Harshil Patel, Raju Vyas, Bhautik Dudhatra, Vaibhav Naik, Ashish Chavda, Devendra Chauhan, Amit Vaghashiya, Ramesh Vagadiya, Pranav Vaghashiya,
Volume 1, Issue 2 (12-2019)
Abstract
The Saurashtra Peninsula, the largest geographical region of Gujarat state, is a prominent place for herpetofauna in the state and recent herpetological explorations have uncovered three new reptilian species from this region. However, fine scale information on the distribution status of amphibians and reptiles, and baseline information about the regional herpetological diversity of many areas of Saurashtra is still lacking. In an attempt to fill the gaps in information, we surveyed the Girnar hill complex of Gujarat state for its herpetofaunal diversity from September, 2016 to August, 2018. In all, 56 species, comprising 10 species of amphibians belonging to 7 genera and 3 families and 46 species of reptiles, belonging to 31 genera and 15 families were recorded; of which, 2 unidentified frog and 2 unidentified lizard species need further taxonomic attention.
Harshil Patel, Raju Vyas,
Volume 2, Issue 3 (9-2020)
Abstract
We re-address the findings of recent publications on herpetofaunal diversity of certain urban areas of Gujarat, India, in which, authors have claimed to report nine frogs and two lizard species for the first time from the State, without any morphological data and/or voucher specimens. We present our critique and comments, with the known distributional ranges of these species and on these erroneous records. We also advocate removal of such species from the faunal list of Gujarat until confirmed reports, based on correctly identified vouchers, are presented. We recommend here that identification of a species should be done following standard protocols and by facilitating the deposition of voucher specimen/s in responsible public repositories for studies involving taxonomy, morphology and range extension.
Pooja R Patel, Krupal J Patel, Kauresh D Vachhrajani, Jigneshkumar N Trivedi,
Volume 2, Issue 4 (12-2020)
Abstract
The present study deals with gastropod shell utilization of the hermit crab, Clibanarius rhabdodactylus Forest on the rocky intertidal zone of the Saurashtra coast, Gujarat State, India. Collection of the specimens was carried out using a hand-picking method in June and December 2018 during low tide. The hermit crab weight (HW) and shield length (SL) were measured and sorted in different class intervals of 1 mm each. Gastropod shells were identified and morphological variables such as shell dry weight (DW), shell length (SHL), shell volume (SHV), shell aperture length (SAL), and shell aperture width (SAW) were recorded. A total of 2000 individuals of C. rhabdodactylus were collected, occupying 29 different species of gastropod shells. Males and non-ovigerous females occupied a greater number of gastropod shell species (25 and 27 respectively) as compared to ovigerous females (23 species). Males and ovigerous females preferred larger shells as compared to non-ovigerous females. Cerithium caeruleum (Sowerby II) (67.1%) was the highest occupied gastropod shell species followed by Lunella coronata (Gmelin), Tenguella granulata (Duclos) and Turbo bruneus (Roding). Regression analysis showed a moderate relationship between the different morphological variables of hermit crabs and gastropod shells; the highest values of coefficient of determination were obtained between hermit wet weight and gastropod shell dry weight. The values of relationship between different morphological variables of hermit crabs and gastropod shells suggest that shell architecture has a significant impact on shell utilization patterns of C. rhabdodactylus.
Harshil Patel, Rajdeep Jhala, Raju Vyas,
Volume 3, Issue 3 (9-2021)
Abstract
We provide an account on the distribution, morphology and biology of the Indian trinket snake, Coelognathus helena (Daudin, 1803) from Gujarat, India, and report the first record of the subspecies, Coelognathus helena nigriangularis Mohapatra, Schulz, Helfenberger, Hofmann, Dutta from the Gujarat state based on reptile surveys throughout the state. We show that our understanding regarding the morphology of this species is not fully known as our series of specimens shows a high range of 204–245 ventral scales in C. h. helena and 219–279 ventral scales, 78–98 subcaudal scales in C. h. monticollaris.
Mithila Bhat, Krupal J. Patel, Jigneshkumar N. Trivedi,
Volume 3, Issue 4 (12-2021)
Abstract
Metopograpsus cannicci Innocenti, Schubart and Fratini, 2020 is distributed in the Red Sea, Iran, along the East African coast, Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius. The present paper reports this species for the first time from India indicating its eastward extension.
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