiveness became more and

more pronounced. Instinctively stimulated by the winning forward

movement, the big buck suddenly drove forward with full force, almost

698 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

driving the small spike buck to the ground. The spike, however, in-

stantly realized his disadvantage and turned sideways, letting the big

buck slide by and so disengage himself. As soon as the youngster

dodged away, the larger buck calmly walked off.

These two bucks engaged in this play several more times, usually

without the larger one taking advantage of his size and weight. Only

when the small buck gave way would the big buck’s action build up into

a forceful aggressive drive. Had the small buck failed to break off the

action instantly, the larger buck probably would have built up such a

vicious aggressiveness that he would undoubtedly have gored the smaller

antagonist, even though the action started as play. Most of the younger

and smaller bucks stay out of the way of the very large mature bucks,

who are usually ill-tempered and intolerant.

_. The older males do occasionally engage in ‘ friendly’ shoving matches,

but usually they keep out of each other’s way, bristling as they pass but

stepping wide of each other. They have learned not to ask for trouble

unless they really mean it. Several shoving contests have been witnessed

between large-antlered bucks in the velvet, but these appeared to be

merely practice sessions, with both contestants putting their antlers

together slowly and gently before pushing. In one of these matches,

the shoving got a bit rough and apparently sparked that instinctive anger

so near the surface in these engagements, whereupon the two bucks, both

in the velvet, reared up on their hind legs and boxed vigorously with their

forefeet. .

The bucks are in breeding condition throughout the year ; however,

the psychological and certainly the physiological peak of the rut is reached

only during a part of the year, corresponding to the seasonal appearance

of the rut in other deer. This can be spoken of as the ‘ true rut’ in the

axis deer. During this period the buck’s neck is swollen, his antlers are

hard and his ego is at its peak as is his aggressiveness. During this

period, serious fights do take place, but no death-duels have been

observed, nor have we found any dead bucks that have been killed by

fighting. That the battles sometimes are quite rough is attested to by the

scars and cuts about the neck and head of bucks examined, and one buck

had a half-inch of antler tip embedded in the thick fibrous connective

tissue under the skin of the neck, apparently with no ill-effect.

To fight to the death requires both an aggressive desire and a defensive

willingness over some common ground or reason. In the Rocky

Mountain elk and its relatives, this reason is the harem, and only the

defence or pirating of a harem can bring on a fight to the death. This is

lacking in the axis deer. There are no fixed or acquired harems to fight.

over as a rule ; there is no definite territory to defend, or if it is defended

it is done psychologically. Consequently, any fight simply stems from

male animosity and whatever degree of anger that may flare up sponta-

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 699

neously. An ordinary fight can at times flare up into a real heated battle

that generates its own energy, though this is rare. The fights, though

sometimes ferocious, appear to end as soon as one buck discovers he is

being out-fought, whereupon he quickly gives up and moves off, with

the winner not following up—for here there is no reason to follow up

just as there is nothing to gain by staying in the fight when losing. In

this respect the fights resemble those between bachelor bulls among elk—

not serious, just sparring jousts, sometimes very rough but never vicious.

In contrast, those fought over a harem are all out, vicious fights with no

quarter given or asked, and often end in serious and fatal injuries.

It is interesting to Watch the aggressive behaviour of a group of bucks

just before the main rutting season, when they are still travelling together

in bachelor groups. Although no actual contact between animals may

take place, and they remain warily out of reach of each other, each

appears to be carrying a ‘chip’ on his shoulder, daring one of the others

to knock it off, but secretly hoping that no one will. If strange bucks

approach the group, all will bristle up and stalk stiff-legged about in

the usual threatening attitude, the newcomer advancing slowly in

the same manner. As they mix, there may be some shoving and sparring,

or they may just threaten and bluff each other for a few minutes before

again settling down to feeding in relative peace. Their action here, as

was also noted around the watering troughs and at other meeting places,

reminds one of a group of strange male dogs approaching each other.

The threatening attitude of the axis buck is most interesting and is a

most ferocious-appearing display. The hair on the neck and body is

raised as in a fighting tomcat, making them appear larger, the tail is partly

raised and held cocked sideways with the hair flared, heads are tilted

partly sideways and the chin is tucked in, antlers jutting. Their face

wrinkles up, with the lips curled back in what can well pass for a snarl.

Then, with scent glands spread wide open with the inner tufts of oily

hair sticking out on each side of their face, ears laid back, and eyes rolling

up wildly, they begin to stalk back and forth slowly and threateningly

with legs held stiffly and hind-feet dragging the ground at each slow step,

all the while giving forth low hisses with each breath. This display may

last some minutes before actual contact is made, if at all, and may include

pawing the ground with front feet and hooking at brush or grass with the

antlers.

This aggressiveness, though reaching its climax during the peak breed-

ing season, is by no means limited to it. Larger bucks, when carrying

mature polished antlers, regardless of the time of the year, are in their

physiological rut. These bucks, certainly know their superior position

and do not hesitate to bully smaller bucks, does, and fawns when they

wish to. Their presence during a time other than when a majority of

other bucks also are in this condition, places them at an even greater

700 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

advantage over other bucks which have their antlers in various stages of

growth and in the velvet.

Aggressive behaviour is not nearly so pronounced among does and is

rarely observed; they appear to get along in relative harmony most of

the time. At times one will become annoyed by the actions of another

whereupon she will strike with her front feet or bite, rarely butting with

the head. The captive doe-fawn occasionally vented her spleen on her

companion, or the owner’s dogs, by running up and quickly grabbing a

mouthful of hide and hair and giving a sharp tug. The dogs, especially,

appeared to be much more wary of this approach than they were of the

playful butting of the buck fawn.

CO-OPERATION

The only observed indications of co-operation among axis deer have

been limited to reciprocal licking of the head and neck, usually by two

does. Pairs of does have several times been observed to stand facing

each other while vigorously licking each other over the head, neck,

and shoulders. It is not known whether these were unrelated females

or whether they were mother and yearling daughter. The latter is

perhaps more likely, since mothers frequently lick their fawns all over,

with fawns licking their mother in return. When the captive fawns

were being scratched about the head and neck—which they greatly

enjoyed—they returned the favour by licking the arm of the person

scratching them ; this appears to be an instinctive action between mother

and fawn—and perhaps between any individuals. It is, in fact, possibly

the explanation for the mutualness of this act. In other words, it may

be a way of saying ‘ scratch me please’ ; that is, by initiating the licking

of a certain part of the neck, or head, or other part of the body, the

animal can in turn get its own part licked. Horses do this regularly ;

the Roosevelt elk (Graf 1956) does likewise. In these cases, the interest-

ing thing is that the initiator of the act gets the same corresponding

part of his anatomy ‘scratched’; if he nibbles or licks the right side

of the neck, he in turn gets the same spot on the right side of the neck

nibbled or licked. It appears to be a simple way of getting a job done

without much explaining or complex communications.

Another type of co-operation which occurs, possibly involuntarily, is

a form of ‘ baby sitting’ by does with young fawns. This is well known

among other deer and also other ungulates. On several occasions one

doe has been seen with two or more small fawns, although only one

appeared to be her own. Later, another doe or two would join the

single doe and the does and fawns would move off together, the indi-

cation being that the extra fawns had been left in the ‘care’ of the first

doe. This could be unintentional, of course, since does often travel in

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 701

groups and, while the fawns are resting, one or more of the does may

leave the group leaving her fawn just as she would when alone. Thus,

the fawn is left in the company of the other does until its mother returns.

Fawns that leave their resting place during the absence of the mother

will then, of course, join the other fawns and does near-by.

DEER AND FENCES

Although physically capable of executing high jumps the axis deer,

by inclination and its normal running and moving habits, is not a high-

jumper. They rarely jump over a fence which lies in their line of travel,

preferring to slip through or under it. Though physically capable of

easily clearing a four-foot fence, they nearly always follow it until they find

a spot where they can crawl under or slip between the wires. Where

fences are found on their range, their trails invariably lead to places

where they can go under or through the fence. When hard-pressed,

they will run up to these crossings and dive under or through the fence

with hardly a break in stride. Captive deer can sometimes be held

within a six-foot fence of woven wire, but if badly frightened they will

jump over it. ss

The important point here, from a fencing standpoint, is that a five-

or six-foot fence would keep deer within a wild range, except for an

occasional rare individual that might have special inclinations for high

jumping. Deer do not jump fences just to be jumping. Such activity

takes special effort and, unless there is some reason or enticement, they

do not do so. On the open range, if one wanted to confine these deer

to a certain part of the range, this could undoubtedly be done with a

five-foot hog-wire fence. At special points, where a jump possibly

might be made easier by the terrain, a single strand of barbed wire

above the fence should be sufficient to discourage such attempts. Close

confinement will force animals to attempt acts that they normally do

not attempt.

BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS OTHER GAME SPECIES

Only on Lanai is there an opportunity for the axis deer to encounter

other species of big game than the wild goat. When the pronghorn

antelope were released on Lanai, several encounters between the antelope

and the deer were observed. These encounters occurred during the

early morning as the deer were moving downhill towards cover after a

night of foraging higher up. As the two groups discovered each other,

they would stop and stare intently with great curiosity mingled with

fear. The deer would move a few steps and stamp their feet as they

do when uncertain. The antelope would instantly wheel and run off

702 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

a few yards, snorting and flaring their ‘powderpuff’ rump patches,

then stop and stare and then begin a slow and cautious advance toward

the deer. This behaviour would be repeated each time the deer moved

—the antelope running when the deer moved, the deer freezing when

the antelope dashed off—until the tension finally built up to the point

where the deer would break and run off, with the antelope hesitantly

following. In all cases observed, the deer were the first to give in to

fear and run away. Later, as they became accustomed to the antelope,

they would feed calmly near them with only occasional signs of

nervousness.

The ranges of these two species overlap only slightly, so encounters

between the two are not too common except among those few deer living

within the overlapping areas.

Mouflon sheep, introduced on Lanai several years earlier, occupy

the same range as do the deer and meetings are not infrequent. Several

such encounters have been witnessed, but only after the two species

had been together for some time and had grown used to each other’s

presence. The deer would regard the mouflon with mild alarm and

curiosity as they approached each other, perhaps stamping their feet,

lifting their tails, and giving a few barks of alarm. The mouflon paid

little attention to the deer, feeding along calmly, and the deer would

soon get over their own apprehension and return to feeding, both groups

intermingling in harmony. |

The range of the wild (feral) goat on Lanai lies above that of the

deer for the most part, and the two species are not commonly seen

together. On the few occasions when they have been seen to meet,

they appeared not in the least concerned about each other and went

about their business calmly, each more or less ignoring the other. Both

goats and deer have been on the island for many years, and have had

ample time to learn that each is harmless towards the other.

On Molokai, wild goats and deer are found occupying the same

range in the east-end rain forest. No opportunity was had to observe

meetings between the two. Undoubtedly they do at times come together

but probably avoid each other. Goats are by nature phlegmatic and

calm, not given to excitable behaviour. The deer undoubtedly exhibit

their usual nervous and excitable nature that is so characteristic of them.

Deer occupying ranges where they would never encounter goats

would probably act much as they did when first seeing the antelope at

the first meeting with these strangers. The two captive fawns were much

concerned when two small goat kids were placed in a pen adjoining

theirs, and did not get over their nervousness in the two days that the

goats remained. If the goats had been kept for a few more days, the

fawns would probably have overcome their fear completely.

Unfortunately, up to this time no observations have been made of

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 703

any of these competing species meeting at a water hole, where compe-

tition for a common need would be strongest. It would be interesting

to see which would dominate, or if they would drink together. The

latter is most unlikely in view of the highly nervous nature and complete

timidity of the deer and the fact that they do not drink when cattle are

at the troughs. This also would place them last on the list so far as

any dominance is concerned, a position the goats or mouflon are much

more likely to take in view of their generally stable and relatively calm

nature.

Cock pheasants have been observed to wander within a few feet of

deer, with neither pheasant nor deer paying any attention to the other,

REACTION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS

There is no domestic livestock on Lanai at present, with the excep-

tion of a few privately owned saddle horses. These are pastured in

areas out of the general range of deer habitat, so no opportunity was

had to observe reactions between these animals on Lanai. On Molokai,

however, deer share common range with both cattle and horses. Horses

are in the minority and encountered only over a very small part of the

range. In most cases observed, the deer always showed their generally

suspicious and nervous character and preferred to remain aloof from

the cattle and horses. At times they have been seen to mingle with

cattle and horses particularly on choice feeding areas.

In Papahaku Forest when the ripe kiawe beans were falling, cattle,

horses, and deer were found together in the same area. However, the

deer avoided close approach to the cattle and horses. At the water-

trough, deer quickly vacated the near vicinity and permitted cattle to

take over. In areas well removed from cover, they appeared very

reluctant to come in very near troughs being used by cattle and would

often hang back several hundred yards.

On the far west end of the island where cattle were very common

on the deer range, cattle were tolerated but avoided. Close approach,

such as even 5 or 10 yards, was not observ ed, the deer usally moving

away as cattle approached within 20 to 30 yards. In some of these

areas, it was noticed that the approach of cattle through the forest, even

though open forest, was almost always certain to alarm and put deer

to flight. The deer seemed to feel most sure of their neighbours where

they could keep them under full view and clearly see ve was coming

and what they were doing.

' Jn one instance, a herd of 15 to 16 deer, consisting of does, fawns,

and several bucks of various ages, was observed feeding on a low ridge

at sundown. A lone range cow came wandering over the ridge, and

although this was in an area where cattle were common, the deer all

704. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

stopped and showed a great deal of concern, barking and staring intently

and anxiously at the cow. An inexperienced and new observer would

have concluded from their action that this was the first cow the deer

had ever seen. These deer stopped their feeding, which had been in

the direction of the cow, and finally retreated. The cow never got

closer than about 150 yards. It should also be mentioned that this

herd of deer had come up out of Papahaku Forest where they had daily

contact with cattle and had undoubtedly associated, and even perhaps

competed with cattle for the kiawe beans. This again illustrates the

unpredictable nature and extreme nervousness and timidity of these

deer.

Above Halawa Valley on the east end, there are a few wild cattle

that still roam the lower part of the range inhabited by deer. They

have been observed to associate side by side with no apparent discord.

In one instance, an old cow was observed entering a small clearing in

a remote part of the forest, shortly to be followed by a doe and then a

fawn about six months old. The doe, perhaps 25 to 30 yards from the

cow, was not concerned, but the fawn was nervous and suspicious of

_ the cow and hung back until the cow left. In the one instance where

a saddle horse was used as a ‘blind ‘horse’, that is by means of which

it was hoped to be able to approach deer for close observation, the

ruse did not work. The deer bolted at the first sight of the horse. This

was close enough to Papahaku Forest, where horses were often near

the water tank, so that these deer undoubtedly had seen horses at some

time in the past.

DEER IN CAPTIVITY

Three fawns were raised by the Lanai investigator to obtain data

on fawn development and behaviour. They were all captured when very

young and raised on a bottle in a pen encompassing his yard. One,

Willie, was raised along until he was about 18 months of age, where-

upon he was sent toa zoo. The other two, Pepper, a male, and Squeekie,

a female, were captured in the summer of 1960 when only a few days |

old and were hand raised to approximately five months of age, when

they too were sent to the zoo.

Willie was raised without the company of his own kind, but in close

company of humans and two pet dogs; he quickly became very tame.

Up to the time he was about three months old, he was not penned but

was allowed to roam at will, spending the nights in the washroom with

a pet mongrel and a German short-haired pointer dog. He wandered

about the yard nibbling at vegetation and resting in the shade of the

trees during the day, occasionally following the dogs off on their

neighbourhood forays but always returning at bottle-time. He quickly

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 705

learned his name and would come running when called. He always

enjoyed. his owner’s company and attention, and liked being petted and

played with. He was afraid of most strangers at first, and particularly

of children. He was insatiably curious about all happenings around

the place, tried to eat anything remotely edible, and especially enjoyed

getting into the house at every opportunity where he would beg scraps

in the kitchen, nibble papers, clothes, and cigarette butts, and generally

make a nuisance of himself. All in all, however, he was an affectionate,

playful, and very interesting pet while young.

The other two fawns were raised together and. this ing a tendency

to keep them somewhat wilder, though Pepper was also affectionate

and playful. The little female, Squeekie, never showed the desire for

human company exhibited by both bucks; she would come readily in

answer to her name for her bottle and would submit to some handling, —

but otherwise made no attempt to attract attention or show affection.

Neither of these fawns showed the close friendship towards the dogs

that Willie did, and both were much more afraid of strangers.

Nevertheless, both were playful and attractive pets.

As Willie grew older and began raiding the neighbour’s flower gardens,

it became necessary to pen him in. However, the pen was not too

substantial at first and he escaped several times. Usually he would

return by himself, but once he was found several miles from home,

apparently having tried to track his owner’s jeep through the pineapple

fields. This was not unexpected since he would become very upset

when his owner would drive away, and would attempt to follow the

vehicle. Another time he was gone for 11 days and, as was discovered,

had joined the herd of wild deer inhabiting the forest edges above Lanai

City. This occurred after his spike antlers had matured, and the mating

urge first appeared. The owner finally located him feeding with some

other deer several miles from him, and when his name was called he

came trotting like a lost dog. The others, of course, fled. Then he

followed the jeep home, and appeared happy to be back in his pen.

During his freedom he had obviously tangled with some larger bucks

and had found that he was neither as big nor as tough as he believed,

and had gotten a few scars in the bargain for his pains.

As his antlers matured and he began to lose the velvet, Willie showed

the normal characteristics of a maturing buck and—what can be expected

of all male deer in captivity—he began to get decidedly aggressive and

antagonistic and dangerous towards anyone entering his pen. This is

characteristic of buck deer raised as pets; they lose their fear of humans

and, when they reach their first breeding season, become pugnacious

and dangerous, and will continue to be that way from then on. The

captive deer, Rudolph, owned by Mr. Noah Pelelo Sr., was raised

much as Willie and was kept in captivity until he was 11 years old. His

706 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

pen could be entered only when his antlers were newly shed or still very

young. As soon as they had reached near full size, he would immedi-

ately charge anyone standing near the fence, even though his antlers

were still soft enough to tear and bleed near the tips. During his

captivity he put two men in the hospital with serious antler wounds,

It is well to remember this. |

In the wild, bucks are never dangerous towards man under normal

circumstances but, once tamed and without the overpowering fear of

man, the natural instinctive antagonism and combativeness are turned

towards the nearest object at hand. People are not recognized as

friends, but as antagonists, and no distinction is made between men

and women. Once a buck attacks a man there is no discouraging him,

and few have any chance of winning out against the brute strength and

implacable rage of a buck with the battle lust upon him. A full-grown

buck is more than a match against a man; it takes the most powerful

of men to handle even a yearling buck, and then it is not certain that

he will escape uninjured. We know of several instances of men killed

by penned deer, and the keeping of male deer is most inadvisable. They

make interesting and beautiful pets when young, but become exceedingly

dangerous when they grow up. It is, therefore, wiser to refrain from

raising them unless for reasons of study and research. ,

Although all three fawns were raised in close association with humans

and they all became reasonably tame, they never lost their natural

nervousness and instinct for survival. Sudden or unusual occurrences

would make them fly into a panic, causing them to run wildly back

and forth in the enclosure, leaping into the fence in their efforts to

escape. When in such a state, they seemed almost blind to obstacles,

running into anything in their way. This appears to be typical of axis

deer when badly frightened, and the fawns plainly showed how quickly

and thoroughly their instincts would overcome the thin veneer of

tameness.

Fawns, raised in captivity by their own mothers (who eee

may have been hand-raised or captured in the wild) and which have a

minimum of handling and attention, never become tame. These fawns

remain as-timid and shy as the wild deer. The deer belonging to

Mr. Pekelo have already been referred to in this respect. His buck,

Rudolph, was reasonably tame and not easily frightened. The does

and fawns would fly into a complete panic when approached by strangers,

charging blindly and repeatedly into the walls and fences of their shed

and pen often injuring themselves. These are deer that have spent their

whole life in captivity in quite close association with humans, but because

they were not individually hand-raised on a bottle like Rudolph they

never overcame their natural fears.

The axis deer, raised for several generations in the Honolulu Zoo,

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 707

respond in the same way. They tend to remain at the rear of their

enclosure when visitors are watching, and are continuously nervous and

watchful and never get completely used to people. Paul Breese, Director

of the Zoo, states that they are the most nervous and excitable of any

of the wild animals he had handled.

HANDLING CAPTIVE DEER

Axis deer, whether wild caught or ‘tame’, that must be handled

for weighing, tagging, etc. are a problem. They can put up a terrific

fight and must be subdued by force ; however, if handled too roughly

they may die on the spot from shock. The best method found so far

is by means of nets; two or three men can carry a large net into a trap

or pen, herd the deer into it one by one, and wrap them up rapidly and

with relative ease with little chance of injury to either party. They can

then be weighed, tagged, and handled without hurting themselves and,

what is most important, apparently without suffering from shock.

Tranquilizing drugs have been used with some success in helping to

handle axis deer. It was found that Thorazine, injected intramuscularly

at the rate of 0°5 mg. per pound, calmed one buck and one doe to some

degree, making them much easier to work with. The drug Librium

has been tried several times on the captive fawns, but has shown little

effect other than to make them weak and wobbly without calming them

in the least. The dosages tried have been orally administered up to a

rate of about 2°3 mg. per pound of body weight. More work is needed

before the success of these and other drugs can be determined, but they

appear to promise an easy way to reduce the self-inflicted injuries and

death from shock when handling captive axis deer.

REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

BREEDING CYCLE

The breeding and fawning season of the axis deer in Hawaii, as in

other parts of the world, is not limited to a clear-cut season of the year.

Blandford (1888-1891), Lydekker (1898), Prater (1935), and Phillips

(1935) all mention the irregularity of the Lane and antler-shedding

in the Indian axis deer.

The indefiniteness and direct contradiction of these writers indicates

how little is known today about the Indian axis deer. Recent extensive

correspondence with various members of the Indian Forest Service, the

Zoological Survey of India, and private individuals who kindly under-

took to check some of these matters for us confirms the fact that the

axis deer there has no regular breeding and antler-shedding season

though, as in Hawaii, there appears to be a peak season. It is of interest

708 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

to note that a temperate climate does not affect the cycle of these deer.

Whitehead (1950) states that the axis deer in England breeds at all

seasons of the year, and that ‘the majority of calves would appear to

be dropped between Christmas and Easter’. Heck (1935) has the same

to say about the axis deer in Germany.

It was not possible to determine with absolute certainty all the factors

related to the breeding cycle and its various phases both in bucks and

does. However, in general it can be stated that fawns are produced

at all seasons of the year with a peak fawning period from about the

middle of November to April. Likewise, antlers are dropped at all times

of the year, but the peak period of dropping corresponds roughly to the

early part of the fawning season. Peak antler-maturation and breeding

or rutting activity occur from about April to August, though breeding

by any mature buck can take place at any time of the year regardless of

the stage of antler development in which he may find himself.

Just as there apparently is no inhibition of breeding ability during

the antlerless period in a buck, there apparently is no inhibition of the

estrus cycle of does by lactation. The indication is that a doe may

come into breeding condition within a few months after having given

birth to a fawn which she will be nursing. These two factors must

account for the irregularity or non-seasonal breeding of these deer.

The fact that this does not alter even in temperate climate indicates an

inherent physiological characteristic and not something that is caused

by the tropical climate in which these deer are normally found.

In a temperate or northern climate, the young of deer must be born

in the spring to survive. This is ensured through a mechanism where

the breeding cycle is inhibited in the female during lactation or simply

through a regularly spaced cyclic estrus period to ensure coincidence

with the season. A similar cyclic quiescence in the males further ensures

this coincidence with the seasons. In the axis deer the bucks can breed

at any season of the year, and does apparently have a repeated estrus

period with such frequency that no definite breeding season will become

established. .

The acclimatization of true temperate zone deer, such as the European

red deer and others, in a climate where the seasons do not coincide with

their own breeding cycle will result in an adjustment of the breeding

cycle to fit the season. This is the situation in south-temperate New

Zealand where the seasons are the reverse of the natural range of many

of the deer introduced there. The north-temperate climate animals now

have a breeding season just the reverse of those in the north-temperate

zone. (Donne 1924, Wodzicki 1950).

We have no explanation for the failure of the axis deer to adjust

itself to climatic conditions even in such unfavourable climates as

England and northern Europe, other than that offered.

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 709

Temperature in Hawaii does not vary greatly ; however, there is

definitely a seasonal rainfall variation, and in this respect the main

fawning season or peak corresponds to the season of maximum rainfall.

In India, the best information that we have been able to obtain indicates

that the fawning peak falls somewhere between August and February;

however, there is some conflict of information on this. The consensus

of information indicates that there is at least a weak correlation with

the monsoon or wet season there also. The indication is that the coin-

cidence of these seasons and the fawning peak may be just that—a

coincidence rather than an adjustment of the cycle to the climatic con-

ditions which happen to be favourable. If this were not so, then the

seasons should have had a profound influence on the breeding and

fawning activity of these deer in the cold temperate climates where they

have been introduced.

Favourable climatic conditions, whether temperature or moisture and

food or all of these, will of course have an important effect on the survival

of young animals. This in turn may tend to group the arrival of most

of the fawns during these favourable months. As will be seen later,

bucks apparently shed their antlers with great regularity.. It would be

most interesting to know whether does have any regularity of recurring

pregnancy—it would appear not at first glance; however, we do not

have enough data to be certain. The breeding cycle in Hawaii may

be just a carry-over from that originally developed in India. The median

dates of the varied information received from India would fit our season

close enough.

It will be interesting to see what change, if any, takes place in the

reproductive habits of the newly introduced pronghorn antelope over

the years. This species has a well-defined breeding and fawning season

which does not coincide exactly with optimum conditions in Hawaii.

ANTLER DEVELOPMENT

Closely associated with the rutting season is the development of the

bucks’ antlers; in fact, rutting activity begins with maturation of the

newly-developed antlers, and the beginning of the major rutting season

may be determined by discovering the period when most of the bucks

shed the ‘velvet’ from their new-grown antlers.

During the course of the present study, close watch was kept on the

captive buck, Rudolph, on Molokai, in order to determine the length

of time required to grow a set of antlers. This old buck was very con-

sistent from year to year in dropping his old antlers and developing his

new ones. The first two years he was checked he dropped his antlers

on the same date, January 7 ; the next year he missed this by only one

day, dropping them on the 8th. In the first year, the antler scars on

710 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

the pedicles were completely healed over and new growth was evident

17 days after he dropped his old ones. The second year, it took only

eight days. The antlers were mature, and began! peeling or shedding

on May 18th both years. Thus it took 132 and 130 days respectively,

or a little over four calendar months, for new antlers to become com-

pletely developed after the loss of the old ones, which he carried for

nearly eight months.

In order to arrive at the approximate period when most vid bucks

shed the velvet from their antlers, the antler-dropping dates were

estimated for all bucks observed in the velvet for two years. The state

of their antlers was compared to the observed. growth-rate of the penned

buck, and by working backwards, the approximate dropping date was

obtained. This data is plotted graphically in Figure Il, which shows

the estimated month in which each buck dropped his old antlers.

Assuming that antler development in most bucks roughly follows that

of Rudolph, taking a little over four months for completion, the cor-

responding curve to show antler maturation dates was also plotted in

Figure II. These two curves indicate that the majority of axis bucks

drop their old antlers in December each year, and that most of the new

antlers are mature by April.

Fig. I

Estimated & Known |

Antler Dropping & Maturation Dates

of Axis Bucks

Number of Bucks Observed

fw te OR Sie Orel

=) We

= = > <q o (@) z a

Month

In order to corroborate these two periods, the curves shown in

Figure III were constructed by plotting the percentage of occurrence

of all bucks observed each month with hard antlers versus all seen with

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 711

antlers in the velvet. The curves show a sharp drop in bucks seen with

hard antlers in December and a sharp rise in April, again indicating

that the majority drop their antlers in early winter and develop new

ones by mid-spring. It must be remembered, however, that although

the bulk of the bucks follow this pattern, many are ‘out of phase’,

and some may be seen in any stage of antler development at any time

of the year. -It is not at all uncommon to see a few bucks that have

Fig. I

Antler Condition By Percentage

Of Occurrence And Month

100

<¢ 9

eaaeeric |

ony

}

- 6 Percentage of hard-

3 8 ' ontlered bucks observed

é 40 \ ---. Percentage of velvet—

LHe30 antlered bucks observed

un 20

eemepro

—<

oe . : uw >

OF ae te i> voy seem Ee oe Se Oa Le

=) O 2) w <= QO. q

Seer Olena. iS peias SS a

Month

just shed their old antlers, or that are in the velvet, during the summer,

or bucks with mature, polished antlers during the winter.

After they have lost their old antlers and while new ones are

developing, most of the bucks travel together in bachelor groups apart

from the doe-fawn groups, although they may occasionally mix with

these while feeding. A few of the older stags may even become solitary,

keeping apart from others of their kind. Bucks in this state appear

to realize the loss of their armament, and become even more shy and

nervous than usual. They stick close to cover and keep out of sight

as much as possible, taking to their heels more readily when alarmed.

When the antler is dropped, the surface of the pedicle is left raw and

open and may bleed slightly. This ‘wound’ is quickly covered with a

soft, greyish blue skin, and in one to two weeks new growth in the form

of a slight knob is noticeable. While the antlers are growing—which

they do from the tips, not the bases—they are covered with a thick,

soft skin, which has a coat of fine, short, velvet-like hair, giving rise to

712. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

the term ‘velvet’. This protective skin contains a well-developed cir-

culatory system which provides blood and nourishment to the growing

bone beneath. Damage to this skin or velvet while it is still functional

causes severe bleeding and, if the damage is sufficient to impair circula-

tion to the growing tip of the antler, malformation or stunting may result.

It is not uncommon to see bucks with clubbed or twisted antlers, probably

resulting from injury while they were developing. ,

Such injuries are not hard to visualize since many bucks engage in

mild to moderately rough sparring contests while their antlers are still

developing. As their velvet-covered antlers begin to mature, the bucks’

confidence and belligerence returns, and signs of antagonism are

exhibited. Several weeks before Rudolph’s antlers were fully mature,

and while they were still soft enough near the tips to bleed when struck,

he began jabbing and gouging them on the fence in his efforts to attack

onlookers.

At this stage of their antler-development, the bucks reach their best

physical condition and build up an abundance of visceral fat. With

the final maturation of the antlers, their necks begin to swell; the skin

over the sides and upper portion of the neck becomes thick and tough,

and a thick, subcutaneous layer of connective tissue develops in this

area. The neck muscles become enlarged, providing the protection and

strength needed for the more strenuous battles to come.

When the antlers reach full maturity, circulation in the protective

skin is much reduced or decreases altogether and the skin dies, drying

into a fibrous, paper-like covering. As it dries and splits, it peels down

and off the antler in long shreds and strips. The process is fairly rapid

so that in a period of several days the buck may be left with tangled

strands of this dried skin hanging from his antlers and over his head

and face. Some bleeding may occur from parts of the skin not

completely dried, but it is minor and merely stains the antlers to varying

degrees with the brown of dried blood.

The common assumption that bucks remove the velvet by rubbing

the antlers on shrubs and trees is not entirely correct. Actually, the

velvet comes off naturally and without help, though, obviously, the

rubbing that does occur will help to remove it even though rubbing

may not be done for this purpose. At the time when the velvet is drying

and beginning to peel, an instinctive desire to rub their antlers arises,

perhaps being encouraged by itching as the velvet dries, but more likely

by the excess energy of the fully-awakened rutting urge. The bucks

begin to spend numerous periods in thrashing small trees and brush

with their antlers, sometimes calmly and deliberately, sometimes in

apparent rage. Such rubbing does help to remove shreds of velvet—

though not deliberately—and also stains the antlers more fully, as well

as covering them with bark fragments and other debris.

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 713

BREEDING ABILITY AND PREGNANCY RATE

Although the outward signs of the rut are most apparent in the

period following the maturation of the buck’s antlers, which for most

of the bucks is in late spring and summer, and although most of the

breeding takes place during this period, bucks apparently are able to

breed successfully at any time of the year. Several observations have

been made of wild bucks breeding receptive does after the bucks have

dropped their antlers. The pet buck, Rudolph, was recorded as success-

fully impregnating a doe two days after dropping his antlers on

January 7th, over eight months after he actually began his rutting season.

A number of bucks were collected in various stages of antler develop-

ment, ranging from those that had just lost their antlers, through those

with partly developed antlers in the velvet, to bucks with polished

antlers but apparently past the peak of the rut. Microscopic examina-

tion of the reproductive tracts revealed that mature and active sperm

were plentiful in all cases, indicating that the animals could impregnate

a receptive doe at any time of the year, regardless of outward

appearances. |

Bucks without antlers, or in various stages of velvet, do breed with

does not uncommonly as our own observations show. It would seem

reasonable however that, where bucks with hard antlers are present,

these would do the breeding in most cases, since they would have no

difficulty in fending off their unarmed rivals from a receptive doe.

Little has been learned about the sexual activity and the estrus cycle

of the axis does. They appear to be receptive to the buck for only

short periods of their estrus cycle, not unlike other deer. They

apparently go through several estrus cycles annually, though how many

is not known definitely. From the little evidence that we have, it would

appear the great majority of does are bred the first time they come into

heat on reaching sexual maturity, and thereafter are bred as they come

into season after the birth of each fawn.

The only observations so far available by which we can estimate

the length of the doe’s estrus cycle were made on a pair of captive deer.

The buck was observed to mount the doe on September 19th, then again

on December 9th and December 16th. The September 19th act can be

considered as an unsuccessful breeding. The second two dates, however,

present several possibilities. Either the buck forced himself on the doe

prematurely, that is before she was actually in full estrus, which might

be possible under pen conditions, or the axis deer has a long heat period.

In any case, the December 16th breeding was successful and the doe

became pregnant. No more mounting of the doe was observed after

this date. The time lapse between the first and second breeding was 81

days, and between the first and third 88 days. Since our records in

714. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

these cases depended on the observations of the owner of the animals,

one can only make assumptions as to the estrus cycle. If the doe went

through regular estrus cycles between the first breeding attempt and the

last one, one could, on the basis of a 27-30 day estrus cycle of similarly

sized deer, assume that she had gone through three cycles between

September 19 and December 16 or, if no other estrus periods occurred,

then it is possible that the axis deer may have an estrus cycle of

approximately 85-90 days, which is not too likely. Since we do not

know whether the doe was kept separated from the buck between the

first and third breeding (normally the practice by the owner) this remains

pure speculation. It is a field that needs more study and observation.

Records of the time-lapse between parturition and re-impregnation

of axis does are also scarce. Those obtained from the zoo showed

that the four does observed again became pregnant four, four and

one-half, seven, and nine months after giving birth to fawns. There is

a strong indication that does often become pregnant even sooner than

four months after giving birth. One doe collected had a fawn with her

that could not have been more than 3 months old. This doe was carrying

a 25 mm. foetus, which can be estimated at about 50 days of age. She

was from the wet rain forest, where food conditions are at their best,

and the fawn can be-considered to have made a maximum growth. Thus,

by the most liberal estimate based on dry-land growth, breeding must

have occurred here only one and one-half months after parturition, and

possibly even sooner.

Another young doe, which could have been no older than 14 months

according to her teeth, was found to be nursing a fawn while she was

carrying a foetus which was about 80 days old. This means that she

was bred the second time at about eleven and one-half months of age.

Subtracting the approximately seven to seven and one-half month

gestation period of her nursing fawn from this age, indicates she was

bred the first time at four to four-and-a-half months of age—and this

with no time lapse between giving birth to her first fawn and being bred

again. Assuming one-half to one month between parturition and re-

breeding, she would have had to be only three to four months old at

her first breeding. Thus, it appears that the interval between parturition

and re-breeding could have been only one month at the most, and

probably less, since it is highly unlikely that she could have been success-

fully impregnated before she was three or four months old. Even this

age must be an exceptional minimum for sexual maturity.

Ten other does were found to be both pregnant and lactating.

According to the age of the foetuses carried, they had been pregnant

from 2°3 to 6°1 months approximately, or an average of 3°6 months for

the 10 animals. Since it appears that fawns are normally weaned

between four and six months of age (and probably closer to four months)

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 715

and these does were still nursing un-weaned fawns, the maximum interval

between their giving birth and becoming re-impregnated must have

been between about 1°7 to 3°7 months, with one of them possibly

becoming pregnant almost immediately after giving birth.

In all probability, the average axis doe in the wild becomes pregnant

again about four to five months after giving birth. If they did not

average this time lapse but took from 16 to 17 months, more barren

does would have been found among those examined, and if the lapse

averaged longer or shorter than four or five months or 16to17 months,

the peak fawning season would have changed over the years, probably

levelling out by now to a constant monthly birth rate. For example,

if a doe became pregnant on January 1, she would give birth approxi-

mately on August 17. Then, if she again became pregnant two months

later in the middle of September, her next fawn would be born about

the first of May the following year. If fawning and breeding dates of

the population as a whole varied in this manner for a number of years,

the fawning season would not continue to form a peak during the winter

months as it does, but would be scattered almost evenly throughout the

year, or form peaks at random seasons. Since the breeding and fawning

peak seasons are obvious and apparently constant, such an interval

between parturition and re-impregnation must be the average case for

the herd as a whole, even though a number of animals vary from this

average to quite a degree.

Where forage is good, as it is over most of Lanai and parts of Molokai,

axis does probably average almost one fawn every 12 months.

Two fawns produced successively in the same year as stated by Lydekker

(1898) is, of course, out of the question due to the length of the gestation

period. A total of 152 sexually mature does were examined for indi-

cations of pregnancy and lactation. This included the laboratory exami-

nation of ovarian scars, as well as gross examination for obvious foetuses

and the presence of milk in the mammaries. Of this total, it was found

that 103 does were pregnant, 27 were pregnant and lactating, 14 were

lactating only, and only 8 were neither pregnant nor lactating. Thus,

144 were either pregnant—and so would give birth within the next seven-

and-a-half—or had already given birth within the past six months or less

(most fawns are weaned before they are six months old, and probably

by the time they are four months old). This indicates a yearly pregnancy

rate of about 95%. Thus, it seems safe to say that one could expect

about 90 to 95 % of the sexually mature does in the herd to produce fawns

annually. Judging from the herd increase rate under the present ideal

conditions on Lanai, the indicated birth rate is probably not far from

correct.

716 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

BREEDING BEHAVIOUR

With the maturation of the bucks’ antlers, the rutting period begins

in earnest. Antlers are struck and rubbed against trees and brush with

the utmost zeal, and at times the bucks act as if they are actually

‘fighting’ a tree. They jab and shove viciously while dancing around

and pawing the ground, apparently using the tree as an imagined enemy.

Favoured rubbing spots are young kiawe trees under four or five inches in

diameter, but almost any tree, including large ones, may be rubbed and

gouged from time to time. Antler-rubbing is frequently violent, and

young trees so attacked may be completely girdled of bark and killed,

while older trees receive deep scars. Bucks approach each other with

more than the usual belligerence, stalking about and threatening, and

fights are commonplace. The fights, though rough, are usually short

and end as soon as one contender realizes that he is losing, the winner

rarely pushing the attack.

During this period, some of the bucks appear to wander restlessly

from herd to herd, seeking receptive does. While wandering about, the

larger bucks at least, can occasionally be heard calling their hoarse,

drawn-out challenge, usually in the late afternoon or evening. To what

extent these calling bucks are transient is not known. In the high forest

of Molokai, at least, there is an indication that these ‘ roaring ’ bucks are

calling from a ‘fixed’ territorial area.

As a doe comes into heat, she is quickly located by one or more bucks,

and followed intently until the heat period is over. Although several

bucks may be following her, the largest quickly asserts his dominance,

and the others follow at a discreet distance, hoping for an opportunity

but not daring to approach too closely. If one is bold enough to come

too close to the doe, the dominant buck makes a quick rush at the inter-

loper with antlers lowered. This is usually enough to send the smaller

buck back to a respectfuldistance. The dominant buck does not appear

to mind the other bucks hanging around, and wastes. no time on them as

long as they do not try to interfere or come too close.

If the doe is not quite ready to accept the buck, she often leads him a

merry chase, keeping just out of his reach and trotting ahead, nibbling a

bite here and there until the buck is almost up to her, then trotting off

again. The buck follows her, walking, trotting, or even running after

her in his frustration.

When the doe is ready for breeding, she will permit the buck to come

up to her, indicating her readiness by urinating and lifting her tail fre-

quently. The buck reacts by smelling and tasting the urine, raising his

head with extended upper lip curled back in the typical ungulate gesture.

He then proceeds to lick her genitals, flanks, and head, often jabbing her

lightly with his antlers. This pre-coital courtship may go on for some

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII re

minutes before the buck actually tries to mount the doe. When he does

so, she frequently will move out from under him, making him repeat the

courtship several times while he grows more and more eager and frus-

trated. His antler jabs become more forceful as his desire mounts, until

the doe finally gives in completely and copulation occurs. It is

apparently repeated as often as the buck is able and as long as the doe

remains in heat. When she loses her desire, the buck will leave her and

go off to seek another.

Only rarely has a larger buck been observed to actually herd several

does in a harem, remaining with them while he keeps other bucks away.

The more common practice is to stay with a single doe coming into heat

and leave her after breeding to find another one, perhaps in another

group. On the few occasions when herding was observed, the buck used

his antlers to keep his does from straying from the group, and appeared

to move the group in whatever direction he chose by herding and jabbing.

Although bucks lose some weight during the extended rutting season

from the exertions, they show no aversion to feeding at this time, and

browse hastily and sporadically while pursuing the does, with long feed-

ing periods in between. Most of the breeding activities take place during

the usual feeding periods in the evening, night, and early morning when

the deer are normally on the move. Even during the peak of the rutting

season, they continue to seek heavy cover and rest during ‘the major part

of the daylight hours. Many of the older bucks leave the doe-fawn herds

and groups during the day, andseek solitude for the resting periods,

joining them again in the evening.

By late summer most of the smaller and medium-sized bucks’ necks

have returned to their normal size—somewhat heavier than that of the

does, but not noticeably swollen as they are during the beginning of the

rut. The necks of the larger bucks also shrink somewhat, but they

remain fairly heavy until after they lose their antlers, after which they

become even more reduced. As the summer progresses, the ardour of

the rut drops off and less fighting and threatening is noticed. The

bucks remain with the doe-fawn groups for the most part, but appear

to get along with each other with less hostility. Does coming into heat

periodically throughout the off-season are bred, but the outward signs

of the rut are not nearly as feverish as during the late spring and early

summer. During the fall, many bucks begin to drift away from the herds

of does and fawns and again take up their bachelor life, although a few

bucks may always be found with does.

GESTATION

Only one definite record was obtained of the gestation period of axis

deer during the study. In this case, the elapsed time between the last

date of breeding—and probable date of conception—and the date of

718 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

parturition was 229 days, or a little over seven-and-a-half months. There

is undoubtedly some variation in this period, but it will probably not vary

more than a week or two either way. Rough correlation was obtained

by the length of time between the start of the peak breeding season in

April and the start of the peak fawning season late in November, or

about seven-and-a-half months,

GROWTH OF THE FOETUS

Axis does normally carry only a single foetus ; none so far examined.

has contained more. Only one record has been obtained of twin births,

and that from a zoo deer. Mrs. Marie Palit, of Ranchi, India, in a

personal communication states that she has had the opportunity to

observe a great many does killed on large estates as a result of extermi-

nation drives. She was personally interested in examining them for

pregnancy because the pregnant does were not acceptable as food. As

an example, one such shoot brought in 47 deer, 38 of which were does,

many pregnant. In her letter dated 2-11-1960, Cobwebs, P.O. Nehal,

Ranchi, India, she states: ‘I myself have never seen multiple foetuses,

nor have I seen single does with more than one fawn at heel’. Twins, of

course, are possible but undoubtedly are quite rare in this species.

A number of foetuses were obtained from field collection and from

hunter-killed deer ; these were all weighed and measured. One specimen

of a known-age foetus was obtained from a captive doe. Her breeding

date was recorded and, upon her accidental death, the foetus was collected,

at which time it was 108 days old and weighed 250 grams. Three of the

other foetuses appeared to be fully developed, and at least two of the does

were obviously ready to give birth within a day or two. Their

mammaries were fully developed and their vulvas were swollen. The

third would probably also have been born shortly. If we accept the 229

days as average gestation period, this is the approximate age these foetuses

would have to be given.

Hudson & Browman (1959) determined the weights by age of a

number of known-age mule deer foetuses, and the data were plotted into

a curve in Figure IV to illustrate the increase in weight by age in days

for this species. By using the weights of the heaviest of the three esti-

mated-age term foetuses of axis deer and that of the one known-age feetus,

a similarly shaped curve was constructed to show the increase in weight

by age of axis foetuses. This curve, also shown in Figure IV, was construc-

ted by eye for best fit and resemblance, and is solely an estimate of the

true average growth curve but, as will be. shown, is probably fairly

accurate.

The length, by age, of the mule deer foetuses was also determined by

Hudson & Browman, the length in this case being the distance from the

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 719

crown or forehead to the rump. The crown-rump length was used if

the head was still bent downwards, and the forehead-rump length if the

Fig. IW

Constructed Fetal-Growth Curves

of Mule Deer & Axis Deer

by Age in Days & Weight in Grams

& 15690 grams at 229 days

(Birth)

@ Known- or closely

estimated-age fetus

e Age as estimated from

Length Curve and

cross- plotted by weight

Weight in grams

0.100 150 200 250

Age in Days

head was straightened as the foetus grew older. The data were plotted

in a curve (Figure V) to show the increase in length with age in days of

mule deer fcetuses. Similar data for white-tailed deer foetuses were

obtained (Thompson 1958) and plotted in Figure V. The curves overlap

almost perfectly over most of their length, though that for the mule deer

was not carried out until the age at birth due to lack of data. A similarly-

shaped growth-curve for the axis deer was constructed using the length

of the heaviest full-term foetus as the assumed length at 229 days of age,

and shaping the curve to take into consideration the lag in early develop-

ment as indicated by the one known-age foetus. Unfortunately, the length

720 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

of this foetus was not obtained ; the specimen was lost before being

measured due to a freezer malfunction. This estimated curve is also

illustrated in Figure V.

Fig.

Constructed Fetal Growth Curves of White-Tailed, Mule &

Axis Deer By Age in Days & Length in’ MM.

930 mm. at 229 days (birth)

in Millimeters

|, =——=- AXIS DEER

(estimated curve)

Length

— —WHITE-TAILED DEER

(computed curve)

| ------ MULE DEER

(computed curve)

fetuses as aged by

weight curve & cross-

plotted by length

closely estimated

age fetus

Crown-Rump or Forehead-Rump

50 200 250

FEF in DAYS

The foetuses obtained were then aged according to each of the curves

so constructed ; the resulting ages by weight and by length agreed quite

closely. These ages were then cross-plotted on the two curves ; in other

words, the estimated ages according to the weight curve were plotted on

the length curve by length, and the estimated ages by length were plotted

on the weight curve by weight, in order to see whether the curves agreed

with each other and were therefore constructed in the proper shape.

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 721

This cross-plotting is also shown in Figures IV and V, and indicates that

the two curves are in close agreement and therefore are probably designed

about right. More data will be needed in order to check on their

accuracy but, until it is forthcoming, these curves will have to suffice

for the aging of axis deer foetuses.

The following list of physical characteristics may help obtain the

approximate age if scales or tape measure not available :

Pee

> he

Age Characteristics

Less than 100 days .. No hair present, no skin pigmentation visible,

metatarsal glands not visible.

110 days .. No hair present, no skin pigmentation visible,

metatarsal glands visible as white spots on

hind leg below hock.

130-140 days .. A little hair developing on chin, and eyelashes

; evident, skin pigmentation barely visible,

metatarsal glands very apparent, nose dark

grey.

150 days .. Hair fairly plentiful on eyes, nose, and chin,

only ; pigmentation more visible ; nose black ;

hooves black and formed ; teeth present only

as cartilaginous lumps.

160 days .. Hair appearing all over, especially on head,

tail, and rump; pigmentation very plain ;

nose and hooves black ; teeth still not formed.

200 days .. Fully haired and developed ; incisor teeth start-

ing to protrude through cartilage.

220-229 days .. Fully developed; incisor teeth completely

formed ; appears the same as a newborn fawn.

SEX RATIO OF FOETUSES

A total of 68 foetuses was examined from pregnant does that were

collected or brought into hunter checking stations. Of these, 39 were

male and 29 were female, giving a sex ratio of approximately 1°3 males

to 1:0 females. This sample is quite small, however, and, although it

may actually indicate the true sex ratio of fawns at birth, it is believed

that the true sex ratio is probably close to equality with perhaps a slight

preponderance of males. For the purposes of calculation, a sex ratio

at birth of 1:0 to 1° 0 will be assumed until further information is available.

722 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

FAWNING

Observations in the field showed a peak fawning season which started

during late November and which continued through March. Although

the peak period was obvious, it was possible to see some young fawns

during any month of the year. In order to confirm this winter peak,

most fawns observed in the field were roughly aged by comparing their

sizes to those of the captive fawns at various ages, and the approximate

month of their birth determined. In addition, the future birth dates were

computed for all foetuses examined, and the birth dates determined for a

number of captive fawns. This data was plotted graphically in Figure

VI by the number of births during each month. The resultant figure

Fig. WL

Known & Estimated Birth Dates of Fawns

By Percentage of Occurrence

of Fawns Observed

Percentage of Total Number

. FE

Oo kK S 6 2 mo GG e&.> FS 3s

5S w O 0 ula WW <a, a 95 5 >

Estimated Month of Birth

clearly points out a fawning peak during the winter months from

November through March. According to the data obtained, about 61%

of all fawns are born during the five months from late November through

March, and 39% during the remaining seven months from April through

October.

Since the aging methods by which the majority of birth dates were

obtained are admittedly not very accurate, the picture as presented in

Figure VI is not precise, but is used merely to indicate the approximate

annual fawning cycle. Field observations lead to the belief that it is

fairly indicative, though possibly showing the peak season commencing

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 723

a little early ; it actually appears to start in late November or early

December rather than in early November.

The major fawning season as shown helps to confirm the major breed-

ing season as discussed earlier. Subtraction of the seven-and-a-half

months gestation period from the beginning and end of the fawning peak

points to a breeding peak from April through August.

PARTURITION

Although no actual births have been observed, a number of does have

been seen that were obviously just about ready to give birth. Most of

these were alone, having sought out some spot of good cover such as a

dense patch of brush or small clump of trees high on the side of a gulch

where visibility was good and approach difficult. They appeared very

reluctant to leave these chosen sites, and seemed to be waiting for their

time, moving but little. Others have been seenwith nearly new-born

fawns in similar sites, and also alone. Thus it appears that when their

time is near the does leave their yearling fawns, if any, and their com-

panions, and seek privacy in some well-protected spot in which to give

birth to the fawn.

FAWN DEVELOPMENT

The newborn fawns are kept well-hidden by their mothers, who make

them lie down by nosing them on top of the head. Small fawns can hide

in almost any small patch of weeds, brush, or grass, and easily remain

hidden by stretching flat. They seem to have an instinctive desire to

hide in this manner when very young, and remain for hours in this posi-

tion while the mother remains near-by or goes off to feed. Periodically,

the doe returns to nurse her fawn but, otherwise, she stays somewhat

apart from it and may go off for an hour or two to feed with other deer.

The result of this isolation of the fawn not only permits the doe to feed

normally but cuts down the possibility of attracting a predator to her

fawn by her presence. Predators, either instinctively or from experience,

methodically search areas where isolated does are encountered.

Small fawns can be induced to assume this flat hiding position by

stroking them on the head, whereupon they lay their ears back, stretch

their necks and heads out on the ground, and make themselves as flat

and invisible as possible. The ears soon come up, however, and resume

the continual swinging and searching movements that are rarely stopped

for the rest of their lives.

When very young, the fawns apparently have little scent to give away

their presence ; several times dogs have been seen to pass right beside

hidden fawns without noticing them. Another possible protective

724 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

mechanism is that for their first few days their eyesight appears weak.

Thus they would not be as likely to see some real or assumed danger

near-by, become frightened, and jump out of their hiding place to run,

thereby giving themselves away. They normally lie where their mother

has left them, refusing to move unless practically kicked out. Since

they are so hard to see while they remain still and hidden, and since they

apparently are very difficult to locate by scent, their best possible protec-

tion is to remain right where they are and allow the danger to pass by.

If they do become frightened by the near approach of danger, they may

jump up, run a few yards, and then duck into whatever cover is present

and lie down again to resume hiding. When the doe is near-by when

danger threatens, she will run off alone, leaving the hidden fawn, and

apparently trying to attract the danger to herself by making her flight

obvious.

When the fawn is badly frightened as when caught by a dog or men,

for example, it will squeal its high-pitched mewing call or give a loud,

raucous call of terror. This will bring the doe to itonthe run if she is

within hearing, where she will ‘ flutter’ about nervously if the danger

is human, or attack savagely with tooth and hoof if a dog is

present. Does can be made to reveal their hidden fawns by imitating a

fawn call ; as soon as the doe hears it, she will run to the fawnto see if all

is well.

In more peaceful times, the fawns apparently call quietly when they

are hungry, for does have been seen to suddenly throw up their heads

to listen, then trot over to a hidden fawn to nurse it. All of the captive

fawns would call repeatedly for their milk if it did not arrive on time.

For the first two or three weeks of their lives young fawns are kept

almost constantly hidden by their mothers, and are thus rarely observed.

After they are several weeks to a month old, they are allowed to accom-

pany their mothers while feeding and are more frequently seen, though

they still spend long periods resting in hiding. As they grow older, they

accompany their mothers constantly in their movements, nibbling on

forage and playing with other fawns, nursing whenever the mother will

stand still long enough.

Nursing is always a time of excitement for the fawns ; they stretch to

their utmost, tense as little springs, their tails go up with hair all fluffed

out, and their small infra-orbital scent glands are flared wide open. They

suck with vigour until the milk stops flowing, whereupon they butt the udder

savagely with their nose, tug and yank the teats, and sometimes strike

sharply with their fore foot. A large fawn may give its mother quite a

beating if she does not supply enough milk or supply it fast enough,

though, if the fawn gets too rough, the doe may reach around and nip

it or kick it. A large fawn when butting this way, may lift its mother’s

hind feet off the ground by the force of the push.

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII Gees)

It isnot known how often fawns nurse during the day, but it is

probably fairly frequent since the doe’s udder is not large. As the fawns

grow older they demand more milk and must nurse more often. A two-

or three-month old fawn can consume a large quantity of milk in a sur-

prisingly short time. The captive fawns at this age could drain a nine-

ounce baby bottle through a nipple in less than 30 seconds, and would

take 18 ounces three times a day, all the while trying for more. Nursing

periods observed in the wild have been short, with the doe moving off

after only 10 to 15 seconds, but these have been daytime observations and

nursing might last longer under cover or in darkness.

Actually, it appears doubtful whether milk is an absolute necessity

beyond nine weeks and is not more or less a luxury which the fawn takes

as long as possible.

All three of the captive fawns raised began picking at green forage at

about one week of age, and were eating it in quantity by five weeks. By

five-and-a-half weeks, their faeces had hardened into typical pellet form

from the consumption of vegetation ; before that age it was soft and vis-

cous. As their consumption of greens increased, they began regurgita-

ting and chewing their cud during resting periods. By three months all

were eating sufficient forage to provide ample nourishment had their

milk supply been cut off, though they stillrelished and sought milk daily.

Actually neither the capacity nor the desire for milk of bottle-fed

fawns is an indication of the amount or the length of time that a fawn

will get milk in the wild state. It is doubtful whether a wild doe could

come anywhere near producing 54 ounces of milk per day, though the

captive fawns showed they were more than willing and able to take it.

As the does’ milk supply becomes inadequate, the fawn must make up

the food lack with adult food. The hardening of the faeces into typical

adult pellets gives some clue to the age when the fawn becomes capable

of existing entirely on adult food. A wild fawn weighing 40 pounds or

about 12 weeks of age, was found to be subsisting almost entirely on adult

food, though a small amount of milk was found present in the rumen.

In all probability fawns of even younger age subsist largely on vegetation

and, while undoubtedly milk is acceptable, it is probably not necessary.

In the wild state, few fawns over four to five months old have been

seen nursing. ‘There is little doubt that these were being over-indulged

and were getting more than they needed. The proof that such over-

indulgence does occur was the observed instance of a yearling doe, as

large as her mother, which was still nursing ; she had to get down on her

knees to do so. Such instances are, however, rare.

The fawn, Willie, was not weaned until he was six months old because

it was not known whether his daily forage was sufficiently balanced to

properly nourish him. However, after weaning, he showed practically

no decrease in weight gain, and therefore, could undoubtedly have been

726 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

weaned several months earlier. The other two fawns were still getting

milk at five months of age, mainly in an effort to keep them tame and

easy to handle, but could have been weaned much sooner.

The question of weaning time and at what age a fawn is capable of

being self-reliant from the food standpoint is important. Many well-

meaning but uninformed people claim that fawns will starve to death if

the does are shot during either-sex hunts. This is true, of course, if the

fawns are too small ; however, if the season is held at a time when most

of the fawns are several months old there is little likelihood of this occur-

ring. No difficulty has been had over this question in Hawaii, but it

comes up constantly on the mainland. There, in temperate climate

deer, where fawns are usually 4 to 5 months old by the time the hunts are

held, such arguments are ridiculous to say the least. It should also be

remembered that if the food supply is so poor that the young fawn start-

ing out on its own, that is 9 to 12 weeks old, cannot survive, then it is

highly improbable that the doe will be able to supply it with enough milk

for it to survive. Milk, after all, is not produced by wishful thinking

and sentiment—it takes food to produce it, in fact considerably more

food than the milk that will result from it.

The doe frequently licks her fawn over the entire head, neck, and body,

particularly at nursing time; at this time she also licks it vigourously

about the anal region. This not only keeps the fawn clean, but ap-

parently helps it to defecate ; the captive fawns, when very young, tended

to become somewhat constipated unless stroked about the anus with a

warm, moist cloth. While the licking is going on, the fawn commonly

reciprocates by licking its mother about the head. This habit is kept up

apparently as long as the fawn remains with its mother, though to a

lesser degree as the fawn grows older. It is not unusual to see a doe and

her yearling fawn licking each other about the head and neck.

It is interesting to note that fawns under a month or so of age do not

like to urinate when in the open but wait, if possible, until they are in a

sheltered and quiet spot. The captive fawns would invariably wait until

they were allowed into the house, where they would move into some quiet

spot where they felt secure and protected before urinating. The buck

fawns commonly waited until they were lying down, then would urinate

in their bed and remain lying in it with no apparent discomfort. The doe

fawn was never observed to do this.

Before weaning, fawns show little interest in drinking water and, in

fact, did not seem to know exactly how to go about drinking it. They

sniffed and sometimes licked at the water, but did not drink it. As their

milk consumption dropped off and finally stopped altogether, they quickly

learned to drink and made frequent use of water when it was available,

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 128

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

The senses of newborn fawns do not appear to be very acute, with the

possible exception of hearing. This may, however, be more a matter of

developing use rather than an actual lack of the sense. Lack of

familiarity with objects may also give false impressions of the acuteness

of a sense, as has already been explained in the discussion of the adult

senses. In a precociously born animal such as deer, one would expect

all faculties to be reasonably well developed at birth, though a lag of a few

days may be the case here.

The sense of smell, or its use certainly, develops rapidly and they

become very interested in various odours within a few days after birth.

It is difficult to judge how well this sense is developed but, in view of its

importance, one would expect it to be among the best developed.

Eyesight appeared to be relatively poor in the pet fawns, except at

close range, and did not appear to become much strengthened until these

fawns were about one month old. Before that, they were constantly

running into various objects during play, seemingly unable to discern

them until they were almost touching them. After a month or so, how-

ever, eyesight use improved until vision was very good at all ranges.

Two observations were made on newborn—or almost newborn—wild

fawns that indicate that vision is possibly better than that observed in the

captive fawns, and so may negate the theory of poor eyesight being a

protective mechanism in very young deer. At least in these two cases,

the fawns were able to recognize the close approach of danger and reacted

promptly. One of these was discovered in a dense stand of kiawe second-

growth near the beach. The fawn was discovered wobbling about near

an old windfall, amidst a welter of debris of limbs and rotten wood.

It appeared to be but a few hours old, barely dry, had the gaunt and un-

co-ordinated appearance so common to new fawns, and was swaying and

wobbling about in a most uncertain way. It would bump into twigs and

fall over every small obstruction. It appeared quite helpless. Certainly

it had never seen a man, nor had it had any experience with one. No

one besides the observer had been near this remote spot for weeks.

The snapping of a large twig when the observer was still some 10

yards away, brought the youngster’s head around with a jerk. Its ears

had lost their dejected droop and were up and alert, the eyes were bright

and clear and they obviously focused on the intruder, showing all the

startled amazement and fright of a surprised adult under the same cir-

cumstances. There was only a moment’s hesitation as the observer ad-

vanced, confidently expecting the youngster to drop flat and try to make

itself invisible. However, its instant pivot away had all the speed and

dash of a full-grown deer—except that it ended in an ignominious heap

as the plucky youngster tripped over a twig; however, it quickly scrambled

728 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

to its feet and made off, tiny white tail held high, and even managed to

clear a few miniature logs like a steeple-chaser, giving a good imitation

of things to come. In spite of many falls and tumbles, it did better than

the observer in the close cover and escaped after a spirited chase.

A second fawn, a few days later, appeared slightly older but still was

weak and very wobbly on its legs when seen. The doe was with it and a

very slight warning was given so that the fawn,whether voluntarily or on

signal from the doe, dropped flat. The doe fled, but even though a very

cautious approach was made, the fawn did not stay put but scrambled up

when a few feet separated it from the observer. In spite of the fact that

every tuft of grass tripped the youngster, its speed was still good enough

to elude its pursuer, although in the more open area it was possible to

tire it enough to cause it to lie down and remain long enough to allow

approach for a few pictures at a distance of 15 to 20 feet.

The interpretation of wild animal behaviour and habits is one of the

most difficult and uncertain of all scientific endeavours in wildlife work.

This is why we so often say ‘it appears to be’, or ‘the indication is’,

rather than concluding that something ‘is’ thus and so, particularly

when the interpretation involves few observations. Consequently, the

best we can say is that vision during the first few days of an axis deer

fawn’s life appears to be comparatively weak when judged by the behaviour

of the captive animals and the stumbling escape of the two wild ones

observed, but could be better than believed when judged by the wild

fawns’ obvious recognition of approaching danger and immediate

reaction. It is probable that the use of eyesight develops much more

rapidly under the stress of wild conditions than it appeared to develop

in the captive fawns while in the comparative peace and quiet of their

pen. Vision may become quite acute in wild fawns in a much shorter

time than the several weeks it seemed to take the tame ones.

Eyesight was depended upon much less by the pet fawns at close range

than was scent in the search for food titbits. A cigarette butt, for

example, which was a choice item for these deer after they were several

months old, could be spotted easily when flipped into the pen, and they

would trot up to it eagerly. As they approached it, however, they would

track it down by scent even though it was in plain sight, apparently pre-

ferring to trust their noses rather than their eyes when dealing with food.

The infra-orbital scent glands, which appear to play an important

part throughout their lives in expressing emotion, are barely developed

at birth, forming a small, shallow slit below the eyes, and are incapable

of movement. Within a few weeks, these glands develop sufficiently to

become controllable, and when the fawn is excited, particularly at nurs-

ing time, they are spread open into shallow, hairless pockets. As the

fawn grows older, these glands become larger and, in the bucks at least,

begin to secrete a small amount of waxy substance which adheres to the

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 729

tuft of inward-growing hairs in the lower corner of the gland. Under

excitement, the glands are flared wide open and the waxy hairs rolled

outwards. These glands do not appear too important in the life of the

does and, although they are present and controllable, they do not develop

to the extent as they do in bucks, nor are they used as much. During

early life, these glands are stimulated when the fawns of both sexes are

under excitement, but use declines with maturity in the does, while

becoming important as a secondary sexual character in the maturing bucks.

The metatarsal and interdigital glands are present at birth and appear

to be fairly well developed, though becoming larger and more pronounced

as the fawn grows. Since they have little noticeable odour to the human

nose at any age, it is hard to tell whether they are functional at birth, or

just when they become functional.

r,. Muscular co-ordination develops rapidly in fawns, and they are able

to move about a short time after birth, though they spend most of their

time resting when very young. A few hours after birth they can run for

short distances, but still appear weak and wobbly on their feet. Within

three weeks, they are running and leaping with ease and agility. At six

weeks of age, Willie could jump over a five-foot barrier from a standing

start with no sign of real effort ; he would stand on his hind legs, give a

jump, and sail gracefully over. Frequent running, leaping, and butting

games strengthen the young muscles rapidly and increase agility, and by

three or four months of age, fawns are strong enough to put up a real

battle in the hands of a grown man. The power in the hind legs of a 40-

pound, three-month old fawn is amazing, and it can deal out a large

assortment of cuts, scrapes, and bruises when being handled. By the

time they are old enough to be seen with their mothers while feeding—

at about one month of age or less—they can easily keep up with the adults

in flight over rough and brushy ground, and often lead the escape, out-

distancing older deer for short distances.

The coat of newborn fawns varies somewhat in shade and texture,

but is usually thick and fluffy with a generous woolly undercoat, and

lighter in colour than that of adults. The spotted pattern is completely

developed at birth, though not quite as distinct as in later life, and

apparently remains the same throughout life. Both sexes have the little

black whorls of hair on their foreheads, marking the spots where the

male’s antlers will later develop. The faces are more or less a uniform

brown without the distinctive black markings common to older bucks.

As the fawns grow to maturity, they lose the woolly undercoat and the

fluffy appearance, and the coat becomes lighter in weight and sleek. It

usually darkens somewhat over the brown parts, thus setting off the white

spots more distinctly. The coats of buck fawns become even darker

than those of the does in most cases, with the black facial markings and the

charcoal neck shading becoming pronounced by about one year of age.

430 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIS?. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

The captive fawn, Willie, was kept until he was about 18 months old,

and was weighed periodically until he was about 64 weeks old, at which

time he became too difficult to handle without resorting to roping and

tying him—an experience which threw him into a complete panic and

partial shock. The weights obtained have been plotted in Figure VII

in graphic form by age in weeks. In addition, a few notes of interest are

included in this growth chart so that they may be easily correlated with

his size and age. It may be seen that weight increase was fairly constant -

before he was weaned, but gradually slowed up after this time. Since

he was fed on ample diet of natural forage plus a supplement of corn,

which kept him fat and sleek, it is believed that his weight increase by

age is reasonably representative of that of a healthy wild buck on good

range.

Fig. Wil

Axis Deer Fawn Growth Rate

By Weight & Age

Lostl ae uppe i

ie Lost

Spero

alee

fe ry EG ed a

“lp | ste

ao per

; ‘squt ese

Weight in Pounds

Age in Weeks

The weights of the other two fawns which were raised were also taken

regularly and are included in Figure VII. The increase rate of Pepper,

the male, followed that of Willie closely, while that of Squeekie, the

female, lagged behind as would be expected since the full-grown weight

of does in much less than that of bucks. In fact, her growth rate

is probably behind that of a normal doe fawn, since she was starved for

nearly a week just after birth, and consequently might be somewhat

retarded in her rate of weight-gain.

When fawns are born, there is a yellowish white cartilage-like exten-

sion attached to the tip of each hoof, which is present on the hoofs of the

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII (fait!

foetus in all cases. This soft extension is worn off with the first few steps,

leaving the fawn’s small hoofs black and shiny. As the fawn grows, the

hoofs grow out continuously like fingernails, being worn off at the tips

and sides from abrasion with the ground. When the newborn fawns’

hoofs harden, a small annular ridge is formed on the hard surface where it

meets the hairline; this ridge progresses down the outside surface of the

hoofs as they grow, and is easily visible. By the time the pet fawns were

about 20 to 21 weeks old, this ridge had reached the tips of the hoofs and

disappeared through wear. Although the disappearance of this small

ridge probably varies somewhat in individuals, depending on the hoof

growth rate, it could be used as a rough method for determining the age of

fawns that still retain it, and would indicate that those without it are

probably at least five months old.

Little could be determined from the captive fawns about the develop-

ment of their molar teeth, due to lack of proper equipment for handling

them and holding their mouths open. They seriously objected to any-

one poking about in their mouths as was proven by several well-chewed

fingers. However, a record was kept of the development and replace-

ment of the incisiform teeth of the one fawn, Willie, until he was shipped

off at the age of 73 weeks. When born, all fawns have a full complement

of six lower incisors and two lower incisiform canines, plus the two upper

canine ‘ tusks’ discussed earlier. All these teeth are temporary or milk

teeth, and are eventually lost and replaced with permanent teeth, except

the two upper canines which are not replaced. In appearance these

teeth all look almost identical with the later permanent teeth except

somewhat smaller ; the middle pair are much wider and asymmetrically

spade-shaped, while the others are progressively narrower and weaker

in appearance.

At 49 weeks, Willie lost one of his upper canines ; the other loosened,

but was held by cartilage until his 65th week, when it too was lost. This

demonstrates the variability of at least superficial shedding in these teeth

and may account for many mis-statements in literature. At 63 weeks, he

shed both of the large middle incisors at the same time. These were

replaced by permanent ones, fully grown within eight days and, except

for the difference in size, it would be difficult to tell these from the tem-

porary ones. The second pair were shed at 65 and 68 weeks and replaced.

by the 73rd week, at which time one of the third pair was shed. The

other one and the two lower incisiform canines were still present when.

Willie was shipped away at this time. These teeth were probably all

replaced by permanent teeth before he was 24 months old ; unfortunately,

no more records were possible after shipping him off to a zoo.

732. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

Unfortunately, the captive female fawn was showing no indication of

sexual maturity by the time she was shipped off at about five months of

age. It is possible that we would have seen some sign of awakening

sexual desire had she been with a mature buck, but such was not the case.

As shown in anearlier chapter, a number of young wild ‘does were

examined for indications of present and past pregnancies, and these

examinations indicated that axis does may reach sexual maturity while

still very young.

The ovaries of seven doe fawns, estimated to be between six and nine

months old, were examined ; one was definitely pregnant, five had ripen-

ing Graafian follicles—showing that they could soon become pregnant,

and only one had no mature follicles. Four others examined, which

were estimated at 12 to 14 months of age, were found to be pregnant,

and two of these were lactating as well, showing that they had already

given birth to fawns. Only one fceetus was available for aging from the

two that were both pregnant and lactating, but it was approximately

80 days old, showing that this animal must have become pregnant no

later than at about eleven-and-a-half months of age. If we allow no

time between her giving birth to her first fawn—which she was still

nursing—and again becoming pregnant, and subtract the seven-and-

a-half gestation period from this birth date, this doe must have become

pregnant the first time at about four months of age, and possibly less

since there must have been some time interval between parturition and

re-impregnation.

Ten others, which were estimated from their tooth development to be

from 14 to 16 months old, were found to be pregnant and, although none

was presently lactating, four had ovarian scars which probably indicated

earlier pregnancies ; in which case, they must have first become pregnant

at about four to six months old. A number of other somewhat older

does were also found to have probably become pregnant for the first

time when they were between five and twelve months old.

It is quite obvious, then, that at least some axis deer females reach

sexual maturity before they are six months old, while many, if not all,

reach this stage by the time they are one year of age. This, of course, is

under ideal range conditions ; sexual maturity might be greatly delayed

if forage quality is low.

Buck fawns begin to exhibit some very early signs of sexual awakening

at about five months, when they begin attempting to mount doe fawns of

about their size. Probably they are not actually capable of breeding

until their first antlers are nearly mature. Willie’s antlers first began to

develop when he was 30 weeks old, and were fully mature at 65 weeks,

when the velvet was first shed. At about 60 weeks, he started showing

THE AXIS DEER IN HAWAII 733

signs of sexual excitement and the approach of his first rut, becoming

mean and aggressive. This attitude increased as his antlers matured and

his neck began swelling, and was accompanied by frequent periods of

masturbation, starting at the age of about 63 weeks. He was, no doubt,

perfectly capable of successful reproduction at this age, and possibly

before. It was noted earlier that several spike bucks between one

and two years old were examined and found to have a plentiful supply of

mature and vigorous sperm present.

In the development of secondary sexual characteristics in bucks, the

most apparent is antler growth. Up until they are some seven

months old, the only signs of future antler development are two small

whorls of dark hair on the forehead, also present on females. After

that age, small bumps form under these marks, rapidly enlarging to form

the antler pedicels from which the spike antlers themselves will grow.

The pedicels will be covered with normal hair, while the growing antlers

are covered with the fine soft velvet already described.

Young bucks enjoy playing butting and shoving games long before the

start of their first antlers, and even while the antlers are still developing

under their velvet engage in mild shoving contests. Not until the antlers

have hardened and the velvet dried, do they commence the violent tree-

rubbing and fighting, however.

As the antlers reach maturity, the other secondary sexual characteris-

tics become prominent, including belligerence, swelling of the neck,

threatening facial expression, and full development of the infra-orbital

scent glands, which play a large part in making the face appear fierce when

they are opened wide. The darker coloration over the neck, and the

black facial markings of the mature buck also may become apparent at

this time. Before the antlers begin growing and the facial markings

appear, it is difficult to distinguish between the sexes at a casual glance ;

however, buck fawns generally have a more masculine appearing head,

even when very young, with a convex or relatively straight slope from

forehead to nose-tip, while young does have a more concave slope and a

proportionately shorter muzzle. The female’s eyes appear somewhat

larger and more protruding than those of bucks, and their bodies are

slimmer and of lighter construction. By the time the doe fawns lose

their dish-faced, short-muzzled appearance, the bucks of equal age are

developing antlers, and sex differentiation is no longer a problem.

734. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

_ LITERATURE CITED

BAHADUR, RAM SINGH (1942): Some

experiments in albinism. J. Bombay

nat. Hist. Soc. 43 (3) : 523-524.

BLANFORD, W. T. (1888-1891) : The

Fauna of British India, Ceylon and

Burma. Mammalia 1 & 2. Taylor and

Francis, London.

COOKE, GEORGE PAUL (1949) : Moolelo

O Molokai. Honolulu Star-Bulletin,

Honolulu, Hawaii.

DARLING, F. F. (1937): A Herd of

Red Deer:

Press, London.

DOLLMAN, J. G. & BURLACE, J. B.

215. Oxford University

1928): Rowland Ward’s Records of

Big Game. Ninth Edition. Rowland

Ward Ltd., London.

DonNnE, T. E. (1924): The Game

Animals of New Zealand. John Murray,

London.

FLerov, K. K. (1952): The Musk

Deer and Deer Fauna of USSR,

Mammals 1 (2). Academy of Sci-nces

of the USSR, Moscow. |

Fooxs, H. A. (1945): Canine teeth

in Chital (Axis axis). J. Bombay nat.

Hist. Soc. 45 (3) : 416-417. q

GRAF, WILLIAM (1956): Territoria-

lism in Deer. Journal of Mammalogy

37 (2) : 165-170.

Heck, L. (1935) : Der Deutsche Edel-

hirsch. Verlag Paul Parey, Berlin.

HUDSON, PAUL, & BROWMAN,

Lupvic, G. (1959) : Embryonic and

Fetal Development of the Mule Deer.

Journal of Wildlife Management 23 (3):

295-304.

LINDSDALE, J. M., & Tomicu, P. Q.

(1953): A Herd of Mule Deer. Univer-

sity of California Press, Berkeley,

California.

LYDEKKER, R.

Hoofs.

(1893) : Horns and

—————- _ (1898): The Deer of All

Lands. Rowland Ward Ltd., London.

———— (1901): Library of Natural

History 2, Mammals. The Saalfield

Publishing Co., New York.

NOLTHENIUS, A. C. TuTEIN (1944):

Canine teeth in Chital (Axis axis) Stags.

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 45 (1): 83.

PALIT, MArigE, P. O. Nehal, Ranchi,

India. (personal communication.)

PuHiLirps, W. W. A. (1935): Manual

of the Mammals of Ceylon. Dulau

and Co. Ltd., London.

Pocock, R. T. (1935): The Incisi-

form Teeth of European and Asiatic

Cervidae. Proc. Zool. Soc. London No.

1 : 179-194, 7 fig.

———— (1943): The Larger Deer

of British India. J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 44 (2) : 169-178.

PRATER, S. H. (1933-1935): The Wild

Animals of the Indian Empire. Parts 2

and 3. op. cit., 36, 37; and. 38.

THOMPSON, DONALD R. (1958):

Field Techniques for Sexing and Aging

Game Animals. Wisconsin Conserva-

tion Department. Special Wildlife

Report No. 1.

WHITEHEAD, G. KENNETH (1950):

Deer and their Management in the Deer

Parks of Great Britain and Ireland.

Country Life Ltd., London.

Wonpzickl, K. A. (1950): Introduced

Mammals of New Zealand. Depart-

ment of Scientific and Industrial Re-

gear Bulletin No. 98. Wellington,

‘i

Reviews

1. A». ZOO MAN’S NOTEBOOK. By Lee S. Crandall in

collaboration with William Bridges. pp. viiit+216 (2214 cm.).

Several monochrome photographs. Chicago & London/Toronto, 1966.

The University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London/The University

of Toronto Press, Toronto. Price $4-95/37s.

Having spent all his working life in a zoo and having enjoyed

every moment of it, the author is well qualified to speak with

authority. His book takes the form of short notes about animals as

inmates of zoos, with occasional references to their biology or their

life in the wild. It is based on the author’s earlier publication

The Management of Animals in Captivity, which was intended for

professional zoo keepers and is therefore packed with details. The

necessary adaptation was made by the author’s collaborator.

It is interesting to get an inside view of the many problems zoo

authorities have to deal with and the many mishaps, some amusing

and some serious, and the many disappointments they meet. An

obvious problem is diet. It must have been a bold imagination that

devised a successful diet for the ant and termite eating Giant

Anteater: milk, eggs, and chopped meat, with cooked cereal and

codliver oil. And we are told of a Giant Anteater at the Cincinnati

Zoo that devoured -newborn mice with relish!

Various methods have been tried at different zoos to exhibit during

zoo hours the nocturnal inhabitants of the rodent house. The most

successful is the ‘red light room’ of the New York Zoo, with the cage

walls painted red and lit with red fluorescent tubes. Once visitors’

eyes have adjusted to the light, visibility is good and they can watch

the rodents moving about actively and apparently unconscious of the

presence of visitors.

Beavers are interesting exhibits but difficult inmates. They were

confined within an iron fence and a concrete wall which was

believed to reach down to the underlying bedrock, but an exploring

beaver discovered an unprotected gap, the first intimation of its

discovery being the cutting down of trees outside the fence. When

the gap was closed and the beavers once more confined within the

fence, the problem was to prevent their building activities from flood-

ing the enclosure. This was managed for a time by means of an

736 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

outlet some distance upstream of the beavers’ dam so situated as to

keep the water at the desired level. This failed because the

accumulation of silt raised the level of the outlet area and prevented

the drain off, and the beaver colony was finally closed.

No one would think of the Hyena as a lovable creature,

particularly the Spotted Hyena of Africa. A young hand-reared

specimen at San Diego, however, became a popular exhibit in the

Children’s Zoo. When, later, it was sold to the New York Zoo and

the Director was reported in the papers as having described hyenas

in the wild as skulking scavengers there was a howl of protest from

the children in San Diego and, according to a story wired to the

New York papers, the children were contributing money to a fund

for repurchasing the hyena. The Director hastily retrieved the

position by issuing a statement that this hyena, far from being a

skulking scavenger, was ‘the nicest, friendliest, gentlest, most

intelligent hyena’ he had ever seen.

By the way, the author speaks of hyenas as scavengers, relying

for their food on the kills of bolder carnivores. A different account

has recently been given by Dr. H. Kruuk who has been observing

Spotted Hyenas as part of the Serengeti Research Project. The

majority of the hyenas observed feeding were eating hyena-killed

animals, most of which appeared to have been animals in good health.

In fact, according to Dr. Kruuk the evidence suggests that the lions in

the Ngorongoro Crater live largely on hyena-killed prey.

Interesting items relating to the biology of the animals occasionally

occur. One such relates to the birth of pups to a Cape Hunting Dog.

Preparatory to the birth the male was separated: from the expectant

mother. When the first pup was born, the female picked up the pup

and leaped excitedly against the partition separating her from her mate.

When the male was admitted about an hour later, he went directly to

the pup and licked and mouthed it for a time but it was dead. The

pups that followed received no further attention from their mother;

each was carefully cleaned by her mate, and then was picked up by

her and carried to the nest box. Once this duty had been completed

she drove the male away from the compartment and compelled him

to keep at a distance. :

Another relates to that wonderful swimmer, the California Sea

Lion. At birth it cannot swim, and the first baby born in the zoo

died of drowning. A baby born subsequently was carefully screened

off from the pool. But two days after its birth the mother herself

took the baby to an island in the pool: Every now and then the

baby tumbled into the pool but the splash invariably called the

REVIEWS i)

mother to the scene and she tossed the baby back on the island,

while her mate looked on helplessly. This particular baby was rather

backward and did not learn to swim till it was about eight weeks old.

Another baby however was swimming freely when it was only 13

days old.

Unlike the Sea Lion, the hippopotamus baby at birth was dropped

unceremoniously into the water and swam at once. About half an

hour later it scrambled on to one of the steps and was promptly

pushed back into the water by its mother. Two hours later the mother

was seen lying on her side in three foot deep water with the calf

quietly nursing under water.

The book is illustrated with numerous photographs.

2. CHAPTERS ON THE HISTORY OF BOTANY IN INDIA.

By I. H. Burkill. pp. xi+-245 (16x25 cm.). 2 maps and 4 plates

Calcutta, 1965. Botanical Survey of India. Price Rs. 5-50.

These chapters were published in the form of separate articles

in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Scciety in five

separate volumes from 1953 to 1963. With some alterations in

Chapters 1 & 7, they are now republished’ in book-form by the

Botanical Survey of [tndia, Calcutta, in view of the intrinsic interest

of these articles to Indian Botany. The object of the publication is

very laudable and the Botanical Survey has rendered valuable service

by making this interesting history available in one volume at such

low cost.

The history refers to the whole of the Indian sub-continent of pre-

independence days and includes also Burma and Ceylon. The history

begins with the work of Garcia da Orta of the 16th Century and ends

with the first two decades of the 20th Century. It covers the period

before Agharkar’s ‘Progress of Botany during the last 25 years’

(Ind. Sc. Cong. Ass., Calcutta, 1938) and Maheshwari and Kapil’s

‘Progress of Botany during the last 50 years’ (Ind. Sc. Cong. Ass.,

Calcutta, 1963).

Burkill’s Chapters contain many names of those who made

significant contributions to Indian Botany either by encouraging

or promoting botanical studies in India. The importance of local

or contemporary political factors are significant to any progress and

738 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

they are very well brought out in the most unobtrusive manner by

the author. This reviewer is not aware of any other work where the

historical perspective of contemporary affairs—men and matters—in

relation to botanical development in India is brought out so well. The

critical assessment of earlier works (e.g. Ainslie’s) and the definition

of ‘United Brothers’ are given more authentic meaning. We learn

here that in the development of Indian Botany, 7 French soldiers,

3 Dutch administrators, 4 Danish missionaries besides many British

and German civil servants and medical-men took part. The influence

of great teachers at Edinburgh and the men of authority at Kew was

obviously very great in those days. The story of discovery of tea in

Assam and its subsequent cultivation there makes very interesting

reading.

Botany of the present day in India has developed in much greater

dimensions than what is embraced in these chapters and many Indian

botanists have made noteworthy contributions which could be seen

in the accounts by Agharkar and Maheshwari. The publication under

review describes a period of about 300-350 years before the present

century when the development of Science in India had not taken

place at all and Indians played a minor role. These chapters form

a very good and authentic document for a future illustrated history of

Botany in India and is by far the best historical account of Indian

Botany giving an insight into the development of Botany in relation

to contemporary affairs and into the character of the men who shaped

them.

P. V. BOLE

3. THE WEALTH OF INDIA: A DICTIONARY OF INDIAN

RAW MATERIALS AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS. RAW

MATERIALS. Vol. VII: N-Pe. pp. xxviit330+viii (27°7X 21:5

cm.). 9 plates and 140 text-figures. New Delhi, 1966. Council of

Scientific & Industrial Research. Price Rs. 30.

This volume takes one step further the Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research’s Encyclopaedia of the ‘Wealth of India’. Like

its predecessors it deals in great detail with the topics raised. In

particular it carries interesting and well documented articles on

Tobacco (Nicotiana), Rice (Oryza sativa), Oysters, and Opium (Papaver

somniferum)—though, unfortunately. considerable portions are too

technical for the layman,

REVIEWS 739

One makes exciting discoveries as one thumbs through the pages,

for instance that the Balsa tree (Ochroma pyramidale), made so

familiar by the famous Kon-Tiki adventure, has found its way to India.

It is grown in plantations at Kannoth in Wynaad Forest Division and

Top-slip in South Coimbatore Forest Division, and on a small scale

in a few other places. The wood, which is the lightest of commercial

timbers, is used as sandwich material in certain parts of aircraft,

and also in gliders and sea planes. It makes rafts, floats, life buoys,

and other life saving equipment and, being a good heat insulator, is

used for lining refrigerators, auto-truck bodies, and holds of ships.

Besides, it is a sound deadener and is useful for ceilings and

partitions. With its resiliency, strength, and smooth soft surface it is

an excellent. shock absorbing material and it even serves as a

substitute for cork and may be used for cigarette tips.

The scientist in charge of the publication apologises for the slow

rate at which the successive volumes of the work are being published.

Having regard to the thoroughness of the scrutiny that is being made

of the literature, a certain amount of delay is inevitable; it is good

to know that attempts are being made to keep it as low as possible.

The illustrations are clear and well chosen. A valuable work of

reference.

Deane

4. EVOLUTION AND MODIFICATION OF BEHAVIOUR.

By Konrad Lorenz. pp. 121 (2214-6 cm.). London 1966. Methuen

& Co. Ltd. Price 25s.

Professor Lorenz’s long essay is an important contribution to the

‘nature-nurture’ controversy, much of his sophisticated argument

representing the ethological orientation to this problem. ‘This is not

an easy book to read. Polemic in tone, oblique in reference and often

obscure in style it is nevertheless a study that merits serious attention

from the advanced student of behaviour. Moreover it gives an

insight, usually denied the non-German reading specialist, into the

particular cast of Lorenzs philosophical approach to biological

problems. The study is based upon an earlier contribution

‘Phylogenetische Anpassung und adaptive Modifikation des Verhaltens,

Zeitschrift Tierpsychol, 18: 139-87’, published in 1961.

Lorenz has written the book with two main intentions. Firstly, to

‘prevent the discrediting of a concept which .. . . is indispensable

740 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

to an ethological approach’--namely the concept of the ‘innate’.

Secondly, he asserts the validity of the deprivation experiment as an

analytical tool in the investigation of behavioural ontogenesis. The

argument is thus directed againsi tne views of an anti-ethological

school of thought voiced by a limited number of American psycho-

logists whose approach to animal behaviour stems from a different

historical groundwork from that of Ethology. Lorenz particularly

attacks the view that the description of behaviour as being either

innate or learned is not useful since one can be defined only by the

exclusion of the other and, secondly, the view that much so called

innate behaviour may be due to in utero learning.

Lorenz’s defence, in general, is an effective one. He attacks his

adversaries on their weakest ground—knowledge of comparative

ethology. Repeatedly he produces examples of complex behaviour

patterns occurring for the first time without evidence for any learning

process being involved in their determination. His use of invertebrate

examples greatly strengthens his case.

The argument is based on a definition of the ‘innate’ and the

‘learned’ in terms of ‘the provenience of the information which is

the prerequisite of behaviour being adapted to environment’. Either

a behaviour pattern has been subject to the natural selection of

genetic mechanisms ard has thus arisen in phylogeny, or else it has

been selected through processes of learning, such as reward reinforce-

ment, during an individual’s lifetime. Furthermore, learning must

itself be> based upon the prior natural selection of physiological

mechanisms responsible for learning ability. No one will deny the

distinction between phylogenetic adaptation and phenotypic modifica-

tion in the field of morphology—the distinction in behaviour study

is no less meaningful. No biologist is likely to disagree with Lorenz

in his sound argumentation on these points.

A number of ideas in the book do merit, however, a more critical

appraisal. Firstly, Lorenz tends to gloss over the historical origins

of the quarrel. While he admits inadequacies in the views of

earlier ethologists—-among whom he was pre-eminent—it was these

very views with their nativistic assumptions that called forth criticism

not only from Lehrman, a physiologist-psychologist in America, but

also from ethologists in Europe—-notably Kennedy and Hinde. An

understanding of the controversy depends upon an adequate digestion

of these viewpoints. However, Lorenz’s most persistent adversaries—

and those he particularly challenges here—drew their inspiration from

a very narrow branch of psychological investigation—the ‘behaviourist’

school, based on studies of classicat and operant conditioning in a

REVIEWS 741

very limited number of species. Although work of this kind,

rigorously operational in execution and theory, has made a major

contribution to problems of behaviour adaptability, the authors con-

cerned are neither geneticists nor evolutionists. Their tendency to

promulgate general theories of behaviour based on brilliant experi-

mentation of extremely narrow range is ludicrous to those of broader

biological background and acquaintance with behaviour in many phyla.

Nevertheless most such authors-—including Hull—have left room for

the innate even if it was called the ‘unlearnt’ and described in terms

of simple reflexes. It is perhaps surprising that Lorenz is so alarmed

by recent expressions of this viewpoint. Not many ethologists would

be in doubt about its limitations.

Secondly, Lorenz attacks a number of his fellow ethologists for

their understandable caution in using the term ‘innate’ for complex

behaviour the ontogenesis of which is far from being understood.

Furthermore he objects to views that suggest a ‘mixing’ of

‘phylogenetic adaptability and learning’ in accounting for much complex

behaviour. This is curious since many of his own descriptions show

how learning and innate responses have become interwoven in the

development of an individual’s complex adaptive behaviour. There

seem to be major semantic difficulties here. One does not perceive

easily what Lorenz implies by ‘mixing’ and “permeability—especially

when one relates the arguments to the cases he quotes approvingly.

No ethologist is in doubt about the existence of adaptedness or intends

to ‘shed’ his biologica! knowledge. Operational analysis of behaviour

nevertheless remains a valuable tool in certain fields of research.

The deprivation experiment remains, as Lorenz emphasises, a

valuable method of disentangling the sources of information on which

a given behaviour complex is based. Nevertheless it is likely to

become a crude tool in the near future. Recent research, particularly

with rodents and primates, shows clearly that the factors bearing on

behavioural development are of great complexity. The unravelling

of the genetic instructions guiding the appearance of behaviour is

itself in need of analysis and may well include intrinsic ‘teaching

mechanisms’ such as the heart-beat conditioning of the chick’s head

movements suggested by Kuo. Although Lorenz may care to include

these under his category of innate it remains clear that a phenomenon

of a different type than simple biochemical decoding is involved.

Lorenz’s approach tends to obscure the significance of these dis-

linctions and thus to prevent the researcher asking the revealing

questions. Lorenz appears to have developed a rigid attitude towards

the ‘innate’ that springs from an over-inclusive definition. To say

742 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

that the information controlling a behaviour pattern is phylogenetic

in origin is not an explanation of the developmental process. There

are certainly many subtle processes involved the classification .and

interrelations of which demand exacting analysis. Jensen is right to

point out that a dichotomy of classificatory terms into ‘innate’ and

‘learned’ will not help in the solving of this problem. Miultifactorial

causation demands forms of analysis more sophisticated than the

simple deprivation experiment.

A curious feature of Lorenz’s thinking is his reference to ‘English-

speaking ethologists’ as if these were an especial breed holding

distinctive views. One wonders how these gentlemen should be

distinguished from Dutch speaking ethologists or American-English

speaking ones. Perhaps Professor Lorenz would prefer them all to

be German-speaking? The truth, of course, is that Ethology is not

to be categorised on a linguistic basis nor do ethologists form cliques

or schools along nationalistic lines. Research in Animal behaviour

is undergoing rapid expansion at present and disciplines formerly

separated by broad academic divides are coming into closer contact.

The semantic difficulties this engenders will provoke distrust in some

but may in general be welcomed. Ethology has done much to

broaden the narrow confines of comparative psychology while those

trained in the ‘behaviourist’ tradition have much to teach ethologists

in methodology and experimentation. The electicism of British,

American and Dutch workers may draw the wrath of the Father of

Ethology upon them but this will not prevent the development of an

increasingly fascinating debate.

Je:

Miscellaneous Notes

1. A NOTE ON THE URIAL, OVIS ORIENTALIS GMELIN

Only scanty information is recorded in the revised second edition

of Prater’s BOOK OF INDIAN ANIMALS regarding this wild sheep, and

in view of this it seems worthwhile to record a few of my own

observations. In March 1962 I obtained a young male Urial which

had beer captured in the Suleiman range of Baluchistan. It was

about thirteen months old at that time and has now attained maturity

giving valuable information on horn growth and dentition as indicators

of age and development in this species.

Contrary to what Stockley (1936) states at p. 123 in STALKING IN THE

HIMALAYAS AND NORTHERN INDIA, horn growth is very rapid in the first

two or three years. Thereafter it slows down rapidly and probably

ceases altogether after the sixth year.

When I obtained my pet it still had eight milk teeth in the front

of its mouth but the first pair of centre incisors erupted by October,

and the third or outer pair by the 39th month. The outer incisors,

erupted at 48 months.

The rate of growth of the horns is as follows:

HORN MEASUREMENTS

Date Length in inches measured over outer curve.

5-9-1962 124 :

20-4-1963 v7 Both horns equal in length.

16-9-1963 214

Tip of one horn splintered off.

24-5-1964 234 242

6-8-1964 254 27%

1-4-1965 274 273

22-11-1965 27% 28

20-8-1966 28 29

Breeding Habits. It is believed that the rut starts in September,

and since shikaris have often seen ranis pursuing ewes and fighting

with each other up to mid-October, it can be considered to last from

six to eight weeks. Jerdon (1874) in THE MAMMALS OF INDIA gives

the gestation period as from four to seven months, but Prater

(op. cit.) states that it is 1iot known but must presumably be between

four to six months. Observation on my pet indicates that some

mating could easily take piace by late August. The head keeper at

Lahore Zoo recalls Punjab Urial breeding successfully some years

744. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

ago and states that the gestation period was six months. This man

is, however, illiterate and has no written record. My animal as far as

J can estimate was born in early February, whilst an Urial lamb

captured last year for Lahore Zoo from the Salt Range was born in

late February. On such flimsy evidence I would consider the

gestation period to average 180 days (compared with about 150 days

average in domestic sheep). It is certainly more than five months

and less than seven months according to what I can learn from

questioning local shikaris who live in areas where Urial occur and who

have had ample opportunity to observe them in their natural state. The

majority of young are born during February and March both in

Baluchistan and the Salt Range. Earlier records state that twins are

not uncommon. Information from Iccal shikaris has to be treated

cautiously and I have no first hand evidence. However, in the

Kirthar Range where Urial and Sind Ibex (Capra hircus) occur

together, all the local Shikaris believe that the Urial never has more

than one offspring while the Ibex generally has two unless the

Monsoon rains fail altogether in which event few breed. Similarly,

in Chitral, where Markhor (Capra falconeri) and Shapu occur on the

same mountain ranges, I have been told by local shikaris that the

_Markhor generally bear twins and the Shapu single offspring. It

appears therefore, that twins are probably rare and single offspring

more usual with this species.

My Urial reached sexual maturity at ones years of age. In

September 1963 when I estimated its age at 32 months, its testes were

hardly developed. Its facial (lachrymal) glands were not noticeable

nor its behaviour unusual. In September 1964 it showed marked

restlessness and agitation; butting the sides of its pen, with a

noticeable discharge from the lachrymal glands. Its testicles were

well down and evident.

During the rutting season rams often chip and splinter off huge

chunks of their horn in their head-on collisions.

Miscellaneous Observations. Many writers have commented

upon the extreme wariness of this animal. It possesses a keen sense

of smell as well as acute eyesight and probably depends at times

upon its acute hearing as well. I have often been impressed by the

immediate reaction of my pet to movement of men as far as 300

yards away and who were in fact largely concealed by bushes and not

visible to me. It is well known that Urial keep contact with each

other by scent from the inguinal, as well as the foot glands. The

latter consists of very small circular orifices in the bare skin inside

the fold or crack which extends from the front of the hoof into the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 745

pastern. I have not detected any very noticeable smell from foot

glands, but infer that their scent must be acute.

In the spring and early summer my Urial is relatively silent and

the lachrymal glands appear dry. But from early August these

facial glands start to exude a sticky substance which stains the cheeks,

and from late August, with increasing intensity into September, he

frequently calls. Other writers call this sound a bleat, I would preter

to describe it as a rather throaty low pitched ‘Me-errrh’ sound. I

have never heard their whistling alarm call.

There are two .moults in the year. Jn March the longer winter

hair comes off in ragged patches, starting first with the lower flanks.

The animal feels the irritation and rubs itself against rocks and pro-

jections. The beard and ruff partly moulted become much shorter in

the summer. In early August the new winter coat begins to grow

as well as the more luxuriant chest ruff. The pelage is at this time

brilliant, becoming light chocolate in colour. Just behind the withers,

there is a faint vertical area of blacker hairs. The hairs, both in

winter and summer, are very pithy and in texture like those of the

Musk Deer. An adaptation perhaps against the extreme variation

in day and night temperatures in the environment in which they live,

as they have virtually no under-wool, even in their winter coat.

The Urial in its wild state, though wary, exhibits certain rather

foolish traits. For example, if a smali scattered group is suddenly

fired upon they invariably converge together into a tight flock, and

then pause to look around for the source of danger, generally

thereby affording a second chance for slaughter to the unscrupulous

hunter. They display a great curiosity for any unidentifiable noise

or sight and it is possible to lure smali bands closer by imitating their

call. They are highly nomadic in habits and a smail herd will

suddenly desert a particular mountain range where they had been

regularly observed for months, presumably in search of fresh feeding

ground.

Present Status and Distribution. Three races occur:

Ovis orientalis vignei Blyth 1841. Known locally as the Shapu.

This is the large race inhabiting the inner Himalayan ranges and is

greyer in colour and generally bears a more scanty ruff than the

lowland races. Its horns rarely describe a full circle and are often

more prominently ridged than those of the Salt Range race. Ex-

tremely scarce around the perimeter of the main valley of Gilgit it

only occurs on the right bank of the Chitral river and has become

rare due to over-shooting. It is, however, fairly plentiful in Baltistan,

and Ladakh.

146 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

tied

Ovis orientalis blanfordi Hume 1877. Known locally as the Gad.

It is clear from specimens which I have seen that this race intergrades

with the Salt Range race and indeed I feel that there is no clear

distinction between the two. — It extends right down to the Mekran

sea coast in Las Belas and even close to Karachi near Gadap and in

the Thana Bula Khan Hills of Southern Sind. In the north it

extends up to the Isa Khel Range in the former North West Frontier

Province. Though it used to be well known .around Peshawar,

even forty years ago, it now appears to have been totally exterminated

in all regions of the former North West Frontier’ Province except the

extreme south-west. On the Sind-Baluchistan border it still occurs

in considerable numbers in the Kirthar Range and in Baluchistan there

are several herds in the Takhi-I-Suleiman area. A smali herd still

survives in the Chiltan reserve near Quetta, and it is quite numerous

near the Afghan border in the Takhu Range. I would say that it is

in no danger of extermination in these areas. With due caution for

the many exceptions, which no doubt occur, my observations indicate

that Ovis orientalis blanfordi to be longer legged and lighter in bone

(more ‘gazelle-like’) than the Salt Range race. Also its horns have

more prominent corrugations, are less massive at the base, and

describe a more complete circle. |

Ovis orientalis punjabiensis Lydekker 1913. Known locally as the

Urial, this animal is more familiar to sportsmen. I have examined

nine different captive specimens, including six rams, all from the Salt

Range. They were heavier in bone and more stout limbed than

Ovis orientalis blanfordi and the raras often had horns which were

comparatively smoother and set at a wider and straighter angle to the

skull than the Baluchistan Urial.

Although there are still a few herds in the Kala Chitta Range and

the eastern part of the Salt Range up to the Attock Hills I would say

that this race is much persecuted and in real danger of extermination

if unrestricted shooting continues. It is certainly almost unknown in

the hills around Rawalpindi and Jhelum where it used to be quite

plentiful thirty years ago.

In closing I should like to reiterate that many of the above

observations are based on the comments ot others and I have only

noted here those aspects that seemed to be reasonably reliable.

ROBERTS COTTON ASSOCIATES LTD.,

KHANEWAL, W. PAKISTAN, T. J. ROBERTS

September 11, 1966.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | 744

2. BEHAVIOUR OF CHITAL AXIS AXIS (ERXLEBEN)

In the tidal forests of the Sunderbans there used to be (and, I

believe, still are) large herds of Chital deer. The predominant areas

are however in East Pakistan now. When I was a probationer, in

charge of a Range (1942-43), we could see deer as we liked. At

almost every turn of the creek (particularly bigger ones) one could

come across herds of Chital numbering anything from a dozen to more

than 100, on the banks exposed at low tide. The interesting part

was that few stags could be spotted as they would run into the forests

at the approach of a motor launch, but the fawns and does would not

run away. I remember taking small motor launches as close as 3 to 4

feet of them and yet they would not budge. In fact they would come

forward to meet the launch. Ji, however, one approached them in

a dinghy, the entire herd would disappear into the forest. This we

associated with the poachers who normally came in country boats

and did indiscriminate shooting.

In the Sunderbans, the deer ate also known to follow troops of

Rhesus monkeys to feed on the leaves and fruits dropped by the

monkeys. In fact it was a standard method to mimic the chatter of

monkeys to lure deer. If imitated by someone adept in the art, and

accompanied by shaking and shedding of branches, leaves and fruits,

the deer would arrive within minutes. I have witnessed it time and

again.

I kept a pair of fawns as pets in the Sunderbans and I remember

that whenever at breakfast, we started pecling bananas, both the fawns

would make a bee-line for the table apparently attracted by the scent

of the banana which they could get from beyond several rooms.

WRITERS’ BUILDINGS,

CALCUTTA-1, K. C. ROY CHOUDHURY

WEST BENGAL, Chief Conservator of Forests (Offg.) >

June 23, 1966.

3. RAVENS AND BROWN BEAR

Many times when stalking big game in the Himalayas, I have seen

Ravens in parties of 2 to 4 give away the presence of Brown Bear.

The bear while digging for grubs is followed by the Ravens and after

it moves on they pick up the grubs left by it.

| Last month a friend of mine, while trying to photograph Markhor,

saw a Brown Bear stretched out and four or five Ravens pecking at

748 JOURNAL, BOMBAY: NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

its head and body. Thinking that the beat was dead he approached

close to it and threw a stone. To his great surprise the bear was

very much alive and angry and after a few very loud woofs ran off.

{am sure that the Ravens were picking ticks off the bear. In

Markhor areas there are hundreds of ticks, and when stalking

Markhor, one has to go through a thorough de-ticking after returning

to camp in the evening. I am sure the Brown Bear was enjoying

the Ravens pecking away at the ticks.

Nepou’s HOTEL,

GULMARG, SRINAGAR, CoLt. H. NEDOU

KASHMIR,

June 28, 1966.

4. THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE EGGS OF THE INDIAN

HILL PARTRIDGES OF THE GENUS ARBOROPHILA

There are four species of Hill Partridge in the Indian Himalayan

region. The Common Hil! Partridge, Arborophila torqueola, occurs

in temperate forest at higher altitudes from 4,000 to 10,000 ft. and

over. The Rufousthroated Hill Partridge, A. rufogularis, occupies

lower zones from about 2,090 to 8,000 ft., while the Whitecheeked

Hill Partridge, A. atrogularis is present from the plains level up

to 5,000 ft. The fourth species, the Redbreasted Hill Partridge,

A. mandellii, is rarer than the other three and has been recorded from

1,000 to 8,000 ft. (Ripley 1961).

The eggs of these species in the collection of the British Museum

(Natural History), which have been assembled from various sources,

give the following size ranges—A. ftorqueola, length 43-5-45:5,

breadth 33-3-33-7 (3 eggs measured; Whistler [1919] quoted a c/9

taken near Simla as having length 42:5-46, breadth 32:5-34); A.

rufogularis, length 41-5-42-8, breadth 29-5-31 (19 eggs measured); and

A. atrogularis, length 35:5-38-8, breadth 27-6-29'5 (17 eggs measured),

all measuements being in millimetres. No eggs of A. mandellii were

available.

These species vary in size and one can obtain some index of this

from the wing-lengths. The following measurements were made—

7 females of A. torquecla 138-146; 7 females of A. rufogularis 125-

134;3 females of A. atrogularis 126-129; 3 females of A. mandellii

128-131. The males are consistently larger than the females in the

first three species, but in A. mandellii the sexes are similar in size.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 749

In view of the above differences in wing-length between the species

involved one might expect some consistent differences in egg-size such

as that quoted above, since this is usual in closely relaied species.

The egg-measurements given above conflict with those published

by E. C. Stuart Baker (1935) and based on eggs in his collection

which is now in the British Museum (Natural History). Baker

claimed a complete overlap in egg-size. This is due to the inclusion

of clutches which appear to have been wrongly identified. In addition

some of Baker’s clutches seem to be of composite origin. A clutch

of eggs of A. rufogularis taken by C. Primrose at Kurseong, Bengal

(B. M. reg. no. 1952. 11. 49) is accompanied by Primrose’s original data

slip on which an original clutch number of two eggs has been altered to

a four. Only two of the eggs in the group of four bear Primrose’s

pencilled setmark, and it must be suspected that two clutches have

been combined to make a clutch of four eggs. The clutch of seven

eges of A. atrogularis mentioned by Baker as the upper limit of

clutch size in that species, consists of three large eggs with a rather

tapering shape, three large and more rounded eggs, and one small

egg. The first six are of a size more typical of A. rufogularis and

are inscribed ‘18 May 1909 and the small egg is inscribed ‘18 May

1920’. Baker stated that he took this clutch himself and trapped the

female on the nest, which he describes.

There are other anomalies in the dating of Baker’s eggs. A clutch

of six eggs of A. rufogularis (B. M_ reg. no. 1952. 11. 60), stated by

Baker to have been collected on 27th May 1904, contains one egg

inscribed 27.5.04, one inscribed 27.5.24, and four which appear to

24 has been altered to an 0 which still retains the tail of the figure 2.

Similar alterations occur in two other clutches (B. M. reg. no. 1952.

11. 56-57). |

There is therefore evidence that Baker’s material is not completely

reliable and it has been necessary tc try and discriminate between

authentic and unreliable material and to compile new data from the

former. Although ultimately new ficld-work will be needed to

confirm our conclusions, from the material available the following

measurements, considered to be more accurate data, have been

compiled.

A. . torqueola (13 eggs measured): average 43-6X33:3; max.

Ate7X 33-743: 2X 33-8) mins 427-4 X 32-2.

A. rufogularis (91 eggs measured): average 39-9 30:3; max.

4375 < Sit 39°E XK 37:9; mim 40-6 X 28-3... 37-6 X 302,

750 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3) —

A. atrogularis (42 eggs measured): average 3728-3: max. 38:8 X

27:5, 36:3 X29;7 > min. 35% 2/3, W869 5677-7

The Museum has no authentic eggs of A. mandellii. Baker had a

clutch of four eggs (B. M. reg. no. 1952. 11. 40) sent to him by

Macdonald ‘with remains of a skin which shows beyond doubt that

this is a Hill Partridge either of this or a very closely allied race.’.

This indicates that Baker was not certain of the identification, and

while A. mandellii is closest to A, rufogularis in body size the four

eggs would be large even for A. torqueola, measuring 44-2 x 34-7,

44-2 X35, 42°6X 33, 44:8 X 34-6.

BRITISH MusgeuM (NatTuraAt History),

CROMWELL RoaD, C. J. O. HARRISON

LONDON S.W. 7, S. A. PARKER

September 2, 1966.

REFERENCES

Baker, FE. C. S. (1935): The Nidifi- the Birds of India and Pakistan. Bombay

cation of Birds of the Indian Empire. Nat. Hist. Society. cadets

Vol. 4. London. WHISTLER, H. (1919): A list of birds

Riptey, S. D. (1961): A Synopsis of ieee Vea ee . Bombay

5. THE EGG-LAYING OF THE KOEL, EUDYNAMYS

SCOLOPACEA (LINNAEUS)

In 1962 Dr. Sdlim Ali, while going through the manuscript of my

House Crow paper (Lamba 1963) commented regarding parasitization

by the Koel: ‘Is the koel’s egg laid at any particular stage of the

crow’s clutch, i.e. after the Ist, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th ege of the crow?

Ever in a newly completed empty nest?’ At that time I was unable

to deal with the points raised as I had not paid attention to this

particular aspect during my studies on the nidification of the House

Crow.

After my transfer to Poona in June 1964, I was able to pick up

the threads of my studies on the breeding habits of the Koel.

Eudynamys scolopacea (Linnaeus), in and around Poona, After

making careful observations on scores of nests of Corvus splendens

Vieillot and Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, (the two species in whose

nests the Koel normally lays) over a period of three breeding seasons

during 1964-66, I find myself in a position to throw a little light on

the subject.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 751

In twenty-one nests of C. splendens in which a Koel managed to

lay during the course of the present study, sixteen times she laid

her first egg after the crow had laid her first, thrice after the crow

had laid two, and twice after the crow had laid three of her eggs. In

all the three nests of C. macrorhynchos, the Koel laid after the first

egg had been deposited by the crow.

The maximum number of Koel eggs found in a single crow’s nest

was observed to be three, though previous workers sometimes came

across aS many as seven (Jacob 1915), eleven oedulal 1931), and

thirteen (Baker 1934).

I have not, so far, come across an instance of a Koel’s egg being

laid in a newly completed but empty crow’s nest, although as many as

two (Cardew in Hume 1890: 396) and eleven (Abdulali 1931) Koel’s

eggs and none of the crow’s have been observed in a crow’s nest in

the past. I shall. be extremely grateful to any reader who would

be kind enough to inform me if he comes across a Koel’s egg in a

freshly constructed but empty crow’s nest.

ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,

WESTERN REGIONAL STATION,

POONA-S,

July 27, 1966.

B. S. LAMBA

REFERENCES

H. (1931): Eleven Koel’s

J. Bombay nat.

ABDULALI,

eggs in a crow’s nest.

Hist. Soc., 35 : 458.

BAKER, E. C. S. (1934): Nidification

of the birds of the Indian Empire, III:

of Indian birds, 2nd Ed. H. R. Porter,

London.

Jacos, J. R. (1015): Seven Koel’s

eggs in one nest. J. Bombay nat. Hist.

Soc. 24: 191-192.

LAMBA, B. S. (1963): The nidification

358. Taylor and Francis, London.

Hume, A. O. (1890): Nests and eggs

of Some Common Indian Birds. Part 1.

J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc., 60: 121-133.

6. OCCURRENCE OF THE BROWN FLYCATCHER

(MUSCICAPA LATIROSTRIS RAFFLES) IN THE GIR FOREST

In March this year while bird watching at Sasan. Gir Sanctuary,

in the company of Yuvaraj Shri Shivrajkumar of Jasdan, we saw a

brown and inconspicuous bird which was identified as a Brown

Flycatcher by the Yuvaraj. The previous Monsoon had been very

poor and almost ali the Nullahs were bone-dry. Most of the birds

seen by us, including the Brown Flycatcher, were concentrated around

752. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

a small pool of ten to twelve sq. ft. area beneath the shade of great

trees in the otherwise dry bed of Kapuria River, some four miles

from Sasan Rest House. As far as I am aware this species has not

been recorded earlier from the Gir.

3, KAMAR VILLA,

Opp. MAHENDRA GHAT, LALSINH M. RAOL

MorvI (SAURASHTRA),

July 21, 1966.

7. ON A RARE BLENNID FISH X/PHASIA SETIFER

SWAINSON FROM THE MADRAS COAST

(With two text-figures)

In September 1965 the junior author made extensive collections

of fish from the Madras coast and also visited the fish markets in

Madras to examine the fish catches brought to them. At Royapuram

market on 11 September he procured an eel-like fish which appeared

very curious and interesting. On his return to Calcutta the fish was

TEXT-Fic. 1. Lateral view of Xiphasia setifer Swainson.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 1353

identified in the laboratories of the Zoological Survey of India as

Xiphasia setifer Swainson.

Swainson (1839) named the fish from the illustration of it given

by Russell in his DESCRIPTION AND FIGURES OF TWO HUNDRED FISHES

COLLECTED AT VIZAGAPATAM ON THE COAST OF COROMANDEL (1803).

Jerdon (1851) in his account of the fish observed: ‘I one day procured

two specimens of this curious species of Gymnotus, which Swainson

has named from Russell’s figure, which however is very defective. Its

tail ends in a long filament, and the dorsal and anal fins are much

higher than is there represented.’ Day (1878) based his description

mainly on Russell’s figure but his illustration, which shows the

presence of a long caudal filament, was taken from a drawing in

Sit W. Elliot’s collection (Day 1878, p. 337). The species was not

represented in the Zoological Survey of India collections.

In the circumstances related it was considered worthwhile to give

a detailed description illustrated with drawings made from the present

specimen, which measures 288-0 mm. in length:

Xiphasia setifer Swainson

Db? AGO] Polis V1 53)-€29

Body exceedingly elongate; depth 36-0 in total length, head 13:1;

eye 3:14 in head length, equal to snout. Interorbital space flat

slightly more than half diameter of eye. Mouth terminal, slightly

oblique, cleft reaching up to anterior border of eye. Upper and

lower jaws with a row of rather long, feeble, incisiviform teeth and

posterior canines. Canines on lower jaw sharply pointed, curved

inwatd and fitting into a groove-like structure on palate. Canines on

upper jaw smaller. Gill openings small vertical slits about size of

eye, situated at base of pectorals. Dorsal commences above front

margin of eye, anterior rays as long as head without snout. Anal

commences below 17th dorsal ray, distance between its origin and

tip of snout 5-8 in total length. Both fins broadly united to caudal.

Pectoral rounded, equal to posterior part of head. Ventrals with

the middle rays produced slightly longer than pectorals. Lateral line

indistinct. Colour yellowish-grey with about 26 distinct brown

crossbands on body. Dorsal and anal fins black, pectorals and

ventrals yellowish-grey.

Distribution. Tropical Indo-Pacific extending from East Africa to

_ Japan and Australia through India and Indo-Australian Archipelago.

Remarks. There is no elongated caudal filament in the present

754. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

specimen though Jerdon (1851) noticed caudal filaments in his two

specimens from Madras. Smith (1953) mentions the presence of

TExT-Fic. 2. Lateral view of head of X. setifer showing the teeth and origin of

the dorsal fin above anterior margin of eye x 6.

caudal: filaments in the African specimens, whereas the specimens

from the Indo-Australian Archipelago (De Beaufort & Chapman’ 1951)

do not have any. The presence or absence of caudal filaments may

be a secondary sexual character and unless a larger number of adult

specimens are examined nothing definite about it can be concluded.

The black markings on the dorsal fin seen in the case of specimens

from the Indo-Australian Archipelage (De Beaufort & Chapman 1951)

‘are absent in our specimen.

‘According to Day (1878) the fish grows to about 14 feet.

Ordinarily it is not known to grow more than 2 feet in length though

Smith (1953) in his account of the fish observes: *. . . pearl divers

of the tropical Pacific describe an eel-like creature several yards

long much like this species. This they fear greatly, as it is said to

attack with great ferocity. and once the great fangs are buried in a

man he cannot escape and drowns.’

ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, A. G. K. MENON

CALCUTTA, ) PAC

February 11, 1966.

Les See a ha

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES FSP)

REFERENCES

Day, F. (1878): The Fishes of India. figures of two hundred fishes collected

William Dawson, London. at Vizagapatam. W. Bulmer and Co.,

De BEAUFORT, L. F. & CHAPMAN, London.

W. M. (1951): Fishes of the Indo- SmitH, J. L. B. (1953) : Sea Fishes of

Australian Archipelago. E. G. Brill South Africa. Central News Agency

Ltd., Leiden. Ltd., Capetown. ;

JERDON, T. C. (1851): Ichthyological SWAINSON, W. (1839): The Natural

gleanings in Madras. Madras Journ. History and Classification of fishes,

Kit. Sci. 1}-> 128-151. amphibians and reptiles, or monocardian

RUSSELL, P. (1803): Descriptions and animals. London.

8. TWO NEW SPECIES OF TRICHIURID FISH

FROM WALTAIR!

(With a plate)

So far, four species of Trichiurids have been recorded from

Indian waters: Eupleurogrammus intermedius (Gray), E. muticus

(Gray), Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, and Lepturacanthus savala

(Cuvier) (Day 1876; De Beaufort & Chapman 1951; Prabhu 1955;

James 1959). Tucker (1956) has given the synonymy of these four

species. In the course of studies on the biology and biometry of

the Trichiurids of Waltair Coast, two new species have been

observed, one under the genus Trichiurus and the other under the

genus Lepturacanthus.

Trichiurus russelli sp. nov.

Holotype. A fish, 419 mm. total length, from Waltair, Andhra

Pradesh. Holotype deposited in museum of Department of Zoology,

Andhra University, Waltair.

Description. Based on 30 specimens 257-465 mm. total length.

D. TI, 126-131; A. i+I, 100-104; P. I, 10: V. 0; Vert. 146-149.

Body proportions variable: depth 12-92-15-29; head length 7:14-

8-20; post-anal length 1:48-1:55; length from snout to origin of dorsal

10:69-12:51 in total length; snout length 2:87-3:17 in head length;

diameter of eye 1:55-1:81 in snout length; length of, pectoral 1:60-1:96

in depth. Dorsal and pectoral fins not pigmented. Origin of anal

below 33-36 dorsal rays. Caniniform teeth in both the jaws barbed.

Silvery in colour.

—_—.

1 Communicated by Dr. T. S. Satyanarayana Rao.

756 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Occurrence. This species is caught off Waltair in boat seines and

gill nets. It.was first noticed on 16 Apri! 1962 when 12 specimens

of this species were obtained along with 26 specimens of T. lepturus.

Another 18 specimens were obtained during the course of 1963. The

maximum size obtained was 465 mm. and the minimum size 257 mm.

Diagnosis. Until now only one species, lJepturus, has been

described under the genus Trichiurus; it has a world-wide distribution

in the warmer waters (Tucker 1956; Rosa 1957) and has been

considered as a ‘variable species’ (Tucker 1956). There is no doubt

that in addition to 7. lepturus, a second species is present. The

salient characters of 7. lepturus and T. russelli sp. nov. are compared

in Table 1.

TABLE |

COMPARISON OF THE SALIENT CHARACTERS OF

T. lepturus AND T. russelli sP. NOV.

No. CHARACTER T. lepturus T. russelli

1. Anal origin below dorsal rays 37-38 33-36

2. Colour Burnished or dull sil- Pure silvery

very

3. Pigmentation on fins Three-fourths of dor- Not pigmented

sal and pectoral fins

pigmented

4. Depth in total length 10°87-20°17 12°92-15:29

5. Head length in total length 6°17- 7°68 7°14- 8:20

6. Diameter of eye in snout length 1°62- 2°11 1.55- 1.81

7. Length of pectoral fin in depth 1°23- 1°40 1:60- 1:96

8. Post-anal length in total length 1°51- 1°67 1°48- 1°55

9. Distance from snout to origin of 8°87-10°74 10°69-12°51

_ .- dorsal in total length

10. Dorsal fin rays Ill, 128-132 {II, 126-131

11. Vertebrae 164-157 146-149

Named in honour of Patrick Russell who about one hundred

and sixty years ago recorded over two hundred species of fishes from

Visakhapatnam.

Lepturacanthus serratus sp. nov.

Holotype. A fish, 357 mm. total length, from Waltair, Andhra

Pradesh. Holotype deposited in museum of Department of Zoology,

Andhra University, Waltair.

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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ae 1579

Description. Based on 164 specimens, 109-512 mm. total length.

DISIN= 1120-125; Anise. 86-97: Ps 12-102 V." 0; “Vert. 178-188.

Body proportions variable; depth 21-25-33-06; head length 9-09-

10-63; post-anal length 1:29-1:66; length from snout to origin of

dorsal 8-33-1638 in total length; snout length 2°58-2:88 in head

length; diameter of eye 1:93-2:25 in snout length; length’ of pectoral

0-87-1-05 in depth. The second anal spine is not dagger-shaped as

in L. savala, and is shorter. The outer edge of the first pectoral

spine (plate fig., c) is serrated, the number of serrations increasing with

length of fish. Post-ana! region-is filamentous. Origin of anal

below 34-35 dorsal rays. Caniniform teeth in both the jaws barbed.

Silvery in colour.

Occurrence. This species occurs in the commercial. catches at

Waltair from July to December in boat seines and gill nets. The

maximum size obtained was 512 mm. and the minimum size 109 mm.

Diagnosis. Superficially the new species resembles L. savala

(Cuvier), which is the only species hitherto recorded in the genus

Lepturacanthus. The salient characters of the two species are com-

pared in Table 2.

TABLE 2

COMPARISON OF THE SALIENT CHARACTERS OF

L. savala anp L. serratus SP. NOV.

No. CHARACTER L. savala L. serratus

1. Anal origin below dorsal 35-37 34-35

2. Second anal spine Prominent and Comparatively short

dagger-shaped

3. Pectoral spine Not serrated Serrated

4. Depth in total length 12°80-29°01 21°25-33°06

5. Head length in total length 7°59- 9°84 9-09-10°63

6. Diameter of eye in snout length 2°08- 3:00 1°93- 2°25

7. Length of pectoral fin in depth 1:00- 1°70 0°87- 1:05

8. Post-anal length in total length 1°32- 1°50 1:29- 1°66

9. Dorsal fin rays IV, 106-112 IV, 120-123

10. Anal spines _ i+T, 76-82 i+I, 86-97

11. Vertebrae 166-179 178-188

James (1961) recorded a wide range in the number of rays in the

dorsal and anal fins and in the number of vertebrae of L. savala; the

present observations, however, indicate that this may have been due

to the fact that he was unable to isolate ‘the new species from L.

savala. He did observe the serrations on the first pectoral spine, but

assumed that this feature occurs. ‘in some individuals of T. lepturus

758

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

and L. savala. It may be questioned why such a distinctive character

should occur in some individuals only, and that ‘too of two species

which do not even belong to the same genus.

indicate that the serrations on the pectoral

character of L. serratus sp. nov.

The present studies

represent a_ specific

Paper chromatozraphic studies also show differences between these

two new species and the other recorded species.

published elsewhere.

Details will be

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors express grateful thanks to Prof. P. N. Ganapati for

providing excellent facilities and for encouragement. The work was

carried out during, the tenure of a Research Training Scholarship of

the Government of India, by one of us (VT).

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

ANDHRA UNIVERSITY,

WALTAIR,

April 23, 1966.

Ss. DUTT

V. THANKAM

REFERENCES

De BEAUFORT, L. F. & CHAPMAN,

W. M.. (1951): The fishes of the Indo-

Australian Archipelago 9, Leiden,

Holland : 187-197.

Day, F. (1876) : Fishes of India, Vol.

1, 778 pp. London. William Dawson

& Sons. Ltd., 1958.

JAMES, P. S. B. R. (1959) : Eupleuro-

grammus intermedius (Gray) (Trichi-

uridae: Pisces), a New Record from

Indian waters. J. Mar. biol. Ass. India.

1(2) : 139-142.

(1961) : Comparative Osteology

of the ribbon fishes of the family

Trichiuridae from Indian waters, with

remarks on their phylogeny. op. cit.

3(1 & 2) : 215-248.

PRABHU, M. S. (1955) : Some aspects

of the biology of the ribbon fish Trichi-

urus haumela (Forskal). Indian J. Fish.

2: 132-165.

Rosa, H. Jr. (1957): A Synopsis of

Biological data on the species of

Trichiuroidei. FB/57/T, FAO Fish. Div.

Biol. Br., Rome ; 81 pp.

Tucker, D. W. (1956): Studies on

the Trichiuroid Fishes-3. A prelimi-

nary Revision of the family Trichiuridae

ee Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Zool. 4:

73-130.

9. AMBICOLOURATION IN TWO SPECIES OF

FLATFISHES FROM MADRAS

(With two plates)

Ambicolouration or pigmentation on the blind side in flatfishes is

known to be associated with the tendency to regain bilateral symmetry

| (Norman

flatfishes

1934). In India two

have been reported;

instances

in the

of ambicolouration in

‘Pan Sole’ Brachirus pan

(Hamilton) by Jones & Menon (1950), and in the Oriental Sole

J. BOMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (3) PrAtHal

Sivaprakasam: Ambicoloration of Flatfishes

Bigs

Ambicolourate specimen of Bothus ovalis (Regan). _

Above: View of the ocular side; Below: View of the blind side

OPIS PUl[G 9G} JO MTA : MOjag $ Opts Ie[Nd0 OY} JO MaTA : adogy

(194Y99[q) vp] snssojzoud:D Jo udsutdeds o}eINO[OIIQquUIY

an bien seawall

;

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Il dLlv1d (€) €9 “OOS “LSIH “LVN AVaWOg ‘f

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | 759

Brachirus crientalis (Bloch & Schneider) by Pradhan et. al (1962).

Both species belong to the family Soleidae. The present note records

ambicolouration in a bothid and a cynogiossid flatfish from Madras.

On 18 July, 1966, I brought a collection of flatfishes from the

Mandavelli Market, Madras, which included three species, Pseudo-

rhombus tricellatus (Bloch), Bothus ovalis (Regan) and Cynoglossus

lida (Bleeker). Among these there were two ambicolourate specimens

belonging to the last two species.

The ambicolourate specimen of the Oval Flounder, Bothus Orchs

(Regan) (plate I) measuring 119 mm. in total length is norma! on its

ocular side, whereas the blind side is divided into an anterior banded

region and a uniformly coloured posterior region. Anteriorly from

snout to a length of 41 mm. it is white, as in normal specimens, but

there is an extension of dark pigmentation near the base of dorsal and

anal fins. Following this, is a banded region extending over a length’

of 23 mm., starting from 35th dorsal and 17th anal rays to 52nd dorsal

and 32nd anal rays. The Sth band does not reach the dorsal fin so:

that there is a fusion of the 4th and 5th white bands a little above

the vertebral column. ‘The rest of the blind side is uniformly black,

the caudal base being a little paler.

The ambicoloured specimen of the Shoulder-spot Tongue-Sole,

Cynoglossus lida (Bleeker) (plate Il) measuring 162 mm. in total length.

is also normal on the ocular side. On the blind side there is a dark

brown patch extending from 88 to 111 mm. from the snout and

widening a little towards the dorsal and anal fins. The rest of the

blind side is white as in normal specimens.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks are due to Shri S$. Vijayaraghavan for the photographs.

ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,

SOUTHERN REGIONAL STATION, T. E. SIVAPRAKASAM

MADRAS-4,

July 22, 1966.

REFERENCES _

JONES, S. & MENON, P. M. G. (1950): Monograph of the Flatfishes (Hetero-

An interesting case of ambicolouration somata), I, pp. 22-27. London.

in the ‘Pan’ Sole Brachirus pan PRADHAN, R. M. & PRADHAN, M. J.

(Hamilton) Rec. Indian Mus. 48(3): 67- (1962) : An instance of partial ambico-

70. een mt ine aaa eS oe

: ._ orientalis oc chneider). J.

Norman, J. R. (1934): A Systematic Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 593): 967-968,

760 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

10. SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN SOLITARY EUMENID WASPS

(With two text-figures)

Wasps of Stenodynerus miniatus (Sauss.) build mud tubes on walls.

The similar squatter wasps of the species Subancistrocerus sichelii

(Saussure) exploit both natural cavitics and mud cells built by other

wasps. In Thailand, Iwata (1964) found them in cells of a species

now classified as belonging to Stenodynerus by J. Van der Vecht

and Jayakar & Spurway (1966) have perhaps found it in cells of

S. miniatus itself. They have been observed resting in hollow bamboos,

and nest boxes which are provided.

On four occasions apparent mating has been seen. On 23 August

1963, this was observed on cells of the Stenodynerus sp. built between

18 May and 3 June, 1963 from which no specimens were collected.

As 00 wasps were seen on this nest between 22 June and 19 August,

it is conceivable that the wasps seen on 23 August belonged to

Subancistrocerus sichelii (but see Jayakar & Spurway 1966). These alse

were not captured. On 6/10 and 7/10/64 the wasps observed had

emerged from the nest boxes and were preserved, while on 13/8/65

it was performed by two wasps who were certainly Stenodynerus

miniatus.

On 23 August, when first seen at 09.24 am., one wasp was

riding the other, as in Fig. 1. At 09.29, the co (assumed to be the

one on top) started fluttering his wings. Their genitalia then made

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 761

contact for about 3 secs., then separated. The male then started

moving his abdomen rhythmically sideways through an arc of

about 60° (Fig. 2). With each sideways movement, he stroked with

his abdomen the tip of the female’s abdomen (see Fig. 1), and at

the same time, fluttered his wings and tapped the female’s head with

both his antennae. At 09.30, the fluttering of the wings alone dis-

continued. At 09.35, though the abdominal movements continued,

the antennal movements stopped. Abdominal movements

ceased at 09.37. From 09.38 to 09.42, the female walked about.

The cycle was repeated several times and the times are given below.

(The movements were roughly 3 beats to a second.)

09°45 .. contact of genitalia and fluttering by female—start of rhythmic abdo-

minal, antennal and wing movements ;

09°46 .. wing movements stopped ;

09°50 .. antennal movements stopped ;

09°53. .. abdominal movements stopped—, fluttered with his antennae held

vertically down.

10°02 .. contact of genitalia—rhythmic movements of abdomen, genitalia and

wings started ;

10°03 .. wing movements stopped ;

1005 .. ¢ fluttered briefly ;

10°07 .. antennal movements stopped ;

10°10 .. 9& moved, ¢ fluttered ;

10°11 .. abdominal movements stopped.

10°12-10.13. .. — ¢ fluttered several times while 2 walked about.

10°20 .. contact of genitalia—rhythmic abdominal, antennal and wing move-

ments started ;

10°23 .. wing movements stopped ;

10°27 .. antennal movements stopped—_j flutters ;

10°29 .. disturbance by a mosquito flying near them—abdominal movements

stopped—@ moving about, ¢ fluttering occasionally.

10°37 ... contact of genitalia with ¢ fluttering—rhythmic movements started ;

10°39 .. wing movements stopped ; |

10°43. .. antennal movements stopped ;

10°44 .. @& flutters while 2 walks about 3

762 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

10°45 .. abdominal movements stopped.

10°46 .. & flutters while 2 walks about.

At 10°52, another wasp of the same species came out of one

of the cells, was approached by the copulating pair, and withdrew.

10°55 .. contact of genitalia—rhythmic movements started ;

10°57. .. wing movements stopped ;

10°59 .. 2 flutters several times ;

11°01 .. Q&moves—antennal movements stopped—some fluttering ;

11:02 .. abdominal movements stopped— 2 moved— ¢ fluttered ;

11:10 .. contact of genitalia—rhythmic movements started ;

11:14 .. wing movements stopped ;

11-15 .. 2 fluttered:

At 11.15, the wasp from the cell emerged and re-entered twice,

causing the copulating female to walk off the nest onto the wall. The

male then dismounted and flew away, and at 11.16, the female flew

away. Table 1 summarises these deta.

TABLE |

Cycl ; Period in minutes

A B C otal jae D

I l 5 2, 8 8

2 | 4 3 8 9

3 1 4 4 9 9

4 3 4 ? 9 8

5 2 4 z 8 10

6 2 4 ] df 8

gl 4 — — — —

Mean 20 4.2 Zo 8.2 oa

A=Beginning of rhythmic movements to stopping of wing movements.

B=Stopping of wing movements to stopping of antennal movements.

C=Stopping of antennal movements to stopping of abdominal movements.

D=Stopping of abdominal movements to beginning of next cycle (i.e. of A).

On 6/10/64, two wasps emerged from nest box 4, cell Ul

(called 4. III). These cells were sealed by wasp S.s. 7 on 11/9/64

in the house of my colleagues R. Mangipudi and H. Pulugurtha in

Bhubaneswar. The cell (width 3/16”, length 14”, volume 0-442 cc.)

had been partitioned by the mother into two sub-cells. The nest box

was put into a covered glass jar to trap the emergences, and the

wasps, when first seen at 10.28 a.m., were one on top of the other as

described before. At 10.34, 10.43 and 10.51, rhythmic movements

similar to those described above were performed by the male, who

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 763

dismounted at 11.04. On the nexi day, of 3 emergences from cell

4.1X (the same size as 4.III), the male was riding one of the females

at 12.10 p.m. and dismounted at 12.20. In the latter two cases, no

contact of the genitalia was observed, and it is possible that the

wasps had been disturbed enough to alter their behaviour.

The nest on which similar mating behaviour was seen on 13/8/65

was built by a female of Stenodynerus miniatus (Jayakar & Spurway

1966). The nest was started on 20/7/65, and by 13/8, she had

completed the building of three cells, two of which were sealed. At

09.09, a pair was seen copulating on the nest, and there was an emer-

gence hole in the mouth of tube I. The male was performing the

abdominal movements described above. Very soon after, the male

dismounted; the female then went to the mouth of cell I, then pecked

at the 3°, who flew away. .At 09.14, the female was captured, etherised,

marked, and then released. Her subsequent history has been published

(Jayakar & Spurway op. cit.).

No similar behaviour has been seen in any other species of wasp

observed here, though mounting and riding have been observed in

Eumenes emarginatus conoideus (Gmelin). The latter were deliberately

put together in a jar. It is interesting that the wasps considered in

this paper copulated immediately after emergence, and that there is

thus a high probability of brother-sister mating and possibly son-mother

mating. Iwata (1953) has seen copulations in Eumenes decoratus Smith

and E. fraterculus Dalla Torre, and he has also seen males visiting

places where females collected mud, and this suggests that females at

least sometimes copulate after they have started building.

I am grateful to Dr. van der Vecht of Leiden for determining

the species of the offspring of the female marked on 13/8/65 and of

another individual from the relevant nest box, probably also the

offspring of S.s. 7, and to Dr. K. Iwata of Hyogo for criticising a

draft of this paper.

GENETICS AND BIOMETRY LABORATORY,

BHUBANESWAR 3, S. D. JAYAKAR

ORISSA, |

August 23, 1965.

REFERENCES

IwaTA, K. (1953) : Biology of Eumenes JAYAKAR,S. D. & Spurway, H. (1966):

in Japan (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Re-use of cells and brother-sister mating

Mushi, 25, Pars 6, 25-46. in the Indian species Stenodynerus minia-

» (1964); Bionomic of non- tus (Sauss.) (Vespidae: Eumeninae)

social wasps in Thailand. Nature and J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 63 : 378-398.

Life in South East Asia 3: 323-383.

764. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

11. GENITALIA AND OPISTHOMERES OF THE EARWIG,

- ANECHURA HIMALAY ANA SINGH

(With three text-figures)

The original description of this species Anechura himalayana Singh

lacks description of genitalia and opisthomeres. The present paper

is a study of its genitalia and opistnomeres. The author (1965) has

pointed out that as genitalia is very confusing in the family Forficulidae

the opisthomeres are of great use in separating the members of this

group.

B. Ves.

Ej. De.

Fig. 1. Male Genitalia

B. Ves.— Basal vesicle : Ej. Dt.—Ejaculatory duct ;

Mp.—Metaparameres ; P.S.—Preputial sac ; Pp.—

Proparameres; Vg.—Virga.

GENITALIA (Fig. 1)

The genitalia are of Anechurine type. Metaparameres (Mp.)

elongated, parallel-sided with broad base and a little narrow rounded

apex; c. ‘74 mm. long and -18 mm. wide in the middle. Connected

to the broad proparameres (Pp.) by a small hinge which is far less

well-developed than in the lower group protodermaptera, though

better chitinized than other structures of the genital armature.

Proparameres feebly chitinized and true base of the segment difficult

to distinguish. Space between proparameres and up to about three-

fourths near the apex of the metaparameres occupied by the long

median unpaired penis-lobe (preputial sac). Preputial sac (P-.S.)

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 765

c. ‘22 mm. wide in the middle and directed forwards. Chitinized

virga (Vg.), enclosed within the preputial sac, c. -89 mm. long and

‘(03 mm. wide nearly throughout its length. Connection of the virga

with the reniform basal vesicle (B.Ves.) prominently elbowed, a very

characteristic feature of the subfamily Anechurinae. Basal vesicle

strengthened by chitinous parallel-linings c. -19 mm. long and -08 mm.

wide in the middle. A short ejaculatory duct (Ej.Dt.) arises from

the posterior end of the basal vesicle.

OPISTHOMERES (Figs. 2 & 3)

The opisthomeres are very interesting because they contain all

the three clearly defined segments. Burr (1915) described the male

opisthomeres of only two species, Mesochelidura bolvari Borm. and

Anechura bipunctata Fabr., for the subfamily Amechurinae. He

pointed out that the opisthomeres of these species lack the third

segment or plate, the telson. Therefore, the opisthomeres of Anechura

himalayana Singh give a new example in the subfamily Anechurinae

in having all the three well-developed plates, the pygidium,

metapygidium, and the telson, closely fitted as if it were a single

structure.

Oo 4 = d 5

EZ ie SS Te

— See a

ce ue a

ote =

a By? Mp

| Ss See)

‘2M. A

| _ Fig. 2. Male Opisthomeres _ |

Mpg.—Metapygidium ; Pg.—Pygidium ; Sp.—Spine ;.Te.—Telson. _

Male: Pygidium (Pg.) is the largest plate and is more than one

and half times longer than the metapygidium and telson combined;

766 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

c. °95 mm. long, 1:24 mm. broad with -44 mm. narrow apex and

provided with a group of lateral spines (Sp.). Metapygidium (Mpg.)

closely fitted with the pygidium, constricted near the base and has a

pair of bulges near the centre of the lateral sides c. -34 mm. long,

‘44 mm. broad at the base. Telson (Te.) an elongated fan-like

structure, c. ‘21 mm. long, -46 mm. broad at the base and -73 mm.

at the apex, bearing a group of spines (Sp.) in the centre of the apex

and surrounding the apical portion of the metapygidium.

Mp‘

—— ey

+2 1K,

Fig. 3. Female Opisthomeres

Mpg.—Metapygidium ; Pg —Pygidium ; Sp.—Spine; Te.—Telson.

Female: Opisthomeres similar in shape, shorter than that of

male. Pygidium (Pg.) c. ‘68 mm. long, -84 mm. broad and -43 mm.

narrow apex. Metapygidium (Mpg.) somewhat different from male and

about :24 mm. long, -43 mm. broad at base and -14 mm. at the apex.

Telson (Te.) about -17 mm. long, -41 mm. narrow at the base with

-56 mm. broad apex which is slightly concave.

Thus the above study supports the placing of Anechura himalayana

Singh in the subfamily Anechurinae, by Santokh Singh (1955).

~ SUMMARY

The structures of the genitalia and opisthomeres of Anechura

himalayana Singh are described for the first time. The opisthomeres

in having all the three well-developed plates namely the pygidium,

metapygidium and telson form a new character for the subfamily

Anechurinae.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 767

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to Dr. H. N. Baijal, ph.p., F.a.z., Zoology Depart-

ment, Agra College, Agra, for guidance and encouragement during the

present work; to Dr. Santokh Singh, php., F.R.E.S., School of

Entomology, St. John’s College, Agra, for placing the present

collection at my disposal; to Principal Dr. M. Ray, D.Sc., F.N.I., and

Dr €.-P, Singh, -ph.p., F.L.S., F.A.Z., Head: ofthe Department of

Zoology, Agra College, Agra, for laboratory and library facilities, and

to the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, for the scholarship

award.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, |

AGRA COLLEGE, V. C. KApoor

AGRA, Research Scholar

March 26, 1966.

REFERENCES

Burr, M.(1915): Theopisthomeresand and opisthomeres. Ag. Univ. Journ.

gonapophyses in the Dermaptera. Trans. Res. (Sc.), 14 (IID) : 135-140.

Ent. Soc. Lond. 34 : 257-269. SINGH, See Sree Entomo-

: Camuig’ logical survey of the Himalayas. VII.

PMO DS, No (CoN Ne see SOI LY On a collection of Dermaptera. Ag.

Hypurgus humeralis Kirby its genitalia Univ. Journ, Res. (Sc.), 4(1) : 179-185.

12. NEW PENTATOMID HOST RECORD FOR

HYMENOPTEROUS EGG-PARASITES ANASTATUS COLEMANI

CRAWF. AND ASOLCUS SP.

Anastatus colemani has been known to parasitise eggs of

pentatomids besides those of Dictyoptera and Lepidoptera. In India,

this eupelmid has been recorded froin the eggs of the pentatomids

Tessaratoma javanica (Mehra & Kapur 1955) and Degonetus serratus

(Krishnamurthi & Usman 1954). Records of scelionid parasites from

the eggs of pentatomids, from India, refer to Microphanurus sp. from

eggs of Eurydema sp. (Chatterji & Rahalkar 1958), Microphanurus

indicus from Plautia fimbriata (Narayanan & Kaur 1959), Hadro-

phanurus sp. from Bagrada cruciferarum (Narayanan et al. 1959) and

Telenomus latisulcus (=:Microphanurus priapus) from Chrysochoris

purpureus (Swaminathan & Madhavan Nair 1962).

In the present investigation, both A. colemani and Asolcus sp.

were observed in the field to oviposit inside the eggs of Placosternum

768 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

dama Fab. which is a new host record for these parasites. Batches

of host eggs collected from the field were kept under observation in

the laboratory to assess the degree of parasitisation and survival

percentage of the host. Eggs escaping parasitisation could be dis-

tinguished by the reddish brown streaks visible through the chorion,

as parasitised eggs changed from green to black through a stage of

light brown coloration.

P. dama is commonly seen on the slender branches of the banyan

tree in a number of places around Madras, though all the eggs in

the present study were collected within the college campus. The

parasites make their appearance in late October and are seen in the

field till March of the succeeding year. During 1964-65, these

parasites were collected together during all the five months. Asolcus

sp. predominated in the process of parasitisation. During 1965-66,

however, Asolcus sp. was not seen in the field till it emerged from the

host eggs in the middle of January. ;

During this period, nevertheless, the number of host eggs parasitised

by A. colemani did not increase to any appreciable extent.

TABULAR ANALYSIS OF HOST AND PARASITE SURVIVAL DURING 1964-66

Total No. eggs collected

No. eggs from which A. colemani emerged

No. eggs from which Asolcus sp. emerged

*No. eggs from which Tetrastiches sp. emerged

No. eggs parasitised but from which no emer-

gence took place

Mortality per cent in parasitised eggs

No. eggs hatch d (Unparasitised)

No. unparasitised eggs which failed to hatch

Mortality per cent in unparasi ised eggs

1964-65

678

165 or 24:3%

269003977 7%,

90 or 13°3%

— 172%

143 or 21:1%

{ior AG,

1965-66

1,156

316,0r 27:3 7

275 or 23:9%

24 or 2:0%

16or 14%

— PES eo

516 or 446%

Dor 705854

* This parasite was determined through the kindness of-Mr. R. G. Fennah of

the Commonwealth Institute of Entomology, London.

The parasites were also successfully reared in the laboratory to

study their biology, sex ratio and feoun ety, Details of these studies

will be published elsewhere.

The author is grateful to Dr. C. S. W. Muesebeck of the

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maryland, and to Dr. I. H. H. Yarrow

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 769

of the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) for determining the material sent

to them. He also expresses _ his

sincere thanks to Mr. K. S.

Ananthasubramanian for the help received during this study, and

to the authorities of the Loyola College for laboratory facilities.

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,

LOYOLA COLLEGE,

Mapras-34,

April 27, 1966.

B. N. RAMAMURTHI

REFERENCES

CHATTERJI, S. & RAHALKAR, G. W.

(1958) : Biological notes on Méicro-

Phanurus sp., a scelionid egg-parasite

of Eurydema sp. (Pentatomidze, Hetero-

ptera). Indian J. Ent. 20 : 162-163.

KRISHNAMURTHI, B. & USMAN, S.

(1954) : Somz Insect parasites of eco-

nomic importance noted in Mysore State.

Indian J. Ent. XVI: 335.

MEHRA, B. P. & Kapur, A. P. (1955) :

Bionomics and control of Tessaratoma

javanica (Thunberg), a sporadic pest

of Kusum in Chota Nagpur. Indian

J. Ent. 27 : 76-88.

NARAYANAN, E. S. & Kaur, R. B.

(1959) : A new species of Microphanurus

Kieffer. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. XLIX,

(B): 136-138. }

NARAYANAN, E. S., SUBBA RAO, B. R.,

‘& KATIYAR, R. N. (1959): Population

studies on Hadrophanurus sp. (Scelio-

nidae: Hymenoptera) egg-parasite of

Bagrada cruciferarum Kirk. on maize

(Zea mays) at Karnal. Proc. Nat. Inst.

Sci. India 25 (B) : 315-320.

SWAMINATHAN, 8S. & MADHAVAN

Nair, K. (1962) : Microphanurus priapus

Nixon, an egg-parasite of Chrisochoris

purpureus (Westw.) Naturwissenschaften,

heft 24, S. 612.

13. FIRST RECORD OF THE FAIRY SHRIMP

BRANCHINELLA KUGENUMAENSIS ISHIKAWA IN

GUJARAT STATE, NORTH INDIA

On the 13th October 1956 the writer collected four fairy shrimps

in a rainwater pool near the mission school compound in Ahwa,

headquarters of the Dangs District, south Gujarat. These specimens

were sent to Manchester College (U.S.A.) in 1958, where general

classification as Branchinella was made by Dr. William R. Eberly of

the Department of Biology. |

After noting Dr. K. K. Tiwari’s (1958) article on a new species of

Branchinella from Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan, the writer concluded that

this catch of fairy shrimps was significant. Therefore the matter was

reported to the Bombay Natural History Society for guidance. Upon

their suggestion the fairy shrimps were returned to India, where they

were identified by the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, as

Branchinella kugenumaensis Ishikawa.

. Linder (1941) mentioned seeing two males of a Branchinella form

from Madras, India, preserved in the British Museum, London, and

770 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

remarked further that this species Branchinella kugenumaensis was

previously known only from East Asia. Thus the presence of this

species in Gujarat is an interesting record. It was formerly recorded

by Linder (op. cit.) in Madras, by Sanjeeva Raj from Madura (1952),

and by Tiwari in Rajasthan (1965).

402, N. WAYNE ST., 7

NORTH MANCHESTER, IND., E. M. SHULL

U.S.A., 46962,

August 8, 1966.

REFERENCES

LINDER, F., (1941): Contributions to kugenumaensis (Ishikawa). Curr. Sci.

the morphology and taxonomy of the 20: 334.

Branchiopoda Anostraca. Zool. Bidr. TIwARI, K. K. (1958): Diagnosis of

Uppsala, 20: 101-302. a new species of the genus Branchinella

SANJEEVA RaJ, P. J. (1951): The first Sayce (Crustacea : Branchiopoda :

record of the genus Branchinella Sayce Anostraca) from Sambhar Lake,

in India and a new variety of Branchinella Bae J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.

55 : 585-588.

14. ON THE OCCURRENCE OF PORCELLANELLA PICTA

STIMPSON (DECAPODA : ANOMURA) IN THE GULF OF

KUTCH

(With a_ plate)

Records of the genus Porcellanella from Indian waters are

Porcellanella picta (Stimpson) from Kameswaram Island by Henderson

(1893) and from Gulf of Mannar by Sankarankutty (1961), Porcellana

gaekwari (Southwell 1909) from Gulf of Kutch on which Gravely

(1927) remarked ‘the biunguiculate feet of which clearly place it in

the genus Porcellanella, and Porceilanella haigae (Sankarankutty

1963) from Gulf of Mannar. 3

In June 1965 the author collected a number of porcellanid crabs

found as commensals on a Sea Pen Ptereoides sp. from the intertidal

zone of the mud fiat on the south-western side of Dabdaba Island

(69° 11’ 36” E., 22° 22°: 10” N.) -in- Pindara.- Bay, Gulf -of “Kuten:

These porcellanids were identified as Porcellanella picta Stimpson

thereby extending the distribution of this species to the Gulf of Kutch

and first record of the species from the west coast of India.

Each host (Ptereoides sp.) harboured from 7 to 10 of these

anomurans. In all 87 specimens were examined of which 37 were

J. BOMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (3)

Ramanadan : Porcellanella picta

& - AST

Porcellanella picta Stimpson

A. Female, B. Ischium and merus of cheliped, C. Basal antennular segment,

D. Dactylus of walking leg.

o* Sr

$ ae cas

arp tobe

Dees |

Pn: ating

eR ibore

Aeron’

sven

A As

ap ayy

tpal,

Pre ae

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES aa

males, and of the remaining females 22 were ovigerous. The

carapace lengths of the males ranged from 3-15 to 5-6 mm. and of

the females from 3-2 to 8-0 mm. The smallest ovigerous female

measured 4:43 mm. long and 3:57 mm. across the widest part of the

carapace. The frontal lobes of the specimens in the collection showed

minor variations in respect of their relative sizes and shape, more or

less in the same way as reported by Sankarankutty (1961) in the

case of the Gulf of Mannar specimens. Regarding the spinules of

the dactyli of the walking legs, though as a rule the second proximal

was the largest a few specimens were found in which the second and

third spinules were subequal. The first spinule (proximal) was found

to be appreciably smaller than the fourth in all the specimens. The

variations from type were mostly confined to younger specimens.

In the nature of the spines on the inner distal margin of the basal

antennular segment these specimens differed from the Gulf of Mannar

specimens. In the Kuich specimens the spines are close-set over-

lapping slightly at the base and the inner one is the stouter. This

feature was found quite consistent in all the specimens in_ the

collection.

The author gratefuily acknowledges the help of Dr. D. S. Johnson

and Dr. C. Sankarankutty in examining the specimens and confirming

the identification.

MARINE BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

STATION, OKHA, R. RAMANANDAN

August 3, 1966.

REFERENCES

GRAVELY, F. H. (1927): Decapoda White (Crustacea-Anomura), a com-

and Stomatopoda. Bull. Madras mensal on sea pen with remarks on allied

Govt. Mus. (n. ser.) (nat. hist. sect.) 1 species. J. Mar. biol. Ass. India 3

(1) : 135-155. (1 & 2) : 96-100.

HENDERSON, J. R. (1893): A ———— (1963): On three species

contribution to Indian Carcinology. of porcellanids (Crustacea-Anomura)

Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Zool. 5: from the Gulf of Mannar. Ibid., 5 (2):

325-458. 273-279.

JOHNSON, D. S. (1964): On _ the SOUTHWELL, T. (1909): Report on

species Porcellanella picta Stimpson the Anomura collected by Mr. James

(Decapoda-Porcellanidae) | Crustaceana Hornell at Okhamandal in Kathiawar

7: 98-102. in 1905-6. Marine Zoology of Okha-

SANKARANKUTTY, C. (1961): On the mandal,1: 105-123.

porcellanid crab Porcellanellatriloba

772, JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

15. NOTES ON A COLLECTION OF BARNACLES FROM

| THE EAST COAST OF INDIA

(With five text-figures)

INTRODUCTION

This paper lists 30 species of Cirripedes from the inshore areas

of Porto Novo, and Mandapam-Krusadi island region collected during

the course of faunistic surveys in May and September-October 1960

by the authors for the Zoologicai Survey of India. All the thirty

species are new records for the iocalities as indicated in the Table.

In addition, Balanus hoekianus Pilsbry, 1916, is redescribed briefly

since the previous description of this species from a single lot is

inadequate. Notes on Chthamalus malayensis Pilsbry, 1916, and

C. challengeri Hoek, 1883, recorded for the first time from the Bay

of Bengal, are also given to facilitate easy identification.

TABLE

List OF SPECIES

No. of Localities ZS:

Name of species

specimens’. Reg. No.

Family Lepadidae

1. Lepas anatifera indica Annandale 8+4 Porto Novo & C 4495/1

Pamban bridge

2. Lepas anserifera Linne 6+6 -do- C 4496/1

3. Lepas pectinata Spengler 7 Gulf of Mannar C 4512/1

& C 4514/1

4. Conchoderma virgatum (Spengler) 1 Krusadi island C 4499/1

Family Trilasmatidae -- os

5. Trilasmis minuta (Gruvel) 8+2 Porto Novo & C 4505/1

Palk Bay et eae

6. Trilasmis kaempferi (Darwin) 4 Krusadi island C 4506/1

7. Trilasmis amygdalum (Aurivillius) 4 Porto Novo C 4506a/1

8. Octolasmis tridens (Aurivillius) 22+12 Porto Novo & -C 4507/1

; : oe eee - Palk Bay re i

9. Octolasmis warwickii Gray ' 36+4 Porio Novo, C 4511/1

Pamban Bridge & & C 4513/1

Palk Bay Mie re

10. Octolasmis grayii (Darwin) 34+1 Porto Novo & C 4502/1.

Krusadi

11. Octolasmis lowei (Darwin) 20 Porto Novo

12. Octolasmis cor (Aurivillius) 52+64 Porto Novo & C 4515/1

Gulf of Mannar

13. Octolasmis nierstraszi Hoek 1 Krusadi island C 4503/1

14. Octolasmis angulata (Aurivillius) 48 Porto Novo C 4503a/1

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 3

Name of species = Rae Localities RaeN!

Family Balanidae

15. Balanus tintinnabulum _ tintinnabu- 3+3 Porto Novo & C 4491/1

lum (Linne) Mandapam

16a. Balanus amphitrite communis 64+30 Porte Novo & C 4486/1

Darwin Gulf of Mannar

b. Balanus amphitrite variegatus 62 Mandapam, Gulf of C 4484/1

Darwin . Mannar & Pamban C 4481/1

Bridg: C 4492/1

c. Balanus amphitrite venustus 3 Pamban Bridge C 4488/1

Darwin _

d. Balanus amphitrite cirratus 11 Gulf of Mannar C 4482/1

Darwin

17. Balanus sinnurensis Daniel 11 Porto Novo C 4170/1

18. Balanus calceolus Darwin 2 Krusadi C 4493/1

19. Balanus tenuis Hoek 3 Pamban Bridge C 4483/1

20. Balanus amaryllis Darwin 2 Gulf of Mannar C 4485/1

21. Balanus ciliatus Hoek 1 -do- C 4487/1

22. Balanus hoekianus Pilsbry 2 Porto Novo C 4487a/1

23. Balanus longirostrum krusadiensis 6+6 Porto Novo C 4481/1

Daniel & Palk Bay

24. Acasta sulcata spinosa Daniel 2+2 -do- C 4510/1

25. Chelonibia testudinaria Linne 1 Gulf of Mannar C 4494/1

26. Chelonibia patula Ranzani 6 Gulf of Mannar C 4490/1

27. Chelonibia caretta (Spengler) Dy -do- C 4498/1

Family Chthamalidae

28. Chthamalus stellatus (Poli) 48 Gulf of Mannar, C 4500/1

Mandapam & C 4501/1

Pamban Bridge C 4504/1

C 4508/1

29. Chthamalus challengeri Hoek 5 Pamban Bridge C 4497/1

30. Chthamalus malayensis Pilsbry 4 -do- C 4509/1

Balapus hoekianus Pilsbry, 1911

Shell and opercular plates white, subcylindrical with triangularly

ovate orifice.

Compartments solid, without pores and without radii.

Parietes solid, not distinctly ribbed, with no chitinous cuticle and no

hairs.

serrate.

longitudinally,

iconcave;

sheath.

Carina

Alae smooth with oblique upper margins and peritreme deeply

Rostrum largest compartment, externally indistinctly rugose

internally with tripartite

lateral compartment triangular with well-developed ala.

strongly

Carino-lateral plate narrow, recurved and with bipartite sheath. Basis

thin, transparent, calcareous at the edges only. Scutum thick, twisted

at the apex, marked with fine growth-striae externally; with short and

well-developed articular ridge. Articular furrow narrow, shallow but

distinct. Adductor ridge discernible only faintly. Tergum small and

thick; scutal margin concave, carinal margin short, strongly convex;

spur long and narrow, separated from scutal margin by nearly its

774. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

own width; articular ridge high and massive, articular furrow wide

but not deep; depressor crests short but sharp.

Mandible (Fig. 1) with four teeth. Maxilla I (Fig. 2) with a

notch below the upper two large spines.

Noy

Figs. 1 & 2. Balanus hoekianus Pilsbry, 1911

1. Mandible; 2. Maxilla I

This is the first record of this species from the Indian Ocean.

Chthamalus challergeri Hock, 1883

This species has been previously recorded from the west coast of

India (Bombay) by Bhatt & Bal (1960). Other records are from Red

Sea, Colombo, Malay Archipelago, and Japan.

The largest specimen in the collection has a carino-rostral diameter

of 5-5 mm. and a lateral diameter of 3 mm. Shell conical, almost

rounded with large orifice. Colour bluish gray. Compartments

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | AS

smooth, delicate, easily separable from one another and from surface

of attachment. Radii narrow, but well developed. Scutum with

prominent articular ridge and a narrow adductor. Lateral depressor

muscle pit indistinct. Tergum wide above, narrow below; upper free

portion prominently laminate. Articular ridge strong with wide furrow.

This species is easily distinguishable from stellatus vy the well-

developed adductor ridge of the scutuin, the short articular ridge with

the characteristic tapering lower end. Mandible (Fig. 3) with lower

extremity bearing three conspicuous points. The mandible of stellatus

is also figured (Fig. 4) for comparison.

Fig. 3.. Mandible of Chthamalus challengeri Hoek 1883

Fig. 4. Mandible of C. stellatus (Poli) 1791

Chthamalus malayensis Pilsbry, 1916

1916. Chthamalus malayensis Pilsbry, p. 310

1931. Chthamalus malayensis Broch, p. 55

1938. Chthamalus malayensis Nilsson-Cantell, p. 31.

776 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

This species has been previously recorded from Akyab, Arakan

coast, Burma, Indian Ocean, and Malay Archipelago. This is the

first record from the Bay of Bengal.

The specimens in the present collection agree well with the

descriptions of C. malayensis given by Pilsbry (1916) and Nilsson-

Cantell (1938). Opercular valve corroded externally. Scutum with

articular ridge very prominent in the middle; adductor ridge short.

Tergum triangular, narrow at the lower end and broad above.

Mandible (Fig. 5) bears four teeth, with the third and fourth bifid.

Six small teeth occur between the fourth tooth and the lower spines.

Front margin of Maxilla I is irregular. Terminal segments of cirrus

IIT without large-toothed spines. Cirrus IV bears four pairs of spines

on the front margin of the segments.

Fig. 5. Mandible of C. malayensis Pilsbry 1916.

This species can be distinguished from C. challengeri and C.

stellatus by the presence of coarse teeth below the fourth tooth of the

mandible.

ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, A. DANIEL

CALCUTTA, P. K. CHAKRABARTI

January 29, 1966.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Lid

REFERENCES

_ Buatt, Y. M. & Bat, D. V. (1960) :

New Records of Barnacles from Bombay

Shores Curr. Sci., 29 : 439-440.

BrocH, H. J. (1931): Papers from

Dr. Th. Mortensen’s Pacific Expedition

1914-16. LVI. Indo-Malayan Cirri-

pedia. Vidensk. Medd. fra. Dansk.

Naturh. Foren XCI, Kobenhaven.

DANIEL, A. (1956): The Cirripedia of

the Madras Coast. Bull. Madras Govt.

Mus. N.S., 6 (2): 1-40.

——— (1962) On a new species

of operculate barnacle (Cirripedia-

Crustacea) from the gastropod mollusc,

Hoek, P. P. C. (1883) : Report on the

Cirripeida collected by H.M.S, ‘ Chal-

lenger.’ Rep. Scient. Challenger, 1873-

76, viii, London.

NILSSON-CANTELL, C. A. (i938):

Cirripedes from the Indian Ocean

in the collection of the Indian Museum.

Mem. Ind. Mus., 13: 1-81.

Pitspry, H. A. (1911): Barnacles of

Japan and Bering Sea. Bull. Bur. Fish.,

DOE Dati:

(1916) : The sessile barnacles

(cirripedes) contained in the collections

of the U.S. National Museum, including

Murex sp. from Porto Novo, Madras a monograph of the American species.

State. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (13) 5: Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., 93. 366 pp.

193-197.

16. A NOTE ON GNAPHALIUM PEREGRINUM IN

NORTH AND NORTH-WESTERN INDIA

Gnaphalium peregrinum Fernald in Rhodora 45: 479, 1943; Munz.

& Keck, Cal. Fl. 1259, 1959; G. purpureum auct. pl. non Linn.

Materials kept under the name of Guaphalium purpureum in the

Herbarium of Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun (DD), and

Herbarium of Northern Circle of Botanical Survey of India, Dehra

Dun (BSD) did not match with sheets of Gnaphalium purpureum

Linn. from countries other than India housed in DD. On closer

scrutiny all the Indian specimens of BSD & DD turned out to be

G. peregrinum Fernald, which is similar to G. purpureum Linn. in

many respects. The two taxa can be distinguished as follows:

Lower leaf surface closely white-pannose, the

subappressed hairs tightly enmeshed; involucre

densely woolly at base only; head 4-6 mm. long

G. purpureum

Lower leaf surface loosely villose-lanate; involucre

almost completely covered in wool except the

tip; head 3-4 mm. long

| G. peregrinum

Specimens examined: UTTAR PRADESH. Agra, Jameson S.n.

(DD): C. L. Malhotra 13577 (BSD). Ambara (Kheri Dist.) Inayat

22259 a-c (DD). Aurangabad (Bulandshahr), N. P. Singh 19458 (BSD).

Balawali, Sarin 5036 (BSD). Chandpur, C. L. Malhctra 20241 (BSD).

Dehra Dun, Duthie 1782 (DD); Gamble 24031 (DD); S. K. Malhotra

18532 (BSD); N. P. Singh 31302 & 31693 (BSD). Etawah, C. L.

Malhotra 13537 (BSD). Garhwal, C. L. Malhotra 2748 (BSD).

ue)

718 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

Khurja (Bulandshahr), N. P. Singh 25564 (BSD). Mahoba, Bhatta-

charyya 21008 (BSD). Mussoorie, Saxena 1391 & 1473 (DD).

Orissa—Mconey 3745 (DD).

PunJAB—Badopal, N. C. Nair 25928 (BSD). Hissar, V. J. Nair

21539 (BSD)... Jhabua (Rewari), N. C.. Nair. 20714 (BSD):

(BSD). Mahendragarh, NV. C. Nair 20596 (BSD). Sampla, N. C. Nair

20012 Talwandi. N. C. Nair 345 (BSD). Yumunanagar, N. C. Nair

25284 & 26394 (BSD).

I am thankful to the authcrities of the Forest Research Institute

Dehra Dun, for Herbarium facilities. 7

BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, oO

76, LOWER CIRCULAR RoaD, N. C. NAIR

CALCUTTA-14,

September 19, 1966.

17. ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF GUJARAT

~ Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. & Fern. J. Bombay nat. ak

Soc:.52:#896-900;- 1955341. ol:

Perennial herbs with fascicled root tubers. Leaves all mabe

8-22 X0-7-1:8 cm., linear-lorate or ensiform, spreading horizontally

or recurved, glabrous, acute, with hyaline margins. Flowers 3-3-5 em.

across, white, in clusters of three, in.a raceme.

Occasional on hilly slopes. at Ahwa, Dangs forest (BS - 1178),

profusely flowering in June, growing with C. tuberosum Baker. It is

a new species described by Santapau & Fernandes.

Dyschoriste daizellii (T. Anders.) O. Kuntze, Rev. Gen. Pl. 486,

1891; Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bombay 2: 362, 1906; Santapau in Univ.

Bombay bot. Mem. 2: 31, 1951 & Fl. Purandhar 98, 1958. i

Occasional in shade along hedges on the outskirts of the forest or

in undergrowth of the dense forest at Malegam, Dangs forest, in

December 1965 (BS 753, 805).

For Gujarat it is reported for the first time from Dangs forest. Cooke

(2: 31, 1908) records D. erecta (Burin. f.) O.K. (=D. depressa Nees)

from. Dangs forest but not the present plant.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY, 3 se

SARDAR PATEL UNIVERSITY, G. L. SHAH

‘VALLABH VIDYANAGAR, B. SURYANARAYANA

GUJARAT STATE,

September 15, 1966.

18. NEW PLANT RECORDS FROM ERSTWHILE

| BOMBAY STATE III

(With. two plates).

During the course of intensive floristic studies in the Ratan Mahal

and surrounding hills, Panch Mahal District, Gujarat State, the

following plants were collected... While studying them in detail in the

laboratory and the library, their distribution was-found to be interest-

ing. ‘The determination of the specimens has been confirmed by

the National Herbarium, Calcutta and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

As far as could be ascertained from the available literature, the plants

are new records for Bombay State.

-A more detailed description. of. some of the plants listed below

is given with a view to supplementing the scanty information available

in the works on Indian flora. It is hoped that the illustrations and

field notes may help workers on floristic studies in this part of

the country and adjoining regions to determine the distribution of

these plants.

~ Polycarpon tetraphyllum Linn. Syst. ed. 10, 881: Hook £. stud. ‘FL.

Brit. Isles. 63; Gamble, 46. | -

Annual, glabrous, slender, sub-erect herb. Leaves 1- {5 mm. in

opposite pairs or whorls of four. ~ Strpules very small, narrowly

triangular, acuminate, ‘scarious. - Taflorescence a much branched

dichasium. Flowers 2-4 mm. in diameter, shortly pedicellate; sepals

with: -broad - white -scarious margins: petals white, narrowly oblong;

stamens 3-5. Capsule ovoid, about equalling the calyx. Seed brownish

finely papillose (Plate I).

Flowering and fruiting: August-October.

Herbarium specimen Bedi 3048 (19.8.62) & (10.10.62)

The plants grew on moist soil near Dhanpur tank and Dhanpur

village. The plant is rare and restricted to the plains on the northern

part of Ratan Mahal hills. It has been’ mentioned as:an introduced

weed by Gamble in the Flora of the Presidency of Madras. In the

Flora cf the British Isles this species is mentioned as a rare and local

plant of. sandy and waste places in Cornwall, south. Mediterranean

region and. central Europe, but adel Saeed ASS,

Milléttia aunitenlietis Baker in Fl. Brit. mate 2% 108, Us Ue Brandis

For. Fl. 138; Gamble 1 :227. iveeg

A large woody climber. Leaflets 1-9, Lae Sore 10-25 x 5«120m:

Flowers in axillary racemes near. the end of the branches; corolla

780 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63. (3)

pale-yellow, densely covered with soft hairs on the outerside; standard

distinctly auricled at the base on both sides of the claw. Pod hard,

8-20X 2-5 cm. covered with brown velvety tomentum. Seed dark

brown, rounded and compressed (Plate II).

Flowers: July to September. Fruits: October to March.

Herbarium specimen Bedi 775, 2729, 2806.

Fairly common on the hilly forest slopes between Kanjeta and

Pepargota. Rarely noted on the plains north of Panam _ valley.

Ganjam, Vizagapatnam (south India); Rohilcund and Kumaon to

Sikkim; also on Parasnath in Bihar.

Diescorea pubera Blume, En. Pl. Jav. 1: 21, 1827; Prain & Burk. |

in Ann. Royal Bot. Gard. Cale. 14: 402, t. 143, 1938; Burk. FI.

Males. I, 4(3): 333, 1951. D. anguina Roxb. Fl. Ind. 3; 803, 1832

excl. ref. Rumph.; Fl. Brit. India 6: 293.

Tuber cylindric. Stem twining, round, without prickles. Leaves

more often alternate than opposite, cordate, entire with hyaline margin,

5-7 nerved, with many transverse veins between them, lower surface

permanently pubescent, upper sub-giabrous. Larger leaves up to

4050 cm. (It has the largest leaves of all the dioscorea of this

region). Flowering axis densely pubescent. Male spikes 2-5 cm.

crowded on long peduncles.

Flowers and Fruits: September to November.

Herbarium specimen Bedi 3202, 3203, 3204 (1.10.62).

A few plants noted twining over shrubs and small trees on the

slopes of a hill along the banks of a stream at Nalwani near Kanjeta.

Restricted in distribution, not common. ,

Chota Nagpur; North and East Bengal; South-east Asia;

Malaysia; Sumatra (West Coast), Java.

The tubers are edible and are boiled several times before use.

The junior author, on a number of occasions had the opportunity of

_ enjoying a dish prepared from the tubers by the local Bhils.

Commelina suffruticosa Blume, Enum. Pl. Jav. 1 : 3, 1828; FI.

Brit. India 6: 374, 1894.

A much branched, glabrous, erect or ascending herb, arising from

a short rhizome. Leaves ovate-lanceolate 10-20X2-6 cm. base

narrow, sessile, pubescent. Sheath 1-2 cm. hairy near the mouth,

auricled. Spathes shortly peduncled, ovate-cordate 1-2 cm. long.

Racemes simple 6-10 flowered. Pctals white or with light bluish tinge.

Capsule bilobed, 2-celled, obovate, pedicellate. Seed one in each

cell, ellipsoid, rugose,-ash coloured or brown.

Flowers and Fruits: July to September.

. BOMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (3) PLATE I

havan : New Plant Records

Polycarpon tetraphyllum Linn.

J. Bompay naT. Hist. Soc. 63 (3) PLATE IL

Chavan : New Plant Records

Millettia auriculata Baker

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 781

Herbarium specimen Bedi 1601 (17.8.60), 2760, 2788.

This species is fairly common amongst grasses, near streams and

other moist localities, in the forests of hill slopes near Banvaro and

Pepargota.

From Nepal, Sikkim and Bengal to Central India and the Malay

peninsula.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are grateful to Dr. G. Taylor, Director, Royal

Botanic Gardens, Kew, England and the Curator, National Herbarium,

Calcutta, for confirming the determination of the specimens. The

junior author is thankful to his colleague, Shri S. D. Sabnis.

M.S. UNIVERSITY OF BARODA, A. R. CHAVAN

BARODA, ; SURINDER J. BEDI

September 17, 1966.

19. CONTRIBUTION TO THE GENUS RUBIA L.,

(With two plates)

The taxonomic study of Rubia Linn. (Rubiaceae) of India and

adjoining countries, as represented in Indian herbaria, has been

undertaken by the authors. The present paper embodies some

important results of this study on (1) Rubia aitchisonii Deb et Malick,

sp. nov. (2) R. cordifolia VL. var, cordifolia f. strigosa Deb. et

Malick, f. nov. and (3) R. albicaulis Boiss. var. stenophylla Boiss. f.

infundibularis (Hemsl. & Lace) Deb et Malick, comb. et stat. nov.

1. Rubia aitchisonii Ded et Malick, sp. nov. (Plate I).

Affinis R. floridae Boiss. a qua tamen differt foliis elliptico-

lanceolatis, marginibus arcte aculeatis, pedicellis longioribus.

Suffrutex 6-9 dm. altus, valde ramosus, ramis brevibus, caule

inferiore lignoso, terete, cortice squamoso, partibus juvenilibus

quadrangularibus, internodiis brevissimis. Folia simplicia, 24-27 X 2-5-5

mm. sessilia, elliptico-lanceolata, coriacea, arcte aculeata ad margines,

ad apicem acuta, ad basin attenuata, pinnatim nervosa, nervis 4-5.

Inflorescentia axillaris et terminalis cymosa, pedunculis longis,

quadrangularibus, aculeatis. Flores viridescenti-lutei, 5-6 < 3-3-5 mm,

782. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

pedicellis 6-10 mm. longis, - quadrangularibus, tenuiter aculeatis.

Calyx penitus circumdat ovarium, eique adhaeret, aculeatus. Corolla

4-5 mm. longa, laciniis 5 vel 6, obiongis vel oblongo- lanceolatis, ad

apices mucronatis. Stamina 5 vel 6, epipetala, filamentorum parte

libera 0-25-05 mm. longa, antheris 0-5-0-75 mm. longis, oblongis,

bilobis, dorsifixis. Discus annularis, tenuis, circumdans styli basin.

Ovarium biloculare, 1:25-1-5X1-5-1:75 mm. ovulis singulis in

unoquoque loculo fixis septi basi; styli bini, 0-75-1 mm. longi,

uniti; stigmate globoso.

Typus, J.E.T. Aitchison 338 A, lectus ad Badgis in Afghanistania

die 29 aprilis anni 1885 et positus in CAL; patatypus, JE...

Aitchison 338 B, lectus eodem loco, die 20 maii 1885 oo in DD.

Rubia aitchisonii Deb et Malick, sp. nov.

This is allied to R. fiorida Boiss. differing in elliptic- -lanceolate

leaves, closely prickled margin of leaf and longer pedicels.

Undershrub 6-9 dm. in height, much branched;, branches. short,

lower part of the stem woody, terete, bark scaly, young parts

quadrangular; internodes very short. Leaves simple, 24-27X2-5-5

mm. sessile, elliptic-lanceolate, coriaceous, closely prickled at the

margins, acute at the apex, attenuated at the base, pinnately nerved,

nerves 4-5 obscure, prickly. Inflorescence axillary and terminal

cymes; peduncles long, quadrangular, prickly. Fiowers greenish-

yellow, 5-6X3-3:5 mm.; pedicels 0-6-1 cm. long, quadrangular,

thinly prickly. Calyx completely enclosing the ovary and adherent

to it, prickly. Corolla gamopetalous, 4-5 mm. long, lobes. 6. or 3;

oblong or oblong-lanceolate, mucronate at the apex. Stamens 6 or 5;

epipetalous, alternating with petals, free portion of the filaments 0-25-

0-5 mm. long, anthers 0-5-0-75 mm. long; oblong, bilobed, dorsifixed.

Disk annular, thin, around ‘the pal portion of the style. Pisti!

bicarpellary,.syncarpous; styles 2, 0-75-1 mm. long, united; "stigma

globose. Ovary 1:25-1:5X 1-5-1-75 ian 2 celled, ovule one in each

cell, attached to the base of the septum.

Type, J.E.T: Aitchison 338 - A, collected from Badgis, Seenineir

on 29 April 1885 is preserved in Central National Herbarium (CAL);

paratype, J.E.T. Aitchison 338 B, collected from the same place on

20 te 1885, is: located in the ESR Forest Research Institute

(DD). ; Liat ORTo ae

22 Rubia cordifolia Linn. var. corditelia i pay Deb et Mees

f. nov. (Plate II). | | | ee

Differt a forma typica foliis utrimque strigosis, praesertim secus

nerves in pagina inferiore, caulibus et petiolis hispidis, —

J. Bompay Nat. Hist. Soc. 63 (3) PLATE I]

Deb : Genus Rubia

Rubia aitchisonii Deb et Malick, sp. nov.

A. portion of flowering twig; At. undersurface of the leaf ; B. flower; C. corolla

and stamens opened out; D. stamen; E. pistil; F. style and stigma; G. |. s. of ovary.

J. Bompay NAT. HIsT.

Soc. 63 (3)

Deb : Genus Rubia

Te ESS

{

; ‘Vy (

R iG i{ % , OTS

x \ ys ‘ 5 Ue " "4

4 \,

_ ae a :

: RZ i ye g

= RL ee PR oy /

SER Pesan este - We

ane " x . = Z

Ay C Y of

yy = »

xi ee,

WV Sok .

(

i Sta

Rubia cordifolia Linn. var. cordifolia f. strigosa Deb et Malick,

A. portion of branch; B. undersurface of leaf.

PLATE

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 783

This differs from the type in having the leaves strigose on both

surfaces, more so along the veins underneath and also in hispid stem

and petiole.

Type, G. King 482 A-C (CAL: A-holotype; B-C_ isotypes)

collected from Taesieu Doom, Chumbi, Bhutan, on 17 June 1884;

paratypes, G. Panigrahi 16006 A & B (A-CAL; B-ASSAM) collected

from Jegaon to Poom, Kameng F.D., NEFA, on 21 May 1958.

Distribution: Bhutan and North Bast Frontier Agency. — =

3. R. albicaulis Boiss.. var. stenophylla Boiss. f. infundibutaris

(Hemsi. & Lace) Deb et Malick, comb. et stat. nov. its

Basionym: R. infundibularis Hems\!. & Lace in Journ. Linn. Soc.

28: 324. 1891; Parker, For. Fl. Punjab 283. 1918; Koe & Rechinger,

Symb. Afgh. 4: 138. 1958; Kitam. Fl. Afgh. 369. 1960. |

This is allied to R. albicaulis Boiss. var. stenophylla Boiss,

differing from it in having slightly longer pedicels and slightly larger

flower with longer style. Probably this is a long-styled form of the

former. But the materials at our disposal are not sufficient to prove

the phenomenon conclusively. That ts why it is reduced and retained

at the status of a form, instead of merging it outright with the type.

Type, J. H. Lace 3945, 3870, collected from Ziarat, Baluchistan

and preserved in the Centrai National Herbarium (CAL) is designated

here as Lectotype; J. H. Lace 3945, 3870, collected from the same

locality is preserved in the. industrial Section, Indian Museum.

Calcutta.

Distribution: Afghanistan, West Pakistan, Baluchistan.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors record their deep gratitude to Rev. Dr. H.

Santapau, S.J... F.N.I., Director, Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta,

for Latin descriptions of the new taxa and suggestions to improve

the manuscript. Thanks are also due to Sri Kedarnath, Officer-in-

Charge, Botany Branch, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, for

sending the specimens of Rubia located there for our study.

CENTRAL NATIONAL HERBARIUM, D. B. DEB

CALCUTTA, | K. C. MALICK

June 4, 1966.

| 784. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

20. A NEW RECORD FOR AMMANIA PYGMAEA KURZ

FROM SOUTH INDIA

(With a plate)

Ammania pygmaea. Kurz described by C. B. Clarke in J. D.

Hooker’s FLORA OF BRITISH INDIA 2: 568, has been recorded

from different places in north India, such as Chota Nagpur, Khasia

Mts., Rajamahal Hills, and Botanical Gardens, Calcutta. In

peninsular India, it has not been recorded south of N. Kanara. The

following description and sketches are bascd on fresh specimens of

this species collected in September 1963, from Palghat, Kerala State,

and identified through Kew Herbarium.

Ammania pygimaea Kurz

Very small, delicate, prostrate, annual herb (fig. 1); spreading

as pinkish-green felt, to a diameter of 2-5 cm. on_ water-

soaked soil, or as grass-green patch, 6-10 cm. in diameter, in very

shallow water in paddy fields. Stem slender, pinkish or greenish,

profusely branched, rooted at nodes, with 4-angled internodes about

5 mm. long (fig. 2). Leaves simple, sessile, opposite decussate,

exstipulate, about 5 mm. long, less than 1 mm. broad, linear-oblong;

base concave, pinkish, with minute, lateral, purple, gland-like

outgrowths; midrib pale pink, linear, ending in a pink dot at the

minutely truncate apex of lamina and slightly raised on lower surface;

venation reticulate, indistinct (fig. 4). Flowers solitary, axillary,

sessile, about 1 mm. long, bracteolate, hermaphrodite, actinomorphic,

perigynous; bracteoles two, lateral, subulate, pinkish, as long as sepals

or slightly shorter (figs. 5, 6). Calyx of 4 free, triangular, acute,

pink, valvate sepals, arising from the rim of pinkish hypanthium

without accessory teeth or prominent ridges (fig. 7). Corolla

absent. Androecium of 2 free stamens arising from near th: base of

hypanthium, shorter than sepals, equal to the level of and bending

towards the stigma; filaments white, subulate; anther short, white, 2-

lobed. 4-celled, lobes semi-circular, introrse (fig. 9). Pollen minute,

white, spherical, smooth, thin-walled, with three, circular, convex

germpores (fig. 10). Stammodes two, minute, pink, equally or

unequally bilobed, alternating with filaments (fig. 7). Gynoecium

superior; Ovary inconspicuously irilobed, rarely bilobed about

0.5 mm. long (figs. 11, 12), white or pinkish, often with wart-like

epidermal cells near top; imperfectly trilocular, rarely bilocular, with

J. Bombay NAT. Hist. Soc. 63 (3)

Vasudevan : Ammania pygmaea Kurz

Ammaniad pygmaea Kurz

Fig. 1, Habit, diagrammatic; Fig. 2, Branch; Fig. 3, C. S. of stem, diagrammatic ;

Fig. 4, Leaves; Figs. 5-6, Flowers, bud and open; Fig. 7, Hypanthium—opened ;

V. S. of flower; Fig. 9, Stamen; Fig. 10, Pollen; Fig. 11, Gynoecium;

C. S. of ovary; Figs. 13-14-15, Fruit; entire and opened; Fig. 16, Seed; Fig. 17,

Embryo, side and surface view; Fig. 18, Floral diagram.

Ok,

BR es en

bia

Pay

es hair ty

fellas

ype

Hoy

Naa a

eee i a

ee).

in ioe" we

\akon

AN oe

a ES

ai Bi)

me “it

Pe a

; AS

TWA

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 785

few anatropous, ascending ovules on swollen, axile placenta; style short,

columnar, with pinkish or greenish, microscopically papillose, capitate

stigma. Fruit about | mm. long, siightly exsert2ed from dried up

calyx, pinkish, splitting septicidally into three, rarely two, valves

separating from the central placenta (figs. 13, 14, 15). Seeds

about 12-15 per fruit, nearly obovate, dorsal side convex, ventral side

caved in, light amber coloured, smooth, shining, non-endospermous

(fiz. 16). Testa brittle; embryo white, slightly bent; cotyledons two,

fleshy, nearly circular; radicle obtuse (fig. 17).

Note: Presence of staminodes is a feature which this species

shares with some species of Rotale and the allied Hydrolithrum; but

reduction in number of stamens is not very common in related species.

This reduction is not a disadvantage to the plant, as the bending of

filaments brings the anthers in contact with stigma and ensures self-

pollination. Plants being very small and prostrate, and flowers

inconspicuous, neither wind nor insects could be of much help in

pollination. But proximity of anthers to stigma ensures self-

pollination, by direct contact or even through capillary water.

Plants have been collected from two localities, about 40 km. apart.

Only a few plants were seen at both places. At Palghat, they appeared

exactly in the same spot, in a garden, in successive years. It was

noted that plants reached flowering stage within a fortnight. But

in spite of this quickness of growth and high viability of seeds which

lie dormant in very dry soil for the major part of the year, the plant

has poor competitive qualities. In both localities, plants were found

on open soil only. Thorough search of the weeded area around did

not reveal more plants. It seems that this species, though managing

to survive, is incapable of competing with other species and getting

distributed amidst: them.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are very thankful to the Director of Royal Botanic Gardens,

Kew, England, for confirming our identification of the species.

Govt. COLLEGE, R. VASUDEVAN

PALGHAT, V. P. K. NAMBIAR

October 10, 1965.

786 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

21: A BEN ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF PAVAGADH —

The flora of Pavagadh hill, Gujarat State, has Fe the

attention of a number of botanists. Many papers have so far been

published. Very recently, Shah & Inamdar published their ‘Further

contribution to the Flora of Pavagadh near Baroda, Gujarat’ (J.

Bombay nat. Hist. Sec. 62: lee based on a Cayisy field work

in the area.

A further exploration of ic area has revealed the presence of

the following plants, which have escaped ‘the notice of Ses workers.

Cleome chelidonii Linn. f.

Noted on the banks of a pond near Machi.

Bedi 3965, 3966; 20-10-64.

Desmcdium neomexicanum A. Gray

_ Bedi 3868, 3869, 3879; 20-10-64.

Atylosia scarabaeoides Benth. =

Noted along a path and as a forest Mone near Machi.

Bedi 3955, 3956; 20-10-64.

Lobelia heyneana Roem. & Schult.

Along the track leading to Machi.

Bedi 3986, 3987; 20-10-64.

Anisochilus eriocephalus Benth.

Bedi 3907, 3908; 20-10-64.

Cyperus squarrosus Linn.

On loose, gravelly soil at the foot of hills.

Sabnis 180; 22-8-58.

Cyperus esculentus Linn. ~

On banks of temporary puddles in the plain at the foot of the hill;

not very common.

Sabnis 184; 27-8-58.

Cyperus iria Linn.

Sabnis 181, 182; 22-8-58. |

Fimbristylis dichotoma (Linn.) Vahl

On the banks of streams in the forest at the foot of the hill.

Sabnis; 27-8-58. |

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY, ‘A. R. CHAVAN

M.S. UNIVERSITY OF BARODA, S. J. BEDI

BARODA-2, S. D. SABNIS

August 15, 1966,

Gleanings

Observations on the Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta Erxleben)

In an ad interim report on observations on Spotted Hyenas

(Crocuta crocuta) made as part of the Serengeti Research Project,

H. Kruuk dispels the generally held belief that hyenas are primarily

scavengers and, at best, kill only weak or young prey. Of 1082

hyenas observed feeding, 82% were eating hyena-killed prey and the

evidence so far obtained points to most of the prey being animals in

good health. In fact, there is good evidence that the lion population

in the Ngorongoro. Crater live largely on prey killed by hyenas. It

was found that in the day the proportion of hyenas feeding on non-

hyena- -killed prey is greater than at night. This may have given rise

to the popular belief.

- He estimates the ieee population of the Ngorongoro Cates

(area 100 square miles) at about 420 adults and finds that it is

arranged in eight ‘clans’, each of 10-160 adults. Each clan has_ its

‘range’ with, usually, one .communai den-site. It feeds within the

limits of the home-range and defends it against intrusions by members

of other clans. Males may wander beyond the range limit, but the

females seem to confine themselves to it. |

While the clan system occurs in the larger area of the Serengeti

Plains (7,000 square miles), there is also a considerable -migratory

population which follows the .wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)

herds in their annual wanderings. Further, there is evidence of the

existence of a third category, the ‘commuters’, who have their dens

in one place throughout the year and from there make excursions,

sometimes lasting several weeks and covering as much as fifty miles

out, to areas where the wildebeest are to be found.

HH. Kruuk: Clan-system and Feeding Habits of Spotted Hyenas

(Croeuta crocuta Erxleben). Nature, 19 March ‘1966. Vol. 209,

pp: 1257-58.

Roadside Survey of Rhesus Monkeys ia West Bengal

In a survey of Uttar Pradesh, the majority (406/638) of rhesus

groups were found by observers (three. one of them driving) who

‘moved along roads by motor car. In a similar survey (three observers

and‘ one: professional driver) of the major areas of West Bengal

788 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

covering 1451 miles of road, only 9 monkey groups were seen, about

1 in 160 miles against an average cf | in 10 miles in U.P. The

difference in results was probably attributable to the difference in

roadside habitats, W. Bengal with its moister climate having more

extensive roadside vegetation than U.P. Roads passing through dense

vegetation or hilly areas are not suitable for roadside survey. With

further information acquired by forest hikes and verbal enquiry from

knowledgeable persons the opinion is expressed that rhesus monkeys

were formerly more abundant in W. Bengal and that the main rhesus

populations have been driven to the forests, the last refugium in this

area of dense human population.

1964, Charles H. Southwick, Ajoy Ghosh and Charles D.. Louch,

J. of Mammalogy 45 (3): 443.

The Hagfish (see Text-figure on the opposite page)

The worm-like Hagfish, of which some twenty-four species occur

on the ocean bottom in the temperate latitudes, is an animal of

amazing flexibility. It can tie itself in a knot, and come untied by

crawling through it. This capacity is useful in three several ways.

It furnishes the purchase necessary for tugging at tough food. Aided

by a defensive coat of slippery slime, it enables the hagfish to slip

- through the grasp of an enemy. And finally, when the slime becomes

an encumbrance that interferes with comfortable breathing, it wipes

off the slime by passing the body through a knot. There are other

peculiarities, such as one nostril, four hearts, no jaws, no stomach.

The method of reproduction remains a mystery though, as long ago

as 1864, a prize was offered by the Copenhagen Academy of Science

for its solution. An interesting account of a Pacific Ocean species,

Eptatretus stoutii, appears in the Scientific American.

David Jensen, in Scientific American, February 1966.

Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) 150 miles inland

G. Harrison records the recovery on 21 April 1966 of a Sooty

Tern (Sterna fuscata) exhausted to the point of death, at Lujeri in

the Mlanje District, Malawi c. 16:00 S. 35-45 E. The bird appears

to have been blown there by strong winds. |

G. Harrison: A Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata in Malawi. November

1966, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, Vol. 86,

No. 8, p. 160.

Identification of hair and feathers in the gut and faeces of carnivores

A short note by Messrs. D. R, Patil and P. N. Chaudhari in our

issue for December 1965 glances at the possibility of using differences

GLEANINGS 789

The Hagfish

a. The hagfish can curl itself into odd configurations ; b. It removes slime from

its body by passing itself through a knot; c. It uses this movement to escape

capture; and d. to obtain the purchase necessary to tug at tough food.

Courtesy : David Jensen, and the Editor, Scientific American

790 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 63 (3)

in the structure and pigmentation of bat hair for determining its_

origin. In Journal of Zoology Mr. M. G. Day tells how he tackled 4

a similar problem when analyzing tne gut and faeces contents of

stoats and weasels, Britain’s smallest carnivores. The principal

contents were fragments of mammalian hair and bird feathers bones

and teeth if present were usually too small for identification. A key

for the identification of the hair to genus level was worked out by

examining hair from mammals likely to form the prey of these

predators. It was based on cortical scale pattern, type of medulla, and

cross-section shape. The feathers found were usually the bases of the

coverts. The diagnostic features of barbules in this portion, namely

the size, shape, and distribution of the nodes, were found to be

unaffected by digestion and weathering; they formed the basis of a key

for identification down to the main bird orders.

M. G. Day: Identification of hair and feather remains in the gut

and faeces of stoats and weasels. Journal of Zoology, February

1966, Vol. 148, pp. 201-217.

Breeding cycle in rabbit fleas

In Scientific American, Miriam Rothschild describes how rabbit fleas

have geared their reproductive cycle to that of their hosts. The fleas

are normally attached to the ears of the rabbits and, unless the host

becomes pregnant or they transfer to a pregnant female or one with

new-born young, they will neither mature nor mate. The temperature

of rabbits’ ears rises during mating; this excites the fieas on both

rabbits and they can be seen hopping back and forth between the

mating pair. In female rabbits ovulation follows mating and within a

few hours sex hormones are released into the blood. This is the

signal for the fleas to attach themselves firmly to the skin of the

doe. Ten days before the young rabbits are born there is a rise in

the level of corticosteroids in the blood of the expectant mother. It

is at this stage that the eggs of the fleas begin to develop. By the

end of the hosts’ pregnancy the flea eggs are ripe. The fleas also

defecate at shorter intervals, and the dried blood-spots later provide

the iron essential for the development of the flea larvae. From the

mothers the fleas migraie onto the young. It has been shown that

the same corticosteroids as in the mothers are present at high levels

in one- to seven-day old rabbits. They also have high levels of.

‘growth hormone’, somatotropin. ‘The fleas feed voraciously on the

_ baby rabbits, mate, and lay eggs in the nest. After about 12 days

they return to the mother. When she becomes pregnant again a new

GLEANINGS 791

All fleas do not show similar breeding cycles; the rat flea for

instance is not dependent on its host’s hormones. But many cycles

remain to be investigated, and it seems unlikely that this is an unique

vertebrate host-insect parasite relationship.

Miriam Rothschild: in Scientific American, 213 (6) December

1965, pp. 44-53.

Tamarisk trees as a protection against forest fires

The cutting of fire lines, i.e. strips cleared of combustible material,

is the ordinary protection against forest fires. This has two great

disadvantages. Firstly, it is costly as the lines have to be cleared

annually. Secondly, it removes soil-binding vegetation. Y. Waisel &

J. Friedman of the Department of Botany, Tel-Aviv University,

therefore, suggest as an alternative the growing of protective lines of

Tamarix trees, the litter of which has a high mineral content and 1s

saturated with the salty drip from the trees, with the result that

it ignites with difficulty and, even when it is lit under laboratory

conditions, the flame does not spread and dies out almost immediately

after the removal of the source of ignition. The authors note that

Tamarix trees are to be found in a large variety of regions, and are

easy to grow and rapid in growth.

Y. Waisel & J. Friedman: The use of tamarisk trees for the

restriction of fires. La yaaran, Vol. 15, No. 3, September 1965.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY C. E. KOSHY AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS

EDITORS: UU. SANTAPAU, ZAFAR FUTEHALLY & J. C. DANIEL

10 CHURCH ROAD, VEPERY, MADRAS—20-7-1967. C6094

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CONTENTS

A Report ON WiLp Lire Surveys IN NortH INDIA AND SOUTHERN NEPAL

JANUARY-JUNE 1966. By J. Juan Spillett v

Tue Axis DEER IN Hawatl. By William Graf and Lyman Nichols

REVIEWS

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

GLEANINGS oe

492

629

735

743

787

‘ _

- ~

el!

‘ =

—

rad

ad =z ——, ee seed oe 2h)

NOLLNLILSNI _NVINOSHLIWS S3 fyYVug Mil? LIBRARI ES_ SMITHSONIAN” INSTITUTION oN

- ~ Oo = oO a a

oo “y a iaoe 4

0 \ a= 5 (| Yi 3

D> WX Yee > = Yi" is >

= AS ‘ ke A ie Uf pe pe)

3 m SAS - my 3 ee ee cn |

o- = wo = 1 0 Sh

-IBRARI ESM UTHSONIAN INSTITUTION NGI aroN _NVINOSHLIWS S34 luvuygia_t

: = < ° = fy, = = ,

a z of r= =

re 7) Wn on ”

= a fe) pn oO

= = Zs. a =a

Bacar imed! E 5 i‘

VOILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS _LIBRARI ES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION |

= = rh

uv ~ a us 3

a oe = oc esa:

pa <x fr, a

= N ox = ee OS

Oo . \ oO = co. zs

= SN = , 9 ~ 2 sr =}

_[BRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3I uvudid Uf

z c z ee nf

5 4 fF » = 2 EAS a

- fd i = >" ; ‘ q

Bed i hey 2 as - A — {) \

wl ti m “” jas a 1

2 @ Z @ z a

NOILOLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S31YVugtt NC

= & < sb < Nm |

S = cs = =< =

j= = E Zz i Es |

LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI Saiuvudi1 O

uf = i; 2 st Z|

oe a a ” = O-

a = = = = a

Po S a per ac Si

rea] a rea) a co =)

NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS SS3ItYVYdIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN_INSTITUTION _ Wt

a ae : 2 = i |

w = ow == 180) |

=) = 2 e _ * ze

> i > = Fa |

a : 2 =a 2 =

LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI_ NVINOSHLIWS $3 luvUugiy a |

omef —j fis + ai

—c 5 = Wy : 5 ay O hi!

8 2 8 WE? g - |

2 = 8G ful * zy =

\ a a z 5 a,

NOILOLILSNI_ NVINOSHLIWS _LIBRARI ES SMITHSONIAN _INSTITUTION yy

5 ix. = a ss a |

= = S ac = Oz )))\

= a = re a re)

= oe 2 ae = |

all mi

LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3!1YvVustI1_&

S as VASON S J Aa S a R

nly a YY ne a) ay) aN Y Anas >) cw Nex CO oie aN pant) |

(GEV = nt fy ay RO — Cae 2 SS = GAM)

[Ae te le kine wt

ia ii ee) ~l a ey ag — =

I NVINOSHLINS S3IYVUGIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

ee ae = :

= Ye = 2 E

E A E 2 E * 3 =

~ NY = _ -, a a

im eg m= m g

$ SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILONLILSNI NVINOSHLINS SJiyvyuaI

g zs a . z 2 , z

= > = kk. = = z

= z 2 @&% 2 3 me

g 2 8 YZ g g

3 a 24 th be ake Z. E

5 = ak See erent

I_NVINOSHLINS LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILOLILSNI

Z = ee } 2 14

” ul us yg lJ

2 = eo - Ys, ® =

=| = Yt fp fo =

ee — <r Ye fo 7 A x

a 0 = ae to

2 = e) ee e) os

| . = wal . 2. a

5 INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3I1YVugI

z c z Boe c

2 ‘w ° a N ° ON)

E." se = = - =

z : a “ 2 “ io Zz Hs

| NVINOSHLINS S3IYVYAIT LIBRARIES -

za tn rad wets oD) x. (op)

= 7 = popes = < =

-~ 7 . = —

ra) = BLY re) ef 5 ae

r O hs, r O 7 OS ?

i Z “iy z z E z

7; 2 G ie 7; . 2

S SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILMLILSNI_NVINOSHLIWS S31YVESIT_ LIBRARIES

2 > wing “n , Zz

lad uiJ :

= yl fp : 2 SNE :

= = a GS WQ «= c

0 “Wf 3 = 2 "Ns Y 6

sj - Zz on xe goes oe VE - z

I” NVINOSHLINS S3IYVYGIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN” INSTITUTION

co z = 5 y = ee S

: E a -§ Gy > =

> 2 . 2 Uff =

te re Uf fl e

i : x = OF fi ® =

7 —_ oO | = | w =

S SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILMLILSNI NVINOSHIINS S3luvugty

a = = fi, = = yy >

E . 5 Wy? ; ¥fy.2 X

g 2 8 Yh? 8 OL 2S

ma = Z ; es P ie iad i 2 ; “L The f \ N

2 = ms > = = = "Ss

I_NVINOSHUWS S3tYVYGIT LIBRARIES INSTITUTION NOILOLILSNI

i ul 7 us uw

= 0 = o oc

=. - — < <—

er O. = o a

za. a 4 |

O au oO mM - a

Pr J+ gts 3 J

Sg AN_INSTITUTION NOILQLILSNI

of ee - z -

; = CN om ie 6 cA at = ze

ERS B= Jl ier =| .. (> yy We Lae an Pee