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KERALA FOREST AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT
An Assessment of the
Reptile Diversity ofWayanad Wildlife
SanctuaryDec 2011
Vivek Philip Cyriac
Centre for Wildlife Studies,
College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,
Pookode
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Introduction
Wayanad district is nestled in the central Western Ghats forming a major part of
the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The region has been recognized to be earmarked as
a world heritage site by UNESCO. The unique terrain, vegetation and
microhabitats make it a harbor for a great diversity of flora and fauna.
Reptiles form a major component of this fauna and its diversity in the Wayanad
region has not been completely explored. Most studies on the reptiles of Wayanad
date back to the pre-independence period. The most recent studies on the reptiles
of Wayanad are of Thomas et.al (1997) and Palot M.J.et.al (2011), who focused
their study on the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary. However these studies raise
questions on the distribution of few species of reptiles within the boundaries of the
sanctuary. Also the taxonomic clarity of few species included in the list has only
recently been resolved. Hence a detailed checklist of the reptiles of Wayanad WLS
is still lacking. The main objective of this report is to provide a checklist of reptiles
of the sanctuary to assist in the formation of a proper management plan.
Study Area
The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary includes a large stretch of forested land on the
North-eastern part of Wayanad District. Being a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere
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Reserve, it forms one of the major protected areas of the state. The sanctuary
covers a large area of 344 sq. km and is continuous with Mudumalai WLS of
Tamil Nadu and Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka, to its south and Rajiv
Gandhi National Park of Karnataka to its north-east. The sanctuary is divided into
four ranges- Tholpetty Range to the north, Kurichiyat Range and Sulthan Bathery
Range to the east and Muthenga Range to the south. The forest is mainly of moist
deciduous type with few semi-evergreen and evergreen patches towards the north.
A major portion of the sanctuary is under monoculture plantations with teak and
eucalyptus.
Figure 1: Map of Wayanad WLS showing the four Ranges
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Methodology
A rapid assessment of the reptiles of the Sanctuary was done by organizing a
reptile survey, under the guidance of Dr. Anil Zachariah, which lasted for four
days and four nights from 21stto 25thof December 2011. Searches were conducted
both during day and night in all the four forest ranges. Most of the available time
was spent searching for reptiles in different habitats. Visual encounter technique
was used. Specimens encountered were collected by hand, photographed and all
morphometric details were recorded before releasing them back into the forest.
Snakes were also identified and listed based on their slough obtained from
different parts of the sanctuary.
All the species were identified based on all available literature and listed under the
forest range it was found in. A checklist of the reptiles of Wayanad WLS was
prepared based on data collected during the survey, previous records and also
based on observations made by the team members during previous visits in
different parts of the sanctuary. Species raising doubts about its occurrence within
the sanctuary, but which have been included in the earlier list have been omitted in
the present checklist.
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Result
A total of 44 species, belonging to 30 genera and 14 families were listed in the
checklist. This included one species of crocodile recorded from Nulpuzha, a
tributary of the Kabini River in Bahthery range. 2 species of turtles belonging to
two families were recorded. Geckos included 7 species, of which 3 belong to the
genus Cnemaspisand are Western Ghat endemics. Cnemaspis nilagiricaand
Cnemaspis heteropholisform the first records to the region. The other 4 species of
geckos belonged to the genusHemidactylus, of whichH. BrookiandH. frenatus
were the dominant species and were found from all human disturbed areas of the
sanctuary. Agamids included 7 species of which 3 are endemic to the Western
Ghats. Skinks were the most commonly encountered group and included 4 species
of which 1 species viz Ristella beddomiiis a western ghat endemic. A total of 22
species of snakes were recorded based on the data collected from the survey as
well as from observations made from previous visits to the sanctuary. The list
included 1 species of worm snake belonging to the family Typhlopidae, 1 species
of shieldtail snake belonging to family Uropeltidae, 1 species of python belonging
to family Pythonidae, a species of sand boa belonging to family Boidae, 14 species
belonging to family Colubridae, 2 species belonging to family Elapidae and 2
species of vipers belonging to family Viperidae.
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Around 21 percent of the reptiles recorded from Wayanad WLS are found to be
Western Ghat endemics. Of the 44 species of reptiles recorded from the sanctuary,
12 species are endemic to the Western Ghats.
Figure 2: Pie Chart showing the percentage of Endemism among the Reptiles reported from Wayanad WLS
Maximum number of species was recorded from Tholpetty Range (34 species),
owing to the greater abundance of evergreen and semi-evergreen patches compared
to the other ranges. This is followed by Muthenga Range (26 species) and
Kurichiyat Range (20 species). Least number of reptiles was recorded from
Bathery Range (16 species).
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0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Tholpetty Kurichiyat S.Bathery Muthenga
No. of Species recorded
Figure 3: Graph showing the number of species of reptiles recorded from the four ranges of Wayanad WLS
Conclusion
The present study provides a preliminary view of the reptile diversity of Wayanad
Wildlife Sanctuary and lists a total of 44 species. However the result confirms the
occurrence of several species such as Cnemaspis nilagirica, Cnemaspis
heteropholis, Uropeltis ceylanica, Dendrelaphis ashoki, Boiga cylonensisand
Boiga nuchaliswhich were previously not known from within the sanctuary. The
occurance of Cnemaspis nilagiricaand Cnemaspis heteropholisalso forms the first
reports from kerala state.
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Acknowledgement
I am thankful to the Kerala Forest Department for providing their support to
conduct the survey. I give my sincere thanks to the Wildlife Warden, Shri Sunil
Kumar and the Kurichiyat range RFO Shri Joshil for facilitating and providing all
the necessary requirements during the survey. I also thank all the Foresters, Forest
Guards and watchers who guided us throughout the survey. I also thank all the
participants who took part in the survey
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Smith, M. A. (1943). The fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, including the
whole of the IndoChinese region. Vol. III. Serpentes. Taylor and Francis,
London. xii + 583 pp. + 1 map
Whitaker, R. & A. S. Captain (2004). Snakes of India, The field guide.Draco
Books, Chennai, India. xiv + 481 pp.
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Table 1: Checklist of the Reptiles recorded from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
SL.
NO
Scientific Name English Name Tholpetty Kurichiyat Bathery Muthenga
Fam: Crocodylidae01 Crocodylus palustris Mugger Crocodile +
Family: Emydidae02 Melanochelys trijuga
ssp. Coronate
Black Turtle + +
Family: Trionychidae03 Lissemys punctata Flap-shelled Turtle + + +
Suborder: Sauria
Family: Gekkonidae04 Cnemaspis heteropholis* Heteropholis gecko + +
05 Cnemaspis wynadensis* Wayanad Day Gecko + +
06 Cnemaspis nilagirica* Nilgiri Day Gecko + + + +
07 Hemidactylus brooki Brooks House Gecko + +
08 Hemidactylus frenatus Asiatic House Gecko + + +
09 Hemidactylus leschnaulti Bark Gecko +
10 Hemidactylus triedrus Termite Hill Gecko + +
Family: Agamidae11 Calotes calotes Southern Green
Calotes
+ +
12 Calotes nemoricola* Nilgiri Forest Lizard + +
13 Calotes rouxii Rouxs Forest Lizard + +
14 Calotes ellioti* Elliots Forest Lizard + +
15 Calotes versicolor Garden Lizard + + + +16 Psammophilus dorsalis Southern Rock Agama +
17 Draco dussumieri* Flying Lizard + + + +
Family: Scincidae18 Eutropis carinata Keeled Grass Skink + + + +
19 Eutropis macularia Bronze Grass Skink + + + +
20 Ristella beddomii* Beddomes Cat Skink + + +
21 Lygosoma punctata Spotted Supple Skink + + +
Family:Varanidae22 Varanus bengalensis Monitor Lizard + + + +
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae23 Ramphotyphlops
braminus
Brahmini Worm Snake + + +
Family: Uropeltidae24 Uropeltis ceylanica* Kerala Shieldtail +
Family: Pythonidae25 Python molurus Indian Rock Python + +
Family: Boidae26 Gongylophis conicus Common Sand Boa
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Family Colubridae27 Coelognathus Helena Trinket Snake + +
28 Ptyas mucosa Indian Rat Snake + + + +
29 Oligodon taeniolatus Russells Kukri Snake +
30 Dendrelaphis ashoki* Ashoks BronzebackTree Snake
+ +
31 Chrysopelea ornate Ornate Flying Snake
32 Lycodon travancoricus Travancore Wolf Snake + + +
33 Lycodon aulicus Common Wolf Snake
34 Amphiesma stolatum Buff Striped Keelback + +
35 Amphiesma beddomei* Beddomes Keelback + +
36 Amphiesma monticola* Hill Keelback + +
37 Xenochrophis piscator Checkerd Keelback + + + +
38 Boiga ceylonensis Ceylone Cat Snake +
39 Boiga nuchalis Collared Cat Snake +
40 Ahaetulla nasuta Common Vine Snake +
Family Elapidae41 Bungarus caeruleus Common Krait
42 Naja naja Spectacled Cobra + + +
Family Viperidae43 Daboia russelii Russells Viper + +
44 Trimeresurus
malabaricus*
Malabar Pit Viper + + +
+ Indicates the presence of a species in that particular range.
* indicates the species is a Western Ghat Endemic.
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Cnemaspis nilagirica Cnemaspis nilagirica
Nilgiri Day Gecko Nilgiri Day Gecko
Cnemaspis heteropholis Lygosoma punctata
Spotted Supple Skink
Ristella bedomii Calotes rouxii
Beddomes Cat Skink Rouxs Forest Lizard
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Calotes nemoricola Calotes ellioti
Nilgiri Forest Lizard Elliots Forest Lizard
Uropeltis cf ceylanica Amphiesma monticola
Kerala Shieldtail Snake Hill Keelback
Dendrelaphis ashoki Boiga nuchalisAshoks Bronzeback Collared Cat Snake
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